The record-union. [volume] (Sacramento, Calif.) 1891-1903, 1899-03-24
issue, publishes such information as
is now available about this discovery

issue, publishes such information as
is now available about this discovery.
The title of the book is familiar to
students of the history of the New Tes-
lament. but the book itself was not sup
posed to be extant The text is in a
hitherto unknown dialect of Coptic.
"Biblia'' says:
1T is difficult. without going into con-
fusing details, to give true and vivid
idea of it's (the books position and i'm
portance; but two picturesque facts
may be quoted In famous classified
ton of New Testament notes by Fuse
bus in the fourth century we find The
Acts of Paul. entered as a disputed
book, but in the same class as the Cath
Ollie Epistles and the Revelation of St.
John. And what is, perhaps, still more
striking, we find that ST. John Chrysos-
tom-a man who never refers to the
revelation of ST John-cites facts from
the Acts of Paul, and uses it as a genu-
inc historical document. 1t was then
long held in the utmost respect, and
there can be little doubt that in a
good many churches it was read as a
sacred book. That writing with such
a history should now have been s1ven
back to us is clearly matter Tor re-
joicing. AS yet no portion of the Cop
tic text has seen the light, we have only
the discoveries short preliminary ac-
count to go upon. One main result that
is prominent in the accounts is this:
it transpires that for considerable
time we have had in our hands-nay,
have printed and commented upon-ln1-
portant fragments Of these Acts with
out knowing for certain, and in one
case without even suspecting their true
origin.
For more than a century the learned
world, as it is called, has been 1alnh-
lar with a book called the Acts Of Pail
and Thecla. This tells US now Faul
came to Iconium from Antioch, ana
how his preaching converted young
lady of the name of Thecla, and LED
her to break off her proposed marriage
with a youth of the city. In conse-
ouence of this an unsuccessful attempt
was made to burn her alive. When she
had escaped and rejoined Paul, they
went together to Antioch; and here
she was once more arrested and ex-
posed to the beasts; but they would
not toucb her Thereafter she lived
peacefully and died natural death.
Nov this story was known to Ter
tullian at the beginning OF the third
century: and he tells us that the au-
thor of it was a presbyter OF Asia
Minor. who confessed that he had writ
ten it out of love for st. Paul, and was
in consequence deposed from his place.
And ST. Jerome, in telling the same
facts. adds another which has been a
puzzle to many people. H says that
the confession Of the presbyter took
place before john which would throw
the composition of the book back to
the end of the first century. But 1t IS
believed that the two words before
john are corrupted in one manuscript,
and that instead of them we ought TO
read at Iconium,' a slight change
which would remove all difficulty from
the passage.
However this may be, the Coptlc
manuscript discovered by PROFESSOR
Schmidt shows quite clearly that the
Acts of Paul and Thecla are just one
chapter out of the Acts of Paul which
became popular and was circulated
separately
..Biblia" quotes from the manuscript
the following description of ST. Paul,
which it indorses as having all the ring
of truthfulness:
'.And Onesiphorus saw Paul ap-
preaching, a man short in stature,
bald headed crook kneed. of fresh COM
plexion, with eyebrows Joined, and