lay these three periods together, and observe how
the progress of the religion by these accounts is represented. The
institution, which properly began only after its Author's removal from
the world, before the end of thirty years, had spread itself through
Judea, Galilee, and Samaria, almost all the numerous districts of the
Lesser Asia, through Greece, and the islands of the Aegean Sea, the
seacoast of Africa, and had extended itself to Rome, and into Italy. At
Antioch, in Syria, at Joppa, Ephesus, Corinth, Thessalonica, Berea,
Iconium, Derbe, Antioch in Pisidia, at Lydda, Saron, the number of
converts is intimated by the expressions, "a great number," "great
multitudes," "much people." Converts are mentioned, without any
designation of their number,* at Tyre, Cesarea, Troas, Athens, Philippi,
Lystra, Damascus. During all this time Jerusalem continued not only the
centre of the mission, but a principal seat of the religion; for when
Saint Paul returned thither at the conclusion of the period of which we
are now considering the accounts, the other apostles pointed out to him,
as a reason for his compliance with their advice, "how many thousands
(myriads, ten thousands) there were in that city who believed."+

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* Considering the extreme conciseness of many parts of the history, the
silence about the number of converts is no proof of their paucity; for
at Philippi, no mention whatever is made of the number, yet Saint Paul
addressed an epistle to that church. The churches of Galatia, and the
affairs of those churches, were considerable enough to be the subject of
another letter, and of much of Saint Paul's solicitude; yet no account
is preserved in the history of his success, or even of his preaching in
that country, except the slight notice which these words convey:--"When
they had gone throughout Phrygia, and the region of Galatia, they
assayed to go into Bithynia." Acts xvi. 6.

+ Acts xxi. 20.
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Upon this abstract, and the writing from which it is drawn, the
following observations seem material to be made:

I. That the account comes from a person who was himself concerned in a
portion of what he relates, and was contemporary with the whole of it;
who visited Jerusalem, and frequented the society of those who had
acted, and were acting the chief parts in the transaction. I lay down
this point positively; for had the ancient attestations to this valuable
record been less satisfactory than they