--- title: Improvement Era description: Monthly periodical of the Mormon church, 1897 onward. This library holds the issues of November 1897 to December 1930. authors: - Weed, George Ludington collections: - periodicals tags: - magazine - improvement-era periodical: Improvement Era volume: 9 number: 8 published: 1906-06 publisher: Young Men’s Mutual Improvement Associations publisher_place: Salt Lake City language: en type: magazine reference: 'George Ludington Weed, "Life of St. Paul for the Young. XXIV–XXVI," *Improvement Era* 9, no. 8 (June 1906): 585–597.' source: url: https://archive.org/details/improvementera0908unse transcription: Transcribed from the Internet Archive scan of each issue (the item for each issue is named in the issue's own source); unnumbered advertising leaves are omitted, printed page numbers are kept as page markers. identifier: improvementera0908unse start_page: 585 end_page: 597 rights: status: public-domain basis: US publication 1930 or earlier (published 1906-06) source: https://archive.org/details/improvementera0908unse publication_year: 1906 note: The Internet Archive item metadata carries a blanket "© Copyright by Intellectual Reserve, Inc." notice. The library owner judged it inapplicable because this issue was published in 1906, before 1931; a scan-level notice does not restore copyright. --- # Life of St. Paul for the Young. XXIV–XXVI LIFE OF ST. PAUL FOR THE YOUNG. BY GEORGE LUDINGTON WEED. CHAPTER XXIV. PAUL AT ATHENS. Contrasts in Paul's Life—Piraeus—Heathen Gods—Statues—The Agora—Athenians —Acropolis—Parthenon—Minerva—Alone in Athens—Teaching—Epicureans —Stoics—Paul on Mars Hill—His Address—The Result. Thus far we have followed Paul over rugged mountains of grandeur which God had' made. Now we enter with him a city whose beautiful works of art show how wonderful are the powers which God has given to the mind of man. We have seen him among ignorant men; now we find him -among those who are learned, but who have not the true wisdom which comes from God only. We have seen him rejoicing by the quiet riverside with the few women worshipers of the one true God; now he is saddened by the multitude or worshipers of many false gods. We have seen him preaching Christ to a little company in an inner dungeon; now he preaches the same gospel to unbelieving throngs. Paul's vessel landed at ''the Pirgeus," five miles from the city Copyright, 1899, by George W. Jacobs & Co., Philadelphia. 586 IMPROVEMENT ERA. of Athens, whose gardens and theatres were the delight of sailors wearied with their voyages. Before Paul's day a narrow street with houses on both sides had stretched from the port to the city, protected by walls sixty feet in height having many towers. That was in the times of Athens' glory. But they had fallen into ruin. Entering the city he saw multitudes of statues. Some were of men who had lived there, called the greatest of Greece, One of the most illustrious of these was Demosthenes, His statue, motionless and silent, stood on the very spot where the voice of the greatest Grecian orator used to be heard; but not speaking with the wisdom which God there gave to Paul, Then there were statues of warriors called great because of the battles they had fought, but with a spirit unlike that of the Apostle who there preached the gospel of peace to all men. There were also statues of emperors, and of lawgivers, many of whose rules were good, but who understood not the commandments of Jesus Christ which Paul preached. But more than all there were statues of false gods called Neptune, Jupiter, Ceres, Minerva, Apollo, Mercury and the MuseS. We have noticed that some of these were worshiped in the Cilician towns which Paul had already visited where the worship of them made the people exceedingly wicked. Athens was a city crowded with idols. Some were very old and some new; some of great size and some small; some of a single color and others of varied colors; statues of wood, earthenware, stone, marble, bronze, ivory and gold; statues in all sorts of positions and in every place. There were more statues in Athens than in all the rest of Greece. It has been said as almost a truth that it was easier to find a god in Athens than a man. The Agora, or market-place of the city, was a square, surrounded by temples and shaded porticos and shops and booths, for the sale of goods and slaves, and parchments on which was written what is now printed. The people found daily in the Agora were not all Athenians. Many had come from different parts of the world. Nor were they all there for trade. Some of them were idlers, simply wanting to hear the news. There were so many of this class that it is said, "All the Athenians and strangers which were there spent their time in nothing else but either to tell or to LIFE OF ST. PAUL FOR THE YOUNG. 587 hear some new thing." Some of them talked about the different kinds of religion—not Christianity; and some about philosophy— the things they thought very wise. Near the Agora was a rocky hill called the Acropolis. The top of it was a museum of art—a place for the most beautiful buildings and images which made the Athenians remember and talk about their nation and their gods. The most magnificent building was the Parthenon, built of white marble to the honor of Minerva. Though now not perfect as it was in Paul's day, it is one of the most beautiful buildings in the world. Within was the statue of the goddess made of ivory and gold. Only one other in the world was so noted—that of Jupiter Olympus. Both were made by the same noted artist Phidias. Paul says he was "left alone at Athens;" he felt as any one does who is a stranger in a strange city. He was a Christian stranger in an idolatrous city. He longed for the companionship of Timothy and Silas who were still in Berea. But his loneliness was not the saddest thing: he was full of pity and sorrow because "he saw the city wholly given to idolatry." There was a synagogue in Athens and he there first told the story of Jesus, but we do not know how the Jews treated him or it. His chief teaching was to be elsewhere. So we think of him as going to the Agora joining one group and then another in the porticos or under the plane-trees, and talking to them of Jesus and the resurrection. Some of the men he met were called Epicureans. They did not believe in a Creator who wisely made all things, but that the world just happened to be what it is. They thought earthly pleasure was the best thing, and that the'soul and the body would die together. Some other men were called Stoics. They had better beliefs than the Epicureans. They believed in a god better and wiser than all other gods, who made all things and took care of them. They believed the soul would not die with the body, but they did not know what to believe about the soul after death. They did not think as Christians do about sin, repentance, forgiveness, and salvation. As Paul talked, some of the Epicureans and Stoics called him a babbler, trying to tell about things he did not understand. Others thought his teachings very strange, and they would 588 IMPROVEMENT ERA. like to know more about them. So they proposed to have him go with them away from the crowded and noisy Agora to the quiet Areopagus, which was also called Mars Hill. Here they said to him, * 'May we know what this new doctrine whereof thou speakest is?" He stood where the wisest of Grecian orators had spoken and been heard with interest and admiration. But Paul was greater than any of them, because he had the wisdom from God. If we put his speech in simple form, it is something like this: ' 'Ye men of Athens. I see that you take a great deal of interest in religion. You worship many gods. As I was going along the street I found an altar with these words on it—'To the Unknown God.' I understand by these words that you think perhaps there is a god whom you ought to worship, but you do not know about him. Now there is such a God, and I am here to tell you about Him. There are not many gods as you suppose, but one God. He is the Creator: He made the world and all things in it. He is the maker and Lord of the heavens and earth, ruling everywhere and everything. He is the preserver of all things. • He is everywhere. So he does not dwell in temples made with hands, like those in the city yonder, nor even in such a splendid temple as the Parthenon near which we are gathered. It is he who gives to all life, and breath, and all things. So he does not need anything you can give him. All men of all nations in all parts of the world are his children. They are like one great family. From his throne in heaven he beholds all that dwell upon the earth. You have been trying to find him, though he is not far from every one of us; for in him we live and move and have our being. We ought not to think that God is like these idols of which you have so many, made of gold and silver and stone graven by men. While men have been ignorant of him, he has not punished them for not worshiping him; but now he commandeth all men everywhere to repent. The day is coming when all men will be judged. God has appointed his son Jesus to be the judge, whom he had raised from the dead." When Paul spoke of the resurrection from the dead, his speech was suddenly interrupted. Some laughed at the "babbler;" others turned away, not wanting to hear any more. LIFE OF ST. PAUL FOR THE YOUNG. 589 Yet there were a few who believed his words. One was a man named Dionysius, and another was a woman named Damaris. Paul remained a little while and then "he left Athens as he had lived in it, a despised and lonely man." So far as we know, he was never in it again. Yet multitudes who do not know of nor care for the so-called great men who lived and died in that city, remember with great interest the short visit of Paul at Athens. CHAPTER XXV. PAUL AT CORINTH AND THE SECOND JOURNEY ENDED. Cenchrea—Corinth—Religion and Character of Population—Corinthian Entertainments—Heavenly Race and Crown—Aquila and Priscilla—Their Relation to Paul—In the Synagogue—Crispus—Paul's Vision—The Home of Justus— The Church of Corinth—Gallio and Paul—The First Epistles—Farewell— Phoebe—The Fourth Visit to Jerusalem. Leaving Athens, Paul sailed for five hours among the islands of the Saronic bay to the seaport of Cenchrea, situated on low green hills amidst groves of pine. A walk of eight miles through a valley of cypress-trees brought him to Corinth, which for eighteen months or two years was to be his tarrying place. Its population was of varied kinds—Greeks and Romans, Jews, soldiers, sailors, slaves and those who had been freed, great merchants and small, and men who made money in shameful ways. Instead of the true and holy religion of Christ which makes people better, they had a false and unholy religion which always made them worse. It was a city of drunkards and dishonest men, and those whose deeds shocked the pure mind of the Apostle. When good people in other places heard the name of Corinth, they thought most about its wickedness. No wonder if Paul asked, "Can the hearts of such people be changed from sin to holiness?" This is the city to which he said he came "in weakness and in fear and in much trembling." He was suffering in body and in mind. He was more lonely than even in Athens where he found less to sadden him than in Corinth. There was one class of things to which he often alludes in 590 IMPROVEMENT ERA. his writings. Corinth was noted for its games. Every year people came from all parts of Greece to witness them. They were held in a beautifully arranged race-course called the Stadium. There young men, active, strong, graceful and swift, contended in races and boxing-matches for the prize of a crown made of pine. There were also theatre shows and wild beast fights. Paul often compared things in the Christian life to these games and shows. Wicked men who persecuted him and other Christians were like wild beasts. Trying to be good and resisting sin through life was like running a race for a heavenly crown which does not fade like the one gained in the Stadium. Any one can gain it. Paul said, "So run that ye may obtain." There are three places in Corinth where we find him. One of them is the house of a Christian couple, Aquila and his wife Priscilla. They had gone from Pontus in Asia to Rome, from which, with other Jews they were banished by the emperor, and went to Corinth. In following their trade, they went from city to city as Paul did for preaching. Like him, wherever they went, as we find in following their history, they were known as Christian workers and helpers of other Christians. They were a most cheering and helpful couple, just such as Paul needed at this time in his loneliness, depression and discouragement. It happened that their trade was the same as his, tent-making. They took him into their home and gave him employment at which he worked day and night, sharing profits which were so small as hardly to supply daily needs. They and he were fellow countrj^- men far away from Palestine, the land of their fathers; fellowworshipers in the synagogue in Corinth; fellow-Christians whose companionship was to be most precious and helpful, and whose friendship was to continue as long as they lived. It was in their house that he unexpectedly found a home. It became the home of another kind, the meeting-place of Christians for instruction and worship and friendship at a time when they were ridiculed and in danger of persecution even unto death. In one of his letters Paul speaks of "Aquila and Priscilla with the church that is in their house." The second place to which we follow Paul in Corinth is the synagogue. The Sabbath has come. The haircloth and unfinished LIFE OF ST. PAUL tOR THE YOUNG. 591 tents of Aquila, Priscilla and Paul have been laid aside; but not for idleness nor for the wicked pleasures of their idolatrous Gentile neighbors. As in other places, Paul tells "the old, old story of Jesus and his love,'' which is new to that company in the synagogue of Corinth. Most of the hearers are not ready to believe it or sing or say. Tell me the story softly, With earnest tones and grave; Remember I'm the sinner Whom Jesus came to save. But this was not true of all. Crispus, the chief ruler of the synagogue believed on the Lord Jesus Christ with all his house. It greatly enraged the Jews that such a man of learning and position and influence should join the despised Christians. They feared that through Paul's preaching, others, both Jews and Gentiles, would do likewise. He sadly wrote these words about them, "They please not God, forbidding us to speak to the Gen-' tiles that they might be saved." In fear and anxiety, he was ready to ask as he did near Damascus, "Lord, what will thou have me to do?" The same Lord who appeared to him there gave him another vision in which he heard a voice saying, "Fear not, but speak and hold not thy peace; for I am with thee and no man shall set on thee to hurt thee; for I have much people in this city.'' These were comforting and encouraging words. To add to his joy and strength, Timothy and Silas joined him. The third place where we ifind him is in a private house. Among those who heard and believed was Justus, whose house next door to the synagogue which Paul was compelled to leave, became his preaching-place. He seems to have still made his home with Aquila and Priscilla. He met all who would come to him in the house of Justus. He preached the same gospel to them that he had to the learned men of Athens, but in a simpler manner so that they could easily understand. He believed what God had told him that he had much people in that city, and he was not disappointed. Jews and Gentiles, rich and poor, men of high rank like Gains, and men of lowest—most of them probably slaves— heard and believed, and became the Church of Corinth. 692 IMPROVEMENT ERA. When Paul had been there nearly a year and a half, Gallio became the Roman governor of the province of Achaia in which that city was located. He was a kind and gentle man called "the sweet Gallio." His brother Seneca, a noted Roman philosopher, said of him, ''He was without a fault, whom every one loved too little, even he who loved him to the utmost." The Jews thought that Gallio was so easy and obliging that he would imprison Paul to please them. So they brought the Apostle before his judgment seat with a false charge saying, * 'This fellow persuadeth men to worship God contrary to the law." But they were much mistaken in the new governor. He told them he had not come to settle their religious quarrels: such was not his business. Paul was about to defend himself, but Gallio said, "I will be no judge of such matters." Then he drove Paul's false accusers from his judgment seat and allowed him to remain a while longer in Corinth in safety. So was fulfilled the vision promise, "No man shall set on thee to hurt thee." Gallio little thought that this scene was the only one in his life in which men would be interested; and that he would be remembered, not for his own sake, but for that of the innocent prisoner before his judgment seat. When Paul was in Corinth, he wrote two letters to Christians in Thessalonica. They are what are known as the First and Second Epistles to the Thessalonians, the first letters in the New Testament. Nearly three years had now passed since Paul had been in Jerusalem. He planned going there, reaching it in time to attend a feast, probably the Pentecost. There he would again meet the Apostles and the mother Church to whom he could tell the long story of his journeys and labors, and persecutions and successes, in the heathen cities of Asia Minor and Greece. So Paul bade farewell, which must have been a sad one, to the Christians in Corinth. Taking with him Aquila and Priscilla, he went to the seaport of Cenchrea. One of the few disciples here was Phoebe, a wealthy widow, a deaconess for whom Paul had great regard because of her goodness and her help to him and to the Church. He afterward commended her as a wise and trusted leader in Christian work. A few days brought Paul's company including Silas and Tim- LIFE OF ST. PAUL FOR THE YOUNG. 593 othy, and Titus—of whom we now hear for the first time—to Ephesus, on the western coast of Asia Minor. From there they sailed to Csesarea and hastened to Jerusalem. This was Paul's fourth visit to the holy city since his conversion. After a little time with the Church there, he went to Syrian Antioch, thus completing his second missionary journey. CHAPTER XXVI. BEGINNING OF PAUL'S THIRD MISSIONARY JOURNEY— EPHESUS. Galatia—Phrygia—Ephesus—Location—The City of John's Vision—Pagan Wickedness—Temple of Diana—Foolish Pride—Hidden Marble—Second Temple— —Within the Temple—Idol Room—Image of Diana—"Ephesian Letters"— Impostures—Appollos—Disciples of John. In trying to follow Paul in his Third Missionary Journey, we cannot do it as closely as we did in his first and second. We know that he went through Galatia, the eastern region of Asia Minor, and through Phrygia, its central part, to its western extremity on the coast of the ^gean sea. At last by land he reached the city of Ephesus, from where we saw him sail for Jerusalem at the close of his Second Journey. This city was a mile from the sea, on a winding river now known as Little Mseander. The stream watered a vast meadow, alive with countless flocks of swans and other water-fowl. Neighboring mountains gave a pleasing contrast to sea and plain. The haven of Ephesus was one of the safest and most convenient of the Mediterranean. By great roads the city was reached from distant places. Trade by sea and land was great and of many kinds. It was like that other city of which St. John had a vision. He tells of ' 'merchandise of gold, and silver, and precious stones, and pearls, and fine linen, and purple, and silk, and scarlet; and all thyine-wood, and every vessel of ivory, and every vessel made of most precious wood, and of brass, and iron, and marble; and cinnamon, and spice, and incense, and ointment, and frankincense, and wine, and oil, and fine flour, and wheat, and cattle, and sheep; and merchandise of horses and chariots, and slaves, and souls of men." Ephesus was a centre of wickedness. To it came as to a fit- 594 IMPROVEMENT ERA. ting place multitudes of criminals—robbers and murderers from all the country round, escaping the just punishment of their crimes. The Ephesians were idolaters. The worshipers in the synagogue were almost alone in their thoughts of a God who is holy, just and wise. When the people visited the beautiful cypress and olive groves, they did not think of him who had made them beautiful; but of the wonderful, untruthful stories of what Pagan gods had there done. Paul saw much to excite his sorrow, pity and indignation in the streets of Ephesus,'as they had been excited in the streets of Athens. He was compelled to hear the harsh music of shrill flute and jangling timbrels mingled with the noisy shouts of revelry. He saw the shameful dances and processions led by Pagan priests, wretches with streaming hair and wild cries shaking their torches of pine, and inciting men to the vilest deeds. The city itself was called * 'the most magnificent cf the magnificent cities of Asia." It had a wonderful history of which we cannot here tell. But we must speak of that which was called its chief glory. When Paul on his second tour approached Ephesus bv sea, he saw from afar a glittering object like a star shining above the city; and now as he came toward the city by land in the opposite direction the same brilliant beauty rose before him the second time. It was the temple of the goddess Diana. A former .one had been burned by Herostratus, an Ephesian whose foolish pride made him do even a mean thing that his name might find a place in history. ' 'Verily he hath his reward"—a poor one indeed. He did it on the night of,the birth of Alexander the Great: but neither name tells of true greatness such as belongs to Paul. The Ephesians wanted to rebuild the temple in great grandeur with marble, for which they were in search. This beautiful stone was near by, but the quarry had long been hidden in Mount Prion. On it one day a shepherd named Pixodorus was feeding his flock. Two of his rams were fighting. One of them rushing upon his enemy with great force missed him and struck his horn through the turf and hit something white. The shepherd saw that he had discovered a bed of marble. He ran with a piece of it to the city and showed his prize. He received a reward for his discovery, and LIFE OF ST. PAUL FOR THE YOUNG. 595 at his death honors such as the people gave to their gods. And so the marble, which God had made pure and white—reminding us of his holiness—was used in building a temple for unholy worship to an idol. In the planning and building of it, the wisest architects were employed. The cost was very great: so was the interest in it. Countries around sent large sums of money, Women of Ephesus sold their jewels to honor their goddess. One generation after another watched its building, until the seventh saw its completion, at the end of two hundred and twenty years. It was not only the crowning glory of Ephesus, but was known as one of the Seven Wonders of the world—well deserving the name. In size it was immense, being four hundred and twenty-five feet in length and two hundred and twenty in breadth. There was a row of one hundred and twenty-seven columns of marble, each weighing one hundred and fifty tons, and each the gift of a king. Thirty-six of them were beautifully carved and colored. Part of the temple was open to the sky. The roof was made of cedar, supported by columns of green jasper which rested on marble bases. On these pillars were hung gifts of priceless value. They were votive offerings promised to the goddess Diana because the ignorant donors believed she had blessed them in some special way. The entrance was by folding doors made 6t cypress wood ornamented with carving. The staircase leading to the roof is said to have been cut from a single vine from the Island of Cyprus. Within the temple were decorations of cedar, cypress, gold, jewels and precious stones; carved by the most skilful artists. There were pictures by the greatest Grecian painters. One of these by Apelles was a likeness of Alexander the Great, claimed to be equal in value to nearly $200,000. Among the statues was one made of pure gold. The Ephesians were always adding new decorations to their temple, especially statues and pictures. At one end of the temple stood an altar adorned by the chisel of the great Greek sculptor Praxiteles. Behind it hung a rich purple curtain in many folds. Behind the curtain was the idol room, which to the worshipers of Diana was like the Holy of Holies in the Jewish Temple at Jerusalem. Behind the idol room was 596 IMPROVEMENT ERA. another believed to be under the protection of the goddess, and so the safest place in the world for any amount of riches. Within it were kept the treasures of Western Asia. The Ephesians claimed that the idol was an image that fell down from heaven. How different this from the declaration of Jesus, "I came down from heaven. I came forth from the Father and am come into the world." It is uncertain of what material the image was made, whether of vine-wood or ebony or stone. In appearance it was much like that of many idols worshiped now in the pagodas in India. Under each hand was a bar of metal—some say of gold and some of iron —to keep the image from tottering and falling upon her worshipers instead of their falling before her. She was gaily dressed, with a crown on her head and a girdle around her waist. Such was Diana, called the patron goddess of the Ephesians—the parent to whom like children they looked for support, protection and help of every kind. The Ephesians were a superstitious people, full of wonder and having the fear of what they did not understand, especially concerning the gods, whom they believed to be real. On the crown, girdle and feet of the image Diana were engraved curious letters which her worshipers,did not understand, but on which they looked with awe, believing them to be very wise and powerful. These "Ephesian Letters," as they were called, were copied upon rolls of parchment and worn as charms to protect from all kinds of evil. Many large books or scrolls were written pretending to explain the secret meaning of these letters, and were sold at a great price. Gems and ornaments were also worn to keep off evil and mischief and disease. This superstition of the people made it easy for them to be deceived by impostors—men who pretended to be what they were not, and to know and do what they could not. They were astrologers—men who studied the stars, not learning and teaching the wisdom and glory of God therein, but claiming to know how the stars influenced the lives of men. There were sorcerers—men claiming power to command evil spirits by their songs and speeches and mysterious motions. There were deceivers of all kinds claiming hidden wisdom which none others possessed. All these men LIFE OF ST. PAUL FOR THE YOUNG. 597 had great power over the people and so enriched themselves. Not only were the lowest people deceived, but those of the highest classes. Between Paul's visit to Ephesus on his second journey and his present one, something had happened which became of great interest to him. There was a Jew of Alexandria named Apollos who was learned in the Old Testament Scripture, and was a very eloquent man. He believed the most important thing which John the Baptist had taught about Jesus, telling men to "behold the Lamb of God which taketh away the sin of the world." But Appolos did not understand perfectly what Christ himself had taught. Being in Ephesus, he went into the synagogue and spoke of John's teaching. Priscilla and Aquila, who we remember went with Paul to Ephesus on his former visit, remained there while he went to Jerusalem. So they had the opportunity of hearing Apollos in the synagogue. They were greatly interested in him, and invited him to their house, and explained "unto him the way of God more perfectly." He was as ready to learn as they were to teach him. He was better prepared than before to speak in the synagogue of Jesus the Messiah, who, since the preaching of John the Baptist, had spent three years in teaching, had done his wonderful works, had died, risen, and ascended to heaven. On Paul's return to Ephesus and so to Aquila and Priscilla, he met their new friend Apollos, who became the Apostle's friend also, a companion first admired and then greatly loved. Beside Apollos there were twelve men in Ephesus, perhaps under his instruction, who had also been disciples of John. They knew nothing of the Holy Spirit promised by Christ and given to Christians after he left them. Paul taught these good men who knew so little "more perfectly," as Aquila and Priscilla had taught Apollos. They gladly accepted Paul's teaching, and received the Holy Spirit by whose aid they did much for Christ of whom they had known so little. (to be continued.)