all the numerous districts of the leffer Afia, through Greece. and the islands of the Egean Sea, the fea-coast of Africa, and had extended itself to Rome, and into Italy. At Antioch in Syria, at Joppa, Ephefus, Corinth, Theffalonica, Berea, Iconi-um, Derbe, Antioch in Pifidia, at Lydda, Saron, the number of converts is intimated by the expreffions "a great number," great multitudes," "much people." Converts are mentioned, without any defignation of their number, at Tyre, Cefarea,. Troas, Athens, Philippi, Lyftra, Damafcus. During all this. time, Jerufalem continued not only the centre of the miflion,. but a principal feat of the religion; for when St. Paul returneds thither, at the conclufion of the period of which we are now confidering the accounts, the other apoftles pointed out to him, as a reafon for his compliance with their advice, "how many thoufands (myriads, ten thoufands) there were in that city who believed." b

Upon this abftract, and the writing from which it is drawn, the following obfervations feem material to be made ::

I. That the account comes from a perfon, who was himself concerned in a portion of what he relates, and was contemporary with the whole of it; who vifited Jerufalem, and frequented the fociety of those who had acted, and were acting, the chief parts in the tranfaction. I lay down this point pofitively;; for had the ancient atteftations to this valuable record been lefs. fatisfactory than they are, the unaffectedness and fimplicity with which the author notices his prefence upon certain occafions, and the entire abfence of art and defign from thefe notices, would have been fufficient to perfuade my mind, that, whoever he actually lived in the times, and occupied the fitua tion in which he reprefents himself to be. When I fay, “whoever he was," I do not mean to caft a doubt upon the name, to which antiquity hath afcribed the Acts of the apostles, (for

he was,

a Confidering the extreme concifenefs of many parts of the history, the filence about the numbers of converts is no proof of their paucity: for at Philippi, no mention whatever is made of the number, yet St.. Paul addreffed an epifle to that church. The churches of Galatia, and the affairs of those churches, were confiderable enough to be the fubject of another letter, and of much of St. Paul's folicitude, yet no. account is preferved in the history of his fuccefs, or even of his preaching, in that country, except the flight notice which thefe words convey:-"when they had gone throughout. Phrygia, and the region of Galatia, they affayed to go into Bythinia.” xvi. 6, 7.,

b Ib. xxi. 20..

there is no caufe, that I am acquainted with, for queftioning it) But to obferve, that in fuch a cafe as this, the time and fituation of the author is of more importance than his name; and that thefe appear from the work itself, and in the most unfufpicious

form.

II. That this account is a very incomplete account of the preaching and propagation of Christianity; I mean, that, if what we read in the hiftory be true, much more than what the History contains must be true alfo: For, although the narrative from which our information is derived has been entitled the Acts of the apoftles, it is in fact a hiftory of the twelve apoftles only during a fhort time of their continuing together at Jerufalem; and even of this period the account is very concife. The work afterwards confifts of a few important paffages of Peter's miniftry, of the fpeech and death of Stephen, of the preaching of Philip the deacon; and the fequel of the volume, that is, two thirds of the whole is taken up with the converfion, the travels, the difcourfes and hiftory, of the new apoftle Paul, in which history alfo large portions of time are often passed over with very fcanty notice.

3

III. That the account, fo far as it goes, is for this very reafon more credible. Had it been the author's defign to have difplayed the early progrefs of Christianity, he would undoubtedly have collected, or, at least, have fet forth, accounts of the preaching of the rest of the apostles, who cannot, without extreme improbability, be fuppofed to have remained filent and inactive, or not to have met with a fhare of that fuccefs which attended their colleagues To which it may be added, as an obfervation of the fame kind,

IV. That the intimations of the number of converts, and of the fuccefs of the preaching of the apoftles, come out for the moft part incidentally; are drawn from the hiftorian by the occafion; fuch as the murmuring of the Grecian converts, the rest from perfecution, Herod's death, the fending of Barnabas to Antioch, and Barnabas calling Paul to his affiftance, Paul coming to a place and finding there difciples, the clamour fo the Jews, the complaint of artificers interested in the fupport of the popular religion, the reafon affigned to induce Paul to give fatisfaction to the Chriftians of Jerufalein. Had it not been for thefe occafions, it is probable that no notice whatever would have been taken of the number of converts, in feveral of the

paffages in which that notice now appears. All this tends to remove the fufpicion of any design to exaggerate or deceive.

PARALLEL TESTIMONIES with the history, are the letters which have come down to us of St. Paul, and of the other apoftles. Thofe of St. Paul are addreffed to the churches of Corinth, Philippi, Theffalonica, the church of Galatia, ́and, if the infcription be right, of Ephefus, his miniftry at all which places is recorded in the hiftory; to the church of Coloffe, or rather to the churches of Coloffe and Laodicea jointly, which he had not then vifited. They recognize by reference the churches of Judea, the churches of Afia, and "all the churches of the Gentiles." In the epiftle to the Romans, the author is led to deliver a remarkable declaration, concerning the extent of his preaching, its efficacy, and the cause to which he afcribes it, "to make the Gentiles obedient by word and deed, through mighty figns and wonders, by the power of the Spirit of God, fo that, from Jerufalem, and round about unto Illyricum, I have fully preached the gospel of Chrift." In the epistle to the Coloffians, we find an oblique, but very strong fignification, of the then general state of the Chriftian miffion, at least as it appeared to St. Paul: "If ye continue in the faith,, grounded and fettled, and be not moved away from the hope of the gofpel, which ye have heard, and which was preached to every creature which is under heaven?" which gofpel, he had reminded them near the beginninga of his letter, 66 was prefent with them as it was in all the world." The expreffions are hyperbolical; but they are hyperboles. which could only be ufed by a writer who entertained a ftrong fenfe of the subject The first epistle of Peter accofts the Chriftians difperfed through out Pontus,, Galatia, Cappadocia, Afia and Bithynia..

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SECT. I

IT' comes next to be confidered, how far these accounts ares confirmed, or followed up, by other evidence.

Tacitus, in delivering a relation, which has already been, laid before the reader, of the fire which happened at Rome in the tenth year of Nero, which coincides with the thirtieth year

1 Theff. 11. 14. Rom, xvi. 19, 4.. b XV. 18, 19

after Chrift's afcenfion, afferts, that the emperor, in order to fup-prefs the rumours of having been himself the author of the mif. chief, procured the Chriftians to be accufed. Of which Chrif tians,, thus brought into his narrative, the following is fo much of the hiftorian's account,, as belongs to our prefent purpose. "They had their denomination from Chriftus, who, in the reign of Tiberius, was put to death as a criminal by the procurator Pontius Pilate. This pernicious fuperftition, though checked! for a while, broke out again, and fpread not only over Judea,, but reached the city alfo. At first they only were apprehended, who confeffed themfelves of that fect, afterwards a vaft! multitude were difcove: 1 by them." This teftimony to the early propagation of Chriftianity is extremely material.

accounts extend.

It is from an hiftorian of great reputation, living near the times from a ftranger and an enemy to the religion; and it joins immediately with the period through which the fcripture: It eftablishes thefe points, that the religion began at Jerufalem, that it spread throughout Judea, that it had reached Rome, and not only fo, but that it had there obtained! a great number of convertss. This was about fix years after the time that St. Paul wrote his epiftle to the Romans, and! fomething more than two years after he arrived there himself. The converts to the religion were then fo numerous at Rome,, that of thofe who were betrayed by the information of the perfons first profecuted, a great multitude (multitudo ingens) were: difcovered and feized..

It feems probable; that the temporary check' which Tacitus reprefents Christianity to have received (repreffa in præfens) re ferred to the perfecution at Jerufalem, which followed the death of Stephen (Acts viii.) and which, by difperfing the converts, caufed the inftitution, in fome measure, to difappear. Its fec-ond eruption at the fame place, and within a fhort time, hass much in it of the character of truth. It was the firmness and! perfeverance of men who knew what they relied uponu.

Next in order of time, and perhaps fuperior in importance, iss the teftimony of Pliny the younger. Pliny was the Roman goy.. ernor of Pontus and Bithynia, two confiderable diftricts in the northern part of Afia Minor. The fituation in which he found! his province, led him to apply to the emperor (Trajan) for his direction, as to the conduct he was to hold towards the Chrif ftians. The letter, in which this application is contained, was written not quite eighty years. after Chrift's. afcenfion. The

prefident in this letter ftates the measures he had already pur fued, and then adds, as his reafon for reforting to the emperor's counfel and authority, the following words "Sufpending all judicial proceedings, I have recourfe to you for advice; for it has appeared to me a matter highly deferving confideration, ef pecially upon account of the great number of perfons who are in danger of fuffering for many of all ages, and of every rank, of both fexes likewise, are accused, and will be accufed: Nor has the contagion of this fuperftition feized cities only, but the leffer towns alfo, and the open country. Nevertheless it feemed to me that it may be reftrained and corrected. It is certain that the temples, which were almost forfaken, begin to be more fre quented; and the facred folemnities, after a long intermiffion, are revived.. Victims, likewife, are every where (paffim) bought up; whereas, for fome time, there were few to purchase them. Whence it is eafy to imagine, what numbers of men might be reclaimed, if pardon were granted to those that shall repent."

It is obvious to obfarve, that the paffage of Pliny's letter, here quoted, proves not only that the Chriftians in Pontus and Bithynia were now numerous, but that they had fubfifted there for fome confiderable time.. "It is certain (he fays) that the temples, which were almoft forfaken, (plainly afcribing this de fertion of the popular worship to the prevalency of Christianity) begin to be more frequented; and the facred folemnities, after a long intermiffion, are revived." There are alfo two claufes in the former part of the letter which indicate the fame thing; one, in which he declares that he had "never been prefent at any trials of Chriftians, and therefore knew not what was the ufual fubject of inquiry and punishment, or how far either was wont to be urged:" the fecond claufe is the following::" others were named by an informer; who at first, confeffed themselves Chrif tians, and afterwards denied it; the reft faid, that they had' been Chriftians, fome three years ago, fome longer, and fome above twenty years." It is alfo apparent that Pliny fpeaks of the Chriftians as a defcription of men well known to the perfon to whom he writes. His firft fentence concerning them is, "I have never been prefent at the trials of Chriftians." This mention of the name of Chriftians, without any preparatory explanation, fhows that it was a term familiar both to the writer of the letter, and the person to whom it was addreffed. Had it not been

C. Plin. Trajano Imp, lib. 1. cp, acvi