“If we find in any group of documents a succession of Readings exhibiting an exceptional purity of text, that is,—Readings which the fullest consideration of Internal Evidence pronounces to be right, in opposition to formidable arrays of Documentary Evidence; the cause must be that, as far at least as these Readings are concerned, some one exceptionally pure MS. was the common ancestor of all the members of the group.”
But how does that appear? “The cause” may be the erroneous judgment of the Critic,—may it not?... Dr. Hort is for setting up what his own inner consciousness “pronounces to be right,” against “Documentary Evidence,” however multitudinous. He claims that his own verifying faculty shall be supreme,—shall settle every question. Can he be in earnest?
VII. We are next introduced to the subject of “Genealogical Evidence” (p. 39); and are made attentive: for we speedily find ourselves challenged to admit that a “total change in the bearing of the evidence” is “made by the introduction of the factor of Genealogy” (p. 43). Presuming that the meaning of the learned Writer must rather be that if we did but know the genealogy of MSS., we should be in a position to reason more confidently concerning their Texts,—we [pg 254] read on: and speedily come to a second axiom (which is again printed in capital letters), viz. that “All trustworthy restoration of corrupted Texts is founded on the study of their History” (p. 40). We really read and wonder. Are we then engaged in the “restoration of corrupted Texts”? If so,—which be they? We require—(1) To be shown the “corrupted Texts” referred to: and then—(2) To be convinced that “the study of their History”—(as distinguished from an examination of the evidence for or against their Readings)—is a thing feasible.
“A simple instance” (says Dr. Hort) “will show at once the practical bearing” of “the principle here laid down.”—(p. 40.)
But (as usual) Dr. Hort produces no instance. He merely proceeds to “suppose” a case (§ 50), which he confesses (§ 53) does not exist. So that we are moving in a land of shadows. And this, he straightway follows up by the assertion that
“it would be difficult to insist too strongly on the transformation of the superficial aspects of numerical authority effected by recognition of Genealogy.”—(p. 43.)
Presently, he assures us that
“a few documents are not, by reason of their mere paucity, appreciably less likely to be right than a multitude opposed to them.” (p. 45.)
On this head, we take leave to entertain a somewhat different opinion. Apart from the character of the Witnesses, when 5 men say one thing, and 995 say the exact contradictory, we are apt to regard it even as axiomatic that, “by reason of their mere paucity,” the few “are appreciably far less likely to be right than the multitude opposed to them.” Dr. Hort seems to share our opinion; for he remarks,—
“A presumption indeed remains that a majority of extant documents is more likely to represent a majority of ancestral documents, than vice versâ.”