Barnabas to Antioch, and Barnabas calling Paul to
his assistance; Paul coming to a place and finding there disciples; the
clamour of the Jews; the complaint of artificers interested in the
support of the popular religion; the reason assigned to induce Paul to
give satisfaction to the Christians of Jerusalem. Had it not been for
these occasions it is probable that no notice whatever would have been
taken of the number of converts in several of the passages in which that
notice now appears. All this tends to remove the suspicion of a design
to exaggerate or deceive.

PARALLEL TESTIMONIES with the history are the letters of Saint Paul, and
of the other apostles, which have come down to us. Those of Saint Paul
are addressed to the churches of Corinth, Philippi, Thessalonica, the
church of Galatia, and, if the inscription be right, of Ephesus; his
ministry at all which places is recorded in the history: to the church
of Colosse, or rather to the churches of Colosse and Laodicea jointly,
which he had not then visited. They recognise by reference the churches
of Judea, the churches of Asia, and "all the churches of the Gentiles."
(Thess ii. 14.) In the Epistle to the Romans (Rom. xv. 18, 19.) the
author is led to deliver a remarkable declaration concerning the extent
of his preaching, its efficacy, and the cause to which he ascribes
it,--"to make the Gentiles obedient by word and deed, through mighty
signs and wonders, by the power of the Spirit of God; so that from
Jerusalem, and round about unto Illyricum, I have fully preached the
Gospel of Christ." In the epistle to the Colossians, (Col. i. 23.) we
find an oblique but very strong signification of the then general state
of the Christian mission, at least as it appeared to Saint Paul:--"If ye
continue in the faith, grounded and settled, and be not moved away from
the hope of the Gospel, which ye have heard, and which was preached to
every creature which is under heaven;" which Gospel, he had reminded
them near the beginning of his letter (Col. i. 6.), "was present with
them, as it was in all the world." The expressions are hyperbolical; but
they are hyperboles which could only be used by a writer who entertained
a strong sense of the subject. The first epistle of Peter accosts the
Christians dispersed throughout Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and
Bithynia.

It comes next to be considered how far these accounts are confirmed or
followed up by other evidence.

Tacitus,