The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1897-07-25

manuscripts Before the formal clos
ing of the canon at the end of the fourth
century, probably few single manuscripts
o. the entire New Testament were in eX-
tstence. OF a thousand known manuscripts
OF the New Testament. only thirty include
all of the books. The use of yeilum, or pre-
pared skins, prevailed from the fourth to
the eleventh centuries. to be superseded by
cotton and later linen paper
Through the dark ages, the monastic
system of the Christian Church preserved
and multiplied the manuscripts of the
father and apostles, and nearly all of the
great collections OF the New Testament
writings have been discovered in the mon
asteries of the old world, thus stretching
a chain without an unbroken link from the
papyruS autographs of the apostles to the
age of the printing press. The monasteries
preserved the remains of ancient literature
from destruction, and were the nurseries of
education and learning through the CEN
turtles of midnight.
But the monks, with an abundance of
energy and devotion, had a limited supply
of parchment, which led to the use OF old
skins, in which the former writing was
erased, often biblical manuscripts. In many
cases the old writing was restored by
means of chemicals. The most famous OF
the New Testament's palimpsests, or re-
stored manuscripts, is the CodeX Ephraeml
of the fifth century, which was rewritten
upon in the twelfth. No manuscripts Oh the
first three centuries have been preserved
although in 300 they were very numerous
Some of the oldest extant We're COPIED
but none can be traced further than the
time of Constantine, about 800 A. D., ana
these are mostly fragmentary. The most
celebrated and most authoritative manu-
script is the CodeX Vaticanus, in the Nat-
can at Rome. 1t dates from the fourth
century and contains the Old and New
Testaments, with only a few hiatuses. 1t
dates from the fourth century. Next In I'M
portance is the "COdex Sinaiticus, made
by an AleXandrian copyist. 1t was found In
the convent of St. Catherine, at the foot
of Mount Sinai. in 1874, and IS now IN 81.
Petersburg. This codex contains the New
Testament complete. There are preserved
about one hundred uncial manuscripts of
the New Testament. in the Greek capitals;
five hundred Gospels; two hundred manu-
scripts of Acts, and the General Eplstles'
and one hundred of the Apocalypse.
VALUE OF THE LOGIA.
The discovery of the Logia Jesu papyrus,
therefore. for the reasons outlined, is i'm
portant because of it's great age, the ma
teriaI of it and the fact that on it are writ
ten six savings of Christ, antedating in
record any manuscript extant. AS an addi-
ton to the worlds store of New Tesla
ment manuscripts the fragment would nave
little or no Importance were its reading
anything else, even extract from one of
the gospel narratives.
The internal worth of these "iogia" is
for the scholars to decide, but in view of
the evident variations from the letter and
sense of the apostolic records of Christ S
sayings the following may tittingly be said:
The apostolic writings continued TO be
very partially diffused for three centuries,
and readers used such books as they had
access to, often falling to distinguish be-
tween books of genuine value ana WORTH
less forgeries For most readers were very
uncritical and there was an enormous
floating mass of spurious and apoealyptlc
literature including recenSionS OF the goS-
pels altered by heretical parties to suit
their own views.
No one but a specialist in the restoration
of old manuscripts has an idea of the labor
and patience necessary. The 'Dog1a JeSC,
while on papyrus, was found in sheet form,
and the translators were able to handle it
safely and, very fortunately, to decipher
every word. None had been obl1terated.
This rare luck. One of the most vol
luminous and famous collections of papyrt
is the Herculanean. which fragments have
been copied and translated after more than
a century of toll; A catalogue of the OK
ford copies of the rolls and fac SMILES
was published by Henry Frowde, publisher
of the "LOgia Jesu,' in 1895.
The history of these tattered sheets,
scarcely one complete, tells something of
the difficulties involved in such processes.
In a house uncovered in the course of ex-
1852 there were found a large number of
blackened rolls, resembling, and at first
mistaken for, Jumps of charcoal. After
many had been destroyed, in ignorance of
their value, the remainder We're found to
be papyrus rolls containing writing. Nari-
Gus attempts were made to open the rolls,
and at first they were split longitudinally
into two or more pieces A monk, Piaggo,
invented a process which in many cases
1902 book of Phodemus was enrolled in
a larger number of manuscripts.
In 1850 the Prince of Wales undertook,
with the consent of the Neapolitan govern
ment to have the enrolling and copying
carried on at his own expense. In four
years about two hundred rolls were opened,
then was stopped the work to be resumed
in 1909 Many of the rolls were sent to
England many destroyed in attempting to
undertook the delicate task after expert
menting to ascertain the chemical const-
tuition of the rolls. His report says: I'm
two months I had succeeded, with the as
sstance of six persons whom | had en-
gagged for the purpose, in partially unrol-
fragments of writing were obtained, and
examining about 120 others which afforded
no hopes of success
opened and eight yet remain at Oxford.
Only the NeapOlitan workmen in the Gov
eminent Library have the peculiar manual
skill and experience essential to success in
this work, and even with them the result
is always a lottery. The Neapolitan rolls
have been assaulted internationally, and in
1856 many fac SMILES were published, an
other series carrying the work up to 1876.
Thus, after nearly century, and half.
Inflated Philodemus, collector and cpl
curean scholar, is not completed.
Philodemus must have gathered this lit
erary store in his palatial mansion before
70 A. D., the year of the destruction of
Herculaneum by fire and lava, more than
eighteen centuries ago. These rolls and
the Egyptian manuscripts, hundreds of vol
umes in number, have not the interest and
the attraction Of the little fragment OF
papyrus which has set the world attacking
On the one side is the treasured wisdom of
the worlds greatest philosophers: on the
other only the simple, homely phrases of
Him who died to save others. There are
sermons in stones, but there are greater
truths in the lessons of the story of these
crumbling papyri.