Cornelius a Lapide
Table of Contents
Synopsis of the Chapter
Paul, from his chains, before Agrippa and Festus pleads so ardently concerning his conversion to Christ, his preaching, and the persecutions of the Jews, that Festus exclaims that he is mad; Agrippa says: "You almost persuade me to become a Christian." To whom Paul says he wishes that he himself and all his hearers would become like him, except for these chains. Agrippa declares Paul innocent, but, since he had appealed to Caesar, that he must be sent to him.
Mystically, Agrippa, the Jewish king, represents the world; Bernice, his concubine, the flesh; Festus, because an idolater, the devil. With these Paul, and every faithful person, especially a preacher, contends. These harass, tempt, and judge Paul. Agrippa, that is, the world, mocks him and his discourses; Bernice, that is, the curious flesh, feasts itself on his appearance and hearing; Festus, that is, the demon, tempts him, repeatedly saying he is mad. Paul scorns and refutes them all, and wrests from them praise of his innocence and virtue.
Vulgate Text: Acts 26:1-32
1. Then Agrippa said to Paul: You are permitted to speak for yourself. Then Paul, stretching forth his hand, began to give an account. 2. Concerning all the things of which I am accused by the Jews, King Agrippa, I count myself blessed that I am to defend myself before you today, 3. especially since you know all things, both the customs and questions that are among the Jews: wherefore I beseech you to hear me patiently. 4. And indeed my manner of life from my youth, which was from the beginning among my own nation in Jerusalem, all the Jews know: 5. having known me from the beginning (if they are willing to bear witness), that according to the strictest sect of our religion I lived a Pharisee. 6. And now I stand subject to judgment for the hope of the promise that was made by God to our fathers: 7. unto which our twelve tribes, serving night and day, hope to attain. For which hope I am accused by the Jews, O King. 8. Why is it judged incredible by you, if God raises the dead? 9. And I indeed had thought that I ought to do many things contrary to the name of Jesus of Nazareth, 10. which I also did at Jerusalem; and I shut up many of the saints in prisons, having received authority from the chief priests: and when they were put to death, I cast my vote. 11. And through all the synagogues, often punishing them, I compelled them to blaspheme: and being yet more mad against them, I persecuted them even unto foreign cities. 12. In the course of which, while I was going to Damascus with authority and permission of the chief priests, 13. at midday, on the road, I saw, O King, from heaven, above the brightness of the sun, a light shining round about me, and them that were with me. 14. And when we were all fallen to the ground, I heard a voice speaking to me in the Hebrew tongue: Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou Me? It is hard for thee to kick against the goad. 15. And I said: Who art Thou, Lord? And the Lord said: I am Jesus, whom thou persecutest. 16. But rise up, and stand upon thy feet: for to this end have I appeared to thee, that I may make thee a minister and a witness of those things which thou hast seen, and of those things in which I will appear to thee, 17. delivering thee from the people, and from the Gentiles, unto whom now I send thee, 18. to open their eyes, that they may be converted from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan to God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins, and a lot among the saints, by the faith that is in Me. 19. Whereupon, O King Agrippa, I was not incredulous to the heavenly vision: 20. but to them first that are at Damascus, and at Jerusalem, and unto all the country of Judaea, and to the Gentiles did I preach, that they should do penance, and turn to God, doing works worthy of penance. 21. For this cause the Jews, when I was in the temple, having apprehended me, went about to kill me. 22. But, being aided by the help of God, I stand unto this day, witnessing both to small and great, saying no other thing than those which the prophets and Moses did say should come to pass: 23. that Christ should suffer, and that He should be the first that should rise from the dead, and should show light to the people and to the Gentiles. 24. As he was speaking these things and making his defense, Festus said with a loud voice: Paul, thou art mad: much learning doth make thee mad. 25. And Paul said: I am not mad, most excellent Festus, but I speak words of truth and soberness. 26. For the King knows of these things, to whom also I speak with confidence: for I am persuaded that none of these things are hidden from him. For neither was any of these things done in a corner. 27. Believest thou the prophets, O King Agrippa? I know that thou believest. 28. And Agrippa said to Paul: In a little thou persuadest me to become a Christian. 29. And Paul said: I would to God, that both in little and in much, not only thou, but also all that hear me, this day, should become such as I also am, except these bonds. 30. And the King rose up, and the governor, and Bernice, and they that sat with them. 31. And when they were gone aside, they spoke among themselves, saying: This man has done nothing worthy of death or of bonds. 32. And Agrippa said to Festus: This man might have been set at liberty, if he had not appealed to Caesar.
Verse 1: Then Paul, Stretching Forth His Hand
1. Then Paul, stretching forth his hand, — not toward Agrippa, as if by this sign he were thanking Agrippa for the faculty of speaking granted him by him, as Cajetan would have it; but first, after the manner of orators, signaling silence with outstretched hand, as I have said from Apuleius, book II of The Golden Ass, from Persius and others, in chapter XII; second, as a sign of freedom and confidence, because, conscious of his innocence, he did not doubt of victory in this his cause and suit; third, as a sign of authority, since he was about to preach as it were an Apostle, doctor, and legate of Christ: whence he speaks with outstretched hand, as one having power.
Verse 2: I Count Myself Happy
2. I count myself happy. — Because, as St. Jerome says, Epistle 49: "Paul had read that saying of Jesus Sirach, Ecclus. xxv, 12: Blessed is he that speaketh into the ear of one that heareth; and he had learned that an orator's words avail only so much as the judge's foresight shall have perceived. Hence I too count myself happy only in this business, that before your learned ears (O Pammachius) my unskilled tongue is about to respond." On the other hand, "where there is no hearing, pour not out speech," says Ecclus. xxxii, 6. Wherefore Xenocrates, dismissing from his school a certain man ignorant of mathematics to learn mathematics, said: "With me there is no loom; that is, raw wool is not immediately handed over to the clothier, but to the fuller"; so Laertius, book IV, chap. ii. Paul here directs all his discourse to Agrippa, not to Festus: first, because before Festus he had already pleaded his cause; second, because Festus had referred Paul's cause to Agrippa, and for that reason had brought Paul into his sight; third, because Agrippa was eager to hear Paul; fourth, because Agrippa was a Jew: and so he was better able to grasp this suit of Paul's with the Jews about Judaism than Festus the Gentile; fifth, because Paul hoped to convert Agrippa to Christ by showing him from Moses and the Prophets that Jesus was the Messiah, for Agrippa was of good disposition, settled mind, intelligent and prudent. Whence also he tried in every way to dissuade the Jews from the war against the Romans, saying repeatedly that it would be for the Jews ruin and destruction, as the outcome proved; so Josephus, book II of the War, chap. xvi.
Verse 3: Especially as You Know All Things
3. Especially as you know all things. — Especially since I know that you know all things, namely those which pertain to the present matter and my suit with the Jews. Paul captures Agrippa's goodwill, not however by flattering, as wranglers do, but truly praising him, because he wished to gain him: and this he in part achieved, says Chrysostom, homily 33 on I Corinthians.
Verse 4: My Life from My Youth
4. My life, — βίωσιν, that is, the acts and manners of life, namely my conduct, as the Syriac translates.
In Jerusalem. — Therefore there Paul had seen and heard Christ teaching and preaching, either with his own eye and ear, or by reputation and the eyes and ears of others; but being an excessive zealot of Moses and the law, he had closed his ears and mind to Him, until Christ forcibly opened them, by casting him to the ground and saying: "Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou Me?" Acts ix.
Verse 5: According to the Most Certain Sect
5. Knowing me from the beginning, — προγινώσκοντες, that is, foreknowing me, namely those who knew me and my deeds before my Christianity.
That according to the most certain sect, — ἀκριβεστάτην, that is, the most diligent, most exact, most religious among the Jews, for such was the sect of the Pharisees. Differently Mariana: There were, he says, seven sects of Pharisees, on the testimony of the Talmud in the tractate Sotah. Of these seven Paul had embraced the best and most perfect. And Arias says: Paul had been taught by Gamaliel in the house of Hillel, which was held more select than the house of Shammai, as is clear from the book of Mishnayoth.
Verse 6: In the Hope of the Promise Made to Our Fathers
6. In the hope of the promise which was made to our fathers, — as if to say: I am called to judgment on account of faith and hope of obtaining salvation through Christ the Savior, promised to our fathers; and therefore so far from departing from the law, faith, and hope of the ancients, I cling to them entirely, and on their account I continually suffer so many and such great things. Paul's apology is effective; for he proves that he is neither seditious nor an apostate from the law and faith of the fathers, since he preaches the faith and hope in Christ which all the fathers held, and by which they were saved. Second, and more aptly by metonymy, take "hope" for the thing hoped for, namely for the righteousness and salvation obtained through Christ: for this had been promised to the fathers, and because this was preached, Paul was accused by the Jews. Whence he also adds:
Verse 7: Unto Which Our Twelve Tribes Hope to Attain
7. Unto which our twelve tribes, night and day (the Greek adds, ἐν ἐκτενείᾳ, in diligence, or earnestness) serving (namely worshiping God with latria, adoring and invoking; for this is λατρεύοντες; the Syriac: giving themselves to assiduous prayers), hope to attain. — For the Jews hoped for righteousness and salvation through the Messiah, or Christ; but they denied that He had already come and was the one whom Paul was preaching: but that He was still to be awaited and would come. Hence it is clear that "hope" is taken for the thing and salvation hoped for, for the Jews did not hope to attain the hope itself, since they already had it and from it they hoped, but to the very thing hoped for, namely salvation, resurrection, and eternal blessedness: unto this they hoped to attain.
Verse 8: Why Should It Be Thought Incredible If God Raises the Dead?
8. Why should it be thought incredible by you, if God raises the dead? — The Apostle proved the resurrection of Christ and ours from the testimony of the Fathers, who all believed and hoped for it; now he proves the same from the omnipotence of God, as if to say: God is God, that is, omnipotent, and consequently Lord of life and death: therefore it is credible, nay certain, that He can raise the dead. For if He was able to create men, when they did not exist, from nothing, why could He not restore and raise up the same men already created, and dissolved by death?
Verse 9: And I Indeed Had Thought
9. And I indeed had thought, — ἔδοξα ἐμαυτῷ, that is, I had persuaded myself, and had thoroughly resolved. He shows that he had not passed over from Judaism to Christianity out of levity, but had been changed and driven by divine enlightenment and power.
Verse 10: Many of the Saints I Shut Up in Prisons
10. Many of the saints, — many Christians.
And when they were being put to death, I cast my vote, — the sentence passed by the judges, namely by the chief priests: for I brought this sentence to the Officials whose task it was to carry it out, and to put to death the Christians condemned by the judges. Whence it appears that more were then put to death. The same is clear from Acts ix, 1: "But Saul, still breathing out threats and slaughter." For that some restrict this by synecdoche to St. Stephen alone seems forced, especially because Paul did not "carry down a sentence" in the killing of Stephen, inasmuch as there was none then. For Stephen was killed, not by the sentence of a judge, but by the fury of the people. Cajetan adds that Paul carried the sentence of death passed by the Jewish judges upon Christians to the Roman governor, so that he might confirm it — without whose approval it would not have had force — and brought it back signed by him, so that it might be committed to execution.
Note: For "sentence," the Greek has ψῆφος; which ψῆφος means many things, namely, first, a reckoning and a balanced account, as if to say: I brought down the reckoning and account of those condemned to be killed — e.g. that so many were to be killed by the sword, so many by strangulation, so many by hanging, etc.; second, a vote: whence the Syriac translates, "I voted with those who condemned them," by approving, praising, and executing their sentence; third, a pebble (used for voting), as if to say: when they were being judged and put to death, I too, among the judges, cast my pebble, and by it condemned them; fourth, our translator most aptly renders, "I cast the sentence," namely from the judges to the executors: for that Paul was not a judge but a servant of the judges, is clear from Acts ix, 1, where it is said: "But Saul, still breathing out threats and slaughter against the disciples of the Lord, went to the chief priest, and asked from him letters to Damascus to the synagogues, so that if he found any of this way, men or women, he might bring them bound to Jerusalem," to be judged by the chief priests and the people.
Verse 11: I Compelled Them to Blaspheme
11. I compelled them to blaspheme, — I forced them to deny Jesus, so that they would say that Jesus was not the Messiah, or Christ, but had justly been condemned and crucified by the pontiffs: for this is blasphemous, being injurious to Christ and God. Note here Paul's humility, by which he publicly confesses and exaggerates his own sins.
Verse 12: With Power and Permission
12. In the course of which — cities, or raging deeds of madness, says Hugo. Whence Pagninus renders, "in the zeal of which matters."
With power and permission. — Others render, "with power and commission": for ἐπιτροπή signifies not only permission, but also charge, procuration, commission. Whence ἐπίτροπος is a curator, guardian, procurator, vicar, prefect, to whom something is entrusted. Our translator skillfully renders it "by permission," so as to signify that this mission and commission of Paul to persecute Christians was not so much entrusted to him spontaneously by the princes and judges, as solicited, procured by Paul himself, and almost extorted from them against their will, or at least from those not sending but permitting: by which is signified Paul's immense zeal and ardor for Judaism against Christ and Christians. Therefore Paul's discourse grows in both senses.
Verse 13: Above the Brightness of the Sun
13. Above the brightness of the sun a light shone round about me. — This light therefore was immense and extraordinary, inasmuch as it reflected Christ's majesty, emanating from His glorified body, which far surpasses the sun's brightness. So concerning the star sent to the Magi by Christ, who is the light of the world, so as to call them to Himself, Prudentius sings in the hymn of Epiphany:
Whom the star, which surpasses the wheel
Of the sun in beauty and light,
Announces has come to the earth,
God with earthly flesh.
And St. Ignatius, epistle to the Ephesians, says of this star: "A star shone forth, surpassing all the stars that had been before: for its light was unutterable, and the novelty of the thing struck astonishment into all who beheld it; and all the rest of the stars with the sun and moon formed a chorus to this star; but it by its brightness exceeded them all." This so great a light dispelled from Paul and the Magi the darkness of unbelief and errors, so that through it they might behold Christ, who is the way, the truth, and the life, and the true sun of the world. Hence it is probable, as some hold, that this light was orbicular like the sun, as though a shining globe surrounded Paul. For this is implied by "shone round about" (circumfulsisse), namely, it shone round about in the manner of a circle. St. Augustine beautifully, in sermon 28 On the Saints: "While Saul," he says, "bears a deadly sword against the soldiers of Christ, he receives from heaven a thunderbolt testimony. While he rages, he is struck; while he persecutes the saints of Christ, he is blinded by the violent ray of heavenly light." The rest concerning Paul's conversion I have said at verse 9.
Verse 14: When We Had Fallen to the Ground; In the Hebrew Tongue
14. When we had fallen to the ground, — but in such a way that Paul's companions immediately rose from the ground and stood stunned, while Paul lay prostrate on the ground, as I said in chapter ix.
In the Hebrew tongue. — Whence it seems that Paul here spoke not in Hebrew, but in Greek, as he had spoken to Lysias in chap. xxi, 37, or certainly in Latin. For he was pleading his case before Festus, the Roman governor, and Agrippa knew Latin, having been brought up at Rome from boyhood.
Verse 16: For to This End I Have Appeared to Thee
16. For to this end I have appeared to thee. — Therefore Paul then really saw Christ present before him and standing by, and this for the purpose that, taught and sent by Him, he might be an eyewitness of Him.
And of those things in which I will appear to thee. — "In which," that is, on account of which, says Sanchez; Pagninus, "in which." Hence it is clear that Christ frequently appeared to Paul and revealed many things to him.
Verse 19: I Was Not Incredulous to the Heavenly Vision
19. I was not incredulous, — ἀπειθής, unpersuadable, incredulous, disobedient; but immediately I allowed faith in Christ to be persuaded to me, immediately I believed, immediately I obeyed Him.
To the heavenly vision. — In Greek ὀπτασία, which, says Oecumenius, is a pure inspection of the thing, which exceeds man, and which he who is in the flesh cannot see in any way, unless his eyes are opened from heaven.
Verse 22: Saying Nothing Beyond What the Prophets Said
22. Saying nothing beyond (that is, as Pagninus renders, nothing else) than those things which the prophets said would come to pass. — This is the third argument of Paul's apology. For the first was from the testimony of the fathers, verse 6; the second, from the vision of Christ, enlightening his eyes and mind, verse 13; the third is in this place from the oracles of the Prophets, who foretold future things concerning Christ, which Paul now preached as accomplished. Note: The Prophets foretold that Christ would come, and would establish a new law, Church, and Sacraments: but what and of what kind those future things would be, they did not explain, but left that to be determined by Christ, and to be explained by Paul and the Apostles. Wherefore the sophism of Chemnitz vanishes, when he argues thus: Paul says he preaches no other penance than that which had been preached by the Prophets in their age: that was not a Sacrament; therefore neither is that which was preached by Paul in the new law, a Sacrament. For the major premise is strictly false: for Paul speaks in general, not specifically, of penance; for the penance preached by the Prophets was the virtue of penance: but that preached by Paul was the virtue and the Sacrament of Penance, which the Prophets did not preach, but foretold in general, when they prophesied that through Christ there would be brought forgiveness of sins and a manner of granting it would be established; but what that manner would in particular be, namely through the Sacrament of Penance to be instituted by Christ, they did not declare, but left to be declared by Christ.
Verse 23: If Christ Is to Suffer; A Light to the People and the Gentiles
23. If Christ is to suffer. — The "if" is not conditional, but assertive, signifying by a Hebraism "that," as if to say: The Prophets foretold that Christ would be passible, would die and rise first from death, and then through Him the rest of the Christians. So Lyra, Hugo, Dionysius, Sanchez, and others. "What wonder," says St. Gregory, homily 26 on the Gospel, "if He who daily restores from a small seed the wood, the fruits, the leaves in the great mass of a tree, should bring back bones, nerves, flesh, and hairs from dust?"
A light (of truth and of the true religion, of faith and salvation) is to be announced to the people (Jewish) and to the Gentiles. — Hence Simeon calls Christ "a light to the revelation of the Gentiles, and the glory of Thy people Israel," Luke ii, 32.
Verse 24: Paul, Thou Art Mad; Much Learning Doth Make Thee Mad
24. Paul, thou art mad. — Festus said this, both because of the height of the mysteries — namely the passion of Christ the Son of God and the resurrection — which he, as a Gentile man, did not grasp and considered raving; and because of the vision of Christ and of so dazzling a light, verse 13, in which he supposed him to be raving; and because of the ardor, force, and impetus of Paul's speaking, which was so great that he seemed to be of disturbed mind. But Festus was speaking the truth in a sense — not his own, but a mystical one: for Paul was indeed drunken and mad, not with wine but with truth; not with frenzy but with love: for the love of God made him a fool and a madman to the world. Hear St. Bernard, in the treatise On the Nature of Divine Love, chap. iii: "Was it any wonder," he says, "if he was pronounced to be raving, who, in the very peril of death, was striving to convert to Christ the very judges by whom he was being judged for Christ? It was not much learning that produced this madness in him, as the King said — understanding the truth but dissimulating it — but the inebriation of the Holy Spirit, in which he was eager to make those, who were judging him, like himself, both in small and in great." See what is said at Acts ii, 13.
Note: Paul here in many ways refers to Christ; Christ was called a wine-bibber, and to have a devil: so Paul is here called a maniac and mad. Christ publicly taught, and so He answered the High Priest in His Passion, Matt. xxvi, 55. Thus Paul says in verse 26: "For I am persuaded that none of these things are hidden from him; for none of these things were done in a corner."
Much learning doth turn thee to madness. — For studious and learned men too much addicted to letters easily fall into melancholy, frenzy, and mania. Indeed Aristotle asserts that no great genius has existed without an admixture of dementia. See him in Problems, section 30, where he teaches that Plato, Socrates, Empedocles, the poets and heroes suffered from melancholy, some even from mania. Furthermore Oecumenius: "Festus," he says, "said these things, troubled and indignant, because he believed himself despised (in that Paul turned face and voice to Agrippa, not to Festus), and because he saw that the King, who had so greatly desired to hear him, was looked upon by him with eyes so haughty that he seemed not so much to clear away the calumny, as to boast of his own teaching or life."
Morally note: The world judges its despisers and zealous, divine men to be mad, and calls them insane. Thus the Prophet, when about to anoint Jehu as king, heard: "Why has this madman come to you?" IV Kings ix. Thus of Christ it is said: "And when His own had heard, they went out to lay hold on Him, for they said: He is gone mad," Mark iii, 21. So today religious and contemplative men are held in mockery by worldlings and called fools; but in the day of judgment they shall acknowledge their error, and shall say too late: "We senseless ones esteemed their life madness, etc. Behold how they are numbered among the sons of God, and their lot is among the Saints," Wisdom v, 4.
Verse 25: But I Speak Words of Truth and Soberness
25. But I speak words of truth and soberness. — First, as if to say: I am not drunken and mad, but sober, of sound mind, and truthful. For sobriety here is opposed to madness and frenzy; for the latter makes a man speak loudly and turbulently like a drunkard. Second, as if to say: I speak true things, and that moderately and soberly, not exaggerating them too much and extolling them above the truth, as if to say: In preaching the truth I do not exceed measure. So Paul says: "For whether we be transported in mind, it is to God: or whether we be sober, it is for you," II Cor. v, 13. Third, as if to say: "Falsehood is absent from his words, wantonness from his deeds — which two things are proper to madness," says the Gloss.
Verse 27: Believest Thou, King Agrippa, the Prophets?
27. Believest thou, King Agrippa, the prophets, — as if to say: If you believe the Prophets, as you believe because you are a Jew, therefore believe also Christ and the things which I preach concerning Christ, because the Prophets foretold the same things of Him: there is in this apostrophe a sharp goad with which he pricks Agrippa, that he may believe in Christ.
Verse 28: In a Little Thou Persuadest Me to Become a Christian
28. In a little thou persuadest me to become a Christian. — First, as if to say: It is little lacking that you should advise and persuade me to become a Christian; with a small effort you would persuade me to Christianity. "Little is wanting that you should make me a Christian," says Cyril of Jerusalem, Catechesis 17; Cajetan, Sanchez and others, indeed even Chrysostom, homily 16 To the People: "For the saints," he says, "in dangers do not consider how they may be delivered from them, but how they may gain those who persecute them." Whence Gagneius and Salmeron think Agrippa was secretly a Christian; but with this sense Paul's response does not agree: "I would to God, both in little and in much," etc. Whence Chrysostom thinks Paul did not sufficiently grasp Agrippa's mind; which seems hardly credible.
Second, Oecumenius, as if to say: In the brief time, labor, and discourse with which you have spoken with me, you persuade me to become a Christian; and Vatablus and Lyra, as if to say: In part and slightly you persuade me to become a Christian; but perfectly you do not persuade, you do not convince, so that ἐν ὀλίγῳ would be the same as δι' ὀλίγου, namely χρόνου καὶ λόγου, that is, through brief time and discourse. To which Paul fittingly opposes: "Both in little and in much," as if to say: I wish you to become a Christian not only with little, but also with much time, labor, and discourse of mine.
Third, and genuinely, the ἐν ὀλίγῳ, that is, "in a little," stands for παρ' ὀλίγον, and corresponds to the Hebrew כמעט kimat, that is: slightly, a little, somewhat you persuade. To which Paul fittingly opposes: "Both in little and in much," as if to say: Not only a little, but also much, with my whole heart and affection I desire and urge that you become like me, namely a Christian: and not only you, but also all who hear me.
Note here Paul's zeal, by which he was striving to convert and lead over to the same faith Agrippa, the king of the Jews, his judge, before whom he was being accused by the Jews of leading the Jews from Judaism over to Christianity: but the incestuous king, coming with such great pomp and pride, was little disposed toward the Gospel, and toward its continence, modesty, and humility; whence rising up at once, he cut off and broke off Paul's discourse.
Verse 29: To Become Such as I Am — Except for These Bonds
29. To become such as I am, — that is, Christians, indeed apostles and heralds of Christ, such as I am. St. Augustine excellently says, in tract. 8 on the Epistle of St. John: "Hear," he says, "the Apostle speaking from the bowels of charity: I would that all men were as myself. In what way did he want all? Equal. Therefore he was superior to all, because by charity he wished all to be equal."
Except for these bonds. — Hence it is clear that Paul delivered his oration bound and laden with chains: for the bonds endured for Christ did not diminish his courage, but rather increased it; wherefore he is wont to exult and glory in them. See St. Chrysostom marvelously celebrating these bonds of Paul, in homily 9 on the Epistle to the Ephesians, tom. IV. But Agrippa, that pompous king, could not grasp this wisdom; and so Paul exempts him from the chains, saying: "Except for these bonds." St. Ignatius, founder of our Society, did grasp it; who, when imprisoned for the preaching of Christ, replied to those who condoled with him: "You do not know how happy and glorious it is to be bound for Christ; there are not so many fetters in the city but that I would desire to bear more for Christ." Wherefore, taught by continual experience, he used to say and to teach that the shortest road to perfection is the desire of suffering many things for Christ; thus Ribadeneira in his Life, book I, chap. xv.
See St. Chrysostom here, homily 52, where among other things he extols Paul's spirit and fire, in that he reckoned as nothing the bonds with which he was bound as a malefactor, and therefore even in them devoted himself with his whole heart to converting Agrippa and all the bystanders. "Such," he says, "is a soul exalted by heavenly love: for whereas those who are captivated by base loves count nothing glorious or precious save what serves their lusts; this alone they reckon glorious and honorable, and the beloved becomes everything to them — much more do those who burn with such heavenly love count precious things as nothing. If, however, we do not consider what is said, it is no wonder: for we are unskilled in this philosophy. For he who has been seized by the fire of Christ becomes such as a man would be who dwelt alone upon the earth: glory and ignominy are of so little concern to him; but just as one alone would care for nothing, so neither does such a man care. Temptations indeed he so despises, and scourges and prisons, as though he were suffering in another's body, or as if he possessed an adamantine body. And the things that are sweet in this life, he so laughs at and does not feel them, even as we, or the dead themselves, feel not dead bodies. So far is it from his being captivated by any affection, that as much as gold which is tried by fire departs from any stain, so much does he depart from such loves. And as flies fall into the midst of a flame, but flee from it: so neither do these affections dare to approach them."
Verse 32: This Man Might Have Been Set Free
32. This man might have been set free, if he had not appealed to Caesar. — Nay rather, he could have been released even though he had appealed, because he had appealed under compulsion, and by his appeal sought nothing but his release: wherefore, if the Governor had granted him this, Paul would willingly have withdrawn his appeal. The king therefore put forward this pretext, because he did not wish to offend the Jews by releasing Paul, but to please them by sending him bound to Caesar, to whom he had appealed.