146 REV. p. p. FLOUKXOY^ D.D., ON BEAEING OF ARCHAEOLOGICAL 



though born, the one in Sychar in Samaria, and the other in 

 the land of the ^Assyrians." If this was so, it was done during 

 the thirteen years while the two were in Eome, that is, between 

 150 A.D., when Tatian became a Christian under Justin's 

 guidance, and 163 A.D., when Justin sufiered a martyr's death 

 under Marcus Aurelius. Some time after Justin's death, Tatian 

 carried it to the Syriac-speaking people in their own language. 



This Gospel harmony in Syriac was composed, Professor 

 Harris feels sure, from the Gospels which had already been 

 translated from the Greek into Syriac. The question, then, is, 

 are there traces of the existence of the Gospels in Syriac from 

 which this could have been done ? 



ii. SixAi Syriac "Palimpsest." 



Another remarkable archaeological discovery comes to our 

 aid in endeavouring to answer this question. Two Scotch 

 ladies, residing at Cambridge, who have received high degrees 

 from universities in Great Britain and on the Continent, and 

 have been called by a high authority " the most learned ladies 

 in the world," made a remarkable journey in 1892, and one 

 of them made a remarkable discovery in the St. Katharine 

 Convent on Mount Sinai. These twin sisters, Mrs. Lewis and 

 Mrs. Gibson, went on camels to this " Mount of God," and 

 there Mrs. Lewis found the Sinai Syriac Falimjpsest with which 

 her name will always be associated. 



With the assistance of Mrs. Gibson, photographs of these 

 Gospels were taken and conveyed to Cambridge, where, after a 

 partial examination, they were pronounced to be a second copy 

 of the Curetonian Syriac Gospels. Further examination proved 

 this to be a mistake ; but the Palimjjsest was found to be older 

 than the Cureton MS., and this, of course, added to the value of 

 the discovery. On a subsequent visit the sisters, with the 

 assistance of three professors of Cambridge University, de- 

 ciphered and copied the Gospels as far as possible: and 

 subsequently Mrs. Lewis translated them into English.* Later 

 visits were made in order to settle some readings about which 

 there was uncertainty, and to decipher, if possible, some 

 passages which had been considered illegible. 



This was a notable discovery, and its value for the history of 



* A Translation of the Four Gospels from the Syriac of the Sinaitic 

 Palimpsest, by Agnes Smith Lewis. London : C. J. Clay and Sons, 

 Cambridge University Press Warehouse, Ave Maria Lane, 1896. 



