6. A SUMMARY OF OTHER EARLY PRINTED WITNESSES TO THE BYZANTINE TEXT.

a) The Complutensian

The absurd and excessive veneration of the Complutensian editors for the Latin Vulgate is proved by the following sentence from their Preface to the Old Testament: “We locate the Latin translation of the Blessed Jerome in the middle, as though between the Synagogue¹ and the Eastern Church,² placing, as it were, Jesus, that is, the Roman or Latin Church, in the middle between the two thieves on either side.” The New Testament Greek text is of the Byzantine type, but inferior, in respect of its congruence with the Textus Receptus, to the text of Erasmus, to the Aldine, and to that of Colinaeus. Nevertheless its general agreement with the text used to form the Stephanus 1550 was, according to Stephanus himself, “remarkable” (Preface to the 1546 “O mirificam” edition).

b) The Aldine Edition

This has been falsely claimed to be a reproduction of Erasmus’ first edition, with unique variations. On the contrary, as has been demonstrated, Erasmus used its unpublished readings in at least one instance, whilst working on his first edition, to supply text missing in the manuscripts available to him. The Aldine edition of 1518 agrees well with Erasmus’ text and is an independent, and early, witness to the veracity of the Textus Receptus.

c) The Edition of Colinaeus.

As with the Aldine edition, the edition of Simon Colinaeus, Paris, 1534, has been assumed to be largely a reproduction of Erasmus’ text, with variations. The truer estimate would be that it supports the veracity of Erasmus’ text, and consequently of the Textus Receptus.

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