The Montgomery advertiser., 1908-03-09
NEW PAPYRI
 IS DISCOVERED Said to Throw New Light
 on Gospel. FOUND IN REFUSE HEAP
ons Fragment Records cenversation Between Christ and . rharisee
 Priest in the
 Temple.

the Egyptian ruopisn neaps Nhat nay pertain to the Bible are always report ciety. its scholars being ever on the watch for anything that may throw new light on the Scriptures. Discove- ries are becoming few and fan between as explorations have been carried to the point where there seems to be little territory left in which to delve Tor manuscripts.
 The most recent reports are those from the Egyptian Exploration Fund workers who for ten years have been digging on the plains of Lower Egypt, 120 miles south of Cairo. where TOT i,5Oo years at least, there have been many curious mounds of sand, some of them of considerable proportio@ns. @ .nsSs ss are the remains of the once important Graeco- Roman cry of Oxyrhynchus and it was evident that the piles were noth- ing but refuse heaps where despohers of the city had thrown what they did not want of the loot of the great houses.
 falI were convinced that the mounds were full of literary fragments of value to students of early Christianity and in this thesr most sanguine oxpec- tations were more than realized. The first winters operations had hardly concluded before the Oxyrhynchus site was the centre of interest for the clas- sfcal world and the search had been less than half completed when the whole of Christiandom was surprised by the discovery of new epistles of St. Paul, fragments of uncanontcal cos peis and sayings of Jesus" other than those recorded in the New Testa- ment.
 occupied ten winters, for the mounds were found to contain not mere literary fragments, but whole libraries of papy- rtra acrolIs The work of translatang is still continuing at Queens College, Oxford, and every day is adding to the existing wealth of classical and archae- ological knowledge.
 The work of removing the papyri was entrusted to 900 native men and boys, who showed themselves particu- iariy fitted for the strain caused by the constant bending over the task. These were carefully supervised to safeguard against the sale of papyri to Arab mer- chants. and were further encouraged to honesty by commission upon their nnds.
 Tn opening up e mound the men would be divided into groups of four or six, to whom about six square me- tres would be allotted. Trenches were then driven through the mounds. and the earth removed and carefully exam ined. Most of the work in the trenches was done by hand, with the occasional assistance of . poker. The greatese care was exhibited near the surface, for the most valuable papyri were gem eraliy discovered within ten feet of the ton. Beneath that depth they were more fragmentary. and at ground level non-existent, owing to the action of the damp. oftentimes the papyrt were found in strata composed of mixture of earth, straw, and bits of wood, and the striking of such a 'tvein" was the signal for general rejoicing.
 Such an instance occurred late one afternoon at a depth of about six feet A series of remarkable fne papyri Of the second and third centuries were discovered. A guard of trustworthy assistants was placed over the mound for the night. and the papyri extri- cated next day during the absence Of the greater proportion of the laborers, who were at market in the adjacent village. These papyri, mostly of five or ten columns length, embraced portions of fifteen classical texts.
 The papyri. which in the original roll rarely exceeded thirty feet, in length, were in all cases transhipped direct to England and examined carefully at oxford. The fragments. which are -un- rolled after preliminary moistenirg, are built up of strips cut from the stem of reed. and carefully glued back to back
 
 ink used was apparently pure form of carbon and of unquestionable indel- ibility, and confirms the old-tirne be- lief that the ancients were as well if not better provided in the matter of certain writing materials than we are.
 One unusually good find was a por- fion of a fragment of an uncanonical Gospel. This. unlike the others. Is on vellum, and is a remarkable example of compactness The written surface only slightly exceeds four square inch- es, vet contains twenty-two lines. The fragment reproduces dramatic con- versation between Jesus and Phart- saical priest named Levi. The trans Iation- of the two pages of the fragment is as follows:
 ~. before he does wrong makes all manner of excuse. But give heed lest ye also suffer the same things as they; for the evil-doers among men re- ceive their reward not among the liv- ing only, but also await punishment and much torment.
 And he took them and brought them into the very place of purihcation. and was walking in the Temple. And certain Pharisee. a chief priest. whose name was Levi, met them and said to the Saviour:
 'sWho gave Thee leave to walk in this place of purihcation. and to see these holy vessels, when Thou hast not washed, nor yet have Thy disciples bathed their feet? But defined Thou has walked in this temple, which Is a pure place, wherein no other man walks except he has washed himself and changed his garments, neither does he venture to see these holy vessels.
 And the Saviour straightway stood still with His disciples and answered him:
 "Art thou, then. being here in the temple, clean? He saith unto him, am clean; for I washed in the Pool of David, and having descended by. one staircase I ascended by another, and put on white and clean garments, and then came and looked upon these holy vessels.
 'aThe Saviour answered and said unto him, Woe, ye blind. who see not. Thou hast washed in these running waters wherein dogs and swine have been cast night and day and hast cleansed and wiped the outside skin. which also the harlots and flute girls anoint and wash and wipe and beautIfy for the lust of men; but within they are full of SCOT pions and all wickedness.
 But I and my disciples, who thou savest have not bathed. have been dis ned in the waters of eternal life which come from But woe unto the .
 Here the fragment. owing to the damage. ends with dramatic sudden ness. The expert classicts have en- deavored to identify the fragment with