Morning journal and courier., 1894-02-28
New Testament Manuscripts.

From the New York Home Journal
No fewer than 1,760 ancient manuscript
copies of the New Testament In whole or
In part exist, their abundance markedly
contrasting With the small number which
have come down to our own day of the
classical writer's. As no miracle has been
wrought to preserve copyists from error,
the last century added up thirty thousand
various readings in the New Testament
manuscripts; and the present one has In
creased the number to one hundred and
fifty Thousand. Only the merest fraction
of them. however, are of any Consequence;
and their number, and the fact that they
were made originally in different parts of
the world and from a variety of manu-
scripts, enable biblical students to detect
and eliminate the errors and Approximate
to the original text more closely than IL
the various "readings" were fewer. This
tedious but necessary work has been car
ried out with untiring energy.
The New Testament manuscripts fall
into two divisions: "Uncisls," written in
Greek capitals, with no distinction at all
between the different words, and very lit
tie even between the different lines; and
| ''Cursives," In small Greek letters, aud
with divisions OF words and lines Pro
| lessor Roberts dates the change bstw esu
the two kinds of Greek writing about the
| tenth century.
Only five manuscripts of the New Tea
lament approaching to completeness ar
more ancient than the dividing date. Tn.
| first, numbered by biblical critics A, L. Ii,
AleIandriau manu.criIt. Though rough
| to England by Cyril Lucsr, patriarch q
Constsntinople, as present to Charles /
10 IL believed that II was written, not II
that capital, but in Alexandria; whenc,
its title. 1t is now dated in the FIFTH cen
fury A. d. The second (knovn rs b. 4
the Vatican manuscript. 1t has been In
the Vatican library from 1475 or an earle
period. but not till A. D. 1850 was an edi
tion of 1t published, and that one, by Car
dinsl Mai, when issued, was uncritical an,
of little value. But in 1858 fac -simile O
1t came forth, SO that now 1t is fully &C
ceptible to scholars.
The Vatican manuscript dates from th
middle of the fourth century, If not eve
from an earlier period. The third (C), O
the Ephraem manuscripts, was 80 called be
cause 1t was written over the writings O
Ephraem, q Syrian theological suthor;
practice very common in the days whe
writing materials were scarce and deal
1t Is believed that 1t belongs to the fft
century, and perhaps Q slightly earlier p,
Rod of 1t than the manuscript A. Th
fourth O), or the manuscripts Of Beza, wa
90 called because IL belonged to the r,
former Bezs, who found It In the monast.
ry of st Irepeus at Lyons In 1862 A I
It is imperfect, and is dated In the sixt
. century. The fifth Is the Sinaitic mani
script obtained In 1874 by Professor I'll
, chsndorf from the monks belonging to Il
, convent of st. Catherine, on Mount Sina
/ 1t contains the whole New Testament.
Is believed that It was made In the four.
century, and its value to the biblical crit
In very great.
Il ANY other "unoial' manuscripts tn
, exist are only fragmentary. The cen
sive" manuscripts, though numerous, q
: of too late date to stand on the same lev
for critical purposes as the "uncials."
3 il possible Indirectly to gain access
Q whole or In part to the readings In man
q script which have persisted. There we
Q early versions of the New Testament
different languages, such e. the syris