rupted these writings is
fully proved by the silence of the prophets as well as of Christ and
His apostles, who, though they bring many heavy charges against them,
never once accuse them of corrupting one of their sacred writings; and
also by the agreement, in every essential point, of all the versions
and manuscripts, amounting to nearly 1,150, which are now extant, and
which furnishes a clear proof of their uncorrupted preservation."

[Illustration: PENTATEUCH, WRITTEN 3200 YEARS AGO.]

One of the most wonderful and ancient of these is the Pentateuch, as
represented in the cut below. Mr. Mills says of it: "The roll itself
is of what we would call parchment, but of a material much older than
that, written in columns twelve inches deep and seven and a half wide.
The writing is in a fair hand but not nearly so large or beautiful as
the book copies which I had previously examined. The writing being
rather small each column contains from seventy to seventy-two lines.
The name of the scribe is written in a kind of acrostic, and forms
part of the text, running through three columns and is found in the
book of Deuteronomy. It was the work of the great grandson of Aaron,
as indicated in the writing. The roll has all the appearance of a very
high antiquity, and is wonderfully well preserved, considering its
venerable age.

"One of the halves of the metal cylinder is very curious and deserves
more attention than it has received at the hands of Biblical
archaeologists. It is of silver, about two feet and six inches long, by
ten or twelve inches in diameter, and is covered with embossed work
with a descriptive legend attached to each portion. It proves to be
the Tabernacle of the Wilderness.

"In fact, the constant reading of the sacred books, which were at once
the rule of their faith and of their political constitution, in public
and private; the numerous copies of the original as well as of the
Septuagint version, which was widely spread over the world; the
various sects and parties into which the Jews were divided after their
canon was closed, as well as their dispersion into every part of the
globe, concurred to render any attempt at fabrication impossible
before the time of Christ, and after that period, the same books being
in the hands of the Christians, they would instantly have detected the
fraud of the Jews if they had endeavored to accomplish such a design,
while the silence of the Jews, who would not have fail