6. I still supposed that the originals were perfect; that in them we had the words of God just as they came from His own mind. 7. But I afterwards found that there were several originals,--or at least several Greek and Hebrew Bibles,--and that they also differed from each other to some extent, and that none of them could be said to be entirely free from error. 8. I learnt from Adam Clarke and others that the printed Greek and Hebrew Bibles had been compiled from _manuscripts_,--or from Bibles, or portions of the Bible, written by the hand, before the art of printing was known. 9. I also found that those manuscripts differed from each other, in a great many places, and that in some cases they differed on points supposed to be of considerable importance, and that it was impossible to tell which of the manuscripts were most correct. 10. I also learnt, that all existing manuscripts were copies of other manuscripts, and that the real original books, the books written by Moses and the Prophets, and by the Evangelists and Apostles, were all lost, so that it was impossible to tell, with absolute certainty, whether any of the manuscripts were absolutely correct,--that when the best and ablest men on earth had done their utmost, there would still be room for doubt as to the true reading, as well as to the correct meaning, of various portions of Scripture. 11. I next learned that there were differences of opinion among critics and divines as to whether certain books ought to have a place in the Bible or not. In my father's Bible there were several books called the Apocrypha. Some of these were very interesting. I used to read them with a great deal of pleasure. And large portions of others, especially those called _The Wisdom of Solomon_, and _Ecclesiasticus_, seemed as good, as true, and as beautiful as anything in the Book of Proverbs. My parents however told me, that those books were not to be put on a level with the other books of the Bible,--that there was some mystery about their origin, and that there was some doubt whether they were really a part of the word of God. 12. I afterwards learnt though, that they were regarded as part of God's word by the Catholics, and I continued to read large portions of them with much satisfaction and profit. 13. I also learnt from Adam Clarke and others, that there had been doubts in the minds of some of the ancient Christians with regard to the right of some of the Epistles and of the Book of Revelation to be admitted as parts of the Bible. And I afterwards found that the Book of Revelation was excluded from the Bible by the Greek Church, and by Luther as well:--and that Luther had but little regard for the Epistle of James, one of the finest portions of the whole Bible as I thought. 14. I further learnt that some had doubts as to the right of Solomon's Song to a place in the Bible, and I found that even Adam Clarke did not believe that it had any spiritual meaning.