tary of Rumpaeus.1 As far as these rules treat of the value of ancient authorities, they are excellent : but the author does not always decide rightly in the case of particular passages of the N. T. He frequently blames Mill with justice, but, as often happens, falls himself into the opposite extreme. From not ob serving this distinction, many, who admire Whitby, make a bad use of him. To use him rightly, you should always hear the other side, i.e. Mill. We have made some remarks also on Whitby, in our Apparatus, pp. 443, 787, 788 (Ed. ii., pp. 79, 498, 499), and in our Second Defence. Very lately, Charles Gottlob Ho/man* has published eight Canons, of considerable merit, on Fritz's3 Introduction to the Study of the New Testa ment, cap. 29. The substance of these Canons, as well as that of others by different authors, is contained in the MONITA, which we have given in Section VIII.
All good men will, I trust, acknowledge the principles of my revision to be unassailable. And though, in some of the most difficult passages, opposite conclusions may be drawn from those principles — yet in the case of by far the greater number of various readings, a clear and unhesitating decision may be arrived at by their means. For although I have reserved to myself the liberty of changing my opinion, it has seldom re quired to be changed. Some such instances will be easily found in this Gnomon by those who think it their interest to find them.
Most of the Readings, however, which we approved formerly, we still maintain. The Text of my Revision (which must again and again be asserted, in opposition to unfounded suspicions), adheres, without the change of a single letter, in the Apocalypse
1 Justus Wesselus Rumpaeus, a Lutheran divine of the last century, must not. be confounded with Rumphius, the Dutch botanist. — (I. B.)
2 Charles Gottlob Hoffmann, a Lutheran divine, and learned Philologist, born 1703, died 1774.— (I. B.)
3 John George Fritz (called also Pritius), a learned Lutheran divine, was born at Leipsic in 1662, died at Frankfort in 1732. — (I. B.)