Hort: Confirmation bias or careful scholarship?

[Steven Avery]

MMR - Matthew Murphy Rose - has put together some of the quotes about Hort's presuppositionalism.

This has been long known, but it is good to see the major quotes together, and his commentary is solid.

The Peter Gurry stuff is far less interesting.

And I have a number of urls and quotes that can be added to this as well, as well as the other posts in this W-H section.

SOURCE of MMR stuff

BVDB
Hort: Confirmation bias or careful scholarship?
https://www.tapatalk.com/groups/bib...mation-bias-or-careful-scholarship-t6330.html

All this came out of the very weak paper by Jennifer Knust and the milquetoast nothing review by Elijah Hixson.

BVDB
Knust on Hoskier and Burgon.
https://www.tapatalk.com/groups/bibleversiondiscussionboard/knust-on-hoskier-and-burgon-t6329.html

Although there might be some tidbits from others going back to the actual Hoskier conference.

 

[Steven Avery]

From the post

"I had no idea till the last few weeks of the importance of texts, having read so little Greek Testament, and dragged on with the villainous Textus Receptus. Westcott recommended me to get Bagster’s Critical, which has Scholz’s text, and is most convenient in small quarto, with parallel Greek and English, and a wide margin on purpose for notes. This pleased me much; so many little alterations on good MS. authority made things clear not in a vulgar, notional way, but by giving a deeper and fuller meaning. But after all Scholz is very capricious and sparing in introducing good readings; and Tischendorf I find a great acquisition, above all, because he gives the various readings at the bottom of his page, and his Prolegomena are invaluable. Think of that vile Textus Receptus leaning entirely on late MSS.; it is a blessing there are such early ones...." -Hort (1851)

••Hort seems to be 'telling on himself' here... unless I'm missing something? For how could one who: "had no idea till the last few weeks of the importance of texts, having read so little Greek Testament," come to the finalized conclusion that the Textus Receptus is both "villainous" and "vile?"

Again: "so many little alterations on good MS. authority" and "good readings" have been decisively pegged by an admitted novice, and that before he has even set off to do the actual work! Even more, "late MSS" have already been judged as less trustworthy than "early ones," and thus making his famous maxim, "Knowledge of Documents should precede Final Judgments upon Readings" all the more ironic...to say the least.•• -MMR

Hort writes (1853):

"One result of our talk I may as well tell you. He and I are going to edit a Greek text of the N. T. some two or three years hence, if possible. Lachmann and Tischendorf will supply rich materials, but not nearly enough; and we hope to do a good deal with the Oriental versions. Our object is to supply clergymen generally, schools, etc., with a portable Gk. Test., which shall not be disfigured with Byzantine corruptions. But we may find the work too irk some."

••Again, how is the goal so sure and settled before one has begun to actually learn (and master) the field, and do the necessary work? He seems to have established his conclusions first (viz. "disfigured with Byzantine corruptions"), as opposed to allowing the evidence and data to guide him. And his, "two or three years hence" pipedream shows that he has absolutely no idea what he's getting himself into, does it not?•• -MMR

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"My suspicion is that most eclectic critics merely regard the primary and almost sole element of “weight” to be the age and particular non-Byzantine nature of a given MS." -Maurice A. Robinson 2015 ETC Interview

It's noteworthy how early on Hort began to fit into this mold. Apparently before he really even knew a lick about NTTC. E.g. "Think of that vile Textus Receptus leaning entirely on late MSS.; it is a blessing there are such early ones..." (1851) "Our object is to supply clergymen generally, schools, etc., with a portable Gk. Test., which shall not be disfigured with Byzantine corruptions." (1853)

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[Steven Avery]

More from MMR

Edit: Dr. Gurry seems to pick up on some of this when he states:

"Already in these letters we see Hort’s plan to produce an edition that would be useful to students and would leave behind “Byzantine corruptions.""

"With the benefit of hindsight, the most striking aspect of their earliest letters is the optimism with which they approach their edition. In fact, it would take them twenty-eight years, but here they are in the 1850s speaking in terms of one or two years! Given this, it will be worthwhile to consider why the edition took so much longer than original [sic] anticipated."

-Gurry 'A Book Worth Publishing' pp. 6, 8 (pre-pub version) Link below:
https://www.academia.edu/38389444/_...tt_and_Hort_s_Greek_New_Testament_1881_Prepub

(The preceding quotations from Hort were mined from pp.4-5 of the same work.)

The Peter Gurry stuff is not very interesting, we will stop here, more on BVDB.

 

[Steven Avery]

Colwell is helpful here

Studies in Methodology in Textual Criticism of the New Testament (1969)
Ernest Cadman Colwell
https://books.google.com/books?id=4pI3AAAAIAAJ&pg=PA158

Originally published:
“Scribal Habits in Early Papyri: A Study in the Corruption of the Text.”
The Bible in Modern Scholarship, ed. J. Philip Hyatt, 370-389. Abingdon Press, 1965.

Her is one extract.

 

[Steven Avery]

These are likely the most related in PBF.

Pure Bible Forum pages

the Westcott-Hort recension - source for modern versions and Critical Texts
https://www.purebibleforum.com/inde...e-for-modern-versions-and-critical-texts.848/

Gordon Fee on Burgon, Majority Text, P66 et al - Robert Hull on Hort's neutral text
https://www.purebibleforum.com/inde...et-al-robert-hull-on-horts-neutral-text.1536/

This one has part of their occult and Westcott-Hort recension timeline.

Westcott and Hort occultism - seance and 'communion of saints' - timeline
https://www.purebibleforum.com/inde...-seance-and-communion-of-saints-timeline.987/