494 
to any particular proyince of learning 
would. rather |throw upon it.a degree of 
discredit; and, render: it obnoxious to 
the | prejudices ‘and: the: raillery of men 
ofssounder and ‘purer principles. | Since 
that ‘time, however, no church has pro- 
duced more'annotators and illustrators 
of sacred literature, than those of whom 
our own communion can boast. What 
their enlightened labours have achieved 
in the way of scriptural elucidation, has 
been, of an importance, to impose an 
obligation upon the divines of the pre- 
sent age, to perform something more. 
Such»a task is necessary, if not indis- 
pensable. When the existing version 
was produced, the manuscript copies of 
the Old Testament had not been ex- 
amined; neither had the collateral dia- 
lects of the Oriental tongues been much 
studied, The Arabic was introduced 
into. Europe, by. Erpenius of Leyden, 
and into England by Pocecke, who was 
a fellow-traveller with the former, and 
brought back, with him a knowledge of 
the Hastern tongues, that has never been 
surpassed. “This circumstance, alone, 
afforded a great advantage, since the 
traits! observable in the* Arabic and 
Persian poetry exist also in the He- 
bréw. 
‘Another advantage enjoyed. by the 
present times is, that ancient versions 
of the Bible, and parts of the Bible, have 
since. appeared ;. such as the Samaritan 
and Persian versions of the Pentateuch, 
and the Arabic and Syrian versions of 
the Old Testament. Moreover, the 
knowledge of Eastern customs has been 
- familiarized, by which many passages in 
the Scriptures have, frem time to time, 
received the most satisfactory explana- 
tions. To this favourable circumstance 
is to be added the fact, that much Ori- 
ental criticism has been frequently and 
judiciously applied to.the elucidation of 
the sacred text; that scarcely any part 
of Scripture has been without its critic, 
commentator, and paraphrast. These 
are new adyantages; but new advantages 
bring along with them new demands— 
new duties. The benefits already pro- 
duced, are benefits only as they may be 
made preparatory to the final correction 
of existing impurities, and to the pro- 
duction of a translation of Holy Writ, 
more perfect than that which we now 
POSSESS. ee Ly 
With all the respect due to our, an- 
cient translation, I cannot,.Sir, but press 
the necessity of a new version; not a ver- 
sion. ‘hak anid apjovate,.in any point, 
the general opinion and (practice of. the 
New T; vanslation of the Scriptures. 
rJan. 1, 
members. of the: Church. of agian 
but a version, that all, men, especially 
scholars, will rejoice to see; a version 
with emendations and illustrations, that 
will cast their informing rays on many 
doubtful passages, restore to; others 
their original dignity, and impart, to the 
general mind, a light adequate to the 
dissipation of every obscurity.. A work 
of such importance would be. under- 
taken with the greatest propriety, where 
it would be undertaken with the greatest 
safety,—I mean, in one of our universi- 
ties; seminaries always steady in their 
attachment to primitive truth, and the 
real 
* With all submission to our learned ¢or- 
respondent, we do not see what, “ innovation, 
(or non-innovation) .on the opinions ;and 
- practice of the church of England,” has to 
do with the subject. His object, we pre- 
sume, is a faithful translation of the Serip- 
tures ; not the bolstering up of any parti~ 
cular creed. If any part of the popular (or, 
as it may he called, orthodox) translation'is 
unfaithful to the sense of the original, let it; 
for truth’s sake, and truth’s alone, be;:cor- 
rected by more enlightened revision, ;—no 
matter what existing or hereditary opinions 
may be confirmed or, shaken—what.prac- 
tices prolonged or abrogated—what establish- 
ments rise or fall. The priests of the tem- 
ple may be anxious for the pillars of Ephe- 
sus, and the offerings of the altar; but the 
only pillars the conscientious worshipper 
should be anxious abott, are those of the 
temple of truth; the only solicitude about 
offerings, should be that they be pure, and 
no other than. those which, the, Deity: has” 
required. But there is another species of 
imnoyation, which we should seriously de- 
precate in the projected new yersion so 
frequently recommended—innovation upon 
the pure simplicity of our biblical dialect, 
We should be very sorry to see it Johnson-" 
ized, or classicalized, or in any respect new- 
fangled. As it stands, it is as’ beautiful as¥ 
it is venerable ; if homely, yet subime, im! 
naked and expressive Anglicism ;;worthy to! 
give and to preserve, as for centuries it, has } 
preserved, a basis of stability to a noble. 
language. Ifa revision be necessary, let it 
be a revision only; not a mew cast and _ 
moulding of the style and composition. — 
Where there are errors in the’ translated — 
text, let those errors be corrected ; and Tet.” 
the idiom of the corrections harmonize with 
the simplicity of the established yersic 
But against any attempt to supersede, in” 
the main, the. long and justly-venetated 
olden, text, our protest shall be Toud and” 
firm.. For that, as the best’ ay against’? 
the torrent of innovation, which else must 
progressively overwhelm our noble Jan-— 
guage, our x eReR shall ie rs it 
immortal !”—Ep. 1S" .q 
