he
imperial guard, the flower of the Roman army.

Paul could not sit for hours beside another man without speaking of the
subject which lay nearest his heart. He spoke to these soldiers about
their immortal souls and the faith of Christ. To men accustomed to the
horrors of Roman warfare and the manners of Roman barracks nothing
could be more striking than a life and character like his; and the
result of these conversations was that many of them became changed men,
and a revival spread through the barracks and penetrated into the
imperial household itself. His room was sometimes crowded with these
stern, bronzed faces, glad to see him at other times than those when
duty required them to be there. He sympathized with them and entered
into the spirit of their occupation; indeed, he was full of the spirit
of the warrior himself.

We have an imperishable relic of these visits in an outburst of
inspired eloquence which he dictated at this period: "Put on the whole
armor of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the
devil; for we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against
principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of
this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places. Wherefore
take unto you the whole armor of God, that ye may be able to withstand
in the evil day and, having done all, to stand. Stand therefore,
having your loins girt about with truth, and having on the breastplate
of righteousness, and your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel
of peace; above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be
able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked. And take the helmet
of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God."
That picture was drawn from the life, from the armor of the soldiers in
his room; and perhaps these ringing sentences were first poured into
the ears of his warlike auditors before they were transferred to the
Epistle in which they have been preserved.

179. Visitors.--But he had other visitors. All who took an interest
in Christianity in Rome, both Jews and Gentiles, gathered to him.
Perhaps there was not a day of the two years of his imprisonment but he
had such visitors. The Roman Christians learned to go to that room as
to an oracle or shrine. Many a Christian teacher got his sword
sharpened there; and new energy began to diffuse itself through the
Christian circles of the city. Many an anxious father b