Saint Paul - French Edition Author:Ernest Renan Purchase of this book includes free trial access to www.million-books.com where you can read more than a million books for free. This is an OCR edition with typos. Excerpt from book: CHAPTER II. CONTINUATION OF THE FIRST JOURNEY OF ST. PAUL.:—MISSION OF GALATIA. The mission, satisfied with what it had done at Cyprus, resolved to try the... more » neighboring coast of Asia Minor. Of the provinces of this country, Cilicia alone had listened to the new preaching and possessed churches.1 The geographical region which we call Asia Minor did not constitute a whole. It was composed of countries entirely distinct in respect to race and social condition! The western portion and the entire coast had, at a remote period, entered into the great vortex of the general civilization, of which the Mediterranean was the interior sea. Since the decadence of Greece and Ptolemaic Egypt, these countries passed for the most lettered ones there were, or, at least, for those which produced the largest number of distinguished men of letters.3 The province of Asia, the ancient kingdom of Pergamus especially, were, as is said nowadays, at the head of progress. But the centre of the peninsula had been but slightly disturbed. Local life continued there as .in ancient times.3 Several of the native idioms had not yet disappeared.4 The condition of the public roads was very bad.5 All these countries had in truth but one characteristic in common, and that, boundless credulity and a great inclination to superstition. The ancient creeds, in their Hellenic and Roman transformation, preserved many of the features of their primitive physiognomy.6 Several of these religions still enjoyed extreme popularity, and possessed a certain superiority over the Greco-Roman religions. No country produced so many theurgists and theosophists. Apollonius of Tyana, at the period of which we are speaking, was here preparing his fantastic destiny. Alexander of Abono- ticus, and Peregrinus Proteus were on the point of ga...« less