St. John, the First Epistle to Timothy, the Epistle to Titus, the Epistle of St. James, the Second Epistle of St. John, and the book of Revelation; and all the remaining book of the New Testament, viz., the Second Epistle to the Thessalonians, that to Philemon, the Third Epistle of St. John, and that of Jude, are quoted by some one or other of the five. The writings of all the five also occupy so small a space, that we have reason to be surprised at the number of passages, the authority of which is thus ascertained, and, when we review the whole, can have no doubt that our New Testament does truly contain the real belief of the first Christians; so that by it we may fairly try the pretensions of Christianity to a Divine origin. EDWARD. You mentioned the versions of the New Testament as another means of ascertaining the integrity of the New Testament. MR. B. The versions are indeed of great importance in corroborating it, and it is necessary that you should have some knowledge of them. They are as follow: : 1. The Peschito or ancient Syriac, made about the year 100. 2. The Philoxenian Syriac, finished in 508. 3. The Jerusalem Syriac, of uncertain date. 4. The Coptic, for the use of Lower Egypt, date unknown. 5. The Sahidic, for the use of Upper Egypt, in the 2d century 6. The Arabic versions, probably made from the 7th to the 11th centuries. 7. The Ethiopic, supposed to have been made in the 4th century. 8. The Armenian, made by Miesrob at the end of the 4th century. 9. Two Persian versions, of which the dates are undetermined. 10. The Latin Vulgate, by Jerome, finished in 384. 11. The Gothic, made by Ulphilas in the 4th century. 12. The Sclavonic, by Cyril and Methodius, in the 9th cent. 13. The Anglo-Saxon, made from the Old Latin. Of these, by far the most important are the Syriac and the Latin; but all are of use, more or less, in enabling us to determine with certainty the integrity of the sacred text. BEATRICE. In what respects are the Syriac and Latin versions so peculiarly valuable? MR. B. The more ancient Syriac version was made at so early a period, that it does not contain all the books of the New Testament; omitting the Second Epistle of St. Peter, that of St. Jude, the Second and Third of St. John, and the book of Revelation. There can be little doubt, that if not made during the very lifetime of the apostles, it must have been made within a very short period after their deaths. The account given in our copies of the woman taken in adultery, is not to be found in it; but in all other respects, it bears the most striking testimony to the uncorrupted preservation of our copies. BEATRICE. The books omitted are the same as those respecting which some doubt was entertained for a time? MR. B. They are; and perhaps their omission in this collection contributed to strengthen that doubt. EDWARD. In what consists the value of the Latin Vulgate ? MR. B. The first Latin version was probably made at the beginning of the second century. During the course of time the copies of this version, in consequence of the carelessness of transcribers, became so corrupt, that a revision of it was necessary, and, by desire of Pope Damasus, Jerome undertook the correction of it by the Hebrew. His version being made the standard text of the church of Rome, is generally called the Vulgate; and that which preceded it the Old Italic. Both are of importance in ascertaining the truth of the Greek text, to the manuscripts of which you must now turn your attention, as the last great means of assuring us of the integrity of the New Testament. BEATRICE. Are these manuscripts numerous? MR. B. So numerous that it is necessary to class them in various ways, the better to ascertain the real text of these books. For this purpose a great number have been carefully examined, and as it was found that some agreed very closely with each other, they have been arranged accordingly. There are also, in all probability, many with which we are not at present acquainted; and, doubtless, many have been lost or destroyed. EDWARD. Do all contain the whole of the New Testament? MR. B. No, very few; some only the Gospels, others only the Epistles, and others, called Lectionaria, being merely selections of particular parts for the public service of the church. BEATRICE. I suppose there must be a great difference between the values placed upon some and others? MR. B. There is; the more ancient having much greater authority. BEATRICE. Which are reckoned the most valuable, and what is their age? MR. B. There are three which are decidedly the most valuable; two of which are in our own country, and the third is at Rome.-The Alexandrine manuscript, as it is called, is preserved in the British Museum, and was sent from the East by Cyrillus Lucaris, Patriarch of Constantinople, as a present to Charles I. in the year 1628. It is supposed to have been written in Egypt about the sixth century; according to some, as early as the fourth. -The second of these manuscripts is preserved at Cambridge; having been presented to that university by Beza the reformer, in the year 1581. The date is uncertain; but perhaps the opinion of Bishop Marsh is pretty correct, viz. that it belongs to the fifth century.—The third manuscript is concealed in the Vatican, and is consequently less known than the preceding. It most probably ought to be assigned to the fifth century also. For a more particular account of these and other manuscripts of the New Testament I would refer you to Bishop Marsh's translation of Michaelis's Introduction to the New Testament, Vol. iii. Chap. 8. Exact fac-similes of the two first of these manuscripts have been published, by which we are now secured against the accidents of fire, &c.; and it is most desirable that the Vatican manu |