from them very widely.

6. I still supposed that the originals were perfect; that in them we had
the words of God just as they came from His own mind.

7. But I afterwards found that there were several originals,--or at
least several Greek and Hebrew Bibles,--and that they also differed from
each other to some extent, and that none of them could be said to be
entirely free from error.

8. I learnt from Adam Clarke and others that the printed Greek and
Hebrew Bibles had been compiled from _manuscripts_,--or from Bibles, or
portions of the Bible, written by the hand, before the art of printing
was known.

9. I also found that those manuscripts differed from each other, in a
great many places, and that in some cases they differed on points
supposed to be of considerable importance, and that it was impossible to
tell which of the manuscripts were most correct.

10. I also learnt, that all existing manuscripts were copies of other
manuscripts, and that the real original books, the books written by
Moses and the Prophets, and by the Evangelists and Apostles, were all
lost, so that it was impossible to tell, with absolute certainty,
whether any of the manuscripts were absolutely correct,--that when the
best and ablest men on earth had done their utmost, there would still be
room for doubt as to the true reading, as well as to the correct
meaning, of various portions of Scripture.

11. I next learned that there were differences of opinion among critics
and divines as to whether certain books ought to have a place in the
Bible or not. In my father's Bible there were several books called the
Apocrypha. Some of these were very interesting. I used to read them with
a great deal of pleasure. And large portions of others, especially those
called _The Wisdom of Solomon_, and _Ecclesiasticus_, seemed as good, as
true, and as beautiful as anything in the Book of Proverbs. My parents
however told me, that those books were not to be put on a level with
the other books of the Bible,--that there was some mystery about their
origin, and that there was some doubt whether they were really a part of
the word of God.

12. I afterwards learnt though, that they were regarded as part of God's
word by the Catholics, and I continued to read large portions of them
with much satisfaction and profit.

13. I also learnt from Adam Clarke and others, that there had been
doubts in the minds of some of the ancient Christians with regard to the
rig