the history, should have been fabricated in order to suit the character which St. Paul gives of himself in the epistle.

No. VIII.

Chap. i. 14-17.

"I thank God that I baptised none of you but Crispus and Gaius, lest any should say that I baptised in my own name; and I baptised also the household of Stephanas: besides, I know not whether I baptised any other; for Christ sent me not to baptise, but to preach the Gospel.”

It may be expected, that those whom the apostle baptised with his own hands, were converts distinguished from the rest by some circumstance, either of eminence, or of connexion with him. Accordingly, of the three names here mentioned, Crispus, we find, from Acts, xviii. 8, was a "chief ruler of the Jew

ish synagogue at Corinth, who believed in the Lord, with all his house." Gaius, it appears from Romans, xvi. 23, was St. Paul's host at Corinth, and the host he tells us, "of the whole church." The household of Stephanas, we read in the sixteenth chapter of this epistle, " were the first fruits of Achaia." Here. therefore is the propriety we expected: and it is a proof of reality not to be contemned;

us,

in

for their names appearing in the several places in which they occur, with a mark of distinction belonging to each, could hardly be the effect of chance, without any truth to direct it and on the other hand, to suppose that they were picked out from these passages, and brought together in the text before order to display a conformity of names, is both improbable in itself, and is rendered more so by the purpose for which they are introduced. They come in to assist St. Paul's exculpation of himself, against the possible charge of having assumed the character of the founder of a separate religion, and with no other visible, or, as I think, imaginable design*.

Chap. i. 1. "Paul called to be an apostle of Jesus Christ, through the will of God, and Sosthenes, our brother, unto the church of God, which is at Corinth." The only account we have of any person who bore the name of Sosthenes, is found in the eighteenth chapter of the Acts. When the Jews at Corinth had brought Paul before Gallio, and Gallio had dismissed their complaint as unworthy of his interference, and had driven them from the judgement-seat; then all the Greeks," says the historian," took Sosthenes, the chief ruler of the Synagogue, and beat him before the judgement-seat.” The Sosthenes here spoken of was a Corinthian'; and, if he was a Christian, and with St. Paul when he wrote this epistle, was likely enough to be joined with him in the salutation of the Corinthian church. But here occurs a difficulty. If

No. IX.

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Chap. xvi. 10, 11. Now, if Timotheus come, let no man despise him."-Why despise him? This charge is not given concern

Sosthenes was a Christian at the time of this uproar, why should the Greeks beat him? The assault upon the Christians was made by the Jews. It was the Jews who had brought Paul before the magistrate. If it had been the Jews also who had beaten Sosthenes, I should not have doubted but that he had been a favourer of St. Paul, and the same person who is joined with him in the epistle. Let us see therefore whether there be not some error in our present text. The Alexandrian manuscript gives παντες alone, without ὁ Ἑλληνες, and is followed in this reading by the Coptic version, by the Arabic version, published by Erpenius, by the Vulgate, and by Bede's Latin Version. Three Greek manuscripts again, as well as Chrysostom, give ¿í Ioudao, in the place of & ‘Eaayves. A great plurality of manuscripts authorise the reading which is retained in our copies.. In this variety it appears to me extremely probable that the historian originally wrote Tavres alone, and that & Exλves, and & Ioudaio have been respectively added as explanatory of what the word Tates was supposed to mean. The sentence, without the addition of either name, would run very perspicuously thus, και απήλασεν αυτούς από του βήματος επιλαβομενοι δε παντες Σωσθένην τον αρχισυναγωγον, ετυπτον εμπροσθεν του βήματος" and he drove them away from the judgement-seat; and they all," viz. the crowd of Jews whom the judge had bid begone, "took Sosthenes, and beat him before the judgement-seat." It is certain that, as the whole body of the people were Greeks, the application of all to them was unusual and hard. If I was describing an insurrection at Paris, I might say all the Jews,

G

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ing any other messenger whom St. Paul sent; and, in the different epistles, many such messengers are mentioned. Turn to 1 Timothy, chap. iv. 12, and you will find that Timothy was a young man, younger probably than those who were usually employed in the Christian mission; and that St. Paul, apprehending lest he should, on that account, be exposed to contempt, urges upon him the caution which is there inserted, "Let no man despise thy youth."

Chap. xvi. 1.

No. X.

"Now, concerning the collection for the saints, as I have given order to the churches of Galatia, even so do ye."

The churches of Galatia and Phrygia were the last churches which St. Paul had visited before the writing of this epistle. He was now at Ephesus, and he came thither immediately from visiting these churches : "He went over all the country of Galatia and Phrygia, in order, strengthening all the dis

all the Protestants, or all the English acted so and so; but I should scarcely say all the French, when the whole mass of the community were of that description. As what is here offered is founded upon a various reading, and that in opposition to the greater part of the manuscripts that are extant, I have not given it a place in the text.

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ciples. And it came to pass that Paul having passed through the upper coasts" (viz. the above-named countries, called the upper coasts, as being the northern part of Asia Minor), came to Ephesus." Acts, xviii. 23; xix. 1. These therefore, probably, were the last churches at which he left directions for their public conduct during his absence. Although two years intervened between his journey to Ephesus, and his writing this epistle, yet it does not appear that during that time he visited any other church. That he had not been silent when he was in Galatia, upon this subject of contribution for the poor, is farther made out from a hint which he lets fall in his epistle to that church: Only they (viz. the other apostles) would

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that we should remember the poor, the same also which I was forward to do."

No. XI.

Chap. iv. 18. "Now, some are puffed up, as though I would not come unto you."

Why should they suppose that he would not come? Turn to the first chapter of the Second Epistle to the Corinthians, and you will find that he had already disappointed them: "I was minded to come unto you be