quotations, have been happily brought forward by the present Christian advocate, in his defence of St. Paul against the profane attack of Gamaliel Smith, Esq., who professes himself unable to see how any thing like scales could fall from the eyes of the apostle on the recovery of his sight, after the address of Ananias. Gamaliel will have it that "in no cure, performed upon eyes in any natural way, in these our days-on eyes that have lost their sight-do any scales fall off, or any thing in any degree resembling scales." He will have it that an operation for the cataract ought to have been performed "without any expense in the article of miracles." To be sure, we know some eyes on which no operation could be performed with success; believing as we do firmly in the old adage, " that none are so blind as those who will not see." Mr. Hughes, however, has very satisfactorily answered the jeers of his adversary, not only by adducing the above-mentioned passages, but by asserting from high living authority, "That no unfrequent cause of blindness arises from a morbid thickening and consequent want of transparency in the tunica adnata, or conjunctiva, which passes before the cornea:" if this thickened membrane were to be suddenly and miraculously removed, (be it remembered that a miracle is exhibited in the present instance,) and the natural transparent membrane restored to the eye, it would not be ill described, in common language, by "scales falling from the eyes." At verse 24. the extent of John's baptism is accurately defined from Theophylact and Chrysostom: at v. 33. we have an apposite quotation from St. Cyril, showing that the phrase σήμερον γεγένηκά σε refers to the incarnation of our Saviour. Ch. xiv. 12. That the gods were supposed by the ancients to appear in human shape is evident from the Pagan mythology. Mr. R. has given a satisfactory reason why Jupiter and Mer cury were fixed upon in the present instance. This and the following verses are well illustrated by quotations from profane authors. 13. Chrysostom thinks that St. Paul did not restrain the people, before they actually saw them about to commence the sacrifice, because he was unacquainted with their language. Wetstein is of the same opinion, as if the gift of tongues was only granted on particular occasions. Mr. R. has followed the more probable one, viz. that Paul and Barnabas had retired from the crowd immediately after the miracle, and consequently remained ignorant of their intention to offer a sacrifice till the arrival of the priest of Jupiter for that purpose. Ch. xvi. 13. Mr. R. understands poreux to mean a place of prayer, and cites two passages from Josephus in support of his opinion. He might have added with advantage the authority of Juvenal, Sat. iii. 296. Ede, ubi consistas? in qua, te quæso, proseucha? 37. Mr. R. thinks that St. Paul obtained his right of citizenship by descent, from some one of his ancestors who had gained it by merit or by purchase. (Q. Did the purchase of this freedom by an individual confer it upon his descendants?) It is plain that the right did not extend to all the inhabitants of Tarsus, from the circumstance that the officer, though he knew Paul was a citizen of that place, ordered him to be beaten. Ch. xvii. 23. In the note on this verse, Mr. R. has collected into a short space the substance of what most commentators have written concerning "the Unknown God" worshipped at Athens. He seems to think that the true God of the Jews was intended by this appellation, whose sacred name they were not accustomed to pronounce. The great difficulty of the passage is, that in all ancient inscriptions or passages in ancient authors, (except Lucian, whose authority here is nothing,)_the_plural number is invariably used; OEOIZ AгNNETOIX. There seem to be but two ways of obviating this difficulty; one, to suppose that St. Paul adapted the singular number to the purpose of his speech; or, that some inscription in the singular number did actually meet his eye, of which no record has been handed down: to this latter opinion we incline. Ch. xviii. 18. St. Chrysostom refers the vow here mentioned to Aquila. Mr. R. agrees with those who refer it to St. Paul, and thinks that this was the reason why it was necessary for him to keep the approaching Passover at Jerusalem. Ch. xix. 12. roudagia. Mr. R. gives a reason why these Latin words of the N. T. were thus clothed in a Grecian garb: -Sacri scriptores talibus uti, ut vulgo receptis, minime dubitarunt, quo melius a plebe intelligi potuerint. We may perhaps do an acceptable service to students by exhibiting a list of these extraneous terms found in the N. T. yála, Act, viii. 27. TOUOTOS, Act. xviii. 7. xodpávτns, Matt. v. 26. Marc. xii. 42. κολώνια, Act. xvi. 12. XOUσTúdia, Matt. xxvii. 65, 66. xxviii. 11. 'xvoos, Matt. xvii. 25. xxii. 17. 19. Marc. xii. 14. xgionos, Act. xviii. 8. Marc. xv. 16. Joh. xviii. 28. 33. Phil. i. 13. πpioxiλλa, Act. xviii. 18. σικάριος, Act. xxi. 98. σιμικίνθιον, Act. xix. 12. σουδάριον, σπεκουλάτωρ, Marc. vi. 27. Taßégvaι, Act. xxviii. 15. peλóvn, 2 Tim. iv. 13, Pógov, Act. xxviii. 15. φραγέλλιον, Joan. ii. 15. Ppayeλλov, Matt. xxvii. 26. Marc. xv. 15. 4 " Ch. xix. 19. The following is Mr. R.'s note upon the word περίεργα: Teglegya: "Curiosa, Tepisgyos proprie dicitur qui præter rem curiosus est et diligens, atque hinc vox eos notat, qui in rebus humana menti imperviis pervestigandis tempus terunt. Idem sonat vox curiosus apud Latinos. Catull. Ep. vii. Quæ nec pernumerare curiosi possunt, nec mala fascinare lingua." With this we find no fault, except that he stops short, and does not sufficiently trace the meaning of the word in its present usage. Пeplegyos primarily signifies one nimis occupatus, who exercises immoderate care and diligence: secondly, one inepte sedulus, who exercises care and diligence about useless trifles: thirdly, curiosus xar' oxv, i. e. magicus, one who pries into the most useless and futile of all arts, the art of magic. Hence the phrase T Tepieрya is explained by Albert. Gloss. N. T. by Tà Yontixa: see it also used in the same sense by Irenæus adv. Hæres, l. i. c. 26., and by Aristænetus lib. ii. ep. 18. Such arts were particularly studied at Ephesus; witness the 'Epéria ygáμμata, so celebrated among the nations of antiquity. These, as Mr. R. rightly observes, were amulets inscribed with a sort of gibberish, the form of which he has quoted from Hesychius. He also cites a passage relating to the same from Lucian, Symp. vii. 5. He might have added a still more apposite one from St. Basil, Homil. in Psalm. xlv. who applies to them the very epithet here used, περίεργοι χαρακτῆρες, i. e. magical characters. Their use is alluded to in a fragment of Menander : ̓Εφέσια τοῖς γαμοῦσιν οὗτος περιπατεῖ as also by Erasmus Adag. Centur. 2. "Aiunt enim Ephesiis notulas quasdam et voces magicas fuisse, quibus utentes omni negotio victores evaderent." Eustathius (in Hom. Odyss. T. p. 694.) relates a curious story of their efficacy. Clemens Alex. (Strom. 1.) says that by many their introduction was ascribed to the Idæi Dactyli, those free-masons of antiquity. Athenæus informs us (Deipn. lib. 12.) that they used to be carried about the person in small leathern bags. The value of the books burnt by the magicians at Ephesus is estimated by Mr. R. at the sum of 18751. of our money, by which we perceive he calculates from the Attic drachma; in which we fully agree with him, since this coin had as great a currency in the East as at present the Spanish dollar has: if the Roman denarius be signified by the term apyúgiov, we must diminish the sum a little: but there is not the least reason in supposing with some commentators, among whom we find our worthy friend Gamaliel Smith, Esq., that it was the Hebrew shekel. Ephesus was a Grecian city, and used the Grecian, not the Jewish coin. Mr. R.'s notes on vv. 24. 27. and 35. contain much research and information. In ch. xx. 22. the various significations of the word πveũμa, as they occur in the N. T., and Bishop Middleton is referred to. In xxi. 34. the mapeußóλn is well explained from the description by Josephus. Ch. xxiii. 2, 3. A full account of Ananias, with citations from Josephus to show that St. Paul's character of him was a true one, and his prediction fulfilled. Ch. xxiv. 16. and xxv. 11. are well illustrated by reference to Roman laws. If our limits permitted us, we could willingly make many more extracts from this useful work; we must, however, conclude by recommending the editor to persevere in his labors, and to take in hand the epistles of St. Paul. Let him not say, Conamur tenues grandia-he has already well prepared himself for the attempt, and he will acquire additional strength as he proceeds in the task. RARE ARABIC MANUSCRIPT. To gratify a most respectable and very numerous class of our readers, those interested in the study of Eastern literature, more particularly History and Antiquities, we gladly announce, on authority respecting which little doubt or suspicion can be reasonably entertained, that there has lately been discovered in the East, and is now probably on its way to England, one of those rare Arabic works that many zealous orientalists have long sought without success, even in the principal libraries of Asia. We allude to a copy, represented as being in every respect complete, though ancient, of the Tarikh Kebir, or "Great Chronicle," composed by Abú Jaafer Muhammed ibn Jarir, who was born, anno Hejiræ 224 (A. D. 838), at Amul in Tabristán, and after his native province generally surnamed Tabri, Thabari, or Al-Tabari. Although a Persian by birth, he wrote his Chronicle in the Arabic language with admirable purity and elegance; comprising a general history of the world from Adam until the author's own time. It was the latter portion of this valuable work that furnished Elmacin (Sheikh Almakin) with the chief materials for his History of the Saracens; published in Arabic at Leyden (a small duodecimo volume), and in a Latin translation, by the learned Erpenius (one volume, quarto), under the title of "Historia Saracenica." (Lugd. Bat. 1625.) Such were the merits of Tabari, that our ingenious countryman Ockley has not hesitated to describe him as "the most celebrated and authentic ancient historian amongst the Arabians" (Hist. of the Saracens, vol. 11. p. 350.); and in another place (vol. 11. Introd. p. xxxiii.), he regrets his ignorance of the Turkish language, which prevented him from reading a translation "of the great Tabari, who is the Livy of the Arabians; the very parent of their history, and, as far as I could find by inquiry, given over for lost in Arabic. I formerly inquired of my predecessor, Dr. Luke, concerning him, who said he had never met with him in the East, and that he was to be despaired of in Arabic: Monsieur D'Herbelot "_" However," adds he, the same. says "that we may not imagine it lost, because of its scarcity, I luckily found a piece of it in folio amongst Archbishop Laud's manuscripts, (pity it is imperfect,) accurately written with all the points, and no doubt for the use of some great person," &c. The learned Pococke informs us, that Al-Tabari died in the year 310, (of Muhammed, or 922 of our era,) and brought his |