§ 5. On referring to the passage where my “simplicity” has afforded amusement to a friend whose brilliant conversation is always a delight to _me_, I read as follows,— “It is discovered that in the 111 (out of 320) pages of a copy of Lloyd’s Greek Testament, in which alone these five manuscripts are collectively available for comparison in the Gospels,—the serious deflections of A from the _Textus Receptus_ amount in all to only 842: whereas in C they amount to 1798: in B, to 2370: in א, to 3392: in D, to 4697. The readings _peculiar to_ A within the same limits are 133: those peculiar to C are 170. But those of B amount to 197: while א exhibits 443: and the readings peculiar to D (within the same limits), are no fewer than 1829.... We submit that these facts are not altogether calculated to inspire confidence in codices B א C D.”(12) § 6. But how (let me ask) does it appear from this, that I have “put forth Lloyd’s Greek Testament as the _final standard of Appeal_”? True, that, in order to exhibit clearly their respective divergences, I have referred five famous codices (A B א C D)—certain of which are found to have turned the brain of Critics of the new school—_to one and the same familiar exhibition of the commonly received Text of the New Testament_: but by so doing I have not by any means assumed _the Textual purity_ of that common standard. In other words I have not made it “_the final standard of Appeal_.” _All_ Critics,—wherever found,—at all times, have collated with the commonly received Text: but only as the most convenient _standard of Comparison_; not, surely, as the absolute _standard of Excellence_. The result of the experiment already referred to,—(and, I beg to say, it was an exceedingly laborious experiment,)—has been, to demonstrate that the five Manuscripts in question stand apart from one another in the following proportions:— 842 (A) : 1798 (C) : 2370 (B) : 3392 (א) : 4697 (D). But would not the same result have been obtained if the “five old uncials” had been _referred to any other common standard which can be named_? In the meantime, what else is the inevitable inference from this phenomenon but that four out of the five _must_ be—while all the five _may_ be—outrageously depraved documents? instead of being fit to be made our exclusive guides to the Truth of Scripture,—as Critics of the school of Tischendorf and Tregelles would have us believe that they are?