apostolicfathers0201clem - Carmel Apologetics

MANUSCRIPTS AND VERSIONS. 1
17
been given as copy to the printer, in which case it would probably have
been destroyed at the time'.
Gesner appears to have published his edition without any knowledge
that he had been anticipated for his ; language distinctly impHes
that he is giving the Greek of these epistles for the first time. His
ignorance however is difficult to explain. His preface is dated 1559,
while the title
page of the Ignatian Epistles bears the date 1560. Yet
not only had the editio princeps appeared three years before (1557),
but in the following year (1558) Morel at Paris had followed it
up
by an edition founded on it.
This text differs ver}' widely from any other, and the eccentric
readings must be attributed to arbitrary invention. They plainly have
no traditional value. These variations are of different kinds. Sometimes
they consist in the capricious substitution of synonyms : e.g.
Alagn. 9 vcoTr/ra for KatvonjTa, Trail. 9 kolXlo. for KapSta, Rom. 4 cttiareXXo}
for evreXXo/xat, Ephcs. 10 Xe'yeTc
for eiTrarc. Sometimes a word of
different import is substituted with the idea of improving the sense,
the substituted word being not unfrequently suggested by similarity of
sound; e.g. Magn. 10 fjioJix-qaTjTaL for jxifxrjcrrjTaL,
Rom. 2 BteXOeLv for
StaXvdrjvaty Phllad. 8 avQ(.YTiKQV for oBlktov, TrpoKptveTaL for TrpoKeirai,
Smyni. 3 cn]fji.a for Tfi-^fia, Polyc. 4 aTro tov Kvptov for aVo tov kolvov,
ib. 7 auTov dya7n](Ti]Te for auro aTrapTLcr-qTe, Ephes. 16 €KK\r](riav for StSacr-
KaXtav. On this principle the Latin words in Rolyc. 6 are all changed ;
SiaaaXevOy being substituted for BojepTwp evpeOrj,
for Tct SeTroVtTa, to. a^Xa for ra aKKCirra. So tOO 'Afivep
TO. Se TroXefJUKo.
is substituted
for 'A^SeSSaSav in Magn. 3, where the historical reference is unintelligible
and in the same context the unusual word
; iKKpep-rj^ is
changed
into cKet Kpcp-rjOei^. Again a very frequent motive of change
is the
;
desire to simplify the grammar, where the sentence is
abrupt or eUiptical
:
e.g. the insertion of 7; ev)(ri npos in Polyc. 2, and of 8e ex^aXXere
in Ephes. 8 ;
or the omission of os kqI in Magn. 4 ;
or the substitution
of i//eya)
Se for i/^e'ywv
and of cSv for TovTcjv Phllad. 4, and again of avVos
o IlavXos for Ka^ws IlavXos in Tars. 7. Instances of all classes of variations
might be largely multiplied.
It is difficult to say how far these readings are due to the scribe of
the MS or of its prototype, and how far to the editor of the printed
text. The substitution of Greek words for Latin in Polyc. 6 would
seem to show that the corrector was more familiar with Greek than with
1
The reasons why I am unable to ac- was derived from the MS gj (see above,
cept Funk's view that Gesner's edition p. 102) are given below, in. p. 130 sq.