[The posts which follow make extensive use of The Acts of the Apostles, by Madame Cecilia, (Religious of St Andrew's Convent, Streatham), with an Imprimi potest dated 16 October 1907 (Westminster); Burns, Oates & Washbourne Ltd. (London). With grateful prayers for the author and her team:
REQUIEM æternam dona eis, Domine, et lux perpetua luceat eis. Requiescant in pace. Amen.ETERNAL rest grant unto them, O Lord, and let perpetual light shine upon them. May they rest in peace. Amen.]
Acts XXVII : 27-44
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[28] Who also sounding, found twenty fathoms; and going on a little further, they found fifteen fathoms. [29] Then fearing lest we should fall upon rough places, they cast four anchors out of the stern, and wished for the day.
[30] But as the shipmen sought to fly out of the ship, having let down the boat into the sea, under colour, as though they would have cast anchors out of the forepart of the ship,
[31] Paul said to the centurion, and to the soldiers: Except these stay in the ship, you cannot be saved.
[32] Then the soldiers cut off the ropes of the boat, and let her fall off.
[33] And when it began to be light, Paul besought them all to take meat, saying: This day is the fourteenth day that you have waited, and continued fasting, taking nothing.
[34] Wherefore I pray you to take some meat for your health's sake; for there shall not an hair of the head of any of you perish.
[35] And when he had said these things, taking bread, he gave thanks to God in the sight of them all; and when he had broken it, he began to eat.
[36] Then were they all of better cheer, and they also took some meat.
[37] And we were in all in the ship, two hundred threescore and sixteen souls.
[38] And when they had eaten enough, they lightened the ship, casting the wheat into the sea.
[39] And when it was day, they knew not the land; but they discovered a certain creek that had a shore, into which they minded, if they could, to thrust in the ship.
[40] And when they had taken up the anchors, they committed themselves to the sea, loosing withal the rudder bands; and hoisting up the mainsail to the wind, they made towards shore.
[41] And when we were fallen into a place where two seas met, they run the ship aground; and the forepart indeed, sticking fast, remained unmoveable: but the hinder part was broken with the violence of the sea.
[42] And the soldiers' counsel was, that they should kill the prisoners, lest any of them, swimming out, should escape.
[43] But the centurion, willing to save Paul, forbade it to be done; and he commanded that they who could swim, should cast themselves first into the sea, and save themselves, and get to land.
[44] And the rest, some they carried on boards, and some on those things that belonged to the ship. And so it came to pass, that every soul got safe to land.
[27] Sed posteaquam quartadecima nox supervenit, navigantibus nobis in Adria circa mediam noctem, suspicabantur nautae apparere sibi aliquam regionem. [28] Qui et summittentes bolidem, invenerunt passus viginti : et pusillum inde separati, invenerunt passus quindecim. [29] Timentes autem ne in aspera loca incideremus, de puppi mittentes anchoras quatuor, optabant diem fieri. [30] Nautis vero quaerentibus fugere de navi, cum misissent scapham in mare, sub obtentu quasi inciperent a prora anchoras extendere, [31] dixit Paulus centurioni et militibus : Nisi hi in navi manserint, vos salvi fieri non potestis. [32] Tunc absciderunt milites funes scaphae, et passi sunt eam excidere. [33] Et cum lux inciperet fieri, rogabat Paulus omnes sumere cibum, dicens : Quartadecima die hodie exspectantes jejuni permanetis, nihil accipientes. [34] Propter quod rogo vos accipere cibum pro salute vestra : quia nullius vestrum capillus de capite peribit. [35] Et cum haec dixisset, sumens panem, gratias egit Deo in conspectu omnium : et cum fregisset, coepit manducare.
[36] Animaequiores autem facti omnes, et ipsi sumpserunt cibum. [37] Eramus vero universae animae in navi ducentae septuaginta sex. [38] Et satiati cibo alleviabant navem, jactantes triticum in mare. [39] Cum autem dies factus esset, terram non agnoscebant : sinum vero quemdam considerabant habentem littus, in quem cogitabant si possent ejicere navem. [40] Et cum anchoras sustulissent, committebant se mari, simul laxantes juncturas gubernaculorum : et levato artemone secundum aurae flatum, tendebant ad littus.
[41] Et cum incidissemus in locum dithalassum, impegerunt navem : et prora quidem fixa manebat immobilis, puppis vero solvebatur a vi maris. [42] Militum autem consilium fuit ut custodias occiderent : nequis cum enatasset, effugeret. [43] Centurio autem volens servare Paulum, prohibuit fieri : jussitque eos, qui possent natare, emittere se primos, et evadere, et ad terram exire : [44] et ceteros alios in tabulis ferebant : quosdam super ea quae de navi erant. Et sic factum est, ut omnes animae evaderent ad terram.
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Notes
27. after the fourteenth night, — i.e., from the time when they left Good-havens.
we were sailing. For a fortnight they had been at the mercy of the winds ; but although the course of the vessel varied slightly as the gale blew more or less fiercely, on the whole she sailed in a fairly straight line.
in Adria. This is not that part of the Mediterranean now known as “the Gulf of Venice,” but the Adriatic Sea, which, according to Ptolemy and Strabo, included the waters between Greece, Italy, Sicily, and Africa.
Josephus, some twenty years later, made the voyage from Cesarea to Puteoli, and he too suffered shipwreck “ in the middle of the Adria.” A ship from Cyrene picked up Josephus and other passengers from this vessel, and conveyed eighty of them safely to their destination.
deemed. The Bezan text reads, “ some country was resounding.”
“ It was on the fourteenth night of their drift across the broad expanse of waters when the watchful mariners caught the first prognostication of an approaching shore. No mountain range towered before them, but the ear caught the sound of breakers, and the experienced eye detected through the darkness on the left a white surge, as of billows beating against a foreland " (Lewin, pp. 200-1).
discovered some country. Lit. “that some land was nearing them.” St Luke speaks like a sailor who views all from his point of view at sea. It was still dark, and rain was falling in torrents.
28. twenty fathoms. The Greek word here rendered “fathom” was defined as the length of the outstretched arms, including the breadth of the expanded chest. It equals four cubits— six feet, the length of our English fathom.
The soundings here given agree with those which modern navigators have taken among the breakers off Cape Kouro,
going on a little further. “After a little space” (R.V.). This Greek idiom may be used with reference to time or space (βραχὺ δὲ διαστήσαντες). Here either sense can he taken, as there was an interval between taking the soundings, and meanwhile the ship had been driven nearer land.
they found fifteen fathoms. The shallower depth and the noise of the breakers proved that land or a reef was very near.
29. cast four anchors. To prevent the vessel from drifting further in the darkness, as they were on an unknown coast.
out of the stem. In ancient times, as now, anchors were usually cast out from the prow of the ship. (Thus Virgil writes, “ anchora de prora jacitur, — Æneid, iii. 277.) But they could be cast out at the stern by utilizing the rudder-cases as port-holes for the anchor cables. To cast out anchors from the stern, the sailors triced up the rudders by means of “braces” or “rudder-bands,” so as to keep them clear of the anchor cables. St Luke does not mention this manœuvre, hut he supposes it, since in verse 40 he speaks of “ loosing withal the rudder-bands.”
It ifi interesting to note that in the battles of the Nile and of Copenhagen “ All the line-of-battle ships were to anchor by the stern, abreast of the different vessels composing the enemy’s line, and for this purpose they bad already prepared themselves with cables out of their stern ports ” (Southey, Life of Nelson).
Nelson is said to have read the twenty-seventh chapter of the Acts on the morning of the battle of Copenhagen.
wished for the day. The R.V. gives as a marginal reading “prayed,” and the Bezan text adds: “that they might know if we should be saved.” Certainly all devout Jews on hoard that ill-fated vessel prayed, and doubtless the pagans invoked their gods.
Throughout the long night watch, the drenched, emaciated passengers waited for the dawn in anxious suspense, now inclining to hope, now yielding to despair. But St Paul and his companions firmly trusted in God, and did their best to encourage and sustain their fellow-passengers.
30. letdown the boat. They lowered it from the davits and prepared to accomplish their purpose.
under colour, as though, etc. Under pretence of casting out anchors from the bow of the ship, in order to steady it more effectually. To accomplish this it was necessary to carry out the anchors as far as the cable would allow, and then drop them into the sea. As a piece of seamanship the manœuvre was excellent, and calculated, as the Bezan text adds, “to make the ship ride more securely,” but the sailors’ real intention was to get possession of the boat, and to leave the ship and its passengers to their fate.
31. Paul said to the centurion. St Paul either intuitively saw through their pretext, or he was supernaturally enlightened on the subject. The apostle had gained a great ascendency over all on board, as the whole narrative of the shipwreck proves. Had the crew deserted the ship, the soldiers and passengers could not have managed it. The divine promise that all on board should be saved, was evidently conditional on man’s co-operation,— a truth which applies to so many promises of Holy Scripture — God helps those who help themselves.
you cannot he saved. The apostle appeals to their own instinct of self-preservation.
32. cut off the ropes, etc., — i.e. the soldiers had their short swords at hand, and they used them in order to defeat the sailors’ cowardly project. In this crisis it was necessary t.o act promptly.
33. when it began to be light. While “ the day was coming on.” St Paul urged them to profit by this interval to take a good meal, in order to be ready for action as soon as it was light.
remain fasting. — i.e. without having had any regular meals.
34. for your health’s sake. Lit. “for your safety.”
shall not an hair, etc. This is a proverbial exprcission for deliverance from imminent ])eril.
perish. The proverb varies between “fall” and “perish.” Cf. As the Lord liveth, there shall not one hair of his head fall to the ground, for he hath wrought with God this day (1 Kings xiv. 45).
“ Noli timere, Cæsaris fortunas vehis ” — Fear not, thou carriest the fortune of Cæsar— was the saying of Julius Cesar to the panic-stricken mariner in the Adriatic. “ Nolite timere, Christi Evangelium vehitis ’ — Fear not, you carry the Gospel of Christ— might have been that of St Paul.
35. taking bread .... gave thanks .... broken .... to eat. The words bring to mind the account of the institution of the Holy Eucharist, although there could be no question at this moment of offering the Holy Sacrifice. All devout Jews gave thanks before partaking of food.
“Making of the simplest necessity of life a religious and eucharistic act, he took bread, gave thanks to God in the presence of them all, broke it, and began to eat. Catching the contagion of his cheerful trust, the drenched, miserable throng of 276 souls, who had so long been huddled together in their unspeakable wretchedness and discomfort, as their shattered vessel lay rolling and tossing under the dismal clouds, took fresh courage, and shared with him in a hearty meal’' (Farrar, Life and Work of St Paul, pp. 5712).
he begjan to eat. The Bezan text adds, ‘‘and gave also unto us.”
37. two hundred threescore and sixteen souls. As they were on the point of making for the land, it was natural that the people on board should he numbered. The captain was responsible for the crew and the passengers in general, and the centurion for his soldiers and prisoners.
38. they lightened the ship. They cast out the rest of the cargo of wheat. Doubtless it was sodden with salt water and had shifted over to the port side. In this work the passengers could help, and at the same time, as the ship was leaking, the pumps had to be kept working constantly.
39. they knew not the land. The traditional scene of the wreck, known as St Paul’s Bay (La Cala di San Paolo), lies on the north-west of the island of Malta, near Koura Point. The bay is about two miles long and one mile broad. Its western .side is bounded by a pebbly beach, which gradually rises towards the east into steep rocks. During the night the ship had anchored north of this bay. Calculating from the average rate of drifting of modern vessels under similar circumstances, a ship would have covered about four hundred and eighty miles in fourteen days, and this is precisely the distance between Gozzo and Malta. Futher, this is exactly the direction in which a ship would he blown by a north-east wind. All the features of this locality, as given by modern navigators, correspond so exactly with St Luke’s description of the shipwreck, that there can be no valid reason urged against accepting the Bay off Koura Point as the scene of the wreck.
As the bay is seven miles from Valetta and has no very marked features, it is not astonishing that the sailors did not recognize the Island of Malta.
they minded. Better, “ they took counsel ” (ἐβουλεύοντο). The beach was most suitable for their purpose, which was to run the ship aground, but it was difficult to accomplish this with a heavily waterlogged, disabled vessel.
40. when they had taken up the anchors. Better, “ casting off ” (περιελόντες) the anchors. They now cut the cables and left the anchors in the water. As they wished to lighten the ship, which was doomed to destruction, they did not trouble to hoist up the heavy anchors on hoard.
they committed themselves. There is no authority for the insertion of the pronoun “themselves” (which is given in the A.V. in italics). It was the anchors that were cut away and “let go” in the sea. The Greek reads simply “ let, go into the sea.”
loosing withal the rudder-bands. See Annot. on verse 29. The rudders were now required to steer the ship to the shore.
The ancient Greeks and Romans used two paddle-rudders, one on each quarter. The hinged-rudder only came into use in the Middle Ages.
the main-sail. (τὸν ἀρτέμωνα.) The Greek word “artemon” was the name given to the fore-sail, the best possible sail that could have been set under the circumstances. It was hoisted on a short mast at the prow.
41. And. They intended making for the shore, hut the currents rendering this impossible, they ran the ship aground. The last re- source with a foundering ship is to strand her.
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42. the soldiers' counsel was, etc. The only hope of safety lay in reaching the shore, and the soldiers feared that their prisoners might attempt to escape by swimming out. This counsel was prompted by an instinct of self-preservation, and perhaps of honour, for a Roman soldier, who allowed his prisoner to escape, forfeited his own life and tarnished his military reputation.
43. the centurion, willing, etc. This is another proof of how greatly the centurion esteemed St Paul. He was indifferent as to the fate of the other prisoners, but he would not sacrifice the apostle, to whom all on board owed their safety,
they who could, swim, should east themselves first. This was an excellent plan, since, if these reached the shore safely, they could help those who were unable to swim, either from lack of strength or knowledge. Some of the passengers must have been utterly prostrate after such a terrible ordeal, lasting for fourteen days.
44. things that belonged. The planks broken off from the frame of the vessel. By clinging to these spars they were blown towards the shore, and those who had reached it by swimming plunged into the surf to rescue their comrades.
Thus “ a motley group of nearly three hundred drenched, and shivering, and weather-beaten sailors and soldiers, and prisoners and passengers, stood on that chill and stormy November morning upon the desolate and surf-beat shore of the Island of Malta. Some, we are sure, there were who joined with Paul in hearty thanks to the God who, though He had not made the storm to cease, so that the waves thereof were still, had yet brought them safe to land, through all the perils of that tempestuous month” (Parrer, Life and Work of St Paul, p. 573).
May we not hope that some were converted by Paul’s preaching and example, and the proofs they had received of the Divine intervention on their behalf? If this were so, the storm in Adria was indeed a blessing in disguise, since it brought them to a knowledge of the truth, and ultimately to the haven of eternal rest.
Totus tuus ego sum
Et omnia mea tua sunt;
Tecum tutus semper sum:
Ad Jesum per Mariam
Et omnia mea tua sunt;
Tecum tutus semper sum:
Ad Jesum per Mariam
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