which is a general word, and very proper according to the usage of the best writers. No. XXX. pag. 382. Felix was himself a great oppreffor of the nation. Antonius Claudius Felix, with his brother Pallas, were freed-men of the Emperor Claudius, with whom Pallas being in high favour, he procured for his brother Felix, the procuratorfhip of Judea. But in his government, Felix fhewed the meannefs of his difpofition and former condition, by exercifing his power in the moft wanton acts of cruelty and oppreffion. So Tacitus tells us, Hift. lib. v. c. 9. Claudius, defunctis Regibus, aut ad modicum redactis, Judæam provinciam Equitibus Romanis, aut libertis permifit. E quibus Antonius Felix per omnem fœvitiam ac libidinem, jus regium fervili ingenio exercuit, Drufilla, Cleopatra et Antonii nepte (grand-daughter) in matrimonium accepta: ut ejufdem Antonii, Felix progener, Claudius nepos effet.-Felix married two ladies of the name of Drufilla. The one was the granddaughter of Cleopatra and Antony. She is the lady of whom Tacitus fpeaks. The other was Drufilla mentioned Acts xxiv. 24. where he is called a Jewess, to distinguish her from the Roman lady of that name. This Drufilla was the daughter of Herod Agrippa, (whofe death is related Acts xii. 23.) and the fifter of Herod Agrippa the younger, before whom Paul pleaded his caufe. He gave her to Azizus king of the Emeffenes, on his confenting to embrace the Jewish religion. But she did not remain long with him. For Felix having feen this most beautiful of women, as Jofephus calls her, (Ant. xx. 5.) became violently in love with her, and fent his friend Simon, a Jew of Cyprus, who profeffed the magic art, to perfuade her to leave Azizus, and marry him. This commiffion Simon executed fo well, that Drufilla, to avoid the affronts put upon her by her fifter Bernice, who envied her beauty, consented to marry Felix, though it was contrary to her religion. This Drufilla having expreffed a defire to hear Paul preach, her husband Felix fent for him, and they heard him concerning the faith in Chrift. On that occafion Felix's conscience was awakened to fuch a degree, by Paul's fermon, that he trembled. Nevertheless, he continued his cruel and unjust practices, all the time his government lafted, which was about the space of two years. For Nero in the 6th year of his reign recalled him, After Felix was recalled, fome of the principal Jews followed him to Rome, and accufed him to the Emperor, who would .have punished him, if it had not been for the prayers and intreaties of his brother Pallas, who then poffeffed the favour of Nero, as he had formerly done that of Claudius. No. XXXI. pag. 387. He appealed from Feftus to Cafar. That caufes were by appeal, removed from the courts in the provinces, to Rome, is evident from Suetonius, who in his life of Auguftus, c. 33. fays, Appellationes quotannis urbanorum quidem litigatorum Prætori delegavit urbano, at provincialium, confularibus viris, quos fingulos cujufque provincia negotiis præpofuiffet. And that Roman citizens, tried for their life in the provinces, had a right to transfer their caufe by appeal to Rome, is evident from Pliny, lib. x. epift. 97. Ad Trajanum. Et alii fimilis amentiæ, quos quia cives Romani erant, annotavi in urbem remittendos. No. XXXII. pag. 387. King Agrippa and his fifter Bernice. This is he who by Jofephus is called, King Agrippa the younger. He was the fon of that Herod Agrippa, whofe death is related Aas xii. 23. and the grandson of Ariftobulus, (whom his father put to death), confequently the great-grandfon of the first Herod, called Herod the Great, in whofe reign our Lord was born. Herod Agrippa the younger, was in great favour with the Emperor Claudius, who gave him the kingdom of his uncle Herod king of Chalcis. But he afterwards took it from him, and gave him the tetrarchy of Philip, with Batanæa, Trachonitis, and Abilene which formerly Lyfanias poffeffed, Luke iii. 1. After this, Nero gave him a part of Galilee, with the cities Tiberias, Tarrichæa, and Julias, beyond Jordan, with fourteen villages. Herod the younger, was the laft king of the Herod family. For he lived to fee Jerufalem destroyed, and the Jewish nation fold as flaves, to any who would purchase them. After that, he went to Rome, where, as Dio informs us, he obtained prætorian honours, and lived in the palace with his fifter Bernice. This is the lady mentioned in the Acts. She was firft married to her uncle Herod, king of Chalcis, but after his death, being talked of as criminally familiar with her brother Agrippa, fhe married Polemon king of Cilicia, to quafh that rumour. soon after, influenced more by lewd inclination, than by a regard to her reputation, the divorced Polemon, and returned to her brother; by which the rumour of their unlawful commerce was again revived, But Agrippa and Bernice were living together when Feftus arrived in the province. They came therefore to Cæfarea, to congratulate Feftus upon his advancement to the procuratorship. On that occafion, Agrippa having expreffed a defire to hear Paul, Feftus gratified him, by producing the apoftle in the Ff 3 płacę $ place of hearing, before him, and Bernice, and the Tribunes, and all the principal men of Cæfarea; so that the apostle had a new opportunity of speaking in his own defence; which he did to fuch good effect, that Agrippa declared in the presence of the whole aflembly, that he had done nothing worthy of death; and that he might have been fet at liberty, if he had not appealed to Cæfar. Tacitus has fpoken of Bernice's beauty, and of the court which the paid to Vefpafian, by her magnificent prefents; and of the love which his fon Titus bare to her, Hift. lib. ii. c. 81. Nec minore animo Regina Berenice partes juvabat, florens ætate formaque, et feni quoque Vefpafiano, magnificentia munerum, grata. And fpeaking of Vefpafian's fon Titus, the fame hiftorian fays, Hift. lib. ii. c. 2. Neque abhorrebat a Berenice juvenilis animus. Suetonius adds, that Titus promised to marry her. For after mentioning Titus's cruelty, he speaks of his luft, cap. 7. Nec minus libido, propter exoletorum et spadonum greges, propterque infignem regina Berenices amorem, cui etiam nuptias pollicitus ferebatur. Nevertheless, after he became Emperor, he for reasons of ftate difmiffed Berenice, though with great regret: Berenicen ex urbe dimifit, invitus invitam. Titus Vefp. cap. 7. No. XXXIII. pag. 389. He called on all the Jews present to bear witness. Bishop Lowth in his note on Ifa. liii. 8. tells us, It is faid in the Mifhna, that before any one was punished "for a capital crime, proclamation was made before the pri"foner by the public crier, in these words: Quicunque noverit aliquid de ejus innocentiâ, veniat et doceat de eo. On which paffage the Gemara of Babylon adds, that before the death of Jefus, this proclamation was made for forty days; but no defence "could be found. On which words Lardner obferves, "It is " truly furprising to fee fuch falfehoods contrary to well known facts. "Testimonies, vol. i. p. 198. The report is certainly false, "but this false report is founded on the fuppofition, that there was such a custom, and so far confirms the account above "given from the Mifhna. The Mifhna was compofed in the "middle of the fecond century: Lardner, afcribes it to the year "of Chrift 180." "Now it is plain from the hiftory of the Four Evangelifts, "that in the trial and condemnation of Jefus no fuch rule was "obferved; (though, according to the account of the Mishna, "it muft have been in practice at that time; no proclamation "was made for any perfon to bear witness to the innocence and "character of Jefus; nor did any one voluntarily ftep forth to "give his atteftation to it. And our Saviour feems to refer to "fuch "fuch a custom, and to claim the benefit of it, by his answer "to the high-priest, when he asked him of his difciples and of "his doctrine; I spake openly to the world; I ever taught in the "Synagogue, and in the temple, whither the Jews always refort; "and in fecret have I faid nothing. Why afketh thou me? Afe "them which heard me, what I have faid unto them: Behold, they ❝ know what I said, John xviii. 20, 21. This therefore was one "remarkable inftance of hardship and injustice, among others, "predicted by the prophet, which our Saviour underwent in his trial and fufferings." "St. Paul likewife, in fimilar circumftances, ftanding before "the judgment-feat of Feftus, seems to complain of the fame un"juft treatment; that no one was called, or would appear to "vindicate his character. My manner of life from my youth, "which was at the first among my own nation at Jerufalem, know all the Jews, which knew me from the beginning, if they would teftify "that after the strictest fect of our religion, I lived a Pharifee. Acts xxvi. 4, 5. Thus far Lowth. To comprehend the force and propriety of the above appeal to the Jews who were prefent at the apostle's defence before Agrippa, the full extent of his expreffion, My manner of life, must be attended to, and understood. For the apoftle did not mean only, That all the Jews knew his education was at the first among his own nation at Jerufalem; but likewife, that they knew the other particulars which he mentioned in the fubfequent parts of his defence; namely, That after the fricteft fect of their religion, he lived a Pharifee, ver. 5.—That he thought with himself, that he ought to do many things contrary to the name of Jefus of Nazareth, ver. 9.-That he did these things in Jerufalem: That many of the faints he fhut up in prifon, having received authority from the chief priests fo to do. And that when they were put to death, gave his voice against them, ver. 10. alluding to his behaviour at the ftoning of Stephen.-That he punished them oft in every fynagogue, and compelled them to blafpheme Jefus; and that being exceedingly mad against them, he perfecuted them even to foreign cities, ver. 11.-In particular, that he went to Damafcus, with authority and commiffion from the chief priests, ver. 12.-that if he found any of this way, whether they were men or women, he might bring them bound to Jerufalem, Acts ix. 2. namely, to be punished.-All these things, the Jews who were prefent at his defence before Agrippa in Cæfarea, well knew. He therefore called on them in this public manner to atteft the truth of them, because they were clear proofs of his bitter enmity to the Chriftians; and demonstrated that his forfaking the party of the chief priests, and going over to the Chriftians, whereby he fubjected himself to the be Ff4 hatred hatred of the Jews, could be owing to nothing but to the appear- No. XXXIV. pag. 395. The island was called Melitè. Bryant, |