Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1908-03-08
Dew Light on Scriptures.
Egyptian Rubbish Heaps Are Yielding Up Valuable
Papyri-One Fragment Gives New
Incident of Christ's Life

night. and the papyri extricated next day
during the absence OF the greater proper
ton of the laborers. who were at market
in the adjacent village These papyri.
mostly of five or ten columns length. en-
braced portions of fifteen classical texts.
The papyri. which I'm the original roll
rarely exceeded thirty feet In length. were
in all cases tranShipped direct TO En-
gland and examined carefully at oxford.
The fragments. which are unrolled after
preliminary moistening. are built up or
strips cut from the stem of reed. ana
carefully glued back to back with the
grain at right angles The ink used was
apparently a pure form of carbon and
of unuuestionable indelibility, and con-
firms the old-time belief that the an
clients were as well IL not better pro-
vided in the matter of certain writing ma
terialS than we are.
k*
One unusually good find was a portion
of a fragment of an uncanonical Gospel.
This unlike the others. is on velum, and
is remarkable example of compactness.
The written surface only slightly exceeds
four square inches. yet contains twenty
two lines. The fragment reproduces a
dramatic conversation between Jesus and
Pharisaical priest named Levi. The
translation of the two pages of the frag-
ment Is follows:
before he does wrong makes
all manner of subtle excuse. But give
heed lest We also suffer the same things
as they; for the evil-doers among men
receive their reward not among the living
only, but also await punishment and much
torment
"And he took them and brought them
into the very place of publication. and
was walking in the temple. And GER
tain Pharisee. a chief priest, whose name
was Levi. met them and said to the Saw
ior:
"Who gave thee leave to walk in this
place of publication, and to see these
molly vessels, when thou hast not washed.
nor yet have thy disciples bathed their
feet? But defled thou hast walked in this
temple, which Is pure place wherein no
other man walks except he has washed
himself and changed his garments. nei-
Their does he venture to see these holy
vessels
"And the Savior straightway stood
still with His disciples. and answered him:
Art thou, then, being here in the tenn
pie, clean? He saith unto him. l am
clean; for I washed in the pool of David
and having descended by one staircase
l assembled by another. and / put on
white and clean garments. and then I
came and looked upon these holy vessels.
THE Savior answered and said unto
him, Woe. We 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 scor-
pions and all wickedness.
But 1 and my disciples, who thou say
est have not bathed. have been dipped
in the waters of eternal life which come
from But woe unto the ~
Here the fragment, owing to damage,
ends with dramatic suddenness. The ex-
pert classicists have endeavored to iden-
tify the fragment with the canonical and
uncanonical Gospels but without success
They consider it was written previous to
A. D. 200 and cannot be accepted as an
authentic story Of the actual dialogue.
much local color having possibly been
added through the imagination of the
author. That it does. however, provide
new details of interest TO theologians is
without dispute.