THE LIFE AND EPISTLES OF ST. PAUL
A Valuable Book on an Important Subject.—New Edition. THE LIFE AND EPISTLES OF ST. PAUL.
By W. J. CONYBEARE, M. A., LATE FELLOW OF TRINITY COLLEGE, CAMBRIDGE, AND J. S. HOWSON, M. A., PRINCIPAL OF THE COLLEGIATE INSTITUTE, LIVERPOOL. A new and popular edition, complete in one volume with index, chronological tables, and notes. The purpose of this work is to give a living picture of St. Paul himself and of the circumstances by which he was surrounded. To accomplish this much more has been done by them than to present a mere transcript of the Scriptural narrative. For example, to comprehend the influences under which the Apostle grew to manhood, we must realize the position of a Jewish family in Tarsus, and must understand the kind of education which he would receive as a boy in his Hebrew home, or in the schools of his native city, and in riper years “at the feet of Gamaliel” in Jerusalem; while to understand his history as a missionary to the heathen, we must know the state of the different populations which he visited, and the character of the Greek and Roman civilizations of his time. What Dr. Geikie has done for the Life of Our Lord, Conybeare and Howson have done for the life of St. Paul. As a picture of the civilization of Paul’s time, their book is admirable, and shows thorough familiarity with all those places and aspects of truth which study can make available in interpreting the wonderful life and teachings of the Great Apostle to the Gentiles. It is a work of gigantic industry and profound learning, and has already passed through many editions. The Life and Epistles of Paul, by Conybeare and Howson, is emphatically a standard work, so thoroughly executed that it seems doubtful that it can be much improved upon. I have often referred to it in my studies, and always with profit. The apostle Paul was not only, to use his own words, “in labors more abundant,” but his letters form a large part of the literature of the New Testament. It is not for the mere gratification of curiosity that we wish to learn what we can of such a man. By studying his personal history and the circumstances connected with his untiring labors, we are able to enter into the spirit of his work, and far better to appreciate what he has written. I can cordially recommend this book to all students of the New Testament.
J. H. WAGGONER. The Life of St. Paul by Conybeare and Howson, I regard as a book of great merit, and one of rare usefulness to the earnest student of the New Testament history.
ELLEN G. WHITE.