[983] Dia tauta met' exetaseos dei poiein, Mod. text adds panta. This sentence, om. by A., seems to be out of place, and to belong rather to v. 36. We have transposed the text v. 28, 29, which in mss. and Edd. is given after hos pasi prokeisthai.
[984] kai pantachou autois prokeintai. To make some sense of the passage, we adopt proskeintai from B. We also transpose v. 30 which is given with 31 after the following sentence.
[985] Proebalonto 'Ioudaioi oikonomikos de (supplied by Cat.) houtos ouk ephthenxato. Mod. text "The Jews thrust him forward, as Providence ordered it, that they might not have (it in their power) to gainsay afterwards. This man is thrust forward, and speaks: and hear what (he says)."
[986] Old text: Ieron heteron houtos ekaleito--meaning, as we take it, the Palladium of Troy, which was also called "the Diopetes," to Palladion to Diopetes kaloumenon, Clem. Alex. Protrept. iv. 47.--etoi to ostrakon autes phesin. Something more is needed, therefore we supply e to agalma autes phesin. But hieron in this sense is not usual. Ostrakon, whatever it mean, cannot be the image of Diana, which was known to be of wood. The passage seems to be corrupt, and one might conjecture that hieron heteron relates to "another Temple" of Diana built after the first which was burned by Herostratos, and that the name of this man is latent in the unintelligible etoitoostrakon, and that Chrysostom's remark is this, that together with that former Temple perished the original Diopetes: so that to speak of that image as still in being was a lie (touto pseudos)--Mod. text "But a different hieron was thus called diopetes: either then the idol of Diana they called Diopetes, hos ek tou Dios to ostrakon ekei nopeptokos, and not made by man: or a different agalmawas thus called among them."--Isidore of Pelus. in the Catena: "Some say that it is spoken of the image of Diana, i.e. (a worshipper) of the great Diana and of her diopetes agalma:' some that the Palladium also (is here named as diop.), i.e. the image of Minerva, which they worshipped along with Diana." Ammonius ibid., "the naos tou Dios: or the stronguloeides"--meaning the ostrakon?--"or rather, which is the true explanation, this image of Diana: or the Palladium, which they thought came from Jupiter, and was not the work of men." OEcum. gives the same variety of explanations, from the Catena. The words touto pseudos, which in the mss. follow the text v. 36, 37, are better referred to the Diopetes, as in our translation.--Mod. text ara to pan pseudos: and then, "these things however he says to the people, in order that those also," etc. omitting de preserved by the old text.
[987] This Diopetes, the image which was supposed to have fallen down from Jupiter or heaven (Dios--pipto), was the image of Diana which was in the great temple at Ephesus. This was the superstitious belief of the people as is clear from the many instances in classic mythology in which statues are famed to have fallen from heaven. This image was of wood and was probably found there by the Greeks when they colonized Ionia.--G.B.S.
[988] i.e. In this, he prophesies (see above on this verse): but in his purpose of going to Jerusalem from Achaia, he was disappointed, for he had to return through Macedonia: e proeileto, i.e. this is the meaning of etheto en pneumati. Mod. text om. ouketi enchronisas, and adds: "for this is the meaning of etheto, and such is the force of the expression." Then: "But why he sends away T. and E., the writer does not say: but it seems to me that of this also he says, 'En pneumati. Wherefore when," etc.--The meaning is: "He sends them away on this occasion, as he did at Athens: viz. because he could no longer forbear, therefore he thought it good to be left alone."
[989] ekei gar en he turannis (mod. text he polle phatria) ton philosophon. But this seems to belong rather to Athens.
[990] Mod. text inserts for connection: "And if from this work wealth accrues to you, how hath he persuaded," etc.
[991] ekkausai. Erasm. ut et confutaret totum et furorem populi extingueret. Ben. subverteret....extingueret. But ekkausai will not bear this sense, nor does the context suggest it. Alexander's object, it is represented, was to overthrow the preaching, and kindle the rage of the people yet more.--Cat. and Sav. marg. helkusai.
[992] Mod. text "As if he had said, Do ye not worship her?"
[993] Mod. text "But, Our city, paying court to them: therapeuon autous:" for which the old text has, But, Your city. 'Etherapeusen auten. Which may mean, Thus he, the town clerk, paid homage to the city, by speaking of its honors. But therapeuete auten in the preceding sentence requires the sense given in the translation.
[994] Sphodra gar autous elogesen kai dieporesen. Mod. text Touto sph. autous diep., omitting, elogesen, which, if not corrupt is here put in an unusual sense.
[995] ou dunesometha old text, here and above, as in the Alexandrine ms. of the N. T. (received by Griesbach) but here with tes sustr. t. transposed. (If the negative be retained, it is better to read peri tes s. t. as in the leading authorities of the text: so that this clause is epexegetical to peri hou; for which, namely, for this concourse.)
[996] tarachtheisa B. The other mss. taricheutheisa, which is unsuitable here.
[997] holos ouden heteron he panta gelos kai katagelos ta ekei.
[998] C., 'All' ei boulei palin pollous exetasomen topous; B., 'Alla palin ei boulei heterous exet. topous. Mod. text 'All' ei b., palin heteros exet. tous autous topous. In the Translation we adopt heteros and omit topous.
[999] The text is corrupt: kai phrixei tous topous--perhaps it should be tous ekei topous--entautha horon; kathaper, gar entautha en desmoteri& 251; tunchanon houto kakei pro tes kriseos pro tes mellouses hemeras, sc. phrixei. i.e. "just as here, being shut up in prison he looks forward with dread to the coming trial, so will he in that world," etc. Mod. text quite misrepresenting the sense: "For, as he that is here shut up in prison is gentle towards all, so those also before the Judgment, before the coming Day, will be more gentle," etc.