The Importance of Erasmus's Greek Testament By John Fletcher Hurst 1900
The publication of Erasmus's Greek Testament was the most important event in the pre-Reformation period. It had a potent influence upon all future history. Its chief significance was in throwing aside the sacred text of centuries and appealing to the original; and in that it marked a new era in the history of mankind.
Erasmus's Greek Testament, like most of his works, was published by Froben in Basel. It was preceded in preparation by the Complutensian Polyglot of Cardinal Ximenes de Cisneros, 1514-17, though not in publication, as the Greek text of Ximenes was not published until 1521 or 1522. From the elaborate and learned article by the late Ezra Abbot we quote as follows: "Erasmus used as the basis of his text in the gospels an inferior Basel MS. of the fifteenth century, and one of the thirteenth or fourteenth century in the Acts and epistles. With these he collated more or less carefully one other MS. of the gospels, two in the Acts and catholic epistles, and three in the Pauline epistles. The oldest of these (cod. 1, tenth century) has a good text of the gospels, but Erasmus made very little use of it; the others are comparatively modern and poor. For the Revelation he had only a single MS. of the twelfth century, wanting the last six verses, which he translated into Greek from the Latin Vulgate. In various other places in Revelation he followed the Vulgate instead of the Greek, as he did in a few cases elsewhere. The result of the whole is that in more than twenty places the Greek of the Textus Receptus, which is derived ultimately in the main from the fourth edition of Erasmus, is supported by the authority of no known Greek MS. whatever. The first edition of Erasmus was sped through the press in headlong haste (praecipitatum fait quam editum, as Erasmus himself says) in order that the publisher might get the start of the Complutensian. It consequently swarms with errors. A more correct edition was issued in 1519. Mill observed more than four hundred changes in the text. For this and later editions one additional MS. was used in the gospels, Acts, and epistles. In the third ed., 1522, the changes are much fewer, but it is noted for the introduction of 1 John v, 7, from the codex Montfortianus (16th cent.). In the fourth ed., 1527, the text was altered and improved in many places, particularly in Revelation, from the Complutensian Polyglot. The fifth and last edition, 1535, hardly differs from the fourth."—Art. Bible Text, New Test., in the Schaff-Herzog Encyc, i, 273, 274. The restoration of the spurious 1 John v, 7, was to save himself from some of the fierce onslaughts he had to suffer—"ne cui foret ansa calumniandi." Within a few decades thirty authorized reprints were made from Erasmus's New Testament. Luther's translation was based upon the second edition. It is a remarkable fact that although the so-called Authorized Version was made substantially from Erasmus's Greek Testament, which was necessarily founded on comparatively worthless authorities, it still keeps its place. This it does on account of the bewitchery of its peerless English, the ordinary reader caring much more for sound than accuracy.
A great deal has been written on Erasmus's relation to Luther and the Reformation, and like all liberals and moderates the retiring, timid lover of books and peace has come in for abuse from the stalwarts of both parties. But the position of Erasmus is perfectly plain and simple. He was a Reformed Roman Catholic, that is, he believed in all the fundamental teachings of the Church and in the primacy of the pope, but he did not believe in the numerous additions, superstitions, corruptions, for which in the popular mind the Roman Church stood. He would have swept away all the mendicant orders; he would have reformed the rest; he would have abolished indulgences, pilgrimages, relics, compulsory clerical celibacy, image worship, and all the hateful excrescences on which he pours his scorn and wit and noble indignation. He would have had the priests pure men, learned in the Scriptures, and able to preach and lead the people upward; he would have unlocked the Holy Scriptures and opened their rich pastures to all, so that, as he says, the humblest woman might read them, and he would have substituted for the barren discussions of the scholastic theology the rational and biblical methods characteristic of a more truth-loving and Christian age.
For a list of all of my disks and ebooks (Amazon and PDF) click here
No comments:
Post a Comment