D, and it will be seen that in all parts of ancient Christendom this portion of Scripture was familiarly known in early times.
But even this is not all.

Jerome, who was familiar with Greek MSS.

(and who handled none of later date than B and [Symbol: Aleph]), expressly relates (380) that the _pericope de adultera_ 'is found in many copies both Greek and Latin[608].' He calls attention to the fact that what is rendered 'sine peccato' is [Greek: anamartetos] in the Greek: and lets fall an exegetical remark which shews that he was familiar with copies which exhibited (in ver.

8) [Greek: egraphan enos ekastou auton tas amartias],--a reading which survives to this day in one uncial (U) and at least eighteen cursive copies of the fourth Gospel[609].

Whence is it--let me ask in passing--that so many Critics fail to see that _positive_ testimony like the foregoing far outweighs the adverse _negative_ testimony of [Symbol: Aleph]BT,--aye, and of AC to boot if they were producible on this point?
How comes it to pass that the two Codexes, [Symbol: Aleph] and B, have obtained such a mastery--rather exercise such a tyranny--over the imagination of many Critics as quite to overpower their practical judgement?
We have at all events established our first proposition: viz.