Brooke Foss Westcott (1825–1901) and Fenton J. A. Hort (1828–1892) published an edition of the New Testament in Greek in 1881. They proposed nine critical rules, including a version of Bengel's rule, "The reading is less likely to be original that shows a disposition to smooth away difficulties." They also argued that "Readings are approved or rejected by reason of the quality, and not the number, of their supporting witnesses", and that "The reading is to be preferred that most fitly explains the existence of the others." COUNT 5
QSN1 How many rules were proposed in the 1881 publication of the New Testament in Greek? ANS1 They proposed nine critical rules QSN2 What is Bengel's rule? ANS2 The reading is less likely to be original that shows a disposition to smooth away difficulties. QSN3 Does ease of reading correlate to accuracy in relation to the original text? ANS3 "The reading is to be preferred that most fitly explains the existence of the others." QSN4 What is more important for a textual critic: quality or quantity? ANS4 Readings are approved or rejected by reason of the quality, and not the number, of their supporting witnesses QSN5 What is the criteria needed to include or dismiss a reading when critiquing texts? ANS5 The reading is to be preferred that most fitly explains the existence of the others.