9.  Formerly but one version was known to exist in the language of the ancient Egyptians.  This, which was made in the dialect of lower Egypt, was naturally called Coptic.  When it was discovered that another version existed in the dialect of upper Egypt, the Arabic term Sahidic was applied to it.  But since the word Coptic is generic, applying to both dialects alike, it has been proposed to call the former version Copto-Memphitic or simply Memphitic, from Memphis, the ancient capital of lower Egypt; and the latter Copto-Thebaic or Thebaic, from Thebes, the celebrated capital of ancient upper Egypt.  When these versions were executed cannot be determined with certainty.  But they existed in the fourth century, and probably in the latter part of the third century.  Their high antiquity gives to them great value in textual criticism.  The latter of them, however, exists only in a fragmentary form.  Some fragments of a third version, differing from both the Memphitic and the Thebaic, have been discovered.  To this, the epithet Bashmuric has been applied, from the Arabian name Bashmur, a district of lower Egypt in the Delta to the East.  But Egyptian scholars doubt whether the term is well applied, as the version is said to have stronger affinity to the Thebaic than to the Memphitic version.

The Memphitic and Thebaic versions are said to have contained the whole Bible, that of the Old Testament being made from the Septuagint.  The whole Memphitic New Testament has been several times published, but never in such a manner as to meet the wants of Biblical criticism.  Of the Thebaic version only some fragments have been published.

10.  An Ethiopic version of the whole Bible exists in the ancient dialect of Axum.  That of the Old Testament was made from the Septuagint; that of the New is a close version of the original Greek.  The age to which it belongs is not known.  Many of the readings of its text are said to show an affinity with the older class of Greek manuscripts, while others are of a later character.  This leads to the suspicion that the version has undergone revision by the aid of later Greek manuscripts.  An edition of the whole Bible is in process of publication in Germany.

IV.  THE GOTHIC AND OTHER VERSIONS.

11.  The first information which European scholars had of the existence of a Gothic version of the New Testament was in the sixteenth century, when one Morillon copied from a Gothic manuscript in the library of the Monastery of Werden in Westphalia the Lord’s Prayer and some other parts, which were afterwards published.  When the Swedes, in 1648, took Prague, among the spoils sent to Stockholm was the celebrated Codex Argenteus, Silver manuscript, containing a copy of the Gothic gospels written on purple vellum in silver letters, except the beginnings