Cover of The Causes of the Corruption of the Traditional Text of the Holy Gospels Being the Sequel to The Traditional Text of the Holy Gospels — Edition Insights

The Causes of the Corruption of the Traditional Text of the Holy Gospels Being the Sequel to The Traditional Text of the Holy Gospels — Edition Insights

(0 User reviews) 50

In Category - Theology

Authors: Burgon, John William, 1813-1888, Miller, Edward, 1825-1901 [Editor] Digital Source: Project Gutenberg Gutenberg Release Year: 2007 First Publication Year: Not confirmed

Key Word: Bible. Gospels -- Criticism, Textual Target Reader: Readers of public-domain and historical texts

Book Edition: Project Gutenberg digital edition Book Language: en

Edition facts

Words 92,919

Reading time 404 min

Text sections 16

The source record for The Causes of the Corruption of the Traditional Text of the Holy Gospels Being the Sequel to The Traditional Text of the Holy Gospels — Edition Insights measures this digital text at 92,919 words, 6 hr 44 min estimated reading time, and 16 detected text sections.

The text analysis averages about 16.4 words per sentence, while the detected sections provide another way to judge how the source is divided.

Project Gutenberg metadata also associates the work with “Bible. Gospels -- Criticism, Textual,” connecting these edition facts with the source record’s subject description.

Source: Project Gutenberg record #21112

John William Burgon's posthumous work, edited by Edward Miller, argues for the primacy of the Traditional Text of the Gospels by examining scribal errors, patristic quotations, and the influence of early manuscripts. A detailed defense of textual conservatism.

Editorial Edition Score 4.8/5

★★★★★ ★★★★★

Calculated from edition completeness, EPUB availability, text structure and catalogue metadata. Not a user rating.

How this score is calculated

Description quality20 pts
Title & short description10 pts
Source metadata20 pts
Text length15 pts
Chapters / structure15 pts
EPUB file integrity20 pts

Total of 100 points, scaled to a 2.5-5.0 range. Editions with an empty description or a missing EPUB file are not scored.

Edition quality

File: pg21112

Read the Text

§ 1. Modern re-editing--difference between the New Testament and other books--immense number of copies--ordinary causes of error--Doctrinal causes. § 2. Elimination of weakly attested readings--nature of inquiry. § 3. Smaller blemishes in MSS. unimportant except when constant. § 4. Most mistakes arose from inadvertency: many from unfortunate design. pp. 10-23

Accidental Causes of Corruption. I. Pure Accident.

§ 1. St. John x. 29. § 2. Smaller instances, and Acts xx. 24. § 3. St. Luke ii. 14. § 4. St. Mark xv. 6; vii. 4; vi. 22. § 5. St. Mark viii. 1; vii. 14--St. John xiii. 37. pp. 24-35

Accidental Causes of Corruption. II. Homoeoteleuton.

St. Luke ii. 15--St. John vi. 11; vi. 55--St. Matt. xxiii. 14; xix. 9--St. Luke xvi. 21. pp. 36-41

Accidental Causes of Corruption. III. From Writing in Uncials.

§ 1. St. John iv. 35-36. § 2. St. Luke xv. 17--St. John v. 44. § 3. Acts xxvii. 14--St. John iv. 15--St. Luke xvii. 37--St. Matt. xxii. 23--and other passages. § 4. St. John v. 4--St. Luke xxiii. 11--St. Matt. iv. 23. § 5. 2 St. Peter i. 31--Heb. vii. 1. § 6. St. Matt. xxvii. 17. pp. 42-55

Accidental Causes of Corruption. IV. Itacism.

§ 1. Various passages--St. John xii. 1, 2; 41. § 2. Rev. i. 5--Other passages--St. Mark vii. 19. § 3. St. Mark iv. 8. § 4. Titus ii. 5. pp. 56-66

Accidental Causes of Corruption. V. Liturgical Influence.

§ 1. Lectionaries of the Church--Liturgical influence--Antiquity of the Lectionary System. § 2. St. John xiv. 1--Acts iii. 1--Last Twelve Verses of St. Mark. § 3. St. Luke vii. 31; ix. 1--Other passages. § 4. St. Mark xv. 28. § 5. Acts iii. 1--St. Matt. xiii. 44; xvii. 23. § 6. St. Matt vi. 13 (doxology in the Lord's Prayer). pp. 67-88

Causes of Corruption Chiefly Intentional. I. Harmonistic Influence.

§ 1. St. Mark xvi. 9. § 2. St. Luke xxiv. 1--other examples. § 3. Chiefly intentional--Diatessarons--St. Matt. xvii. 25, 26--Harmonized narratives--Other examples. pp. 89-99

Causes of Corruption Chiefly Intentional. II. Assimilation.

§ 1. Transfer from one Gospel to another. § 2. Not entirely intentional--Various passages. § 3. St. John xvi. 16. § 4. St. John xiii. 21-25. § 5. St. Mark i. 1, 2--Other examples--St. Matt. xii. 10 (St. Luke xiv. 3)--and others. § 6. St. Mark vi. 11. § 7. St. Mark xiv. 70. pp. 100-122

Causes of Corruption Chiefly Intentional. III. Attraction.

§ 1. St. John vi. 71 and xiii. 26. § 2. Acts xx. 24--2 Cor. iii. 3. pp. 123-127

Causes of Corruption Chiefly Intentional. IV. Omission.

§ 1. Omissions a class of their own--Exemplified from the Last Twelve Verses of St. Mark--Omission the besetting fault of transcribers. § 2. The _onus probandi_ rests upon omitters. § 3. St Luke vi. 1; and other omissions. § 4. St. Matt. xxi. 44. § 5. St. Matt. xv. 8. § 6. St. Matt. v. 44--Reply to the Reviewer in the _Guardian_. § 7. Shorter Omissions. pp. 128-156

Causes of Corruption Chiefly Intentional. V. Transposition.

§ 1. St. Mark i. 5; ii. 3--Other instances. § 2. St. Luke xiii. 9; xxiv. 7. § 3. Other examples--St. John v. 27--Transpositions often petty, but frequent.

§ 4. If taken with Modifications, a large class--Various instances. pp. 164-165

§ 5. The smallest of the four--St. Luke vi. 4--St. Matt. xx. 28. § 6. St. Matt. viii. 13; xxiv. 36--St. Mark iii. 16--Other examples. pp. 166-171

Causes of Corruption Chiefly Intentional. VIII. Glosses.

§ 1. Not so numerous as has been supposed--St. Matt. xiii. 36--St. Mark vii. 3. § 2. St. Luke ix. 23. § 3. St. John vi. 15; xiii. 24; xx. 18--St. Matt. xxiv. 31. § 4. St. John xviii. 14--St. Mark vi. 11. § 5. St. Mark xiv. 41--St. John ix. 22. § 6. St. John xii. 7. § 7. St. John xvii. 4. § 8. St. Luke i. 66. § 9. St. Luke v. 7--Acts xx. 4. pp. 172-190

Causes of Corruption Chiefly Intentional. IX. Corruption by Heretics.

§ 1. This class very evident--Began in the earliest times--Appeal to what is earlier still--Condemned in all ages and countries. § 2. The earliest depravers of the Text--Tatian's Diatessaron. § 3. Gnostics--St. John i. 3-4. § 4. St. John x. 14, 15. § 5. Doctrinal--Matrimony--St. Matt i. 19. pp. 191-210

Causes of Corruption Chiefly Intentional. X. Corruption by the Orthodox.

§ 1. St. Luke xix. 41; ii. 40. § 2. St. John viii. 40; and i. 18. § 3. 1 Cor. xv. 47. § 4. St. John iii. 13. § 5. St. Luke ix. 54-56. pp. 211-231

Pericope de Adultera. pp. 233-265

Dr. Hort's Theory of Conflation and the Neutral Text. pp. 266-286

Index of Subjects. pp. 287-288

Index of Passages of the New Testament Discussed. pp. 289-290

THE CAUSES OF THE CORRUPTION OF THE TRADITIONAL TEXT OF THE HOLY GOSPELS.

In the companion volume to this, the Traditional Text, that is, the Text of the Gospels which is the resultant of all the evidence faithfully and exhaustively presented and estimated according to the best procedure of the courts of law, has been traced back to the earliest ages in the existence of those sacred writings. We have shewn, that on the one hand, amidst the unprecedented advantages afforded by modern conditions of life for collecting all the evidence bearing upon the subject, the Traditional Text must be found, not in a mere transcript, but in a laborious revision of the Received Text; and that on the other hand it must, as far as we can judge, differ but slightly from the Text now generally in vogue, which has been generally received during the last two and a half centuries.

Continue Reading →

John William Burgon, the late Dean of Chichester, opens this sequel to The Traditional Text of the Holy Gospels with a preface that immediately engages his critics. He acknowledges mixed reception—praise from some, weak arguments from others—and singles out a Guardian review for reply. Burgon defends his claim of a second-century origin for the Peshitto Syriac version, citing companionship with leading Syriac scholars and an article in the Church Quarterly Review. He also rebukes the reviewer for ignorance of recent palaeographical research, referencing Sir E. Maunde Thompson and F. G. Kenyon. This combative, scholarly tone sets the stage for a meticulous investigation into how the Gospel text became corrupted.

The Hazard of Short Clauses

Burgon devotes a striking passage to the vulnerability of short clauses—those of twelve to fourteen letters, the exact length of a line in early copies. He warns that when such omissions leave the sense unimpaired, modern critics are tempted to eject them from the text. As an example, he cites the omission of και οι συν αυτω (Luke 8:45) by Westcott and Hort, relegated to the margin by the Revisers, and bracketed by Tregelles. Burgon attributes this solely to a scribe skipping a line, followed by Codex B and a few other witnesses. He argues that remote omissions (second or third century) become entrenched: defective originals spawn defective copies, which are then cited as independent witnesses. The taint can even spread to Old Latin versions, creating formidable opponents. This analysis reveals Burgon’s deep concern with the mechanics of textual transmission and the lasting damage of early scribal errors.

Patristic Quotations as Witnesses

A central method in Burgon’s argument is the use of patristic quotations to determine the original text. He corrects a reviewer’s list of testimonies for Matthew 5:44 by insisting on three principles. First, the presence of the phrase υπερ των διωκοντων υμας (a label unique to Matthew) proves a quotation’s origin, even if the same words appear in Luke. Second, the context—sentences before or after the quote—often decides the reference. Third, he notes that Fathers commonly quote verse 45 of Matthew, which is unlikely if they had Luke 6:27–28 in mind. By applying these rules, Burgon revises the tally: before Chrysostom, twenty-five testimonies support the Traditional Text of Matthew 5:44, with only nine against. This methodological rigor underscores his conviction that patristic evidence, when properly handled, overwhelmingly favors the traditional readings.

The Weight of Early Versions

Burgon frequently appeals to early versions, especially the Peshitto Syriac, as guardians of the traditional text. In the preface, he dismisses a critic’s charge of “extravagant claim” for a second-century origin of the Peshitto, noting that he stands with leading Syriac scholars. Later, he discusses how omissions in Greek manuscripts can be reinforced by versions: the Sahidic, Curetonian, Lewis, and Jerusalem Syriac all follow Codex B in omitting και οι συν αυτω at Luke 8:45. Burgon sees this as a chain of dependence on a defective original. He also engages with Latin witnesses, remarking that the Old Latin versions, when tainted by early corruptions, become “formidable because very venerable foes.” His treatment of versions reveals a nuanced view: they are valuable but must be weighed critically, as they can perpetuate errors as easily as preserve authentic readings.

Readers approaching this work should be prepared for a dense, polemical style. Burgon writes as a defender of a tradition under attack, and his arguments are built on detailed collations of manuscripts, versions, and patristic citations. The book is best read alongside The Traditional Text of the Holy Gospels and with a critical edition of the Greek New Testament at hand. Burgon’s evidence is copious, but his conclusions are fiercely contested; this volume offers a window into the late-nineteenth-century debate over the textual basis of the Gospels.

Holding Burgon’s fierce defense of the Gospels, I remembered a worn copy of The Expositor’s Bible: The Epistle to the Galatians — Edition Insights on my grandfather’s shelf. Both feel like quiet letters from someone who loved the text enough to argue with it, and I miss that kind of patient company.