After leaving Athens our Apostle came to Corinth. It appears that
at first he had not much success, for he took to his old trade of
tent-making. However, he ventured to preach in the synagogue, where the
Jews were indignant at his discourse: they carried him to the tribunal
of the proconsul of Achate, who had sufficient prudence to refuse to
interfere in their contests. The Jews did not imitate his moderation;
they ill-treated Sostenus, the chief of their synagogue, either for
having allowed Paul to preach there, or for having been converted by his
discourse.
Paul, after some days, departed from Corinth, he cut off his hair to
fulfil a vow he had made, and which apparently obliged him to be present
at Jerusalem, in order to sacrifice in the temple, according to the law.
Whence we see that our Apostle had not yet totally abandoned the Jewish
religion, and that he judged it good policy, occasionally to manoeuvre
with the Jews. In fact we continually see him sometimes practising, and
at others decrying, Judaism. From Jerusalem, Paul went to Antioch, where
he remained some time, but the activity of his mind soon put him in
motion. After having crossed the high provinces of Asia he came to
Ephesus, where he found the secret of uniting to his sect the disciples
of St. John the Baptist, whom he rebaptized, and made them acquainted
with the Holy Ghost of whom they had no idea. Having now increased his
party by these new recruits, Paul set about preaching in the synagogue,
but finding the Jews rather untractable, he withdrew himself, and
separated his disciples from them. He then commenced teaching in a
separate school and performing miracles to confirm his discourses; he
cured the sick, and especially those possessed, in which he succeeded
much better than those of the Jews, who endeavoured from his example to
attempt such cures. These miracles converted many persons.
Nevertheless, the preaching of Paul at Ephesus gave rise to an affair,
which had nearly proved very troublesome. The Goldsmiths of this city
derived much profit from the manufacture of little silver shrines of
Diana, the patroness of the Ephesians These artisans were much disturbed
with the preaching of our apostle, who decried the gods, and might thus
occasion the ruin of their trade; their clamour alarmed the people, and
caused a great commotion; the public, as is generally the case, when the
affair relates to religion, grew very violent, without knowing why. They
comprehended, in general terms, that their religion and its patroness
were attacked; and there needed nothing more to inflame their zeal.
However the town-clerk of the city having explained to them that
their goddess was in no danger, succeeded in calming the fury of
the superstitious populace, and thus extricated our apostle from his
embarassments.
Paul, however, thought proper to quit a city, in which he had run such
a risk, and again put himself in motion. Arrived at Troas he recommenced
preaching, when his sermon, being a little too long, sent a young man to
sleep, who fell from the third story into the street: they took him up
for dead, when our Apostle having embraced him, assured them that he
lived, the author of the Acts, takes this fact for a miracle, and tells
us gravely that Paul raised a dead man on this occasion.
Notwithstanding this pretended miracle, which if it had been true
ought to have converted the whole town, Paul went directly away, and
recommenced his travels. At Miletus he took leave of the priests of all
the adjacent places, after having made them a pathetic exhortation, in
which he boasts of his humility and disinterestedness, and desires them
to watch over the flock which he had gathered together by his preaching
and indefatigable exertions.