criticism, and to a more free manner of exegesis, for the very purpose of circumventing him, he surely speaks too strongly, and only renders himself suspected of personal animosity. It is more probable that Frey's disgust arose from Wetstein's not attributing to him any of the honour of his publication, although, as Wetstein's senior, and as a professor of several years' standing, he had from time to time very extensively assisted him with critical communications. Wetstein had also previously made himself a good many enemies, by attacking, in his usual style of severe sarcasm, several of the most respectable clergymen of Bâsle, some of whom were Frey's near relatives. He had accused them of confounding, in their sermons, prayers, and hymns, the distinct personalities of the Godhead, by applying the term Father to the Son and Holy Ghost; and by concluding their prayers addressed to the Father with the following final clause: "Hear us, for the sake of thy sacred wounds," &c. Frey at first had sided with Wetstein in this censure; but the latter having, it seems, afterwards pushed the matter too far, Frey at once declared to him his opinion, that such censoriousness could proceed only from one who was tinctured with Arianism. After this, and probably many similar rejoinders on both sides, the rupture became entire. When they met one day in the Bâsle university library, Frey began objecting against Wetstein's announced edition of the Greek Testament, that it was likely to be too expensive, &c. and then alleged, that Wetstein's criticisms proceeded upon wrong principles relative to the discrimination of ancient manuscripts, &c., and consequently could never be relied on. Wetstein denying this, endeavoured to convince Frey that every critic, with his eyes open, can pronounce at once upon the antiquity and value of any such manuscripts, if he only noticed that in the more modern ones the Greek circumflex was expressed by a curve, but in the most ancient ones by a figure, exactly like a Roman v inverted. Frey denied that there was any such certainty of discrimination as this, however plausible it might seem, (and maintained that the circumflex in question is all along an angular figure;) whereupon Wetstein appealed to J. Grynæus, then present, and requested his decision. He immediately gave judgment by saying to Frey, "Certainly, doctor, if this circumflex is all along an angular figure,' the angular in many MSS. looks very much like a curve." Frey thus went home doubly offended; and eight days afterwards, happening to meet Wetstein again in the library, who had Montfaucon's edition of Origen's Hexapla before him, he asked him,

if he had "any thing new there?" Wetstein replied, "I have discovered a most ridiculous error of J. C. Iselin's, which has got into Breitinger, of Zürich's "Proposals" for a new critical edition of the Septuagint. He promises collations of Bâsle MSS. which have no existence at Bâsle." Wetstein, who had naturally a strong propensity to ridicule, might have said this with more than usual of his satirical bitterness, because the announced work was likely to stand very much in his own light, as he had long been making elaborate preparations for a similar one; and it is easy enough to suppose that he was secretly displeased with Iselin and Frey, from knowing that they had furnished Bengel with collations of Bâsle MSS.

But, as he thought he had seen Frey express a smile of pleasure at hearing of Iselin's alleged blunder, he was the more surprised to learn that, immediately afterwards, Frey had privately accused him to Iselin of having made the latter appear ridiculous before a whole company of students; nor was he less surprised, when he found that the former had even got an injunction passed by the Senate to forbid his continuing to examine manuscripts in the university library. Neither was this all; for Iselin and Frey now went so far as to lay a memorial before the Senate, signed by every parochial clergyman in the city, and by other divines of the university, petitioning that J. J. Wetstein, assistant minister of St. Leonard's, be prohibited from publishing his criticisms of the Greek Testament, forasmuch as it was a useless, uncalled for, and even dangerous work. It was urged in support of the petition, how he had advanced the most trifling and puerile particularities, of a grammatical stamp indeed, but perfectly foreign to all good criticism; that such an edition was totally uncalled for, inasmuch as the Codex Alexandrinus, which was his chief critical oracle, had been printed often enough; and that it might well be considered as dangerous, because Wetstein had presumed to embody in the text, at pleasure, any, however unsupported, lection he met with. Thus there was reason to fear he was claiming a right of censorship over Scripture itself, in support of his own hypothetical and groundless fancies; especially as they had even learnt that he was prosecuting his criticisms under a Socinian bias. Lastly, that several passages of Scripture, which are express upon the divinity of Christ, had been assailed by him with critical suspicion.

Such complaints, however, though reiterated to the Senate, and not without endeavours to draw the very people of the

town into the controversy, having proved ineffectual, his opponents managed to get possession of memoranda which the students had taken down at his Greek Testament lectures; and from what these notes contained upon doctrinal points, they contrived to frame such accusations as led to his being summoned to submit the whole mass of his written criticisms to the Senate's inspection, and to answer personally to a long list of objectionable tenets which he was accused of maintaining. Compliantly and adroitly as he replied to every question, it was at length decided, that he taught opinions adverse to the doctrinal system of his church, that he inclined to Socinianism, and even favoured the views of Rationalists. For instance, that though he admitted the inspiration of the Scriptures, he held their infallibility as relating only to principal matters. It was further proved against him, that in his public lectures and discourses he had spoken too freely about scripture obscurities, and of the common people's inability to understand them; that he had ridiculed in certain companies the belief of satanical existence; had explained away demoniacal possession as nothing more than a physical malady; and had acknowledged that in catechizing he had designedly passed over those passages of Scripture wherein the devil is mentioned. That in a sermon upon the tenth Commandment he had expounded concupiscence as a thing not sinful; that in his church prayer he habitually omitted the expression "making satisfaction," under the pretext of its being a difficult expression; and that the most suspicious part of his conduct, was his having forbidden his students to deliver up the notes they had taken of his lectures; and his having made alterations in such parts of them as he thought would give offence. These proceedings against him issued in his being suspended from the ministry, and he went away to his relatives in Holland, where the Remonstrants appointed him to the rectorship of a high school, as successor to the aged John le Clerc, upon condition that he should previously return to Bâsle and retrieve his license. He complied; and having prevailed with the Senate to rescind his suspension, on the 8th of October, 1732, he was again declared capable of ecclesiastical functions. Nevertheless, his controversy with Iselin and Frey did not end here; for remote from them as was now his place of residence, they so kept up animosities, that Wetstein declared it was owing to their opposition that the publication of his Greek Testament had been delayed for at least twenty

years.

SECTION IV.

CONTINUATION OF BENGEL'S CRITICAL RESEARCHES.

Bengel having, in the year 1729, submitted his work on the Greek Testament, together with his "Apparatus Criticus," to the censorship at Stuttgart, and to the Theological Faculty of Tübingen, received licenses for their publication, which were conveyed in terms very honourable and encouraging to himself. Shortly after this, he found Wetstein's Prolegomena come out together, with the specimen of that critic's intended edition of the Greek Testament. A work of such importance for its copious collations, of course he could not neglect to examine; especially as he was aware that so travelled a scholar as Wetstein must have greatly the advantage of him in extent of materials. He therefore once more paused about his own publication, till he had carefully sifted the whole of this newly presented mass of research. In the subsequent announcement of his work,* he says, "The new edition promised in the Prodromus' is, by the Divine help, so far completed, that it may be considered as almost ready to be presented to the public. But as my arrangement required further consideration, and has in consequence been altered, the whole will be found distributed into four distinct works. First, I shall send out a larger edition of the Greek Testament in quarto, which will be succeeded by a smaller one in octavo; the larger will be accompanied by another work entitled Apparatus Criticus,' giving a particular account of every reading I have adopted; and then, in a separate volume, I shall publish as soon as possible my exegetical annotations, which though completed in amount, do not appear sufficiently matured for the press."

With regard to the readings adopted by himself in the text, he reassures any anxious inquirers, that, with some exceptions in the Apocalypse, which was a book peculiarly circumstanced, he had not admitted a single expression that had not been embodied with it in printed editions; and he had the more confidently made this a rule with himself, because research had convinced him that any reading not adopted by former printed editions,

* This announcement was entitled, "Notitia Novi Testamenti Græci, rectè cautèque adornati, quod perbrevi publicandum justis conditionibus recipiunt Jo. Georgius et Christianus Godofredus Cotta, bibliopola."

even though it might have probability on its side, was always of minor importance. Finally, in composing his "Apparatus," he had carefully considered and weighed each of the forty-three canons of Gerard von Mastricht; and that the promised canon of four words would be found in that "Apparatus." This announcement was accompanied with specimens of the form of the text in quarto, as also of the "Apparatus Criticus." Accordingly both made their appearance, followed by the smaller Greek Testament, in the year 1734.*

The arrangement of each edition is exhibited in its title-page, and both of them were found to agree in every particular with the announcement and specimens; neither were they much inferior as to type, correct printing, and good paper, even to those of Amsterdam.

As the minor Greek Testament was without the "Apparatus Criticus," its preface gave a brief account of Bengel's researches, and of the principles upon which he thought it right to conduct them. In the concluding paragraph of this preface he inserted an adage, which, though brief and in quaint Latin, excellently shows how to search the Scriptures with the greatest benefit:

"Te totum applica ad Textum;

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Rem totam applica ad te."

Keep thyself closely to the text,

And apply the whole substance of it to thy own edification."

The "Apparatus Criticus" consists of three parts: the first explains what New Testament criticism is; its difficulties, with the best means of overcoming them; and gives a concise but sufficient history of this branch of knowledge down to his own time. The second part shows, by way of introduction to each portion of the New Testament, the resources of criticism for such several portions, with references to editions, manuscripts, and fathers. Here it was his object to determine more evidently the relative value of the different MSS. by their antiquity, origin, and greater or less degree of correctness, as also what collations, more or less accurate, they had undergone. Next are detailed all the principal

The quarto edition has the following title, "'H KAINH AIAOHKH, Novum Testamentum Græcè, ita adornatum, ut textus probatarum editionum medullam, margo variarum lectionum in suas classes distributarum, locorumque parellelorum delectum; apparatus subjunctus criseos sacræ, Millianæ præsertim, compendium, limam, supplementum et fructum exhibeat: inserviente Jo. Alberto Bengelio: Tubingæ, 1734.” The octavo was entitled, "'H kawǹ A‹aðýên, N. T. Græcum, ita adornatum, ut in textu medulla editionum probatarum retineatur, atque in margine ad discernendas lectiones genuinas, ancipites, sequiores, ansa detur: Stuttgardiæ, 1734,"