THE POPE AND THE BIBLE.

Poverty Bay Herald, Volume XXXV, Issue 11248, 11 April 1908, Page 1 (Supplement)

THE POPE AND THE BIBLE.

HOW THE VULGATE IS BEING , REVISED. An interesting article m the Pall Mall Magazine from tho, peii of Salvatore Cortesi describes how Dom Gasquet, the English Benedictine abbot, is beginning his laborious work of revising the Vulgatei — the Latin version of the Scriptures authorised by the Roman Catholic Church. The work has been entrusted by the Pope to t}ie Benedictine Order, and Abbot Gasquet was chosen as head of the Revision Committee. He -has -'a numbei of learned collaborators, but it is declared that the help of anyone, ecclesiastic or laymari, . Catholic, or nonCatholic, Christian or non-Christian, will bo accepted, it being a question above all of leai ping. / , _"/Xl?.bot Gasquet .is determined' to de^ dicate the ' remainder o£ : liis life to Kis revision, and he has already set to work m his cell m the great; Benedictine Monastery on the crown of the Avontine. '>■'.. "ABANDONED ALL FOR IT." " 'Twenty years ago,' said the learned Abbot to me,.. 'Leo XIII. tet me to historical research, which I pursued without interruption 5 now Pius X. orders me to revise the Vulgate, and 1 haye 1 willingly abandoned all for it — studies, work, friends," country.' "As to the programme to be followed, it is as yet -difficult to speak; Abbot Gasqu-ct* thinking that m the first s'x months ! which he will pass m Italy, chiefiy m Rome, it, will already be a great achievement if he can begin to make use of the first material accumulated. .'."■... "To have an idea of how gigantic the work is, it will be sufiie'eht to say that the Ab^bot believes that the early* MSS! to be entirely collated .arranged, divided, etc., amount to perhaps twenty thousand. They may be more, as there are countries like bpain m which libraries and archives attached to the different cathedrals have MSS. which are quite- unknown to scholars ; it is, therelore, necessary to send Benedictines to each of these countries to carry the MSS. to Rome if possible, and, if not, to photograph them, or when. even this is not allowed, to copy tliem^ THE POPE'S DESIRE/ "Every effort will be directed to the reconstruction, as- far as possible, of the text of St. Jerome, which will be the foundation of the revision, but the next step will be. to discover how far St. Jerome himself was correct. "The Psalms, probably, will be the fust portion to be undertaken. St. Jerome made three versions — the last direct from the Hebrew; 'Tho thirdy translation from the Hebrew came when the Gallicana (a version from the Greek) had become so popular that the new one, although better, was not adopted. The differences are enormous, as can be seen by comparing the Psalms m the present Vulgate with the version m the English Book of Common Prayer, which last practically represents tHe Hebrew one. "Pius X. manifested to the writer of this article h's firm de-sh-e that the work should be conducted! on such scientific lines us to conyince all that what is aimed at is the truth, and notliing but the truth, so ■ that all shall bo satisfied with the, result." '/ '-■'