[Footnote 77: The item of the ancient Mss. may be strictly
defined as sentences or periods of a complete sense, which,
on the breadth of the parchment rolls or volumes, composed
as many lines of unequal length. The number in each book
served as a check on the errors of the scribes, (Ludewig, p.
211 - 215; and his original author Suicer. Thesaur.
Ecclesiast. tom. i. p 1021 - 1036).]