New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1891-08-09
EGYPTIAN EXPLORATIONS.
VALUABLE MANUSCRIPTS RECOVERED FROM
MUMMY CASES.
London, July 81.

London, July 81.
Some adequate idea may at last be formed OK
the extent and importance Of the Egyptian eX-
plorations which have been conducted during
recent years by Mr.. Flinders Petrie. From time
70 time announcements regarding his work have
been made many OF them Of intense interest.
But these have only been fragmentary and have
served rather to arouse curiosity than TO afford
satisfactory information. Tile statement that
hitherto lost or unknown treatise of Aristotle had
heen found set the whole archaeological world to
sneculatine what next would be reported. The
whole extent of Mr.. Petries discoveries is, how
ever now set forth in order. Professor Mohsfy,
Of Dublin, has prepared the record and the Royal
Irish Academy has published it in very elaborate
form, including fac-simile reproductions OF the
most important manuscripts. In this notable work
Professor Mahafy has been assisted by Professor
Sayce, and before being published the result OF
their labors has been submitted for criticism and
approval to . number Of the most eminent Con-
| tinental scholars.
In speaking Of the work accomplished by Pro-
fessor Sayce and himself, Professor Mahaffy says:
Seldom has it fallen 20 the lot of modern scholars
| to spend such days as we spent together at ox-
| ford, in the Long Vacation of 1890; porting all
| day, while the sun shone, over these faint ana
fragmcntary records; discussing in the evening the
4
significance. Gradually pieces of Platonlc dla-
| lopue emerged which presently we determined TO
] be the 'Phaedo,' then leaf Of tragic poem'
| identified beyond question as the Antlope OK
Euripides: and with these were many legal or
official documents with dates which arrested and
| surprised U.s." These dates belonged TO the third
century B. c., referring TO the kings Immediately
following Alexander. 1t is no wonder, tere
| fore, that they ARRESTED and surprised the
| scholars who came upon them. The literary manu-
scripts were evidently, by the style OF the writ
ing still older than these dated official documen's
The transcripts of the work of Plato and Enrip-
| des WERE in fact actually written during or I'M
mediatey after the lifetime of those authors.
The fragment of Eurpides consists Of thres
| pages only of his lost play of "Antiope ff"-
| fessor AIahaffy has translated it, forming an in'
tegral extract of about 100 lines This passage
is part of the last act of the play, and deserves
the capture of King Lycus, the prosecutor OF
| Queen Antiope, by her son Amphion, the touhuei
of Thebes The fragments of the Phaedo OK
Plato consist of about five pages beauuiulS
written, and present an interesting contrast to ths
common text. which is taken from Alexandrlaa
versions of much later date. Another interesting
| manuscript was found 10 consist Of about thirty
| five heNameter verses They were all mutla'ed'
| only the beginnings and endinGs being readaoe.
Mr. Bury. of Dublin, however, soon identified then
| as belonging to the eleventh book OF the hiau
Five of the thrty-live verses are not to be iouH'
| in the text of the poem aS 1t exists to-day, ans
were apparently rejected by some of the ia'e
editors of the Alexaadrian period. ms lao
arouses the interesting speculation whether ,H'
whole poem has been edited down to simila
extent from the form in which it existed IN us
third century before the Christian Era.
| The other manuscripts discovered by Mr. Petne
include a series Of wills dsposing Of the property
of Greek soldiers who were settled In Egyp' ~ !,
| the early years Of the Ptolemies. They are 'i'
| drawn up in official form, dated, s2neN ahu Wv
| messed The names of the soldiers and Tie ha'h',
| aud numbers of their regiments are gwen ON"
also O detailed personal description of each nnu'
These documents throw most interesting nsa ~
| npon MANY of the social conditions OF ESypV Ss
| that time and upon the method pursueu "s trv
Ptolemes in settling their soldiers IN tia6 o"u""'
| and thus Ilellenizing 1t. .~,,t
| Rnt perbaps the most important and interest,"
ing feature Of the whole business Is me SUI; uri
| from which these manuscripts were oD."t QUA hy
Mr. Petre has discovered, what was suspect 80 ~
| others before his time. that many mummy 40, 80.
are not made Of wood. nor yet of solid anu no
geneouS mass Of papier-mache or other nansr
But they are built mp OF single sheets OF ~
| pasted one upon the other, until the ie0's,
| thickness is obtained In many cases the 49,
| thus used is nothing less than old manus0ttIp How
torn up and put TO this base employment nm
| many mummy -cases are thus composer OF W." "a
scripts is q matter Of interesting speculati'n,
is also the question what priceless literary w. 10
! ures have been thus disposed Of Nj ~ cen-
| shown that il is possible. after all tnese .Gsir
turtles, to resolve the mummy-cases INTO , hem
original sheets and to cleanse ana rest9.. ~
as to make them legible The possiDlli,neS are
future discoveries that are thus opeheu ubp,cely
| incidentally great and the prospect can eo,;as
fail 10 stimulate popular interest Ia Es'r|
| research.