Literary Discoveries in India. 235 



church assigns to this manuscript a high antiquity ; and 

 alleges that it has been for some centuries in the possession 

 of their bishops ; and that it was industriously concealed 

 from the Romish inquisition in 1599 : but its true ac^e can 

 only be ascertained by a comparison with old manuscripts 

 in Europe of a similar kind. On the jnargin of the draw- 

 ings are some old Roman and Greek letters, the form of 

 which mav lead to a conjecture respecting tUe age in which 

 they were written. This copy of the Scriptures has admitted 

 as eaiionical the epistle of Clement, in which respect it re- 

 sembles the Alexandrine manuscript : but it has omitted the 

 Revelations, — that book having been accounted apocryphal 

 by some churches during a certain period in the early ages. 

 The order of the books of the Old and New Testament dilfers 

 from that of the European copies, — this copy adhering less 

 to unity of subject in the arrangement than to chronological 

 order. The very first emendation of the Hebrew text pro- 

 posed by Dr. Kcnnicott (Gen. iv. 8.) is to be found in this 

 manuscript. The disputed passage in 1 John, v. 7, is not 

 to be found in it : that verse is interpolated in some other 

 copies in black ink, by the Romish church in 1599. 



Thus it appears, that during the dark ages of Europe, 

 while ignorance and superstition in a manner denied the 

 Scriptures of the rest of the world, the Bible found an asy- 

 lum in the mountains of Malayala ; wdicre it was revered 

 and freely read by upwards of 100 churches ; and that it has 

 been handed down to the present time under circumstances 

 so highly favourable to accurate preservation, as may justly 

 entitle it to respect, in the collation of doubtful readings of 

 the sacred text. 



There are many old Syriac manuscripts besides the 

 Bible, which have been well preserved : for the synod of 

 Udiamper destroyed no volumes but those which treated of 

 religious doctrine or church supremacy. Two different cha- 

 racters of writing appear ever to have been in use among the 

 Syrian Christians, the common Syriac and the Estrangelo. 

 Tiic oldest manuscripfs are in the Estrangelo. 



But there are other anticnt documents in Malayala, not 

 less interesting than the Syrian manuscripts. The old Por- 

 tuguese 



