Page:Apocryphal Gospels and Other Documents Relating to the History of Christ.djvu/144

28 are directly rendered from the Greek of the LXX. The original may have been in Greek; certainly there is good reason for believing it not to have been in Hebrew. No one translating from Hebrew into Latin would be likely to go to the LXX. for his rendering of texts of Scripture

The writer repeats with many variations from the Protevangelium, the story of Mary's parents, birth, and infancy (chaps, i.–viii.). He then narrates the Annunciation and the events which followed till the birth of Jesus (chaps, ix.–xiii.). After these he gives us accounts of the Circumcision, the visit of the Magi, the slaughter of the infants, and the flight into Egypt (chaps, xiv.–xvii.). The journey to Egypt and sojourn there (chaps, xviii.–xxv.) are followed by a series of miraculous deeds which Jesus is said to have performed in his childhood (chaps. xxvi.–xlii.). The miraculous element is puerile and ridiculous, and shows clearly that the author or authors ill understood the true spirit of Christ.