hat savoured of provincial
retention of Aeolian or Dorian pronunciations, wrote from unconscious
bias [Greek: u] for [Greek: ou], transcribing [Greek: lusanti] for
[Greek: lousanti] (unless he were not Greek scholar enough to understand
the difference): and he was followed by others, especially such as,
whether from their own prejudices or owing to sympathy with the scruples
of other people, but at all events under the influence of a slavish
literalism, hesitated about a passage as to which they did not rise to
the spiritual height of the precious meaning really conveyed therein.
Accordingly the three uncials, which of those that give the Apocalypse
date nearest to the period of corruption, adopt [Greek: u], followed by
nine cursives, the Harkleian Syriac, and the Armenian versions. On the
other side, two uncials--viz. B^{2} of the eighth century and P of the
ninth--the Vulgate, Bohairic, and Ethiopic, write [Greek: lousanti]
and--what is most important--all the other cursives except the handful
just mentioned, so far as examination has yet gone, form a barrier which
forbids intrusion.]

[An instance where an error from an Itacism has crept into the Textus
Receptus may be seen in St. Luke xvi. 25. Some scribes needlessly
changed [Greek: hode] into [Greek: hode], misinterpreting the letter
which served often for both the long and the short [Greek: o], and
thereby cast out some illustrative meaning, since Abraham meant to lay
stress upon the enjoyment 'in his bosom' of comfort by Lazarus. The
unanimity of the uncials, a majority of the cursives, the witness of the
versions, that of the Fathers quote the place being uncertain, are
sufficient to prove that [Greek: hode] is the genuine word.]

[Again, in St. John xiii. 25, [Greek: houtos] has dropped out of many
copies and so out of the Received Text because by an Itacism it was
written [Greek: outos] in many manuscripts. Therefore [Greek: ekeinos
outos] was thought to be a clear mistake, and the weaker word was
accordingly omitted. No doubt Latins and others who did not understand
Greek well considered also that [Greek: houtos] was redundant, and this
was the cause of its being omitted in the Vulgate. But really [Greek:
houtos], being sufficiently authenticated[115], is exactly in consonance
with Greek usage and St. John's style[116], and adds considerably to the
graphic character of the sacred narrative. St. John was reclining
([Greek: anakeimenos]) on his left arm over t