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fcliolars, who cannot eafily purchafe the Romtin edition ; 

 although it is far from being a coneft copy of its proto 

 type. 



The fourth Greek Bible is that done from the Alex- 

 andrian MS., begun at Oxford by Dr. Grabe, in 1707. 

 An edition of a fimilar kind had been undertaken by Patri- 

 cius Junius, or Patrick Young, who proceeded no farther 

 than the 17th chapter of the book of Numbers, and alfo 

 propofcd by Voiiius, but not undertaken. In Grabe's 

 edition, the Alexandrian manufcript is not printed fuch ai 

 it is, but fuch as it was thought it rtiould be ; i. e. it is al- 

 tered wherever there appeared any fault of the copyilts, or 

 any word inferted from any particular dialcft. This fome 

 think an excellence, but others a fault ; urging.^ that the 

 manufcript (hould have been given abfolutcly and entirely 

 of itfelf, and all conjeftures, as to the readinfrs, Hiould liave 

 been thrown into the notes. For the plan of this work, and 

 the mode of its execution, we refer to the author's Prolego- 

 mena. A valuable edition of this work, eiaichcd with va- 

 rious readings from the Vatican copy, and other nianulcripts, 

 and ilhiflrated by critical difiertations, was pubhfhed by 

 Jof. jac. Breitinger, in 4 vols, 4to., in 1730. Tigur. 

 Helvet. A coUeftion of the MSS, of the mod ancient 

 Creek verfion of the Septuagint h..s, within thefe few years 

 paft, been undertaken by Dr. Holmei, canon of Chrill- 

 church, Oxford ; and the firll volume was publifhed at Ox- 

 ford in 1798, folio ; for an account of which, fee Septua- 

 cis-T. Walton's Prolegomena. IX. Grabe's Prolegom. 

 Hodii de Bibliorura Textibus originalibus, &c. p. 638, &c. 

 Fabr. Bib. Grcec. I. ili. c. xi. § 6. Tom. II. p. 324, &c. 

 See Septuagint, and Testament. 



Bibles, Latin, how numerous foever, may be all re- 

 duced to three clalTcs ; the ancient Vulgate, called alfo *' the 

 old Italic," or " Vulgar Latin," (fee Italic Verfion), 

 trandatcd from the Greek Septuagint, for the ufe of the 

 Latins, foon after their convcrfion to Chriftianity : which 

 verfion was allowed to be fuperior to all the reft, being, as 

 St. Auftin calls it, " tenacior verborum cum perfpicuitate 

 fentcntis" : which verfion being corrupted, Jerom, between 

 the years 370 and 3S0, made a new Latin verfion from the 

 Hexaplar Greek ; the modern Vulgate, the greatell part of 

 v^'hich is done from the Hebrew text ; and the new Latin 

 tranjlatiom, done alfo from the Hebrew text in the fixteenth 

 century. We have nothing remaining of the ancient Vul- 

 gate, ufed in the primitive times in the Wcfteru churches, 

 but the Pfalms, Wifdom, and Ecclefiaftes. Nobilius has 

 endeavoured to retrieve it from the works of the ancient 

 Latin fathers ; but it was impoHi'ile to do it exaftly, be- 

 caufe moft of the fathers did not keep clofe to it in their 

 citations. 



As to the modern Vulgate, there are numerous editions 

 very different from each other. Cardinal Ximenes has in- 

 ferted one in the Bible of Complutum, corrcfted and altered 

 in many places. R. Stephens, and the doftors of Louvain, 

 have taken great pains in correcting the modern Vulgate. 

 See Vulgate. 



The bed edition of Stephens's Latin Bible is that of 1540, 

 reprinted in 1 545, in which are added, on the margin, the 

 various readings of feveral Latin manuferipts, which he had 

 confultcd. The doiftors of Ijouvain revifcd the modern 

 Vulgate after R. Stephens ; and added the various readings 

 of feveral Latin manuferipts. The bed of the Louvain edi- 

 tions are thofe, at the end of which are added the critical 

 notes of Francis Lucas of Bruges. 



AU thefe reformations of the Latin Bible were made be- 

 fore the time of pope Sixtus V. and Clement VIII. fmce 

 which people have not dared to make any alterations, cx- 

 7 



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ccpting in comments, and feparate notes. Sixtus V. who 

 was advanced to the papal fee iu 15 85, although the Latin 

 Bible of Gregory Xlll. was declared to have been rcdored 

 to its primitive integrity, formed, by the aflillance of learned 

 pcrfons, another edition ; and iHu^d a bull in 15S9, re- 

 iolviug and declaring that this was to be deemed, v\Mthout 

 duubt or controvei'fy, that which was acknowledged as 

 authentic by the council of Trent, and to be maintained a3 

 true, legitimate, authentic, and unqueftionable ; forbidding 

 the alteration, addition, or fubtradtion of the leall tittle of 

 it, and declaring fuch a mutilated edition delUtute of credit 

 or authority. Ncverthelefs, after the death of Sixtus V. 

 tliis edition was fupprelfed by fucceeding popes, as inac- 

 curate and imperfeft. A new edition was undertaken by 

 pope Gregory XIV. and completed and announced by Cle- 

 ment VHI. in 1592, which, though different from that of 

 SixtUo, and tvcn repugnant to it, is received as authentic, 

 under the name of Sixtus V. ; and it is now the ftandarj 

 throughout all the Romiih churches. That pontiff made 

 two reformations ; but it is the hi ft of them that is followed. 

 See Vulgate. From this the Bibles of Plantin were 

 doHe, and from thofe of Plantin all the reil ; fo that the 

 common Bibles have none of the after-correttions of the 

 fame Clement VIII. It is a heavy charge that lies on the 

 editions of pope Clement, viz. that tliey have fome new 

 texts added, and many old ones altered, to countenance 

 and confirm what they call the Catholic dodtrinc ; wituefs 

 that celebrated paffage of St. John, tres funi, &c. Mr. 

 lames, an Ei'ghfli protellant, has coUeCled above 2000 ar- 

 ticles, fome of which are indeed of no great confequence, 

 in which Clement's edition differs from that of Sixtus. 

 Clement has adhered more clofely to the Hebrew text ; and 

 his edition, fays Dupin, is much more corredl: than that of 

 Sixtus. He adds, though th: vulgar verfion be not alto- 

 gether free from errors and defeAs, it muft neverthelefs be 

 confeffed that the council of Trent had fufficient reafon to 

 prefer this before all the other Latin verfions, as Theodore 

 Beza, P. Fagius, L. de Dicu, Cafaubon, Grotius, Walton, 

 and fome other protcftaiits, have allowed. This verfion 

 was the moft ancient of all that were extant at the time of 

 this council ; the greater part of it was done by Jerom, a 

 very exact and faithful interpreter. It had been ufcd for 

 many ages in the Latin church : it was written in a fimple 

 and natural ftyle, and yet occafionally heightened by noble 

 expreffions ; and upon the whole, fays Dupin, it was the 

 bell and moft perfect verfion. 



There is a great number of Latin Bibles of the third 

 clafs, comprehending the verlions from the originals of the 

 facred books made within three hundred years. The firft is 

 that of Sanflus Pagninus, a Dominican, under the pa- 

 tronage of pope Leo X. printed at Lyons, in 410. in 152S, 

 authorlfed by tvv'o letters of pope Adrian VI. and pope 

 Clement VIL prefixed to it, the former dated in 1523, and 

 the latter in 1526, and much elleemed by the Jews. He 

 employed 25 years in the execution of this work, and fi- 

 nilhed it before the year 1518. This the author improved 

 in a fccond edition. In 1542, there w.is a beautiful edition 

 of the fame at Lyons, in folio, with feho/ia, pubHrtied un-- 

 der the name of Michael Villanovanus, i. e. Michael Ser- 

 vetus, author of the fcholia. Thofe of Zurich have like-. 

 wife publiftied an edition of Pagninus's Bible in 4to. And 

 R. Stephens reprinted it in folio, with the Vulgate, in 

 1557, pretending to give it more correA than the former 

 editions. There is alfo another edition in 1586, in four 

 columns, under the name of Vatahlui : and we find it a- 

 gain in the Hamburgh edition of the Bible in four lan- 

 guages. 



Id 



