writing down that work; and, indeed, any person does a service to the publick, who writes down any vapid or useless publication, such as never ought to have appeared. It prevents the dissemination of bad taste, by the perusal of trash; and prevents people from wasting both their time and money. I say this, however, as applicable to fair and candid criticism, which every person has a right to publish, although the author may suffer a loss from it. It is a loss, indeed, to the author; but is what we in the law call Damnum absque injuria; a loss which the law does not consider as an injury, because it is a loss which he ought to sustain. It is, in short, the loss of fame and profits; to which he was never entitled; and the person who occasions that loss, by fair criticism, is not guilty of that species of conduct which subjects him to an action in a court of justice. Why then, let us suppose that the plaintiff in this action has lost the benefit of selling his Scotch Tour, now in manuscript, to sir Richard Phillips; if he has lost it, by fair criticism upon his former works, which criticisms have rendered his writings ridiculous, he must abide by such loss, it being his fate to sustain it by fair criticism. This I take to be law. If it were otherwise, I do not know where we are to stop. No man will be at liberty to expose the works of another, however ridiculous. I think we ought to resist a complaint, against fair and liberal criticism, at the threshold; I think it is our policy, in every view of the thing. I do not know any thing that more threatens the liberty of the press, in the times in which we live, than giving too much encouragement to this species of action. But do not let me be misunderstood; for I do not mean to say, that if there was any thing in the book, published by the defendants,

of a libellous tendency, wholly foreign to the work, or unconnected with the author of it, as embodied in the work; if there was any thing in it, tending to render him ridiculous, unconnected with the work, the action is maintainable Neither you nor I have appeared before the world in the character of an author, at least I have not; but, if I had, I should not think myself entitled to maintain an action against any body else, who ridiculed my work, and proved it to be ridiculous. If any person chooses to exhibit a picture, which was itself ridiculous, another caunot be liable to an action, for

pointing out wherein it is ridiculous. If another chooses in his work to draw a picture of himself, to place himself in a given situation, another person has a right to finish that picture by exposing it to ridicule, if it be ridiculous; and by criticising upon the words which the author has made use of. If, therefore, you think this is a criticism of the work of this author, and of the author himself, as far as he is connected with the work only, and not written by way of calumny upon him as an individual; I am opinion that this action is not maintainable. But if you are of opinion, that this work is written against this author, as a man, and unconnected with his work, then, my opinion is, that the action is maintainable. We do not find, that there is any charge here on account of the work being annonymous. In a word, if you are satisfied, that this criticism is levelled at the plaintiff's work, and at the plaintiff himself, only as he is connected with, and embodied in, the work, I am of opinion that he must take the consequences of it: and indeed it does not appear to have done any material injury.-.

as appears from the opinion of my lord Mountnorris, who considered the criticism so extremely clever, that after having read it, and the work to which it referred, chapter by chapter, he says, "I should have bought the one, but for the other;" which is equivalent to his having said, that he thought the volume, to which the criticism referred, not worth buying; and, if you think so, gentlemen, you will find a verdict for the defendants.

One of the Jury.-Is there any thing in the defendant's book of a li bellous tendency, by way of personal attack on the character of the plaintiff, unconnected with his publications?

Lord Ellenborough.-Something has been referred to of that kind; but nothing has been laid before us in proof of it. The plaintiff appears to be placed in a ridiculous situation, in a group of figures. He might have been so described by words. If any thing had been said of this plaintiff reflecting on his character, unconnected with this book, I should have told that, in my opinion, it would have been a libel; but we have no proof of that.

One of the Jury.-If it be conten ded, that there is any personal reflection upon the plaintiff, in this book unconnected with his writings, we must go through the contents of

it.

Lord Ellenborough.--We have no proof that there is.

The jury without a minute's con. sultation, returned a-Verdict for the Defendants.

Lord Ellenborough.-I hope nobody will understand, from the result of this trial, that there is the least countenance given to slander nor to ridicule any author, any more

than any other individual, unless such ridicule be connected with his works, and the author is embodied with his work; for courts of justice are as tender of the moral characters of all men, whether they be authors or not, as they are firm in maintenance of the right of every individual, to give a free opinion, on every publication of a literary work.

Mrs. Cappe is preparing for the press a complete history of the Life of Christ, as related by the four Evangelists; interweaving into one continued narrative their sev eral accounts of the miracles per. formed in proof of his mission, of his prophetick warnings, awful admonitions, moral precepts, and various controversies with the Jewish rulers, terminating in his crucifixion, resurrection, and final remuneration. She has endeavoured to ascertain as nearly as possible the order of time in which these several discourses, and the extraordinary events which gave rise to them, took place, in the hope of exciting an increasing interest in the perusal of the sacred records, by exhibiting a more comprehensive view of the whole ministry of Christ, and thereby throwing additional light on many exceedingly important and beautiful passages. The whole is illustrated by a series of notes explanatory of eastern phraseolgy, of ancient customs, manners, opinions, and prejudices; formerly transcribed by the editor from the short-hand papers of her late husband, the Rev. Newcome Cappe. The work is divided into sections, and at the close of each section such practical reflections deduced as naturally arise out; of the subject.

SEC. VI.-Critical Editions of the Greek Testament.-Mill, Kuster, Bengel, Wetstein, Matthai, Alter, Birch, Griesbach.

AFTER the publication of the beautiful Elzevir edition of the New Testament in 1624, the learned world appeared to remain satisfied with the Received Text, as if it were absolutely perfect and incapable of improvement, till the commencement of the eighteenth century, when the text of the New Testament again became the object of diligent and accurate revision.

1. The first thing, which roused the attention of the learned to this interesting inquiry, was the appearance of the celebrated edition of Dr. John Mill, which was published at Oxford, A. D. 1707. It was the fruit of thirty year's laborious application; and the author survived the publication but fourteen days. He was encouraged and assisted in the work by Dr John Fell, bishop of Oxford. He took as his text the third edition of Stephens; and from ancient manuscripts, versions, and quotations, he has collected aVol. V. No. XII.

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bout thirty thousand various readings, His collations are made with great which he has printed under the text. diligence, sagacity, and fidelity. In his Prolegomena he introduces a de scription of the Canon of the New Testament, a history of the text, and an account of his own under. taking. He was the first writer, who gave an accurate and clear ac count of the manuscripts and other authorities, which he used. made no alteration in the text; but his opinion on particular readings is contained in his Notes and Prolego. mena. Michaelis says, that with Mill's edition commences the manhood of criticisin, with respect to the New Testament; and that this work is absolutely necessary to eve ry critick.

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2. Ludolphus Kuster, A.D.1710, published at Rotterdam, a new and correct edition of Mill's Greek Tes tament, enriched with various read. ings from twelve manuscripts not collated by Mill, some of which were of considerable antiquity and value.

3. John Albert Bengel published a critical edition of the Greek Tes

tament at Tubingen, A. D. 1734. He was a man of great ability and learning, and of high character for integrity and piety. He made considerable improvements in the Received Text; but, that he might not be charged with arbitrary innovation, he made it a rule to introduce no alteration which had not been sanctioned by some printed edition, excepting in the Apocalypse. Select various readings he placed at the bottom of the page, distinguishing their various gradations of authority by the five first letters of the Greek alphabet-(a)expressing that the reading was, in his estimation, genuine, (3) probable, ()uncertain, (d) improbable,and () certainly spurious, though by some criticks approved The excellence of Bengel's character, and the orthodoxy of his sentiments, brought biblical criticism into repute among the German theologians. Bengel's various readings are chiefly taken from Mill, with the addition, however, of some valuable ones of his own, collected from manuscripts and other authorities. His "Introductio in Crisin" contains a clear, concise and correct account of manuscripts and editions, together with some excellent critical rules.

4 The celebrated edition of John James Wetstein was published at Amsterdam in two volumes folio, A. D. 1751, 1752. Of this edition Michaelis says, that "it is of all editions of the Greek Testament the most important, and the most - necessary for those who are engaged in sacred criticism " And his learned and acute translator and annotator, Dr. Herbert Marsh, speaks of it as "a kind of standard in sacred criticism." It was the original intention of Wetstein to have printed his text from the Alexandrine manuscript; but the high estimation in

which he at first held this manuscript being abated, he abandoned this design He afterwards propo sed to have published a new and im. proved text; but being dissuaded by his friends, lest it should excite the clamour of bigots, he at last des termined to adhere to the Received Text, that is, to the Elzevir edition of 1624.

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Immediately below his text he has placed those readings which he regards as genuine, and which in his judgment ought to be introduced into the text. Below these are arranged his collection of various readings with their respective authorities. In this respect, it is allowed that he has done more than all his predecessors together. has collected most of the readings which had been published before, and has corrected many of the errours of Mill. To these he has added a great number of original readings from manuscripts and versions collated either by himself or by his friends. He was the first who collated the Philoxenian Syriack version from the manuscript at Oxford, and he examined with the most persevering a siduity the Ephrem manuscript in the Imperial Library at Paris. He has also introduced into his various readings the critical conjectures of others, but has added none of his own. Some inaccuracies have been detected in these collations, which in a work of such great extent it was impossible to avoid. But, upon the whole, Wetstein is entitled to the character

of a laborious, sagacious, and faithful critick. A. D. 1763, an edition of the Greek Testament in quarto was published in London by Bowyer, the learned printer, in which those alterations are introduced into the text which were proposed by Wetstein as the true readings.

Underneath the various readings in Wetstein's edition, are printed his notes. These are numerous and invaluable. They are philological, critical, and explanatory. They contain a great number of parallel passages from the classicks, and of quotations from the Talmudists, which tend to elucidate the idioms of the language or the customs of the Jews They are accompanied with many judicious observations, and supply an inexhaustible fund of theological and critical information. It is computed that the quotations in Wetstein's volumes amount to upwards of a million.

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The Prolegomena are prefixed to the first volume. They are learned, copious, and judicious; but they are deficient in urbanity, and discover too much of an angry and contemptuous spirit towards his opponents. He first gives an interesting account of ancient manuscripts in general, and of the condition in which they are commonly found. After which he proceeds to describe briefly, but correctly, the scripts which have been collated to correct the text of the New Testament distinguishing those which are wirtten in uncial or capital letters by the great letters of the alphabet, viz A. for the Alexandrine, B. for the Vatican manuscript, &c. and marking the manuscripts which are in small letters by numeral characters. He then gives some account of ancient versions, and of the ecclesiastical writers, of whose quotations from the New Testament criticks have availed themselves. After which follows a detailed description of former editions of the New Testament; and the whole concludes with an account of his own undertaking, and a defence of his character. These Prolegomena have been republished by Dr. Semler in an octavo volume,

augmented with Notes by the learned editor.

5. Between A. D. 1782 and A. D. 1788, Christian Frederick Matthai, formerly professor in Moscow, and afterwards in Wittenburg in Saxony, published an edition of the Greek Testament in twelve volumes octavo, with various readings from Moscow manuscripts, which had not been before collated to which he has added critical remarks, and a copy of the Vulgate from a Demidovian manuscript Some of these manuscripts are of considerable antiquity; they have been collated with great care, and contain some curious and important various readings.

6. A. D. 1786-1787, Professor Alter of Vienna published a critical edition of the Greek Testament in two volumes octavo. The text of this edition is the Vienna manųscript, which is preserved in the Imperial Library: it contains the whole of the Old and New Testament, and is a manuscript of considerable reputation, though it is suspected of having been altered from the Latin copies. Where the text of this manuscript is evidently erroneous, the professor has corrected it from Stephens's edition of 1546. And four chasms in the Book of Revelations he has supplied from another manuscript. He has collated this with others in the Imperial Library, and has noted their various readings, together with those of the Coptick, Slavonian, and Latin versions.

7. A. D. 1788, Professor Birch of Copenhagen published a splendid edition of the four Gospels, iu Greek, in folio and quarto. The text of this edition is taken from the third of R. Stephens, A. D. 1550, and the various readings were collected from a considerable num