Griesbach thinks that this manuscript was transcribed from another very antient one, which had no accents. Each page is divided into two columns, and the words follow, for the most part, without any intervals between them. The iota subscriptum, and postcriptum are uniformly wanting the usual abbreviations occur, and the letters AT and Or are sometimes written with contractions as in the Codex Coislinianus 1 (a manuscript of the eighth century); and not seldom a letter is dropped in the middle of a word :— Thus, we read in it raραβλη for παραβολη, κλησεται for κληθήσεται, κατρωμένος for καταρωμένος, &c. &c. Errors in orthography appear in every page, and also permutations of vowels and consonants. This manuscript contains the four Gospels, with the following chasms, viz. Matt. iv. 21.—v. 14. and xxviii. 17. to the end of the Gospel; Mark x. 17-30. and xv. 10-20.; and John xxi. 15. to the end. The rλ and the Ammonian sections with reference to the canons of Eusebius are written in the Codex Regius à primâ manu. It is noted L. by Wetstein, and also by Griesbach,' who has given a very complete and accurate collation of its various readings in his Symbola Criticæ. This manuscript harmonises with the Alexandrine or Western Recension. XV. The Codex Uffenbachianus 2, (1 of Bengel's notation, and No. 53 of Wetstein's and Griesbach's catalogues of Manuscripts,) is a fragment of the Epistle to the Hebrews, consisting of two leaves: it is at present preserved in the public library at Hamburgh. Having been very imperfectly described by Maius, Wetstein, and Bengel, Dr. H. P. C. Henke rendered an important service to biblical literature by subjecting it to a minute critical examination, the result of which he published at Helmstadt, in 1800, in a quarto tract, with a fac-simile of the writing, entitled Codicis Uffenbachiani, qui Epistolæ ad Hebræos fragmenta continet, Recensus Criticus.2 According to this writer, the Codex Uffenbachianus originally consisted of one ternion, or six leaves, of which the four middle ones are lost. It is wholly written in red uncial characters, slightly differing from the square form observable in the most antient manuscripts. The accents and notes of aspiration are carefully marked, but the iota subscriptum no where occurs: nor are any stops or minor marks of distinction to be seen, except the full stop, which is promiscuously placed at the bottom, in the middle, or at the top of a page, to serve as a comma, a colon, or a full point. The note of interrogation occurs only once, viz. in Heb. iii. 17. after the word sgnuw; but there are scarcely any abbreviations, besides those which we have already noticed as existing in the Alexandrian and other antient manuscripts. It is remarkable, that the first verse of the second chapter is wanting in this manuscript, which is characterised by some peculiar readings. M. von Uffenbach, who was its first known possessor, referred it to the seventh or eighth century. Wetstein asserted it to have been 1 Griesbach's Symbola Criticæ, tom. i. pp. lxvi.-cxli. Michaelis, Vol. ii. Part i. pp. 304-306. Part ii. pp. 778, 779. Dr. Henke's publication and fac-simile are reprinted by Pott and Ruperti, in their Syllogue Commentationem Theologicarum, vol. ii. pp. 1-32. Helmstadt, 1801; from which our account of the Codex Uffenbachianus is abridged, written in the eleventh century; but, on comparing it with the specimens of manuscripts engraved by Montfaucon and Blanchini, we are of opinion with Dr. Henke, that it was executed in the ninth century. In its readings, the Codex Uffenbachianus sometimes approximates to the Alexandrine, and sometimes to the Western Recension. XVI. The CODICES MANNERS-SUTTONIANI are a choice collection of manuscripts, in the archiepiscopal library at Lambeth, which have been purchased, and presented to that library by his Grace the present Archbishop. They are principally the collection, made by the late Rev. J. D. Carlyle, Professor of Arabic in the university of Cambridge, during his travels in the East, with a view to a critical edition of the New Testament, with various readings; which however was never undertaken, in consequence of his lamented decease. Of these manuscripts (which are chiefly of the New Testament, and are numbered from 1175 to 1209), the following are particularly worthy of notice, on account of the harvest of various lections which they may be expected to afford. 1. No. 1175 is a manuscript of the four Gospels, written on vellum, in quarto, towards the end of the eleventh or at the beginning of the twelfth century. The two first verses of the first chapter of Saint Matthew's Gospel are wanting. At the end of this manuscript, on a single leaf, there are part of the last verse of the seventh chapter of Saint John's Gospel, and the first eleven verses of the eighth chapter. 2. No. 1176 is another manuscript of the four Gospels, on vellum, in quarto, written in the twelfth century. On the first leaf there are some figures painted and gilt, which have nearly disappeared from age. This is followed by the chapters of the four Gospels. 3. No. 1177 is a manuscript of the four Gospels on vellum, of the twelfth century, which is very much mutilated in the beginning. 4. No. 1178 contains the four Gospels, most beautifully written on vellum, in quarto, in the tenth century. The first seven verses and part of the eighth verse of the first chapter of Saint Matthew's Gospel is wanting. 5. No. 1179 contains the four Gospels, mutilated at the beginning and end. It is on vellum, in quarto, of the twelfth century. 6. No. 1180 is a quarto manuscript of the four Gospels, written in the fourteenth century. 7-11. Nos. 1181 to 1185 are manuscripts, containing the Acts of the Apostles, the Catholic Epistles, and the whole of Saint Paul's Epistles. They are all written in quarto and on paper. Nos. 1181 and 1183 are of the fourteenth century: No. 1182 is of the twelfth century. The conclusion of Saint John's First Epistle, and the subsequent part of this manuscript, to the end, have been added by a later hand. Nos. 1184 and 1185 are of the fifteenth century. The former is mutilated in the commencement, and begins with Acts vi. 10. Τη σοφια και τω πνεύματι ω ελάλει, - the wisdom and the spirit by which he spake. The two last leaves of this manuscript are written by a later hand. No. 1185 is mutilated at the end. 12. No. 1186 is a quarto manuscript on vellum, written in the eleventh century, and contains the Epistles of Saint Paul and the .... Apocalypse. It is unfortunately mutilated at the beginning and end. It commences with Rom. xvi. 15. σαν (that is, Ολυμπαν) και τους συν αυτοίς παντας αγίους, 1... pas (that is, Olympas) and all the saints which are with them: and it ends with the words, e rw govw λEYOUTES Αμων, - on the throne, saying, Amen. Rev. xix. 4. The Rev. H. J. Todd has given a fac-simile of this precious manuscript in his catalogue of the manuscripts in the archiepiscopal library at Lambeth. 13-15. Nos. 1187-1189 are lectionaries from the four Gospels, written on vellum in the thirteenth century. 16. No. 1190 is a manuscript on vellum, written with singular neatness, in the thirteenth century. Formerly it contained the Acts of the Apostles and the Catholic Epistles, together with the whole of Saint Paul's Epistles. It is sadly mutilated and torn, both in the middle and at the end. 17. No. 1191 is a lectionary, from the Acts of the Apostles and the Epistles. It is on vellum, in quarto, of the thirteenth century. It is mutilated both at the beginning and end. All the preceding manuscripts were brought by Professor Carlyle from the Greek islands. 18-21. Nos. 1191, 1194, 1195, and 1196, are lectionaries from the Acts of the Apostles and Epistles. They are on vellum, in quarto, and were written in the thirteenth century. No. 1191 is mutilated at the beginning and end; and No. 1194 at the end. The writing of this last manuscript is singularly neat, and many of the letters are gilt. No. 1195 is also mutilated at the beginning, and No. 1196 at the end. 22. No. 1192 is a very beautiful manuscript of the four Gospels, in quarto, written on vellum, in the thirteenth century. 23. No. 1193 is a lectionary from the four Gospels, also written on vellum, in the thirteenth century. It is mutilated at the end. The six last manuscripts, Nos. 1191-1196 were brought from Syria.1 XVII. The CODICES MOSQUENSES, or Moscow manuscripts, are fifty-five in number. They were discovered by M. Matthæi, while he was a professor in that city, principally in the library belonging to the Holy Synod; and were collated by him with great accuracy. The principal various readings, derived from them, are printed in his edition of the Greek Testament, of which some account will be found in a subsequent chapter. Though these MSS. are not of the highest antiquity, yet they are far from being modern, since some of them were written in the eighth, several in the tenth or eleventh, and many in the twelfth, century. As the Russian is a daughter of the Greek church, Michaelis remarks that the Moscow manuscripts very frequently contain the readings of the Byzantine recension, though he has observed many readings that were usual not only in the west of Europe, but also in Egypt. Of the Codices Mosquen 1 Catalogue of the MSS. in the Archiepiscopal Library, at Lambeth, by the Rev. H. J. Todd. pp. 261, 262, folio, London, 1812. From the circumstance of the Codices Manners-Suttoniani being brought partly from Greece, and partly from Syria, it is probable that, whenever they may be collated, it will be found that those from the former country will be found to harmonise with the Byzantine Recension; and those from the latter, with the Palestine Recension. 14 VOL. II. ses, there are three, which Matthæi designates by the letters V, H, and B, and to which he gives a high character for antiquity, correctness, and agreement: they are all written in uncial characters. The manuscript V. contains the four Gospels; from John vii. 39. to the end is the writing of the twelfth or thirteenth century: the preceding part is of the eighth century. It is written with accents, and is regularly pointed throughout. B. is an Evangeliarium or collection of the four Gospels, of the same date: H. is also an Evangeliarium, and in the judgment of Matthæi, the most antient manuscript known to be extant in Europe. V. and H. were principally followed by him in forming the text of his edition of the New Testament.1 XVIII. The CODEX BRIXIENSIS or BRIXIANUS is a precious manuscript of the Old Italic (Latin Version) executed in the eighth century, preserved at Brescia, in Lombardy. It is an oblong quarto, written in uncial characters, on purple vellum, which in the lapse of time has faded to a bluish tinge. The letters were written with ink, and subsequently silvered over. The initial words of each Gospel have been traced with gold, vestiges of which are still visible. The letters O. and V., T. and D., are frequently interchanged, and especially the letters B. and V. To the Gospels are prefixed the Eusebian Canons." The Codex Brixiensis is very frequently referred to by Mr. Nolan in his 'Inquiry into the integrity of the Greek Vulgate or received text of the New Testat,' on account of its antiquity and importance, in vindicating the integrity of that text. It is printed by Blanchini in his Evangeliarium Quadruplex. XIX. Besides the preceding manuscripts, which (with few exceptions) are written in square or unical characters, there are many others written in small letters, which are quoted by Griesbach and other critics, by Arabic numerals, 1, 2, 3, &c.; and which, though not equal in point of antiquity with several of those in uncial letters, are nevertheless of great value and importance, and frequently exhibit readings not inferior to those contained in the foregoing manuscripts. Of this description are the following, viz. 1. The CODEX BASILEENSIS (noted by Bengel Bas. 7, and by Wetstein and Griesbach 1, throughout their editions) contains the whole of the New Testament, except the Revelation, and is written on vellum with accents. On account of the subscriptions and pictures which are found in it (one of which appears to be a portrait of the emperor Leo, surnamed the Wise, and his son Constantine Porphyrogennetus,) Wetstein conjectures that it was written in their time, that is, in the tenth century. Michaelis and Griesbach have acceded to this opinion. Erasmus, who made use of it for his 1 Michaelis, Vol. ii. Part i. pp. 288, 289. Part ii. pp. 763-767. In Beck's Monogrammata Hermeneutices Librorum Novi Testamenti (pp. 67-71. 98.) and Griesbach's second edition of the Greek Testament (pp. cxxiii-cxxvi.), there are lists of the Moscow manuscripts. Prof. Matthæi has also given notices of them with occasional fac-similes, in the different volumes of his edition of the Greek Testament. 1-40. 2 Blanchini Evangeliarium Quadruplex, tom. i. Prolegomena, pp. edition of the Greek Testament, supposed it to be a latinising manuscript, and his supposition was subsequently adopted by Wetstein; but Michaelis has vindicated it from this charge, and asserts that it is entitled to very great esteem. 2. The CODEX CORSENDONCENSIS, which is in the imperial library at Vienna, is noted 3 by Wetstein and Griesbach. It was used by Erasmus for his second edition, and contains the whole of the New Testament, except the book of Revelation. It appears to have been written in the twelfth century, and by an ignorant transcriber, who has inserted marginal notes into the text. Wetstein charges it with being altered from the Latin. 3. The CODEX MONTFORTIANUS or MONTFORTII, also called DUBLINENSIS (61 of Griesbach), is a manuscript containing the whole of the New Testament, preserved in the library of Trinity College, Dublin, to which it was presented by Archbishop Usher. It derives its name of Montfortianus from having belonged to Dr. Montfort, previously to coming into Usher's possession. It has acquired much celebrity as being the only manuscript which has the much contested clause in 1 John v. 7, 8, and is the same which was cited by Erasmus under the title of Codex Brittannicus, who inserted the disputed passage in the third edition of his Greek Testament on its authority. It is written in small Greek characters on thick glazed paper, in duodecimo, and without folios. Dr. A. Clarke (to whom we are indebted for the fac-simile which is given in a subsequent part of this work1) is of opinion that it was most probably written in the thirteenth century, from the similarity of its writing to that of other manuscripts of the same time. He has no doubt but it existed before the invention of printing, and is inclined to think it the work of an unknown bold critic, who formed a text from one or more manuscripts in conjunction with the Latin Vulgate, and who was by no means sparing of his own conjectural emendations, as it possesses various readings which exist in no manuscript yet discovered. But how far the writer has in any place faithfully copied the text of any particular antient manuscript, is more than can be determined. In the early part of the last century Mr. Martin claimed for this manuscript so early a date as the eleventh century: but Bishop Marsh, after Griesbach, contends that it is at least as modern as the fifteenth or sixteenth century. The Codex Montfortianus, he observes, "made its appearance about the year 1520: and that the manuscript had just been written, when it first appeared, is highly probable, because it appeared at a critical juncture, and its appearance answered a particular purpose. But whether written for the 1 See Vol. IV. Part II. Chap. IV. Sect. V. § 6. infra. εν 2" Erasmus had published two editions of the Greek Testament, one in 1516, the other in 1519, both of which were without the words, that begin with ev TU oparu and end with ev rn yn, in the disputed clause in 1 John v. 7, 8. This omis sion as it was called by those who paid more deference to the Latin translation than to the Greek original, exposed Erasmus to much censure, though in fact the complaint was for non-addition. Erasmus therefore very properly answered, addendi de meo quod Græcis deest, provinciam non susceperam. He promised, |