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midst of the Areopagus, and surrounded by an auditory more disposed to ridicule than to revere him, he challenges their attention in these remarkable words;-"Ye men of Athens, I perceive that in all things ye are too superstitious. For as I passed by, "and beheld your devotions, I found an altar "with this inscription, To THE UNKNOWN "GOD. Whom therefore ye ignorantly worship, HIM declare I unto you."

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Such an exordium, addressed to the inhabitants of a city famed for philosophy, literature, and eloquence, and, as the Evangelist intimates, ever in quest of novelties, could hardly fail to excite attention. It has been observed, however, that one expression used by the Apostle is somewhat unfavourably rendered in our version, the original word translated, "too superstitious," being capable of a milder sense, and probably used by St. Paul as a term of conciliation, rather than of reproach; implying that they were more religiously disposed than other people, and might be expected so much more willingly to hear what he had to advance. Taken in this acceptation, it would afford an instance of that forbearance and courtesy on the part of the Apostle, which not unfrequently marked his conduct. More generally, how

ever, the expression is interpreted in the sense given in our translation ; which perhaps better accords with what is said just before, that "his spirit was stirred within him, "when he saw the city wholly given to idolatry," and that he had already publicly

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disputed" with them; in consequence of which disputes he was now called upon to make a more explicit declaration of his doctrine

The reproof, however, (if such it was,) is evidently directed more to their want of knowledge, than to their wilful corruption of the truth :-" Whom ye ignorantly worship, "Him declare I unto you:"-as if he had said, I am not a preacher of new deities, or of new doctrines: your unknown God, to whom you have dedicated this altar, is the God whose worship I profess, and of whom, if ye will receive my instructions, I am prepared to give you more worthy conceptions; -thus supposing them to be desirous of knowing the truth, and to have a sincere disposition to religious fear and worship, which only required to be directed to its proper object.

Various conjectures have been formed respecting this unknown deity of the Athenians; a point of considerable importance,

both from the use the Apostle makes of it, and from the insight it may afford into the religious opinions of the heathen world.

That it was not an unfrequent practice among the Greeks and Romans to raise altars to unknown gods, admits of no dispute; and it is accounted for on the general principles of polytheism, which made its followers solicitous not to omit due honours to any possibly existing divinity, even though unacquainted with his name, his title, or the objects of his special charge. This grew out of their notion of local and tutelary deities, which led to a supposition that strange countries must necessarily have "strange gods;" and hence, in the excess of their reverence or their fears respecting these unknown beings, they deemed it expedient to propitiate foreign as well as domestic divinities, by altars and services consecrated, collectively, to the unknown gods. For the same reason also, whenever, by conquest or alliance, they established an intercourse with any other country, it was one of their first objects to admit the gods of that country, and the worship belonging to them, to an intercommunity with their own; a pliancy of principle, which some admirers of paganism delight to contemplate as an attractive feature in the reli

gion of the Gentile world. From these circumstances it has been conjectured, that the altar which St. Paul found at Athens might be one of this general description; and it has been contended that there is a want of evidence to prove that either at Athens or elsewhere altars were ever raised to ONE unknown God.

It seems, however, to cast a somewhat unworthy reflection upon the Apostle, to suppose that in a public assembly of intelligent and discerning men, he would hazard a reproof or admonition grounded on what he averred to have seen, if no such thing were actually to be found, or even if it were a doubtful matter. And it is equally difficult to conceive, that St. Luke, the companion of St. Paul, should either have been misinformed in this particular, or have misapprehended St. Paul's assertion; when almost every Greek could instantly have disproved it, and have appealed to multitudes of witnesses in detection of the error. Against such testimony, the mere want of extraneous evidence appears to be wholly inadmissible. Yet even evidence of this kind has been thought fairly deducible from certain passages of classical writers, which seem to have reference to this particular altar at Athens. Upon such

proofs, however, it is unnecessary to insist. The whole of the Apostle's reasoning rests upon the supposition that the Athenians ignorantly paid honours to the TRUE GOD. It is not to be supposed that St. Paul would have profaned the majesty of the Most High, by identifying it with that of any false god, whether with or without a name. His purpose, in that case, would surely have been, to convince them that even the object of their devotions was either an absolute non-entity, or wholly unworthy of their reverence. Whereas the train of his argument appears to be simply this:-The God whom they ignorantly worshipped, and to whom this altar was inscribed, was the same whom he declared unto them; but the God whom he declared was the true God; therefore, the God whom they ignorantly worshipped was the true God. Turning this incidental circumstance to advantage, the Apostle takes occasion hence to preach to them that true and only God, whose essence, whose attributes, and whose works they had no means of rightly apprehending, although they seemed to manifest a disposition to render Him due homage, could they be made acquainted with his real nature and perfections. "HIM," says the Apostle, " I declare "unto you." I will give you clearer and