CURRENT LITERAT1JRE.
The Pour Gospels, Harmonised and Translated. By Leo Tolstoy. Part I. (Walter Scott.)—Count Tolstol has titles to our respect, but he can hardly be regarded as a critic. Anything more opposed to all canons of the critical art than this book can laardly be conceived. The authority of the codices, the quotations of the Fathers, considerations of grammar, all that is commonly regarded as the subject-matter of criticism, goes for nothing. What Count Tolstoi: prefers, as suiting his views or commending itself to his intelligence, or, it should rather be said, his feeling, is to be preferred. In St. John i. 1, the orthodox version gives no meaning whatever." It has meant much to sixty generations of Christians, but the new interpreter steps for- ward, and "In the beginning was the Word" gives place to In the beginning of all things was made the intelligence of life." The reasons given for the change are extraordinary. Here is one, " iv, from the verb s4 signifies, not only exist- .ence, but also change ; and may, indeed must, often be trans- lated, was made, became." Turn where we will in this volume, we find the same strange disregard of everything but the writer's own personality. The Czar is not so autocratic in politics as the Count in criticism. "I omit in my translation the words, 'heal- ing all kinds of diseases,' as being unnecessary." "According to Luke, Jesus said,--` Blessed are you vagrants ; because yours is the Kingdom of Heaven.'" "In many copies (Matt. xi. 2) we have Zia instead of Go. Afa is the better reading because the number of
the disciples is quite unimportant." We have italicised this reason because it gives the Count's method of criticism in a nutshell." "I prefer it ; therefore it is what the Evangelist wrote."
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