Ann. Dom. 61, &c.

A. M. 4065, lita, now Malta; and the natives of the place received them with great civility &c. or 5472. and kindness, making them fires to dry their wet clothes, and cherish their benumbed limbs; but, as Paul was throwing some sticks upon the fire |, a viper, dislodged by the heat, came out from among them, and fastened on his hand; which, when the natives saw, they immediately concluded, that he was some notorious malefactor or murderer, whom the Divine vengeance (though it suffered him to escape the sea) had reserved for a more public and solemn execution. But when they saw him shake off the venemous creature into the fire, and no manner of harm ensue, they changed their sentiments to the other extreme, and cried out, that he was a god." +2 Not far from this place was the residence of

Publius, the governor of the island,

tempt that did not speak their language, or that did not speak it correctly, and without the mixture of any other dialect; and this is the reason why St Paul's company, who were all Greeks or Latins, called the Maltese barbarians. Calmet's Commentary, and Beausobre's Annotations.

in the year of our Lord 1530. These knights, ac-
cording to their institution, are in number a thousand,
whereof five hundred are to be resident in the island,
and the other five hundred are dispersed through
Christendom, in their several seminaries, which are
in France, Italy, and Germany, as there was one like
wise in England before it was suppressed by Henry
VIII. Each of these seminaries hath over it a
grand prior. He that is chief of the whole order is
styled great master of the hospital of St John of Je-
rusalem, and the others commonly called knights hos-
pitallers, from whom many places that formerly be-
longed to them here in England do still retain some
thing of their name, by being called in short Spitals.
[The order of the knights of Malta is now dissolved,
and the island under the dominion of the British mo-
narch; but it could hardly be the island on which St
Paul was shipwrecked, for the vessel was then in
Adria-the Adriatic gulph, from which Malta lies too
far to the south to be the island in question. In the
opinion of Bryant, which Hales has judiciously adopt
ed, the island, on which the apostle was wrecked, was
on the Illyrian coast, near Corcyra Nigra, and an-
ciently called Mixin; Melida or Melede, and by the
Sclavonians Mleet; the inhabitants of which merited
the title of barbarians in the worst sense of the word,
though then, by the good Providence of God, they
shewed to the shipwrecked no small kindness.]
Wells's Geography of the New Testament, Bryant's
Observations and Enquiries relating to Various Parts
of Ancient History, and Hales's Analysis, &c.

That the people of Malta were originally a colony
of the Carthaginians, is manifest from several old in-
scriptions that are there to be seen in the Punic cha-
racter; and from the present language of the natives,
which differs very little from Arabic. At Valette in
deed, which is the principal city in this island, the
inhabitants speak Italian likewise; and the reason of
this is, because the knights hospitallers have settled
their abode here; but the country people have no
knowledge of this tongue; and though in this place
there are two Greek parishes, yet these are only for
the Grecians, descendants of those who quitted Rhodes
when these knights were expelled by the Turks, and
followed their fortune to Malta. The Sicilians and
Africans had a long contest for the property of this
island; but at length the Romans became masters of
it, though, when they had it, they never attempted to
introduce their own language. They, however, as
well as the Grecks, held all nations in a kind of con-

|| Vipera quasi vivipara (a sort of serpent, so called, because it brings forth its young alive) is but a small creature (the largest not above half an ell long, and an inch thick), but so very poisonous, that the bite of it will sometimes kill a person in a moment, or cause a sudden inflammation all over the body, as the people of Malta we see expected of St Paul, Acts xxviii. 6. The people of that island, however, have a tradition, that ever since the time that the apostle was bitten by one, whatever vipers are found there have no venom in them; and that some of them, when, out of curiosity, carried into Sicily, become as poisonous as others, but when brought back to Malta again, lose all their venomous quality. Nay, they add further, that as there are great numbers of petrified vipers and other serpents in this island, those who carry pieces of these about them, will be preserved from the biting of any venomous animal; and that those who for want of them chance to be bit, may certainly be cured, by taking some of the powder of one of the petrifactions mingled in a little water. Calmet's Commentary and Dictionary under the word Malta.

+ Hercules was one of the gods whom the people of this island worshipped, and to him they ascribed the power of curing the bite of serpents. Beausobre's Annotations.

That he was governor of the island is highly probable from an inscription found there, and set down by Grotius, wherein the FOTO MEAITAION is reckoned among the Roman officers, and that both he, and most of the people under him, were converted to the Christian faith, is the joint opinion of St Chrysostom, and some other Greek authors; whereas Ado, with several Latin writers, affirms, that Publius, joining himself to St Paul, was by him made a bishop, and sent to preach the Gospel; and that coming to Athens, he there settled, governed that church in the quality of their bishop for some time, and then ended his life by martyrdom. But this is a mistaken piece of history, since the Publius, who was the bishop of Athens, did not suffer martyrdom till the time of Marcus Aurelius. Cave's Lives of the Apostles, and Calmet's Commentary.

10. to the end.

who entertained this shipwrecked company with great hospitality for three days; in ac- From Acts i. knowledgment of which, St Paul, by his prayers, and the imposition of his hands, recovered his father from a fever and bloody-flux; and several others of the inhabitants, afflicted with any kind of disease, he restored to their former health and strength; for which they not only shewed him the highest marks of their esteem, but furnished both him and his company with all necessaries proper for the rest of their voyage.

After three months stay in this island, the centurion and his charge went on board the † Castor and Pollux, a ship of Alexandria, bound for Italy. At Syracuse they put in, and tarried three days; thence sailed to †2 Rhegium, and so to Puteoli, where they landed; and finding some Christians there, at their request stayed a week with them, and then set forward in their journey to Rome. The Christians of this city,

These were two brothers, sons of Jupiter and Leda, who (as the poets fable) sprung from the same egg, and are therefore represented as having each the half of an egg shell in his hand, because it is pretended, that Jupiter conversed with their mother in the form of a swan, These two brothers were of great reputation for their valour, and particularly for the wars which they waged against the corsairs and pirates, for which they had Divine honours paid them, being the peculiar deities of mariners, to whom they made their vows in every voyage, and whose assistance they implored in every storm. Among the ancients it was the custom to have the image of some creature or other painted or engraven upon the prow of every ship of burden, from which the vessel had its name: And hence the poets have given it out, that Europa was carried away by a bull, and Ganymede by an eagle, and that Phryxus rode over the Euxine Sea on a ram, because the ships employed in the voyages had such creatures for their ensigns, and from them borrowed their names. But, besides all this, it was usual with the ancients to have some god or other generally painted upon the stern, as the patron or tutelary god of the vessel; and therefore we may observe, that the same ship which Virgil calls the Tiger, because of the image of that animal on its prow, Erata princeps secat Equora Tigri, had on its stern the image of Apollo,

Aurato fulgebat Apolline Puppis.

ing divided into four parts, Acradino, Tyche, Neapo-
lis, and the island of Ortygia. The first of these
contained in it the famous temple of Jupiter; the se-
cond, the temple of Fortune; the third, a large am-
phitheatre, and a wonderful statue of Apollo in the
midst of a spacious square; and the fourth, the two
temples of Diana and Minerva, and the renowned
fountain of Arethusa. About two hundred and ten
years before the birth of Christ, this city was taken
and sacked by Marcellus the Roman general, and, in
storming the place, Archimedes, the great mathema-
tician, who is esteemed the first inventor of the
sphere, and who during the siege had sorely galled
the Romans with his military engines, was slain by a
common soldier while he was intent upon his studies.
After it was thus destroyed by Marcellus, Augustus
rebuilt that part of it which stood upon the island,
and, in time, it so far recovered itself as to have three
walls, three castles, and a marble gate, and to be able
to set out twelve thousand horse, and four hundred
ships. But the blow which the Saracens gave it,
A. D. 884. when they razed it to the ground, it even
feels to this day. Whitby's Alphabetical Table, and
Wells's Geography of the New Testament.

+ Rhegium, now called Reggio, is a port town in
Italy, opposite to Messina in Sicily, and is thought
to have had this name given it by the Greeks, who
suppose, that much about this place Sicily was bro-
ken off from the continent of Italy by the sea. At
present it is an archbishop's see, and a considerable
place for trade, though it has several times formerly
been surprised and plundered by the Turks. Wells's
Geography of the New Testament.

This place, which is now commonly called Poz. zuoli, is a city in Terra di Lavoro (a province in the kingdom of Naples), situated upon an hill, in a creek of the sea, and just opposite to Baia (on the other side of the creek), a place of great renown among the Roman writers. Within the bounds of this city there are five and thirty natural baths of different sorts of warm waters, very useful for the cure of several diseases; and from these baths, or pits of water, called in Latin, Putei, the town is said to have taken its name. At present it is a bishop's see, under the archbishop of Naples, and in it are to be seen many Roman antiquities, and natural rarities, not easily to be found elsewhere. Wells's Geography of the New

Testament.

Eneid x. But whether this Castor and Pollux was painted or engraven on the prow or stern of the ship, it is plain that St Paul was not so superstitious as to refuse to sail in it, nor St Luke to make mention of it upon that account. Calmet's Dictionary and Commentary, Hammond's and Whitby's Annotations.

This was a city of Sicily, seated on the east side of the island, with a fine prospect from every entrance both by sea and land. Its port, which had the sea on both sides of it, was almost all of it environed with beautiful buildings, and all that part of it which was without the city, was on both sides banked up, and sustained with very fair walls of marble. The city itself, while in its splendor, was the largest and richest that the Greeks possessed in any part of the world. For (according to Strabo) it was two and twenty miles in circumference, and both Livy and Plutarch inform us, that the spoil of it was equal to that of Carthage. It was called Quadruplex, as be

&c. or 5472. Ann. Dom. 61, &c.

A. M. 4065, hearing of the apostle's coming, went out to meet him, some as far as * Appii-forum, and others as far as the † Three Taverns; which, when he saw, he blessed God, and took courage. They all conducted him in a kind of triumph into the city; where, when they were arrived, the rest of the prisoners were delivered over to the || captain of the guard, but Paul was permitted to stay in a private house, only 2 with one soldier for his ward.

Three days after his arrival at Rome, St Paul sent for the heads of the Jewish consistory there, and to them related the cause of his coming; viz. "That though he had been guilty of no violation of the laws of their religion, yet, by the Jews at Jerusalem, he had been delivered into the hands of the Roman governors, who more than once would have acquitted him as innocent of any capital offence, but that, by the perverseness of his persecutors, he was constrained (not with any intention to accuse his own nation, but only to clear and vindicate himself) to make his appeal to the emperor.” Having thus removed a popular prejudice, and insinuated the cause of his suffering to be that which their own religion had taught him, viz. "the belief and expectation of a future resurrection," he gained so far upon their affections, as to have a second conference by their own appointment, for explaining the principles of Christianity to them. Accordingly, when they were met together, he discoursed to them from morning to night, concerning the religion and doctrine of the holy Jesus, proving, from the promises and predictions of the Old Testament, that he was the true Messias: But the success of his discourse was different, some being convinced, and others persisting in their infidelity; so that they parted with no small difference and disagreement among themselves.

For two whole years Paul dwelt at Rome, in an house which he hired for his own use, wherein he constantly employed himself in preaching and writing for the good of the church. He preached daily without interruption, and with good success, insomuch, that his imprisonment very much redounded to the propagation of the Gospel, and

This place, at present called Cassarilla di St Ma-
ria, was an ancient city of the Volsci, about fifty miles
distant from Rome, and is probably thought to have
had its name from the statue of Appius Claudius, (that
Roman consul who paved the famous way from Rome
to Capua) which was set up here. Wells's Geogra-
Wells's Geogra-
phy of the New Testament, and Calmet's Commen-
tary.
This was another place that stood upon the Ap-
pian Way, about thirty miles distant from Rome; and
that it was a city properly so called, and not a parcel
of inns only for the reception and entertainment of
travellers, is evident from its being an Episcopal See
in the time of Constantine; for among the nineteen
bishops who were delegated by that emperor to de-
cide the controversy between Donatus and Cæcilia-
nus, "Felix à tribus tabernis," Felix, bishop of the
city called Tres Taberna, was one. And indeed, if
we will allow of Scaliger's interpretation of the word
Tabernæ, viz. that it was the name of the frontier-
towns which were built against the incursions of the
barbarians; Zosimus [Hist. 1. 2. pt. 65.] acquaints
us, that Dioclesian every where erected such, on the
borders of the Roman empire, and we have reason to
think, that the like was done in earlier times by other
emperors; and that therefore the Tres Tabernæ,
where the Sauromatæ (as Ausonius tells us) had their
habitations assigned them, in order to garrison and
defend these places, were such. Iammond's Anno-
tations.

|| This στρατοπεδάρχης or chief commander of the emperor's guards, is generally supposed to have been Burrhus, whom Claudius made his prætorian prefect, A. D. 51. He had a great hand in advancing Nero to the empire, and while he lived, had so much influence or authority over him, as to keep his evil inclinations under some sort of restraint; but he died A. D. 62, about two years after St Paul's arrival at Rome, leaving behind him (according to the account of historians) a great reputation for wisdom and moderation. Échard's Ecclesiastical History, and Calmet's Commentary.

+ The manner of the soldier's guarding the pri soner among the Romans was, by having a chain at one end fastened to the prisoner's right-hand, and at the other to the soldier's left, and this made so long that they might conveniently go together: But sometimes, for greather security, the prisoner was guarded with two soldiers, and so had two chains, one of them made fast to one soldier, and the other to the other, Acts xii. 6, 7. and Acts xxi. 33. Whitby's and Hammond's Annotations.

Hence it appears, that the edict of Claudius, which banished the Jews from Rome, was of no long continuance, but probably expired with his life; because we find, by St Paul's epistle to the Romans, which he wrote about two years before his going a mong them, that there were great numbers both of Jews and Christians then residing at Rome. Beausobre's Annotations, and Calmet's Commentary.

made him famous even in the emperor's court, where he converted several to Christia- From Acts i. nity.

10. to the end.

Among other of the apostle's converts at Rome was one † Onesimus, who had formerly been a servant to || Philemon, a person of distinction +2 in Colosse, but had run away from his master, and taken things of some value with him. He rambled as far as Rome, where, by St Paul's means, he was converted, instructed, and baptized, and afterwards became highly serviceable to him in his imprisonment. But being another man's servant, he sent him back to Colosse, and, at the same time, wrote a short

A. M. 4066,. letter to his master, †

66

&c. or 5473. Ann. Dom. 62, &c.

Earnestly desiring him to pardon him, and, notwithstanding his former faults, to treat him kindly, and use him as a brother; and promising withal, that if he had wronged or owed him any thing, he himself would not fail to repay it."

The Christians of Philippi, having heard of St Paul's imprisonment at Rome, and not knowing what straits he might be reduced to, raised a contribution for him, and sent it by Epaphroditus *, their bishop, by whom he returned an epistle † to them: “Wherein he gives some account of the state of his affairs at Rome; gratefully acknowledges their kindness to him; warns them against the dangerous opinions which the Judaizing teachers began to vent among them; and advises them to live in continual obedience to Christ; to avoid disputations, to delight in prayer, to be courageous under afflictions, united in love, and clothed with humility, in imitation of the Blessed Jesus, who so far humbled himself, as to become obedient to death, even to the death of the cross."

St Paul had, for three years, lived at Ephesus, taking great pains in preaching the Gospel, and was thoroughly acquainted with the state and condition of the place; and therefore now, taking the opportunity of Tychicus's || going thither, he wrote his epistle to the Ephesians; "Wherein he endeavours to countermine the principles

tive, with the rest of St Paul's works? Chrysost. Ar-
gum. Epist. ad Philem. Calmet's, Beausobre's, and
Whitby's Pref. ad eandem.

For the case of servants in those days was very
hard. All masters were looked upon, not only by
the Roman laws, but by the laws of all nations, as
having an unlimited power over them; so that, with
out asking the magistrate's leave, or any public or
formal trial, they might adjudge them to any work
or punishment, even to the loss of life itself, if they
pleased. The exorbitancy of this power, however,
was, in some measure, curbed by the laws of suc-
ceeding emperors, (especially after they became
Christians) which make better provision for persons
in that relation and capacity, and in case of unjust
and over-rigorous usage, enable them to appeal to
a more righteous tribunal, where master and ser-
vant shall both stand upon even ground, "where
he that doeth wrong shall receive for the wrong
which he hath done, and there is no respect of per-
sons," Col. iii. 25. Cave's Lives of the Apostles.

* St Paul_calls him the "apostle of the Philippians," which some, taking the word apostle in its literal sense for a messenger only, do suppose that Epaphroditus is so called, because he was appointed by the Philippians to carry money to St Paul, who was then in prison at Rome, and in their name to be serviceable to him in his person. But Theodoret, and others of the fathers, who have written upon the epistle to the Philippians, tell us, that he was the person ὦ τῶν ψυχῶν αὐτῶν ἐπιστεύθη ἐπιμέλεια, “ to whom the care of their souls had been committed," and consequently their bishop; for it is more feasible to make him bishop of Philippi than of any other place, as some have done. Whitby's Preface to the Epistle to the Philippians, and Calmet's Commentary on chap. ii. 25.

Of all the epistles which St Paul wrote, there is none so full of affection and tender sentiments as this to the Philippians, who, (it must be owned) upon

the account of their constancy in the faith, as we'l as their zeal for the apostle and concern for his sufferings, deserved such kind treatment; and there. fore, so far is he from censuring or reproving them, (as he usually does other churches) that we find him abounding in their praise and commendation. A good argument this (as St Chrysostom remarks) of their virtuous behaviour, that they gave their teacher no cause to complain, but that the whole epistle which he sent them contains nothing but kind exhortations and encouragements, without the least mixture of sharpness or reproof. Beausobre's Preface sur l'Epitre aux Philip.

Tychicus was of the province of Asia, and a disciple of St Paul, whom he frequently employed to carry his letters to several churches, as that to the Colossians, written in 61; that to the Ephesians, written in 65; and the first to Timothy, written in 64. Nor did he employ him merely to carry his letters, but to learn likewise the state of the several churches to which he sent him, and to bring him proper intelligence from thence; and for this reason he calls him his " dear brother, a faithful minister in the Lord, and his companion in the service of God," Eph. vi. 21, 22. and Col. iv. 7, 8. For this reason he had once thoughts of sending him to Crete, to preside over that church in the absence of Titus, chap. iii. 12. as it is probably supposed, that when he sent him with his letter to Ephesus, he ordered him to abide there, and to govern that church, while Timothy, their proper bishop, was absent with him at Rome. But when St Paul was restored to his liberty, whether this disciple of his attended him in his travels, or was constituted bishop of Colophon, in the province of Asia, as some report, we have no account that may be depended on. Calmet's Dictionary un

der the Word.

+3 The heretic Marcion (as Tertullian, adv. Mar. lib. v. c. 17. informs us) pretended, that this epistle was not written to the Ephesians, but to the Laodi