Bent County register., 1888-04-21
Manuscripts on which the B,pie Re
vision is Based.

In sermon on the revision Of the Bible,
Rev. DR.. Rylarce, of St Mark Church,
New York, made .aae ing interesting
statement respecting the existing early
manuscripts OF the New Testament. The
learned doctor spoke approvingly of the
new version, reniarking that the revision
was necessary in order that the common
people as well as the learned might under
stand exactly on what ground they stood.
Hitherto it has been thought that ever,
word of the English version of the Bible
was inspired, this belief is passing away
as people become educated and knew that
no work of translator can be perfect.
The autographs of the Apostles have long
since faded and disappeared. All we have
to depend upon for our translations are
copies, ancient versions, tianslations, and
the quotations made by the Fathers Of the
Church. The manuscripts OF the New
Testament are of two kinds-.he Incial,
the oldest class of manuscripts, written in
capitals and without panctuat on, and the
1cursive manuscripts, SO called from their
being written i'll running hand that he
gan to be used in the tenth century. Those
of the old class were written between the
fourth and tenth centuries the Others after
the tenth century.
or the old there are 130 in existence; of
the new about 1,o00. The very old and
very Nd-ustbic 'tf'5 UuiN i've.
Of these the Alexandrian Codex was origi-
nally discovered at Alexandra, and was
sent to King Charles i. in 1923 1t is now
in the british museum. Nothing is known
of the origin OF this, but it is usually as
signed to the middle OF the fifth century.
1t is much Hiutilated, twenty-iour chapters
of the first Gospel, two of the fourth, and
eight OF one of the Epistles being missing
The next is the Vatican manuscript, sup
- Al.
century. A copy of this was never made
till 1868. when q fac smile was issued
The condition of this is much more per-
r-ct. The third manuscript is that in the
Natioral Library at Paris, whittier 1t was
brought by Catherine de Medici. This hao
been overwritten-that is, the parchment
had been used for other writings; hut,
spite OF that, the original has been deciph-
cred. 1t is assigned to the early part OF the
fifth century. Tue fourth manuscript is
now at Cambridge. This is the least val
liable, as it is much mutilated II belongs
to the sixth century, The manuscript
found in 1874 in the Convent OF st. Catha-
rine on Mount Sinai by Tischendorf, and
copied by him in 1859, is the most valua-
BILE OF the five as it contains the New les
lament complete. This is supposed to have
been written in the fourth century. None
Of these most valuable authorities were
consulted in any of the English versions
of the Bible, even in making that of King
James time. The Latin Vulgate, the plen-
tiful cursive manuscripts were used. Err
rnrs like the Doxology at the end of the
LAd's Prayer crept into the translations.
even into the Syrian, which is as old as the
second century. The Latin Vulgate was
probably an excellent translation, as it
must have been made within few years
of the death of st. John. The changes that
have just been made have only been made
when the weight of authority left no doubt
of their necessity. The text is not ques-
ton of taste, of like and dislike, but of
historic testimony / expect to see the
corrected yensicu win its way into the con-
6dence and the respect OF the English
gneaking people.