arise and stand upon thy feet, for to this end have I appeared to thee, that I may make thee a minister, and a witness of those things which thou hast seen, and of those things wherein I will appear to thee, delivering thee from the people, and from the nations, unto which now I send thee, to open their eyes, that they may be turned from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan to God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins, and a portion among the saints, by the faith that they have in me.

Whereupon, O King Agrippa, I was not disobedient to the heavenly vision, but to them first that are at Damascus, and at Jerusalem, and unto all the country of Judea did I preach, and then to the gentiles, that they should repent and turn to God, doing works worthy of repentance. For this cause the Jews, when I was in the temple, having apprehended me, went about to kill me; but, being aided by the help of God, I stand unto this day, witnessing both to small and great, saying no other things than those that the prophets and Moses did say should come to pass; that Christ should suffer, and that he should be the first that should rise from the dead, and should show light to the people, and to the gentiles.

As he spake these things and made his answer, Festus said with a loud voice, Paul, thou art beside thyself; much learning doth make thee mad.

And Paul said, I am not mad, most excellent Festus, but I speak words of truth and soberness. For the king knoweth of these things, to whom also I speak with confidence; for I am persuaded that none of these things are hidden from him, for neither were any of these things done in a corner. King Agrippa, believest thou the prophets? I know that thou believest.

And Agrippa said to Paul, Almost thou persuadest me to become a Christian. And Paul said, I would to God that both almost and altogether, not only

thou, but also all that hear me this day, should become such as I also am, except these bonds.

And the king rose up, and the governor, and Bernice, and they that sat with them. And when they were gone aside, they spake among themselves, saying, This man hath done nothing worthy of death or of bonds. And Agrippa said to Festus, This man might have been set at liberty if he had not appealed to Cæsar.

SECT. CXCIX. THE ACCOUNT OF PAUL'S JOURNEY TO ROME, AND HIS SHIPWRECK.

And when it was determined that he should sail into Italy, and that Paul, with the other prisoners, should be delivered to a centurion named Julius, of the band Augusta; going on board a ship of Adrumetum, we launched, meaning to sail by the coasts of Asia, Aristarchus, the Macedonian of Thessalonica, continuing with us; and the day following we came to Sidon; and Julius, treating Paul courteously, permitted him to go to his friends and to take care of himself.

And when we had launched from thence we sailed under Cyprus, because the winds were contrary. And sailing over the sea of Cilicia and Pamphilia, we came to Lystra, which is in Lycia: and there the centurion finding a ship of Alexandria sailing into Italy removed us into it. And when for many days we had sailed slowly, and were scarce come over against Gnidus, the wind not suffering us, we sailed near Crete by Salmone; and with much ado sailing by it, we came into a certain place, which is called Good-havens, nigh to which was the city of Thalassa.

Crete.

And when much time was spent, and when sailing now was dangerous, for the fast* was now past, Paul * That is, the great day of atonement, which fell in the month Tisri, about the end of our September.

comforted them, saying to them, Ye men, I see that the voyage beginneth to be with injury and much damage, not only of the lading and ship, but also of our lives. But the centurion believed the pilot and the master of the ship more than those things which were said by Paul.

And whereas it was not a commodious haven to winter in, the greatest part gave counsel to sail thence, if by any means they might reach Phenice to winter there, which is a haven of Crete, looking towards the south-west and north-west. And the south wind gently blowing, thinking that they had obtained their purpose, when they had loosed from Asson, they sailed close by Crete. But not long after there arose against it a tempestuous wind, called Euro-aquilo; and when the ship was caught and could not bear up against the wind, giving up the ship to the winds, we were driven. And running under a certain ísland that is called Clauda,

Under we had much work to come by the boat; Clauda. which, being taken up, they used helps, under-girding the ship, and fearing lest they should fall into the quicksands, they let down the sail-yard, and so were driven. And when we were being mightily tossed with the tempest, the next day they lightened the ship; and the third day they cast out with their own hands the tackling of the ship.

And when neither sun nor stars appeared for many days, and no small storm lay on us, all hope of our being saved was now taken away. And after they had fasted a long time, Paul, standing forth in the midst of them, said, Ye should indeed, O ye men, have hearkened unto me, and not have loosed from Crete, and have gained this harm and loss. And now I exhort you to be of good cheer; for there shall be no loss of any man's life among you, but only of the ship. For an angel of God, whose I am, and whom I serve, stood by me this night, saying, Fear not,

Paul, thou must be brought before Cæsar; and behold God hath given thee all them that sail with thee. Wherefore, sirs, be of good cheer, for I believe God, that it shall so be as it hath been told me. we must come into a certain island.

But

Now, after the fourteenth night was come, as we were sailing in the Adria, about midnight the shipmen deemed that they discovered some country. And they sounded and found twenty fathoms, and going on a little farther they sounded again, and found fifteen fathoms. Then, fearing lest we should fall upon rough places, they cast four anchors out of the stern, and wished for the day. But as the ship-men sought to flee out of the ship, having let down the boat into the sea, under colour as though they would have cast anchors out of the fore-part of the ship, Paul said to the centurion and to the soldiers, Except these stay in the ship, ye cannot be saved. Then the soldiers cut off the ropes of the boat, and let her fall off.

And when it began to be light, Paul besought them all to take meat, saying, This day is the fourteenth day that ye are waiting and remain fasting, taking nothing; wherefore I pray you to take some meat for your health's sake: for there shall not a hair of the head of any of you perish. And when he had said these things, he took bread, and gave thanks to God in the sight of them all; and when he had broken it, he began to eat. Then were they all of better cheer, and they also took some meat. And we were in all in the ship two hundred threescore and sixteen souls. And when they had eaten enough, they lightened the ship, casting the wheat into the

sea.

Off Melita.

And when it was day, they knew not the land; but they discovered a certain creek that had a shore, into which they minded, if they could, to thrust in the ship. And when they

had taken up the anchors, they committed themselves to the sea, loosing withal the rudder-bands, and hoisting up the mainsail to the wind, they made towards shore. And when we were fallen into a place where two seas met, they run the ship aground, and the fore-part indeed, sticking fast, remained immovable, but the hinder part was broken with the violence of the sea. And the soldiers' counsel was, that they should kill the prisoners, lest any of them should swim out and escape. But the centurion, willing to save Paul, forbade it to be done; and he commanded that they who could swim should cast themselves first into the sea, and save themselves and get to land. And the rest, some they carried on boards, and some on those things that belonged to the ship. And so it came to pass that every soul got safe to land.

SECT, CC. AFTER THREE MONTHS' DELAY AT MELITA, PAUL CONTINUES HIS JOURNEY TO ROME. A.D. 61.

Melita.

And when we had escaped, then we knew that the island was called Melita; but the barbarians showed us no small courtesy, for, kindling a fire, they refreshed us all, because of the present rain and cold. And when Paul had gathered together a bundle of sticks, and had laid them on the fire, a viper came out of the heat and fastened on his hand. And when the barbarians saw the beast hanging on his hand, they said one to another, Doubtless this man is a murderer, who, though he hath escaped the sea, yet vengeance doth not suffer him to live; but he shook off the beast into the fire, and suffered no harm. But they supposed that he would begin to swell up, or would suddenly fall down and die. But when they had looked for a long time, and saw that there came no