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 THE 
 
 ACTA PILATI. 
 
 important testimony of pontius pilate, 
 recently discovered, 
 
 Being his Official Report to the Empekor Tiberius, 
 concerning the 
 
 CEUCIFIXION OF CHKIST. 
 
 EDITED BY 
 
 REV. GEO. SLUTER, A. M . , 
 
 Lute Secretarj' Missions, Presbj^terian Synod of Missouri. 
 
 SOLD ONLY BY SUBSCRIPTION 
 
 SHELBYVILLE, IND.: 
 M. B. ROBINS, PUBLISHER AND PRINTER. 
 
 187!). 
 
COPYEIGHT, 1879, 
 
 By GEORGE SLUTER. 
 
 All Rights Reserved. 
 
 The Certified copy of the original text is usfed by contract with the 
 proprietor. 
 
TO ALL 
 
 who love the Truth, 
 
 search after it, 
 
 and are willing to abide by it, 
 
 Catholic or Protestant, 
 
 within or without the Church,— 
 
 with the earnest hope that it may lead to a 
 
 deep and true devotioxi to Jesus, 
 
 This Contribution 
 
 to the Historical Evidence for the Divine Origin of Cliristianity, 
 
 is respectfully 
 
 Dedicated 
 
 by 
 
 THE EDITOR. 
 
" This is the religious cinestion of the age. We rejoi:-e in it, 
 and thank the infidel t-iographers of Jesus for having urged It 
 upon the world." 
 
 PHILIP 3CHAFF, D. D. 
 
PEEFACE 
 
 My object iu publishing this book is to show that 
 the historic evidence for the history contained in the 
 Gospels is ample and explicit. If unbelievers demand 
 heathen testimonj^ concerning the origin of Christi- 
 anity, here it is in abundance, and of the clearest kind. 
 By glancing through the Table of Contents it will be 
 seen, that the testimony of the Roman procurator is 
 here surrounded by many great writers of remote an- 
 tiquity. I could have given still more, but these will 
 suffice to show how full is the Historic Evidence for 
 Christianity. 
 
 It may perhaps be necessary to guard the reader 
 against supposing this to be the spurious or forged 
 Acta, to which allusion is made by many writers. 
 
 The best and most complete edition of these is that 
 of Fabricius (Codex Apocryphus, Edition 1703). A 
 full and accurate literal translation ma^^ be found in 
 the 19th volume of the Ante-Nicene Library, published 
 
ACTA PILATI. 
 
 by T. & T. Clark. Edinburgh, 1870. They are cer- 
 tainly spurious, and the inventions of a later day. 
 They are full of absurdities and almost utterly un- 
 worthy of respect. But the Vatican copy, which I 
 here present, is an entirely different paper. I have 
 carefully examined the Acta Paradosis, 3Iors, and 
 Epistolae Pilati, both in the Latin and Greek forms, 
 and I assure the reader there is not a line or trace of 
 similarity between them and this document. It will 
 speak for itself. I think the internal evidence is such 
 as cannot fail to produce conviction upon careful ex- 
 amination. The ver}^ fact that it does not give any- 
 thing new or singular is in favor of its genuinenes s. 
 In this it diff'ers entirely from the contents of the 
 Apocryphal writings. It is interesting also to notice 
 the statement of Pilate, that he trembled, when Jesus 
 for the first time entered his presence — why did he 
 tremble? There was good reason for it. He was 
 in the presence of the Son of God. Among the in- 
 ternal evidences of its genuineness I cannot refrain 
 from calling special attention to what Pilate sa3^s of 
 the Resurrection. He does not say that Jesus arose 
 from the dead, but that his tomb was found empty. 
 The style proves it to be the true Acta, It is not in 
 the corrupt Latin of the Apocrjqshal Acta Paradosis, 
 
P BE FACE. 
 
 Mors, and EpistoL^e, but in the pure and glowing 
 rhetoric of the Classic period of Roman Literature. 
 
 The discovery of this long lost testimony of Pilate, 
 amid the vast mass of unedited parchments in the 
 Vatican, is certainly an event of extraordinary im- 
 portance in the history of the Christian Evidences. 
 
 I would suggest to the reader, to study the text of 
 the Acta in the light and with the aid of the Historic- 
 al and Critical Notes. They contain matternecessary 
 to be understood, and will richly repay careful perusal. 
 Indeed, they are essential to the completeness of the 
 impression to be produced by the book. 
 
 Its preparation has been a source of great pleasure 
 and satisfaction to me^ and that it may prove of ad- 
 vantage to others, is my sincere and earnest desire. 
 
 as. 
 
 Shelbyville, Indiana, 
 September, 1879. 
 
C O ]S^ T E IS^ T S 
 
 PAGE. 
 
 Introduction. 
 
 How the Editor came into possession of the Document^ ]3 
 
 Entlorsemeiit of the Custodian of the Vatican, 16 
 
 This the most ancient non-biblical testimony about 
 
 Christ, 17 
 
 It completes the chain of profane authorities in re- 
 gard to the principal events of our Saviour's life, 17 
 The estimation in ivhich the Acta Pilati teas held by the Apostolic 
 
 Fathers and Early Defenders of Christianity^ 19 
 
 Justin Martyr cited, 19 
 
 A sketch of Justin Martyr, 20 
 
 TertuUian cited, 21 
 
 The Emperor Tiljerius proposes to enroll Jesus among 
 
 the gods, after reading the Acta, 22 
 
 Home cited in regard to Justin and TertuUian, 22 
 
 Eusebius, the father of Church history, cited, 23 
 
 The Forgery of the Original by the Enemies of the Christians^ 
 
 A, Z>. 311, 20 
 
 The object to throw discredit upn Christianity, 27 
 
 The Value of the Acta Pilati^ 29 
 
 It was highly esteemed by the Primitive Christians, 30 
 It was originally a State Paper of the Roman Govern- 
 ment, 30 
 
CONTENTS. 9 
 
 Lord Beaconsfield cited, 32 
 
 The Vatican Manuscript Treasures sedulously guard- 
 ed, 33 
 
 Through the influence of the Acta Pilati Tiberius re- 
 frained from persecuting the Church in its infancy 33 
 It was a powerful Polemic weapon to the Early 
 
 Apologists, 34 
 
 It is a valuable historic argument in our day, 35 
 
 It precedes in date all other profane testimonies con- 
 cerning the origin of Christianity, 37 
 
 Suetonius cited, 37 
 
 Tacitus cited, 37 
 
 Pliny cited, 38 
 
 Mara cited, 38 
 
 The Acta superior as the testimony of one who saw 
 
 and heard the Son of God, 40 
 
 This question of Christ is the question of our day, ... 41 
 
 Goethe cited, 41 
 
 Renan cited, 41 
 
 Wm. Cullen Bryant's testimony to Jesus, 42 
 
 Historic proof, 43 
 
 ACTA PILATI. 
 
 Pilate explains his motives for writing to the Emperor 47 
 
 What he had heard of Jesus, 48 
 
 How he one day saw him at a distance, 49 
 
 What Jesus had said, 51 
 
 Pilate's indulgence, 52 
 
 Complaints of the Jews against Jesus, 53 
 
 Pilate has an interview, 53 
 
 Pilate's warning, 56 
 
 Herod's interference, 58 
 
 A riot at the Passover, 59 
 
10 ACTA PILATI. 
 
 The opponents of Jesus combine, GO 
 
 They seize him, 61 
 
 Send him to Pilate, Gl 
 
 Herod's course, 62 
 
 Warning by Pilate's wife, 68; 
 
 Terrible uproar, 6;^ 
 
 Calmness of Jesus, 64 
 
 Feelings of Pilate, 65 
 
 The Eclipse, 66 
 
 Gloom of the city, 67 
 
 Joseph of Arimathea, 68 
 
 The sepulchre found empty, 68 
 
 Troops arrive too late, 6J> 
 
 HISTORICAL AND CRITICAL NOTES. 
 
 a A brief sketch of the life of Pontius Pilate, 73 
 
 His character, 84 
 
 I A brief sketch of the life of the Emperor Tiberius, . . 87 
 
 His character, 98 
 
 c Appeal to Caesar, 97 
 
 d The Eelations of the Jewish Government to the Ro- 
 man, 98 
 
 e, Traditional sayings of Christ, 104 
 
 / The Power of Life and Death, 106 
 
 g Claudia Procula, Pilate's wife, 112 
 
 h Gemonise, 116 
 
 i The Hand- Washing, 117 
 
 k Dionysius, 124 
 
 I The First Hour, 127 
 
-^HpiT^eDncTiej^jiK- 
 
How THE Editor Came ikto Possession of the 
 Document. 
 
 The following remarkable document, like 
 many other invaluable parchments that have 
 never been published to the world, has, until 
 noAV, been literally concealed among the 
 twenty-four thousand manuscripts in the 
 penetralia of the Vatican. Its existence, 
 from the earliest periods of the Christian Era, 
 is familiar to men of letters. References to 
 it abound in all profound works concerning 
 the historical aspects of the argument for 
 the divine origin of Christianity; e. g. Lard- 
 ner. Home, Kitto, Farrar, Andrews, and 
 Tischendorf. 
 
 Many have supposed that the document 
 had, in the course of ages, been lost. But 
 
14 ACTA PILATL 
 
 as the Sinaitic manuscript of the Xew Tes- 
 tament Avas concealed from the world until 
 1844, when it was brought to light ]:>y the 
 indefatigable zeal of Dr. Constantine Tiscli- 
 endorf, — so, strange to say, this important 
 testimony to Christ, was not accessible until 
 about twenty years ago. A learned man of 
 Germany, not a Theologian, spent some five 
 years in Rome, consulting the library (jf the 
 Vatican. He became well acquainted with 
 the chief custodian, and enjoyed unusual 
 liberties. He finally gained access even to 
 the ancient ^Manuscripts — the uK^st valuable 
 collection in the w^orld, embracing one of 
 the oldest codices of the Bible. To his 
 surprise and pleasure he came upon a collec- 
 tion called the Emperor TilDcrius Caesar's 
 Court; and among the strange and curious 
 state papers here dejoosited, he happened 
 upon the famous official i-eport of the Pre- 
 fect, Pontius Pilate, concerning the Trial 
 and Crucifixion of ( Jhrist. 
 
I NT ROD UCTION. 15 
 
 As he ^^'a!^ not personally interested in 
 Theological stndies, the snbject passed from 
 his mind. But some years afterwards he 
 came to the L nited States, and happened to 
 be the guest of a Clergyman. In the course 
 of conversation concerning Itome and the 
 Vatican, the matter was recalled to his recol- 
 lection, and he mentioned that he had seen 
 and read the Acta Pilati. It seems that the 
 statement made a deep impression upon the 
 mind of the latter, although it had been ac- 
 companied with the opinion that it did not 
 add much to the common teachings of Chris- 
 tianity. Several months elapsed, but the 
 statement of the learned German clung to 
 the clergyman's memory. At last he could 
 not forbeai' to write to him in ]S^ew-York 
 city, reminding him of the Acta Pilati, and 
 asking whether it would not be possible to 
 obtain a transcript of it from the Vatican. 
 But he had already returned to his home in 
 
16 ACTA PI L ATI. 
 
 AYestphalia. The letter was however for- 
 warded; and finally, after mnch delay, an 
 answer came, stating that he had written to 
 Father Freelinhnsen, a monk of great learn- 
 ing, at Rome, and cnstodian of the Vatican. 
 He also stated that he had made the request 
 in his own name, as he did not think the 
 Papal authorities Avould be willing for such 
 a document to go into the hands of the pub- 
 lic. Father Freelinhusen expressed himself 
 as willing to furnish the transcript. The 
 parchment being old and defaced, he was 
 compelled to use a magnifying glass in tran- 
 scribing it. It was in the original Latin, 
 and accompanied by the following letter: 
 " Borne ^ Italy ^ Ajjvil 26tJi, 1859. 
 I lierehy forward you the transcrij^t as it 
 is on record in tlie Yatican in Tiberius 
 Ccesar's Court hy Pilate. I certify this to 
 he a true copy^ word for woirl, as it occurs 
 there. Petek Freeli^iiusex." 
 
INTRODUCTION. 17 
 
 For twent}' years its owner has kept it as 
 a private literary treasure. ISTot until now 
 has he been induced by the importunate 
 urgency of many esteemed friends to give it 
 to the AYorld. 
 
 As being the most ancient non-biblical 
 testimony about Christ — antedating even 
 the first of the Gospels and Epistles — it will 
 be read with feelings of peculiar interest and 
 even aAve. Its publication will be welcomed 
 by thousands who have seen references to 
 it, and by all to whom this is the first notice 
 of its existence. Without claiming that the 
 Acta Pilati add materially to the sum of de- 
 tails furnished in the Gospels, they will 
 nevei-theless silence, forever, the cavils of all 
 who have sneeringly asked, why profane 
 historians have not mentioned the introduc- 
 tion of Christianity into the world. Indeed 
 there is now accessible a complete chain of 
 non-biblical testimony, each link comprising 
 
18 ACTA FILATI. 
 
 an important item in the life of our Savior. 
 That Caesar Augustus ordered the whole 
 world to be taxed, we learn from Tacitus, 
 Suetonius, and Dion; that a great light or 
 Star appeared in the East, from Chaleidius; 
 the cruelty of Herod, even to the point of 
 slaughtering innocent children and putting 
 to death his own sons, is mentioned by Jo- 
 sephus; that our Savior had been in Egypt, 
 by Celsus ; that Pontius Pilate was Governor 
 of Judea, by Tacitus; that miraculous cures, 
 and works out of the ordinary course of 
 nature were wrought by Christ, is distinctly 
 stated by Julian the Apostate, Porphyry, and 
 Hierocles; that Jesus made predictions 
 which came to pass, and the earth-quake and 
 darkness when he died, by Phlegon; and the 
 immediate causes which led to the crucifix- 
 ion, and the particulars of his trial, in the 
 official report of Pilate himself. 
 
The Estimation in which the Acta Pilaii were 
 
 HELL) BY THE ApOSTOLIC P'aTHERS AND EaRLT 
 
 Defenders op Christianity. 
 
 The early Fathers of the Church deemed 
 this document of the highest authority and 
 vahie. 
 
 Justin Martyr, in his first apology for the 
 (yhristians, which was presented to the Em- 
 peror Antoninus Pius, in the year A. D., 138, 
 1 laving mentioned the Crucifixion of Jesus 
 and some of its attendant circumstances, 
 says : 
 
 '^ And that these things were so done, you 
 may know from the Acts made in the time 
 of Pontius Pilate." 
 
 Afterwards, in the same apology, having 
 
20 ACTA PILATI. 
 
 noticed some of our Lord's miracles, such as 
 liealiiig diseases and raising the dead, he says : 
 
 '' And that these things were done by him, 
 yon may know by the Acts made in the time 
 of Pontins Pilate." (Apol. Prima, ^6^, 72). 
 
 Jnstin Martyr was l)orn A. ]])., 89. Jo- 
 seph Addison says, concerning him, that 
 '' he resided, made converts, and snlfered 
 martyrdom at Pome, wiiere he Avas engaged 
 with Philosophers, and in a particnlar man- 
 ner with one Crescens, the Cynic, who conkl 
 easily have detected, and wonld not have 
 failed to expose him, had he qnoted a record 
 not in being, or made any false citation ont of 
 it. Wonld the great Apologist have chal- 
 lenged Crescens to dispnte the canse of 
 ( yhristianity with him, l)efore the Roman 
 Senate, had he forged snch an evidence, or 
 wonld Crescens have refnsed the challenge, 
 conld he have trinmphed over him in the de- 
 tection of snch a forgery? To which we 
 
I NT ROD UCTION. 21 
 
 must add, that the apology which appeals to 
 this record, was presented to a learned Em- 
 peror and to the whole body of the Koman 
 Senate." (Addison's Evidence, edition Lon- 
 don, 1776, p. 9). 
 
 The learned Tertnllian, in his Apology 
 for Christianity, about the year 200, after 
 speaking of our Savior's crucifixion and res- 
 urrection, and his appearance to the disci- 
 ples, who were ordained by him to publish 
 the Gospel over the world, thus proceeds : 
 
 " Of all these things relating to Christ, 
 Pilate himself, in his conscience already a 
 Christian, sent an account to Tiberius, then 
 Emperor." 
 
 The same writer, in the same Apology, 
 thus relates the proceedings of Tiberius on 
 receiving this information : 
 
 " There was an ancient decree that no one 
 should be received for a deity unless he was 
 first approved by the Senate. Tiberius, in 
 whose time the Christian name [or religion] 
 
22 ACTA FILATI. 
 
 liad its rise, lia\ iiig received from Palestine 
 in Syria, an acconnt of snch things as mani- 
 fested tiie trnth of his [Christ's] divinity, 
 proposed to the Senate that he should be 
 enrolled among the lioman gods, and 
 gave his own prerogative \'ote in f^ivor 
 of the motion. But the Senate [without 
 whose consent no deification could take 
 place] rejected it, because the Emperor him- 
 self had declined the same honor. Never- 
 theless, the Emperor persisted in his opinion, 
 and threatened punishment to the accusers 
 of the Christians. Search your own com- 
 mentaries [or public writings], you will there 
 find that ^evo Avas the first who raged with 
 the imperial sword against the sect, when 
 rising most at Home." 
 
 The value of the above citations is Avell 
 expressed in the following language of the 
 learned Home, in his " Introduction to the 
 CMtical Study and Knov^ledge of the Holy 
 Scriptures," vol. I, page 82. He says : 
 ''These testimonies of Justin and Tertullian, 
 
TXrnOl) TCTTOX. 28 
 
 are taken from public apolog'ies for the Chris- 
 tian I'eligion, Avhieh vrere ])resented either to 
 the Emperor and Senate of Rome, or to mag- 
 istrates of public authority and great dis- 
 tincti(m in the Roman emnire. Xow it is 
 incredible that such v/riters wcmld lia.ve made 
 such a])})eals, especially to the very persons 
 in whose custody these documents were, had 
 they not been fully satisfied of their exist- 
 ence and contents.'' 
 
 The account which Eusebius gives of the 
 Acta Pilati is very clear, and affords several 
 [)articulars concerning the effect produced 
 upon the mind of the Emperor Tiberius. He 
 says: 
 
 " The fame of our Lord's remarkal^le res- 
 urrection and ascension being now spread 
 abroad, according to an ancient custom prev- 
 alent among the rulers of the nations, to 
 communicate noNcl occurrences to the Em- 
 peror, that nothing- might escape him, Pontius 
 Pilate transmits to Tiberius an account of 
 the circumstances ccmcernino- the resurrec- 
 
24 ACTA PILATI. 
 
 tion of our Lord from the dead, the report of 
 which had ah-eady spread throughout all 
 Palestine. In this account he also intimated 
 that he ascertained other miracles respect- 
 ing him, and that now having risen from the 
 dead, he was believed to be a God by the 
 great mass of the people. Tiberius referred 
 the matter to the Senate, but it is said they 
 rejected the proposition, apparentl}^ because 
 they had not examined into this subject first, 
 according to an ancient law among the Ro- 
 mans, that no one should be ranked among 
 the gods unless by a vote and decree of the 
 Senate ; in reality, however, because the salu- 
 tar}^ doctrine of the Gospel needs no confir- 
 mation and co-operation of men." ^ * * 
 " Tiberius, therefore, under whom the name 
 of Christ was spread throughout the world, 
 when this doctrine was announced to him 
 from Palestine, where it first began, com- 
 municated with the Senate, being obviously 
 pleased with the doctrine; but the Senate, 
 as they had not proposed the measure, reject- 
 ed it. But he continued in his opinion, 
 
fXT/lOJXCTrO^'. 25 
 
 tlireatening death to tlie ac-eusers of the 
 (Christians; a divine pi"o\ ideiiee hifiismgthis 
 into his uiiud, that the Crosj^el lia\ iiig freer 
 scope hi its coniniencement, iiiiglit spread 
 everywhere over the Avorld/' (Eusehius' 
 Ecek^siastical History, Booh FI, chapter 2, 
 page 74). 
 
The Forgery of the Original by the Enemies of 
 THE Christians, A. D. 311. 
 
 The authority and force of the appeals to 
 this document were felt and acknowledged 
 by the Heathen opponents of Christianity to 
 such a degree that during the reign of tlie 
 Emperor Maximin, A. D. 311, false Acts of 
 Pilate w^ere forged, intended to cast discredit 
 upon the Divine Founder of Cln*istianity, 
 and they were disseminated with the utmost 
 activity. (See Milman's History of Christi- 
 anity, page 266). Concerning the extent 
 and bitterness to which this was carried, we 
 also have the direct testimony of one who 
 lived at the time. Eusebius says : 
 
 '' Having forged, therefore, certain acts of 
 
INTRO I) UCTION. 27 
 
 Pilate, respecting our Saviour, full of every 
 kind of blasphemy against Christ, these, with 
 the consent of the Emperor, they sent through 
 the whole of the Empire subject to him, com- 
 manding at the same time by ordinances in 
 every place and city, and the adjacent dis- 
 tricts, to publish these to all persons, and to 
 ofive them to the schoolmasters to hand to 
 their pupils to study and to commit to mem- 
 ory, as exercises for declamation. Whilst 
 these things w^ere doing, another commander, 
 whom the Komans call Dux, in Damascus, 
 a city of Phoenicia, caused certain infamous 
 females to be seized from the forum, and 
 threatening to inflict torture upon them, he 
 forced them to make a formal declaration, 
 taken down on record, that they had once 
 l:)een Christians, and that they were privy to 
 the criminal acts among them : that in their 
 \ery churches, they committed licentious 
 deeds; and innumerable other slanders, which 
 he wished them to utter against our religion; 
 which declarations he inserted in the Acts, 
 and communicated to the Emperor, who im- 
 
28 ACTA PILATI. 
 
 L 
 
 mediately eoiniiianded tliat thei^e docmnents 
 should be published in every city and place." 
 (Ensebins' Ecclesiastical History, T^ook IX, 
 chaptei* 5, page 414). 
 
The Value of the Acta Pilati. 
 
 The value of the Acta Pilati appears from 
 the fact that it was deemed worthy of being 
 travestied by the persecutors of the christians ; 
 from its dignified origin in the general nsage 
 of governments, ancient and modern, to re- 
 quire important officers to render written re- 
 ports of their administrations; that it was 
 the means of preventing the Emperor Tibe- 
 rius from persecuting the Christian church in 
 its feeble infancy ; that it gave immense force 
 to the arguments of the early Apologists 
 that they could refer to the State Papers of 
 the government for the truth of their state- 
 ments; and besides all this, it is powerful 
 collateral secular proof of the truth of the 
 (xospel History. 
 
80 ACTA PILATI. 
 
 1. From the ancient testimonies already 
 eited, it is at once evident how iynportanf a 
 place the Acta Pilatiheld in the estimation 
 of the Primitive Christia^is. With wliat 
 iniphcit and entire confidence Justin, Ter- 
 tiiUian, and Ensebius rely upon it! It is 
 prima facie evidence that it was often ap- 
 pealed to to be deemed woi'thy of being trav- 
 estied when the enemies and persecutors of 
 the (Christians wanted weapons against them! 
 Had there been no such document, it could 
 not have been counterfeited. Had it not 
 been an important testimony, it would not 
 have been foi-ged. Both its actual existence 
 and its apologetic importance are establislied 
 by the falsification of it during the perse- 
 cution under Maximin, A. D. 311. 
 
 2. It gives gi-eat dignity and force to the 
 Acta Pilati to bear in mind that it originated 
 m the general usage of governments, ancient 
 and modern, that important oncers are to 
 
IN TROD UCTWN, 31 
 
 vender uiritten reports of their administra- 
 tions. In our own country the President 
 sends his Message to (-ongress, together 
 with the Annual Reports of the heads of the 
 various Departments. Siniihu' to this was 
 the custom in ancient times. In some sucli 
 way originated the C/ommentaries of JuUus 
 Caesar, the letter of Agrippa to the Emperor 
 ( 'align hi, the fauKnis Epistle of Pliny the 
 younger to the Emperor Trajan, and many 
 other documents still in existence. The 
 Romans were particularl}^ careful in pre- 
 serving the memor}^ of all remarkable eyents 
 AV'hich occurred in their magnificent domin- 
 ions. They had for this purpose, tw^o sets 
 of archives — the Acta Diurna Populi, and 
 the Acta Senatus. Such reports were not 
 published for general perusal, but deposited 
 as State Papers of the Government, and 
 served as a treasury of invaluable resources 
 for the Annalist and the Historian. 
 
32 ACTA PI L AT I. 
 
 Lord Beacoiisfiekl tells us that " the Em- 
 perors were ambitious at leugth to give their 
 names to the Libraries thej founded; they 
 did not consider the purple as their chief or- 
 nament. Augustus was hiiaself an author, 
 and in one of those sumptuous buildings 
 called Thermes, ornamented with })orticoes, 
 galleries, and statues, with shady walks and 
 refreshing baths, testified his love of literature 
 by adding a magnificent library, one of 
 those libraries he fondly called by the name 
 of his sister, Octa^'ia; and the other, the 
 temple of Apollo, became the haunt of the 
 poets, as Horace, Juvenal, and Persius have 
 commemorated. The successors of Augus- 
 tus imitated his example, cmd even Tiberius 
 had an Imperial library, chiejly consisting 
 of worhs concerning the Empire ^ and the 
 acts of its Sovereigns. These Trajan aug- 
 mented by the Ulpian library, so denomi- 
 nated from the fiimily name of this prince." 
 (Curiosities of Literature, page 1). 
 
[XT ROD rrTIOX. 33 
 
 The fragments that remam in our clay of 
 these libraries and public documents consti- 
 tute a part of the manuscript treasures of 
 the Vatican at Kome; and there is a special 
 alcove dexoted to the records of Tiberius 
 Csesar, in \\'hich the original Latin text of 
 the folloAvino- Englisli version is found. It 
 is exceedino'lv difficult to gain access to 
 these ancient and vakiable manuscripts. 
 They are guarded with the utmost care, and 
 it is next to impossible to procure a copy of 
 am of them, through any means. Even the 
 English government, when a few years ago 
 certain transcripts were wanted for the Brit- 
 ish Museum, were at first refused, and suc- 
 ceeded only after considerable negotiation. 
 It is a singular and rare piece of good foitune 
 that this copy of the Acta Pilati has been 
 secured, in the manner already narrated. 
 
 3. The statement concerning tlie impres- 
 sion it produced, upon the mind of Tiherius 
 
34 ACTA PI L ATT. 
 
 is of great interest and importance. We 
 know from anthentic sources that he was of 
 a dark and brooding character, though pos- 
 sessed of great intellect. He was full of 
 envy and suspicion, and easily aroused to 
 acts of cruelty. His administration is dark- 
 ened by many acts of injustice. It is very 
 strange that he was not foremost among the 
 persecutors of the Church. But instead of 
 this we find a remarkable clemency and 
 moderation towards the disciples of Jesus in 
 his reign. It was then that the Christian 
 Church had the opportunity to begin to grow. 
 The Gospel was not nipped in the bud, but 
 had free course and was spread abroad. In 
 the profound impression produced by Pilate's 
 writing, we have the link in the chain of 
 Divine Providence that brought about this 
 most desirable result. 
 
 4. One can easily imagine what power it 
 gave to the early defenders of Christianity, 
 
I XT ROD UCTION. 35 
 
 that they coiild wppeal for the truth of their 
 statements to the State pajjers of the Roman 
 Empire. They claimed that the official doc- 
 uments of the Civil Govermnent confirmed 
 the assertions they made in regard to Christ. 
 A better argument could not be imagined. 
 It makes the point. It proves that these 
 things which the Gospel narrates are not 
 cunningly devised fables, and that they were 
 not done in a corner; but that those best 
 competent to do so were challenged at the 
 time when they occurred to deny them, but 
 were compelled to admit them as actual 
 facts. 
 
 5. It is a powerful argument for the truth 
 of the Gospel, and from an entirely unique 
 and independent stand-point. It is not from 
 the pen of a Christian Apologist, but from 
 the pen of a Heathen. It was written for 
 a purely secular purpose; and yet it is, for 
 all that, so much the more useful as a w eapon 
 
36 ACTA FILATI. 
 
 in defense of Christianity. It is not an ar- 
 gument from a believer, stating the reasons 
 of the hope that is in him, but merely an 
 official report from an army officer to his 
 superior, explaining why he had acted as he 
 had done, under the peculiar circumstances 
 which he explains. Its general ])urden and 
 t(me shows this to ha^ e ])een the only aim 
 of the writer. It is indeed replete with 
 weighty testimony to Jesus; but that is in- 
 cidental and in no sense the main purj^ose of 
 the writer. Jt is not an argument to prove 
 the resurrection of Christ, or any other vital 
 point; nor does he mention an^^ important 
 additional fact in Avhich a believer in the 
 (xospel would be likely to be interested. And 
 yet it does contain statements that do thi'ow 
 light upon the Gospel narratiA e, and that 
 corrol)orate and explain it. We may well, 
 therefore, claim that we have here a j^ower- 
 ful collateral secular proof of the truth of 
 the Gospel History. 
 
INTRODUCTION. 37 
 
 6. We have before us, therefore, m the 
 present volume, the most ancient of all the 
 secular testimonies to the New Testament, 
 The Roman historian, Suetonius, who flour- 
 ished in the reign of the Emperor Trajan, 
 A. D. 116, refers to Christ when he says that 
 '' Claudius Caesar expelled the Jews from 
 Kome, because they raised continual tumults 
 at the instigation of Christ," who it is well 
 known was sometimes called Chrestus, and 
 his disciples Chrestians (Suetonius in Clau- 
 dio, cap. 25). The event referred to occur- 
 red in the year A. D. 52, within twenty years 
 after the Crucifixion. Tacitus, who flourish- 
 ed under Trajan, A. D. 110, writing the 
 history of ^ero, the successor of Claudius, 
 A. D. 64, says of the Christians, " the author 
 of that sect or name was Chrestus, who in 
 the reign of Tiberius was punished with death 
 as a criminal, by the Procurator Pontius 
 Pilate," (Tacit. Annal. hber. XV, cap. 44). 
 
38 ACTA PI L AT I. 
 
 Pliny the younger, in A. 1). 107, says that 
 Jesus was worshiped by liis followers as (lod. 
 (Plin. Epist. lib. X ep. 97, torn. II, p. 128). 
 
 The Acta Pilati antedates all these, and 
 comes earlier even than the Syriac Letter of 
 Mara, addressed to his son Serapeon A. 1). 
 73. Mara, a man thoi-oughly versed in 
 (xreek Philosophy, but not satisfied with the 
 consolations it offered, Avrites from his place 
 of exile, a letter of comfort and instruction 
 to his son, in which he ranks Christ along 
 with Socrates and Pythagoras; he honors 
 him as a wise king; he charges the Jews with 
 his murder; declares that thereby they had 
 brcmght upon themselves the destructicm of 
 their commcmwealth, but that ('hrist con- 
 tinued to live in the new law which he had 
 given. (('Ureton, Spicil. Syriacum, L(mdon, 
 1855). 
 
 Weighty and important as these testi- 
 mcmies are, we yet claim for the Acta Pilati 
 
[NT ROD U( ' TION. 39 
 
 a still higher position. It has the ad^ aiitage of 
 priority; was probably composed in the very 
 year of the Crucifixion, and is the utterance 
 of an eye-witness to the monientous events 
 it records. Pilate's report has all the more 
 value to us, in that it is in no sense intended 
 to be in the interest of Jesus, but that its 
 original design was his own defence against 
 possible accusation of maladministration. 
 
 7. This splendid document has thus been 
 rescued from the corroding tooth of time, 
 and from the accumulating dust of ages. It 
 has doubtless, like the Holy Scriptures them- 
 selves, suffered mau}^ vicissitudes. As it is 
 a curious circumstance in literar}' history 
 that we should owe Tacitus to a single copy 
 found in a monastery of Westphalia, so it is 
 strange that the world should now^ receive the 
 Acta Pilati from a single old and defaced 
 copy in the Vatican. Thus the lapse of 
 centuries, like the tides and storms of oceans. 
 
40 ACTA PILATI. 
 
 has doubtless swept into oblivion many great 
 and stupendous events of history ; but ever 
 and anon borne up upon its bosom, from out 
 the dark vast depths long hidden treasures, 
 fresh as on the morning of their birth, and 
 brilliant as the beams of the stars that shone 
 on nature's daivn. 
 
 "Truth is ever young, however old, 
 'Tis ever new as when first told ; 
 Its fragrance fresh as the new mould 
 From which the first young flowers unfold." 
 
 Truth shall outlive all the baneful plants of 
 error. Out of hidden seeds of truth, dug' 
 from the hoary pyramids of time, that fling 
 their shadows over the immeasurable wastes 
 of sin's Sahara, shall grow flowery oases 
 amid the fiery sands, — and blossom into good 
 for man! 
 
 We print this book as the testimony of a 
 Heathen, one who knew not the true God, 
 hut one who saw and heard the Son of God I 
 It has been kept by the same hands, througli 
 which the Sacred Oracles themselves have 
 
UYTBOD UCTION. 41 
 
 been transmitted to us . It has now strangely 
 come to light from under the care of keepers 
 who have always .jealously chained to the 
 block of secrecy all they deemed too sacred 
 for the masses of the people. 
 
 It comes at an opportune moment. The 
 many Lives of Christ recently given to the 
 world indicate the profound and unabated 
 interest of mankind in Jesus. One of the 
 greatest Theologians of the world says: 
 " This is the religious question of the age;" 
 and Goethe: '"The conflict of faith and 
 unbelief remains the proper, the only, the 
 deepest theme of the history of the world 
 and mankind, to Avhich all others are subor- 
 dinated." Even Renan says of Christ : " For 
 thousands of years the world will depend on 
 thee! Banner of our contests, thou shalt be 
 the standard about which the hottest battle 
 will be given. A thousand times more alive, 
 a thousand times more beloved since thy 
 
42 ACTA PI L ATI. 
 
 death than during th}^ passage here beloi^ , 
 thou shalt become the corner-stone of hu- 
 manity so entirely, that, to tear thy name 
 from this world would be to rend it to its 
 foundations." And William CuUen Bryant, 
 in the same strain, but Avith still greater 
 beauty of expression and depth of feeling : 
 
 " This character, of which Christ was the 
 perfect model, is in itself so attractive, so 
 ' altogether lovely,' that 1 camiot describe 
 in language the admirati(jn with which 1 re- 
 gard it; nor can I express the gratitude I 
 feel for the dispensation which bestowed that 
 example on mankind, for the truths which he 
 taught and the sufierings he endured for our 
 sakes. 1 tremble to think what the world 
 would be without Him. I'ake away thi* 
 blessings of the advent of iiis life and the 
 blessings purchased by his death, in what 
 an abyss of guilt would man have been left ! 
 It would seem to be blotting the sun out of 
 the heavens — to leave oui' system of worlds 
 in chaos, frost, and darkness. 
 
TNT ROD UCTION. 43 
 
 " In my view of the life, the teachings, the 
 labors, and the snflPerings of the blessed Jesus, 
 there can be no admiration too profound, no 
 love of which the human heart is capable, 
 too warm, no gratitude too earnest and deep 
 of which he is justly the object. It is with 
 sorrow that my love for him is so cold, and 
 my gratitude so inadequate. It is with sor- 
 row that I see any attempt to put aside His 
 teachings as a delusion, to turn men's eyes 
 from his example, to meet with doubt and 
 denial the story of his life. For my part, if 
 I thought the religion of skepticism were to 
 gather strength and prevail and become the 
 dominant view of mankind, I should despair 
 of the fate of mankind in the years that are 
 yet to come." (Alden, Thoughts on the Ke- 
 ligious Life, with Introduction by W. Cullen 
 Bryant. N. Y. Putnam, 1879). 
 
 In the elucidation of this question of ques- 
 tions, the most important phase is the histor- 
 ical aspect. The actual fact of the Life and 
 Death of Jesus is just as capable of historic 
 evidence as any other event of history. 
 
44 ACTA PILATI. 
 
 In this direction the present vohime is des- 
 tined to accomphsh a great mission. Unbe- 
 lievers demand heathen testimony concerning 
 the contents of the books of the ]Srew Testa- 
 ment. Here it is in abnndance. The Kings 
 and Congresses and G(j\ernments of iS^a- 
 tions shall know — despite all that skeptical 
 scientists, philosophers, and critics have done 
 or can do, — that in the splendor of the An- 
 gustan age there came One, whose name shall 
 outshine all the pomp and glory of worldly 
 power and triumph; — and to whom all the 
 nations of the world, not in mockery but in 
 worship shall bend the knee; — and crown 
 with a diadem not of thorns, but of praise 
 and gratitude — the Ix)rd of Lords and King 
 of Kings. 
 
*^CT^^PIIl^5^I.3}e^ 
 
The relercuces iuUicated l>y the small letters throughout the text of 
 the Acta, point to the Notes, in which Avill be found all the principal 
 liistorical and critical information necesj^.-iry to its appreciative and 
 enjoyable i)eriisal. 
 
PoXTFirs PiLATE'^to the Empekok Tibe- 
 itrirs;'' CTi-eeting: Recent events in my [)vo\- 
 ince have been of snch a character, that I 
 thought I would give the details as they 
 have occurred, as I should not he surprised 
 if in the coln^se of time they may change 
 the destiny of our nation, for it seems of late 
 that the gods ha\ e ceased to he propitious. 
 1 am almost ready to say: Cursed be the 
 chiy that T succeeded Valerius Clratus in the 
 go^ ernment of Judea. On my arrival at 
 Jerusalem T took possession of the Pretorium 
 and ordered a splendid feast to be prepared, 
 to which I invited the tetrarch of Galilee, 
 with the high Priests and his officers. At 
 
48 ACTA PILATI. 
 
 the appomtecl hour no guests appeared. 
 This was an insult offered to ni}' dignity. A 
 few days after, the high priest deigned to 
 pay me a visit. His dei3ortment was grave 
 and deceitful. He pretended that his religion 
 forbade him and his attendants to sit doAvn 
 at the table of the Romans and to offer up 
 libations with them. I thought it expedient 
 to accept his excuse, but from that moment 
 I was convinced that the conquered had de- 
 clared themselves the enemies of the con- 
 querors. It seemed to me of all conquered 
 cities, Jerusalem was the most difficult to 
 govern. So turbulent were the people that 
 T lived in momentary dread of an insurrec- 
 tion. To suppress it I had but a single cen- 
 turian and a handful of soldiers. I requested 
 a reinforcement from the Prefect of Syria, 
 who informed me that he had scarcely troops 
 sufficient to defend his own province. An 
 insatiate thirst for conquest — to extend our 
 
ACTA PI L ATT. 49 
 
 empire beyond the means of defending it — T 
 fear will be the means of destroying onr 
 noble government. 
 
 Among the varions rnmors that came to 
 my ears, there was one that attracted my at- 
 tention in particnlar. A yonng man, it was 
 said, had appeared in Galilee, preaching 
 with a noble miction a new law, in the name 
 of the gods that had sent him. At first I 
 was apprehensive that his design was to stir 
 u[) the people against the Romans, but soon 
 were my fears dispelled. Jesus of Nazareth 
 spake rather as a friend of the K( mans than 
 of the Jews. 
 
 One day in passing by the place of Siloe, 
 where there was a great concourse of people, 
 r obser\ ed in the midst of the group, a young 
 man who was leaning against a tree, calmly 
 addressing the multitude. I was told it was 
 Jesus. This T ccmld easily have suspected, 
 so great was the difference l)etween him and 
 
50 ACTA PI L ATT. 
 
 those who were hstening to him. His golden 
 colored hair and beard gave to his appearance 
 a celestial aspect. He appeared to be about 
 thirty years of age. Xever have I seen a 
 sweeter or more serene countenance. What 
 a contrast between him and his hearers, with 
 their black beards and tawny complexion. 
 ImwilUng to interrnpt him b}^ my presence, 
 I continued my walk; but signified to my 
 secretary to join the gronp and listen. My 
 secretary's name was Manlius. He was 
 the grandson of the chief of the conspirators 
 who encamped in Etruria waiting Cataline. 
 Manlius was an ancient inhabitant of Judea, 
 and well acquainted with the Hebrew lan- 
 guage. He was devoted to me, and worthy 
 of my confidence. On entering the Preto- 
 rinm I found ManHus, who related to me the 
 words Jesus had pronounced at Siloe. Xever 
 have I heard in the Pettico, nor in the 
 Avorks of the philosophers anything that 
 can compare to the maxims of Jesus. 
 
ACTA PILATI. 51 
 
 One of the rebellious Jews so numerous 
 in Jerusalem, having asked him if it was 
 lawful to give tribute to Caesar, Jesus re- 
 plied: " Render unto Caesar the things which 
 belong to Caesar, and unto God the things 
 that are God's." It Avas on account of 
 the wisdom of this saying, that I granted so 
 much liberty to the Xazarene, for it was in 
 my power to have him arrested and exiled to 
 Pontus; but this would have been contrary 
 to the justice Avhich has always characterized 
 the Romans. This man was neither seditious 
 nor rebellious. I extended to him my pro- 
 tection, unknown perhaps to himself. He 
 was at liberty to act, to speak, to assemble 
 and address the people, to choose disciples 
 unrestrained by any Pretorian mandate. 
 Should it ever happen — may the gods ever 
 avert the omen — should it ever happen, I say, 
 that the religion of our forefathers be sup- 
 planted by the religion of Jesus, it will be to 
 
52 ACTA PILATI. 
 
 this noble toleration that Kome shall owe her 
 premature obsequies; while I, miserable 
 wretch, shall have been the instrument of 
 what the Hebrews call providence, and we, 
 destiny. 
 
 But tliis unlimited freedom gi*anted to 
 Jesus provoked the Jews; not the poor, but 
 the rich and powerful. It is true that Jesus 
 was severe (jn the latter; and this was a 
 political reas(m, in my opinion, not to conti'ol 
 the liberty of the Nazarene. " Scribes and 
 Pharisees," he would say to them, " you are 
 a race of vipers; you resemble painted sepul- 
 chres." At other times he would sneer at 
 the proud alms of the publican, telling him 
 that the mite of the poor widow was more 
 precious in the sight of God. 
 
 New complaints were daily made at the 
 Pretorium against the insolence of Jesus. I 
 was even informed that some misfortune 
 would befall him — that it would not be the 
 
ACTA PILATI. 53 
 
 first time that Jerusalem had stoned those 
 who called themselves prophets — and if the 
 Pretorium refused justice an appeal^ would 
 be made to Ca3sar. However, my conduct 
 was approved by the Senate, and I was 
 promised a reinforcement after the termi- 
 nation of the Parthian war. Being too weak 
 to suppress a sedition, I resolved upon adopt- 
 ing a measure that promised to establish the 
 tranquility of the city, without subjecting 
 the Pretorium to humilating concession. 
 
 I wrote to Jesus, requesting an interview 
 Avith him at the Pretorium. You know that 
 in my veins flows the Spanish, mixed with 
 the Poman blood, as incapable of fear as it 
 is of puerile emotion. When the Z^^azarene 
 made his appearance I was walking in my 
 basilic, and my feet seemed fastened with an 
 iron hand to the marble pavement, and I 
 trembled in every limb as a guilty culprit, 
 though he was calm — the JN^azarene, calm as 
 
54 ACTA PI L AT I. 
 
 innocence. When he came up to me he 
 stopped, and by a signal sign he seemed to 
 say to me, '' I am here." For some time, I 
 contemplated with admiration and awe this 
 extraordinary type of man — a type of man 
 unknow^n to onr numerous painters, who 
 have given form and figure to all the gods 
 and heroes. 
 
 " Jesus," I said to him at last — and my 
 tongue faltered — " Jesus of ]N^azareth, I 
 have granted you for the last three years 
 ample freedom of speech, nor do I regret 
 it. Your w^ords are those of a sage. I 
 know not w hether you have read Socrates 
 or Plato, but this I know, that there is in 
 your discourses a majestic simplicity that 
 elevates you far above these philoso- 
 phers. The Emperor is informed of it, and 
 I, his humble representative in this country, 
 am glad of having allowed you that liberty 
 of which you are so worthy. HoW' ever, I 
 
ACTA PI L ATI. 55 
 
 must not conceal from you that your dis- 
 courses ha^ e raised up against you powerful 
 and inveterate enemies, i^either is this sur- 
 prising. Socrates had his enemies, and he 
 fell a victim of their hatred. Yours are doubly 
 incensed against you, on account of your 
 sayings against them, and on account of the 
 libert}^ extended towards you. They even 
 accused me of being indirectly leagued with 
 3'ou, for the purpose of depriving the Hebrews 
 of the little civil power which Rome has left 
 them."^ My request — I do not say my order — 
 is, that you be more circumspect in the future, 
 and more tender in arousing the pride of 
 your enemies, lest they raise against you the 
 stupid populace, and compel me to emplo}^ 
 the instruments of justice. 
 
 The ISTazarene calmly replied : " Prince 
 of the earth, your words proceed not from 
 true wisdom.® Say to the torrent, stop in the 
 midst of the mountain home, because it 
 
56 ACTA PI L ATI. 
 
 will uproot the trees of the valley. The 
 torrent will answer you, that it must 
 obey the laws of the Creator. God alone 
 knows whither flows the torrent. Yerily, I 
 say unto you, before the Rose of Sharon 
 blossoms, the blood of the just shall be spilt." 
 
 " Your blood shall not be spilt," replied I 
 mth emotion. " You are more precious, in 
 my estimation, on account of your wisdom, 
 than all the turbulent and proud Pharisees, 
 who abuse the freedom granted them by the 
 Romans, conspire against Caesar, and con- 
 strue our bounty into fear. Insolent Avretches, 
 they are not aware that the wolf of the Tiber 
 sometimes clothes himself with the skin of 
 the sheep. I will protect you against them. 
 My Pretorium is open to you as an asylum; 
 it is a sacred asylum." 
 
 Jesus carelessly shook his head, and said, 
 with a grace and a divine smile, " When the 
 day shall have come, there wall be no asylum 
 
ACTA PI L AT I. 57 
 
 for the Son of Man, neither in the earth nor 
 under the earth. The asyhnn of the Just is 
 there, pointing to the heavens. That which 
 is written in the books of the prophets must 
 be accomplished. 
 
 " Young man," answered I, mildly, " you 
 oblige me to convert my request into an 
 order. The safety of the province, which 
 has been confided to my care, requires it. 
 You must observe more moderation in your 
 discourses. Do not infringe. My orders 
 you know\ May happiness attend you. 
 Farewell." 
 
 " Prince of the earth," replied Jesus, " I 
 come not to bring war into the world, but 
 peace, love and charity. I was born on the 
 same day on which Augustus Caesar gave 
 peace to the Roman world. Persecution 
 proceeds not from me. I expect it from 
 others, and will meet it in obedience to the 
 will of my Father, who has shown me the 
 
58 ACTA PILATI. 
 
 way. Restrain therefore, your worldly pru- 
 dence. It is not in ^^our power to arrest the 
 victim at the foot of the Tabernacle of ex- 
 piation." 
 
 So saying, he disappeared like a bright 
 shadow behind the curtains of the basilic. 
 To Herod, who then reigned in Galilee, the 
 enemies of Jesus addressed themselves, to 
 wreak their vengeance on the JSTazarene. 
 Had Herod consulted his own inclination, he 
 would have ordered Jesus immediately to be 
 put to death; but, though proud of his royal 
 dignity, yet he was afraid of committing an 
 act that might diminish his influence with 
 the Senate. Herod called on me one day at 
 the Pretorium, and on rising to take leave, 
 after some insignificant conversation, he 
 asked me what was my opinion concerning 
 the ^azarene. I replied that Jesus appear- 
 ed to be one of those great philosophers that 
 great nations sometimes produce, that his 
 
ACTA PI L ATI. 59 
 
 doctrines are by no means sacrilegious, and 
 that the intention of Kome was to leave him 
 to that freedom of speech which was justi- 
 fied by his actions. Herod smiled malicious- 
 ly, and saluting me with an ironical respect, 
 he departed. 
 
 The great feast of the Jews was approach- 
 ing, and the intention was to avail them- 
 selves of the popular exultation which always 
 manifests itself at the solemnities of a pass- 
 over. The city was overflowing with a 
 tumultuous populace clamoring for the death 
 of the ]^azarene. My emissaries informed 
 me that the treasure of the Temple had been 
 employed in bribing the people. The danger 
 was pressing. A Roman centurion had 
 been insulted. I wrote to the prefect of 
 Syria for a hundred foot soldiers, and as 
 many cavalry. He declined. I saw myself 
 alone, with a handful of veterans, in the midst 
 of a rebellious city, too weak to suppress a 
 
60 ACTA PILATI. 
 
 disorder, and having no other choice left bnt 
 to tolerate it. They had seized upon Jesus; 
 and the seditious rabble, although they had 
 nothing to fear from the Pretorium, believing 
 with their leaders that I winked at their se- 
 dition, continued vociferating, " Crucify 
 him! crucify him!" Three powerful parties 
 had combined together at that time against 
 Jesus. First, the Herodians and the Sad- 
 ducees, whose seditious conduct seemed to 
 have proceeded from double motives. They 
 hated the Nazarene, and were impatient of 
 the Roman yoke. They could never forgive 
 me for having entered the holy city with 
 banners that bore the image of the Roman 
 Emperor, and, although in this instance I 
 had committed a fatal error, yet the sacrilege 
 did not appear less heinous in their eyes. 
 Another grievance, also, rankled in their 
 bosoms. I had proposed to employ a part 
 of the treasure of the Temple in erecting 
 
ACTA PILATI. 61 
 
 edifices of public utility. My proposal was 
 scowled at. The Pharisees were the avowed 
 enemies of Jesus. They cared not for the 
 government. They bore with bitterness the 
 severe reprimands which the ^azarene for 
 three years had been continually throwing 
 out against them wherever he went. Too 
 Aveak and pusillanimous to act by themselves, 
 they had embraced the quarrels of the Hero- 
 dians and the Sadducees. Besides these 
 three parties, I had to contend against the 
 reckless and profligate populace, always 
 ready to join a sedition, and to profit by the 
 disorder and confusion that resulted there- 
 from. 
 
 Jesus was dragged before the high priest 
 and condemned to death. It was then that 
 the high priest, Caiaphas, performed a deri- 
 sory act of submission. He sent his prisoner 
 to me to pronounce his condemnation, and 
 secure his execution.^ I answered him, that 
 
62 ACTA PILATI. 
 
 as Jesus was a Galilean, the affair came in 
 Herod's jurisdiction, and ordered him to be 
 sent hither. The wily tetrarch professed hu- 
 mility, and protesting his preference to the 
 Lieutenant of Caesar, he committed the 
 fate of the man to my hands. Soon my 
 palace assumed the aspect of a besieged 
 citadel. Every moment increased the num- 
 ber of the seditionists. Jerusalem was in- 
 undated with crowds from the mountains of 
 ]S^azareth. All Judea appeared to be pour- 
 ing into the devoted city. I had taken a 
 wife^ — a girl from among the Gauls — who 
 professed to see into futurity — weeping and 
 throwing herself at my feet — " Beware," said 
 she to me, " beware, and touch not that 
 man, for he is holy. Last night I saw him 
 in a vision. He was walking on the waters. 
 He was flying on the wings of the winds. 
 He spoke to the tempest, and to the fishes of 
 the lake — all were obedient to him. Behold ! 
 
ACTA PILATI. 63 
 
 the torrent in Mount Ivedron flows with 
 blood, the statues of Cassar are filled with 
 Gemoniae,^ the columns of the Interium have 
 given away, and the sun is veiled in mourn- 
 ing, like a vestal in the tomb. O Pilate! 
 evil awaits thee if thou wilt not listen to the 
 vows of thy wife. Dread the curse of a 
 Roman Senate, dread the powers of Caesar." 
 By this time the marble stairs groaned 
 under the weight of the multitude. The 
 jN^azarene was brought back to me. I pro- 
 ceeded to the hall of justice, followed by my 
 guard, and asked the people, in a severe tone, 
 what they demanded. " The death of the 
 iS^azarene," was the reply. " For what 
 crime?" " He has blasphemed. He has 
 prophesied the ruin of the Temple. He calls 
 himself the Son of God, the Messiah, the 
 King of the Jews." " Roman justice," said 
 I, "punishes not such offenses with death." 
 " Crucify him, crucify him!" belched forth 
 
64 ACTA PILATI. 
 
 the relentless rabble. The vociferations of 
 the infuriated mob shook the palace to its 
 foundations. There Avas but one who ap- 
 peared to be calm in the midst of the vast 
 multitude. It was the ^NTazarene. After 
 many fruitless attempts to protect him from 
 this fury of his merciless persecutors, I 
 adopted a measure Avhich, at the moment, 
 appeared to me to be the only one that could 
 save his life. I ordered him to be scourged, 
 then calling for an ewer, I washed my hands* 
 in the presence of the multitude, thereb}^ 
 signifying to them my disapproval of the 
 deed. But in vain. It was his life that these 
 wi-etches thirsted for. Often in our civil 
 commotions have I witnessed the furious 
 animosity of the multitude, but nothing could 
 be compared to what I witnessed in the pres- 
 ent instance. It might have been truly said, 
 that on this occasion all the phantoms of the 
 infernal regions had assembled at Jerusalem. 
 
ACTA PILATI. 65 
 
 The crowd appeared not to walk; they were 
 l3orne off, and whirled as a vortex, rolling 
 along like living waves, from the portals of 
 the Pretorium even nnto Mount Zion, with 
 howlings, screams, shrieks, and vociferations, 
 such as were never heard in the seditions of 
 the Panonia, or in the tumult of the forum. 
 
 By degrees tlie day darkened like a winter's 
 twilight, such as had been at the death of 
 the great Julius Caesar. It was likewise 
 towards the ides of March. 
 
 I, the continued governor of a rebellious 
 province, was leaning against a column of 
 my basilic, contemplating athwart the dreary 
 gloom of these fiends of tartars dragging to 
 execution the innocent IS^azarene. All 
 around me was deserted. Jerusalem had 
 vomited forth her indAvellers through the 
 funeral gate that leads to the Gemonica. An 
 air of desolation and sadness enveloped me. 
 My guards had joined the cavalry, and the 
 
66 ACTA PI L AT I. 
 
 centurion, to display a shadow of power, was 
 endeavoring to keep order. I was left alone, 
 and m}^ breaking heart admonished me that 
 what was passing at that moment appertained 
 rather to the history of the gods than that of 
 man. A loud clamor was heard proceeding 
 from Golgotha, which, borne on the winds, 
 seemed to announce an agony such as had 
 never been heard by mortal ears. Dark 
 clouds lowered over the pinnacle of the temple, 
 and, settling over the city, covered it with a 
 veil. So dreadful were the signs that were 
 seen, both in the heavens and on the earth, 
 that Dionysius, the Areopagite,^ is reported 
 to have exclaimed, " Either the author of 
 nature is suffering, or the universe is falling 
 apart." 
 
 Towards the first hour of the iiight,^ I threw 
 my mantle around me and went down into 
 the city, toward the gates of Golgotha. The 
 sacrifice was consummated. The crowd was 
 
ACTA PILATI. 67 
 
 returning home; still agitated, it is true; but 
 gloomy, taciturn and desperate. What thej 
 had witnessed had stricken them with terror 
 and remorse. I also saw my little Roman 
 cohort pass by mournfully, the standard- 
 bearer having veiled his eagle in token of 
 grief, and I overheard some of the soldiers 
 murmuring strange words, which I did not 
 understand. Others were recounting prod- 
 igies almost similar to those which had so 
 often smitten the Romans by the will of the 
 gods. Sometimes groups of men and women 
 would halt, then looking backward towards 
 Golgotha, would remain motionless, in 
 expectation of witnessing some new prodigy. 
 I returned to the Pretorium, sad and pen- 
 sive. On ascending the stairs — the steps of 
 which were still stained with the blood of the 
 ^Nazarene — I perceived an old man in a sup- 
 pliant posture, and behind him several women 
 in tears. He threw himself at my feet and 
 
68 ACTA PILaTI. 
 
 wept bitterly. It is painful to see an old 
 man weep. 
 
 " Father," said I to him mildly, ''who are 
 you and what is your request?" 
 
 " I am Joseph of Arimathea," rex3lied he, 
 "and am come to beg of you, upon my knees, 
 the permission to bury Jesus of Nazareth." 
 
 " Your prayer is granted," said I to him, 
 and at the same time ordered Manlius to take 
 some soldiers with him to superintend the 
 interment, lest it should be profaned. 
 
 A few days after, the sepulchre was found 
 empty. His disciples published all over the 
 country that Jesus had risen from the dead, 
 as he had foretold. A last duty remained 
 for me to perform, and that was to communi- 
 cate to you these deplorable events. I did 
 it on the same night that followed the fatal 
 catastrophe, and had just finished the com- 
 munication when day l^egan to dawn. At 
 that moment the sound of clarions playing 
 
ACTA PI L AT I. 09 
 
 the air of Diana, struck my ear. (-a sting 
 111}' eye towards the CaBsareaii gate I beheld 
 a troop of soldiers, and heard at a distance 
 other trumpets sounding Caesar's march. Jt 
 was the reinforcement that had heen promis- 
 ed me. Two thousand chosen troops who, 
 to liasten their arrival, had marched all night. 
 " It has been decreed by the fates," cried 1, 
 wringing my hands, '' that the great iniquity 
 should be accomplished; that for the pur- 
 pose of averting the deeds of yesterday, 
 troops should arrive to-day ! Cruel destiny, 
 how thou sportest Avith the affairs of mor- 
 tals!" It was but too true, what the Naza- ^ 
 rene exclaimed while writhing on the cross: 
 " All is consummated." 
 
^icpi^¥0RIC7IIj*^ 
 
 AND 
 
 ^IcCl^ITICJ^Ii-I^NQI^E^.* 
 
(Note a, page 47.) 
 
 a brief sketch of the life of 
 
 Pontius Pilate. 
 
 Pontius Pilate was the sixth Koman Proc- 
 urator of Juclea, (Matt. xxvii:2; Mark 
 XV : 1; Luke in: 1; John xviii-xix), under 
 whom our Lord taught, suffered and died 
 (Acts m: 13; tv:27; xiii:28; ITim. vi: 13; 
 Tacit. Annal. xv:44). The testimony of 
 Tacitus on this point is no less clear than it 
 is important; for it fixes beyond a doubt the 
 time when the foundations of our religion 
 were laid. The words of the great historian 
 are: "Aactomominis ejus Christus, Tiherio 
 Imperitante per Procuratorem Pontmm 
 Pilatum supjjlicio affectus est. — 'The author 
 of that name (Christian) or sect Avas Christ, 
 
74 ACTA PILATI. 
 
 who was capitally punished in the reign of 
 Tiberius by Pontius Pilate." 
 
 Pilate was the successor of Valerius Gra- 
 tus, and governed Judea, in the reign of 
 Tiberius. He held his office for a period of 
 ten years. The agreement on this point be- 
 tween the accounts in the ]N^ew Testament 
 and those supplied by Josephus, is entire and 
 satisfactory. It has been exhibited in detail 
 by the learned, accurate and candid Lardnei* 
 (Vol. I, 150-389, Lond. 1827). 
 
 Pilate's conduct in his office was, in many 
 respects, highly culpable. Josephus has re- 
 corded two instances in which Pilate acted 
 very tyrannically (Antiq. xviii:3, I; comp. 
 De Bell. Jud. ii: 9, 2, sq.) in regard to the 
 Jews. " But now Pilate, the Procurator of 
 Judea, removed the army from Caesarea to 
 Jerusalem, to take their winter-quarters 
 there, in order to abolish the Jewish laws. 
 So he introduced Csesar's effigies, which 
 
CRITICAL NOTES. 75 
 
 were upon the ensigns, and brought them into 
 the city; whereas our law forbids us the 
 very making of images; on which account 
 the former procurators were wont to make 
 their entry into the city with such ensigns 
 as had not those ornaments. Pilate was the 
 first who brought those images to Jerusalem, 
 and set them up there: which was done 
 without the knowledge of the people, because 
 it was done in the night-time; but, as soon 
 as they knew it, they came in multitudes to 
 Csesarea, and interceded with Pilate many 
 days, that he would remove the images; and 
 when he would not grant their request, be- 
 cause this w^ould tend to the injury of Caesar, 
 while they yet persevered in their request, 
 on the sixth day he ordered his soldiers to 
 have their weapons privately, while he came 
 and sat upon his judgement-seat; which seat 
 was so prepared in the open place of the city, 
 that it concealed the army that lay ready to 
 
76 ACTA PILATI. 
 
 oppress them : and when the Jews petitioned 
 him again, he gave a signal to the soldiers 
 to encompass them round, and threatened 
 that their punishment should be no less than 
 immediate death, unless they would leave 
 off disturbing him, and go their ways home. 
 But they threw themselves on the ground, 
 and laid their necks bare, and said they 
 would take their death very willingly, rather 
 than the wisdom of their laws should be 
 transgressed; upon which Pilate was deeply 
 affected with their resolution to keep their 
 laws inviolable, and presentl}^ ordered the 
 images to be carried back from Jerusalem to 
 Caesarea." 
 
 " But Pilate undertook to bring a cm'rent 
 of water to Jerusalem, and did it with the 
 sacred money, and derived the origin of the 
 stream from a distance of 200 furlongs. 
 However the Jews were not pleased with 
 what had been done about this water; and 
 
CRITICAL NOTES. 11 
 
 many ten thousands of the people got together 
 and made a clamor agamst him, and insisted 
 that he should leave off that design. Some 
 of them also used reproaches, and abused the 
 man, as crowds of such people usually do. So 
 he habited a great number of his soldiers in 
 their habit, who carried daggers under their 
 garments, and sent them to a place where 
 they might surround them. He bid the Jews 
 himself go away; but they boldly casting 
 I'eproaches upon him, he gave the soldiers 
 the signal which had been before agreed on, 
 who laid upon them much greater blows than 
 Pilate had commanded them, and equally 
 punished those that were tumultuous and 
 those that were not; nor did they spare them 
 in the least; and since the people were un- 
 armed, and were caught by men prepared 
 for what they were about, there were a great 
 number of them slain by this means, and 
 
 (I) 
 
78 ACTA PILATI. 
 
 others of them ran away wounded. And 
 thus an end was put to this sedition." 
 
 " We have," says Lardner, '' another at- 
 tempt of Pilate's of the same nature, men- 
 tioned in the letter which Agrippa the Elder 
 sent to Caligula, as this letter is given us by 
 Philo. In some particulars it has a great 
 resemblance with the story Josephus has 
 told of Pilate's bringing the ensigns into 
 Jerusalem, and in othei-s it is very dilfei'ent 
 from it; which has given occasion to some 
 leanied men to suppose that Philo has been 
 luistaken. For my own part, as T make no 
 doubt but Josephus' account of the ensigns 
 is true, so I think that Philo may also be relied 
 on for the truth of a fact he has mentioned, 
 as happening in his own time in Judea, and 
 consequently, I judge them to be two differ- 
 ent facts." 
 
 Agrippa, reckoning up to Caligula the 
 several favors conferred on the Jews by the 
 
CniTICAL J^^OTES. 1\) 
 
 Imperial fiimil}^, says: "Pilate was procu- 
 rator of Judea. He, not so much out of 
 respect to Tiberius as a malicious intent to 
 vex the people, dedicates gilt shields, and 
 places them in Herod's palace within the holy 
 city, lliere Avas no figure upon them, nor 
 anything else which is forbidden, except an 
 inscription which expressed these two 
 things — the name of the person who dedi- 
 cated them, and of him to whom they were 
 dedicated. When the people perceived what 
 had been done, they desired that this inno- 
 vation of the shields might be rectified; that 
 their ancient customs which had been pre- 
 served through so many ages, and had hither- 
 to been untouched by kings and emperors, 
 might not now be violated. He refused their 
 demands with roughness, such was his 
 temper, fierce and untractable. They then 
 cried out. Do not you raise a sedition your- 
 self; do not you disturb the peace by your 
 
80 ACTA PI L AT I. 
 
 illegal practices. It is not Tiberius' pleas- 
 ure that any of our laws should be broken 
 in upon. If you have received any edict 
 or letter from the emperor to this purpose, 
 produce it, that we may leave you, and depute 
 an embassy to him, and entreat him to revoke 
 his orders. This put him out of all temper; 
 for he was afraid if they should send an em- 
 bassy, they might discover the many mal- 
 administrations of his government; his extor- 
 tions, his unjust decrees, his inhuman cruel- 
 ties. This reduced him to the utmost per- 
 plexity. On the one hand he was afraid to 
 remove things that had been once dedicated, 
 and was also miwilling to do a favor to men 
 that were his subjects; and, on the other 
 hand, he kncAV very well the inflexible se- 
 verity of Tiberius. The chief men of the 
 nation observing this, and perceiving that he 
 repented of what he had done, though he en- 
 deavored to conceal it, wrote a most humble 
 
CniTICAL NOTi:S. 81 
 
 and submissive letter to Tiberius. It is need- 
 less to say how he was provoked when he 
 read the account of Pilate's speeches and 
 threatenings,the event showing it sufficient!} . 
 For he soon sent a letter to Pilate, reprimand- 
 ing him for so audacious a proceeding; re- 
 quiring, also, that the shields be removed. 
 And, accordingly they were carried from the 
 metropolis to Caesarea by the seaside, called 
 Sebaste, from 3^our great grandfather, that 
 they might be placed in the temple there 
 consecrated to him, and there they were re- 
 posited." 
 
 To the Samaritans, also, Pilate conducted 
 himself unjustly and cruelly. His own mis- 
 conduct led the Samaritans to take a step 
 which in itself does not appear seditious or 
 revolutionary, when Pilate seized the oppor- 
 tunity to slay many of the people, not only 
 in the fight which ensued, but also in cold 
 blood after they had given themselves up. 
 
82 ACTA PI L ATI. 
 
 " But when this tumult was appeased, the 
 Samaritan Senate sent an embassy to Yitel- 
 lius, now President of Syria, and accused 
 Pilate of the murder of those who had been 
 slain. So Vitellius sent Marcellus, a friend 
 of his, to take care of the affairs of Judea, 
 and ordered Pilate to go to Pome to answer 
 before the Emperor to the accusations of the 
 Jews. Pilate, when he had tarried ten years 
 in Judea, made haste to Pome, and this in 
 obedience to the orders of Yitellus, which he 
 durst not contradict; but before he could 
 get to Pome, Tiberius was dead." (Joseph. 
 Antiq. xvTir. 4. 2.) This removal took place 
 before the passover, in A. D. 36 — probably 
 about September or October, A. D. 35 ; Pilate 
 must, therefore, as he spent ten years in 
 Judea, have entered on his government about 
 October, A. D. 25, or at least before the 
 Passover, A. D. 26, in the twelfth year of 
 Tiberius' sole empire. (Compare Lardner I, 
 391, sq.; Winer, Peal-worterb.). 
 
CRITICAL NOTES. 83 
 
 To be put out of his government by Vitellus, 
 on the complaint of the people of his prov- 
 ince, must have been a very grevious morti- 
 fication to Pilate; and though the emperor 
 was dead before he reached Rome, he did not 
 long enjoy such impunity as guilt permits; 
 lie was banished to Vienna in Gaul, and as 
 Eusebius (Chron, p. 78) states, he shortly 
 afterwards made way with himself, out of 
 vexation for his many misfortunes, about A. 
 D. 38. 
 
 Owing to the atrocity of the deed in which 
 Pilate took a principal part, a very unfavor- 
 able vicAV has generally been entertained of 
 his character. Still it is interesting to note 
 that the early Christi^a:is entertained a deep 
 appreciation of his efforts to save Jesus. 
 Tertullian, as already quoted on page 21, 
 uses the expression, " Pilate himself in his 
 conscience already a christian." The Evang. 
 ]N^icod. 1 : 13. speaks of him as " circumsized 
 
84 ACTA PILaTI. 
 
 ill heart." According to one tradition he 
 died a Christian Martyr, and to this day the 
 Abyssinian Church celebrates the event on 
 June 25. 
 
 There is great weight in the following 
 lano'uaofe of a oTcat critic: 
 
 '' If now we wish to form a judgement of 
 Pilate's character, we easily see that he was 
 (me of that large class of men who aspire to 
 pubhc offices, not from a pure and lofty de- 
 sire of benefiting the public and advancing 
 the good of the world, but from selfish and 
 personal considerations, from a love of dis- 
 tinction, from a love of power, from a love of 
 self-indulgence; being destitute of any fixed 
 principles, and having no aim but office and 
 influence, they act right only by chance and 
 when c(mvenient, and are wholly incapable 
 of pursuing a consistent course, or of acting 
 with firmness and self-denial in cases in which 
 the preservation of integrity requires the ex- 
 ercise of these qualities. Pilate was obviously 
 a man of weak, and therefore, with his temp- 
 
CRITICAL NOTES. 85 
 
 tatioiis, of corrupt character. The view 
 given in the ApostoUcal Constitutions (v. 14), 
 where unnianHness is ascribed to him, we take 
 to be correct. This want of strength will 
 readily account for his failure to rescue Jesus 
 fi-om the rage of his enemies, and also for the 
 acts of injustice and cruelty wdiich he prac- 
 ticed in his government — -acts which, con- 
 sidered in themselves, wear a deeper dye 
 than does the conduct which he observed in 
 surrendering Jesus to the malice of the Jews, 
 And this same weakness may serve to ex- 
 plain to the reader how much influence would 
 be exerted on this unjust jndge, not only by 
 the stern bigotry, and persecuting wrath of 
 the Jewish priesthood, but specially by the 
 not concealed intimations which they threw 
 out against Pilate, that, if he liberated Jesus, 
 he w^as no friend of Tiberius, and must ex- 
 pect to have to give an account of his C(m- 
 duct at Home. And that this w as no idle 
 threat, nothing beyond the limits of proba- 
 bility, Pilate's subsequent deposition by 
 Vitellius shows very plainly; nor could the 
 (J) 
 
86 ACTA PILATI. 
 
 procurator have been ignorant either of the 
 stern determination of the Jewish character, 
 or of the offence he had l)y his acts given to 
 the heads of the nation, or of the insecurity, 
 at that very hour, when the contest between 
 him and the priests w^as proceeding regarding 
 the innocent victim whom they histed to 
 destroy, of his own position in the office which 
 he held, and which, of course, he desired to 
 retain. On the whole, then, viewing the en- 
 tire conduct of Pilate, his previous iniquities 
 as well as his bearing on the condemnation 
 of Jesus — viewing his own actual position 
 and the malignit}^ of the Jews, we cannot, 
 we confess, give our vote with those who have 
 passed the severest condemnation on this 
 weak and guilt}^ governor." (See Kitto's 
 Cyclopaedia of Biblical Literature ; Winer's 
 Real Woerterbuch, and Farrar's Life of 
 Christ.) 
 
(Note b, page 47.) 
 
 a brief sketch of the life of 
 The Emperor Tiberius. 
 
 Claudius Drusus N^ero Tiberius, the Romau 
 emperor after the death of Augustus, was 
 deceuded from the family of the Ctaudii. In 
 his early years he commanded popularity by 
 entertaining the populace with magnificent 
 shoAVS and fights of gladiators, and he gained 
 some applause in the funeral oration which 
 he pronounced over his father, though onl}' 
 nine years old. His first appearance in the 
 Koman armies was under Augustus, in the 
 war against the Cantabri, and afterwards, in 
 the capacity of General, he gained victories 
 in difierent parts of the Empire, and was 
 rewarded with a triumph. 
 
88 ACTA PILATI. 
 
 Yet in the midst of his glory, Tiberius fell 
 under the displeasure of Augustus, and re- 
 tired to Rhodes, where he continued for seven 
 years as an exile, till by the influence of his 
 mother, Livia, with the emperor, he was re- 
 called. His return to Rome was the more 
 glorious; he had the command of the Roman 
 armies in Illyricum, Pannonia, andDalmatia, 
 and seemed to divide the sovereign power 
 with Augustus. 
 
 At the death of this celebrated emperor, 
 Tiberius, who had been adopted, assumed 
 the reins of government; and while with 
 dissimulation and aflected modesty he wished 
 to decline the dangerous oflice, he found time 
 to try the fidelity of his friends, and to make 
 the greatest part of the Romans believe that 
 he was invested with the purple, not from 
 his own choice, but by the recommendation 
 of Augustus and the urgent entreaties of 
 the Roman Senate. The beginning of his 
 
CRITICAL NOTES. 89 
 
 reign seemed to [)r{)iiii8e traiKiiiillit}' to the 
 world. TiljeriuvS was a watchful guardian 
 of the pubhe peace, he was a friend of justice, 
 and never assumed tiie sounding title which 
 must disgust a free naticm; but he was satis- 
 fied to say of himself, that he was the master 
 of his slaves, the general of his soldiers, and 
 the father of the citizens of Eome. That 
 seeming moderation however, which was but 
 the fruit of the deepest policy, soon disa})- 
 peared, and Tiberius w as viewed in his real 
 character. His ingratitude to his mothei' 
 livia, to whose intrigues he was indebted 
 for the purple, his cruelty to his wife Julia, 
 and his tyrannical oppression and murder of 
 many noble senators, rendered him odious 
 to the people, and suspected even by his 
 most intimate favorites. 
 
 The armies mutinied in Pannonia and 
 (lermany, but the tumults were silenced by 
 the prudence of the generals and the fidelity 
 
90 ACTA PILATI. 
 
 of the officers, and the factious demagogues 
 were abandoned to punishment. This acted 
 as a check on Tiberius at Rome; he knew 
 from thence, as his successors experienced, 
 that his power was precarious, and his very 
 existence in perpetual danger. He continued, 
 as he had begun, to pay the greatest deference 
 to the Senate; all libels against him he dis- 
 regarded, and observed, that in a free city 
 the thoughts and the tongue of every man 
 should be free. The taxes were gradually 
 lessened and luxury restrained by the salu- 
 tary regulations, as well as by the prevailing- 
 example and frugality of the Emperor. 
 While Kome exhibited a scene of peace and 
 public tranquillity,the barbarians were sever- 
 ally defeated on the borders of the empire, 
 and Tiberius gained new honors by the ac- 
 tivity and valour of Germanicus and his other 
 faithful lieutenants. Yet the triumphs of 
 Germanicus were beheld with jealousy. 
 
CRITICAL N0TE8. 91 
 
 Tiberius dreaded his power; he Avas en- 
 vious of his popularity; and the death of 
 that celebrated general in Antioch was, as 
 some suppose, accelerated by poison and 
 the secret resentment of the emperor. Xot 
 only his relations and friends, but the great 
 and opulent were sacrificed to his ambition, 
 cruelty and avarice; and there was scarce in 
 Rome one single family that did not reproach 
 Tiberius for the loss of a brother, a father or 
 a husband. He at last retired to the island 
 of Capreae, on the coast of Campania, where 
 he buried himself in unlawful pleasures. The 
 care of the empire was entrusted to favorites, 
 among whom Sejanus shone for awhile with 
 uncommon splendor. In his solitary retreat 
 the emperor proposed rewards to such as in- 
 vented new pleasures, or could procure fresh 
 luxuries. He forgot his age as well as his 
 dignity, and disgraced himself by the most 
 unnatural vices and enormous indulgences 
 
92 ACTA PILATI. 
 
 which can draw a bhish, even on the coun- 
 tenance of the most debauched and aban- 
 doned. 
 
 While tlie emperor was lost to himself and 
 the w^orld, the provinces were harassed on 
 every side by the barbarians, and ^Jlberius 
 found himself insulted 1)}^ those enemies 
 whom hitherto he had seen fall prostrate at 
 liis feet with every mark of submissive adu- 
 hition. At last, grown weak and helpless 
 tln-oug'h intirmities, he thought of his ap- 
 proaching dissolution; and as he well knew 
 that Rome could not exist without a head, he 
 nominated as liis successoi- (\iius (Caligula. 
 Many might enquire why a youth natui'ally 
 so vicious and abandoned as (^aius was cho- 
 sen to be the master of an extensive empire: 
 but Tiberius wished his own craelties to be 
 tbrgotten in the barbarities which might be 
 displayed in the reign of his successor, whose 
 natural propensities he had well defined, in 
 
CRITICAL NOTES. 93 
 
 saying of Caligula, that he bred a serpent for 
 the Roman people, and a Phaeton for the 
 rest of the empire. Tiberius died at Misenum 
 the 16th of March, A. D. 37, in the 78th year 
 of his age, after a reign of 22 years, 6 months 
 and 26 days. Caligula was accused of 
 having hastened his end by suffocating him. 
 The joy was universal when his death was 
 known; and the people of Kome, in the midst 
 of sorrow, had a moment to rejoice, heedless 
 of the calamities which awaited them in the 
 succeeding reigns. The body of Tiberius 
 was conveyed to Rome and burnt with great 
 solemnity. A funeral oration was pro- 
 nounced by Caligula, who seemed to forget 
 his benefactor while he expatiated on the 
 praises of Augustus, Germanicus and his 
 own. The character of Tiberius has been 
 examined with particular attention by his- 
 torians, and his reign is the subject of the 
 most perfect and elegant of all the compo- 
 
94 ACTA PILATI. 
 
 sitions of Tacitus. When a private man, 
 Tiberius was universally esteemed; when he 
 had no superior he w^as proud, arrogant, 
 jealous and revengeful. If he found his mili- 
 tary operations conducted by a warlike gen- 
 eral, he affected moderation and virtue; but 
 when he got rid of the powerful influence of 
 a favorite, he was tyrannical and dissolute. 
 If, as some observed, he had lived in the times 
 of the Roman republic, he might have been 
 as conspicuous as his great ancestors; but 
 the sovereign power lodged in his hands ren- 
 dered him vicious and oppressive. 
 
 Yet, though he encouraged informers and 
 favored flattery, he blushed at the mean sur- 
 vilities of the Senate, and derided the adula- 
 tion of his courtiers, who approached him, 
 he said, as if they approached a savage ele- 
 phant. He was a patron of learning, he was 
 an eloquent and ready speaker, and dedica- 
 ted some part of his time to study. He w^rote 
 
CRITICAL NOTES. 95 
 
 a lyric poem, entitled, '^ A complaint on the 
 death of Lucins Caesar;" as also some Greek 
 pieces in imitation of some of his favorite 
 anthors. He avoided all improper expressions, 
 and all foreign words he wished to totally 
 banish from the Latin tongue. As instances 
 of his humanity, it has been recorded that he 
 w^as uncommonly hberal to the people of 
 Asia Minor, whose habitations had been des- 
 troyed by a violent earthquake, A. D. 17. 
 One of his officers wished him to increase 
 the taxes. No, said Tiberius, a good shep- 
 herd must shear, but not flay his sheep. The 
 Senators wished to call the month of Novem- 
 ber, in which he was born, by his name, in 
 imitation of J. C'gesar and Augustus, in the 
 months of July and August; but this he re- 
 fused, saying: " What will you do, conscript 
 fathers, if you have thirteen Caesars?" Like 
 the rest of the emperors, he recei^ ed divine 
 honors after death, and even during life. 
 
90 ACTA FILATI. 
 
 (From Bibliotheca Classica, by Lempriere. 
 See also ^iehbuhr's History of Rome, Vol. 
 I^^. LecUire LXI, and especially Stahr, Ti- 
 berius, Leben, Regieriiiig, Charakter, 2cl ed. 
 1873). 
 
(Xote c, page 53.) 
 
 Appeal to Cv?<:sar. 
 
 From the whole tone of the Acta, — and 
 it is fully corroborated by contemporaneous 
 history, — Pilate was anxious to avoid an ap- 
 peal to Caesar. " That Caesar was the dark 
 and jealous Tiberius. Up to this period the 
 Jewish nation, when they had complained of 
 the tyranny of their native sovereigns, had 
 ever obtained a favorable hearing at Rome. 
 Even against Herod the Great their charges 
 had been received; they had been admitted 
 to a public audience ; and though their claim 
 to national independence at the death of that 
 so^'ereign had not been allowed, Archelaus 
 had received his government with limited 
 
98 ACTA PI L AT I. 
 
 powers, and, on the complaint of the 
 people, had been removed from his throne. 
 In short, the influence of that attachment io 
 the Csesarean family, which had obtained 
 for the nation distinguished privileges both 
 from Julius and Augustus, had not yet been 
 effaced by that character of turbulence and 
 insubordination which led to their final 
 ruin." (Milman's Hist, of Christianity, page 
 140). 
 
(Noted, page 55.) 
 
 The Relations of the Jewish Government to the 
 Roman. 
 
 For centuries the Romans had pursued a 
 policy of conquest, until in the days of Tibe- 
 rius, according to the best authorities, the 
 population of the Empire was about 120,000,- 
 000. " The subjugated countries that lay 
 beyond the limits of Italy were designated 
 provinces." In reconstructing a conquered 
 territory, in respect to its legal and social 
 life, the Romans '^had the good sense to act in 
 general, with prudence and mildness, having 
 regard in their appointments to local peculiar- 
 ities and existing institutions, so far as the in- 
 tended adjunction to the Roman power per- 
 mitted,in order to avoid giving the provincials 
 
100 ACTA FILATI, 
 
 provocation for opposing their new masters. 
 Under (ordinary circnmstances, the govern- 
 ment of the provinces was conducted by an- 
 thorities sent for the purpose from Rome." 
 '' The pro-consuls, propraetors, and proprse- 
 torial lieutenants, when about to proceed in- 
 to their several provinces, received instruc- 
 tions for their guidance from the Emperor; 
 in cases in which they were found insufficient, 
 they w ere to apply for special directions to 
 the imperial head of the State." " There 
 was also in the Senatorial provinces a procu- 
 rator [this was Pilate's position], who raised 
 the incomes intended, not for the treasury, 
 but fo]* the Emperor's pri\y purse ; the smaller 
 provinces, like Judea, which belonged to 
 Syria, were altogether governed by such." 
 
 " Criminal justice was wholly in the hands 
 of the local governor, and extended not only 
 over the provincals, but the Roman citizens 
 as well ; in important cases the Governors 
 
CRITICAL NOTES. 101 
 
 applied for a decision to the Emperor. As 
 the Romans carefully abstained from making* 
 any changes in religions matters, so in Pal- 
 estine the judging of crimes against religion 
 was left by them to the high-priest and the 
 Sanhedrim, even so far as condemnation to 
 death; but the execution of the sentence de- 
 pended on the procurator (Joseph. Antiq. xx : 
 9. 1; Mark xiv: 53, 55, 62, 65; John xviii: 
 31). The Jews at least during the time 
 covered by the Gospels, enjoyed the free ex- 
 ercise of their religion. They had their 
 synagogues or temples of public worship, 
 where they served God without molestation, 
 streaming thither at their great festivals from 
 all parts of the land, and making what offer- 
 ings or contributions they pleased." 
 
 " In order to enforce the taxes, and gene- 
 rally aid the procurator, a body of Roman 
 soldiers was put at his disposal, which had 
 their quarters permanently in the country, 
 
102 ACTA PILATI. 
 
 tlieir head station being at C'^sarea." '' A 
 portion of the troop was always stationed 
 in Jerusalem at the Passover, in ordei' to aid 
 in preserving the peaee [seepage 59]. They 
 had their quarters in the citadel Antonia, 
 Avhich commanded the temple, and so con- 
 trolled the city. (Antiq. xtx: 9.2; xx:4. 
 o; Acts XXI : 31. sq; xxii:24; xxrn:23). 
 
 " The Komans and Jews first came into 
 political I'elations about B. C 1(31, when 
 Judas Maccabanis, being mo\ed by the 
 great and widely spread military renown of 
 the Komans, sent an embassy to Kome, and 
 formed with them a treaty offensive and de- 
 fensive, but with the special view of obtain- 
 ing help against Demetrius, King of Syria, 
 (I Mace, viii; Joseph. Antiq. xii: 10.6; 
 Justin, XXVI : 3)." 
 
 Judea l)ecame a Koman province B. C. 63. 
 
 '^ The first procurator was Copinus; lie 
 was folloAved by Marcus Ambivius; then 
 
CBITICAL JSWTKS. 108 
 
 came Ammius Knfus, in whose time Augus- 
 tus (lied, A. I). 14; tlie next was Valerius 
 Grains, who was appointed bvTil^erius; he 
 continued in the [)r()\ inee eleven veai's, and 
 was then succeeded by Pontius Pihite, whose 
 government lasted ten 3'ears." (Kitto's 
 Cych)pa3(l.. article Roman Em])ire). 
 
(Note e, page 55.) 
 Traditional Sayings of Christ. 
 
 In connection Avith this passage of the 
 Acta, it may be interesting to the reader to 
 see some of the sayings attributed to oni* 
 Savior by early writers, but unrecorded in . 
 the Evangehsts. One instance occurs in 
 the ^ew Testament, Acts xx : 35 : " Remem- 
 ber the words of the Lord Jesus, how he 
 said. It is more blessed to give than to re- 
 ceive." 
 
 The following are given as specimens: 
 
 1. "He who longs to be rich is like a 
 man who drinks sea-water; the more he 
 drinks the more thirst}^ he becomes, and 
 never leaves off drinking till he perishes." 
 
 2. " Pilate says to him, what is Truth? 
 
CRITICAL JSrOTES. 105 
 
 Jesus sajs, Truth is from Heaven. Pilate 
 says, Is there not truth upon earth? Jesus 
 says to Pilate, See how one who speaks the 
 truth is judged by those who have power 
 upon earth." 
 
 3. " On the same day, seeing one work- 
 ing on the Sabbath, he said to him, O man, 
 if indeed thou knowest what thou doest, thou 
 art blessed; but if thou knowest not, thou 
 art accursed, and a transgressor of the law." 
 
 4. " He who is near me is near the fire ; 
 he who is far from me is far from the King- 
 dom." 
 
 5. " In whatsoever I may find you, in this 
 will I also judge you." 
 
 6. " ^ever be j oy ful except when ye shall 
 look on your brother in love." 
 
 (Hoffman, Leben Jesu; also The Gospel 
 according to the Hebrews, recovered, trans- 
 lated, annotated and analyzed by E. B. 
 Mcholson, M. A., London, 1879). 
 
(Note f, page 61.) 
 The Power of Life and Death. 
 
 " Although the Sanhedrim had passed their 
 sentence, there remained a serious obstack' 
 before it could be carried into execution. 
 On the contested j^oint whether the Jews, 
 tmder the Roman government^ 'possessed the 
 ponder of life and death, it is not easy to state 
 the question loith brevity and distinctness. 
 IS^otwithstanding the apparently clear and 
 distinct recognition of the Sanhedrim, that 
 they had not authority to put any man to 
 death ; notwithstanding the remarkable con- 
 currence of rabbinical tradition with this dec- 
 laration, which asserts that the nation had 
 been deprived of the power of life and death 
 forty years before the destruction of the city. 
 
CRITICAL NOTES . 107 
 
 many of the most learned writers, some in- 
 deed of the ablest of the fathers, from argn- 
 ments arising ont of the practice of Roman 
 provincial jurisprudence, and from later facts 
 in the evangelic history and that of the Jews, 
 have supposed that, even if, as is doubtful, 
 they were deprived of this power in civil, 
 they retained it in religious cases. Some 
 have added, that even in the latter the rati- 
 fication of the sentence by the Roman gov- 
 ernor, or the permission to carry it into exe- 
 cution, was necessary. According to this 
 view, the object of the Sanhedrim was to 
 bring the case before Pilate as a civil charge; 
 since the assumption of a royal title and au- 
 thority implied a design to cast off the Roman 
 yoke. Or, if they retained the right of capi- 
 tal punishment in religious cases, it was con- 
 trary to usage, in the proceedings of the San- 
 hedrim, as sacred as law itself, to order an 
 execution on the day of preparation for the 
 
108 ACTA PILATI. 
 
 Passovei". As, then, they dared not violate 
 that usage, and as dehij was in every way 
 dangerous, either from the fickleness of the 
 people, who, having been momentarily 
 Avrought np to a pitch of deadly animosity 
 against Jesns, might again, by some act of 
 power or goodness on liis part, be carried 
 away back to his side; or in case of tumnlt, 
 from the unsolicited intervention of the Ro- 
 mans, their plainest course was to obtain, if 
 possible, the immediate support and assis- 
 tance of the government. 
 
 " In my opinion, formed upon the study of 
 the cotemporary Jewish history, the power 
 of the Sanhedrim, at this period of political 
 changes and confusion, on this, as well as 
 on other points, was altogether undefined. 
 Under the Asmonean princes, the sovereign, 
 uniting with the civil and religious suprem- 
 acy, the high-priesthood with the royal 
 power, exercised, with the Sanhedrim as his 
 
CRITICAL JSWTUS. 109 
 
 council, the highest poHtical and civil juris- 
 diction. Herod, whose authority depended 
 upon the protection of Rome, and was main- 
 tained ])y his wealth, and in part by foreign 
 mercenaries, although he might leave to the 
 Sanhedrim, as the supreme tribunal, the ju- 
 dicial power, and, in ordinary religious cases, 
 might admit their unlimited jurisdiction, yet 
 no doubt watched and controlled their pro- 
 ceedings with the jealousy of an Asiatic des- 
 pot, and practically, if not formally, subjec- 
 ted all their decrees to his revision : at least 
 he would not have permitted any encroach- 
 ment on his own supreme authority. In fact, 
 according to the general tradition of the 
 Jews, he at one time put to death the whole 
 Sanhedrim : and since, as his life advanced, 
 his tyranny became more w^atchful and sus- 
 picious, he was more likely to diminish than 
 increase the powers of the national tribunal. 
 In the short interval of little more than thirty 
 
110 ACTA PILATI. 
 
 years which had elapsed since the death of 
 Herod, nearly ten had been occupied l3y the 
 reign of Archelans. On his deposal, the 
 Sanhedrim had probably extended or re- 
 sumed its original functions, but still the 
 supreme civil authority rested in the Roman 
 procurator. All the commotions excited by 
 turbulent adventurers who infested the 
 country, or by Judas the Galilean and his 
 adherents, would fall under the cognizance 
 of the civil governor, and were repressed 
 by his direct interference, ^or can capital 
 religious oiFences have been of frequent oc- 
 currence, since it is evident that the rigour 
 of the Mosaic Law had been greatly relaxed, 
 partly by the tendency of the age, which 
 ran in a counter direction to those acts of 
 idolatry against which the Mosaic statutes 
 were chiefly framed, and left few crimes ob- 
 noxious to the extreme penalty. Nor, until 
 the existence of their polity and religion was 
 
CBITICAL NOTES. Ill 
 
 threatened, first by the progress of Christ, 
 and afterward of his religion, would they 
 have cared to be armed with an authority 
 which it was rarely, if ever, necessary or ex- 
 pedient to put forth in its full force. 
 
 " This, then, may have been, strictly speak- 
 ing, a new case, the first which had occurred 
 since the reduction of Judea to a Roman 
 province. The Sanhedrim, from whom all 
 jurisdiction in political cases was withdrawn, 
 and who had no recent precedent for the in- 
 fliction of capital punishment on an}^ religious 
 charge, might think it more prudent (partic- 
 ularly during this hurried and tumultuous 
 proceeding, which commenced at midnight, 
 and must be dispatched with the least possible 
 delay) at once to disclaim any authority 
 which, however the Roman governor seemed 
 to attribute to them, he might at least prevent 
 their carrying into execution." (Milmau, in 
 his History of Christianity). 
 
(Note g, page 62.) 
 
 Claudia Procula, the Wife of Pilate. 
 
 " From Matt, xxvii : 19, it appears that 
 Pilate had his wife (named probably Prochi, 
 or Claudia Procula) with him. A partial 
 knowledge of Roman history might lead the 
 reader to question the historic ci*edibility of 
 Matthew in this particular. In the earlier 
 periods, and, indeed, so long as the common- 
 wealth subsisted, it was very unusual for the 
 governors of provinces to take their wives 
 with them (Senec. De Controv. 25), and in 
 the strict regulations which Augustus in- 
 troduced he did not allow the favor except 
 in peculiar and specified cases (Sueton. Aug. 
 21). The practice however grew to be more 
 and more prevalent, and was (says Winer, 
 
CRITICAL NOTES. 113 
 
 Keal-wort. in ^Pilate') customary in Pilate's 
 time. 
 
 " It is eviclent from Tacitus, that at the 
 time of the death of Augustus, Germanicus 
 had his wife, Agrippina, with him in Ger- 
 many (Annal. i: 40. 41; comp. iii: 33. 59; 
 Joseph. Antiq. xx: 10. 1; Ulpian. iy:2). 
 Indeed, in the beginning of the reign of Ti- 
 berius, Germanicus took his wife with him 
 into the East. Piso, the prefect of Syria, 
 took his wife also along with him at the 
 same time (Tacit. Annal. ii: 54. 55). ' But,' 
 says Lardner (i:152), ^nothing can render 
 this (the practice in question) more apparent 
 than a motion made in the Poman senate by 
 Severus Csesena, in the fourth consulship of 
 Tiberius, and second of Drusus Caesar (A. 
 D. 21), that no magistrate to whom any 
 province was assigned, should be accompa- 
 nied by his wife, except the Senate's rejecting 
 it, and that with some indignation' (Tacit. 
 
114 ACTA FILATI. 
 
 Annal. iii: 33. 34). The fact mentioned in- 
 cidently, or rather imphed, in Matthew, 
 being thns confirmed by full and unquestion- 
 able evidence,cannot fail to serve as a corrob- 
 orj|tion of the evangelical history." (Kit- 
 to's Bib. Lit.) 
 
 " It is a remarkable fact that a heathen 
 woman had the courage to plead the cause 
 of our Saviour when his own disciples for- 
 sook him, and when the Jewish people and 
 authorities thirsted for his innocent blood. 
 It is equally remarkable that she and her 
 weak husband, clothed with the authority of 
 the Roman law and justice, should character- 
 ize the condemned Jesus as that just man. 
 The student of the unconscious prophecies 
 of heathenism will naturally connect this ex- 
 pression with the famous passage in Plato's 
 ' Republic,' where the great sage of Greece 
 describes the ideal of a just man as one Avho, 
 without doing any wrong, may assume the 
 appearance of the grossest injustice; yea, 
 who ' shall be scourged, tortured, fettered, 
 
CRITICAL NOTES, 115 
 
 deprived of his eyes, and, after having en- 
 dured all possible sufferings, fastened to a 
 post, and must restore again the beginning 
 and prototype of righteousness." (Plato's 
 Works, voL iv, p. 78, sqq. ed. Ast. p. 360. 
 E. ed. Bip). 
 
 " Aristotle also says of the perfectly just 
 man, ' that he stands far above the political 
 order and constitution as it exists; that he 
 must break it wherever he appears.' The 
 prophecies of Greek wisdom, and the majesty 
 of the Koman law, here unite in a Roman 
 body, the wife of the imperial representative 
 at Jerusalem, to testify to the innocence and 
 righteousness of Christ in the darkest hour 
 of his trial before wricked men. She was 
 probably a prosel3^te of the gate, or one of 
 those God-fearing heathen, who, without 
 embracing the Jewish religion, were longing 
 and groping in the dark after ^the unknown 
 God.' " (From Dr. Shaff's additions to Lange 
 on Matthew, p. 511). 
 
(Noteli, pageCJS.) 
 
 Gemoxi^e. 
 
 This expression is equivalent to: '' You 
 are in' danger of doing what will seriously 
 reflect upon Cffisar." The word is used in 
 Val. Max. (5. 9; Liv. 38. 59; Suet. Tib. 53. 
 (51; Tacit. Hist, in: 74. According to 
 Anthon, the Gemonice scahe w^ere steps at 
 Kome, near the prison of Tullianum, down 
 which the bodies of those who had been ex- 
 ecuted in prison were thrown into the Forum, 
 to l)e exposed to the gaze of the multitude. 
 
(Xote i, page 64.) 
 
 The Hand-Washing. 
 
 " Attracted towards the court by this 
 shout, ' ^o king but Caesar,' we find the 
 judge just in the act of yielding, under the 
 popular cry, ' If thou let this man go, thou 
 art not Caesar's friend;' for he dreads the ut- 
 terance of such a charge, however absurd, 
 in the ears of the irritable Tiberius, his mas- 
 ter. Therefore he gives sentence as they 
 demand; but 'he took water and washed his 
 hands before the multitude saying, I am in- 
 nocent of the blood of this just person.' 
 
 " Singular paradox; a magistrate innocent 
 of the blood of one whom judicially he mur- 
 ders, while declaring him just in the same 
 
118 ACTA PI L ATI. 
 
 breath! ^Oj no! Pilate, think not with 
 water to wash off that stain of blood from 
 thy hands. For, falling npon the official 
 hand that pretends to weigh justice in the 
 balance, its stain hath struck too deep for 
 any water cleansing. " The untitled, power- 
 less, ]jrivate man, forced by the mob to deeds 
 of cruelty, might perhaps with the tears of in- 
 genuous sorrow wash out the blood spot ! But 
 thou art imperial Caesar's legate, Pilate. 
 Thine is the strong arm of the law, flashing 
 its gleaming sword, by God's ordinance, in 
 the defence of innocence,as well as in vengence 
 on guilt. Thy gorgeous ermine is full wide to 
 shelter in its ample folds this torn and bleeding- 
 lamb that the fierce dogs of bigotry are thus 
 savagely pursuing. With all thy pompous 
 ])retence to dignity and chivalrous Poman 
 hojioui', thou art but a miserable pedlar in 
 blood ! Baser than Judas whose narrow soul 
 thought thirty pieces of silver a worthy price. 
 
CBITICAL j^OTES. 119 
 
 thou art selling him over again for a worthless 
 smile from these ecclesiastical bloodhonnds, 
 whom every manl}^ instinct of thy nature 
 loathes and abhors ! Thou art a poor cow- 
 ard, Pilate, that thou fearest such a mob, 
 with the strong arm of Caesar to defend thee, 
 and the broad shield of eternal justice to 
 hold before thee. ]S"o, Pilate, no! IN^ot all 
 the waters of Jordan that washed leprous 
 JS'aaman clean ; not all the waters that ever 
 gushed from the rills of Siloam; not all the 
 tears of sorrow that shall flow through eter- 
 nity for thy sin, shall ever wash oft' that stain 
 of blood ! 
 
 " Yet how common seems this mistake 
 of Pilate, that the unrighteous judgement of 
 an ofiicial, given under pressure of strong 
 temptations from personal consideration, — 
 either of desire to win popular favor; or ava- 
 ricious hankering after gain; or the impulse 
 of partisan malice or party obligations may 
 
120 JCTA PI L AT I. 
 
 be atoned for, by giving the innocent the 
 benefit of one's personal convictions and pro- 
 fessions as an offset against the damage to 
 him of one's villainous official deed; and that 
 it is enough to perform a little penitential 
 handwashingfor the filthy job done to popu- 
 lar order! How little do men seem to com- 
 prehend the solemn truth, that, as in the 
 Church, under his revealed law, God hath 
 appointed his ministers to be his representa- 
 tives, and will surely punish the corrupt and 
 unfaithful servants, so in the state, under 
 that natural law which he hath revealed to 
 all men alike. ' The powers that be are or- 
 dained of God;' and will likewise be held 
 accountable to God. "That the magis- 
 trate, called by the public voice to office, 
 is in his sphere, ^the minister of God for 
 good,' to the upright citizen, and the min- 
 ister of God, ' a revenger to execute wrath 
 upon him that doeth evil.' And every 
 
CRITICAL NOTES. 121 
 
 curse threatened against official unfaithful- 
 ness in the Church, lies with all its force,in the 
 other sphere also, against the magistrate who 
 misrepresents and caricatures God's essential 
 justice. Ye cowardly handwashers! If ye 
 have not the manl}^ courage to breast the 
 billows of popular fury, and make your official 
 voice heard above all the howls of the mob, 
 then why thrust yourselves into places to 
 which, obviously God hath not called you? If 
 Tiberius, moved by the popular clamor, 
 threaten you, then tell Tiberius and the mob, 
 ^we ought to obey God rather than men,' and 
 go into exile with a clear conscience for your 
 companion. To the sort of men whom God 
 calls to represent him, the passion of Tibe- 
 rius and the curses of the mob ai*e sweet 
 music compared with the accusings of con- 
 science! Beware how ye make light of 
 bartering justice, either for the popular smile, 
 or for place, or for gold. If by a righteous 
 
122 ACTA PILATI. 
 
 Providence ye be not driven to Pilate's doom 
 of exile, and suicide, like Judas; yet, be 
 assured that, amid the curses of the ruined, 
 the wails of the heart-broken and the moans 
 of the murdered ringing in your ears, ye shall 
 wash, and wash in vain at that blood-spot 
 throughout eternity ! 
 
 " And, on the other hand, when public 
 virtue hath come to such a pass, that the 
 clamor of the mob, instead of the covenanted 
 law, must find utterance through Pilate on 
 the bench; or, that popular sentiment regards 
 Pilate's use of his official authority for per- 
 sonal ends, either of avarice, ambition or 
 passion, as a venial sin of natural infirmity, 
 that a little hand-washing may atone for; 
 then may we know that the day of political 
 doom is nigh such a people, even at their 
 doors; for now, 'judgement lingereth not 
 and damnation slumbereth not.' The judg- 
 ment on such a people hath in fact already 
 
CRITICAL NOTES. 123 
 
 begun." (From Dr. Stuart Robinson's elo- 
 quent Discourses of Redemption. D. Ap- 
 pleton & Co., X. Y., 1866). 
 
(Xotek, page66.) 
 
 DiONYSIUS. 
 
 During the night following the day the 
 Crucifixion of Jesus took place, Pilate sent 
 a brief account of what had occurred to tlie 
 Emperor, as he himself states (see page 68). 
 The Acta was not written until some months 
 afterwards. The turbulence of the Jews 
 continued — the beginnings no doubt of the 
 great rebellion which, in the days of Titus, 
 led to the destruction of their capital and the 
 dispersion of the nation. From the book of 
 Acts in the ^N^ew Testament, we learn that 
 the preaching of the Apostles excited great 
 and general attention, and aftbrded occasion 
 for repeated attacks upon them by the Phar- 
 
CRITICAL NOTES. 125 
 
 isees and Sadducees. Amid these turmoils 
 Pilate trembled for his own position, and 
 wrote this detailed and full communication 
 to Tiberius in order to set himself right with 
 the authorities at Rome, (see p. 35, 5). 
 
 During the interim between the first and 
 second writing, a period probably of five or 
 six months, the events of our Savior's life, 
 teachings, miracles, persecution, crucifixion, 
 resurrection and ascension, had excited in- 
 tense interest throughout the entire East, 
 and thousands of converts to Christianity 
 had been made. 
 
 The Dionysius here alluded to was a 
 heathen philosopher from Athens, who was 
 at this time in Heliopolis in Egypt. There 
 he beheld that remarkable eclipse of the sun, 
 as he termed it, which took place at the 
 death of Christ, and exclaimed to his friend 
 Appolophanes, " Either the Divinity suffers 
 or sympathizes with some sufferer." 
 
126 ACTA PILATI. 
 
 In that day there was a military road, 
 which had been built by the Romans, extend- 
 ing from the principal cities of Egypt to 
 Jerusalem, the course of which is to-day 
 marked by Telegraph posts, crossing the 
 present Suez Canal at the small Arab village 
 of Kantara, near the lake Menzaleh. 
 
 It is not at all to be w^ondered at, that such 
 a singular saying of a great and learned man 
 should soon have become generally known 
 in all that region; and it is not strange that 
 Pilate should quote this to Tiberius, to gi^ e 
 the greater weight to his representations. 
 
CLUTICAL NOTES. 127 
 
 (Note 1. page 66.) 
 
 The First Hour. 
 
 " Towards the first hour of the night T 
 threw my mantle aronncl me, and went down 
 into the city, toAvards the gates of Golgotha/' 
 i. e. at seven o'clock P. 31. This passage 
 of the Acta gives wonderful vividness to the 
 description, and shows the uneasiness and 
 remorse that already filled Pilate's mind, in 
 view of the events of that terrilde day. 
 
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