to be no uncritical expositor. He pauses often to chronicle varieties of reading, sometimes
in the Latin text and sometimes in the Greek. Thus he notices the occurrence of Lebbæus
for Thaddæus, of Dalmanutha for Magedan, and the like, and mentions how some codices
read woman for maid, in the sentence, The maid is not dead, but sleepeth (Matt. ix. 24).
His principles of harmonizing are ordinarily characterized by simplicity and good sense.
In general, he surmounts the difficulty of what may seem at first sight discordant versions
of one incident, by supposing different instances of the same circumstances, or repeated
utterances of the same words. He holds emphatically by the position, that wherever it is
possible to believe two similar incidents to have taken place, no contradiction can legitimately
be alleged, although no Evangelist may relate them both together. All merely verbal variations
in the records of the same occurrence he regards as matters of too little consequence to
create any serious perplexity to the student whose aim is honestly to reach the sense intended.
Such narratives as those of the storm upon the lake, the healing of the centurion’s servant,
and the denials of Peter, furnish good examples of his method, and of the fair and fearless
spirit of his inquiry. And however unsuccessful we may now judge some of his endeavours,
when we consider the comparative poverty of his materials, and the untrodden field which
he essayed to search, we shall not deny to this treatise the merit of grandeur in original
conception, and exemplary faithfulness in actual execution.
S. D. F. S.
162
Translator’s Introductory Notice.