Keowee courier. [volume] (Pickens Court House, S.C.) 1849-current, 1881-06-02


Newer nina what t'they" say.
ni t0e .ltpw- TTTTTTT- ITft"'-7T
The oh Manuscripts Nan Of Scripture.
a New York clergyman on Sunday gave
hiS 'congrsgdtioh. q history from the manu-
scripts from which our Bible is compiled,
during which, he, stated these facts The
manuscripts, of the New Testament are di.
yided into oa'two olasses,, according to the
style of the writing employed. The oldest
style was ip very largo capitals exclusively,
neutrality-suspicious. except at tho end
Of sentences, abpt later a'runnipg hand was
soinethiIg.l like that now used. The first
was the moro apoiept of them. Thore ex-
istaboat pne, hun dred and thirty, all written
probably between the fourth md tenth cen.
turies, whilaof the otRefs there are some
fifteen hundred written after tho
tenth century But Of the very old
and Very Va valuable manuscripts VIC have only
about fve.s Tho first named Is the Alexan.
drian manuscript or Cordex, so colled be-
cause the Bishop of Constaptinople who
sent it as 3, present to Charles l., of Eng-
land, brought, it. from Alexandra. 1t is
noW,in the British museum. Nothing is
known it's origin, but it is probably 400
years oldi* being usually assigned to the
middle Of the fifth century. The next is in
the Vatican where it has been for four huns
hred years. In 1868 very fne and per-
feot fac simile of it was issued. 1t is re-
ferred to the 4th century. Tho third great
MS. ID preserved in tho national Library
at Paris, It was brought to France by
Catherine de Medioi. It is assigned to the
early part Of the fifth century, aud contains
about two thirds Of the Now Testament.
Besides them there is the Codex Bcga, be.
longing TO tho class of manuscripts Of great.
est weight, once the property Of the great
reformcr whose name it bears. 1t was pro.
sented by him to tho university Of Cam
bridge, whore it is still preserved. 1t is
tho least valuable Of all tho manuscripts,
containing only the Gospels and the Acts
Gin Greek and Latin,) muny interpretations
and corruptions boing detected in it, 1t is
ascribed to the sixth century.
Up toHa very recent period these four
were the oldest and most reliable manu-
scripts of the. New Testament known to
scholars, but a few years ago discovery
was made of treasure Of this sort OF more
esteem than oil the rest. In 1914 Prof.
Tischendorf, the great German critic, was
travelling in tho East and 10 tho convent of
st. Catherine on Mount Sinai ono day got
hold of a few old vollum leaves which were
about to be used for lighting stove. He
examined them, and soon perceived that
they contained parts of the versions of the
Old Testament, that is, of the translation of
the Hebrew Scripture into Crock 300 years
before Christ fpflhe ben.ft of the Greek
speaking Jows 10 Egypt.
It is now in tho Imperial Library of St.
Petersburg, splendid edition of the work
having been published in 1862. The Oldest
date assigned to this work is the fourth
century, it being supposed by some to be
one of tho MSS. prepared 10 33l, under an
order of the Emperor. Constantine for his
now capital, Constantinople. The Codcx
Sinatious, as it is now called, is thus as old
or Older than the'Vatican MS and has tho
great advantage over all tho othor great
MSS. in thatitt contains tho New Testa-
ment completo.,1 There were scores of cur
sive manuscripts in existence when tho
present version was made, and diligently
consulted, no doubt, while the Latin vul-
gate was always accessible for whatever
light it might have shed 10 constructing a.
trustworthy Crock text There were vory
old versions of the New Testament that
wcro translated into various languages.
Among them q Syrian version known as
the Pesbite or simple. 1t existed us early
as the seconds century. It would be Of
high authority had it come down to us in
its purity. "a ltseantains such interpretations
os the doxology:t To- the Lords prayer. A
version which has exercised vast influence
in tho religious world, is tho old Latin YER
sion made in Northern Africa and asoribed
to tho second century. !. It was revised by
Jerome toward the close of the fourth CEN
tury, and hence the Latin vulgate 80 dear
to tho Catholic Church. It must bo boruc
In mind that it was a translation made
within few years, probably Of the death
! Of st. John. There are several other an
oieot versions Of the Scriptures also of great
value, several Egyptian vorsions, a Gothic
version Of the fourth century, an Armenian
version Of the fifth century, and another OF
tho sixth and seventh in the language our
rent in Abyssipiap
Tho Univorsalist ministars in Nav VorI,