"I had told my Bedouins, on the 4th of February, to be ready for departure on the 7th, when an entirely fortuitous circumstance carried me at once to the goal of my desires. I was taking a walk with the steward, and on our return he begged me to take some refreshment with him in his cell. Scarcely had we entered the room, when he said, 'And I, too, have read a Septuagint' (the Old Testament, in Greek, made by the Seventy); and, so saying, he took down from the corner of the cell a bulky kind of vol ume, wrapped up in a red cloth, and laid it before me. I unrolled the cover, and, to my great surprise, found not only those very fragments, which, fifteen years before, I had taken out of the basket, but also other parts of the Old Testament, the New Testament complete, the epistle of Barnabas, and a part of the Shepherd of Hermas. "Restraining my joy, I asked, in a careless way, for permission to take the manuscript into my sleeping chamber, to look over it more at leisure. There, by myself, I could give way to the transport of joy which I felt. I knew that I held in my hand the most precious Biblical treasure in existence-a document whose age and importance exceeded that of all the manuscripts which I had ever examined through twenty years of study." After many hindrances and delays, he succeeded in getting possession of these treasures, and, with several years of painful labor, he accomplished his life-wish-the publication of the oldest inanuscript extant. In October, 1862, he had the honor of presenting to the Emperor of Russia a printed fac-simile of this manuscript, called the Codex Sinaiticus, in four folio volumes. So important was this discovery of a lost ancient manuscript, in enabling learned men to preserve the very words of inspiration, that an aged scholar of the highest distinction exclaimed, "I would rather have been the discoverer of that manuscript than to have found the Koh-i-noor!"-the principal gem of the English crown. ΚΑΤΑΛΥΚΑΝ ΕΥΑΓΓΕΛΙΟΝ ΙΟΥΝΤΕ ΣΤΟΝ ΘΝ ΕΝΤωίερω ευλο ΗΣΑΝ ΔΙΑΠΑΝΤΟ PACΜΕΓΑΛΗ ΚΑΙ ΣΑΛΗΜ ΜΕΤΑΧΑ ΤΡΕΨΑΝΕΙciepor TECAYTON ΥΠΕΡ το προσκYNHCR ΑΠΑΥΤΩΝ ΚΑΙ ΑΥ ΑΥΤΟΥ ΔΙΕCTH τω ελογιΝΑΥΤ ΚΑΙ ΕΓΕΝΕΤΟ ΕΝ ΫΛΟΓΗ ΣΕ ΑΥΤΟΥ TACXIPACAΥΤΟ Η ΝΙΑ ΚΑΙ ΕΠΑΡΑ ЕФСПРОСВНОЙ ΞΣΗΓΑΓΕΝ ΔΕΥΤ ΔΥΝΑΜΙΝ NYCH ΘΕΕΣ ΤΟΥ πολειεωςOYEN ΔΕΚΑΘΙΣΑΤΕΕΝΤΑ ΛΩΤΗΝ ΕΠΑΓΓΕΛΙ KANG BERE TOEIC TONOYNON Fac-Simile from the Codex Sinaiticus, Showing Luke xxiv; 49-53. The title of the book is in the two lines at the bottom, that being the ancient usage. The line at the top is a correction by a later hand, and a mark between the lines a little more than half way down shows the place to add the words, “and was carried up into heaven.” ΤΟ ΔΑΙΜΟΝΟΝ ΜΑΡΤΥΡΟΥΝ ΟΤΙΤ HCENCHMEION Fac-Simile showing Corrections or Alterations by Subsequent Hands. Expert scholars have become so familiar with the character of hand-writings of different centuries and ages, that they are able to estimate quite closely the date and value of corrections. The hand-writing of barbarous ages is always inferior in beauty to that of the early and purer time. Fac-Simile of the Codex Laudiamus, now in the Bodleian Library at Oxford. The right-hand column shows the Greek, and the left the same in Latin. The two exhibit the shortness of the lines of ancient manuscripts, and the resemblance in the sixth century of the Greek and Latin alphabets. CHAPTER VII. MODERN VERSIONS. As in Germany the art of printing was first discovered, so it was the first in which the Holy Scriptures were issued from the press in the vernacular language of the people. As early as the year 1466, a translation from the Vulgate was printed whose author is unknown. Soon after Luther broke with Rome, he undertook a new version of the Scriptures for the use of his countrymen. In 1522 he published his translation of the New Testament in German. This was afterwards revised with the assistance of Melancthon and other learned men. The whole Bible, thus revised, was published in 1530. Luther's version of the New Testament is directly from the original Greek. It is clear and accurate, and in a pure and elegant style. It served as the basis of the Saxon, Pomeranian, Danish, Swedish and Dutch translations. As a review of all modern versions of the New Testament would occupy much space, the classified list of modern versions of the New Testament is here given, with the date of publication, name of translator (when known), and place where first printed. As a complete history of the labors involved in such world-wide translations would fill a very large volume, it is hoped the carefully arranged table will give a birds' eye view of the whole work done by eminent linguists that will be, in many respects, even more valuable to the reader for quick reference than any voluminous work that might be compiled. |