Deseret evening news. [volume] (Great Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1867-1920, 1895-10-10
ANCIENT sYnllc BIBLE.

OCCASIONALLY, tcuvlhs ht rhoieu
over the discovery OF some ancient
manuscript OF unusual interest Par.
ticulArly IL this the case when some
Biblical record Ia found, which sup
posedly antedates any Of the existing
manuscripts, because In the ever
raging contest with rstionalism. OF
thodox theology fears the result Of the
bringing to light Of new readings that
possibly may disturb dootrinal founda-
,ious, should thor gvnuinene,s be
established. Since the beginning Of
this year Iumors have been sbrvai Of
The discovery In monsstsfy on
Mount SINAI, Of parchment contain.
ing the Gospels In the syriao language,
and the opinien lie now expressed that
The text IL probably identical with the
original one, OF which, II Is supposed,
our four Gospels are only translation.
An account Of the discovery Of the
precious manuscript 10 given In the
New York World. Two English
ladies', Mrs. Lewis aud Mrs. Gibson,
resolved 10 visit the historical Mount
Sinai. After an oventiul Journey they
arrived ut tho monastery Of 81.
Catherine, whore riscnendorif in
1859 found his valuable codex. IL
|, we'll known that this mo mastery
Is treasure house OF early literature.
ana Mfp. Lewis, who hal armed her.
self With camera and letters OF In
PRODUCTION from tho Greek archbishop.
obtained permission to take piotures Of
the ancient writings there preserved.
Concerning the library IN the monA-
,ery sni the work OF copying manu-.
scripts by means OF the kodak, Mu.
Lewis taysi
wo worked for sevon hours In the
library, beginning at Dam. Tho manu-
scripts were very much scattered, -umo
Greek ones being Ia tho show library
aud tho Arabic parily thofo and partly In
u little room halfway upa dark siair.
Tho syriao ones aud those suppo,ed TO
be The mosl ancient are partly IN this
litilo room aud partly In n dark 81 40.
Approached through n room almost ~
dark. There they fcposo IN two closed
boxes aud cannot DO seon w1hous "a
lighted candle.
Galcktoon save us every facility Tor
photographing. lie spent hours holding
books open for ~, or dUciphefing pages
OF tho -eptuaginL The tact that the
English should be ~ anxious for cot.
rect version OF the sacred " ing, ~ to
have shee.s OF paper pr'nie on purpose
for scholars to collalo them with all tho
GA ant Manuscripts flod tho monks
with profound respect.
We had photographed ITO page. n tho
Syriac Codex, book TO- the same In which
| Mr.. Rendol Harris found tho Apology of
| Atistidos We had al.o takon tue whole
Of a syriac palimpsozt Of 8bs page, In
which no eyes but our own had Tor CEN
turtles looked. Its leaves were mostly all
| glued together, aud tho least force used 10
| separate them made them crumbie.
Some hali.dozen OF them we held over
tho steam OF a kotllo.
The writing beneath IA rcd, par ly Syr-
lac aud partly Greek. Tho upper writ.
Ing OF this pallmpse.i bears ID. own date,
A ID. d9s. IL q, all the lives Of women
saints. Tho undor writing must be some
/ centuries earlier. IL IL Syfiao Go-pols.
and something In Crock, not yet iocl.
| phorod. A Pilostinian Aramaic MS, of
which we photographed four pages, il
the second example OF H. kind known to
oxlst--thAt In the Vatican library having
been hitherto considered unique.
Some time after the lAdies' rs,uin to
Englanu, some OF tho phoiograI h.
were inspected by Nj. Burkitt, anu he
pronounced them to be n copy Of the
Cureton Syrlao. Lsarned scholars at
once became interested, aud n second
party was formed to 20 to Mount Sinai,
and through tho good offices Of ths &C.
clesiastical authorities, they were snA.
bled to copy the precious document.
Rev. Camden N. Cobern, Of Ann
Arbor Mich, speaking OF the manu.
script, says NO one eau tell exactly
when It was written. II IL vAriously
estimated from $50 10 900 A. ID. hut
tue age Of tue manuserlp, does not
settle the age OF the text.
A syriao version Of the Gospel, did
not exist later than the middle OF tho
second century, aud probably much
earlier, and the very greatest Greek
anu Byrlso scholars are agreed that
our Ms. Is either that primitive
Syfiao Gospel with some slight modln-
cations or else It 10 n child, a legitimate
successor OF that earliest ana most i'm.
portant version, which even II 1t could
not be traced back any further tina, 80
A. d., would yet date wlthin MY
years OF the death OF John, !. O., a-
near to the crucinIion A. we are 10
George Washington AMI the revolu.
tionary war.
Further than this, the professor
continues, long before the Gospels
were written. the Gospel WAS spoken;
that was tho method OF teaching Ia
those days, ami there cannot be a
shadow OF doubt that the burden OF
the iiTsl teachers Of Chrlstianity-lhe
Gospel which they preached before
tho Gospel was writtrn-was the &C.
5unls Of the acts and words OF Jssus.
He concludes that II this Sinai
manuscript IL not the earliest version
OF tho New Testament, 1t Ia at least n
Defendant OF II, and Is valuable be.
cause It la written In tbs very Land
aud IN tho very Language In which our
Lord and tho Apostles talkei.
From the accounts 20 lar pnblshei
It does no, appear perfectly clear why