LEARNING TRADES AMONG THE JEWS.

95 seldom engaged in any war except for the defence of their country, or in behalf of the liberties of Greece; yet Corinth furnished many brave and experienced commanders to other Grecian states, among whom it was common to prefer a Corinthian general to one of their own or any other state. As might be expected, Corinth was not remarkably distinguished for philosophy or science; but its wealth attracted to it the arts, which assisted to enrich and aggrandize it, till it became one of the very finest cities in all Greece. The Corinthian order of architecture took its name from that rich and flowery style which prevailed in its sumptuous edifices-its temples, palaces, theatres, and porticoes.

The Corinthians having ill-treated the Roman ambassadors, their city fell a prey to the Romans, with all its treasures and works of art, and was totally destroyed by Mummius. It lay a long while desolate, till it was rebuilt by Julius Cæsar, by whom it was peopled with a colony of Romans ; and, favoured by its admirable situation, it was soon restored to a most flourishing condition. "The ancient manners," says Hug, "abundantly returned; Acro-Corinth was again the Isthmian Dione, and an intemperate life was commonly called the Corinthian mode of life. Among all the cities that ever existed, this was accounted the most voluptuous; and the satirist could only jocularly seem to be at a loss whether, in this respect, he should give the preference to Corinth or to Athens."

Corinth still exists as an inhabited town, under the name of Corantho. It is a long, straggling place which is well paved, and can boast of some tolerably good buildings, with a castle of some strength, which is kept in a good state of defence. There are still some considerable ruins, to attest the ancient consequence of Corinth, and the taste and elegance of its public buildings. The extensive view from the summit of the high mountain which commands the town, and which was the Acropolis (Acro-Corinth) of the ancient city, is pronounced by travellers to be one of the finest in the world.-KITTO.

711.-LEARNING TRADES AMONG THE JEWS.

Acts xviii. 3.-"Because he was of the same craft, he abode with them, and [R.V., they] wrought: for by their occupation [R.V., trade] they were tentmakers." Illustrative. It was the custom of the Jews, even of such as had received a better education than ordinary, which was St. Paul's case, to learn some trade, in order that, wheresoever they were, they might the better provide for themselves in case of necessity. And though St. Paul in some places lived on the bounty of his converts, yet he chose not to do so at Corinth and some other places, for a reason which he gives at 2 Cor. xi. 12. While he was at Corinth he was supplied, when his own labour did not procure him a sufficiency, by the brethren who came to

him from Macedonia. It was a received custom among the Jews for every man, of what rank or quality soever, to learn some trade or handicraft; one of their proverbial expressions is, that whoever teaches not his son a trade teaches him to be a thief. In those hot countries, where tents (which were commonly made of skins, or leather sewed together, to keep out the violence of the weather) were used not only by soldiers, but by travellers, and others whose business required them to be abroad, a tentmaker was by no means a mean or unprofitable employment. This custom, so generally practised by the Jews, was adopted also by other nations in the East. Sir Paul Rycourt observes that the Grand Seignior, to whom he was ambassador, was taught to make wooden spoons. The intention of this usage was not merely amusement, but to furnish the persons so instructed with some method of obtaining their living, should they ever be reduced to poverty or want.-Elucidations of Scripture.

Tents were made for soldiers of sackcloth, hair, leather, or the skins of animals, sewed together-and for common people of linen. Every Jew, of whatever condition in life, was required to have some handicraft employment. This was intended both for amusement and to remind even those youth of the highest rank, that they might fall from affluence to a state of dependence.

712.-TENT MAKING.

Acts xviii. 3.

Descriptive. Tent-making constitutes an important occupation in Western Asia at the present day. In all the larger cities, and particularly at Constantinople, there is a portion of the bazaar, or business part of the town, entirely devoted to this branch of industry. Here may be seen men engaged in cutting and sewing canvas, in constructing or finishing off tents of various forms and sizes, in mending or repairing those long used, or packing them up for their customers. This is what we have described as the military tent, for the black tent of the Nomads is made exclusively by themselves. But the military tent is not employed solely for the purposes of warfare. The civilian often carries it with him on his journey, and pitches it at night; it is frequently seen beside some hot spring, whose sanitary waters are sought to mitigate the sufferings of the sick; and one of the most refreshing sights of the early spring is the herds of horses feeding on the green barley sown for the purpose in the neighbourhood of every town, with the conical tents of their keepers scattered here and there over the valley or plain. The apostle Paul was a tent maker, and the tents he constructed were doubtless employed by the Roman soldiers;

THE TOWN OF EPHESUS.

97 since no other military power existed in his day in the lands where he wrought.-VAN LENNEP.

The finest and softest hair, probably of the Angora goat (not of the black Syrian or brown Egyptian breed), was manufactured into a beautiful but solid substance, which was used for the covering of tents, and which is so strong that it withstands every long and violent rain-shower. The wood of the tent was of acacia, which is so durable that it is said even not to rot in water. It has, further, the quality of lightness, which must have increased the value of a portable tent, such as is used in pastoral districts of the East.-Kalisch.

713.-KEEPING VOWS.

Acts xviii. 18.-" For he had a vow."

Illustrative.-Mr. Chase says that, at the cabinet meeting immediately after the battle of Antietam, and just prior to the issue of the September proclamation, the president entered upon the business before them, by saying that the time for the enunciation of the emancipation policy could no longer be delayed. Public sentiment, he thought, would sustain it; many of his warmest friends and supporters demanded it; and he had promised his God that he would do it. The last part of this was uttered in a low tone, and appeared to be heard by no one but Secretary Chase who was sitting near him. He asked the president if he correctly understood him. Mr. Lincoln replied, "I made a solemn vow before God that, if General Lee were driven back from Pennsylvania, I would crown the result by the declaration of freedom to the slaves." He issued his proclamation, and four million slaves became free men.

ACT XIX.

714.-THE TOWN OF EPHESUS.

Acts xix. 1.--"And it came to pass that

Paul having passed through the

upper coasts [R. V. country] came to Ephesus."

Descriptive.-No name is more celebrated in the ancient world thar that of Ephesus. It is mentioned by Herodotus as one of the twelve cities beonging to the Ionian Union, at the time when those events occurred (whatever the reality may be) which furnished to the earlier poets of Greece the bases of their surprising narratives. According to Justin, the

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99

Amazons (who when their husbands were slain in war, resolved to exterminate the male population around them and to live by themselves), in the pushing out of their conquests into neighbouring nations, laid the foundation of several cities in Asia Minor, among which were Cumæ, Smyrna, and Ephesus. Strabo, on the other hand, attributes the origin of the city to the son of Codrus, and states Lysimachus, a son of Agathocles, to have been the builder of the walls by which it is environed. In honour of his wife, we are told, Lysimachus, gave to the city the name of Arsinoe, though it appears not long to have retained that designation. Ephesus stood partly on hills and partly on the banks of the river Cayster; and the facilities offered by its situation for commerce led to the construction, by Attalus Philadelphus, of magnificent docks and wharves, by means of which it reached a pitch of great celebrity. Homer makes mention of a level plain near the river Cayster, to which he gives the name of Asia-an appellation afterwards transferred to the whole of the regions surrounding the locality. Pocock describes the ruins of the ancient walls of Ephesus as extending for a distance of four miles, and as being constructed of rough materials, faced with hewn stone. In his time were to be seen the remnants of theatres, and other public buildings, among which was a circus and a gymnasium-the description of which has been given to the world in "The Antiquities of Ionia."

The position of Ephesus and Smyrna, each situated on the opposite side of a bold peninsula, caused them to be called the two eyes of Greece. In the year 409 B.C., Ephesus was the scene of a severe conflict between Thrasyllus, who attacked it, and Tissaphernes, by whom it was defended, and the Athenians fled discomfited to their ships. Though Ephesus numbered many residents of various nations, its inhabitants were principally Greeks, and the city was celebrated for the refinement and effeminacy which distinguished those of that nation who were settled in Asia. Ephesus was, in fact, a rival even of Athens itself, challenging competition with it in sculpture, and surpassing it in painting. When Rome became mistress of the world, Ephesus became the capital of all the province of Asia, and was called its "first and greatest metropolis." In the reign of Tiberius the city was severely injured by an earthquake; but by that emperor's order it was reconstructed and largely improved.-Library of Biblical Literature.

Ephesus was the capital of the province of Asia, and as such the residence of the proconsul. And it was more than this, being, in fact, the most important city of Asia Minor, and the principal emporium for trade with the East. It was called "the eye of Asia," or rather one of the eyes, Smyrna being the other; for Ephesus and Smyrna, both of them