GakuseiDon

I've been reading Roger Pearse's updates to his search for the source of Mithras quotes with great interest (I've always thought it might make a new Indy movie: "Indiana Jones and the Crucified Mithras"!) One comment he made was about how there are many ancient texts that have been accumulated, but haven't been made available to the public for one reason or another.

Several years back I remember reading about how a library belonging to a Roman family during the days of the Roman Empire had been found, and how this might bring up new information about life in those times. But I've never heard of anything about it since. I've also heard that there is a wealth of information stuck away in the Vatican that has yet to be released.

So, my question is: What ancient texts are there that have been found, but have been hoarded away, or are in the process of being translated and made available? Does anyone know of any finds not yet distributed to academia or the public at large, that might help shed some light on topics relating to this board?

Roger Pearse

Hang on: you're asking what things do we know of that are being hidden so that we won't know about them?

The Vatican thing is a myth, a conspiracy theory originating to explain the cussedness and laziness of his Italian librarians in the 19th century. The Pope got fed up and handed the library over to the Swiss guard ca. 1900 and they, being Germans, are very efficient. But the myth lingers.

Somewhere is a manuscript of the Coptic version of three of Paul's letters.

Two scholars -- Roger Bagnall is one of them -- are sitting on a Greek mathematical treatise of 10 pages, and not publishing it because they have other things to do.

The discoveries at Qurna I mention on my list of these things:

http://www.tertullian.org/rpearse/manuscripts/index.htm

Three books, all known, were found.

At Kellis, a number of texts were found. These are three previously lost orations by Isocrates, more or less complete in a wooden codex: the Ad Demonicum; Ad Nicoclem, and the Nicocles; and some of the Epistles of Mani. I think these have been published now.

The Manichaean finds at Medinet Madu remained unpublished for decades, but I think J.M.Robinson has dealt with that now.

The Derveni papyrus has now been published, after 45 years.

Wendy Pradels has published the missing 66% of sermon 2 of Chrysostom Against the Jews of which she divined the existence and then found a copy at Patmos. Only with a German translation, tho!

All the best,

Roger Pearse

gurugeorge

Are you thinking of the library at Pompeii?

A lot of interesting Epicurean stuff has already been found and deciphered using amazing new technology, but this was apparently from a small adjacent library that reflected the personal philosophy of the family - the main library has yet to be excavated, and because it's the main library, there are high hopes that lots of interesting things will be found there - perhaps original editions of works we know, and some works that were "lost", etc., etc. It's particularly exciting to think of the philosophical works that may be found there.

I hope they do excavate it some day, partly because it's the only hope in hell we have at the moment of finding new stuff to triangulate with on the questions that concern this board. It seems unlikely that there would be any Christian material there (Vesuvius erupted 79 CE), but there might be things that fill in a broader context and background.

Roger Pearse

The Herculeaneum rolls have a long history, although not a very edifying one. The technique of multi-spectral imaging makes it possible to read black ink on now black papyrus.

Most of the texts from this villa are in Greek, and a great number concern a minor epicurean philosopher named Philodemus. But there may be a Latin library waiting to be found in the villa also; villas sometimes had two, split by language.

It is probably unlikely that there are Christian texts in the villa of a major Roman landowner with serious epicurean leanings. What might be found would be lost portions of Livy, or other historical writings (although the lost portions of Tacitus, of course, were composed after the eruption).

Change of subject: Today I was reading the Dialogue of the Nestorian patriarch Timothy I with the Abbasid Caliph al-Mahdi (available on lulu.com in Mingana's Syriac text and English version) and this refers explicitly to the Caliph's edicts being issued on *papyrus* -- not parchment --, even in the late 8th century.

All the best,

Roger Pearse

GakuseiDon

Thanks Roger -- your webpage is just what I was looking for. Thanks George, as well.

mountainman

Hi GD,

There is one Syriac text that I have noticed
by its omission of english translations, in the
category of known non canonical acts -
The Acts of Andrew.

At www.earlychristianwritings the text is prefaced with ...

This message appears cloned around the net.

Has anyone seen the text of The Acts of Andrew?
And if so, is it available online?

Best wishes,



Pete Brown