THE SCRIPTS OF
CLEOPHAS by Geraldine Cummins 1928 / 296 pages.
With the unearthing of ancient writings found in caves
near the dead sea, man’s knowledge of early
Christian life has been enhanced. Now the publication of
a new edition of "The Scripts of Cleophas",
whilst originating in a manner far removed from that of
the dead sea scrolls, bears equal authenticity and sheds
further light on the people and places of early Christian
times. The scripts contain material which both
supplements and explains what we know of the new
testament, and supplies information which the bible
furnishes either incompletely, or not at all. They
supplement the acts of the apostles, and the Epistles of
St. Paul, in that they furnish an account of the early
Church and the Apostles, immediately following the death
of Christ. Normally, Miss Cummins is not a rapid writer,
and has to work rather laboriously, and with many
connections, to produce 600 or 700 words in a couple of
days. When producing these Scripts, Miss Cummins placed
her left hand over her eyes, the elbow resting on the
table; the right hand is thus free to hold the pencil
over a wad of single foolscap sheets. In a few minutes
she appears to lapse into a condition of semi-trance, and
her pencil travels over the paper rapidly, producing
legible and perfectly intelligible script. Someone at her
side removes each page as it is covered, exposing a clear
sheet of paper. Generally this automatic writing is
without pause or correction. No t’s are crossed, no
I’s dotted, as the pencil never leaves the surface
of the paper. The speed attained as contrasted with Miss
Cummins normal rate of writing is very remarkable. On one
occasion 2,230 words were written without a pause in one
hour and thirty eight minutes. Later in the presence of
Dr. Percy Dearmer, and the Honorable Edward Russell, and
two other witnesses, 1,750 words were written in one hour
and five minutes. On another occasion, over 2,600 words
of close narrative that required no correction have been
written at a sitting. The speed of the writing and the
length of the sittings vary with the physical and mental
conditions. The usual time for uninterrupted writing is a
little over one and a half hours.
