Steven Avery
Administrator
This section (WIP) goes hand-in-hand with the material from James Anson Farrer, discussing the historicity and authenticity of Kallinikos. It is also an additional corroboration of many basics of what was claimed by Simonides and Kallinikos, by showing a far more accurate reading of the events in Sinai with Tischendorf than is in the popular romantic fantasy stories (e.g. Tischendorf saving leaves from fire.)
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The Journal of Sacred Literature (1863-07)
The Codex Sinaiticus and Simonides - p. 478-498
https://books.google.com/books?id=kR82AAAAMAAJ&pg=PA485
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The Journal of Sacred Literature (1864-04) from the Literary Churchman, Nov 1, 1863
Miscellanies - Simonides Once More - p. 227-229
http://books.google.com/books?id=l7cRAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA227
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The Journal of Sacred Literature (1863-04)
Miscellanies - The Codex Sinaiticus and its Antiquity - p. 210-234
https://books.google.com/books?id=gnstAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA223
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The Journal of Sacred Literature (1863-04)
https://books.google.com/books?id=vvgDAAAAQAAJ&pg=PA212
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The Journal of Sacred Literature and Biblical Record (1863)
https://books.google.com/books?id=_bYRAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA224
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Simonides on Tischendorf and Sinaiticus
Journal of Sacred Literature, Oct 1862
Miscellanies - Sinaiticus p. 248-253
https://books.google.com/books?id=n4AtAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA249
Simonides to the Guardian, Sept, 3, 1862
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The Journal of Sacred Literature (1863-04)
Miscellanies - The Codex Sinaiticus and its Antiquity - p. 210-234
https://books.google.com/books?id=gnstAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA217
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The Journal of Sacred Literature (1863-07)
The Codex Sinaiticus and Simonides - p. 478-498
https://books.google.com/books?id=kR82AAAAMAAJ&pg=PA485
Letter from Simonides to the Guardian Feb 4, 1863
Mr. Bradshaw's very proper and natural query 'How is it possible that a MS. written beautifully, and with no intention to deceive, in 1840, should in 1862 present so ancient an appearance? 'I answer simply thus: The MS. had been systematically tampered with, in order to give it an ancient appearance, as early as 1852, when, as I have already stated, it had an older appearance than it ought to have had; and, from what I then saw, I am not surprised that Mr. Bradshaw should have been deceived in his estimate of its age.
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The Journal of Sacred Literature (1864-04) from the Literary Churchman, Nov 1, 1863
Miscellanies - Simonides Once More - p. 227-229
http://books.google.com/books?id=l7cRAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA227
Kallinikos Hieromanochos - Sept 17, 1863
A portion of this was secretly removed from Mount Sinai, by Professor Tischendorf, in 1844. The rest, with inconceivable recklessness, he mutilated and tampered with, according to his liking, in the year 1859. Some leaves he destroyed, especially such as contained the Acrostics of Simonides; but four of them escaped him, viz., one in the Old Testament, and three in Hermas, as I long since informed Simonides: many paleographical symbols also [escaped his notice], but I do not know whether these were eventually overlooked with the acrostics.
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The Journal of Sacred Literature (1863-04)
Miscellanies - The Codex Sinaiticus and its Antiquity - p. 210-234
https://books.google.com/books?id=gnstAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA223
Extract from a letter dated Smyrna, 5 (17) Aug., 1858:
''. . . These also send thee greeting: the Deacon Hilarion, and thy friends Nicander and Niphon, who lent thee the books of Esdras at the time when thou wast preparing in Athos, at the exhortation of my uncle, the present (of the Holy Scriptures) to the glorious Emperor Nicholas. ... I told them all about it, and how the manuscript in question is now in Mount Sinai, and how thy indifference (forgive me, my son, for this true statement of mine) frustrated the original intention. I certified them that this MS. of the Scriptures is still preserved in Sinai (as thou also knowest), because I saw it there with my own eyes when I was in the Monastery of St. Catherine in 1845 in the month of July, and handled it with my own hands, and found it very defective, and somewhat changed; and when I asked the reason, I understood from Gabriel, the keeper of the treasures, that his predecessor had given the manuscript to a German, who visited the monastery in 1844 in the month of May, and who having had the MS. in his hands several days, secretly removed a part of it, and went away during the time that the librarian lay ill, afflicted with a typhoid fever. Nothing more could I learn about it, but I hope (if God will) to go next year again into Egypt, and thence to Sinai, when I shall search into all things, and send the result for thy information and that of thy friends.
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The Journal of Sacred Literature (1863-04)
https://books.google.com/books?id=vvgDAAAAQAAJ&pg=PA212
Kallinikos Hieromononachos, Oct 15, 1862, Alexandria
Simonides... not coming in time, neglected the matter altogether, until Dr. Tischendorf, coming to the Greek monastery of Sinai in 1844, in the month of May (if my memory does not deceive me), and remaining there several days, and getting into his hands, by permission of the librarian, the codex we are speaking of, and perusing and reperusing it frequently, abstracted secretly a small portion of it, but left the largest portion in the place where it was, and departed undisturbed. And last of all, coming again to the same monastery, he obtained also the remaining portion of it through the Russian Consul, in exchange for hyperbolical promises, never, in my judgment, likely to be fulfilled.
"All these things I know, having been on the spot. And I declare them now openly for the sake of truth. And I further declare that the codex which Dr. Tischendorf obtained is the identical codex which Simonides wrote about twenty-two years ago, and none other; inasmuch as I saw it in the hands of Tischendorf, and recognized the work ; and I first informed Simondes, who was previously in ignorance thereof, of the abstraction of his codex from the library of the monastery of Mount Sinai. And originally, also, I read this half-line written in it --(Grk)--but two days after, the leaf containing this artistically written line had disappeared, by whose doing I do not know. And I know yet further, that the codex also was cleaned with lemon-juice, professedly for the purpose of cleaning its parchments, but in reality in order to weaken the freshness of the letters, as was actually the case.
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The Journal of Sacred Literature and Biblical Record (1863)
https://books.google.com/books?id=_bYRAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA224
Kallinikos Hieromononachos, Nov 9, 1861, Alexandria
'Alas for the palaographical knowledge of such as he ! And if, O my son, the sages of Western Europe take knowledge of and criticize matters in the same fashion as Tischendorf, the shallow leader of Leipsic, I must say that no true criticism or sound judgment in antiquarian matters remains there. This manuscript then being thus estimated (as very old) by the German Tischendorf, was snatched away from the monastery, was afterwards transferred to Cairo, and after a few days was lent to Tischendorf, by the mediation of the Russian consul in Egypt. And it is said that the restoration of the Codex after its publication was guaranteed by the Russian ambassador in Constantinople. But I do not believe in any promise of the ambassador or the consul for the restoration of the Codex, and even if they did promise it, I do not believe that they would ever restore it to the monastery of Sinai. I judge from previous events. 'For a Russian official (as the proverb says), a liar, and a thief, are synonymous.' For let others treat of all this, as also of the arrangements, just or unjust made by the Russian consul and the guileful Tischendorf for the accomplishment of their purposes. I am not surprised at any of the circumstances, but only at the fact that this Codex, recent as it was, and thy handiwork, was ascribed to the fourth century. Here is a miracle forsooth, and yet people sneer at us for believing miracles! This Codex, my son, I saw several times, and particularly three of the acrostics which thou shewedst me at Athos when I overlooked thee in that pleasant writing-room of thine. The first rends thus K.(Grk) the second K.A.(Grk) and the third (Grk). I also saw the fourth and fifth, but do not remember them now ; and also caligraphic symbols, and especially the numerous corrections, and corrections again of these, and annotations both of thyself and of thy uncle, by which I recognized thy work; but I said nothing to any one, nor shall I speak of the matter till thou shalt request me; and for this reason have hastened to give thee the information in the present letter.
The Codex in question, as we are now quite certain, was transported to St. Petersburgh to be published, and its antiquity was established by the learned there. Now we shall see whether they will endorse the vain talking of Tischendorf, whom I have myself seen and conversed with four times, and whom I found superficial in all things, and quite ignorant of the language of our immortal ancestors. He only chatters mechanically the Scriptures, and understands their meaning by Latin versions, and not at sight; so that every ancient Greek work which has not been translated is considered by him as hard to understand, and is set down by him as being in the common Greek tongue, which the foolish critics have christened Romaic. And the questions which have been most clearly settled (about Greek palaeography) he is quite unacquainted with. In a simple word, he deceived the world by his reputation, as thou hast before remarked. Now, it is thy business to prove and proclaim the man's real character, and to shew how different it is from what it appears to be. ....
P.S. Remark this also, that the same man came on another occasion to the monastery of Mount Sinai in the year 1844, in the month of May, and there saw thy Codex, and secretly abstracted many leaves (as I wrote to thee long ago) and went away undisturbed, because, unfortunately, the librarian, who only could have reproved and exposed his wickedness, lay seriously ill, and departed shortly after to his rest in heaven.
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Simonides on Tischendorf and Sinaiticus
Journal of Sacred Literature, Oct 1862
Miscellanies - Sinaiticus p. 248-253
https://books.google.com/books?id=n4AtAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA249
Simonides to the Guardian, Sept, 3, 1862
"In 1852, I saw it there myself, ... I examined the MS. and found it much altered, having an older appearance than it ought to have"
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The Journal of Sacred Literature (1863-04)
Miscellanies - The Codex Sinaiticus and its Antiquity - p. 210-234
https://books.google.com/books?id=gnstAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA217
"the Codex Simonideios, which Professor Tischendorf, when at Sinai, contrived, I know not how, to carry away; and, going to St. Petersburg, published his discovery there under the name of the Codex Sinaiticus."
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