May autumn come with soften'd grace, So shall thy winter hours be cheer'd When (by long truth and worth endear'd,) And when life's latest pow'r hath fled, As thy freed spirit flies, Thy children's arms shall be thy bed, And angels close thine eyes. A. M. P.. SIR, To the Editor of the Monthly Repository. THE following Epitaph may probably suit your poetical department. It is placed over the grave of a respectable scholar, who, I dare say, will be well recollected by several of your readers. He was buried at Sible Hedingham, Essex, where he died, while on a visit to a friend. Your's.. R. C. IN MEMORY OF THE REV. BAXTER COLE, Who died Oct. 13, 1794, aged 66.-This Stone is erected by the grateful affection of his surviving kindred. Say, musing stranger, was thy studious youth Or "look'd through nature up to nature's God;" And as thy weary steps to age decline, Are still the Christian's hopes and duties thine; * A Dissenting minister, educated among the Independents. He did not pos sess popular talen's as a preacher, but was a person of considerable learning, and had paid great attention to the phraseology of the New Testament. In his lattér years he was considered by his intimate friends, as almost, if not altogether, an Unitarian. He is chiefly known to the public by the complete edition of the Works of Lardner, which he arranged and conducted through the press. REVIEW. « STILL PLEAS’Ð TO PRAISE, YET not afraid to BLAME." POPE. ART. I.-Novum Testamentum Græce. Textum, ad fidem Codicum, Versionum & Patrum, recensuit, & lectionis varietatem adjecit, D. Jo. Jac. Griesbach. Vol. ii. Ed. 2da. Halæ. 1806. Londini apud Payne et Mackinlay. 1807. "Professor Birch's edition of the It is now thirty years since the Gospels having been of singular advanfirst edition of this work aptage in the first volume, Griesbach depeared, and the opinion of com- layed his preparation of the second, til petent judges respecting its value, it could enjoy the same advantage. But, and the learning, acuteness and in consequence of a great fire at Copenfidelity of the author, has been hagen, the publication of Birch's second volume appeared so distant, that he bemore and more favourable, as it gan his work without it, and had nearly has been more extensively known. finished printing the Acts, when he reHis labours have contributed in ceived intelligence that the various readan cminent degree to the general ings of the Acts and Epistles were to be published, without the text. About amelioration of sacred criticism. the end of the year 1799, this collection By the accessible and commodi- came into his hands; ut when he had ous form in which they have ap- nearly finished the printing of the Epis peared, they have diffused infor- tles of Paul, his labours were intermation among a large body of theological students. By laying open the scientific principles on which an edition of the New Testament is founded, they have checked that licentiousness of Pref. pp. 1, 2.. conjecture and neglect of critical rupted by a severe illness, which for three years almost prevented his dis charge of his public duties. He devoted the first return of health to the continuation of his work, and expresses his gratitude to the goodness which has enabled him at length to finish it." authority, which have perpe- In giving an account of this tuated many difficulties, but can never remove one. most valuable work, we shall first enumerate the additional subThe first volume of a new and sidia which give this edition a su much improved edition was pub- periority over the first, and then lished in 1796. And the public proceed through all the books of has long anxiously waited for the New Testament; noting imthe appearance of the second. It portant variations from the text is with pain we, observe that ill of the former edition, and rehealth has been a chief cause of markable readings now first pro the delay. The Preface contains duced, or confirmed by fresh anthe following statement on this thorities; adding such observasubject. tions as may be necessary to illus. trate our extracts. We trust that When we The Acts being printed off, we need not apologize to our before Birch's collation came to readers, for the length to which hand, his readings are given sethis plan may carry us. parately, with some others, at the Beside new collations of MSS. end of the volume. numbered before, we have fifty- consider that the codex B is one three copies added to the list in of these, and that towards the the Acts and Catholic Epistles; end of the Acts several of the thirty-two in the Epistles of Paul; uncial MSS. have lacunæ, we and twelve in the Apocalypse. shall see that it is necessary to reThe most important MS. now examine the evidence before we added, is the Codex Vaticanus, quote Griesbach's text, in this 1209 (now at Paris) or B. It is book, in favour of a reading. the most ancient of all our MSS. excepting perhaps the Codex D+, and exhibits a purer text than any ii. 89. πασι τοις εις μακραν] of them. The collation of the Omnibus deinceps. Cypr. Is Sahidic version is now first pro- this so properly a various reading duced; and numerous extracts as a rendering equivalent to; nați from the Slavonic, with an ample natorum & qui nascentur ab illis?' critical description of its MSS. See Wetstein. Schleusner applies and some readings from the Bo- it to the Gentiles; but how should hemian, as well as a very accurate Peter, at this time, say that the collation of the Armenian, have promise was to them? We proceed to our extracts from the Acts. been furnished by the author's iv. 28. ποιησαι οσα] μη οσα. friends, whose names he records Mt. as ex emend. Probably in his preface. He excuses him- made to avoid a fancied impiety. self in not having given readings See xvii. 19. from Professor White's edition of v. 13. No variation yet apthe Philoxenian Syriac, from the pears in either MSS. or versions necessity of proceeding in his from κολλάσθαι. work while his strength lasted, v. 20. The reading of the Sywithout the delay of collecting riac, Ethiopic, and Erpenius, them, and waiting till they should Taura Ts wry, has not yet been be complete. Pref. pp. 5, 7. found in any MS. vi. 7. ογλος των ιερέων] 200 This very * It was one of those which furnished dawv. Syr. 1st. ed. the Barberini readings; but as the antiquity of these was unknown, Birch's important reading is found in five collation is, to all critical purposes, the MSS. 66. 76 Barb. 1. Mt. d. ex first. The Barberini readings were ex- emend. x. Theoph. 2. * cluded entirely from Wetstein, and Griesbach's first edition, but are re- • Three different texts of Theophy• stored in the second. See Wetstein's lact are used by Griesbach in this ediProleg. v.i. p. 61. wherever this circum- tion. No. 1 is the common text. No. 2 stance would have produced a double is from a Vatican MS. and in the sixcitation of the same authority, it is noted and-a-half first chapters agrees nearly by Griesbach in the Appendix to the Acts. + Michaelis. v. ii. p. 228, &c. Marsh. in.loc. Marsh. y. i PL 2. p, 808. &C with No. 2, in the remainder with the commentary attributed to Ecumenis. No 3 a commentary without the text, from a Floren,e copy. Pref P. xviii. Ti. 9. Seprior] Cuerver, the was obvious. Had P. Junius conjecture of Beza, is the read- been a transcriber, he would proing of the Armenian version. bably have written myV, TTEV, vii. 21. ExTedevra de auro] though his original read srb εκτεθέντος δε αυτού. This read- ενί. 19. επι τους αρχοντας ing, although sanctioned by AB Griesbach has not quoted the Oth. CD, and several other MSS. is for the omission of this clause, not even noted as specious. A (see Wakefield); thongh he noremarkable exemplification of the tices the tranposition of it in critical canon, preferatur lectio Syr. Ep. solæ ea; for the passage, as it TXITWY τα δεσμα] now stands, is not grammatical. Tavra, Mt. d. 1. Lucif. This ix. 16. auro] Omitted in 15, reading certainly deserves atten18, 36. Theoph. 1. (Wetstein.) tion, as it expresses only that all See Markland in Bowyer, and the bonds of Paul and Silas were Wakefield, who thinks that the loosened; not those of all the Oth. did not read it. prisoners; which supposes a mi xvi. 26. . X. 19. avôges Tais] duo the lectio racle to set men at liberty, and singularis of B, confirms those another to prevent their escape. copies which omit the number. xiii. 18. ergomopograv. 1st. ed.] popage is taken into the text. This difficulty once appeared so great to Michaelis, that he suspected the whole passage. v. ii. pp. 289, 405. xv. 20. xxi του πνικτού] Νο xvii. 19. δυνάμεθα γνώναι] ου authority but that of D. cant. is duvapeta yuval. This conjechere produced for the omission of ture of Mr. Toup en Suidas, this clause; but when the decree approved by Markland, and takis recited, xxi. 25. it is wanting en into the text by Wakefield, is in the Sahidic version, which a. the reading of Mt. m. (sec xi.) grees strikingly with D. demidov. (a copy of the Vulg. published by Matthai) tolet. P xv. 34. This verse still stands in the text, with the mark of xvii. 17. παντες οι ελληνες probable omission. B and 5 other λ. is marked as probably to MSS. are to be added from the be omitted, on the authority of A. Appendix, to the very strong Barb. 1. Erp. Copt. Vulg. Chrys. evidences of its spuriousness in com. Bed. lat. For Barb 1. which Griesbach's margin exhi- read B. though only these two bits. MSS. omit the words, their joint xvi. 199] Ty, the testimony is very weighty; espe conjecture of P. Junius (see Bow- cially when we consider the yer) is found in Mt. %, an eucho- strong internal evidence of spurilogium of the 15th. century. ousness. οι ιουδαίοι, the reading When a critic has conjectured a of 3 MSS. confirms the omission; reading, which is afterwards for it is much more likely to have found in a MS., that reading may been an explanation of the indeappear to be confirmed by the terminate Taves, than to have coincidence. But on the other been substituted for £λλvės. * hand, this circumstance shows that the reason of the correction VOL. II. xviii. 25. odov TQU XUCIOU] (TOU) you AB (Chiat) DE. 13. 36. 38. X 40. 67. (ex emend.) 68. 69. 73. alteration is one of the most im Barb. 5. Mt. I. Ed. Syr. Erp. portant in the new edition, and have deArm. Vulg. It. Theoph. 2. Aug. some eminent men* We have quoted this list of au- clared in favour of Jaou, we shall thorities, as a striking example of endeavour to state the question as the insufficiency of external evi- clearly as we can; Griesbach's dence to establish a reading, which excellent note, though very conhas internal marks of spurious- cise, being much too long for inness. 700 1500` is not noticed by sertion. Griesbach with the sign of the lowest degree of probability; 1. MANUSCRIPTS. ugo-All the MSS. † in unci others. Gesu-Seventeen, all in small letters. HUGIO SESU-Two, do. and it is manifestly false; for al letters except one, and eight Apollos, who knew only the baptism of John, could not teach accurately the doctrine of Jesus. xix. 38. do 1st. Ed.] ayoçalı 2d. Ed. In a case which depends on the accents, as MS. authority cannot be applied, the sense must determine the true reading. The Syr. and Erp. translating artifices illi sunt, seem to have read açarı. ters (G) sixty-three, small. II. VERSIONS. GEO. Vulg. Syr. post. Cod. Syr. vat. (a Lectionary of the 10th. century.) . xx. 4. axsi Tys acias.] These words are omitted in B (which substitute for Barb. 1.) (Chiat) 13. Erp. Oth. Vulg. Bed. lat. The former of these two MSS. is of the highest anthority; the latter Bengel, Michaelis, Wakefield, &c. of considerable excellence*. The The reading of Vat. 1209 (B) is internal evidence in their favour uncertain. Professor Birch quoted it in is very strong; for how could Luke write that Paul was accompanied as far as Asia, by those who left him at Philippi? xx. 28. εκκλησιαν του κυρίου] In the former edition the two his various readings for Biov, which he says in a subsequent part of his work, was an error of his or the printer's. He could not then ascertain its real reading, but from its general character it can hardly be doubted that it is κυριου. Our numbers differ from Griesbach's, as we include Birch's MSS. readings zugiou and be were Griesbach says, that the Oth. ren ders 9ps and xugios, by the same word, ; placed one above the other in the text in this, zugio is taken in 6sov éjected; and xugiau xaι best because the Arm and Copt. nearly alplaced in the inner margin, as will not quote the passage in which Mr. lectio haud spernenda. As this Wakefield denies the truth of Gries a * Inter præstantiores libros referendum bunc esse, (13. 33, Evangel.) colligi jam potest, partim e collatione nostra allegationum Origenis cum lectionibus Codicis L. &c. Griesb. Symb. Crit. v. i. p. clxix. We bach's assertion, that the Oth. so translates; but will only observe, that any one who reads that language, or who possesses Bode's Pseudo-Crit. MillioBengeliana, in which the erroneous citations of the oriental versions are corrected, would confer an obligation on |