Democratic messenger. [volume] (Snow Hill, Md.) 1869-1973, 1903-11-21
WORDS OF CHRIST FOUND
ArchaeoIOgists Make Strange Discovery
in Egypt.
PApYRl BURIED OVER 1850 YEARS.
Hitherto Unknown Sayings Of Jesus Dug Up
by Archaeologsts About One Hundred
Miles From Cairo, Egypt Some Variations
From Accepted Text-Were Probably
Written to Thomas.

London (By Cable).-Many hitherto
unknown sayings OF Jesus Christ have
been discovered in Egypt by archeclo-
gists who have dug up papyri, buried
since the second century, 100 miles
south Of Cairo. DR.. Bernard P. Gren-
fell, who has been engaged i'll Egyptian
excavations since 1894 at the general
meeting of the Egypt Exploration
Fund here. gave the following details:
Accompanied by DR.. Hunt, DR..
Grenfell found a rich ptolemaic necrop-
oils at El-Hibeh. The bulk OF the doc
uments from one mound consisted of a
collection of sayings of Jesus. They
are all introduced with the words,
Jesus SAITH" and for the most part
are new. The ends of the lines, unfor-
tunately, are often obliterated. Appar-
emily all the sayings were addressed to
St. Thomas. One of the most remark
able is:
Let not him that seeketh cease from
his search until he find, and when he
finds he shall wonder; wondering he
shall reach the kingdom, i. G., the king
dom of heaven, and when he reaches
the kingdom he shall have rest
DR.. Grenfell remarked that enor
nous interest would be aroused by the
discoveries, on account of the varia
tons they disclosed from accepted
texts. One variant OF the mystical say
ing, recorded in St. Luke, THE king
dom of God is within YOU was of great
value, as the saying in the papyrus ap-
peared in quite different surroundings
from those attributed to it by the evan
gelist and extended far into another
region.
According to DR.. Grenfell these say
ings formed the new Gospel which is
additionally associated with St.
Thomas.
An interesting variation of the Cos
pei according to St. Luke, eleventh
chapter and ffty-second verse, (''Woe
unto you, lawyers! for we have taken
away the key OF knowledge; we enter
ed not i'll yourselves. and them that
were entering in We hindercd,') reads
i'll the papyrus: I'VE have hidden the
key of knowledge, We entered not your
selves and to them that were entering
i'll ye did not OPEN"
Another fragment contained dis
course of Christ, closely related to pas
sages of the sermon on the mount, and
conversation between Christ and His
disciples, i'll which Christ answers a
question as to when His kingdom will
be realized, saying: When We return
to the State of innocence which existed
before the fall
A valuable find was made in papyri.
written in Latin, giving the text OF
the Epistle to the Hebrews, and all cpl
tome OF Livy's six lost books. This,
with other papyri, covering the period
I5o-I37 B. c. threw much new and val
liable information ON the history of
the world and marked the recovery OF
hitherto lost classical literature Of
Egypt.
A quaint instance OF the business
methods in vogue in I37 A. D., is
shown in the discovery OF an amusing
contract whereby a slave-boy was to be
taught shorthand for 100 drachmae The
payment was arranged on a thoroughly
busness-likc basis. 40 draclmae down.
40 on satisfactory evidence Of progress
and 40 OH the attainment of prof.
ciency