James Hope Moulton DUKE UNIVERSITY LIBRARY DURHAM, N. C. AMES HOPE MOULTON I863-I9I7 1. A BIOGRAPHICAL 'SKETCH, WITH SOME ACCOUNT OF HIS LITERARY LEGACIES. By the Rev. W. FlDDIAX MOULTON, M.A, 2. A RECORD OF PROFESSOR J. H. MOULTOX'S WORK, WITH SOME EXPLANATION OF ITS SIGNIFICANCE. By Professor A, S. Peake, M.A., D.D. 3. LETTER FROM DR. RENDEL HARRIS TO THE REV, W. FlDDIAX MOULTOX Reprinted from "The Bulletin of the fohn Ry lands Library" Vol 4, No. I, April- August, 191 7 ANCHESTER: THE UNIVERSITY PRESS, 12 [LIME GROVE, OXFORD OAD. LONGMANS, GREEN & CO., 39 PATERNOSTER ROW, LONDON, .C, NEW YORK, BOMBAY, CALCUTTA, AND MADRAS. BERNARD UARITCH, 11 GRAFTON STREET, LONDON, W. MCMXVII Digitized by the Internet Archive in 2015 https://archive.org/details/jameshopemoulton01moul JAMES HOPE MOULTON 1863-1917 JAMES HOPE MOULTON I863-I9I7 1. A BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH, WITH SOME ACCOUNT OF HIS LITERARY LEGACIES. By the Rev. W. FlDDIAN MOULTON, M.A. 2. A RECORD OF PROFESSOR J. H. MOULTON'S WORK, WITH SOME EXPLANATION OF ITS SIGNIFICANCE. By Professor A. S. Peake, M.A., D.D. 3. LETTER FROM DR. RENDEL HARRIS TO THE REV. W. FlDDIAN MOULTON Reprinted from "The Bulletin of the fohn Ry lands Library" Vol. 4, No. 1, April- August, 191 7 MANCHESTER: THE UNIVERSITY PRESS, 12 LIME GROVE, OXFORD ROAD. LONGMANS, GREEN & CO., 39 PATERNOSTER ROW, LONDON, E.C., NEW YORK, BOMBAY, CALCUTTA, AND MADRAS. BERNARD QUARITCH, 11 GRAFTON STREET, LONDON, W. MCMXVII \ no- 1 jot. / JAMES HOPE MOULTON. 1863-1917. 1; A BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH, WITH SOME ACCOUNT OF HIS LITERARY LEGACIES. By the Rev. W. FIDDIAN MOULTON, MA. THE sad tragedy of 7th April has appealed with force to very many, very varied, and very scattered communities. Even those who are most disposed to condone anything that is German cannot escape the feeling that there is something here which it is not easy to defend — witness Deissmann's plea concerning " crossing the for- bidden zone " : while to those who are English in spirit as well as in nationality the whole proceeding stands out as conspicuously criminal, and pathetically wasteful. Scholarship, religion, politics, friendship — these and other spheres are left sadly poorer ; and from all parts of the world and from all classes of the community have poured in ex- pressions of affection and esteem. It is doubtless because of Dr. J. H. Moulton's close connection with the mission of the John Rylands Library that Mr. Guppy de- sired to place on the permanent records of the Library some reference to him : and I suppose it was because I had known him longest that Mr. Guppy turned to me ! I take up the melancholy service without any reluctance, for I know full well how near the Library was to my brother's heart. He frequented it both as reader and as Governor ; and it was probably because he was the former that he took so seriously his duties and privileges as the latter. To him it would seem no ex- aggeration or misuse of terms to speak of the mission of the John Rylands Library ; for to him the Library was a personality clearly marked, and entrusted with no ordinary responsibilities and oppor- tunities in respect of the world of scholarship. There are certain legends current that my gifted brother lisped 3 P4446 1 4 THE JOHN RYLANDS LIBRARY Greek at three and passed from accidence to syntax before he was five : and although no one is asked to accept these as sober statements of fact, they are at any rate suggestive of the truth. He was no infant prodigy, but the instinct for studiousness and the acquisition of learning manifested itself unusually early, and became richly fruitful at an age when the majority of boys have found no time to be serious, except concerning sport. At sixteen he took high Honours in the London Matriculation Examination ; at eighteen he took an Entrance Scholar- ship of £70 in Classics at King's College, Cambridge ; and before he was twenty-three he had taken a First both in Part I of the Classical Tripos and in E of Part II, that field of philological study which after- wards he made so conspicuously his own. All these were achieve- ments which would have been impossible for anyone who viewed life lightly and took things easily. He only accomplished these things by strenuous and unremitting application ; and therein he laid the only possible foundation for the abounding service of later years. There comes to my mind a striking indication of the trend of his disposition, all the more significant because it was so largely unconscious. When he was fifteen he sent his first contributions to the " Leys Fortnightly," the magazine of his school. It does not matter much that the subject was " Milton's Minor Poems " — rather an unusual type of subject for a first effort in print : but what does matter is that they, like all his later contributions to that magazine, bore the signature ArAN. At that early age when to most the world is a playground and life a game, he intuitively dropped upon a nom-de -plume betokening strenuousness of effort : and he remained ArAN to the end. On the football field and on the track he ran fast, very fast ; on the cricket field he bowled very fast, with a curious action which made him very awkward on a bad wicket — and with a hostile umpire ; at La Crosse, of which he was very fond, he could race round most of the men in the field, and perhaps used his speed sometimes when it would have been better to pass the ball. But wherever he was and whatever he was doing he was intense and strenuous about it all : he played many things — very many, anything indeed that was going — but he never played at any- thing, and this note remained with him to the very end. Indeed, one kind and appreciative friend, a seasoned Anglo-Indian, who entertained him several times in India, considers that, had there been less pace, and more deference to the trying nature of the Indian climate, he might JAMES HOPE MOULTON 5 have lived through the strain of one more day in that open boat, and have landed at Calvi with his dearly-loved friend, so much his senior. There had never been any doubt in his mind from the first as to what direction he would look to for his life-work. The son, grand- son, great-grandson, great- great- grandson of Wesleyan preachers it was natural that he should have that bias within his nature ; and he was still a boy at school when he preached his first sermon one Sunday afternoon in the little Wesleyan Chapel at Waterbeach, the village which will always be remembered as the sphere of C. H. Spurgeon's first pastorate. He was accepted as a candidate for the Wesleyan Methodist ministry in 1 886, and succeeded the Rev. Ed- ward Brentnall as Chaplain at The Leys, and ministerial assistant to Dr. Moulton. This " composite post " — ministerial, educational, and quasi- academic — was a magnificent opening for him ; and, it may be added, for others as well, seeing that James Hope Moulton always gave what he got, and only got in order that he might give, of the riches of learning. The sixteen years thus spent were of the highest value from the point of view of his later service. They were the formative period of his life ; and if there were drawbacks — he always found the disciplinary and administrative side of a master's life some- what irksome — there were abundant compensations. He was in Cambridge ; and no one who knows the two ancient University centres will need to be told that there is something unique about life there. During those years he was in close touch with the life of the University and particularly of his own college, of which he was made a Fellow, at a time, moreover, when two of the most outstanding men in the college life were Professor Westcott and Professor H. E. Ryle. Further, it is not probably claiming a whit too much to say that colla- boration with his own father was in itself a liberal education. It is easy to see that his yearning for Christian service, his deepening interest in Greek Testament study, his convictions as to Foreign Mis- sions- — these and many other factors in his spiritual and mental make- up are distinctly traceable to the fact of his having enjoyed peculiarly close association with his father at just the most susceptible and forma- tive period of life. Sometimes he looked out a little wistfully at wider fields, wondering whether he was doing his best with his life by stay- ing at The Leys. " Here I am," he once said to me, " nearly forty, and have not done a thing ! Why, father was on the New Testa- 6 THE JOHN RYLANDS LIBRARY ment Revision Company before he was thirty-six ! " Yes, but it is easy to see now — especially so for him — that that formative period was of priceless value, and that the rich and brilliant usefulness of his later career was conditioned by it. And mention must be made of two acquisitions in the sphere of friendship which belong to that period. One was Professor E. B. Cowell, with whom he came into close contact when working for Part II of the Classical Tripos, and who gave him his introduction to Sanskrit lore, and cognate studies, which, together with Hellenistic Greek, have been the field in which he made his mark as a scholar. The other was one about which little must be said because so much might be said. Suffice it to say that during his time of residence at Kings the Rev. G. R. Osborn, son of Dr. George Osborn, who was colleague of Dr. Moulton's in the old Richmond days, came as Superintendent Minister to Cambridge. The friendship between the brilliant young classic and Mr. Osborn's elder daughter ripened into a union of uninterrupted blessedness and joy — shadowed yet sanctified by bereavements — which lasted for close on twenty-five years : and Dr. Rendel Harris was probably right when he referred to " superior spiritual attractions " — wife and two children having passed over in front — as lessening his power of resistance at the last. Manchester gave my brother his chance, for it gave him the call to one field without having to give up the other. While at The Leys Dr. Welldon had pressed him to take a Mastership at Harrow, which was an offer full of attractiveness. But it would have involved his surrendering the Wesleyan Ministry, so far as any active participation was concerned ; and that he could not and would not do, for all the educational prizes of the country — the " Apostolic Succession " to which he was proud to belong, forbade that. Manchester gave him the chance of association with the rapidly developing activities of a modern University while making his contribution to the educational and pastoral work of his own Church. And he took it with joy and thankfulness. How he took it, needs not to be told here, for in the constituency of the John Rylands Library he is sufficiently well known. But it may be pointed out that the different sides of his nature found adequate and congenial fields of expression in Manchester. His scholarly instincts, his evangelistic passion, his social sympathies — they all had free play through the University, Didsbury College, the Man- chester and Sal ford Mission, the pulpits of the city, the platforms of JAMES HOPE MOULTON 7 the neighbourhood and the columns of the " Manchester Guardian These many activities made his life a very full one : and there were some who maintained that he ought to give up his outside public work, his temperance and political advocacy, and give himself- entirely to scholarship. They did not know him, or they would never have sug- gested what would have been a negation of his very personality. He could not take his citizenship c< lying down," any more than he could his religion. Both were extremely practical and serious things with him — practical because serious — and it was needful for him to be in the fight. While he was thus engaged honours poured upon him. Five Uni- versities conferred upon him various Doctorates — London, Durham, Edinburgh, Berlin, and Groningen — and had he been a member of the Church of England doubtless Cambridge would have followed suit ; but the fact of his being a Nonconformist constituted a statutoiy bar to his receiving a Divinity Degree from his own University — a disability recently removed, in the teeth of much bitter clerical opposi- tion. He gave the Hibbert Lectures on " Early Zoroastrianism " ; the invitation to give the Schweich Lectures was forwarded to him so as to reach him on his way home : he gave the Fernley Lecture on " Religion and Religions" in connection with his own Church ; and numberless Summer Schools, Conferences, etc., in England, Ireland, and America secured his services for lectures and speeches — all on the top of his normal work. But he loved work, and was never so happy as when pouring out his stores of learning in the interests of those less fortunately situated than himself. When his great sorrow came in June, 1915, we could not help feeling that the call to India, which reached him within a few days, was providential. He had longed to see the Mission field ; the particular sphere he was asked to visit particularly — the Parsi com- munities — was one in which he had long-standing interest, and a unique chance, as being a recognized authority on their religion ; the depletion of the Colleges made it easy for him to be spared ; and the void in his own heart called for work — and, if possible, work on new ground — as a necessary condition of well-being. So he went, in October, 1915: and the rest is only two well known. Three characteristics seem to have struck those who came in con- tact with him ; and with a brief mention of them I must bring my 8 THE JOHN RYLANDS LIBRARY tribute to a close. Firstly, he had the rare gift of popularizing scholar- ^ ship, and of presenting profound things in such a way that people lost sight of the profundity in the interest of the subject. His 44 Prolegomena" was a noticeable example. Secondly, his scholarship sat so lightly upon him that in ordinary intercourse the man took precedence of the scholar, and 44 common people heard him gladly ". Thirdly, he was the very soul of chivalry — whether towards a downtrodden nationality, or a weak country church, or men and women fallen on evil days — and the life of the study never cut him off from the street. And while his reputation down here is to be traced to the study, it is more than possible that Another may be praising him most for what He saw in the street. Be that as it may, his career gives some clue to the problem as to how classical learning came to be styled Humanity. The widespread dismay and sympathy evoked by his tragic death has been accompanied by much inquiry and speculation as to his literary commitments, and the chance of salving, at any rate, a part of the cargo of his life's work ; and, in view of various rumours and reports — partly incomplete and partly inaccurate — which are going about, it may be interesting to readers of the BULLETIN of the John Rylands Library to know how the matter stands. Firstly, as to the 44 Grammar of New Testament Greek". It will be remembered that the first volume, the 44 Prolegomena," was issued several years ago, and has reached its fourth edition. When Dr. Moulton left for India he left behind him the second volume, on Ac- cidence, practically complete, and secure in the publisher's safe at Edinburgh. The last chapter, gathering up the main issues, remained yet to be written, as also an Appendix on Semitisms which Professor Bedale had kindly consented to write. The introductory chapter, which came to hand after he left, may require some additions, and there are about a dozen paragraphs, dotted about the work, which are not forthcoming. They may be found among the piles of papers, as yet unsorted, at Didsbury ; possibly the numbering of the sections was done at different times, and there may prove to be no real gap in sub- ject matter, but only in numbers. At any rate, the gaps in the work are not serious. But, on the other hand, it will not be an easy book to see through the press. The mere proof-reading and verification of references will be no light task, and then there is the obligation resting upon the one who sees it through to keep in close and sympathetic JAMES HOPE MOULTON 9 touch with all the new " light from the East," which will illustrate, elucidate, and in some details possibly correct the exegesis which it has so largely called into being. Dr. George MilHgan had collaborated with Dr. Moulton in that branch of study, just as their fathers colla- borated in the interpretation of the Fourth Gospel thirty years ago ; but other private work rendered it impossible to look to him to do more than assist in this matter as adviser and referee. It was, therefore, thought best to turn to one of Dr. Moulton's own students, accustomed to his methods and devoted to his memory, as being the most likely to do this particular piece of work. The Rev. Wilbert F. Howard, B.D., was a post-graduate student of Dr. Moulton's in Hellenistic Greek at Manchester University, as well as being a student of his at Didsbury, and those who are interested in the perpetuation of Dr. Moulton's work will be very thankful that one so capable should have consented to shoulder the burden, with the kindly and learned Scottish scholar as colleague. Mr. Howard has three points of contact with the work before starting upon his task, although the decision to ask for his aid was arrived at in absolute ignorance of all three of them. He is brother-in-law to Mr. Bedale, who already has his share in the book. Further, when Dr. Moulton left for India he stored his papyri and apparatus in Mr. Bedale's house — which we knew — in order that Mr. Howard might have access to the books — which we did not know. Thirdly, Mr. Howard's thesis for his B.D. Degree was upon a " papyri topic," and the examiner was Dr. Milligan, who was so favourably impressed with it that he wrote to Mr. Howard suggesting publication, but then completely forgot the name in the intervening years, and did not recognize who it was that was suggeste d as his colleague ! This really suggests Providential guidance ! Of course it will be impossible to proceed with the work at once, owing to the shortage of skilled men in the printing trade at present, and also the shortage of paper. A work with such an infinitude of detail would make great demands upon printers at the best of times, and to-day no firm would look at it ; while its size would demand a large supply of paper of a quality suitable for taking the impression of the minutiae of Greek characters. Nothing has been finally decided upon, but Sir John Clark is disposed to consider the feasibility of issuing the book in four parts, which will spread out over a longer period both the task of setting-up and the consumption of paper. 10 THE JOHN RYLANDS LIBRARY With reference to the " Vocabulary of New Testament Greek," which is entirely concerned with the contributions made to exegesis by the papyri and other non-literary sources, this had from the first been a joint enterprise of the two friends, and Dr. Milligan will have now to plough his lonely furrow, with whatever assistance he can obtain from any who have caught his inspiration at Glasgow, and are thank- ful thus to repay some portion of their debt. A pathetic interest attaches to the last of Dr. Moulton's literary legacies, " The Treasure of the Magi," in that it was written entirely in India, and completed just before he sailed. There seems to have been in his mind some haunting sense of uncertainty as to his future ; else why did he have three copies of the book typed and sent on different courses ? One remained in India in the hands of Dr. Griswold, the joint editor — with Dr. Farquhar of Oxford — of the series in which the book appears ; one reached Derby just before the news of the tragedy ; and one is at the bottom of the Mediterranean. Here, again, the task of preparation for the press was one that demanded expert knowledge of the very highest order in a field of learning greatly neglected in this country. Indeed, probably only two men could be said to fulfil the conditions, and one of them was out of the question owing to his advanced age, but the other, when approached replied at once that it would be a privilege to be allowed to do it. To the Right Rev. Dr. Casartelli, Bishop of Salford, we owe a great debt of gratitude. The Oxford Press is publishing. Will there be any Memoir of Dr. Moulton ? That is a question which has been repeatedly asked of late, and the answer is both Yes and No. If by a Memoir is meant a set Biography, laid out chrono- logically and in great detail, the answer is No, partly because the interest of his life did not centre in incident, but in influence, and partly because certain material which would be indispensable for such a purpose cannot be found anywhere, probably because it is with the third copy of " The Treasure of the Magi" ! But certainly some account of Dr. Moulton's career will be forthcoming before next spring, all being well, and some attempt will be made to outline the activities, to focus the interests, to estimate the influence of one concern- ing whom so many have written with warm and grateful admiration from all over the world. But, when everything is done that can be done with the printed page, the only adequate memoir is that which JAMES HOPE MOULTON is enshrined in the collective experience of the many whom he taught, and cheered, and strengthened. 2. A RECORD OF PROFESSOR J. H. MOULTON'S WORK, WITH SOME EXPLANATION OF ITS SIGNIFICANCE. By Professor A. S. PEAKE, M.A., D.D. The tragic death of Professor James Hope Moulton touches the John Rylands Library very nearly. He had been for several years a greatly valued member of the Council and Book Committee, and it is fitting that one who was closely associated with him in this work, who was his colleague at the University of Manchester and had the privi- lege of long and intimate friendship, should give some estimate of his work in the pages of our BULLETIN. Dr. Moulton was chiefly famous for his contributions to the study of New Testament Greek, but he gained distinction also as an expon- ent of Zoroastrianism. The two fields of research seem remote from each other, but it is easy to see how he reached them both from a common starting-point. He took the Classical Tripos at Cambridge, he won the Gold Medal in Classics at the University of London and received from it his Doctorate of Literature. He took a First Class at Cambridge with distinction in Philology. His study of Comparative Philology led him from Latin and Greek to Sanscrit and Iranian. From the Iranian language he was naturally led to the literature and the religion, and thus he became one of our very few experts in Zoro- astrianism. His preoccupation with the language of the New Testa- ment was due in part to his father's conspicuous services to this sub- ject. He had translated Winer's " Grammar of New Testament Greek " into English, making many additions and improvements, and regret was expressed that so much labour should have been spent on the work of another man by one who had it in his power to write a much better book of his own. The " Grammar " by no means exhausted Dr. W. F. Moulton' s contribution to the interpretation of the New Testament. He was one of the New Testament Revisers and he undertook very heavy labours for the edition of the Revised New Testament with fuller references. In this connection it may be added that he co-operated with Hort and Westcott in the revision of the 12 THE JOHN RYLANDS LIBRARY Book of Wisdom and the Second Book of Maccabees for the Revised Version of the Apocrypha. The important concordance to the Greek Testament, known as Moulton and Geden, owes most to the latter scholar, since Dr. Moulton through pressure of other duties was un- able to participate to any great extent in the task. It was his hope in collaboration with his son to prepare a thoroughly revised edition of the " Grammar," but his death forbade the realization of this scheme. It was accordingly natural that Dr. James Moulton should, on his father s death, take up the project which had been left unfulfilled. But this would have been impossible if his equipment had not emin- ently qualified him for it. His classical training had given him the indispensable preparation, 'and his expert knowledge of the Compara- tive Philology of the Indo-European language proved of especial value. It is regrettable that he published very little on Comparative Philology. Apart from articles I can only refer to an admirable little volume entitled " Two Lectures on the Science of Language They are popular lectures, the former of them dealing strictly with Com- parative Philology, the latter with the evidence afforded by a study of language for the reconstruction of primitive history. What we should have had a right to expect from him would have been a Grammar of the New Testament, accurate and complete, a monument of finished scholarship and lucid exposition. That would have been of great value, but its publication, while it would have won for the author wide and deserved recognition, would not have attracted the attention that was at once directed to the first volume of "A Grammar of New Testament Greek,'* published in 1906 and contain- ing the " Prolegomena The discovery of new material had brought with it a revolution. The great scholars of the nineteenth century had written their grammars and commentaries from a standpoint which the new discoveries did much to antiquate. The New Testament was approached from Classical Greek, and the same grammatical rules were supposed to apply in one as in the other, and the senses of words in the New Testament were fixed by their significance in clas- sical writing. A great number of papyri had, however, been discovered in Egypt. Some of these were valuable to the Greek scholar as re- storing lost works of Greek literature or supplying us with new texts of works which we already possessed. But along with these there were very many papyri with no pretention to literary character. JAMES HOPE MOULTON 13 Business documents, leases, wills, and in particular private letters, came to light in great numbers. The credit for realizing the bearing of these documents on the study of New Testament Greek does not indeed belong to Dr. Moulton. It was a young German scholar, Dr. Deissmann, who first saw the bearing of the new discoveries on the Greek of the New Testament. In his " Bible Studies " he stated and defended the thesis that a large number of words hitherto sup- posed to be Biblical were really current in the spoken Greek of the first century. Deissmann's researches were chiefly occupied with the vocabulary, though of course the grammar received occasional notice. Dr. Moulton was quite convinced by Deissmann's arguments, and his own researches into the vocabulary gave independent confirmation. But the new thesis had to be thoroughly tested in the domain of grammar, and the very extended researches which Dr. Moulton carried through convinced him that alike in vocabulary and grammar Biblical Greek, except where it was translation Greek, was simply the verna- cular of daily life. The language of the Holy Ghost was just the language of the common people. The theory met of course with hostile criticism, in particular this centred on the question of Semitism in the New Testament. It had long been held that the Greek of the New Testament was Hebraic Greek, and this position seemed to be established by the presence of Semitic constructions in it. But the case was altered when these constructions were found in papyri written by Gentiles. It was contended in reply that the constructions might have come into the colloquial Greek under Jewish influence. But this seemed improbable, inasmuch as examples were found in districts where Jewish influence could hardly if at all be traced. Dr. Moulton also considered that survival of such constructions in modern Greek excluded the hypothesis of Semitic origin. In spite, however, of dissent the book was recognized as inaugurating a new epoch in the study of New Testament Greek on its grammatical side. Deissmann was of course delighted that a scholar so magnifi- cently equipped should range himself at his side and do for the grammar what he had done for the vocabulary. Harnack spoke of him as " the foremost expert in New Testament Greek ". All who are familiar with grammatical and exegetical literature on the New Testament will be well aware how deep an impress it has left on the books published within the last ten years. It was translated into 14 THE JOHN RYLANDS LIBRARY German from the third edition with considerable additions, and the translation was dedicated by Professor Moulton to the University of Berlin, which had given him his Doctorate in Theology on the occasion of its centenary. It is deplorable that the author's untimely death has left his task incomplete. The second volume was largely finished before he left for India, but for the third volume, which, as containing the syntax, would have been the largest and most important, I fear little, if any, material has been left. A cognate work will also suffer seriously. In collaboration with Professor George Milligan he wrote for " The Expositor " a series of lexical notes on the papyri. These form the basis of an elaborate work entitled " The Vocabulary of the Greek Testament Illustrated from the Papyri and other Non-literary Sources ". I hope that the original intention will be carried to its completion in spite of Dr. Moulton's death. Of the six parts of which it was designed to consist two have already appeared ; a large amount of material has, I understand, been already collected for the third ; and I trust that Dr. Milligan may find it possible to bring the great enterprise to a triumphant close. I must touch but briefly on other sides of his New Testament work. He published an " Introduction to the Study of New Testa- ment Greek," which serves its purpose as a beginner's book admirably. He developed, defended, and popularized his views on this subject in numerous articles. A series of popular lectures delivered at Northfield was published while he was in India entitled " From Egyptian Rubbish Heaps ". It is full of interesting facts, brightly presented, and lighting up many passages in the New Testament. Alongside of the facts there are several suggestions, some of them too speculative in character, I fear, to secure acceptance from New Testament scholars. I turn now to speak with diffidence of his work on Zoroastrianism. Apart from important articles of which I mention that entitled 4 * It is his Angel " in " The Journal of Theological Studies," and that on " Zoroastrianism " in Hastings' 44 Dictionary of the Bible," his publi- cations consist at present of his Cambridge manual 44 Early Religious Poetry of Persia " and his 44 Hibbert Lectures ". I believe that a volume of lectures to the Parsees has been published in India, and I understand that the volume on 44 Parsism "in 44 The Religious Quest of India " series is ready for the press. The little volume in the JAMES HOPE MOULTON 15 series of Cambridge manuals forms an excellent introduction to the subject. The " Hibbert Lectures," on the other hand, presuppose the student's acquaintance with the groundwork and are occupied with an examination of selected features of the religion, and those the most important. The work is marked not only by great erudition tut by much originality. I am afraid that it would take far too much space even to sketch briefly the questions at issue. The paradoxical view put forward by Darmsteter that Zarathushtra never existed and that the Gathas are no earlier than the first century of our era is con- vincingly refuted. It has found practically no favour among experts, but the question is so vital that Professor Moulton deals with it at length. As to the date of Zarathushtra he regards him as certainly not later than 660-583 B.C., to which tradition assigns him, but he is impressed by the strength of the argument for regarding him as some generations earlier. But for several centuries he supposes that the more esoteric elements in his teaching did not pass beyond Bactria where the prophet had taught. The doctrine moved westward, not in its pure form but in the form given it by the Magi. His view of the Magi and their relation to Zoroastrianism is fundamental for the whole discussion and the most original part of his work. He believes that the Magi were non-Aryans, a priestly tribe, with primitive practices, who claimed, though wrongly, that the prophet was one of themselves and, adapting such elements of his teaching as they could accept, popularized it as thus transformed. It is important then to detect the elements in the " Avesta " which are due to them, and he uses as his test a comparison between Magianism and Parsism. Such elements of Magianism as are absent from Parsism he regards as non-Zoroastrian and with this clue seeks to determine the Magian element in the " Avesta He argues against Eduard Meyer that Cyrus was not a Zoroastrian, Darius being the first of the Achae- menian kings who was a true Zoroastrian, though the religion as he knew it had lost its original purity. Most students no doubt will feel that the subject lies outside their beat, but not a few may be glad to know that at several points it deals with problems of interest to Biblical scholars, notably in the chapter entitled " Zarathushtra and Israel But Professor Moulton was not simply a great scholar. He was deeply interested in practical problems, especially those of social 16 THE JOHN RYLANDS LIBRARY amelioration. Religion always claimed the first place. He was an enthusiast for missions. His wide acquaintance with other religions, and his expert familiarity with some of them, in no way shook his con- viction as to the supremacy of his own. He saw in it the satisfaction of all those lofty aspirations which found imperfect expression in other religions. To these lower forms of faith he desired to give the fullest sympathy. For Zoroastrianism, in particular, he had a genuine en- thusiasm, regarding it as the purest form of non- Biblical religion. Hence when it fell to his lot to deliver the Fernley Lecture in the centenary year of the Wesley an Missionary Society he chose as his subject " Religions and Religion In this work I call special attention to the discussions in the second and third chapters. In the latter of these he works out the thesis that Christianity is the crown of all re- ligions, it takes the better elements in them and carries them to a higher power. I do not of course place this volume in the same category as his " Grammar," his " Hibbert Lectures" or the " Vocabulary of the Greek Testament ". The quality of his work rose the more rigidly scientific it was, but the selection of such a theme for his Fernley Lecture and the sympathetic temper in which it was handled are very significant indications of the principles and convictions which dominated his attitude to life. The loss of such a man is irreparable. Had he been spared to complete his grammar and the vocabulary his friends would still have grieved deeply for one whom no one can replace in their affections ; and learning would have been impoverished by his inability to accomplish other tasks for which he was singularly qualified. But he has been taken from us with great tasks only partially ac- complished and leaving no one with his peculiar combination of qualities. And none of us can miss the tragic irony in his death that he who loved peace and had laboured for it, who had desired friend- ship with Germany and whose work was appreciated by none more highly than by German scholars, should have been sent to his prema- ture death by an enemy submarine. JAMES HOPE MOULTON 17 3. LETTER FROM DR. RENDEL HARRIS TO THE REV. W. FIDDIAN MOULTON. Grand Hotel, Ajaccio Corsica. Uth April, 1917. My dear Friend, You will have received the sad news of my first telegram, and will have been waiting and watching for the further information with regard to the passing over of your beloved. I am not able to write a great deal and much of what I would say must wait until I return, first of all because we were strongly ad- vised not to communicate any details as to the passage of our un- fortunate vessel, and second because it is too painful to recall in detail the horrors of the days of exposure and collapse. I think that what operated in his case to diminish his power of resistance was, first of all, physical weakness, which had shown itself on the way home from India in a violent outbreak of boils on the face and neck causing him much pain and inconvenience, — but on the other side he succumbed to superior spiritual attractions which he felt a long time before the ship was struck. He talked about his dear ones in johannine lan- guage as going over to prepare places for one another, and the spiritual tension was evidently stronger than even strong language expressed. Those on the other side stood to him Christ-wise, saying Christ's words and doing Christ's deeds to him as they had done to one another. Under these circumstances it is not strange that he should have collapsed, but he played a hero's part in the boat. He toiled at the oar till sickness overcame him : he assisted to bale out the boat and to bury (is that the right word ?) the bodies of those who fell. He said words of prayer over poor Indian sailors, and never never complained or lost heart for a moment through the whole of the three days and more of his patience, though the waves were often breaking over him and the water must have often been up to his middle. He passed away very rapidly at the end and was gone before I could get to him. His body was lying on the edge of the boat, and I kissed him for you all and said some words of love which he was past hearing outwardly. There was no opportunity to take from his body anything except his gold watch, and one or two trifles which are in my keeping. I could not search him for papers, indeed I doubt if he had brought any with him from the ship. 18 THE JOHN RYLANDS LIBRARY During the whole of the voyage his mind was marvellously alert and active. He talked, and read and wrote incessantly, — and preached on the Sundays. On the way home he had read the whole of the " Odyssey " in the small Pickering edition ; and amongst his first remarks to me was his opinion as to the disparity of the 23rd book with the rest of the poem. One strange and beautiful experience we shared together with Major of the Abyssinian Embassy who was returning to England. We developed literary sympathies, and one day the con- versation turned on 4 ' Lycidas The Major knew it by heart — so did J. H. M., or almost by heart. I was a bad third in the recitation, and when we halted for a passage J. H. M. ran to his cabin and brought his pocket copy of Milton to verify doubtful words with. How little we suspected what was the meaning of our exercise. They laughed at my delight over the sounding sentences and I had to explain that it made my blood tingle : but we did not know that the amber flow of that Elysian speech had become once more sacra- mental and that we were really reciting the liturgy of the dead, that " Lycidas, your sorrow is not dead, sunk though he be beneath the ocean floor '\ He had his own " solemn troop " and his own " sweet society " to make him welcome. It is one of our Lord's sayings that one shall be taken and another shall be left, and the words lie dormant in meaning long spaces of time, — then rise up and smite us in the face. Why was one taken and the other left ? Why did that fatal, that " perfidious bark " dis- criminate between the " sacred head that it sunk low " and the one which was so much whiter to the harvest ? But for questions like these there is no answer yet. I would tell you more if I could, but this is all I can say at this present. With deep sympathy, Your friend and his, p.p. Rendel Harris, G. O. Innes. P.S. — Manu mea : I am so glad to have been with him these days : to have had him to myself, at his very best. So Johannine, and so Pauline. How Pauline we have become, he said to me ; and twice over he quoted some great lines from Myers' "St. Paul," to add to the ordinary Corinthian quotations. RECENT AND FORTHCOMING PUBLICATIONS OF THE JOHN RYLANDS LIBRARY. CATALOGUE t>F THE DEMOTIC PAPYRI IN THE JOHN RYLANDS LIBRARY. With facsimiles and complete translations. By F. LI. Griffith, M.A. 1909. 3 vols. 4to. 3 guineas net. Vol. 1 : Atlas of facsimiles in collotype. Vol. 2 : Lithographed hand copies of the earlier documents. Vol. 3 : Key-list, translations, commentaries, and indexes. %* This is something more than a catalogue, since it includes collotype facsimiles of the whole of the documents, with transliterations, translations, valuable introductions, very full notes, and a glossary of Demotic, representing, in the estimation of scholars, the most important contribution to the study of Demotic hitherto published. CATALOGUE OF THE COPTIC MANUSCRIPTS IN THE JOHN RYLANDS LIBRARY. By W. E. Crum, M.A. 1909. 4to, pp. xii, 273. 12 plates of facsimiles, in collotype. I guinea net. %* The collection includes a series of private letters considerably older than any in Coptic hitherto known, in addition to many manuscripts of great theological and historical interest. Many of the texts are reproduced in extenso. CATALOGUE OF THE GREEK PAPYRI IN THE JOHN RYLANDS LIBRARY. By Arthur S. Hunt, M.A., Litt.D., J. de M. Johnson, M.A., and Victor Martin, D. es L. Vol. 1 : Literary texts (Nos. 1-61). 1911. 4to, pp. xii, 204. 10 plates of facsimiles in collotype. Vol. 2 : Documents of the Ptolemaic and Roman periods (Nos. 62-456). 1916 4to, pp. xx, 488. 23 plates in collotype. Each volume 1 guinea net. %* The texts are reproduced in extenso, and comprise many interesting Biblical, liturgical classical papyri, and non-literary documents of an official or legal character ranging from the third century B.C. to the sixth century A.D. SUMERIAN TABLETS FROM UMMA IN THE JOHN RYLANDS LIBRARY. . . . Transcribed, transliterated, and translated by C. L. Bedale, M.A. . . . With a Fore- word by Canon C. H. W. Johns, M.A., Litt.D. 4to, pp. xvi, 16, with ten facsimiles 5s. net. %* This thin quarto consists of a description of fifty-eight tablets, forming part of the collec- tion recently acquired by the library. A CLASSIFIED CATALOGUE OF THE WORKS ON ARCHITECTURE AND THE ALLIED ARTS IN THE PRINCIPAL LIBRARIES OF MANCHESTER AND SALFORD, with alphabetical author list and subject index. Edited for the Archi- tectural Committee of Manchester by Henry Guppy and Guthrie Vine. 1 909. v , 8vo, pp. xxv, 310. 3s. 6d. net, or interleaved 4s.i6d. net. * 4e * This catalogue is the first of its kind to be issued, with the exception of a few union lists of periodicals and incunabula. AN ANALYTICAL CATALOGUE OF THE CONTENTS OF THE TWO EDI- TIONS OF " AN ENGLISH GARNER," compiled by Edward Arber (1877-97), and rearranged under the editorship of Thomas Seccombe (1903-04). 1909. 8vo, pp. viii, 221. Is. net. A< BRIEF HISTORICAL DESCRIPTION OF THE LIBRARY AND ITS CON- TENTS, illustrated with thirty-seven views and facsimiles. 1914. 8vo, pp. xvi, 73, and thirty-seven illustrations. 6d. net. THE JOHN RYLANDS FACSIMILES. A series of reproductions of some of the more in- teresting and important of the rarer books in the possession of the library. The volumes consist of minutely accurate facsimiles of the works selected, preceded by bibliographical introductions. I PROPOSITIO JOHANNIS RUSSELL, printed by William Caxton, circa A.D. 1476. . . . With an introduction by Henry Guppy. 1909. 8vo, pp. 36, 8. 3s. 6d. net. %* An oration, pronounced by John Russell, Chancellor of England, on the investiture of Charles, Duke of Burgundy, with the Order of the Garter, in February, 1469, atl Ghent. For many years the copy now in the John Rylands Library was considered to be unique. Until 1 807 it lay buried and unnoticed in the heart of a volume of manuscripts, with which it had evidently been bound up by mistake. Since then, another copy has been discovered in the library at Holkam Hall, the seat of the Earl of Leicester. 2 A BOOKE IN ENGLYSH METRE, of th e Great Marchaunt man called "Dives Prag- maticus". . . . 1563. . . . With an introduction by Percy E. Newbery ; and remarks on the vocabulary and dialect with a glossary by Henry C. Wyld. 1910. 4to, pp. xxxviii, 16. 5s. net. *** The tract here reproduced is believed to be the sole surviving copy of a quaint little primer which had the laudable object of instructing the young in the names of trades, professions, ranks, and common objects of daily life in their own tongue. 3. A LITIL BOKE the whiche traytied andireherced manygode thinges necessaries for the . . . Pestilence . . . made by the . . . Bisshop of Arusiens. . . . [London], [1485 ?]. . . . With an introduction by Guthrie Vine. 1910. 4to, pp. xxxvi, 18. 5s. net. %* Of this httle tract, consisting of nine leaves, written by Benedict Kanuti, or Knutsson, Bishop of Vasteras, three separate editions are known, but only one 1 copy of each, and an odd leaf are known to have survived. There is no indication in any edition of the- place of printing, date or name of printer, but they are all printed in one of the five types employed by William de Machlinia, who printed first in partnership with John Lettou and afterwards alone in the City of London, at the time when William Caxton was at the most active period of his career at Westminster. WOODCUTS OF THE FIFTEENTH CENTURY IN THE JOHN RYLANDS LIBRARY. Reprod uced in facsimile. With an introduction and descriptive notes by Campbell Dodgson M.A. Folio. Ten plates, of which two are in colour, and 16 pp. of text, in a portfolio. 7s. 6d. net. *** Two of these woodcuts are of exceptional interest and importance, and have been known and celebrated for a century and a half, but have not hitherto been reproduced in a satisfactory manner by any of the modern photo-mechanical processes. The two woodcuts referred to represent " St. Christopher " and " The Annunciation," the former of which has acquired a great celebrity by reason of the date (1423) which it bears, land which, until recently, gave to it the unchallenged position of the first dated woodcut. THE ODES AND PSALMS OF SOLOMON. Facsimile in collotype of the original Syriac manuscript in the John Rylands Library, accompanied by a typographical reprint or trans- literation of the text, a revised translation in English Versicles, and an exhaustive introduction dealing with the variations of the fragmentary manuscripts in the British Museum, the accessory patristic testimonies, and a summary of the most important criticisms that have appeared since its first publication in 1909. By J. Rendel Harris, M.A., D.Litt., etc., Hon. Fellow of Clare College, Cambridge, and Alphonse Mingana, D.D. 2 vols. 4to. Vol. 1 : The text, with facsimile reproductions. 10s. 6d. net. Vol. 2 : Translation^and introduction. 10s. 6d. net. Shortly. THE ASCENT OF OLYMPUS. By Rendel Harris. Demy 8vo. Pp. 140. 20 Illus- trations. 5s. net. ** A reprint, with corrections, expansions, justifications, and additional illustrations, of the four articles on Greek Mythology, which have appeared in the " Bulletin '' from time to time. THE JOHN RYLANDS 'LIBRARY LECTURES. Demy 8vo. jls. net each. THE YOUTH OF VERGIL. By R. S. Conway, Litt.D. Pp. 28. NATIONAL AND INTERNATIONAL IDEALS IN THE ENGLISH POETS. By C. H. Herford, M.A., Litt.D. Pp. 24. SOME NOTES ON SHAKESPEARE'S STAGE AND PLAYS. By William Poel, Founder of the Elizabethan 1 Stage Society. Pp. 16. 3 Illustrations. THE INFLUENCE OF ANCIENT EGYPTIAN CIVILIZATION IN THE EAST AND IN AMERICA. By G. Elliot Smith, M.A., M.D., F.R.S. Pp. 32. 7 Illus- trations. THE MODERN GREEK AND HIS ANCESTRY. By Alfred Thumb, Dr.Phil., Litt.D. Pp. 27. A MEDI/EVAL BURGLARY. By T. F. Tout, M.A., F.B.A. Pp. 24. 2 Illustrations. THE ENGLISH CIVIL SERVICE IN THE FOURTEENTH CENTURY. By T. F. Tout, M.A., F.B.A. Pp. 32. BULLETIN OF THE JOHN RYLANDS LIBRARY. A quarterly publication, which in addition to notes and news respecting the Library, with lists of the most recent additions to the shelves, includes original articles by leading scholars, which are of permanent value and interest. Is. net. Photomount Pamphlet Bind Gaylord Br( Makers Syracuse, PAT. JAN 21, er In: N. Y. 090.9 qJ 65 v.4 no.l pt.I P4- fTameg Hope Moul I on 0.9 cJ65 v.4 no.l Pt.l P 4446 7