PREFACE

“Ancient Syriac Documents relative to the earliest establishment of Christianity in Edessa etc., London 1864,” and may they provide the necessary stimulus to those who study Syriac literature, so that they may at long last bring the entire Chronicle to light.

Regarding the punctuation of the manuscripts, which has been religiously rendered in this book, I refer the reader to the preface of the Reverend Payne Smith’s "S. Cyrilli Alexandrini Commentarium in Lucam" (pp. viii ff.).

I hope to complete the Latin version of this book in a short time; whatever must be prefaced and annotated regarding individual chapters will be found in that version. However, it is not for us to judge what value this book has for the advancement of Syriac studies, for the elucidation of ecclesiastical history, or for the vindication of the antiquity of Christian doctrine.

Finally, I cannot fail to mention Dr. William Wright, custodian of the Syriac manuscripts at the British Museum, and the Reverend Robert Payne Smith, Regius Professor of Divinity at the University of Oxford and Canon of Christ Church, formerly Sub-Librarian of the Bodleian Library, who voluntarily and with the greatest readiness offered to collate the printed proof sheets with the manuscripts again. I am glad that I can publicly offer my greatest thanks to these friends for this matter.