of the thought is narrowed, its finer lines obscured, and that which is of more importance than all else, the fitness of the expression, is altogether lost. The utmost strictness of literal translation is a poor compensation for the resultant poverty of language and dilution of thought; and by as much as the original is more impressive in its rich and fitting garb, by so much the more is it made to appear mean and unlike itself when forced to clothe itself in scanty second-hand habiliments. We have said thus much on this point for two reasons: first, because it is on this chiefly that Mr. Sawyer appeals to the public for a verdict in favor of his translation; and secondly, because it is a common and popular notion, that, the more literal a translation can be made, especially in the case of the Bible, the better and more trustworthy it will be. And we are willing to admit, that, in translating the Holy Scriptures, the greatest degree of strictness in literal rendering, compatible with the full and correct expression of the thought, is and should be a first consideration; the translator should take no liberties with the text, by way either of omission, alteration, or compromise; he must in no way vitiate the thought; and if he keep within this rule, he will have escaped just criticism, and may claim the merit of faithfulness to his task. Has Mr. Sawyer, then, in his New Testament, given a strictly literal rendering? and is it an improvement on the common version? We have space for only a few specimens of his translation, and we have taken some of the first that attracted our notice; it will be observed that they are none of them abstruse or disputed passages. COMMON VERSION. _Matt_. ii. 16. "Then Herod, when he saw that he was _mocked_ of the _wise men_, was exceeding wroth, and sent forth and _slew_ all the children that were in Bethlehem and in all the coasts thereof, from two years old and under, according to the time which he _had diligently inquired_ of the _wise men_." SAWYER'S VERSION. _Chap_. ii. _verse_ 4. "Then Herod seeing that he was _despised_ by the _Magi_, was exceedingly angry, and sent and _destroyed_ all the children, in Bethlehem, and in all its borders, from two years old and under, according to the precise time which he _had learned_ of the _Magi_."