Show ANCIENT COPTIC COllECTIONS OF OF J. J P. P MORGAN ARE ARETO AREBE TO BE TRANSLATED Important Work ed to Dr of Catholic University Y TO WORK IN ROME Manuscripts Which Show Ravages ages of 12 1200 O Years Found in Ancient Ruins By ByN N. N c C. C W. W C C. C News New Service Rome June 11 ll Div Dr Henri professor of Semitic languages and literatures at the Catholic University Washington is In Rome to resume resume the work of restoring some of the ancient Coptic manuscripts of the J J. J P. P M Margan Morgan Mar Mor r- r gan collection before visiting Egypt to begin a quest for others It Is ex- ex x- x that he will not r return turn to the United States u until til next autumn Dr was' was selected by theelder the theelder theelder elder J. J P. P Morgan to take charge of the cataloging restoration and translation translation translation trans trans- lation of these Coptic manuscripts shortly after their acquisition by the latter and has been retained by J J. P. P Morgan the younger Dr is regarded as one of the leading The University of Michigan Mich Mich- igan loan in conferring on him the degree Doctor of Letters declared him tobe to tobe tobe be acknowledged by his colleagues i in n all countries as one of the foremost scholars of the world The delicate task of restoring these manuscripts which show the ravages of nearly twelve hundred years is be being being be be- ing performed In the Vatican library here The work had to be interrupted d during the war but will now be hur hur- ried Each manuscript will be photographed photographed photo photo- photographed graphed b by a special process and all its defects will be remedied before e there Is any attempt at translation In Jn their present state some of of the manuscripts are so liable to Injury that they cannot be safely handled until they have been renewed and re re- re bound Dr H has pronounced this Morgan Morg-an collection the most complete Jr 1 and from the viewpoint of ancient Christian art and literature the most valuable aggregation of Coptic manuscripts manu manu- manuscripts manuscripts scripts as yet discovered discovered- Nine orten or orten orten ten of the fifty volumes In the collection collection collection tion are still in tn their original bindings of the ninth or tenth century and several of them are profusely adorned with birds vines vines' and geometrical geometrical geometrical geo geo- metrical designs Buried by Monks The manuscripts were unearthed in 1910 by y ya a party of ot Arabs digging Inthe In Inthe th the ruins on the the site of an ancient mon monastery In Egypt It is isI I supposed that the monks fearing the sacking of their monastery and per perhaps haps their own own massacre at the hand han hands of marauding g Arabs buried their li 11 library Ii- Ii and fled The manuscripts s were here contained in a vault When discovered the manuscripts were for the most part complete as asto asto asto to the text proper But the wily Arabs Arabs' know how to bargain with Europeans who wish to become possessed of such treasures They attempted to tomake tomake make malte the most of this find by offering offering oftering offer offer- ing it in small lots s. s of volumes or leaves Many leaves and and several complete volumes were missing from the collection collection collection tion when It was first proposed that Mr Morgan buy it He was able to toI tr trace ce and acquire some of th the missing I H leaves aves and his son has as succeeded in adding five full manuscripts I Included In the manuscripts are six complete books of the Old Testament pr practically all the Gospels and nineteen nineteen nineteen nine nine- teen Epistles Only a few fragments of the Bible were were known to exist in Coptic until this discovery Besides sides the biblical manuscripts there are are liturgical lit Ut liturgical lit lit- works and various p writings In the collection They are of capital importance for or the history of the ancient Egyptian liturgies and andin andin andin in biblical research V Written Written Years Ago Some Som twenty of the manuscripts are dated In the period between and 91 A A. A D. D but it is believed that some of those on which no da dates tes appear maybe may mayb may maybe b be of an earlier time From the copyists copyists' copyists copyists copyists' copy copy- notes it is evident that the manuscripts manuscripts manuscripts manu manu- scripts were written for the Convent of of the Archangel Michael or were were transferred to it from some other monastery monastery monastery mon mon- astery In Dr Dri selection to undertake this work is taken here not only as a great tribute to his scholarship but also as a recognition of the standing of the Catholic University among in institutions institutions institutions in- in of learning in America and Europe Dr was born In France and after completing his studies studies stud stud- I ies at St. St SuI Sulpice pice n near ar Paris received the Doctorate of Divinity from the Pontifical University in Rome He became interpreter interpret r of Oriental languages languages languages' languages languages' lan lan- for Propaganda in 1885 He was by the French government government government govern govern- ment with a a scientific mission in Armenia Ar Ar- Armenia 1 menia In 1889 On the completion of this work Dr was app appoint appoint- ed to the chair of Semitic languages language s in the Catholic University |