WANT to take you now to see three of the oldest Bibles in the world. They are all written in Greek and are very ancient. The names by which they are known are "The Alexandrian" MS., "The Vatican" MS., and "Sinaitic" MS.

      These three faded old books are very precious indeed, and are very carefully treasured by the nations who possess them. It is rather remarkable that they now belong to the three great branches of the Christian Church,--the Greek, the Roman Catholic, and the Protestant Churches. One of them, the Sinaitic (known as Codex Aleph) is in the library at St. Petersburg, and the Greek Church greatly prizes it.¹ Another, the Vatican (known as Codex B) is the valued treasure of the Roman Catholic Church and is in the Vatican library at Rome. And another the Alexandrian (known as Codex A) is in the British Museum, London, and is, of course, very greatly prized. I shall have a story to tell about [19] each of these books when we go to inspect them; but I want first to state something about their age and how it is determined.

      It is not very easy to fix with certainty the exact date at which they were written, but we may feel sure that we are near the mark if we say they belong to the fourth and fifth centuries. If this be so, we may date them as from about the year 301 to 450 A. D.

      But some readers may ask: How do we know the age of these manuscripts if they have no dates upon them? There are several ways of getting to know this, which I may explain in a few sentences. The form of the letters in which a manuscript is written; the way in which the words are joined together; and the plainness or ornamentation of the initial letters--each is a guide in fixing the date of a Greek document.

      If you ever look at a Greek manuscript and find that all the writing is in capital letters and that the words in one line are all joined together without any division, you may conclude that it is of a very great age. It will be written thus, only in Greek characters:--

      The documents written in this way are called [20] uncial manuscripts, and are always ancient. Those which are modern are written in a running or flowing hand, and are called cursive. All these three old Bibles are uncial manuscripts.

      If we could visit the British Museum we would see many copies of the Bible and other sacred books with most beautifully illuminated headings and initial letters. We would generally find that these are comparatively modern works. But the very ancient Greek manuscripts, of which there are many beside the three under notice, are usually very plain, and always in the uncial style.

      Come with me to the ancient city of Rome, that city which has played such a remarkable part in the religious and civil history of the world. If we have time it would be interesting while we are at Rome to visit the palace of the Caesars, and the house of Nero. We might see the Coliseum, the building into which Christians were flung to the wild beasts rather than part with their sacred books or dishonor their Lord and Savior. But we must go at once to the Vatican library.

      The Vatican manuscript (Codex B) is kept here. This library was founded by Nicholas V. about A. D. 1448, and this MS. appears in the first catalogue, compiled in the year 1475. Nothing is known of its [21]

CODEX VATICANUS. (I Esdras ii. 1-8)--Fourth century. (Rome, Vatican Library.)       The Bible in Greek, written in uncial letters, probably in the fourth century. The text is arranged in three columns to a page except in the poetical books of the Old Testament, which are written in double column. Apparently in the tenth century, the writing was carefully, but quite unnecessarily, retraced in darker ink. The same hand added the breathings find accents. The MS. was already in the Vatican Library in Rome in the fifteenth century, but nothing is known of its previous history.

CODEX SINAITICUS. (Esther ii. 3-8)--Fourth or Fifth century. (Leipzig. Royal Library.)       The Bible in Greek, written in uncial letters, probably in the fourth or fifth century. The text is arranged in four columns to a page, except in the poetical books of the Old Testament, which are written in double column.

previous history but its present custodians have guarded it with the most jealous care, and access to it was often difficult to obtain. But thirty years ago, Pius IX was the occupant of Peter's chair, and a photographic fac simile was issued.

      We notice that it is in book form, having more than 700 leaves about 12 inches square. Each page contains three columns, except the poetical books of the Old Testament, which are in double column; and the writing is all in capital letters. It is almost a complete copy of the Bible, It has lost Genesis, chapters i. to xlvi., Psalms cx. [22] to cxxxvii., and all that follows Hebrews ix., 14.

      As we look at this book we may conclude that we gaze at the oldest Greek Bible known to the world. I say known to the world, because there may be other precious treasures older even than this hid away among the rubbish of some of the convents and other places, some day to be brought to light, as was the Sinaitic manuscript about which I am to tell you the story directly. But this is the oldest at present known. It carries us back probably to the beginning of the fourth century. For more than 1500 years this manuscript has been in the world; and it is a standing proof that if our Bible is an invention, it must have been forged before the fourth century, when this manuscript was written.

      From Rome, in Italy, let us go to St. Petersburg in Russia. As we travel from the west to the east, from the center of the Latin to the headquarters of the Greek Church, I may say that we are going to see the famous Sinaitic manuscript (Codex Aleph).²

      This is also in book form; each page contains four columns, except the poetical books of the Old Testament, which are arranged as in Codex B. It is believed to be almost, if not quite, as ancient as the Vatican [23] MS. But its story is most remarkable. For generations, perhaps even for centuries, it lay beneath the books and rubbish of a convent, and was only discovered, as we say, by an accident.

      There was a famous German scholar, named Dr. Tischendorf, who devoted nearly the whole of his life to searching for and studying ancient manuscripts of the Bible. All who love the Bible are placed under lasting obligations to him for his discoveries and investigations. It seems that he traveled through many parts of the East, searching all the old libraries into which he could obtain access.

      In the year 1844 he was paying a visit to St. [24] Catherine's convent at the foot of Mt. Sinai, when he made a fortunate discovery. In the hall of the convent there stood a basket filled with parchments ready for the fire, and he was told two similar basketfuls had been burned.

      On examining the contents of the basket he was surprised to find parchment leaves of the Greek Old Testament, the most ancient he had ever seen. He was unable to conceal his joy, and was allowed to take away one-third or about forty-three sheets. Though the lot was destined for the fire, his joy at his discovery roused the suspicions of the monks, and led them to think that perhaps the manuscripts were valuable, and so they would not give him any more. Tischendorf deposited the portion in the Royal Library, at Leipzig, to which he gave the name of "Codex Frederick Augustus" in acknowledgment of the patronage given to him by the King of Saxony.

      But in the year 1859, or about fifteen years after his dip into the basket, be was again at the convent, armed with a commission from the Russian Emperor. His second visit promised to be a failure, and he was about to depart without having made any fresh discovery, but on the evening before he had arranged to leave, he was walking in the grounds with the steward of the convent, who asked him [25] into his cell to take some refreshment. As they conversed, the monk produced a bundle wrapped in red cloth. To his great delight Tischendorf found not only some of the fragments which he had seen before, but other parts of the Old Testament, and the New Testament complete, and some other writings besides.

      After a while, through the influence of the Emperor, the manuscript was obtained from the convent and brought to the Imperial Library at St. Petersburg, in which we now see it, and it has become the most precious treasure in the possession of the Greek Church.^3* A fac simile of this valuable manuscript is to be seen in the British Museum.

      If the contents of that one basket have so enriched us, what a treasure we might have had if the contents of those two other baskets had been saved from the fire! What other priceless documents are yet to be brought to light we cannot tell. [26]

[HWGI 19-26]