The Traditional Text of the Holy Gospels

by John William Burgon

For what, after all, is the proper proof of the genuineness of any reading, but the prevailing consent of Copies, [pg 264] Fathers, Versions? This fundamental truth, strangely overlooked in these last days, remains unshaken. For if the universal consent of Copies, when sustained by a free appeal to antiquity, is not to be held definitive,—what in the world is? Were the subject less solemn there would be something diverting in the naïveté of the marginal note of the revisers of 1881,—“Some ancient authorities read ... ‘None is good save one [even] God.’ ” How many “ancient authorities” did the Revisers suppose exhibit anything else?

But all this, however interesting and instructive, would have attracted little attention were it not for the far more serious corruption of the Sacred Text, which has next to be considered. The point to be attended to is, that at the very remote period of which we are speaking, it appears that certain of the Orthodox,—with the best intentions doubtless, but with misguided zeal,—in order to counteract the pernicious teaching which the enemies of Christianity elicited from this place of Scripture, deliberately falsified the inspired record[534]. Availing themselves of a slight peculiarity in St. Matthew's way of exhibiting the words of the young Ruler,—(namely, “What good thing shall I do,”)—they turned our Lord's reply, “Why callest thou me good?” in the first Gospel, into this,—“Why askest thou me concerning the good?” The ensuing formula which the heretics had devised,—“One there is that is good,” with some words of appendix concerning God the Father, as already explained,—gave them no offence, because it occasioned them no difficulty. It even suited their purpose better than the words which they displaced. On the other hand, they did not fail to perceive that the epithet “good,” “Good Master,” if suffered to remain in the text, would witness inconveniently against them, by suggesting our [pg 265] Lord's actual reply,—viz. “Why callest thou me good?” Accordingly, in an evil hour, they proceeded further to erase the word ἀγαθέ from their copies. It is a significant circumstance that the four uncial Codexes (BאDL) which exclusively exhibit τί με ἐρωτᾷς περὶ τοῦ ἀγαθοῦ; are exclusively the four which omit the epithet ἀγαθέ.

The subsequent history of this growth of error might have been foreseen. Scarcely had the passage been pieced together than it began to shew symptoms of disintegration; and in the course of a few centuries, it had so effectually disappeared, that tokens of it here and there are only to be found in a few of the earliest documents. First, the epithet (ἀγαθέ) was too firmly rooted to admit of a sentence of perpetual banishment from the text. Besides retaining its place in every known copy of the Gospels except eight[535], it survives to this hour in a vast majority of the most ancient documents. Thus, ἀγαθέ is found in Justin Martyr[536] and in ps.-Tatian[537]:—in the remains of the Marcosian[538],—and of the Naassene[539] Gnostics;—as well as in the Peshitto,—and in the Old Latin versions:—in the Sahidic,—and the Bohairic version,—besides in the Clementine Homilies[540], in Cureton and Lewis,—and in the Vulgate:—in Origen[541],—in [pg 266] Athanasius[542],—and in Basil[543],—and in Cyril of Jerusalem[544]:—in Ephraem Syrus[545], and in Gregory of Nyssa[546]: in Macarius Magnes[547],—and in Chrysostom[548]:—in Juvencus[549],—Hilary[550],—Gaudentius[551],—Jerome[552],—and Augustine[553];—lastly in Vigilius Tapsensis[554]:—in Cyril Alex.[555],—in Theodoret[556],—in Cod. C,—in the Harkleian Version,—and in the Opus imperfectum[557]. So that, at the end of 1700 years, 6 witnesses of the second century,—3 of the third,—14 of the fourth,—4 of the fifth,—2 of the sixth, come back from all parts of Christendom to denounce the liberty taken by the ancients, and to witness to the genuineness of the traditional text.

So much then,—(1) For the unauthorized omission of ἀγαθέ, and—(2) For the heretical substitution of εἶς ἐστιν ὁ ἀγαθός in the room of οὐδεὶς ἀγαθὸς εἰ μὴ εἶς ὁ Θεός. We have still to inquire after the fate of the most conspicuous fabrication of the three: viz.—(3) The substitution of Τί με ἐρωτᾷς περὶ τοῦ ἀγαθοῦ; for τί με λέγεις ἀγαθόν; What [pg 267] support do the earliest witnesses lend to the inquiry,—“Why askest thou me concerning the good?” ... That patent perversion of the obvious purport of our Saviour's address, I answer, is disallowed by Justin Martyr[558] (a.d. 140),—by the Marcosians[559],—and the Naassenes[560] (a.d. 150),—by the Clementine homilies[561],—and ps.-Tatian[562] (third century);—by the Peshitto and the Thebaic version;—by Macarius Magnes[563],—Athanasius[564],—and Basil[565];—by Hilary[566],—Gregory of Nyssa[567];—by Chrysostom[568],—by Cyril Alex.[569],—by Theodoret[570],—by the Opus imperfectum[571],—by the Harkleian,—and the Armenian versions. I have produced 18 witnesses,—4 belonging to the second century: 3 to the third: 6 to the fourth: 5 to the fifth. Moreover they come from every part of ancient Christendom. Such an amount of evidence, it must be again declared, is absolutely decisive of a question of this [pg 268] nature. Whether men care more for Antiquity or for Variety of testimony; whether Respectability of witnesses or vastly preponderating Numbers, more impresses the imagination,—they must needs admit that the door is here closed against further debate. The traditional text of St. Matt. xix. 16, 17 is certainly genuine, and must be allowed to stand unmolested.

For it is high time to inquire,—What, after all, is the evidence producible on the other side? The exhibition of the text, I answer, which recommends itself so strongly to my opponents that they have thrust it bodily into the Gospel, is found in its entirety only with that little band of witnesses which have already so often come before us; and always with false testimony. I am saying that Origen[572] in the third century,—Codd. B-א in the fourth,—Cod. D in the fifth,—Cod. L in the eighth,—besides a couple of cursive Codexes (Evann. 1 and 22),—are literally the whole of the producible evidence for the Revisers' text in its entirety. Not that even these seven so-called consentient witnesses are in complete accord among themselves. On the contrary. The discrepancy between them is perpetual. A collation of them with the traditional text follows:—

Και ιδου εις προσελθων ειπεν (D [not Orig. BאL] λεγει) αυτω (Bא [not Orig. DL] αυτω ειπε), Διδασκαλε αγαθε (Orig. BאDL—αγαθε) τι αγαθον ποιησω (אL [not Orig. BD] ποιησας) ινα εχω (Orig. BD [not אL] σχω) ζωην αιωνιον (Orig. 664b אL [not Orig. 664a BD] ζωην αιωνιον κληρονομησω); ο δε ειπεν αυτω, Τι με λεγεις αγαθον (Orig. 664-5 BאDL τι με ερωτας [Orig. 666b επερωτας] περι του (Orig. 664c D [not Orig. 665c 666b BאL]—του) αγαθου); ουδεις αγαθος ει μη εις ο Θεος (BאDL εις εστιν ο (D [not Orig. BאL]—ο) αγαθος).

Can it be possibly reasonable to avow that such an amount of discrepancy between witnesses which claim to be consentient, inspires confidence rather than distrust in every one of them?

The reader is next to be told that there survive, as might have been expected, traces in sundry quarters of this threefold ancient fraud (as it seems to be rather than blunder);—as in Justin[573], and the Marcosian[574], and Naassene heretics[575]; the Latin Versions[576]; the Bohairic[577]; the Cureton and Lewis[578]; pseudo-Dionysius[579], the Clementine homilies[580] and Eusebius[581]; Cyril Alex.[582] and Antiochus the monk[583] (a.d. 614); Hilary[584], Jerome[585], and Augustine[586]; [pg 270] besides in Evann. 479 and 604, and Evst. 5. But the point to be attended to is, that not one of the foregoing authorities sanctions the text which Lachmann, Tischendorf, Tregelles, W.-Hort, and the Revisers of 1881 unanimously adopt. This first. And next, that no sooner are these sixteen witnesses fairly confronted, than they set about hopelessly contradicting one another: so that it fares with them as it fared with the Philistines in the days of Saul:—“Behold, every man's sword was against his fellow, and there was a very great discomfiture[587].” This will become best understood by the reader if he will allow “(I),” to represent the omission of the epithet ἀγαθέ:—“(II),” the substitution of τί με ἐρωτᾷς περὶ τοῦ ἀγαθοῦ:—and “(III),” the substitution of εἶς ἐστιν ὁ ἀγαθός with or without appendix. For it will appear that,—

(a) Evan. 479 and Evst. 5, though they witness in favour of (I), yet witness against (II) and (III):—and that,

(b) The Latin and the Bohairic Versions, with Jerome and Evan. 604, though they witness in favour of (II) and (III), yet witness against (I).