DrW wrote:Chap,
Thanks for posting these letters with some observations. These certainly provides some context for JSJr's "Caractors" and indicate something important about Martin Harris' less than sterling character as well.
Anthon's description in the letter of Joseph Smith's followers as "deluded" is coming someone who should know.
For convenience of comparison, here is the standard account of Martin Harris's visit to Anthon in Joseph Smith, History of the Church:
The narrative opens in late 1827, so Harris's visit to New York takes place in 1828. The earliest likely date for the writing of this narrative seems to be 1838, several years after Anthon's first letter.
62 By this timely aid was I enabled to reach the place of my destination in Pennsylvania; and immediately after my arrival there I commenced copying the characters off the plates. I copied a considerable number of them, and by means of the aUrim and Thummim I translated some of them, which I did between the time I arrived at the house of my wife’s father, in the month of December, and the February following.
63 Sometime in this month of February, the aforementioned Mr. Martin Harris came to our place, got the characters which I had drawn off the plates, and started with them to the city of New York. For what took place relative to him and the characters, I refer to his own account of the circumstances, as he related them to me after his return, which was as follows:
64 “I went to the city of New York, and presented the characters which had been translated, with the translation thereof, to Professor Charles Anthon, a gentleman celebrated for his literary attainments. Professor Anthon stated that the translation was correct, more so than any he had before seen translated from the Egyptian. I then showed him those which were not yet translated, and he said that they were Egyptian, Chaldaic, Assyriac, and Arabic; and he said they were true characters. He gave me a certificate, certifying to the people of Palmyra that they were true characters, and that the translation of such of them as had been translated was also correct. I took the certificate and put it into my pocket, and was just leaving the house, when Mr. Anthon called me back, and asked me how the young man found out that there were gold plates in the place where he found them. I answered that an angel of God had revealed it unto him.
65 “He then said to me, ‘Let me see that certificate.’ I accordingly took it out of my pocket and gave it to him, when he took it and tore it to pieces, saying that there was no such thing now as ministering of aangels, and that if I would bring the plates to him he would translate them. I informed him that part of the plates were bsealed, and that I was forbidden to bring them. He replied, ‘I cannot read a sealed book.’ I left him and went to Dr. Mitchell, who sanctioned what Professor Anthon had said respecting both the characters and the translation.”
The account of Smith copying 'Caractors' from the plates is a corroboration of what Anthon says Harris told him. The statement that Anthon was shown a translation together with the transcription is however not consistent with Anthon's account. There seems no reason for Anthon to have denied seeing a translation if he had been shown one, and it is notable that while a transcription of what is said to have been shown to Anthon is said to have survived, unaccountably no-one seems to have bothered to preserve the supposed translation. (How on earth a MS can have consisted of a mixture of "Egyptian, Chaldaic, Assyriac, and Arabic" and still had ANY translation, let alone a 'correct' translation is beyond me.)