The times., 1901-06-23
MANUSCRIPTS ON PAPYRUS
A Valuable Collection Recently
Received at Harvard.
Parts of the Tenth Book of Homer's
OdysSsy-Seven verses of PnuPs
EpistIe to the Romans Written
Early in the Fourth Century.

Early in the Fourth Century.
CAMBRIDGE. Mass. June 22.-Some
months ago, it Will be remembered, the
Egypt Exploration Fund of London
presented a considerable number of
Greek manuscripts on papyrus 10 lead
ing American universities in recogni-
ton Of the financial support which this
country. where it maintains a regularly
organized branch with offices in Boston,
had given to its work. They had been
brought to light, with thousands of
others. by the society's agents in the
field, working more directly for the
Graeco- Roman branch of the fund.
which was established several years
ago for the express purpose of finding
and publishing papyri-either the bu5i-
ness and legal DOCUMENTS which have
been discovered in such great numoers
and have done so much to illustrate the
life and manners of the Graeco-Roman
period; or the rarer and more impor-
tant classical and religious texts which
are the occasional treasure-troVe OF the
archaeologist in modern Egypt
The rapyri which the fund has sent
to American colleges constitute the
most valuable and interesting collection
of the kind which has ever reached this
country. Nineteen were apportioned to
Harvard. and these have just
been framed between glass, to
permit the closest examination and
at the same time protect them
against any chance OF injury, ana
placed on exhibition in the Semitic Mu-
scum. Most of them are business docu-
ments, but three frames contain manu-
scripts of a wider interest, the first con-
sisting of two small fragments of parts
of the tenth book of Homer's "Odys-
sey," of the first or second century Oh
our era: the second of several lines, pre-
viously unknown, which have been at
tributed to the Greek poet Alcman,
Transcribed late in the first or early
in the second century; and the third,
which is supposed to have been writ
ten early in the fourth century, Of the
first seven verses of the first chapter
of st. Paurs Epistle of the Romans.
Homer. in fragments or even in rolls
containing complete books, is the COM
monest classical author found among
the Egyptian papyri, just as volumes
or pages Of Shakespeare or the Bible
would probably turn up most frequent
Iy in excavations undertaken couple
Of thousand years from now in the de-
bris of our present-day civilization. The
verses from st. PauTs Epistle to the
Romans are CT more interest, If only
because they belong to a class Of manu-
scripts less commonly found. They oc-
cupy the upper part only of large
and we'll preserved sheet of papyrus
marked "A" at the top. from which il
appears that IL was intended 40 De the
first of a roll which should include the
whole Epistle. The scribe, however
was careless, and, after making seyera
verbal errors and emitting a part OF
the sixth verse, he seems 70 have dis
carded bis work for better beginning
on a fresh sheet. 4 casual memoran-
DUN has been added in a later hand
below
Four Of the lines of the fragment OF
Alcman, if AIcrnan it be, are sufficiently
complete to warrant the following
translation:
We came TO great DeIneter's faEe We nine.
All maidens. all in goodly rsiment clad:
In goodly raiment clad. with necklets bright
OF carven ivory, that shone like snow
The LIST word. SNOW" is uncertain
but the fragment. short as it is, anC
whether or not by the famous poet Il
l.. 4 II
a relic of the great age of Greek litera'
ture-a suggestive touch of the sweet
ness and light" which little by LITTLE
are being recovered from the dus
heaps Of Egypt
The business documents range in dat
from TIE middle of the first to the mid
die of the fourth century A. Dali be
ing comprised, that is, in the perio'
of Roman occupation-and vary from
certificates of work on the Nile EN-
bankments to a statement Of extortio
on the part of a tax collector or al
agreement for the sale Of a donkey
There is an order of exemption from
the payment of poll tax, for example
papers relating to land titles, and or
ders for the payment Of wine or money
The tax collectors alleged eXtortion
revealed in the following concise peti
ton, in which the names of a local Ro
man governor and of the Empero
across the sea take up about as muc
room as the statement Of facts: IT
Tiberius Claudius Passion, strategu.
from Alexandrus, son of Appollonius,
Of yrvrla. -F14N lfNriFaur in m
quarter Of the square Of Thoeris. Apol
Iophanes, ex-collector of taxes, in tn
eighth year Of Tiberius Claudius Caeaa
Augustus Germanicus. Imperator, ex
torted from me among other people six
teen drachmas cf silver. I therefor
beg you to proceed against him as yo
may think fit"
A list of clothing and personal effect
takes note Of "one white garment {
pure wool, two undyed do, one purp
do, two white wells, one undyed dc
two linen cloths from Tarsus, Tvs
shawls. two tunics with a broad purp
border, two siTdles. two cloaks, tw
shirts, three cushions, three pillow
tyo mattresses" and various other al
ticIcs. The agreement for the sale
a donkey, mentioned above, is curiot
to modern readers for its particuls rii
in identifying by a personal marli--tl
same in each instance-both buyer an
seller
The eleventh year Of the Emperc
Caesar Trajanus Hadrianus Augusta
the 18th Of the month Sebastus {
Thoth, a Theadelphia, in the diyisic
4 4 nm