brace the Jewish customs, although he had promised her father he would. But this marriage of Drusilla with Azizus was dissolved in a short time, after this manner. When Felix was procurator of Judea, having had a sight of her, he was mightily taken with her; and indeed she was the most beautiful of her sex. He therefore sent to her Simon, a Jew of Cyprus, who was one of his friends, and pretended to magic; by whom he persuaded her to leave her husband, and marry him; promising to make her perfectly happy, if she did not disdain him. It was far from being a sufficient reason; but to avoid the envy of her sister Bernice, who was continually doing her ill offices, because of her beauty, she was induced to transgress the laws of her country and marry Felix."

Tacitus says, that whilst Felix was procurator of Judea, "he acted in a very arbitrary manner, and scrupled not at every kind of injustice." Josephus has recorded one instance of abominable villainy he was guilty of. "Jonathan the high priest often admonished Felix to correct his administration; for that otherwise he himself was in danger of the ill-will of the people, since he had desired the emperor to make him procurator of Judea. But he not being able to bear these fre quent remonstrances, by a large sum of money corrupted an intimate friend of Jonathan's, who got him to be assassinated." His government was so irregular, that the Jews followed him with complaints to Rome after he had left the province; and it was owing to very pow erful interest made for him at court, that he escaped the resentment of Nero.

All these above mentioned particulars from Josephus and Tacitus, may satisfy us, that when, Acts xxiv. 25, "Paul reasoned of righteousness, temperance (or chastity,) and judgment to come," his subjects were well chosen with respect to both his hearers; and that what St. Luke adds concerning Felix, that he, ver. 26, "hoped that money should have been given him of Paul, that he might loose him," is no calumny.

Some, indeed, may think it strange, that Felix should have had any hopes of receiving money from this prisoner, when it does not appear he had any estate; and he has intimated, that he was at times obliged to "labor, working with his hands" for a subsistence, 1 Chr. iv. 12; Acts xx. 34. But in answer to this, it has been observed by expositors, that Paul had told Felix, that "after many years" "he came to bring alms to his nation and offerings," Acts xxiv. 17. It is likely, therefore, that Felix imagined that the money had not been all distributed as yet, since Paul was apprehended within a few days after

his coming to Jerusalem, ch. xxi. 27; xxiv. 11; or, at least, concluded he must needs be a person of some consequence, and have good friends.

Of Pontius Pilate, Dr. Lardner gives a number of notices by profane authors; we present the following: Philo, (a celebrated Jewish writer of Alexandria, who was cotemporary with the apostles) has given a long representation of Pilate's government, in the complaints which the Jews made to Pilate, upon his dedicating shields at Jerusalem. They tell him, "It was not the will of Tiberius, that any of their laws and customs should be violated: and Pilate was afraid that if they should send an embassy to Rome, they would discover to the emperor the many crimes of his administration, his taking of bribes, his extortions, his murder of innocent and uncondemned persons, and other cruelties." Here are the tokens of civil power, but much abused.

Treating of the motives which influenced Pilate to yield to the demands of the Jews, that Jesus should be crucified, Dr. Lardner says, "The evangelists are unanimous in the account, that this sentenee was pronounced only to content the Jews;' that is, either to secure the peace of the province, or to maintain his interest with the people, when he saw that nothing could satisfy or appease their rage but the death of Jesus. When Pilate saw that he could prevail nothing, but rather a tumult was made, he took water, and washed his hands before the multitude, saying, I am innocent from the blood of this just person; see ye to it. Then answered all the people and said, His blood be on us, and on our children. Matt. xxvii. 24, 25; Luke, xxiii. 24, 25; John, xix. 14-16.'

It will seem strange to some, that a Roman governor should have any inducements to comply with the demands of people, contrary to his own judgment and inclination. But he that considers the ac

count we have of the principles and behavior of the Jewish nation at this time will be satisfied the evangelists have given a just and true representation of this transaction; and will be convinced, that a Roman governor, with all his authority, could not pass by any thing which they apprehended to be a breach on their religious constitution without hazarding the peace of his province. All this will not justify an unrighteous sentence; but that this was the case is plain.

We have seen that the high-priests pretended that Jesus had been guilty of blasphemy, in making himself the Son of God,' and that 'by their law he ought to die,' John xix. 7. And Pilate had had experience of their prodigious firmness and zeal for all the parts of

their religion. There are two particular proofs they gave him of this, related by Josephus; the one on occasion of his placing the Roman ensigns in Jerusalem; the other upon his attempting to bring water into the city with money taken out of the sacred treasury. The former is related by Josephus thus: Pilate the prefect of Judea, sending his army from Cæsarea, and putting them into winter quarters at Jerusalem, brought the carved images of Cesar, which are on the ensigns, into the city, in violation of the Jewish laws, since our law forbids the making of any images. For which reason the former governors were wont to come into the city with ensigns destitute of those ornaments. Pilate was the first who set up images in Jerusalem; and he did it privately, the army making their entry in the night time. But as soon as the people knew it, they went in a vast body to Cæsarea, making earnest supplication for many days that the im- · ages might be removed. He not granting their petition, thinking it would be dishonorable to the emperor to do so, and they still persisting in their request to him; on the sixth day, having privately ordered his soldiers to their arms, he seated himself on his tribunal in the circus, near which he had placed his men, that they might be in readiAnd when the Jews came to him thither with their petition, his soldiers having, upon a signal given, surrounded them, he threatened them with immediate death if they did not give over their clamors, and return home. They then threw themselves on the ground, and offered their necks to the sword, and said, they could die much more easily than they could dare to do any thing contrary to the wisdom of their laws.' Pilate, surprised at their firmness in the observation of their laws, immediately gave orders for bringing back the images from Jerusalem to Cæsarea.'*

ness.

We have another attempt of Pilate's of the same nature, mentioned in the letter which Agrippa the elder sent to Caligula, as this letter is given us by Philo. In some particulars it has a great resemblance with the story Josephus has told, of Pilate's bringing the en- . signs into Jerusalem, and in others it is very different from it; which has given occasion to some learned men to suppose, that Philo has been mistaken. (Vide Basnage, Ann. P. E. A. 27, n. 6.) For my own part, as I make no doubt but Josephus' account of the ensigns is true; so I think, that Philo also may be relied on for the truth of a fact he has mentioned, as happening in his own time in Judea; and, consequently, I judge them to be two different facts.

Antiq. lib. xviii. cap. 4. sect. 1.

Agrippa, reckoning up to Caligula the several favors conferred on the Jews by the imperial family, says: "Pilate was procurator of Judea. He, not so much out of respect to Tiberius, as a malicious intention to vex the people, dedicates gilt shields, and places them in Herod's palace within the holy city. There was no figure upon them, nor anything else which is forbidden, except an inscription, which expressed these two things, the name of the person who dedicated them, and of him to whom they were dedicated. When the people perceived what had been done, they desired this innovation of the shields might be rectified, that their ancient customs, which had been preserved through so many ages, and had been hitherto untouched by kings and emperors, might not now be violated. He refused their demands with roughness, such was his temper, fierce and untractable. They then cried out, Do not you raise a sedition yourself? Do not you disturb the peace by your illegal practices? It is not Tiberius' pleasure, that any of our laws should be broken in upon. If you have received any edict, or letter from the emperor to this purpose, produce it, that we may leave you, and depute an embassy to him, and entreat him to revoke his orders. This put him out of all temper; for he was afraid, that if they should send an embassy, they might discover the many mal-administrations of his government, his extortions, his unjust decrees, his inhuman cruelties. This reduced him to the utmost perplexity. On the one hand he was afraid to remove things that had been once dedicated, and was also unwilling to do a favor to men that were his subjects; and on the other hand, he knew very well the inflexible severity of Tiberius. The chief men of the nation observing this, and perceiving that he repented of what he had done, though he endeavored to conceal it, write a most humble and submissive letter to Tiberius. It is needless to say, how he was provoked, when he had read the account of Pilate's speeches and threatenings, the event showing it sufficiently. For he soon sent a letter to Pilate, reprimanding him for so audacious a proceeding, requiring also that the shields should be removed. And accordingly they were carried from the metropolis to Cæsarea, by the sea side, called Sebaste, from your great grandfather, that they might be placed in the temple there consecrated to him; and there they were reposited.' Philo de leg. ad. Cai. p. 1033, 1034." This explains what Pilate understood by that threatening speech of the Jews, in John xix. 12, "If thou let this man go, thou art not Cesar's friend." Pilate having committed many abuses, though he might be satisfied the acquitting of Jesus and setting him at liberty would not be deemed

6

any crime, if the case was fairly stated; yet he might be unwilling to provoke the principal men of the Jewish nation to send Tiberius an account of his behavior on other occasions. This we may the more easily credit, not only because at all times the remonstrances of a province, were very much dreaded by the prefects, but because they were more especially so under Tiberius; who was very solicitous for the peace of his provinces, and had endeavored to secure them from the exactions of his officers. And it was for this reason, as he himself said, that he suffered the presidents to remain in the provinces for so long a time, because they all endeavored to enrich themselves, and the shorter time they staid in them, the more eager they were to improve it to that end.

Dr. Lardner also gives many striking evidences of the truthfulness of the evangelists, drawn from the agreement between their statements, and the customs which at that period obtained among the Jews and Romans. The reader is here presented with his remarks on the circumstances which attended the death and burial of the Lord Jesus Christ.

6

"Pilate having at length passed sentence on Jesus, and delivered him to be crucified, it will be proper next to consider what is said of an inscription put upon the cross. John xix. 19, 20, And Pilate wrote a title, and put it on the cross; and the writing was, Jesus of Nazareth, the King of the Jews.' This was the usual custom of the Romans, when any were condemned to death, to affix to the instrument of their punishment, or to order to be carried before them, a writing expressing the crime for which they suffered. And this writing was called in Latin, title, which word St. John has made use of. It will be sufficient to give an example or two of this in the margin.

St. John says, that this title was written in Hebrew, Greek and Latin.' And it was at this time usual at Jerusalem, to set up advertisements, that were designed to be read by all sorts of people, in several languages. Titus, in a message he sent to the Jews by Josephus, when the city was almost in his hands, and by which he endeavored to persuade them to surrender, says: Did you not erect pillars with inscriptions on them in the Greek and in our language, Let no one pass beyond these bounds?'

Every one must needs observe the scoffs and derisions our Savior met with. There are three or four instances recorded in the evangelists. One was whilst he was in the high-priest's house. Then did they spit in his face and buffeted him, and others smote him with the palms of their hands, saying, Prophesy unto us, thou