h I have to make, must be deferred for the present [5:2]; but on the
other point I venture to say that any fairly trained schoolboy will feel
himself constrained by the rules of Greek grammar to deny what our
author considers it 'impossible' even 'to doubt.' He himself is quite
unconscious of the difference between the infinitive and the indicative,
or in other words between the oblique and the direct narrative; and so
he boldly translates [Greek: einai ten diastolen] as though it were
[Greek: estai] (or [Greek: mellei einai]) [Greek: he diastole], and
[Greek: eirekenai ton Kurion] as though it were [Greek: eireken ho
Kurios]. This is just as if a translator from a German original were to
persist in ignoring the difference between 'es sey' and 'es ist' and
between 'der Herr sage' and 'der Herr sagt.' Yet so unconscious is our
author of the real point at issue, that he proceeds to support his view
by several other passages in which Irenaeus 'interweaves' his own
remarks, because they happen to contain the words [Greek: dia touto],
though in every instance the indicative and _not the infinitive_ is
used. To complete this feat of scholarship he proceeds to charge Dr
Westcott with what 'amounts to a falsification of the text [5:3],'
because this scholarly writer has inserted the words 'they taught' to
show that in the original the sentence containing the reference to St
John is in the oblique narrative and therefore reports the words of
others [5:4]. I shall not retort this charge of 'falsification,' because
I do not think that the cause of truth is served by imputing immoral
motives to those from whom we differ; and indeed the context shows that
our author is altogether blind to the grammatical necessity. But I would
venture to ask whether it would not have been more prudent, as well as
more seemly, if he had paused before venturing, under the shelter of an
anonymous publication, to throw out this imputation of dishonesty
against a writer of singular candour and moderation, who has at least
given to the world the hostage and the credential of an honoured name.
It is necessary to add that our author persists in riveting this
grammatical error on himself. He returns to the charge again in two
later footnotes [6:1] and declares himself to have shown 'that it [the
reference to the Fourth Gospel] must be referred to Irenaeus himself,
and that there is no ground for attributing it to the Presbyters at
all.' 'Most critics,' he cont