Absolutely decisive of the true reading of the passage—irrespectively of internal considerations—ought to be the consideration that it is vouched for _by every known copy_ of the Gospels of whatever sort, excepting only א A B D: the first and third of which, however, were anciently corrected and brought into conformity with the Received Text; while the second (A) is observed to be so inconstant in its testimony, that in the primitive “Morning-hymn” (given in another page of the same codex, and containing a quotation of S. Luke ii. 14), the correct reading of the place is found. D’s complicity in error is the less important, because of the ascertained sympathy between that codex and the Latin. In the meantime the two Syriac Versions are a full set-off against the Latin copies; while the hostile evidence of the Gothic (which this time sides with the Latin) is more than neutralized by the unexpected desertion of the Coptic version from the opposite camp. The Armenian, Georgian, Æthiopic, Slavonic and Arabian versions, are besides all with the Received Text. It therefore comes to this:—We are invited to make our election between every other copy of the Gospels,—every known Lectionary,—and (not least of all) the ascertained ecclesiastical usage of the Eastern Church from the beginning,—on the one hand: and the testimony of four Codices without a history or a character, which concur in upholding a patent mistake, on the other. Will any one hesitate as to which of these two parties has the stronger claim on his allegiance? Could doubt be supposed to be entertained in any quarter, it must at all events be borne away by the torrent of Patristic authority which is available on the present occasion:— In the IInd century,—we have the testimony of (1) Irenæus.(90) In the IIIrd,—that of (2) Origen(91) in 3 places,—and of (3) the _Apostolical Constitutions_(92) in 2. In the IVth,—(4) Eusebius,(93)—(5) Aphraates the Persian,(94)—(6) Titus of Bostra,(95) each twice;—(7) Didymus(96) in 3 places;—(8) Gregory of Nazianzus,(97)—(9) Cyril of Jerusalem,(98)—(10) Epiphanius(99) twice;—(11) Gregory of Nyssa(100) 4 times,—(12) Ephraem Syrus,(101)—(13) Philo bishop of Carpasus,(102)—(14) Chrysostom,(103) in 9 places,—and (15) a nameless preacher at Antioch,(104)—all these, _contemporaries (be it remembered) of_ B _and_ א, are found to bear concurrent testimony in favour of the commonly received text.