Of the Greek text the Editor says, "I have collated it as carefully as I could with Grodecq's translation, Morel's and Prevot's Editions, and with MSS. to be found in this City. The various readings of the Roman MSS. I have obtained by the help of friends: those which Milles had collected from the English Codices I have adopted for my own use."
8. "S. Cyrilli Hier. Arch. opp. quæ supersunt omnia ad libros MSS. et impressos recensuit Notis criticis commentariis indicibusque locupletissimis illustravit Gulielm. Car. Reischl S. Th. D. et Reg. Lycei Ambergensis Professor. Vol. I Monac. M DCCC XLVIII."
The Editor says in his Preface that he has altered the Benedictine text only when the evidence was very weighty, and has then given all the various readings in the critical notes. The exegetical commentary was to be reserved for the 2nd Volume, but this Dr. Reischl did not live to complete.
The Prolegomena contain (1) Touttée's inordinately long "Life of Cyril," (2) a Dissertation on the general character and authenticity of the Catecheses, and (3) an "Apparatus Litterarius," to which I have been indebted.
Vol. ii., containing Catecheses xii.-xviii., Myst. i.-v., and the other works, genuine and spurious, attributed to Cyril, was published by J. Rupp at Munich, 1860.
The MSS. used in revising the text of this, the best critical edition, will be noticed below.
9. An Edition of the Catecheses only was published at Jerusalem in 1867, having been commenced in 1849 at the request of the Archbishop, Cyril II., by Dionysius Kleopas, Principal of the Theological School of Jerusalem, and, after his death in 1861, continued by his successor Photius Alexandrides, "Archdeacon of the Apostolic and Patriarchal See of Jerusalem, and Principal of the Theological School."
The Editor gives in the Preface an interesting account of the life of Kleopas, and of the work which he left unfinished.
§ 5. Manuscripts. From the preceding account of the various Editions of S. Cyril we may obtain the following list of authorities which have been hitherto used in revising the Text.
1. Codex Sirletianus, known only by Grodecq's Latin version, Rome, 1564. Cf. § 1. 3.
2. C. Mesmianus, known only in Morel's edition, Paris, 1564. Cf. § i. 4.
3. Vatican MSS. used by Prevot. 1608, but not identified. Cf. § i. 5.
4. C. Roe, Bibl. Bodleian. Oxon. "Codex membranaceus in folio, ff. 223, sec. xi" binis columnis bene exaratus;" [ol. 271].
5. C. Casaubon. On this and the preceding MS. see Milles as quoted above, § i. 6.
6. C. Ottobonianus (1) ol. Rom. iv. membran. sec. xi. "Continet Catecheses omnes et Epist. ad Constantium. Multas habet insignes ab editis varietates."
C. Ottob. (2), "Chartaceus et recens est, nihil fere ab editis discrepans."
These are the Roman MSS. mentioned by Touttée: see above, § i. 7.
7. C. Coislin. 227 (ol. 101). Membran. Sæc. xi. circ. "From this came many important emendations" (Touttée, Notitia Codicum MSS.).
In the descriptions of the following MSS. of the National Library at Paris there is so much discrepancy between Touttée and Reischl, that it is better to quote both.
8. "Catecheses xii., xiii., xiv., xv., comparavi cum Codice Reg. bibliothecæ num. 2503. Scriptus est in bombycina charta an. 1231, quam anni notam apposuit calligraphus" (Touttée, Not. Codd. MSS.).
Reischl has no notice of a MS. at all answering to this description.
9. Cod. Reg. alter, "ol. 1260, nunc 1824, qui S. Basilii opera complectitur, sub ejus nomine Procatechesin continet " (Touttée, Not. Codd. MSS.): aliter, "Cod. Reg. ol. 260, nunc 1284, pag. 254, qui duodecimi circiter est sæculi, in quo habetur Procatechesis hæc sub nomine S. Basilii" (Id. Monit. in Procatechesin).
"Cod. Reg. 467 (apud Touttéum, 1824) Fonteblandensis, chartac. fol. sec. x. Continet sub S. Basilii nomine Orationem de Baptismo, quæ est S. Cyrilli Hier. Procatechesis. C. Reg. Touttéi" (Reischl).
10. "Cod. Reg. 969 (ol. Mazarin.) Epistolarum S. Basilii. 4°. Sec. xiv. Exhibet sub n. 7 Basilii homiliam quo (sic) ostenditur Deum esse incomprehensibilem, quæ non S. Basilii, sed Cyrilli est Procatechesis" (Reischl).
This description agrees in substance with Touttée's.
11. C. Colbert. "Catecheses iv., vi., viii., ix., x., xv., xviii., contuli cum cod. Colbert. Biblioth. chartaceo et recenti 4863 notato...In omnibus pene cum Morelliana editione consentit" (Touttée, Notitia Codd. MSS.).
Reischl makes no mention of this MS.
12. C. Colbert. alter. "membran. sign. 1717, Sec. xiii. diversas Patrum homilias continet, et Cat. xiii. exhibet sub nomine Cyrillianæ in Crucem et Porasceven homiliæ" (Touttée, Notitia).
This is described by Reischl as "Cod. Reg. 771 (ol. 1717) Colbertinus. Membran. fol. seculi xiii.-xiv."
The following MSS. have been used in Editions later than the Benedictine.
13. "C. Monacensis I. 394 membran. fol., titulis et initialibus miniatis, f. 261 nitidissime uncialibus minutis circiter seculo decimo in Oriente scriptus."
This was regarded both by Reischl and by Rupp as the most important authority for the text: it is much older than Codd. Roe, Casaub., and seems to be related to Codd. Ottobon. Coislin.
C. Mon. 2 of the 16th Century is of little value.
14. "C. Vindobonensis, 55, membran. fol antiquissimus, sed incerto sæculo."
A full account is given by Rupp in the Preface to Vol. ii. It was collated by Joseph Müller, 1848, and contains all Cyril's Lectures, except the Procatechesis.
15. Codex A, found by Kleopas in the Library of the Archbishop of Cyprus, and used as the basis of his text, sometimes stands alone in preserving the true reading.
§ 6. Versions. Besides the Latin Translations published with the Greek text, as mentioned above, Reischl mentions the first three of the following:--
(a) Les catéchèses de Sainct Cyrille. Traduit par Louis Ganey. Paris, 1564.
(b) Cyrill's Schriften übersetzt und mit Anmerkungen versehen von J. Mich. Feder.
Bamberg, 1786.
(c) Cyrilli Hier. Catecheses in Armen. Linguam versæ. Viennæ 1832.
(d) The Catechetical Lectures of S. Cyril, Archbishop of Jerusalem, Translated, with Notes and Indices (Library of Fathers of the Holy Catholic Church.) Parker, Oxford, 1838. See Preface.
(e) S. Cyril on the Mysteries. (The five Mystagogic Lectures.) H. de Romestin. Parker, Oxford, 1887.
(f) On Faith and the Creed. C. A. Heurtley, D.D., Margaret Professor of Divinity, and Canon of Christ Church, Oxford. Parker, 3rd Ed., 1889. Contains, with other Treatises, the Fourth Catechetical Lecture of S. Cyril.
In the present volume the translation given in the Oxford "Library of Fathers" has been carefully revised throughout. Where it has been found necessary to depart from the Benedictine text, the Editor has consulted the readings and critical notes of Milles, Reischl, and Rupp, and the Jerusalem edition of Kleopas and Anaxandrides.
A few additions have been made to the index of Subjects: the Indices of Greek Words and of Scripture Texts have been much enlarged, and carefully revised. For any errors which may have escaped observation the indulgence of the critical reader will not, it is hoped, be asked in vain.
E. H. G
The
Catechetical Lectures
of
S. Cyril,
Archbishop of Jerusalem.
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