The New Era, 1881-06-09, Page 7J'aue 9,1881.
THE 'REVISED SCRIPTURES,
Reasons for the Changes Made in the
Authorized Version,
•
HOW INACCURACIES IN THE TEXT ORIGINATED.
•Examples of the Improvements Made by
the Revisers.
NO ORANGES IN THE INTEREST OF ANY eiRTICULAR SEQ..
Side by side with the Revised New Testa.
meat, which has just been given to the
public, we have the ." Companion to the
Revised Version of the New Testament,
explaining the reasons for the ()halves
made on the authorized version, by Alex,
Roberto, D. D., Professor of Humanity, St.
Andrews and member of the English New
Testament Company, with eupplement by
a member of the Anaertgan Committee of
Revision," and bearing the endorsement of
• the Rey. T. W. Chambers, D. D., also a
member of the American Committee.
From this the statements of the following
article are drawn respecting the changes
made by the revises: •
Since some uncertainty and misunder-
standing prevail respecting. the aim and
scope of this great undertaking, it should
be said by way of preliminary that the
present work is not a new translation, but
a revision of the received version. One of
the primary objects, therefore, hag been to
• preserve intact the old, racy flavor Of the
King James version. • The revielioll is,
moreover, not made in the interest of aily
religious seot, of any class of theological or
ecclesiastical opinions, or of any reforms,
tory hobby, Ie is neither an immersionist
Bible nor a "temperance Bible," but the
Bible as it is, rendered into, the English
tongue as accurately as can be done with
the aid of the accumulated learping
, of all the centuries, and of the results of
that learning as embodied in the thirteen
principal English translations_ ;steal
Wycliffe's, in the fourteenth oentury.
We cannot do batter than •repeat • the
statereent of Dr. Schaff; the Chair-
man of the American ComPsittee
Revision. The object is "to adapt King
•jaroes' version to the present state of the
English language Without changing the
idiom and vocabulary, and to the present
standard of Biblical scholarshipwhich has
made very great advance since 1611,
especially during the last thirty years, ha
textual criticism, Greek and Hebrew philo-
logy, Biblical geography wed archaeology.
A good version is to be made better ;
clear and accurate version clearer and more
accurate; the oldest, 'Surest text is to be
followed; errors, obscurities and Mow.
.sistencies are to be removed ; uniformity in
rendering Greek and 'Hebrew words aud
proper names to be soeght. In one word,
the revision is to give in idiomatic English
the nearest possible equivalent for the
original Word er God as it came from the
inspired organs of the Holy Spirit. . It
aims to be the bdst version possible in the
nineteenth century, as King janees' version
was the best that • could be made in the
seventeenth."
TEE NEED OF REVISION.
•
Changes inAhe received version, excellent
. as it is, are necessitated by •a variety of-
•cau.cs. The first of these Iieein the con-
dition'of the original text. More copies et
the sacred •volume than . any other
a,ncient writing have come tolls inmost:in-
s script. No fewer their 1,760 manuseripts
.of the New Testament are 'known to •
scholars of our 'day. These •'manuscripts
are divided into two classes', ecaordin,g as
they are written in capitals or in small
lettere, the former being known as nucials,
the latter as eursives. The line between
the two modes of writiug runs somewhere
about the tenth century. • Beyond that
date there are -but five copies of.the New
Testament at all • complete, which can be
referred to a higher antiquity. Thetie
•range from the fourth to the sixth century:
• They are the Alexandrian .MS., known to• ,
scholars as A, now in the British Museum,.
and aesignedto.the fifth eetitury ;- the Vat-.
can MS. in the Vatican Library, knoWire,s
B, and" dated in the fourth eentury ; the
• Ephraem MS., C, in the National Library,
of Paris, a palimpsest regarded se& a date
as early as that of ; the Beza D;
resegt. d_12.1LEteza_to the Univitof
Cambridge, and generally keferred tdin the
sixth century; and the Sinaitie MS., pr
Aleph, acoidentallY discovered in • a waste-
basket by Protege& -Ticliendorf in the
• Convent of St. Catherine on 'Mt: Sinai.
• This is assigned to the fourth century, a,
little later than B. The cursives are fat
• inore numerous, and some of them 'thiceed:'
ingly valuable, though, as a whole, less
important than thduncials, Besides these,
• are the ancient versions of -the New Testa.
ment, such as the Syriac; the old Latin,
• which Isthe basis of the vulgate of -the
Roman Church; • the Coptic and the
• Armenian, some of which were made at an
• earlier date than can be claimed for any
known manuscript. •
Where the transmiseioxi of the sacred
text was, for so -many centuries, dependent
upon manual transcription, innumerable
errors must necessarily have crept in. 'The
most hide -bound theory of inepiratkin does
not claim that the Bible wail divinely
guarded against these. Hence we find in
the various manuscripts and versions
varieties of reading amounting to .156,000,
faet which seems at first sight fatal to 'all
• certainty of the text, but -which really
counts for much less -than it appear. . For
• the great majority of•these errors are of no
practical importance rotiltitudes of them
are mete orthographical blunders,'While
others consist inerelyin the substitution of
one synonyme for another, or in a change
of order withoueapprooieble distinction of
• sense.
now manAtes CREPT IN:.
Sometimes notes written•on' the margins
•of manuscripts were, in early , versions,
inadvertently introduced into the tett by
transcribers. In the fifth chapter of Jelin,
for okatmple, the 4th verse, sheet the angel
troubling the pool cif 13etlies1a at certain
seasons, has been a great puzzle to exposi-
tors. It. will be found to have been omitted
from the revised version, it having been a
marginal explanation which the copyist
him:Ate:lin the text. Most of those errors
occur in the Gospels, • The:doxology of the
Lord's Prayer, now rejected by tho best
textual oriticti; probably found its Way into
the text in this manner. Error would aleo
• arise from the unconscious working of the
copyist's mind on the paBfiagO. POW tran.
scribers were mere rattolaties, and stipple-
mentarysexpressions, due to the exerobee of
their own mental powers, slipped in with.
out their perceiving it. Thee, in Zuke
xxiv. 53, our English Dibleg teak' "tapas.
begand blessing God," the ",blessing"
baying been added by the copyist, &nano:
sequently being omitted from the eevised
• version. The more intelligent the
transoribet the ' greater Would • be
the danger of nch lapses. Soine
various readings may have; been duo
to the doetrinal Wee Of the enbeeriber.
The ineertiert of the famous passage of the
three heavenly witnesses, L -john v.7 and
8, may seem to have. arisen from a dogleg
• to vindicate the doctrine' of the Trinity;
yet, on the .other lia;nd, it may have been
a mere marginal gloss admitted inadvert-
ently into the text. In either •case, it is
• now rejected by common eonsent of
scholars and ie therefore omitted from the
revised verision. Notwithstanding the
strength of this temptation, it seemet to
have been very successfully resisted and
there is reaeoa to.; believe that few of these
alternative readings can be aseribed to
prejudices or unfaithfulness.
TEE " mom, emus " mar.
It would toliateo long even to eumniarize
the history of the Greek text on which our
common English version is founded, All
the editions Of the Greek Testament which,
ineuenced its text were fouoded on a
mall number of inferior and coinpartt.
tively modern mannsoripte, very iroper.
,f(setly Collated, and containing numerous
-
errors which a comparison with Older and
better copies has since enabled us to dia.
cover and comet. In a considerable mem-
ber of cases, not indeed of great importance,
the reading of the common English version
is supported by noGreek manuscript what-
, eve; but restson an error of Erasmus or
Bozo. ; and in meeethan a thoueandinsteuces
fidelity tti the true text now Ascertained
requires a tamp in the common version,
though ordinarily a slight one. At 'the
time when our authorized version was
made, not One:, of • the our most ancient
manuscripts was known to be in exietenee.
The ancient versions had not Been exam.,
ined, no seareful investigation had been
mode into the testimony to the primitiye,
text borne by the fathers. .Textilitl arid-.
clans Was in its -infancy, the materials for
it had not•been gathered, the principle/4 ef
the eaten& had not' been' etudied, and the
labors of Mill, Bentley, Griesbech, Lech -
Mann, Tischendorf, Tregelles and other
great scholars to. eecoro ;the -purity of the•
New•Vestament telt were as yet ;unheard
of. lJnder -these circumstances the revised
version necessarily inoludes many elia,nges
death an amended text,
. ,
omission or VAIII013S PASSMIES• •
We now -proceed to notice seine import.
ant thanges arising from textual errors.
Thefiret is. the omits/sit/Rot the dexelegy ot.
*the L ..prayer. at -Matthew vi, 13.
:Textna 9 'ticshave king since given this.
,up. It i ot foiled in any et the great
u ncials :which contain the passage, end it
is not noticed by the 'earliest fathers -in
their expositions- of the; Lord's prayer,
while: the internal . evidence is against it,
since it interrupts the context. • In fever of
it lathe fact that it omits to most of the
'anoient feetiniiii,-notablythe Syriao,' But
the Syrtis°, with some other or the more,
valuable Yersions„seenas to have been con-
formed to the prevalent, text of the fourth
century, and to exist no longer in iteprimi-,
• tive condition, SO that We Cannot insist on
its authority in stipport of the • paussige.
Besides, it does not exist in the Latin vul-
plait very important wttness. I. Its inset -
too in the text must be ascribed to the
habit of terminating all • liturgical'. prayers
with ascription of -praise, which; RS Dean
' Alford observes; "would naturally 'suggest
•iteme such ending, and make its insertion
almost certain in eoUrse of linies.".
. The suggestion made:by:Professor Light.
• foot in his admirable - essay oia New Testa-
• Meet Revision, published•in .1871, is carried
out by. therevieersti the ease oftwo log
and important -passages,. Mark xvi. '.9•20,
and John viii. 3-11. •-Professor Lightfoot
speaks ofthese as belonging, to a close' et
Passages "which touch Christian Benti-
• mei*or history, or morals; and Which ere
:affected by textual diffetencee,", In treat,
leg these he suegeets that they bepieced
in branketefier the 'Purpose of showing, not
indeed that they contain untrue otteratives,
but that evidence is against their being
regarded as integral pOrtiens of the gospels
inwhich they &cur.Ageinet the passage
at the' ,conclusiou of 'Mark are the facts
that- it is.'-witeting from the two' elided
manuscripts', • that important :patristic
authorities testify that it was net written
by Mark'ner • found in the best copies, and
that the•style ie not that of the Etanageliet,'
;seventeen weeds occurring, within• twelve
verses : Which. ;are nothere ' else used by
Mark. In favor of it is .urged the improba,- .
;hility of Mark's abruptly terminating his
riettratitie at versa 8; mod -that it is' cited by
lien/bus iii the second eentury, which,
howey.or, though 'it gees far to .coofirni its
(Latin:lefty, does not prov.e its zothorehip. :
The passage . in JOhneoncerriing• the
• Wetaan taken lir edtiltety has long been a,
isattlegratied-forexponeerningitt
it May be, said 'generally that the:incident
hart:nee:ling perfectly. with,the spirit antr
dealing 'of Christ;: that it idid not ocour,
1ft might have gemmed; aiiid that our Lord's
treatment. of the one Was just what we
• eheuld expect from ' Wm.', Every New
Testament reader, we think, Would be glad
to have its genuinenessput beyond question.
Manuseript. itothority ,IFil against it. It ie
not •foond • 7iti any.: one • of the first-rate
uncials, nor in the ancient versions; nor is
their evidenoe that it was kodwn to Origen,
Chrysostom and others of • eerly fathers.
Even Many' of the manuscripts whiehde
contain it have it markedits doubtful. ' The
. texts in -which It has come down to us.vary
• greatly among themselves; it luta no
connection with • • the • context, and.
its " style differs totally from that
of ,John. On the other -hand; it is
totted in tho ancient uncial D (Codex
Bene); Jerome; in the fourth century, tes-
tifies limb it existed inhis days, in many
• mersugeriptee both • Greek .and. Latin.
A4gustine1 about the same date, charges
that seine persons' of weak': faith had ex-
'punged it lest it should soma to condone
, sin; and according to Einsehlus,_Papiete, in
. the early Omit of the Record century, was
familiar with it. In, this state of the el&
denee, the reviewers 'have net felt justified.
in rejeotingit from the text, but have in.:
sorted it in. bta,cketts.•
-To the passage, L Jehn v. 7, 8, we have
already alluded. "No • defender of . its
genuineness," says Dr. Roberts, " will pro-
bably arise in tho future. But the literary
hietory to which it has given rise' Will 'not
:be forgotten. A small' library might be
formed of the books and pamphlets Which
have been written for or against the words,"
Sit Isaac Newton wrote' againet their gen-
uineness, and Person's letters to 'Areli;
• deacon Tralie, in 1788, virtually rsettled
the ease against the passage. The revisere
have omitted it without a line oven on the
Margin to iadicato that it had ever boon
adnutted to a niece it the saered•text.
' seintwriteati OP anAtiereerioe. •
.We now come to the changimettiaing from
an amended trepidation. , There ate not
very many instances in which , tho. author.
ized version hag. positivelymistaken the
import of the otigifial. The translators
turned to good acceent tho labors of many .
able predecessors; nevertheless they have
erred, in somelostandes, For example, in
Matthew xty. 8, the authokized ,version
Bays of the daughter of Heredia, that -she
asked for the Baptist's bettel, "b nig, before
instructed of her mother." The t anslators '
were nrohably misled by the " pr remits"
of the vulgate; but the preposition pro in
the Greek " probibastheises, is not a pre -
potation Of time, but of piece ; meaning
• peeyielltslY," bet "leeward." Thus
our versioia not only gives a Woe impree--
elm, but bliede the reader to the faint
trace of a redeeming tratt in Herodiee,
which made the wanton creature shrink
from tbe awful deed and -require to be
uyged on by her mother. Hence the revision
rightly trenslates, "She being put forward
by her Mother."
In I4ule iii. 23, instead of ." jesus began
to be about thirty years of age," the
• revisers read: "And Jesus himself when
He began (to teach) was about thirty years
of age.' In the account of the tronefigtire.
ton in Luke ix., the 32p4 tome in tho com-
mon versionetrite misrepresente the fact
reiterant:1 his companions were heavy with
sleep "and when they were awake they
saw His glory;" Which conveys the irnprea.
sion that they succumbed to their (trowel.
nese, whereas Luke, states preoesely the
contrary, which the revisers have oorreetly
given thus: "Yet having remained awake,
they saw His glory," eto.
In John x. 14-15, the revisers restore the
connection between the verses which the
authorized version 'destroyed by the ran.
tiering, "I ani the good shepherd, and knew'
nay sheep and am known of mine. As the
Father knoweth me, even so know I the
Father : and I ley down my life for the sheep."
Instead of which the revision runs thee, :
"1 am the geed shepherd, and I know mine
, Own, and mine owii know me, even as the
Fatherlinoweth nee and I know the Father ;
'.and. I lay a0WII," 140. Thus the revision
brings out the point of the Sevioor's words,
, viz :" thee the intimacy. between Himself
and His diseiples le like that between Him-
, self and the Pother. He utters the seem
thought in His peayer fot the _disciples in
the 17th of John: "TIM they maybe one
oven naive are
!-The revised translaten of Acts vi. 28,
which the common version tendert), "Al.
most thoupersuctdest me to be a Chriestian,"e
will knoeli away the underpinning of many
eloquent homilies. Agrippa did not mean
that he was so moved by Faure arguments
:that ina was elmoetready to embrace the
•'ehristlear--faitlit • - • Oir-tete...eontearyt
;words are sarcastic; and their general
sense is, as Dean Alford gives it ; '1 am
not so easily to be made a Christian of as
thou. supposest ;" you offer a very scanty.
.ergunaent for sogeat a change as that froma Jew to a Christian. •The ix -Wiser& ren-
d'eripg strikes us ne olumsy, though it is
correct: With triblittle persuasion them
• wouldst fain -make itu'a Christian:"-; •
It seem strange . that the tteneliaters of
the authorized version could have so marred
• the beautiful passage in Hebrews xi. 13, by
thsCenderiug : " These all died in faith,
'not having received the protases, but
having seen them. • afar off, and were
persuaded of them end embraced them and
confessed .,that they., were strangers and
pilgrims on the earth."' In the,first piece,
the statement is partly eontrary to fact.
The Old Testament ' worthies did not
' einbrace the promises;Int only saw them
' from adistanee. • In the second place, the
word rendered " persuaded "'has no place
in the text, While the equally plain medic.
ing of the Greek " aspasemenoi ' is "having
• saluted "or " greetede"; 'The revisere give,
it thus " These till • died' in faith, not:
.having received the. promises, but having'
seen,them and greeted them from afar,and
having oonfees.ed that they_yeere.gstnangera
and pilgrims. on the earth:" The .reeision-
thus returos to the eider • rendering, of
Wyoliffe;' Tyndale and 'Cranmer, and
restores the beautiful image in which the
• writer's thought is totioleediof seamen
recognizing the headlands eta beloved
;country and greeting them from a distance.
• .
. • . • HEROES' IN ORAIIIVAR CORRECTED. ' •,
:WO IIIUSt deal' briefly with the large•lield
,oPened. to • the revieere• by •the• rem:Mt*
grammatical ' errors of the authorized ver-
sion.' , its translatorsvvere :itocustcineed.' to
the Use of: the.Latin language, and 'spoon.
,sciously Iiniited the 'range and capacity of
the , Greek bythe nieecthee Of the Latin;
so. that they began to fail in accuracy it
the point where. the- Latin ceiteed to run
parallel with the Greek. Hence, as the
Latin, language-1ms no definite attiale„they
oveiloaked itsuimPortant function in the
Greekoand inserted or omitted it in their
• translation without regard to either
ortheologicia consequences. • Thus,
for example, they used the word "Christ"
in the four Gospels'. 'without the artiCle,
• although oo instance of. such usage .ocours
in the, narrative proper.; overlooking the
factihat the omiesioe of thearthele would
imply :the recognition of Christ as Messiah.
in' the very times -when such recognition.
was at 'best partial aneOug .111sown ditici-
•ples,:and was refused bythe society of His •
time. 'Consequently, in,the •• Evangelists'
narratives We .al a an(1241to ClogRom,,!
t e hript, who might or might not. be
Jesus.
• '• CHARGES IN Tire creek.= STILE, .
' We must pass ver the changes necessi-
tated • by the lenity translations • of the
Greek prepositions,leet the least difficult
part of the revisers work, and .notice the.
correction of archaisms; ambiguities, and.
the rendering proper amines and techei-
eel expressions).•
•
As has been already intimated, oo attempt
hes .beenmade to modernize the,style of.
the authorized. version. Archbishop Trench'
as juitly observed' that it is good that
the phraseology of Scriptureshould not be
.exactly that of our common' life; •should
be removed from the vulgarities and even
the familiarities .of this, just; as.thete is a
sense- of fitness which•-diotates' that tlie
• architecture of a church should be different
frorathat of a houge." The revisers hate
therefore pro.ceeded on the i'prineipin that
-every archaism which still continues gene.
telly intelligible should be left ontouedled,.
MRCS SU011 forms as "hath," " whiles,"
thiouglily," " holpen," eta., have been
retained, and the relative "which " has
been allowed to stand, , as' in old
English, :When it the • :antecedent.
• person, On• tli0 other hand,' the
revisers' have assumed. that an atelialem
'whipii hes become obsolete, or has wh011y
or mostly changed its meaning, tends. to
•inapaik the sense And should be eefelaced
by a word generally intelligible. '"Let"
now'rneans " to permit "; but in Romans
Thessalonians it. -1, it means
directly the Opposite -to binder."' Room.,"
entailing to Us " apattnient,* , is.,Used
Luke xvi; .10, for a ont, "Prevent,"
Which now moans" to hindee," is used • in
Matthew. xvii.g.5 in themonse of to • antini.
pate. , Similarly the authorized version has
"'quick "• for living "; " conversation"
• for ." citizenship , "-damnation for
judgment-"; " honest for " honorable";
• affect " for " wort "; "allow " for " ap-
pro'Ve devotiens.".for ." objente of wor-
ship." So' of &chat° Phrases. ,1 The
.poyision has "-Be not"-'ittietious for the
morrow,"losteed of84 Take -no thought,"
thus giving the idea, which was represented
by " take thought" at the aate of the
atithotited version, but whieh i hes lost.
The most intelligent reader will Heareely
regret the change of" we took up our earl-
riages and went up to Jerusalem " • (Ads
xxi. 16) to we took up our baggage "; or of
We fetched a compass " -(Aots xxviti.18)
to," We made iticitenit.'''. •
inConsistammil oonesenein.
• The alithetiZed versied presents the
Most extraordinary inconsistency in the
inattet otptoper names, Intend of pre.
serving one ,ftsrm thrtegliotit for the same
. apemen, the fornals Varied even hi the mo
books and chapters: "Mark" in Acta
12, 26 and IL 'Timothy iv. 11, is "Marone"
in Colossians. iv, 10, Philemon 24 and I.
Peter v, 13. 44 elretee" in ,Acts ti. 11, is
" Cretians " in Titus 1.12. " Luke " in
Colossians iv. 14, is " Lucas" in Philemon
24. We have "Jeremy" at Matthew ii.
17, but " jeremiae " at Matthew xvi. 14.
"'Timothy " at 11, Corinthians i, 1, but
" Timotlieus " at verse 10 of the same
chapter. In Acts vii. 45 ancl,Plebrews iv. &
the name Jesus stands in, the authorized
Tension, for Joshua, of which it is the Greek
: form, The substitution of Jeanie, fOr
jesus in both these passages will relieve plain
readers of much genfusion. BO too we find
.40Areopagus " at Acts xvii, 10, in the
authorized version, and only three verses
after the same spot is referred to RS "Mar
Hill" and "Judea" et Matt, 11. 1, appears
as" Jewry" at Luke xxiii. 0 and John vii.
1.. It need hardlybe said that these capri.
oious variation e disappear in the revision.
As regards the naniee of coins, weights
and measures to whiolv our language fur -
n estles no exactly corresponding words, the
revision has, for the most part, left them
unchanged. The term "Hades,". denoting
the invisible world, has been transplanted
from Greek to Englieli in the revised
translation, and eubatitutecl for "hell " in
several pa,ssages, asat Acts ii. 27. The
latter word, BO Olitiii)TY unsuitable in such
passages, has been reserved ter the term
"Gehenna" in, the original.
• The superior • capacity of the Greek
language for the expression of delicate
distinction e renders it impossible to repre-
sent many of these distinction /a in 'English.
'Yet the authorized version sometirnes
obliterates distinotions which might be
made: • In John x, 16, for instance, we
read in the authorized version "Other
sheep 1 have which are not of thie fold;
• . . •There Shall be one: fold; and One
shepherd ;" thus rendering two words,
" aule " and " poiraue," by the same
term "fold." The revision very properly
reads, in the second clause; "one; flock;
-thote"seingingoute Christ's-thong/it, Which
contemplated' the time whim the strietly •
ipolosed fold of the Jewish. Church, (should
give piece to the freedom of a flock
with one shepherd over all. Similarly the
revision' restores- the distinction between
"sanctuary ",and "templeMatthew
25 ; between •"children " and •
'kabs „at ..xvi., 2Q;.
`between bathe " and 4,! vash ". at john
xiii. 10 ; between " will" as the sigu of
the English future and "will".as verb
of•volition ; as in I. Timothy vi. 9, where
-the revision reads, " they that desire to be::
nab also between • "suiraeles," "signs"
and " powers." . • • -
Equally 'the authorized version runs into
the oppotete error, by needless differences
in the rendering of the same words: . In
Itopeens iv. it translates logizoraai " by
" counted " in v. 8, 5 • "reckon," v. 4, 9.
10 ; " impute," v. 6; 8, 11; 20,, 23; 24. In
the, same epistle; chap., vii., the word
epithomia audits kindred • verb is
translated by three different teems -lust,
covet, concimisociece-whild the revision
renders all by 4' envet" :The advantage Of
uniforniity in such cases is obvious,
GENERAL =STMTS. OF TFIE
• ,Full judgment Cannqphcmassed nntil.
VW Welk shell luiTy'el-rheen "Carefully gene
through as' a wbole ; but enough appears to
tshow that, apattikom all objections which
• maybe raised, and, they wili doubtlesabe
many, thanew revision -is agreat hobo to
English readers in ,the correction of so,
Many palpable errors, the..developcnent Pf-
so many shades. of mertpieg,- 'and the
• renieval of so Zany stufebting blocks.
This is, tiering 'ell others; a nape where
eentiment encl.peejudiceneuet net be suffered
to stand in the way of truth. The ooe point
in the eye of', every-licit:test Bible reader
meet he, "Whatdoes the 'original Word of
• 'God actually g-a-jr?', and to have that as
clearly stated as his Own langeagecairstate
it: Alter' a14 the WOncler is that the
• changes are so few. • "When" -rays pr,
Roberts, "we trace the parentage of: our
English Bible, and when we .see onwhat a
slender basis Of authority it rests, when
'we confront with this the enormousweelth•
of material for settling the true tareek
text which WO ; possess at the present day,
and the amount of hilior *bleb 'bat; been
expended in applying them, We might well
fear that the 'alterations requiring to, -be
getde in the pplo with which we have all
our • clays .been • familiar should .bp of the
;meet revolutionary charaeter.• Bet such
not the • case, • : Ne • dooteine : of the
faith ' ',the plightest degree
affected.... Fah° supports of import-
ant . doctrines . may be removed; and
that is is ,all: The Bible remains, for all
practical ' purposes, totally • unaffected.,
• Engiish.Christians how know the utmost
• that Biblical science demands. No seal*
cion heed in future haunt them that the
scriptural truths Whith they love'ere inse-
cure. More than this, every loyal Christian
heart 'should surely rejoice to: have aceess
.in as pure a; form as Possible to the mes-
sage sent us by our Father in heaven. That
is the great' positive work which has been
aimed at by the New Testament Company,
and the' fulfilinent of Which is presente a in
th,e revised version. English readers of the
$ctiptares have now the opportunity of
making thamielves - acquainted with • the
New Testament in a form more -nearly:
representing the primitive text than. they
ever had before." .
•
Niogara FnIIs, .
•• The Buffalo Courier's London cerrespon.
• dent says "Three years ego, when I was
▪ resident in Buffalo, there watemoch talk,
generally of the unbelieving sort, about the
piens of a ;celebrated Frenchman who pr-'
posed to utilize the force- of the Palls of
Niagara either for lighting_ or mechanical
purposes through the einployment of
electro -dynamic machinery. That theplai2
was not beyond the possible . has been de-
, monstrated by the success attending the
opening of .the now elebtrical. railway in
Berlin. Until now weave ,pokver. could
only he tranisinitted it short distance. Steara/.
may be 'taken as an •example, with electri-
city employed as the transmitting medinni.
Distance is pomparatively of little impor-
tance: One hundrea miles is practically
the same as one hundred yards. -; Once
establish the prineiple, which has admit.
tedly.been done, and there is no reason, as
ono of out scientific papers here suggests,
why sufficient motive force odd not be
generated, say at Niagara Falls, by the
inexpensive meant( Of water power, and
convoyed by electricity all over New York
Btate and the Province of Ontario."
,
The place of honor in this year's Paris
Salon has been given to Lord, Konald
Gower's absent Monument to Shakes-
peare, The bust of the poet appears being
crowned by the Ague of Tragedy,„ While
• that of Comedy kneels in an attitude of
• adoration offering Sowers. On the lower
'tiers aro four life•sise figures -Hamlet, re.
presenting _philesophy; Lady Mac:both,
tragedy; Henry Ve history, and Falstaff;
comedy. 'Separating each are boldly con-
ceived scrolls, with emblemetical flovvers
and garlands., •
It is reportsa that the Right Hon.
Hugh a Childers, Britoil Secretary of War,
will shortly become ,Chancellor Of the
Exelheiner. '
ellier111114.0431,
Not to be Put Down -Altar Purniture and
Arms Again Dileu"vd•
A London correspondent cables The
question of altar furniture and dress has
agate come to the eurface. The Ritualist)
are not to be put down as easily as one
would think. Notwithstanding the exam.
pies that were recently made of several of
their number who attempted to (let, the
lawithey return to the charge_ as full of
fight as ever. Their position has been
pointedly and, unitedly etatecl by John
Bright when appealed to to raise his voice
in favor of toleration. He shortly told
them that if they did not like the rules
imposed upon the Established Church by
law they should get -out .of it -an advice'
they took unkindly. The simple truth hi
that these Ritualists want to eat their cake
and have it too, They prize the loaves
• and fishes of a State Church, but emu to
repudiate the conditions under which they
are given. They are willing to pray for
the Queen and the aristoorecy, and to do
their best to convince the multitude that
both are divine appointments, and that it
will not be well for him hereafter who
upon earth challenges the prerogatives of
the one or encroaches upon the privileges
• ef the other, and all they ask in return is
that they be allowed to do this in the why
they think best, and not in the manner
.prescribed by those who pay them for doing
it, and who expect to receive the benefit of
their SUpplieatione: The latest contribution
to the discussion is the motion of the
Bishop of Manchester before the
Northern Convocation ,at 'York the
ether day. Bishop Fraper proposes to
'form a new rubric because the present
is ambighous. This is opposed by the
Ritualists, on the ground that the present
one is not ambiguous, though it will bear
any interpretation, that it is so worded
that it allows any priest to do as he pleases
• in the..matter of altar ornaments, vest-
roents, incense, candles, ;Este. This is the
-point-over Which the Ritualteta--ancl.auti-
Ritualists are now contending. In this
• connection it may be interesting to remark
that out of 877 churches in the metropolis
there are 11 in whieh• incense is used; 53
in which the seats are separated, 54 in
which there are altar lights, 234 in which
the eastward position is adopted, 53 in
• which candles are used on the altar., 35 iri
which eucheristio vestments are in vogue,
• 219 inlvhich there are floral decorations,
and 317 with free seats, as against 17, 40,
56,189, 87, 37, 218, and 240 respectively
five years ago. •
TERRIBLE EXPERIENCES.
An African Expedition Fainished .vrith
Iftinger-Dend oodles Eaten to Save
ite-Dcgola ting Pestilence. .
• • A German correspondent writes Gessi
Paelear the late Governor of the Bahr el
Ghazal, recently returned to Khartoura
after a journey of the most terrible horrors
and suffering, and has since died:. 'Having
effectually broken up the numerooe slave
trading statiOns in his province,, he left
Port Bek, on the Gazelle River; on Sep-
tember 25th, With • a sidewheel eteamer,
haVing four large barges in . tow,filled with
Over five hundred:!soldiers, •tlieir-
liberated 'slaves and others. . They tookbut
one month's. provisions along, as the trip
to Khartoum, even for sailing teseele,
Usually lasts only twenty days. This
flotilla, howe*ser, was soon stopped from,
advancing by the vegetable dams of thiekly-
matted grass, -:-papyrusand analketch,
reedie WiiiC11,' RASO often before, completely
obstructed the river, and will, therefore
always preventthe 'Bane el Ghazal from
becoming_a_, pernianent waterway. For over
•three and e half•monthe the expedition was
kept prisoner In thig terrible position, all
efforts to free it were ineffectual, and, the
far distant 'sheres could not be reached on
• &countof impassable' swamps and bogs.
The provisions were Room exhausted,' and
femme and poisonous fevers began to deci-
mate the people: -.Te dead bodies would
neither sink nor float away'', but remained
near the boats, filling the air with pesti-
lential .stench. In • this dire extremity
many of the bodies were used as food by
the famished survivors, besides such
grasses" as could be gathered. •One
of • the '• •bargee had to be: beateu.
up'for, .firewood. At last • succor,
arrived On Jeteuttry '4th in the shape
of • A powerful steamship commanded by
Marna, who • had been despatched from
Khartourn to their delivery. • He suceeeded
in breaking three& the thick felt of"'vege.
tattoo and :rescued Gessi and -.about 250
• men, all Who had survived, froth a certain
itepetts sa,y that the Italian Paella,.
formerly one of the strongeit men living,
•'looked like a 'skeleton when he returned.
He brought withhim a nephew of King
Munza, of Monbuttn; as well , is three
• eunuchs, who wete to serve as witnesses:
against Yussuff Paths, the Governor of
Senaar, who in 1876 had the King and his
brothers killed, theirions emasculated end
their daughters sold is harem slaves., •
•
• SUN. SPOTS. •
- .
Remarkable Exhibition On the Sitn'a Sur-
. face at the Present Time. •
A remarkable sun spot, which with
slight telescopic aid is resolved into a con-
geries of spots of all shapes and sizes, 18
now visible not far frem the sun's equator.
The easieit sa, safest way to view it,
where exact definition of details is not
reqnired, is to thiow the image of the pun
• from the eyepiece of the telescope upon
the ceiling of a darkened room by means of
a prism, or upon a white screen placed
baok of the eyepiece.' In the latter ease
no prisni is needed, and a good spyglass
Will suffice to show the spot if
well steadied. When the great spot
is throw* upon the ceiling, its slow for-
ward movement and the trailing strings of
small spots and faculee surrounding it
realm it respteble a gigantic insect, with
• legs and antennth of outlandish proportions.
Under close telescopic scrutiny with high
powers, its.structure is so complex as almost
to defy sketching. The tremendous energy
of the fotees atTwYtele may be appreciated
when it is stated that the area of disturb -
SUM exhibited is same 80,000 miles long
by 20,000 broad, Besides, what is seen by.
•direct view is only' a portion of the phe-
nomenon. The great chstenis that look like
dark spots are nobody knows how many
thousand miles deep, and above the 'sun's
afTaretit surfabe the disturbance extends
though gaseous matter to equally °nor.
mous distances.
•
•
Wife -beaters command a kind of respect
in Chime°, judging•by the ease of Edward
Bourase; who was fined only $2 by the
juetioe, on his- explanation that she de.
served the chastisement; and she paid the
fine, remarking Mud her husband know
what was best for her.
Mr. Spurgeon recently rernarked with
grina humor that although ho bad received
many invitations to einnet at the Mansion
House he had never gone hilt once, and
three days after he was seized with small.
pox,
' giiew set of Adventists have sprung .up
in Indiana. They are called Soul Sleepers,
and believe that the body aleopi till the
reeetreetion, the soul being in a state of
Tliescenee till that thile.•
PRINCE 1•13opoiteer.
The (pimento 311itribow Blade Duke or'
AllbanY-IlleLtle and VlatraCterlittled, •
It is announced by. cable that Mr. Glad• -
stone has created Prince Leopold, the last
of the Queen's sons, Duke ot Albany,
reviving a titje sadly associated with the
Lulletiotgrisrba4yealol foatdhse th8etutnarot amiable
and reputable of the rgal family, He
has been a delicate boy since his babyhood.
Notwithstanding this he has been all his
life -he was born in 1853-a diligent,
unromittent student. He pasesd through
all the terms at Oxford with more than'
the average credit, and Proved himself an
original thinker in some of the profounder
branches of the collegiate ourrioulotn.
The new peer takes his title from Scot-
land, like his brother, the. Duke of Edin,
burgh. Albany is associated with the
earliest Scottish kings, but is more dia.
tinctly a survival of the Stuarts, anoffspriog
of which died only the other day, known
all over Europe ae the Count of Albany,
who is conceded to have deecended from
the pretender Charlee James.
Re is in many ref3peots as olever a man
as his father. He has avoided a fermal
marriage because of his ,unhappy health,
and it is doubtful if in his etesent condition
he is everpermitted to make 'a legal
marriage. The Prince long ago desired
passionately to enter the Church, butithe
(4ueenwouldn't hear of such a life for her
yonngest and beat, beloved. He has been
-her almost inseparable companion since his
childhood,".anclit isfrequently asserted that
this motherly tenderness, as much asany-
thing else, ha e kepi the lad from marriage.
' Unlike the Queen'is other sons, Prince
Leopold has no separate establishment, but
generally lives with the Queen: Many
romances have been associated with the
young Prince, one particularly involving an
amusing reneontre of the Prince, a charm-
ing American girl and the Queen in' the
Hall of Portraits of Windsor, is, perhaps, ••
-the most piquant- Wheit•Leopold-was-atr-
school near Windsor he met the young girl
incidentally: He was very much delighted
with her, and toohno pains t� conceal, his
admiration. Finding enedity that the lady •
and her family were going to Windsor to
see the oastle, he eluded his tater'and as
the family , Were passing, „Illeougl:.e.
show" rooins, he appeared and took
charge of his • charmer, acting aft
et guide • in the intricaziee ef the
royal apartroenta. • Having the advan-
tage of the rest of the party the Prince
gradually led his oompanicin into one Set
the rooms not generally open to visitors,
.wliere habegan gravely to point out the,
pictures of his anceetors, As he was talk-
ing the curtains were • drawn aside and his
mother, the ' Queen, entered, naturally.
enough very much surprised. The Prince,
nothing dannted,- presented the young girl,
evidentlyexpecting the Queen to take as
i .
lively an nterest in her as himself: She
• didn't, however, anddisraissecl the intruder
with -some asperity, sending her off, with a
lackey, and nutrohing Master Lecipold -to
hie own apartments. The Prinoe is fond
of joking his brethren by the assertion -
that if England should become a republic
lie could. support the familrby tie wits as
a music and language teacher., . •
• ' • _
• The Temperance Movement..
In the celumns of the Boston -Advertiler.
we find the details of a: plan, Undiar the
direction of leading men in the Protestant
,Episcopal Church, -fee the 'promotien Of
temperance reform. The :general features '
of the movement are similar tb 'their) of •
an organization that 'has existed in the
Church of England fot a number of years..:
At the head --ittthe senior bishop; upon
the list Of Vice -Presidents are the. names
of fourteen of the leading -bishops, and most
• eminent men among the P. E. clergy '
laityboMprise the Executive Committee.
The organization " is to be called the
"Church ' Temperance Society," BoX
what are called i‘ eecondarY, means " the, • •
society, will adopt eystematio teaching . on ,
the physioal, • soeial and moral evils of '-
Intemperance, ley •means of sermons, lec-
tures and: the press; the formation of
• dicceSan and parodhial societies on the.
general . plan of this society aid in Willa-.
• tion with it; counter .attractions;' the
promotion of coffee-houses, workingmenN •
• benefit- societies and associatiens and, read-
itig-roome; with social gatherings for iiiiinse7
mettt as well as instruction. - •
In furtherance of' the speiety'S week it
• will ask of its inembere to subscribe to one
of six Pledges, which are believed to'bit
almoet 'everybody's case. The first pledge
•
•
•
I wi117b7tlie help oi Lod, winch
I will seek by prayer, abstain from all
intoxicating drinks, except under medical
order, or for religious purposes." The
second is • " to abstain from all ihtoxi-,
• eating drinks in public houses or bar-
rooms." The third says nothing about
drinking, but is to "do my utmost both
by example and precept, to promote the .
'objects of the society." The fourth is "to
abstain wholly from the use of intoxir
eating liquors, except -under a physician'
order, or for a sacramental purpese.". The
fifth is to " abstain wholly frorn the prao-
tice of drinking intoxicating liquors at
publicbars, or anywhere when lam alone."
The last, "neither to treat nor be treated,
• whether in public or in private, and never
to indulge in, solitary drinking." Each
pledge concludes v)ith the sentenCe ".This
promise is to bind only so long as E retain
my Card bf membership in this society."
The movement is in good hands, and'.
doubtless will report ,better results than
ca,n be secured by political temperance
fanatics br through the agency of prohibi-
tory legislation. .
Nearly ell of the religions periodicals in
the United States have lately published a'
long article headed "Ole True Test -The
Merit of Religion Goverrinaent, Persons
and Things Must' Rest upon. a Basis of -
Worth," The first peraere,ph is as follow
" Tlie true test" Of any religion is the effeet
it produces upon the lives of those who
profess it. 111 this ago of the world mon •
ate" net judged by what they olaira to be
able to do, but by what theycan do ; not by
what they are reputed to be, • but by What
they are. _Here is where the religion of
our own•countiVrises superior to the faith
of Mohammedan or HindOo lands." A.
column. ifihledwitb that kind . of Matter,
and then the article' pr000ed o apply: its
arguments to a certain 'patent medicine;
but with„no park to indicate' that it is
paid advertisement. .
A London paper tells us that tha Ser.
Iteantett-Armetand his assistants had some
misgivings in tackling Mr. Bia,diaugh on
the floor of the Howie. The honorablo.
member is one "of the most'stalwart and
muscular motion tither the Liberal or 'the- '
COneervittive benches,' and in a phyeical
struggle in which he ribose to put forth his
• strength would be a match for any half
dozen of the "waiters" whom the Ser-
geant . can tail to his aid. •Mr. Bradlaegh
dragged a couple of these waiters along the,
floor of the House the Other night with
the ease with which a trantatlantio liner
• under way may oteeteiorially be seen drag-
ging a couple of diminutive steam tugs.
Bev. Ronald McDonald, of Platen, has
been appointed Roman Catholic VishOn of
liarbor Grace, Newfoundland,
•