Eriugena’s Greek Variant Readings of the Fourth Gospel 73 He is therefore rather emphatic about the Greek variants he encounters, as they potentially could open new interpretative possibilities. In the two exegetical works, Eriugena quotes on sixteen occasions Greek readings to the Latin (Vulgate) text of John, all in the commentary proper, always explicit and usually introduced as highly significant: sed [hoc] significantius ex graecorum exemplaribus potest intelligi (Hom. I. vi). In such cases, a new interpretation normally follows, with the variant as the starting point. To sum up: as an author who is highly aware of (and very open to) the variants of the text of John, Eriugena does not simply mention in passing the variants he comes across; in fact he stops to offer an explicit account of them as variants (as well as of the interpretations they might generate). This at least suggests that the variants discussed below are very likely a grounded sample, as opposed to an arbitrary collection of insecure allusions to elusive Greek variants. Before proceeding to the analysis of the variants, some final methodological clarifications are required: even though Eriugena is a Latin author, as far as NT text-critical matters are concerned, the data discussed below is treated as Greek15 rather than Latin Patristic evidence,16 since we will be looking only at the Greek variants he cites. Moreover, given that Eriugena is unambiguously introducing them as Greek readings, all the occurrences presented below are citations proper, and not allusions or adaptations. Explicit Johannine Greek readings In what follows, the quotations from Eriugena are preceded by Hom. for the homily, and by Comm. for the commentary. Since the only manuscript we have of the commentary was shown to display Eriugena’s autograph in a number of corrections and editorial additions,17 we can rule out in 15 As pointed out, the most recent methodological discussion is available in Fee and Mullen, “Use of Greek Fathers,” and Ehrman, “Use and Significance.” Important examples of applying such a methodology are the volumes published in the SBL New Testament in the Greek Fathers series. 16 A recent methodological discussion is available in H.A.G. Houghton, “The Use of the Latin Fathers for New Testament Textual Criticism,” in The Text of the New Testament in Contemporary Research. Essays on the Status Quaestionis. Second Edition (ed. B.D. Ehrman and M.W. Holmes; NTTS 42; Leiden/Boston: Brill, 2013) 375-405. For an example of applying this, see H.A.G. Houghton, Augustine’s Text of John. Patristic Citations and Latin Gospel Manuscripts (OECS; Oxford: OUP, 2008). 17 See the discussion concerning the identification of the autograph in Jeauneau, CCCM 166, xcv-ciii.