PAUL. 
309 
oppreflion and licentioufnefs, was unable to conceal the 
emotions which agitated his bread. He therefore dif- 
rnifled the apodle for the prefent; but he afterwards fre¬ 
quently fent for him, hoping to receive offers of money 
for releafing him. In this fituation Paul remained two 
years, at the expiration of which Porcius Fedus fuperfeded 
Felix in the government; when the latter, in order to 
ingratiate himfelf with the Jews, that they might not pur- 
fue him to the court of Rome with complaints againfl 
his injuflice and extortion, left Paul a prifoner. 
Not many days after Fedus had entered upon his new 
office, he fat in judgment on the cafe of Paul; and, after 
hearing his accufers, and his defence, afked him if he 
was willing to be tried before his tribunal in Jerufalem, 
where the requifite evidence on both fides could be mod 
eafily procured. But Patil,w>ho knew that the Jews dill 
retained their defign of aflaffinating him r refuled to be 
acceffory to his own dedruftion by placing himfelf with¬ 
in the reach of his enemies; and therefore availed him¬ 
felf of his privilege as a Roman citizen, by appealing 
from all fubordinate judges unto Caefar; upon which 
Fedus, after confulting with his council, declared, that 
fince he had appealed unto Ctefar, to Caelar he (hould go. 
Not long after this, king Agrippa, who was a Jew, and 
his fider Bernice, came to Csefarea, to compliment the new 
governor, who, by the mention which he made to them 
of Paul’s extraordinary cafe, excited their curiolity to fee 
and hear him. In compliance with their wifhes, the 
apodle was brought before them in an afi'embly of the of¬ 
ficers of the Roman army and the principal perfons of 
note and eminence in Caefarea, and had full liberty given 
him to enter into a defence of his own character and the 
tenets which he promulgated. On this occafion Paul 
gave” a concife and impreffive account of his life and con- 
verfion, and afterwards reafoned fo ably in defence of 
the doblrine which he taught concerning Jefus of Naza¬ 
reth, confirming what he faid by an appeal to the pre¬ 
dictions of the Old Teflament, that Agrippa was dag¬ 
gered by his arguments, and frankly confefled that Paul 
had almod perfuaded him to be a Chridian. And the 
impreflion which he made upon the red of his audience 
was fo greatly in his favour, that they acquitted him of 
all crimes deferving either of death or imprifonment, and 
agreed that he might have been fet at liberty if he had 
not appealed unto Caefar. 
Fedus now determined to fend Paul without delay to 
Italy 5 and for that purpofe delivered him, together with 
other flate-prifoners, into the cudody of one Julius, a 
centurion of the Augudan cohort, and a man of fingular 
humanity, who embarked with his charge on-board a 
fhip at Ciefarea, in the end of autumn, or towards the 
beginning of winter, in the year 60. On this occafion 
Paul was not deferred by his Chridian friends; for we 
find that at lead two of them, namely Luke, and Ariflar- 
chus who had accompanied him in fome of his former 
journeys, took flipping on-board the fame veflel, deter¬ 
mined to attend him during his voyage to Rome. The 
day after they departed from Caefarea, having occafion to 
touch at Sidon, Julius kindly permitted Paul to go on- 
fhore, and vifit his Chridian brethren in that city. From 
Sidon they failed to Myra in Lycia, where the centurion 
embarked with them on-board a fliip from Alexandria in 
Egypt, bound to Italy with a lading of wheat. Arriving 
afterwards at a port in the ifland of Crete, Paul advifed 
that they ffiould winter there, fince, with the imperfeft 
knowledge of navigation in that age, failing was now 
become dangerous, owing to the length of the dark 
nights, and the tempeduous weather ufual at that feal’on 
of the year. The mader of the ftiip, however, defirous of 
reaching a more commodious harbour, with the approba¬ 
tion of the centurion again put to fea ; but they had not 
proceeded far before a violent dorm arofe, which laded 
feveral days, and reduced the fliip to fuch didrefs, that 
all hope of fafety feemed to be lofl. In thefe circumdan- 
ces of defpair Paul encouraged them by declaring that he 
Vol. XIX. No. 13 - 11 . 
had feen an angel of God, who informed him that the 
fliip would be wrecked on the coad of a certain ifland, 
but that all on-board ftiould efcape fafe to land. At 
length, on the fourteenth night after their departure 
from Crete, the failors perceived by their foundings that 
they were near fome fhore, and at break of day the fliip 
was dranded on an ifland named Melita, which is gene¬ 
rally believed to be the fame with what is now called 
Malta, though fome are of opinion that it was the ifland 
of Melita in the Adriatic fea. In this critical juncture, 
the foldiers who guarded the prifoners propofed that they 
/hould be put to death, led they fhould feize the oppor¬ 
tunity of fwiniming away and efcaping out of their hands; 
but Julius, being defirous of faving Paul, prevented them 
from executing their purpofe, and commanded that thofe 
who could fwim fliould fird throw themfelves into the 
fea and mdke for the fliore, and the remainder on planks 
and broken pieces of the fliip. Having all efcaped to 
land, according to the apoflle’s prediction, though they 
were 276 in number, they met with an hofpitable recep¬ 
tion from the iflanders, who kindled a fire for their relief 
in their cold and wet condition. Now, as Paul was plac¬ 
ing a bundle of flicks upon the fire, a viper which was 
concealed among them fadened upon his hand. When 
the iflanders perceived this, they concluded he was a 
murderer, whom the anger of the gods would not per¬ 
mit to live, though he had furvived the dangers of fliip- 
wreck ; and, knowing how quickly the bite of thofe 
venomous creatures generally proved fatal, they expelled 
that he would have fwollen, or fuddenly fallen down 
dead : but, when they faw that he calmly fliook ofl' the 
reptile into the fire without receiving the lead harm, they 
changed their opinion concerning him, and faid that he 
mud be a deity in human form. (See Malta, vol. xiv. 
p. 223.) O11 that part of the coad where the fliip was 
dranded, was an eflate belonging to the chief man, or 
governor, of the ifland, whofe name was Publius, who 
kindly received the fhipwrecked voyagers into his houfe, 
and hofpitably provided for them during three days, till 
proper accommodations were prepared for them; and it 
mud have given no little fatisfaftion to Paul that he had 
it in his power to make a return for this generous treat¬ 
ment, by performing a miraculous cure on the father of 
Publius, who was fick of a fever and bloody flux. The 
fame of this miracle being foon fpread abroad, thofe who 
had diforders of any kind were brought to the apodle 
from every part of the ifland, who healed them all; and 
he, doubtlefs, embraced the opportunity which the refort 
to him of fuch numbers of people afl'orded, of inculcating 
on them the religion of the gofpel, to the truth of which 
fuch exercifes of a fupernatural power bare irrefragable 
tedimony. 
After continuing three months at Melita, during which 
the inhabitants /bowed them every kind office in their 
power, out of gratitude for the extraordinary benefits 
conferred on them by Paul, Julius embarked with his 
charge on-board a fliip of Alexandria, which had wintered 
in the ifland, and failed to Syracufe the capital of Sicily. 
From this celebrated place, after touching at Rhegium in 
the fouthernmofl part of Italy, they failed to Puteoli, a 
port not far from Naples, where they quitted the fliip, 
Julius intending to proceed from thence to Rome by land. 
At this place Paul met with fome Chridian brethren, 
who exprefl'ed a drong defire to enjoy the benefit of his 
inflrudlions and advice ; and the good centurion was fo 
indulgent, that he permitted him to continue /'even days 
amongfl them. During this interval, intelligence having 
been brought to Rome of the apoflle’s arrival in Italy, 
feveral of the Chridian brethren came from thence to meet 
him; fome proceeding as far as Appii Forum, at the dif- 
tance of fifty-one miles, and others to a place called 
Tres Tabenue, or the Three Taverns, about thirty miles 
from that city. This tedimony of refpeft and attach¬ 
ment to him when a prifoner, made a drong impreflion 
upon the apodle’s mind, and enabled him tofinifh the re- 
5 K mainder 
