58
Pkogeess of Egyptology.
These, with parts of a second MS., are printed by Crum.3" They
also are attributed to Peter. Their chief interest lies in the account
they purport to give of certain early heretical apocrypha.
It has become almost a commonplace to speak of an edition of Shenoute's
worts as the chief desideratum of Coptic literature. Yet we seem now to
have come within measurable distance of the fulfilment of this want.
Leipoldt, whose first publications are mentioned above, is now engaged
in the preparation of a collective edition, and, in the meantime, has given
us an admirable study of the famous monk, based on the hitherto printed
texts and the unpublished MSS. of Paris and London.38 He is acquainted
with parts of 132 MSS. in all; though, owing to their almost invariable
incompleteness, many of the curious data they offer remain so obscure as
to be unusable. The book deals with S/s political and social environment,
his personal characteristics, and the lasting influence he and his monastic
institutions exercised upon Egyptian Christianity. L shows how needful
for an adequate appreciation is the study, not only of his authorized
biography, but of his own writings—the sole work of a Coptic author
which chance has in any quantity preserved to us. The book has been
reviewed by Crum.38*
A contribution towards our knowledge of Shenoute's works is made
by H. Guerin from a considerable fragment in the Louvre, the first
instalment of which he has carefully printed.3''1 G. is on the staff of the
Bibliotheque Nationale, a fact of no small value to students of Coptic at a
distance from Paris.
The two strange mummies in the Musee Guimet mentioned in a previous
Report (1900-01, 77), have suggested to Nau the investigation of the
legend of Thais, the Alexandrine courtesan, and her conversion.1" A study
of the various Greek, oriental, and western versions leads him to the
conclusion that Serapiou the Sindonite was her converter, Papnoute and
Besarion being but deformations of that name, and that the legend grew
out of certain similar stories in the Apophthegmata.
We have little that can pretend to authenticity among Monophysite
sources for the history of the 5th century and, although the interesting
Syriac Life of Dioscorus, published by Nau,41 may embody valuable
traditions, it cannot be said to stand upon a much higher level than
the pseudo-Cyrillic Encomium on Macarius of Tkoou, to which it is
intimately related. It can scarcely be doubted that the original text was
written in Egypt and in Greek; thence the Syriac and the Coptic (Sa'id.),
of which Crum has printed fragments,43 would be derived, though the
exact genealogy of the versions is as yet obscure. Extant Coptic
Pkogeess of Egyptology.
These, with parts of a second MS., are printed by Crum.3" They
also are attributed to Peter. Their chief interest lies in the account
they purport to give of certain early heretical apocrypha.
It has become almost a commonplace to speak of an edition of Shenoute's
worts as the chief desideratum of Coptic literature. Yet we seem now to
have come within measurable distance of the fulfilment of this want.
Leipoldt, whose first publications are mentioned above, is now engaged
in the preparation of a collective edition, and, in the meantime, has given
us an admirable study of the famous monk, based on the hitherto printed
texts and the unpublished MSS. of Paris and London.38 He is acquainted
with parts of 132 MSS. in all; though, owing to their almost invariable
incompleteness, many of the curious data they offer remain so obscure as
to be unusable. The book deals with S/s political and social environment,
his personal characteristics, and the lasting influence he and his monastic
institutions exercised upon Egyptian Christianity. L shows how needful
for an adequate appreciation is the study, not only of his authorized
biography, but of his own writings—the sole work of a Coptic author
which chance has in any quantity preserved to us. The book has been
reviewed by Crum.38*
A contribution towards our knowledge of Shenoute's works is made
by H. Guerin from a considerable fragment in the Louvre, the first
instalment of which he has carefully printed.3''1 G. is on the staff of the
Bibliotheque Nationale, a fact of no small value to students of Coptic at a
distance from Paris.
The two strange mummies in the Musee Guimet mentioned in a previous
Report (1900-01, 77), have suggested to Nau the investigation of the
legend of Thais, the Alexandrine courtesan, and her conversion.1" A study
of the various Greek, oriental, and western versions leads him to the
conclusion that Serapiou the Sindonite was her converter, Papnoute and
Besarion being but deformations of that name, and that the legend grew
out of certain similar stories in the Apophthegmata.
We have little that can pretend to authenticity among Monophysite
sources for the history of the 5th century and, although the interesting
Syriac Life of Dioscorus, published by Nau,41 may embody valuable
traditions, it cannot be said to stand upon a much higher level than
the pseudo-Cyrillic Encomium on Macarius of Tkoou, to which it is
intimately related. It can scarcely be doubted that the original text was
written in Egypt and in Greek; thence the Syriac and the Coptic (Sa'id.),
of which Crum has printed fragments,43 would be derived, though the
exact genealogy of the versions is as yet obscure. Extant Coptic