The Scranton tribune. [volume] (Scranton, Pa.) 1891-1910, 1895-11-21
THE BOOK OF THE Z A
Wax Muller Contends That II Is Not
BoOk in True Sense &c the Word.

Max Muller Contends That II Is Not q
Book in True Sense &c the Word.
From the indianapolis News. .
Prof. Max Muller writes q letter to the
London Times IN The Book of the
Dead" the ancient Egyptian text. re-
Gently published. The Times had seemed
disposed to grant the claim made for
THE Book Of the Dead" Of the date
5000 +. c.. but Prof. Muller asks wheth-
er that would make these fragments
collected from ancient Egyptian pyra-
mids, collins and from long rolls Of
papyrus dating from the later Theban
and Ptolemaic periods, the Oldest book
in the world. This eminent scholar
seriously questions whether a HERO
glyphic text. however long, inscribed on
the walls Of ancient temples, or Baby
lonian cylinder, well covered with Gu
neiform writing or even the mountain
records Of Darius can De called a book.
In ordinary %parlance a book Is supposed
to be a literary composition which has q
beginning, q middle and an end, and
which is written so as to be accessible
to q larger or smaller public of readers.
What has been called by its discoveries
The Book of the Dead" Is not, accord
ing to Prof. Muller, entitled to be called
a hook. He comedies. however, that
the fragments already In the hands of
scholars, presupposes the existence of a
more ancient and complete book; but
by the accepted definitions of a book;
the Egyptian text, as 1t now stands, Is
hardly entitled to be SO designated.
AS IN authority on all that pertains to
Sanskrit it Is natural for Prof. Muller
to consider the age Of the "Veda" as
against the claims for the great an
tiquity Of The Book of the Dead" He
insists that the oldest real book which
he possesses is still the "veda, more par
ticularly the collection of hymns known
under the name Of the "Rig-Veda-San-
hita." which Is complete in itself, con-
tanning metrical hymns, composed and
collected long before the Ptolemaic dy-
nasty. 1t contained before Alexander's
invasion of India, LOTT hymns. collect
ed In ten books, having 153,S 1926 words,
432, 900 syllables, and this Is its descrip-
ton as known to-day.
1t has long peen the wish of students
10 find some record Of mankind back
in the days Of what has been called
''primeval innocence" but this distin-
Book Of the Dead" that the civilization
which 1t describes Is already mature.
having passed through vast and unre-
corded stages Of development. The
same has been true of the ~ eda. There
is still something behind 1t; It marks
not a beginning. but, In q sense, q Gull
mination. Other investigators have
gone further than Prof. Muller and have
sought to fix the dates Of the Vedic
hymns at COCO B.. C.. for himself he has
not claimed an earlier period than 1900
B. c. But this latter date no longer
marks the dawn of human history, as
compared with that Of Babylon and of
Egypt Of 5000 BIC. In concluding his
interesting communication Prof. Muller
reaflirms that. although the "Veda" is
disappointing In respect to any revela-
lions Of the earlier conditions of man.
kind. it remains the most ancient book
in the world, rejecting language, myth
ology. religion and philosophy as they
were among the ancestors of the Aryas
long before Homer or Zoroaster, and
long before the Theban and Ptolemaic
periods.