How These Records Were Discovered

Some time in the year 1856 while living in DeWitt, Missouri, a gentleman by the name of H, C. Why aman be!ame snow"boun an sto##e at my house several ays. He was a native of $ermany, an one of the most learne men % ha ever met. % foun him to be freely !ommuni!ative. During his stay, he tol me that he ha s#ent five years in the !ity of &ome, an most of the 'ime in the (ati!an, where he saw a library !ontaining five hun re an si)ty thousan volumes. He tol me that he ha seen an rea the re!or s of 'iberius Caesar, an in what was !alle the *!ta +ilati , that is, the a!ts of +ilat , he ha seen an a!!ount of the a##rehension, trial, an !ru!ifi)ion of -esus of .a/areth0 but sai it i not a mu!h to the !ommonly a!!e#te tea!hings of Christianity, He tol me he thought a trans!ri#t !oul be se!ure . *fter Mr. Why aman1s e#arture, % me itate u#on what he ha tol me of those re!or s, an thought that if a trans!ri#t !oul be obtaine it woul be very interesting, even if it i not a mu!h to the #resent tea!hings of Christianity. So, after some months % set about tra!ing u# Mr. Why aman, as the following !orres#on en!e shows2 DeWitt, Carroll Co., Mo., Se#t. 33, 1856 Mr. Henry C. Why aman. Dear Sir2 *fter you left my house last s#ring, % 4e#t thin4ing of your tell" me me of rea ing the a!ts of +ilate in the (ati!an, while at &ome, % want you, if you #lease, to get me a trans!ri#t of those re!or s, if the !ost will not be too mu!h, Will you #lease o#en a !orres#on en!e with some of your ol frien s at &ome that you !an rely u#on, an as!ertain if it !an be obtaine 0 an if so what will be the #robable !ost of getting it5 % shall be mu!h oblige , an will #ay you for your trouble an e)#ense. 6ours in ten er regar s, W. D. Mahan, .ew 6or4, .ov. 13, 1856 Mr. W. D. Mahan, Dear Sir2 6our letter as ire!te to %%, C, Why aman is re!eive , % will inform you he has returne to $ermany. 6our letter has been forwar e , 6ours, et!., C, C, (antberger, Mar!h 3, 1857 &ev. W. D, Mahan, Dear Sir2 %t is with the 4in est regar s % remembere your hos#itality while with you in *meri!a, 8e assure , anything % !an o for you will affor me great #leasure. % have written to 9ather 9reelinhusen, a mon4 of great learning, at &ome, who is the !hief guar ian of the (ati!an, % have ma e the re:uest in my own name, as % o not thin4 they woul be willing for su!h e o!ument to go into the han s of the #ubli!. When he answers, % will write you again.

% am, your most obe ient servant, H. C. Why aman, West#halia, $ermany, .ov. 37, 1857 &ev. W. D. Mahan, Dear Sir2 9ather 9reelinhusen has answere my letter in regar to the trans!ri#t you want. He informs me that the writing is so fine, an being in the ;atin language, as % tol you, an the #ar!hments so ol an irty, he will be oblige to use a glass to the most of it, He !an only give it in the ;atin, as he oes not un erstan the <nglish. He says he will o it for thirty"five ari!s, whi!h will be in *meri!an !oin si)ty"two ollars an forty"four !ents, %f you will forwar the amount, % will have the o!ument forwar e to my brother" in"law, C. C, (antberger, He will translate it for a trifle. % am yours, in ten er regar s, H. C, Why aman. Chilli!othe, Mo, 9eb. 8, 1858 Mr. H, C. Why aman. Dear Sir2 'han4s to you for your 4in ness, an be assure , if % su!!ee , % shall ever feel un er obligations to you for your trouble. <n!lose , fin a !he!4 on the 9oreign <)!hange 8an4 of .ew 6or4, for si)ty"two ollars an forty"four !ents. +lease have the wor4 one, an urge Mr. 9reelinhusen to have it a true !o#y of the original. Sen it to Mr. (antberger, an have him to translate it into <nglish, an % will #ay the !harges. He has my a ress. 6ours, as ever, W. D. Mahan, West#halia, $ermany, -une 1=, 1858 &ev. W. D, Mahan, Dear Sir2 % a!4nowle ge your raft of S63.==, Will a##ly as you re:uest. % am, sir, H. C. Why aman,

Mr. H, C, Why aman. Dear Sir2 % hereby forwar to you the trans!ri#t as it is on re!or in the (ati!an in 'iberius Caesar1s Court by +ilate. % !ertify this to be a true !o#y, wor for wor , as it o!!urs there, 6ours, et!. +eter 9reelinhusen, .ew 6or4, *#ril 36, 185> Mr. W, D. Mahan, Dear Sir2 % am in #ossession of a o!ument from H, C, Why aman, with instru!tions to translate it into <nglish. My !harge is ten ollars. % will e)#e!t an answer, C. C. (antberger.

Discovery of the Records

With this !orres#on en!e % re!eive the following o!ument, an % must !onfess that, although it is not ins#ire , yet the wor s burne in my heart as the wor s of Christ in the hearts of his is!i#les, an % am satisfie from the s#irit it breathes that it must be true, % am aware that though the -ews were in sub@e!tion to the &omans, yet they still hel their e!!lesiasti!al authority, an the &omans not only submitte to their e!isions, but e)e!ute their e!rees on their sub@e!ts, Anowing there was not su!h a #ie!e of history to be foun in all the worl , an being ee#ly intereste myself, as also hun re s of others to whom % have rea it, % have !on!lu e to give it to the #ubli!. B#on getting hol of this re#ort of +ilate, % !ommen!e to investigate this sub@e!t, an after many years of trial an the e)#en iture of !onsi erable money, % foun that there were many of su!h re!or s still #reserve at the (ati!an in &ome an at Constantino#le, that ha been !arrie there by the <m#eror of &ome about the mi le of the thir !entury. % therefore #ro!ure the ne!essary assistan!e, an on Se#tember 31, 188?, % set sail for those foreign lan s to ma4e the investigation in #erson. 8elieving that no event of su!h im#ortan!e to the worl as the eath of -esus of .a/areth !oul have trans#ire without some re!or being ma e of it by his enemies in their !ourts, legislations, an histories, % !ommen!e investigating the sub@e!t. *fter many years of stu y, an after !onsulting various histories an !orres#on ing with many s!holars, % re!eive the assistan!e of two learne men, Drs, M!%ntosh an 'wyman, an went to the (ati!an at &ome, an then to the -ewish 'almu s at Constantino#le. *s a result % have !om#ile this boo4, whi!h will be foun one of the most strange an interesting boo4s ever rea , %t may a##ear fragmentary, but the rea er must remember that it is the re!or of men ma e nearly two thousan years ago. %t was some time in Mar!h 1856, that my min was awa4ene on the sub@e!t of this boo4, almost in!i entally, or it may be #rovi entially, for He sometimes !hooses the wea4est things to !onfoun the mighty. 'he rea er is referre to the !orres#on en!e of H, C, Why aman an myself, as foun in this boo4, %n $o 1s #rovi en!e sometimes very great effe!ts are #ro u!e from very small !auses, Mr. Why aman tol me he ha s#ent five years in the (ati!an at &ome, an in loo4ing over the ol manus!ri#ts he !ame a!ross the re!or s of +ilate ma e to Caesar, an in those re!or s he saw where a man name -esus was arreste , trie , an e)e!ute 0 he rea it !arefully an rerea it, an went ba!4 an rea it again. % won ere how it was that su!h historians as +hilo, 'a!itus, Cuintilian, an -ose#hus ha tol us nothing or so little about -esus of .a/areth, % as4e all the wise men an s!holars % met, an they i not 4now0 % then wrote to many s!holars in <uro#e, an they !oul not tell me, *s % !oul fin nothing very efinite from the outsi e worl , % began to have my oubts, but !ame to the !on!lusion that the :uestion was of too mu!h im#ortan!e to allow my min to be fi)e without a thorough investigation, % went to our histories , Mosheim, ;ar ner, Sta!4house, an others, 'hey gave me no satisfa!tion, an % thought to myself, is it #ossible that the !hara!ter of su!h men as the early Christians,

an the won erful e)!itement that they !reate in their ay, !oul have been #asse over an no re!or s ma e of them5 When % remembere , too, that the &oman #rovin!es in that ay were #rolifi! with ebaters, historians, an writers on all to#i!s that were brought before them, an that the re!or s of the !ourts in those ays were more !arefully #reserve than they are now, an that even of the trial of $uiteau, who was not half as !ons#i!uous to the #eo#le of these Bnite States as -esus was to the -ewish nations, there were hun re s of re!or s ma e, % !ame to the !on!lusion that only *lmighty $o !oul establish a !ause so universally as the Christian religion was establishe in the hearts of the #eo#le of this worl , an s!e#ter of -esus governs this worl to ay, when they ha !om#aratively little or no testimony from the outsi e worl . % !onsulte our histories in this !ountry, an one sai these re!or s were burne in the *le)an rian ;ibrary, % 4new the 8abylonian 'almu s were in this library, or at least most of them were, but % also 4new that the 'almu s of -erusalem were not, % 4new that when the &omans !on:uere the -ews an estroye their Holy City, tem#le an all, all the sa!re treasures were ta4en by the &omans an , % su##ose , #reserve . *nother historian says $regory %D, burne all the sa!re re!or s. * iffi!ulty % met in !onsulting s!holars on this sub@e!t was the !laim that the &oman mon4s ha forge many manus!ri#ts regar ing -esus Christ, in the mi le ages, .ow they may have forge some things to sustain their #e!uliar views an o!trines, something to sustain their Chur!h0 but there is nothing in this boo4 to sustain Catholi!ism, an if every wor of it was forgotten it woul a nothing to that Chur!h more than to any other Chur!h. 'hen 1 remembere the (ati!an library was one of the most e)tensive in the worl 0 it has !ost millions of ollars. How i those forgers 4now that % or any other man woul !ome there an #ay them a few ollars to get a trans!ri#t of those re!or s5 %t !ertainly woul be a very #oor s#e!ulation. *nother ob@e!tion was that the manus!ri#ts ha been sear!he for by s!holars an !oul not be foun . So % set myself to wor4, an after investigating all the authors in this !ountry, an writing to many s!holars in <uro#e, an getting boo4s from ;ibraries in the ol !ountry, thus s#aring no #ains or e)#ense % !oul not fin or even hear of a man who ha ever investigate this sub@e!t. % foun that Dr. 'is!hen orf ma e some investigation in these an!ient manus!ri#ts, but he was loo4ing for the manus!ri#t of the S!ri#tures, an might have seen many su!h things as this boo4 hol s an never have noti!e them @ust from the sim#le fa!t that he was not loo4ing for them. He was loo4ing for something else. %n the investigation of su!h sub@e!ts a man must have but one thing in his min , an he must be #oste beforehan to 4now how an where to loo4, for the fiel is too large to ma4e his business general. % now !hallenge any s!holar to show me the man who has ma e this his s#e!ial business, an ma e the effort that % have on this #arti!ular sub@e!t. % am sure there is none. 'he ne)t great iffi!ulty that % en!ountere was this. Coul su!h manus!ri#ts e)ist so long5 % foun by investigating that +tolemy, Aing of *le)an ria, #resente seventy boo4s to </ra, whi!h he refuse to #la!e in the Holy Canon, an it !ame very near bringing on a

bloo y war. *gain % foun that Serenus Samnati!us, who was the tea!her of M. *ntonius *fri!anus, son of $or ianus the $reat, when he ie , left his library, !onsisting of si)ty Etwo thousan volumes, to his stu ent. 'his was in ?6 *D % also remembere that the wor4s of Homer were more than five hun re years ol er than Christ, an that we ha the laws of Shammai, *btalian, an the wor4s of the Hillels all before us0 an if 'is!hen orf, in the !onvent of St. Catherine, !oul fin sli#s an #ie!es of the Se#tuagint that were e!lare at ;ei#sie to be of the fourth !entury % thought there might be a great eal more somewhere in the vast libraries in those ol !ountries that have thousan s of years the a vantage of *meri!a. 'he literati !oul all tell how the manus!ri#ts of the Chur!h might be, an were, #reserve 0 but the re!or s of its enemies even the re!or s of !ourts an !rowns they !oul not see into. .ow the rea er must remember that there never was anything that !reate so mu!h e)!itement in the lan of -u ea as the #rea!hing of -ohn the 8a#tist an Christ. 'his will be rea ily un erstoo if we ta4e into !onsi eration the stru!ture of the -ewish Commonwealth. 'he great Sanhe rim legislate for the souls an bo ies of men0 that is, their religion an their #oliti!s were one an the same thing. %n the !a#itulation ma e with *ugustus Caesar it was un erstoo an agree that the -ews were to #ay a ta) to the &omans but the &omans were not to interfere with the -ewish religion. 'his too4 the e)e!utive #ower out of the han s of the -ews an #ut it into the han s of the &omans. 'his is the reason -esus was sent to +ilate to be e)e!ute . 'he &omans ha to !arry out an e)e!ute the e!isions of the -ewish Courts on all -ewish :uestions. 'his is the reason Hero *nti#as was trie by the &oman Senate0 he ha e)e!ute -ohn the 8a#tist without a trial. 'hen we see why the -ews an &omans wor4e together on all :uestions of law0 hen!e the great e)!itement of both nations. 'his is the reason why +ilate ma e his re#ort to Caesar. .ow % say no event !reating so mu!h e)!itement !oul ta4e #la!e without more or less re!or being ma e of it0 for if the S!ri#ture is true , an % believe it is , there never was a man on earth who ha so many followers in so short a time. Caia#has says -esus ha been #rea!hing three years, an he then ha more followers than *braham. 'his !auses me to say again that if the .ew 'estament re!or s are not true that is no man are to say these are the i enti!al items, but items li4e these, an why not these5 'hey !ame from the right #la!e. 'he #ar!hments an s!rolls u#on whi!h they are written are su!h as were use in those ays, but to say these are the same is to say what no man ares to say. 'he time has been too long an the istan!e to the #la!e where the re!or s are 4e#t is too great for all men to ma4e the e)amination for themselves, hen!e % as4 all to !onsi er this :uestion fairly. ;et me invite the attention of the rea er to the 4nown histories in this !ountry. Dr. &ashi, D. D. who wrote in +aris in the twelfth !entury, says in (ol. %%%, #age 1>F, that in the formation of the an!ient libraries there were men a##ointe !alle Gbaalie su#hothsH, whi!h means Gboo4"!om#ilers.H 'he business of these men was to ta4e the sheets of #ar!hment of the various authors an #in their ates together, hin them in bun les an have them boun with !las#s between !e ar boar s. 'his was a tra e, an it re:uire the best of s!holars to o it. 'hey were !alle baalie su#hoths We fin that the wor4s of +hilo

were !om#ile by +seu onymaus -ose#h 8en $orion, *, D. 15F, 'his 8en Corion was a -ewish rabbi, a +harisean o!tor, -ose#hus was !om#ile by <4"aba, another -ewish o!tor, at the !lose of the se!on !entury0 an so with all the historians who live near the Christian era. -ose#hus was #ublishe in boo4"form by Haver!am#, in *mster am, in 173>, .ow all he ha to gui e him was what 8en $orion ha sai , So it was with +hilo, whi!h was #ut in boo4"form by Mangey, in ;on on,.in 17=3, all he ha was what <4aba ha #lease to !om#ile of his wor4s, an , as there was ea ly hatre between the -ews an Christians at that time, it is most reasonable to believe that those !om#ilers woul leave everything out that woul favor the Christians, %t was to their own interest at that time to bury the very name of Christ in eternal oblivion0 an this is the reason that all the historians who live an wrote in those ays are ma e to say so very little about Christ or his followers, .ow in loo4ing over the histories we fin !om#aratively nothing sai about -esus Christ. Su!h a thing !oul not be if the .ew 'estament is true. .o man !oul ma4e me believe that su!h events o!!urre as are re!or e in the S!ri#tures without a!!ounts of them being ma e in the State re!or s an by the #ubli! writers of that ay. *lthough % have ha this thrown in my fa!e so often by infi els, % never saw the reason till % !ommen!e this investigation0 an if any man will ta4e the #ains to e)amine this :uestion he will fin that all the so#hers, or s!ribes, were +harisees0 they were o!tors, lawyers, orators, #oets, an statesmen of the times, 'he Hillel an Shammai s!hools ma e more s!holars than all the worl besi es in the last ays of the -ewish Commonwealth, *lmost every nation un er the sun #atroni/e these s!hools. .ow, being satisfie that % was on the right tra!4, the ne)t thing was to fin out what ha be!ome of the original manus!ri#ts, Ha &othga , Haver!am#, an Mangey estroye the manus!ri#ts when they were one with them5 'his % 4new !oul not he, from the fa!t that these #ar!hments were either in the han s of government of in ivi ual libraries, an they !oul not estroy them or ta4e then away0 an % 4new if these manus!ri#ts ha been 4e#t till 175= they must be in e)isten!e yet, Inly a few years ago there were one hun re an twenty"eight volumes of manus!ri#ts #resente to the 8ritish Museum, whi!h were loo4e u#on with interest, an , while % am writing this, there !omes to my hea a is#at!h from (ienna to the ;on on 'imes, % will give it in full, as % thin4 it will be benefi!ial to the rea er, 'he is#at!h is as follows2 G*n!ient Manus!ri#tsH 'he sifting an arrangement of the #a#yrus !olle!tion bought by *r!h u4e &ainer have le to further interesting is!overies, If the hierogly#hi!, hierati!, emoti!, an Co#ti! #a#yri, about twenty ate from the #re"Christian #erio , *mong these is one nearly three thousan years ol , in the hierati! letter, !ontaining the re#resentation of a funeral, with a well #reserve s4et!h of the e!ease , some hierogly#hi! legen s, an a emoti! #a#yrus on the sub@e!t of mathemati!s, Mu!h more numerous are the Co#ti! o!uments, about one thousan in all, mostly letters an legal o!uments of the #erio from the si)th to the tenth !entury of our year. 'here are some im#ortant #a#yri !ontaining translations of the 8ible in the !entral <gy#tian iale!t, of whi!h there have hitherto been foun but few s#e!imens0 an a leaf of #ar!hment from an ol o!tavo e ition of the boo4 of &uth, in the Sahi i iale!t.

G*mong the $ree4 #a#yri is a hitherto un4nown s#ee!h of %so!rates, one of the finest s#e!imens of *le)an rian !alligra#hy, *nother fragment has been foun of the boo4 of the 'hu!y i es manus!ri#t #reviously mentione . +ortions, also, have been is!overe of the %lia an a #ara#hrase of the 9ourth 8oo4. 'hen a metanvia has been foun ating from the beginning of the fourth !entury, being thus one of the ol est Christian manus!ri#ts. 'he !olle!tion !ontains many well"#reserve o!uments in an almost !ontinuous series of the &oman an 8y/antine em#erors, beginning with 'ra@an an en ing with Hera!lius. G'here are also o!uments in the %rani! an Semiti! languages. 'he former are written on #a#yrus, #ar!hment an s4ins, an among them are two fragments whi!h, it is believe , will furnish the 4ey to the +ehlewi language. *mong the *rab #a#yri twenty"five o!uments have been foun with the original lea en seals atta!he . 'hey begin with a fragment of the fifty"fourth year of the Hegira. *nother is an offi!ial o!ument of the nineteenth year of the Hegira, a##ointing a revenue !olle!tor. +erha#s the most valuable #art of the !olle!tion is one hun re an fifty"five *rabian o!uments, on !otton #a#er, of the eighth !entury, whi!h is about the time of the invention of this material by the *rabs, to the year >5? Many thousan s of manus!ri#ts have still to be e!i#here .H %n the early !enturies there was a goo eal of what is 4nown as the G*#ologeti!al Writings.H % ma e it my business to e)amine these writings, an foun them to be a efense of Christianity. 'he first of this form of writing was #resente to the <m#eror * rian by Cua ratus, in the year 136 *D * #ortion of this we fin in <usebius, #age >? 'here was another by *risti es, at about the same time. 'hese two authors are foun only in fragments, #reserve by other historians, an their writings are mainly #leas for !lemen!y for those who #rofesse Christianity an were being #erse!ute . -ustin Martyr also wrote twi!e on this sub@e!t on!e to the &oman Senate an on!e to *ntonius. 'hese were #ublishe in <nglish by =1. &eeves, in 17F>, at ;ei#si!. 'ertullian wrote two volumes, an (in!entius wrote a !ommentary on them. 'hese are foun at +aris. 'hey are very valuable wor4sE#erha#s the most valuable of the an!ient writings"from the fa!t, re!or e in the, that the Christians, in giving reasons for as4ing favors, refer to the re!or s ma e by the -ews an -ewish writers as well as the re#orts of the &oman offi!ers who were the governors of -u ea at that time0 an of !ourse their referen!e to these re!or s emonstrates that the re!or s were there. %n 'ertullian, (ol. %%, #age 3>, (in!entius says the Christians1 argument was base on the o!trine of the 8ible, showing that the $o of the Christians !oul save, an referre the #agans to the many instan!es where he ha inter#ose an save , when none but a $o li4e the Christians1 $o !oul save. 9or, sai they, what !an a $o ma e of woo or brass o in time of anger5 'hey ha no #ower to #ut forth an e)ert themselves to save (in!entius says the #agan woul answer that these images were the re#resentations of their go s0 that these go s of woo an iron, ha invisible s#irits that e)erte as mu!h

#ower as the $o of the Christians. (in!entius says he i not see mu!h ifferen!e in their o!trines when they got to un erstan ea!h other. % remember that, while on the shi#, we ha an %rish #riest on boar , an in !onversation one ay while as4ing him about many things in the Catholi! Chur!h % in:uire why he ha a !ru!ifi) hanging in his room. Sai %, G6ou o not thin4 there is any virtue in that image of brass5H G.o,H sai he, G.o more than there was in the ser#ent of brass that Moses ma e an #la!e on a #ole. 'here was no healing virtues in that brass, but the bitten %sraelite believe in the !omman , whi!h belief or faith !ontrolle his a!tion, an #ro u!e obe ien!e0 hen!e he was heale ,H *n so, he sai in this !ase, he no more believe there were any saving :ualities in that image than % believe my mother1s #i!ture !oul be to me a mother. ;et the rea er refer to the first !enturies an mar4 what a is#utation there was in the an!ient !hur!h about #i!tures. May we not flow ba!4 into it5 *n as this sub@e!t of #i!ture worshi# !reate so mu!h issatisfa!tion in the first !enturies it may o so again. While investigating this :uestion % foun that *r!a ius, the el est son of 'heo osius the $reat, su!!ee e his father to the throne in *D ?>5, an ivi e the &oman <m#ire into what was 4nown in that ay as the <astern an Western <m#ires. *r!a ius !hose the <astern an fi)e his seat of government at Constantino#le, an ma e his brother Honoris <m#eror of the Western> fi)ing his seat of government at &ome. %t was not long until their @ealousy was 4in le , whi!h resulte in hatre an terminate in a war whi!h finally #rove their overthrow. %n rea ing the *nteE .i!ene 9athers, #ublishe in < inburgh in twenty"four o!tave volumes, in (ol. D%%,, #age 11=, it is sai that the beginning of this war was on a!!ount of Honoris wishing to have his young #rin!es e u!ate at Constantino#le free of !harge, giving as his reason that the great library there ha on!e belonge to &ome, When his brother *r!a ius refuse he trie to get the library ivi e , an *r!a ius refuse this also. 'hey then went to war, an while the two brothers were thus engage *lari!us engage the Western <m#ire an overthrew it. %n hunting through this vast library of boo4s % foun what was !alle the Homilies of Clementine0 (ol. D%%%,, #age 1>=0 there were the *#o!ry#has gos#els, *!ts an &evelations, with all the writings of the *#ostoli! 9athers, in!lu ing the laws of the High +riest, the laws of the 'em#le servi!e, the &e!or s of the Sanhe rim, giving the -ewish laws an !ustoms for hun re s of years, with all the treaties an re!or s of the !ourts. .ow, my i ea was that if these re!or s were foun in the library of the (ati!an at &ome an in the Seraglio an *tme an libraries at Constantino#le an *le)an ria, so these men !oul get them nearly three hun re years ago, why are they not there now5 Dr. %saa! Wise, who is +resi ent of the Hebrew S!hool at Cin!innati, an , by the way, one of the best Hebrew s!holars in *meri!a, in his History of the Commonwealth of %srael, fre:uently :uotes from the 'almu s an Sanhe rim, giving referen!e to the various !ir!umstan!es, an often gives the name of the s!ribe who i the writing0 an so % fin these re!or s have always been in the han s of the -ewish rabbis, an you nee not

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tell me these things have been only #ro u!e by the later -ewish nation, for we fin :uotations ma e at the time an by the men who live in the ays of Christ, 'hose :uotations !orres#on with other history we have of the same events, an the only ifferen!e is that he -ewish rabbis #ut a ifferent !onstru!tion on those events from what the Christians o, 'his is the great iffi!ulty, after all0 li4e a !elebrate lawyer> after rea ing this boo4, tol his frien it !onvin!e him of the truth of the fa!ts in the S!ri#tures, but it i not !onvin!e him of its s#iritual efinition, 'his is the final #oint of im#ortan!e, when the soul is lost or save Ethat is, to ta4e the fa!ts of the S!ri#tures an yiel to them as s#iritual truth, Colens the 9irst, who was an <#i!urean #hiloso#her, wrote a treatise against Christianity an was answere by Irigen, 'his wor4 is in eight volumes %t was #ublishe in +aris, by (allart, in 17=6, %n this wor4 the is#utants a##eale alternately to these writings, to the re#orts ma e by the &omans, an show !learly that the whole of the -ewish o!trines, re!or s an all, were then in #ossession of the &omans. .ero refuse to believe in these things, whi!h he might have one if he ha ta4en the #ains to loo4 into these sa!re treasures of learning that we foun on file in the Senate !hamber0 hut Irigen says .ero was only move by ambition ,with the love of estru!tion before his eyes. He never sto##e to !onsi er nor !onsult the o#inions or wishes of others, Here again, % foun an unintentional referen!e to these things, .ow the rea er must remember that the re!or s were there at that time, for no one is#ute the fa!t0 but in #roving the unne!essary hostility of .ero, Irigen ma4es mention of these other fa!ts, showing the re!or s to be in the !ity of &ome, how they !ame there, an what they taught0 that is, a #art of these re!or s were brought from -erusalem an were the writings of the -ews an the &omans who ha been offi!ers1 in the -ewish 4ing om by &oman authority, an these were &oman offi!ers, whi!h ma e them a #art of an res#onsible to the &oman government, Can any intelligent man believe that these men woul have been allowe to transa!t the business of the &omans an no re!or s be ma e of it in the ar!hives of the government5 Su!h a thing is most absur . 'he rea er will bear in min that government among the -ews, Cree4s, an &omans was mu!h more stri!tly a ministere than in this !ountry, an all su!h re!or s as referre to the a!tions of the !ourts an the government offi!ers ha to be #reserve . % now as4 the attention of the rea er to the investigation of the #reservation of the sa!re #ar!hments from whi!h !ome our 8ible. 9irst to the wor4s of 8en@amin Aenni!ott, D,D,, entitle (etus 'estamentum, #ublishe in <nglan in 178F, 'his is only a little more than one hun re years ago. We fin that he got from the Co e) of Hillel si) hun re manus!ri#ts, When i this H%llel live5 'he author of the Co e) live about one hun re years after the Christ" fan era, Dr, Aenni!ott also got si)teen manus!ri#ts from the Samaritan +entateu!h, 'hen % as4 attention to -ohn C, &osenmulier, of 17?6, at ;ei#si!, to his ;ibrarium, five volumes, also his S!holia 'estament, all from manus!ri#t, 'hen to 8rian Walton, D,D,, born at 6or4shire in 16FF, who #ublishe his #olyglot 8ible from manus!ri#t JHebrewK, 8e!ause these are given to us by great men, an they suit our notions, they are never oubte 0 an it is too a#t to be the !ase in our a !a#tan um, we are not li4ely to investigate as !losely as we shoul , *n , again, we are a#t to be more in!line to investigate those things that are suite to

1F

our tastes an in"C terests0 but while !ertain things are interesting to us we shoul never forget that there are other things e:ually interesting to others0 an while we may be intereste only in the sa!re histories that ma4e or our #ea!e, an although the testimony of our enemies may not be very #leasant to hear, we shoul remember that the salvation of others may e#en on su!h testimony. We shoul not be o##ose to any evi en!e that may give strength to any sub@e!t an thereby re oun to goo in a general way, s#e!ially if this evi en!e oes not have a ten en!y to wea4en our faith. %t is so with this boo40 it !annot wea4en the faith of the Christian who have believe without foreign testimony, but brings strong !orroborative testimony to enable others who are less !re ulous than we to believe, Hen!e %n the e)amination of the various versions of the 8ible an of the manner in whi!h they were ug u# out of the ol manus!ri#ts, from the rubbish of the an!ient worl , iffi!ulties are en!ountere , an others may not believe as rea ily as we o, Duran/o, a Cree4 historian, who wrote thirty"si) volumes in Constantino#le at the !lose of the seventh an the beginning of the eighth !entury, in referring to the #ros#erity of the !ity an nation, says, in (ol. D%%%,, #age 5=, that Constantino#le en@oye e u!ational a vantages over all other titles, an that this was ue, to some e)tent, to the fa!t that the Christians un er the instru!tions of their <m#eror, ha gathere an brought there literature from all #arts of the worl , an it was the great seat of learning of the worl In #age 138 he refers to a war that was !arrie on about the great library that ha been brought there by the &oman <m#eror when he embra!e Christianity, *gain he says, that when Mohamme lo!4e u# the great library he e)!lu e the learne an with them the wealth of the !ity. %n (ol. D%(I, #age 17> in s#ea4ing of the battle of 'an/e, he says it was fought over the sa!re boo4s that ha been e#osite there by the an!ient Christians. 9rom these in ire!t referen!es % is!overe there must be great e#osits of sa!re literature in these ol libraries. 'hese histories are in the +aris library for the ins#e!tion of anyone. .otwithstan ing the art of #rinting has a ten en!y to o away with an su#erse e the written S!ri#tures, yet there are many valuable manus!ri#ts in the e)isten!e, some of whi!h are of great value in the inter#retation of the S!ri#tures. 9irst, the Hebrew manus!ri#ts. 'hese are either rolls esigne for the use of synagogues, or s:uare manus!ri#ts, esigne for #rivate use. 'he former are all on #ar!hment an written with the greatest !are an a!!ura!y. 'he others are written on vellum or #a#er. Dr. Aenni!ott says all that are now to be ha were written between the tenth an fourteenth !enturies. If !ourse these were written from the originals0 how often they have been rewritten in fourteen hun re years we !annot say, but we 4now there are many o##ortunities for !hange. 'hese manus!ri#ts have been !ollate by Dr. Aenni!ott an Dr. &ossi, an amount to 11?50 but it is more than #robable that as the -ewish rabbis i this wor4 they may have left out many things that a##eare to them !ontrary. 'he ne)t are the $ree4. If these manus!ri#ts immense numbers still e)ist. Dr. Holmes has !olle!te l?5. Some of these are #reserve from the fourth !entury. If !ourse, these are not the re!or s that were ma e when the events they re!or too4 #la!e.

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.ow, rea er, our #resent 8ible !omes from these manus!ri#ts. 'he first <nglish 8ible was #ublishe by -. Wi!4liffe in 1?6F> @ust ninety years before #rinting was invente . 'he first 8ible #rinte in our language was by William 'yn ale, assiste by Miles Clover ale, in l536 When 'yn ale was e)e!ute for heresy by the Catholi!s, his wor4s were !ontinue by Clover ale an -ohn &ogers. 'his boo4 was su##resse time an again, an re#rinte by ifferent #arties until it went through twenty"two ifferent #arties until it went through twenty"two ifferent e itions. 'he last was that whi!h #ro!ee e from the Ham#ton Court !onferen!e in low 'here were so many errors in the 8isho#Ls 8ible that Aing -amesLs 8ible was #ut on foot an #rinte in 1611. .ow su##ose we !onsi er the many 8ibles #ublishe by ifferent se!ts, nations, an in ivi uals, an all !oming from these Hebrew, $ree4, an ;atin manus!ri#ts. 'he rea er must 4now that the manus!ri#ts have gone through many han s. 'his we 4now from the fa!t that we fin 8ible manus!ri#ts still in e)isten!e, an from these we fin Cree4 manus!ri#ts, Samaritan manus!ri#ts ta4en from the Hebrew, the S#anish manus!ri#ts, the $erman manus!ri#ts, the %talian manus!ri#ts, an many others. 'he rea er is referre to the 8o leian ;ibrary in the 8ritish Museum, an to the libraries at ;ey en, +aris, an &ome. We also have some in *meri!a, at +hila el#hia, in the libraries of the Cua4ers an in the library of the *nti:uarian So!iety. 'he manus!ri#ts of the Hebrew 8ible were !om#ile in the se!on !entury. 8ut they never were translate till *D 6F7, by 8isho# * heim, un er the ire!tion of Aing *lfre . 'here were a number of #arts of these Hebrew manus!ri#ts translate in the se!on !entury in the *rabi! ;anguage. %t was #rinte for the +ro#agan a at &ome, in 1671, in three volumes. 'he *rmenian version was ma e in the fourth !entury of the Christian era by Miesrob an %saa!, an #rinte at *mster am by Bs4in, an *rmenian bisho#, who was !harge by his enemies with following the (ulgata, %t was #rinte at Constantino#le in 17F50 at (eni!e in 18F5, 'he Co#ti! .ew 'estament was #ublishe by Wil4ins at I)for , 1716. 'he (ulgate is an an!ient manus!ri#t ta4en from the Hebrew an translate into the ;atin in the se!on !entury0 also one of the $ree4 an one of the Syria!, 'hese are all of the same ate, 'his (ulgate in the ;atin was use in *fri!a, 'he Chur!h at &ome was un er Cree4 !ontrol at this time an re@e!te the ;atin (ulgate, an use what was !alle at that time the (e us ;atina, or ol ;atin. 'his is the history of 'ertullian, (ol. %. #age 3F3. %n the fourth !entury -erome tells us there was another translation of the (ulgate, un er the instru!tion of St. *ugustine an St. -erome re!ommen s this in the highest terms, *bout the fifth !entury there was another translation ma e, whi!h is !alle the Co e), in the ;atin language, 'here was one at *le)an ria, one in the (ati!an, an one at Sinai, +arts of these are #reserve in the 8ritish Museum, 'hey were #resente to Aing Charles by Cyril ;u!ar, who was #atriar!h at Constantino#le an ha been #atriar!h at *le)an ria, an brought these boo4s with him, 'he Co e) of Sinai is in one $ree4, an is the same that Dr. 'is!hen orf foun an was e!lare by the s!holars of ;ei#si! to have been written in the fourth !entury.

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%n the year 7=8 of the &oman <m#ire an ??F of the Christian era Constantine the $reat remove his seat of em#ire from &ome to 8y/antium, an too4 with him all the re!or s of the Christians to that !ity, as will be shown in a letter from him in this boo4 in regar to having the Holy S!ri#tures in manus!ri#t, an having fifty volumes boun an 4e#t on e#osit, When Mohamme too4 #ossession of Constantino#le he ha too mu!h res#e!t for these sa!re s!rolls to let them be estroye , but ha them all ni!ely !ase an e#osite in the St. So#hia Mos:ue, History informs us bf the rea ful struggle that too4 #la!e between the $ree4s an &omans over the sa!re #ar!hments in the ays of the Crusa es0 an it seems to us that Divine +rovi en!e has ha something to o with the #reservation of these sa!re writings, 'hese s!rolls loo4 more li4e rolls of narrow !ar#et woun roun a win lass than anything else, 8ut as % have es!ribe them elsewhere % will not attem#t a further es!ri#tion here. *nother :uestion arises in the min of the rea er, an that is2 How was it #ossible for these writings to be #reserve so long5 % answer that there are many wor4s mu!h ol er than these in e)isten!e, Homer is >FF years ol er, Why not these5 *nother reason why these writings have not been brought before the worl is that no man has sear!he for these !hroni!les as % have one, *fter getting hol of *!ta +ilati as % i , a!!i entally, % ma e the investigation of these :uestions my s#e!ial business for ten years , !orres#on ing with many historians an s!holars, sen ing for all the boo4s that !oul instru!t me on these great :uestions, engaging two e)#ert s!holars, Drs, M!%ntosh of S!otlan , an 'wyman, of <nglan , an going to the !ity of &ome, #aying our way through the (ati!an, an then to Constantino#le, where we e)amine those an!ient re!or s, s#aring neither time nor e)#ense to a!:uire a 4nowle ge of them, 'hen it may be as4e again May not % be e!eive 5 May not these men have im#ose u#on me5 'o this % woul say2 'hat is im#ossible. 'hen it might he argue Might not these writings have been manufa!ture to ma4e money out of5 %f so, it was a #oor business, for this is the first an only boo4 ever #ro u!e from them, %t !ertainly was a ba s#e!ulation on their #art. 8ut one says2 Di not $regory %D, burn twenty !artloa s of these 'almu s5 Who says so but a -ewish rabbi5 %f he i , they were the 'almu s of 8abylon, an not those of -erusalem5 .o man !oul go into the (ati!an library without a guar over him, who wat!hes him !losely, so that he !annot move a leaf or !hange a wor or letter of anything "!hat is there, %f they will not !onsent to even the slightest !hange, it is not #robable they woul burn their wor4s, Men from all over the worl are there, Iften when we !rosse the 'iber, before it was fairly light, there were a thousan strangers between us an St. +eter1s gate, waiting to be a mitte at the o#ening of the gate that lea s into the (ati!an. Ine more evi en!e to the rea er2 'here are at least five hun re :uotations ma e from the Sanhe rim an 'almu s of the -ews by men who have enie their e)isten!e. .ow % !all attention to history, an % will give the name an #age, s that all !an rea for themselves. 9irst2 &abbi *4iba, a reforme -ewish #riest, (ol. %, #age 33, :uotes from Celsus, an enemy of the Chur!h, He says there was a rea ful earth:ua4e at the time -esus was !ru!ifie , an that the mist that arose from it !overe the earth for three hours. In #age 38 he says that -esus was the son of Mary0 that he was the foun er of the se!t !alle

1?

Christians, In #age 8 he says -esus was !ru!ifie on the eve of the +assover, He gives e)tra!ts from the a#ostles, an never enies in a single instan!e, but a mits their genuineness, He :uotes the boo4s, an ma4es e)tra!ts from the names they bear, He ma4es #arti!ular mention of his in!arnation, of his being born of a virgin, of his being worshi##e by the Magi0 of his flight into <gy#t0 of the massa!re of the infants of 8ethlehem, In #age 53 he s#ea4s of his ba#tism by -ohn an the es!ent of the Holy S#irit in the form of a ove, an of the voi!e that was hear out of heaven, He s#ea4s of the mira!les one by -esus, an never oubts the fa!ts in any instan!e, but attributes them to the art of ne!roman!y he ha learne in <gy#t, 8ut i the rea er ever hear of a thaumaturgist #ro u!ing a es!ent of the Holy S#irit or !ausing voi!es to be hear from the heavens5 Su!h absur ities are not s#o4en of e)!e#t when they are urge against the Christian religion. *retas, one of the 4ings of *rabia, who was a #hiloso#her as well as a 4ing in s#ea4ing of the laws of nature J(ol. (%%, +age 1=K, says that -esus of -u ea was a #hiloso#her above the laws of nature0 that he !ontrolle all the elements of nature with almighty #ower0 that the win s, thun ers, an lightnings obeye him0 an s#ea4s of these fa!ts as being so !ommon that it woul be folly to is#ute them. -ustin says, in (ol. %%, #age =3, that the several &oman governors in their res#e!tive #rovin!es ma e re#orts of the im#ortant events that o!!urre in their @uris i!tion, an they were s#rea on the senatorial o!4ets at &ome, We fin in this same wor4, #age 138, that he a##eale to *ntoninus an the Senate for !lemen!y for the Christians, an after referring to their many virtues, an to Christ as their lea er, a e 2 G*n that these things are so, % refer you to the re!or s of the Senate ma e by +ontius +ilate an others in his ay,H 'he learne 'ertullian, in his *#ology for Christianity, about the year 3FF, after s#ea4ing of our Savior1s Cru!ifi)ion an &esurre!tion, an his a##earan!e to the is!i#les, an as!ension into heaven in the sight of the same is!i#les, who were or aine by him to s#rea the gos#el over the worl , thus #ro!ee s2 GIf all these things relating to Christ, +ilate himself, in his !ons!ien!e alrea y a Christian, sent an a!!ount to 'iberius, then <m#erorH, 'he same writer in the same a#ology thus relates the #ro!ee ings of 'iberius on re!eiving this information2 G'here was an an!ient e!ree that no one shoul be re!eive for a eity unless he was first a##rove by the Senate, 'iberius, in whose time the Christian name Jor religionK ha its rise, having re!eive from +alestine, in Syria, an a!!ount of su!h things as !onfirme the truth of his JChrist1sK ivinity, #ro#ose to the Senate that he shoul be enrolle among the &oman go s, an gave his own #rerogative vote in favor of the motion0 but the Senate, without whose !onsent no eifi!ation !oul ta4e #la!e, re@e!te it be!ause the <m#eror himself ha e!line the same honor, .evertheless, the <m#eror #ersiste in his o#inion, an threatene #unishment to the a!!users of the Christians, Sear!h your own !ommentaries Jor #ubli! writingsK, you will there fin that .ero was the first who rage with the im#erial swor against this se!t, then rising most at &ome JHorns %ntro u!tion, (ol. %, +age 83K. .o, % woul as42 %f there were no su!h re!or s there, woul these men have ma e su!h a##eals5 *n if they were there, !oul su!h things be forge an #alme off on the &oman Senate5 %t seems to me to as4 the :uestion is enough, .ow, if any man will tra!e

1=

out these things he will fin that % have as mu!h reason for believing the genuineness of the !ontents of this boo4, as % have to believe the genuineness of the S!ri#tures, loo4ing at the :uestion from a human stan #oint, 9irst, you must 4now that the manus!ri#t from whi!h this boo4 was ta4en has not gone through so many translations nor been #ut in so many ifferent languages, from the fa!t that it is not to be foun in another language0 an , se!on ly, there was no ne!essity for it, an as to this being forge there was no o!!asion for that, from the fa!t it favors no religious enomination, if a vo!ates the tenets of no religious se!t, .ow % am !onvin!e there was su!h a man as Hero *nti#ater, an % 4now that he !oul not 4ill all the male !hil ren in a !ity without giving reasons for it, an there must have been more or less re!or ma e of it, % am !onvin!e there was su!h a man as Hero *nti#as, an % 4now he are not behea su!h a man as -ohn the 8a#tist is re#resente to be, without a trial, without having to a!!ount to some !ourt, % 4now that +ilate was a &oman offi!er, an his a!tions were wat!he !losely an all his #ubli! a!ts ha to be re!or e u#on the &oman o!4ets. % o not see why these re!or s shoul have been estroye , % am !onvin!e the -ews at that ay were loo4ing for a &e eemer, an when the great e)!itement was re#orte at 8ethlehem it woul be not unreasonable that the -ews shoul ma4e an investigation of the matter0 an , again, % 4now if the S!ri#tures are true Mary was sub@e!t to the eath #enalty unless she !oul satisfa!torily #rove her inno!en!e, % was !onvin!e the -ews must have loo4e into this matter, an that it woul be foun re!or e somewhere, % 4new that if there were su!h a man as they re#resente -esus to be, he !oul n1t be trie in the high #riest1s !ourt an !on emne to eath an e)e!ute by the &oman authorities, unless there were some re!or ma e of it by both the Hews an &omans, Here we have the whole of these re!or s, an why are they not true5 'hey !om#ort with the 8ible0 they are @ust the re!or s we shoul e)#e!t from the S!ri#tures0 they were ma e or ate at the right time0 they !ame from thr #la!e where these re!or s were ma e0 they were written in the same language that was use at that time, .ow, if all this is so, why are they not true5 % offer this boo4 to the #ubli! feeling assure it !an o no harm to anyone or to any !hur!h, but that it will be rea by thousan s with great interest, an will !onvin!e the infi el of the truth of the S!ri#tures. *s Dr. Miller observe 2 G'his boo4 never was nee e until now, an it is li4e all Co 1s #rovin!es, always brought out at the right time,H *nother minister wrote to say he Gwas more than elighte H, it was li4e !alling u# the ea 0 all the !ir!umstan!es of Calvary were brought vivi ly before him, an when he rea se!on re#ort he both we#t an re@oi!e , Su!h is the testimony of almost everyone who rea s it. %n an e)tra!t from a #rivate letter to the 8runswi!4er Dr, &ubin says2 G% saw, while in the (ati!an at &ome last wee4, Dr. W, D, Mahan, of 8oonville, Mo,., Drs, M!%ntosh an 'wyman, of S!otlan , with a number of !ler4s, both rea ers an s!ribes, going through these ol manus!ri#ts an s!rolls that have been lying there for hun re s, yea, thousan s of years0 they seem to be men of great age an learning, an well :ualifie for their business, 'hey were going ne)t wee4 to Constantino#le to go through the re!or s of the Sanhe rim an the an!ient 'almu s of the -ews, 'heir ob@e!t is to bring out a new boo4 as a su##lement to *!ta +ilati, % am satisfie , from the !hara!ter

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of the men an the nature of the boo4, it will #rove to be one of the most interesting boo4s ever #resente to the Christian worl , from the fa!t that all the wor4s on ar!haeology have been written in su!h a style that but very few !oul rea an un erstan them.H Constantino#le, 'ur4ey, I!tober 16, 18>? 'I 'H< +<I+;< I9 .I&'H *M<&%C* Dear 9rien s2 % ta4e #leasure in a ressing you this letter, *s % feel assure % am oing a goo wor4 for my 9ather who is in heaven. 'hen, frien s, #ermit me to say to you that % was intro u!e to my frien , ., D. Mahan, of 8oonville, Mo., by my frien s of ;ei#si!, $ermany. % engage to meet him in +aris, 9ran!e, an when he showe me his #lans an the sub@e!ts that he wante , an showe me his notes of referen!e, the names of others, an boo4s that he ha been hunting for ten years, % be!ame satisfie that if we !oul su!!ee he woul bring out one of the best boo4s ever offere to the Christian worl e)!e#t the 8ible. We re#aire to the (ati!an at &ome, re!eive #ermission to e)amine the greatest library in the worl , an to my astonishment the first thing we !alle for was brought to han in a short time. % mean +ilate1s re#orts, whi!h were more than satisfa!tory. 'he ne)t were the Senate1s re!or s res#e!ting the investigation of Hero *nti#ater1s !on u!t at 8ethlehem, an Hero *nti#as on various !harges Jone of whi!h was the e)e!ution of -ohn the 8a#tistK, the Hillel letters, an the Shammai laws. We then #ro!ee e to Constantino#le an went through the re!or s of the Sanhe rim an 'almu s of the -ews that were !arrie there an #reserve by Constantine in the year ??7, Here we foun Mel4er1s letter Jwho was #riest at 8ethlehem at the time that -esus of .a/areth was bornK in res#e!t to the #ro#he!y !on!erning the birth of -esus, whi!h is very ee# an #rofoun . .e)t we !ame u#on the re#ort of $amaliel, who was sent by the Sanhe rim to interrogate -ose#h an Mary !on!erning the !hil -esus, whi!h will #rove to be one of the most interesting sub@e!ts that was ever rea by man. 'hen the ne)t thing we foun was the re#ort of Caia#has to the Sanhe rim. When rea it will awa4en the min s of men an give a very ifferent view of this matter to what we have ha . *fter we ha finishe the re#ort, 8rother Mahan insiste that we woul unwin the s!roll further, an in oing so we foun his se!on re#ort, whi!h !ause us to wee# li4e !hil ren, an we both than4e $o that we !ontinue the sear!h. We also foun many strange histori!al items, su!h as will be of great interest to the worl at this time. *n as 8rother Mahan is going to #ublish his boo4 in *meri!a, % !an most heartily re!ommen it. H. M!%ntosh, Mar4et +la!e, City of &ome, %taly Dear Wife2 %t seems long sin!e % left home, but $o is here as well as in *meri!a, an it is my !hief elight to re#ort you an the !hil ren to his throne of mer!y aily. % was lan e at Marseilles, 9ran!e, after twelve ays out from .ew 6or4. We ha a s#len i

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tri#, all but the first two ays. We left .ew 6or4 in a gale, an % must !onfess % was very mu!h alarme 0 it seeme to me the water was mu!h higher all aroun us than where the shi# was. 'hat ma e it more frightful, for it loo4e as if the shi# sun4 or was sin4ing for the first two ays. She was sometimes on her en , then on her si e, an then woul seem to turn almost over0 but every tilt she ma e % #raye St. +eter1s #rayer, % thin4 % i more #raying the first two ays than % ha one in two years, 8ut the se!on ay % began to !ast u# my a!!ounts, not with my Ma4er, nor with my !re itors, but with my stoma!h. % was awful si!4. Ca#tain Sti4es sai the storm in starting out ma e it mu!h worse on us than it woul have been if the weather ha been !lear an !alm, but the thir ay the sea began to !alm, an so i my stoma!h. % was able to n out in the evening, but we were still going u# hill0 we ha no further trouble all the way, but after three or four ays it loo4e as if % woul never get enough to eat. Iur fare was #oor, mu!h more so than on the <nglish line0 so % was tol by men that ha travele both lines. % shall return by another route. % met Dr. M!%ntosh at St. <lgin waiting for me. He is one of the ni!est ol men an one of the finest s!holars % ever met. % feel ashame in his #resen!e, though he is so gran an noble he !an hi e my own efe!ts from me better than % !an myself. He was very mu!h sur#rise when % showe him my notes of referen!e. He i not see how % !oul get hol of these things so far away. We foun Dr. 'wyman an his men at the (ati!an, an we are wor4ing bravely. 'he very first thing the guar brought was *!ta +ilati0 the Do!tor was elighte when he saw it. We have two guar s0 one brings the arti!les as we !all for them0 the other sits an wat!hes to see that the boo4s an #ar!hments are not mutilate . 'o ay was the ay of the +o#e1s holy au itory. We were ta4en in by the guar , an % must !onfess % never ha su!h feelings in all my life. 'he room is, % su##ose, three hun re feet or more s:uare0 there must have been ten or twelve hun re in the !ongregation, all men, mostly #riests an offi!ers. 'he +o#e is a venerable ol man. % saw nothing ifferent in his ress from any other #riest0 nothing gau y about him. He sang the mass in the #ure ol ;atin language0 his voi!e was !lear an sweet. *fter he was through :uite a number of the #riests !ame an 4nelt at his feet. He lai his han s gently on ea!h of their hea s an #ronoun!e a blessing, but they i not 4iss his great toe. % never saw as solemn a !ongregation in my life0 in fa!t, it woul be im#ossible for a man to be otherwise in that great room. 'he ome of this room sur#asses all the sights my eyes ever behel 0 it !ontains hun re s of win ows in the form of eyes with gol en li s an lashes, all emitting rays of light of various !olors. 'hey seeme so natural % thought % !oul almost see them win4. 'hey are to re#resent the all"seeing eye. 'hese eyes are the light of the room. 'he s!ene of magnifi!en!e beggars es!ri#tion. 'here are too many things to be es!ribe . We have all the te)tboo4s we nee , 8u)torf, $esenius, ;a#ortees, an others. We will get through in the (ati!an in a few ays. We will leave Dr. 'wyman an three !ler4s here, as

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we fin the Hillelite letters an Shemiate an *btalian laws here in boo4 form. 'hey will translate su!h #arts of them as we want an sen them to me they will !ome in a roll. %f they !ome before % get home, ta4e s#e!ial !are of them. Dr. M!%ntosh an %, with one !ler4, will go to Constantino#le in a ay or two. 'he Do!tor has been there, an he thin4s he will fin all that % want in the St. So#hia ;ibrary. He says the twenty !artloa s of 'almu s that history tells us were burne by $regory %; were the 'almu s of 8abylon, but the 'almu s of -erusalem are all safe, an so are the re!or s of the -erusalem Sanhe rim0 that these o!uments were !arrie there by Constantine. %f so, that is all % want. 'he Do!tor thin4s it will be one of the most im#ortant boo4s ever brought before the #ubli!, e)!e#t the 8ible, as it woul give the #ros an !ons of the outsi e worl at that time. 8ut % have so many things % woul li4e to say an it is now after 1 o1!lo!4 *M. *s to home affairs, % am too far off to say anything more, besi es % have all !onfi en!e in your @u gment. % thin4 now that % will be at home by the 1Fth or 15th of De!ember, an % shall write no more unless something ha##ens. May $o bless you0 farewell. W. D. Mahan Columbia, Mo. -anuary 35, l887 'his is to !ertify that % am well a!:uainte with the &ev, W. D. Mahan, of 8oonville, Mo. % have 4nown him well for a number of years, having s#ent several months at his house at ifferent times. % was at his house in 8oonville, Mo., shortly after his return Jas he then state to meK from &ome an Constantino#le. % gave him some assistan!e in re!o#ying some of his manus!ri#ts for his boo4. % saw, e)amine , an to some e)tent assiste in arranging the various sub@e!ts an !ha#ters in his boo4. -u ging from the han writing of sai manus!ri#ts, there must have been two or more #ersons engage in writing thorn, as there was a istin!t ifferen!e in the han writing. % was im#resse at the time with the belief, from the writing an s#elling that the #arties were of foreign birth an e u!ation. % have no interest in this matter, an ma4e the above statement at the re:uest an in @usti!e to the &ev. W. ., Mahan, as an ol an value frien , -. 8. Douglass +ersonally a##eare before me, a notary #ubli!, within an for the !ounty of 8oone, an State of Missouri, $eneral 3, 8, Douglass, to me well 4nown, an ma e affi avit to the foregoing !ertifi!ate, Witness my han an notarial seal hereto affi)e at Columbia, Mo., this 35th ay of -anuary *D 1887. 9ran4 D, <vans, .otary +ubli!, State of Missouri, County of Coo#er, ss,

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8e it 4nown that on this, the 13th ay of -anuary, *D 1887, #ersonally !ame before me, the un ersigne , !ler4 of the Cir!uit Court of Coo#er County, in the State of Missouri, -ohn S. M!9arlan , well 4nown to me to be a re#utable !iti/en of the !ity of 8oonville, Mo., who, being by me first uly sworn, on his oath says2 % have been #ersonally a!:uainte with &ev. W. D. Mahan for si)teen years or more, an have always foun him to be honorable an trustworthy, an a very useful minister in the Chur!h to whi!h he belonge . 'o my 4nowle ge he was for some time #revious to 188? engage in #re#aring himself for a tri# to <uro#e, an that in the fall of 188? he too4 leave of his family an frien s an starte for the !ities of &ome an Constantino#le to investigate those ol re!or s that he sai he ha foun was there on ar!haeology. *fter he ha been gone borne time his wife re!eive a letter from him ate at &ome, %taly. % i not see the #ostmar4s on the letter, but un erstoo it was from &ome. *fter some months Mr., Mahan returne an brought :uote a lot of manus!ri#ts with him, some of whi!h he rea to me, an whi!h were very interesting. 'hese are as near the fa!ts in the !ase as % !an remember at this time. -ohn S. M!9arlan Subs!ribe an sworn to before me, on this the 13th ay of -anuary, 1887. Witness my han an offi!ial seal, Charles *, Hou4, Cler4 of Cir!uit Court of Coo#er County, Mo, 8y H. *, HB'CH%.SI.. State of Missouri, County of Coo#er, ss, 8e it 4nown that on this 13th ay of -anuary, *D 1887, #ersonally !ame before me, the un ersigne , !ler4 of the Cir!uit Court of Coo#er County, in the State of Missouri, &, W, Whitlow an W. C. +en leton, !om#osing the firm of Whitlow M +en leton, real estate an loan agents, of the !ity of 8oonville, in sai !ounty, who, being by me first uly sworn, on their oaths say2 We have 4nown the &ev. W. D. Mahan, of 8oonville, Mo., for #erio of more than ten years. He !ame to our offi!e in the fall of 188? an tol us he was going to &ome with a view to !olle!t materials for a boo4 whi!h he inten e to write, an that he ha not suffi!ient money to efray the e)#enses of the tri#0 at his re:uest we loane him two hun re ollars. Shortly afterwar Mr. Mahan isa##eare from 8oonville, an it was a !onsi erable while before we again met him here at 8oonville, when he informe us he ha ma e the tri# to &ome, %taly, uring the time of his isa##earan!e. * letter #ur#orting to have been written by the sai Mahan to his wife from &ome, %taly, was #ublishe in a news#a#er at 8oonville, Mo, Soon after Mr. Mahan rea##eare at 8oonville he #ublishe an !ir!ulate his boo4. If !ourse we i not follow him to see him at &ome, but the foregoing are the fa!ts within our 4nowle ge. &. <. Whitlow W. C. +en leton, *ttorneys"at";aw.

1>

Subs!ribe an sworn to before me, on this the 13th ay of -anuary, l887 Charles *. Hou4, Cler4 of Cir!uit Court, Coo#er County Mo.

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