subjects, but such as a physician, from his medical training, would be likely to employ. By a copious induction and careful investigation of terms, Dr. Hobart presents the argument in its complete form, and points out that the evidence is cumulative, and that the words adduced as examples are very numerous, considering the extent of S. Luke's writings.

From the nature of the case the present volume appeals most forcibly to men trained in medical science, but there is quite enough in it to attract the attention and arouse the interest of non-professional men. In a note at the end of the treatise there is pointed out the great probability that S. Paul availed himself of S. Luke's professional services. An Index is also furnished containing all the Greek words used in the book, which is both appropriate and valuable. The volume is dedicated to the Rt. Rev. W. Alexander, D.D., D.C.L., Lord Bishop of Derry and Raphoe, distinguished as a scholar as well as an eloquent preacher; and it forms one of a series of educational and exegetical works known as the "Dublin University Press Series.”

A Companion to the Greek Testament and the English Version. By Philip Schaff, D. D., President of the American Committee on Revision. With Facsimile Illustrations of MSS. and Standard Editions of the New Testament. New York: Harper & Brothers.

In this solid and attractive volume Dr. Schaff has brought together a very large amount of valuable and interesting matter. He prepared the book at the request of a number of his fellow laborers in the Revision work, and he has embodied in it the substance of his Introduction to the American edition of Westcott and Hort's Greek Testament. Several additional chapters are added, besides important contributions from Bishop Lee, of Delaware (a member of the American Revision Company), Dr. Ezra Abbott, and others. The volume is meant to be a manual of textual criticism of the Greek Testament and its application to the English Version, which Dr. Schaff rightly pronounces "a desideratum of our literature."

The first six chapters are devoted to "The Language of the New Testament," "Manuscripts and Ancient Versions

of the New Testament," "Patristic Quotations," "Textual Criticism," and a succinct "History of the Printed Text." The seventh chapter gives a fair account of the Authorized Version, and the eighth supplies a history of the Revised Version of 1881. A number of Appendixes are added, containing a List of Printed Editions of the Greek New Testament, Fac-similes of Standard Editions of the same, List of English and American Revisers, and List of changes made by the American and adopted by the English Committee. An Alphabetical Index and an Index of Scriptural Passages are also furnished.

Without dwelling here upon the critical portions of the work, we call attention to the two chapters which are of chief interest at present, those, namely, in which are given a clear though brief account of the Authorized Version, and a fuller narrative of the origin and progress of the Revised Version. Dr. Schaff, like all competent judges, pronounces a glowing eulogy on the A. V. "No version (he says) has such a halo of glory around it; none is the child of so many prayers; none has passed through severer trials; none is so deeply rooted in the affections of the people that use it; and none has exerted so great an influence upon the progress of the Christian religion and true civilization at home and abroad. It is interwoven with all that is most precious in the history and literature of two mighty nations which have sprung from the Saxon stock. It is used day by day and hour by hour in five continents, and carries to every mission station in heathen lands the unspeakable blessings of the Gospel of peace." But, the English Bible of 1611 is not perfect, by any means, as Dr. Schaff reminds us, and he takes occasion to point out its various deficiencies and faults which need correction; such as, the lack two hundred and fifty years ago of a critical Greek text, inaccurate use of the article, pronoun, verb, preposition, etc., excessive variation in the use of English words for Greek equivalents, and using one or the same word for two or more Greek and Hebrew words. These and the like defects became more and more apparent as Biblical scholarship made progress in our century; and finally, in 1870, a formal attempt was entered upon to effect a revision and

correction of the old and much-loved Bible of our fathers. The New Testament was completed and published in 1881; the Old Testament is expected to be ready in its revised form early in 1884.

Dr. Schaff, from his position in connection with the work of revising the New Testament, is able to give, as he does, a full and carefully prepared narrative of the whole matter, commencing with the action of the Canterbury Convocation, the rules adopted, the American coöperation, etc. He then discusses the merits of the revision, as compared with the old version, its style, its improvements in rhythm, etc. He notes, also, some grammatical irregularities, some infelicities and inconsistencies, some improprieties of expression, and the like (chiefly due to the extreme conservatism and pragmatic obstinacy of the English company of Revisers); at the same time, as was to be expected, he speaks in very high terms of the excellence, as a whole, of the 1881 revision: "A minute, careful, and impartial examination of the Revision must lead to the conclusion that, in text and rendering, it is a very great improvement upon the Version of 1611, and the most faithful and accurate version of the Greek Testament ever made from Jerome down to the present date. Its merits are many and great; its defects are few and small, and mostly the result of overfidelity to the Greek original, and to the English idiom of King James's Version. The defects, moreover, are on the surface, and could be easily removed by the revisers themselves, if they were called upon to do so. We believe that the foundation of the Revision will stand and outlast all the criticisms." Dr. Schaff also deems it proper to give an account of the American part in the joint work (twenty pages), and arrives at the conclusion that "the Anglo-American Revision is the noblest monument of Christian union and coöperation in this nineteenth century."

We commend the learned professor's volume to our readers, to be used in connection with Dr. Goodwin's Notes and Strictures. The biblical student will find it useful and edifying to compare and contrast the one with the other.

Notes on the Late Revision of the New Testament. By the Rev. Daniel R. Goodwin, D.D., LL.D. New York: Thomas Whittaker.

The earlier portion of this volume, with the Introduction, appeared some months ago in the AMERICAN CHURCH REVIEW, and excited much attention among scholars. Dr. Goodwin has so plain and straightforward a way of dealing with the matter in hand that it was felt by all that his notes and strictures would be of especial value; and so it has proved. The present volume is really one of the best which has been produced in connection with the Revision of the New Testament in 1881, and is a positive addition to the literature of the subject.

In the Introduction (of ten pages) Dr. Goodwin gives briefly his reasons for undertaking the task he has accomplished. He pays all due respect to the learning and ability of the Revisers, but holds, nevertheless, that they have transgressed the chief rule by which they were to be guided in their work, viz., "to introduce as few alterations as possible in the text of the Authorized Version, consistently with faithfulness.” It is commonly stated that 35,000 changes were made by the Revisers. "Now (says Dr. G.), the number of changes recognized by them in the Greek text, including those in the margin with the rest, is about 5,500; by far the greater part of which are of the least possible importance; and, of the others, a large number are still of very doubtful authority, the best textualists changing their minds from edition to edition. But, as we have before said, we now dispute none of those new readings. If to these we add, say, 10,000 changes more, as having been required by what could reasonably be called faithfulness to the original, we think a very generous allowance will have been made; for we cannot include in this class the cases where the Revisers have been inconsistent with themselves, or have substituted mere Grecisms of expression or of construction for idiomatic English. There will then remain nearly 20,000 changes, either wanton, or trifling, or consequential, or Grecisms, or inconsistencies-or, perchance, proposed improvements of the English style; as in their elaborate reconstructions of 'also,' 'therefore,' etc. As to

this last class of changes, we leave the English reader to judge whether in general, for good English style, the Revision is superior to the Authorized Version."

Having, further, freed his mind on the point of the Greek article and the charges against the Authorized Version of blundering in its rendering the Greek aorists, Dr. Goodwin next proceeds to furnish evidence in support of the value and importance of his strictures, by comparing and contrasting the Revision with the Authorized Version, in the Gospels and other books of the New Testament. He avers that, though his notes may seem extended and some of them very minute, they are not to be regarded as exhaustive. They are only specimens, drawn from a somewhat cursory examination of the Revision, and are by no means all that can be or ought to be said, before a final judgment be attained.

The learned Professor is very outspoken in his strictures and comments, and if there is, here and there, a little too much of the subacid flavor in his tone and language, the reader will readily forgive it, and will probably, on the whole, deem it not undeserved, under the circumstances. Certainly, we think, no one can read the present volume without feeling thankful to Dr. Goodwin that he has brought it out; for, apart from its value in other respects, it is a vigorous and well-timed defence of the translators of the Authorized Version and of the noble English classic which was the product of their labors.

The volume is excellently printed, and is particularly satisfactory in respect to its numerous quotations from the Greek. These are furnished with an accuracy as rare in American books as it is gratifying to the student of the original of the New Testament.

A Hand-Book of the English Versions of the Bible, with copious Examples illustrating the Ancestry and Relationship of the several Versions, and Comparative Tables. By J. I. Mombert, D.D. New York: A. D. F. Randolph & Co.

The present work is the result of several years' earnest, conscientious labor. It is intended primarily for scholars, but at the same time is admirably adapted for the use of all