y
be denied,--this is balanced by the grammatical difficulty introduced by
[Greek: katharizon], which would be made to agree in the same clause
with a verb separated from it by thirty-five parenthetic words,
including two interrogations and the closing sentence. Those people who
form their judgement from the Revised Version should bear in mind that
the Revisers, in order to make intelligible sense, were obliged to
introduce three fresh English words that have nothing to correspond to
them in the Greek; being a repetition of what the mind of the reader
would hardly bear in memory. Let any reader who doubts this leave out
the words in italics and try the effect for himself. The fact is that to
make this reading satisfactory, another alteration is required. [Greek:
Katharizon panta ta bromata] ought either to be transferred to the 20th
verse or to the beginning of the 18th. Then all would be clear enough,
though destitute of a balance of authority: as it is now proposed to
read, the passage would have absolutely no parallel in the simple and
transparent sentences of St. Mark. We must therefore be guided by the
balance of evidence, and that is turned by the cursive testimony.]

Sec. 3.

Another minute but interesting indication of the accuracy and fidelity
with which the cursive copies were made, is supplied by the constancy
with which they witness to the preposition [Greek: en] (_not the
numeral_ [Greek: hen]) in St. Mark iv. 8. Our Lord says that the seed
which 'fell into the good ground' 'yielded by ([Greek: en]) thirty, and
by ([Greek: en]) sixty, and by ([Greek: en]) an hundred.' Tischendorf
notes that besides all the uncials which are furnished with accents and
breathings (viz. EFGHKMUV[Symbol: Pi]) 'nearly 100 cursives' exhibit
[Greek: en] here and in ver. 20. But this is to misrepresent the case.
All the cursives may be declared to exhibit [Greek: en], e.g. all
Matthaei's and all Scrivener's. I have myself with this object examined
a large number of Evangelia, and found [Greek: en] in all. The Basle MS.
from which Erasmus derived his text[127] exhibits [Greek: en],--though
he printed [Greek: hen] out of respect for the Vulgate. The
Complutensian having [Greek: hen], the reading of the Textus Receptus
follows in consequence: but the Traditional reading has been shewn to be
[Greek: en],--which is doubtless intended by [Greek: EN] in Cod. A.

Codd. [Symbol: Aleph]C[Symbol: Delta] (two ever licentious and [Symbol: