God to the obedience of the cross; and the ruling motive
of the love and kindness practised by Christians to one another is to
be the recollection of their common connection with Him.

173. Appeal to Caesar.--After Paul's imprisonment had lasted for two
years, Felix was succeeded in the governorship of Palestine by Festus.
The Jews had never ceased to intrigue to get Paul into their hands, and
they at once assailed the new ruler with further importunities. As
Festus seemed to be wavering, Paul availed himself of his privilege of
appeal as a Roman citizen and demanded to be sent to Rome and tried at
the bar of the emperor. This could not be refused him; and a prisoner
had to be sent to Rome at once after such an appeal was taken. Very
soon, therefore, Paul was shipped off under the charge of Roman
soldiers and in the company of many other prisoners on their way to the
same destination.

174. Voyage to Italy.--The journal of the voyage has been preserved in
the Acts of the Apostles and is acknowledged to be the most valuable
document in existence concerning the seamanship of ancient times. It
is also a precious document of Paul's life; for it shows how his
character shone out in a novel situation. A ship is a kind of
miniature of the world. It is a floating island, in which there are
the government and the governed. But the government is, like that of
states, liable to sudden social upheavals, in which the ablest man is
thrown to the top. This was a voyage of extreme perils, which required
the utmost presence of mind and power of winning the confidence and
obedience of those on board. Before it was ended Paul was virtually
both the captain of the ship and the general of the soldiers; and all
on board owed to him their lives.

175. Arrival in Rome.--At length the dangers of the deep were left
behind; and Paul found himself approaching the capital of the Roman
world by the Appian Road, the great highway by which Rome was entered
by travelers from the East. The bustle and noise increased as he
neared the city, and the signs of Roman grandeur and renown multiplied
at every step. For many years he had been looking forward to seeing
Rome, but he had always thought of entering it in a very different
guise from that which now he wore. He had always thought of Rome as a
successful general thinks of the central stronghold of the country he
is subduing, who looks eagerly forward to the day when he will direct