once, quoting the Canons themselves in full (by which I shall assuredly obtain the favour of those who admire them), accom modating my observations to both editions of the Crisis, endea vouring to be both easy and brief, and taking heed not to lose sight of becoming moderation, amongst the thorns [i.e. whilst employing pointed arguments] which are required to arouse some persons from sleep.
Canon 1. Various Readings, as all must admit, result from the negligence) carelessness, haste, or foul play of transcribers. A Various Reading is, in our opinion, a departure of a transcriber from Scripture, or from the meaning of the author whom he transcribes. This general description recognises every depart ure from the original, even that of the least letter, as a various reading. It would be better to refer the former sources of various readings rather to error, the latter one to design, which may therefore be considered as a various reading. For not every departure from Scripture involves necessarily a departure from the mind of the author : which by far the greater part of these Various Readings (in the Oxford Edition of the New Testa ment, A.D., 1675,1 and thence in the Amsterdam Edition), nay, I may venture to say, three-fourths of them, will prove to demon stration.
Observation on the above. We acknowledge this to be true, with the caution (which will be given when we consider the eighth Canon) concerning the meaning or mind of the sacred writer. These remarks, however, do not furnish any criterion by which to give the preference to one reading of a passage over
1 Dr John Fell, Bishop of Oxford, published in 1675, a small edition of the Greek New Testamant, with the various readings at the foot of the page, with the authorities by which they were supported ; those taken from Cur- cellaeus, of course, had only the abbreviation of his name as their authority. Besides MSS., the margin contains citations from the Coptic (Memphitic) and Gothic versions. Bishop Fell gave the readings of some MSS. previously uncollated, and in his appendix, he added what has been called the Barberini collection of various readings from twenty MSS. This collation was found by Poussin in the Barberini library at Rome ; and he published it at the end of a Catena on St Mark, in 1673. In it the MSS. are not cited separately, but merely so many as agreeing in any particular reading. The collation had been made by Caryophilus of Crete, about fifty years before.— (I. B.)