The life and work of St. Paul

PHILIPPI. 275
with the astute and machiavellic policy of Rome, were kept distinct from each
other by differences of privilege and isolation of interests which tended to
foster mutual jealousies. Beginning eastwards at the river Nestus, Macedonia
Prima reached to the Strymon ; Macedonia Secunda, to the Axius ; Macedonia
Tertia, to the Peueus ; and Macedonia Quavta, to Illyricum and Epirus. 1 The
capitals of these divisions respectively were Amphipolis, Thessalonica, at
which the Proconsul of the entire province fixed his residence, Pella, ami
Pekgouia. It is a very reasonable conjecture that Paul, in answer to tho
appeal of the Vision, had originally intended to visit as, perhaps, ho ultimately
did visit all four capitals. But Araphipolis, in spite of its historic celebrity
had sunk into comparative insignificance, and the proud colonial privileges of
Philippi made it in reality the more important town.
On the insignia of Roman citizenship which hero met his gaze on every
side the S.P.Q.R., the far-fainod legionary eagles, the panoply of the Roman
soldiers which ho was hereafter so closely to describe, the two statues of
Augustus, one in the paludament of an Imperator,
one in the seini-nude
cincture of a divinity Paul could not have failed to gaze with curiosity ; and
as they passed up the Egnatian road which divided the city, they must havo
looked at the figures of tutelary deities rudely scratched upon the rock, which
showed that the old mythology was still nominally accepted.
Can we suppose
that they were elevated so far above the sense of humour as not to aniile with
their comrade Silvanus as they passed the temple dedicated to the rustic god
whose name ho bore, and saw the images of the old man,
" So surfeit-swollen, BO old, and so profane,**
whom the rural population of Italy, from whom these colonists had been drawn,
worshipped with offerings of fruit and wine P
They had arrived in the middle of the week, and their first care, as usual,
was to provide for their own lodging and independent maintenance, to which
Luke would doubtless be able to contribute by the exercise of his art. They
might have expected to find a Jewish community sheltering itself under the
wings of the Roman eagle ; but if so they wore disappointed. Philippi was a
military and agricultural, not a commercial town, and the Jews were so fow
tliat they did not even possess a synagogue. If during those days they made
any attempt to preach, it could only have been in the privacy of their rooms,
for when the Sabbath came they were not even sure that the town could boast
2
of a proseucha, or prayer-house. They know enough, however, of the habits
of the Jews to feel sure that if there wore one, it would be on the river-bank,
outside the city. So they made their way through the gate 3
along the ancient
causeway which led directly to the Gangites, 4 and under the triumphal arch
1 Liv. xlv. 1829. We cannot be sure that these divisions were still retained.
2 Acts xvi. 13. This is the sense which I extract from the various readings of , A,
B (?), C, D, and from the versions.
3 Acts xvi. 13, irv'Xr*, , A, B, C, D, &c.
4 Perl-ays from the same root as Ganges (Renan, p.