, wherever any of them should lie
down, to sacrifice it to the god to whom it belonged; and so the plague
ceased.--Hence," says the historian, "it has come to pass, that to this
present time may be found in the boroughs of the Athenians ANONYMOUS
altars: a memorial of the expiation then made." (In Epimenide, l. i.
segm. 110.) These altars, it may be presumed, were called anonymous
because there was not the name of any particular deity inscribed upon
them.

Pausanias, who wrote before the end of the second century, in his
description of Athens, having mentioned an altar of Jupiter Olympius,
adds, "And nigh unto it is an altar of unknown gods." (Paus. l. v. p.
412.) And in another place, he speaks "of altars of gods called
unknown." (Paus. l. i. p. 4.)

Philostratus, who wrote in the beginning of the third century; records
it as an observation of Apollonius Tyanseus, "That it was wise to speak
well of all the gods, especially at Athens, where altars of unknown
demons were erected." (Philos. Apoll. Tyan. l. vi. c. 3.)

The author of the dialogue Philoparis by many supposed to have been
Lucian, who wrote about the year 170, by others some anonymous Heathen
writer of the fourth century, makes Critias swear by the unknown god of
Athens; and, near time end of the dialogue, has these words, "But let us
find out the unknown god at Athens, and, stretching our hands to heaven,
offer to him our praises and thanksgivings." (Lucian. in Philop. tom.
ii. Graev. pp. 767, 780.)

This is a very curious and a very important coincidence. It appears
beyond controversy, that altars with this inscription were existing at
Athens at the time when Saint Paul is alleged to have been there. It
seems also (which is very worthy of observation) that this inscription
was peculiar to the Athenians. There is no evidence that there were
altars inscribed "to the unknown god" in any other country. Supposing
the history of Saint Paul to have been a fable, how is it possible that
such a writer as the author of the Acts of the Apostles was should hit
upon a circumstance so extraordinary, and introduce it by an allusion so
suitable to Saint Paul's office and character?

The examples here collected will be sufficient, I hope, to satisfy us
that the writers of the Christian history knew something of what they
were writing about. The argument is also strengthened by the following
considerations:

I. That these agreements appear not only in articles of pub