Evening star., 1924-11-13
MICHIGAN j. GETS
PRICELESS RELICS
Unnamed BenefaCtor Gives
Collection of Oriental Manu-
scripts of Untold Worth.
BY the Associated Press.

BY the Associated Press.
LONDON, November ia price
less collection of 4i7 Oriental manu-
scripts, many of them of utmost
rarity and some dating from the
eighth century, has been presented
to the University of Michigan by a
friend of that institution who refused
TO let his name be made public, and
has been forwarded to Ann Arbor by
way of London.
More than half the manuscripts,
many of which belonged to the Sultan
Abdul Hamid, We're written in Arabic,
while the others are in the Persian
and Turkish languages. Many are
caligraphic and some of the Persian
manuscripts contain illuminations of
superior quality.
About 100 of the manuscripts con-
tain commentaries on Mohammedan
law, the growing Importance of
which as a subject of investigation
by western scholars has been pointed
out by experts because of the in
creasingly close contacts with the
MoSlem Orient The rest are chiefly
literary and historical writing, and
among them the best authors are
well represented in early and au
thoritative tests.
Collection Invaluable.
clared by investigators to be a note
worthy addition to the resources of
American scholarship, with the prob
ability that collection of similar
quality will never again be available
for purchase.
The principal portion of the manu-
script belonged to Abdul Hamid, and
was sold and exported when the
Young Turks came into power. The
lot
option on them, but his fatal illness
intervened, and ano. Ter purchaser
could not be obtained until they came
to the notice of the University of
Michigans unnamed benefactor.
y crumpled leaf of papyrus, be-
Heved to date from about 500 A. D.,
upon which is written more than so
verses of the twenty sixth chapter of
the Gospel of Matthew, was dis
covered recently by II. l. Bell, an ex
pert of the British museum, while
sorting a collection of papyrus con-
sisting of 4S7 items destined for the
library of the University of Michigan.
The text is substantially complete
except at the bottom of the leaf
where a corner had been torn off, so
that the ends of four lines and the
lowest line on the right hand page
are gone, and also the beginning of
the four lines at the bottom of the
page on the opposite page.
Contains Every Gospel.
The passage commences with the
words thus translated in the King
James version, verse 10:
"(As) Jesus had appointed them,
and they made ready for the pass
over
The incomplete line at the end con-
tains the words from verse 50, shall
perish with the sword" The passage
is of interest to all denominations
because of it's account of the last
supper and the betrayal.
The text is carefully written. Per
haps the most striking difference
from the King James. version is in
verse %, where the translation is
for this is my blood of the New
Testament" Moffats translation
reads: This means my blood, the
new covenant blood" Here the
text of the papyrus, in agreement
with certain ancient manuscripts and
some editions, omits the new"
"Otherwise," said Prof. Francis w
Kelsey of the University of Michigan
recently in describing the discovery
"the text is substantially that with
which all are familiar"