though destitute of a balance of authority: as it is now proposed to read, the passage would have absolutely no parallel in the simple and transparent sentences of St. Mark. We must therefore be guided by the balance of evidence, and that is turned by the cursive testimony.] Sec. 3. Another minute but interesting indication of the accuracy and fidelity with which the cursive copies were made, is supplied by the constancy with which they witness to the preposition [Greek: en] (_not the numeral_ [Greek: hen]) in St. Mark iv. 8. Our Lord says that the seed which 'fell into the good ground' 'yielded by ([Greek: en]) thirty, and by ([Greek: en]) sixty, and by ([Greek: en]) an hundred.' Tischendorf notes that besides all the uncials which are furnished with accents and breathings (viz. EFGHKMUV[Symbol: Pi]) 'nearly 100 cursives' exhibit [Greek: en] here and in ver. 20. But this is to misrepresent the case. All the cursives may be declared to exhibit [Greek: en], e.g. all Matthaei's and all Scrivener's. I have myself with this object examined a large number of Evangelia, and found [Greek: en] in all. The Basle MS. from which Erasmus derived his text[127] exhibits [Greek: en],--though he printed [Greek: hen] out of respect for the Vulgate. The Complutensian having [Greek: hen], the reading of the Textus Receptus follows in consequence: but the Traditional reading has been shewn to be [Greek: en],--which is doubtless intended by [Greek: EN] in Cod. A. Codd. [Symbol: Aleph]C[Symbol: Delta] (two ever licentious and [Symbol: Delta] similarly so throughout St. Mark) substitute for the preposition [Greek: en] the preposition [Greek: eis],--(a sufficient proof to me that they understand [Greek: EN] to represent [Greek: en], not [Greek: hen]): and are followed by Tischendorf, Tregelles, and the Revisers. As for the chartered libertine B (and its servile henchman L), for the first [Greek: en] (but not for the second and third) it substitutes the preposition [Greek: EIS]: while, in ver. 20, it retains the first [Greek: en], but omits the other two. In all these vagaries Cod. B is followed by Westcott and Hort[128]. Sec. 4.