This speaks well of the work performed by these Annerican scholars. For reasons stated above, we have confined ourselves in this article to the Turkish ver- sion properly so called, and to its transcription into the Armenian and Greek characters.
I. Turkish. — The Turkish language, in its numerous dialectic varieties, is more or less diffused through the vast regions which extend from the •Mediterranean to the frontiers of China, and from the shores of the Frozen Ocean to Hindustan. The nations to which this lan- guage is vernacular have acted an important part in history; and though their power has now declined, and the Crescent has fallen like a star from heaven, yet a mejnber of this race still occupies the throne of Constantine. The peculiar dialect of this language to which the name of Turkish is generally, by way of pre- eminence, applied is spoken in European Turkey by the Ottoman or Osmanli Turks, and is the only lan- guage which can be employed as a £!;eneral medium of communication with all the various kindreds of peo- ple inhabiting European and Asiatic Turkey. The most ancient Turkish alphabet is the Ouigour, from which the Mongolian is derived ; but the modern Turks use the Arabic and Persian characters. Their present alphabet consists of thirty-three letters, twenty-eight of which are Arabic, four are Persian, and one is pecul- iar to the Turkish. Like most Oriental languages, Turkish is written and read from right to left. Two versions of the Scriptures in kindred dialects of the Turkish language appear to have been completed about the same period. One of these versions, executed by Seamah, and printed in England in 166G, will be noticed in the Supplement, under Kar.vss. The other, compris- ing both the Old and the New Test., was the work of Ali Bey, whose history is rather remarkable. His original name was Albertus Bobowskj', or Bobovius. He was born in Poland, in the beginning of the 17th century, and while a youth was stolen by the Tartars and sold as a slave in Constantinople. After having spent twenty years in the seraglio, he publicly embraced Mohammed- anism, at the same time assuming the name of Ali Bey. He became first dragoman, or translator, to Mohammed IV, and was said to be thoroughly conversant with sev- enteen languages. At the suggestion and inider the di- rection of the famous Levin Warner, then Dutch ambas- sador at Constantinojde, Ali Bey was induced to trans- late the catechism of the Church of England into Turk- ish, and afterwards betook himself to the translation of
the entire Scriptures into Turkish. The study of the sacred volume was not without effect on the translator; for it is recorded that Ali Bey entertained thoughts of returning to the Christian Church, and was only pre- vented by death from accomplishing his design. When his version was corrected and ready for the press, it was sent bj' Warner to Leyden to be printed. It was de- posited in the archives of the universitj' of that city, and there it remained for a century and a half, until baron Von Diez, formerly Russian ambassador at Con- stantinople, drew the attention of Europe to this long- neglected translation. He offered his services in edit- ing the MS. to the committee of the British and For- eign Bible Society; and, meeting with great encourage- ment to prosecute his design, Mr. Diez immediately ad- dressed himself to the revision of the Old Test. When four books of the Pentateuch were revised he died, and the work of revision was transferred by the society to Kieffer, professor of the Turkish language at the Uni- versity of Paris and interpreting secretary to the king of France. The new editor disapproved of the plan pur- sued by his predecessor, particularly of his insertion of vowel -points, and he therefore commenced the work anew, applying himself, in the first instance, to the New Test. He followed the text of the JIS. implicitly, with- out collating it with the original Greek; and thus sev- eral errors in the text were inserted in the printed cop- ies, which were, however, soon detected, and gave rise to a printed controversy. The circulation was imiTie- diateW suspended, the errors were examined and cor- rected by a sub-committee, and Prof. Kieffer commenced a laborious and thorough revision of the text by collat- ing every portion, not oidy with the original, but with the English, German, and French versions; with the Tartar of Seaman, and of the Scotch missionaries at Ha- rass; with the versions of Erpenius and of Martyn; and with those in the London Polyglot. The revision was carried on from 1820 to 1828, when the entire Bible, with the embodied corrections, was completed, and ob- tained the attestation of the most eminent Orientalists in Europe. The work was printed at Paris, and the original MS. was after»vards returned to Leyden. An edition of the Turkish New Test., carefully revised by Mr. Turabi under the superintendence of Dr. Hender- son, was completed by the society in 1853. A subse- quent revised edition was printed in 1857. A new version was commenced b)' the Rev. Dr. SchaufHer, and the New Test, was printed in 1866. In 1867 the Psalms followed, to which were afterwards added the Pentateuch and Isaiah. These are, at present, the parts published of Dr. Schauffler's translation. The entire Bible was completed in 1873. " This work,'' says the Annual Report of the British and Foreign Bible Society for the year 1873, " is of a somewhat extraordinary char- acter, requiring rare powers of scholarship for its execu- tion. It has occupied many years, and the translator has devoted to it the most conscientious and untiring application. It has been the one thing to which his mind and learning have been consecrated. The ques- tion has been frequently mooted, and is again under dis- cussion, whether a distinct translation in Turkish is to be published with exclusive reference to the Osmanlis, or whether one and the same text may not be made available both for Osmanlis and for other nationalities speaking the Turkish tongue, but reading their native characters. The latter was the object proposed when the translation of Dr. SchaufHer was commenced; but the views of the translator became modified in the very earlj' stages of his work, and he has aimed to adapt his translation in style to the taste of the Osmanlis, be- lieving that the style common to the Greeks and Arme- nians .speaking Turkish is too coarse and degraded to be met by a version acceptable to the Osmanlis. It is, moreover, alleged that the different nationalities employ the same terms frequently in widely different senses. This view does not elicit the sympathy or endorsement of many of the missionaries, who still hold to the theory