Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1897-12-11
y St Matthew, says the Boston rr.n.

script. s'oi' iran-
Altogether a dozen leaves, each sn
ny oh inches in size. were found re-
. .liaIkaniy well preserved and clearly
written In uncial characters of the a.,
cient Greek. The collection dates about
sixty years after the crucifxion r.
mas easily been translated, and is found
" consist Of detached savings Of
christ. without context, each begin
nang with the words, Jesus saith -
Inc translation will soon be puhlishad
oy the Egypt Exploration fund An
immense edition at a few pence a conv
wiii be provided. SO as to reach every,
body. every
1t is to be hoped that when al, tho
papyrf come to be examined in detail
turtner discoveries Of early Christian
records Will be made, as we'll as Of
fragments of lost classical literature
since IN some Of the mounds. notably
the Garner ones, an unusually large
proportion OF the papyri found were
written In uncials. The cream of the
coliection In point of size and condi-
tion' consisting of $50 large and COM
pete rolls In many cases several feet
long mas been retained by the Gizeh
Museum; the rest of the collection. of
winch the bulk is, of course, in a most
Iragmentary condition, is on its wav to
England, where the systematic exami-
nation and publication of it will be un-
dertaken by Messrs Grenfell and Hunt
BESIDES papyri the excavators found a
considerable number of coins. ahout
two hundred inscribed ostraca, bronze
and IVORY
OBJECTS of the Roman and Byzantine
periods.
The following London dispatch ap-
pears in the New York Sun:
Among the discoveries made at Behn-
eseh by Messrs. Grenfell and Hunt of
the Egyptian Exploration Fund is a
small page, 5A inches by 3N inches
containing eight sayings of Christ. The
logia consist of detached quotations
each beginning Jesus saith.'
The first saying is: And then thou
shalt see clearly to cast out the mote
that is in thy brothers eye"
The second saying is startling and
entirely new. 1t reads: Jesus saith
except We fast to the world We shall in
no wise find the kingdom Of God; and
except We keep the Sabbath We shall
not see the Father"
This being at variance with the accept
ed teachings of Christ, it is suggested
that it is perhaps Jewish forgery COM
mitted with a view to supporting the
Jewish Sabbath. Perhaps it is an erro-
neous report.
tanned in John l.. but the form is differ
ent. Christ describes himself as standing
in the midst of the world, finding all men
drunken and none athirst. "And my soul
grieveth over the sons of men because
they are blind in their heart"
The fourth saying has persisted, only
one word remaining. This is the Greek
word for beggary. AS this was not used
by Christ in any gospel, the legion is
considered to have been new.
The fifth saying. which contains certain
gaps. is of extraordinary interest 1t
reads: Jesus saith, wherever there are
alone l am with HIM. Raise the stone
and there thou shalt find me; cleave the
wood and there 1 am.
The latter part is entirely new, and it
is expected that it will arouse contrOver-
sy. 1t seems to indicate a pantheistic
philosophy. and, perhaps, Is reflection
of the mystical occuhism of the gnostics
in the early Christian centuries.
The sixth saying comedies in part with
Luke. .iv., "a: mo prophet is accepted in
his own country; neither doth physi-
clan work cures upon them that know
him. ,
rms is CONSIDERED 10 prove "tnat LUKE
had the same original records as the To-
gia, because the Greek for accepted. here
dektos. was used by Luke only and was
hitherto supposed to be one Of his mere
literary changes on Matthews collection
The seventh saying is similar to Mat
thew ", IA. but is incomplete.
The eighth saying is undecipherable.
1T is suggested that the date of the doc
ument must be from the year lo0 to the
year 300 A. D., probably not later than
200 A. D.
The Greek of the logia. which has been
seen by the correspondent of The Sun, Is
so clear that a dispute as regards WORDS
is impossible. A controversy can only
arise in regard to the Interpretation OF
the new passages.