Ethiopic Didascalia

Platt 1834 historical front matter, source page 18

X PREFACE. instance, will be omitted, and then the inference follow: in the Greek Text, the whole argument having been stated, the connexion is natural and obvious, but here of course it is entirely obscured. So in quoting Texts from Scripture, part of a passage will be given, and the very clause of it which relates to the point in hand, omitted. To form any conclusions from such a Translation as this, either as to the original reading of any passage in the Greek Constitutions, or as to the Ancient Doctrine and Discipline of the Church, must of course be very hazardous. If it could be more safely depended upon, some not unimportant deductions might probably be drawn from it. I wiU give but one instance. In the Constitutions, Lib. II. cap. 57, at the end, after prescribing a form of prayer to be used by the Bishop at the time of celebrating the Sacrament of the Lord's Supper, the text goes on : Mera Ss raxha yivicrddi f) dvcria, harutTo^ iravTos rov \aov, Koi irpocreii^ofj.evov ^(Tvvcof, Koi arav a.veve)(d'^, iJLerTaXa^jiavETiA> EKcicrrrj rd^ts Kad' eavrrjv tov KvpiaKov crunaTos Koi rov Tifxiov atnaros, iv Ta^ec, fjiera alSovs Kac ev\a^eias, wf ^aaiXeois Trpocrefrxpfisvoi crw/iarr koi ai yvvatKes KaTaKSKaM/fifievat ttjv Ke<j)a\i]v, coj apfJ-o^et yvvaiKW ra^ei, •Kpocrep^io'dwcrav ^vKar- Tecrducrav Se at dvpai, fJ.tp'ts aTTiaros elciXdot, rj dfivtjro^. " Postea vero fiat sacrificium, cuncto populo stante, et silentio precante, et oblatione facta, quisque ordo seorsum corpus Domini et pretiosum sanguinem sumat, accedentes ordine cum pudore et reverentia, utpote ad corpus regis. Item mulieres operto capite, ut ordinem earum decet, accedant. Januse autem sedis sacrae custodiantur, ne quis infidelis, aut non baptizatus, ingrediatur." (Versio Latina Turriani.) Upon this passage, Tunianus the Jesuit, in his edition printed at Antwerp, 1578, makes the following note, turning it against the Protestants : — "En sancta Eueharistia sacrificium est secundum Apostolicam doctrinam, et corpus Domini extra usum et sumptionem : non enim praecipit haec Apostolica constitutio sumere tantum cum reverentia, sed accedere cum reverentia ad sumendum. Quod si reverentia opus sit ad accedendum, accedere autem ad sumendum, non est sumere, igitur ante sump- tionem est reverentia dignum, quia est corpus Domini : et si accessus cum reverentia est pius et laude dignus, cur non erit pia et lande digna circumgestatio cum reverentia, contra Protestantes?" But to this passage, as represented in the Ethiopic Version, the above re- marks cannot in any way be applied : for it stands thus : " And after that the Priests have taken into their hands the Mysteries, let them take heed that none enter who are not believers. And then let the people stand up, and let the women also, by themselves, veil their heads, and let them stretch out their hands, and pray for pardon, and receive His flesh and precious blood." (p. 97.) The words Iflrh : and Tfl<h : which are of frequent occurrence, I have gene-