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and finally the Epistle of Barnabas with fragments of the Shepherd.

The arguments for the antiquity of the manuscript are presented briefly, and the conclusion derived from them is, that, beyond all reasonable doubt, it was written as early as the fourth century. Thereupon follows a list of the readings of this codex in a large number of passages, in the different books of the New Testament. The author promises to have the complete work published about the middle of the year 1862-that being the thousandth anniversary of the foundation of the Russian Empire-and we are sure that it will everywhere be received with a grateful appreciation of the generous favor of the Emperor, without which the discovery would never have been made, and of that liberality through which he now offers it freely to the univer sities of every land.

The remaining portions of the pamphlet, which are mentioned in the title, we pass over without especial notice. The great interest and value which the work has, is, of course, its promise of the future, and we wait as patiently as we can, till that promise is fulfilled. Meanwhile we would urge all, who may find the opportunity, to examine what Tischendorf has here given us. That opportunity will of course be found rather in our public libraries, than through a purchase of the pamphlet by individual scholars.

CODEX ALEXANDRINUS.*-To the Biblical student there is no work in the British Museum of greater interest, than the four ancient manuscript volumes of the larger part of the Old and New Testaments, known as the Codex Alexandrinus. It was presented to Charles the First by Cyrillus Lucaris, the patriarch of Constantinople, but previously of Alexandria, and is generally supposed to have been written in Egypt, in the latter part of the fifth century. Of the last of the four volumes, which contains the New Testament, the editor of this work. professes to give a faithful transcript. Heretofore we have been obliged to depend mainly upon Woide's excellent, though

* Codex Alexandrinus. Novum Testamentum Graece ex antiquissimo Codice Alexandrino a C. G. WOIDE olim descriptum: ad fidem ipsius Codicis denuo accuratius edidit B. H. COWPER. Londini: Williams & Norgate. New York:

B. Westermann & Soc. 1860. 8vo. pp. xxxviii, 503. Price $3.

rare and costly fac-simile. This has long enjoyed the reputation of being very accurate. Mr. Linnell was able to find but two letters in the whole of the Epistle to the Ephesians, in which Woide's copy varied from the original. Mr. Cowper, however, professes to have discovered what he rather indefinitely calls a "good many" errors. These are all properly indicated in the foot notes. A further service has been rendered by the editor, in the verification of doubtful passages. Instead of reproducing the capital letters in which the original is written, with the division of words, and no signs except rarely of interpunctuation, as Woide has done, the editor has given the text in modern characters, with the words properly separated. This, although in some respects rendering the work inferior to an accurate fac-simile, may be justified on the ground of more general legibility. The same reason, however, hardly applies to the addition which the editor has made of accents, aspirates, and iota subscripts, which we could wish had not been made. On the other hand, the editor deserves all praise for adhering faithfully to the spelling of the original, whatever anomalies it may present, the neglect of which principle on the part of Cardinal Mai has, among other things, occasioned such general dissatisfaction with his translation of the Codex Vaticanus. We cannot see what important end is secured in reprinting from Kuster's edition of Mill the missing parts of the original manuscript, viz, Matt. i, 1 to xxv, 6, and John vi, 50, to viii, 52, and 2 Cor. iv, 13, to xii, 6. If the room occupied by these portions had been given to notes in which the variations of the manuscript from the Textus Receptus, and from the text of the latest critical editions of the New Testament were indicated, the work would have been more valuable to the mass of those for whom it is designed.

With these slight abatements, the transcript is deserving of high commendation. In comparing it with Woide, in several places, we have not fallen upon a single inaccuracy, and presume that it will be found to be a reliable copy of the most complete of the ancient manuscripts of the New Testament. The critical collections of variations in Tischendorf's large edition of the New Testament, and in Alford's Commentary, fail to point out, except here and there, the peculiar orthography of the Codex Alexandrinus, which probably represents provincial and archaic forms,

and with which the student soon becomes acquainted in reading the transcript of Mr. Cowper.

In the revived attention, within the last few years, to the textual criticism of the New Testament, there is some danger that an exaggerated impression of the degree to which the Textus Receptus is to be regarded as erroneous, may be made. The reading of a dozen chapters of this work will effectually remove any such impression, and agreeably surprise the student with the conviction of the almost uniform agreement of the ancient text, with the one with which he is familiar.

In conclusion, we have to thank the American publishers for their share in the publication of this important work, and for making it accessible, at so low a price, to American scholars, and trust that their enterprise will be rewarded with a remunerative sale.

THOLUCK'S COMMENTARY ON THE SERMON ON THE MOUNT.*It is a thing much to be desired, and yet one which is probably to be realized only in the distant future, that all our educated young men should be so thoroughly acquainted with the German language, as to avail themselves readily of the works of German scholarship. No fact is better known or more generally admitted by literary men than this, that he who reads only the translation of the writings of a foreign author, has but a very inadequate idea of the fullness and beauty of the original. And though this statement may not hold with regard to commentaries and similar works, which have reference to some ancient text, with the same force as to many other classes of books, yet we believe, that, even here, the student, who will take the pains to examine the author's own words, will find a satisfaction, which cannot be obtained through any working over of those words by another mind and hand. But as the good time has not yet arrived, we must be content to take such things as we can, and be thankful whenever the unknown language is put into our possession by means of a good translation. The admirable commentary of Tholuck on the Sermon on the Mount, in its last edition, is now offered to us in an English form, and so much more is thus added to the resources of

* Commentary on the Sermon on the Mount. By Dr. A. THOLUCK, Translated from the Fourth Revised and Enlarged Edition, by the Rev. R. LUNDIN BROWN, M. A. Philadelphia: Smith, English & Co. 1860. 8vo. pp. 443.

all among us. This commentary is similar in its general features to others by the same author, but, in some respects, it is, perhaps, the most successful of his works. On the whole, we value the notes and criticisms of Meyer and DeWette more highly than those of Tholuck, if indeed a comparison can be made between them, entering, as they do, upon their labors, with a somewhat different method, and all accomplishing their purpose so perfectly. But it is not too much to say, whatever may be the merits of others, that this present exposition of the three chapters of Matthew's Gospel is the best one which has ever been published. It gives us the most careful examination of every verse and phrase, and, at the same time, presents very distinctly before the mind the progress and connection of the thought. Mingled with the notes upon individual passages, we find also discussions of the various subjects of which the Saviour spoke, which discussions will be emiently suggestive of thought to the reader. Indeed, what the author has thus said has added to the good effects of the book, and has aided in the way of fulfilling its design, as much if not more than anything else in it. The most wide-extended and varied learning is displayed on every page, and may almost discourage an ordinary scholar, who is beginning to hope that he has already made some progress in the study of the Bible, by showing how much knowledge may be gathered about every point. The encouragement, however, to be derived from such a work as this is far greater than the discouragement, and we gladly seize upon it as a help on our way forward. And surely it will be a shame to the coming generation of American students, if, with the best results of modern scholarship thus put into their hands in their own language, they do not rise to a higher position than the great majority of those who have preceded them have been able to attain.

ELLICOTT'S COMMENTARY ON THE EPISTLE TO THE GALATIANS.* -The character of this volume is well set forth in its title. It is properly called a critical commentary; for, though there is

* A Commentary, Critical and Grammatical, on St. Paul's Epistle to the Galatians, with a Revised Translation. By CHARLES J. ELLICOTT, B. D., Professor of Divinity, King's College, London, and late Fellow of St. John's College, Cambridge. With an introductory notice; by CALVIN E. STOWE, D. D., Professor in Andover Theological Seminary. Andover: Warren F. Draper. 1860. 8vo. Pp. 183.

no list of various readings in every verse, and no balancing of evidence in all cases of doubt, we yet find the more important points of criticism so carefully considered, that the student will be materially assisted in his determination of the text. It is also, in the strictest sense, grammatical. The author has not only avoided the general reflections, which fill up so large a part of the commentaries in our language, but he has confined himself, in the main, to the investigation of those questions which are connected with words and sentences, and with the demands of Greek usage. The work being thus grammatical, as distinguished both from the hortatory and the exegetical, is limited to that particular field in which the teachers of our theological institutions and their pupils are especially engaged, and for their use, it will prove itself to be one of the most valuable among recent publications. As an aid in preparation for recitations in a Seminary, or as a volume to be used in connection with lectures on the New Testament, as exhibiting a true and thorough scholarship, and the way in which such scholarship is brought to bear upon the sacred writings, or as inciting the student to imitate the example set before him by the author, and thus to labor diligently in this department of his education, this commentary cannot be too highly recommended. It has been known to the public in England for some five or six years past, and has been received with much favor there, as may be seen by a reference to the remarks of Alford, in the introduction to the third volume of his Greek Testament. We hope that it will find the same favor in this country, now that it can be easily obtained by any who desire it here. We do not doubt that such will be the fact, and that many, especially among young students, will, by its use, get a better and clearer idea of the true method of studying the Bible critically, than they have ever had before. The Revised Translation of the Epistle, at the end of the volume, with its accompanying notes, will be examined with much interest, while it will be regarded as giving a completeness to the work. With these few words respecting the one before us, we can only ask for more of the author's commentaries, and express our gratitude at the intimation, which the American editor gives, that our desire will be satisfied at an early day.

JONES'S NOTES ON SCRIPTURE.*-We think most persons who

*Notes on Scripture. By JOEL JONES, LL. D. Philadelphia: William S. and Alfred Martien. 1860. 8vo. pp. 584.

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