argues that this is a consequence of sovereign freedom in the latter,
and that from the nature of the composition the author of the Apocalypse
wrote in an artificial style, and could both have spoken and written
otherwise. "The errors are not errors of ignorance, but intentional
emancipations from the rules of grammar" (!), in imitation of ancient
prophetic style. Presently he proceeds: "If, then, on the one hand, the
Apocalypse is written in worse Greek and less correctly than its author
was able to speak and write, the question, on the hand, is, whether the
Gospel is not in too good Greek to be credited to a born Jew and
Palestinian." Luthardt maintains "that the style of the Gospel betrays
the born Jew, and certainly not the Greek," but the force which he
intends to give to all this reasoning is clearly indicated by the
conclusion at which he finally arrives, that "the linguistic gulf
between the Gospel and the Apocalypse is not impassable." [29:1] This
result from so staunch an apologist, obviously to minimise the Hebraic
character of the Apocalypse, is not after all so strikingly different
from my representation. Take again the opinion of so eminent an
apologist as Bleek: "The language of the Apocalypse in its whole
character is beyond comparison harsher, rougher, looser, and presents
grosser incorrectness than any other book of the New Testament, whilst
the language of the Gospel is certainly not pure Greek, but is beyond
comparison more grammatically correct." [29:2] I am merely replying,
to the statements of Dr. Lightfoot, and not arguing afresh regarding
the language of the fourth Gospel, or I might produce very different
arguments and authorities, but I may remark that the critical dilemma
which I have represented, in reviewing the fourth Gospel, is not merely
dependent upon linguistic considerations, but arises out of the
aggregate and conflicting phenomena presented by the Apocalypse on the
one hand and the Gospel on the other.