'nferred not only from the probabilities just referred to, but from other circumstances. When Paul wrote this epistle, the faith of the Romans was spoken of throughout the world, which would seem to imply that the church had already been long- established. Aquila and Priscilla, who left Rome on account of the decree of Claudius banishing the Jews, were probably Christians before their departure; nothing at least is said of their having been converted by the apostle. He found them at Corinth, and being of the same trade, he abode with them, and on his departure took them with him into Syria.
The tradition of some of the ancient fathers that Peter was the founder of the church at Rome is inconsistent with the statements given in the Acts of the Apostles. Irenaeus (Haeres. 1X1. 1.) says, that " Matthew wrote his gospel, while Peter and Paul were in Rome preach- ing the gospel and founding the church there." And Eusebius (Chron. ad ann. 2 Claudii) says, "Peter having founded the church at Antioch, departed for Rome, preaching the gospel." Both these statements are incorrect. Peter did not found the church at Antioch, nor did he and Paul preach together at Rome. That Peter was not at Rome prior to Paul's visit appears from the entire silence of this epistle on the subject; and from no mention being made of the fact in any of the letters written from Rome by Paul during his imprisonment. The tradition that Peter ever was at Rome rests on very uncertain authority. It is first mentioned by Dionysius of Corinth in the latter half of the second century, and from that time it seems to have been generally received. The account is in itself improbable, as Peter's field of labour was in the east, about Babylon; and as the statement of Dionysius is full of inaccuracies. He makes Peter and Paul the founders of the church at Corinth, and makes the same assertion regarding the church at Rome, neither of which is true. He also says that Paul and Peter suffered martyrdom at the same time at Rome, which, from the silence of Paul respecting Peter during his last imprisonment, is in the highest degree improbable. History, therefore, has left us ignorant of the time when this church was founded, and the persons by whom the work was effected.
The condition of the congregation may be inferred from the circum- stances already mentioned, and from the drift of the apostle's letter. As the Jews and proselytes were very numerous at Rome, the early converts ' as might be expected, were from both these classes. The latter, how ever, seem greatly to have predominated, because we find no such evi dence of a tendency to Judaism as is supposed in the epistle to the Gala- tians. Paul nowhere seems to apprehend that the church at Rome would apostatize as the Galatian Christians had alreadj'^done. And in chapters 14 and 15, his exhortations imply that the Gentile party were more in danger of oppressing the Jewish, than the reverse. Paul, therefore, writes to them as Gentiles (ch. 1 : 13), and claims, in virtue of his office as apostle of the Gentiles, the right to address them with all freedom and authority (15: 16). The congregation, Lowever, was not composed