Contents.
PAGES
| CHAPTER XIII. THE VOYAGE TO JERUSALEM | 283-313 |
| i. The Second European Journey, 283. 2. The Contribu- | |
| tion of the Four Provinces, 286. 3. The Voyage to | |
| Troas, 289. 4. Eutychus, 290. 5. The Voyage to | |
| Caesareia, 291. 6. Caesareia and Jerusalem, 301. 7. | |
| The Crisis in the Fate of Paul and cf the Church, 303. | |
| 8. Finances of the Trial, 310. Note. Procuratorship | |
| of Felix, 313. | |
| CHAPTER XIV. THE VOYAGE TO ROME | 314-343 |
| i. Caesareia to Myra, 314. 2. Myra to Fair Havens, 320. | |
| 3. The Council, 321. 4. The Storm, 326. 5. Drifting, | |
| 330. 6. Land, 333. 7. Paul s Action on the Ship, 336. | |
| 8. On Shore, 339. 9. Malta, 342. | |
| CHAPTER XV. ST. PAUL IN ROME | 344-362 |
| i. The Coming to Rome, 344. 2. The Residence in Rome, | |
| 349. 3. Seneca and Paul, 353. 4. The Trial, 356. | |
| 5. Last Trial and Death of Paul. 360. Note. Text of | |
| XXVIII 16, 362. | |
| CHAPTER XVI. CHRONOLOGY OF EARLY CHURCH | |
| HISTORY 30-40 A.D. | 363-382 |
| i The State of the Church in A.D. 30, 363. 2. Trustworthi - | |
| ness of the Narrative, Acts I-V, 367. 3. Appoint | |
| ment of Stephen and the Seven, 372. 4. Philip the | |
| Evangelist and Peter, 377. 5. Paul in Judaea and | |
| Arabia, 379. | |
| CHAPTER XVII. COMPOSITION AND DATE OF ACTS | 383-390 |
| i. Hypothesis of the "Travel-Document," 383. 2. Date of | |
| the Composition of Acts, 386. 3. Theophilus, 388. | |
| 4. The Family of Luke, 389. | |
| MAP. THE PAULINE WORLD, in pocket at end. | |
ST. PAUL.
CHAPTER I
THE ACTS OF THE APOSTLES
1. TRUSTWORTHINESS. The aim of our work is to treat its subject as a department of history and of literature. Christianity was not merely a religion, but also, a system of life and action; and its introduction by Paul amid the society of the Roman Empire produced changes of momentous consequence, which the historian must study. What does the student of Roman history find in the subject of our investigation? How would an observant, educated, and unprejudiced citizen of the Roman Empire have regarded that new social force, that new philosophical system, if he had studied it with the eyes and the temper of a nineteenth century investigator?
As a preliminary the historian of Rome must make up his mind about the trustworthiness of the authorities. Those which we shall use are:(1) a work of history commonly entitled the Acts of the Apostles (the title does not originate from the author), (2) certain Epistles purporting to be written by Paul. Of the latter we make only slight and incidental use; and probably even those who dispute their authenticity would admit that the facts we use are trustworthy, as being the settled belief of the Church at a very early period. It is, therefore, unnecessary to touch on the authenticity of the Epistles; but the question as to the date, the composition, and the author of the Acts must be
The Acts of the Apostles CHAP. I
discussed. If the main position of this book is admitted, it will furnish a secure basis for the Epistles to rest on. Works that profess to be historical are of various kinds and trustworthy in varying degrees. (1) There is the historical romance, which in a framework of history interweaves an invented tale. Some of the Apocryphal tales of the Apostles are of this class, springing apparently from a desire to provide Christian substitutes for the popular romances of the period. (2) There is the legend, in which popular fancy, working for generations, has surrounded a real person and real events with such a mass of extraneous matter that the historical kernel is hardly discernible. Certain of the Apocryphal tales of the Apostles may belong to this class, and many of the Acta of martyrs and saints certainly do. (3) There is the history of the second or third rate, in which the writer, either using good authorities carelessly and without judgment, or not possessing sufficiently detailed and correct authorities, gives a narrative of past events which is to a certain degree trustworthy, but contains errors in facts and in the grouping and proportions, and tinges the narrative of the past with the colour of his own time. In using works of this class the modern student has to exercise his historical tact, comparing the narrative with any other evidence that can be obtained from any source, and judging whether the action attributed to individuals is compatible with the possibilities of human nature. (4) There is, finally, the historical work of the highest order, in which a writer commands excellent means of knowledge either through personal acquaintance or through access to original authorities, and brings to the treatment of his subject
SEC 1. Trustworthiness
genius, literary skill, and sympathetic historical insight into human character and the movement of events. Such an author seizes the critical events, concentrates the reader’s attention on them