Page:The Apocryphal New Testament (1924).djvu/105

 Gospel of Thomas. It is found in the mediaeval French and English Histories of the Infancy, and doubtless in other vernacular versions. I give a rendering from the Milan MS.

It came to pass on a day that the blessed Virgin Mary went unto the house of a certain neighbour of hers which was of the craft of a dyer. And the child Jesus, her glorious son, followed her as is the wont of boys to follow their mothers. Now while the Virgin Mary spake with the man unto whom she had come, the child Jesus went unto the place wherein that man was wont to practise his trade, and found there divers vessels containing several dyes; and likewise he found divers cloths belonging to many men, which those men had given to be dyed. All the which cloths the child took and wrapped them together and sunk all of them in a vessel wherein was only a black dye.

Now when this thing which he had done came to the knowledge of that man, he began to be sore vexed and to complain greatly against the mother of Jesus. And he said to his mother: Alas! behold what thy son hath done: he hath brought all my labour to_nought. But know thou this for certain, that the child shall not be let go by me till the damage that he hath done be made good. But the mother of Jesus when she heard these things from the man began to say unto her son: My beloved son, what hast thou done? wherefore hast thou done this? for I hoped that I should have great joy of thee: for I know how I had thee (=received thee?). But thou, whereas thou oughtest to make me glad in all things, as thou hast done alway, now contrariwise makest me sad. The child Jesus answered his mother ⟨and said: Wherein have I grieved thee?⟩. The blessed virgin said unto him: See, thou hast destroyed all the labour of this man. But Jesus said unto her: How have I destroyed it? His mother answered and said unto him: Because, whereas he had the cloths from many men to give to each one of their cloths a several dye, thou hast made of all of them a dye of one colour. Now, therefore, I must amend that which thou hast done. But the beautiful child Jesus when he heard that came near to the vessel wherein he had cast the cloths, and according to the will of the master he drew thereout every cloth dyed of a several colour and gave them unto the man.

And when that man saw it, together with the mother of the Lord, he glorified the child, and they had him in great admiration. But the virgin, the mother of the Lord, embraced her son in her arms and kissed him, and so being filled with great joy returned to her house with Christ her son.

This does not occur in known Greek or Latin texts, but is in the Arabic Gospel (ch. 40), the Syriac History (Budge), and also in the French and English mediaeval versions (in which the children are