The Republican. [volume] (Oakland, Md.) 1877-current, 1903-05-21

PAUL BEFORE AGRIPPA
There were holiday times in C&sarea
The marble metropolis by the sea
was in festive dress to welcome the
defendants of her founder. There
had been a succession of fetes in the
amphitheatre and banquets in the
place. But latter many days" mill
tary, naval, and gladiatorial spectac-
les began to cloy upon the royal
guests. Festus bethought himself of
an expediept. He would by way of
variety give Agrippa and Bernice an
intellectual tournament. He would
call the Nazarene enthusiast from
prison and the company Of his yellow
parchments, and have him give the
king an exhibition of that thrilling
oratorical power of which he had him
self already had sample. He would
by this means 'kill two birds with
one stone" entertain his guests and
at the same time find the means of ex-
Treating himself from an awkward
plight. Agrippa's familiarity with
Jewish questions might serve him
well in the wording of communica-
ton to the emperor in the case of this
prisoner, who, though so manifestly
innocent, had been compelled to APP
peal his case though the procurator's
failure to acquit him.
Festus determined that the specta-
Gle of the audience chamber should
not be a whit below that of the thea
tire in scenic effectiveness The phan-
tom sovereign should be tickled by
being made the presiding officer at
mock trial. 1t was a splendid assem-
blage. The chiefs, military, civil, and
social, were there. Festus wore the
crimson robe of Office, Agrippa the in
sigma of royalty. Bernice blazed in
jewels.
Once more, and on the same spot,
the current religions of the day APP
peared in triangular antagonism.
HeaChenism had its representative in
Festus-a cofessedly nobler character
than Felix-but before the interview
ended displaying by his rude exclama-
ton the inveterate obtuseness of the
heather mind in spiritual matters.
To the procurator Paul's talk about
resurrection was prima facie eviden-
ce that the mind of the prisoner was
unhinged. He had no such concep-
tions of the Diety, his power and love,
as to make the raising of the dead
credible to him. The cynicism of the
heather not only put him out of touch
with Paul, but left him powerless to
even understand the selfoblivious
spirit of the great missionary. To
the Roman official the great ideal of
life was to steer between the capric-
ious anger of the emperor ON the one
hand, and that of the heterogeneous
population he governed ON the other.
Judaism had a representative on
this occasion, better known to history
than the one who stood for it in the
scene which transpired in the same
room two years before. Agrippa, the
guardian of the temple, nominator of
high priests, deliberately trained in
all matters of Jewish religion and
casuistry,n was a very incarnation of
Hebrewism.
Thoroughly versed though he was
in the prophets, he, with most He
brews, had failed to preceive that the
Jewish seers pictured a suffering as
well as victorious Messiah. Agrippa
could not but see the completeness
with which Paul freed himself from
the charge of apostasy; he could not
but see the true identity between
Christianity and Judaism" but while
tacitly admitting it, he lacked the
moral courage to avow it; and as Felix