place of hearing, before him, and Bernice, and the Tribunes, and all the principal men of Cæfarea; so that the apostle had a new opportunity of fpeaking in his own defence; which he did to fuch good effect, that Agrippa declared in the presence of the whole aktembly, that he had done nothing worthy of death; and that he might have been fet at liberty, if he had not appealed to Cæfar.

Tacitus has fpoken of Bernice's beauty, and of the court which the paid to Vefpafian, by her magnificent prefents; and of the love which his fon Titus bare to her, Hift. lib. ii. c. 81. Nec minore animo Regina Berenice partes juvabat, florens ætate formaque, et feni quoque Vefpafiano, magnificentia munerum, grata. And fpeaking of Velpafian's fon Titus, the fame hiftorian says, Hift. lib. ii. c. 2. Neque abhorrebat a Berenice juvenilis animus. Suetonius adds, that Titus promised to marry her. For after mentioning Titus's cruelty, he speaks of his luft, cap. 7. Nec minus libido, propter exoletorum et Spadonum greges, propterque infignem regina Berenices amorem, cui etiam nuptias pollicitus ferebatur. Nevertheless, after he became Emperor, he for reasons of state dismissed Berenice, though with great regret: Berenicen ex urbe dimifit, invitus invitam. Titus Vefp. cap. 7.

No. XXXIII. pag. 389. He called on all the Jews prefent to bear witness. Bilhop Lowth in his note on Ifa. liii. 8. tells us, It is faid in the Mishna, that before any one was punished for a capital crime, proclamation was made before the pri foner by the public crier, in these words: Quicunque noverit "aliquid de ejus innocentiâ, veniat et doceat de eo. Ön which

paffage the Gemara of Babylon adds, that before the death of "Jefus, this proclamation was made for forty days; but no defence

could be found. On which words Lardner obferves, “It is "truly furprising to fee fuch falfehoods contrary to well known facts. "Teftimonies, vol. i, p, 198. The report is certainly false,

but this falfe report is founded on the fuppofition, that there "was fuch a custom, and so far confirms the account above given from the Mifhna. The Mishna was compofed in the "middle of the fecond century: Lardner afcribes it to the "of Chrift 180."

year

"Now it is plain from the history of the Four Evangelists, "that in the trial and condemnation of Jesus no such rule was "obferved; (though, according to the account of the Mishna,

it muft have been in practice at that time; no proclamation "was made for any perfon to bear witness to the innocence and "character of Jefus; nor did any one voluntarily step forth to "give his atteftation to it. And our Saviour feems to refer to

"fuch

"fuch a custom, and to claim the benefit of it, by his anfwer "to the high-prieft, when he asked him of his difciples and of "his doctrine; I fpake openly to the world; I ever taught in the "Synagogue, and in the temple, whither the Jews always refort "and in fecret have I faid nothing. Why afketh thou me? Afk them which heard me, what I have faid unto them: Behold, they know what I said, John xviii. 20, 21. This therefore was one ❝ remarkable inftance of hardship and injuftice, among others, "predicted by the prophet, which our Saviour underwent in his trial and fufferings."

"St. Paul likewife, in fimilar circumstances, ftanding before the judgment-feat of Feftus, feems to complain of the fame unjuft treatment; that no one was called, or would appear to "vindicate his character. My manner of life from my youth, "which was at the first among my own nation at Jerufalem, know all

the Jews, which knew me from the beginning, if they would teftify "that after the strictest fect of our religion, I lived a Pharifee.' Acts xxvi. 4, 5. Thus far Lowth.

To comprehend the force and propriety of the above appeal to the Jews who were prefent at the apoftle's defence before Agrippa, the full extent of his expreffion, My manner of life, must be attended to, and understood. For the apostle did not mean only, That all the Jews knew his education was at the first among his own nation at Jerufalem; but likewife, that they knew the other particulars which he mentioned in the fubfequent parts of his defence; namely, That after the strictest fect of their religion, he lived a Pharifee, ver. 5.-That he thought with himself, that he ought to do many things contrary to the name of Jefus of Nazareth, ver. 9. That he did these things in Jerufalem: That many of the faints he fhut up in prifon, having received authority from the chief priests fo to do. And that when they were put to death, he gave his voice against them, ver. 10. alluding to his behaviour at the ftoning of Stephen.-That he punished them oft in every fynagogue, and compelled them to blafpheme Jefus; and that being exceedingly mad against them, he perfecuted them even to foreign cities, ver. 11.-In particular, that he went to Damafcus with authority and commiffion from the chief priests, ver. 12.-that if he found any of this way, whether they were men or women, he might bring them bound to Jerufalem, Acts ix. 2. namely, to be punished-All these things, the Jews who were prefent at his defence before Agrippa in Cæfarea, well knew. He therefore called on them in this public manner to atteft the truth of them, because they were clear proofs of his bitter enmity to the Chriftians; and demonstrated that his forfaking the party of the chief priests, and going over to the Chriftians, whereby he fubjected himself to the

Ff.

hatred

hatred of the Jews, could be owing to nothing but to the appeare ing of Jefus to him on the road to Damafcus; of which he gave Agrippa an account in the remaining part of his fpeech, ver. 12.-15. At the fame time he told him, that Jesus faid to him, I have appeared to thee for this purpose, to make thee a minifter and a witness, both of these things which thou haft feen, and of those things in which I will appear unto thee afterwards.-19. Whereupon, O king Agrippa, I was not disobedient to the heavenly vision: 20. But fhewed firft to them of Damafcus, &c. that they should repent and do works meet for repentance, He added, ver. 22. That in his dif courses to the Jews and Gentiles, he said no other things than those which the prophets and Mofes did fay fhould come; 23. that the Chrift fhould fuffer, and fhould be the first who should rise from the dead, and fhould fhew light to the people, and to the Gentiles.-The apostle having given this account of his converfion to Christianity, and of the doctrine which he taught after he became a Chriftian, the one appeared fo rational, and the other fo confonant to the writings of Mofes and the prophets, that Agrippa entertained a favourable opinion of Paul, and declared that he had done nothing worthy of death, or of bonds.

No. XXXIV. pag. 395. The island was called Melitè. Bryant, Obferv. on Ancient Hiftory, contends, that this island was not Malta, because Malta is not in the Adriatic fea, notwithstanding Bochart endeavours to prove it to be fo. But it was an island belonging to Dalmatia, called anciently Melitè, but is now called Mleet by the Sclavonians, and is subject to Ragufa. In support of his opinion, Bryant cites ancient authors, who in enumerating the Adriatic iflands, mention Melitè very particularly, and fay that it was 20 ftadia distant from Corcyra Melana; and among the reft Pliny, Nat. Hift. lib. iii. c. 26. who reckons it among the Adriatic iflands, and adds, Unde Catulos Metaos appellari Callimachus autor eft.