Jerome was, that "the sentiments are the Apostle's, but the language and composition of some one else, who committed to writing the Apostle's sense, and, as it were, reduced into commentaries the things spoken by his master." Dr. Lardner says, My conjecture is, that Paul dictated the Epistle in Hebrew, and another, who was a great master of the Greek language, immediately wrote down the Apostle's sentiments in his own elegant Greek; but who this assistant of the Apostle was, is altogether unknown." But surely the writings of St. Paul, like those of other authors, may not all have the same precise degree of merit; and if upon a careful perusal and comparison it should be thought that the Epistle to the Hebrews is written with greater elegance than the acknowledged compositions of this Apostle, it should also be remembered that the apparent design and contents of this Epistle suggest the idea of more studied composition, and yet, that there is nothing in it which amounts to a marked difference of style; on the other hand, there is the same concise, abrupt, and elliptical mode of expression, and it contains many phrases and sentiments (g), which are found in no part of Scripture, except in St. Paul's Epistles. We may farther observe,

that

(g) Vide Macknight's Preface to this Epistle, sect. I. and Lardner upon this Epistle, vol. 6.

that the manner in which Timothy is mentioned in this Epistle (h) makes it probable that it was written by St. Paul. It was certainly written by a person who had suffered imprisonment in the cause of Christianity; and this is known to have been the case of St. Paul, but of no other person to whom this Epistle has been attributed. Upon the whole, both the external and internal evidence appear to me to preponderate so greatly in favour of St. Paul's being the author of this Epistle, that I cannot but consider it as written by that Apostle. At the same time I admit that it is a thing not absolutely certain.

II. "They of Italy salute you," is the only expression in this Epistle which can assist us in determining from whence it was written. The Greek words are ὁι απο της Ιταλιας, which should have been translated, "Those from Italy salute you;" and the only inference to be drawn from them seems to be, that St. Paul, when he wrote this Epistle, was at a place where some Italian converts were. This inference is not incompatible with the common opinion, that this Epistle was written from Rome, and therefore we consider it as written from that city. It is supposed

to

(h) C. 13. v. 23. compared with 2 Cor. c. I. v. 1. and Col. c. I. v. I.

allude to the injury which Philemon had sustained by the absence of his slave and the loss of his service. It does not seem probable that St. Paul would have mentioned such a crime in so slight a manner, or that he would have failed to notice the contrition of Onesimus. Paul, having met with him at Rome, converted him to Christianity, and reclaimed him to a sense of his duty: he then sent him back to Colosse with this letter, written with his own hand, to Philemon, request ing him to receive his slave, thus converted and reclaimed, again into his family (c).

IV. THIS Epistle has always been deservedly admired for the delicacy and address with which it is written; and it places St. Paul's character in a very amiable point of view. He had converted a fugitive slave to the Christian faith; and he here intercedes with his master in the most earnest and affectionate manner for his pardon; he speaks of Onesimus in terms calculated to soften Philemon's resentment, engages to make full compensation for any injury which he might have sustained from him, and conjures

him

(c) In the Epistle which St. Paul sent at the same time, to the Colossian Christians in general, of whom Philemon was one, he calls Onesimus "a faithful and beloved brother." C. 4. v. 9.

him to reconciliation and forgiveness by the now endearing connexion of Christian brotherhood.

This Epistle is a plain proof that Christianity was not intended to make any alteration in the civil conditions of men. Paul considered Onesimus, although converted to the Gospel, as still belonging to his former master; and by deprecating the anger of Philemon, he acknowledged that Onesimus continued liable to punishment (d) for the misconduct of which he had been guilty previous to his conversion.

(d) Grotius says, that Philemon, by the laws of Phrygia, might have punished his slave without application to a magistrate.

PART II.

CHAPTER THE TWENTY-SECOND.

OF THE EPISTLE TO THE HEBREWS.

1. Authenticity of this Epistle.-II. Its Date.-III. Language in which it was originally written-IV. To whom it was addressed.-V. Design and Substance of it.

I. THOUGH the genuineness of the Epistle to the Hebrews has been disputed both in antient and modern times, its antiquity has never been questioned. It is generally allowed that there are references to it, although the author is not mentioned, in the remaining works of Clement of Rome, Ignatius, Polycarp, and Justin Martyr; and that it contains, as was first noticed by Chrysostom (a) and Theodoret (b), internal evidence of having been written before the destruction of Jerusalem (c).

(a) Præf. in Ep. ad Heb.

(b) Theod. in Heb. cap. 13. v. 10.

The

(c) Heb. c. 8. v. 4. c. 9. v. 25. c. 10. V. II and 37. c. 13. V. IO.