At this point Festus began to apprehend what seemed to him a manifest absurdity. He interrupted the apos- tle discourteously, but with a compliment contained in his loud remonstrance: "Paul, thou art beside thyself; much learning doth make thee mad." The phrase ra TToXXa ypafifiara may possibly have been sitggcstcd by the allusion to Moses and the prophets; but it probably refers to the books with which Paul had been supplied, and which he was known to study during his imprison- ment. As a biographical hint, this phrase is not to be overlooked. " I am not mad, most noble Festus," replied Paul; "but speak forth the words of truth and soberness." Then, with an a|>peal of mingled dignity and solicitude, he turns to the king. He was sure the king understood him. '• King Agrippa, believest thou the prophets? I know that thou believest." The an- swer of Agrippa can hardly have been the serious and encouraging remark of our English version. Literally rendered, it appears to be, You are briefly persuading me to t)ocome a Christian ; and it is generally supposed to have been spoken ironically. It rat Iter signifies, You are sfi'/Z/ll// {iv oXiyf-j) successful. " I would to God," is Paul's earnest answer, "that not only thou, but also all that hear me this day, were both almost and altogether
{Kai iv 6Xiy<i> Kai iv TroXXip) such as I am, except these bonds." He was wearing a chain upon the hand he held up in addressing them. With this prayer, it appears, the conference ended. Festus and the king, and their companions, considted together, and came to the conclusion that the accused was guilty of noth- ing that deserved death or imprisonment. Agrippa's final answer to the inquiry of Festus was, "This man might have been set at liberty, if he had not appealed unto Ca3sar."
(3.) Voi/arje to Rome. — No formal trial of Paul had yet taken place. It appears from Acts xxviii, 18 that he knew how favorable the judgment of the provincial government was likely to be. But the vehement oppo- sition of the Jews, together with his desire to be con- veyed to Rome, might well induce him to claim a trial before the imperial court. After a while arrangements were made to carry " Paul and certain other prisoners," in the custody of a centurion named Julius, into Italy; and among the company, whether by favor or from any other reason, we find the historian of the Acts. The narrative of this voyage is accordingly minute and cir- cumstantial in a degree which has excited much atten- tion. The nautical and geographical details of Luke's account have been submitted to an apparently thorough investigation by several competent critics, especially by Mr. Smith, of Jordanhill, in an important treatise devoted to the subject, and by Mr. Howson. The result of this investigation has been that several errors in the re- ceived version have been corrected, that the course of the voyage has been laid down to a very minute degree with great certainty, and that the account in the Acts is shown to be written bj' an accurate eye-witness, not himself a professional seaman, but well acquainted with nautical matters. We shall hasten lightly over this voyage, referring the reader to the works above men- tioned, and to the articles on the names of places and the nautical terms which occur in the narrative. See also Shipwreck.
The centurion and his prisoners, among whom Aris- tarchus (Col, iv, 10) is named, embarked at Ca?sarea on board a ship of Adramyttium, and set sail for the coast of Asia. On the next day they touched at Sidon, and Julius began a course of kindly and respectful treatment by allowing Paul to go on shore to visit liis friends. The westerly winds, still usual at the time of j-ear (late in the summer), compelled the vessel to run northwards under the lee of Cyprus. Off the coast of Cilicia and Pamphylia they would find northerly winds, which en- abled them to reach Myra in Lycia. Here the voyagers were put on board another ship, wliich had come from Alexandria and was bound for Italy. In this vessel they worked slowly to windward, keeping near the coast of Asia Minor, till they came over against Cnidus, The wind being still contrary, the only course now was to run southwards, under the lee of Crete, passing the headland of Salmone. They then gained the advan- tage of a weather shore, and worked along the coast of Crete as far as Cape IMatala, near which they took ref- uge in a harbor called Fair Havens, identified with one bearing the same name to this day.
It now became a serious question what course should be taken. It was late in the year for the navigation of those days. The fast of the day of expiation (Lev. xxiii, 27-29), answering to the autinnnal equinox, was past, and Paul gave it as his advice that they should winter where they were. But the master and the owner of the ship were willing to rim the risk of seeking a more com- modious harbor, and the centurion followed their judg- ment. It was resolved, with the concurrence of the ma- jority, to make for a harbor called Phoenix, sheltered from the south-west winds, as well as from the north- west. (The phrase /3Xf7roi'ra Kara X</3a is rendered either "looking down the south-west [Smith and Al- ford], or "looking toirards the south-west," when ob- served from the sea and towards the land enclosing it [Howson].) See Phcenice. A change of wind oc-