'None forbidding him' marks a great step forward. Paul's unhindered
freedom of speech in Rome itself marks 'the victory of the word, the
apex of the Gospel.' The neutral attitude of the imperial power was,
indeed, broken by subsequent persecutions, but we may say that on the
whole Rome let Christianity alone. That is the best service that the
State can render to the Church. Anything more is help which encumbers
and is harmful to the true spiritual power of the Gospel. The real
requirement which it makes on the civil power is simply what the Greek
philosopher asked of the king who was proffering his good offices,
'Stand out of the sunshine!'