LESSON 32
AT ATHENS AND CORINTH
"Sometimes a noble failure serves the world as faithfully as a distinguished success."
"Life has no blessing like a prudent friend."
Loneliness.
Perhaps few if any of the young folks who read these lessons have ever been alone, even for a short time, in a strange city; but it may be that some of your fathers or brothers have, if so, you may learn by asking just how lonesome one can feel when one is in a large crowd, in a strange city, and out of sympathy with the people around him. To be
"Amid the crowd, the hum, the shock of men,
To hear, to see, to feel and to possess,
And roam along the world's tired denizen,
With none to bless us, none whom we can bless;
This is to be alone; this, this is solitude."
Such must have been Paul's condition after he said goodby to his brethren, and walked through the streets of Athens alone.
This loneliness impressed him so deeply that he afterwards wrote to the Thessalonians that he "was left in Athens alone."[[1]] He had sent a command back to Berea for "Silas and Timothy to come to him with all speed;" but until they came, he was the only Christian in the great pagan city.
Statues and Deities.
As Paul walked through the streets of Athens, he saw many statues and memorials built in honor of men and mystical gods. Some of these were the statues of the great men of Athens, "such as Solon the lawgiver, Conon the admiral, Demosthenes the orator." Among her defied heroes were Hercules, Mercury, Apollo, Neptune, Jupiter, Minerva, and many others, and in one place, in the center of all these was an altar to the "Twelve Gods." "There were more statues in Athens than in all the rest of Greece. It has been said as almost a truth that it was easier to find a god in Athens than a man."[[2]] There were altars erected also to Fame, to Modesty, to Energy, to Persuasion, and to Pity, and Paul saw one inscription,
"To the Unknown God."
The Market Place.
In the city was a common meeting place called the Agora. Here the Athenians gathered to talk about and discuss the questions of the day. Idlers and professed philosophers mingled together eager to hear anything new. While Paul was waiting for his companions, he visited this gathering place daily, and conversed with those whom he met. From him the crowd heard, for the first time, about Jesus and the resurrection.
He also attended the service in the synagogue, and disputed with the Jews.
Interest Awakened.
So Paul, though lonely and discouraged, and perhaps gloomy because of the ignorance and wickedness he saw around him, "began to stir the city" because of the message he announced. The Athenians and strangers, too, began to get curious; for some of them, Luke tells us "spent their time in nothing else, but either to tell, or to hear some new thing."
Then certain philosophers began to hear about him, and took notice of him. Some said,
"What will this base fellow say?"
And others,
"He seemeth to be a setter forth of strange gods; because he preacheth unto them Jesus and the resurrection."
Mars' Hill.
On the top of the hill of Areopagus was a platform which was reached by a flight of stone steps leading immediately from the Agora. On this had sat the leading judges who had, for time immemorial, decided important questions of religion, or passed sentence on the greatest criminals. Because Mars was supposed to have had his trial there, it was called "Mars' Hill:" On the brow of this hill was built the temple of Mars.
To this important and memorable spot, the philosophers led the Apostle, saying,
"May we know what this new doctrine whereof thou speakest is? For thou bringest certain strange things to our ears; we would know, therefore, what these things mean."
A Memorable Address.
Paul accepted the invitation, and delivered one of the most memorable addresses in the world. You will notice, however, that he does not even mention the name of Christ, but tries to influence his hearers A by leading them from what they were interested in to that in which he wanted them to be interested.[[3]]
Interrupted.
As soon as Paul mentioned the resurrection of the dead, he was interrupted. Some broke out into laughter and made light of his remark. Others were more courteous, and said, as they withdrew from him, "We will hear thee again on this matter."
Converted Dionysius.
Paul must have felt almost crushed with the thought that his sermon had been an utter failure; but he had done his duty and the seeds of truth had been sown. They bore fruit in the conversion of Dionysius, a member of the court of the Areopagus, and of a woman whose name was Damaris, and "others with them."
After remaining a short time, "he left Athens as he had lived in it, a despised and lonely man." Yet that short visit, and that interrupted speech, characterized, as both were, by a sincere desire to call the erring and wicked to repentance, have made Paul more famous than any of the philosophers, so wise in their own conceit, who mocked and spurned him.