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forth in this paffage, the arrival at Corinth of brethren from Macedonia during St. Paul's firft refidence in that city, is explicitly recorded, Act, chap. xviii. ver. 1,5: "After "these things Paul departed from Athens, "and came to Corinth. And when Silas "and Timotheus were come from Macedo"nia, Paul was preffed in spirit, and testi"fied to the Jews that Jefus was Chrift."

No. VII.

The above quotation from the Acts proves that Silas and Timotheus were affifting to St. Paul in preaching the gospel at Corinth. With which correfpond the words of the epistle (chap. i. ver. 19): "For the son of God, Jefus Chrift, who was preached

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among you by us, even by me, and Sylva

nus, and Timotheus, was not yea and nay, "but in him was yea." I do admit that the correfpondency, confidered by itself, is too direct and obvious; and that an impoftor with the history before him might, and probably would, produce agreements of the fame kind. But let it be remembered, that this reference is found in a writing, which from

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many difcrepancies, and especially from those noted No. II. we may conclude, was not compofed by any one who had confulted, and who purfued the history. Some obfervation alfo arifes upon the variation of the We read Silas in the Acts, Silvanus

name.

in the epistle. The fimilitude of these two names, if they were the names of different perfons, is greater than could eafily have proceeded from accident; I mean that it is not probable, that two perfons placed in fituations so much alike, should bear names fo nearly refembling each other*. On the other hand, the difference of the name in the two paffages negatives the fuppofition of the paffages, or the account contained in them, being transcribed either from the other.

No. VIII.

Chap. ii. ver. 12, 13.

"When I came

"to Troas to preach Chrift's gospel, and a "door was opened unto me of the Lord,

* That they were the fame perfon is farther confirmed by 1 Theff. chap. i. ver. 1, compared with Acts, chap. xvii. ver. 10.

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"I had no reft in my spirit, because I found "not Titus my brother; but taking my "leave of them, I went from thence into "Macedonia.'

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To establish a conformity between this paffage and the history, nothing more is neceffary to be prefumed, than that St. Paul proceeded from Ephefus to Macedonia, upon the fame course by which he came back from Macedonia to Ephesus, or rather to Miletus in the neighbourhood of Ephefus; in other words, that, in his journey to the peninsula of Greece, he went and returned the fame way. St. Paul is now in Macedonia, where he had lately arrived from Ephefus. Our quotation imports that in his journey he had stopped at Troas. Of this, the history says nothing, leaving us only the fhort account, "that Paul departed from Ephefus, for to go "into Macedonia.' But the history fays, that in his return from Macedonia to Ephefus, "Paul failed from Philippi to Troas; and that, when the difciples came together on the first day of the week to break bread, Paul preached unto them all night; that from Troas he went by land to Affos; from Affos,

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Affos, taking ship and coafting along the front of Afia Minor, he came by Mytelene to Miletus." Which account proves, first, that Troas lay in the way by which St. Paul paffed between Ephefus and Macedonia fecondly, that he had disciples there. In one journey between thefe two places, the epistle, and in another journey between thể fame places, the history makes him ftop at this city. Of the first journey he is made to fay," that a door was in that city opened

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unto him of the Lord;" in the fecond we

find difciples there collected around him, and the apoftle exercifing his miniftry, with,

what was even in him, more than ordinary zeal and labour. The epiftle therefore is in this inftance confirmed, if not by the terms, at least by the probability of the history; a species of confirmation by no means to be despised, because, as far it reaches, it is evidently uncontrived.

Grotius, I know, refers the arrival at Troas, to which the epistle alludes, to a different period, but I think very improbably; for nothing appears to me more certain, than that the meeting with Titus, which St. Paul expected

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expected at Troas, was the fame meeting which took place in Macedonia, viz. upon Titus's coming out of Greece. In the quotation before us, he tells the Corinthians, "When I came to Troas, I had no reft in

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my fpirit, because I found not Titus, my brother; but, taking my leave of them, I "went from thence into Macedonia." Then in the feventh chapter he writes, "When

66 we were come into Macedonia our fleth "had no reft, but we were troubled on every "fide; without were fightings, within were "fears; nevertheless God, that comforteth "them that are caft down, comforted us by "the coming of Titus." These two paffages plainly relate to the fame journey of Titus, in meeting with whom St. Paul had been disappointed at Troas, and rejoiced in Macedonia. And amongst other reasons which fix the former paffage to the coming of Titus out of Greece, is the confideration, that it was nothing to the Corinthians that St. Paul did not meet with Titus at Troas, were it not that he was to bring intelligence. from Corinth. The mention of the difappointment

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