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Cyprian of Carthage. A. D. 248. 25
the end of the second century,) had oidy three particulars
in the decree, omitting' " things strangled." But alloM'ing
th s, it Avould not prove that to be the right reading ; for,
that " things strangled" were in some ancient Greek copies,
and those good copies, is apparent from Clement and Origen :
therefore it is probable that the ancient Latin version, if it
wanted that article, was corrupted in this place ; as, it is
not unlikely, it might be also in many other.
But I see no certain nor probable evidence that the most
ancient Latin version, or any Latin version whatever, before
the end of the second century, Avanted this particular. Indeed,
Jerom*^ informs us, that in his time some Latin copies
had " things strangled," others not : but he does not say
that they which wanted that particvdar were the best or th.e
most exact. It is highly probable that he preferred those
which had it ;
'^
inserting" it'' in the Latin New Testament published
by him, corrected by the Greek ;
reading' of the Latin Vulgate.
as it is now also the
Having thus considered this passage of Jerom, which I
take to be one of Mill's main authorities for his supposition
that the ancient Italic version wanted this particular, I shall
now take things in the order of time : but we have no occasion
to review the Greek writers, their sentiment having"
been already sufficiently owned. I would only just observe,
that we have no way of knowing how Ireiifeus read this por-
tion of scripture ; his Greek being lost, and his Latin inter-
preter not strictly following his Greek original, but putting-
texts of scripture according to the Latin version in use in his
time, as is fairly owned bys Mill himself; and possibly
sometimes altering and corrupting even that according- to his
own sentiments, or the prevailing sentiments of the time in
which he lived.
As for Tertullian, one would be apt to conclude, from his*^
^ In Actibiis apostolorum narrat historia Seniores, qui lerosolymis erant,
et apostolos, pariter congregates, stafuisse per literas, ne superponeretur eis
juguni legis, nee amplius observarent, nisi ut custodierent se ab idolothytis, et
sanguine, et fornicatione ; sive ut in nonnullis exemplanbus scriptum est, et a
suffocatis. Hieron. Coram, in Ep. al. Gal. cap. v. 2. ^ Vid. Mill.
Proleg. num. 849. ^ Novum Testamentum Grsecae fidei reddidi.
Hieron. De V. I. cap. 135. ^ In Latinis autem, [Irenaei] Interpreti
id unum curae erat, ut scripturae testimonia, quae in hoc opere occuiTunt, exprimerentur
verbis interpretationis, quae Celtis suis, totique occidenti jam in usu
erat, Italicae, sive vulgats. Unde factum, ut paucis in locis, nee nisi ex con-
textu orationis, certo satis assequi possis, quaenam fuerit codicis Irenaeani lectio.
Mill. Pr. n. 368. ^ Erubescat error vester Christianis, qui ne animaliuin
quidem sanguinem in epulis esculentis habemus ; qui propterea quoque
suffocatis et morticinis abstinemus, ne quo sanguine contaminemur, vel intra
viscera sepulto, &c. Apol. cap. 9. p. 10. D.