IV. Latin Epigraphists find far greater variety of script in Latin than in Greek manuscripts. Hence the former are di vided into uncials, semi-uncials, capitals, minus cules and cursives and these divisions are sub divided. The time, place and even the mon astery of the copyist may often be traced by the very distinct script of the text.
Old Latin Manuscripts.— The origin of the Old Latin text is wrapped in obscurity. Three distinct types are recognized,— the African, European and Italian. The African text is that used by Tertullian (c. 150-220), and Saint Cyprian (c. 200-258) ; it is the crudest in style, and apparently the earliest to be made. The European text is less crude in style and vocabulary; and may be an independent transla tion. The Italian text, probably the Bala which Saint Augustine preferred to all others, is the version used by Saint Jerome in his revision. About 40 manuscripts preserve this pre Hieronymian Latin text,-27 manuscripts of Gospels, seven manuscripts of Acts, six manu scripts of Paul's Epistles, fragments of Catholic Epistles and Apocalypse. All show the in fluence of the Vulgate or of corrections made by scribes. The most important Old Latin, manuscripts are the bilinguals already noted: D, Ds, E,, E,, F,, G. Besides there are the codices Vercellensis, 4th century; Veronensis, 5th century; Palatinus, 5th century; Brixianus; 6th century; Corbeiensis, 5th century; Gigas, 13th century; Palimpsest de Fleury, 6th een wry; Bobiensis, 4th century. Cf. Burkitt,
2°. Vulgate Manuscripts.— More than 8,000 manuscripts of the Vulgate are extant, most of which are later than the 12th century and of little use in the reconstruction of the sacred text. Wordswortl and White, in their critical text (1889-1905), collate 40 of the most import ant Vulgate manuscripts. The Benedictine Commission for the Revision of the Vulgate, established by Pope Pius X, is at work on the collation of this vast store of manuscripts; its task is to reconstruct the various families of the Vulgate text,— the Spanish. Italian, Irish, French, etc.,— to sift out the Old Latin read ings and other interpolations, and to reach back as nearly as possible to the text that was issued by Saint Jerome. Chiefest among the Vulgate codices are Amiatinus, 8th century•, Ccruensis, 9th century; Fuldensis, A.D. 541-546; Kenanensis, Book of Kells, 8th century; Stony hurstensis, 7th century.
V. Other manuscripts rep resent six distinctive Syriac versions of the New Testament. The Old Syriac version, made about the middle of the 2d century, is repre sented by two important manuscripts of the 5th century. The Curetonian Syriac manuscript was discovered in 1842 among manuscripts brought to the British Museum from the monas, tery of S. Maria Deipara. in the Nitrian Desert,
Egypt; and was published by Cureton in 1858. The Sinaitic Syriac manuscript was found by Mrs. Lewis and Mrs. Gibson, in 1892, at the monastery of Saint Catherine, on Mount Sinai. Cf. Bensley, Harris and- Burkitt,
The Diatessaron is a Syriac harmony of the Gospels, made about A.D. 170 by Tatian, an Assyrian and disciple of Saint Justin Mar tyr. The only manuscript records thereof are two Arabic versions, discovered one in Rome and the other in Egypt, which were published by Ciasca in 1888.
The Peshitta, or Syriac Vulgate. was made by Rabbula, A.D. 411-435. The Peshitta Penta teuch, dated A.D. 464, in British Museum, is the earliest dated Biblical manuscript. The Peshitta Gospels number 125, Acts 58, Paul's Epistles, 67; two of these New Testament MSS. are of the 5th century.
The Philoxenion Syriac version has reached us only in a manuscript of Apocalypse at Trin ity College, Dublin, and in the four minor Catholic Epistles.
The Harklean Syriac version is witnessed to by 35 manuscripts dating from the 7th century and later; its text is like to that of D.
The Palestinian Syriac version is found in lectionaries and fragmentary manuscripts; these latter date from the 11th century and later.
2°. Armenian Manuscripts date from A.D. 887, are very numerous and have not yet been accu rately collated.
3°. Coptic Manuscripts.— By the time Egypt became Christian, the 3d or 4th century, its ancient language had been evolved into the fol lowing dialects: Sahidic, or Theban, of Upper Egypt; Akhmimic. a dialect that was later superseded by Sahidic: Fayinnic, the dialect of Fayum; Middle Egyptian; Bohairic, or Mem plutic, the dialect of Bohaireh,— i.e., of the northwestern province of the Delta. The chief Sahidic manuscripts of the Bible, that have been collated, are among the 58 volumes, discovered i (1910) in the Fayum and now called the Mor gan Collection,— six books of the Old Testa ment and the entire New Testament except the Apocalpyse. The British Museum also has parts of the Old Testament, Arts and Apoca lypse. Moreover, the bilingual T, Cod. Bor gianus, 5th century, in the Vatican, preserves fragments of Mark, Luke and John in both Greek and Sahidic. Bohairic is well repre sented by manuscripts of the same character as Aleph-B. The Curzon Catena, dated A.D. 889, is the earliest extant Bohairic manuscript and is in the Parkham Library. Cf. Crum, 'Cata logue of Coptic Manuscripts in the British Mu seum' (1905) ; Wallis Budge, 'Coptic Biblical Texts of Upper Egypt) (1912).