episynachthesontai] for [Greek: synachthesontai]. The self-same
casualty, viz. [Greek: kai] elicited out of the insertion of [Greek:
ekei] and the transposition of the clauses, is discoverable among the
Cursives at St. Matt. xxiv. 28,--the parallel place: where by the way
the old uncials distinguish themselves by yet graver eccentricities[82].
How can we as judicious critics ever think of disturbing the text of
Scripture on evidence so precarious as this?

It is proposed that we should henceforth read St. Matt. xxii. 23 as
follows:--'On that day there came to Him Sadducees _saying_ that there
is no Resurrection.' A new incident would be in this way introduced into
the Gospel narrative: resulting from a novel reading of the passage.
Instead of [Greek: hoi legontes], we are invited to read [Greek:
legontes], on the authority of [Symbol: Aleph]BDMSZP and several of the
Cursives, besides Origen, Methodius, Epiphanius. This is a respectable
array. There is nevertheless a vast preponderance of numbers in favour
of the usual reading, which is also found in the Old Latin copies and in
the Vulgate. But surely the discovery that in the parallel Gospels it
is--

[Greek: hoitines legousin anastasin me einai] (St. Mark xii. 18) and
[Greek: hoi antilegontes anastasin me einai] (St. Luke xx. 27)

may be considered as decisive in a case like the present. Sure I am that
it will be so regarded by any one who has paid close attention to the
method of the Evangelists. Add that the origin of the mistake is seen,
the instant the words are inspected as they must have stood in an uncial
copy:

[Greek: SADDOUKAIOIOILEGONTES]

and really nothing more requires to be said. The second [Greek: OI] was
safe to be dropped in a collocation of letters like that. It might also
have been anticipated, that there would be found copyists to be confused
by the antecedent [Greek: KAI]. Accordingly the Peshitto, Lewis, and
Curetonian render the place 'et dicentes;' shewing that they mistook
[Greek: KAI OI LEGONTES] for a separate phrase.

Sec. 4.

The termination [Greek: TO] (in certain tenses of the verb), when
followed by the neuter article, naturally leads to confusion; sometimes
to uncertainty. In St. John v. 4 for instance, where we read in our
copies [Greek: kai etarasse to hydor], but so many MSS. read [Greek:
etarasseto], that it becomes a perplexing question which reading to
follow. The sense in either case is excellent: the only difference