IS* 



BIBLE SOCIETIES. 



BIBLIOGRAPHY. 



tries and IS branches; in Australia, IS auxiliaries ami 39 branches; 

 and in Africa. 9 auxiliaries and 19 branches. In Europe, there were 

 auxiliary societies in Florence, Lucca, Hamburg, Constantinople, and 

 Gibraltar. 



The society have adopted a system i>f oolportajM (a kind of licensed 

 hawker) in many parta of the Continent. In IfOT - li. y forwarded 

 17,300 Bible* and 57,900 Testament* to Franco, of which 17,200 copies 

 had been distributed in this way. The books are sold at a loss, nnd the 

 expense of the hawking has been more than SOON ; but they consider 

 the effect* produced as very encouraging. In Belgium, 8000 copies of 

 the Scriptures, either wholly or in parts, were distributed. In Holland, 



. Bibles were distributed, of which 2590 copies were given to 

 schools, nnd two edition* of the Bible in Dutch have been specially 

 printed for them. In Germany, from the Society's throe great centres, 

 Berlin, Cologne, and Frankfort, 296,607 copies of tbr Scriptures were 

 issued; making a total, since 1847, of 858,926 copies, cither complete 

 or iu portions. In Denmark, . r >774 copies were issued, and two large 

 editions had been printed in Danish. In Sweden, 86,518 copies of the 

 Scriptures, in Swedish or Finnish, were distributed ; and in Norn-ay, 

 18,957. In Russia, 12,290 copies of the Scriptures were distributed, 

 chiefly through the Petersburg agency; and 10,000 Finnish Testa- 

 ments and 10,000 copies of the Psalms were printed. In Switzerland 

 and Northern Italy, 85,269 volumes had been distributed ; in Sardinia, 

 13,647, in a great measure by colportage. In Malta and Greece, 8398 

 volumes had been put in circulation. In Turkey, in various languages, 

 10,836 copies of the Scriptur t ibuted. In S|in nothing had 



been done, but on edition of the New Testament in Spanish had been 

 completed, and some copies had no doubt got in from Gibraltar. 



For India, Ceylon, Singapore, and China, either the whole or portions 

 of the Holy Scriptures had been printed in the various dialects for the 

 use of the inhabitant!). At Shanghae, 50,000 Chinese Mandarin col- 

 loquial New Testaments had been printed during the j , 



In all tin-so places (except Spain) the efforts of the British Bible 



. Live been effectually aided by similar native institu; 

 Euro]*, and by the United States' societies in China and Australasia. 



The number of auxiliary societies in connexion with the American 

 National Bible Society is 863. The Philadelphia Bible Society, the 

 oldest institution in the United States, has also its various branches. 



On the continent of Europe the Society has printed, or extensively 

 aided in printing, versions of the Scriptures into the French, Basque, 



. Flemish, Swinish, Catalonian, Portuguese . Jewish B 



.v. Italian, Romanese, German, Bohemian, Servian, Wendish, 

 Hungarian, Polish, Lithuanian, Danish, Swedish, Finnish, Lapponese, 

 Icelandic, Samogitian, Esthonian, Lettish. Selavonian. \Ya 

 Albanian, Russian, Turkish, Turco-Greek, Tartar Turkish, Modern 

 Greek, Calmuc, Buriat Mongolian, Manuchod, Modern Ar 

 Carshun, Syriac, Georgian, Turco- Armenian, and Armenian languages. 

 In Asia it has promoted the translation and publication of the Holy 

 Scriptures in Persian, Arabic, Singalese, I'ali. H indostanec, Bengalee, 

 Sanscrit, Teloogoo, Tamul, Malay, Mahratta, Malayalim, Orb, 

 Birman, Carnarese, and several other dialects, together with two 

 versions of the whole Scriptures in the Chinese, a language under- 

 stood by perhaps one-fifth of the population of the globe. At Mada- 

 gascar the New Testament and Psalter have been printed in Malagasse. 

 in New Zealand the Bible has been rendered into the Maori tongue. 

 The inhabitants of the Society and Georgian Islands have also received 

 versions in the Taliit ian languages, as well as other of the island groups 

 in the- Pacific. In Africa the ancient Church of Abyssinia has been 

 supplied with an edition of the Ethiopic Psalter and the Gospels ; and 

 tin I'. -nt.it. n. h. I'salter, and New Testament have been printed iu the 

 vulgar dialect of Abyssinia. Egypt has been furnished with the Psalter 

 and the foi. ml Arabic. The inhabitants of a 



portion of Western Africa have received a part of the Scriptures in 

 the Bullom dialect ; the aborigines of North- rn Africa, a translation of 

 the Gospels and the book of Genesis in the Berber; some of the tril.es 

 of Southern Africa, the Gospels in the Namacqua dialect, besides 

 versions hi the Caffre and S- At Labi.idor the New Testa- 



ment and Psalms have l*in t :..!-', .1. . I into the Esquimaux language, 

 and the New Testament and the book of Genesis into the language of 

 Greenland. 



fly ' /c minrionaria. Bhoipooree, Budrinath. 



Bundelkhundce, Huriyana, Joyjiore, Munipoora Koonkei . Tii]>iHini 

 Koonkec, Kousoulee, Kucharce, Kutch, Mithilee, Oodoypore, Kindhuo, 

 and Southern Sindhoo. 



The Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge, though its ex- 

 ertions are not confined to tie issue of Bibles and Testaments, but 

 range over a wide field, is only second -to the I'.iitisli ami I 

 Bible Society in the amount of the distribution of the Holy Scriptuie.-. 

 The annual diffusion of these averages over 200,000. In 18, r .; 

 society issued 146,270 Bibles, 69,166 New Testaments, and 800,155 

 Common Prayer Books, besides other books and tracts amounting to 

 3,700,000. The society, also, at a special general meeting, held 



iry 10, 1884, appointed a separate committee for the purpose of 

 superintending the publication, and more effectually promoting the 

 circulation of the Scriptures in foreign languages. In the report for 

 1858, it is stated that "the committee have issued translations of the 

 Bible in French, Italian, Dutch, German, Spanish, and Arabic. The 

 New Testament has been published in Maltese, Polish, and Ojibwa. 



The Psalter in Arabic, and triglot Pullers in French, English, and 

 German, and in Italian, English, and Spanish, have been for some time 

 in circulation ; and a Greek Psalter, from the Septuagint, has been 

 recently added to the catalogue. The Gospel according to !- 

 in the language of New Zealand ; and the Gospels and part of the 

 Acta together with a |ortion of the Book of Genesis, in i! 

 guage of the Arawack Indians have been published. A transit i 

 the Acts of the Apostles, in the language of the Zulu Kafirs, has been 

 printed at the request of the Bishop of Natal. The New Testament 

 in Coptic and Arabic has been published. The Prayer Book has been 

 produced in French, Dutch, German, Danish, Italian, Sp 

 guese, modem On D Armenian. Maltese. rkish, 



iland, Ojibwa, .M .erican 



Indian); anil ^ing and Kvening Prayer, in the 



Soosoo language, li >.i-en issued for tl.. 



newly-established mission on the river Pongas in Western Africa," 

 The expenditure of the society for the year, except for the working 

 expenses of the establishment, was nearly altogether on the pro. i 

 of Bibles and other books, and it amounted to 80,7481. T 

 from sale of books was 59.520/., and the deficiency is amply made 

 up by subscriptions and the interest of the accumulations. Like 

 the Bible Society it employs foreign and colonial agencies to promote 

 the diffusion of the Scriptures, and it has recently formed a special 

 fund for India. 



(Owen's Jfittory of the IllUe &.. 



HiUe Society ; Rtpurti of the Society fur J'rvmotiny CMitian 



BIBLlO'tiHAl'II V. The term Bij8\ioypa$>(a was used by the Greeks 

 to signify only the writing or transcription of books ; and a bibliogra- 

 pher (Bt0\uryp<i<t>o!') with i writer of books, in the sense of a 

 eopjist. The French term .Si \vas long used to sign! i> 

 an acquaintance with ancient writings and with the nrt of 

 them. It is so ev <r instance, in ti 

 'Dictionary,' published in 173-2. The ten 

 is not in Itichelet. It is given, however, in the ' Kncyclop. 



Uit both it ami ; explained only in the 



>iat has been jdst noticed. In the Dictionnaire dc Trevoux,' 

 published in 1752, we find it stated that a bibliographer is a 

 of ancient manuscripts, with the addition, that 'he name is 



given specially to those who are skilled in the knowledge of books and 

 . and who make catalogues of them. Accordingly, in 

 1763, De Bure published the first volume of his well-known v, 

 the knowledge of rare and singular books, under the tit: 

 graphic Instructive.' In his preface he employs the term as if the 

 acceptation which it bears in his title-page had become famili 

 subsequent editions of the ' I <' (for instance in th. 



volume of the Lausanne edition, printed in 1778) a new art 

 on the term Itilili'* ./-"//A-'- . wliieh eonsists merely .t 

 book of De Bure't*. We doubt whether th. Knglish term ' 

 which we have borrowed from the Fn-neh.lias ever had any other than 

 this signification since its first in the language. 



Bibliography may be defined to be the science of books, regarded 

 simply as such. Thus limited.it excludes all eonsidenit: 

 the lit. my merits of a work, or of tike importance or interest 

 subjects which the author treats of, or of the truth or value of his 

 speculations. It comprehends the facts of 



the subject and class of the work, of its authorship and subsequent 

 history, of the number of editions it has passed through, of tin \ 

 and publisher of each, and of its date in respect both of time and 

 place, of the form or si/e (that is, the manner in which tin 

 folded, and also the size of the sheet, for the old folio!; arc often 

 such as some old editions of Bale), the quality of the paper, the 

 number he typographical character, the immlu r and il 



tion of the plates, the emu, tncss. and 



rarity, and all other external jieeuliarities or di-> 

 edition. It is common to incliule m my other things as parta of 

 bibliography, such as a knowledge of the li even of tl: 



cesses of the arts of pti book-binding, as well as of the 



written characters of different ages. But to give such an extension to 

 the science is to leave it without any limits v. : I; the kn m- 



ledge of the ai-t of deciphering writti'ti . - 

 be held to be a part of bibliography, then the biblio: 



1 linguist, in so far at least as r. 



languages. If bibliogra; 11 to inelu ' .Ic'- of the 



arts of printing and bookbinding, why not also of those of the i. 

 and all other substances that ha . 



!i t inks and all ot I. ' In thi raphy 



would inelude 'n.n both of cheim-ti\ ami 1 



On the Kauic principle the bibliographer might !< 

 \ know : ivthing appertaining to the arts of cutting letters 



in wood ami 



Although bibliography. i the sense t" which it is i 



term, the science of th- e of books in reg 



subjects, e. i 



From n . !y early period in the history of lid rat urn. I 



an acquaintance with such matters is to a great degree implied in a 

 knowledge of literature, such as must have been possessed by 



