, R O M A T I P O G R A F I A P O N T I F I C I A DE L L P 10 I X THE REV ISION OF THE V ULGATE

In May 1 907 it was announced in the p u bli c p re s s t ha t he o t P p e had determined t o prepare for a critical revision of

. for the Latin Bible The need such a revision is well known . In spite ofif all the care which had been bestowed up o n the

H i s H ol i n es s Po e P u X , p i s .

preparation of the present authentic editi on published by Pop e

m V III i n 1 2 m Cle ent 59 , it has been recognised fro the first m that the text would have to be revised so e day . Genera

o tions have passed by , however , with ut the realisation of this m . o m expectation It has , indeed , been s eti es urged as a rep roach upon the autho rities of the Cath olic Church that nothin g had been d o ne in so i m porta nt a work : and in this , m o which is preeminently an age o f critical exa inati n , it would o f certainly app e ar proper that well recognised principles

t o t h e te x tual criticism should be applied establish best v L atin text o f the Holy Scriptures . Private indi iduals have

‘ fo r a re visio n - d one so m ething t o prepare the way such and

A n s e l m ome . En tr a nce to the Inte r na ti on a l Col l ege of S t . , R

they have received thanks and o th e r marks o f ap pro val from the autho rities ; but n o o fficial acti o n had been taken in the m o X i n t e n atter until His H liness , Pope Pius , announced his ti on o f preparing for the revisi o n . The present stage in the wo rk o f revisi on was o ffered to

c b the Benedi tines , and it was accepted y the re presentatives o f the vari ous Congre gati ons o f the O rder in the spri n g

$ of 1 90 7 . Alth ough fully re c o gnising that the work m ust n e c e s s a rll be o n a n d o wa s t o y ardu us , le g thy c stly , it felt be

m o t o s o o o a a . o i p ssible refuse h n urable t sk Abb t Gasquet , 5

n President of the English Benedicti es , being appointed head of mm i m the Co ssion of revision , a s all body of Benedictines m e t in the m onth of N ovember at the International College

. m m of St Ansel , Ro e , to take the first steps to organise the

n o task ge erally , to c nsider the scope o f the work com m itted m to the by the Holy See and t o determine the pri n ciples m which were to guide the in carrying it out .

o f mm limit e d ' n The obj ect the Co ission is definite and , a d it is clearly set fo rth in the charge given to the mem bers by

’ o . m f the P pe It is to deter ine the text o St . Jerom e s L atin m translation , ade in the fourth century . The task undertaken by this learned doctor of the Church in the last quarter of

o o f that century , was the pr duction an accurate text of the

Latin Bible t o take the place of the num erou s versions A then current . t the present day scholars are practically

agreed as to the com petence of St . Jerom e for the work

him o D a m a s u s . m . o given by P pe St He , ore ver , had access

o m o to Greek and ther anuscripts , even then c nsidered ancient , which are no longer known t o us ; he could co mpare d oz ens of texts for every one we can n ow examine and he had m eans

a o do n ot n ow of testing the value of his uth rities , which we

o possess . It is obvi us , therefore , that the p ossession of the pure ’

. m text of St Jero e s version is greatly to be desired , and it wo uld unquestionably furnish the basis of any critical edition of the present authentic Latin Bible . N o doubt our present m text substantially represents that which St . Jero e pro duced

n o in the fourth century , but less certainly is it clear that it

m m o stands in need o f close exa ination and uch c rrection . It is consequently the a im of the present Commissio n t o determine f o . m o . with all p ssible exactness the Latin text St Jero e , and not to pro duce any new version . How fa r St . Jerome was

o o m correct in his translation is alt gether an ther atter, and to determ ine this will no doubt be the work of some future

Co mm ission . — 6

m ke His H oliness , the Pope , fro the first has ta n a personal m it mm interest in the m atter . He ade clear to the Co ission that he desir ed the work of revision to be conducted u pon m / m the m os t approve d sci entific methods of odern ti es , and

s wa s that - no e xpense necessary to secure thoroughne s to be

0 r O n D m , 1 , spared . ece ber 3 9 7 he addressed a lette to the

s m a a . his own o Comm ission through its Pre ident , king cle r pers nal

o a n d e x ha u s tiv e e x a mi i nterest in . the w rk his desire that an

u m t h nation of the libraries of Europe sho ld be ade , in e hopes

' fl N e w

B l es s i ng of H i s Hol i n ess to a l l who a s s i s t the work.

of finding im portant but perhaps hitherto unrecognised m anuscripts of the L atin Bible . He urged all to assist the

m m . o w e Co ission in its w rk , hich he d clared to be , in his

o m m m for pinion , at the present ti e ost useful and i portant

the good of religi on . In its first sessi on the Co mmis sion de te rm ined t o m ake m the College of St . Ansel the centre of the work and to gather together there the collatio ns of all the m anuscripts

the m ade by or for the m embers . For the purpose of collation it was determ ined to print a copy o f the present Clem entin e

of t h L - e . e te xt , atin Scriptures ; each page , to the xtent of two

n o thirds of its surface , being left blank ; with capital letters ,

n o m m no stops , word divided and in every way ade as uch 7

k m n ' . s . . W x 5 0 e a li e a a uscript as po sible ith this te t , pr p red, m the reviser , on co paring it with a manuscript he desires m to collate , by the si ple device of correcting the print

a o like an ordin ry . pro f sheet , is able to reproduce every im

of m . portant feature . the. anuscript

G en era l h In . vi ew of t e te r na ti ona l Coll ege of S t . Ans e lm, Rome

o of m m . m The three versi ns the Psal s , ade by St Jero e at

o m m vari us ti es , have necessitated a special treat ent ofthe printed

' two [Pana m a G a l/zca n a sheets . The first , the and the , which were

om m old [ l a /a made by St . Jer e fro the ; version , corrected by the

of Greek version the Septuagint , have . been printed on the

$ mm t o same sheet . The part co on the two versions is in the

- T h a middle an d the differen ces on either side . is shows at glan ce where the versions differ and the sheet serves for

T h m . e om the collat ion of either . e third version , ade by St J r e h s e ne c . For thi s a s peci al pr inte d sheet a b en essary

' ‘ - XXIV . La v[T m xxm. 43 . Q . a)

d e nsneste r '$ lo t ut u sq we e at moys c s supe r ' s ollle ni mt a t ibus dam-i nn

e s t d omin u s ad moys e n

pur is s imu-m a n a d co n ci n n a n a s ' ' 3 lu ce rn a s pp-gite r e xtra

‘ - - f d e i m t abe rn a c u lo oe s, pone rme Ea s a a 'ron a Tfés p e re u s q u e oo ra m do mino

- g en er a t i oni bu s . u c St ris 4 svi rp c a hdc la brW

'L ' m m-nd is s im mrf [DO -TI CEEU I i s e mp e r 1h c on s p e c tu

- s in g-git ha bebu mE d ua- s

' 6 dgc-i rrl a s qu oru m

’ ‘ i -ne ns a m p ar is s i ma m

e c o r-a m d o mino st at u s

s empiterno 9 e ru n tque

’ showi n Pa ge of pri n te d Bibl e , g

o f t he o i ha s t l m os e m a n d c llat ons , aken a t t welv onths ; the p rep ar ation of t he te xt a n d the c orr ecti on o f the proof shee ts ne n o i h T he r d alo has been l g t tas k, p o uction has also bee o t l m a ver y c s y atte r; O n e . hu ndred co re s ha e

PS A L MO R U M . L XXV FIJ . u . L XXIX. a

se cun du m magn itu din e m hua c hu tu i pos s id e Fil ios morti fieatoru m mom: u p n itoru m

' l z e (

' ' re dde u ic injs nost ris

' s e p t u plu- m i n s im t

l psomu u e x robra u ef u rl tib‘i p t. ' domine 3 n os au t e m

‘ ’ p op u fu s t u n s e-t o n es pa s cana tuae g re gjs tug

‘ c on fii r te bmg tibi

$ i n Sa e Cq n i (lei -i s i n s a eéula i n e ne ra ti on c m i i n s a ecu lu m g .c , ' c t e n e ra t ion e m a w l li n a rra bifims g s a n n u nt ia bimu s

la u de m ma m L X X LX m ri m : Pag ms Q U I c om M‘ BuNr' un

' ‘ l lss rirs i d xmujm A-sa pu ‘ vsmm t‘s

' ‘ u e lu t -o u em ios e plr

' q u i s e de s supe r c he rubim man ife sta re a ppa ra re 3 $20mm e h a im p r F a e phre m be n ia mi n at m a n a s se

e xcita p ote n tiam t-u a m

e t me n 'i u t sal qos fat ia s nos -dL-us d omme;

‘ ‘ ' ui rtu t tl rn

u - e t a lu i, e rimus . s

5 domi n e d eus fli rt-u na m

PS A Lu on w

Pa e of ri nted Bi b e - g p l Psa lms .

p rin ted p ap er ; u p on o rdi nary book pape r a n d 60 upon thin pa per

m w ha e e i e t x e e a d Co m is sion . ould V h s t at d o inc ur the e p ns h

I ,

not the Pope decided that this was the best system to secure

$ $ $ - ‘ r li e h m f t oo has - n w ' tho oughness , i sel o a dva n c e d the mon e y ' for t bs p rin t in g

3 ' ‘ B . s p roduc tion of ib duri n t he : e ides the the B le , g past year

I f

V ol umes of fi n i s hed colla ti ons .

: considerable progress has be en made with the preparation

‘ ‘ f H a n d - L i s i n t h libra rie E r o a t of e s of u ope. _ ' _

'

‘ ' This should be found to be of considerable utility to- others $ : $ : ‘ $ $ besides those eng aged in this work. A certain number of

b i n i be e n v i sit e d li ra ries . var ous countries have already and r ib their contents , so far as Latin B lical texts are concerned , have been n oted and in some instances copied or collated . S tor e oi pr i nted Bi bl es New Tes ta men t . Before this report is in c irc u l a t i on ' a member of the Comm issio n with some assistants will have been already for some time in m i m b C S p ain , ak ng a syste atic search in the li raries and athedral

archives of that country . Already some fift een co llaborators are at work in vari ous

l n m m parts of Europe , col ati g the ost i portant Manuscripts

u T obias De - bon is op eril us T obia e

T obias Q uod - T qbia s i n ca p ti vitat e i robi ais De T ob n a salma na sar rez e T obias U n de T o bia s fue rit ct qu alit er T obias De vi rt utibus T obiae Iu dith A rfa xa t re x Me dorom su pe ra tis l u dit h D e re gn o a rfa xa t c l de ma gn itudinc

I n d- 1h A rfa xa t rc x egba ta nis pugn an do

‘ J u dith De- pugn a in te r arla xa t Es th e r De co n vnvi o A ssuc ri Es the r De yreéno ass u eri e t de c on vivio V as na Es the r I be con vivio z ss ue ri. ll thi regi Es the r De con vi vio reg is m ue ri c l de re pu dio lob De lob ct pos sess ion: e ius l De on v v o fili oru m l ob ob c i i l ob De origin e l ob l ob Des cri ptio lob

Prov. A d s c ie n da m sa pie n ti am Eccl V e rba Eccles i as te s t 5 3 p . De dilige n do i us i timn S ira ch Q u od O mn is s a pien tia a Domino '

1 i m i . Il . fi Pro v De pa ra bol s S alo on s A ect u patris Eccl Q uo d va n ita s va nita t um s it

a De dili e n da i us t it l a S p . g S ira ch O mn is s a pie n tia a Domino ls a ias S e rmo Domin i su pe r H ic rusale m

Iere m. In u te ro ma tris

Eze ch. V si io IV an ima li n m

D . filii ti vi ta tis a n Dc s ca p

Ma ch. U bi a ve rs a H i e rusa le m U bi occis us s t A n ti ochus

S peci men of ta bl e for noti ng Ca p i tu l a s i n

W with the prep ared authentic text . hen these have been

t h n o e w , finishe d , and e variants thus ted have b en revie ed if

of w b u p ossible by a second pair eyes , they ill be ound p and

’ ’

' ' l rn s in rm . A n s added to the c olle Ct ion be g fo ed at St e , for

’ ‘ s ix or m o o o b e which already , seven i p rtant c llati ns have e n

m ade .

F o r the purpose of Weighi ng the value of a n v manuscript m it is useful , if not absolutely necessary , to deter ine the place i m i fl or country from which t ca e , and the n uences to which — I 4

$ it was subj ected in th e process of m aking . It is now understood

’ Ca ztn /a s m m that the p , or as we ight call the tables of

m o contents , which are to be found in st ancient Bibles

o f before each Bo ok o f Sacred Scripture , are great value in

' r s n i de ra le ro e s . determining this p la c e of origin . Co s b p g has

Boa rd Room.

' already been m ade in collecti n g the various versions o f these

$ Ca zZzz/a s d c ons a o d p , which iffer ider bly acc r ing to the infl u ences h w ich presided at their original c om positi on . For the p u r p ose of m aking this collecti on a fa d/e has been drawn up giving

’ ' ' zn cz zts of $ f the best known p each book , and already this a d/e

' $ ‘ has been com pared with a vast nu mber of Capzzu l a s found

$ in the Bibles of m an y libraries of Euro pe . To carry on the work p rop erly a large s u m of money

~ will obviously be required . - A lthou gh the wo rkers give their r services g atuitously , they have to be s upport ed whilst t e la b0u r h y ; journeys have to be p a id for ; neces sary books ha ve to be b o ught ; p rinting bills have to be m e t ; photo graphs have to be secured and for many other things money has

' It to be found . has been roughly esti mated that about a thou sand pounds a year Will be req uired for the work now actually b c a rri d f eing e ou t . This part of the revision will p o ssibly m take fro eight to ten years , and thus probably an entire s u m m 8000 1 0000 of fro to p ounds sterling will be necessary . This m a ount though considerable , will not appear excessive when it is re m e mbe re d tha t the Germ an scholar von Soden got

from o n e L utheran lady marks t o assist him in a

’ s omewhat s imila r work in rega rd t o the G reek text of the N w m e . i t e Testa ent To deal w th , h financial side of the work ,

u for t to acco nt all receipts and expenditure o the Holy Father , mm W V . o the Co ission has the services of the ery Rev . C rney

O . . . o S B Pr curator General o f the English C ongregation . Already m any have kindly and generously assisted the m o m o . om m work of the C ission by their donati ns Fr A erica , in

m n on - o o f particular and even fro Cath lics , a great portion

the m oney to m eet the initial expenses ha s been received ; if

f o f who of we excep t the gi t the Holy Father , in spite the

m him o any calls upon , has pr ved the interest he takes in the m work , by his generosity . It has been suggested that ore

m o m would gladly take so e part in the work , if s e practical

o f m suggestion were m ade . The Bishops Belgiu have set an excellent exam ple of how t o assist by each m aking him self

2 resp onsible for 00 francs yearly , which in this case is collected

m . o m m m by His E inence Cardinal Mercier Fr A erica also so e ,

’ m o o f . like the Professors St Bernard s Se inary at R chester ,

have sent annual subscriptions . If the Right Reverend the Bishops in various countries wo uld give or collect some small s u m i r e m annually , and f mo e s e minaries would ulate the

m e of t h o d o t he exa pl Rochester , e w rk woul g on without

fia l e e t s Com m s i n . n ncia strain , which at p r s n presse upon the i s o

- bu s m r or n t . ma Contri tion , howe ver s all whethe annual o y

be sent either to :

A ET T he Right R ev . Abbot G SQ U ’ S a n t A n s e lm-o , Aventino R O ME

' - 1 6 H arp u r St .

L O N DO N w . c . England

or t o

V . W. R N E$ . . Rev CO O . S B

at the sam e addresses .

2 7 3 794 0

Co e o . nc pti n , Ame ri ca

s t b 1 Abbot Ga que , A bot Pres En Con r

' ’ M n r d s m r i S t . e i a A , e ca

R a i e r n g , Austria

o m Bish p Haid , A erica

a m h s L bac , Au tria

l oc an c e Be l , Fr

F i n a l ia p , Italy

V e ic e I a n , t ly

War . Granville d , Esq do

o f r mi r me i Profess rs o R ocheste S e na y , A r ca

M m . rs . M ackay, A erica M iss Lucy Vl b a r to n D re x e ll Am erica

w . Ste art Coats , Esq

Carthusian Fathers , Rome

Es . E . G . Pauling , q ngland

The D u ke di Ca rdinale .

- . l V l s l e Es . . e l e F y , q

E . . L s H H . ee , q

E . E. a s M rtyn , q

. Na . A varro , Esq Madame Na varro

' Rev . Dr . Burton ,

. W V R e v Ca n . . ade

. E . . s G F Engelbach , q Anon

D r . R e v . . E alton, I eland

s Es . Haye , q England Miss Hirons

. do ke Es . R Ber ley , q

’

. 0 . n i c . Rev Be tley, Amer a

. u Es . H B nbury , q

L l l ‘ e 4 46 6821 8

D . D . . u a Es Ame i a J rw rd , q r c

i d m c M ss Re ing , A eri a Bank Inte re st (1 908)

Tota l rec e i pts t o date

Bala n ce i n hand

n n a ri i A u l S u bs c pt i on s p rom s e d .

- b of i r K ro n 'e n I o o : A bey Mart nsbe g , do S

‘ - - l m i . e a Ca s s es . . A ric n n e C o ng regat Q S B dols . 5 00

' Abbey of K re m s m ti n s te r

‘ G . F Engel bach Es q .

R e v . Dr. Burton

W. A . G . E . He wins , sq