It may have been anticipated by the readers of these pages that the Divine Author of Scripture has planted here and there up and down the sacred page--often in most improbable places and certainly in forms which we should have least of all imagined--tests of accuracy, by attending to which we may form an unerring judgement concerning the faithfulness of a copy of the sacred Text. This is a discovery which at first astonished me: but on mature reflection, I saw that it was to have been confidently anticipated. Is it indeed credible that Almighty Wisdom--which is observed to have made such abundant provision for the safety of the humblest forms of animal life, for the preservation of common seeds, often seeds of noxious plants,--should yet have omitted to make provision for the life-giving seed of His own Everlasting Word?
For example, strange to relate, it is a plain fact (of which every one may convince himself by opening a copy of the Gospels furnished with a sufficient critical apparatus), that although in relating the healing of the centurion's servant (St. Matt. viii. 5-13) the Evangelist writes { ~GREEK SMALL LETTER EPSILON~}{ ~GREEK SMALL LETTER KAPPA~}{ ~GREEK SMALL LETTER ALPHA~}{ ~GREEK SMALL LETTER TAU~}{ ~GREEK SMALL LETTER OMICRON~}{ ~GREEK SMALL LETTER NU~}{ ~GREEK SMALL LETTER TAU~}{ ~GREEK SMALL LETTER ALPHA~}{ ~GREEK SMALL LETTER RHO~}{ ~GREEK SMALL LETTER CHI~}{ ~GREEK CAPITAL LETTER OMICRON~}{ ~GREEK CAPITAL LETTER SIGMA~} in verses 5 and 8, he writes { ~GREEK SMALL LETTER EPSILON~}{ ~GREEK SMALL LETTER KAPPA~}{ ~GREEK SMALL LETTER ALPHA~}{ ~GREEK SMALL LETTER TAU~}{ ~GREEK SMALL LETTER OMICRON~}{ ~GREEK SMALL LETTER NU~}{ ~GREEK SMALL LETTER TAU~}{ ~GREEK SMALL LETTER ALPHA~}{ ~GREEK SMALL LETTER RHO~}{ ~GREEK SMALL LETTER CHI~}{ ~GREEK CAPITAL LETTER ETA~} instead of -{ ~GREEK CAPITAL LETTER CHI~}{ ~GREEK CAPITAL LETTER OMEGA~} in ver. 13. This minute variety has been faithfully retained by uncials and cursives alike. _Only_ one uncial (viz. { ~HEBREW LETTER ALEF~}) has ventured to assimilate the two places, writing { ~GREEK SMALL LETTER EPSILON~}{ ~GREEK SMALL LETTER KAPPA~}{ ~GREEK SMALL LETTER ALPHA~}{ ~GREEK SMALL LETTER TAU~}{ ~GREEK SMALL LETTER OMICRON~}{ ~GREEK SMALL LETTER NU~}{ ~GREEK SMALL LETTER TAU~}{ ~GREEK SMALL LETTER ALPHA~}{ ~GREEK SMALL LETTER RHO~}{ ~GREEK SMALL LETTER CHI~}{ ~GREEK SMALL LETTER ETA~}{ ~GREEK SMALL LETTER FINAL SIGMA~} throughout. With the blindness proverbially ascribed to parental love, Tischendorf follows { ~HEBREW LETTER ALEF~}, though the carelessness that reigns over that MS. is visible to all who examine it.
