darkness; and the corruptions, which then were creeping into the Latin Vulgate, from the removal especially of marginal glosses into the text, were noticed by some men of superior sagacity, who at the same time endeavoured to apply a remedy for the evil. Alcuin, secretary to Charlemagne, at the beginning of the ninth century, and one of the most learned men of that age, undertook to revise the Vulgate, from the Hebrew in the Old Testament, and from the Greek in the New. Another revision of the Vulgate was undertaken at the end of the eleventh century, by Lanfrane, archbishop of Canterbury. And about fifty years afterwards a third revision was attempted in Italy by Cardinal Nicolaus, who made the same complaint of the Vulgate, which Jerom had made of the old version, "quot codices tot examplaria." At length these complaints became so general as to give rise to the Correctoria Biblica, in which the false readings of the Vulgate were corrected by a comparison, partly with the originals, and partly with more ancient manuscripts. But our countryman, Roger Bacon, who acknowledges the evil, and describes some of its causes, appears to have been dissatisfied with many of those corrections.

While the criticism of the middle ages, in England, France, and Italy, was confined to the Latin Vulgate, the south of Spain produced a race of critics in the Hebrew Bible, who might contend with those of any age or nation. When the learned Jews of Tiberias and Babylon were compelled to take refuge in Europe, they chiefly settled in that part of Spain,

which was inhabited by the Moors, who spake the language then become vernacular in the countries, from which the Jews were driven. Hence the south of Spain became, during the middle ages, the centre of Hebrew learning. It is sufficient to mention the names of Abn Ezra, Moses Maimonides, and David Kimchi, who were all born in Spain in the twelfth century, and laid the foundation of that Hebrew learning, which afterwards extended to Germany, and was thence propagated by the invention of printing throughout the rest of Europe.

Reuchlin, or Capnio, the father of Hebrew learning among Christians, was born at Pfortsheim in Suabia in 1454. Being a man of rank, as well as of learning, he operated not only by precept, but by example : and at the end of the fifteenth century, it became the fashion in Germany to study the Old Testament in Hebrew. For this study an opportunity was afforded by the circumstance, that the Hebrew Bible was one of the earliest printed books, the first edition having been printed in 1488, and parts of it, as the Psalms, and the Pentateuch, still earlier. The Catholic clergy at Cologne opposed indeed, to the utmost of their power, the cultivation of the Hebrew language, which they considered as replete with danger, not only to the Latin Vulgate, but to the church, of which they were members. Nor were their fears ungrounded. revival of Grecian literature about the same period, of which Capnio was likewise one of the chief promot. ers, increased the dangers of the church of Rome: and Luther began his reformation before Capnio died.

The

The preceding review of the progress, which was made by sacred criticism, during the early and the middle ages, is sufficient to supply the student in Divinity with general notions on this subject, and to furnish him with a clue to future inquiries. More than

this it is hardly possible to perform in a public lecture, in which a limit must be assigned to minuteness of investigation, or the attention of the audience would soon be exhausted. In fact, minuteness of investigation must be reserved for the closet; and all that now remains for the lecturer to perform, in respect to the critical labours of the early and the middle ages, is to mention the works, from which a more ample knowledge of those critical labours may be derived.

Of the labours of Origen in amending the text of the Septuagint, Montfaucon, the editor of the Hexaplorum Origenis quæ supersunt, has given a full account in the preface, entitled, Præliminaria in Hexapla Origenis, which is divided into eleven chapters, according to the subjects, of which it treats. Another work, which ought to be consulted, though it was published before Montfaucon's edition, is that of Humphrey Hody, who was Greek Professor at Oxford in the beginning of the last century. This work is entitled, De Bibliorum Textibus originalibus, versionibus Græcis et Latinâ Vulgata, libri quatuor, and was printed at Oxford in 1705. Among the writers on the Septuagint version, no one has displayed either more knowledge of the subject, or more critical sagacity, than Hody. The fourth and last part of this work, is that which relates to the Hexapla.

Of the similar labours of Lucian and Hesychius, in amending the text of the Septuagint, there is no writer either ancient or modern, from whom any particular account can be derived. Their editions are no longer in existence: nor have even fragments remained of them. Readings, derived from those editions, are undoubtedly contained in manuscripts of the Septuagint: but we have no means of distinguishing them from other readings. We only know, that those editions did exist, and were in high repute: and for this information, little as it is, we are chiefly indebted to Jerom, who has occasionally mentioned them, especially in his Preface to the Chronicles, and in his Preface to the four Gospels.

Of the industry bestowed by the learned Jews of Tiberias on the criticism of the Hebrew Bible, the most complete information is afforded by John Buxtorf, who was born in Westphalia about forty years after the death of Capnio, and after having studied at several German universities, was at last Professor of the Oriental languages, at Bâle or Basel in Switzerland. To his work on this subject he gave the title of Tiberias: it was first printed at Basel in 1620, and reprinted in 1665 with additions by his son, John James Buxtorf. No Christian has ever possessed so great a share of Jewish literature, as John Buxtorf: his Tiberias is indispensably necessary for the understanding of the Masora, and indeed all the other writers on this subject have derived their materials from Buxtorf, among whom we may particularly mention Bishop Brian Walton, who has given an

account of the Masora in the eighth chapter of the Prolegomena prefixed to, the London Polyglot.

Of the industry employed by Jerom on the Latin version, the first source of intelligence is Jerom's own works, of which the Benedictine edition by Martianay was printed at Paris in five volumes folio between the years 1696 and 1706: but the last, the most complete, and the best arranged edition, was published by Vallarsi at Verona, between 1734 and 1742 in eleven volumes folio. The information, which relates to our present subject, must be chiefly sought in the first volume of Martianay's edition, and in the ninth and tenth of Vallarsi's: for these are the volumes, which contain the Bibliotheca divina Hieronymi, with the dissertations of the editors on Jerom's translation and correction of the Scriptures. But to form a due estimate of the excellencies or the defects in those translations and corrections, it is further necessary to consult the Prolegomena of Walton, Mill, and Wetstein, with Simon's Critical History, and the Introduction of Michaelis.

On the criticism of the New Syriac or Philoxenian version, which was displayed at the beginning of the seventh century by Thomas, bishop of Germanicia, the first, though very imperfect, account was given in the second volume of the Bibliotheca Orientalis by Assemani, who derived his intelligence from Syrian writers. More particular information may be derived from a treatise entitled Dissertatio de Syriacarum novi fœderis versionum indole atque usu, published in 1761, by Dr. Glocester Ridley, who possessed the manu