Page:The New Testament in the original Greek - 1881.djvu/61

 INTRODUCTION TO TIIK AMKUK AN KDITIoN. liii

2. NUMBER OF VARIATIONS

The variations began very early, with the first copies, and continued to increase till the art of printing superseded the necessity of transcribing, and substituted typographical errors for errors of copyists They were gradually found out as the collection and examination of the sources pro* greased. Dr. John Mill, in 1707, roughly estimated the number at 30,000. Since that tune it has risen to " at least fourfold that quantity," as Dr Scrivener wrote in 1874, and now cannot fall much short of 150,000, if we include the variations in the order of words, the mode of spelling, and other trifles which are ignored even in the most ex- tensive critical editions. This number far exceeds that of any ancient book, for the simple reason that the New Tcs- tament was far more frequently copied, translated, and quoted than the most celebrated works of Greek and Ro- man genius

3. VALUE OF VARIATIONS.

This multitude of various readings of the Greek text need not puzzle or alarm any Christian. It is the natural result

by ancient writers (John i. 13; Hi. 6; Mark xiii 32) the 'heretL cal ' reading turns out to be the true one. Epiphanius charges the orthodox with omitting Luke xxii. 43, 44, to remove a diffl cult y This is the most plausible case of alleged wilful comip tion. But Westcott and Hort, with Mr. Norton and Granvillc Penn (romp. Weiss) regard the passage as a later addition, and I am disposed to agree with them. No case of deliberate, wil ful corruption, affecting any considerable number ofMSS.. on the part either of the heretics or the orthodox, can lw anywhere made out. Rash attempts to correct supposed error must not be confounded with wilful corruption " (Dr. Abbot, private letter)

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