i 



White — Paris Manuscript of St. Patrick's Latin Writings. 543 



soon as was possible, admirable photographs of the 28 pages of the 

 manuscript. 



The Bollandist catalogue describes it as **Confessio S. Patricii". 

 Fortunately it also contains the Epistle, both tracts complete. The 

 dimensions of the pages are given as '295 x '225 millimetres. The 

 Confession begins on fol. 72, r°, and the Epistle at the bottom of 

 fol. 82, r" ; there are 22 lines on each page, except the first of tbe 

 Confession, which has 20 ; there is neither title nor colophon to either 

 of the tracts. 



It may at once be stated that the document is of primary impor- 

 tance for the critical determination of the text of the Lihri S. Patricii, 

 being inferior in antiquity and in character only to the Book of 

 Armagh. 



It is proper that I should give the student some idea of the textual 

 value of P, as we may call it; and the first question that will 

 naturally be asked is, What is its relation to A ? Speaking generally, 

 it usually agrees with the later mss. as against A ; but I have noticed 

 a number of agreements of P with A, even in some very peculiar 

 readings. 



Conf. § 9. exaliue\ ex saliuaQY:^^', ex saliueB. 



Conf. § 11. riisticationem for rusticatio. 



Conf. § 19. uiginti et octo for uigititi et septem. 



Conf. § 20. clamaham IIeliam\ Heliam is repeated in the other 

 MSS. The text of AP should be followed in this respect. 



Conf. §§ 24, 25. ejficiatus. This is a very important reading; the 

 word occurs twice. In § 24 affatus is found in the other 

 MSS. ; in § 25 effatus is the reading of CF4, effadus of F3, 

 effectus of R ; while Boll, has a circumlocution. I had 

 read, with Dr. W. Stokes, effatus in both places ; but 

 efficiatus must be restored to the text, and explained as 

 Dr. Gwynn suggested, i.e. that Patrick coined the word 

 efficior as the opposite of inficior, and thus = 'to affirm.' 

 Note that F3II are here nearer to xV than are CF^. 



Conf. § 31 testem Deo habeo ; teste Deo aheo A ; tcstem Deum haheo 

 others. 



Conf. § 40. AP alone insert itaque after idcirco, and omit ^^0 before 

 mitto in the quotation from Jer. xvi. 16. 



It may be remembered that on p. 214 I noted that the variants in 

 two passages in §§ 18 and 19 of the Confession indicate that the mss. 

 fall into three groups, i.e. A, BEgli, CF4, and that the fandameutal 



