Upon his arrival at Lystra, St. Paul, notwithstanding the indulgence
of the Council of Jerusalem, thought it good policy to circumcise a
proselyte named Timothy, who was born of a Gentile father and a Jewish
mother. The Acts of the Apostles inform us of the motive of this
circumcision (chap. xvi. ver. 3) it being done "because of the Jews
which were in those quarters."
Our two Missionaries now travelled over several provinces of Asia Minor,
such as Phrygia and Galatia, and yet we find that the Holy Ghost forbade
them to announce the word of God in Asia. We may indeed suppose, that
in this passage, the "Holy Ghost" is only intended to indicate that our
missionaries themselves perceived, that it would be dangerous for them
to preach their doctrine; for in the Holy Scriptures the persons of whom
it speaks are always supposed to act from divine impulse.
Paul had a vision, which persuaded him to go to Macedonia. Being arrived
at Phillippi, he preached to the women with such success, that he had
the happiness of converting a dealer in purple, named Lydia, who, from
gratitude, invited them pressingly to lodge in her house. They were
well accommodated no doubt, since devotees take great care of their
directors; but our holy personages had the misfortune to perform a
miracle which deranged all their affairs. Paul cast out the evil spirit
from a damsel, who having a spirit of divination, brought great profit
to her masters by soothsaying. The cure, or perhaps conversion, of
this slave, displeased her masters, they carried their complaint to
the magistrates; the people took a part against our preachers, who were
beaten with rods and then sent to prison. An earthquake retrieved their
affairs, they gained over the gaoler whom they converted to the faith.
In the meantime the magistrates sent him an order to release our
prisoners. But Paul, bearing in mind the scourging they had received,
required that the magistrates should come in person and release them,
asserting that they were Roman citizens: at these words the magistrates
were intimidated, and came with apologies to set them free, begging them
to leave their city, which request they complied with, after having
been to console Lydia the devout, and the brethren, who according to
appearances did not suffer them to depart empty-handed. This bad success
did not discourage our missionaries who were aware doubtless, that
they were inconveniences attached to their profession. They now went to
Thessalonica, where Paul had the good luck to make some proselytes
both among Jews and Gentiles; he converted especially, some ladies
of quality; but the hardened Jews were very much irritated at his
successes; they endeavoured to apprehend Paul and Silas, but not being
able to find them, they dragged Jason, their host, and some of the
brethren, before the magistrates, accusing them of treason, and of
acknowledging another king besides Cæsar.
This uproar obliged our missionaries to decamp during the night from
Thessalonica, and take the road to Berea, where they were well received
by the Jews, since Paul succeeded in convincing them that the Gospel
which he announced was clearly predicted in their own Scriptures: there
is reason to believe that this was effected by the aid of mystical,
cabalistical, and allegorical senses, of which he so well knew the use,
in finding in the Old Testament sufficient to establish whatever he was
desirous of proving.
He gained in this city a great number of recruits from amongst the Greek
females of quality, women, according to St. Jerome are best fitted to
propagate a sect; their levity makes them easily caught by novelties;
their ignorance renders them credulous; their talkativeness spreads
the opinions with which they are imbued; and, in short, their obstinacy
strongly attaches them to the way of thinking they have once adopted. In
a word we see, that in all times the Christian religion has been under
the greatest obligations to women; it is to them that innovators ought
especially to address themselves when they have opinions to establish,
it is by their aid that fanatics and devout impostors succeed in giving
importance to their doctrine, and sow the seeds of discord in society.
It appears that in the time of Paul, women had the right of speaking or
of prophesying in the church, of this, they have since been deprived,
and they are only allowed the privilege of bawling in public, in
favour of the systems of their holy directors, whom they always believe
infallible, without so much as knowing the state of the question. The
Quakers are now the only sect which permits women to preach *.
* There appears some little ambiguity in this paragraph,
since if the levity of women renders them so easily
susceptible to the embracing new opinions, the obstinacy
with which they are charged in adhering to old ones, would
seem to neutralize the opposite propensity, and like the
infinite attributes of Justice and Mercy in the Christians'
God, they would annihilate each other. The fact is, that the
ignorant of either sex, are always the most credulous, and
their opinions, when imbibed, are seldom to be dignified
with any other term than prejudice. Of the great influence
of woman in society, no one can doubt, and it is the duty of
all who think, and who desire a reformation of the present
semi-barbarous state of society, to endeavour to inform and
enlighten the female mind; it belongs to man to war against
old systems, and errors rendered sacred by their antiquity,
and perhaps to lay down some few elementary principles,
founded upon a more rational basis, but so long as the
infant mind is under the controul of woman, it is to her
that we must look to see those principles implanted: it is
by the aid of woman that the mass of mankind will (if ever
it be done) be transformed from a herd of slaves, to a race
of happy and intelligent beings, knowing their rights, and
daring to defend them.
The Jews of Thessalonica proceeded to trouble our preachers, in their
apostolic labours, to such a degree that Paul was under the necessity
of flying. He, however, took care to leave two missionaries at Berea,
to watch over the flock which he had gathered. Nevertheless these soon
received orders to join him at Athens.
In this celebrated city the zeal of our Apostle kindled, he had
conferences with the philosophers: desirous to learn the nature of the
discoveries which this man had come to announce to them, they conducted
him to the Areopagus, there Paul harangued them and spoke to them of
his God, in a manner something conformable to the notions already
entertained by some of the Greek philosophers of the Divinity. To
confirm his discourse he cited to them a passage from the poet Aratus,
who nevertheless appears to suppose, according to the doctrine of Plato,
that God is the soul of the world. He inveighed against gods made of
stone and metal, which did not shock the philosophers, whose ideas were
more refined than those of the vulgar.
Thus far our orator was attentively heard, but the sages of Athens would
no longer listen to him, when he began to speak of the last judgment,
and of the resurrection, which they regarded as an absurd and ridiculous
notion. Nevertheless the preaching of Paul was not totally useless at
Athens, the dogma of the resurrection was no obstacle to the conversion
of Dionysius, the Areopagite, a woman named Damaris, and some others.
These were none of them shocked at this doctrine, which was so revolting
to philosophers, who were accustomed to the study of nature, and who
refused to adopt, without examination, such marvellous and romantic
ideas.