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the Alexandrian manuscript, not quite so old as .the Vatican or Sinaitic, but dating back certainly to the beginning of the fifth century. I have seen it and was quite surprised by the freshness of its appearance and the clearness of its letters. There are other manuscripts in the British Museum not five hundred years old that look much older than this manuscript, which has been in existence for at least fifteen hundred years. When the King James’ version was translated in 1611, the Vatican manuscript was in accessible, the Sinaitic manuscript had not been discovered, and the Alexan drian manuscript, which was presented by Cyril Lucar of Constantinople to Charles I, did not reach London until 1628, seventeen years after the appear ance of the King James version; and yet, the King James translation is so perfect that the light thrown upon it by these ancient manuscripts does not change a single doctrine or materially affect a single important fact. This at least in dicates that the manuscripts of the Bible have been preserved in a »most re markable manner. (2) In Quotations. We find much of the Old and New Testament Scrip tures in the writings of the fathers which date from the first to the fifth and sixth centuries. There is an epistle of Barnabas which may have been written by the companion of Paul. There is also an epistle of Clement, which may have been written by the Clement mentioned in Philippians 4:3. And it is not improb-, able that the epistle known as the “ Shepherd of Hermas” was written by the Hermas of Romans 16:14. About seventy-five years after the birth of Jesus, St. Ignatius, whose writings we possess, became Bishop of Antioch. Polycarp, who was a disciple of. the Apostle John and pastor of the church in Smyrna, has also left us an epistle. Irenaeus, the historian, informs us that he heard Polycarp relate the conversa tions which he had with the Apostle
chapter 9:14. It has been jealously guarded. Until the time of Pope Pius IX, who was broad enough to have copies of it made, Protestant scholars were not allowed -to examine it. Next in age to this is the Sinaitic manuscript discovered by Dr. Tischen- dorf in the year 1859. Dr. Tischendorf, who had determined to give his life to the study of ancient manuscripts, went to the convent of St. Catherine on the side of Mount Sinai in search of such documents. He noticed in one of the rooms a basketful of old manu scripts which had been condemned to the fire. Already two or three such basketfuls had been burned. Picking up one of the vellum leaves, he recog-, nized it as a very ancient manuscript of the New Testament and succeeded in rescuing from the flames forty pages. His publication of them made a sen sation in the literary world, and fif teen years afterward he went back to the St. Catherine Convent hoping that he might find the rest of the manuscript, He stayed there and searched in vain for many days. The evening before he was to leave he was walking with the porter through the garden, and as the conversation turned to ancient manu scripts the porter assured him .that he too had been reading the Greek Septuagint. Dr. Tischendorf expressed a desire to see it, and when they re turned to the cell the porter took down from the shelf a pile of manuscript wrapped in a red cloth. On opening it the doctor recognized the object of his search. He asked the privilege of taking it to his room, and when he had shut the door he gave himself up to ecstasies of delight. It is cer tainly one of the most valuable manu scripts, of the Bible in existence. Through the influence of the Czar of Russia, he secured it from the convent, and it is now in the National Library at St. Petersburg. In the British Museum is a copy of
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