date, is frequently the sign of a reading, that has been tampered with : brevity of style, together with antiquity of witnesses, is indicative of a genuine text." The men of this generation are so averse, and, in their own opinion, religiously opposed to con demning glosses, that there is considerable danger, lest many should reject the genuine text of the New Testament in very important passages, from a desire to amend it, and hear and followr any of Maastricht's Canons, rather than this golden one. But, though it be of little use, to warn writers, many of whom give themselves little space for thinking,1 each sensible reader should exercise more caution and prudence in his own quiet nook.
36. Changes of tenses, cases, moods, numbers, and degrees of comparison, occur so frequently in executing a copy, that this cause has given rise to the great majority of Various Readings. This may be referred also to Canon 6, except that the present is stricter.
This observation also does not enable the reader to decide between two readings of the same passage.
37. Something is frequently omitted in a Manuscript, be cause the transcriber thought that it had been already suffi ciently expressed, either actually in the passage itself, or in the context.
Transcribers have often erred from this cause, especially the more learned ones.
See my remarks on Canon 26, as this differs nothing from that.
38. When any Various Headings are discovered or observed, let not any of them be introduced into the Text, but let the Reading of our printed copies remain intact, especially that of the Comptutensian or Stephanian editions. The Various Read ing should be indicated in the Notes of the Commentator.
This is not a Canon enabling the reader to decide on a con troverted text : the author calls it a ' Monitum?
39. When the text of the printed editions exhibits no Various Reading, but yet there appears a difficulty in the meaning, on account either of the language, or the subject, — the question is
1 But on that very account, so much the greater license in judging. — E. B.