and SAVIOUR, JESUS CHRIST, and his APOSTLES, &C. 341 But the apoflle well knowing the confe- quences of fuck a propofal, anfwered, I am a Roman, and therefore ought to be judged by the Roman lawn and now (land before the judgment -feat ofCatfar. I have done nothing against the Jews, a fa& thou thyfelf very well knoweft to be true. If I have committed any thing that deferves death, I am ready to die; but if not, nó perfon hath a power to deliver me into the hands of mine enemies. I appeal unto Cafar." Appeals of this nature were common among(! the Romans, and introduced to defend and fecure the lives and fortunes of the people from the unjull encroach- ments, and over-rigorous feverities of the magiftrates, whereby it was lawful in cafes of oppreffion to appeal to the.emperor for redrefs ; a thing more than once- fettled by the fan&ion of the Valerian law, and now fully eftablilhed. King Agrippa, who fucceeded Herod in the.tetrarchate of Galilee, and his Her Bernice, came to Cefarea, forae timeafter St. Paul had appealed to Cæfar, to vifit the new governor. Pettus embraced this opportunity of mentioning the cafeofour apoftle to king Agrippa, together with the remarkable tumult this affair had oc- cafioned amonglt the Jews, and the ap- peal he had made to Cæfar. This account excited the curiofity of king Agrippa, and he was defirous of hearing himfelf what St. Paul had to fay in his ownvindication. Accordingly, the next day the king and his filler, accompanied with Feflus the go- vernor, and feveral other perlons of dif- tin&ion, cameinto the court with a pom- pons and fplendid retinue, where the prifoner was brought before them. On his appearing, Pettus informed the court how greatly he had been importuned by the Jews, both at Celarea and Jerufalem, to put the prifoner to death as a malefac- tor; but having, on examination, found him guilty of no capital crime, and the prifoner himfelf having appealed unto Cæfar, he was determined to fend him to No. 29. Rome ; but was willing to bave his caufe debated before Agrippa, that he might be furnifhed with fome material particulars to fend with him; it being highly:abfurd to fend thither a prifoner without fignifying the crimes laid to his charge. After Pettus had finithed his fpeech, Agrippa told Paul, he was now at liberty to make his own defence : and filence be- ing made, he addreffed his fpeech parti- cularly to Agrippa, in the following manner. I efleem it 'a particular happinefs, king Agrippa, that I am to make my defence againft the accufations oftheJews, before thee; becaufe thou art well ac- quainted with all their cufloms, and the queflions commonly debated amongfl: them: Tthereförebefeech thee to hearme patiently and impartially. " The Jews in general are well ac- quainted with my manner of life from my youth, the greateft part of it having been (pent with mine own countrymen at Jeru- falem. They alto know that I was edu- cated under the inftitutions of the Phari- fees, the ftri&eft fe& of our religion, and am now arraigned for a tenet believed by all their fathers, a tenet fuffrciently cre- dible in itfelf, and plainly revealed in the Scriptures, I mean, the refurre&ion of the dead. Why fhould any mortal think it either incredible or impoffrble, that God fhould raife the dead to life? " I once thought myfelf indifpenfably obliged to oppofe the religion of Jesus of Nazareth : nor was I fatisfied with im- prifoning, and pu nifhingwith death itfel f, the faints I found at Jerufalem; I even perfe- cuted them in ftrange cities, whither my implacable zeal purfued them, having pro- cured authority from the chief priefls and elders for that purpofe. " I departed accordingly for Damafcus, with a commiflion from the Sanhedrim ; but as I was travelling towards that city, I taw at mid-day, O. king, a light from hea- ven, far exceeding the brightnefs of the fun, encompaflingme and my companions. 40 On
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