The Sun.
London, England, 1827-05-21 00:00:00

THE BRUCE MANUSCRIPTS.

The fine collection of "'Ethiopic, Arabic, and other Ori-
ental Manuscripts obtained by the celebrated traveller,
James Bruce, in Egypt and Abyssinia, were on Thursday
brought to the hammer by Mr. Christie. They consist of
nearly one hundi-ed volumes. Among the Biblical Manu-
scripts is an Ethiopic version of the Old Testament, in 5
volumes, containing the whole of the sacred books except
the Psalms, made from manuscripts used at the Greek
Church at Alexandria, at a remote, but unknown period.
This copy is considered unique, each page is divided into
three columns, and the MS. has a considerable number of
marginal variations. It is written on vellum, in very clear
and beautiful characters. It includes the Book of Enoch,
which was first brought into Europe by Mr. Bruce. The
three copies of it originally belonging to him (one of which
is in Paris, and the other at Oxford), are all that are known
to exist of it on our continent. There are also in this
collection, two copies of the four Gospels in Ethiopic ; the
Epistles and Acts of the Apostles in two volumes on vellum.
The Song of Solomon in all the principal languages of the
Abyssinian Empire, with a Vocabulary in each dialect.._
This MS. is considered a most valuable accession to Philo-
logical Literature. The Constitutions of the Apostles, or
a collection of the Canons made by the first General Coun-
cil (which is the Statute-book of the Church of Abyssinia),
in 1 volume; and the Synaxar, or History of the Saints
venerated in Abyssinia, in I large vole. Among the his-
torical MSS. is the celebrated Chronicle of Axutn, on vel-
lum, in double columns. It professes to have been compiled
from materials or records found by Damatious (Damascus),
Bishop of Rome, in the Church of St. Sophia, and read at
the First Council of Nice to the 318 Fathers assembled
there. There are also a variety of Arabic MSS., including
the Koran, and some works relating to the Histories of
Syria and Egypt, and of the Conquest of Spain by the Sa-
racens ; a Topographical description of Egypt ; the Course
of the Nile, &c. ; several works on Medicine and Natural
History, and an unique Coptic MS. on Papyrus, said to
have been found in the ruins near Thebes, in the former
residence of some Egyptian Monks. It contains seventy-
six leaves, in small folio, of Papyrus, of a dun-colour, and
exceedingly brittle. The character is neat, of the uncial
kind, and consequently all in capitals, without any points,
or spaces. This MS. is Supposed to have been composed
in the second, or the beginning of the third century. It
was brought from Scotland by Mr. Bruce, for the purpose
of its being inspected by Dr. Woide, whom he permitted to
copy it. Mr. Christie, on introducing this extraordinary
collection to the notice of the company on Thursday, ob-
served, that if Europe had derived no other benefit from
the Travels of Mr. Bruce, she had been greatly enriched by
his labours in obtaining these rare and valuable MSS.,
which ought to be purchased by the nation. There were
several booksellers and literary men present, but no advance
was made upon the sum at which the collection was put
up on behalf of the Proprietor, vie. Five Thousand Five
Hundred Pounds.