nvited
to address the Athenians at the Areopagus. They listened with courtesy
so long as they thought he was praising their religious habits, or was
making a philosophical argument against the doctrines of rival sects;
but when he began to tell them of that Cross which was to them
foolishness, and of that Resurrection from the dead which was alien to
all their various beliefs, they were filled with scorn or relapsed into
indifference. Paul's masterly discourse on Mars Hill was an obvious
failure, so far as any immediate impression was concerned. The Pagans
did not persecute him,--they let him alone; they killed him with
indifference. He could stand opposition, but to be laughed at as a
fanatic and neglected by bright and intellectual people was more than
even Paul could stand. He left Athens a lonely man, without founding a
church. It was the last city in the world to receive his
doctrines,--that city of grammarians, of pedants, of gymnasts, of
fencing masters, of play-goers, and babblers about words. "As well might
a humanitarian socialist declaim against English prejudices to the proud
and exclusive fellows of Oxford and Cambridge."

Paul, disappointed and disgusted, without waiting for Timothy, then set
out for Corinth,--a much wickeder and more luxurious city than Athens,
but not puffed up with intellectual pride. Here there were sailors and
artisans, and slaves bearing heavy burdens, who would gladly hear the
tidings of a salvation preached to the poor and miserable. Not yet was
the alliance to be formed between Philosophy and Christianity. Not to
the intellect was the apostolic appeal to be made, but to the conscience
and the heart of those who knew and owned that they were sinners in need
of forgiveness.

Paul instinctively perceived that Corinth, with its gross and shameless
immoralities, was the place for him to work in. He therefore decided on
a long stay, and went to live with Aquila and Priscilla, converted Jews,
who followed the same trade as himself, that of tent and sail making,--a
very humble calling, but one which was well patronized in that busy mart
of commerce. Timothy soon joined him, with Silas. As usual, Paul
preached to the Jews until they repulsed him with insults and blasphemy,
when he turned to the heathen, among whom he had great success,
converting the common people, including some whose names have been
preserved,--Titus, Justius, Crispus, Chloe, and Phoebe. He remained in
Corinth eighteen