Memphis daily appeal. [volume] (Memphis, Tenn.) 1847-1886, 1882-10-22
A TRUE MISSIONARY
Sketch Of the Life and Lab0rs Ofthe Rev.
DR.. Riggs Of the Presbyterian Mis-
sion at ConstantinOple.
Unprecedented Literary Labor fer the
Spread Of the Bible Among the Be-
nighted Turkish People.

L SpTc8u Vi lu6 DlDAc AMoh6 bAODO
nighted Turkish People.
The Constantiuople correspondent of the
| New York Tribune writes that paper OF
| social event of unique interest there and per
haps not without interest to American read
| ers OF. an American golden wedding, cele-
brated among the Turks: SThe Rev. Elisi
Riggs, DID,, LID, of the American mis-
sion here, was married on September Is
1882, and so reached last month the fftieth
anniversary of that hsppy event. The sons
the Rev. Edward Riggs, of the Theologica a.
Seminary at Marsovan,. Asia Minor; the Rev
| James Riggs, of Crawford, n. and Prof
Charles Rigs, of the Central Turkey Col
| lege, and the daughter, Mrs. DR.. TroWbridge
| wife of the president of the Central Turkey
| College at Aintab, Syris, had come With
| their families to join in the celebration. The
| white haired father and mother, with their
| children and grandchildren, formed family
1 group Of twenty-one souls. The house was
| thronged all day with callers of half dozen
nationalities, who offered congratulations in
many tongues. In the evening a number of
| family friends dropped in and listened to
| "reminiscences by DR.. Riggs and addresses of
| congrstulation from many Of those present,
| closing late in the evening a most enjoy able
L
| celebration"
Or. Riggs came to the Levant as q mis-
| sionary 10 1882, and has since made only one
visit to the United States during the fifty
years Of his service. One might say OF such
| life that il is buried that cultured Amer
| lean who left his home for q distant and I'M
civilized land in little brig of $50 tons
| burden, fifty years ago; who has not seen his
native land for quarter of q century Who
has passed among sem. bsrbsrous people the
whole OF that period OF the worlds history
which saw The development of steam navi-
CATION, of railroad enterprise and of the
electric telegraph, has wilfully shut himself
out from usefulness and from fame. Per-
haps DIR. Riggs has shut himself out from
fame; but not from usefulness of the most
solid kind. The stsry of the life of DIR.
Riggs illustrates not only the great ability Of
the man, but the great importance of some
branches at East OF the work done by Amer
lean missionaries abroad.
DIR. Riggs is of solid Puritan stock. He
came of a race that let him read at four and
instantly had him memorize the Assemby's
shorter Catechism. At nine he was learning
Greek out OF q grammar written in Latin.
At thirteen he had taken up Hebrew, al
though his father could give him in this
study no help other than TO purchase books
for him. At fifteen he entered Amherst
College, and was graduated with its irst
class. During his college course he pursued
the study of Hebrew, Arabic and Chaldee a.
a light recreation, besides getting a good
knowledge OF modern Greek out of two class
% ates who were native Greeks. Such was
his preparation for work before he mad
reached the Andover theological Seminary,
where he read his theology.
As to his work during fifty years. he was
at Argos, in Greece, until 1888, in charge of
girls boardiug-school; then transferred to
Smyrna, in Turkey, he appears for seven
years trsnslatipg the Bible into ArmenIau
from the original. He seems TO have imbibed
the Armenian language by some natural pro-
cess, since it is not related to either Hebrew,
Arabic or Chaldee, and since the version Of
the Arminian Bible prepared under his su-
pervision stands to-day model of simple,
idiomatic language. Next he was sent to
Const antinople and employed in charge OF
the Greek department of q theological SEM
mary, lecturiDg meantime in Armenian also
on systematic theology, and finding recrea-
lion in editing a weekly newspaper. In
1856 he visited the United States and was
there offered a professors chair in the
Union Theological Seminary. He had
seen nearly twenty-five years of active
service, and might have been expected
to choose the rest and honor of such
position. But the Bulgarians had attracted
his attention before that time. Their version
OF the Bible was in ancient Slavic, and he
declined the professorship and returned to
Turkey to give the Bulgarians a version of
the Bible which they could understand.
Here was another language absorbed as one
takes up nutriment from the air. In 1871
the Bulgarian Bible was finished, and is q
standard of choice language throughout Bull
garis. Next, from 1878 to 1878, DR.. Riggs
was leading member Of committee for
revising the Turkish version OF the Bible.
This work, too, was done in the same patient,
faithful and scholarly way. These have
been the great works of DR.. Riggs life; in
terspersed, however, with The writing of
grammars in various Languages, with the
composition of hymns in Greek, Bulgarian,
Armenian and Turkish, and with many other
valuable and polyglot literary undertakings.
Now, as to the result. What has DIR.
Riggs to show for his having spent in dead
Turkey the busiest half century OF the
worlds history? One of the speakers the
other evening said that 400, 900 copies of the
Bible in Armenian, Bulgarian and Turkish
have been sold in Turkey since DIR. Riggs's
first translation was made; that 200,000
Armenians are to-day reading and hesring
the Bible as translated by him; that 100000
copies OF the Bulgarian Scriptures have
been sold; and that of Turkish Scriptures
thousands are being read and pondered
These Bibles are found by universal testi-
mony to be raising the abject TO manhood,
bringing the Obscure TO light, and lead
ing the weak into strength, In cities,
villages and mountain Businesses throughout
Turkey. Another speaker said in refer
ence 10 the Bulgarian version of the Scrip
lures, that it is laying hold upon the life Of
the people, that it came just in time TO pre-
pare the Bulgsrians for the work Of social
reorganization laid upon them by the result
of the late war. And he testified that the
Bulgarian Bible is having a great influence
on the reorganization of Bulgaris. The gift
OF this Bible, prepared as it was and when il
was, was of inestimsbe valse TO the Bulga-
rians. The future OF Bulgaria practically
depends upon the use which the nation
makes Of the book placed in their hands by
means of the self-denying lsbors of DIR. Riggs.
Are not these results worth more than New
York professorship? Are they not worth the
sacrifices of the enjoyment of prosperous
home life? As Gen. Lew Wallace said at
the golden wedding: Ii any man has
right to boast, it is one who has behind
him fifty such years of toll and
C nque.l rtowned with the highest sue
&c Iel Riggs modestly disclaims sny
special lille 10 honor and refuses to be called
he translator of these Bibles, because others
worked with him as assistants. His little
thought of his own labors was illustrated
when a lady asked HIM what grammars he
had published. He enumerated several.
aWby, 1 thought you once published Chal-
dee GRAMMAR" said the lady. "Oh, yes"
said the good doctor, laughing; 81 quite for
got the Chaldee GRAMMAR"
DR.: Riggs, now at seventy-two years of age,
is publishing a Bible Dictionary in Bulgarian,
and is preparing a commentary in the same
language. He is genial and almost youth
full, and works SIS if he was just beginning
life. But those who know the powers OF the
Bible, looking back on what he has done,
know that this mans liie-work touches the
tate Of this empire, and lights up the future
Of its downfrodden populations.
APOLLINAfkIs WATER.