The Saline County journal. [volume] (Salina, Kan.) 1871-1893, 1885-07-16
A GOSPEL OLDER THAN ST. ATTHEW

From the London Times
VIENNA, June 23.-PrOf. Hanback,
has been good enough 20 show me the
papyTus which has lately been dis
covered among the FL Fayum manu-
scripts, and which is alleged to be the
fragment Of q Gospel older than those
Of 81. Matthew and st. Marx. II Is q
very small fragment, measuring three
and a half eentimeters In length, and
four and One-third In width, and con-
tains seven lines, having los words.
OF these, ninety-siX can be plainly
deciphered, but nine are indistinct.
some lines are mutilated at the be-
ginning and end, and Il is supposed
that from ninety-One 10 ninety.eight
deficient letters can be reckOned by
comparing lines three, four and seven
with the others. The seventh con-
tains but four letters.
The writing is In Greek, and DR..
G.. BiCkell, Of the University Of Inns
bruek, who discovered and decipner-
ed the fragment, concluded from the
form Of the letters and the abbrevi-
atoms, that IL was written in the third
century but from the style Of the
competition he infers that Il dates or
iganally from the first century, and
this Is also the opinion Of DR.. Edward
Harneck, editor Of the 7heOlOgische
LHeTGttfr Zeiiung Of Leipsic.
Here II the translation Of the frag-
ment, line for line As already re-
ported, its parallel il 10 be found I'm
Matthew 2G, verses 80 tO "a, and Mark
Il, verses Is 10 30:
I. But after supper, as they went
out.
> you will ali take OGense this
night
3. According 10 the Scriptures, L
will sInite the shepherd, aud the sheep
will be scattered
4. Then Peter spake.
D. And IL all, not 1.
q. "He said % him,
Z. 'The cock will crow twice, and
before that thou shalt deny Me
thrice"
The commission of the words, TO be
found both in Matthew and Mark,
But after ! am risen again I will 90
before you into Gallilee," is nOticea-
bic. Dr. Biekell, reviewing the frag-
uent In the Zcitschri1 far CIdthOiisohe
Ih1OiOgic-H periodical printed i'm
Innsbruck for private circulation
lays STRESS upon the Importance of the
manuscript ~ being the earliest frag.
ment of IA written gospel not canon
teal indeed, but yet no pseudOgraph
or heretical composition. DIR. Bick-
ellis views are set forth and comment
ed upon in an article by DIR. Harnark
which appears in the last number OF
the IhCOiOgfsChe Lifcratur ZcituRg
of Beipsic. DIR. Harnark, who is
fervent Roman Catholic, distinguish
Ell for his Greek scholarship, re-
marks that, 50 Tar a. ne can Judge,
Dr. Biekell has taken no liberties
with the text, having only added five
letters, which il could be plainly
were the missing ONES, hut
which simply mended broken words,
without altering the sense of q line.
The antiquity and genuineness Of the
fragment are, he argues, beyond dis
putc, and lac concludes:
1t II strange that "A small strip OF
papyTus, containing about 100 words,
should he able 10 raise so many inn
porlant questions with regard 10 the
Of two Of the Gospels /; but
ffNAAANa ~ wv ~ hAHhfbcI "
these questions 10y saying that the
papyrus is not genuine. Having Civ
ETA our opinion ~ 10 the genuiness, we
must, in the interest Of truth, main
tain that there is no explaining away
The omission OF our Lords prophecy
A. 10 His going 10 Galilee, except by |
that theHuthOr of the man |
lscript wrote from memory. But |
what probability is there that, writ |
ng from memory, he would have left |
lut the most striking and important |
passage in our Lords conversation
with His disciples? Let critics more
learned than we are endeayOr to az
cunt for the omission more satisfac- |
Orily than we can. For ourselves,
We must submit that il goes far to-
ward suggesting doubt ~ tn wheth-
II the Gospel ascribed TO Matthew
nd Mark were, I'm the form In which
We know them now, composed 10y /
hose disciples"