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.
AT THE CLOSE OF THE SECOND MISSION
Alone in Corinth.
It is probable that Timothy joined Paul in Athens; but if so, he returned immediately to the churches in Macedonia. Thus it was that Paul sailed from Athens alone, and having landed at the seaport of Cenchrea, walked eighteen miles to Corinth. Here he found many Greeks and Jews. There were crowds also of strangers who came to see the great games and races for which Corinth was noted. Corinth, at that time, was a great commercial center, and merchantmen and other traders from far and near made up its population. If Athens was a learned city, Corinth was a wealthy and wicked one. So Paul's loneliness here must have been just as keen as it was in Athens. Indeed, he says himself that he went there "in weakness and in fear and in much trembling."[[4]]
ST. PAUL AT ATHENS.
"And when they heard of the resurrection of the dead, some mocked and others said, we will hear thee again on this matter."
Aquila and Priscilla.
Just about that time a Roman emperor named Claudius issued a decree that all Jews should be banished from Rome. Among those who had to leave were a man named Aquila and his wife Priscilla. Whether they were Christians before they came to Corinth is not known. At any rate, they were among the first friends Paul met in that city. It may be that they became acquainted because Aquila and Paul had the same trade. At any rate, Paul lived with them, and (if they were not Christians before) converted them to the Gospel, to which they remained staunch and true. These friends were a help to Paul in furnishing him employment, but in a greater way by proving to be true friends indeed.
In the Synagogue.