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*  ST  Paul  IN  Athens 


tihv<ivy  ofth^  theological  ^^mimry 

PRINCETON  •  NEW  JERSEY 
PRESENTED  BY 

Dr.    Wilbur  M.    Smith 


^-^/ 


.>A- 


•f  f    .^ir.!t,.^. 


St.  Paul 

IN 

Athens 

BY 

J.   R.  MACDUFF,  D.D. 


LONDON 
JAMES    NISBET   &   CO. 


ST.  PAUL  IN  ATHE 


THE   CITY  AND   THE  DISCOURSE. 


J.    R.   MACDUFF,   D.D. 


Al'THOK    OF 
[•AUL    IN    ROME,"    "  PROPHET   OF   FIRE,"    "' RIPPLES    IN    THE    TWILIGHT, 
ETC.    ETC. 


Gods  of  Hellas,  gods  of  Hellas, 

Can  ye  listen  in  your  silence?  _ 

Gods  bereaved,  gods  belated, 
With  your  purples  rent  asunder  ! 
Gods  discrowned  and  desecrated. 
Disinherited  of  thunder ! 
Not  a  sound  the  silence  thrills 
Of  the  everlasting  hills  : 

Pan,  Pan  is  dead. 

Sing  God's  truth  out,  fair  and  full, 
And  secure  Nis  '  Beautiful  ' — 
Let  Pan  be  dead." 

Mrs.  Barrett  Brcnvning: 


LONDON : 
JAMES  NISBET  &  CO.,  21  BERNERS  STREET. 

MDCCCLXXXVII. 


TO 

^be  ^cmor^  ot 
y.     WARRINGTON     WOOD. 

yCTLPTOR,    ROME: 
MEMBER   OF  THE    SOCIETV   OF   ST.    LUKE,    ETC.   : 

'lO    WHOM 

ATHENS 

WAS  EVER  A  SACRED  AND  INSPIRING  WORD  : 

^bis    Dolumc 

IN   ADJURATION   OF   HIS   GENIUS, 
AND  IN  TOKEN  OF  A  VALUED  FRIENDSHIP, 

IS 

5  n  6  c  r  i  b  e  t). 

OB.   DECEMBER  26,   188G. 


X  PREFACE. 

The  writer's  purpose,  as  the  title  indicates,  is 
to  give  a  Monograph  on  Athens  ;  but  Athens, 
in  connection  with  its  one  scriptural  episode  and 
association, — the  memorable  visit  of  the  Great 
Apostle  of  the  Gentiles,  and  his  Discourse  on  its 
Areopagus.  In  the  fulfilment  of  a  long-cherished 
purpose — though  in  many  respects  differing  in 
plan  and  treatment,  it  is  designed  to  form  a  com- 
panion to  what  was  published  many  years  ago, 
after  a  personal  sojourn  in  the  'City  of  the  Csesars' 
— "  St.  Paul  in  Eome." 

The  theme  of  the  present  Volume  is  twofold. 
*  Athens  and  St.  Paul '  would  probably  be  a 
name  more  strictly  accurate  as  regards  the  order 
of  sequence : — the  account  of  the  Great  City 
taking  precedence  of  the  Great  Discourse:  but 
the  other  title  is  retained,  as  more  in  harmony 
with  that  of  the  preceding  Work  just  referred  to. 
It  will,  moreover,  be  seen  that  the  local  descriptions 
and  the  Apostolic  visit  to  which  these  are  the 
settings,  are  not  treated  separately,  but  are  largely 
interblended. 

By  some  it  may  be  deemed  that  a  dispropor- 
tionate space  and  place  have   been  assigned,  in 


PREFACE,  xi 

the  earlier  chapters,  to  topography  and  art.  The 
writer  can  only  claim  the  indulgence  of  indulgent 
readers,  if  he  has  allowed  one  of  the  sunniest 
memories  of  life  and  travel,  and  a  fascinating  and 
congenial  subject,  to  occupy  more  detail  than 
might  otherwise  be  justified.  At  the  same  time 
he  cherishes  the  hope,  that  the  ample  delineations 
there  given,  may  help  to  lend  an  interest  to  the 
four  topics  which  follow,  and  into  which  the 
Apostolic  Address  seems  naturally  to  divide  itself. 
These  latter,  be  it  understood,  written  under  the 
inspiration,  or  at  all  events  the  remembrance  of 
Athenian  Areopagus  and  Attic  sky,  are  purposely 
not  cast  in  the  usual  conventional  Sermon-mould. 
They  were  neither  so  composed  nor  so  designed ; 
and,  as  such,  would  have  been  incongruous  with 
the  rest  of  the  Volume.  He  ventures  no  further 
apology  for  this — what  may  be  called  its  hybrid 
character.  To  secure  completeness  such  treat- 
ment was  unavoidable.  To  have  severed  the  two 
would  have  wrested  the  picture  from  the  frame, 
or  the  frame  from  the  picture.  If,  however,  to 
change  the  metaphor,  dual  chords,  he  hopes  at 
least  that  there  is  preserved  a  concerted  harmony. 


xii  PREFACE. 

Further  : — it  was  an  observation  he  has  somewhere 
seen  of  Dr.  Arnold  of  Rugby  (the  quotation  is 
from  memory) — that  a  desideratum  in  the  present 
day,  is  not  so  much  directly  religious  books,  as 
books  with  a  religious  tendency.  Though  this 
may  be  accepted  with  qualifications,  he  will  be 
glad,  if  in  the  scope  and  character  of  what  follows, 
he  has  been  able,  so  far  at  least,  to  follow  the 
suggestion  of  that  master  spirit  of  his  age. 

Obligations  are  in  their  place  acknowledged  to 
many  works  of  Historians,  Antiquarians,  Travel- 
lers, Theologians  :  and  in  many  instances,  instead 
of  giving  their  statements  at  second-hand,  it  has 
been  thought  preferable  to  let  them  speak  for 
themselves.  To  one  ancient  Author  he  owes,  in 
common  with  other  writers  on  the  same  theme, 
a  specific  reference.  The  Itinerary  of  Pausanias 
— (adverted  to  also  in  pages  12  and  13,  with  note,) 
— has  yielded  very  abundant  stores  to  explorers 
of  Athens  as  it  was  in  the  beginning  of  our  era. 
It  is  not  to  be  wondered  at,  that  a  mine  so  rich  in 
accurate  information,  derived  from  personal  travel 
and  observation,  should  have  been  diligently  ran- 
sacked by  most  modern  Biographers  of  St.  Paul, 


PREFACE.  xiii 

as  well  as  by  historical  and  art  writers.  If,  how- 
ever, others,  so  diverse  as  Flaxman  in  his  Lectures 
on  Sculpture,  Colonel  Leake,  in  the  admirable  open- 
ing chapters  of  his  "Topography,"  Mr.  Lewin,  and 
Howson  and  Conybeare,  have  utilised  his  pages, 
this  can  be  no  valid  reason  for  our  dispensing  with 
what  may  be  called  the  invaluable  aid  of  this  old 
Traveller  and  Archaeologist.^  No  treatment — not 
the  very  best — of  an  Apostolic  incident  in  itself 
unique,  can  be  exhaustive,  or  preclude  many  fresh 
side-lights  to  vivify  it  and  enhance  its  value.  It 
will  be  sufficient  reward  to  the  present  writer,  if 
he  can  substantiate,  in  any  humble  way,  a  claim 
to  these  ;  and  if  he  has  been  thus  enabled  more 
fully  to  illustrate  (or,  using  a  modern  term — photo- 
graph) one  of  the  most  memorable  portions  of 
sacred  story. 


1  The  best  testimony,  indeed,  to  the  value  of  the  ** Hdlados  Periegesis'*  of 
the  trustworthy  Lydian,  is  the  conspicuous  place  his  volume  or  volumes 
occupy  in  the  British  Museum  Library.  Page  after  page  of  the  Catalogue, 
to  those  who  care  to  consult  them,  will  be  found  filled  with  Editions,  from 
that  in  the  original  Greek  to  the  translation  of  Jahn,  used  and  valued 
recently  by  the  two  English  Princes  during  their  stay  at  Athens,  as  recorded 
in  the  graphic  pages  of  the  "Cruise  of  the  Bacchante."  There  is  a  good 
English  translation,  also,  with  notes,  in  three  volumes,  published  by  Priestley 
in  1824. 


xiv  PREFACE. 

*^*  Generally  speaking,  material  that  is  of 
secondary  and  subordinate  value  is  relegated  to 
footnotes,  which  on  that  account  are  passed  over 
and  seldom  read.  May  a  better  fate  be  claimed 
for  a  few  of  importance  and  interest  in  this  Volume, 
which  are  only  placed  where  they  are,  so  as  not 
unduly  to  cumber  the  text. 

The  woodcuts  of  the  Frontispiece  and  Title- 
page  are  from  excellent  photographs  brought  by 
the  Author  from  Athens.  Raphael's  great  picture 
has  been  adapted  as  the  initial  heading  of  this 
preface  :  but,  (perhaps  with  doubtful  liberty)  freed 
from  the  impossible  Temples  which  crowd  and  mar 
the  background  in  the  cartoon  of  the  Prince  of 
Painters.  There  has  been  substituted  the  truer 
outline  of  the  Acropolis  as  it  must  have  appeared 
in  St.  Paul's  time  ;  while  leaving  intact  the  noble 
grouping  of  the  figures  on  the  Areopagus. 


CONTENTS. 


part  n. 

HISTORICAL  AND  DESCRIPTIVE. 


PAGE 


I.    INTRODUCTORY 3 

II.    THE    AGORA 21 

III.    THE    AREOPAGUS 49 

IV.    EPITOME    OF    ST.    PAUL's    DISCOURSE      .  .  .  .77 


part  EU. 

DISCOURSE  ON  THE  AREOPAGUS  EXPANDED: 
WITH  ITS  FOURFOLD  THEME. 

I.  THE  GOD  OF  NATURE 107 

II.  THE  GOD  OF  PROVIDENCE 135 

III.  THE  GOD  OF  GRACE 157 

IV.  THE  GOD  OF  JUDGMENT  .     .     .     ,      .     .179 


Epilogue* 

RESULTS  OF  ST.  PAUL'S  DISCOURSE,  UITII  A  BRIEF  NOTICE  0? 
THE  SUBSEQUENT  HISTORY  OF  THE  CHURCH  FOUNDED 
BY    HIM    IN    ATHENS 199 


part  L 

HISTORICAL  AND  DESCRIPTIVE. 


I. 
3ntrobuctor^. 


*'  We,  at  Athen3,  are  lovers  of  the  beautiful." — Pencles. 

"That  city  which  was  the  envy  and  wonder  of  the  wovld.^'—Demades. 

"  There  still  survive  to  her  everlasting  possessions.  On  the  one  hand  the 
memory  of  her  exploits :  on  the  other  the  splendour  of  the  monuments 
consecrated  in  former  days." — Demosthenes. 

"  Rome  ranks  as  the  third  :  Athens  and  Jerusalem  as  the  other  two.  The 
three  people  of  God's  election  :  two  for  things  temporal  and  one  for  things 
eternal." — Dr.  Arnold. 


(     3     ) 


INTEODUCTORY. 

We  had  recently  been  on  the  track  of  other 
Biblical  scenes  and  memories.  A  few  days  before, 
while  sailing  among  the  Isles  of  the  Archipelago, 
a  distant  view  of  Patmos  was  obtained,  with  its 
serrated  outlines  and  undying  associations.  An 
appropriate  sequel  to  this  was  a  visit  to  the  ruins 
of  Ephesus,  identified  with  the  labours  and  sojourn- 
ings  of  more  than  one  Apostle ; — perhaps  its  pre- 
dominating remembrance  that  of  being  the  home, 
in  later  years,  of  the  Beloved  Disciple ;  his  grave 
most  probably  somewhere  among  the  thickets  of 
Mount  Prion.  Now  we  were  approaching  a  city 
which,  in  its  one  New  Testament  allusion,  belongs 
exclusively  to  St.  Paul.  His  route  hither  from  the 
north  had  been  along  the  coast  of  the  Island  of 
Eubcea,  doubling  Cape  Colonna — the  historic  pro- 
montory of  Sunium — ''  Sunium's  marble  steep,"  at 
the  entrance  to  the  Saronic  Gulph.  Sunium, 
which  had  long  been  familiarised  by  the  drawings 
of  Turner  and  the  Grecian  Williams,  was,  in  our 


4  ST.  PAUL  IN  ATHENS. 

case,  passed  in  the  dark ;  but  an  opportunity  was 
given  on  the  return  voyage  of  seeing  the  remark- 
able eminence,  crowned  with  the  twelve  Doric 
columns  in  picturesque  ruin,  of  the  Temple  of 
Minerva,  in  front  of  which  Plato,  with  a  glorious 
prospect  before  him,  was  wont  to  discourse  to  his 
disciples  on  the  mysteries  of  mind  and  matter.  It 
is  truly  a  befitting  outpost  to  these  classic  shores 
— the  "  Beautiful  Gate  "  of  the  Attic  Temple.  In 
its  original  perfection,  it  must  have  been  an  object, 
alike  for  guidance  and  welcome,  as  dear  to  the 
Greek  mariner,  as  the  first  sight  of  the  southern 
cliffs  of  England  are  to  our  own.^ 

That  morning  hour  cannot  soon  be  forgotten, 
when,  after  skirting  the  southern  slopes  of 
Hymettus,  which  for  some  distance  had  inter- 
cepted the  inland  view  on  our  right,  the  unmis- 
takable grey  Acropolis  presented  itself  on  its  bold 
rock,  at  a  distance  of  seven  or  eight  miles.  It 
was  as  impressive  as  ever,  with  all  the  hoar  of 
antiquity  around  it;  lacking  chiefly  what,  while 
Athens  was  in  her  glory,  must  have  formed  to 
all  voyagers  a  prominent  feature,  and  one  which, 
lingering  on  to  St.  Paul's  time,  could  not  fail  to 
arrest  him  and  his  companions — the  colossal  statue 
of  Minerva  Promachus,  "  The  Minerva  of  bronze," 

*  The  pillars  of  the  temple  give  the  Cape  its  modern  name,  *'  Colonna." 


INTRODUCTORY.  5 

as  it  was  termed ;  tutelary  goddess  of  the  city,  keep- 
ing watch  and  ward  over  the  priceless  treasures  at 
her  side.^     The  Island  of  Salamis  was  in  front. 

Forgetting  for  a  moment  the  havoc  which  inter- 
vening ages  have  wrought,  let  us  at  once  transport 
ourselves  in  imagination,  eighteen  centuries  ago, 
and  follow  the  footsteps  of  the  Great  Apostle. 
"As  we  near  the  entrance,"  is  a  graphic  descrip- 
tion of  his  arrival  in  the  harbour,  "  the  land  rises 
and  conceals  all  the  plain.  Idlers  come  down 
upon  the  rocks  to  watch  the  coming  vessel.  The 
sailors  are  all  on  the  alert.  Suddenly  an  opening 
is  revealed  ;  and  a  sharp  turn  of  the  helm  brings 
the  ship  in  between  two  moles,  on  which  towers 
are  erected.  We  are  in  smooth  water,  and  anchor 
is  cast  in  seven  fathoms  in  the  basin  of  the 
Pirseus."  ^  We  cannot  be  far  wrong  in  suppos- 
ing that  it  was  some  time  in  early  autumn, 
when,  passing  through  this,  its  seaward  gate, 
St.  Paul  made  his  way  to  the  city  of  Pericles 
and  Themistocles,  Socrates  and  Plato.     Athens,  it 


^  Promachus  (irpSyttaxos).  Her  spear  and  helmet  were  made  from  the 
brazen  shields  taken  at  the  battle  of  Marathon  ;  and  though  thirty-five 
miles  distant,  the  point  of  the  spear  and  crest  of  the  helmet  were  said  ta 
be  visible  in  rounding  the  Cape.  The  statue  of  the  reputed  goddess 
survived  Paul's  visit  more  than  three  centuries,  as  in  A.D.  395  "it  was  said 
to  have  scared  away  Alaric  when  he  came  to  sack  the  Acropolis." — See 
Dr.  Smith's  "  History  of  Greece,"  p.  396. 

2  Howson  and  Conybeare's  "  Life  and  Epistles  of  St.  Paul,"  vol.  i.  p.  374. 


6  ST.  PAUL  IN  ATHENS. 

must  be  remembered,  was  not  in  his  day  the 
Athens  of  these  great  men.  She  was  in  her 
prime  and  glory  five  hundred  years  before  ;  "a 
distance  of  time,"  as  a  writer  observes,  "  as  wide  as 
that  which  separates  us  from  the  Plantagenets." 
Her  glory  had  culminated,  alike  politically, 
and  intellectually.  She  had  been  superseded  by 
Corinth  as  the  true  capital  of  the  province  and 
seat  of  the  government.  Two  centuries  had  placed 
her  under  the  iron  foot  of  imperial  ubiquitous 
Eome.  The  latter,  however,  was  too  magnanimous 
to  forget  the  debt  she  and  her  subject  kingdoms 
owed  to  the  "  Mother  of  Arts  and  Eloquence." 
To  a  considerable  extent  she  safeguarded  and 
conserved  the  walls,  temples,  and  other  public 
buildings,  of  her  illustrious  rival :  although  not  a 
few  statues  were  deemed  a  fair  subject  of  spolia- 
tion and  pillage,  for  the  adornment  of  the  Capitol, 
Forum,  and  the  Palaces  of  the  Palatine.  The  Eagles 
of  the  Empire,  as  is  well  known,  were  unscru- 
pulous as  to  where  they  winged  their  flight  and 
planted  their  talons.  But,  while  the  Caesars  would 
tolerate  no  competitor  in  arms,  they  ungrudgingly 
conceded  to  Athens  superiority  in  other  realms. 
Augustus  made  her  a  free  city  of  the  Empire  in 
the  province  of  Achaia,  allowing  her  to  retain  her 
independence,  and  recognising  her  as  the  great  ''Art- 


INTRODUCTORY.  7 

shop"  of  the  world.  Although  therefore  fallen 
from  her  pristine  splendour,  and  in  other  ways 
deteriorating  and  deteriorated,  w^e  must  not  think 
of  the  chief  city  of  the  Hellenes,  on  the  occasion 
of  Paul's  visit,  as  having  abnegated  all  that  had 
-made  her  for  centuries  distinguished.  Her  golden 
age  had  passed,  but  her  silver  one  remained.  She 
w^as  more  than  the  mere  effete  and  passive  trustee 
of  art-treasures.^  Even  her  philosophic  schools, 
of  which  we  shall  hereafter  speak,  still  lingered, 
and  indeed  survived  for  some  centuries  later. 
*'  The  physical  might  of  Eome,"  it  has  been  well 
said,  "  had  subdued  Greece ;  but  the  mind  of 
Greece  had  mastered  Eome.  The  Greeks  became 
the  teachers  of  their  conquerors.  The  deities  of 
Greece  were  incorporated  into  the  national  faith 
of  Eome.  Greek  literature  became  the  education 
of  the  Eoman  youth.  Greek  philosophy  was 
almost  the  only  philosophy  the  Eoman  knew. 
Eome  adopted  Grecian  arts,  and  was  insensibly 
moulded  by  contact  with  Grecian  life.  So  that 
the  world  in  name  and  government  was  Eoman, 
but  in  feeling  and  civilisation  Greek."  ^ 

1  In  an  article  in  our  leading  journal  on  the  most  recent  valuable  dis- 
covery of  statues  in  the  Acropolis,  the  writer — evidently  an  authority  on 
art — mentions,  that  in  the  first  century,  corresponding  with  St.  Paul's  visit, 
"the  technical  skill  of  the  Attic  sculptors  was  hardly  less  than  in  its  prime." 
—The  Times,  Feb.  25,  1886. 

-  r.  W.  Robertson's  Sermons.     First  Series,  p.  199. 


8  ST.  PAUL  IN  ATHENS. 

The  long  walls  of  Themistocles,  extending  in 
double  line  550  feet  apart,  erected  centuries  before, 
covered  a  distance  of  fiye  miles,  from  the  sea  to 
the  city.  ^  A  singular  mural  avenue  this  must  have 
been,  altogether  occupying  a  place  of  its  own, 
among  the  world's  capitals.  In  relation  to  Athens 
these  walls  are  likened,  by  one  of  the  old  Greek 
writers,  to  a  ship  with  two  cables.  ''  Motley  and 
rough -hewn  and  uncouthly  piled,  they  recalled,  age 
after  age,  to  the  traveller,  the  name  of  the  ablest 
statesman  and  the  most  heroic  days  of  Athens. 
There,  at  frequent  intervals,  would  he  survey 
stones  wrought  in  the  rude  fashion  of  former 
times ;  ornaments  borrowed  from  the  antique 
edifices  demolished  by  the  Mede ;  and  frieze  and 
column  plucked  from  dismantled  sepulchres  ;  so 
that  even  the  dead  contributed  from  their  tombs 
to  the  defence  of  Athens."  ^  This  '  Appian  Way,' 
with  its  side  buttresses  sixty  feet  high,  had  been 
strengthened  all  the  distance  with  towers  of 
defence,  while  here  and  there,  from  the  Piraeus, 
statues  and  temples  broke  the  monotony  of  the 
line.  In  St.  Paul's  time  all  must  have  been  very 
dilapidated  ;  in  our  own  hardly  traceable. 

^  It  is  just  possible  the  Apostle  may  have  landed  at  Phalerum,  which 
was  a  nearer  port  to  the  city,  but  not  the  most  used  ;  though  enjoying  also 
a  natural  harbour  and  surrounded  with  temples  and  statues. 

^"  Lord's  Lytton's  "Athens,"  p.  380. 


INTRODUCTORY,  9 

The  Apostle's  companions  from  Berea  after 
seeing  their  honoured  charge  safely  lodged  in 
the  city,  appear  to  have  taken  their  departure  ; 
probably  availing  themselves  of  the  return  of  the 
coasting  vessel  to  their  own  northern  home.  We 
have  this  touching  entry  in  one  of  St.  Paul's  sub- 
sequent letters  :  "  We  were  left  at  Athens  alone  " 
(1  Thess.  iii.  1).  It  was  the  first  time  since  his 
missionary  labours  began  that  he  could  make  such 
an  assertion.  Some  dim  conjecture  may  be  formed 
of  what  his  feelings  were,  when,  in  this  isolation, 
a  solitary  stranger,  he  paced  the  streets  of  the 
Greek  Metropolis.  He  had  no  Aquila  and  Priscilla 
now,  as  subsequently  at  Ephesus,  not  only  to 
cheer  him  with  their  Christian  converse,  but  to 
relieve  and  beguile  the  vacant  hours  by  manual 
occupation.  His  experience  must  have  resembled 
that  of  a  far  less  noble  human  agent,  who,  900 
years  before,  passed,  on  a  similar  lonely  unbe- 
friended  mission,  through  the  streets  of  Nineveh 
(Jonah  iii.  4).  We  know  from  more  than  one 
incident  in  the  Apostle's  life,  how  dependent  he 
was  on  sympathy  ;  how  tenderly  he  clung  to  cher- 
ished fellowships,  and  felt  the  blank  of  familiar 
faces  and  voices.  How  he  valued  the  refreshing  in- 
tercourse with  Onesiphorus,  and  followed  him  with 
grateful  prayers  and  benedictions !    How  the  spirits 


lo  ST.  PAUL  IN  ATHEaWS. 

of  the  jaded  prisoner  revived  at  the  unexpected 
welcome  accorded  him  by  Eoman  brethren  at  Appii 
Forum  and  *'  the  Three  Taverns  !  "  Who  can  fail  to 
recall  the  clinging  affection  which  bound  him  to 
his  own  son  in  the  faith  !  How  the  very  antici- 
pation of  Timothy's  coming  seemed  to  erase  the 
furrows  from  his  brow  !  How  his  presence  made 
him  forget  the  gloom  and  the  chains  of  the 
Mamertine  ! 

Independently  altogether  of  his  alleged  weak- 
ness of  sight,^  we  have  every  reason  to  infer,  that 
St.  Paul's  was  not  by  any  means  what  might  be 
called  an  "  aesthetic  nature,"  and  therefore  he 
was  innocent  even  of  an  average  appreciation  of 
Hellenic  or  other  art.  There  are  touches,  indeed, 
here  and  there  in  his  Epistles  and  in  his  journey- 
ings,  which  we  may  afterwards  more  especially 
note,  where  we  can  discern  that  he  was  far  from 
insensible  to  the  loveliness  of  that  creation  he  else- 
where speaks  of  as  being  unwillingly  "  made  sub- 
ject to  vanity"  (Eom.  viii.  20).     Yet,  "the  things 

I  have  endeavoured  to  condense  the  opinions  on  this  still-debated 
subject  in  "The  Footsteps  of  St.  Paul,"  pp.  168-171,  and  only  advert  to 
it  here  in  passing.  It  would  seem,  from  the  fact  of  being  "  left  alone  at 
Athens,"  and  yet  evidently  not  only  visiting  its  places  of  public  resort, 
but  noting  the  objects  around,  that  the  Apostle's  sight  was  not  perma- 
nently injured.  The  complaint  was  not  chronic.  He  might  be  possibly 
subject  to  temporary  attacks  of  ophthalmia,  or,  it  might  bC;  of  impaired 
vision,  from  which,  at  other  times,  as  on  the  present  occasion,  he  was  com- 
paratively free. 


INTRODUCTORY.  ii 

that  are  seen  "  occupied  a  very  subordinate  place 
in  comparison  with  higher  affinities  and  claims.  St. 
John,  who  came  afterwards  to  describe  the  glories 
of  the  New  Jerusalem  and  its  temple  visions,  would 
probably  have  been  more  at  home  than  he,  in  the 
city  of  Phidias  and  Praxiteles,  although  even  to 
him,  in  another  respect,  there  would  be  much 
uncongenial.  An  Israelite  so  long  familiar  with 
another  "Acropolis"  which  crowned  the  summit  of 
Mount  Moriah,  could  have  viewed  that  throng  of 
statues  and  idols  with  little  else  than  shock  or 
repulsion.  The  Jew,  as  we  know,  was  forbidden 
the  use  of  graven  images.  With  the  sole  excep- 
tion of  the  two- winged  cherubim  in  the  most  Holy 
Place,  screened  from  the  common  gaze,  there  was 
not  so  ranch  as  one  statue  in  the  Temple  and  its 
courts,  or  amid  the  streets  of  Zion.  It  was  the 
deepest  insult  which  a  Roman  conqueror  could 
inflict,  when,  in  sacrilegious  contravention  of  a 
sacred  scruple,  he  dared  insist  on  setting  up  his 
own  image  on  the  Hill  of  God.  How  singular 
was  the  contrast  in  the  city  Paul  was  now  visiting  ! 
In  the  oft-quoted  words  of  the  Roman  satirist 
Petronius,  **  It  was  in  Athens,  easier  to  find  a  god 
than  a  man."  We  can  readily  believe  that  his 
succession  of  solitary  walks  through  its  streets  and 
arcades  would  leave  no  other  impression  on  his 


12  ST.  PAUL  IN  ATHENS. 

mind  but  that  of  bewilderment.  Very  similar  pro- 
bably to  what  would  be  the  case  with  a  Christian 
peasant  from  Caithness  or  Cornwall — who  "  knows, 
and  knows  no  more,  his  Bible  true" — when  nshered 
for  the  first  time,  alone,  into  the  halls  of  our  British 
Museum,  with  its  tiers  and  colonnades  of  Egyp- 
tian, Assyrian,  and  Eoman  sculptures.  Our  Apostle 
would  remember  all  he  saw,  only  as  an  unintelligible 
jumble  of  sights  and  objects  that  had  little  con- 
geniality with  his  tastes,  and  still  less  with  his 
antecedents.  He  would  be  glad  when  he  could,  to 
escape  to  the  free  air  on  the  slopes  of  Hymettus,  or 
the  olive  woods  which  bordered  the  Ilyssus.^ 

As  already  stated,  in  the  Preface  to  this  Volume, 
Pausanias,  an  intelligent  and  observant  traveller — 
an  enthusiastic  connoisseur  in  art,  himself  visited 
Athens  half  a  century  later,  in  the  reign  of  the 
Antonines.  He  has  left,  in  his  narration,  circum- 
stantial details,  which  enable  us  vividly  to  realise 
the  city  of  Minerva  of  the  first  and  second  century, 
and  consequently  as  it  appeared  at  the  time  of 
our  Apostle's  visit.  We  do  not,  of  course,  for  a 
moment  entertain  the  idea,  so  unlikely,  and  indeed 

^  We  must  be  allowed,  however,  to  demur  to  what  is  regarded  as  a 
justifiable  inference  by  some  writers,  that  St.  Paul  was  devoid  of  'cul- 
ture.' The  schools  of  his  native  Tarsus  supplied  him  with  much  more 
than  Rabbinical  learning.  Nor  have  we  any  reason  to  believe  that  his 
farther  educatioa  "at  the  feet  of  Gamaliel"  was  of  a  narrow  and  exclusive 
character. 


INTRODUCTORY.  13 

preposterous,  that  St.  Paul  either  noted,  or  cared 
to  note,  the  succession  of  objects  circumstantially 
described,  and  which  proved  so  interesting  to  this 
later  traveller,  with  tastes  and  proclivities  very 
different.  It  is  enough  for  us,  that  the  cursory 
inspection  and  impression,  prepared  him  for  the 
Sermon  on  Mars'  Hill,  subsequently  to  be  con- 
sidered. Its  power  and  beauty,  however,  and  what 
may  be  called  intrinsic  interest,  will  be  all  the 
better  appreciated  and  understood,  by  making  our- 
selves somewhat  minutely  familiar  with  its  frame- 
work ;  including  some  of  those  very  Temples  and 
Statues  which  formed  the  text  for  the  Apostle's 
burning  words. ^ 

"  All  along  the  way,"  to  quote  from  the  Itinerary 
of  our  Lydian  traveller,  as  he  follows  the  high  road 
from  the  Piraeus,  "  are  seen  the  tombs  of  the  most 
noted  men,  such  as  Menander,  the  son  of  Diopethes, 
and  the  empty  sepulchre  of  Euripides  "  (i.  p.  4). 
..."  On  entering  into  the  city,  there  is  an  edifice 
raised  for  the  sake  of  those  processions  which  take 
place  sometimes  once  a  year,  and  at  others  in  un- 

^  For  reasons  already  stated,  I  have  only  availed  myself  in  a  partial 
way  of  these  painstaking  descriptions  of  Pausanias.  The  Itinerary  embraced 
other  countries  besides  Greece,  and  is  in  ten  books.  The  work  of  "the 
Syrian  Sophist,"  as  Galen  calls  him,  while  thoroughly  reliable,  is  written 
in  an  intricate  style,  and  much  too  diffuse  and  prolix.  But,  as  one  of  his 
translators  remarks,  ' '  It  will  doubtless  be  ever  considered  as  an  invalu- 
able treasure  of  Greek  and  Roman  antiquities." 


14  ST.  PAUL  IN  ATHENS. 

ceiiain  periods  of  time.  Near  to  this  is  the  Temple 
of  Ceres,  in  which  the  statue  of  the  goddess  her- 
self, of  her  daughter  Proserpine,  and  of  lacchus 
(Bacchus)  holding  a  torch,  are  contained.  More- 
over, it  is  signified  on  the  Wall,  in  Attic  letters, 
that  all  these  are  the  works  of  Praxiteles.  Not  far 
from  this  temple  is  the  statue  of  Neptune  hurling 
his  spear  at  the  giant  Polybotes  "  (Pans.,  vol.  i. 
chap,  ii.)  He  proceeds  minutely  to  describe  a 
series  of  Porches  reaching  from  the  Gates  to  the 
Ceramicus,  adorned  with  '*  brazen  images  "  of  those 
who  have  rendered  themselves  illustrious.  Passing 
statues  of  Minerva  and  Apollo,  Mercury  and  the 
Muses,  on  his  left  rose  the  Pynx,  the  place  of 
public  assembly,  "  with  its  hema  cut  from  the  solid 
rock,  guarded  by  a  statue  of  Jupiter  and  the 
Nymphs  of  the  Demus."  The  rough  stone  pedestal 
{pulpitum)  survives  to  this  day  the  ravages  of  time, 
and  seems  still  to  echo  with  the  voices  of 

"  Those  ancient,  whose  resistless  eloquence 
Wielded  at  will  that  fierce  democratic."  ^ 

Pursuing   the   road   under   rows    of   plane   trees 
planted  by  Cimon,  he  enumerates  the  statues  of 

^  "The  Pynx  included  an  area  of  more  than  12,000  yards,  and  could 
with  ease  contain  the  entire  free  civic  population  of  Athens." — Stuay't's 
Antiquities,  p.  137 — a  volume  procured  by  the  writer  at  Athens,  and 
which  formed  a  valuable  and  reliable  guide. — Illustrated.     Bohn,  London. 


INTRODUCTORY.  15 

Conon  and  his  son  Timotheus  ;  of  Epaminondas 
and  other  historical  personages  :  for  the  evidences 
of  ancient  polytheism  are  intermingled  with 
tributes  to  ancient  heroes,  orators,  and  philo- 
sophers. Bronze  figures  are  backed  with  paint- 
ings of  famous  battles  or  sieges.  Some  sculptures 
are  seen  in  alto  and  has  relief;  others,  though 
more  rarely  (protected  from  weather  and  plun- 
derers), are  fashioned  of  ivory  and  inlaid  with 
precious  metals.  With  memories  all  its  own,  he 
mentions  the  statue  of  Demosthenes.  Could 
Paul,  as  he  traversed  tlie  same  route,  fail  to  be 
arrested  by  a  name  which,  alike  in  the  schools 
of  his  own  city  and  in  that  of  Gamaliel,  could 
hardly  fail  to  be  familiar ;  a  name  identified  then 
as  now  with  the  loftiest  flights  of  oratory  which, 
in  the  lines  of  Milton,  just  quoted,  stirred  the 
pulses  of  Greece  in  her  palmiest  days.  Here  was 
the  massive  form  raised  close  to  the  spot  which 
had  listened  to  the  living  tones.^  Then  follow 
other  statues  of  sovereigns  in  the  realms  alike  of 
action  and  thought.  Miltiades  and  Themistocles, 
Philip  of  Macedon  and  his  greater  son ;  while  in 
front  of  a  conspicuous  portico,  on  which,  in  glow- 
ing pigment,  along  with  figures  of  deified  heroes, 

^  Lord  Brougham   pronounces  the  De   Corona  of   Demosthenes    "the 
greatest  oration  of  the  greatest  of  orators." 


i6  ST,  PAUL  IN  ATHENS. 

was  delineated  the  siege  of  Troy  and  the  battle  of 
Marathon,  stood  the  figure  of  Solon.  If  we  might 
farther  venture  to  imagine  our  Apostle,  in  the 
course  of  his  sojourn,  straying  into  one  of  the 
adjacent  temples,  he  would  have  seen  what  a  Jew 
at  least  must  have  regarded  with  interested  sur- 
prise, a  bronze  statue  of  his  own  country's  high 
priest,  Hyrcanus.^ 

But  we  need  not  unnecessarily  extend  this  roll 
and  register  of  Athenian  "  art  and  man's  device." 
Even  the  decoration  of  their  private  dwellings, 
which  fell  under  the  eye  of  our  second  century 
traveller,  specially  the  Atrium  or  Court- Yard  of 
their  houses,  bore  testimony  how  deeply  rooted 
image  and  idol-worship  was.  The  casual  glean- 
ings we  have  given  from  him  and  his  translators 
are  sufficient  to  give  force  and  pungency  to  the 
indictment    of  the   Apostle  : — "  His   spirit   was 

^  One  possible  or  probable  reason  for  this  exceptional  introduction  by 
the  Athenians  of  a  Jewish  statue,  may  have  been  the  known  sympathy 
which  the  old  Hebrew  ecclesiastic  had  for  art  and  architecture.  He  lived 
180  B.C.  Though  not  belonging  to  the  theme  of  the  present  Volume,  the 
incidental  remark  may  be  forgiven,  that  one  of  the  most  interesting,  and 
indeed  wonderful  of  recent  Palestine  explorations,  is  the  discovery  of  the 
magnificent  palace  of  this  same  Hierarch  at  Arak-el-Einir  on  the  other 
side  of  Jordan,  more  than  a  thousand  feet  above  the  Ghor,  and  surrounded 
with  singularly  beautiful  and  park-like  scenery,  "  coombe  and  valley,  and 
thickest  English  turf."  The  account  of  this  palace,  with  its  carvings  and 
monoliths,  evidently  not  unworthy  to  be  named  with  some  of  the  build- 
ings which  crowned  the  Attic  Acropolis,  is  graphically  given  in  the 
"  Bacchante  Cruise  "  of  the  two  English  Princes,  vol.  ii.  p.  639. 


INTRODUCTORY.  17 

STIRRED  IN  Him  when  He  saw  the  city  full  of 

IDOLS."  ^ 

''Full  of  idols,''  for  so  the  original  may  be 
more  literally  and  effectively  rendered.  The 
Greek  word  in  our  English  version  translated 
"  stirred "  \irapw^vveTo~\  is  that  from  which  our 
word  ''  paroxysm  "  is  taken.  It  therefore  indi- 
cates violent  emotion ;  that  the  spectator  was 
excited — energised  to  indignation.^  What  he  be- 
held was  a  travestie  of  true  religion — a  parody  on 
God.  The  second  commandment  of  his  decalogue 
could  not  fail  to  rise  before  him  with  protesting 
voice  ;  and  the  image  and  accents  of  Another,  "  on 
the  way  to  Damascus,"  would  deepen  and  intensify 
that  reooil  of  spirit.  "  Yea,  what  indignation  .  .  . 
yea,  what  revenge  !  "  (2  Cor.  vii.  11).  It  was,  let 
it  be  fearlessly  asserted,  no  antagonism  to  Art,  as 
such ;  but  it  was  Art  prostituted  and  debased,  that 
roused  St.  Paul's  feelings  now  from  their  depth. 
His  own  Pentateuch  must  have  told  him  in  his  oft 
perusal  of  it,  how  the  Jehovah  of  Israel  had  conse- 
crated Art  in  the  Desert  of  the  Wandering,  through 

^  KaretSwXov.  "We  learn  from  Pliny  that  there  still  remained  after 
Nero's  spoliation  3000  statues  at  Athens." — Col.  Leake,  vol.  i.  p.  24. 

2  In  the  R.V.  it  is  rendered  "  provoked."  It  is  the  same  word  that  is 
used  with  regard  to  an  unhappy  memory  (Acts  xv.  39)  describing  the 
keenness  of  feeling  (R.V.  "sharp  contention")  which  separated  the  Apostle 
from  his  fellow-delegate  Barnabas. 

B 


i8  ST.  PAUL  IN  ATHENS. 

the  work  of  Aholiab  and  Bezaleel  (Exod.  xxxviii. 
22).  While  the  gorgeous  pile  of  structures  in  his 
ancestral  Temple  in  Jerusalem,  with  its  porches 
and  colonnades  and  roofs,  its  altars  of  brass  and 
of  gold,  had  arrested  the  eye  of  the  Great  Master 
Himself,  and  evoked  from  His  lips  a  touching 
dirge  of  lamentation  (Luke  xix.  41-44).  But  the 
graving  and  embroidery — the  "  cunning  work  "  of 
these  artists  of  the  Hebrew  Tabernacle,  whether  in 
gold,  silver  and  brass ;  or  in  blue,  purple,  scarlet 
and  fine  linen,  and  the  later  glories  of  Mount  Zion, 
were  very  different  in  purpose  and  execution  from 
those  marble  and  bronze  incarnations,  many  of 
which  ministered  as  incentives  to  vile  passion. 
They  seemed  to  reflect  a  silent  scorn  on  the  Moral 
Code  proclaimed  amid  the  thunderings  of  Sinai  ; 
and  which  was  enforced  and  intensified  by  Him, 
who  came  not  to  destroy  the  law  but  to  fulfil  it. 
The  first  chapter  of  Eomans,  the  Apostle's  own 
subsequent  deliberate  verdict,  reveals  the  too  truth- 
ful, debasing  picture  ;  and  vindicates  the  justice 
and  vehemence  of  his  present  denunciation.  "  He 
saw,"  in  the  remark  of  Lechler,  *'that  all  this 
majesty  and  beauty  had  placed  itself  between  man 
and  his  Creator,  and  bound  him  faster  to  his  gods 
which  were  no  gods."  In  a  word,  enough,  and 
more  than  enough,  was  seen  to  convince  him,  that 


INTRODUCTORY.  19 

the  city  in  which  he  now  wandered,  a  downcast 
stranger,  was  alike  by  the  tenet  of  the  philo- 
sopher and  the  chisel  of  the  sculptor,  the  home 
and  haunt  of  what  was  displeasing  to  the  Jehovah 
of  his  fathers,  and  dishonouring  to  his  once  cruci- 
fied but  now  exalted  and  glorified  Master. 

But  he  remembers  his  great  mission  and  voca- 
tion. He  is  there  not  to  shed  sentimental  tears, 
or  merely  utter  a  silent  protest  within  his  own 
bosom.  The  cry  from  Europe  to  Asia,  "  Come  over 
and  help  us,"  still  prolongs  its  echoes.  Though 
only  too  conscious  of  his  own  weakness,  and  of  the 
formidable  nature  of  the  conflict,  he  resolves, 
moral  hero  that  he  was,  to  do  battle  for  God  and 
His  Christ. 


II. 


"  That  very  Athens  of  ours  does  not  delight  me  so  mucli  by  the  magnifi- 
cent works  and  exquisite  arts  of  the  ancients,  as  by  the  remembrance  of  the 
chiefest  man  ;  where  one  was  wont  to  dwell,  where  to  sit,  where  to  argue." — 
Atticus'  Letter  to  Cicero. 

"  The  beauty  and  softness  of  the  climate,  heightened  by  the  colour  of  the 
atmosphere,  and  refreshed  by  the  breezes  of  the  neighbouring  sea,  naturally 
allured  the  inhabitants  of  Athens  to  pass  much  of  their  time  in  the  open 
air." — Athens  and  Attica,  p.  51. 

"Oh  that  Paul  could  have  met  Socrates  in  the  market-place,  and  that 
Plato  could  have  written  the  dialogue  ! " — Lewin's  St.  Paul,  vol.  i.  p.  268. 


(      21       ) 


THE   AGOKA. 

As  was  invariably  the  case  with  St.  Paul,  both  on 
previous  and  subsequent  occasions,  he  commenced 
his  ministerial  labours  by  addressing  his  own 
countrymen,  in  their  synagogue,  along  with  "the 
devout  persons"  (v.  17),  the  Gentile  proselytes 
—proselytes  of  the  gate.  "To  the  Jew  first," 
was  one  of  the  '  marching  orders '  to  which  he 
scrupulously  adhered — proclaiming  to  his  brethren 
according  to  the  flesh  the  person  and  work  of 
Jesus  of  Nazareth,  their  promised  Messiah. 

But  the  present  visit  was  not  on  a  Hebrew 
mission.  He  had  come  to  the  great  centre  of 
polished  paganism  (though  the  citizens  would 
have  resented  the  name),  to  measure  weapons  with 
their  wise  men  and  philosophers,  the  lovers  of 
culture  and  learned  leisure,  the  votaries  of  a  bril- 
liant and  fascinating  superstition.  He  knew  too 
well,  as  observed  in  last  chapter,  that  the  sensuous 
and  the  sensual  was  often  veiled  under  the  name 
of  art,  and  degenerated  into  a  deification  of  vice. 


22  ST.  PAUL  IN  ATHENS. 

He  will  strive  to  expose — if  he  can,  to  exorcise — 
what  is  "  earthly,  sensual,  devilish,"  and  substitute 
in  their  place  spiritual  realities.  Above  all,  fairer 
than  the  fairest  personifications  of  their  Pentelican 
marble,  to  reveal  the  only  true  "theophany;"  to 
exalt  the  only  supreme  Ideal  of  beauty  and  moral 
excellence  in  the  Person  of  a  Crucified  Eedeemer. 
Socrates  had,  some  centuries  before,  strolled  in 
that  same  Agora,  and  gathered  listeners  to  his  side 
as  he  descanted  on  knowledge,  and  tried  to  lift  his 
hearers  to  a  higher  than  heathen  platform.  The 
aspiration  of  his  greater  successor  was  to  bring 
some  of  them  around  him,  with  the  hope  of  re- 
ceiving and  welcoming  the  true  ''Pleroma'' — "in 
whom  dwelleth  all  the  fulness  of  the  Godhead 
bodily." 

Our  glimpse,  therefore,  of  St.  Paul  in  the  Jewish 
synagogue  is  only  a  passing  one,  giving  occasion  for 
no  remark.  The  Agora,  in  all  Greek  cities,  was 
the  centre  and  focus  of  life.  At  the  further  end 
of  the  leading  street,  in  a  hollow  of  the  district 
called  Ceramicus,  now  in  a  state  of  nature,  where 
flocks  browse,  was  the  ancient  Athenian  Agora.^ 

1  Stuart  in  one  of  the  plates  of  the  "  Antiquities  of  Athens  "  gives  an 
interesting  reproduction  of  what  is  now  generally  accepted  as  the  entrance 
or  Gate  of  the  Agora.  He  leaves  it  indeterminate,  however,  whether  this 
may  have  belonged  to  what  was  called  the  new  Agora ;  although,  more 
probably,  the  one  now  before  us. 


THE  AGORA.  23 

It  must  not  be  confounded,  as  the  name  would 
naturally  suggest,  with  an  ordinary  market,  such 
as  we  are  familiar  with  at  the  Eialto  of  Venice, 
or  the  more  prosaic  ones  at  Bologna  or  Paris ;  in 
other  words,  an  open  space,  innocent  of  all  archi- 
tectural feature  or  attraction,  surrounded  with 
wooden  stalls  for  vending  purposes,  and  littered 
with  garbage.  It  was  so  undoubtedly  to  a  certain 
extent.  In  one  portion,  booths  were  to  be  seen 
occupied  by  salesmen  purveying  common  articles 
of  clothing  and  consumption,  as  well  as  bazaars 
for  those  of  luxury.  Other  parts  would  be  more 
suggestive  of  our  own  Covent  Garden  ;  shops  for 
flowers  and  fruit ;  vegetables  and  oranges  from 
the  surrounding  gardens ;  oil  from  the  olive  groves 
on  the  slopes  of  Lycabettus  ;  ^  honey  from  Hymet- 
tus  ;  even  fish  from  the  shores  of  Salamis  and 
Euboea.  Mingling  somewhat  incongruously  with 
these,  we  have  the  mention  of  stalls  for  books  and 
parchments ;  a  clothes  booth  ;  a  depot  for  stolen 
goods  ;  and  the  slave-market  called  "  Cyclus."  It 
was,  in  this  respect,  a  convenient  trading  centre 
for  the  surrounding  city.  But  its  main  features 
and  use  were  very  different.     Architecturally  it 

^  There  is  an  inscription  found  on  one  of  the  remains  preserving  an 
edict  of  the  Emperor  Hadrian,  "regulating  the  sale  of  oils  and  duties 
payable  on  these." — Stuart,  p.  19. 


24  ST.  PAUL  IN  ATHENS. 

must  have  been  impressive.  It  is  described  by 
a  writer  as  a  *'  natural  amphitheatre."  It  had 
become  the  fashionable  lounge  and  resort  of  the 
learned,  keen,  quick-witted,  scholars  and  rheto- 
ricians. Such  a  place  of  public  resort  was  by  no 
means  a  peculiarity  of  European  towns  or  capitals. 
The  most  sacred  city  of  the  world,  Jerusalem,  had 
its  *  Acropolis '  (the  Naos  or  shrine  of  its  Temple) 
surrounded  by  what  was  known  as  the  Court  of 
the  Gentiles.  This  has  been  appropriately  called 
by  an  able  authority  on  the  topography  of  Pales- 
tine, "  the  public  park  to  Jerusalem,  where  the 
people  met,  conversed,  and  even  bought  and  sold 
those  articles  required  for  the  proper  observance 
of  festivals.  .  .  .  The  eastern  cloister  was  called 
'  Solomon's  Porch,'  and  in  it,  as  St.  John  tells  us, 
our  Lord  was  accustomed  to  walk,  and  doubtless 
to  teach  after  the  manner,  outwardly  at  least,  of 
the  Stoic  philosophers  of  Greece  "  (John  x.  24  ; 
viii.  20).  The  same  writer  refers  to  the  cloistered 
courts,  almost  as  large  as  that  of  Jerusalem,  sur- 
rounding the  Temple  of  the  Sun  at  Palmyra  ;  the 
Temple  of  Eimmon  at  Damascus  encompassed  with 
similar  colonnades  ;  and  recesses  and  chambers 
around  the  main  gigantic  Temple  at  Baalbek  :  in 
each  case  *'  suitable  for  purposes  of  teaching,  for 
discussions  on  religious  and  political  subjects,  and 


THE  AGORA,  25 

for  popular  assemblies."  ^  Conspicuous,  as  is  well 
known,  in  the  centre  of  the  Forum  of  Eome  was 
the  Milliarium  Aureum — the  Golden  Milestone — 
from  which  radiated  the  great  highways  of  the 
kingdom.  It  was  the  same  in  the  Athenian 
Agora.  There,  was  the  Altar  of  the  Twelve 
Gods,  from  which  emanated,  in  varied  directions, 
the  streets  of  the  city  and  the  roads  of  Attica. 
Here,  in  one  place,  was  the  "  Stoa  Basileios," 
"  the  Royal  Porch,"  dedicated  to  Aurora  ;  here,  in 
another,  is  a  Stoa  dedicated  to  Zeus,  with  paint- 
ings of  various  deities  by  the  artist  Euphranor. 
These  and  similar  ornamental  buildings  rose  at  all 
events  on  two  sides,  one  of  w^hich  was  confronted 
with  the  Statues  of  the  Ten  Heroes.  Xenophon 
tells  us,  that,  at  certain  festivals,  it  was  customary 
for  the  knights  to  make  the  circuit  of  the  Agora 
on  horseback,  beginning  at  the  statue  of  Hermes, 
and  paying  homage  to  the  statues  and  temples 
around.^  We  have  just  mentioned  the  Roman 
Forum.  What  it  was  to  the  capital  of  the  Caesars 
(though  of  course  in  a  humbler  degree)  the  Agora 
was  to  Athens.  Various  other  and  perhaps  more 
accurate  parallels  may  occur  to  the  reader.  It 
must  in  some  respects  have  resembled  the  Square 

^  Professor  Porter's  "  Jerusalem  and  Bethlehem,"  pp.  59,  60. 
2  Art.  "Athens,"  Encyclopaedia  Brit. 


26  ST.  PAUL  IN  ATHENS. 

of  St.  Mark  in  the  City  of  the  Adriatic ;  in  others, 
that  in  front  of  the  Palazzo  Vecchio  in  Florence. 
Or,  to  adopt  another  simile,  its  "porticoes  and 
cloisters,  decorated  with  paintings  and  statuary, 
were  like  the  Campo  Santo  at  Pisa."  ^  While,  in 
the  buzz  of  talk,  whether  of  sedate  consultation 
or  clever  repartee,  it  might  more  forcibly  suggest, 
only  under  the  open  sky  of  heaven,  embracing  too 
a  wider  constituency  and  more  varied  themes,  the 
Westminster  Hall  in  bygone  years,  of  our  own 
southern,  or  the  Parliament  House  of  our  northern 
kingdom.  That  garrulous  throng  of  the  ancient 
capital  was  composed  of  masters  and  pupils, 
artists,  poets,  historians,  supplemented  by  a  still 
livelier  contingent  of  gossip-mongers  and  idlers 
of  every  kind  which  gathered  under  alcove  and 
colonnade  to  converse  on  "  burning  questions."  ^ 
Moreover,   anterior   to    the    art   of  printing,   and 

1  Howson  and  Conybeare,  i.  p.  379.  Not  only  the  central  position,  but 
the  decorated  character— in  architecture  and  sculpture — seems  to  have 
been  characteristic  of  all  ancient  cities  east  and  west.  Take  one,  as 
an  example  recently  described — the  transjordanic  city  of  Geresa,  one  of 
the  cities  of  the  Decapolis,  "  the  most  perfect  Roman  city  left  above 
ground."  Here,  in  front  of  a  great  temple,  a  flight  of  steps  conduct 
"down  immediately  into  what  was  the  market-place,  an  open  oval, 
encircled  by  an  Ionic  colonnade,  from  the  farther  end  of  which  leads  oIF 
the  centre  street  of  columns." 

2  "  There  were  at  Athens  places  called  Xeax^^l;  ''-^-j  gossiping-houses 
(corresponding  to  our  coffee-houses),  devoted  to  the  reception  of  persons 
who  met  together  to  hear  and  tell  news."— Bloomjield,  Recens.  Synop., 
quoted  by  Dr.  Kitto. 


THE  AGORA,  27 

when  journalistic  literature,  whether  at  the  English 
fireside  or  city  club,  was  a  future  revelation,  it 
formed  the  only  means  and  opportunity  of  thus 
obtaining  and  discussing  the  politics  of  the  hour. 
Even  the  varied  colour,  blending  and  contrasted  in 
this  Babel  of  confusion,  must  have  been  striking 
and  picturesque,  if  the  dress  of  the  modern  Greek, 
as  we  have  seen  it  (male  and  female)  is  a  survival 
of  classic  ages.  Then,  it  is  specially  noted  in  our 
narrative  chapter,  that  the  Agora  opened  its  gates, 
not  to  natives  only,  but  to  ''strangers'''  (v.  21). 
Athens  would  seem  to  have  attracted  to  it  travellers 
from  other  lands,  just  as  the  more  accessible  cities 
of  Italy — Eome,  Elorence,  Venice,  with  their  art- 
treasures  and  historic  memories — are  visited  now. 
We  can  think  therefore  of  *  excursionists '  and 
merchants,  either  in  pursuit  of  pleasure  or  of  gain 
or  both  combined,  from  other  towns  and  capitals 
near  and  distant.  Noisy  traffickers  from  Corinth 
and  Thessalonica,  Ephesus  and  Smyrna,  Antioch 
and  Damascus ;  sailors  and  voyagers  from  the 
Alexandrian  vessel  or  Eoman  galley  at  anchor  in 
the  Pirseus.  Here  and  there  a  Jew  with  sandalled 
feet,  his  long  robe  girdled  round  the  waist  and 
fringed  with  blue  ribbon.  Here  and  there  some 
soldiers  from  the  barracks — now  on  foot,  now 
mounted — the  flash  of  their  helmets  mingling  with 


28  ST.  PAUL  IN  ATHENS. 

the  red  and  yellow  mantles  of  the  market-women, 
or  with  the  still  rarer  keffeih  and  fillets  of  the 
swarthy  children  of  the  Arabian  or  Syrian  deserts.^ 
What  a  rare  "symposium;"  what  a  singular  fric- 
tion and  whirlpool  of  thought  in  this  "  tumultuous 
Agora  !  "  We  need  not  wonder  that  the  one  con- 
spicuous failure  in  his  art  by  the  great  painter 
Parrhasius  was  the  attempt  to  personate,  in  one 
bold  ideal  figure,  the  character  of  the  Athenians. 
"  Nor,"  says  an  interesting  writer,  '*  was  the  failure 
wonderful.  To  paint  chaos " — he  might  have 
rather  said  a  malstrom — "  is  no  easy  achieve- 
ment." ' 

The  representative  of  some  new  philosophical 
system  was  sure  of  an  interested  hearing  and  wel- 
come from  that  volatile  race,  who,  in  our  chapter 
are  said,  along  with  "  strangers  "  (possibly  youth 
sent  from  other  cities  and  countries  to  the  uni- 
versity,— the  Oxford  or  Cambridge  of  the  day),  "  to 
spend  their  time  in  nothing  else  but  either  to 
tell  or  to  hear  some  new  thing  "  (verse  21) — Lit., 

1  The  late  Lord  Carnarvon's  picture  of  the  modern  Athens,  in  his  "Athens 
and  the  Morea,"  is  in  thorough  harmony  with  the  old.  "  Of  such  materials 
is  Athenian  society  composed.  The  settler,  the  enterprising  traveller,  the 
missionary,  the  German,  the  Greek  of  the  new  democratic,  and  the  Greek 
of  the  old  feudal  school,  are  simultaneously  brought  together  on  the  narrow 
but  varied  stage."     P,  40. 

■^  Rev.  J.  Brown-Patterson's  Essay  on  "The  National  Character  of  the 
Athenians." 


THE  AGORA.  29 

''  some  newer  thing ; "  "  the  latest  news."  ^  Old 
topics  and  opinions,  with  these  restless,  spasmodic 
natures,  gradually  became  stale  and  effete.  No- 
thing rejoiced  them  more  than  to  have  some 
novel  theory  to  combat.  St.  Luke's  expression 
seems  to  echo  the  almost  identical  words  of  Demos- 
thenes himself,  who  in  better  days  had  denounced 
this  same  curiosity,  when  grave  political  perils 
were  impending.  Instead  of  rising  with  the  occa- 
sion and  preparing  strenuously  to  encounter  the 
foe,  "  they  inquire,"  says  he,  "  in  the  place  of 
public  resort — If  there  he  any  neivsf  If  the 
bone  of  contention  was  a  theological  one,  some 
new  religious  creed  to  dissect  or  analyse,  so  much 
the  better.  Sacred  themes  with  such  unscrupulous 
idlers  and  newsmongers  were  made  subjects  for 
banter  and  ridicule  as  much  as  for  discussion.  In 
nothing,  however,  as  we  may  well  suppose,  was 
there  a  greater  jealousy,  than  for  any  outsider  to 
attempt  interference  with  the  accepted  religious 
system — "  a  setter  forth  of  strange  gods."  Yet, 
with  singular  inconsistency,  as  just  remarked,  they 
never  were  indisposed  to  enter  the  lists  with 
aggressors.      They  had,  moreover,  a  liberality  of 

^  See  New  Testament  Commentary  for  English  Readers.  "  You  excel 
in  suflfering  yourselves  to  be  deceived  with  novelty  of  speech^'  (Thucyd. 
3.  38). 


30  ST.  PAUL  IN  ATHENS. 

tlieir  own,  there  being  no  unwillingness  to  receive 
into  the  Attic  Pantheon  the  reputed  deities  of 
other  countries. 

If  an  auditory  could  thus  readily  be  extemporised, 
why  need  the  Christian  missionary  wait  the  pro- 
mised arrival  of  his  coadjutors  ?  Why  not  at  once 
attempt  to  make  a  breach  in  the  enemies'  citadel  ? 
He  cannot  restrain  himself.  It  is  the  enthusiasm 
of  consecrated  humanity.  Silas  and  Timothy, 
knowing  as  they  do  the  temperament  of  their 
heroic  leader,  will  not  wonder,  when  they  arrive,  to 
hear  that  he  has  gone  single-handed  into  the  fight. 

There  were  four  conspicuous  sects  of  philosophers 
dominant  in  the  city  of  Minerva.  Two  of  these — 
the  disciples  of  Plato  and  Aristotle,  do  not  at 
present  concern  us.  Paul  does  not  appear  to 
have  come  in  contact  with  them;  very  probably 
because  of  their  more  secluded  habits — keeping 
religiously,  like  mediaeval  monks,  within  their 
cloistered  gardens  of  the  Academy  and  Lyceum.^ 

1  The  site  of  the  latter  adjoins  the  now  waterless  channel  of  the  Ilissus, 
and  the  still  surviving  fountain  of  Callirrhoe.  It  was  a  statue  of  the 
Lycian  Apollo,  which  had  given  its  name  to  this  philosophic  retreat  of  the 
peripatetics.  Too  true  is  the  description  of  what  it  is  now  :— "  Not  a 
flower  was  to  be  seen  on  the  banks  of  the  river,  that  went  lazily  murmuring 
by,  save  the  lavender  spray  of  the  fragrant  agnus  castus — an  humble 
substitute  for  the  delicate  heliotrope  that  once  grew  wild  there— a  plant 
consecrated  to  Plato,  as  the  only  flower  mentioned  by  him."— {Ladi/ 
Stranr/ ford's  Western  Turkey,  vol.  ii.  p.  358). 

The  view  of  the  noble  ruins  of  the  Temple  of  Olympian  Jupiter 
(colossal  Corinthian),  seen  from  this,  is  peculiarly  impressive. 


THE  AGORA.  31 

It  was  different  with  the  other  two — the  disciples 
of  Epicurus  and  Zeno.  Conspicuous  in  the  motley 
assemblage  of  the  Agora,  were  the  representatives 
of  these  :  and  they  do  not  seem  to  have  been  slow 
or  reluctant  in  "  encountering  "  the  propounder  of 
new  doctrines.  A  few  sentences  throwing  light 
on  the  Apostle's  future  discourse,  may  be  needful 
to  define  their  leading  tenets.  For  a  somewhat 
metaphysical  digression,  I  must  claim  the  reader's 
indulgence. 

The  Epicureans  constituted  the  atheists  and 
materialists  of  their  age.  They  denied  the  exist- 
ence of  God  as  Creator.  The  world  according  to 
them,  following  the  theory  of  Democritus,  was 
made  of  a  fortuitous  concurrence  of  atoms  (in 
which  the  gods  of  Olympus  had  no  concern),  and 
abandoned  to  blind  chance.  Proceeding  on  the 
principle,  or  dictum,  that  "  out  of  nothing  nothing 
could  be  made,"  they  held  the  pre-existence  of 
matter  from  all  eternity.  Of  course  "  providential 
government,"  or  any  supreme  connection  with  the 
affairs  of  men,  was  altogether  discarded.  They 
entertained  as  misatisfactory  ideas  of  the  nature 
of  man  as  of  the  constitution  of  the  universe.  In 
their  psychological  creed,  the  soul  shared  the  mate- 
rialism of  the  body  and  was  consigned  at  death 
to    annihilation ;   or  rather,  both  were  dispersed 


32  ST.  PAUL  IN  ATHENS. 

to  mingle  with  the  elements.  They  held  that 
FEAR,  and  especially  the  fear  of  death,  was  the  one 
haunt  and  terror  of  existence,  and  they  got  rid  of 
it  by  the  brief  syllogism — "  Where  we  are,  death 
is  not.  Where  death  is,  we  are  not.  It  is  nothing 
then  to  the  dead  or  the  living."  A  subsequent 
sentence  of  Paul,  in  one  of  his  letters,  too  truth- 
fully describes  their  position — a  philosophy  of 
despair — ''  without  God  and  without  hope."  Their 
ethics  were  not  more  inspiring.  Self-love  was 
made  the  spring  of  all  actions.  Their  cardinal 
virtue  is  prudence ;  and  pleasure,  in  its  proteus 
shapes  is  the  highest  human  pursuit.  ^'  Happiness 
consisted  in  the  greatest  aggregate  of  pleasurable 
emotions."  The  degrading  sentiment  which  came 
to  shape  and  regulate  their  lives  was  the  familiar 
aphorism — ''Let  us  eat  and  drink  for  to-morrow 
we  die."  The  self-denial  and  self-abnegation  of 
the  Gospel  were  altogether  repudiated  in  this 
existence  of  self-gratification.  Duty  was  a  word 
unknown.  Their  motive  and  rule  of  action  was 
not  what  is  right,  but  what  is  expedient.  They 
tolerated  the  popular  mythology — no  more.  Any 
deities  who  from  mere  complaisance  they  acknow- 
ledged were  little  else  than  fantasies — devout 
imaginations.  Or  if  some  among  them  conceded 
the  idea   of  anthropomorphism,  these  gods  and 


THE  AGORA. 


33 


goddesses  were  at  best  regarded  as  beings  in 
human  shape  who  took  no  cognisance  either  of 
sorrow  or  of  sin :  who  had  no  interest  in  human 
affairs,  but  spent  their  time  in  dreamy  untroubled 
indolence,  thereby  sanctioning  their  own  luxurious 
ease.  It  is  only  fair,  however,  to  add,  that  these 
are  the  later  phases  and  developments  of  the 
Epicurean  philosophy  and  its  tenets,  as  they  existed 
in  the  age  of  St.  Paul.  Epicurus  himself — the 
Founder  of  the  Sect  400  years  previously,  would 
appear,  as  has  often  proved  the  case  in  kindred 
societies,  to  have  soared  in  a  serener  moral  region 
than  his  degenerate  successors.  Gifted  by  nature, 
his  life  was  one  of  truthfulness,  generosity,  and 
patriotism.  The  site  of  his  gardens  is  now  lost, 
so  that  we  cannot  identify  his  home  as  we  can 
do  that  of  Plato,  Aristotle,  or  Zeno.  He  would 
seem  to  have  had  one  among  other  pure  and 
elevating  tastes,  in  being  a  lover  of  nature  and  the 
beautiful  in  nature.  He  made  a  special  bequest 
of  these  garden  haunts,  wherever  they  were,  to 
his  followers,  who  came  to  be  known  as  *'  the 
Philosophers  of  the  Garden : "  and  we  cannot 
wonder  that  the  father  of  the  school,  the  leading 
tenet  of  whose  system  was,  that  pleasure  is  the 
summum  honum^  should  have  revelled  in  the 
languid  enjoyment  of  flowers  and  sunshine,  amid 


34  ST.  PAUL  IN  ATHENS. 

the  marble  forms  of  beauty  whicli  studded  them, 
and  sought  in  such  regions  of  serene  tranquillity 
his  chief  Eden.  The  motto  he  placed  on  the  gate 
indicated  as  rigid  frugality  and  simplicity  of  life, 
as  characterised  the  followers  of  St.  Francis  and 
St.  Bruno  in  after  ages.  He  was  faithful  in  in- 
culcating culture  and  contentment,  in  opposition 
to  what  was  impure  and  gross,  however  low  his 
successors  had  sunk  from  his  comparatively  pure 
ideal.  But  although  the  founder  held  that  virtue 
was  the  only  road  to  true  pleasure,  and  inseparable 
from  it,  alas — the  name  "  Epicurean "  came  at 
last  to  be  rather  an  equivalent  for  '  the  voluptuary ' 
and  voluptuousness — an  incarnation  of  selfish- 
ness— one  who  surrendered  himself  without  scruple 
to  licence.  Horace,  himself  a  follower  of  the 
sect,  expounds  faithfully  their  creed,  in  the  follow- 
ing translated  lines : — 

"  Strive  not,  the  morrow's  chance  to  know, 
But  count  whate'er  the  fates  bestow, 
As  given  thee  for  thy  gain." 

"  Ee'n  as  we  speak  our  life  glides  by  ; 
Enjoy  the  moments  as  they  fly, 

Nor  trust  the  far  off  day."  ^ 

The  Stoics,  who  occupy  a  similar  conspicuous 

J  Od  i.  9,  11,  quoted  by  Dean  Plumptre  in  his  New  Testament  Com- 
mentary. The  best  exposition  of  the  ancient  "  Epicurean  philosophy  "  is 
derived  from  the  remarkable  poem  of  Lucretius,  De  licrum  Natura. 


THE  AGORA, 


35 


place  in  our  narrative  chapter,  were  founded  by 
Zeno,  a  Cyprian,  also  four  centuries  preceding  the 
Christian  era.  They  may  be  credited  with  a  better, 
though  still  erroneous  creed,  which  had  many 
distinguished  names  among  its  upholders  and 
exponents.  They  affirmed  their  belief  in  two 
general  principles,  God  and  matter,  both  of  which 
they  held  to  be  eternal.  They  thus  recognised 
one  Supreme  '  entity,'  Creator,  Governor,  and  Sus- 
tainer  of  the  Universe.  To  use  their  own  singular 
figure  and  comparison,  "the  deity  pervades  the 
matter  of  the  world  in  the  same  way  as  honey  fills 
the  comb  of  a  hive."  They  also  acknowledged  a 
subordinate  agency  of  spirits  (demons),  who  came 
into  contact  with  the  human  race.  They  farther 
asserted  belief  in  the  immortality  of  the  soul,  at 
all  events  its  subsistence  after  the  death  of  the 
body.  But  their  notions  regarding  the  character 
of  a  future  state  were  dim  and  distorted.  The 
soul  would  survive,  but  it  would  lose  separate 
consciousness  and  be  absorbed  in  the  "Infinite 
Essence."  Their  pride  led  to  the  rejection  of  the 
doctrine  of  future  retribution,  as  well  as  of  the 
need  of  present  repentance.  The  souls  of  the 
wise  and  the  good  alone  survived  the  death  of  the 
body.  All  souls  were  an  emanation  from  this 
impersonal  God,  and  were  at  last  re-absorbed  in  the 


36  ST.  PAUL  IN  ATHENS. 

deity,  losing  sense  of  pain  and  personal  identity. 
On  this  re-absorption,  new  cycles  would  begin,  in 
every  respect  similar  to  those  which  preceded.^  We 
have  said  an  "Impersonal  God,"  for  His  nature 
and  essence  they  elsewhere  likened  to  fire  latent  in 
the  component  parts  of  the  world.  These  "  Phi- 
losophers of  the  Porch  "  were  therefore  virtually 
Pantheists.  The  Creator  was  merely  the  Spirit  of 
the  universe  He  had  formed.  The  world  was 
deity,  spontaneously  evolving  all  things  from  itself 
and  again  assimilating  and  appropriating  them. 
God,  in  other  words,  was  the  world,  and  the  world 
was  God.  It  need  hardly  be  added  that  they  were 
fatalists  ;  that  Destiny — Necessity — were  the  only 
regulators  in  the  affairs  of  men,  and  that  the  distant 
inaccessible  Being  they  so  far  recognised,  was  Him- 
self subject  to  the  same  inexorable  fate.  Thus 
they  denied  alike  the  personality  of  God  and  the 
responsibility  of  man.  It  was  a  stern  unlovable 
system,  with  a  scornful,  haughty  superiority  to 
pleasure  or  pain.  The  sect  has  coined  the  phrase  a 
"  stoical  indifference."  It  was  their  effort  to  attain 
possession  of  a  perfect  serenity  and  equanimity ;  to 
regard  with  unruffled  contempt  the  troubles  and 
vexations  of  life.    Hence  they  refused  and  rejected 

1  See  Neander,  p.  188. 


THE  AGORA.  37 

the  dogmas  of  any  other  creed,  lest  this  calm  might 
be  disturbed.  Their  aspiration  after  mental  tran- 
quillity was  a  parody  on  the  words  of  the  Christ  of 
Nazareth — "  Come  unto  Me  all  ye  that  labour  and 
are  heavy  laden,  and  I  will  give  you  rest."  They 
submitted  even  to  tortures  with  inflexible  endur- 
ance :  asserting  that  to  them  pleasure  was  no  plea- 
sure and  pain  no  pain.  We  need  not  wonder,  under 
the  sway  of  such  dogmas,  that  their  fathers  and 
founders,  Zeno  and  Cleanthes,  committed  suicide. 
Moreover,  it  is  only  natural  that  the  Eomans  with 
their  martial  ways  and  affinities,  the  stern  enduring 
qualities  of  the  imperial  nation,  would  have  greater 
sympathy  with  these  men  of  ''  blood  and  iron  "  than 
with  the  languid  sentiment  of  the  Epicureans. 
Hence  we  find  among  their  adherents  more  than 
one  illustrious  name  in  the  Empire  of  the  Csesars. 
As  a  brilliant  writer  expresses  it,  there  w^ere,  even  in 
the  decline  of  the  Empire,  loftier  minds,  adherents 
to  this  system,  who  "  stood  out  protesting  against 
the  corruption."  With  them  ''  belief  in  the  supe- 
riority of  right  to  enjoyment,  grand  contempt  for 
pleasure,  sublime  defiances  of  pain,  tolled  out  the 
dying  agonies  of  the  iron  kingdom ;  worthy  of  the 
heart  of  steel  which  beat  beneath  the  Eoman's  robe. 
This  was  Stoicism  :  the  Grecian  philosophy  which 
took  deepest  root,  as  might  have  been  expected,  in 


38  ST.  PAUL  IN  ATHENS. 

the  soil  of  Roman  thought.^  From  all  that  has 
been  said,  it  will  be  gathered  that  the  Stoical 
system  of  Ethics  was  purer  than  those  of  the  rival 
sect;  but,  independent  of  other  errors,  we. have 
seen  it  was  disfigured  by  pride  and  vain-glory.  If 
the  Epicureans  might  be  compared  to  the  Sad- 
ducees  of  the  Hebrew  nation,  the  Stoics,  in  their 
haughty  self-righteousness,  might  not  be  inappro- 
priately designated  philosophic  Pharisees.  How 
very  antagonistic  all  their  tenets  to  those  of  the 
Disciple  of  another  faith  now  about  to  confront 
them,  whose  life-motto  was,  "  By  the  grace  of  God 
I  am  what  I  am  !  "  ^ 

The  Stoics  had  their  headquarters,  the  modern 
"  Club  "  or  "  Royal  Institution,"  also  in  the  Agora. 
The  Stoa  (Eroa)  was  one  of  the  most  conspicuous 

^  Rev.  F.  W.  Robertson's  Sermons,  i.  216. 

^  I  cannot  resist  appending  the  account  of  their  doctrines  thus  elo- 
quently summarised  by  an  able  friend.  "  They  endeavoured  to  surmount 
matter  by  spiritualising  it.  They  said  this  universe,  which  we  have  been 
accustomed  to  regard  only  as  an  assemblage  of  shadows,  is  in  truth  a 
great  reality  ;  the  shadows  are  all  on  the  surface,  but  there  is  a  life  beneath 
them,  eternal,  immortal  and  invisible.  The  material  world  is  the  embodi- 
ment of  an  infinite  soul,  and  in  the  breath  of  that  soul  it  lives  and  moves 
and  has  its  being.  Individual  forms  indeed  are  perishable  and  worthy  to 
perish  :  they  seek  to  preserve  an  isolated,  self-contained  existence,  and 
therefore  it  is  only  fitting  their  existence  should  vanish  with  themselves. 
But  beneath  these  forms  there  is  a  life  which  never  dies,  which  outlasts 
all  material  changes,  and  abides  through  all  outward  transformations.  Let 
the  individual  man  yield  himself  up  to  this  life  ;  let  him  sacrifice  his  petty 
interest  to  enrich  the  wealth  of  universal  being  ;  let  him  forget  his  own 
pains  and  tears  and  misfortunes  in  the  sense  of  his  unity  with  the  great 


THE  AGORA.  39 

buildings  in  the  market-place.  It  gave  its  name 
to  the  sect,  as  here  Zeno  first  opened  his  celebrated 
school.  It  was  specially  distinguished  for  its 
Poecile,  or  painted  cloister :  a  spacious  colonnade, 
underneath  which  (recalling  the  gallery  of  battles 
at  Versailles)  was  depicted  a  series  of  the  great 
fights  which  had  won  for  Athens  and  Greece  their 
place  in  the  world's  history.  Some  of  the  Homeric 
scenes  were  thus  translated  for  the  eye.  The 
battle  of  Marathon  was  conspicuous  among  heroic 
memories.  In  addition  to  these  paintings,  there 
were  suspended  on  its  walls  the  brazen  shields  of 
the  Scionee  of  Thrace ;  also  similar  trophies  taken 
from  the  Lacedemonians.  We  may  only  further 
remark,  that  with  neither  Epicureans  nor  Stoics  was 

Spirit  of  nature,  which  holds  his  frail  existence  only  as  a  drop  is  held  by 
the  mighty  ocean." — Dr.  Mathesons  "  Growth  of  the  Spirit  of  Christianit//," 
vol.  i.  pp.  49,  50.  Perhaps  the  noblest  and  purest  adherent  of  the  sect 
in  its  waning  existence,  was  one  wearing  the  imperial  pvirple, — Marcus 
Aurelius  :  "  the  head  of  all  non-Christian  moralists,"  as  he  has  been  well 
described  by  a  distinguished  man  of  letters  (see  Contemporary  Review, 
1886,  p.  247).  He  adopted  the  system  at  the  early  age  of  twelve  years,  and 
resolutely  adhered  to  it  alike  as  a  pupil  and  a  teacher,  sitting  at  the  feet 
of  its  worthiest  exponents,  after  he  had  himself  attained  the  highest  honours 
of  the  state.  He  pursued  his  philosophic  studies  even  when  engaged  in 
war,  and  absorbed  in  the  distractions  of  rule.  In  his  case,  philosophy  and 
philanthropy  were  identical,  and  his  life  was  a  protest  against  pride, 
selfishness,  and  impurity.  He  was  a  loyal  follower  of  its  older  distinguished 
adherents,  such  as  Seneca  and  Epictetus.  A  Biblical  Commentator,  from 
whom  we  have  already  quoted,  mentions,  that  "  many  of  the  Stoics  were 
sought  after  as  tutors  for  the  sons  of  noble  families,  and  occupied  a  posi- 
tion of  influence,  not  unlike  that  of  Jesuit  confessors  and  directors  in 
France  in  the  seventeenth  and  eighteenth  centuries." 


40  ST.  PAUL  IN  ATHENS. 

Paul  unfamiliar.  Disciples  and  followers  of  both 
sects  were  to  be  found  in  considerable  numbers  in 
the  schools  of  Tarsus,  which  had  attained  now 
great  celebrity.  Perhaps,  in  this  their  haunt  and 
headquarters,  he  was  enabled  more  acutely  to  feel 
and  accentuate  their  wide  opposition  to  the  creed 
it  was  his  glory  to  expound  and  defend.  What 
could  be  more  antagonistic  to  the  later  develop- 
ments of  the  Epicurean  system,  than  the  doctrines 
of  that  divine  Saviour  in  their  irreconcileable 
hostility  alike  to  sensualism  and  selfishness,  and 
in  their  definition  of  true  happiness  as  consisting 
in  the  enjoyment  and  favour  of  a  personal  God? 
What  could  be  more  opposed,  on  the  other  hand, 
than  the  later  phases  of  the  Stoical  creed,  to  the 
humble,  lowly,  doctrines  of  the  Cross  of  Calvary  ?— 
doctrines  in  which  the  axe  was  laid  at  the  root  of 
all  self-love  and  creature  merit ;  whose  foundation- 
truth  was  that  of  human  depravity  and  human 
helplessness,  dependence  on  divine  superhuman 
aid  ;  eternal  life,  not  the  reward  of  virtue  or  good- 
ness, but  "the  gift  of  God  through  Jesus  Christ 
our  Lord  "  (Eom.  vi.  23).' 

1  In  what  has  been  said  of  these  two  philosophic  sects,  it  is  by  no  means 
to  be  supposed  that  their  doctrines  and  tenets  were  the  most  dangerous 
among  the  Greek  speculatists.  Many  others  not  only  were  avowed  atheists 
and  scoffers,  but  the  votaries  of  shameless  immorality.  We  would  desire 
to  give  emphasis  to  a  previous  remark,  that  the  aim  and  endeavour,  ori- 


THE  AGORA,  41 

To  resume  the  thread  of  our  narrative.  The 
members  of  these  two  sects  would  seem,  on  the 
occasion  of  St.  Paul's  visit  to  the  Agora,  to  have 
preponderated  among  the  other  notable  frequenters 
of  this  great  rendezvous  of  Grecian  thought. 

It  would  appear  too  from  the  text-narrative,  that 
not  on  one  isolated  occasion  only  did  our  Apostle 
mingle  with  the  promiscuous  assemblage.  For  we 
read  (ver.  17)  that  '*he  disputed  in  the  market 
daily  with  them  that  met  him."  His  new  theme — 
constantly  on  his  lips — that  which  his  preliminary 
statements  led  up  to,  was  ^^  Jesus  and  the  Resur- 
rection.''  Morning  after  morning,  he  may  have 
gathered  varied  and  varying  groups  around  him 
in  Stoa,  Colonnade,  or  Porch.  And  while  num- 
bering more  astute  listeners— (as  in  the  case  of 
a  Diviner  than  he) — "  the  common  people  " — the 
ordinary  crowd  of  plebeian  loungers  may  have 
"heard  him  gladly."  "He  did  not,"  says  Dr. 
Alexander,  '' ostentatiously  throw  down  the  gaunt- 
let to  the  chiefs  of  the  great  philosophic  schools, 
which  then  divided  the  allegiance  of  Greece,  but 
was   content   to    speak   with  any   one   who   was 

ginally  at  least,  of  the  Epicureans  and  Stoics,  was  to  settle  the  foundations 
of  virtue  and  to  satisfy  the  yearnings  of  the  human  spirit  in  its  search  for 
the  "highest  good."  Both  schools  professed  to  teach  "  the  more  excellent 
way,"  according  to  their  light  and  leading,  and  to  find  some  loftier  and  more 
enduring  principles  for  the  guidance  of  man's  moral  nature. 


42  ST.  PAUL  IN  ATHENS. 

willing  to  hear  what  he  had  to  say."  There  was 
nothing,  indeed,  to  prepossess  in  the  stranger's 
appearance.  These  children  of  Hellas,  a  nation 
of  athletes — models  of  physical  grace — who  prided 
themselves  as  much  on  the  perfect  development 
of  mere  outward  form  as  on  intellectual  distinc- 
tion, would  see  before  them  one  of  mean  stature ; 
his  face  wan  with  recent  suffering  and  bonds,  and 
specially  the  stripes  and  stocks  of  Philippi ;  his 
garb  ragged,  his  speech,  if  idiomatically  correct, 
lacking  in  the  rich  mellow  musical  tones  to  which 
they  were  wont  to  listen.  If  he  had  to  apologise 
to  the  less  cultured  Corinthians  for  his  stammer- 
ing and  imperfect  utterance  (1  Cor.  ii.  1-5), 
what  must  these  shortcomings  have  been  to  more 
fastidious  and  delicate  ears?  Over  and  above 
must  have  been  manifest  traces  of  inner  anxiety 
which  could  not  be  concealed.  Yet  the  man  was 
greater  than  his  personality.  There  was,  to  use  a 
modern  coined  word — a  mesmeric  power  in  his 
tones  which  dispensed  with  other  accessories.  Like 
the  Tishbite  of  another  age  and  country,  the  God 
he  owned  had  "made  his  words,  ^re."  Those 
Greeks  who  had  for  long  reverenced  Socrates, 
despite  of  his  repelling  physiognomy,  would  not 
overlook  or  undervalue  mental  qualities  though 
enshrined  in  a  mean  casket.    Above  all,  would 


THE  AGORA.  43 

they  respect  boldness  combined  with  sincerity. 
There  was  an  earnestness  of  conviction — a  heroic 
bearing — which  could  not  fail  to  enlist  their  sym- 
pathetic attention.  He  had  taken  to  himself  the 
whole  spiritual  armour  of  which  in  after  times  he 
wrote  ;  and  '*  above  all "  (over  all)  "  the  shield  of 
faith."  He  got  at  once  into  living  touch  with 
the  minds  around  him ;  going  from  one  group  to 
another  of  those  who  were  standing  under  the  por- 
ticos, or  sauntering  under  the  plane  trees.  "He 
exhibits  to  us,"  says  Monod,  ''  notwithstanding  an 
infirm  body  and  a  feeble  speech,  what  a  man  can 
do,  even  one  single  man,  when  his  will  is  in 
harmony  with  the  will  of  God."  Possibly  when 
the  above  leaders  of  thought  had  noted  this  sym- 
pathetic interest  on  the  part  of  the  auditory — they 
may,  like  the  captain  of  the  temple  and  the  chief 
priests,  on  another  occasion,  at  Jerusalem,  have 
dreaded  "whereunto  this  might  grow"  (Acts  v. 
24).  What  he  was  urging  was  no  mere  modifi- 
cation of  their  own  polytheism,  but  an  entirely 
new  departure.  The  novel  doctrines  might  prove 
infectious,  and  gain  perilous  mastery  with  fickle 
ears.  They  must  come  to  the  rescue.  **What 
does  this  babbler  say?"  (ver.  18) — was  their 
haughty  comment  and  query,  as  they  advanced 
within  hearing.     The  word   "babbler" — will  be 


44  ST.  PAUL  IN  ATHENS. 

found  commented  on  by  most  exegetical  scholars. 
It  means  literally  a  "  bird  pecker ;  "  a  rook  ;  or  as 
others  say,  a  bird  of  the  finch  tribe,  with  a  shrill 
note,  chirping  and  nibbling  up  scattered  seeds  on 
the  public  way,  or  following  the  plough,  or  as 
here  in  the  Agora.  From  this,  its  root  derivation, 
it  comes  figuratively  to  apply  to  an  impecunious 
haunter  of  the  market-place  who  earns  his  pre- 
carious living,  first  by  pilfering  floral  and  other 
gifts  left  on  the  altars  of  the  gods, — one  who  thus 
tries,  by  dishonourable  ways  and  means  worthy 
of  contempt,  to  secure  what  he  fails  to  get  by 
honest  trade ;  then  (a  still  farther  emblematic 
meaning) — it  may  refer,  as  in  the  present  instance, 
to  one  who  is  regarded  as  a  prattler — a  loquacious 
idler — whose  mind  is  a  prey  to  crude  incoherent 
fancies ;  or,  more  contemptible  still,  one  who 
picks  up  and  circulates  scraps  of  knowledge  he 
does  not  understand.  The  rendering  of  the  verse 
in  Wycliffe's  Version  is—''  What  will  this  sower 
of  wordis  say?"  In  the  Eheims  Version,  "What 
is  it  that  this  word-sower  would  say?  "  ^  Olshau- 
sen  notes,  that  "  in  the  very  place  in  Athens 
where  St.  Paul  spoke,  Demosthenes,  too,  called  his 
opponent  ^schenes— a  '  Spermologos.'  "  ^ 

1  Quoted  by  Dr.  Kitto.     See  also  Howson  in  note,  p.  400. 

2  Olshausen  on  the  Acts,  vol.  iv.  p.  551,  note. 


THE  AGORA.  45 

The  suspicions  of  the  Sophists  seem  gradually 
confirmed.  They  whisper  to  one  another  or  protest 
aloud — "  He  seemeth  to  be  a  setter  forth  of  strange 
gods"  (v.  18).  He  is  claiming  our  homage  for 
unrecognised  deities  {SaL/iovLoj,  and  is  therefore  a 
violator  of  our  laws.  They  proceed  to  specify  the 
two  new  divinities  he  sought  not  only  to  include 
in  their  Pantheon,  but  to  supersede  those  they  had 
sworn  to  reverence  ; — (Irjo-ov^.  yivdarao-L^).  "  Jesus," 
a  Jewish  divinity : — also  a  female  deity  Anastasis, 
"  The  Eesurrection,"  embodying  the  idea  of  im- 
mortality. This  had  been  the  pith  and  kernel  of 
all  these  daily  and  repeated  colloquies — the  one 
supreme  subject  of  thought  and  appeal — things  in 
heaven  and  earth  that  were  never  dreamt  of  in 
their  philosophy.  ''  Jesus  and  the  Resurrection  "  / 
— the  two  themes  permeated  and  dominated  the 
teaching  of  the  Great  Apostle. 

We  are  quite  aware  as  to  how  this  construction 
of  the  meaning  of  St.  Paul's  words  on  the  part  of 
the  Epicureans  and  Stoics — a  meaning  first  sug- 
gested by  Chrysostom  and  followed  latterly  by 
several  German  writers,  has  been  doubted  and 
combated.  It  is  by  no  means  to  be  pressed.  But 
the  opinion  of  the  Great  Father  of  the  Eastern 
Church  seems  to  have  much  to  recommend  it.  All 
around  were  statues  of  gods  and  goddesses,  who 


46  ST.  PAUL  IN  ATHENS. 

were  the  embodiment  and  personification  of  ab- 
stract notions  and  qualities, — such  as  Honour, 
Energy,  Modesty,  Fame,  Persuasion,  Concord,  &c.^ 
Why  should  not  Anastasis  have  suggested  itself  in 
the  same  light  ?  ^ 

In  that  hurricane  of  noise  and  clamour — a 
chronic  surging  of  talk — it  occurs  to  these  mem- 
bers of  the  two  sects  that  they  would  enjoy  greater 
quiet  and  freedom  for  the  discussion  of  the  new 
creed,  and  the  claims  of  these  alien  divinities  for 
a  place  among  the  immortals,  if  they  "were  to 
adjourn  with  the  Hebrew  Stranger  to  the  neigh- 
bouring eminence.^ 

This  we  shall  leave  for  description  in  next 
chapter. 

^  We  may  add  tlie  observation  from  Pausanias  : — "In  the  market- 
place of  the  Athenians,  there  are  other  works  which  are  not  so  obvious  to 
every  one,  and  among  the  rest  an  altar  of  Pity  (or  Mercy,  "EXeos),  which 
Divinity,  as  she  is  above  all  others  beneficial  to  human  life,  ...  is 
reverenced  by  the  Athenians"  (vol.  i.  chap.  xvii.). 

2  Among  these  German  authorities  are  Lange,  Baumgarten,  and  Baur. 
Dr.  Gloag  in  his  "  Commentary  on  the  Acts  "  well  remarks,  that  if  it  had 
not  been  the  writer's  intention  to  designate  these  two  as  strange  gods 
proclaimed  by  St.  Paul,  there  would  have  been  no  reason  for  the  addition 
of  TTjv  avdaTaaiv.  If  it  had  only  been  Jesus  whom  the  Apostle  preached 
as  *'  the  Risen  One  "  the  historian  would  have  added  the  pronoun  avrov. 
But  he  does  not  write  "Jesus  and  His  Resurrection,"  but  "Jesus  and  the 
Resurrection"  (vol.  ii.  p.  150). 

3  V.  19.  "  They  took  him  "  (took  hold  of  him  by  the  hand).  There 
is  nothing  implied  in  the  words  to  suggest  violence  or  "  arrest."  "The 
same  verb  is  used  often  of  taking  by  the  hand  to  aid  or  protect  (Mark 
viii.  23  ;  Acts  xxiii.  19,  ix.  27).  It  was  prompted  by  curiosity— not  dis- 
pleasure.    {Professor  Lumby  of  Cambridge  on  the  Acts^  in  loc.) 


III. 


*'  It  was  the  Greek  who,  transcending  every  diflScuUy  of  action  and  posture, 
liberated  the  figure  from  the  stone,  and  impersonated  strength  and  grace  in 
those  petrifactions  of  heroes  and  of  gods,  which  are  at  once  the  glory  and  the 
despair  of  each  successive  generation." — Holmden,  "Art  in  Greece.'^ 

"It  is  impossible  to  conceive  of  anything  more  adapted  to  the  circum- 
stances of  time  and  place,  than  is  the  whole  of  St.  Paul's  masterly  address ; 
but  the  full  force  and  energy  and  boldness  of  the  Apostle's  language  can  be 
duly  felt  only  when  one  has  stood  upon  the  spot." — Dr.  Robinson's  Biblical 
Researches,  vol.  i.  p.  8. 

"  It  can  hardly  be  deemed  profane,  if  we  trace  to  the  same  divine  Provi- 
dence, the  preservation  of  the  very  imagery  which  surrounded  the  speaker, — 
not  only  the  sea  and  the  mountains  and  the  sky,  which  change  not  with  the 
decay  of  nations — but  even  the  very  Temples,  which  remain,  after  wars  and 
revolutions,  on  their  ancient  pedestals,  in  astonishing  perfection.  "We  are 
thus  provided  with  a  practical,  yet  truthful  commentary  on  the  words  that 
were  spoken  once  for  all  at  Athens ;  and  Art  and  Nature  have  been  com- 
missioned from  above  to  enframe  the  portrait  of  that  Apostle,  who  stands  for 
ever  on  the  Areopagus  as  the  Teacher  of  the  Gentiles." — Howson  and  Cony- 
beare,  vol.  i.  p.  410. 

"All  these  things  have  been,  are,  ought  to  be,  and  will  be  used,  and  per- 
haps increasingly,  as  handmaids  of  the  Church's  ministry,  and  for  the 
innocent  delight  of  the  intelligent.  Only  they  do  not  make  Heaven,  or 
reveal  God." — Bishop  ThoroJd. 

"  God  .  .  .  dwelleth  not  in  Temples  made  with  hands"  (Acts  xvii.  24). 


(     49     ) 


THE   AEEOPAGUS. 

The  Areopagus,  (Apeco^   JTayo?) — Mars'  Hill — was 
so  called  from  the  Temple  dedicated  to  the  God 
of  War,  which  stood  by  itself  close  by  :  just  as  the 
"  Cam2:)us  Martins''  had  been  dedicated  to  him  in 
Eome.     Others  assert  that  it  obtained  its  designa- 
tion from  being  the  spot  where,  according  to  tradi- 
tion, the  reputed  gods  were  summoned  to  a  solemn 
assembly,  when  Mars  was  arraigned  for  the  murder 
of  a  son  of  Poseidon  (or  Neptune).     It  had  been 
long  appropriated  for  judicial  purposes  :  and,  as 
already  noted,  Athens,  being  constituted  by  Rome 
a  free  city,  still  had  its  recognised  and  independent 
courts  of  judicature.    The  Court  of  the  Areopagus 
was  the  most  venerable  of  these.    It  was  instituted 
by  Solon  as  a  check  to  repress  the  disorders  of  the 
democracy,  and  was  composed  of  the  choicest  and 
most  conspicuous  of  the  citizens, — those  of  noble 
birth  and  blameless  reputation— the  true  "Leaders 
of  the  people."     Indeed,  to  secure  it  being  select, 
none  were   advanced  to  the   office  who  had  not 

D 


50  ST.  PAUL  IN  ATHENS. 

previously  held  that  of  Archon.  During  its  best 
days  it  was  distinguished  for  probity,  justice,  and 
unimpeachable  rectitude.  Possibly  it  may  have 
now  degenerated  from  the  time  when  its  decisions 
were  deemed  so  reliable,  that  even  the  Roman  did 
not  scruple  to  make  its  members  arbiters  in  diffi- 
cult cases,  or  counsellors  in  important  affairs/  The 
Court  took  cognisance  of  capital  offences,  and  had 
exclusive  jurisdiction,  too,  in  the  settlement  of 
religious  matters  (ra  Upd).  All  innovators,  those 
departing  from  the  traditional  and  accepted  reli- 
gious rites  and  customs — what  we  would  have 
called  "  Schismatics" — were  sisted  at  its  bar.  It 
was  therefore  specially  appropriate,  on  this  occa- 
sion, for  hearing  an  exposition  of  the  Christian 
Apologist's  doctrines.  Owing  to  these  and  other 
associations,  there  was,  in  the  mind  of  the 
Athenians,  a  halo  of  sacredness  thrown  around 
the  place ;  corresponding  in  some  measure  to  that 
which  invested  The  Shiloh  of  Israel's  Tabernacle. 
But  as  it  was  mingled  too  with  a  superstitious 
awe,  shall  we  call  it  rather,  and  more  truth- 
fully, the  prototype  of  the  hierarchal  council 
and  conclave  so  formidable  in  Mediaeval  times — 
the  Eomish  Inquisition.  Some  conjecture  that  the 
Court  was  now  in  session.     Be  this  as  it  may,  it 

1  Dr  Kitto. 


THE  AREOPAGUS.  51 

is  evident  that  our  Apostle  was  not  summoned 
before  it  as  a  criminal,  on  a  criminal  charge.  His 
appearance  there  was  extra  judicial.  No  formal 
indictment  was  presented.  It  had  been  very  dif- 
ferent with  others  before,  who,  in  their  way,  were 
as  illustrious  as  St.  Paul  himself.  The  noblest 
of  all  the  noble  citizens  of  Athens — the  founder  of 
her  Ethical  Schools,  with  whose  name  we  are  al- 
ready familiar — the  great  and  good  Socrates— when 
he  had  reached  the  age  of  three  score  and  ten^ — 
had  been  arraigned  where  the  Apostle  of  a  purer 
faith  was  about  to  stand.  He  had  to  answer  to 
almost  the  identical  accusation — viz.,  that  he  had 
been  *'  the  setter  forth  of  strange  gods."  These 
were  the  very  words  of  the  capital  charge — *'  He 
did  not  acknowledge  the  gods  whom  the  city 
acknowledged,  and  he  introduced  new  gods.^  He 
concluded  his  famous  appeal,  or  apology,  almost  in 
Apostolic  words — *'  Ye  men  of  Athens,  I  am 
obliged  to  you  and  thank  you,  but  I  must  obey 
God  rather  than  you.  .  .  .  And  now  the  hour  is 
come  for  us  to  depart.  I  go  to  death  and  you  to 
life,  but  which  of  the  twain  is  the  better  choice  is 
known  to  God  alone."  ^  He  was  thirty  days  in 
prison  previous  to  his  death.     These  he  spent  in 

^  B.C.  399.  .  2  Xen.  Apolog.  Soc. 

3  See  Lewin's  Life  of  St.  Paul,  vol.  i.  p.  288. 


52  ST.  PAUL  IN  ATHENS, 

philosophic  converse  with  his  friends/  The  cup  of 
hemlock  drank  in  the  adjoining  prison  was  the 
cruel  and  ignoble  cause  of  the  termination  of  a 
life  which  belongs  to  all  ages.^ 

The  Areopagus  itself  was  remarkable.  It  con- 
sisted of  an  eminence,  or  rather  protuberance — 
an  insulated  rock,  more  craggy  towards  the  east, 
where  it  attained  the  height  of  fifty  feet.  Here  was 
the  reputed  Cave  of  the  Furies,  the  awful  goddesses 
with  their  snaky  tresses  who  dogged  the  footsteps 
of  guilt.  They  are  called,  by  Hesiod,  Erinnyes  (the 
Avengers),  but,  on  being  propitiated,  became  Eume- 
nides  (the  Gentle  Ones).  Their  abode  was  a 
natural  hollow  or  grotto,  in  the  north-eastern  base 
of  the  rock  confronting  the  Acropolis.      To  the 


1  Dr.  William  Smith's  History  of  Greece  in  loc. 

2  From  "  verbal  photographs  "  left  us  by  the  most  distinguished  of  his 
contemporaries,  and  specially  by  Plato,  we  can  picture  the  figure  and 
appearance  of  the  living  man,  which  hardly  needs  the  aid  of  bust  or  statue 
to  impress  upon  us  his  individuality,  so  unlike  the  symmetrical  forms  and 
features  of  those  among  whom  he  carried  on  his  ceaseless  mission  :  the 
rotund  head  and  capacious  forehead — the  un-Grecian  nose — the  prominent 
eyes  with  their  kindly  glance  when  argument  woke  them  up  from  their 
normal  inexpressiveness  ;  the  restlessness  of  a  true  peripatetic  ;  one  so  well 
adapted,  in  what  are  familiarly  known  as  his  "Methods,"  to  encourage 
dialectics  and  discussion  among  a  capricious  auditory.  We  can  imagine 
him,  all  day  long,  strolling,  but  never  alone  :  now  along  the  public  walks 
and  gardens  ;  now  in  the  gymnasia  for  the  training  of  athletes  ;  now  in  the 
bazaars  and  booths  of  the  Agora— specially  his  favourite  Stoa  Poecile  : 
now  expounding  his  thesis  on  the  heights  of  the  Areopagus  ;  now  saunter- 
ing with  his  more  familiar  intimates  among  the  statues  and  Temples  of  the 
Acropolis — or  amid  the  oleanders  of  the  Academy. 


THE  AREOPAGUS.  53 

Temple  of  the  Semnse,  or  Subterranean  Sanctuary, 
the  accused  before  the  Areopagite  Court  were  con- 
ducted after  acquittal,  to  offer  sacrifice.^  Keligion 
was  thus  invoked  to  enforce  the  sanctions  and 
penalties  of  Law ;  a  foreshadow  of  the  association 
of  Church  and  State  of  after  ages.  The  behests  of 
the  earthly  Council  were  confirmed  and  sanctioned 
by  the  proximity  of  this  haunt  of  the  "  Avenging 
Angels "  of  Greek  mythology,  and  the  supposed 
entrance  to  Hades.^  The  "  Hill "  is  approached 
by  sixteen  stone  steps  from  The  Agora — the 
same  by  which  we  ascended  on  the  occasion  of 
our  visit,  as  they  still  survive  in  a  dilapidated 
state.  Mr.  Bartlett  well  describes  the  spot : — 
"  A  long  rugged  slope  culminating  to  a  point. 
...  At  the  top  of  the  steps  and  hewn  in  the 
rock  is  a  level  platform  with  a  stone  bench  around 
it,  steps,  bench,  and  all,  picturesquely  corroded  by 
the  tooth  of  time."  The  two  English  Princes  in 
their  "  Walks  about  Athens "  give  this  graphic 
touch  in  the  reference  to  the  Areopagus.     *'  The 

1  Pausanias  mentions  three  statues  there,  as  being  seen  in  his  day — those 
of  Pluto,  Mercury,  and  the  Earth.— i.  chap.  28. 

-  Not  aware  of  the  vicinity  of  the  cave,  we  did  not  examine  it.  Dr. 
Wordsworth,  who  did  so,  says — *'  There  is  a  wide  long  chasm  formed  by 
split  rocks,  through  which  we  enter  a  gloomy  recess.  There  is  a  fountain 
of  very  dark  water,  A  female  peasant  whom  we  find  here  with  her  pitcher, 
in  the  very  adytum  of  the  Eumenides,  says  that  the  source  flows  during 
the  summer,  and  that  it  is  esteemed  for  its  medicinal  virtues  "  (p.  66). 


54  ST.  PAUL  IN  ATHENS. 

wild  thyme  and  dry  odorous  grasses  now  cover 
this  hill,  amongst  which  we  came  across  the  de- 
scendants of  the  grasshoppers  of  which  the  old 
Athenians  were  so  fond."^  The  place  had  very 
old  and  less  pleasing  historic  memories ;  for  it 
Avas  here  that  the  Persians  under  Xerxes  had,  cen- 
turies before,  taken  up  their  position  to  assault  the 
Acropolis,  then  the  "  citadel,"  poorly  fortified  with 
wooden  bulwarks.  The  assailants  sent  showers  of 
arrows,  furnished  or  "  headed  "  wdth  burning  tow, 
which  easily  accomplished  their  mission  on  the 
timber  barricades.  The  Athenians  of  that  heroic 
age,  however,  surrendered  their  lives  and  forts  only 
after  prodigies  of  valour.  When  other  resistance 
was  hopeless,  masses  of  stone  w^ere  rolled  down  on 
the  attacking  soldiers.  The  disparity  of  numbers 
determined  the  fate  of  the  day,  and  the  defenders 
were  put  to  the  sword.    But  Salamis  was  at  hand.^ 

^  The  same,  in  their  account  of  the  remarkable  ruins  of  Jerash  or 
Geresa,  note  the  similar  juxtaposition  of  temple  and  law-court  to  which 
in  the  previous  page  we  have  referred.  Speaking  of  the  Great  Temple  of 
the  Sun.  "We  enter  first  the  Basilica,  which  stands  immediately  opposite 
to  this,  on  the  right  hand  side  of  the  street.  The  tribune  of  Justice,  where 
was  placed  the  "gabbatha,"  the  piece  of  tesselated  pavement  brought  from 
Rome,  is  well  marked,  and  on  this  stood  the  chair  of  the  judge."  It  is 
added,  as  true  of  the  Areopagus  as  of  these  Oriental  ruins  of  their  "  Palace 
of  Justice," — "  The  swallows  to-day  are  now  chirping  where  lawyers  once 
jileaded,''  vol.  ii.  p.  652.  One  or  two  of  these  ancient  stone  benches  of  the 
Areopagus  have  been  removed  outside  the  modern  museum  of  Athens — 
the  Temple  of  Theseus. 

2  The  Student's  Greece,  p.  205. 


THE  AREOPAGUS.  55 

It  was  up  these  same  stone  steps,  then,  that  the 
Apostle  of  Christ  was  now  conducted  by  his  curious 
interlocutors.  The  privileged  judges,  what  were 
called  "  the  Upper  Council "  would  occupy,  facing 
the  south,  their  triangular  stone  benches ;  most 
probably  Dionysius,  spoken  of  at  the  close  of  the 
narrative,  among  them.  The  remaining  crowd  of 
philosophers  would  stand  on  the  vacant  space  in 
the  platform,  or  grouped  on  the  rocks  around.^ 
Doubtless  St.  Paul  would  be  placed  on  what  was 
familiarly  known  by  the  name  "  Stone  of  Impu- 
dence." ^  As  indifferent  would  he  be,  as  was  the 
illustrious  Athenian  we  have  spoken  of,  to  any 
implied  contumely.  He  has  no  thought  but  an 
irresistible  desire  to  unfold  his  great  message. 

The  idea  of  danger  or  indeed  insult  is  at  once 
dismissed  and  negatived  by  the  terms  of  the  invita- 

1  We  may  here  once  more  refer  to  the  Initial  Woodcut  in  our  Preface, 
where,  in  conjunction  with  an  ideal  picture  of  the  surroundings,  we  have, 
though  in  inadequate  size,  a  reproduction  of  what  the  authoress  of  "  Sacred 
.ind  Legendary  Art "  pronounces,  "the  sublimest  ideal  of  embodied  elo- 
quence that  ever  was  expressed  in  art  "  (p.  226).  Mr,  Bartlett  has  an  effec- 
tive engraving,  though  an  altogether  different  treatment  of  the  same  scene, 
in  his  "Footsteps  of  the  Apostles"  (p.  106).  "There  is  no  spot,"  he  adds, 
"  about  the  identity  of  which  there  can  be  less  doubt  than  this,  and  in 
none,  perhaps,  is  so  little  effort  required,  to  figure  the  minutest  details  of 
the  incident  connected  with  it"  (p.  105). 

2  AVatSet'as,  "  Two  stones  upon  which  the  accusers  and  defenders  stood. 
They  call  one  of  these  the  Stone  of  Reproach  (or  contumely)  and  the  other 
of  Impudence"  {Pausanias,  chap.  i.  28).  What  in  modern  phrase  would 
be  the  places  for  Plaintiff  and  Defendant,  the  accuser  and  accused. 


56  ST.  PAUL  IN  ATHENS. 

tion  addressed  to  the  stranger  by  these  masters  in 
the  art  of  courtesy.  Though  they  deemed  him  and 
had  ah'eady  denounced  him  as  a  ''  seed-pecking 
babbler,"  a  frivolous  innocent,  they  at  all  events 
veiled  the  cynicism  which  may  have  mingled  with 
their  assumed  politeness.  "  May  we  know,  if  you 
please,"  said  these  inquisitive  interrogators,  ''  what 
this  new  doctrine  whereof  thou  speakest  is  ?  for  thou 
bringest  strange  things  to  our  ears.  Wewouldknow 
therefore,  what  these  things  mean?"  (v.  19,  20). 

One  salient  reference  at  least,  in  the  sermon, 
justifies  our  pausing  here  for  a  little  to  describe 
the  view  from  the  summit  of  this  rocky  knoll,  the 
same  prospect  which  must  have  met  the  eye  of 
the  Apostle.  What  the  author  of  ''Athens  and 
Attica"  has  said  of  the  Pynx,  might,  so  far  at 
least,  with  appropriateness  be  transferred  to  Mars' 
Hill.  "From  its  position  and  its  openness,  it 
supplied  the  Athenian  orator  with  sources  of  elo- 
quence influencing  himself,  and  with  objects  of 
appeal  acting  on  his  audience  which  no  other  place 
of  a  similar  import,  not  even  the  Eoman  Forum,  has 
ever  paralleled  in  number  and  influence"  (p.  55). 
It  would  matter  not  in  which  direction  he  first 
gazed,  for  the  entire  panorama,  striking  now,  must 
have  been  doubly  impressive,  teeming  with  varied 
interest,  in  that  first  century  of  our  era,  before 


THE  AREOPAGUS. 


57 


the  havoc  of  time  and  the  ravages  of  conquering 
hordes  had  invaded  its  sanctity.  He  might  begin 
with  glimpses  of  the  somewhat  unpicturesque 
heights  and  sombre  dells  of  "flowery  Hymettus  " 
on  his  left.  Turning  towards  the  right  was  the 
Piraeus,  partially  screened  by  the  Pynx,  but  pro- 
bably not  sufficient  to  hide  out  one  of  the  spurs 
of  Mount  ^galios  rising  from  the  Attic  shore, 
the  spot  where  Xerxes  (who  had  so  recently,  as 
already  noted,  converted  the  Areopagus  into  a 
place  of  assault)  sat  on,  a  canopied  throne  upon 
the  rocks,  still  memorialised  by  "  a  larger  heap  of 
stones,"  ^  to  watch  the  armaments  at  the  great  naval 
fight,  and  from  which  he  sprang  in  a  paroxysm  of 
fury  at  the  unparalleled  disaster.^  The  gulph  of 
Salamis,  with  its  Island,  and  Straits,  and  "  white 
wings  of  commerce,"  was  backed  by  the  coast  of 
Peloponnesus.  The  distant  mountain-range,  tinted 
with  what  a  traveller  calls  "their  forget-me-not 
blue,"  indicated  the  direction  of  the  city  of  Corinth. 
Continuing  the  circuit,  the  plain  of  the  Cephisus 

1  Memoir  of  Lieutenant  De  Lisle,  p.  86. 
-  The  vivid  description  of  Lord  Byron  may  here  be  recalled  : 
"  A  King  sat  on  the  rocky  brow 

Which  looks  o'er  sea-born  Salamis  ; 
And  ships  by  thousands  lay  below  ; 

And  men  in  nations  ; — all  were  his  ! 
He  counted  them  at  break  of  day  ; 
And  when  the  sun  s^t,  where  were  they  ?  " 


58  ST.  PAUL  IN  ATHENS. 

would  stretch  in  "middle  distance:"  not  as  now 
bared,  blighted,  treeless,  and  comparatively  bereft 
of  busy  life,  but  studded  with  gardens  and  olive 
groves/  Conspicuous  among  these  would  be  the 
old  Academic  haunts  of  Plato. ^  Still  to  the  right 
would  be  seen  the  barrier  hills  of  Attica — the 
mountain  line  of  Parnes.  But  boldly  conspicuous 
beyond  all  others  as  an  outlier — a  great  watch- 
tower  over  the  city  of  Pericles  of  a  singular  cone 
shape — was  the  remarkable  hill  of  Lycabettus. 
It  occupies  the  same  relation  to  Athens,  that  the 
Mount  of  Olives  does  to  Jerusalem.  Bishop 
Wordsworth   is   reminded   by  it  of  what  Monte 

1  It  must  be  borne  in  mind  that  the  soil  of  Attica  was  by  no  means  exube- 
rant—not included  among  the  world's  favoured  regions  for  fertility.  But  in 
its  brightest  era  it  showed  the  powers  of  cultivation  :— what  art  and  human 
labour  could  achieve  in  subjugating  the  adverse  forces  of  nature.  The 
serenity  of  its  atmosphere  and  the  beauty  of  its  skies  were  always  the  same. 
"Preller  regards  Athene"  {alOrip  the  clear  height  of  air)  "as  originally  a 
personification  of  the  wonderful  beauty  and  brilliance  of  the  stainless  sky  in 
Hellas.'"— Nineteenth  Century,  January  18SG,  p.  53.  The  first  two  of  the  well- 
known  lines  are  at  all  events  true  to  this  day— 

*'  Still  are  thy  skies  as  blue,  thy  crags  as  wild, 
Sweet  are  thy  groves,  and  verdant  are  thy  fields." 

2  These  may  be  about  three  Roman  miles  distant  from  the  Areopagus. 
They  are  gardens  surrounded  and  interspersed  partially  still  witli  groves, 
among  which  the  Cephisus  winds  its  way  to  the  S;ironic  gulph.  Other 
travellers  tell  us  that  Llilton's  tuneful  nightingale— "  the  Attic  Bird"  still 
survives  with  the  warblings  which  of  old  gladdened  this  school  and  home  of 
Plato,  "the  plane  tree  whispering  to  the  elm  as  Aristophanes  has  it."  Our 
impressions  of  the  place,  it  must  be  confessed,  were  more  prosaic.  But 
besides  the  visit  being  necessarily  a  hurried  and  superficial  one — allowance 
must  be  made  for  the  depressing  influences  of  a  hot  sun  and  dusty  roads — 
the  latter  telling  with  fatal  effect  on  the  environing  trees,  especially  the 
oleanders. 


THE  AREOPAGUS.  59 

Mario  is  to  Eome  (p.  46).  A  nearer  parallel  is 
one  with  which  we  are  more  familiar.  Not  so 
picturesque  as  the  Lion  couchant  which,  in  Arthur's 
Seat,  guards  the  city  of  Edinburgh — (for  this  and 
other  reasons  so  appropriately  called  the  '  Modern 
Athens  '),  but  it  is  loftier  and  more  precipitous,  and 
has,  what  is  an  impossibility  in  our  sterner  north, 
olives,  myrtles  and  cypresses  clothing  its  sides. 
The  more  distant  mountain  sweep  is  completed  by 
the  hills  in  the  direction  of  Marathon :  a  wonder- 
ful "  interlacing,"  as  it  ^has  been  well  described, 
*'  of  land  and  sea."  Possibly  the  same  writer's 
words,  conveying  his  own  impression  of  the 
scene,  may  be  appropriate  to  the  Apostle  spec- 
tator: — "The  exquisite  softness  and  beauty  of  the 
colouring,  especially  when  the  evening  sun,  glint- 
ing over  the  conical  tops  of  Cithseron  .  .  .  encircles 
as  with  a  halo  of  fire  the  brow  of  Lycabettus,  and 
bathes  the  sides  of  Hymettus  in  a  flood  of  rosy 
light.  The  more  distant  mountains  then  assume 
that  deep  rich  purple  hue  peculiar  to  the  Levant, 
making  them  stand  out  from  the  glowing  back- 
ground of  the  evening  sky."  ^  All  travellers  must 
be  struck  with  this  brilliancy  of  light  and  colour. 
"The  epithet  *  violet-crowned '  refers  to  the  hills 
which  shut  in  like  a  crown  the  whole  plain.  .  .  . 

^  Professor  Porter. 


6o  ST.  PAUL  IN  ATHENS. 

The  glow  over  these  hills  of  Attica  is  more 
delicate  than  the  equally  clear  but  warmer  tinge 
we  have  lately  been  used  to  in  Syria  and  in  the 
Valley  of  the  Nile ;  and  in  addition,  there  is  this 
indescribable  violet  hue,  which  not  only  when  the 
sun  is  setting,  but  also  for  two  or  three  hours 
previously,  bathes  Pentelicus,  Parnes,  Lycabettus, 
and  Hymettus." 

But  above  all,  then,  as  now,  was  the  peerless, 
unrivalled  Acropolis,  200  yards  distant,  enthroned 
on  its  rock,  and  towering  to  the  height  of  150 
feet,  with  its  crown  of  temples  :  far  more  than 
ever  the  capitol  was  to  Eome,  or,  taking  a  home 
comparison,  their  respective  castles  ever  were  to 
Stirling  or  Edinburgh.  "  It  resembled  "  says  Dr. 
Wordsworth,  adopting  the  simile  of  Xenophon, 
*'  a  decorated  pedestal,  or  a  massive  altar — one 
great  Avddrjfia  to  the  gods."  No  wonder  that 
Herodotus  describes  the  Immortals  themselves  con- 
tending for  it :  while  another  Greek  writer  ap- 
propriately designates  it  "  the  heart  of  Athens,  as 
Athens  was  the  heart  of  Greece."  *'  Somewhat," 
says  Leigh  Maxwell,  describing  one  of  the  Islands  of 
the  Archipelago—''  like  the  High  City,  or  Acropolis 
of  Athens.  So  it  was  with  the  most  of  the  towns 
and  capitals  of  the  different  divisions  of  ancient 
Greece.     Each  had  its  Acropolis,  or  high  rock, 


THE  AREOPAGUS.  6i 

where  the  treasures  of  the  place  were  kept,  which 
was  in  fact,  the  citadel."  ^  "  The  rock  "  says  the 
graphic  writer  of  "Rambles  in  Greece"  which  of 
all  rocks  in  the  world's  history  has  done  most  for 
literature  and  art — the  rock  about  which  poets 
and  orators  and  architects  and  historians  have 
ever  spoken  without  exhausting  themselves,  which 
is  ever  new  and  ever  old,  ever  fresh  in  its  decay, 
ever  perfect  in  its  ruin — ever  living  in  its  death."  ^ 
We  need  hardly  add  that  the  coi^  cordium  was  "  the 
House  of  the  Virgin  " — the  altogether  unique  and 
perfect  Parthenon. 

If  the  writer  be  forgiven,  yet  another  personal 
allusion.  We  had  only,  a  fortnight  before,  visited 
what — taking  them  all  in  all,  may  be  deemed  the 
w^orld's  noblest  relics  of  ancient  Architecture — the 
ruined  Temples  of  Baalbec  in  Coele  Syria.  While 
their  colossal  size  dwarfs  comparison  with  most 
other  rivals,  their  beauty  was  enhanced  as  seen  in  a 
sky  of  unclouded  blue.  The  graceful  Corinthian 
shafts  which  look  as  if  reared  by  Titans  are 
"  weather-toned  "  or  rather,  weaiheY'Stained^  witli 
the  drift  of  red  sand  blowing  upon  them  from  the 
plain  of  Bukka.  This  delicate  *' Etruscan  red" 
almost  fading  into  golden  yellow,  seen  in  that 
turquoise  setting  and  intensified  with  the  last  fires 

1  Letters  of  an  Engineer,  p.  17.  ^  Trofessor  IMi^liaffy,  p.  27. 


62  ST.  PAUL  IN  ATHENS. 

of  day,  is  grand  and  impressive,  beyond  descrip- 
tion. No  wonder  they  interfered  with  a  first 
impression  of  the  Parthenon.  But  the  feeling  of 
disparity  was  little  else  than  momentary.  In 
magnitude  of  course  there  can  be  no  comparison. 
As  well  liken  the  Andes  or  M.  Blanc  to  Snowdon 
or  Ben  Nevis.  But  when  the  question  of  dimen- 
sion is  adjusted — the  Parthenon  (the  Virgin's 
House)  truly  called  *'  the  Jung-frau  of  Athenian 
Monuments  "  [^Syrian  Shrines]  has  many  claims 
as  a  competitor.  On  the  great  natural  pedestal  of 
the  Acropolis  there  is  a  cluster  of  varying  and 
beautiful  art  of  which  the  Parthenon  itself  is 
Primus  inter  pares.  It  stands  on  the  highest 
platform,  Q5  feet  in  height,  frieze,  pediment, 
architrave,  plinth  and  pillar,  all  in  exquisite  har- 
mony. Well  may  this  finest  specimen  of  pure 
Doric,  so  faultless  in  its  proportions,  be  called 
"  the  highest  expression  of  intellectual  beauty." 
''Euined,  indeed,"  says  Lady  Strangford,  in  her 
interesting  volumes,  *'yet  glorious  and  beautiful 
still,  like  some  noble  matron  who  has  borne  her 
part  through  all  the  prime  of  life,  noAV  fading  into 
the  silvery  tresses,  the  bending  stoop  and  the 
lingering  step  of  age,  yet  in  whom,  though  the 
loveliness  of  youth  has  vanished,  the  soul  shines 
forth  in  pure  and  holy  spiritual  beauty."     This  is 


THE  AREOPAGUS,  6 


poetically  true.  But,  on  the  other  hand,  what 
must  it  have  been  when,  not  now,  as  represented 
in  our  frontispiece,  crumbling  and  defaced,  bereft 
by  British  cupidity  of  its  best  friezes,  which  have 
their  unnatural  home  in  our  National  Museum  : — 
more  wanton,  wicked,  and  destructive  still,  battered 
with  Venetian  shells,  and  Turkish  (alas,  too  with 
Grecian)  cannon  ; — but  as  it  glowed  in  the  proud 
Archaic  era ;  its  snowy  crown  supported  with  4G 
columns  fresh  from  the  marble  quarries  of  Pen- 
telicus.  We  cannot  wonder  at  the  pleasing 
phantasy  of  the  admiring  Athenians,  who  be- 
lieved that  the  atmosphere  of  Greece,  always 
pure  and  translucent,  formed  a  special  dome  or 
canopy  above  their  priceless  edifice  : — that  ''  a 
crown  of  light  hung  eternally  over  the  head  of 
the  Virgin  Citadel."  It  was  built,  as  is  well 
known,  under  the  fostering  patronage  of  Pericles, 
aided  by  the  genius  of  Phidias  and  Praxiteles  : — 
two  sculptors  who  have  had  their  one  successor  in 
Michael  Angelo — but  only  in  bold  conception,  not 
in  exquisite  refinement.^ 

1  There  is  a  shaft  of  one  of  the  Doric  columns  to  be  seen  in  the  '  Athens 
room '  of  the  British  Museum  Gallery.  The  length  of  the  frieze  was  more 
than  500  feet  "adorned  by  a  representation,  in  low  relief,  of  the  Pan 
Athenaic  procession"  (Stuart's  Athens,  p.  51).  We  perhaps  ought  not  to 
disturb  the  above  vision  of  white  Parian  and  Peutelican  marble.  But 
many  of  our  readers  may  be  aware  that  the  last  "  find,"  already  referred  to, 
in  the  Acropolis,  as  described  in  the  Times  of  February  2oth  1886,  abundantly 
confirms  the  long-entertained  conviction  that  many  of  these  works  of  art, 


64  ST.  PAUL  IN  ATHENS, 

If  the  Parthenon  formed  a  conspicuous  object 
from  the  Areopagus,  the  Propyleea — the  great 
vestibule  of  the  citadel  constructed  by  Mnesicles 
at  a  cost  of  2012  talents — occupying  as  it  did  a 
nearer  point  of  sight,  must  have  stood  out  with 
still  greater  prominence.  Most  of  our  readers 
probably  know  that  the  term  *'  Propylseum,"  in 
architecture,  refers  to  the  advance  or  front  portion 


including  architectui-e  (and  that  too  even  of  the  Phidian  age)  were  at  least 
partially  coloured :  not  simply  to  give  relief  to  projections  and  details,  but 
to  produce  decided  contrasts.  It  is  a  revelation  at  which  modern  taste 
naturally  revolts.  Of  the  six  colossal  statues  of  Parian  marble  included 
in  that  comparatively  recent  discovery  (preserved  uninjured  alike  by  the  soil 
and  the  darkness)  the  "Meander,"  (or  pattern  round  the  marble  crown,  with 
radiating  bronze  spikes)  of  one,  is  unquestionably  thus  painted,  indeed  the 
colours  retain  their  primitive  lustre.  The  fringe  of  the  tunic  has  similar 
parallel  painted  lines  :  while  the  exposed  parts  of  the  body  show  the  natural 
marble.  Pausanias  gives  no  hint  in  his  description  of  this  colouring.  So  we 
may  perhaps  be  warranted  in  concluding,  that  in  the  age  of  St.  Paul,  while 
conceding  its  employment  in  some  of  the  existing  buildings,  it  had  been 
dimmed  if  not  altogether  removed  by  the  combined  influences  of  time  and 
exposure. 

The  chef  d'oeuvre  of  Phidias  had  its  place  within  the  Parthenon  in  the 
Cella — the  colossal  statue  of  the  tutelary  goddess  of  the  city  composed  of 
ivory  and  gold  :  the  acknowledged  masterpiece — not  of  Phidias  only,  but  of 
all  art.  The  robe  of  the  goddess  was  of  beaten  gold.  In  her  right  hand  was 
a  figure  of  Victory,  in  her  left,  a  spear  :  "while  her  helmet,  breast-plate, 
sandals  and  girdle,  were  covered  witli  emblematic  figures,  and  the  immense 
jegis  at  her  side  with  the  battles  of  Amazons"  {Bethiine).  "The  statue  was 
of  the  sort  called  Chryselephantine  (Greek  words  "golden,"  "of  ivory")  a 
kind  of  work  said  to  have  been  invented  by  Phidias.  Up  to  this  time, 
colossal  statues,  not  of  bronze,  were  Acroliths  ;— that  is,  having  only  the  face, 
hands,  and  feet  of  marble,  the  rest  being  of  wood  concealed  by  real  drapery. 
But,  in  the  Statue  of  Athena,  Phidias  substituted  ivory  for  marble  in  those 
parts  which  were  uncovered,  and  supplied  the  place  of  the  real  drapery  with 
robes  and  other  ornaments  of  solid  gold  "  (see  Dr.  Smith's  History  of  Greece, 
p.  395).  Mr.  F.  C.  Penrose  and  the  late  Mr.  Ferguson  are  both  well  known 
for  their  researches,  and  enthusiastic  devotion  in  connection  with  Attic  and 


THE  AREOPAGUS.  65 

of  a  pile  of  buildings.  The  Parthenon  has  been 
likened  by  an  ancient  writer  to  a  crown,  and  this, 
equally  appropriately,  to  a  frontlet.  A  broad  flight 
of  steps  led  up  to  the  pillared  portico,  probably 
the  roadway  for  festive  processions  and  the  return 
of  conquerors.^  The  building  is  spoken  of,  in  its 
perfect   state,   as   the   admiration   of  all  Greece. 


Athenian  antiquities.  The  folio-wing  from  an  article  in  the  Edinburgh 
Review  gives  their  joint  tlieories,  alike  regarding  the  colour-tone  of  the 
interior  of  the  Parthenon  and  its  relation  to  the  famous  statue.  "In  his" 
(Mr.  Penrose's)  "view,  the  hard  frosty  glare  of  the  Pentelic  masses  of  its  interior 
was  suhdued  by  a  litho-tint  to  a  sort  of  moonlight  tone,  and  the  environ- 
ment thus  attempered  to  the  softer  lustre  of  the  ivory  which  it  enshrined. 
Mr.  Ferguson  has  made  a  model  of  the  Parthenon  with  the  figure  of  Athene 
therein,  lighted  from  above.  The  light  which  is  thrown  upon  the  statue  is 
most  perfect.  It  falls  chiefly  upon  the  face,  neck,  and  arms,  (the  ivory 
parts),  and  leaves  the  golden  drapery  in  a  softer  half-light."  —  Ilevieiv\ 
October  1886. 

There  is,  among  the  Athenian  remains  in  the  British  Museum,  a  cast  of 
the  marble  statuette  found  at  Athens— a  Eoman  copy  of  the  above  Chrysele- 
phantine of  Athene  Pai-thenos,  by  Phidias.  Still  more  interesting  is  the 
following  description  of  one  special  Greek  treasure  in  the  Museum  of  the 
Hermitage,  St.  Petersburg.  I  quote  from  the  Times,  Oct.  21,  1886.  "But 
»  some  things  stand  out  conspicuously,  and  among  these,  pre-eminent  is  the 
pair  of  massive  earrings  of  the  fifth  century  B.C.,  bearing  the  head  of  Athene 
Parthenos.  For  their  beauty  alone  they  must  be  placed  in  the  forefront  of 
the  collection.  The  face  of  the  goddess  is  in  the  purest  style,  proud  and 
noble.  The  treatment  of  the  hair  and  the  ornaments  of  the  head,  and  the 
attendant  owl,  is  delicate  beyond  description ;  the  workmanshij)  is  superb. 
But  they  possess  the  added  value  that  they  are  the  nearest  approach  we 
know  of  to  a  faithful  copy  of  the  famous  chryselephantine  statue  of  the  Par- 
thenon. Except  the  owl,  which  the  historian-ti'aveller  forgot  to  mention, 
the  whole  head,  in  every  detail,  agrees  with  the  minute  description  of 
Pausanias,  and  we  have  thus  not  only  a  supreme  work  of  art  but  a  priceless 
record  of  one  of  the  most  celebrated  statu-es  of  all  antiquity." 

1  An  inclined  plane  in  the  centre,  seemed  to  have  been  artfully  combined 
with  the  steps,  so  as  to  admit  the  triumphal  chariots.  These,  it  will  be 
remembered,  are  introduced  in  the  frieze  of  the  Parthenon  as  forming  part 
of  the  "  Pan-Athanaic  procession  "  already  referred  to. 

E 


66  ST.  PAUL  IN  ATHENS, 

"As  the  traveller,"  says  Prof.  Mahaffy,  "stands  at 
the  inner  Gate  of  the  Propylsea,  .  .  .  over  his 
head  are  the  enormous  architraves,  blocks  of 
marble  over  22  feet  long,  which  spanned  the  gate- 
vray  from  pillar  to  pillar."  ^  Evident  traces  of 
colour  and  gilding  corroborate  the  statement  of 
the  preceding  note,  that  in  this  exquisite  fabric 
the  Pentelican  marble  was  not  left  to  its  virgin 
purity,  but  lavishly  embellished  with  pigment,  as 
fragments  of  its  cornices  among  our  Elgin  Marbles 
too  faithfully  attest.  The  structure  itself,  with  its 
massive  iron  gates,  is  thus  picturesquely  restored 
to  the  mind's  eye  by  Bishop  Wordsworth :  "  It 
seems  as  if  this  portal  had  been  spared,  in  order 
that  our  imagination  might  send  through  it,  as 
through  a  triumphal  arch,  all  the  glories  of 
Athenian  antiquity  in  visible  parade.  .  .  .  Let 
us  conceive  such  a  restitution  as  its  surrounding 
fragments  will  suggest.  .  .  .  Let  their  moulding 
be  again  brilliant  with  their  glowing  tints  of  red 
and  blue  ;  let  the  coffers  of  its  soffits  be  again 
spangled  with  stars,  and  the  marble  antse  be 
fringed  over,  as  they  were  once  with  their  deli- 
cate embroidery  of  ivy  leaf  .  .  .  and  then,  let  the 
bronze  valves  of  these  five  gates  of  the  Propyleea 
be  suddenly  flung  open,  and  all  the  splendours  of 

^  Kambles  in  Greece,  p.  89. 


THE  AREOPAGUS.  67 

the  interior  of  the  Acropolis  burst  upon  the  view."^ 
We  feel,  after  all,  as  if  we  dare  not  rashly  impugn 
the  taste  of  the  nation  which  possessed  such  an 
innate  sense  of  the  beautiful,  in  these  lavish 
decorations  of  scarlet,  blue,  and  gold  on  frieze 
and  cornice.  What  would  have  looked  harsh, 
unsightly,  conspicuously  out  of  place,  in  a  northern 
climate,  would  require,  before  exception  can  be 
taken,  to  have  been  seen,  standing  out  boldly  in 
that  pellucid  atmosphere  we  have  just  spoken  of, 
and  its  background  of  sapphire. 

We  must  hasten  to  complete  this  summary  of 
"  the  Temples  made  with  hands,"  which  formed 
subsequently,  a  chief  clause  at  least,  in  the  text  of 
the  Apostle's  Great  Discourse.  The  only  other 
noted  building  in  that  singular  congeries  was  on 
the  north-western  corner,  and  which  indeed  must 
have  directly  confronted  him.  It  was  the  beautiful 
Erectheum  (Erectheion)  the  home  of  the  mystic 
olive  tree  of  Minerva,  with  the  much-reverenced 
statue  carved  in  the  same  wood.  On  the  occasion  of 
the  annual  festival  of  what  was  known  as  the  Lesser 
Pan-Athensea,  games  were  celebrated  with  other  com- 
petitions ;  and  the  visitors'  coveted  prize  was  a  vessel 
filled  with  oil  from  this  consecrated  tree.  "  This," 
again  to  quote  the  same  author,  "was  the  original 

^  Athens  and  Attica,  pp.  93,  94. 


68  ST.  PAUL  IN  ATHENS. 

Minerva  of  Athens — the  Minerva  who  had  con- 
tested the  soil  of  Attica  with  Neptune  and  had 
triumphed  in  the  contest.  ...  To  the  Minerva- 
Polias  it  was,  and  not  to  the  Minerva  of  the  Par- 
thenon, that  the  Pan-Athenai  peplus — the  embroi- 
dered fasti  of  Athenian  glory — was  periodically- 
dedicated."  This  embroidered  robe  of  crocus 
colour,  woven  by  the  maids  of  the  city,  was  pre- 
sented with  great  pomp  to  the  Patron  Goddess 
every  fourth  year.^  In  the  same  interior,  Pausa- ' 
nias  specifies  the  golden  lamp — the  masterpiece 
of  Callimachus,  which  burned  night  and  day — the 
brazen  palm  tree  rising  by  its  side,  the  smoke  of 
the  lamp  wreathing  through  its  fronds :  besides 
other  trophies  on  the  surrounding  walls. ^  A  sacred 
serpent  was  said  to  haunt  the  Temple  :  and  when 
the  Athenians  were   fleeing   in   panic   from   the 

1  Of  all  the  portions  of  the  Parthenon  frieze  in  the  hall  of  the  British 
Museum,  none  is  of  greater  interest  than  the  original  (not  a  cast)  of  this 
delivery  of  the  Peplos.  It  is  sadly  worn  and  mutilated, — but  there  is  no 
doubt  as  to  the  historical  incident  represented.  As  a  guide  to  the  Frontis- 
piece of  this  Volume — the  ruins  of  the  Parthenon  with  its  despoiled  frieze, — 
the  pediment  in  the  western  front  of  the  photograph  seems  to  have  repre- 
sented the  starting-point  of  the  procession  above  alluded  to.  Here  that  pro- 
cession has  been  supposed  to  separate  into  two.  The  one  to  the  right — the 
south — "  being  chiefly  occupied  with  the  cavalcade  of  the  Athenian  Knights 
— the  northern,  with  the  carrying  of  Sacred  Vessels,  and  leading  of  victims 
for  the  sacrifice."  [Prof.  Mahaffys  Bamhles,  p.  96.)  These  two  divisions  are 
farther  supposed  to  have  met  on  the  opposite  side — the  eastern  or  main 
front  of  the  Great  Temple.  Over  its  gateway  were  twelve  figures  of  noble 
mien  and  proportions,  delivering  the  Peplos  into  the  hands  of  the  presiding 
hierarch  (76.,  p.  96). 

2  See  Stuart's  Antiquities  of  Athens,  p.  64. 


THE  AREOPAGUS.  69 

approaching  hosts  of  Xerxes,  that  panic  was  said 
to  be  increased  on  the  discovery  that  the  serpent 
had  deserted  its  sanctuary-haunt.^  When  prepar- 
ing for  the  great  naval  fight  of  Salamis,  "  the 
Hippeis  or  Knights,  headed  by  Cimon  the  son  of 
Miltiades,  marched  in  procession  to  the  Acropolis 
to  hang  up  their  bridles  in  the  same  Temple  of 
Athena,  and  to  exchange  them  for  some  conse- 
crated arms  more  suitable  for  naval  warfare."^ 
Nothing  amid  the  Acropolis  ruins  impressed  the 
writer  of  these  pages  so  much,  as  the  well-known 
adjunct  to  the  Ionic  Erectheum,  and  which  is 
partially  given  in  the  wood-engraving  in  our  title- 
page,  the  once  absolutely  perfect  Caryatidee — the 
graceful  female  figures,  three  of  them  restora- 
tions— supporting  the  entablature,  and  which  have 
since  been  plagiarised  in  a  hundred  forms  for 
modern  buildings.  '*  Wait,"  says  an  observant 
traveller,  more  than  once  already  quoted,  ''  till  the 
full  moon — such  a  moon  as  the  clear  atmosphere 
of  Greece  can  show,  has  slowly  risen  above  the 
summit  of  Hymettus,  silvering  the  purple  of  the 
mountain,  and  gleaming  on  the  side  of  the  Par- 
thenon :  ...  go  and  stand  beneath  the  Caryatides, 
that  still  guard  the  memories  of  the  daughters  of 
Cecrops,  and  look  at  the  calm,  serene  smile  which 

1  Dr.  Smith's  History  of  Greece,  p.  203.  ^  Ib.,^.  203. 


70  ST.  PAUL  IN  ATHENS. 

Diana  lays  with  her  cold  finger  upon  each  marble 
maiden  face,  and  each  stately  figure."-^  One  of  the 
originals,  of  exceeding  interest  though  the  face  is 
mutilated,  has  also  found  an  alien  home  in  our 
British  Museum. 

The  Caryatidse  are  perhaps  more  impressive  and 
beautiful  now,  than  they  were  in  the  era  of  which 
we  speak, — as  they  must  then  have  been  dwarfed 
by  the  bronze  Colossus  close  by,  previously  alluded 
to,  of  Minerva  Promachus,  70  feet  high  includ- 
ing the  pedestal,  dominating  the  entire  city : 
"  appearing  from  her  proud  eminence  to  challenge 
the  world  in  defence  of  Athens."  "  The  stately 
and  virgin  goddess,"  says  Lord  Lytton,  "  towered, 
the  most  majestic  of  the  Grecian  deities, — embody- 
ing in  a  single  form,  the  very  genius,  multiform, 
yet  individual  as  it  was  of  the  Grecian  people 
— and  becoming,  among  all  the  deities  of  the 
heathen  heaven,  what  the  Athens  she  protected 
became  upon  the  earth."  ^ 

It  would  be  vain  to  add  to  this  roll-call  of 
heroes,  gods  and  demi-gods, — to  wander  farther 
among  the  statues  grouped  around, — Mercury, 
Venus,  the  Graces,  the  shrine  of  Diana  wrought 
by  the  chisel  of  Praxiteles.    Nothing  could  be  more 

1  Syrian  Shrines,  vol.  ii.  p.  350. 
2  Lord  Lytton's  Athens,  its  Rise  and  Fall,  p.  40. 


THE  AREOPAGUS.  71 

prominent  from  the  spot  the  Apostle  occupied  than 
a  brazen  chariot  with  four  horses  on  a  pedestal 
opposite  the  Temple  of  Victory :  while  beside  it 
in  equally  befitting  prominence  was  a  figure  of 
Pericles :  the  Ruler  who  beyond  every  other  gave  to 
Athens  its  renown,  and  bequeathed  that  renown  to 
succeeding  ages.  Who,  after  all  this,  can  chal- 
lenge the  estimate  of  Pausanias,  that  *'  the  Acro- 
polis was  a  thing  to  wonder  at."  ^  The  very  walls 
which  formed  its  fortifications  were  utilised  for  art. 
Among  subjects  thereon  depicted  in  groups  of 
statuary  by  Callimachus,  Myron,  and  others,  were 
the  War  of  the  Giants — the  battle  between  the 
Amazons  and  the  Athenians,  the  slaughter  of  the 
Gauls  in  Mysia,  &c.  &c.^ 

But  enough.  St.  Paul  had  often  stood  on  the 
slope  of  the  Mount  of  Olives,  traversed  by  what  is 
now  known  as  the  *  Hosanna  road,' — and  gazed, 
as  his  divine  Master  had  done  before  him,  across 
the  Kedron  Valley,  on  the  temple  and  city  of  his 
fathers.      Deeply  impressive  too  must  have  been 

1  Heliodorus,  surnamed  Periegetes,  or  the  Guide,  wrote  uo  less  than  fifteen 
Books  in  describing  it. 

2  Stuart's  Antiquities,  p.  15.  "  Even  all  the  sides  and  slopes  of  the  Great 
Rock  were  honeycombed  into  sacred  grottoes  with  their  altars  and  their 
gods,  or  studded  with  votive  monuments." — Rambles  in  Greece,  p.  103.  It 
may  not  be  generally  known  that  even  the  great  Socrates  himself  was  not 
unrepresented  on  the  Acropolis  as  a  sculptor.  His  father  had  trained  his 
son  in  his  own  profession.  A  group  of  the  Three  Graces  by  the  hand  of  the 
Philosopher  was  extant  in  the  time  of  Pausanias. 


72  ST.  PAUL  IN  ATHENS. 

the  sight.  But  here  he  had  disclosed  to  him  not 
one,  but  a  forest  of  Temples,  or  as  it  is  expressed 
in  the  opening  narrative  "  a  city  full  of  idols " 
(v.  16).  One  feature  the  two  views  shared  in 
common,  however  different  their  other  surround- 
ings,— a  feature  strange  and  unfamiliar  to  western 
eyes — the  wonderful  precision  of  architectural 
detail  belonging  to  that  transparent  atmosphere, 
which  makes  the  chisel  marks  of  the  masons  and 
sculptors  of  the  Acropolis  as  vivid  as  the  carvings 
and  laminae  and  bunches  of  hyssop  on  the  walls 
of  Jerusalem,  though  the  deep  Valley  is  between. 
How  saddening  and  depressing  to  such  a  mind  as 
St.  Paul's,  was  all  this  brilliant  aggregation  of  art 
where  the  only  God  he  owned  and  worshipped 
was  misapprehended  and  disowned ! — so  splendid 
a  tribute  borne  to  the  externals  and  pomp  of 
devotion  :  a  recognition  indeed,  to  a  certain  extent, 
of  the  religious  yearning  they  shared  in  common 
with  all  human  souls;  "but  they  glorified  Him 
not  as  God,  neither  were  thankful :  but  became 
vain  in  their  imaginations  and  their  foolish  heart 
was  darkened"  (Eom.  i.  21). 

We  cannot  be  at  all  certain  whether  it  had 
entered  at  first  into  the  mind  of  the  Apostle  to 
act  now  on  the  aggressive,  and  assail  these  for- 
midable strongholds.     It  is  quite  possible  that  his 


THE  AREOPAGUS.  73 

programme,  on  the  contrary,  was  one  of  passivity 
and  abstention.  He  could  not  fail,  as  we  have 
already  noted,  from  recent  terrible  experience,  to 
be  shattered  in  body,  and  with  nerve  unstrung  to 
feel  unequal  for  moral  and  intellectual  struggle. 
But  the  spectacle  which  now  presented  itself — the 
idol-shrines  and  dumb  marbles  of  Agora  and 
Acropolis  would  not  permit  him  to  remain  in 
silence.  Too  well  did  he  know  that  .there  is 
a  necessary  and  inseparable  degradation  in  all 
idolatry.  He  is  not  to^  be  deceived  by  the  thin 
veneer  of  religiousness  which  serves  to  cover  moral 
debasement.  With  the  few  smooth  pebbles  from 
the  brook  of  revealed  truth,  he  resolves  to  confront 
the  giant  forces  which  were  defying  the  armies  of 
the  living  God.  He  rises  with  the  occasion.  Out 
of  weakness  he  is  made  strong.  To  use  the  words 
of  one  of  the  best  of  his  biographers,  ''  His  heart  was 
hot  within  him,  and  while  he  was  musing  the  fire 
burned."  ^  He  had  a  heroic  confidence  in  the 
truth  and  power  of  his  own  future  inspired  utter- 
ance— "  God  hath  chosen  the  foolish  things  of  the 
world  to  confound  the  wise  ;  and  God  hath  chosen 
the  weak  things  of  the  world  to  confound  the  things 
which  are  mighty ;  and  base  things  of  the  world 
and  things  which  are  despised  hath  God  chosen, 

1  Mr.  Lewin. 


74  ST,  PAUL  IN  ATHENS. 

yea  and  things  which  are  not,  to  bring  to  nought 
things  that  are  :  that  no  flesh  should  glory  in  His 
presence "  (1  Cor.  i.  27-29).  His  prayer  might 
be  that  of  the  Psalmist  of  his  nation,  "  Uphold  me 
with  thy  free,  (or,  as  it  has  been  rendered)  thy 
Kingly  Spirit"  (Ps.  li.  12).  It  was  an  impressive 
and  momentous  hour  in  the  history  of  the 
Christian  faith.  The  religion  founded  by  the  re- 
puted son  of  a  Galilean  carpenter,  and  propagated 
by  some  fishermen  from  its  inland  sea,  was  now 
confronting  the  dialectic  skill  of  the  representatives 
of  the  world's  boasted  wisdom  and  philosophy. 
On  the  Hill  consecrated  to  the  name  of  the  God 
of  War,  a  member  of  the  despised  Hebrew  race  is 
about  to  unfurl  the  banners  of  the  Prince  of  Peace. 
Who  can  tell,  but  in  that  promiscuous  crowd  of 
talkers  may  have  been  some  lowly  spirit  sighing  in 
secret  for  the  rest  which  poetry,  and  philosophy, 
and  art  were  impotent  to  bestow,  and  which 
had  already  received  some  dim  response,  in  the 
buzz  of  the  Agora,  from  the  lips  of  the  Jew  of 
Tarsus? — the  Divine  Master's  words  fulfilled — 
despite  of  the  scornful  rejection  on  the  part  of 
others : — "  It  is  given  unto  you  to  know  the 
mysteries  of  the  kingdom  of  heaven,  but  to  them 
it  is  not  given"  (Matt.  xiii.  11). 

It  is  time,  however,  that   we   now  proceed  to 


THE  AREOPAGUS.  75 

the  Discourse  itself.  In  the  first  instance  we 
shall  give  it  entire ;  then  venture  to  add  a  Para- 
phrase upon  it — presenting  its  words  and  argu- 
ments in  an  expanded  form.  We  reserve  this  for 
our  next  chapter. 


IV. 

^be  2)i0cour0e. 


**He  carried  within  him  the  lively  consciousness,  that  he  bronght  to  the 
central  point  of  Grecian  society,  an  element  of  life  which  as  infinitely  tran- 
scended its  highest  imaginations,  as  the  Eternal  went  beyond  the  loveliest 
scenes  of  a  perishable  world,  and  in  this  consciousness  he  moved  as  a 
spiritual  potentate — as  a  mature  man  among  a  crowd  of  children  to  whom  he 
undertook  to  explain  their  presentiments,  and  to  express  them  in  words." — 
Olshamen  on  the  Acts,  iv.  550. 

"It  is  surely  of  no  slight  importance  that  the  history  of  the  first  age  of 
Christianity  should  present  us  with  one  undoubted  instance  of  a  character, 
which  unites  all  the  freedom  and  vigour  of  a  Great  Reformer,  with  all  the 
humbleness,  and  holiness,  and  self-denial  of  a  great  Apostle."  —  Dean 
Stanley^s  Essays  on  the  Apostolic  Age,  p.  173. 

"Overpowering  at  times  must  have  been  the  thought,  that  he,  a  poor 
earthen  vessel,  was  charged  with  this  ministration  of  glory  :  but  no  less  in- 
spiring that  Voice  behind  the  Veil  in  these  great  cities  of  the  Roman  Empire, 
'Be  not  afraid,  for  I  am  with  ihQQ.'"'— Archdeacon  Norris,  p.  92. 

"Paul  alone,  against  all  Athens."— ^engre?. 


(     77     ) 


THE   DISCOUESE. 

{AN  EPITOME   AND   PARAPHRASE.) 

Zi)m  IPauI  0tooti  in  tlje  milMst  of  iHars'  i)iU,  anti  isaiTJ,  ^e  mm  of 
atijenjEf,  31  perceive  tfjat  in  all  tljings  2^  are  too  mptistitious*  JFor 
80  31  pa00eti  br,  anti  beJjein  gour  tietotion0,  31  founti  an  altar  toit^ 
t!ji0  in0cription,  tJDo  ti?e  Qlnfenoton  ©oUf  SSiljom  tfjcrefore  2^  icno^ 
rantlH  tDor0f)ip,  !)im  Declare  31  unto  pou*  60X1  tfjat  matie  tfje  tooriu  anti 
all  ti)ins0  ti?erein,  0eeinc  tfjat  ^e  10  Horti  of  ijeaben  an"D  earti?,  ntoellet!? 
not  in  temple0  matie  toitf)  |)anTJ0  ;  neit!)er  10  toor0!?ippeti  toit^  men'0 
|)anti0,  80  tl?cuel)  f)e  neetieti  anpt^inc,  0eeinc  fje  citjetf)  to  all  life,  anU 
breatf),  anB  all  ti)inc0 ;  anl3  i?atf)  maUe  of  one  blooti  all  nation0  of 
men  for  to  titoell  on  all  tfje  face  of  ti?e  eartf),  ann  i^ati)  lieterminetJ  t!?e 
time0  before  appointeD,  anti  tfje  bountJ0  of  ti^eir  ijabitation ;  t^at  t^eg 
0!)oufti  0ee&  tfje  iLorti,  if  ijapig  tijep  micljt  feel  after  |)im,  anti  finU 
l)im,  t!)ou0i)  ije  be  not  far  from  eberr  one  of  U0  :  for  in  f)im  toe  litie, 
antJ  motje,  anti  ijate  our  being  ;  a0  certain  al0o  of  rour  oton  poet0  i?at)e 
0aiti,  jFor  toe  are  al0o  i)i0  off0pring»  jFora0mucf)  tijen  80  toe  are 
tlje  off0pring  of  (Soti,  toe  oug^t  not  to  tf)ink  t!jat  t^e  ©otiijeati  is 
like  unto  golti,  or  0iltier,  or  0tone,-  cratcn  b^  art  anti  man'0  tiebice* 
3nti  tlje  time0  of  tl)i0  ignorance  cSoti  toin&eti  at;  hut  noto  com^ 
mantlet!)  all  men  etjer^tofjere  to  repent :  becau0e  ^e  Ijatfj  appointeti  a 
tiap,  in  tf)e  tuljic!)  l)t  toill  jutige  tfje  toorlti  in  rig!)teou0ne00  bg  t|)at 
man  tofjom  ije  ijati?  ortiaineti ;  toijereof  i?e  Ijat^  gitien  a00urance  unto 
all  men,  in  tijat  Ije  i?ati?  rai0eti  |)im  from  t|je  tieati* 

(Ads  xvii.  22-31.) 

Thus    spake    St.   Paul  in   the    exquisite   musical 
tongue  of  his  auditors.     Commencing   with   the 


78  ST.  PAUL  IN  ATHENS. 

usual  method  of  direct  address — the  formula  of 
their  own  Orators — ^Demosthenes  included — "Ye 
men  of  Athens  !  " 

An  unfortunate  rendering  in  our  authorised 
version,  has  altogether  marred  the  point  and 
meaning  of  the  first  sentence  of  his  prologue — *'  I 
perceive  that  in  all  things  ye  are  too  superstitious."  ^ 
One  so  wise  and  skilled,  or  rather  so  judicious 
an  interpreter  of  the  human  heart,  would  never 
have  been  guilty  of  the  mistake  of  charging  that 
sensitive  throng  of  citizens  with  an  excess  of 
superstition — an  undue  attachment  to  the  rites  of 
their  religion.  Such  a  sweeping  charge  would  at 
once  have  roused  their  prejudices  and  passions,  and 
forfeited  to  the  speaker  the  favoured  and  favouring 
opportunity  of  securing  their  attention — if  not 
their  sympathy  and  interest.  Though  no  craven, 
but  speaking  out  of  the  fulness  of  his  magnanimous 
heart,  the  occasion,  he  too  well  knew,  demanded 
prudence.  These  stern  censors  of  the  stone  seats 
were  not  to  be  trifled  with.  An  incautious,  in- 
discreet word,  might  have  provoked  the  doom  of 
Socrates.  Had  he  displayed  the  character  of  bigot 
or  fanatic  : — had  he  assumed  a  defiant  attitude, — 

1  It  is  somewhat  singular,  that  the  translation  should  be  retained  in  the 
English  Revised  Version.  It  will  be  found,  however,  that  among  the  emen- 
dations of  the  American  Committee  the  preferred  rendering  is  given— "very 
religious." 


THE  DISCOURSE.  79 

had  he  slighted  their  holy  mysteries  or  indulged  in 
covert  blasphemy  against  the  Gods  of  Hellas,  he 
would  not  have  been  tolerated  for  a  moment.  But 
he  evidently  combined  the  art  of  the  practised 
orator  with  the  more  delicate  tact  of  common 
sense.  He  became,  says  Neander,  "  a  heathen  to 
the  heathen."  He  who  wrote  the  Epistle  to 
Philemon  could  well  be  trusted  in  courtesy  and 
conciliation.  "When  I  consider,"  says  the  Lord 
Shaftesbury  of  a  former  century,  "  this  Apostle  as 
appearing  before  the  witty  Athenians,  ...  I  see 
how  handsomely  he  accommodateth  himself  to  the 
apprehension  and  temper  of  those  politer  people.^ 
So  far  from  incurring  their  censure,  he  adroitly 
makes  their  very  idolatries  the  basis,  not  of  de- 
nunciation but  of  commendation.  ''Like  a  skil- 
ful tactician,"  it  has  been  well  said,  "he  seizes  the 
point  of  unity,  before  he  advances  to  the  marks 
of  difference.^  The  word  of  the  original  Greek 
{heLaiSalfKov)  is  almost  intransferable  in  our  lan- 
guage. It  has  no  exact  equivalent  in  English. 
Enough  to  state,  that  its  purport  was  almost  in 
direct  contrast  to  what  our  accepted  translation 
conveys.  It  was  the  speaker's  object,  let  us 
repeat,  in  this  exordium,  to  accord  to  his  hearers 

1  Characteristics,  vol.  i.  p.  30. 
2  Growth  of  the  Spirit  of  Christianity,  vol.  i.  p.  105. 


So  ST,  PAUL  IN  ATHENS, 

the  unmistakable  external  evidences  of  their 
'religiousness.'  The  familiar  "Si  monumentum 
requiris,  circumspice : "  might  appropriately  have 
fallen  from  St.  Paul's  lips  as  he  gazed  around  on 
the  visible  embodiment  of  these  their  religious 
instincts  and  cravings.  "I  perceive"  (if  we  may 
transcribe  a  few  of  the  suggested  paraphrases) 
"that  in  all  things  ye  are  exceedingly  devout" — 
"  devout  overmuch  " — "  To  have  an  exceeding 
veneration  for  religion  "  [Alford) — "  Scrupulously 
religious  " — "  Carrying  your  religious  veneration 
very  far"  {Dr.  Porter) — "Too  prone  to  the  abject 
fear  of  invisible  power"  (Principal  Candlish) 
— "  Carefulness  in  religion  "  {Dean  Howson) — 
"  Much  given  to  the  worship  of  the  gods : " 
"  more  god-fearing  than  others  " — "  Ye  are  devout 
above  other  cities,  and  scrupulous  in  your  religious 
rites."  Perhaps  Dean  Plumptre's  "  devotee,"  comes 
as  near  as  any.  -^  '  In  one  sense,'  if  we  may 
venture  to  pursue  and  expand  the  Apostle's  appeal, 

1  The  same  writer  adds — "The  Deisidaimon  was  a  believer  in  omens. 
Nikias,  the  Athenian  general,  ever  oppressed  with  a  sense  of  the  jealousy  of 
the  gods,  and  counterordering  the  strategic  movements,  because  there  was 
an  eclipse  of  the  moon  (Thucyd.  vii.  50),  is  a  conspicuous  instance  of  the 
Deisidaimon,  in  high  places." 

Older  than  any  of  these  authorities  just  quoted,  Chrysostom,  not  only 
supports  the  complimentary  allusion ;  but  cites  the  words  in  illustration  of 
the  Apostle's  subsequent  exhortation  to  the  Colossians  :  "  Walk  in  wisdom 
towards  them  that  are  without,  redeeming  the  time.  Let  your  speech  be 
alway  with  grace,  seasoned  with  salt,  that  ye  may  know  how  ye  ought  to 
answer  every  man." — If  orris  on  the  Ads,  p.  87. 


THE  DISCOURSE.  8i 

*  I  may  well  enlist  your  sympathies,  as  oiir  aspira- 
tions seem  so  far  to  be  in  the  same  direction.  We 
are  at  one  in  yearning  after  that  divine  something, 
mightier  than  yourselves,  you  profess  to  have 
found  in  your  divinities  and  idols.  Be  patient 
with  me,  as  I  endeavour  to  unfold  mysteries, 
— truths  undreamt  of  In  your  ethical  systems, — 
themes  which  your  poets  have  never  sung  and 
your  sculptors  have  failed  and  must  ever  fail  to 
mould  in  their  plastic  art  or  breathing  marble,  and 
which  your  wisest  men  who  boast  of  the  heaven- 
descent  of  their  philosophy  could  never  reach. 
You  worship  in  your  own  way :  but  you  fail  to 
Avorship  the  true  God  whom  I  adore.  Above  all 
you  fail  to  worship  the  Lord  in  the  beauty  of 
holiness.' 

He  proceeds  to  the  ground  on  which  he  bases 
his  indictment.  As  his  divine  Master  before  him, 
took  the  water  of  the  well  of  Samaria  ^  or  the  light- 
ing of  the  Great  Candelabra  in  the  Temple-courts 
— as  emblems  of  Himself,  and  illustrators  of  His 
doctrine, — "the  Well  of  living  water"  and  ''the 
Light  of  the  world  ;  " — so  the  Apostle  here  takes 
an  inscription  seen  on  one  of  their  altars,  as  the 
keynote  and  'apology'  for  the  statement  which 
follows : — "  As    I  passed    by,   and    beheld   your 

1  Howson  in  loc, 

F 


82  ST.  PAUL  IN  ATHENS. 

devotions  "  (or  far  better  rendered  ''  contemplated 
your  sacred  things ; — the  places  and  objects  of 
your  worship")^  '' I  found  an  Altar  with  this 
inscription,  '  To  the  Unknown  God  '  "  (v.  23).^ 

At  what  part  of  the  city  he  had  seen  this  incom- 
pleted dedication  we  are  not  informed  ;  whether  on 
his  way  up  the  long  mural  avenue  from  the  outer 
Pirsean  Gate,  or  in  the  course  of  his  subsequent 
explorations  in  the  streets  or  gardens.  Enough  to 
say  that  his  eye  had  fallen  on  some  such  porphyry 
or  marble  pediment ;  and  that  the  significant 
Cryptograph  formed  a  befitting  text  for  his 
present  discourse. 

There  have  been  many  opinions  and  surmises 
among  commentators  as  to  the  purport  of  this 
singular  negative  inscription.  There  is  no  doubt 
the  preponderance  of  authorities  accept  the  ex- 
planation of  Pausanias,  that  "  at  Athens  there  are 
altars  (several)  of  gods  which  are  called  the  '  un- 
known ones.'  "  Philostratus,  who  lived  a  century 
later,  notes  the  same  in  his  life  of  Apollonius. 
Jerome  goes  farther  in  his  Commentary  on  Titus  i. 
12  :  "The  inscription  on  the  altar  is  not  as  Paul 
asserts  '  To   the   Unknown   God ; '    but   '  To  the 

^  Ta  ce^affixara  v[iQ)v.  "  This  denotes  sacred  objects  in  the  widest  sense  of 
the  word.  Proper  temples  and  also  single  altars,  or  sacred  enclosed  places." — 
Olshausen  on  Acts  p.  553.    "NVycliff  simjily  renders  it  *'  Your  idols." 

2  K-^vdcTi^  Oey. 


THE  DISCOURSE,  S3 

Gods  of  Asia,  Europe,  and  Africa : — to  gods  un- 
known and  strange.' "  Laertius,  a  writer,  B.C. 
600,  gives  a  special  narration  as  to  the  cause  of 
one  of  these  altars  being  erected — that  Epi- 
menides,  on  the  occasion  of  a  plague,  led  some 
white  and  black  sheep  to  the  Areopagus,  allowing 
them  to  wander  at  will,  but  commanding  those 
that  followed  them  to  mark  the  spots  where  they 
lay  down,  and  there  erect  altars  and  sacrifice  to  the 
God  to  whom  the  things  pertained,  ivithout  giving 
the  name :  and  thus  the  pestilence  was  allayed. 
Dean  Alford  refers  to  a  conjecture  of  Eichhorn  that 
these  shrines  may  have  been  erected  before  the 
use  of  writing,  and  thus  inscribed  in  after  times. 
"But,"  he  adds,  "I  should  rather  suppose  that 
the  above  anecdote  (of  Laertius)  furnishes  the  key 
to  the  practice, — that  on  the  occurrence  of  any 
remarkable  calamity  or  deliverance  not  assignable 
to  the  conventionally-received  agency  of  any  of  the 
received  deities,  an  UnJcnoivn  God  was  reverenced 
as  their  author."  ^  The  point  is,  after  all,  not  one 
of  any  real  importance.  The  suggestion,  however, 
first  made  by  ancient  writers  and  endorsed  by 
several  modern  reliable  authorities,  seems  at  least 
far  from  improbable  ;  that  the  *  Deus  Ignotus '  was 
none    other    than    Jehovah,    the    God    of    the 

1  Alford's  Greek  Testament  in  loc. 


84  ST.  PAUL  IN  ATHENS. 

Hebrews :  He  who  by  these  Hebrews  themselves 
was  designated  "the  Unknowable" — the  "All 
Hidden,"  the  "Ineffable;"  "Dwelling  in  thick 
darkness  :  " — the  awful  Name  they  were  forbidden, 
save  by  a  circumlocution,  to  pronounce.  ^  If  the 
name  of  Jehovah  was  thus  so  sacredly  safeguarded 
by  His  own  worshipping  people,  how  otherwise 
could  He  be  revealed  to  those  outside  the  bounds 
of  the  Holy  Land  ?  ^  We  know  that  the  Athenians 
in  their  too  *  idol-loving '  ways,  were  not  reluctant 
to  introduce  the  gods  of  other  nations  into  their 
Pantheon.  To  use  the  words  of  Mr.  Froude, 
"A  new  god  was  welcomed  there  as  a  new 
scientific  subject  is  welcomed  by  the  Eoyal 
Society."  ^  St.  Jerome  specially  mentions,  in  one 
of  his  Commentaries,  that  the  divinities  belonging 
to  all  the  countries  of  the  then  known  world  were 
to  be  found  in  Athens.  "The  Athenians,"  says 
Strabo,  "  are  hospitable ;  as  in  other  respects,  so 
also  in  respect  of  the  gods,  for  they  have  received 
many   foreign    religions,    for    which    they    were 

1  See  Cave's  Lives  of  the  Apostles,  p.  79,  with  references  to  Justin  Martyr, 
Plutarch,  Tacitus,  &c.  Mr.  Lewin  strongly  favours  the  interpretation: 
also  Professor  Dick  in  his  Commentary  on  the  Acts. 

2  "Dion  Cassius  speaks  of  the  God  of  the  Jews  as  apprjrov  'not  to  be 
expressed,'  and  the  Emperor  Caligula,  in  his  answer  to  the  Jews,  calls  him 
Tov  aKarovofj-affTov  vniv,  '  Him  that  may  not  be  named  by  you, '  and  Lucan 
and  Trebellius  PoUio  call  him  Incertus  Deus.*'—Lewin''s  St.  Paul,  p.  282. 

3  Short  Studies  on  Great  Subjects. 


THE  DISCOURSE.  85 

ridiculed  in  the  Comedies."  ^  Is  it  probable  they 
would  make  an  exception  with  respect  to  the  Deity 
of  the  remarkable  race  which  included  David  and 
Solomon  among  its  sovereigns,  and  in  later  ages 
had  resounded  with  the  exploits  of  the  Maccabees, 
— exploits  worthy  of  mention  along  with  Mara- 
thon and  Thermopylse  ?  '*  They  were,  besides,  not 
unlikely,"  remarks  Dr.  Kitto,  "  to  have  set  up  an 
altar  to  Him,  at  or  about  the  time  they  gave 
a  statue  to  His  High  Priest  (Hyrcanus)."  We 
know,  moreover,  that  subsequent  to  the  conquests 
of  Alexander  the  Great,  a  strong  alliance  was 
formed  between  Greece  and  Palestine.  The 
Poman  antipathy  to  the  children  of  Abraham  was 
not  so  strongly  shared  by  the  countrymen  of 
Socrates  and  Plato.  Be  this  as  it  may,  we  think 
the  conjecture  gives  point  and  significance  to  what 
follows  :  and  although  with  an  array  of  authorities 
against  the  surmise  it  would  be  more  than  pre- 
sumption to  state  it  otherwise  than  a  possibility,  it 
would  seem  to  furnish  the  appropriate  comment — 
*'  Wliom  therefore  ye  ignorantly — (or,  much  rather, 
*  without  knowledge  '  or  *  unintelligibly ')  worship, 
Him  (whom  ye  worship  as  the  Unknown) — declare 


1  Strabo,  Geog.  x.,  p.  471,  quoted  by  Dr.  Alexander.  *'  Lucian  in  his  Philo- 
patris,  uses  this  form  of  an  oath,  '  I  swear  by  the  Unknown  God  at  Athens.' ' 
Quoted  by  Barnes  on  Acts, 


86  ST.  PAUL  IN  ATHENS. 

I  unto  you.''  And  the  sequel  of  the  speaker's 
Discourse,  constitutes  that  promised  *  declara- 
tion.' ' 

Paul  was  speaking  under  the  blue  expanse  of 
heaven.  Milton's  "  sea,  air,  earth,  and  sky,"  were 
all  around  and  above  him — the  handiwork  of  Him 
he  loved  and  served  : — "  God  that  made  the  world 
and  all  things  therein  .  .  .  the  Lord  of  Heaven 
and  Earth "  (v.  24).  If  we  may  venture  to 
expand  his  words  and  their  meaning  as  he  thus 
turns  to  the  pages  of  Nature's  great  Lesson- 
Book  : — '  You,  Epicureans,  entertain  the  belief  that 
this  beautiful  world,  with  its  manifold  evidences 


1  Some  recent  commentators  thus  recognise  an  alliteration  between  the 
word  on  the  altar  {'KyvucTTi^  Oe^)  and  the  same  word  here  employed,  "  Whom 
(or  what)  therefore  ye  worship,  not  knowing,  {ayvoovvre^),  Him  I  do  make 
known  to  you,"  or  rather,  "I  set  forth  to  you:"  a  play  also  on  the  word 
his  disputants  employed  regarding  him, — "a  setter  forth  ol  strange  Gods" 
(/caTa77eXei>j)  v.  18.  He  retorts  with  the  same  expression,  "Him  I  set 
forth^'  {KaTayiWu)  v.  23. 

Since  the  above  paragraphs  were  written,  my  attention  has  been  directed  to 
a  book  now  rare,  published  more  than  a  century  ago,  by  Chevalier  Eamsay, 
called  "  The  Travels  of  Cyrus."  He  describes  the  visit  of  the  Persian 
monarch  to  Egypt,  where  he  was  spectator  of  its  religious  ceremonies  in  one 
of  the  temples.  "Before  the  sacrifices  were  offered,"  says  the  writer  to 
■whom  I  am  indebted  for  the  quotation,  "the  High  Priest  explained  to  him 
the  meaning  of  the  mysteries  in  such  language  as  this  : — '  We  adore,'  said 
lie,  '  no  other  but  the  Great  Ammon :  that  is  to  say,  the  Unknown  God. 
We  consider  him  sometimes  as  he  is  in  himself,  and  at  other  times  as  mani- 
fested in  nature.  In  the  first  sense,  we  call  him  Ptha,  life,  light,  and  love  ; 
all  whose  operations,  thoughts,  and  affections  being  concentrated  in  himself, 
he  remains  in  solitary  unity,  incomprehensible  to  mortals.  Thus  considered, 
we  adore  him  only  by  silence,  or  by  the  name  of  '  Incomprehensible  Dark- 
ness,' and  we  represent  him  by  the  clouds  which  you  see  at  the  top  of  the 
Obelisk.'" — Growtker's  Sun-Wo7's}dp,  ^.  23. 


THE  DISCOURSE.  87 

of  design  and  adaptation,  was  made  by  a  capricious 
combination  of  atoms.  I  come  to  unfold  to  you 
the  Personality  of  the  Great,  Self-existent,  In- 
telligent Creator : — not  as  the  current  mythology 
of  your  nation  teaches  —  Gods  many  and  Lords 
many ;  divinities  dreamingly  haunting  the  soli- 
tudes of  nature,  having  no  bond  of  sympathetic 
interest  with  the  human  race, — ^far  apart  from  all 
the  affairs  of  men :  I  come  to  reveal  to  you  Plim 
in  whom  we  live  and  move  and  have  our  being. 
The  God,  moreover,  of  all  the  families  of  the 
earth.  Once  my  belief  was  similar  to  your  OAvn, 
that  the  Jehovah  I  serve  had  no  interest  beyond 
the  limits  of  my  own  nation.  Under  the  influence 
of  a  more  expansive  spirit  I  have  been  taught  that 
He  is  the  Living,  Loving  Father  of  all  the  human 
race ;  confined  within  no  artificial  bounds,  but 
keeping  everlasting  watch  over  the  universe.' 

The  passing  reference  to  the  outer  world,  leads 
to  a  new  topic  and  one  of  significant  contrast. 

Can  we  not  imagine  that  outstretched  hand  (the 
Apostle's  familiar  attitude)  directed  now  in  another 
direction.  Confronting  the  Speaker,  as  abeady 
minutely  described,  was  the  Rock  of  the  Acropolis, 
its  wondrous  coronal  of  so-called  sacred  architec- 
ture,— crowded  masses  of  temple,  statue,  and 
shrine  —  the    pardonable    pride    of    the    world's 


88  ST.  PAUL  IN  ATHENS. 

proudest  nation.  Whatever  it  might  be  to  others, 
it  was  little  else  in  itself  to  the  eye  which  now 
surveyed  it,  but  a  colossal  Altar  with  the  enlarged 
inscription — ''To  Gods  Unknown.''  *The  God 
I  serve  and  love,'  continued  he  ^ — '  the  Universal 
Father — the  unseen  and  invisible  ^'  divelleth  not  in 
(such)  Temples  made  with  hands,  neither  is  wor- 
shipped ivith  the  product  of  mens  hands ; "  however 
skilful  and  cunning  the  artificer, — ^however  splendid 
and  imposing  the  ritual,  however  costly  the  sacri- 
ficial offerings.  You  have  given  shape  and  embodi- 
ment, in  that  Acropolis  of  yours,  to  your  reputed 
Gods  of  Olympus  and  Helicon.  He  stands  in 
need  of  no  such  sculptured  forms,  though  they 
be  the  workmanship  of  the  most  distinguished 
human  genius  {''as  though  He  needed  anything,'' 
sV.  2b)}  You  believe  that  your  presiding  deities, 
to  whom  you  have  given  ideal  shape  and  beauty, 
dwell  in  selfish  unloving  seclusion,  far  apart  from 
the  wants  and  necessities  of  their  votaries.  My 
God  and  Heavenly  Father  has  not  only,  as  Creator, 
fashioned  those  mountains  which  girdle  your  city 
and  shores, — stretched  out  the  heavens  as  a  curtain 


1  Doubtless  the  very  words  he  used  were  suggested  and  supplied  from  the 
dying  utterances  of  the  protomartyr  Stephen — indelibly  impressed  on  his 
memory  (Acts  vii.  48,  49). 

2  "The  previous  words  struck  at  a  false  theory  of  the  Temple;  these  at 
a  false  theory  of  worship.  "—Dean  Plumptre. 


THE  DISCOURSE.  89 

and  given  the  sea  its  decree.  He  has  done  more. 
He  is  infinitely  better.  He  is  the  Almighty 
Sustainer, — "  Seeing  He  giveth  to  all,  life,  and 
breath,  and  all  things  "  '  (v.  25). 

He  pursues  the  theme  : — adding  a  natural  corol- 
lary ;  or,  as  it  has  been  expressed,  "  after  giving 
them  the  philosophy  of  religion,  he  passes  to  the 
philosophy  of  history."  He  knows,  too  well,  the 
haughty  self-assertion  of  the  nation  whose  repre- 
sentatives are  now  around  him.  "  The  Athenians," 
says  Kuincel,  "  deemed  themselves  to  be  avToxOove^; 
—  "  Aborigines  "  —  "  sprung  from  the  soil.  " 
They  claimed  a  special  and  illustrious  pedigree. 
Their  theory  was,  that  each  nation  had  a  separate 
descent,  and  that  each  realm  and  race  were  under 
the  supervision  of  separate  divinities.  Hence  the 
polytheistic  system  which  had  its  most  singular 
development  in  the  capital  of  the  Hellenes.  Paul 
claims  boldly,  in  contravention  alike  of  ancient  and 
modern  theories,  the  one  Adamic  descent, — the 
unity  of  the  wide  family  of  man, — the  children  of 
one  Almighty  Parent, — the  brotherhood  of  human- 
ity. To  use  the  forcible  words  of  Olshausen — 
"  For  this  reason  he  made  it  appear  that  all  tribes 
were  brethren ;  and  that  a  higher  destiny  assigned 
to  the  nations  their  dwelling-places  and  epochs  of 
development.     By  this  last  thought  the   Apostle 


90  ST.  PAUL  IN  ATHENS. 

indicates  that  the  calamities  of  nations  exhibit  no 
unregulated  fluctuation,  but  a  course  of  things 
determined  by  laws  from  above."  ^  *  I  concede,' 
— is  the  expansion  of  the  Apostle's  thought — 
*  your  distinguishing  place  among  the  world-king- 
doms. You  may  well  look  with  elation  on  your 
heroic  struggles  for  your  nation's  liberty : — your 
warriors  and  statesmen — ^}^our  artists  and  crafts- 
men. But  imagine  not  that  you  are  the  one  race 
on  earth  exclusively  favoured  with  divine  pro- 
tection : — that  your  land  enjoys  a  favoured  mono- 
poly, while  the  outer  world  is  consigned  to  a 
godless  fate.  You,  Epicureans,  ignore  a  God  of 
Providence : — you,  Stoics,  abandon  the  world  to 
a  dreary  fatalism.  The  Unknown  God  I  declare 
unto  you  is  Upholder  as  well  as  Framer.  Do  not 
foster  the  delusion  that  you  are  privileged,  by 
exclusive  descent  from  some  fabled  progenitors, 
while  the  outside  world  you  deem  Barbarian  is 
the  product  and  haunt  of  demons.  Whatever  be 
the  disparities,  physical  and  intellectual,  ^vrought 
by  time  and  circumstance,  we  have  one  common 
origin.  He  whom  I  have  already  declared  not 
only  gives  to  all,  "  life  and  breath  and  all  things  " 
but,  V.  26,  "  He  hath  made  of  one  blood :  " — or 
rather,   ''He   hath  caused  every  nation   of    men 

Commentary  on  the  Acts,  vol.  iv.,  p.  354. 


THE  DISCOURSE.  91 

(sprung)  of  one  blood/  to  dwell  on  all  the  face  of 
the  earth.'' ' 

From  this,  the  preacher  naturally  proceeds  to 
enforce  the  great  moral  obligation,  resting  on 
God's  intelligent  creatures,  ''  to  seek  the  Lord,  if 


1  See  Alford's  Greek  Test.  iM  ?oc.  "Every  nation."  'R.Y.Trav  iOpos.  Dean 
Plumptre  notes  the  reference  to  "the  special  gift  of  character  of  each  race. 
The  Greek  sense  of  beauty  and  the  E,oman  sense  of  law.  Teutonic  truthful- 
ness, Celtic  impulsiveness,  and  Negro  docility,  have  all  their  special  work  to 
do  .  .  .  and  their  special  parts  to  play  in  the  drama  of  human  history." — 
New  Test.  Commentary  for  English  Readers.  "All  nations  of  one  blood," 
seems  to  contain  a  covert  rebuke  at  the  Hellenic  '  pride  of  race ; '  to  their 
cruel  system  of  slavery  and  its  large  proportions,  despite  of  their  boasted 
refinement. 

I  have  purposely  abstained  from  entering  on  the  speculations  of  later 
decades  regarding  the  'Descent  of  Man.'  These  would  be  altogether  out  of 
place  in  such  a  volume  as  this.  Let  me  simply  quote,  with  approval,  the 
following  brief  but  pertinenl  remarks  on  the  subject  by  another  writer. 
Dr.  Stuart,  of  Edinburgh,  speaking  from  a  Bible  and  Christian  standpoint 
on  the  modern  theories,  pushed  to  their  extremes,  of  evolution  and  develop- 
ment, observes: — "Viewed  in  some  of  its  aspects,  the  distance  may  seem 
little  between  a  man  and  the  dog  that  follows  at  his  foot.  We  are  both 
creatures  formed  by  one  Maker  out  of  the  dust  of  the  same  earth;  and 
although  not  of  one  blood,  we  are  both  born  out  of  flesh  and  blood,  and  at 
death  the  bodies  of  both  return  to  the  dust.  Fascinated  by  this  resemblance, 
some  acute  men  of  science,  ignoring  man's  creation  in  the  Divine  image,  and 
his  peculiar  and  completely  distinctive  capacity  for  God,  and  seeking  a  one- 
ness for  man  beneath  him  and  not  above  him,  have  pored  over  this  earthly 
lilieness  till  what  is  heavenliest  in  their  own  faculties  seems  to  have  been 
benumbed  ;  and  they  have  pictured  to  themselves  a  man  near  of  kin  to  the 
other  beasts,  only  little  higher,  and  almost  if  not  quite  self-promoted  among 
them.  As  in  its  childhood  the  world  by  wisdom  knew  not  God,  but  changed 
His  glory  into  the  image  of  corruptible  things,  so  again  in  its  old  age  the 
world  seems  ready  to  relapse  into  a  second  childhood,  by  returning  after 
another  fashion  to  the  glorifying  of  'four-footed  beasts,  and  birds,  and 
creeping  things.'  .  .  .  Between  man  and  the  wisest  beast  of  the  field,  there 
is  interposed  a  chasm,  deep  and  dark,  across  which  millions  of  years  can 
weave  no  thoroughfare.  But  man  was  created  in  likeness  and  for  fellowship 
witli  God ;  in  that  likeness  we  are  renewed  j  and  to  that  fellowship  we  are 
more  than  restored  by  Jesus  Christ." 


92  ST.  PAUL  IN  ATHENS. 

haply  they  might  feel  after  Him  and  find  Him, 
though  He  he  not  far  from  every  one  (*  each  one ' 
R.V,)  of  us"  (v.  27).  *I  speak,  not  of  what  can 
only  be  regarded  as  beautiful  myths ;  your  recog- 
nised divinities  presiding  over  separate  localities 
and  diverse  interests  : — not  of  the  distinctive  gods 
of  mountains,  or  winds,  or  rivers,  or  fire ; — ^not  of 
the  deities  personating  the  abstract  emotions  and 
passions  of  the  soul — Duty,  Patience,  Honour, 
Hope,  Pleasure ;  but  the  All- Comprehensive — 
Omnipotent — Omnipresent  One  :  ''  For  in  Him  we 
live,  and  move,  and  have  our  being  "  '  (v.  28). 

This  great  foundation-truth  in  Christian  theology 
he  happily  enforces,  not  from  His  own  Hebrew 
Scriptures,  for  these  would  be  valueless  in  their 
eyes,  but  from  one  of  their  own  literary  authorities  ; 
a  quotation  from  an  astronomical  poem  called 
''  Phcenomena''  the  work  of  Aratus  (b.c.  278):^ 
^^  As  certain  also  of  your  own  poets  hath  said,  For 
ive  are  also  his  offspring  "  (v.  28).  Prom  St.  Paul's 
expression  "  certain  of  your  own  poets,"  it  would 

1  Ovid  says,  "Cum  Sole  et  lun^  semper  Aratus  erit." — Quoted  by  Humphry 
on  the  Acts. 

The  writings  of  Aratus  were  well  known  and  mucli  prized  :  indeed,  com- 
mentaries were  written  upon  them.  Being  by  birth  and  repute  a  Cilician  or 
rather  a  native  of  Tarsus,  and  consequently  with  whose  writings  Paul  could 
not  fail  to  be  familiar,  it  has  been  surmised  that  among  the  "Books"  the 
Apostle  had  left  behind  him  at  Troas,  and  which  he  charges  Timothy  in  his 
last  letter  to  bring  with  him  to  his  Mamertine  prison,— the  poems  of  Aratus 
may  not  xinlikely  have  been  included  (Tim.  iv.  13). 


THE  DISCOURSE.  93 

seem  to  denote  that  the  quotation  was  familiar  to 
the  Athenians  ;  moreover,  that  it  was  used  by  more 
than  one  Attic  bard.  Many  expositors  have  given 
the  one  akeady  referred  to ; — also  an  identical 
reference  in  the  Hymn  of  Cleanthes — ^himself  an 
Athenian  and  Stoic  philosopher,  who,  after  leading 
a  life  of  rigid  asceticism,  committed  suicide  by 
starvation.  Both  poems  are,  of  course,  in  celebra- 
tion of  Jupiter.  I  give  Mr.  Le win's  translation  of 
the  former — that  of  Aratus  : — 

"  He  animates  the  mart  and  crowded  way, 
The  restless  ocean  and  the  shelter'd  bay  ; 
Doth  care  perplex  ?    Is  lowering  danger  nigh  ? 
We  are  his  offspring,  and  to  Jove  we  fly." 

Dr.  Kitto  furnishes  a  literal  rendering  of  the 
quotation  from  the  "  Hymn  of  Cleanthes  ;  "  adding 
that  the  hymn  has  been  pronounced  to  be  the 
purest  piece  of  natural  religion  extant  in  pagan 
antiquity,  containing,  as  he  farther  observes, 
nothing  unworthy  of  a  Christian  or  an  inspired 
writer : — 

"  Most  glorious  of  Immortals,  Thou  many  named, 
Always  Almighty,  prime  Euler  of  Nature, 
Governing  all  by  law,  Jove — hail ! 
Tor  mortals  all,  Thee  to  address  is  meet : 
For  we  are  Thy  offspring.     But  the  lot 
Of  puny  mortals  who  upon  this  earth 
Do  live  and  creep,  is  only  like 
The  image  of  a  Voice. 
Thee  obeys  the  starry  world,  revolving  round 


94  ST.  PAUL  IN  ATHENS. 

The  eartb,  and  following  where  Tlion  leadest : 
For  Thou,  with  hand  invincible,  doth  wield 
A  thunderbolt,  two-edged,  flaming  and  ever  living, 
The  stroke  of  which  all  Nature  dreads." 

If,  after  what  the  Apostle  had  just  stated  as  to 
the  common  origin  of  the  nations,  the  pride  of  his 
auditory  may  for  the  moment  have  been  wounded, 
— this  new  passing  reference  to  one  or  more  of 
their  minstrels,  would  seem  to  have  condoned  the 
offence  and  engaged  afresh  their  attention.  '  This 
Jew,'  would  be  their  verdict,  '  can  be  no  unedu- 
cated illiterate  fanatic.  He  must  be  a  man  of 
culture,  who  is  able  to  enforce  his  argument  by 
quotations  like  these.  Nor,  moreover,  can  he  be 
narrow  or  exclusive.  At  all  events,  whatever  his 
distinctive  religious  dogmas  may  be,  he  recognises 
us  as  *'  God's  oflfspring  :  " — the  children  of  his 
Supreme  Divinity.'  If  there  be,  in  consequence, 
a  fresh  stir  of  sympathetic  interest  among  the 
audience,  it  seems  to  act  as  a  stimulus  on  the 
Speaker  himself.  He  may  venture  to  advance  a 
step  farther  in  his  protest,  as  he  points,  once  more, 
across  the  intervening  valley. 

The  masses  of  parti- coloured  Pentelican  marble, 
are  not  alone  in  the  homage  done  to  false  gods 
and  a  false  worship.  The  precious  metals  have 
been  made  auxiliaries — as  we  have  already  abun- 
dantly noted  :  gold  and  silver ,  as  well  as  stone  and 


THE  DISCOURSE,  95 

ivory,  ^'graven  by  art  and  maris  device''  (v.  29). 
From  the  text  fui'nished  by  their  own  poets  he 
emphasises  the  lesson — '^  Forasmuch  then,  as  we 
are  the  (achnoivledged)  offspring  of  God,  we  ought 
not  to  think  that  the  Godhead  is  like  unto  these'' 
(v.  29).  'To  make  the  Godhead  like  unto  stone, 
would  be  to  repudiate  our  divine  origin.'  He 
wished  to  serve  them  legatees  to  a  heritage  and 
patrimony  more  precious  far  than  hoards  of  gold, 
'  yea,  the  most  fine  gold  '  —  the  unsearchable 
riches  of  Christ — "  Christ  the  power  of  God  and 
the  wisdom  of  God."  He  might,  indeed,  appro- 
priately here  have  borrowed  the  language  of  an 
Eastern  Emir,  very  familiar  to  him,  language 
whose  beauty  and  pathos  at  least  would  have  been 
appreciated  by  his  audience,  however  otherwise 
unacquainted  with  the  words  themselves: — "But 
where  shall  w^isdom  be  found?  and  where  is  the 
place  of  understanding?  Man  knoweth  not  the 
price  thereof;  neither  is  it  found  in  the  land  of 
the  living.  The  depth  saith,  It  is  not  in  me  :  and 
the  sea  saith,  It  is  not  with  me.  It  cannot  be  gotten 
for  gold,  neither  shall  silver  be  weighed  for  the 
price  thereof.  It  cannot  be  valued  with  the  gold 
of  Ophir,  with  the  precious  onyx,  or  the  sapphire. 
The  gold  and  the  crystal  cannot  equal  it ;  and  the 
exchange  of  it  shall  not  be  for  jewels  of  fine  gold. 


96  ST,  PAUL  IN  ATHENS. 

No  mention  shall  be  made  of  coral,  or  of  pearls  : 
for  the  price  of  wisdom  is  above  rubies.  The 
topaz  of  Ethiopia  shall  not  equal  it,  neither  shall 
it  be  valued  with  pure  gold.  Whence  then 
cometh  wisdom  ?  and  where  is  the  place  of  under- 
standing?" (Job  xxviii.  12-21.) 

The  Apostle  now  proceeds  with  a  more  solemn 
home  appeal  to  heart  and  conscience  :  while  at 
the  same  time  unfolding,  not  natural,  but  revealed 
truth: — ''And  the  times  of  this  ignorance  God 
tuinJced  at : " — (an  unhappy  and  commonplace 
rendering, — much  better,  as  accepted  by  all  ex- 
positors— '*  overlooked.")  He  speaks  of  the  Al- 
mighty's wondrous  patience  and  long-suffering  : — 
so  many  ages  bearing  with  evil  in  His  fair 
creation ; — that  creation  w^hich  the  Speaker,  in  a 
future  letter,  describes  as  "  groaning  and  travailing 
in  pain  :  " — '  The  God  whose  name  and  existence 
I  vindicate,  had  His  own  Sovereign  meaning  and 
reasons,  for  leaving  the  nations,  century  after 
century,  to  grope  in  the  darkness  of  their  blinded 
imaginations  —  not  sending,  as  He  did  to  my 
fathers,  accredited  messengers  and  interpreters  of 
His  will.  One  of  these  purposes,  among  others,  may 
have  been,  to  make  the  experiment,  on  the  widest 
scale,  as  to  the  possibility  of  man's  unaided  reason 
and  consciousness  attaining  a  knowledge  of  Him- 


THE  DISCOURSE,  g'j 

self.  But  now,  ignorance  of  the  Divine  nature  and 
of  the  Divine  will,  cannot  be  pleaded  in  condona- 
tion. A  new  era  of  revelation  and  responsibility 
has  dawned  : — "  Now  He  commandeth  all  men  (you 
Grecians  included)  everywhere  to  repent "  (v.  30). 
Deceive  me  not :  do  not  attempt  to  deceive  your- 
selves, or  that  Heart-searching  God  I  declare  to 
you.  The  objects  of  your  worship,  ideals  of  beauty 
though  they  be,  minister  to  the  sensuous.  Let 
not  the  boasted  glory  of  art — the  luscious  and 
splendid  in  external  form  and  ritual,  conceal  its 
dangerous  affinity  with  the  base  and  the  impure. 
Minerva,  your  patroness  of  "Wisdom,  presides  as 
Protectress  over  those  mighty  Sanctuaries  close 
by.  But  Wisdom — the  true  Wisdom  I  have  come 
to  unfold  to  you — "the  Wisdom  which  is  from 
above,  is  first  pure"  (James  iii.  17).  God's  call 
to  you,  and  to  all,  in  this  new  age  {aiov)  is  to 
*  repent.'  Mimic  and  parody  the  truly  Beautiful 
by  no  unworthy  counterfeit.  Do  not  permit  vice 
to  be  shielded  in  cunning  workmanship,  under 
gorgeous  shrine  and  imposing  architecture.  My 
loud  call  is — Repent !  Eepent !  Eenounce  your 
idol  worship.  Holier  than  the  best  of  human 
sanctuaries  are  these  hearts  of  yours  purified 
from  corruption,  made  to  serve  the  living  and  the 
true  God.' 

G 


98  ST,  PAUL  IN  ATHENS, 

He  proceeds,  in  augmented  tones  of  solemnity, 
as  he  approaches  yet  deeper  —  diviner  —  more 
august  themes.  He  urges  this  call  to  immediate 
repentance,  by  a  disclosure,  altogether  new  to 
them, — an  article  which  had  no  place  in  their 
accepted  creeds.  He  unfolds  Jesus,  that  Divine 
Saviour,  whose  Person  and  work  he  had  come  in 
their  midst  to  proclaim — as  the  appointed  Judge 
of  the  world.  What  are  all  these  sculptured 
triumphs  to  Him,  in  comparison  with  the  power 
and  charm  of  divine  heavenly  graces  wrought  by 
His  Spirit ; — not  in  those  who  are  worshippers  of 
an  *'  unknown  name,"  but  of  whom  it  is  elsewhere 
said — "  Him  that  overcome th  will  I  make  a  pillar 
in  the  temple  of  my  God,  and  he  shall  go  no  more 
out :  and  I  will  write  upon  him  the  name  of  my 
God,  and  the  name  of  the  city  of  my  God,  which 
is  New  Jerusalem,  which  cometh  down  out  of 
heaven  from  my  God ;  and  I  will  write  upon  him 
my  new  name."  *'  The  Epicurean,  teaching  him- 
self to  seek  for  tranquil  enjoyment  as  the  chief 
object  of  life,  heard  of  One  claiming  to  be  the 
Lord  of  men,  who  had  shown  them  the  glory  of 
dying  to  self,  and  had  promised  to  those  who 
fought  the  good  fight  bravely,  a  nobler  bliss  than 
the  comforts  and  luxuries  of  life  could  yield.  The 
Stoic,  cultivating  a  stem  and  isolated  moral  inde- 


THE  DISCOURSE,  99 

pendence,  heard  of  One  who  had  promised  to  give 
His  righteousness,  to  those  who  trusted  not  in 
themselves  but  in  Him."  ^ 

The  fii'st  part  of  this  novel  revelation  must  have 
been  startling  enough  to  that  group  of  listeners 
regarding  the  Day  of  Judgment  and  the  man 
("  a  Man ")  whom  God  had  ordained  to  preside 
on  the  august  tribunal.  But  if  its  assertion  was 
heard  in  silence  and  without  demur,  not  so  was 
it,  when  the  climax  was  reached,  that  the  Great 
Father-God  had  given  assurance  unto  all  men  of  the 
final  assize — the  supreme  consummation,  in  that 
''He  had  raised''  this  Divine  Man  and  appointed 
Judge  ''from  the  dead"—i\ie  pledge  that  His 
people  were  to  rise  also  (v.  31). 

This  proved  too  much  for  that  susceptible  and 
irritable  auditory.  Much  that  went  before  may  have 
roused  opposition  or  stirred  to  protest  and  remon- 
strance. They  hitherto,  however,  at  all  events,  had 
manifested  self-restraint,  and  listened,  with  a  cyni- 
cal, contemptuous  indifference.  But  Eesurrec- 
TION ! — Eesurrection  not  of  spirit  merely,  but  of  the 
crumbling  body : — the  Eesurrection  of  the  mortal 
tenement  consigned  to  the  tomb  or  to  ashes ! 
Eesurrection  of  this  Man  of  Nazareth,  the  first- 
fruits  of  a  great  Easter  Day  for  all  the  world-ages  ! 

J  Dr.  Smith's  Bib.  Die.  Art.  "Paul,"  p.  743. 


100  ST.  PAUL  IN  ATHENS. 

And  the  assurance  ^^  ivas  given  unto  all  men:*^ 
equivalent  to  the  assertion  which,  as  we  have  seen, 
specially  roused  their  antipathies,  that  all  are  equal 
in  religion — that  the  polished  and  refined  Greek 
is,  on  a  predicted  solemn  day  of  reckoning,  to  be 
found  side  by  side  with  Jews  and  barbarians  !  No, 
no.  It  cannot  be  !  It  is  diametrically  opposed 
to  their  every  view  about  matter  and  spirit.  We 
can  readily  picture  to  ourselves  the  gathering 
and  bursting  of  the  storm.  The  Epicureans,  to 
whom  any  resurrection — far  more  that  of  the  body, 
was  a  myth  and  fantasy,  we  read,  "  mocked " 
(v.  32) — ironical  words  and  derisive  jeers  greeted 
the  statement  of  this  '  Bird-Pecker : '  while  the 
Stoics — less  pronounced  in  their  opposition — more 
tolerant  of  alien  creeds — especially  if  these  incul- 
cated demon- worship,  or  claimed  some  new  human 
apotheosis, — with  more  of  the  courtesy  of  a  cour- 
teous race,  merely  evaded  the  subject.  The  new 
dogma  had  startled  them  with  its  novelty.  Their 
curiosity  had  been  aroused.  Perhaps,  more  than 
all,  they  had  been  attracted  and  arrested  by  the 
earnestness  of  the  Preacher.  So,  with  a  wave  of 
the  hand,  they  requested  the  postponement  of  any 
farther  exposition  : — "We  will  hear  thee  again  of 
this  matter"  (v.  32). 

The   clamour  was  for  the  time  hushed.      The 
"  waves   of  babble "  rocked   themselves   to   rest. 


THE  DISCOURSE.  loi 

No  severities  of  the  law  were  threatened  to  *'  the 
setter  forth  of  strange  gods."  A  Greek  poet 
speaks  of  this  sudden  collapse  of  the  most 
animated  of  these  conclaves.  "  A  drop  of  rain," 
as  he  expresses  it,  was  sufficient,  at  times,  to 
cool  the  fever-heats  of  discussion  and  disperse 
the  versatile  auditory.  Whatever  was  the  cause 
now,  an  assembly  ever  memorable  dissolved ;  the 
hearers  were  once  more  lost  in  the  crowd  and 
buzz  of  the  Agora  beneath.^ 

1  Though  all  writers,  secular  as  well  as  sacred,  have  borne  witness  to  its 
argumentative  skill  and  oratorical  power,  we  have  the  strongest  ground  for 
surmising  that  the  discourse  of  the  Apostle,  as  recorded  in  the  Acts,  is  only 
given  in  outline  or  brief  extract.  We  can  hardly  think  of  this  formal 
adjournment  to  the  Areopagus,  affording  such  a  wonderful  opportunity  to  the 
Speaker  to  unfold  his  great  message : — and  all  the  result  being,  as  a  writer 
has  expressed  it — '  *  what  would  not  occupy  five  minutes  in  delivering, "  Be 
it  however  either  partial  or  complete,  it  is  interesting  to  think  that  the  Text 
(the  words)  must  have  been  supplied  by  St.  Paul  himself  :  St.  Luke — the 
writer  of  the  Acts,  not  being  with  him  :  he,  indeed,  as  we  have  seen,  being 
all  'alone.'  It  must  have  either  been  dictated  orally  to  the  Apostolic  Bio- 
grapher, at  a  future  time ;  or,  like  some  few  other  statements,  elsewhere 
mentioned,  they  might  be  "written  in  large  characters  by  his  own  hand" 
(Gal.  vi.  11).  Dean  Alford's  remarks,  with  their  scholarly  insight,  are  well 
worth  quoting: — "Do  we  discover  in  the  narrative  or  speech  the  traces  of 
an  unusual  hand,  and  if  so,  whose  is  it  f  That  some  unusual  hand  has  been 
here  employed,  is  evident:  for  in  the  six  verses  16-21  inclusive,  we  have 
no  fewer  than  eleven  expressions  foreign  to  Luke's  style,  or  nowhere  else 
occurring ;  and  in  the  speech  itself  no  fewer  than  twenty.  Now,  of  these 
thirty-one  expressions,  five  are  either  peculiar  to,  or  employed  principally 
by  Paul ;  besides  that  we  find  the  phi-ase  to  irvev/xa  avrov,  so  frequently 
(see  reff.)  used  by  him  of  his  own  spirit  or  feelings.  That  the  aTra^  \ey6ixeva. 
in  the  speech  exceed  in  number  the  expressions  indicative  of  his  style,  may 
fairly  be  accounted  for  by  the  peculiar  nature  of  the  occasion  on  which  he 
spoke.  Here,  I  think,  we  can  hardly  fail  to  trace  the  hand  of  the  Apostle 
by  quite  as  many  indications  as  we  may  expect  to  find.  That  Luke  should, 
as  in  every  case,  have  wrought  in  the  section  into  his  work,  and  given  it  the 
general  form  of  his  own  narrative,  would  only  be  natural,  and  we  find  it  has 
been  so.''— Prolegomena,  Acts  of  the  Apostles,  p.  12. 


part  a 


DISCOURSE  ON  THE  AREOPAGUS 
EXPANDED:   WITH  ITS  FOURFOLD  THEME. 


"He  had  not  intended  to  speak  immediately  :  but  nevertheless  presently, 
without  waiting  for  his  companions,  stimulated  by  a  remarkable  and  extra- 
ordinary zeal,  this  Soldier  of  Christ  commences  the  action  at  once." — Bengel. 

"Those  sufferings  which  would  have  broken  the  back  of  an  ordinary 
patience,  did  but  make  him  rise  up  with  the  greater  eagerness  and  resolution 
for  the  doing  of  his  duty.  ...  St.  Hierom  cries  him  up  as  a  great  master  of 
composition  :  that  as  oft  as  he  heard  him,  he  seemed  to  hear,  not  words 
but  thunder."— Caw's  Lives  of  the  Apostles,  A.D.  1676. 


Let  us  now  proceed,  not  to  any  additional  theo- 
logical exposition  or  analytic  exegesis  beyond  what 
we  have  ventured  to  give  in  the  last  chapter  ; — but 
rather  to  extract  the  spirit  of  the  memorable  Dis- 
course delivered  from  the  "  stone  pulpit "  of  the 
Areopagus. 

The  Address— in  itself  a  compendium  of  reli- 
gious truth — seems  appropriately  to  resolve  itself 
into  four  parts,  or  themes. 

The  God  of  Nature. 
The  God  of  Phovidence, 
The  God  of  Grace. 
The  God  of  Judgment. 

Though  the  connection  be  an  arbitrary  and 
fanciful  one,  this  fourfold  division,  as  we  have 
ventured  to  note  at  the  close  of  each  section, — 
seems  singularly  to  harmonise  with  some  succes- 
sive strains  in  the  greatest  of  the  Great  Hymns  of 
Christendom. 


I. 
Zbc  (Bob  of  mature* 


**  Earth  is  crammed  with  Heaven, 
And  every  common  bush  aflame  with  God." 

— Mrs.  Barrett  Browning. 

"Only  on  the  firm  foundation  of  the  Old  Testament  doctrine  of  Creation, 
can  we  rightly  build  the  New  Testament  Doctrine  of  Eedemption  :  and  only 
he  who  scripturally  believes  and  apprehends  by  faith  the  earliest  words  of 
Revelation,  concerning  a  Creator  of  all  things,  can  also  apprehend,  know, 
and  scripturally  worship.  The  Man,  in  whom  God's  word,  down  to  its  latest 
canonical  Revelation,  gathers  together  all  things." — Stier^s  Words  of  the 
Apostles,  p.  295. 

"Those  who  have  obtained  the  farthest  insight  into  nature,  have  been  in 
all  ages  firm  believers  in  God." — Dr.  Whewell. 

"  Along  with  other  and  better  revivals  at  the  era  of  the  Reformation,  came 
the  resuscitation  of  this  doctrine  of  God — the  God  of  Nature.  '  "We  are  in  the 
dawn  of  a  new  Era,'  says  Luther,  'we  are  beginning  to  think  something  of 
the  natural  world  which  was  ruined  in  Adam's  fall.  We  are  learning  to  see 
all  around  us  the  greatness  and  glory  of  the  Creator.  "VYe  can  see  the 
Almighty  hand— the  Infinite  Goodness  in  the  humblest  flower.  We  praise 
Him,  we  thank  Him,  we  glorify  Him.  We  recognise  in  creation  the  power 
of  His  word.  He  spake  and  it  was  done.'  " — Quoted  by  Mr.  Froude  in  his 
**  Times  of  Erasmixs  and  Luther." 

"  Listen  to  the  fairy  tales  of  science, 

Solemn,  and  stupendous,  and  sublime  ; 
Nature's  voice  springs  out  a  proud  defiance 

To  the  puny  sceptics  of  our  time  : 
Age  to  age  speaks  out,  each  generation 

Finds  new  wisdom  coming  at  its  call, 
While  men,  be  sure,  of  each  and  every  nation 

Recognise  the  First  Great  Cause  of  all." 


(     107     ) 


THE  GOD  OF  NATURE. 

The  Apostle's  opening  theme  was  one,  in  which — 
though  bearing  an  interpretation  very  different 
from  his,  he  was  in  close  touch  and  sympathy  with 
his  audience — "  God,  that  made  the  world  and 

ALL  THINGS  THEREIN,  SEEING  THAT   He   IS    LORD  OF 

Heaven  and  Earth"  (v.  24). 

To  the  Greek,  Religion  was  nothing  without 
Nature :  or  rather,  to  him.  Religion  and  Nature 
were  convertible  terms.  In  a  truer  sense  than 
what  has  been  said  of  the  stones  and  frescoes  of 
Venice,  Nature  to  the  children  of  Hellas  was  their 
Bible — their  "illuminated  missal."  Every  page 
had  its  brilliant  initial  and  borderings.  Not  only 
so,  but  each  of  these  pages  had  some  religious 
association  or  identification  with  god  or  demigod. 
Though  to  the  Athenian  the  Acropolis  was  the 

isible  Temple  "  made  with  hands,"  where  sacred 
thoughts  had  their  embodiment  in  marble,  or 
bronze,  or  gold ;  his  true  Shrine  and  Sanctuary 
after   all,  was  some  court  in  the  outer  material 


io8  ST.  PAUL  IN  ATHENS. 

world  which  imagination  consecrated  to  a  separate 
and  appropriate  deity.  With  all  their  purely 
mythical  character,  beautiful  dreams  assuredly 
they  were.  Was  it  the  olive  woods,  and  pine 
forest,  and  pastoral  solitudes  ?  there  the  rural  Pan 
sat  piping  his  rustic  reed,  or  lay  stretched  in 
dreamy  slumbers  under  his  fir-tree.  Was  it  the 
stream  or  secluded  fountain  in  the  depth  of 
primeval  forests  or  rocky  dells  and  glades  ?  the 
wood  nymphs  were  there,  investing  the  spot  with 
religious  awe,  and  converting  the  clump  of  wood- 
land into  a  '  sacred  grove.'  Was  it  the  bays  and 
creeks  of  that  sea  of  azure-blue,  which  bathed 
the  Attic  shores  or  ^gean  Isles?  They  saw 
among  these,  ever  and  anon,  Poseidon  the  *  Shaker 
of  the  Earth,'  with  his  Trident ;  who  in  the  parti- 
tion of  divine  rule  by  Saturn  among  his  sons,  got 
as  his,  chiefly  the  realm  of  the  ocean.  They 
conjured  up  thoughts  of  his  palace  in  its  depths 
of  pearl  and  sea-weed.  They  imagined  they  would 
behold,  alike  in  calm  and  storm,  the  Sea-god 
driving  his  golden-maned  steeds  through  the  briny 
highway; — the  sportive  monsters  of  the  ocean  doing 
him  homage ;  his  immediate  retainers  blowing 
conchs,  and  securing,  amid  environing  tempests 
which  they  bridled,  a  calm  path  for  their  king. 
While  Amphitrite,  his  queen,  and  Queen  of  Beauty, 


THE  GOD  OF  NATURE.  109 

bearing  a  similar  trident  in  her  hand,  had  her 
own  sea-car  of  pearly  shells  drawn  by  Tritons, 
through  a  track  of  iridescent  foam.  Was  it  the 
beautiful  sunshine  ? — ^that  Attic  sky  with  its  wealth 
of  heavenly  light — dazzling  in  its  meridian,  and 
golden  in  its  setting  suns  ?  that  sun,  ages  before 
the  birth  of  Greece,  had  been  adored  and  wor- 
shipped in  Egyptian  Thebes  and  Karnac  as  Amun- 
Ea : — ^by  Chaldean  and  Persian,  by  Assyrian  and 
Phoenician,  in  their  Baal-shrines.  But  the  Greek, 
in  Phcebus  Apollo,  the  Lord  of  the  Cithara  and  the 
unerring  bow,  had  a  fairer  incarnation : — Apollo 
— the  god  of  Light  :  light  being  the  highest 
expression  of  beauty ;  also  investing  him  with  in- 
sight into  futurity  as  the  god  of  Oracles.  Was 
it  when  the  dews  of  early  morning  fell, — or  at 
eventide  when  the  shepherds  were  folding  their 
flocks  in  the  Thessalian  Vale  of  Tempo  or  on  the 
slopes  of  Hymettus,  Ossa,  or  Helicon  ?  Hermes 
the  god-Messenger  would  be  seen  with  winged 
feet  and  the  twisted  caducous,  bearing  the  tele- 
phonic message  of  its  day  from  the  court  of  the 
gods  to  the  abodes  of  men.^     Was  it  the  fields  of 

1  The  myth  of  the  birth  of  Hermes  on  the  mountains  of  Southern  Greece 
is  thus  beautifully  told  by  Mr.  Euskin.  On  the  Mountain  of  Cyllene  he  was 
"  born  of  the  eldest  of  those  stars  of  spring — that  Maia,  from  whom  your 
own  month  of  May  has  its  name  ;  bringing  to  you,  in  the  green  of  her  gar- 
lands, and  the  white  of  her  hawthorn,  the  unrecognised  symbols  of  the 
pastures  and  the  wreathed  snows  of  Arcadia,  where  long  ago  she  was  Queen 


no  ST.  PAUL  IN  ATHENS, 

early  green  or  the  valleys  of  golden  grain  ?  Gaia, 
the  sedate  mother  of  agriculture,  would  be  seen 
listening  to  the  tinkle  of  the  harvest  sickles  and 
the  strains  of  the  harvest  song.  While,  dominat- 
ing all,  was  their  picture  of  the  Mount  of  Olympus 
vrreathed  in  inapproachable  cloud :  the  abode  of 
the  great  Zeus,  Father  of  gods  and  men.  Seated 
on  its  highest  summit  in  perpetual  festival  and 
banquet,  he  was  pictured  sending  forth  from  time 
to  time  his  varied  subjects  on  their  missions, 
whether  of  favour  or  retribution,  to  the  wide 
realms  of  the  earth  below.  His  favourite  daughter 
— our  now  familiar  Athene, — goddess  of  Light, 
Understanding,  and  Wisdom,  who  was  said  to 
have  sprung  full-panoplied  from  his  head,  was 
recognised  and  worshipped  as  presiding  also  over 
the  processes  of  Nature. 

We  thus  see,  from  these  brief  references  to  a 
fascinating  mythology,  how  first  of  all,  the  love  of 
nature  was  incorporated  in  the  very  soul  of  Greece. 
Hers  was  a  beautiful  child-life :  recalling  the 
words  of  a  true  child-poet : — 

"  Skies  are  liglit  above  you  : 
Trees  bend  down  to  kiss  yon,  breeze  and  blossom  love  you." 

of  Stars ;  there,  first  cradled  and  wrapt  in  swaddling-clothes ;  then  is  born 
the  shepherd  of  the  clouds,  winged-footed  and  deceiving, — blinding  the  eyes 
of  Argus, — escaping  from  the  grasp  of  Apollo — restless  messenger  between 
the  highest  sky  and  topmost  earth — '  the  herald  Mercury,  new  lighted  on  a 
hearan-kissing  hill.' " — The  Queen  of  the  Air,  p.  29. 


THE  GOD  OF  NATURE.  iii 

But  there  was,  as  we  have  just  seen,  more  in  the 
Hellenic  than  this  mere  child-love  of  the  inanimate 
world.  It  was  linked  with  the  loftier  sentiments 
and  aspirations,  however  inadequate  these,  at  the 
best,  were.  The  Greek  was  in  one  sense  a  Pan- 
theist,— all  Nature  was  to  him  full  of  God.  In  his 
own  erroneous  way,  however,  he  was  better  and 
more  advanced  than  Pantheist :  for  through  the  mist 
of  these  mythic  dreams,  we  see  how  he  clung  to 
the  belief  of  divine  personalities.  The  Deity  was 
with  him  no  abstraction — the  Being  of  a  spirit- 
world.  The  belief  did  not  resolve  itself  into  the 
"  unknown  and  unknowable  "  of  later  phases  and 
times.  Each  member  of  their  Pantheon  was 
clothed  with  attributes  alike  human  and  divine. 
So  vivid  was  their  conception  of  each,  that,  as  we 
have  more  than  once  noted  in  former  chapters, 
they  could  fashion  their  ideals  not  only  in  noble 
sculpture,  but  in  definite,  recognised  shape :  from 
the  fantastic,  semi-human  Pan — to  the  exquisite 
embodiment  of  beauty  in  the  bright-eyed  Apollo. 
Each  niche  in  this  great  Nature-Temple  was  filled 
with  a  distinct  Individuality.  Phidias  and  Par- 
rhasius  were  to  them  what  Raphael  and  Michael 
Angelo  were  in  future  Christian  art :  Eleusis  and 
Delphi  what  the  Holy  Sepulchre  and  Loretto  were 
in  the  Middle  Ages. 


112  ST.  PAUL  IN  ATHENS. 

But  the  polytheism  of  the  Greek  was  as  unsatis- 
factory from  the  human  side  as  it  was  erroneous 
from  the  divine.  Let  a  discerning  writer  explain 
in  his  own  lucid  words  : — *'  Polytheism  divided  the 
contemplation  over  many  objects  :  and  as  the  out- 
ward objects  were  manifold,  so  was  there  a  want 
of  unity  in  the  inward  life.  The  Grecian  mind  was 
distracted  by  variety.  He  was  to  obtain  wisdom 
from  one  Deity :  eloquence  from  that  Mercurius 
for  whom  Paul  was  taken  :  purity  from  Diana  for 
whom  Ephesus  was  zealous :  protection  for  his 
family  or  country  from  the  respective  tutelary 
deities  :  success  by  a  prayer  to  Fortune.  Hence 
dissipation  of  mind :  that  fickleness  for  which  the 
Greeks  were  famous :  and  the  restless  love  of 
novelty  which  made  Athens  a  place  of  literary  and 
social  gossip — *  some  new  thing.'  All  stability  of 
character  rests  on  the  contemplation  of  changeless 
unity.  ...  If  you  view  the  world  as  the  Greek 
did,  all  is  so  various  that  you  must  either  refer  it 
to  various  deities,  or  to  different  moods  of  the 
same  deity.  To-day  you  are  happy  —  God  is 
pleased  :  to-morrow  miserable — God  is  angry.  St. 
John  referred  these  all  to  unity  of  character — 
*  God  is  love.'  .  .  .  Hence  came  deep  calm — the 
repose  which  we  are  toiling  all  our  lives  to  find 
and  which  the  Greek  never  found."  ^     We  cannot 

1  Robertson's  Sermons,  vol.  i.,  pp.  185-8. 


THE  GOD  OF  NATURE.  113 

wonder  that  it  was  with  them  as  with  the  Romans. 
Paul's  subsequent  indictment  included  both. 
"They  became  vain  in  their  imaginations  and 
their  foolish  heart  was  darkened.  Professing 
themselves  to  be  wise  they  became  fools :  and 
changed  the  glory  of  the  incorruptible  God  into 
an  image  made  like  to  corruptible  man  "  (Eom.  i. 
21,  22,  23).' 

It  was  to  a  very  different  Nature-worship,  not 
seen  through  the  distorted  medium  of  *  gods 
many  and  lords  many,*  to  which  St.  Paul  now 
directs  the  thoughts  of  the  throng  on  the  Areo- 
pagus. His  opening  theme  is  one  on  Natural 
Eeligion :  only  redeemed  and  rescued  from  that 
bewildering  polytheism,  with  its  "  complexity  of 
impersonal  laws,"  and  asserting  the  unity  and 
undivided  Personality  of  the  true  God  and  Great 
Creator — "  God,    that   made   the  world   and   all 

1  Though  we  reserve,  for  a  final  chapter,  reference  to  the  modern  religion 
of  Greece,  we  may  here,  in  a  note,  give  the  passing  observation  of  a  cultured 
traveller  in  the  earlier  part  of  the  present  century,  showing  how  the  old 
nature-myths  and  superstitions  still  survive.  *''We  entered  a  real  forest. 
Here  our  Greeks  were  startled  by  a  bird  which  flew  across  the  road,  and 
which  they  called  '  Kira.'  That  bird  they  said  had  once  been  a  woman,  who, 
deprived  of  all  her  kindred  by  some  great  calamity,  retired  to  some  solitary 
mountain  to  bewail  her  loss,  and  continued  on  the  summit  forty  days  re- 
peating in  the  sad  monotony  of  grief  the  lamentation  of  the  country,— 'Ah 
me  !  ah  me  ! ' — till,  at  the  expiration  of  that  period,  she  was  changed,  by  pity- 
ing Providence,  into  a  bird.  So  strangely  live  on,  in  modern  tradition,  the 
fables  of  heathen  Greece,  mingled  though  they  may  be  with  the  inoongruoua 
accompaniments  of  Christian  legend," — Lord  Carnarvon's  Athena  and  Morea^ 
p.  111. 

H 


114  ST,  PAUL  IN  ATHENS. 

things  therein,  seeing  that  He  is  Lord  of  heaven 
and  earth''  No  Epicurean  deity  dwelling  isolated 
and  apart  from  human  interests  and  sympathies, 
in  a  state  of  listless  repose.  All  the  material 
organism  of  the  world  (KoV/io?) — the  Universe — 
"under  law  and  reduced  to  order" — is  under  His 
supervision.  He  regards  Him  as  the  Appointer  of 
the  seasons.  Spring,  Summer,  Autumn,  Winter, 
are  His  own  four  Evangelists  in  the  great  '  Gospel 
of  Creation.'  As  it  has  been  well  remarked — "  He 
speaks  to  the  human  heart  through  Nature  if  men 
will  but  hearken.  This  is  the  truth  of  which 
Pantheism  is  the  caricature."  ^  "  For,  of  Him, 
and  through  Him,  and  to  Him  are  all  things : 
to  whom  be  glory  for  ever  and  ever.  Amen " 
(Rom.  xi.  36). 

The  Volume  then,  the  Apostle  thus  opens,  was 
one  which  he  and  his  hearers  read  together  with 
delighted  community  of  interest.  It  was  a  volume 
whose  pages  he  himself  had  never  been  so  foolish 
— we  use  the  word  advisedly — had  never  been  so 
impious,  as  to  undervalue  or  repudiate.  In  his  first 
missionary  journey,  amid  Nature-scenes  as  fascinat- 
ing in  their  way  as  those  of  Attica, — how  beautifully 
does  he  discourse  to  the  Lystrians  of  "the  living 
God,  which  made  heaven,  and  earth,  and  the  sea, 

1  Professor  Lumby  on  the  Acts,  in  loc. 


THE  GOD  OF  NATURE.  I15 

and  all  things  tliat  are  therein"  (Acts  xiv.  15)! 
In  writing,  at  a  subsequent  time,  that  same  price- 
less Letter  to  the  Eomans  to  which  we  have  just 
referred,  in  what  glowing  terms  does  he  speak  of 
"  the  invisible  things  of  Him  from  the  creation  of 
the  world  are  clearly  seen,  being  understood  by 
the  things  that  are  made,  even  His  eternal  power 
and  Godhead"  (Eom.  i.  20).  Though  he  knew 
too  well  the  inadequacy  of  the  study  of  Nature  to 
solve  deeper  problems,  he  would  never  think  of 
eliminating  from  his  creed  this  **  proem  of  Re- 
demption : "  the  bright  setting  to  a  yet  brighter 
and  costlier  jewel.  If  we  can  venture  on  a  com- 
parison which  suggests  itself  in  passing, — the  allu- 
sion to  this  nature-religion  was  to  St.  Paul  like 
the  opening  overture  or  prologue  to  a  great  Ora- 
torio,— a  quiet  passage,  introductory  to  the  after 
theme  ; — and  giving  value  to  the  latter  by  contrast. 
The  subdued  '  pastoral  symphony '  of  the  greatest 
of  our  tone-poets  may  be  recalled,  in  which  we 
seem  to  be  in  the  hush  of  solitude,  under  the 
pale  light  of  moon  and  stars.  But  this  is  only 
a  prelude  and  preparation,  effective  by  its  soft, 
tender,  dreamy  melody,  to  give  power  and  pathos 
to  the  subsequent  magnificent  scenes  and  passages 
culminating  in  the  Hallelujah  Chorus. 

It  is  surely  altogether  a  misconception,  which 


1 1 6  ST.  PA  UL  IN  A  THENS. 

would  represent  the  Jew  as  devoid  of  love  for  the 
beautiful  in  the  outer  world.  Who  dare  make 
such  an  assertion  with  the  Old  Testament  Scrip- 
tures in  their  hands  ?  Commence  if  you  will  with 
the  birth,  or  as  it  may  be  rather  called  the  second 
birth  of  the  Hebrew  people,  on  their  way  from  Egypt 
to  Canaan :  the  farewell  addresses  of  Moses  are 
full  of  vivid  Nature -touches.  The  opening  strain 
of  his  Psalm  (xc.) — the  oldest  in  the  Psalter — is 
inspired  by  Creation's  noblest  monuments :  as  if 
the  memories  of  his  desert  sojourn  and  its  Moun- 
tain-Sanctuaries were  more  enduring  far  than  even 
the  colossal  temples  and  pyramids  of  the  Pharaohs 
among  which  he  had  been  reared.  It  is  a  lofty 
ascription  to  the  world's  Creator  and  His  handi- 
work : — ^'  Lord,  Thou  hast  been  our  dwelling-place 
in  all  generations.  Before  the  mountains  were 
brought  forth,  or  ever  Thou  hadst  formed  the  earth 
and  the  world,  even  from  everlasting  to  everlasting, 
Thou  art  God."  The  Book  of  Job,  whatever  be 
its  precise  antiquity  and  chronological  place  in 
the  sacred  writings — though  undoubtedly  ancient 
it  must  be — is,  throughout,  a  wondrous  nature- 
poem — instinct  with  reverence  for  the  works  of  the 
Mighty  Pramer :  from  the  brooks  fretting  in  their 
channels,  or  the  great  Behemoth  in  the  waters. 


THE  GOD  OF  NATURE,  117 

to  Pleiades  and  Orion,  Arcturus  and  his  sons,  in 
the  firmament  of  night. 

If  we  pass  to  David,  the  sweet  Psalmist  of  Israel ; 
an  ^olian  harp  swept  by  the  winds  of  heaven, 
seems  constantly  to  join  in  pathetic  accompani- 
ment with  his  varied  spiritual  songs.  He  seems 
to  have  drank  in  this  native  inspiration  ever  since 
the  time  when,  as  a  boy,  he  fed  his  father's  flocks 
in  the  valleys  of  Bethlehem.  Now  he  is  under 
the  starry  canopy,  giving  forth  from  his  "  Kinnor  " 
*  the  Heavens  are  telling.'  Now  he  is  under  the 
spell  of  a  thunderstorm  (Ps.  xxix.)  bursting  forth 
in  all  its  magnificence  and  grandeur  in  the  passes  of 
the  Lebanon  :  crashing  the  cedars,  and  discovering 
the  forests,  and  gleaming  in  the  waves  of  the 
Great  Sea.  Now  he  is  amid  the  oaks  and  water- 
brooks  of  Gilead  (Ps.  xlii.).  Now,  it  is  a  Vision 
of  Palestine  in  its  autumn  beauty — the  valleys 
studded  thick  with  the  golden  corn,  amid  bleat 
of  flocks  and  the  song  of  reapers  —  the  little 
hills  rejoicing  on  every  side  (Ps.  Ixv.).  Who  but 
the  intensest  observer  of  Nature  and  most  loving 
votary  at  her  shrine,  could  have  composed,  as  the 
monarch  of  Israel  did,  that  104th  Psalm? — Crea- 
tion's noblest  anthem  and  Benedicite.  Then, 
comes  the  close  of  the  life  of  the  Poet-King.  It 
is    touching    and    remarkable   to   see   how    this 


ii3  ST.  PAUL  IN  ATHENS. 

Minstrel  of  Minstrels  imported,  so  to  speak,  his 
intense  sympathy  with  Nature  to  his  very  death- 
bed :  how  he, 

"Whose  daily  te;icliers  were  the  woods  and  rills, 
The  silence  that  is  in  the  starry  sky, 
The  sleep  that  is  among  the  lonely  hills," — 

who  had  sung  so  sweetly,  in  life's  early  morn,  of 
"  the  sun  as  a  bridegroom  going  forth  from  his 
chamber,  and  rejoicing  as  a  strong  man  to  run  his 
race ; " — how  he  loved  to  revert  to  the  old  symbol 
at  the  supreme  hour  of  all ;  as  if  his  admiration  of 
the  external  world  only  expired  with  his  expiring 
breath.  "  Now  these  be  the  last  words  of  David  : 
.  .  .  '  He  shall  be  as  the  light  of  the  morning 
when  the  sun  riseth,  even  a  moriiing  without 
clouds ;  as  the  tender  grass  springing  out  of  the 
earth  by  clear  shining  after  rain.'  "  (2  Sam.  xxiii. 
1-4.) 

Were  there  any  need  of  prolonging  these  refer- 
ences or  accumulating  proof, — look  how  often  the 
hallowed  fire  of  Isaiah  is  kindled  at  Nature- 
shrines  !  Mountains  and  forests,  rivers  and 
valleys ; — the  wilderness  and  the  solitary  place 
becoming  glad — the  mountains — in  the  loftiest 
strain  of  poetic  hyperbole — breaking  out  into 
singing,  the  trees  of  the  field  clapping  their  hands. 
Or,  delighting  thus  to  draw  his  Nature-teaching 


THE  GOD  OF  NATURE.  119 

from  the  noblest  of  all  Oriental  '  picture- 
galleries  : ' — **  Lift  up  your  eyes  on  high,  and  be- 
hold who  hath  created  these  things,  that  bringeth 
out  their  host  by  number :  He  calleth  them  all  by 
names  by  the  greatness  of  His  might,  for  that  He 
is  strong  in  power;  not  one  faileth"  (Isa.  xl.  26). 
Nor,  in  these  rapid  references  to  passages  of  Old 
Testament  story,  can  we  omit  Habakkuk's  sublime 
psean  of  Nature -worship,  which,  perhaps,  we  are 
not  wrong  in  saying  stands  alone,  unequalled 
among  its  inspired  compeers  :  (iii.  3) — 

"  God  came  from  Teman,  and  the  Holy  One  from 
mount  Paran.  His  glory  covered  the  heavens,  and 
the  earth  was  full  of  His  praise. 

*'  He  stood,  and  measured  the  earth  :  He  beheld, 
and  drove  asunder  the  nations  ;  and  the  everlasting 
mountains  were  scattered,  the  perpetual  hills  did 
bow  :  His  ways  are  everlasting. 

"  The  sun  and  moon  stood  still  in  their  habita- 
tion :  at  the  light  of  Thine  arrows  they  went,  and 
at  the  shining  of  Thy  glittering  spear. 

"  Thou  didst  walk  through  the  sea  with  Thine 
horses,  through  the  heap  of  great  waters,"  &c. 

All  Palestine  travellers  are  struck  with  the 
majesty  of  Mount  Hermon.  It  forms  the  colossal 
barrier  of  the  north,  and  mingles  its  snow-crowned 
peak  with  many  memorable  views  in  the  Holy 


120  ST.  PAUL  IN  ATHENS. 

Land.  It  is  supposed  that  its  name  means  '  the 
Great  Sanctuary;'  as  if  the  God  of  Israel  had 
reared  this  vast  Nature-Temple  or  Nature-Altar  to 
keep  Him,  as  Creator,  in  everlasting  remembrance, 
dwai-fing  in  its  proportions  all  *  Temples  made 
with  hands.'  ^ 

So  far,  indeed,  from  being  the  case  that  the 
Jew  was  indifferent  in  his  observation  of  the 
outer  world,  and  neglectful  of  his  homage  to 
Nature  and  her  laws, — it  is  enough  to  remark 
that  in  all  the  three  greatest  national  festivals. 
Nature,  and  that  too  by  distinct  and  specific 
divine  authority,  had  significant  recognition.  In 
the  directions  regarding  the  celebration  of  the 
Passover  as  detailed  in  the  23rd  of  Leviticus — 
along  with  the  foreshadowing  of  diviner  truths 
and  realities,  it  was  expressly  ordained  that  "  the 
first  of  the  first  fruits  "  were  to  be  gathered  and 
brought  as  an  offering  into  the  Holy  courts.  We 
know,  moreover,  with  what  pomp  of  ceremony  and 
ecstatic   gladness,   in   later  times,  the  appointed 

1  At  the  base  of  this  same  mountain,  at  Banias  (Panias — Pan),  the  Greek 
had  his  temple  and  cave  sacred  to  Pan,  his  rural  deity — one  of  the  chiefs  as 
we  have  seen  in  his  Pantheon.  The  writer  can  j)ersonally  subscribe  to  tlie 
accuracy  of  this  colour-picture: — "We  went  a  second  time  early  in  the 
morning  to  Pan's  cave,  through  the  willows,  and  poplars,  and  great  olives, 
and  all  sorts  of  verdure  under  the  shrine  of  El-Khidr  above— tlie  God  of 
green  or  animating  power  in  Nature." — {Bacchante,  vol.  ii.,  p.  703.)  The 
whole  mountain  is  studded  with  relics  of  Natui-e- worship :  which  worship 
is  continued  to  this  day  by  the  Druses. 


THE  GOD  OF  NATURE.  121 

ceremony  was  observed.  A  similarly  ordained 
celebration  took  place  at  the  Feast  of  Pentecost. 
The  first  fruits  of  the  wheat  harvest  (at  the  con- 
clusion of  corn  harvest  and  before  the  vintage) 
were  then  borne,  with  similar  festive  joy,  to  the 
Sanctuar}^  While  at  the  Feast  of  Tabernacles — 
the  crowning  festival  of  the  Jewish  year  and  the 
most  jubilant  one — ^we  know  how  Nature  was  ran- 
sacked to  stimulate  the  spiritual  ardour  of  the 
worshipping  throngs.  How  Jerusalem  and  its 
environs  were  resolved  into  a  vast  congeries  of 
booths  and  tabernacles.  It  was  the  *  Feast  of  in- 
gathering,' after  all  the  fruits  of  the  ground  were 
reaped  or  plucked : — the  Harvest-home,  the  Har- 
vest thanksgiving ;  when  gladness  was  so  exuberant, 
that  when  the  Great  Prophet  seeks  for  a  figure 
descriptive  of  intensest  delight, — it  is,  "  they  joy 
before  Thee,  according  to  the  joy  in  harvest,  and 
as  men  rejoice  when  they  divide  the  spoil"  (Isa. 
ix.  3). 

If  we  pass  for  a  moment  from  the  Old  to 
the  New  Testament  times  and  dispensation,  it 
is  enough  for  us  to  note,  how  all  that  we  have 
already  advanced  is  enforced  and  illustrated  in 
the  words  of  the  Great  Master, — from  the  flowers 
He  plucked  in  the  fields  of  Galilee  outvying 
the  grandeur  of  Solomon, — to  the  teachings  of 


122  ST,  PAUL  IN  ATHENS, 

the  sky,  morning  and  evening  (Matt.  vi.  29  and 
xvi.  2,  3). 

If  from  Apostolic  times  we  go  to  the  early  cen- 
turies, we  are  impressed  with  the  same.  Indeed 
we  do  not  think  it  is  sufficiently  noted  what  lovers 
of  material  objects  the  early  Christians  were  ;  at 
all  events  if  this  can  be  gathered  from  the  variety 
of  symbolism  which  they  have  still  left  engraven 
on  the  walls  of  the  Eoman  Catacombs,  or  on  slabs 
which  have  been  removed  from  these  strangest 
of  burial-grounds.  Among  many  other  natural 
objects  which  it  would  be  out  of  place  here  to  give 
in  detail,  we  have  the  sun  and  moon,  the  moun- 
tain, the  rock,  the  rainbow,  the  gushing  stream. 
We  have,  from  the  olive  and  the  palm — the  date, 
the  cedar  tree  and  the  vine  with  its  grape-clusters, 
to  the  ear  of  corn,  the  lily  of  the  valley,  and  the 
rose  of  Sharon.  In  the  words  of  a  distinguished 
writer  on  sacred  art,  in  whose  pages  these  refer- 
ences will  be  found  in  more  extended  form,  the 
believers  of  the  first  ages  "  touched  nothing  that 
they  did  not  Christianise  ;  they  consecrated  this 
visible  world  into  a  Temple  to  God,  of  which  the 
heavens  were  the  dome,  the  mountains  the  altars, 
the  forests  the  pillared  aisles,  the  breath  of  spring 
the  incense,  and  the  running  streams  the  music — 
while  in  every  tree  they  sheltered  under,  in  every 


THE  GOD  OF  NATURE.  123 

flower  they  looked  upon  and  loved,  they  recog- 
nised a  virtue  or  a  spell;  a  token  of  Christ's 
love  for  man,  or  a  memorial  of  His  martyrs'  suf- 
ferings." ^ 

To  come  down  to  the  Middle  Ages, — who  is 
not  familiar  with  the  story  of  St.  Francis  of 
Assisi's  strong  love  of  Nature  and  his  enthusiastic 
admiration  of  all  her  works,  animate  and  inani- 
mate ?  To  borrow  words  better  than  my  own, 
— '* '  Laudato  sia  Dio  meo  Signore  con  tute  le 
creature.'  '  Praise  be  to  the  Lord  my  God  from 
every  creature.'  And  with  this  cry  on  his  lips, 
he  ran  through  the  country  like  some  angelic 
spirit,  his  head  touched  with  a  star  of  light,  and 
his  feet  shod  with  the  preparation  of  the  Gospel 
of  Peace,  calling  on  his  Brother  the  Sun,  his 
Sister  the  Moon,  his  brothers  the  Winds,  his 
sister  Water,  his  brother  Fire,  his  mother  Earth, 
to  join  him  in  singing  the  Lord's  Song;  and  thus 
he  became  the  Priest,  not  only  of  men  but  of  all 
creation."  ^ 

Has  the  Church  of  modern  days  refused  to  join 
this  choir  of  Nature-worshippers  ?  We  are  glad 
to  say.  No.  Her  Easter  and  Pentecost,  even  in 
churches  where  the  authority  of  such  days  is  not 

1  Lord  Lindsay's  Sketches  of  the  History  of  Christian  Art. 
2  Contemporary  Revieio,  1884,  p.  843. 


124  ST.  PAUL  IN  ATHENS. 

ecclesiastically  recognised,  are  very  generally  com- 
memorated in  spirit :  sometimes  in  glad  song, — 
sometimes  in  literal  offering,  from  field  and  gar- 
den, by  fruit  and  sheaf ;  while  (to  take  one  among 
many  attestations  that  amid  diviner  ascriptions  to 
God  as  Eedeemer,  God  the  Almighty  Creator  is 
not  forgotten)  the  most  familiar  Psalm  in  the  Ser- 
vice of  the  Anglican  Church,  sung  or  chanted  each 
Sabbath  morning,  not  only  throughout  England  but 
among  all  English-speaking  races,  is  an  anthem  of 
Nature,  Here  are  the  well-known  strains  which 
on  each  recurring  Lord's  day  are  echoed  throughout 
Christendom — 

Venite,  Exultemus  Domino. 

"  0  come  let  us  sing  unto  the  Lord  : 
Let  us  heartily  rejoice  in  the  strength  of  our  salvation. 
Let  us  come  before  His  presence  with  thanksgiving  : 
And  show  ourselves  glad  in  Him  with  Psalms. 
For  the  Lord  is  a  great  God  : 
And  a  great  King  above  all  gods. 
In  His  hand  are  all  the  corners  of  the  earth  : 
And  the  strength  of  the  hills  is  His  also. 
The  sea  is  His  and  He  made  it : 
And  His  hands  prepared  the  dry  land. 
0  come,  let  us  worship,  and  fall  down  : 
And  kneel  before  the  Lord  our  Maker. 
For  He  is  the  Lord  our  God  : 

And  we  are  the  people  of  His  pasture,  and  the  sheep  of 
His  hand  "  (Ps.  xcv.) 


THE  GOD  OF  NATURE.  125 

Our  best  modern  poets  drink  their  inspiration 
from  the  same  Fount.  The  leader — the  *  Pre- 
centor' of  these  Nature-choristers  is  undoubtedly 
Wordsworth.  His  motto  and  keynote,  responded 
to  by  many  kindred  and  congenial  minds  and 
harps,  is — 

"  Thanks  to  tlie  human  heart  by  which  we  live, 
Thanks  to  its  tenderness,  its  joys,  and  fears  ; 
To  me  the  meanest  flower  that  blows,  can  give 
Thoughts  that  do  often  lie  too  deep  for  tears." 

Tennyson's  love  of  outer  Nature  is  interlaced 
with  his  finest  poetry.  It  cannot  even  sleep  or 
be  hushed  to  rest  in  the  ^^  In  Memoriam"  It 
breaks  out  elsewhere,  from  the  iridescence  of  the 
pearly  shell  to  the  murmur  of  doves  amid  "im- 
memorial elms."  He  reminds  us,  in  one  of  his 
latest  utterances,  that  so  long  as  we  have  a  poor 
child  in  an  hospital- ward,  and  a  flower  in  the 
meadow  or  by  the  hedgerow  to  take  to  it,  we  shall 
be  recognised  as  one  of  the  Creator's  minister- 
ing Priests.  His  words,  sung  regarding  those 
who  are  almoners  of  Nature's  lowliest  floral  gifts, 
may  be  applied  to  many  other  of  her  kindred 
delights : — 

"  They  that  can  wander  at  will  where  the  works  of  the  Lord 
are  revealed. 
Little  guess  what  joy  can  be  got  from  a  cowslip  out  of  the  field. 


126  ST.  PAUL  IN  ATHENS. 

Flowers  to  those  'spirits  in  prison'  are  all  tliey  can  know 

of  the  spring  : 
They  freshen  and  sweeten  the  wards,  like  tlie  waft  of  an 

angel's  wing."i 

We  might  quote  indefinitely  from  prose  poets. 
"We  speak  of  the  Volume  of  Nature,"  says 
Carlyle  :  "  and  truly  a  Volume  it  is, — whose 
Author  and  Writer  is  God.  To  read  it !  Dost 
thou — does  man,  so  much  as  know  the  Alphabet 
thereof?  With  its  Words,  Sentences,  and  grand 
descriptive  Pages,  poetical  and  philosophical,  spread 
out  through  solar  systems  and  thousands  of  years  1 
It  is  a  Volume  in  celestial  hieroglyphs,  in  the  true 
Sacred- writing  ;  of  which  even  Prophets  are  happy 
that  they  can  read  here  a  line  and  there  a  line. 
.  .  .  Nature  is  the  Time-^vesture  of  God."  ^ 

''We  must,"  says  Charles  Kingsley,  "go  up 
into  the  forest  in  the  evenings,  and  pray  there 
with  nothing  but  God's  cloud-temple  between  us 
and  His  heaven,  and  His  choir  of  small  birds,  and 
all  happy  things  who  praise  Him  all  night  long. 
And  in  the  still  summer  noon  too,  with  the  lazy- 
paced  clouds  above,  and  the  distant  sheep-bell, 
and  the  bees  humming  in  the  beds  of  thyme,  and 
one  bird  making  the  hollies  ring  a  moment,  and 
then  all  is  still,  hushed,  awe-bound,  as  the  great 

1  Lord  Tennyson's  Ballads,  1880,  p.  91. 
2  Sartor  Resartus,  p.  178-183. 


THE  GOD  OF  NATURE.  127 

thunder-clouds  slide  up  from  the  far  south  !  Then 
there  to  praise  God !  Aye,  even  when  the  heaven 
is  black  with  the  wind,  and  the  thunder  crackling 
over  our  heads,  then  to  join  in  the  paean  of  the 
storm- spirits  to  Him,  whose  pageant  of  power 
passes  over  the  earth  and  harms  us  not  in  its 
mercy."  ^ 

Or,  to  give  one  more  extract  from  the  most 
conspicuous  of  prose-minstrels.  Mr.  Euskin — in 
one  of  the  most  beautiful  of  his  passages,  remarks 
— "There  are  few  so  utterly  lost  but  that  they 
receive,  and  know  that  they  receive,  at  certain 
moments,  strength  of  some  kind,  or  rebuke  from 
the  appealings  of  outward  things ;  and  that  it  is 
not  possible  for  a  Christian  man  to  walk  across  so 
much  as  a  rood  of  the  natural  earth,  with  mind 
unagitated  and  rightly  poised,  without  receiving 
strength  and  hope  from  some  stone,  flower,  leaf, 
or  sound,  nor  without  a  sense  of  a  dew  falling 
upon  him  out  of  the  sky.  .  .  .  The  sky  is  for  all. 
It  is  fitted  in  all  its  functions  for  the  perpetual 
comfort  and  exalting  of  the  heart ;  for  soothing 
and  purifying  it  from  its  dross  and  dust.  Some- 
times gentle,  sometimes  capricious,  sometimes 
awful — never  the  same  for  two  moments  together ; 
almost  human  in  its  passions,  almost  spiritual  in 

*  Life  and  Letters. 


128  ST.  PAUL  IN  ATHENS. 

its  tenderness,  almost  divine  in  its  affinity.  .  .  . 
God  is  not  in  the  earthquake  nor  in  the  fire,  but 
in  the  still  small  voice.  ...  It  is  in  quiet  and 
subdued  passages  of  unobtrusive  majesty  —  the 
deep  and  the  calm  and  the  perpetual ;  that  v^hich 
must  be  sought  ere  it  can  be  seen,  and  loved  ere  it 
is  understood ;  things  which  the  Angels  work  out 
for  us  daily,  and  yet  vary  externally — it  is  through 
these  that  her  lesson  of  devotion  is  chiefly  taught 
and  the  blessing  of  beauty  given."  Then,  in  an- 
other place,  he  records  and  protests  with  regret, 
that  the  love  of  Nature  is  not  imported  more 
generally  into  the  pulpit,  not  as  a  substitute  for 
higher  and  more  needed  teaching,  but  to  make  up 
a  full  message  from  God  to  man  : — "  Much  of  the 
doing  and  teaching  even  of  holy  men,  who  in 
recommending  the  love  of  God  to  us,  refer  but 
seldom  to  those  things  in  which  it  is  most  abun- 
dantly and  most  immediately  shown  :  though  they 
insist  much  on  His  giving  of  bread,  and  raiment, 
and  health  (which  He  gives  to  all  inferior  creatures) 
they  require  us  not  to  thank  Him  for  that  glory  of 
His  works  which  He  has  permitted  us  alone  to 
perceive.  They  tell  us  often  to  meditate  in  the 
closet,  but  they  send  us  not  like  Isaac  into  the 
fields  at  even.  ...  I  think,  that  of  the  weak- 
nesses,   distresses,    vanities,    schisms,    and    sins. 


THE  GOD  OF  NATURE.  129 

which  often  even  in  the  holiest  of  men,  diminish 
their  usefulness,  and  mar  their  happiness,  there 
would  be  fewer  if,  in  their  struggle  with  Nature 
fallen,  they  sought  for  more  aid  from  Nature  un- 
destroyed."  Mr.  Froude  in  his  *' Oceana,"  if  we 
may  add  a  yet  later  testimony,  too  truthfully  draws 
this  disparaging  contrast  between  the  old  Koman 
peasant — he  might  have  included  the  Greek, — and 
their  modern  English  successor  : — "  The  sky  to 
him  was  a  dial-plate  on  which  the  stars  were 
pointers ;  and  he  read  the  hour  of  the  night  from 
their  position  on  its  face.  The  constellations 
were  his  monthly  almanack,  and  as  the  sun  moved 
from  one  into  another,  he  learned  when  to  plough 
and  when  to  sow,  when  to  prune  his  vines  and 
clip  the  wool  from  his  sheep.  The  planets 
watched  over  the  birth  of  his  children.  The  star 
of  the  morning,  rising  as  the  herald  of  Aurora, 
called  him  to  the  work  of  the  day.  The  star  of 
the  evening,  glimmering  pale  through  the  expiring 
tints  of  sunset,  sent  him  home  to  supper  and 
to  rest;  and  to  his  ignorant  mind  these  glorious 
sons  of  heaven  were  gods  or  the  abode  of  gods. 
It  is  all  changed  now.  The  Pleiades  and  Orion 
and  Sirius  still  pass  nightly  over  our  heads  in 
splendid  procession ;  but  they  are  to  us  no  more 
than  bodies  in  space,  important  only  for  purposes 


3° 


ST.  PAUL  IN  ATHENS. 


of  science.  We  have  fixed  their  longitudes,  we 
can  gauge  in  the  spectroscope  their  chemical  com- 
position :  we  have  found  a  parallax  for  the  Dog- 
star,  and  know  in  how  many  years  the  light  which 
flows  from  it  will  reach  us.  But  the  shepherd 
and  the  husbandman  no  longer  look  to  them  to 
measure  their  times  and  seasons.  .  .  .  The  visible 
divinities  who  were  once  so  near  to  our  daily  lives 
are  gone  for  ever."  ^ 

Thus  have  we  sought  to  enforce  and  illustrate, 
in  a  very  general  way, — the  first  thesis  in  St. 
Paul's  great  Sermon.  Already  has  allusion  been 
made  to  the  inadequacy  of  the  Volume  of  Nature 
to  throw  *  light  and  leading '  on  higher  spiritual 
verities.  Though  hers  be  sacred  ground,  tremulous 
with  divine  music,  and  all  worthy  of  being  ap- 
proached with  reverent  feet,  there  are  messages — 
profoundest  secrets  and  problems  which  her  oracle 
cannot  solve  or  interpret,  lacunae  in  her  manu- 
scripts and  cryptographs  which  cannot  be  supplied. 
AVe  can  gaze  on  the  endless  glories  of  fresco  and 
mosaic  in  the  outer  courts  :  but  we  look  in  vain 
for  the  burning  altar — the  revelations  of  the  inner 
Shekinah — the  Most  Holy  Place.  Nevertheless, 
we  bow  before  her  teachings : — we  recognise  the 
glory  and  majesty  of  her  spell.      Nay  more,  in  the 

J  Oceana,  p.  27. 


THE  GOD  OF  NATURE.  131 

quaint  words  of  the  oldest  of  English  poets,  in  his 
"  Canterbury  Tales,"  we  own  her  to  be 

«  The  Vicar  of  tlie  Almiglitie  Lord." 

With  the  limitations  already  expressed,  we  can 
adopt,  in  closing,  the  verses,  however  well  known, 
of  a  congenial  interpreter  and  lay-preacher,  a 
devout  votary  at  Nature's  shrine.  He  speaks  of 
flowers ;  but  these  are  only  the  representatives 
of  whatever  is  lovely  and  *  worshipful '  in  '  the 
wide,  wide  world '  of  the  great  Creator, — 

"  Day  stars  !  tliat  ope  your  eyes  with  morn  to  twinkle 
From  rainbow  galaxies  of  earth's  creation, 
And  dewdrops  on  her  lonely  altars  sprinkle 
As  a  libation  ! 

"  Ye  matin  worshippers  !  who  bending  lowly 
Before  the  risen  sun — God's  lidless  eye — 
Throw  from  your  chalices  a  sweet  and  holy 
Incense  on  high ! 


"  'Neath  cloister'd  boughs,  each  floral  bell  that  swingeth 
And  tolls  its  perfume  on  the  passing  air. 
Makes  Sabbath  in  the  fields,  and  ever  ringeth 
A  call  to  prayer. 


"  To  that  Cathedral,  boundless  as  our  wonder. 
Whose  quenchless  lamps  the  sun  and  moon  supply. 
Its  choir  the  winds  and  waves,  its  organ  thunder, 
Its  dome  the  sky. 


132  ST.  PAUL  IN  ATHENS. 

"  Your  voiceless  lips,  0  Flowers,  are  living  preachers, 
Each,  cup  a  pulpit,  and  each  leaf  a  book, 
Supplying  to  my  fancy  numerous  teachers 
From  lonely  nook. 

"  Ephemeral  Sages  !  what  instructors  hoary 
For  such  a  world  of  thought  could  furnish  scope  ] 
Each  fading  calyx  a  memento  mori, 

Yet  fount  of  hope. 


"  Were  I,  0  God,  in  churchless  lands  remaining, 
Far  from  all  voice  of  teachers  or  divines. 
My  soul  would  find  in  flowers  of  Thy  ordaining 
Priests,  sermons,  shrines  ! " 

— Horace  Smith, 

"  We  praise  Thee,  0  God  : 
We  acknowledge  Thee  to  be  the  Lord! 


Heaven  and  Earth  are  full 

op  the 

Majesty  of  Thy  Glory!" 


11. 
^be  (Bob  of  iprovibence. 


"  And  I  will  trust  that  He  who  heeds 
The  life  that  hides  in  mead  and  wold, 
"Who  hangs  yon  alder's  crimson  beads, 

And  stains  those  mosses  green  and  gold. 
Will  still,  as  He  hath  done,  incline 
His  gracious  care  to  me  and  mine." 

— Whittier. 

"  That  there  is  a  God  who  gave  the  earth  to  man  to  dwell  in,  Paul  proves 
from  the  order  of  times  and  places :  which  indicates  the  consummate  wisdom 
of  the  Governor — superior  to  all  human  counsels." — Bengel. 

'•  Then  sawest  thou  that  this  fair  universe— were  it  the  meanest  province 
thereof,  is  in  very  deed,  the  star-domed  City  of  God  ;  that  through  every 
star,  through  every  grass-blade,  and  most,  through  every  Living  Soul,  the 
glory  of  a  present  God  still  beams.  "—(7ar72/?e. 

"  The  mass  of  the  world  are  erect  against  the  admission  of  Special  Pro- 
vidences. ...  If  a  man  be  a  Sceptic,  cadit  questio ;  but  if  he  believe  in  a 
Superintending  Ruler,  will  he  hesitate  to  say  in  the  language  of  our  Liturgy, 
'  O  God,  we  have  heard  with  our  ears,  and  our  fathers  have  declared  unto  us, 
the  noble  works  that  Thou  didst  in  their  days,  and  in  the  old  time  before 
them'  ?  "—Life  of  the  Earl  of  Shaftesbury,  vol.  ii.,  p.  273. 

"  Behind  the  dim  unknown, 
Standeth  God  within  the  shadow,  keeping  watch  above  His  own." 

'-Lowell, 


(     135     ) 


THE  GOD  OF  PROVIDENCE. 

The  great  Apostle,  having  discoursed  to  his 
hearers  from  the  Vokime  of  Nature,  proceeds 
to  open  the  Book  of  Providence. 

He  has  a  succession  of  references  to  this  new 
theme, — this  equally  gracious  and  beautiful  Eeve- 
lation  of  the  God  he  worshipped.     "  He  giveth 

TO  ALL,  life  and  BREATH  AND  ALL  THINGS  "  (ver. 
25).  "  He  HATH  DETERMINED  THE  TIMES  BEFORE 
APPOINTED,  AND  THE  BOUNDS  OF  THEIR  HABITATION  " 

(ver.  26).  ''  He  is  not  far  from  any  one  of  us. 
For  in  Him  we  live  and  move  and  have  our 
being"  (vers.  27,  28).  He  commends  and  forti- 
fies these  statements  with  the  quotation  from  their 
own  poet  Aratus — "For  we  are  also  His  off- 
spring" (ver.  28). 

In  the  preceding  pages,  we  incidentally  made 
allusion  to  the  Apostle's  Nature-appeal  addressed 
to  the  Lystrians  (Acts  xiv.  15).  It  is  worthy 
of  note  that,  on  the  same  occasion,  he  makes 
mention  of  the  companion  Volume  of  Providence  : 


136  ST.  PAUL  IN  ATHENS. 

that  the  mighty  Creator  is  the  mighty  Sustainer : 
— "  He  left  not  Himself  without  witness,  in  that 
He  did  good :  and  gave  ns  rain  from  heaven  and 
fruitful  seasons,  filling  our  hearts  with  food  and 
gladness"  (ver.  17).  Paul  had  now  come  from 
the  fevered  discussions  of  the  Agora.  Groups  of 
Epicureans  and  Stoics  had  followed  him  to  the 
Areopagus.  The  former  famous  sect,  as  we  have 
seen,  denied  even  the  existence  of  a  personal  God 
— clinging  to  their  wild  *  atomic  '  theory  of  the 
original  creation.  If  they  thus  disowned  an 
Almighty  Framer,  it  necessarily  followed  that  they 
would  repudiate  the  idea  of  a  Superintending 
Governor.  Even  those  among  his  hearers  who 
recognised  the  existence  of  presiding  divinities, 
tutelary  deities,  and  demigods,  conceived  of  them 
only  as  exalted  human  beings  possessing  all  the 
passions  of  human  nature :  themselves  the  sub- 
jects of  a  stern  necessity ;  and  so  absorbed  in 
their  own  selfish  interests — their  lives  of  dreamy 
indolence — as  to  be  regardless  of  the  weal  or  woe 
— the  joys  or  the  sorrows  of  the  race  immeasurably 
beneath  them.  One  of  the  designations  of  Zeus 
indeed,  Avas — *'  Watcher  over  human  affairs."  But 
amid  the  heights  and  clouds  of  Olympus  and  its 
imperial  felicities,  he  and  his  manifested  the 
supreme  indifference  and  unconcern  just  spoken 


THE  GOD  OF  PROVIDENCE,  137 

of  toward  all  in  the  realms  of  earth.  Whatever, 
then,  the  rivalry  might  be  in  other  respects  be- 
tween the  Stoics  and  Epicureans,  they  were  at  one 
in  rejecting  this  Christian  doctrine  of  Providence. 
The  world,  on  their  Pantheistic  theory,  was  alike 
self-made  and  self-sustained:  consigned  to  '  Moira,' 
— hapless,  irresistible  Fate. 

It  must  not,  however,  be  supposed  that  St.  Paul, 
on  this  new  theme,  had  an  altogether  unsympa- 
thetic audience.  The  Altars  of  the  city — the  offer- 
ings and  libations,  indicated  that  among  others 
of  their  teachers,  and  at  all  events  among  the 
"common  people"  there  existed  a  belief,  crude 
and  imperfect  as  it  was,  in  a  divine  Presence  and 
intervention.  Their  domestic  joys  and  sorrows 
were  hallowed  and  consecrated  at  the  Temple  of 
Hestia  : — Hestia,  the  goddess  and  protectress  of 
Home  and  all  its  sanctities.  "  Before  her  altar 
were  transacted  all  the  solemn  events  of  the 
family.  Here  the  young  were  married  :  here  the 
dead  were  laid  :  here  was  brought  the  new-born 
infant  to  be  carried  round  that  sacred  shrine  as  a 
sign  of  reception  and  welcome.  Here,  too,  the 
slave  ran  for  protection  to  this  visible  sign  of 
the  home  divinity— when  he  had  done  wrong,  and 
feared  punishment ;  and  here  the  stranger,  doubt- 
ful of  his  welcome,  placed  himself  as  under  the 


138  ST.  PAUL  IN  ATHENS. 

aegis  of  the  goddess.  First  and  last  of  all,  liba- 
tions were  poured  out  to  Hestia.  .  .  .  This  sweet, 
chaste  virgin-mother  gathered  up  the  prayers  of 
all  her  children,  as  the  sun  gathers  up  the  dew 
from  the  white  fleeces  strewn  on  the  earth  :  and 
no  one  could  feel  desolate  or  abandoned  while  the 
fire  burnt  on  her  altar."  ^ 

The  great  religious  processions  and  rites,  Euchar- 
istic  and  Propitiatory,  of  the  Hellenes,  would  have 
been  without  meaning  or  explanation,  had  they 
entirely  ignored  some  kind  of  moral  government, 
alike  over  individuals  and  the  nation.^  Their  poet 
^schylus  exhorts  to  a  patient  submission  to 
*  destiny,'  and  recognises  and  enforces  conformity 
to  the  will  of  the  gods.  If  not  an  Athenian, 
it  was  a  Spartan  prayer  —  'May  the  gods  grant 
what  is  good  for  us.'  The  *'  Oracles "  and 
"Mysteries"  testified  remarkably  to  the  national 
acceptance  of  tenets  which  their  philosophic  sects 
denied.  These  in  connection  with  our  present 
chapter  claim  a  passing  reference. 

It  is  computed  that  there  were  no  less  than  260 
*'  oracles "  throughout  Greece.  The  oldest  of 
these  was  that  of  Jupiter  at  Dodona.  No  cam- 
paign could  be  undertaken, — no  crisis  could  be  met, 

1  Fortnightly  Review,  January  1887. 

2  See  Professor  Dick  ou  the  Acts,  p.  269. 


THE  GOD  OF  PROVIDENCE.  139 

without  first  ascertaining  the  mind  of  the  gods. 
Hence  the  estimate  placed  on  the  oracular  re- 
sponses ;  specially  those  pronounced  at  their  chief 
and  most  famous  shrine  at  Delphi,  on  Mount  Par- 
nassus, with  its  celebrated  fountain  of  Castalia. 
This  was  the  oracle  of  Apollo,  who  uttered  his 
ambiguous  answers  through  the  Pythian  goddess 
seated  on  her  tripod.  These  responses  were  sub- 
sequently interpreted  by  the  JEvangelides  —  the 
priestly  apostles  of  "good  tidings."  'The  in- 
quirers entered  the  great  Temple  in  festal  dress, 
with  olive  garlands  and  stemmata,  or  fillets  of 
wool,  led  by  the  ocrtoi,  or  sacred  guardians  of  the 
Temple,  who  were  five  of  the  noblest  citizens  of 
Delphi'  (''Rambles  in  Greece,"  p.  226).  Despite 
of  their  obscurity,  they  often  tended  to  nerve  the 
hesitating  warrior  in  the  hour  of  battle  and  inspire 
with  indomitable  courage.  "Delphi  was  to  the 
Greeks,  what  Jerusalem  was  to  the  Jews,  and 
Mecca  is  to  the  Mahommedans, — a  national  Temple 
in  whose  preservation  all  were  interested,  because 
all  regarded  it  with  veneration."  ^  Similarly  re- 
markable and  reverently  observed,  were  the  well- 
known  Eleusinian  Mysteries.  These  were  cele- 
brated in  Eleusis — a  village  of  Attica.  We  only 
refer  in  passing,  to  their  nine  days'  ceremonial, 

A  Goldsmitli'a  History  of  Greece. 


140  ST.  PAUL  IN  ATHENS. 

because  of  its  mythological  bearings  on  a  recogni- 
tion of  Providence,  or  what  was  equivalent  to 
such.  On  the  third  and  fourth  day  of  the  religious 
festival  there  was  a  procession  of  the  initiated 
*  mystse/  bearing  cakes  of  barley  from  the  Ehasian 
plain  along  with  the  basket  of  Ceres  containing 
pomegranates  and  poppies  with  other  treasures  of 
the  earth  and  products  of  the  soil.  On  the  fifth 
day — 'the  day  of  torches,'  there  was  a  similar 
procession.  Appointed  priests  led  the  way  into  the 
interior  of  the  renowned  Temple  by  the  Well  of 
Callichorus — the  largest  sacred  edifice  of  Greece. 
The  worshippers,  in  pairs,  followed  with  torches. 
On  the  evening  of  the  sixth  day  the  latter — 
the  Neophytes — were  admitted  into  full  privileges. 
*'They  were  now  allowed  to  behold  visions  of 
the  creation  of  the  universe ;  to  see  the  workings 
of  the  divine  agency  by  which  the  machine  of 
the  world  was  regulated  and  controlled :  ...  to 
recognise  the  immortality  of  the  soul  as  typi- 
fied by  the  concealment  of  the  corn  sown  in  the 
earth ;  by  its  revival  in  the  green  blade  ;  and  by 
its  full  ripeness  in  the  golden  harvest.  .  .  .  They 
were  then  invited  to  view  the  spectacle  of  that 
happy  state  in  which  they  themselves  (the  ini- 
tiated) were  to  exist  hereafter."^      "Much  that 

1  See  Wordsworth's  Athens  and  Attica,  p.  135-6. 


THE  GOD  OF  PROVIDENCE.  141 

is  excellent  and  divine,"  says  Cicero,  (the  words 
are  quoted  by  Mr.  Mahaffy)  ''does  Athens  seem 
to  me  to  have  produced  and  added  to  our  life,  but 
nothing  better  than  those  Mysteries,  by  which  w^e 
are  formed  and  moulded  from  a  rude  and  savage 
life  to  humanity :  and  indeed  in  the  Mysteries  we 
perceive  the  real  principles  of  life,  and  learn  not 
only  to  live  happily,  but  to  die  with  a  fairer  hope." 
— '  These,'  adds  the  author  of  the  same  interesting 
volume,  *are  the  words  of  a  man  writing  in  the 
days  of  the  ruin  and  prostration  of  Greece.  Can 
we  then  wonder  at  the  enthusiastic  language  of 
the  Homeric  Hymn ;  of  Pindar,  of  Sophocles,  of 
Aristophanes,  of  Plato,  of  Isocrates,  of  Chrysippus. 
Every  manner  of  writer,  religious  poet,  worldly 
poet,  sceptical  philosopher,  orator — all  are  of  one 
mind  about  this,  far  the  greatest  of  all  the 
religious  festivals  of  Greece'  (p.  153-4).  Yet, 
may  it  not  be  added,  does  not  the  inscription  on 
the  pedestal  of  the  great  statue  of  Minerva  at 
Eleusis,  reveal  how  faltering  were  the  gropings 
after  the  divine  truth  which  Paul  now  sought  to 
unfold  to  his  hearers:— "I  am  all  that  is,  was,  and 

SHALL  be;  and  NO  ONE  HAS  EVER  LIFTED  MY  VEIL"  ? 

A  doctrine  thus  so  dim  and  distorted  and  so 
partially  received,  they  needed  to  have  brought 
home  to  them,  in  the  divine  light  of  Christianity, 


142  ST.  PAUL  IN  ATHENS. 

the  near  personal  cognisance  of  the  Supreme 
Preserver,  the  watchful  guardianship  of  Israel's 
Shepherd  :  —  the  everlasting  Love  of  Israel's 
gracious  Father.  As  a  Shepherd, — not  only  exer- 
cising a  general  supervision  over  the  sheep  of  His 
varied  flock, — but  with  discriminating  eye  noting 
and  tending  each  separate  member :  feeding  it, 
following  it,  guarding  it,  pitying  it, — and  at  last 
*  folding '  it  with  His  other  ransomed  flock  amid 
the  pastures  of  the  blessed.  As  a  Father,  teach- 
ing— guiding — sustaining — protecting  : — appoint- 
ing the  lot  and  sphere  of  life,  and  overruling 
all  for  His  own  glory  and  for  their  good.  No 
spot  where  He  is  not ;  where  His  handiwork  may 
not  be  seen,  and  where  the  touch  of  His  loving 
finger  may  not  be  felt :  from  the  little  flower 
trembling  in  the  cleft  of  glacier  crevasse,  to  the 
revolutions  of  the  planet  in  the  firmament :  the 
supreme  —  righteous — holy — all- wise  Governor ; 
"  God  over  all,  blessed  for  evermore."  Yes  "  over 
all,"  for  St.  Paul  would  first,  in  this  new  an- 
nouncement to  his  hearers  on  the  Areopagus, 
seek  to  correct  a  misapprehension.  Even  those 
who  entertained  a  comparatively  intelligent  belief 
regarding  a  moral  government  did  so  in  a  partial 
and  limited  form.  Their  divinities  of  Olympus, 
if  anything,  were  exclusively  national.     They  pre- 


THE  GOD  OF  PROVIDENCE,  143 

sided  over  the  destinies  of  Hellas  alone.  The 
outside  world  was  left  in  unsympathetic  isolation. 
Zeus  and  his  confederates  would  condescend  to 
be  patron  deities  of  no  outside  barbarians.  It 
was  a  new  thing  for  the  Athenians  to  have  the 
line  of  Aratus  interpreted  to  them  in  its  gracious 
comprehension  —  "We  are  all  His  offspring." 
The  recognised  gods  of  the  nation  were,  moreover, 
corporeal :  and  as  such  were  localised.  Not  so 
with  the  God  of  St.  Paul's  revelation.  His  pre- 
sence was  not  confined  to  any  "  Temples  made 
with  hands  ;  "  or  His  power  limited  to  any  country 
which  may  have  claimed  the  right  or  monopoly  to 
a  higher  civilisation.  "  He  giveth  to  all  "  (in- 
discriminately) "  life  and  breath  and  all  things." 
It  shows  the  breadth  and  enlargement  of  the 
speaker's  own  views  : — how  he  had  welcomed  with 
his  whole  soul  and  heart  the  expansion  of  religion 
under  the  new  and  better  dispensation.  Could  we 
suppose  any  one  tempted  more  than  another,  thus 
to  circumscribe  and  localise,  it  would  assuredly 
have  been  a  Jew :  nurtured  in  the  belief  that  the 
One  true  God — the  God  of  Abraham — the  God  of 
his  ancestors — dwelt  exclusively  in  the  Temple  of 
Zion  and  overshadowed  with  His  divine  protec- 
tion the  Land  of  Promise  alone.  But  this  once 
*'  Hebrew  of  the  Hebrews,"  had  drunk  in  a  wider, 


144  ST.  PAUL  IN  ATHENS. 

nobler  spirit  at  the  foot  of  the  Cross.  He  had 
imbibed,  in  heart  and  soul  at  least,  memorable 
words  from  Divine  lips — ''  The  hour  cometh,  and 
now  is,  when  the  true  worshippers  shall  worship 
the  Father  in  spirit  and  in  truth  "  (John  iv.  23). 
The  cry  of  those  outside  the  Old  Testament  dis- 
pensation had  been  answered  by  the  Divine  Head 
of  the  New — "Doubtless  Thou  art  our  Father: 
though  Abraham  be  ignorant  of  us,  and  Israel 
acknowledge  us  not,  Thou,  O  Lord,  art  our  Father, 
our  Eedeemer:  Thy  name  is  from  everlasting" 
(Isa.  Ixiii.  16).  Father!  that  is  a  new  revela- 
tion which  Christianity  gives  us  of  the  God  of 
Providence,  a  revelation  all  its  own.  While  He 
is  the  Universal  Parent,  regarding  whom  every 
tribe  on  earth  joins  in  the  quoted  strain — "We 
are  His  offspring,"  the  doctrine  of  Providence  is 
glorified  and  transfigured  in  the  Cross  of  Calvary. 
He  whose  spiritual  children  we  are,  is  the  living 
loving  paternal  head  and  centre  of  Kedeemed 
humanity.  The  Song  of  Providence  is,  through 
Eternity,  to  be  blended  with  the  Song  of  Grace — 
"  They  sing  the  Song  of  Moses  the  servant  of  God 
— (the  hero  in  the  greatest  providential  drama  of 
inspired  story)  and  the  Song  of  the  Lamb." 

Alas  !  we  fear  it  is  not  for  us  in  this  nineteenth, 
to  impeach  the  Athenians  who  stood  in  the  first 


THE  GOD  OF  PROVIDENCE.  145 

century  on  the  heights  of  Mars'  Hill,  as  they 
listened  to  what  was  to  most  of  them  the  strange 
doctrine  of  the  Christian  Preacher.  We  dare  not 
dispute  that  it  is  the  tendency  of  our  age  to  discard 
and  disown  the  existence  and  agency  of  a  Personal 
God.  Science,  falsely  so  called,  would  fain  resolve 
the  world  into  an  aggregate  of  mechanical  powers, 
an  unintelligent  mass  guided  and  administered 
by  physical  forces  ;  organised,  self-evolving  laws, 
which  admit  of  no  divine  volition :  no  "  Lord  of 
Heaven  and  Earth"  in  the  sense  of  a  Supreme 
Disposer,  animating,  governing, — invested  with 
essential  perfections.  It  is  not  a  little  humbling, 
indeed,  to  feel  that  these  materialistic  fantasies — 
the  accepted  articles  in  many  a  modern  creed,  are 
far  beneath  the  tenets  of  Socrates.  He  adopted 
what  was  equivalent  to  a  monotheistic  belief.  He 
recognised  not  only  a  Creator  of  all  things,  but  a 
vast  mind  pervading  the  universe — a  Being  of 
benevolence  and  beneficence  dispensing  goodness 
around.  He  held  that  the  happiness  of  mankind 
consisted  in  conformity  to  God's  moral  attributes 
— purity,  rectitude,  self-control,  uprightness,  and 
truth — thus  anticipating  the  true  Gospel  theory 
as  enunciated  on  the  Areopagus, — not  only  the 
belief  that  God  is,  but  that  He  is  the  "  rewarder 
of  them  that  diligently  seek  Him."    Despite,  how- 


146  ST.  PAUL  IN  ATHENS. 

ever,  of  repudiation  in  the  case  of  multitudes,  it 
is  a  doctrine  which  has  been,  and  still  is — dear 
to  the  wisest  and  the  best.  How  the  greatest 
Teachers  in  every  age  of  Christendom  have  loved 
to  expatiate  upon  it !  Augustine— the  chief  of  the 
Latin  Fathers,  tells  us  he  wrote  his  well-known 
treatise  ("  De  Civitate  Dei  ")  for  the  very  purpose 
of  counteracting  the  denial  of  a  ruling  Governor 
and  government,  which  was  then  sweeping  like  a 
flood  through  the  fast  dismembering  and  disin- 
tegrating Eoman  Empire.  His  thesis  was — "  A 
demonstration  that  the  world  was  controlled  by  a 
divine  Providence."  Hear  a  very  different  testi- 
mony in  our  own  century,  from  a  distinguished 
man,  and  a  voice  potential  as  a  scientist  of  his  day. 
*'What  delight,"  says  the  late  Lord  Brougham, 
"  can  be  more  elevating,  more  truly  worthy  of  a 
rational  creature's  enjoyment,  than  to  feel,  wher- 
ever we  tread  the  paths  of  scientific  inquiry, 
new  evidence  springing  up  amid  our  footsteps ; 
— new  traces  of  divine  Intelligence  and  power 
meeting  our  eye.  We  are  never  alone :  at  least, 
like  the  old  Eoman,  we  are  never  less  alone  than 
in  our  solitude.  We  walk  with  Deity.  We  com- 
mune with  the  Great  First  Cause,  who  sustains 
every  instant,  what  the  word  of  His  power  made."  ^ 

1  Lord  Brougham's  Discourse  on  Natural  Theology,  p.  196. 


THE  GOD  OF  PROVIDENCE.  147 

Though  of  prior  date  and  of  another  country, — 
hear  the  attestation  of  a  kindred  philosopher — the 
illustrious  Benjamin  Franklin — "  I  desire  with  all 
humility  to  acknowledge,  that  I  attribute  the  hap- 
piness of  my  past  life  to  God's  gracious  Providence, 
which  led  me  to  the  means  I  used,  and  gave  the 
success.  My  belief  of  this  induces  me  to  hope, 
though  I  must  not  presume,  that  the  same  Good- 
ness will  still  be  exercised  towards  me  in  continu- 
ing that  happiness,  or  enabling  me  to  bear  a  fatal 
reverse,  which  I  may  experience  as  others  have 
done  :  the  complexion  of  my  future  fortune  being 
known  to  Him  only,  in  whose  power  it  is  to  bless 
us."  ''  There  appears,"  to  glean,  once  more,  from 
the  utterances  of  the  great  Missionary-Traveller, 
*'  in  the  quiet  repose  of  earth's  scenery,  the 
benignant  smile  of  a  Father's  love  :  we  may  feel 
that  we  are  leaning  on  His  breast,  while  living  in 
a  world  clothed  in  beauty.  We  must  feel  there 
is  a  Governor  among  the  nations,  who  will  bring 
all  His  plans  with  respect  to  our  human  family  to 
a  glorious  consummation.  He  who  stays  his  mind 
on  an  ever-present,  ever-energetic  God,  will  not 
fret  himself  because  of  evil  doers.  ...  By  dif- 
ferent agencies  the  Great  Euler  is  bringing  all 
things  into  focus.  .  .  .  The  great  minds  among 
men  are  remarkable  for  the  attention  they  bestow 


148  ST.  PAUL  IN  ATHENS. 

on  minutice.  He  who  dwelleth  in  the  light  which 
no  man  can  approach  unto,  condescends  to  provide 
for  the  minutest  of  our  wants  with  an  infinitely 
more  constant  care  than  our  own  utmost  self-love 
can  ever  attain  unto.  With  the  ever-watchful 
loving  eye  ever  on  me,  I  may  surely  go  among  the 
heathen."  ^ 

Happy  for  those  who  can  personally  and  in- 
dividually recognise  this  divine  sovereign  rule — 
a  world  of  moral  order :  that  life  is  no  capricious 
concurrence  or  outcome  of  fortuitous  events  and 
circumstances,  but  a  plan  of  God  :  that  that  Lord 
of  all,  moreover,  is  not  a  God  of  torpor  and  in- 
action— lulled  in  dreamless  inactivity  or  enthroned 
in  unsympathetic  isolation  amid  the  elements  He 
has  formed  :  not  a  God  before  whose  arbitrary  will 
and  semi-human  passion  His  votaries  have  to 
crouch  in  terror:  not  the  Phoenician  god — the 
god  of  Baal  and  Astarte  :  not  the  Hindoo  god 
with  his  reserve  of  awful  power  and  unappeasable 
thirst  of  blood  :  not  the  Pluto  of  Homer,  described 
in  the  Iliad  as 

"  One  wlio  never  spares, 
Who  knows  no  mercy  and  who  hears  no  prayers." 

In  a  word,  not   a   God   whose   wrath  has  to  be 

1  Livingstone's  Missionary  Journal.    1867. 


THE  GOD  OF  PROVIDENCE.  149 

appeased  and  his  favour  conciliated,  but  the  Great 
and  Gracious  One  "who  is  not  far  from  any  one  of 
us,"  who  has  given,  in  the  bright  and  glorious  pages 
of  Nature,  a  pledge  of  the  character  of  His  Provi- 
dential rule.  "  Our  Father  which  art  in  heaven  : " 
"Like  as  a  Father  pitieth  his  children" — "Your 
Father  knoweth  that  ye  have  need  of  all  these 
things."  If  there  be  at  times  mystery  in  His 
dealings,  submissive  trust  must  await  the  final  and 
ultimate  disclosures — the  "  vindication  of  the  ways 
of  God  to  man." 

"  His  plans,  like  lilies  pure  and  wliite,  unfold. 
We  must  not  tear  the  close-shut  leaves  apart, 
Time  will  reveal  the  calyxes  of  gold." 

Having  that  paternal  assurance  and  guarantee, 
we  are  environed  on  every  side  with  a  sense  of 
gracious  security :  whether  it  be  careering  along 
the  great  modern  highway  on  its  thread  of  iron ; 
or  '  far  off  upon  the  sea,'  or  in  the  tlirong  of  the 
busy  mart,  or  in  the  solitude  of  Canadian  wilds, 
or  amid  stretches  of  Australasian  pastures :  on 
the  bed  of  sickness,  or  in  the  hour  of  sudden  and 
appalling  disaster — "The  Lord  reigneth."  The 
mighty  wheels  of  Ezekiel's  Vision — the  symbols 
alike  of  a  general  and  particular  Providence,  are 
not    self-impelled,  but  God-impelled :    revolving. 


150  ST.  PAUL  IN  ATHENS. 

and  evolving  nothing  but  good.  In  that  Provi- 
dential government,  wonderful  is  the  combination 
of  infinitude  of  action  with  minute  supervision 
of  the  small,  the  weak,  the  insignificant — "Thy 
Kingdom  is  an  everlasting  Kingdom,  Thy  do- 
minion endureth  throughout  all  generations : 
(yet)  The  Lord  upholdeth  all  that  fall,  and 
raiseth  up  all  those  that  be  bowed  down"  (Ps. 
cxlv.  13,  14). 

The  word  "Kingdom"  suggests  yet  another 
closing  thought.  Over  and  above  individual 
superintendence,  we  are  reminded  that  this  same 
Providential  rule  embraces  the  divine  government 
of  nations.  It  is  indeed  to  this,  its  wider  develop- 
ment and  acceptation,  that  Paul  seeks  specially  to 
engage  the  attention  and  assent  of  his  hearers  on 
the  Attic  Hill : — "  All  the  nations  of  men  on  all 
the  face  of  the  earth "  (v.  26).  This  special 
feature  of  the  theme  was  by  no  means  novel,  or 
characteristic  of  the  later  economy.  God — the 
God  of  Peoples  and  Kingdoms,  is  as  fully  set  forth 
in  the  Old  Testament  as  in  the  New :  indeed, 
much  more  so.  From  the  story  of  Joseph  and  the 
Pharaohs,  the  subsequent  march  through  the  Sinai- 
desert — the  raising  up  of  Cyrus  and  Sennacherib 
as  the  agents  and  ministers  of  His  purposes  in 
later  ages,  and  onwards  still,  we  have  nothing  but 


THE  GOD  OF  PROVIDENCE.  151 

a  divine  *  programme  ' — a  divine  unfolding  of  the 
roll  and  record  of  Providence.  These  delegated 
human  instruments  v^ere  all  in  ignorance  of  the 
Higher  forces  at  vrork  in  their  mission.  Of  Cyrus 
it  was  said — "  I  have  surnamed  thee,  though  thou 
hast  not  known  Me  "  (Isa.  xlv.  4).  ''  O  Assyrian, 
the  rod  of  Mine  anger.  .  .  .  Howbeit  he  (Sen- 
nacherib) meaneth  not  so,  neither  doth  his  heart 
think  so  "  (Isa.  x.  5,  7).  But  He  by  whom  kings 
reign  "  meant  so : "  He  who  has  the  heart  of 
kings  in  His  hands  and  turneth  them  even  as  He 
turneth  the  rivers  of  water,  "  thought  so."  These 
vassal  Rulers  obey  His  behests :  and  then,  (as 
in  their  pride  and  arrogance  of  spirit,  like  the 
boastful  blaspheming  Assyrian,  they  lift  up 
their  hands  against  the  Most  High)  when  they 
have  accomplished  their  work,  He  scatters  them 
as  chaff  before  the  whirlwind  ! 

In  the  same  way  are  we,  at  this  hour,  bound 
to  trace  and  recognise  His  hand  in  unravelling 
political  complexities  ;  overruling  human  passions 
and  human  wrongs  for  the  furtherance  of  His  own 
cause  on  the  earth. 


"  You  hear  an  endless  cry  that  goes 
Lamenting  through  the  sombre  air, 
Of  nations  bent  with  many  woes, 
Or  gauntly  wrestling  with  despair  : 


152  ST.  PAUL  IN  ATHENS. 

"  You  see  a  world  that  wildly  whirls 

Through  coiling  clouds  of  battle-smoke, 
And  drenched  with  blood  the  children's  curls, 
And  women's  hearts  by  thousands  broke  : — 

"  I  see  a  Host  above  it  all. 

Where  Angels  wield  their  conquering  sword — 
And  thrones  may  rise  or  thrones  may  fall, 
But  comes  the  Kingdom  of  the  Lord."  ^ 

It  is  not  the  vessel  without  a  Pilot — the  world 
without  a  Euler : — "  He  doeth  according  to  His 
will  in  the  armies  of  heaven  and  among  the  in- 
habitants of  the  earth."  "He  brings  forth  the 
lightning  out  of  His  treasuries."  "  He  gives  the 
sea  its  decree."  "  He  walketh  on  the  wings  of 
the  wind."  *'  He  maketh  the  wrath  of  man  to 
praise  Him,  and  restraineth  the  remainder  of  His 
wrath."  "The  Lord  is  King.  ...  He  sitteth 
between  the  cherubims,  be  the  earth  never  so 
unquiet  "  (Prayer  Book  Version).  In  the  impres- 
sive symbolism  of  the  Book  of  Eevelation,  He 
sends  forth  His  mission-angels  clad  "  in  pure  and 
white  linen  and  having  their  breasts  girded  with 
golden  girdles,"  to  execute  His  mandates.  With 
unswerving  loyalty  they  proceed  on  their  errands 
as  ministers  of  Providence,  executing  the  behests 
of  the  sovereign  Kuler,  till  the  final  voice  comes  out 
of  the  Temple  saying—*  It  is  done  : '  and  they  sur- 

1  Alfred  Norris. 


THE  GOD  OF  PROVIDENCE.  153 

render  their  trust  by  laying  their  emptied  vials  at 
their  Lord's  feet.  There  is  a  fond  legend  of  the 
ancient  Hellenes,  that  Athene,  full-panoplied,  on 
more  than  one  occasion  personally  led  the  Greek 
armies.^  The  fantasy  becomes  a  divine  and  glori- 
ous verity  with  the  great  God  of  Providence.  He 
is  the  true  fiery  and  cloudy  column  preceding  the 
march  of  His  Israel  of  every  age,  through  the  wil- 
derness ; — "  The  Lord  will  go  before  you,  and  the 
God  of  Israel  will  be  your  rereward"  (Isa.  lii.  12). 
"  He  filleth  all  things.  .  If  my  eyes  were  opened 
I  should  see  at  every  moment  God's  love,  God's 
power,  God's  wisdom,  working  alike  in  sun  and 
moon  ;  in  every  growing  blade  and  ripening  grain, 
and  in  the  training  and  schooling  of  every  human 
being  and  every  nation,  to  whom  He  has  appointed 
their  times  and  the  bounds  of  their  habitation,  if, 
haply,  they  may  seek  after  the  Lord  and  find  Him  " 
{Kingsley), 

It  is,  then,  God — as  the  Supreme  God  of  all, 
and  the  Father- God  of  His  people — the  Sovereign 
Disposer,  which  forms  the  second  great  truth 
which  Paul  proclaims  to  Greek  ears  on  the  heights 

1  "  As  -when  Jupiter,"  says  the  Father  of  Greek  poetry,  "spreads  the 
purple  rainbow  over  heaven,  portending  battle  or  cold  storm,  so  Athene, 
wrapping  herself  round  with  a  purple  cloud,  stooped  to  the  Greek  soldiers 
and  raised  up  each  of  them." — Quoted  by  Mr.  Buskin. 


154 


ST.  PAUL  IN  ATHENS. 


of  Areopagus.  It  is  the  same  strain  which  *the 
Holy  Church  throughout  all  the  world '  has  taken 
up  and  echoed  down  the  ages — 

"All  the  Earth  doth  worship  Thee, 

THE  Father  Everlasting. 

Holt,  Holy,  Holy,  Lord  God  op  Sabaoth. 


0  Lord,  save  Thy  people, 

AND  bless  Thine  inheritance  : 

Govern  them 

AND  lift  them  UP  FOR  EVER." 


III. 
^be  (Bob  of  (Brace* 


"  The  Christian  Religion  alone  has  this  peculiarity,  that  it  fully  satisfies  the 
noblest  faculties  and  affections  of  man,  and  brings  with  it  a  calm  kind  of  fear, 
and  confidence  accompanying  the  fear,  and  love,  hope,  and  joy." — Bengel. 

"  Human  nature  was  reduced  to  such  a  state  of  fetid  decay  by  this  re- 
jection of  God,  that  a  few  more  years  would  have  seen  the  world  one  gigantic 
dunghill  of  corruption  and  death.  Then,  the  Great  Sacrifice  took  place  : 
God  manifest  in  the  flesh  died  upon  the  cross,  an  eternal  Sacrifice  to  take 
away  sin.  A  fresh,  invigorating  breeze  swept  through  the  putrifying  mass 
of  human  life.  Men  faced,  for  the  first  time,  the  realities  of  existence  with 
an  unflinching  faith  in  a  divine  life.  The  idea  of  Sacrifice,  which  every 
nation  under  heaven  had  conceived,  and  blindly  striven  to  work  out,  was 
fulfilled  in  the  Great  Sacrifice."— >SAorf^OMse,  ^^  Sir  Percival"  p.  251. 

"The  miraculous  Olive  tree  has  withered  away,  since  that  Morning  Sun 
brightened  over  Bethlehem." — Syrian  Shrines. 

"Eighteen  hundred  years  ago,  Jove  was  discrowned,  the  pagan  heaven 
emptied  of  its  divinities,  and  Olympus  left  to  the  solitude  of  its  snows.  .  .  . 
The  despairing  voice  was  heard  shriekicg  in  the  -^gean  '  Pan  is  dead  !  Great 
Pan  is  dead ! '  "—Alexander  Smith. 

"  'Twas  the  hour  when  One  in  Zion 
Hung  for  love's  sake  on  a  Cross  ; 
"When  His  brow  was  chill  with  dying, 

And  His  soul  was  faint  with  loss  ; 
When  His  priestly  blood  dropped  downward, 
And  His  kingly  eyes  looked  throneward — 
Then,  Pan  was  dead." 

— Mrs.  Barrett  Browning. 

"Thy  Kingdom,  O  Christ,  is  an  Everlasting  Kingdom." 

^Inscription  on  the  Great  Mosque  of  Damascus. 


(     157    ) 


THE  GOD  OF  GEACE. 

The  great  Apostle  reaches  now  the  third  topic 
in  his  Discourse  to  the  men  of  Athens.  He  pro- 
ceeds to  unfold  to  his  hearers  things  in  heaven 
and  earth  that  were  undreamt  of  in  their  philo- 
sophy. He  supplies  a  new  name  to  their  unin- 
scribed  Temple-pedestal,  and  places  a  Divine  all- 
glorious  Sacrifice  on  their  empty  altar.  With  the 
skill  of  a  sacred  Rhetorician,  he  employs  the  two 
preceding  themes  mainly  to  lead  up  to  the  Great 
Theme.  He  unfolds  the  Volume  of  Grace,  on 
whose  title-page  is  written  ''Jesus  Christ  and  Him 
crucified.'"  Where  he  now  stood,  the  Temple  of 
Mars  —  the  symbol  of  might  —  confronted  the 
Temple  of  Minerva — the  symbol  of  Wisdom.  He 
was  about  to  tell  them  of  One  in  whom  both 
attributes  were  united — "  Cheist  the  Power  of 
God  and  the  Wisdom  of  God." 

And  yet, — though  this  was  unquestionably  the 
design  of  the  Speaker,  —it  is  at  first  sight  remark- 
able that  the  name  of  Christ  does  not  once  occur 


158  ST.  PAUL  IN  ATHENS. 

throughout  the  Mars'  Hill  Sermon.  He  had 
indeed  fully  unfolded  that  Divine  name  imme- 
diately before  in  the  Agora ; — for  it  is  distinctly 
noted  in  verse  18, — that  the  ground  on  v^^hich 
the  Stoic  philosophers  had  impeached  him  as 
a  babbler,  was  ''  because  he  preached  unto  them 
Jesus  and  the  resurrection."  The  omission,  or 
rather  the  shortcoming  in  this  his  chief  purpose, 
we  think  can  be  very  readily  accounted  for.  Not 
only  may  we  infer,  as  in  a  previous  chapter  fully 
adverted  to,  that  the  Discourse  itself  is  epitomised, 
— but  we  can  still  more  surely  surmise,  that  any 
attempted  allusion  to  a  theme  so  distasteful  as 
salvation  through  a  crucified  man,  proclaimed  by 
an  unknown  pilgrim  from  Asia  Minor,  would  be 
met  with  pronounced  opposition ;  and  that  his 
voice  and  pleading — as  in  the  case  of  the  proto- 
martyr  Stephen,  would  be  drowned  in  the  clamour 
and  uproar.  To  the  congenial  theme  of  Nature 
they  could  listen  with  avidity : — to  the  theme  of 
Providence  they  would  at  all  events  hearken  with 
toleration  :  but  to  supplant  their  Parthenon  and  all 
the  traditions  of  Olympus  and  the  Acropolis— by  the 
worship  of  a  Jew  who  had  suffered  a  felon's  death 
— one  belonging  to  a  nation  they  esteemed  bar- 
barian,— was  in  every  sense  to  these  proud  Hellenes, 
"foolishness."     Accordingly,  we  find,  at  the  very 


THE  GOD  OF  GRACE.  159 

close  of  the  address,  when  indistinct  reference  is 
made  to  "that  Man  whom  He  hath  ordained," 
in  conjunction  with  the  same  theme  which  had 
been  received  with  contemptuous  scorn  under  the 
Stoa  Poecile — "  Whereof  He  hath  given  assurance 
unto  all  men  in  that  He  had  raised  him  from 
the  dead ;  "—there  is  no  further  hearing  accorded, 
or  exposition  tolerated.  With  that  disjointed 
and  abrupt  utterance  the  Discourse  collapses. 
The  "not  Jesus" — shouted,  years  before,  by  the 
surging  crowd  before  the  Hall  of  Judgment  in 
Jerusalem,  and  which  drowned  in  its  fierceness  the 
claims  of  Incarnate  Justice,  Truth,  and  Love — was 
doubtless  heard  now.  We  long  in  vain  to  know 
how  the  great  Apostle  would  have  opened  up  to 
them,  in  more  definite  terms,  the  double  theme 
here  named.  That  twofold  topic  was  "  the  Risen 
Many  A  "Man" — One  who  combined  the 
alleged  might  and  majesty  of  their  Jove,  with  the 
tenderness  of  a  Brother  in  their  nature — the  love 
and  sympathy  of  a  human  friend  !  One,  moreover, 
who  was  to  be  worshipped  and  reverenced,  not  as 
a  mere  abstract  principle,  but  as  a  Eisen  and 
Living  Person.  Yes,  the  subsequent  writer  of  the 
Epistle  to  the  Ephesians  and  of  the  8th  chapter 
of  Eomans — he  who  loved  that  Christ  of  Nazareth 
more  than  all  the  world  beside, — we  might  well 


i6o  ST.  PAUL  IN  ATHENS. 

desiderate  to  hear  him,  before  such  an  audience, 
discourse  on  the  glories  and  claims  of  his  Heavenly- 
Master  :  mounting  from  step  to  step  in  his  high 
argument :  telling  of  the  Risen  One  ascended  : 
seated  as  a  Great  High-Priest  at  the  Father's  right 
hand — a  glorious  King  invested  with  highest 
honours, — ^holding  the  sceptre  of  universal  empire : 
His  people  challenging  tribulation,  distress,  per- 
secution, famine,  nakedness,  peril,  or  sword, — the 
heavens  above,  and  the  earth  beneath,  ever  to 
separate  them  from  His  love  ! 

Loud,  vehement,  irresistible,  that  opposing 
clamour  undoubtedly  must  have  been ;  for  in  other 
similar  recorded  experiences  in  St.  Paul's  life  and 
work,  he  was  only  silenced  when  protest  and  re- 
sistance on  his  part  had  been  rendered  impossible. 
At  this  time,  too,  it  must  be  remembered,  that  the 
better  life  of  Athens  had  departed.  The  ancient 
altars  survived,  but  a  practical  infidelity  was  pre- 
dominant. No  "  great  souls  of  the  olden  time  " 
lingered  among  the  present  throng  on  the  Areo- 
pagus ;  otherwise  a  fair  hearing,  to  the  last,  for 
the  earnest  stranger  would  have  been  courteously 
conceded.  If  Socrates,  and  such  as  he,  imbued 
with  lofty  principle  and  swayed  by  generous  im- 
pulses, with  minds  open  to  conviction  and  recog- 
nising only  the  majesty  of  truth,  had  been  Paul's 


THE  GOD  OF  GRACE.  i6i 

present  hearers,  who  knows  but  their  souls  would 
have  opened  like  the  sunflower  to  the  Light  of 
Life! 

Doubtless  our  heroic  pleader  must  have  de- 
scended these  stone  steps  with  a  heavy  heart.  It 
was  one  indeed  of  the  few  occasions  when  he  felt 
compelled,  not  ignominiously  to  retreat, — but  to 
retire  for  the  time,  apparently  discomfited.  Very 
possibly  it  is  mainly  to  this  day's  experience  he 
makes  that  subsequent  reference  in  his  first  letter 
to  the  Corinthians  alre,ady  noted,  as  to  how  his 
theme — a  crucified  Saviour — had  by  the  Greeks 
been  discarded  and  discredited.  His  memory  of 
the  Agora  and  Mars'  Hill  may  possibly  have 
mingled  with  another  similar  utterance — ''  For 
many  walk,  of  whom  I  have  told  you  often,  and 
now  tell  you  even  weeping,  that  they  are  the 
enemies  of  the  cross  of  Christ."  It  was,  at  all 
events,  to  these  proud  Polytheists,  no  *' faithful 
saying  and  worthy  of  all  acceptation,  that  Jesus 
Christ  came  into  the  world  to  save  sinners." 

While,  at  present,  it  w^as  with  the  cultured  aes- 
thetic descendants  and  representatives  of  Pericles 
and  Pythagoras,  Aristotle  and  Plato,  Phidias  and 
Parrhasius  he  came  in  contact,  they  by  no  means 
stood  alone  in  their  antipathies; — 'the  ofi'ence  of" 
the  Cross.'     The  less  accomplished  but  not  less 

L 


i62  ST.  PAUL  IN  ATHENS. 

proud  Eoman  was  found  subsequently  to  share 
the  same  unconquerable  opposition  to  the  foun- 
dation-truth of  Christianity.  How  could  he — 
the  impersonation  of  martial  force  and  universal 
dominion :  whose  eagles  had  winged  their  mag- 
nificent flight  to  the  ends  of  the  earth  :  whose 
Temple  of  Victory  crowned  one  of  the  seven  hills 
with  its  garnered  spoils  of  vanquished  nations — 
how  could  he  stoop  to  the  recognition  of  a  new 
rival  "  Power  :  " — to  the  avowal  that  he  owed  his 
salvation  to  one  who  had  undergone  the  death- 
sentence  reserved  for  his  menial  slave  ?  Is  this 
crucified  Jew — this  dead  God,  to  supersede  and 
supplant  his  Jove  of  the  Capitol?  Are  those 
dreams  he  shared  with  the  Greek,  of  Olympus 
with  its  deified  haunts,  and  which  this  day  have 
their  memories  recalled  in  the  Pantheon  on  the 
Tiber,  to  be  denounced  as  myths  and  fantasies, 
giving  way  to  the  poor  legend  of  a  manger-born 
babe  of  Bethlehem — a  carpenter  of  Nazareth — a 
Pilgrim  of  Galilee  with  twelve  fishermen  as  His 
retainers, — a  dying  sufferer  on  Calvary]  Is  this 
Man  with  the  marred  visage  to  dispute  with  Apollo 
his  throne  of  ideal  beauty?  Is  the  crown,  alike 
of  Zeus  and  of  the  Ca3sars,  to  be  put  on  the  head 
of  one  who  wore  a  crown  of  thorns  ? 

But  it  is  not  with  Imperial  Eome  but  with  the 


THE  GOD  OF  GRACE.  163 

Greek  and  Athens  that  we  have  now  to  do.  And 
it  must  be  remembered  that  if  there  was  one 
thought  more  terrible  and  abhorrent  than  another 
to  the  latter,  it  was  that  of  Death  and  the  world 
of  shades  of  which  it  was  the  portal.  With  this 
recoil  from  the  supreme  hour  and  the  grave,  no 
wonder  one  of  their  favouiite  Altars  in  the  Temple 
of  Minerva-Polias  was  erected  to  "  Oblivion.''  The 
present  was  with  them  everything.  In  the  words 
of  another — "This  bright  world  was  all.  Its  revels 
^its  dances — its  theatrical  exhibitions — its  races 
— its  baths — and  academic  groves,  where  literary 
labour  luxuriated, — these  were  blessedness  ;  and 
the  Greeks'  hell  was  death.  Their  poets  speak 
pathetically  of  the  misery  of  the  wrench  from 
all  that  is  dear  and  bright.  The  dreadfulness  of 
death  is  one  of  the  most  remarkable  things  that 
meet  us  in  those  ancient  writings."^  Now  observe 
it  was  this  theme — "  the  dead  "  (yeKpwv) — which  in 
the  Apostle's  discourse  fell  on  their  ears.  That 
was  the  torch  which  now  fired  the  loaded  mine — 
the  gag  which  closed  the  mouth  of  the  fearless 
Speaker.  And  though  in  one  sense  it  was  a  re- 
ference to  the  grave  in  its  less  appalling  aspect  and 
association ;  the  grave  disarmed  of  its  terrors  by  re- 
surrection,— it  was  only  to  intensify  their  contempt 

1  Robertson's  Sermons,  vol.  i.,  p.  190. 


i64  ST,  PAUL  IN  ATHENS. 

for  the  presumption  of  the  prating  babbler,  that  his 
crucified  *'  Man  "  was  to  determine, — in  another 
sense  to  reverse,  the  doom  of  millions. 

Then,  add  to  this,  if  repellent  to  the  Greek 
were  the  thoughts  of  dissolution,  equally  repellent 
to  him  were  thoughts  of  sin.  The  Sermon  on  the 
Mount,  with  a  few  rare  exceptions,  had  no  place  in 
his  ethical  system.  The  average  code  of  morality, 
specially  in  these  more  degenerate  days,  may  be 
described  as  a  negation :— the  gods  and  goddesses 
who  shaped  his  creed,  from  their  own  examples 
readily  condoned  human  infirmities.  The  heart 
"deceitful  above  all  things  and  desperately  wicked," 
would  have  been  branded  as  the  exaggerated  tenet 
of  an  obsolete,  old-world  belief  They  recognised 
no  fall — no  devil — no  principle  of  evil — no  cor- 
rupted nature.  Where,  then,  was  the  necessity 
of  such  alleged  *  redemption '  ? — what  the  need  of 
atonement  and  sacrifice  ? 

We  can  thus  well  conceive  and  understand  how 
formidable  the  opposition  was,  on  that  hill-summit, 
to  the  doctrines  of  Grace  :  to  accept  the  One  only 
divine  method  of  acceptance  with  God.  And  yet, 
without  that  Gospel  of  Christ,  the  world  has  no 
satisfactory  light  thrown  on  the  vast  problem  of 
its  spiritual  regeneration.  Oratory,  poetry,  philo- 
sophy, intellect,  reason,  were  all  baffled  and  con- 


THE  GOD  OF  GRACE.  165 

founded : — professing  themselves  in  this  great 
mystery  to  be  wise,  they  became  fools.  The 
solution  of  the  enigma  had  been  attempted  for 
long  generations  :  but  every  oracle  was  dumb  on 
the  great  question  *  What  must  I  do  to  be  saved  1 ' 
The  Greek  mythology,  previously  described,  of 
mountains  and  groves  and  forests  and  rivers, 
was  mournfully  inadequate.  The  challenge  might 
be  given  to  their  philosophers  of  every  age  and 
every  school : — Pile,  if  you  will,  mountain  on 
mountain ;  ransack  all  the  glories  of  material 
Nature  ;  bring  every  flower  that  blooms  and  every 
torrent  that  sweeps  in  wild  music  to  the  sea ; 
summon  old  ocean  from  his  deep  caverns  and  the 
myriad  stars  that  gem  the  firmament.  They  may, 
and  do,  silently  and  eloquently  speak  of  God's 
eternal  power  and  Godhead.  But  there  is  one 
theme  on  which  they  have  no  speech  nor  language 
— their  voice  is  not  heard,  and  that  is — How  is 
God  to  deal  with  my  sinful  soul?  With  regard 
to  this  question,  *'  you  have  nothing  to  draw  with, 
and  the  well  is  deep." 

Is  there,  then,  no  answer  elsewhere  ?  Yes, 
where  the  Volume  of  Nature,  and  I  may  add, 
the  Volume  of  Providence,  fails,  the  Volume  of 
Inspiration  interposes.  The  world,  as  we  have 
seen,  had  conceded  to  it  long  eras  to  work  out,  if 


i66  ST.  PAUL  IN  ATHENS. 

it  could,  its  own  self-restoration.  But  after  these 
centuries  and  ages  of  failure, — after  God  had  given 
man  his  own  time  and  means  to  attempt  discover- 
ing what  baffled  human  reason.  He  says — Now, 
listen  to  My  own  divine  expedient, — By  lifting  up 
My  Beloved  Son  on  the  cross  I  intend  to  draw 
all  men  unto  Me.^ 

That  "  Plan  of  Salvation,"  though  objection  is 
not  unjustly  taken  to  the  phrase,  is  succinctly  set 
forth  in  what  Olshausen  happily  calls,— and  his 
words  have  a  special  appropriateness  in  these  pages 
— "  the  Acropolis  of  the  Christian  faith:" — "Whom 
God  hath  set  forth,  to  be  a  propitiation  through 
faith  in  His  blood,  to  declare  His  righteousness 
for  the  remission  of  sins  that  are  past,  through 
the  forbearance  of  God  ;  to  declare,  I  say,  at  this 
time  His  righteousness  :  that  He  might  be  just, 
and  the  justifier  of  him  which  believeth  in  Jesus  " 
(Eom.  iii.  25,  26).  CChrist  'the  power  of  God  unto 
salvation  : '  Christ  who  had,  by  His  dying,  disarmed 
death  of  its  terrors  and  made  it  the  portal  of  a 
higher  life — the  vestibule  of  a  better  than  their 
best  Elysian  dream :  lifting  it  far  above  the  poor 
'  XOLpe'  (the  farewell) — touching  but  significant 
note  of  the  sorrow  of  their  bereaved  : — Christ  who 
had  "  delivered  them  who  through  fear  of  death 

1  St.  Paul  iu  Eome,  p.  112-116. 


THE  GOD  OF  GRACE.  167 

were  all  their  lifetime  subject  to  bondage  "  : — here 
is  the  fulcrum  and  lever  in  one,  which  is  to  elevate 
humanity :  which  is  to  overthrow  time-honoured 
religions — subvert  philosophies — silence  oracles — 
demolish  Pantheons— save  immortal  souls !— the  old 
old  story  of  Redeeming  Grace  to  dying  men  and  a 
dying  world.  St.  Paul  felt  the  transforming  power 
of  that  cross  in  his  own  heart.  He  might  be  vilified 
as  a  revolutionary  fanatic,  an  impious  antagonist 
to  time-worn  religions,  a  subverter  of  faiths  which 
were  hoary  with  age — "  turning  the  world  upside 
down  :  " — but  he  delighted  to  tell  that  experience 
to  others — it  mattered  not  to  him  whether  in  the 
slums  of  Corinth  or  in  the  halls  of  Caesar,  or  on 
the  heights  of  Mars'  Hill— -^The  chief  of  sinners, 
but  I  obtained  mercy." —    "" 


"  See  me  !  see  me  !  once  a  rebel, 
Vanquished  at  His  cross  I  lie  ; 
Cross  !  to  tame  earth's  proudest  able. 
Who  was  e'er  so  proud  as  I  ? 
He  convinced  me  ;  He  subdued  me  ; 
He  chastised  me  ;  He  renewed  me. 
The  nails  that  nailed — the  spear  that  slew  Him, 
Transfixed  my  heart  and  bound  it  to  Him. 
See  me  !  see  me  ! — once  a  rebel, 
Vanquished  at  His  cross  I  lie." 

I  may  appropriately  end  this  chapter  and  its 
theme  with  the  remark,— how  superlative  the  glory 
of  Christianity  is,  compared  with  the  most  refined 


1 68  ST.  PAUL  IN  ATHENS. 

and  captivating  systems  of  heathenism.  I  shall 
not  here  enter  on  so  wide  a  topic  as  the  modern 
theory  of  development  in  the  religions  of  the 
world :  or  how  far  they  served,  even  in  their  very 
failures,  to  act  as  pioneers  in  the  ushering  in  of 
the  great  secret  hid  from  ages  and  generations. 
May  we  not  even  subscribe  to  the  words  of  a 
true  Poet, — that  Beauty  and  the  Beautiful  in  the 
glorious  art  of  Greece,  may  have  partially  and 
unconsciously  prepared  the  way  for  the  only  true 
and  complete  Incarnation  of  Divine  Beauty, — the 
"Altogether  Lovely  One  :  " — 

"  By  your  beauty,  wliicli  confesses 
Some  chief  Beauty  conquering  you, — 
By  our  grand  heroic  guesses 
Through  your  falsehood  at  the  True, — 
We  will  weep  not !  earth  shall  roll 
Heir  to  each  god's  aureole."  ^ 

We  can  speak  with  greater  confidence  of  her  "  har- 
binger philosophers."  Socrates,  Plato,  Aristotle, 
and  others  already  spoken  of,  were  at  least  the 
heralds  of  a  diviner  faith.  The  deeper  instincts 
of  St.  Augustine's  nature,  he  himself  tells  us,  were 
first  aroused  by  reading  accidentally  a  passage  in 
the  Hortentius  of  Cicero.  Its  topic  was  the  dig- 
nity and  grandeur  of  philosophy.  There  followed, 
indeed,  a  barren  and  ineffectual  conflict  of  eleven 

1  Mrs.  Barrett  Browning. 


THE  GOD  OF  GRACE.  169 

years  terminating  with  acceptance  of  the  prin- 
ciples and  speculations  of  Manichseism.  And 
though  it  was  the  teachings  of  Ambrose  at  Milan 
which  came  like  sunlight  in  his  darkness,  yet  we 
have  it  recorded  in  his  Confessions,  that  the  writ- 
ings of  Plato  "  enkindled  in  his  mind  an  incredible 
ardour,"  and  stimulated  him  to  profounder  study 
of  the  diviner  philosophy  taught  on  the  Mount 
of  Beatitudes  and  by  the  shores  of  the  Lake  of 
Galilee.  For  a  time  there  was  an  attempt  to 
incorporate  the  two  principles.  He  sought  to  be 
a  disciple  of  a  hybrid  system — a  Platonic  Chris- 
tianity. But,  ere  long,  the  victory  of  the  Judean 
faith  was  complete,  and  he  cordially  accepted — ■ 
what  was  incompatible  with  the  tenets  of  the 
Athenian  sage — the  doctrine  of  a  Personal  God 
and  a  Living  Saviour.  We  willingly  allow — 
say  in  the  three  ancient  religions  of  the  East, 
Brahminism,  Buddhism,  and  Parsism — that  there 
were  scattered  and  fragmentary  rays  of  a  better  sun 
— lights  shining  in  a  dark  place,  amid  monstrous 
fables,  gross  as  well  as  puerile  forms  of  error. 
Nay,  farther,  the  question  seriously  discussed  in 
the  present  writer's  youth — under  the  repellent 
phraseology—"  Salvability  of  the  heathen  " — now 
happily  in  the  judgment  of  Christian  charity,  as 
well  as  of  Scripture,  remains  no  longer  an  open 


lyo  ST.  PAUL  IN  ATHENS. 

question.  Though  with  certain  qualifications,  the 
words  of  an  earnest  thinker  and  writer  may  be 
accepted  and  endorsed  : — "  We  are  constrained  to 
the  conviction  that  there  is  a  church  on  earth 
larger  than  the  limits  of  the  church  visible  ;  larger 
than  Jew,  or  Christian,  or  the  Apostle  Peter 
dreamed;  larger  than  our  narrow  hearts  dare  to 
hope  even  now.  They  whose  soarings  to  the  First 
Good,  First  Perfect,  and  first  Fair,  entranced  us 
in  our  boyhood,  and  whose  healthier  aspirations 
are  acknowledged  yet  as  our  instructors  in  the 
reverential  qualities  of  our  riper  manhood — will 
our  hearts  alloiv  us  to  believe  that  they  have 
perished  ?  Nay.  Many  shall  come  from  the  east 
and  west,  and  shall  sit  down  with  Abraham,  and 
Isaac,  and  Jacob  in  the  kingdom  of  Heaven.  .  .  . 
These,  with  an  innumerable  multitude  whom  no 
man  can  number,  out  of  every  kingdom  and  tongue 
and  people,  with  Eahab  and  the  Syro-Phoenician 
woman,  have  entered  into  that  church  which  has 
passed  through  the  centuries,  absorbing  silently 
into  itself  all  that  the  world  ever  had  of  great  and 
good  and  noble.  They  were  those  who  fought  the 
battle  of  good  against  evil  in  their  day,  penetrated 
into  the  invisible  from  the  thick  shadows  of  dark- 
ness which  environed  them,  and  saw  the  open 
vision  which  is  manifested  to  all  in  every  nation, 


THE  GOD  OF  GRACE.  171 

who  fear  God  and  work  righteousness.  To  all,  in 
other  words,  who  live  devoutly  towards  God,  and 
by  love  towards  men.  And  they  shall  hereafter 
*  walk  in  white,  for  they  are  worthy.'  "  ^ 

At  present,  however,  we  are  concerned  alone 
with  the  nation  which,  of  all  others  of  the  past, 
led  the  van  in  the  struggles  and  aspirations  of 
unassisted  Eeason,  and  which  even  in  her  In- 
carnations had  been  the  Precursor  in  the  great 
outstanding  fact  of  the  Gospel — *'the  mystery  of 
godliness — manifest  in.  the  flesh."  The  Greek 
ritual  has  been  well  described,  with  all  its  external 
fascinations,  as  at  best  a  feeble  yearning  after  the 
good  and  the  true,  with  much  that  was  meretri- 


1  Robertson  of  Brighton  and  his  Contemporaries,  p.  317. 

*'  I  do  not  doubt  that,  according  to  the  teaching  of  our  Lord  and  St.  Paul, 
many  of  those  who  never  heard  of  Christ  will  yet  be  saved  by  the  mighty 
power  of  His  Incarnation  and  atonement  and  resurrection." — Dr.  Harold 
Broivn,  Bishop  of  Winchester. 

"It  is  with  peculiar  thankfulness  that  I  mark  your  Lordship's  expression 
of  opinion  as  to  the  extension  of  the  Merits  of  the  Incarnation  and  Atone- 
ment to  the  Mahomedan  and  the  Buddhist  who  in  this  life  never  heard  of 
Christ." — Canon  Wilberforce.  See  both  quotations  :  Times,  January  27th, 
1887. 

We  may  well  add  words  of  tolerance  more  authoritative  still  than  those 
of  any  modern  ecclesiastical  dignitaries,  however  eminent.  The  Leader  of 
the  Apostolic  band — St.  Peter  himself,  places  upon  record  the  following 
judgment.  From  the  language  employed,  it  is  evident  that  at  his  own 
avowal  he  was  startled.  It  was  in  contravention  of  his  life-long  tenets  and 
prejudices.  But,  "being  of  God  he  cannot  deny  it. "  Mark  his  expression 
of  undissembled  astonishment  yet  of  ready  acceptance  :  "Then  Peter  opened 
liis  mouth,  and  said,  Of  a  truth  I  perceive  that  God  is  no  respecter  of 
persons  :  but  in  every  nation  he  that  feareth  Him,  and  worketh  righteousness, 
is  accepted  with  Him  "  (Acts  x.  34,  35). 


172  ST.  PAUL  IN  ATHENS. 

cious  and  corrupting — base  and  seductive.  Dean 
Plumptre  in  his  suggestive  Commentary,  after 
speaking  of  it  as  "the  inarticulate  wailing  of 
childhood,"  happily  applies  the  familiar  words  of 
the  Laureate — 

"  An  infant  crying  in  the  night. 
An  infant  crying  for  the  light, 
And  with  no  language  but  a  cry." 

It  was  a  groping  in  the  dark — the  blind  man's 
feeling  after  Him — spoken  of  in  verse  27th.  The 
three  words  Mystery — Ambiguity — Uncertainty — 
describe  its  best  teaching  and  attainment.  There 
was  the  conspicuous  absence  of  clear  and  decisive 
tone  and  utterance  on  the  great  problems  of  Life, 
Death,  Immortality.  "  All  the  systems  of  ancient 
mythology  and  of  modern  superstition,"  says  an 
eloquent  preacher,  *'  have  their  reserve  and  their 
mysteriousness.  Alike  at  Delphi  and  Dodona,  at 
Mecca  and  at  Eome,  there  are  secrets  for  the 
initiated — responses  sounding  through  a  hollow 
cave,  or  from  behind  a  curtaining  veil — all  opinions 
regulated  by  a  supreme  will,  all  knowledge  kept 
by  a  custodian  priest,  and  doled  out  at  his  plea- 
sure to  the  submissive  people  of  his  charge.  The 
appeal  is  to  the  senses  rather  than  to  the  con- 
science— veiled  prophets,  and  Pythian  madness, 
and  flashing  scimitars.   .   .   .  Christianity  has  no 


THE  GOD  OF  GRACE.  173 

lack  of  inherent  grandeur,  and  therefore  needs 
not  borrow.  She  has  no  muttering  wizards  that 
peep  in  the  pauses  of  their  necromancy  from  out 
the  holy  shrine.  She  deals  not  in  *deceivable- 
ness  of  unrighteousness,  nor  lying  wonders.'  She 
seeks  not,  by  ceremonies  of  terror,  to  cause  the 
timid  to  crouch  before  her  altars,  nor  by  idle 
pageants  to  dazzle  the  sensuous  into  devotees. 
She  announces  in  simple  language,  the  sublimest 
truth.  .  .  .  Standing  in  the  majesty  of  her  Truth, 
she  says  to  all  men,  *  Come  and  see.'  .  .  .  Toil 
not  so  wearily,  ye  hapless  ones — here  is  Eest. 
Jesus  stands  in  the  way  of  all  hearts  that  inquire, 
turns  to  meet  any  eager  footstep  which  follows 
Him ;  and  whether  the  inquirer  be  a  king  in  his 
purple,  or  a  beggar  in  his  rags,  a  sage  of  many- 
wintered  years,  or  childhood  with  its  *  prayer- 
clasped  hands,'  He  greets  them  with  the  welcome 
of  His  grace."  ^ 

While  we  concede  then,  as  we  may,  whatever 
ig  bright  and  beautiful  in  the  myths  and  mysteries 
of  ancient  Greece  as  compared  to  the  cults  of 
other  peoples,  such  as  Egypt  or  Phoenicia — 
Osiris  and  Baal : — while,  in  the  words  of  so  safe 
a  guide  as  the  late  excellent  and  scholarly  Dean 
Howson — "  Plato  and  Aiistotle  have  had  a  great 

1  Morley  Punshon's  Sermons,  p.  11. 


174  ST.  PAUL  IN  ATHENS. 

work  appointed  to  them,  not  only  as  the  heathen 
pioneers  of  the  Truth  before  it  was  revealed,  but 
as  the  educators  of  Christian  minds  in  every  age,"  ^ 
let  it  only  serve  to  bring  out,  in  bolder  and  more 
accentuated  contrast — "the  Light  of  the  know- 
ledge of  the  glory  of  God  in  the  face  of  Jesus 
Christ  '  (2  Cor.  iv.  6).  Greece,  in  the  Homeric 
phrase,  had  her  boasted  "  Shepherds  of  the 
people  ;  "  some  of  these  beautiful  in  outward  form 
— ideal  incarnations.  But  what  were  they  com- 
pared to  "the  Beautiful  Shepherd"  {lit.  John 
X.  14)  who  gave  His  own  life  for  the  sheep  :  not 
haunting  the  groves  or  environed  with  the  clouds 
of  Olympus,  but  an  ever  present — ever  living — 
ever  loving  Redeemer.  These  yearnings  after  the 
true  summum  honum  of  the  Platonic  Philosophy, 
doubtless  had  their  nearest  fulfilment — the  highest 
eminence  to  which  human  reason  could  reach — in 
the  case  of  him  whose  name  has  so  often  occurred 
to  us  in  these  pages — the  noble  Socrates  :  who 
in  the  words  of  Cicero  "  brought  down  philosophy 
from  heaven  to  earth."  How  Christ-like  are  many 
of  his  aphorisms  !  "  The  only  road  to  happiness  is 
to  do  right."    "  Follow  wisdom  and  virtue  :  for  the 

1  Dean  Stanley,  in  speaking  of  the  Eastern  Churches  of  the  present  century, 
remarks,  that  "  along  the  church  porticoes,  both  in  Greece  and  Russia,  are 
to  be  seen  portrayed  on  the  walls,  the  figures  of  Homer,  Theucidides,  Pytha- 
goras, and  'Plsito."—Uaster7i  Churches,  p.  41. 


THE  GOD  OF  GRACE,  175 

reward  is  noble,  and  the  life  is  great."  *'  Culti- 
vate, in  preference  to  honours  and  advancement, 
the  pleasures  arising  from  the  performance  of 
duty."  "  O  beloved  Pan  and  all  ye  other  Gods 
of  this  city,"  was  one  of  his  sayings  when  con- 
fronting death  as  recorded  in  the  same  Phsedo  of 
Plato,  "  grant  me  to  become  beautiful  in  the  inner 
man, — that  so,  whatever  I  may  possess  outwardly, 
I  may  be  at  peace  with  those  within."  ''  His 
soul,"  says  Tholuck  in  a  striking  passage  quoted 
by  Howson  and  Conybeare, — "was  certainly  in 
some  alliance  with  the  Holy  God ;  he  certainly 
felt  in  his  daemon  or  guardian  spirit,  the  inexpli- 
cable nearness  of  his  Father  in  heaven ;  but  he 
w^as  destitute  of  a  view  of  the  divine  nature  in  the 
humble  form  of  a  servant,  the  Eedeemer  with  the 
crown  of  thorns  ;  he  had  no  ideal  conception  of  that 
true  holiness,  which  manifests  itself  in  the  most 
humble  love  and  the  most  affectionate  humility. 
Hence,  also,  he  was  unable  to  become  fully  ac- 
quainted with  his  own  heart,  though  he  so  greatly 
desired  it.  Hence,  too,  he  was  destitute  of  any 
deep  humiliation  and  grief  on  account  of  his  sinful 
wretchedness,  of  that  true  humility  which  no 
longer  allows  itself  a  biting,  sarcastic  tone  of  in- 
struction ;  and  destitute,  likewise,  of  any  filial 
devoted  love.     These  perfections  can  be  shared 


176  ST.  PAUL  IN  ATHENS. 

only  by  the  Christian,  who  beholds  the  Redeemer, 
as  a  wanderer  upon  earth  in  the  form  of  a 
servant ;  and  who  receives  in  his  own  soul  the 
sanctifying  power  of  that  Redeemer  by  inter- 
course with  Him."  Yes,  it  is  at  the  foot  of  the 
cross  and  there  alone, — pondering  and  accepting 
the  story  of  Grace,  that  the  long  cry  of  aching 
humanity  has  been  answered  :  a  remedy  for  its  ills 
provided :  rest  secured  for  the  weary  and  heavy- 
laden  :  life  sanctified  and  transfigured  with  the 
beauties  of  holiness :  Death,  the  Greek's  enemy, 
despoiled  of  its  sting  and  the  grave  of  its  victory. 
Universal  Christendom  can  well  echo  through  the 
ages,  her  lofty  Benedicite — 

"  Thou  art  the  King  of  glory,  0  Christ  : 
Thou  art  the  Everlasting  Son  op  the  Father: 
When  Thou  tookest  upon  Thee  to  deliver  man, 
Thou  didst  not  abhor  the  Virgin's  womb  : 
When  Thou  hadst  overcome  the  sharpness  op 

DEATH, 

Thou   didst   open  the   Kingdom  of  Heaven  to 
all  believers  ! " 


IV. 

^be  (5o&  of  3u&0ment. 


"It  is  frequently  possible  for  men  to  screen  themselves  from  the  penalty 
of  human  laws :  but  no  man  can  be  unjust  or  ungrateful,  without  suffering 
for  his  crime.  Hence  I  conclude  that  these  laws  must  have  proceeded  from 
a  more  excellent  legislator  than  man." — Socrates. 

*'  Thou,  attended  gloriously  from  heaven, 
Shalt  in  the  sky  appear,  and  from  Thee  send 
Thy  summoning  archangels,  to  proclaim 
Thy  dread  tribunal." 

— Paradise  Lost,  Book  iii. 

"  Four  things  belong  to  a  Judge  :  to  hear  graciously,  to  answer  wisely,  to 
consider  soberly,  and  decide  impartially.  ,  .  .  Pray  to  the  Gods,  that  my 
departure  hence  may  be  happy." — Socrates, 

"  Oh  who  shall  bear,  the  blinding  glare 

Of  the  Majesty  that  shall  meet  us  there  ? 
What  eye  may  gaze  on  the  unveiled  blaze 

Of  the  light-girdled  Throne  of  the  Ancient  of  Days  ? 
•  •  >  •  t  t 

Christ  us  aid  ! — Himself  be  our  Shade, 
That  in  that  Dread  Day  we  be  not  dismayed  ! " 

—Wkytehead. 


(     179    ) 


THE  GOD  OF  JUDGMENT. 

The  great  Apostle  has  now  reached  the  last 
theme — the  peroration  of  his  fourfold  discourse, — 
God,  the  God  of  Judgment;  and  the  sisting  of 
the  world  at  His  righteous  bar. 

"  Because  He  hath  appointed  a  day,  in  the 
WHICH  He  will  judge  the  wokld  in  righteous- 
ness BY  THAT  MAN  WHOM  He  HATH  ORDAINED  ; 
WHEREOF  He  hath  GIVEN  ASSURANCE  UNTO  ALL 
MEN  IN  THAT  He  HATH  RAISED  HiM  FROM  THE 
DEAD"  (v.   31). 

It  is  almost  unnecessary  to  say  that  a  '*  tribunal " 
was  not  strange  to  Greek  or  Athenian.  As  we 
now  well  know,  the  very  spot  where  St.  Paul 
stood  was  hoary  with  recollections  of  the  highest 
and  most  ancient  of  these.  We  have,  in  an 
earUer  part  of  this  Volume,  spoken  of  the  marble 
seats,  even  then  venerable  with  age,  on  which  the 
circle  of  the  Areopagite  judges  sat,  with  a  corre- 
sponding   stone   for  the   accused.     So   that   the 


i8o  ST.  PAUL  IN  ATHENS. 

Apostle's  judicial  emblem  could  hardly  fail  to  be 
suggestive  to  his  hearers.^ 

Nor  were  the  Athenians  conversant  alone  with 
an  earthly  court  of  criminal  jurisdiction,  where 
retribution  for  crime  was  meted  out  to  delinquents. 
They  recognised  arraignment  also  at  the  supreme 
though  invisible  bar  of  conscience — the  arbiter  of 
right  and  wrong.  They  avowed  their  sense  of 
individual  responsibility,  and  indeed  had  clothed 
the  moral  accompaniments  and  results  of  crime  in 
incarnate  shape.  For,  as  already  also  noted  in 
our  topographical  description, — the  Cave  of  the 
Furies  was  close  by :  its  eastern  opening  being 
under  the  very  hill  on  which  the  august  con- 
clave was  now  assembled.  These  *  Erinnyes  ' — 
avengers  —  were  supposed,  even  in  the  present 
world,  to  inflict  punishment  on  the  transgressor. 
With  their  knotted  thongs  they  were  the  living 
impersonators  of  the  old  Hebrew  aphorism — "And 
be  sure  your  sin  will  find  you  out."  The  poet 
j^schylus  represents  them  as  standing  on  the 
brow  of  the  Areopagus,  and  singing  together  the 
following  doleful  ditty  : — 


1  " 'Heis  ahout  to  judge' (M-iWei  Kplueip).  This  is  appropriately  said  in 
the  Areopagus,  where  justice  and  judgment  used  to  be  dispensed." — 
Bengel, 


THE  GOD  OF  JUDGMENT.  i8i 

"  For  fate  supreme  ordains  tliat  we, 
This  office  hold,  for  evermore  : 
Mortals,  imbued  with  kindred  gore 
We  scathe  till  under  earth  they  flee  : 
And  when  in  death 
They  yield  their  breath, 
In  Hades  still  our  thralls  they  be."  i 

There  was  of  course  a  similar  *  recompense  of  re- 
ward' which  they  held  to  be  meted  out  on  earth 
to  the  deserving.  The  "  righteousness,"  or  equity, 
spoken  of  immediately  by  the  Apostle,  had  its 
twofold  application.  Indeed  the  statue  of  Athene 
enshrined,  as  previously  described,  in  one  of  the 
Temples  which  confronted  him,  was  the  em- 
bodiment of  this  double  thought  in  magnificent 
sculpture.  "  In  her  justice,  which  is  the  domi- 
nant virtue,  she  wears  two  robes,  one  of  light 
and  one  of  darkness ;  the  robe  of  light,  saffron- 
colour,  or  the  colour  of  the  day-break,  falls 
to  her  feet,  covering  her  wholly  with  favour  and 
love, — the  calm  of  the  sky  in  blessing ;  it  is  em- 
broidered along  its  edge  with  her  victory  over  the 
giants.  .  .  .  Then,  her  robe  of  indignation  is 
worn  on  her  breast  and  left  arm  only,  fringed  with 
fatal  serpents,  and  fastened  with  gorgonian  cold, 
turning  men  to  stone ;  physically  the  lightning 
and  the  hail  of  chastisement  by  storm."  ^    Nor 

1  Orestes,  quoted  by  Dr.  Porter. 

2  Ruskin's  Queen  of  the  Air,  p.  14. 


i82  ST.  PAUL  IN  ATHENS. 

can  we  restrict  this  thought  of  penal  vengeance 
or  its  opposite  to  the  present  life.  However  re- 
pudiated by  Epicurean  or  Stoic,  a  future  retribu- 
tive economy  was  accepted  by  many,  alike  among 
the  illustrious  and  the  common  people.  If  we  take 
Plato  as  certainly  one  of  the  purest  and  loftiest  of 
her  philosophic  thinkers, — he  holds,  first  of  all, 
that  the  soul,  emancipated  from  its  mortal  material 
tenement,  is  incapable  of  decay  or  dissolution.  In 
his  various  writings,  but  specially  in  his  Pheedo, 
the  unique  and  remarkable  dialogue,  purporting 
to  describe  the  last  hours  of  Socrates — the  doctrine 
of  Immortality  is  clearly  unfolded  :  that  at  death, 
the  body  is  resolved  into  its  original  dust ;  but  its 
inextinguishable  tenant  continues  to  live  in  an 
unembodied  state  and  under  new  conditions.  We 
may  recall  the  familiar  lines  of  Addison  in  his 
/'Cato's  Soliloquy:"— 

"  It  must  be  so— Plato,  tliou  reasonest  well- 
Else  whence  this  pleasing  hope,  this  fond  desire, 
This  longing  after  Immortality  ? 
Or  whence  this  secret  dread,  and  inward  horror, 
Of  falling  into  nought  ?    Why  shrinks  the  soul 
Back  on  herself,  and  startles  at  destruction  ? 
'Tis  the  Divinity  that  stirs  within  us  ; 
'Tis  Heaven  itself,  that  points  out  an  hereafter, 
And  intimates  eternity  to  man." 

In   like    manner    Pindar,    among    the    poets    of 


THE  GOD  OF  yUDGMENT.  183 

Greece,  now  and  then  presents  bright  and  un- 
expected glimpses  of  the  world  beyond  the 
grave :  not  the  gloomy  and  unlovable  region 
depicted  by  Homer,  ^schylus,  and  Sophocles. 
Nor  do  Plato  and  kindred  spirits — (the  eKkeKTwv 
€K\€/cTOTepoi) — receive  and  promulgate  only  the  doc- 
trine of  a  beatified  future.  They  are  equally  clear 
and  pronounced  on  a  state  of  coming  equitable 
punishment — "punishments  partly  penal,  partly 
purgatorial ;  some  temporary  and  some  without 
end."  The  doom  of  Sisyphus,  the  son  of 
^olus,  with  his  toilsome  and  monotonous  in- 
fliction, will  occur  to  most  of  us  as  described  in 
Pope's  well-known  lines.  The  block  of  stone  or 
boulder  with  which  it  was  alleged  he  had  com- 
mitted his  savage  murders  in  Ephyra,  was  made 
the  instrument  of  penal  recompense  in  the  infernal 
regions.  In  its  ceaseless  upheaval  from  the  base 
to  the  summit  of  a  mountain,  we  have  set  forth, 
in  a  strange  myth,  the  Greek  idea  of  equity  in  the 
after  retribution. 

"  Up  fhe  higli  liill  lie  heaved  the  huge  round  stone  ; 
The  huge  round  stone,  resultant  with  a  bound, 
Thundered  impetuous  down,  and  smoked  along  the  ground." 

While,  on  the  other  hand,  may  be  found  in  other 
poets   of   Hellas,    as   we   have    already   specially 


i84  ST.  PAUL  IN  ATHENS, 

noted  in  the  case  of  Pindar,  golden  legends  of 
the  bliss  awaiting  as  a  recompense  the  lives  of 
the  brave  and  virtuous,  the  good  and  the  true,  in 
regions  v^here  the  light  of  Grecian  skies,  and  the 
beauty  of  fields  enamelled  with  Grecian  flowers, 
were  perpetuated.  Confirming  what  we  have  just 
said,  the  '  mysteries  '  of  the  Greeks,  in  the  words  of 
another,  "  owed  their  attractiveness  and  influence 
in  part  at  least  to  this,  that  the  hierophant  pro- 
fessed to  lead  the  initiated  on  to  the  contemplation 
of  things  after  death.  Popular  mythology  spoke 
of  Minos  and  Ehadamanthus,  and  the  Elysian 
fields,  and  Tartarus  and  Acheron,  and  Phlegethon, 
the  fiery  river  and  the  Lethe  of  forgetfulness. 
The  eleventh  book  of  Odyssey  brought  before  men 
the  thought,  that  in  that  other  world  they  would 
recognise  those  whom  they  had  known  on  earth, 
and  '  see  the  great  Achilles  whom  they  knew.* 
The  elegiac  song  on  Hermodius  led  them  to  think 
of  the  souls  of  patriots  and  heroes  as  in  *  the  island 
of  the  blessed.'  Plato,  who  saw  in  these  popular 
legends  at  least  the  parables  and  symbols  of 
eternal  truths,  was  never  weary  ...  of  bringing 
them  before  men's  minds,  as  being  more  than 
merely  mythical."  ^ 

But  with  all  this  ''feeling  after  it,"  St.  Paul  in  his 

1  Dean  Pluraptre's  Studies  on  the  Life  after  Death,  p.  394. 


THE  GOD  OF  JUDGMENT.  185 

present  address  invests  the  great  theme  of  a  future 
retributive  economy  vrith  entirely  new  features  of 
solemnity  and  distinctiveness ;  indeed  equivalent, 
in  the  ears  of  his  hearers,  to  a  new  revelation. 
Specially  so  in  these  two  factors ; — that  there  was 
to  be  a  Resurrection  of  the  body ;  and  that  the  place 
of  a  Judge  was  to  be  filled,  and  the  functions 
of  Judge  discharged  by  a  Man: — A  Man  once 
crucified,  but  who  had  been  raised  from  the  dead 
as  the  pledge  of  the  resurrection  of  His  redeemed 
people.  These  two  *  counts '  were  specially  ob- 
noxious, for  reasons  stated  at  length  in  a  previous 
part  of  this  Volume,  to  the  representatives  of  both 
philosophic  sects  in  his  present  audience : — the 
Epicureans,  who  retorted  on  the  assertion  with 
mocking  ('  some  mocked  ') :  and  the  Stoics,  who, 
less  noisy  and  defiant,  relegated  the  discussion  to 
some  indefinite  future — "We  will  hear  thee  again 
of  this  matter  "  (v.  32). 

(1.)  The  Resurrection  of  the  dead! — the  old 
perplexing  mystery  and  query  :  "  Son  of  man,  can 
these  bones  live  1 "  This  was  a  doctrine  with 
which  Paul  was  himself  familiar  before  his  con- 
version to  Christianity  from  the  writings  of  his 
own  ancestral  seers  (see  specially  Dan.  xii.  2,  and 
Isaiah :  passim) ;  but  which  was  brought  to  full 


i86  ST.  PAUL  IN  ATHENS. 

light  in  the  Gospel,  and  by  the  teachings  of 
Death's  great  Abolisher  :  that  the  vile  body  re- 
suscitated, and  redeemed  from  the  dishonours  of 
the  grave,  will  be  fashioned  like  unto  Christ's 
glorious  and  glorified  body, — a  spiritual  yet  cor- 
poreal being,  freed  from  all  the  clogs  and  hamper- 
ings  of  the  present. 

How  we  long,  here  again,  had  his  auditory 
granted  him  the  opportunity,  to  have  listened  to 
the  full  unfolding  of  the  Apostle's  great  theme 
of  which  Nature  and  Providence  had  been  the 
first  instalment.  No  gap  in  sacred  story  do  we 
miss  more,  and  with  a  sanctified  curiosity  desire 
more  to  have  filled  up.  We  have  it  indeed  in 
another  sense  supplied  to  us.  That  noblest  of 
chapters  and  dissertations — the  fifteenth  chapter 
of  1st  Corinthians — written  subsequently,  at  the 
close  of  his  three  years'  residence  at  Ephesus,  gives 
us,  in  rare  and  cogent  impressiveness,  the  theme 
in  the  very  form  he  would  have  been  likely  to 
present  it  to  the  philosophic  sceptics  of  Athens. 
In  writing  that  chapter,  may  he  not  possibly  have 
had  our  now  familiar  group  of  Epicurean  and 
Stoic  before  his  mental  eye, — their  metaphysical 
and  scientific  doubts  as  to  the  possibility  of  a 
bodily  resurrection: — or  rather,  how   utterly  in 


THE  GOD  OF  JUDGMENT.  187 

defiance  of  all  natural  and  physical  laws  would  be 
the  reconstruction  of  ''  the  machines  of  carbon  and 
hydrogen "  spoken  of  by  later  scientists.  The 
latter  half  of  that  chapter,  though  most  sacredly 
familiar  to  us  all — is  so  cogent  and  irresistible 
an  answer  to  what  was  burning  in  the  minds 
of  the  intellectual  throng  on  the  Hill  of  Judg- 
ment, that  we  must  be  pardoned  inserting  it  in 
fuU:— 

''But  some  man  will  say,  Hoiv  are  the  dead 
raised  up  f  and  with  what  body  do  they  come  ? 
Thou  fool,  that  which  thou  soivest  is  not  quickened, 
except  it  die.  And  that  ivhich  thou  soivest,  thou 
sowest  not  that  body  which  shall  be,  but  bare  grain,^ 


1  That  remarkable  episode  in  Gospel  story  will  here  be  recalled,  where 
certain  G^reeyts— Proselytes  of  the  Gate— on  the  occasion  of  their  attendance 
in  Jerusalem  at  the  Feast  of  the  Passover,  came  to  Philip  of  Bethsaida — 
attracted  probably  by  his  Greek  name— with  the  request—"  Sir,  we  would 
see  Jesus."  A  portion  of  Christ's  reply  is  worthy  of  note,  in  which  He 
adopts  the  same  similitude  of  the  "bare  grain."  "  Verily,  verily,  I  say  unto 
you,  except  a  corn  of  wheat  fall  into  the  ground  and  die,  it  abideth  alone, 
but,  if  it  die,  it  bringeth  forth  much  fruit"  (John  xii.  24).  "Observe,  in 
the  announcement  and  enforcement  of  a  great  truth.  He  goes,  not  to  the 
Volume  of  Prophecy  (this  He  might  have  done,  and  probably  would  have 
done,  had  He  been  discoursing  to  Jews  alone).  But  in  the  presence  of  these 
Greeks  He  turns  to  pages  better  understood  by  them  :  and  allows  Nature 
through  her  simplest  processes,  to  speak  and  unfold  the  impending  mystery. 
He  brings  before  them  the  familiar  parable  of  the  seed-corn  dropped  into  the 
earth  ;  showing  how  life  comes  out  of  death — a  new  and  more  exuberant 
growth  springing  from  the  destruction  of  the  inserted  grain."  -See  my  '  Com- 
munion Memories,''  p.  3. 


i88  ST.  PAUL  IN  ATHENS. 

it  may  chance  of  wheat,  or  of  some  other  grain :  hut 
God  giveth  it  a  body  as  it  hath  pleased  Him,  and 
to  every  seed  his  oivn  body.  All  flesh  is  not  the 
same  flesh:  but  there  is  one  kind  of  flesh  of  men, 
another  flesh  of  beasts,  another  of  fishes,  and  an- 
other of  birds.  There  are  also  celestial  bodies, 
and  bodies  terrestrial :  but  the  glory  of  the  celestial 
is  one,  and  the  glory  of  the  terrestrial  is  another. 
There  is  one  glory  of  the  sun,  and  another  glory 
of  the  moony  and  another  glory  of  the  stars ;  for 
one  star  differeth  from  another  star  in  glory.  So 
also  is  the  resurrection  of  the  dead;  it  is  sown  in 
corruption,  it  is  raised  in  incorruption :  it  is  sown 
in  dishonour,  it  is  raised  in  glory :  it  is  sown  in 
weakness,  it  is  raised  in  power:  it  is  sown  a 
natural  body,  it  is  raised  a  spiritual  body.  TJiere 
is  a  natural  body,  and  there  is  a  spiritual  body. 
And  so  it  is  written.  The  first  man  Adam  was 
made  a  living  soul,  the  last  Adam  was  made  a 
quickening  spirit.  Hoivbeit  that  was  not  first 
which  is  spiritual,  but  that  ivhich  is  natural ;  and 
afterivard  that  which  is  spiritual.  The  first  man 
is  of  the  earth,  earthy :  the  second  man  is  the  Lord 
from  heaven.  As  is  the  earthy,  such  are  they  also 
that  are  earthy ;  and  as  is  the  heavenly,  such  are 
they  also  that  are  heavenly.     And  as  we  have 


THE  GOD  OF  JUDGMENT.  189 

home  the  image  of  the  earthy,  xve  shall  also  hear 
the  image  of  the  heavenly.  Now  this  I  say, 
hrethren,  that  flesh  and  hlood  cannot  inherit  the 
kingdom  of  God ;  neither  doth  corruption  inherit 
incorruption.  Behold,  I  shoiv  you  a  mystery; 
We  shall  not  all  sleep,  hut  ive  shall  all  he  changed, 
in  a  moment,  in  the  twinkling  of  an  eye,  at  the  last 
trump  {for  the  trumpet  shall  sound);  and  the 
dead  shall  he  raised  incorruptihle,  and  we  shall 
he  changed.  For  this  corruptible  must  put  on 
iyicormption,  and  this  mortal  must  put  on  im- 
Tnortality.  So  ivhen  this  corruptible  shall  have 
put  on  incorruption,  and  this  mortal  shall  have 
put  on  immortality,  then  shall  he  brought  to  pass 
the  saying  that  is  ivritten.  Death  is  swalloived 
up  in  victory.  0  death,  where  is  thy  sting? 
O  grave,  ivhere  is  thy  victory  f  The  sting  of 
death  is  sin;  and  the  strength  of  sin  is  the 
law.  But  thanks  he  to  God,  ivhich  giveth  us  the 
victory  through  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ  "  (vers. 
35-57). 

(2.)  Still  more  repugnant,  however,  to  all  their 
conceptions  of  "  the  world  to  come  "  was  the  idea 
propounded  by  the  present  speaker  to  his  audience 
of  a  Day,  in  which  all  its  nations  and  individuals 
were  to  be  judged  by  an  *'  ordained  Man  " — a 


I90  ST.  PAUL  IN  ATHENS. 

Man  once  crucified,  but  now  glorified.^  The pnn- 
ciple  upon  which  the  adjudications  were  to  be 
conducted  was  not  strange  to  many  of  them  or  to 
the  best  of  them.  We  have  just  noted  it  in  the 
illustrative  though  mythological  case  of  Sisyphus. 
Indeed  the  ''in  righteousness"  or  "equity"  spoken 
of  by  St.  Paul  is  the  very  word  (BiKatoavpr))  used  by 
Plato  descriptive  of  one  of  his  "two  great  virtues." 
But  the  idea  of  its  application  : — these  equitable 
awards,  whether  punitive  or  the  reverse,  being 
dispensed  at  the  hand  of  a  once  lowly-born  Jew, 
was  something  that  conflicted  with  "  the  pride  of 
life."  Those  who  had  no  religion  would  scorn  it 
as  a  poor  myth,  a  crude  and  unworthy  hallucina- 
tion. Those  again  with  instincts  of  piety,  and 
regard  for  the  nation's  religion,  would  denounce 
it  as  a  sacrilegious  insult,  enough  to  bring  down 
on  their  devoted  heads  and  devoted  city  the  wrath 
of  the  whole  Olympic  Pantheon.  The  worshippers 
of  Jupiter,  Minerva,  and  Apollo,  could  not  be  ex- 
pected to  hail  with  the  reverential  joy  of  this  con- 
verted Israelite  these  grand  and  comforting  words 
of  his  great  national  Prophet — "  A  man  shall  be 
as  an  hiding-place  from  the  wind  and  a  covert 
from  the  tempest :  as  rivers  of  water  in  a  dry 

1  See  Gospel  references,  John  v.  22,  27,  28,  29. 


THE  GOD  OF  JUDGMENT.  191 

place,  as  the  shadow  of  a  great  rock  in  a  weary 
land  "  (Isa.  xxxii.  2).^ 

There  is  one  speciality  about  this  fourth  theme 
in  the  Apostle's  address  not  to  be  forgotten ;  for 
it  must  have  enkindled  his  whole  soul  as  he 
sought  to  unfold  it. 

His  own  strong  personal  belief  undoubtedly  at 
this  time — though  modified  in  his  subsequent 
letters,  was,  that  the  Day  of  Judgment  and  the 
coming  of  the  ordained  Man  were  imminent.  We 
know  that  the  1st  Epistle  to  the  Thessalonians 
was  written  at  Corinth,  if  not  indeed  at  Athens 
itself,  almost  immediately  after  his  discourse  on 
the  heights  of  Mars'  Hill : — possibly  a  few  days, 

1  I  may  here  be  permitted,  in  a  note,  to  give  the  -vrords  of  a  gifted 
friend  in  unfolding  the  characteristics  of  Christ  as  the  Judge  of  mankind. 
"We  may  gather  the  principles  on  which  He  will  proceed  hereafter,  from 
what  we  read  of  His  character  and  dealings  during  His  ministry  upon  earth. 
A  general  view  of  the  four  gospels  convinces  us  that  He  has  all  the  essential 
qualifications  of  a  good  and  just  Judge.  He  is  omniscient,  penetrating  the 
secrets  of  the  heart,  stripping  men  of  all  their  disguises  and  professions, 
regarding  what  they  are  rather  than  what  they  say,  noting  all  the  hidden 
workings  of  their  minds  and  imaginations, — whether  of  evil  or  of  good.  He 
is  imjjartial,  regarding  not  the  person  of  man,  equally  accessible  to  the  rich 
and  to  the  poor,  taking  no  account  of  rank  or  wealth  or  respectability,  or 
birth,  as  prejudicing  a  case.  He  is  righteous,  having  a  full  knowledge  of  the 
requirements  of  God's  law,  having  a  keen  sense  of  God's  honour,  and  of  what 
is  due  to  Him  from  the  children  of  men  ;  knowing  what  human  duty  is,  not 
theoretically  only  but  practically,  having  Himself  taken  our  human  nature 
upon  Him,  and  having  become  obedient  even  unto  death ;  though  He  were 
a  Son,  yet  learning  obedience  by  the  things  which  He  suffered.  Lastly,  He 
is  merciful  and  loving.    Mercy  is  rightly  called  by  us  humanity  ;  for  it  ia  one 


192  ST.  PAUL  IN  ATHENS. 

or,  at  most,  a  few  weeks  intervened.  Any  one 
carefully  reading  that  letter,  cannot  fail  to  be 
struck  with  the  constant  reiteration  of  the  theme 
of  the  Second  Advent.  The  exhortation  given,  as 
if  inspired  by  his  last  permitted  words  on  the 
Areopagus,  is  to  "wait  for  His  Son  from  heaven, 
whom  He  raised  from  the  dead,  even  Jesus,  who 
delivered  us  from  the  wrath  to  come"  (i.  10). 
His  earnest  hope  is,  that  "  He  may  stablish  your 
hearts  unblameable  in  holiness  before  God,  even 
our  Father,  at  the  coming  of  our  Lord  Jesus 
Christ  with  all  His  saints  "  (iii.  13).  Then,  in  that 
beautiful  adjuration  to  those  in  the  Corinthian 
Church  who  were  mourning  their  *  loved  and  lost.' 

of  the  purest  and  most  beautiful  parts  of  human  nature,  being  itself  the 
reflection  of  the  nature  of  God.  Jesus  Christ  by  every  deed  and  word  testi- 
fied that  His  heart  was  full  of  love  for  His  fellow-men,  into  whose  brother- 
hood He  had  entered,  in  order  to  carry  out  His  Father's  loving  work  of 
Redemption.  .  .  .  Even  at  the  time  of  His  greatest  suffering,  when  His  life 
of  grief  and  sorrow  was  drawing  towards  its  solemn  conclusion,  He  could 
heal  the  man  whose  ear  was  smitten  by  Peter,  He  could  cast  a  look  of  warn- 
ing and  pity  upon  that  same  disciple  when  denied  by  him.  He  could  turn  to 
the  women  who  followed  Him,  and  say,  '  Daughters  of  Jerusalem,  weep  not 
for  Me,  but  weep  for  yourselves,'  He  could  ask  His  Father  to  pardon  the 
ignorant  men  who  crucified  Him,  He  could  provide  for  his  own  desolate  and 
sorrowing  Mother  before  His  decease,  and  He  could  cheer  up  the  dying 
moments  of  the  penitent  thief  by  the  blessed  utterance,  *  Verily,  I  say  unto 
thee.  To-day  shalt  thou  be  with  Me  in  Paradise.' 

"  Such  is  the  nature,  and  such  the  character,  of  the  Judge  of  all  the  earth, 
— a  character  worthy  of  the  sublime  task,  and  one  which  the  conscience  of 
all  men,  when  brought  before  the  throne,  must  needs  approve  of." — Canon 
Girdlestone's  Dies  Tree. 


THE  GOD  OF  JUDGMENT.  193 

"But  I  ^yould  not  have  you  to  be  ignorant,  brethren, 
concerning  them  which  are  asleep,  that  ye  sorrow 
not,  even  as  others  which  have  no  hope.  For  if 
we  believe  that  Jesus  died,  and  rose  again,  even 
so  them  also  which  sleep  in  Jesus  will  God  bring 
with  Him.  For  this  we  say  unto  you  by  the  word 
of  the  Lord,  that  we  which  are  alive  and  remain 
unto  the  coming  of  the  Lord,  shall  not  prevent 
them  which  are  asleep.  For  the  Lord  Himself 
shall  descend  from  heaven  with  a  shout,  with  the 
voice  of  the  archangel,  .and  with  the  trump  of 
God  :  and  the  dead  in  Christ  shall  rise  first :  then 
we  which  are  alive  and  remain  shall  be  caught  up 
together  with  them  in  the  clouds,  to  meet  the 
Lord  in  the  air :  and  so  shall  we  ever  be  with  the 
Lord.  Wherefore  comfort  one  another  with  these 
words."     (iv.  13-18.) 

How  solemnly,  from  such  considerations,  must 
St.  Paul  have  felt  now,  as  he  endeavoured  to  open 
up  this  culminating  theme  of  his  prayers  and 
joys! — that  "glorious  appearing"  which  would 
free  him  from  all  the  manifold  toils — heroically 
endured,  of  his  apostolic  earthly  calling,  and  restore 
him  to  many  in  the  true  *  Elysium '  who  regarded 
him  as  their  spiritual  father !  Above  all,  the  bliss  of 
seeing  Him  who  had  as  yet  only  appeared  to  him 

N 


194  ST.  PAUL  IN  ATHENS. 

in  vision,  but  who  was  so  soon  to  be  revealed  in 
full,  glorious,  everlasting  fruition.  With  this 
"  blessed  hope  "  thus  dominating  every  other, — we 
can  understand  with  what  sublime  indifference  he 
would  regard  *  temples  made  with  hands,'  with 
their  impending  doom  of  destruction : — that  he 
w^ould  have  the  one  overmastering  reflection  as 
given  in  the  words  of  his  brother  St.  Peter — 
*'  Seeing  then  that  all  these  things  shall  be  dis- 
solved, what  manner  of  persons  ought  ye  to  be  in 
all  holy  conversation  and  godliness,  looking  for 
and  hasting  unto  the  coming  of  the  day  of  God, 
wherein  the  heavens  being  on  fire  shall  be  dis- 
solved, and  the  elements  shall  melt  with  fervent 
heat  ?  Nevertheless  we,  according  to  His  promise, 
look  for  new  heavens  and  a  new  earth,  wherein 
dwelleth  righteousness."     (2  Pet.  iii.  11-13.) 

August  and  elevating  prospect!  the  final  ^'Parou- 
sia,''  whether  near  or  distant !  The  "  Parousia ;  " 
— not  the  Pantheistic  idea  of  '  absorption  in  the 
soul  of  the  world  ; ' — not  the  Bema  of  one  city  or 
nation,  but  of  every  tribe  and  tongue  and  people 
of  mankind,  occupied  by  a  divine  Personality^ — 
an  adored  and  glorified  Brother-man.'  We  can, 
once  more,  revert  to  the  Great  ^^  Epinihion'' — 
the  accepted  Hymn   of  Triumph  of  all  hymnals 


THE  GOD  OF  JUDGMENT.  195 

and  all  churches, — the  grandest  uninspired  strain 
that  ever  rose  from  earth  to  heaven :  whose 
majestic  cadences  will  only  cease  when  blended 
with  the  Halleluia- chorus  of  eternity  : — 

"Thou  sittest  at  the  right  hand  of  God 
In  the  glory  of  the  Father. 

We  believe  that  Thou  shalt  come  to  be  our  Judge. 

We  therefore  pray  Thee  help  Thy  servants 

Whom  Thou  hast  redeemed  with  Thy  precious  blood  : 

Make  them  to  be  numbered  with  Thy  saints 

In  Glory  Everlasting." 


part   15 1, 

EPILOGUE. 


lEpilOQue* 


"  Nowhere  did  Paul  teach  with  less  fruit  resulting  than  at  Athens  :  nor  is 
it  strange,  seeiug  that  there  were  in  that  city  a  kind  of  din  and  covert  of 
Philosophers,  who  always  stood  forth  a  most  immediate  and  deadly  bane  to 
true  piety." — Bullinger. 

"  Throughout  the  Eastern  Church,  the  Nicene  Creed  is  still  the  one  bond 
of  Faith.  It  is  still  recited  in  its  original  tongue  by  the  peasants  of  Greece. 
.  .  .  It  is  her  privilege  to  claim  a  direct  continuity  of  speech  with  the 
earliest  times  ;  to  boast  of  reading  the  whole  code  of  Scripture,  Old  as  well  as 
New,  in  the  language  in  which  it  was  read  and  spoken  by  the  Apostles.  The 
humblest  peasant  who  reads  his  Septuagint  or  Greek  Testament  in  his  own 
mother  tongue  on  the  hills  of  Boeotia"  (or  it  might  be  added  on  Hymettus 
or  Parnes)  ' '  may  proudly  feel  that  he  has  an  access  to  the  original  Oracles 
of  divine  truth  which  Pope  and  Cardinal  reach  by  a  barbarous  and  imperfect 
translation ;  that  he  has  a  key  of  knowledge  which  in  the  West  is  only  to 
be  found  in  the  hands  of  the  learned  classes." — Dean  Stanley^s  Eastern 
Church,  pp.  17,  68. 

"We  read  in  the  ruin  of  these  Temples  of  Athens  and  in  the  total  ex- 
tinction of  the  Religion  to  which  they  were  dedicated,  an  Apology  in  behalf 
of  Christianity  and  a  refutation  of  Paganism,  more  forcible  and  eloquent 
than  any  of  those  which  were  composed  and  presented  to  the  Roman  Emperor 
by  Aristides  and  Quadratus."— TTorc^sworf/i's  Greece,  p.  187. 


(     199     ) 


EPILOGUE. 

Having,  in  the  foregoing  portion  of  this  Volume, 
described  in  detail  the  Discourse  of  St.  Paul 
spoken  in  the  fairest  of  old  world  cities,  it  will  be 
desirable  for  the  completion  of  our  subject,  to 
note,  first  of  all,  the  result  of  his  appeals  at  the 
time  :  then  to  trace  any  after  consequences  of  his 
visit  to  the  Athenian  capital,  with  a  few  references 
to  the  subsequent  history  of  the  church  he  there 
founded,  down  to  the  present  era. 

We  have  noted  in  its  place,  the  instantaneous 
arrest  put  on  the  Apostle's  speech,  so  soon  as  he 
ventured  to  make  allusion  to  the  uncongenial  and 
distasteful  subject  of  the  Resurrection  of  the  Body: 
that  the  Epicureans,  to  whom  such  a  dogma  was 
peculiarly  repellent,  broke  into  open  jeers  and 
mocking  as  the  Jews  had  done  at  Pentecost :  while 
the  Stoics,  without  altogether  expressing  final  and 
defiant  rejection,  intimated  their  desire  to  have  the 
discussion  postponedfor  some  future  occasion.  That 
deferred  occasion,  however,  never  came.     Paul,  as 


200  ST.  PAUL  IN  ATHENS.     ' 

also  previously  remarked,  from  other  incidents  in 
his  apostolic  career,  was  not  easily  daunted.  If  he 
had  any  good  ground  for  being  sanguine  as  to  future 
success,  it  may  be  averred  with  certainty  he  would 
have  been  the  last  to  sound  a  retreat.  But  soon 
became  apparent  the  hopelessness  of  the  present 
struggle.  The  foolishness  of  the  Greek  polytheism 
was  too  strong  for  the  simplicity  of  the  faith  of  Jesus. 
It  was  his  first  and  last  encounter  with  his  volatile 
hearers  on  Mars'  Hill : — ''So  Paul  departed  from 
among  them  "  (ver.  33).  It  indicates  an  insuper- 
able antagonism  on  the  part  of  his  opponents. 
Corinth,  the  city  to  which  he  now  bent  his  steps 
was,  in  point  of  morality,  far  beneath  Athens.  It 
was  one  of  those  commercial  marts  where  vice  and 
wealth  together  w^ere  confederate  on  the  side  of 
evil.  Yet  thither,  we  know,  he  subsequently  re- 
turned. He  planted  there  a  flourishing  church: 
he  wrote  two  long  letters — containing,  amid  matter 
for  his  grave  reprehension,  some  of  the  purest 
and  loftiest  and  most  precious  of  his  teaching. 
There  was  no  such  epistle  written  to  the  Athenians. 
We  have  already  observed  in  the  former  chapter, 
that  the  Apostle  wrote  his  first  letter  to  the 
Thessalonians  either,  in  accordance  with  the  words 
added  by  our  old  translators,  at  Athens :  or,  far 
more    probably,    immediately    after    he    reached 


EPILOGUE.  201 

Corinth.  That  Epistle,  the  first  of  all  his  thirteen, 
is  full  of  generous  congratulation — almost  lauda- 
tion— to  his  beloved  converts  in  the  northern  city 
— *'  the  unceasing  remembrance  of  their  work  of 
faith  and  labour  of  love,  and  patience  of  hope  in 
our  Lord  Jesus  Christ "  (i.  3).  Can  we  for  a 
moment  suppose  that  if  his  heart  had  been  in  any 
degree  cheered  with  his  work  in  the  capital,  he 
would  have  failed  to  embody  a  distinct  reference 
to  it  in  this  communication  to  another  city  of 
Greece  1  On  the  contrary,  would  it  not  have  been 
the  most  natural  outcome  of  a  soul  like  his,  to  tell 
of  his  moral  and  spiritual  victories  in  the  great 
intellectual  and  philosophic  stronghold : — ^planting 
the  banner  of  his  dear  Lord  on  the  heights  of 
Areopagus  and  Acropolis — and  inviting  the  earnest 
prayers  of  the  Thessalonian  Church  in  behalf  of 
the  converts  ?  There  is  not  so  much  as  a  word  of 
allusion.  The  Athenian  visit  is  conspicuous  and 
notable  only  by  his  silence  regarding  it.  Perhaps  it 
was  the  mournful  and  discouraging  contrast  which 
dictated  the  opening  words  in  the  second  chapter 
— "For  yourselves,  brethren,  know  our  entrance  in 
unto  you^  that  it  was  not  in  vain  "  (ii.  1).  Eead 
that  letter.  It  looks  as  if  its  writer  had  come 
from  the  blustering  storms  and  cold  icebergs  of  a 
northern  sea,  and  found  himself,  once  morcj  in 


202  ST.  PAUL  IN  ATHENS. 

genial  climes  and  amid  summer  gales.  The  same 
observation  may  be  made  regarding  his  priceless 
letter  to  the  Eomans,  written  also  and  sent  from 
the  city  of  the  Greek  Isthmus.  Many  of  its 
sublime  comments  and  teachings  may  have  been 
dictated  and  inspired  by  the  memories  of  this  very 
day  on  Mars'  Hill,  when,  even  to  the  keen-eyed 
Apostle,  a  new  revelation  was  made  of  "the 
hardened  and  impenitent  heart "  (Rom.  ii.  5). 

The  same  occasion  may  have  given  birth  to 
another  kindred  reflection — "  But  the  natural  man 
receiveth  not  the  things  of  the  Spirit  of  God :  for 
they  are  foolishness  unto  him :  neither  can  he 
know  them,  because  they  are  spiritually  dis- 
cerned" (1  Cor.  ii.  14). 

Yet  his  work  was  not  altogether  barren 
and  fruitless.  If  he  could  produce  no  such 
muster-roll  as  in  other,  even  unpromising  scenes 
and  spheres  of  his  ministry ;  two  names,  at 
all  events,  are  recorded  to  evidence  that  his 
apostolic  ministry,  here  as  elsewhere,  would  not 
be  in  vain, — the  "  germ  "  of  a  possible  future 
reaping,  by  other  sickles.  One  of  the  members 
of  the  venerable  court  was  unable  *  to  resist  the 
wisdom  with  which  he  spake.*  It  would  doubt- 
less expose  the  illustrious  Proselyte  to  the  cynical 
observations   and    condemnation   of    his   brother 


EPILOGUE.  203 

Judges.  But  *'  Dionysius  the  Areopagite,"  un- 
deteiTed  by  the  certain  forfeiture  of  power  and 
position,  fearlessly  espouses  the  cause  of  the  fol- 
lowers and  votaries  of  a  crucified  Eedeemer.  A 
female,  probably  of  distinction,  since  her  name  is 
given  (Damaris),  was  the  sole  representative  of 
the  other  sex  converted  to  the  faith  of  Christ.  If 
we  adopt  the  surmise  of  Stier,  from  her  breaking 
through  the  seclusion  of  Grecian  women  and  join- 
ing the  public  crowd,— she  may  have  been  another 
Magdalene, — who  in  penitence  and  tears  cast  her- 
self at  the  foot  of  the  cross.  Much  less  probable 
is  the  suggestion  of  Chrysostom— that  she  was  the 
wife  of  Dionysius  :  for  which  there  is  no  ground 
whatever,  save  that  their  names  are  associated  in 
the  narrative.  "  And  others  with  them  :  "  pro- 
bably some  of  smaller  note  ;  but  doubtless  not 
less  ardent  and  sincere  in  their  adhesion  to  the 
truth  as  it  is  in  Jesus.  The  idea  which  Eaphael 
has  embodied  in  his  dignified  and  impressive 
rendering  of  ''  St.  Paul  preaching  at  Athens,"  was, 
we  may  well  believe,  no  exaggeration.  Eather,  it 
was  a  conception  as  true,  as  it  was  altogether 
unique  and  worthy  of  his  genius.  He  brings  be- 
fore us  a  circle  of  philosophic  and  other  hearers, 
gathered  around  the  Jewish  Teacher.  The  figures 
on  the  extreme  left  of  the  cartoon  are  the  repre- 


204  ST.  PAUL  IN  ATHENS. 

sentatives  of  defiant  scepticism.  They  frown  with 
undisguised  indignation  at  the  bold  and  innovating 
utterances.  As  we  progress  to  the  right — there  is 
manifested  a  willingness  to  listen.  The  next  in 
the  group  are  arrested  :— the  next  convinced  :  and 
the  semicircle  terminates  with  the  stretched- out 
hand  of  perfect  faith  and  joy  in  believing.^  We 
dare  not  set  limits  to  the  energising  power  of  that 
*  Word '  which  has  ever  proved  mighty  in  *'  the 
casting  down  imaginations  and  every  high  thing 
that  exalteth  itself  against  the  knowledge  of  God, 
and  bringing  into  captivity  every  thought  to 
the  obedience  of  Christ."  "Who,  indeed,  can 
tell  what  precious  seed  may  have  then  been  sown 
among  those  who  hung  on  the  lips  of  the 
Serv^ant  of  Jesus  ?  Who  can  tell  what  thoughts 
they  may  have  carried  away  with  them  to  their 
homes,  as  they  remembered  the  closing  sentences 
of  the  solemn  appeal,  that  *  God  had  appointed  a 
day  in  which  He  would  judge  the  world  in  right- 
eousness, by  that  Man  whom  He  had  ordained '  ? 
The  expression  used  regarding  PauFs  few  Athenian 
converts  is  worthy  of  note — *  Howbeit  certain  men 
clave  unto  him.'  It  must  have  cost  them  a  strong 
effort  to  be  wrenched  away  from  an  idolatry  to 

1  An  aged  friend,  many  years  ago,  directed  the  writer's  attention  to  this 
treatment  in  the  famous  picture. 


EPILOGUE.  205 

which  they  were  so  attached ;  but  having  made 
the  bold  resolution  to  forsake  all  and  follow  Jesus, 
their  faith  was  strong,  and  they  were  enabled  '  to 
cleave  to  the  Lord  with  full  purpose  of  heart.'  "  ^ 

To  recur  for  a  moment  to  the  principal  convert, 
who  manifested  his  willingness  to  surrender  the 
pride  and  prestige  of  an  Areopagite.  It  implied 
far  more  than  the  forfeiture  of  Hindoo  caste,  to  say, 
with  the  heroic  resolution  of  his  future  Master — 
"  Yea  doubtless,  and  I  count  all  things  but  loss  for 
the  excellency  of  the  knowledge  of  Christ  Jesus 
my  Lord  "  (Phil.  iii.  8).  There  might  be  much, 
and  doubtless  there  was  much,  in  these  '  Temples 
made  with  hands,'  on  all  sides,  that  would  make 
him  sever  with  reluctance  from  his  ancestral  faith : 
but  a  better  and  more  glorious  promise  was  his  in 
reversion  : — ''  Him  that  overcometh  will  I  make  a 
Pillar  in  the  Temple  of  My  God :  and  He  shall 
go  no  more  out :  and  I  will  write  upon  him  the 
name  of  my  God,  and  the  name  of  the  city  of  my 
God  "  (Eev.  iii.  12).  Nothing  farther  is  known 
of  Dionysius,  save  what  may  be  gleaned  from  the 
uncertainties  of  tradition.  Is  is  recorded  by  Euse- 
bius,  on  the  authority  of  the  Bishop  of  Corinth, 
that  he  was  ordained  subsequently  by  the  hands 
of  Paul  as  Bishop  of  Athens  (Euseb.,  Hist.  iii.  4). 

1  My  '  Footsteps  of  St.  Paul,'  p.  225. 


2o6  ST.  PAUL  IN  ATHENS. 

And  according  to  a  later  tradition  given  by  Aris- 
tides  the  Apologist,  himself  a  convert — he  is  farther 
said,  like  many  other  of  these  early  adherents  of  the 
faith,  to  have  crowned  his  labours  with  an  heroic 
martyrdom ;  being  burnt  alive  in  the  same  city,  in 
the  year  93.  During  the  subsequent  centuries,  his 
name  acquired  a  fictitious  celebrity  as  an  author. 
A  lengthy  mystical  Dissertation  on  'the  Hierarchy 
of  Heaven  '  attributed  to  him  is  still  extant ;  but 
which  was  undoubtedly  the  forgery  of  a  later  date. 
Even  up  to  the  era  of  the  Eeformation  these  writ- 
ings were  accepted  as  genuine,  and  possessed  a 
great  influence  in  the  Middle  Ages.  The  time  and 
labour  of  such  men  as  Dean  Colet  were  needlessly 
expended  on  the  frauds  of  some  Neo-Platonists  of 
the  sixth  century.  "  Now  " — to  use  the  words  of 
another — "  we  see  him  only  in  his  little  niche  like 
some  statue  of  a  forgotten  saint."  ^ 

If  we  can  glean  from  some  uncertain  historic  refer- 
ences, the  Church  at  Athens  seems  to  have  dwindled 
almost  to  extinction  during  the  second  century; 
but  to  have  rallied  about  a.d.  165.     Its  members 


1  See  Smith's  Die.  of  Bible,  Art.  'Dionysius.' 

His  name  is  supposed  by  some  to  have  been  transformed  into  the  St.  Denys 
of  France.  There  is  a  R.  C.  church,  St.  Denis,  in  the  Rue  de  1' University 
in  Paris.  It  may  be  farther  added,  that  a  church,  though  not  pointed  out  to 
the  present  writer,  is  said  to  be  dedicated  to  him  on  the  modern  Athenian 
Areopagus,  commemorating  his  conversion. — JS'ew  Test,  for  E.  Readers.  Also 
Dr.  Porter. 


EPILOGUE.  207 

were  "  distinguislied  for  their  peaceable  demeanour, 
and  contrasted  favourably  with  the  turbulence  of 
the  pagan  population"  (Leake).  At  the  great 
Council  of  Nice,  it  had  its  representative  Bishop. 
Gregory  of  Nazianzen  and  St.  Basil  owed  their 
learning  to  the  religious  Teachers  in  its  schools.^ 
It  was  not  probably  till  the  middle  of  the  sixth  cen- 
tury that  the  heathen  temples  were  converted  into 
Christian  sanctuaries.  The  long  famous  schools 
were,  shortly  after,  closed  by  an  edict  of  Justinian. 
The  Parthenon — the  House  of  the  Virgin  Athene 
— came  to  be  dedicated  as  a  church  to  St.  Mary, 
the  Virgin,  honoured  and  reverenced  by  Christen- 
dom. In  this,  the  central  jewel  of  the  ancient 
capital — what  was  figuratively  called  '*  the  boss 
of  its  golden  shield  " — homage,  through  her,  was 
done  to  the  Son  of  God  and  Saviour  of  the  world.^ 
It  may  be  of  interest  farther  to  record,  that 
"  a   Florentine,    named   Nerio    Acciajuoli,    seized 

1  Constantine  the  Great  gloried  in  the  title  which  had  been  conferred 
upon  him  of  "General  of  Athens."  He  seems  to  have  been  gratified  still 
more  by  a  statue  decreed  and  erected  to  him  there  by  the  people.  He 
testified  his  pleasure  by  sending  a  yearly  gratuity  of  grain. — Encyclop.  Br., 
Art.  '■Athens.^ 

2  "The  Parthenon  then  became  a  church  consecrated  to  the  same  ^A'yla 
i:,o(pla,  or  divine  Intelligence,  of  which  the  Virgin  Goddess  had  been  a  per- 
sonification :  while  Theseus  was  exchanged  for  the  Christian  hero  George  of 
Cappadocia."  The  same  writer  mentions  that  "when  afterwards  the  Par- 
thenon was  converted  in  1456  from  a  church  into  a  mosque  it  appears  to 
have  been  dedicated  to  the  ^' Panaffhla." — Colonel  Leake's  Topography  of 
Athens,  Introduc,  pp.  61,  62.      Doubtless  the  cause  of  the  symmetrical 


2o8  ST.  PAUL  IN  ATHENS. 

the  capital  of  Greece  in  the  fourteenth  century. 
Ladislas,  King  of  Naples,  granted  him,  by  patent, 
the  title  of  Duke  of  Athens.  But,  about  the  same 
time,  the  luckless  ruler  was  seized  by  a  band  of 
Navarrese  troops,  who  only  granted  their  captive 
his  liberty  on  paying  a  heavy  ransom.  Part  of 
this  he  obtained  by  rifling  the  churches,  and  even 
selling  the  silver  plates  off  the  doors  of  St.  Mary's 
(the  Parthenon).  Soon  after,  he  died,  and  in 
the  most  remarkable  part  of  his  will,  he  be- 
queathed the  city  of  Athens  to  the  Temple  of  the 
Virgin  Mother  of  Jesus."  ^ 

A  few  words  might  here  be  interposed  or  added, 
as  to  the  relations  of  Athens  and  her  Church 
to  the  wider  and  more  conspicuous  "  Eastern : " 
their  agreement  and  differences,  in  doctrine  and 
jurisdiction.  The  Eastern  Church  proper,  (at 
present  disregarding  the  future  tripartite  division) 
had  assumed  to  itself,  so  early  as  the  fourth  cen- 
tury, the  somewhat  pretentious  title  of  *'The  Holy 
Orthodox,  Catholic  and  Apostolic."  While  re- 
jecting the  Papal  supremacy  of  Pome  it  recognised 

Temple  of  Theseus  still  surviving,  in  an  almost  perfect  state,  while  so  many 
of  its  compeers  have  been  destroyed,  is  because  of  its  having  thus  been 
utilised  as  a  Christian  church  ;  and,  as  such,  sacredly  preserved  in  mediaeval 
times.  The  same  reason  may  have  shielded  it  from  the  still  more  ruthless 
assaults  of  later  ages,  which  have  succeeded  in  demolishing  so  many  Athenian 
monuments. 
1  Sir  G.  T.  Bowen's  Handbook  to  Greece. 


EPILOGUE.  209 

and  recognises  the  validity  of  the  first  seven 
General  Councils.  The  Greek  Church,  including 
that  of  ancient  Hellas,  the  adjacent  countries  and 
islands,  and  therefore  also  the  hereditary  church 
of  our  Apostle,  came  to  be  separated  from  the 
parent  stem,  in  consequence  of  its  rejection  of 
the  Patriarchate  claimed  by  Constantinople. 
When  the  ancient  Byzantium  became,  under 
Constantino,  not  only  the  new  capital  of  the 
Eoman  empire,  but  the  chief  seat  of  Christianity, 
it  was  hardly  to  be  wondered  at,  that  her  bishops 
and  clergy  should  arrogate  ecclesiastical  prece- 
dence and  pre-eminence.  Before  the  close  of  the 
fourth  century,  a  canon  was  promulgated  assert- 
ing the  dominant  claims  of  '  new  Rome.'  This 
assumption  was  resented  by  the  Western  Greek 
churches  :  and  ere  the  century  ended,  a  disrup- 
tion of  jurisdiction  took  place,  confirmed  and 
strengthened  at  the  Council  of  Chalcedon  (a.d. 
451);  and  rendered  more  pronounced  and  per- 
manent by  the  infi.uence  and  authority  of  the 
distinguished  Chrysostom.  The  schism  with 
Eome,  it  need  hardly  be  said,  was  more  confirmed 
and  inveterate  still, — mutual  anathema  and  ex- 
communication followed  between  the  two  great 
rivals,  though  there  ensued  occasional  and  inter- 
mittent negotiations  for  union  and  reconciliation 


2IO  ST.  PAUL  IN  ATHENS. 

which    do    not    concern   us   here.       The    twofold 
procession   of  the  Holy   Ghost :    the   addition  of 
'  filioque '  to  the  creed ;    the   use    of   unleavened 
bread  in  the  Eucharist,  the  administration  of  the 
communion   in   one    or   both   kinds,  formed   the 
'  burning    questions '    of    subsequent    times,    ex- 
tending far  down  the  centuries,  intensifying  the 
antagonism  and  deepening  the  estrangement.    One 
future  cause  of  separation  from  Eome,  shared  by 
the  Hellenic  churches,  is  of  interest  to  us  in  this 
Volume.       Athens  —  the    old    lover    of    images 
(KareL^coXop  TroXt?)  became,  in  the  eighth  century, 
in  common  with  the    affiliated    churches    of  the 
East,  a  violent  "Iconoclast ; "   the  uncompromising 
opponent,  at  least,  to  one  form  of  art  which  had 
conferred  on  her,  in  her  historic  past,  no   small 
share  of  prestige  and  renown.     The  churches  of 
Rome  and  the  West   came  to  be  crowded  with 
sculptured  forms  of  Prophets  and  Apostles,  Saints 
and  Angels.     The  old  land  and  home  of  Phidias 
and  Praxiteles,  Polycletus  and  Polignotus,  forbade, 
with  the  single  exception  of  the  cross,  the  use  of 
chisel   in   the    decoration   of    their   ecclesiastical 
buildings.     By  a  strange  caprice — *'the  irony  of 
fate  " — pictures  and  paintings,  often  too  enshrined 
in  costly  gems,  or  replendent  in  gold  and  silver 
caskets,  were  allowed,  and  are  still  allowed,  with- 


EPILOGUE,  211 

out  let  or  hindrance,  to  adorn  the  church  walls  : 
but  graven  images  were  and  are  conspicuous  by 
their  absence.  This  startling  omission  to  those 
enamoured  of  such  accessories,  it  must  be  owned 
is  amply  compensated,  in  addition  to  the  pictures 
just  referred  to,  by  the  gorgeousness  of  hierarchal 
robe  and  priestly  adornment :  ^  also  in  their  larger 
and  wealthier  churches,  the  perfection  of  vocal 
music.  We  have  spoken  of  the  severance  of  the 
Western  Greek  Church  from  Constantinople. 
This  perhaps,  however,  may  be  affirmed  with  a 
qualification :  as  the  former  retained  a  certain 
dependence  on  the  Eastern  Patriarchate  till  the 
earlier  part  of  the  present  century.  But  her 
separation  and  separate  jurisdiction  was  secured 
at  the  memorable  revolution  of  1822.  She  then 
became  the  church  of  the  revived  nationality. 
Her  virtual  independence  of  Eastern  control  was 
settled  ten  years  after, — while  the  last  relic  of 
that  control — in  the  consecration  of  the  clerical 
dignitaries,  was  cancelled  in  1868.  She  now 
disowns  the  authority  and  surveillance  alike  of 
Pontifi"  and  Patriarch,  her  final  and  authoritative 


1  **  Often  the  altars  may  blaze  with  gold  ; — the  dresses  of  the  priests  stiffen 
■with  the  richest  silks  of  Broussa,  yet  the  contrast  remains.  Art,  .as  such, 
has  no  place  in  the  worship  or  in  the  edifice.  .  .  .  There  is  no  beauty  of 
form  or  colour  beyond  what  is  produced  by  the  mere  display  of  gorgeous 
and  barbaric  \)01x\Y}"—  Eastei'ii  Church,  p.  38. 


212  ST.  PAUL  IN  ATHENS. 

court  being  ''  the  Holy  Synod :  "  which,  thongh 
limited  in  number,  is  composed  of  varied  orders 
of  clergy  from  the  metropolitan  Archbishop  down- 
wards/ 

It  may  only  farther  be  necessary  to  say,  that 
not  a  few  abortive  attempts,  both  before  and 
since  the  Reformation,  have  been  made  to  unite 
the  two  great  rival  churches  of  East  and  West, 
inclusive,  of  course,  of  the  churches  of  Greece. 
Even  Anglican  ecclesiastics  have  not  deemed  it 
inconsistent  with  their  Protestant  principles  and 
historic  character,  to  attempt,  if  not  fusion — at  all 
events  communion,  with  a  church  alike  defective 
in  doctrine  and  lax  in  discipline  and  practice. 
These  negotiations,  however,  have  as  yet  failed. 
The  following  code,  held  by  the  Eastern  Churches, 
can  surely  scarcely  be  deemed  in  harmony  with 
what  the  fathers  and  martyrs  of  our  English 
Reformation  have  bequeathed  in  sacred  trust. 
While  accepting  the  Bible  as  the  rule  of  faith, — 
they  recognise  the  authority  of  unwritten  tradition. 
They  admit  the  Seven  Sacraments  as  received  by 
the  Church  of  Rome  :  the  doctrine  of  transub- 
stantiation  and  adoration  of  the  host, — auricular 
confession,   priestly   absolution,   Mariolatry  —  the 

1  I  am  indebted  for  much  of  the  information  in  this  brief  statement,  to  a 
concise  yet  comprehensive  article  in  Chambers's  Encyclojisedia,  "  Greece." 


EPILOGUE.  213 

intercession  of  the  saints  —  a  bigoted  credence 
in  the  supposed  charm  of  Apostolic  succession, 
celibacy  of  bishops,  prayers  for  the  dead,  and  the 
monastic  and  conventual  system  far  in  excess  of 
the  kindred  Institutions  in  the  West. 

*'  Such,"  says  the  late  Lord  Carnarvon — though 
his  verdict  may  admit  of  modification  owing  to 
the  time  which  has  elapsed  since  he  wrote, — 
"  such  as  the  Greek  Church  became  on  the  ex- 
tinction of  Paganism,  such,  or  nearly  such,  she 
seems  to  be  now.  Her  missionary  work  has  been 
narrow,  her  moral  influence  and  control  at  home 
small ;  and  though  she  has  preserved  a  rigid  con- 
tinuity of  doctrinal  form,  the  principle  of  an  ever- 
expanding  and  all-absorbing  vitality  has  been 
wanting.  In  great  cities  her  prelates  have  too 
frequently  been  the  slaves  of  wealth  and  power, 
of  courtly  intrigue  and  political  faction ;  in  the 
desert  her  monks  have  become  dreamy  and  un- 
practical anchorites.  No  lands  reclaimed,  no 
centres  of  agriculture  and  civilisation  created, 
no  literature  preserved,  no  schools  founded,  no 
human  beings  raised  to  a  higher  sphere  of  social 
action  and  duty — are  to  be  set  down  to  the 
account  of  the  Greek  Church.^      She  is  a  frag- 

1  **  As  a  general  rule,"  says  Dean  Stanley,  in  accord  with  the  impressions 
of  the  earlier  traveller  as  to  the  preponderance  of  the  contemplative  over 


214  ST,  PAUL  IN  ATHENS. 

ment  of  old  Byzantine  civilisation,  as  rigid  and 
angular  as  the  mosaics  that  still  adorn  and  seem 
to  frown  down  from  the  walls  of  her  churches. 
.  .  .  There  is  little  reason  for  wonder  that,  being 
such,  she  should  have  exercised  only  a  doubtful 
influence  over  the  passions  and  feuds  of  a  restless 
and  half-civilised  race,  and  that  she  should  in  her 
temporalities  have  undergone  the  final  fate  of  so 
many  other  European  churches  that  have  been 
unequal  to  their  duties.  Her  bishoprics  have 
been  reduced,  her  property  largely  confiscated, 
many  of  her  monasteries  suppressed ;  and  if  the 
ruin  was  not  more  complete,  it  was  probably  owing 
to  the  strongly  national  character  with  which  she 
was  impressed,  and  which,  through  all  her  many 
changes  of  fortune,  she  never  lost.  But  though  the 
clergy  are  poor  and  unlettered  men,  even  in  some 
cases  it  is  said  to  the  extent  of  being  unable  to 
read,  and  incapable  of  impressing  the  higher  truths 
of  spiritual  teaching  on  their  flocks,  the  forms  and 
scruples  of  religion  are  strong  in  the  minds  of 
the  people.  Lights  are  kept  burning  in  deserted 
chapels,    no   peasant    but   crosses   himself  when 


the  active  life — "  there  has  arisen  in  the  East  no  society  like  the  Benedic- 
tines, held  in  honour  wherever  literature  or  civilisation  has  spread  :  no 
charitable  orders  like  the  Sisters  of  Mercy,  which  carry  light  and  peace  into 
the  darkest  haunts  of  suffering  humanity.  Active  life  is,  on  the  strict  Eastern 
theory,  an  abuse  of  the  system." — Eastern  Church,  p.  30. 


EPILOGUE.  215 

passing  a  church,  and  most  Greeks  observe  the 
stated  fasts  with  a  severity  unknown  to  the  mem- 
bers of  the  Latin  communion."  ^ 

The  following  description,  also  by  Lord  Car- 
narvon, of  Easter  Eve  in  the  Cathedral  at 
Athens,  recalls  vividly  to  the  present  writer  a 
spectacle  there  witnessed  on  the  occasion  of  the 
funeral  of  one  of  the  oldest  and  most  distinguished 
officers  of  the  Greek  army.  '*  The  dress  worn  by 
the  common  priests  was  dark  and  simple.  Their 
long  black  beards,  aquiline  features,  and  severe 
cast  of  countenance,  accorded  well  with  their 
sombre  habiliments,  and  set  forth  the  gorgeous 
attire  in  which  the  higher  dignitaries  were  arrayed. 
The  officiating  priest  was  remarkable  from  his  age, 
his  handsome  countenance,  and  his  magnificent 
grey  beard.  A  strange  and  not  unpleasing  effect 
was  produced  on  the  mind  by  the  blaze  of  the 
innumerable  lights,  each  person  holding  a  taper 

1  Athens  and  the  Morea,  pp.  153-155.  In  confirmation  of  the  aforesaid 
strictures,  I  give  here  the  recent  unprejudiced  testimony  of  a  member  of  the 
Roman  Catholic  Church, — one,  who  though  young  in  years,  was  a  singular 
example  of  all  that  was  rare  and  beautiful  in  character  alike  as  a  man  and  a 
Christian  soldier  : — "  How  Protestants  can  talk  of  union  with  the  Greeks  .  .  . 
I  cannot  tell.  And  the  more  so,  when  I  see  that  if  some  parts  of  Catholic 
Christendom  are  corrupt,  they,  in  spite  of  all  which  is  said  in  their  favour, 
are  infinitely  more  so  on  the  whole.  .  .  .  Their  religion  is  really  a  kind  of 
fetichism,  and  what  is  called  by  Protestacts  Mariolatry  in  our  church,  would 
have  to  be  called  Idolatry  pure  and  simiile  in  theirs.  As  far  as  I  can  make 
out,  it  seems  a  religion  of  the  dead."— ilfewoir  of  Lieutenant  De  Lisle^ 
R.N,,  1886. 


2 1 6  ST.  PAUL  IN  A THENS. 

in  his  hand  as  a  mark  of  his  adhesion  to  the 
faith;  by  the  variety  of  ecclesiastical  and  national 
costume  ;  and  by  the  wild  chant  which  rose  around 
us,  and  filled  the  air  with  its  peculiar  and  plain- 
tive sounds"  (pp.  31,  32).  On  the  specific  occa- 
sion to  which  as  a  personal  spectator  I  allude,  a 
brother  officer  of  the  deceased,  or,  it  may  be,  some 
other  high  official,  delivered  from  a  *bema'  an 
oration  in  modern  Greek  on  the  virtues  and  deeds 
of  the  departed,  confronting  a  sympathetic  crowd 
each  with  the  symbolic  lighted  candle.^ 

But  the  lighted  torch  or  candle  has  generally, 
in  all  lands  and  in  all  churches,  something  in  it 

1  The  use  of  these  candles  at  Greek  funerals,  which  to  us  who  were  strange 
to  the  custom  formed  the  most  singular  feature  in  the  ceremonial,  dates  from 
the  beginning  of  the  fourth  century.  Nothing  can  be  more  certain  than  that 
for  the  first  300  years  of  the  Christian  era,  lights  of  any  kind  were  strictly 
forbidden  in  any  part  of  the  ritual  of  the  Church— either  in  the  shape  of 
taper,  torch,  or  candle :  and  this  for  the  very  sufficient  reason,  that  Chris- 
tians would  thereby  be  conforming  to  the  usages  of  Pagans,  whose  practice  it 
was  to  employ  lights  in  their  processions  and  burn  them  before  the  altars  of 
their  gods.  They  are  condemned  and  ridiculed  by  Tertullian,  Lactantius, 
Gregory  Nazianzen,  and  others,  as  useless,  absurd,  and  impious.  {See  Art. 
^'Lic/hts,"  Smithes  Die.  of  Bib.  Antiquities.)  Among  other  innovations  in  the 
reign  of  Constantino,  the  use  of  lights  both  in  worship  and  at  funerals  was 
sanctioned  and  encouraged.  The  same  writer  just  quoted,  mentions  on  the 
authority  of  Eusebius,  that  "  when  the  body  of  Constantino  lay  in  state, 
they  lighted  candles  on  golden  stands  around  it,  and  affoi-ded  a  wonderful 
spectacle  to  the  beholders,  such  as  was  never  seen  on  the  earth  under  the 
sun  since  the  world  was  made"  {Vita  Constant,  iv.  G6).  Even  when  the 
remains  of  the  great  Chrysostom  himself  were  borne  from  where  he  died  to 
Constantinople,  "the  assemblage  of  the  faithful  covered  the  mouth  of  the 
Bosphorus  with  their  lamps  "  {Theodoret).  At  the  funeral  of  the  Emperor 
Justinian  "a  thousand  stands  of  gold  and  silver  with  candles  on  them, 
filled  the  halls. "  Other  examples  are  given  in  the  same  exhaustive  article, 
p.  996. 


EPILOGUE.  217 

higher  and  better  than  symbol.  Lux  lucet  in 
tenebris.  If  in  the  Church  proper  of  Greece, 
there  has  been  and  still  may  be,  deficiency  of  zeal, 
or  of  loyalty  to  sound  doctrine,  other  faithful  re- 
presentative Christian  teachers  have  done  what 
they  could,  and  with  success,  to  supply  what  was 
lacking.  The  City  with  which  in  these  pages  we 
are  concerned  has  not  been  suffered  to  remain 
beyond  the  pale  of  religious  influences.  The 
Great  Apostle  has  true  'Apostolic  successors,' 
though  it  may  be  subsidised,  still  at  work.  While 
we  gaze  on  that  starred  and  battered  Parthenon 
of  our  frontispiece,  and  mournfully  muse  with 
the  Poet  who  loved  so  well  the  country  of  which 
he  sang : — 

"  'Tis  Greece,  but  living  Greece  no  more  : 
So  coldly  sweet,  so  deadly  fair. 
We  start,  for  Soul  is  wanting  there. 

Clime  of  the  unforgotten  brave, 
Whose  land  from  shore  to  mountain  cave 
Was  Freedom's  home  or  Glory's  grave, 
Shrine  of  the  mighty,  can  it  be 
That  this  is  all  remains  of  thee  ? " 

*'  Yet " — in  language  we  abbreviate  of  an  eloquent 
witness,  *'  there  is  too  a  light  now  falling  softly 
upon  prostrate  Athens.  Under  the  shadow  of 
the  Acropolis,  missionaries  of  the  Cross  tell  the 


2i8  ST.  PAUL  IN  ATHENS. 

children  of  those  who  wandered  through  the 
groves  of  the  Academy,  or  lingered  around  the 
Teacher  of  the  Porch,  that  the  'Just  Man'  of 
Plato  hath  come  : — the  Master  whom  Socrates 
promised  to  the  young  Alcibiades,  as  the  guide 
in  the  path  of  prayer  which  leads  to  heaven.  .  .  . 
The  youthful  Athenians  recite  the  words  of  Jesus 
in  the  sonorous  accents  of  Demosthenes  and 
Lysias,  or  chant  their  Christian  hymns  in  the 
liquid  measures  of  Alcseus  and  Pindar."  ^  Nor  in 
the  more  ambiguous  and  qualified  verdict  of  the 
present,  must  we  forget  the  large  debt  of  the  past 
in  its  wider  signification. — "  The  learning  of  the 
Greek  Church,"  says  its  best  recent  historian, 
*'  which  even  down  to  the  eleventh  century  excelled 
that  of  the  Latin,  in  the  fifteenth  century  contri- 
buted more  than  any  single  cause  to  the  revival  of 
letters  and  the  German  Reformation.^ 

As  our  Volume  was  commenced  with  a  some- 
what extended  reference  to  Athens  in  her  proud 
historical  pre-eminence ;  so  may  this  Epilogue  be 
appropriately  concluded  by  reverting  to  what  we 
owe  her,  to  this  hour,  intellectually  and  aestheti- 
cally;— in  art  and  arms — poetry  and  eloquence. 

1  Dr.  Betliune's  Orations,  "Age  of  Pericles, "p.  122. 
2  Eastern  Church,  p.  18. 


EPILOGUE.  219 

What  has  been  said  of  Greece  by  Canon  Kingsley, 
may  specially  be  affirmed  of  her  famous  capital. 
Though  written  for  children  and  youth,  his  tribute 
of  acknowledgment  is  equally  adapted  for  older 
readers :  "  Strangely  have  these  old  Greeks  left 
their  mark  behind  them  upon  this  modern  world 
in  which  we  now  live.  .  .  .  We  owe  to  them  the 
beginnings  of  all  our  mathematics  and  geometry, 
.  .  .  the  science  and  knowledge  of  numbers,  and 
of  the  shapes  of  things,  and  of  the  forces  which 
make  things  move  and  stand  at  rest ;  and  the 
beginnings  of  our  geography  and  astronomy  ;  and 
of  our  laws,  and  freedom,  and  politics — the  science 
of  how  to  rule  a  country,  and  make  it  peaceful 
and  strong.  And  we  owe  them  too  the  beginnings 
of  our  logic — the  study  of  words  and  of  reasoning ; 
and  of  our  metaphysics — the  study  of  our  own 
thoughts  and  souls.  And  last  of  all,  they  made 
their  own  language  so  beautiful,  that  foreigners 
used  to  take  to  it  instead  of  their  own ;  and  at 
last  Greek  became  the  common  language  of 
educated  people  all  over  the  old  world,  from 
Persia  and  Egypt  even  to  Spain  and  Britain. 
And  therefore  it  was  that  the  New  Testament  was 
written  in  Greek  that  it  might  be  read  and  under- 
stood by  all  the  nations  of  the  Roman  Empire."  -^ 

1  The  Heroes,  pp.  8,  9. 


220  ST.  PAUL  IN  ATHENS. 

To  the  same  effect,  we  may  add  the  words  of  one, 
whose  refinement  and  scholarship,  as  the  preced- 
ing pages  are  sufficient  to  testify — have  thrown 
a  reflected  lustre  on  the  glories  of  the  city  of 
Pericles,  past  and  present : — "  Nor  at  Athens  alone 
are  we  to  look  for  Athens.  From  the  gates  of  its 
Acropolis,  as  from  a  mother  city,  issued  intel- 
lectual colonies  into  every  region  of  the  world. 
These  buildings,  ruined  as  they  are  at  present, 
have  served  for  two  thousand  years  as  models  for 
the  most  admired  fabrics  in  every  civilised  country 
of  the  world.  Having  perished  here,  they  survive 
there.  .  .  .  Thus  the  genius  which  conceived  and 
executed  these  noble  works  is  immortal  and  pro- 
lific, while  the  materials  on  which  it  laboured  are 
crumbling  to  decay."  ^ 

The  marked  influence  of  the  ancient  Art  of 
Athens  (just  spoken  of)  in  all  subsequent  ages, 
leads,  in  a  few  closing  references,  to  that  influence 
as  exerted  on  our  own  country  and  time,  and 
which  we  venture  to  hope,  even  from  Apostolic 
lips,  would  meet  with  indulgent  approval.  Let  us 
be  thankful  that,  amid  its  shortcomings  and  some- 
times debasements,  the  better  light  of  this  nine- 
teenth century  has,  at  least  in  the  hands  of  the 
noblest  and  safest  Interpreters  of  truth,  done  its 

1  Wordsworth's  Greece,  p.  188. 


EPILOGUE,  221 

best  to  rescue  art  from  its  perversions,  and  to 
assert  its  true  God-given  mission  as  the  hand- 
maid of  all  that  is  lofty  and  pure,  true  and  good. 
France  may  still  be  left  to  wallow  in  her  impuri- 
ties. Her  Salon  may  throw  open  its  gates  to 
unworthy  appeals  to  sensuousness,  and  much  from 
which  native  delicacy  as  well  as  Christian  taste 
and  refinement  recoils.  But  English  Art,  with  few 
exceptions,  has  raised  the  ethical  and  religious 
standard.  With  many  it  has  been  recognised  and 
reverenced  as  a  moral  and  spiritual  Teacher.  It 
has  revived  and  recalled  the  aspirations  of  the 
Painters  and  Sculptors  of  the  Middle  Ages  and 
the  Renaissance.  For  whatever  may  be  our  eccle- 
siastical schools  or  dogmas,  those  would  be  narrow- 
minded  indeed,  who  did  not  recognise  in  the  great 
artists  of  Florence  and  Bologna,  Padua,  Venice 
and  Kome  another  'Apostolic  Succession,' — men 
who,  with  lofty  aim  and  many  of  them  of  devout 
souls,  proclaimed  the  Gospel  alike  in  its  spiritual 
and  moral  aspects,  by  means  of  these  "  illuminated 
missals  " — to  the  multitudes,  alike  rich  and  poor. 
Not  the  world  only,  but  Christianity  would  have 
been  at  this  moment  far  poorer  but  for  the  names 
of  Titian  and  Tintoret,  Fra-Angelico  and  Perugino, 
Leonardo,  Andrea  del  Sarto,  Eaphael  and  Michael 
Angelo.      Greece  and  Athens  never  preached  to 


222  ST.  PAUL  IN  ATHENS. 

Pagan  devotees  as  did  these  Masters  of  their  holy 
craft.  The  Greek  in  his  essentially  Pagan  ideals 
— his  anthropomorphism,  had  limited  conceptions 
of  the  divine,  compared  to  men  imbued  in  their 
inmost  hearts  with  the  supernatural.  Hear  the 
author  of  ''Modern  Painters  "  in  one  of  his  most 
eloquent  passages,  dilating  on  this  necessary  short- 
coming and  inferiority  of  Hellenic,  as  compared 
with  Christian  art.  His  views,  if  we  remember 
right,  are  somewhat  qualified  in  subsequent  writ- 
ings ;  but  as  regards  the  advantages  which  the 
Christian  artist  enjoyed  over  the  Grecian  in  the 
loftier  models  of  a  purer  and  diviner  faith,  his 
earlier  verdict  and  impressions  remain.  He  takes 
one  of  those  Painters  just  named — Perugino — and 
thus  speaks  of  his  power  of  rendering,  compared 
with  those  destitute  of  religious  faith  and  senti- 
ment : — "  The  Greek  could  not  conceive  a  spirit ; 
he  could  do  nothing  without  limbs ;  his  god  is  a 
finite  god,  talking,  pursuing,  and  going  journeys  ; 
if  at  any  time  he  was  touched  with  a  true  feeling 
of  the  unseen  powers  around  him,  it  was  in  the 
field  of  poised  battle  ;  for  there  is  something  in 
the  near  coming  of  the  shadow  of  death,  some- 
thing in  the  devoted  fulfilment  of  mortal  duty, 
that  reveals  the  real  god,  though  darkly.  .  .  . 
Yet  what  were  the  Greek's  thoughts  of  his  God 


EPILOGUE.  223 

of  Battle  ?  No  spirit-power  was  in  the  vision  ;  it 
was  a  being  of  clay  strength  and  human  passion, 
foul,  fierce,  and  changeful ;  of  penetrable  arms 
and  vulnerable  flesh.  Gather  what  we  may  of 
great,  from  Pagan  chisel  or  Pagan  dream,  and  set 
it  beside  the  orderer  of  Christian  warfare,  Michael 
the  Archangel,  Perugino's.  God  has  put  His 
power  upon  him.  Eesistless  radiance  is  on  his 
limbs ;  no  lines  are  there  of  earthly  strength ;  no 
trace  on  the  divine  features  of  earthly  anger ; 
trustful  and  thoughtful,  fearless  but  full  of  love, 
incapable  except  of  the  repose  of  eternal  conquest 
.  .  .  the  dust  of  principalities  and  powers  beneath 
his  feet,  the  murmur  of  hell  against  him  heard  by 
his  spiritual  ear,  like  the  winding  of  a  shell  on  the 
far  off  sea-shore."  ^ 

Such  is  the  mission  of  true  Christian  art — 
in  its  afiinity  with  divine  revelation  and  its 
heavenly  visions  ; — with  Christianity's  '  Sursum 
corda '  as  the  Painter's  motto  and  watchword ; — 
if,  with  reverence  we  may  use  the  words — *'  baptized 
with  the  Holy  Ghost  and  with  fire."  And  why 
should  we  scruple  to  use  the  sacred  text,  when  we 
can  travel  back  in  thought  (as  we  have  already 
had  occasion  to  note  in  the  first  Chapter  of  this 
Volume)  to  art's  earliest  consecration  in  the  Sinai 

1  Modern  Painters,  vol.  ii.  pp.  213,  214. 


224  '     ST.  PAUL  IN  ATHENS. 

wilderness  ?  The  assertion  in  that  narrative  leaves 
us  in  no  doubt  that  the  craftsmen  there  named 
were  as  much  inspired  in  their  appointed  vocation, 
as  any  priest  or  prophet  of  the  same  or  subsequent 
ages.  All  honour  to  those,  in  modern  times,  on 
whom  this  prophetic  or  apostolic  art-spirit  has 
fallen.  We  recognise  the  inspired  religious  poet ; 
why  leave  unrecognised  the  inspired  religious 
artist? — all  the  more,  where  a  profound  personal 
faith  is  linked  with  a  recognised  mission.  Take 
our  best  living  representative  of  religious  painters 
— one  whose  name  and  works  are  as  familiar  to 
England  as  those  of  Parrhasius  and  Apelles  were 
to  Attica  and  Athens  : — ''  I  am  satisfied  that  the 
Father  of  all  has  not  left  us  .  .  .  only  to  disappear 
in  the  black  abyss.  What  an  impotent  conclusion  ! 
For  me,  this  would  be  aimless  mockery !  The 
inheritance  that  the  Greatest  of  the  sons  of  God 
has  won  for  us  has  its  welcome  in  my  soul.  I 
want  now  to  carry  out  my  purpose  of  travel  in 
Palestine,  to  prove,  so  far  as  my  painting  can,  that 
Christianity  is  a  living  faith  ;  that  the  fullest  reali- 
sation of  its  wondrous  story  cannot  unspiritualise 
it.  ...  I  am  not  afraid  of  the  full  truth,  and  I 
wish  to  help  in  propagating  it."  ^ 

1  Mr.    Holman   Hunt.     Art.  :    *'  The    Pre-Raphaelite    Brotherhood," 
Contemporary  Review,  June  1886. 


EPILOGUE.  225 

These  are  noble  words,  and  they  indicate  possi- 
bilities in  Christian  art,  to  which,  owing  to  his 
cramped  and  degraded  polytheism,  it  was  impos- 
sible for  the  Greek  to  aspire.  Noble  words !  for 
they  assert  the  highest  vocation  of  art,  that  of  being- 
employed —  dignified  and  transfigured — for  the 
glory  of  God  ;  to  illustrate  and  enforce  the  loftiest 
of  evangelic  facts  and  teaching — vindicating  the 
Fatherhood  of  the  Supreme,  and  doing  homage 
and  reverence  to  this  "  ^Great  Son  " — the  Prince 
of  life  and  Lord  of  Glory. 

Would  St.  Paul,  I  repeat,  if  he  had  lived  in  this 
England  of  ours  in  the  nineteenth  century,  and 
away  from  the  debasing  influences  of  a  sensuous 
mythology  reflected  in  a  sensuous  life,  not  have 
endorsed  such  sentiments  ?  To  much  indeed  of  the 
modern  renaissance  in  ecclesiastical  architecture, 
also  to  frequent  extravagances  and  caricatures — 
unhappy  departures  from  *  the  beauties  of  holiness' 
— he  might,  not  without  cause,  have  been  tempted 
to  apply  in  one  of  its  numerous  meanings  his  old 
Athenian  phrase — KarelScoXop.  But,  to  whatever 
"  in  art  and  man's  device  "  is  pure  and  loving  and 
of  good  report — auxiliaries  to  faith  and  devotion, 
supplanting  and  superseding  the  distortions  and 
deformities  of  other  and  cruder  days— would  he 

p 


ST.  PAUL  IN  ATHENS, 


not  willingly  have  surrendered,  even,  if  need  be, 
his  own  partialities  for  a  simpler  cult  and  rubric, — 
and  become  "  all  things  to  all  men,  if  by  any  means 
he  might  gain  some  "  ? 


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1.  The  Scene  and  Spectator. 

2.  The  Trumpet  -  Voice    and    Opening 

Vision. 

3.  The  Accessories  of  the  Vision. 

4.  The  Epistles  to  the  Seven  Chnrches. 

5.  The  Epistle  to  the  Church  of  Ephe- 

sus. 

6.  The  Epistle  to  the  Church  of  Smyrna. 

7.  The  Epistle  to  the  Church  of   Lao- 

dicea. 

8.  The  Opened  Door ;  and  Creation  Song. 

9.  The  Seven-sealed  Roll  and  tho  New- 

Song, 

10.  Opening  of  the  First  Four  Seals — 

Creation's  Cry. 

11,  The  Opening  of  the  Fifth  and  Sixth 

Seals — the  Martyrs'  Cry— and  the 
Great  Day  of  Wrath. 
32.  The  Vision  of  the  Sealed. 


13.  Vision  of  the  "WTiite-Robed  and  Palm- 

Bearing  Multitude. 

14.  The  White  Robes  and  Living  Foun- 

tains of  Water. 

15.  The  Half-Hour's  Silence  and  Prepara- 

tion for  the  Trumpet-soun' lings — 
Tlie  Angel  at  the  Golden  Altar. 

16.  The  Casting  of  the  Altar-Fire  on  the 

Earth — the  Sotinding  of  the  Seven 
Trumpets — and  the  Closing  Vision 
and  Song, 

17.  The  Lamb  standing  on  Mo'mt  Zion 

with  the  Hundred  and  Forty  and 
Four  Thousand. 

18.  The  Blessedness  of  the  Holy  Dead. 

19.  The  Song  of  the  Harpers  by  the  Glassy 

Sea. 

20.  The  Coming  One ;    and  the  Blessed 

Watcher,  &c.  . 


Post  8vo,  3s.  6d.  cloth. 


MEMORIES  OF  GENNESARET; 

Or,  Our  Lord's  Ministrations  by  the  Sea  of  Galilee. 
With  Frontispiece, 


Contents. 


The  Scene. 

The  Home. 

The  Fishermen. 

The  Call  and  Consecration, 

The  Incurable  Cured, 

The  Soldier  and  his  Slave. 

Three  Portraits, 

The  Sovsrer  and  the  Seed. 

The  Sower  and  the  Seed. 

The  Storm  on  the  Lake. 

The  Spoiler  Spoiled. 

Post  8vo,  6s.  6d,  cloth. 


12.  The  Only  Daugliter. 

13.  The  Life  of  Sacrifice. 

14.  The  Miraculous  Feast, 
16.  The  Night  Rescue, 

16.  The  Sinking  Disciple. 

17.  The  Doomed  City. 

18.  Heroism. 

19.  Mary  Magdalene, 

20.  The  Feast  on  the  Shore. 

21.  The  Testimony  of  Love. 

22.  The  FareweU. 


A  VOLUME  OF  FAMILY  PRAYERS. 
Crown  8vo,  Ss.  6d.  cloth. 


WORKS  BY  THE  SAME  AUTHOE. 


THE  SHEPHERD  AND  HIS  FLOCK; 

Or,  The  Keeper  of  Israel  and  the  Sheep  of  His  Pasture. 
Crown  8vo,  3s.  6d.  cloth. 


Contents. 


1.  Introductory. 

2.  The  Flock  Astray. 

3.  The  Flock  Sought  and  Found, 

4.  The  Flock  Found,  and  its  Return  to 

the  Fold, 
6,  The  Shepherd  of  the  Flock  Smitten, 

6.  The  Shepherd  giving  His  Lifd  for  tlie 

Sheep. 

7.  The  Door  into  the  Sheepfold. 

8.  The   Shepherd   going    before   the 

Block. 

9.  The  Flock  following  the  Shepherd. 

10.  The  Song  of  the  Flock. 

11.  The  Green  Pastures  and  Still  Waters 

where  the  F.ock  are  Fed- 


12.  The  Paths  of  Righteousness  in  which 

the  Flock  are  Led. 

13.  The  Shepherd  seeking  the  Flock  in 

the  Cloudy  and  Dark  Day. 

14.  The  Shepherd's  Gentle  D  alings  with 

the  Burdened  of  the  Flock. 

15.  The  Flock  in  the  World, 

16.  The  Shepherd's  Gift  to  the  Flock. 

17.  The  Security  of  the  Flock. 

18.  The  Cry  of  a  Wanderer. 

19.  The  Trembling  Flock  Comforted 

20.  The  Flock  passing  through  the  Valley 

of  the  Snadow  of  Denth. 

21.  The  Final  Gathering  of  the  Flock. 

22.  The  Eternal  Folding  of  the  Flock. 


COMFORT   YE,   COMFORT   YE: 

Being  God's  Words  of  Comfort  Addressed  to  His  Church  in  the  last 
Twenty-seven  Chapters  of  Isaiah, 

With  Frontispiece. 

Crown  8vo,  Ss.  cloth. 


Contents 

Introductory  Chapter,  17, 

1.  Power  and  Tenderness.  18. 

2.  Unbelief  Rebuked.  19. 

3.  The  Weak  Strengthened.  20. 

4.  The  Rejoicing  Wilderness.  V!l. 

5.  The  Divine  Antitype.  22. 

6.  The  Bruised  Reed  and  Smoking  Flax,  23, 

7.  Comfort  on  Comfort.  24, 

8.  Sovereign  Grace.  25, 

9.  The  God  of  Jeshurun.  26. 

10.  Consecration.  27. 

11.  Salvation. 

12.  Salvation  to  tl-e  Ends  of  the  Earth.  28 

13.  Old  Age  Comforted.  29.' 

14.  Desert  Mercies. 

15.  Unforgetting  Love.  30. 

16.  Light  in  Darkness.  31. 


The  Great  Contrast. 

The  Jov  of  the  Ransomed. 

Glad  Tidines. 

The  Great  Sufferer. 

Suffering  and  Victory. 

The  House  lieautifuL 

The  Universal  Invitation. 

Early  Death. 

A  Royal  Edict. 

The  Glory  of  the  Millennial  Church, 

The  Glory  of  tlie  Church  Trium- 
phant. 

Messiah's  Manifesto. 

The  New  Name  and  the  Threefold 
Ble-ssing. 

Israel  Restored. 

The  Closing  Word  of  Comfort. 


WORKS  BY  THU:  SAMK  AUTHOR. 


THE    HART   AND   THE   WATER-BROOKS 

A  Practical  Exposition  of  the  Forty-second  Psalm. 


CONTKNTS. 


Introductory— 

1.  The  Scene  of  the  Psalm. 

2.  The  General  Scope  of  the  Psalm. 

3.  A  Peculiar  Experience. 

Contents  of  the  Psalm — 

1.  The  Hart  Panting. 

2.  The  Hart  Wounded. 
8.  The  Living  God. 


4.  The  Taunt. 

5.  The  Taunt. 

6.  Sabbath  Memories. 

7.  Hope. 

8.  The  Hill  Mizar. 

9.  The  Climax. 

10.  Lessons. 

11.  Faith  and  Prayer. 

12.  The  Quiet  Haven. 


Crown  8vo,  New  and  Cheaper  Edition,  2s.  cloth. 


IN   CHRISTO; 

Or,  The  Monogram  of  St.  Paul. 


Contents. 


Without  Christ. 

A  Man  in  Christ. 

A  New  Creature  in  Christ. 

Babes  in  Christ. 

Spiritual  Blessings  in  Christ. 

Life  in  Christ. 

One  Body  in  Christ. 

No  Condemnation  in  Christ. 

Helpers  in  Christ. 

Hope  beyond  in  Christ. 

Perseverance  in  Christ. 

The  Churches  in  Christ. 

The  Churches  in  Christ  (continiied). 

Consolation  in  Christ. 

The  Dead  in  Christ. 

The  Dead  in  Christ  (continued). 


The  Gathering  into  One  in  Christ. 

Bonds  in  Christ. 

Accepted  in  Christ. 

The  Peace  of  God  in  Christ. 

Strength  and  Riches  in  Christ. 

Righteousness  in  Christ. 

Complete  in  Christ. 

The  Eternal  Purpose  in  Christ. 

The  Promises  in  Christ. 

Sanctified  in  Christ. 

No  Separation  in  Christ. 

No  Separation  in  Christ  {continued^ 

Am  1  in  Christ  ? 

Am  I  in  Christ?  {continued). 

Conclusion. 


Small  crown  8vo,  5s.  cloth. 


WORKS  BY  THE  SAME  AUTHOR. 


BOOKS  FOR  YOUTH. 

BRIGHTER  THAN  THE  SUN; 

Or,  Christ  the  Light  of  the  World.     A  Life  of  our  Lord  for  the  Young. 

With  Sixteen  Woodcuts  by  A.  Eowan. 

4to,  Ss.  6d.  cloth,  with  Autotype  Frontispiece ; 

CTj  Cheap  Shilling  Edition,  same  size  and  type,  and  containing  all  the 

Woodcuts,  as  above. 


Contents. 


Early  Dawn. 

Morning. 

Noontide. 

Meridian  Brightness. 

Gathering  Clouds. 

Evening  Shadows. 


Gleams  before  Sunset 

Night  Watches. 

Midnight. 

The  Great  Sunrise. 

Dawn  of  Eternal  Day. 


A    GOLDEN    SUNSET: 

Being  an  Account  of  the  Last  Days  of  Hannah  Broomfield. 
16 mo.  Is.  cloth. 


THE    WOODCUTTER    OF   LEBANON: 

A  Story  Illustrative  of  a  Jewish  Institution. 

With  Vignette  by  Bikket  Foster. 

16mo,  2s.  cloth. 


TALES   OF   THE   WARRIOR   JUDGES. 

A  Sunday  Book  for  Boys. 
With  Illustrations.     Fcap.  8vo,  2s.  6d.  cloth. 


10  WORKS  BY  THE  SAMK  AUTHOR. 


THE  EXILES  OF  LUCERNA ; 

Or,  The  Sufferings  of  the  Waldenses  during  the  Persecution  of  1686 

With  Vignette. 

Small  crown  8vo,  2s.  6d.  cloth. 


THE  STORY  OF  A  SHELL : 

A  Romance  of  the  Sea,  with  some  Sea  Teachings. 

A  Book  for  Boys  and  Girls. 

Small  4to,  with  numerous  Illustrations,  6s.  cloth. 


THE    STORY    OF    BETHLEHEM: 

A  Book  for  Children. 

With  Illustrations  by  Thomas. 

Crown  Svo,  2s.  6d.  cloth. 


HOSANNAS    OF    THE    CHILDREN; 

Or,  A  Chime  of  Bells  from  the  Little  Sanctuary. 

Being  Brief  Sermons  for  the  Young  for  each  Sunday  in  the  Tear. 

With  Illustrations. 

Post   4 to,    5s.   cloth. 


WORKS  BY  THE  SAME  AUTHOE.  11 


RECENTLY  PUBLISHED. 


A  BOOK  FOB  THE  CHBISTIAN  HOUSEHOLD. 

MORNING  FAMILY  PEAYERS. 

A  Volume  of  Family  Worship  for  each  Morning  of 
THE  Year. 

Founded  on  Selected  Passages  of  Scripture  from  the 
Old  and  New  Testaments. 

Small  4to,  6s.  6d. 

*^*  This  volume  is  on  a  plan  and  arrangement  of  its  own,  in  order  to 
secure,  as  much  as  may  be,  variety  and  comprehension. 


LONDON ; 
JAMES  NISBET  &  CO.,  21  BERNERS  STREET. 


SELECT  LIST  OF  WORKS 
PUBLISHED  BY  JAMES  NISBET  &  CO. 


Revised  by  Her  MajesUi. 
THE  STORY  OF  THE  LIFE  OF  QUEEN  VICTORIA.     Told 
for  Boys  and  Girls  all  over  the  World.     By  W.  W.  Tulloch,  B.D. 
"With  Two  Portraits.     Crown  8vo,  gilt  edges,  3s.  6d. 

Dedicated  {by  permission)  to  the  Queen. 
SUNDAYS    AT    BALMORAL.      Sermons  preached  before   Her 
Majesty  the  Queen  in  Scotland.     By  the  Yery  Eev.  Johx  Tulloch, 
D.D.,  LL.D.,  late  Senior  Principal  in  the  University  of  St.  Andrews, 
&c.  &c.     With  Portrait.     Crown  8vo,  5s. 

MISS  MARSH'S  NEW  BOOK. 

OUR  SOVEREIGN  LADY.  A  Book  for  her  People.  By  the 
Author  of  "English  Hearts  and  English  Hands,"  "Brief  Memories  of 
the  First  Earl  Cairns,"  &c.,  and  by  L.  E.  O'K,  Author  of  "The  Child 
of  the  Morning,"  &c.  Small  crown  8vo,  Is.  cloth  limp  ;  2s.  cloth  boards, 
gilt  edges. 
"A  touching  and  truthful  little  sketch  of  the  Queen's  life  and  reign." — 
John  Bull. 

"It  is  feelingly  written,  and  breathes  a  vein  of  loyalty  and  piety  combined 
which  will  make  it  acceptable  to  many." — Saturday  Revieio. 

"  Remarkable  for  the  enthusiastic  loyalty  of  its  tone,  but  at  the  same  time 
is  written  with  real  literary  power,  and  presents  a  very  well-planned  epitome 
of  the  chief  events  of  the  xeign.^' —Scottish  Leader. 

"  It  has  the  charm  of  delicate  touch  and  tone  throughout,  and  it  dwells 
more  fully  than  ordinary  upon  the  influences  which  moulded  the  personal 
character  of  our  beloved  Sovereign.  A  more  delightful  book  for  a  shilling 
we  cannot  conceive." — Christian  Advocate. 

"The  story  is  told  in  plain  language,  and  is  not  overburdened  with  political 
details." — Army  and  Navy  Gazette. 

THE  "VERILY,  VERILYS"  OF  CHRIST.  By  the  Rev.  J.  H. 
Rogers,  M.A.,  Chaplain  of  Holy  Trinity,  Pau.     Crown  Svo,  3s.  6d. 

"Tlie  book  abounds  in  spiritual  insight.  It  is  discreet,  edifying,  and 
never-failing  in  interest." — Christian  Advocate. 

"  Mr.  Rogers  has  chosen  a  very  attractive  subject,  and  has  treated  it  sym- 
pathetically, reverently,  and  with  considerable  freshness  and  life." — British 
Weekly. 

"A  good  book,  which  will  be  valued  by  spiritually-minded  Christians."— 
English  Churchman. 

"Mr.  Rogers  has  subjected  the  passages  in  question  to  a  very  careful 
examination,  and  very  fully  draws  out,  and  very  earnestly  enforces,  the 
lessons  they  contain." — Scotsman. 

OUR  ANGEL  CHILDREN.    By  Rhoda.    Small  crown  Svo,  Is.  6d. 

"Tender,  devout,  and  thoughtful,  the  book  is  thoroughly  sound  in  its 
teaching.  We  cannot  doubt  that  it  will  help  to  lift  a  heavy  burden  from 
many  hearts." — Christian  Leader. 

"  The  simplicity  of  genuiue  feeling  gives  attractiveness  to  this  little  record 
of  a  mother's  joy  and  sorrow." — Literai'y  World. 

"Good  sense,  Christian  resignation.  Scriptural  hope,  and  human  feeling, 
are  all  united  in  this  volume  of  consolidion."— Christian  Advocate. 


JAMES    NISBET    AND    CO.'s    SELECT    LIST    OF   WORKS.  13 


OUTLINES   OF  A   GENTLE   LIFE.     Memorials  of  Ellen  P. 

Shaw.    Edited  by  her  Sister,  Maria  V.  G.  Havergal.     Crown  8vo, 

Is.  paper  cover ;  Is.  6d.  cloth. 
*'  This  volume  is  very  beautiful,  and  will  bring  comfort  and  joy  to  many 
hearts." — Methodist  Recorder. 

SURPASSING  FABLE  ;  or,  Glimpses  of  our  Future  Home.  By 
the  Kev.  R.  Hard?  Brenan,  M.A.,  Author  of  "Allured  to  Brighter 
Worlds,"  &c.     Small  crown  8vo,  2s. 

"The  subject  is  treated  with  due  attention  to  Scriptural  teaching,  and 
without  the  speculative  flights  which  often  venture  beyond  knowledge  into 
the  region  of  guess-work.  To  many  the  closing  chapter  on  Ancient  and 
Modern  Testimony  in  presence  of  death  will  be  most  attractive.  The  whole 
book  is  worth  careful  reading." — Literary  World. 

"A  suggestive  and  inspiriting  series  of  addresses  on  the  subject  of  heaven, 
written  in  a  thoughtful  chaste  style.  They  will  help  to  raise  the  minds  of 
the  downcast,  and  to  make  bright  lives  brighter." — Church  Sunday  School 
Magazine. 

"The  reflections  are  sound  and ■  edifying,  and  will  no  doubt  tend  to 
strengthen  the  faith  of  believers,  and  to  inspire  a  spirit  of  holy  courage  and 
bright  anticipation  in  the  prospect  of  death." — Christian  Leader. 

SUNNY  SUNDAYS  :  Hints  for  Congregational  Classes.  The 
Fruits  of  the  Spirit.    By  S.  M.  Holworthy.    Small  crown  8vo,  Is,  6d. 

"  Conceived  in  the  right  spirit,  and  written  with  the  happy  literary  tact  so 
necessary  in  the  prei)aration  of  religious  literature  for  children." — Family 
Churchman. 

"We  commend  heartily  both  the  idea  of  the  good  lady,  and  the  book 
which  illustrates  her  method  of  working." — Sunday  School  Chronicle. 

"  The  plan  of  the  book  is  admirable  in  its  method.  The  hints  are  furnished 
conversationally  in  such  sentences  as  would  be  used  in  the  actual  process  of 
instruction,  and  convey  truths  in  the  most  genial  of  ways." — Church  Sunday 
School  Magazine. 

THE  CHILDREN  FOR  CHRIST :  Thoughts  for  Christian  Parents 
on  the  Consecration  of  the  Home  Life.  By  the  Rev.  A.  Murray. 
Small  crown  Svo,  3s.  6d. 

"There  is  a  tone  of  fervour  and  devotion  pervading  the  book  that  contrast 
pleasantly  with  the  trivially  inane  tone  some  writers  think  fit  to  adopt  in 
writing  for  and  about  children." — Methodist  Recorder. 

"All  that  this  author  writes  is  good,  but  this  book  is  the  best  of  all ;  not 
because  it  is  more  ably  written  than  others,  but  because  it  treats  a  subject 
of  supreme  importance,  and  treats  it  for  the  most  part  in  a  manner  well  cal- 
culated to  produce  a  deep  impression." — Christian  Commomvealth. 

"The  wise  counsels  contained  in  these  'Thoughts'  are  well  worth  the 
perusal  of  all  heads  of  households.  Tliere  is  in  these  pages  much  that  will 
help  to  form  opinions  and  plans  for  the  guidance  of  families." — Literary 
World. 

ABIDE  IN  CHRIST  :  Thoughts  on  the  Blessed  Life  of  Fellowship 
with  the  Son  of  God.    By  the  Rev.  A.  Murray.    Forty-third  Thousand. 
Small  crown  Svo,  23.  6d. 
"The  varied  aspects  of  this  practical  truth  are  treated  with  much  fresh- 
ness, and  power,  and  unction.     It  cannot  fail  to  stimulate,  to  cheer,  and  to 
qualify  for  higher  service." — Mr.  Spuegeon  in  the  Sword  and  Trowel. 


14  JAMES    NISBET    AND    CO.'s    SELECT    LIST    OF    WORKS. 


LIKE  CHRIST  :  Tliouglits  on  the  Blessed  Life  of  Conformity  to 
the  Son  of  God.     A  Sequel  to  "Abide  in  Christ."     By  the  Eev.  A. 
MuKRAY.     Nineteenth  Thousand.     Small  crown  8vo,  2s.  6d. 
"Everywhere  may  be  felt  a  depth  of  devotion,  true  Scriptural  earnestness, 
together  with  an  affectiouate  simplicity." — Churchman. 

"The  author  has  written  with  such  loving  unction  and  spiritual  insight 
that  his  pages  may  be  read  with  comfort  and  edification  by  all." — Literary 
Churchman. 

WITH  CHRIST  IN  THE  SCHOOL  OF  PRAYER  :  Thouglits  on 

our  Training  for  the  Ministry  of  Intercession.     By  the  Rev.  A.  MURRAY. 
Thirteenth  Thousand.     Small  crown  8vo,  2s.  6d. 
"Contains  very  valuable  thoughts  and  practical  suggestions." — Church 
Bells. 

"This  book  is  a  spiritual  exercise  on  the  gifts  of  prayer."  —  Family 
Churchman. 

"It  is  a  book  full  of  noble,  tender  thoughts,  of  deep  spiritual  yearning, 
aud  of  strong  inspiration  to  those  who  are  seeking  to  get  nearer  to  Christ." — 
Christian  Commonwealth. 

SYNOPTICAL  LECTURES  ON  THE  BOOKS  OF  HOLY 
SCRIPTURE.  By  the  Rev.  Donald  Eraser,  D.D.  New  and  thoroughly 
Revised  Edition.     Two  vols.     Extra  crown  8vo,  15s. 

"The  author  has  availed  himself  of  the  most  recent  results  of  Biblical 
criticism,  and  especially  of  the  new  meanings  assigned  to  many  passages  in 
the  Revised  Version.  The  book  is  eminently  a  scholarly  and  thoughtful  ex- 
l)osition." — Scotsman. 

"Good,  solid  reading,  calculated  to  give  a  sound,  clear,  harmonious  know- 
ledge of  the  various  parts  of  the  sacred  Scriptures.  The  young  man  who  will 
carefully  study  these  lectures,  and  at  the  same  time  read  the  several  books 
of  the  Bible,  will  be  laying  for  himself  a  solid  foundation  of  Scriptural  know- 
ledge."— Mr.  Spurgeon  in  the  Sword  and  Trowel. 

"The  design  is  excellent.  The  author  has  sought  to  convey,  not  merely 
to  professional  students,  but  to  all  educated  Christians,  something  like  a 
compendious  knowledge  of  Holy  Writ.  The  scope  and  contents  of  each  book 
are  described  in  clear,  terse,  popular  language  ;  briefly,  yet  fully,  without 
any  wearisome  display  of  scholarship.  The  relation  of  the  several  parts  of 
revelation  is  unfolded  in  a  judicious  and  devout  spirit." — Church  Bells. 

METAPHORS  IN  THE  GOSPELS  :  A  Series  of  Short  Studies. 
By  the  Rev.  Donald  Eraser,  D.D.    Crown  Svo,  6s. 

"An  attempt  to  fill  a  real  gap  in  exegetical  literature.  It  has  a  value  of 
its  own,  and  will  be  helpful  to  preachers  and  Bible-class  teachers.  The 
metaphors  are  plainly  aud  sensibly  handled,  with  a  keen  eye  to  their  practical 
application  to  daily  life." — Church  Times. 

"Dr.  Eraser  has  struck  new  ground,  and  has  compiled  an  instructive  and 
useful  Yohime."— Saturday  Review. 

"  In  these  '  short  studies '  Dr.  Eraser  has  concentrated  an  amazing  amount 
of  valuable  teaching." — Christian. 

"  A  work  of  excellency  both  in  thought  and  style,  in  subject  and  spirit. 
Few  volumes  on  religious  matters  will  repay  perusal  more  than  this  hand- 
some one." — Christian  Neucs. 


LONDON:  JAMES  NISBET  &  CO.,  21  BERNERS  STREET. 


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