Million Book Collection - The Fishers of Men Ministries

242 THE FORMATION OF CHRISTENDOMpardon, exercises his divine power, makes himselfinvisible, and appears suddenly afterwards to hisfriends at Puteoli. Thus, as the Apostle St. Johnwas delivered out of the hands of Domitian justabout this time, after encountering the risk of martyrdombefore the Latin gate, so the Greek teachertriumphs over all the power and malice of thetyrant in his worst time, but in a manner whichwould seem to the writer of his life much moredistinguished. And it may be noted that in the lastperiod of his life he appears in Ionia, crowned as itwere with glory, and attended by his whole company," philosophising, it is said, most part of his time whilstthere at Smyrna and Ephesus, without overlooking theother towns, of which there was not one wherein hewas not well received."1 Now these were just thoseseven Churches of Asia to which the Apostle directedhis letters in the Apocalypse, and where he taught inthe. last years of his life. On the other hand, thereare two places to which Apollonius shows a markeddislike. One is Tarsus, to which he is sent by hisfather at the age of fourteen, but which he quitsbecause he finds " the manners of the city absurdand not suited to philosophical pursuits, and thepeople insolent scoffers, addicted to pleasure, and morepassionately fond of fine clothes than the Atheniansof wisdom."2 This is that Tarsus, "no mean city,"of which the Apostle Paul declares himself to havebeen a citizen, and it should be noted that he wouldhave been living there just at this time, as he wascontemporary with the supposed Apollonius. Theother city is Antioch, where Apollonius found thetemple at Daphnae " beautifully situated, but no zeal1 Book viii. 24. a Book i. 7.