Atkinson — On a South- Coptic Text of M. Bouriant. 275 



niators is nothing to other sins you practise] ; this is not the com- 

 memoration of the martyr". 



141. Again, [238, lo], que sera-ce alors pour un disciple qui aura 

 verse son sang pour le saint nom. But the text means : if a cup of 

 cold water given in the name of a disciple is rewarded, then evidently 

 any gift to the holy martyr will not fail of reward. It does not 

 mean, if a cup of water is rewarded, then much more the shedding of 

 one's blood ! The words are : " who else is a disciple other than the 

 man who has shed his blood for His holy name?", as pe 

 pkemathetes nsa pentafpoht ebol mpefsnof ejm pefran 

 etwaab; see No. 31. 



142. And at [238, zj, au lieu de vous rendre d (sa chapelle), repentez- 

 vous de vos peches, comyne ces hommes impurs qui comme vous se tiennent 

 avec des femmes debauchees. There is no sense in that, and the Coptic 

 words are quite wrongly rendered: epma etre tekcinpot eratf 

 sope Shie mmetanea nneknobe . The meaning of the passage is 

 this: "it is no celebration of a martyr's feast-day, to be like that 

 kind of impure men who make assignations on the way to church, in- 

 stead of letting thy journey thither become a path of repentance for thy sins". 



And again, [238, y] vous restez avec elle jusqu'a ce que vous soyez 

 pris pour elle de desirs mauvais is certainly not what the homilist 

 meant to convey by his words: ngsmn tootk nmmas santekcn 

 nekpathos ethow nmmas, ''so that thou covenant with her till 

 thou gratify thy evil passions with her". 



143. And immediately after he distorts the meaning: comme ces hom- 

 mes impurs qui se tiennent avec des femmes debauchees ; quelle fete en effet 

 et de quel martyr que celle dont le jour est venu ! " Viens d moi des avant 

 le soir ; je viendrai Id et nom irons coucher dans tel lieu". But the words 

 mean, "they covenant with Tropvai, saying, *lo, such and such a feast 

 of such and such a martyr has drawn near ; come to me at eventide • 

 see, I shall go there that I may sleep in such and such a place'." 



Here is the text [239, 2] :— 



eis as nsa nte as mmartyros afhon ehwn, ame nai 

 njin harwhe, eisheete tmapot mmau ntankotk hn as mma. 



What could be the meaning of the ejaculation in his version, quelle 

 fete &c. And why se tienne^it avec, as a rendering of smn tootw 

 mn? And why le jour est venu for afhon ehwn? And why dks 

 avant le soir, for njin ha-rwhe [cf. North Coptic hanameri, 

 hanarwhi, hanatowi: see Schwartze, Matth. xx. 1, and his refe- 

 rences ; the North Coptic spelling with hori, not hai is significant 



