so it came about that heathens were called pagans, pagani, i. e. dwellers in the village.

Next, we may notice that one secret of S. Paul's success was that he had gathered round him a devoted band of fellow-helpers; men whom he had often proved, and whom he could entirely trust.

Such were Timothy, "his own child in the faith;" Titus, a young Greek won by him to the faith; Luke, who seems to have acted the double part of a physician, and an evangelist and historian of the Church; such also were Tychicus, Aristarchus, Epaphroditus and Onesimus, and last, Mark, sister's son to Barnabas, who having once lost S. Paul's good opinion, afterwards entirely regained it.

But not only was the great Apostle thus equipped, and thus assisted, but the field of his labours had been wonderfully prepared by God's providence.

One effect of the conquests of Alexander was to spread a knowledge of the Greek tongue over the great part of Western Asia. Greek became the medium of communication between the nations of the Roman empire. It became a second mother tongue.

Into this universal language the Scriptures of the Old Testament had been translated, and the Greek Bible became the authorized version of the Jews of the Dispersion. In every considerable town in the empire there was a colony of Jews who possessed one or more synagogues. The synagogues became centres of religious influence, a nucleus round which the most hopeful elements of Gentile life were gathered. Every synagogue was a centre of attraction to the heathen world around it. Gentiles, disgusted with their own religion, sick of superstitious vanities and empty philosophies, found in the synagogues of Israel a worship both simple and

rational; there they heard in Greek the simple but grand words of Moses, and the noble utterances of Prophets and Psalmists.

Thus, in these "proselytes of the Gate" as they were called, the Apostles found the pick of the heathen gathered in readiness, men who were predisposed to welcome the Gospel, and familiar with the great truths of faith and righteousness which not even Rabbinical exposition could deprive of their inherent power.

S. Paul's invariable plan was to begin at the synagogue, and this not only because he thus gained access to the Gentile proselytes, but because he understood that the Gospel must first be preached to the chosen people.

It is very necessary to understand this. If the Jews refused to receive this Gospel, it was to their own loss; little as they thought it, by rejecting it they cut themselves off from the hope of Israel, from that which was the glory of Israel, as well as the light of the Gentiles.

Those who, like S. Paul himself, accepted Christ, did not cut themselves off from the hope of Israel or the faith of their fathers: but clung all the more to that hope, and followed that faith to its proper results.

But this hope of Israel, this faith of their fathers, did not belong only to Israel. In former ages, no doubt, it had been confined to the literal Israel: but a new era had dawned, the middle wall of partition between Jew and Gentile had been thrown down: there was no difference.

And therefore when the Jews, the literal Israel, refused to accept the Gospel, then he turned to the Gentiles, as those who by faith might become the true Israel, the true seed of Abraham, the in

heritors of Israel's calling, the sharers in Israel's promise.

In the narrative of S. Paul's missionary labours, in the Acts of the Apostles, S. Luke gives what seems evidently intended as a specimen of his proceedings in dealing with Jews and proselytes in the city of Antioch in Pisidia.

Acts xiii. 13: Now Paul and his company... .... came to Antioch of Pisidia; and they went into the synagogue on the Sabbath day, and sat down. And after the reading of the law and the prophets, the rulers of the synagogue sent unto them, saying, Brethren, if ye have any word of exhor-. tation for the people, say on. And Paul stood up, and beckoning with the hand, said, "Men of Israel (addressing the Jews), and ye that fear God (addressing the proselytes), hearken. The God of this people Israel chose our fathers, and led them out of Egypt . . . and gave them the land of Canaan, . . . . and gave them judges until Samuel the prophet. And afterward for a king gave unto them Saul. And when He had removed him, He raised up David to be their king; to whom also He bare witness, and said, I have found David the son of Jesse, a man after my heart, who shall do all my will. Of this man's seed hath God according to promise brought unto Israel a Saviour, Jesus; Brethren, children of the stock of Abraham, and those among you that fear God [i.e. the proselytes], to us is the word of this salvation sent. For they that dwell in Jerusalem and their rulers, condemning Him, asked of Pilate that He should be slain. And when they had fulfilled all things that were written of Him, they took Him down from the tree, and laid Him in a tomb. But God raised Him from the dead: and He was seen for many days of them that came up with Him from Galilee to Jerusalem, who are now His witnesses unto the people. And we bring you good tidings of the promise made unto the fathers, how that God hath fulfilled the same unto our

children, in that He raised up Jesus. Be it known unto you, therefore, brethren, that through this man is proclaimed unto you remission of sins and by Him, every one that believeth is justified from all things, from which ye could not be justified by the law of Moses."

And as they went out they besought that these words might be spoken to them the next Sabbath. Now when the synagogue broke up, many of the Jews and of the devout proselytes followed Paul and Barnabas: who, speaking to them, urged them to continue in the grace of God. And the next Sabbath almost the whole city was gathered together to hear the word of God. But when the Jews saw the multitudes, they were filled with jealousy, and contradicted the things which were spoken by Paul, and blasphemed. And Paul and Barnabas spake out boldly, and said, It was necessary that the word of God should first be spoken to you. Seeing ye thrust it from you, and judge yourselves unworthy of eternal life, lo, we turn to the Gentiles. . . . . And the word of the Lord was spread

abroad throughout all the region. But the Jews

stirred up a persecution against Paul and Barnabas, and cast them out of their borders ... and the disciples were filled with joy and with the Holy Ghost.

When the Apostle had to encounter heathenism pure and simple, he had, of course, to alter his method. It was of no use to speak about the Old Testament Scriptures to people who had never heard of them: he was obliged to get at their hearts and consciences in some other way. S. Luke gives specimens of this side of S. Paul's teaching also.

After leaving the Pisidian Antioch, as we have just read, S. Paul and his companions came to Iconium, where a like success and a like persecution followed. The two Apostles had to take refuge in the wild district of Lycaonia. At Lystra, S. Paul cured a cripple who had never walked. The multitude were so astonished that they jumped to the conclusion that

Paul and Barnabas were no other than two of the gods come down to the earth, and proceeded to offer sacrifice to them. Then followed a scene which, I dare say, is familiar to you from Raffael's famous As soon as the Apostles grasped the idea that the sacrifices-the oxen and garlands, which they saw were being offered to them,

cartoon.

Acts xiv. 15: They rent their garments, and sprang forth among the multitude, crying out and saying, Sirs, why do ye these things? We also are men of like passions with you, and bring you good tidings, that ye should turn from these vain things unto the living God, who made the heaven and earth and the sea, and all that in them is: who in the generations gone by suffered all the nations to walk in their own ways. And yet He left not Himself without witness, in that He did good, and gave you from heaven rains and fruitful seasons, filling your hearts with food and gladness.

Still more striking was the preaching of S. Paul at Athens, the head-quarters of heathen religion and heathen philosophy.

Athens was not a commercial city, so that there was but a small colony of Jews resident there. As usual, S. Paul reasoned in the synagogue with such of the Jews and Gentile proselytes as resorted thither, but it does not seem to have had much effect.

He also talked with the people whom he found in the central square of the city, where he was encountered by Epicurean and Stoic philosophers, who brought him to the Areopagus, or hill of Ares, where the famous court of the Areopagites held its sessions. Standing there in the midst, S. Paul spoke as follows:

Acts xvii. 22: Ye men of Athens, in all things I perceive that ye are somewhat superstitious,—

(or that you carry your religious observances to a somewhat excessive extent).