carefully collated, or which are known to have been carelessly collated, as for instance the Vatican MS.,1 which, otherwise, would be almost without an equal.
12. And so, in fine, more witnesses are to be preferred to fewer ; and, which is more important, witnesses who differ in country, age, and language, are to be preferred to those who are closely connected with each other ; and which is most im portant of all) ancient witnesses are to be preferred to modern ones. For, since the original autographs (and they were written in Greek), can alone claim to be the well-spring, the amount of authority due to codices, drawn from primitive sources, Latin, Greek, etc., depends upon their nearness to that fountain-head.
13. A reading, which does not allure by too great facility, but shines with its own native dignity of truth, is always to be preferred to those which may fairly be supposed to owe their origin to either the carelessness or the injudicious care of copyists.
14. Thus, a corrupted text is often betrayed by alliteration, parallelism, or the convenience of an Ecclesiastical Lection,2 especially at the beginning or conclusion of it ; from the occur rence of the same words, we are led to suspect an omission ; from too great facility, a gloss. Where a passage labours under a manifold variety of readings, the middle* reading is the best.
15. There are, therefore, jive principal criteria, by which to determine a disputed text. The Antiquity of the witnesses, the Diversity of their extraction, and their Multitude ; the apparent Origin of the corrupt reading, and the Native colour of the genuine one.
1 The CODEX VATICANUS, No. 1209, in the Vatican Library at Rome, a manuscript of the fourth or fifth century. No accurate collation of it has yet been published. Originally this MS. contained the entire Greek Bible, including both the Old and New Testaments. At present the Old Tes tament wants the first forty-six chapters of Genesis, and thirty-two Psalms ; and the New Testament wants the latter part of the Epistle to the Hebrews, and also the whole of the Epistles to Timothy, Titus, and Philemon, and the entire Book of Revelation. — (I. B.)
2 i.e., a portion of Scripture appointed to be read in any Church Service. -(I. B.)
8 " Ubi non modo duplex, sed multiplex occurrit lectio, media est optima. Ex hac enim una tanquam ex centro discessum est in ceteras," etc. — App. Crit., p. 17.— (I. B.)