u] or [Greek: elthon autou], which is very
different from the 'Syrian' [Greek: synelthon pros auton]) by some
Western documents; and he argues that the entire form in the Received
Text, [Greek: kai proelthon autous, kai synelthon pros auton], was
formed by Conflation from the other two. I cannot help observing that it
is a suspicious mark, that even in the case of the most favoured of his
chosen examples he is obliged to take such a liberty with one of his
elements of Conflation as virtually to doctor it in order to bring it
strictly to the prescribed pattern. When we come to his arguments he
candidly admits, that 'it is evident that either [Symbol: delta] (the
Received Text) is conflate from [Symbol: alpha] (B[Symbol: Aleph]) and
[Symbol: beta] (Western), or [Symbol: alpha] and [Symbol: beta] are
independent simplifications of [Symbol: delta]'; and that 'there is
nothing in the sense of [Symbol: delta] that would tempt to alteration,'
and that 'accidental' omission of one or other clause would 'be easy.'
But he argues with an ingenuity that denotes a bad cause that the
difference between [Greek: autou] and [Greek: pros auton] is really in
his favour, chiefly because [Greek: autou] would very likely _if_ it had
previously existed been changed into [Greek: pros auton]--which no one
can doubt; and that '[Greek: synelthon pros auton] is certainly otiose
after [Greek: synedramon ekei],' which shews that he did not understand
the whole meaning of the passage. His argument upon what he terms
'Intrinsic Probability' leads to a similar inference. For simply [Greek:
exelthon] cannot mean that 'He "came out" of His retirement in some
sequestered nook to meet them,' such a nook being not mentioned by St.
Mark, whereas [Greek: ploion] is; nor can [Greek: ekei] denote 'the
desert region.' Indeed the position of that region or nook was known
before it was reached solely to our Lord and His Apostles: the multitude
was guided only by what they saw, or at least by vague surmise.

Accordingly, Dr. Hort's conclusion must be reversed. 'The balance of
Internal Evidence of Readings, alike from Transcriptional and from
Intrinsic Probability, is decidedly' _not_ 'in favour of [Symbol: delta]
from [Symbol: alpha] and [Symbol: beta],' _but_ 'of [Symbol: alpha] and
[Symbol: beta] from [Symbol: delta].' The reading of the Traditional
Text is the superior both as regards the meaning, and as to the
probability of its pre-existence. The derivation of