affected by the existing law, a question of so much importance ought not to have been dealt with in such a summary manner.
But, apart from this consideration, this interpolation theory involves a practice which cannot be too strongly resisted. Where one might well ask, would be the end, if every critic were allowed to tamper with the sacred text in order to gratify some whim of his own? There would be an end to all sound criticism; for the Hebrew language is certainly not so inflexible as not to be capable to be made to say anything.
For our part, we have no hesitation in saying that if the English law prohibiting marriage with a deceased wife's sister has no more solid foundation to rest upon than the interpolation theory, the sooner it is expunged from the statute book the better.
The second theory which we shall now proceed to consider is, that which holds that our verse under consideration does not relate to a marriage with a deceased wife's sister at all, but that it contains a law prohibiting polygamy. The origin of this theory may probably be traced back to the year 1575, when Iman. Tremellius, and Franc. Junius, in their Latin translation of the Bible from the Hebrew, rendered our verse: "Thou shalt not take one wife to another," which rendering is also given in the margin of the authorized English version. This rendering has also been adopted by many commentators, but who, notwithstanding, maintain a marriage with a deceased wife's sister was unlawful, such a marriage being already forbidden by the prohibition of marriage with a deceased brother's widow.
Now, in order to form an adequate idea of the soundness or unsoundness of this theory, it is necessary to examine it from two different standpoints, and enquire, first, does the Hebrew text philologically admit of its adoption? and secondly, if so, would it
