56 HOE.iE PAULINA. 



CHAPTER lY. 



THE SECOND EPISTLE TO THE COPtlNTHIANS , 



I. I WILL not say that it is impossible, having seen the 

 iifst epistle to the Corinthians, to construct a second with 

 ostensible allusions to the first ; or that it is impossible that 

 both should be fabricated, so as to carry on an order and 

 continuation of story, by successive references to the samt 

 events. But I say that this, in either case, must be the 

 effect of craft and design. "VYhereas, whoever examines the 

 allusions to the former epistle which he finds in this, while 

 he will acknowledge them to be such as would rise sponta- 

 neously to the hand of the writer, from the very subject of 

 the correspondence and the situation of the corresponding 

 parties, supposing these to be real, will see no particle of 

 reason to suspect, either that the clauses containing these 

 allusions were insertions for the purpose, or that the several 

 transactions of the Corinthian church were feigned, in order 

 to form a train of narrative, or to support the appearance of 

 connection between the two epistles. 



1. In the first epistle, St. Paul announces his intention 

 of passing through Macedonia, in his way to Corinth : " I 

 will come to you when I shall pass through Macedonia." 

 In the second epistle, we find him arrived in Macedonia, and 

 about to pursue his journey to Corinth. But observe the 

 manner in which this is made to appear : "I know the for- 

 wardness of your mind, for which I boast of you to them of 

 Macedonia, that Achaia was ready a year ago ; and your zeal 

 hath provoked very many. Yet have I sent the brethren, 

 lest our boasting of you should be in vain in this behalf; 

 that, as I said, ye may be ready ; lest haply if they of Mace- 

 donia come with me, and find you unprepared, we (that we 

 say not, ye) be ashamed in this same confident boasting." 

 Chap. 9 : 2—4. St. Paul's being in Macedonia at the time 



