Page:Apocryphal Gospels and Other Documents Relating to the History of Christ.djvu/333



seems proper to insert in this place a few minor compositions, which belong, chronologically, to the period of our Saviour's ministry.

1. The Correspondence between Abgar, King of Edessa, and Jesus. — This is inserted by Eusebius at the end of Book I. of his Ecclesiastical History, as derived from the original Syriac in the archives of Edessa. Recent discoveries of what seems to be a further portion of the same document, have led me to believe that the correspondence was forged about the middle of the third century.

2. The Epistle of Lentulus. — I consider this not very ancient. It first appears attached to a printed edition of the works of Anselm and may be regarded as a modification of preceding attempts to determine the personal appearance of Jesus. The composition of it almost certainly falls between the age of Nicephorus (14th cent.), and the year 1500. No such person as Lentulus occupied the position indicated