But light is thrown upon them by the context in St. Luke. In the thirteen verses which immediately follow, Tischendorf himself being the judge, the text has experienced depravation in at least fourteen particulars(68). With what reason can the same critic straightway insist on other readings which rest exclusively upon the same authorities which the fourteen readings just mentioned claim for their support?
This Note of Truth has for its foundation the well-known law that mistakes have a tendency to repeat themselves in the same or in other shapes. The carelessness, or the vitiated atmosphere, that leads a copyist to misrepresent one word is sure to lead him into error about another. The ill-ordered assiduity which prompted one bad correction most probably did not rest there. And the errors committed by a witness just before or just after the testimony which is being sifted was given cannot but be held to be closely germane to the inquiry.
So too on the other side. Clearness, correctness, self-collectedness, near to the moment in question, add to the authority of the evidence. Consequently, the witness of the Context cannot but be held to be positively or negatively, though perhaps more often negatively than positively, a very apposite Note of Truth.
It would be a serious omission indeed to close this enumeration of Tests of Truth without adverting to those Internal Considerations which will make themselves heard, and are sometimes unanswerable.
Thus the reading of { ~GREEK SMALL LETTER PI~}{ ~GREEK SMALL LETTER ALPHA WITH OXIA~}{ ~GREEK SMALL LETTER NU~}{ ~GREEK SMALL LETTER TAU~}{ ~GREEK SMALL LETTER OMEGA~}{ ~GREEK SMALL LETTER NU~} (masculine or neuter) which is found in Cod. B (St. Luke xix. 37) we reject at once because of its grammatical impossibility as agreeing with { ~GREEK SMALL LETTER DELTA~}{ ~GREEK SMALL LETTER UPSILON~}{ ~GREEK SMALL LETTER NU~}{ ~GREEK SMALL LETTER ALPHA WITH OXIA~}{ ~GREEK SMALL LETTER MU~}{ ~GREEK SMALL LETTER EPSILON~}{ ~GREEK SMALL LETTER OMEGA~}{ ~GREEK SMALL LETTER NU~} (feminine); and that of { ~GREEK SMALL LETTER KAPPA~}{ ~GREEK SMALL LETTER ALPHA~}{ ~GREEK SMALL LETTER RHO~}{ ~GREEK SMALL LETTER DELTA~}{ ~GREEK SMALL LETTER IOTA WITH OXIA~}{ ~GREEK SMALL LETTER ALPHA~}{ ~GREEK SMALL LETTER IOTA~}{ ~GREEK SMALL LETTER FINAL SIGMA~} (2 Cor. iii. 3) according to the witness of A{ ~HEBREW LETTER ALEF~}BCDEGLP on the score of its utter impossibility(69). Geographical reasons are sufficiently strong against reading with Codd. { ~HEBREW LETTER ALEF~}IKN{ ~GREEK CAPITAL LETTER PI~} { ~GREEK SMALL LETTER EPSILON WITH DASIA~}{ ~GREEK SMALL LETTER KAPPA~}{ ~GREEK SMALL LETTER ALPHA~}{ ~GREEK SMALL LETTER TAU~}{ ~GREEK SMALL LETTER OMICRON WITH VARIA~}{ ~GREEK SMALL LETTER NU~} { ~GREEK SMALL LETTER KAPPA~}{ ~GREEK SMALL LETTER ALPHA~}{ ~GREEK SMALL LETTER IOTA WITH VARIA~} { ~GREEK SMALL LETTER EPSILON WITH DASIA~}{ ~GREEK SMALL LETTER XI~}{ ~GREEK SMALL LETTER ETA WITH OXIA~}{ ~GREEK SMALL LETTER KAPPA~}{ ~GREEK SMALL LETTER OMICRON~}{ ~GREEK SMALL LETTER NU~}{ ~GREEK SMALL LETTER TAU~}{ ~GREEK SMALL LETTER ALPHA~} in St. Luke xxiv. 13 (i.e. a hundred and threescore furlongs), to make it of no manner of importance that a few additional authorities, as Origen, Eusebius, and Jerome, can be produced in support of the same manifestly corrupt reading. On grounds of ordinary reasonableness we cannot hear of the sun being eclipsed when the moon was full, or of our Lord being pierced before death. The truth of history, otherwise sufficiently attested both by St. Matthew and Josephus, absolutely forbids { ~GREEK SMALL LETTER ALPHA~}{ ~GREEK SMALL LETTER UPSILON WITH PSILI~}{ ~GREEK SMALL LETTER TAU~}{ ~GREEK SMALL LETTER OMICRON~}{ ~GREEK SMALL LETTER UPSILON WITH PERISPOMENI~} ({ ~HEBREW LETTER ALEF~}BDL{ ~GREEK CAPITAL LETTER DELTA~}) to be read for { ~GREEK SMALL LETTER ALPHA~}{ ~GREEK SMALL LETTER UPSILON WITH PSILI~}{ ~GREEK SMALL LETTER TAU~}{ ~GREEK SMALL LETTER ETA WITH PERISPOMENI~}{ ~GREEK SMALL LETTER FINAL SIGMA~} (St. Mark vi. 22), and in consequence the wretched daughter of Herodias to be taken to have been the daughter of Herod.