Page:Lives of the apostles of Jesus Christ (1836).djvu/601

 other portion of his writings, on account of its being supposed to furnish different polemic writers with the most important arguments for the peculiar dogmas of one or another, according to the fancy of each. It undoubtedly is the most doctrinal and didactic of all Paul's epistles, alluding very little to local circumstances, which are the theme of so large a part of most of his writings, but attacking directly certain general errors entertained by the Jews, on the subject of justification, predestination, election, and many peculiar privileges which they attributed to themselves as the descendants of Abraham.

This epistle, like most of the rest, was written by an amanuensis, who is herein particularly named, as Tertius,—a word of Roman origin; but beyond this nothing else is known of him. It was carried to Rome by Phebe, an active female member of the church at Cenchreae, the port of Corinth, who happened to be journeying to Rome for some other purposes, and is earnestly recommended by Paul to the friendly regard of the church there.

RETURN TO ASIA.

After passing three months in Corinth, he took his departure from that city, on his pre-determined voyage to the east, the direction of which was somewhat changed by the information that the Jews of the place where he then was, were plotting some mischief against him, which he thought best to avoid by taking a different route from that before planned, which was a direct voyage to Syria. To escape the danger prepared for him by them, at his expected place of embarkation, he first turned northward by land, through Macedonia to Philippi, and thence sailed by the now familiar track over the Aegean to Troas. On this journey, he was accompanied by quite a retinue of apostolic assistants,—not only his faithful disciple and companion Timothy, but also Sosipater of Beroea, Aristarchus and Secundus of Thessalonica, Gaius, or Caius of Derbe, and Luke also, who now carries on the apostolic narrative in the first person, thus showing that he was himself a sharer in the adventures which he narrates. Besides these immediate companions, two brethren from Asia, Tychicus and Trophimus, took the direct route from Corinth to Troas, at which place they waited for the rest of the apostolic company, who took the circuitous route through Macedonia. The date of the departure of Paul is very exactly fixed by his companion Luke, who states that they left Philippi at the time of the passover, which was in the middle of March; and other circumstan