far-reaching. We therefore leave this sacred science, for such it is, and turn to the survey

of some of the chief manuscripts and versions by which the Greek text is ascertained.

The MSS of the Greek N.T. are divided into two classes, the uncials and the cursives.

The uncials are written in capital letters, each letter being formed separately, while the

cursives are written in a running hand, the letters being joined together. The uncials are

the more ancient, the cursives not appearing until the ninth century. The chief uncial

MSS are the Sinaiticus, the Vaticanus, the Alexandrinus; the cursives are too numerous

to mention here. In 1896, the number of cursive MSS known was 2,429, besides 1,723

lectionaries, containing the lessons for the year.

The chief versions are the Syriac, the Egyptian and the Latin. Of the "Fathers" whose

writings furnish evidence for the text, we must include Justyn Martyr, Tatian, Irenaeus,

Clement of Alexandria, Hippolytus of Rome, Origen of Alexandria, Tertullian, Eusebius

and Jerome. Into this evidence we shall not be able to enter, the sheer amount of material

making it impossible. We have mentioned the names so that the fact of their evidence

shall be included in our survey seem necessary and profitable. We now return to the

three great uncial MSS.

Codex Vaticanus (Fourth century).--This is perhaps the most ancient and most

valuable of all the manuscripts of the Greek Bible. It is indicated by the letter "B", and

the reader should weigh over any reading that has this manuscript as its authority.

Originally this codex contained the complete Scriptures, but time has taken its toll. The

beginning has been lost, the MS commencing at Genesis 46: 28.  In addition,

Psalms 106:-138:  are missing.  The N.T. also has suffered;  the whole of the

Apocalypse, and the catholic epistles are missing, together with the latter part of the

epistle to the Hebrews--from 9: 4 to the end.  We rejoice, however, that Paul's

epistles to the churches have been preserved, together with the Gospels and the Acts.

Codex Sinaiticus (Fourth century).--The discovery of this important manuscript is of

unusual interest. In 1844, Constantin Tischendorf visited the Monastery of St. Catherine

at Mount Sinai. He found that the monks there were using as fuel, sheets of vellum

bearing the oldest Greek writing he had ever seen. He succeeded in rescuing forty-three

leaves, but learned to his deep regret that two basket-loads had already been used for

lighting the monastery fires. He paid two more visits to the monastery, and in 1859,

under the patronage of Alexander 2:, made one more attempt to gain possession of the

rest of the manuscript which he knew had been preserved. At first he met with a flat

refusal, but upon showing his own copy of the LXX, the Steward showed him a bundle of

loose leaves wrapped in a cloth. He realized this time the necessity to conceal his

feelings, and asked if he might be allowed to take the manuscript to his bedroom. "That

night", he said, "it seemed sacrilege to sleep". The manuscript eventually passed into the

possession of the Czar, and is still to be found in the Imperial Russian Library at

Leningrad. It has been most carefully corrected, and the corrections so often agree with

the text of the Vatican MS that their testimony is regarded as of extreme value.