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Also in the McGraw Hill 500 Questions Series
500 ACT Math Questions to Know by Test Day
500 ACT Science Questions to Know by Test Day
500 GRE Math Questions to Know by Test Day
500 SAT Reading, Writing, and Language Questions to Know by Test
Day
500 SAT Math Questions to Know by Test Day
5 Steps to a 5: 500 AP Biology Questions to Know by Test Day
5 Steps to a 5: 500 AP Calculus AB/BC Questions to Know by Test
Day
5 Steps to a 5: 500 AP Chemistry Questions to Know by Test Day
5 Steps to a 5: 500 AP English Language Questions to Know by Test
Day
5 Steps to a 5: 500 AP English Literature Questions to Know by Test
Day
5 Steps to a 5: 500 AP European History Questions to Know by Test
Day
5 Steps to a 5: 500 AP Human Geography Questions to Know by Test
Day
5 Steps to a 5: 500 AP Macroeconomics Questions to Know by Test
Day
5 Steps to a 5: 500 AP Microeconomics Questions to Know by Test
Day
5 Steps to a 5: 500 AP Physics 1 Questions to Know by Test Day
5 Steps to a 5: 500 AP Physics C Questions to Know by Test Day
5 Steps to a 5: 500 AP Psychology Questions to Know by Test Day
5 Steps to a 5: 500 AP Statistics Questions to Know by Test Day
5 Steps to a 5: 500 AP U.S. Government & Politics Questions to
Know by Test Day
5 Steps to a 5: 500 AP U.S. History Questions to Know by Test Day
5 Steps to a 5: 500 AP World History Questions to Know by Test Day
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 CONTENTS

Introduction

PART 1 READING

Chapter 1 Set 1 Reading Questions

Questions 1–69

Chapter 2 Set 2 Reading Questions

Questions 70–125

Chapter 3 Set 3 Reading Questions

Questions 126–194

Chapter 4 Set 4 Reading Questions

Questions 195–250

PART 2 ENGLISH

Chapter 5 Set 1 English Questions

Questions 251–376

Chapter 6 Set 2 English Questions

Questions 377–500

Chapter 7 How to Write an Essay

Chapter 8 ACT Essay Prompts

Answers
 INTRODUCTION

Congratulations! You’ve taken a big step toward ACT success by

purchasing McGraw Hill 500 ACT English and Reading Questions to
know by test day, Third Edition. We are here to help you take the
next step and score high on your ACT exam so you can get into the
college or university of your choice!
This updated book gives you 500 ACT-style multiple-choice
questions that cover all the most essential reading and writing
material. The questions will give you valuable independent practice
to supplement your regular textbook and the ground you have
already covered in your English and reading classes. Each question is
clearly explained in the answer key.
The passages presented here cover the same broad categories
(literary narrative, humanities, social sciences, and natural sciences)
as the ACT. On the ACT, these passages appear in no particular
order, and so the passages here are presented in a similar random
order.
In addition, this book includes an explanation for writing the ACT
essay. First, it takes you step-by-step through the writing process,
and then it provides prompts that allow you to practice your writing
skills on your own.
This book and the others in the series were written by expert
teachers who know the ACT inside and out and can identify crucial
information as well as the kinds of questions that are most likely to
appear on the exam.
You might be the kind of student who needs to study extra a few
weeks before the exam for a final review. Or you might be the kind
of student who puts off preparing until the last minute before the
exam. No matter what your preparation style, you will benefit from
reviewing these 500 questions, which closely parallel the content,
format, and degree of difficulty of the reading and English questions
on the actual ACT exam. These questions and the explanations in
the answer key are the ideal last-minute study tool for those final
weeks before the test.
If you practice with all the questions and answers in this book,
we are certain you will build the skills and confidence needed to
excel on the ACT. Good luck!

—Editors of McGraw Hill

 PART 1
Reading
 CHAPTER 1
Set 1 Reading Questions

Literary Narrative
“Love of Life” by Jack London
This selection is the end of a story about a man who had starved in
the wilderness for several days. Hungry and sick, he crawled to a
beach, where he was taken aboard a ship filled with scientists.
1. The point of view from which the passage is told can best be
described as
(A) first person.
(B) second person.
(C) third person limited.
(D) third person omniscient.

2. When the author describes the man by saying that “the dying
life in him flickered up and burned less dimly,” he is comparing
the man’s life to
(A) death.
(B) dimness.
(C) insanity.
(D) a candle.
3. It can reasonably be inferred from the second paragraph
(lines 9–15) that the man
(A) was trying to get their attention.
(B) was unhappy to see the scientists.
(C) looked more like an animal than a human.
(D) was a dangerous person.

4. Which of the following most closely captures the main conflict

of the story?
(A) There wasn’t enough food on the ship.
(B) The scientists aboard the ship were too harsh with the
rescued man.
(C) The rescued man needed to recover from a terrible
ordeal.
(D) The rescued man needed transportation to San
Francisco.

5. Speaking of the rescued man’s journey from the wilderness to

the beach, the author says, “He did not try.” The concept that
the author is most nearly trying to portray is that
(A) after a while, the man gave up, and it was just
happenstance that he arrived on the beach.
(B) the man had no particular goal in mind when he crawled
forward.
(C) the life force inside the man kept him moving although
he was not conscious of making that decision.
(D) the man was only motivated to continue moving after he
had a sufficient amount of rest.

6. It can reasonably be inferred from the passage that the man

stored biscuits in his mattress because
(A) he wanted to make sure he always had food.
 (B) he knew that biscuits were in short supply and would
soon run out.
(C) he was a thief.
(D) he was very fond of sea biscuits.

7. As it is used in lines 33–37, the word “mendicant” most nearly

means
(A) beggar.
(B) thief.
(C) performer.
(D) entertainer.

8. It can reasonably be inferred from the fourth paragraph (lines

21–29) that the man hated the people eating with him because
(A) he disliked scientists.
(B) they were unfriendly to him.
(C) he thought they were taking food that he would need.
(D) they had few manners.

9. Which of the following statements about the sailors is

supported by the passage?
(A) They thought he might hurt them if they didn’t help him.
(B) They thought he was a curiosity and went along with his
requests.
(C) They wanted the man to gain weight since he had been
starving.
(D) They hoped that the man would help them when they
were in need.

10. The passage discusses everything about the man EXCEPT his
(A) appearance.
(B) name.
(C) past.
 (D) attitude toward food.

11. It can reasonably be inferred that the man could be seen as a

symbol of
(A) greed and unpleasantness.
(B) humanity’s desire to survive.
(C) the failures of humankind.
(D) the power of science.

12. According to the passage, what would most likely happen to

the man?
(A) He would lose his obsession with food.
(B) He would never recover his sanity.
(C) He would stay convinced that he would starve.
(D) He would steal more and more.

13. It can reasonably be inferred that the main theme of the

passage is that
(A) scientists are kind people.
(B) starvation can affect a person’s mind.
(C) sailors are helpful to sick people.
(D) some people are unable to control their desire for food.

Paired Passages: Social Sciences

Passage 1: The Great Stilt Race
This account of a bizarre event in the late 1800s is true, proving that
truth can be stranger than fiction.
Passage 2: The Creation of the Tour de France
This passage recounts the early years of the Tour de France, which
was rife with claims of cheating.
Passage 1 Questions
14. The main point of this passage is to
(A) illustrate the difficulties of walking long distances on
stilts.
(B) recount the story of a strange race with stilts that took
place in the late 1800s.
(C) deliberate as to why the winner was so much faster than
the other competitors.
(D) illustrate how many newspapers try to increase their
readership by sponsoring events.

15. Which of the following best states why the people of Les
Landes used stilts?
(A) Les Landes is an extremely flat area.
(B) A newspaper was offering a prize for a stilt race.
(C) The shepherds could see their sheep more easily.
(D) The land was filled with ditches and marshes.

16. The most likely reason that the author says that the
“response from the local people was overwhelming” (lines 18–
19) was that
(A) 75 men entered the race.
(B) bets were made on who would win.
(C) the contestants got tired.
(D) the café owners greeted the competitors.

17. The competitors were able to complete the course in much

less time than was originally estimated. It can most reasonably
be inferred that this happened because
(A) the racers were so practiced at stilt walking that the race
was easier than organizers had predicted.
 (B) the racers were more dedicated and tenacious than
organizers had foreseen.
(C) the café proprietors offered quick refreshments along the
way.
(D) the course was easier than the organizers had realized.

18. Which of the following statements best explains “halfway

through the race, the field had narrowed to only 32
contestants” (lines 34–35)?
(A) The course was not as wide as it was at the beginning.
(B) The marshy land was flooded.
(C) There were fewer racers.
(D) Some racers had been cheating.

Passage 2 Questions
19. The main point of this passage is to
(A) illustrate how many newspapers try to increase their
readership by sponsoring events.
(B) describe the accomplishments of early cyclist Maurice
Garin.
(C) describe how the race was beset with issues of cheating
in the early years.
(D) deliberate on the differences between the first Tour de
France and the Tour de France of today.

20. The riders were unscrupulous (line 33). This most nearly
means that they
(A) were skilled cyclists.
(B) had a lot of endurance.
(C) were very resourceful.
(D) used dishonest tactics.
21. The most likely reason that the author used the word
“shockingly” was because it was surprising that
(A) Garin won by only one minute.
(B) it took Garin 17 hours to go 300 miles.
(C) Garin was the winner.
(D) that part of the race was so long.

22. The primary purpose of the second paragraph of the passage

is to inform readers of the
(A) attire of the cyclists.
(B) differences between this race and the modern version of
the Tour de France.
(C) fatigue that many racers faced during this grueling race.
(D) dangers that the early cyclists faced while they rode.

23. Which of the following was a problem that the racers faced?
(A) Blistering sun
(B) Lack of food
(C) Rain and sleet
(D) Lack of sleep

Paired Passage Questions

24. Unlike in Passage 1, in Passage 2, the author
(A) is much more cynical about the morals of racers and
their fans.
(B) considers endurance races something that anyone could
participate in.
(C) feels that too much publicity can ruin a race.
(D) thinks that it is important to have a large reward for
endurance races.
25. The authors of Passage 1 and Passage 2 would most likely
agree that
(A) there are many ways to cheat in an endurance race.
(B) races at the turn of the twentieth century were more
difficult than the races of today.
(C) endurance races are difficult and grueling competitions.
(D) the celebration at the end of an endurance race is worth
all the pain.

26. In both Passage 1 and Passage 2, the impetus for hosting the
race is
(A) to entertain the masses.
(B) to boost flagging newspaper sales.
(C) to see how much the human body could endure.
(D) to showcase the most deserving athlete.

27. The author of Passage 1 references spectators’ support for

competitors in a positive light; the author of Passage 2 would
most likely respond to that idea by
(A) agreeing that it is important for spectators to be involved
in the race.
(B) agreeing that more involved spectators would produce
more newspaper sales.
(C) suggesting that spectator involvement would be just one
more method that competitors could use to cheat.
(D) suggesting that spectator involvement would not allow
for a true test of endurance for the athletes.

Humanities
Up from Slavery by Booker T. Washington
Booker T. Washington (1856–1915), the first principal of Tuskegee
Institute in Alabama, was born into slavery. The following passage is
from his autobiography.
28. Which of the following statements explains why Washington
did not understand why the cabin had a cat-hole?
(A) They had no cat.
(B) The hole was too small for people to pass through.
(C) There were a number of holes in the walls.
 (D) The sweet potatoes covered it up.

29. It can reasonably be inferred that Washington’s early years

were
(A) something he tried to forget.
(B) free of any major problems.
(C) a large influence on him.
(D) difficult to remember.

30. It can reasonably be inferred that Washington told the story

of his mother’s cooking a chicken so that the reader would
(A) reflect on whether she stole the chicken or not.
(B) understand the desperate situation the family was in.
(C) be sympathetic toward their masters.
(D) realize the difficult work his mother did.

31. In the third paragraph (lines 14–23), the author most nearly
characterizes his experience eating sweet potatoes as
(A) a thoughtful moment in his young life.
(B) a funny occurrence that he never forgot.
(C) a fond memory among many depressing ones.
(D) a confusing event that led to his desire to achieve.

32. In the context of the passage, the fifth paragraph (lines 36–
39) is best described as
(A) giving the reader a realistic understanding of
Washington’s living conditions.
(B) comparing the lives of slaves and masters.
(C) complaining to the reader about his life as a child.
(D) being careful how he talks about the conditions that he
encountered in the cabin.
33. Based on Washington’s experience of seeing the classroom in
the sixth paragraph (lines 40–45), it can reasonably be inferred
that he thought that school was
(A) beyond his reach.
(B) useful in becoming a lawyer.
(C) something he would be fearful of trying.
(D) a goal he had to attain.

34. Which of the following details is used in the passage to

illustrate the arduous labor required of Washington’s mother by
her owners?
(A) The “pallet” on the dirt floor on which all of the children
had to sleep
(B) The stolen chicken that she cooked late at night to feed
her children
(C) The open fireplace over which she cooked for the whites
and slaves
(D) The description of the gaps in the walls that allowed cold
air to seep into the cabin

35. Which aspect of life as a slave seemed most surprising to

Washington?
(A) The fact that slaves knew what was going on in the
country
(B) The idea that slaves could spend time with their families
(C) The idea that slaves enjoyed talking to each other when
they weren’t working
(D) The fact that slaves may have stolen from their owners

36. In the last paragraph, Washington refers to the “grape-vine”

telegraph (line 61) to show how
(A) unaware the slaves were.
(B) hopeful the slaves were.
 (C) the slaves spent their time.
(D) the slaves found things out.

37. The main point of this passage is to

(A) indicate the results of the Civil War.
(B) show the harsh realities of the slaves’ lives.
(C) criticize the way Washington’s mother treated her
children.
(D) prove that education is valuable.

38. It could reasonably be inferred that the author’s attitude

toward his past was one of
(A) anger and resentment.
(B) sensitivity and acceptance.
(C) fear and deception.
(D) indifference and boredom.

39. Why was it possible for Washington to see the schoolhouse?

(A) He was performing a job for the owner’s daughter.
(B) He was being taught by the teacher who ran the school.
(C) He was allowed to go to the school and do errands for
the teacher.
(D) He was able to sneak out of the cabin in the early
morning.

40. Based on the seventh paragraph (lines 46–50), what effect

did Washington’s mother’s praying have on him?
(A) It made him want to stand up to his owner.
(B) It made him realize that he was not free.
(C) It made him fear his mother.
(D) It made him want to go to war.
 41. When the author speaks of the “cat-hole” as a contrivance
(line 8), he most nearly means that it was a(n)
(A) adaptor.
(B) concession.
(C) device.
(D) generator.

Natural Sciences
The Progression of Written Language
Once we learn to write at an early age, we take writing for granted.
But as this passage shows, writing has a long and complicated
history.
Another random document with
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but the claims of that revelation, for proclaiming which he was now a
prisoner. So admirably did he conduct his whole plea, both for
himself and the cause of Christ, that in spite of the sneer of Festus,
Agrippa paid him the very highest compliment in his power, and
pronounced him to be utterly guiltless of the charges. No part of this
plea and its attendant discussions, needs to be recapitulated; but a
single characteristic of Paul, which is most strikingly evinced,
deserves especial notice. This is his profound regard for all the
established forms of polite address. He is not satisfied with a mere
respectful behavior towards his judges, but even distinguishes
himself by a minute observance of all the customary phrases of
politeness; nor does he suffer his courtly manner to be disturbed,
even by the abrupt remark of Festus, accusing him of frenzy. In his
reply, he styles his accuser “Most noble;” and yet every reader of
Jewish history knows, and Paul knew, that this Festus, to whom he
gave this honorable title, was one of the very wicked men of those
wicked times. The instance shows then, that those who, from
religious scruples, refuse to give the titles of established respect to
those who are elevated in station, and reject all forms of genteel
address, on the same ground, have certainly constructed their
system of practical religion on a model wholly different from that by
which the apostle’s demeanor was guided; and the whole impression
made on a common reader, by Luke’s clear statement of Paul’s
behavior before the most dignified and splendid audience that he
ever addressed, must be, that he was complete in all the forms and
observances of polite intercourse; and he must be considered, both
according to the high standard of his refined and dignified hearers,
and also by the universal standard of the refined of all ages,――not
only a finished, eloquent orator, but a person of polished manners,
delicate tact, ready compliment, and graceful, courtly address:――in
short, a perfect gentleman.

voyage to rome.

As Paul, however, had previously appealed to Caesar, his case

was already removed from any inferior jurisdiction, and his hearing
before Agrippa was intended only to gratify the king himself, and to
cause the particulars of his complicated case to be more fully drawn
out before his royal hearer, who was so accomplished in Hebrew
law, that his opinion was very naturally desired by Festus; for, as the
governor himself confessed, the technicalities and abstruse points
involved in the charge, were altogether beyond the comprehension
of a Roman judge, with a mere heathen education. The object,
therefore, of obtaining a full statement of particulars, to be presented
to his most august majesty, the emperor, being completely
accomplished by this hearing of Paul before Agrippa,――there was
now nothing to delay the reference of the case to Nero; and Paul
was therefore consigned, along with other prisoners of state, to the
care of a Roman officer, Julius, a centurion of the Augustan cohort.
Taking passage at Caesarea, in an Adramyttian vessel, Julius sailed
with his important charge from the shores of Palestine, late in the
year 60. Following the usual cautious course of all ancient
navigators,――along the shores, and from island to island, venturing
across the open sea only with the fairest winds,――the vessel which
bore the apostle on his first voyage to Italy, coasted along by Syria
and Asia Minor. Of those Christian associates who accompanied
Paul, none are known except Timothy, Luke, his graphically accurate
historian, and Aristarchus of Thessalonica, the apostle’s long-known
companion in travel. These, of course, were a source of great
enjoyment to Paul on this tedious voyage, surrounded, as he was,
otherwise, by strangers and heathen, by most of whom he must
have been regarded in the light of a mere criminal, held in bonds for
trial. He was, however, very fortunate in the character of the
centurion to whose keeping he was entrusted, as is shown in more
than one incident related by Luke. After one day’s sail, the vessel
touching at Sidon, Julius here politely gave Paul permission to visit
his Christian friends in that place,――thus conferring a great favor,
both on the apostle and on the church of Sidon. Leaving this place,
their course was next along the coast of Syria, and then eastwards,
along the southern shore of Asia Minor, keeping in the Cilician strait
between that province and the great island of Cyprus, on account of
the violence of the southwesters. Coasting along by Pamphylia and
Lycia, they next touched at Myra, a city in the latter province, where
they were obliged to take passage in another vessel, bound from
Alexandria to Italy. In this vessel, they also kept close to the coast,
their course being still retarded by head winds, until they reached
Cnidus, the farthest southeastern point of Asia Minor, and thence
stretched across the Carpathian sea, to Crete, approaching it first at
Cape Salmone, the most eastern point at the island, and then
passing on to a place called “the Fair Haven,” near Lasea, probably
one of the hundred cities of Crete, but mentioned in no other ancient
writer. At this place, Paul, whose experience in former voyages was
already considerable, having been twice ship-wrecked, had sagacity
enough to see that any further navigation that season would be
dangerous; for it was now the beginning of October, and the most
dreadful tempests might be reasonably expected on the wintry sea,
before they could reach the Italian coast. He warned the centurion
accordingly, of the peril to which all their lives were exposed; but the
owner and commander of the vessel, anxious to find a better place
for wintering than this, persuaded Julius to risk the passage to the
south side of the island, when they might find, in the port of Phoenix,
a more convenient winter harbor. So, after the south wind had nearly
died away, they attempted to take advantage of this apparent lull,
and work their way, close to the shore along the south side of Crete;
but presently they were caught by a tremendous Levanter, which
carried them with great velocity away to the west, to the island of
Clauda, which lies south of the west end of Crete. Here the danger
of the ship’s breaking in pieces was so great, that having with much
ado overhauled their boat, they undergirded the ship with cables, to
keep it together,――a measure not unknown in modern navigation.
Finding that they were in much danger of grounding among the
quicksands on the coast of the island, they were glad to stand out to
sea; and taking in all sail, scudded under bare poles for fourteen
days, during a great part of which time, they saw neither sun, moon
nor stars, the whole sky being constantly overcast with clouds, so
that they knew nothing of their position. The wind of course carried
them directly west, over what was then called the sea of
Adria,――not what is now called the Adriatic gulf, but that part of the
Mediterranean, which lies between Greece, Italy and Africa. In their
desperation, the passengers threw over their own baggage, to
lighten the ship; and they began to lose all hope of being saved from
shipwreck. Paul, however, encouraged them by the narration of a
dream, in which God had revealed to him that every one of them
should escape; and they still kept their hopes alive to the fourteenth
night, when the sailors, thinking that the long western course must
have brought them near Sicily, or the main-land of Italy, which lay not
far out of this direction, began to heave the lead, that they might
avoid the shore; and at the first sounding, found but twenty fathoms,
and at the next fifteen. Of course, the peril of grounding was
imminent, and they therefore cast anchor, and waited for day.
Knowing that they were now near some shore, the sailors
determined to provide for their own safety, and accordingly
undertook to let down the boat, to make their escape, and leave the
passengers to provide for themselves. But Paul represented to the
centurion the certainty of their destruction, if the ship should be left
without any seamen to manage it; and the soldiers of the prisoners’
guard, determined not to be thus deserted, though they should all
sink together, cut off the ropes by which the boat was held, and let it
fell off. All being thus inevitably committed to one doom, Paul
exhorted them to take food, and thus strengthen themselves for the
effort to reach the shore. They did so accordingly, and then, as a last
resort, flung out the wheat with which the ship was loaded, and at
day-break, when land appeared, seeing a small creek, they made an
effort to run the ship into it, weighing anchor and hoisting the
mainsail; but knowing nothing of the ground, soon struck, and the
overstrained ship was immediately broken by the waves, the bows
being fast in the sandbank, while the stern was heaved by every
surge. The soldiers, thinking first of their weighty charge, for whose
escape they were to answer with their lives, advised to kill them all,
lest they should swim ashore. But the more humane centurion
forbade it, and gave directions that every man should provide for his
own safety. They did so; and those that could not swim, clinging to
the fragments of the wreck, the whole two hundred and seventy-six
who were in the vessel, got safe to land.
 “‘When sailing was now dangerous, because the fast was already past.’ verse 9. There
is no question but that this is the great fast of expiation, Leviticus xvi. 29, the description of
which we have in Isaiah lviii. under the name of a sabbath, verse 13. The precise time of
this sabbatic fast is on the tenth day of the seventh month, Tizri, which falls on the same
time very nearly with our September, the first day of Tizri on the seventh of that, and so the
10th of Tizri on the 16th of September, that is, thirteen days before our Michaelmas. This
being premised, the apostle’s reasoning becomes clear; for it is precisely the same as
though he should have said, because it was past the twentieth (the day Scaliger sets for the
solemnization of the fast,) of September; it being observed by all sailors, that for some
weeks before and after Michaelmas, there are on the sea sudden and frequent storms,
(probably the equinoctial,) which have in modern times received the name of Michaelmas
flaws, and must of course make sailing dangerous. Hesiod himself tells us, that at the going
down of Pleiades, which was at the end of autumn, navigation was hazardous.” (Williams.)

“Undergirding the ship.’ verse 17. We learn from various passages in the Greek and
Roman writers, that the ancients had recourse to this expedient, in order to save the ship
from imminent danger; and this method has been used in modern times. The process of
undergirding a ship is thus performed:――a stout cable is slipped under the vessel at the
prow, which can be conducted to any part of the ship’s keel, and then fasten the two ends
on the deck, to keep the planks from starting. An instance of this kind is mentioned in ‘Lord
Anson’s Voyage round the World.’ Speaking of a Spanish man-of-war in a storm, the writer
says, ‘They were obliged to throw overboard all their upper-deck guns, and take six turns of
the cable round the ship, to prevent her opening.’ (p. 24, 4to. edition.) Bp. Pearce and Dr.
Clarke, on Acts xxvii. 17. Two instances of undergirding the ship are noticed in the
‘Chevalier de Johnstone’s Memoirs of the Rebellion in 1745‒6, London, 1822, 8vo. pp. 421,
454.” (Williams’s notes on Pearson, p. 85.)
 They now found that they had struck on the island of Melita, (now
Malta,) which lies just south of Sicily, in the direct track in which the
eastern gale must have blown them. The uncivilized inhabitants of
this desolate spot received the shipwrecked voyagers with the
kindest attention, and very considerately kindled a fire, to warm and
dry them, after their long soaking in cold water. The dripping apostle
took hold with the rest to make the fire blaze up, and gathered a
bundle of dry sticks, for the purpose; but with them he unconsciously
gathered a viper, which was sheltering itself among them from the
cold, and roused by the heat of the fire, now crept out upon his hand.
He, of course, as any other man would, gave a jerk, and shook it off,
as soon as he saw it,――a very natural occurrence; but the
superstitious barbarians thought this a perfect miracle, as they had
before foolishly considered it a token of divine wrath; and having
looked on him as an object of horror, and a wicked criminal, they
now, with equal sense, adored him as a God.

Another incident of more truly miraculous character, occurred to

Paul soon after, in the part of the island on which they were wrecked,
which had the effect of gaining him a much more solid fame. The
father of Publius, the Roman officer who governed the island, as the
deputy of the praetor of Sicily, was at that time very sick of the
dysentery; and Paul, going to see him, laid his hands on him and
prayed,――thus effecting a complete recovery. This being known,
other diseased persons were presented as the subjects of Paul’s
miraculous powers, and the same cures following his words, he with
his associates soon became the objects of a far more rational
reverence than had been excited by the deliverance from the viper.
The reverence too, was extended beyond mere empty honor. The
shipwrecked apostolic company having lost all their baggage and
provisions, were abundantly provided with everything that they
needed, by the grateful contributions of the islanders;――and when,
after a stay of three months, Paul and his companions departed,
they were loaded with things necessary for the voyage.
 PUTEOLI. Acts xxviii. 13, 14.

Sailing, on the return of spring, in another Alexandrine vessel, of

the same very common name borne by that in which they were
shipwrecked, they came next to Syracuse, on the east side of the
island of Sicily, and after a stay of three days, turned through the
Sicilian strait to Rhegium, on the main-land directly opposite the
island. There Paul first saw the soil of Italy, but did not leave the
vessel for his land journey, till they came, with a fresh south wind, to
Puteoli, a port in the bay of Naples. Here they found Christians, who
invited them to rest among them for a week; after which they
journeyed along the coast, on the noble road of Pozzuoli and Baiae,
for about a hundred miles, to Appius’s Forum, a village about
eighteen miles from Rome. At this place, they were met by a number
of brethren from the church of Rome; and having journeyed along
the Appian way, to the Three Taverns,――a little stopping place a
few miles from the city,――they were received by still another
deputation of Roman Christians, come out to greet the great apostle,
whose name had long been known among them, and whose
counsels and revelations they had already enjoyed by his writings.
This noble testimony of the esteem in which they held him, was a
most joyful assurance to Paul, that, even on this foreign shore, a
stranger and a prisoner, he had many near and dear friends; and his
noble spirit, before probably depressed and melancholy, in the dark
prospect of his approach to the awful seat of that remorseless
imperial power that was to decide his doom, now rose to feelings of
exultation and gratitude. Entering the vast imperial city, the prisoners
were remanded by the centurion to the custody of Burrhus, the noble
and influential praefect of the praetorian guard, who was, ex-officio,
the keeper of all prisoners of state, brought from the provinces to
Rome. Burrhus however, was as kind and accommodating to Paul as
Julius had been, and allowed him to live by himself in a private
house, with only a soldier as an attendant guard.

After three days, Paul invited to his lodgings the chief men of the
Jewish faith, in Rome, and made known to them the circumstances
under which he had been sent thither, and his present relations to
the heads of their religion in Jerusalem. In reply, they merely stated
that they had received no formal communications respecting him,
from Jerusalem, nor had those of their brethren who had arrived
from Judea spoken ill of him. They expressed also a great desire to
hear from him the peculiar doctrine, for entertaining which he had
been thus denounced, of which they professed to know nothing, but
that there was a universal prejudice against it. A day was accordingly
appointed for a full conference on these very important
subjects,――and at the set time, Paul, with no small willingness,
discoursed at great length on his views of the accomplishment of all
the ancient prophecies respecting the Messiah, in the life and death
of Jesus of Nazareth. His hearers were very much divided in opinion
about these points, after his discourse was over,――some believing
and some disbelieving. Leaving them to meditate on what he had
said, Paul dismissed them with a warning quotation from Isaiah,
against their prejudices, and sternly reminded them, that though they
did reject the truth, the waiting Gentiles were prepared to embrace it,
and should receive the word of God immediately. They then left him,
and made his words a subject of much discussion among
themselves; but the results are unrecorded. Paul having hired a
house in Rome, made that city the scene of his active labors for two
whole years, receiving all that called to inquire into religious truth,
and proclaiming the doctrines of Christianity with the most
unhesitating boldness and freedom; and no man in Rome could
molest him in making known his belief to as many as chose to hear
him; for it was not till many years after, that the Christians were
denounced and persecuted by Nero.

his epistles written from rome.

With these facts the noble narrative of Luke ceases entirely, and
henceforth no means are left of ascertaining the events of Paul’s life,
except in those incidental allusions which his subsequent writings
make to his circumstances. Those epistles which are certainly known
and universally agreed to have been written from Rome during this
imprisonment, are those to the Philippians, the Ephesians, the
Colossians, and to Philemon. There are passages in all these which
imply that he was then near the close of his imprisonment, for he
speaks with great confidence of being able to visit them shortly, and
very particularly requests preparation to be made for his
accommodation on his arrival.

There is good reason to think that the epistles to the Ephesians, to

the Colossians, and to Philemon, were written about the same time
and were sent together. This appears from the fact, that Tychicus is
spoken of in both the two former, as sent by the apostle, to make
known to them all his circumstances more fully, and is also implied
as the bearer of both, while Onesimus, the bearer of the latter, is
also mentioned in the epistle to the Colossians as accompanying
Tychicus.

the epistle to the ephesians.

The most important question which has been raised concerning

this epistle, regards the point, whether it was truly directed and sent
by Paul, to the church in Ephesus, as the common reading distinctly
specifies. Many eminent modern critics have maintained that it was
originally sent to the church in Laodicea, and that the word Ephesus,
in the direction and in the first verse, is a change made in later times,
by those who felt interested to claim for this city the honor of an
apostolic epistle. Others incline to the opinion, that it was directed to
no particular church, but was sent as a circular to several churches
in Asia Minor, among which were those of Ephesus and Laodicea,
and that several copies were sent at the same time, each copy being
differently directed. They suppose that when the epistles of Paul
were first collected, that copy which was sent to Ephesus was the
one adopted for this, and that the original manuscript being soon
lost, all written trace of its original general direction disappeared
also.

The prominent reason for this remarkable supposition,

unsupported as it is by the authority of any ancient manuscript, is
that Paul writes apparently with no local reference whatever to the
circumstances of the Ephesians, among whom he had lived for three
years, although his other epistles to places which he had visited are
so full of personal and local matters; and that he speaks on the
contrary as though he knew little of them except by hearsay. A
reference to the particular details of the reasoning by which this
opinion is supported, would altogether transcend the proper limits of
this work; since even a summary of them fills a great many pages of
those critical and exegetical works, to which these discussions
properly belong; and all which can be stated here is the general
result, that a great weight of authority favors the view that this was
probably a circular epistle; but the whole argument in favor of either
notion, rests on so slight a foundation, that it is not worth while to
disturb the common impression for it.

The epistle certainly does not seem to dwell on any local

difficulties, but enlarges eloquently upon general topics, showing the
holy watchfulness of the apostle over the faith of his readers. He
appears, nevertheless, to emphasize with remarkable force, the
doctrines that Christ alone was the source and means of salvation,
“the chief corner-stone,” and that in him all are united, both Jews and
Gentiles, in one holy temple. There is something in many such
passages, with which the epistle abounds, that seems peculiarly well
fitted to the circumstances of mixed communities, made up of Jews
and Gentiles, and as if the apostle wished to prevent the former from
creating any distinctions in the church, in their own favor. Many
passages in this epistle also, are very pointedly opposed to those
heresies, which about that period were beginning to rise up in those
regions, and were afterwards famous under the name of the
Gnosis,――the first distinct sect that is known to have perverted the
purity of Christian truth. Paul here aims with remarkable energy, to
prove that salvation was to be attributed to Christ alone, and not to
the intervention of any other superior beings, by whatever names
they are called, whether principalities, or powers, or might or
dominion, both in this world and the world to come,――in heavenly
places as well as earthly. The apostle also is very full in the moral
and practical part,――urging with great particularity the observance
of those virtues which are the essentials of the Christian character,
and specifying to each particular age, sex, rank and condition, its
own peculiar duties.

the epistle to the colossians.

In the first verse of the second chapter, the apostle expresses a

peculiar anxiety for the spiritual safety of those Christians who have
not seen his face in the flesh, among whom he appears to number
the Colossians and Laodiceans. It seems quite evident that he had
never been at Colosse; for though he traversed Phrygia, on two
several occasions before this time, he is not said to have visited
either Colosse or Laodicea;――but his route is so described, as to
make it almost impossible for him to have taken either city directly in
his way. This circumstance may account for the fact of his
distinguishing in this manner a single city like Colosse, of no great
size or importance; because as it appears from the general tenor of
the epistle, certain peculiar errors had arisen among them, which
were probably more dangerously rife, from the circumstance of their
never having been blessed by the personal presence and labors of
an apostle. The errors which he particularly attacks, seem to be
those of the Judaizers, who were constantly insisting on the
necessity of Mosaical observances, such as circumcision, sabbaths,
abstinence from unclean meats, and other things of the same sort.
He cautions them particularly against certain false doctrines, also
referred to under the names of philosophy, vain deceit, the traditions
of men, &c. which are commonly thought to refer to the errors of the
Essenes, a Jewish sect characterised by Josephus in terms
somewhat similar, and who are supposed to have introduced their
ascetic and mystical doctrines into the Christian church, and to have
formed one of the sources of the great system of Gnosticism, as
afterwards perfected. The moral part of this epistle bears a very
striking similarity, even in words, to the conclusion of that to the
Ephesians,――a resemblance probably attributable in part, to the
circumstance, that they were written about the same time. The
circumstance that he has mentioned to the Colossians an epistle to
be sent for by them from Laodicea, has given rise to a forged
production, purporting to be this very epistle from Paul to the
Laodiceans; but it is manifestly a mere brief rhapsody, collected from
Paul’s other epistles, and has never for a moment imposed upon the
critical. It has been supposed that the true epistle meant by Paul, is
another, now lost, written by Paul to Laodicea; and the supposition is
not unreasonable.

the epistle to philemon.

This was merely a private letter from Paul to a person otherwise

not known, but appearing, from the terms in which he is herein
mentioned, to have been at some time or other associated with Paul
in the gospel work; since he styles him “fellow-laborer.” He appears
to have been a man of some property and generosity, because he
had a house spacious enough to hold a worshiping assembly, who
were freely accommodated by him; and he is likewise mentioned as
hospitably entertaining traveling Christians. The possession of some
wealth is also implied in the circumstance which is the occasion of
this epistle. Like almost all Christians of that age who were able to
do so, he owned at least one slave, by name Onesimus, who had
run away from him to Rome, and there falling under the notice of
Paul, was made the subject of his personal attentions, and was at
last converted by him to the Christian faith. Paul now sends him back
to his old master, with this letter, in which he narrates the
circumstances connected with the flight and conversion of
Onesimus, and then with great earnestness, yet with mildness,
entreats Philemon to receive him now, not as a slave, but as a
brother,――to forgive him his offenses, and restore him to favor.
Paul himself offers to become personally responsible for all
pecuniary loss experienced by Philemon in consequence of the
absence of his servant in Rome, where he had been ministering to
Paul; and the apostle gives ♦ his own note of hand for any
reasonable amount which Philemon may choose to claim.
Throughout the whole, he speaks in great confidence of the ready
compliance of Philemon with these requests, and evidently considers
him a most intimate friend, loving and beloved. He also speaks with
great confidence of his own speedy release from his bonds, and
begs Philemon to prepare him a lodging; for he trusts that through
his prayers, he shall shortly be given to him.

♦ duplicate word “his” removed

the epistle to the philippians.

That this was written after the others that were sent from Rome by
Paul during this imprisonment, is proved by several circumstances.
Luke was certainly with him when he wrote to the Colossians and to
Philemon; but no mention whatever is made of him in the epistle to
the Philippians, who would, nevertheless, feel as much interest in
him as in Timothy or any companion of Paul; because he had
resided in Philippi many years, and must have had many
acquaintances there, who would expect some account of him, and
some salutation from him. Paul, moreover, says, that he trusts to
send Timothy shortly to them, because he has no man with him who
is like minded, or who will care for their state;――a remark which, if
Luke had been with him, he could not have made with any justice to
that faithful and diligent associate, who was himself a personal
acquaintance of the Philippians. There were some circumstances
connected with the situation of Paul, as referred to in this epistle,
which seem to imply a different date from those epistles just
mentioned. His condition seems improved in many respects,
although before not uncomfortable, and his expectations of release
still more confident, though before so strong. He speaks also of a
new and remarkable field in which his preaching had been
successful, and that is, the palace of the imperial Caesar himself,
among whose household attendants were many now numbered
among the saints who sent salutations to Philippi. The terms in which
he mentions his approaching release, are still more remarkable than
those in the former epistles. He says――“Having this confidence, I
know that I shall abide and continue with you all,” &c. “that your
rejoicing may be more abundant, by my coming to you again.” “I trust
in the Lord that I shall myself also come shortly.”

The immediate occasion of this epistle was the return of

Epaphroditus, the apostle or messenger of the Philippian church, by
whom Paul now wrote this, as a grateful acknowledgment of their
generosity in contributing to his support that money, of which
Epaphroditus was the bearer. In the epistle, he also took occasion,
after giving them an account of his life in Rome, to warn them
against the errors of the Judaizers, whose doctrines were the
occasion of so much difficulty in the Christian churches.

the epistle to the hebrews.

The release which Paul so confidently anticipated, probably

happened shortly after the writing of the last epistle, and at this time,
just before leaving Italy for another field of labor, it is commonly
believed that he wrote his epistle to the Hebrews. Of the particular
place, the time, the immediate object, and the persons who were the
receivers of this epistle, nothing is with any certainty known; and the
whole range of statements in standard works of exegetical and
critical theology, on this writing, is the most appalling mass of vague
speculations, unfounded conclusions and contradictory assertions,
that presents itself to the historian of the apostolic works in any
direction; and in respect to all these points, referring the critical to
any or all of the thousand and one views, given in the learned and
elaborate introductions and commentaries, which alone can with any
justice so much as open the subject, the author excuses himself
entirely from any discussion of this endless question, in the words
used on one of these points, by one of the most learned, acute,
ingenious and cautious critics of modern times. “Any thing further on
this subject I am unable to determine, and candidly confess my
ignorance as to the place where the epistle to the Hebrews was
written. Nor do I envy any man who pretends to know more on this
subject, unless he has discovered sources of intelligence, which
have hitherto remained unknown. It is better to leave a question in a
state of uncertainty, than, without foundation, to adopt an opinion
which may lead to material errors.”

voyage to the east.

On leaving Italy after this release, he seems to have directed his

course eastward; but nothing whatever is known of his motions,
except that from the epistle of Titus it is learned that he journeyed to
Miletus, to Ephesus, to Troas, to Macedonia, to Crete and to
Epirus,――and last of all, probably, to Rome. His first movements on
his release were, doubtless, in conformity with his previous designs,
as expressed in his epistles. He probably went first to Asia, visiting
Ephesus, Miletus, Colosse, &c. On this voyage he might have left
Titus in Crete, (as specified in his letter to that minister,) and on
embarking for Macedonia, left Timothy at Ephesus, (as mentioned in
the first epistle to him.) After visiting Philippi and other places in
Macedonia, where he wrote to Timothy, he seems to have crossed
over the country to the shore of the Ionian sea, to Nicopolis, whence
he wrote to Titus, to come from Crete, and join him there. These two
epistles, being of a merely personal character, containing
instructions for the exercise of the apostolic functions of ordination,
&c. in the absence of Paul, can not need any particular historical
notice, being so simple in their object that they sufficiently explain
themselves. Respecting that to Timothy, however, it may be specified
that some of its peculiar expressions seem to be aimed at the rising
heresy of the Jewish and Oriental mystics, who were then infecting
the eastern churches with the first beginnings of that heresy which,
under the name of the Gnosis, or science, (falsely so called,) soon
after corrupted with its dogmas, a vast number in Asia Minor, Greece
and Syria. The style and tenor of both of the epistles are so different
from all Paul’s other writings, as to make it very evident that they
were written at a different time, and under very different
circumstances from the rest.

return to rome.

The only real evidence of this movement of Paul is found in the

tenor of certain passages in the second epistle to Timothy, which
seem to show that it was written during the author’s imprisonment in
Rome, but which cannot be connected with his former confinement
there. In the former epistles written from Rome, Timothy was with
Paul;――but this of course implies that he was absent. In them,
Demas is declared to be with Paul;――in this he is mentioned as
having forsaken him, and gone to Thessalonica. In the first epistle to
Timothy, Mark was also with Paul, and joined in saluting the
Colossians; in this, Timothy is instructed to bring him to Paul,
because he is profitable to him in the ministry. In the fourth chapter,
Paul says that “Erastus abode at Corinth;”――an expression which
implies that Erastus abode in Corinth when Paul left it. But Paul took
no journey from Corinth before his first imprisonment; for when he
left that place for the last time before his journey to
Jerusalem,――when he was seized and sent to Rome,――he was
accompanied by Timothy; and there could therefore be no need of
informing him of that fact. In the same passage of this epistle he also
says, that he had left Trophimus sick at Miletus; but when Paul
passed through Miletus, on that journey to Jerusalem, Trophimus
certainly was not left behind at Miletus, but accompanied him to
Jerusalem; for he was seen there with him by the Asian Jews. These
two passages therefore, refer to a journey taken subsequent to
Paul’s first imprisonment,――and the epistle which refers to them,
and purports in other passages to have been written during an
imprisonment in Rome, shows that he returned thither after his first
imprisonment.

The most striking passage in this epistle also refers with great
distinctness to his expectation of being very speedily removed from
apostolic labors to an eternal apostolic reward. “I am now ready to
be offered, and the time of my departure is at hand. I have fought the
good fight; I have finished my course; I have kept the faith:
henceforth, there is laid up for me a crown of life, which the Lord, the
righteous judge, shall give me at that day.” All these expressions are
utterly at variance with those hopes of release and of the speedy
renewal of his labors in an eastern field; and show very plainly that
all the tasks to which he once looked forward were now completed,
and that he could hope for no deliverance, but that which should call
him from chains and toils to an eternal crown.

his death.

The circumstance of his being again in Rome a prisoner, after

having been once set free by the mandate of the emperor himself,
after a full hearing, must at once require a reference to a state of
things, in which Paul’s religious profession and evangelizing labors,
before esteemed so blameless that no man in Rome forbade him to
preach the gospel there,――had now, by a mighty revolution in
opinions, become a crime, since for these, he was now held in
bondage, without the possibility of escape from the threatened
death. Such a change actually did occur in the latter part of the reign
of Nero, when, as already related in the history of Peter’s first epistle,
the whole power of the imperial government was turned against the
Christians, as a sect, and they were convicted on that accusation
alone, as deserving of death. The date of this revolution in the
condition of the Christians, is fixed by Roman history in the sixty-
fourth year of Christ; and the time when Paul was cast into chains
the second time, must therefore be referred to this year. His actual
death evidently did not take place at once, but was deferred long
enough to allow of his writing to Timothy, and for him to make some
arrangements therein, for a short continuance of his labors. The date
which is commonly fixed as the time of his execution, is in the year of
Christ 65; but in truth, nothing whatever is known about it, nor can
even a probability be confidently affirmed on the subject. Being a
Roman citizen, he could not die by a mode so infamous as that of
the cross, but was beheaded, as a more honorable exit; and with this
view, the testimony of most of the early Fathers, who particularize his
death, distinctly accords.

Of the various fictions which the monkish story-tellers have invented to gratify the
curiosity which Christian readers feel about other particulars of the apostle’s character, the
following is an amusing specimen. “Paul, if we may believe Nicephorus, was of a low and
small stature, somewhat stooping; his complexion fair; his countenance grave; his head
small; his eyes sparkling; his nose high and bending; and his hair thick and dark, but mixed
with gray. His constitution was weak, and often subject to distempers; but his mind was
strong, and endued with a solid judgment, quick invention, and prompt memory, which were
all improved by art, and the advantages of a liberal education. Besides the epistles which
are owned to be genuine, several other writings are falsely ascribed to him: as an epistle to
the Laodiceans, a third to the Thessalonians, a third to the Corinthians, a second to the
Ephesians, his letter to Seneca, his Acts, his Revelation, his voyage to Thecla, and his
Sermons.” (Cave’s Lives of the Apostles.)

But the honors and saintship of Paul are recorded, not in the
vague and misty traces of bloody martyr-death, but in the far more
glorious achievements of a heroic life. In these, are contained the
essence of his greatness; to these, all the Gentile world owes its
salvation; and on these, the modern historian, following the model of
the sacred writers, dwells with far more minuteness and particularity,
than on a dull mass of uncertain tradition.
 JOSEPH BARNABAS.
Of this apostle, so few circumstances are known, that are not
inseparably connected with the life of Paul, in which they have been
already recorded, that only a very brief space can be occupied with
the events of his distinct life. The first passage in which he is
mentioned, is that in the fourth chapter of Acts, where he is specified
as having distinguished himself among those who sold their lands,
for the sake of appropriating the avails to the support of the Christian
community. Introduced to the notice of the reader under these most
honorable circumstances, he is there described as of the tribe of
Levi, and yet a resident in the island of Cyprus, where he seems to
have held the land which he sacrificed to the purposes of religious
charity. This island was for a long time, before and after that period,
inhabited by great numbers of wealthy Jews, and there was hardly
any part of the world, where they were so powerful and so favored,
as in Cyprus; so that even the sacred order of the Levites might well
find inducements to leave that consecrated soil to which they were
more especially attached by the peculiar ordinances of the Mosaic
institutions, and seek on this beautiful and fertile island, a new home,
and a new seat for the faith of their fathers. The occasion on which
Joseph (for that was his original name) left Cyprus to visit Jerusalem,
is not known; nor can it even be determined whether he was ever
himself a personal hearer of Jesus. He may very possibly have been
one of the foreign Jews present at the Pentecost, and may there
have been first converted to the Christian faith. On his distinguishing
himself among his new brethren, both by good words and generous
deeds, he was honored by the apostles with the name of Barnabas,
which is interpreted in Greek by words that may mean either “son of
consolation,” or “son of exhortation.” The former sense, of course,
would aptly refer to his generosity in comforting the poor apostolic
community, by his pecuniary contributions, as just before mentioned;
and this has induced many to prefer that meaning; but the majority of
critical translators and commentators have been led, on a careful
investigation both of the original Hebrew word and of the Greek
translation of it, to prefer the meaning of “son of exhortation” or
“instruction,” a meaning which certainly well accords with the
subsequent distinction attained by him in his apostolic labors. Both
senses may, however, have been referred to, with an intentional
equivoque.

“Acts, chapter iv. verse 37. ὑπάρχοντος αὐτῳ ἀγροῦ He could not have sold that which was
his paternal inheritance as a Levite; but this might perhaps be some legacy, or purchase of
land in Judea, to which he might have a title till the next jubilee, or perhaps some land in
Cyprus. (Doddridge.) That it was lawful for the Levites to buy land, we learn from the
example of Jeremiah himself, who was of the tribe of Levi. See Jeremiah xxxii. 17. It is
observed by Bp. Pearce, that those commentators who contend that this land must have
belonged to his wife, because, according to the law mentioned in Numbers xviii. 20, 23 and
24, a Levite could have no inheritance in Israel, seem to have mistaken the sense of that
law, ‘which,’ says he, ‘means only that the Levites, as a tribe, were not to have a share in
the division of Canaan among the other tribes. This did not hinder any Levite from
possessing lands in Judea, either by purchase or by gift, as well as in right of his wife.
Josephus was a Levite, and a priest too; and yet in his Life, chapter 76, he speaks of lands
which he had lying about Jerusalem, and in exchange of which, Vespasian gave him others,
for his greater benefit and advantage. After all, I see no reason why we may not suppose
that this land, which Barnabas had and sold, was not land in Judea; and if so, the words of
the law, “no inheritance in Israel,” did not, however understood, affect their case. His land
might have been in his own country, Cyprus, an island of no great distance from Judea; and
he might have sold it at Jerusalem to some purchaser there; perhaps to one of his own
countrymen.’” (Bloomfield’s Annotations, Vol. IV. pp. 147, 148.)

In all the other passages of the New Testament in which he is

mentioned, he is associated with Paul, and every recorded act of his
life has been already given in the life of his great associate. His first
acquaintance with him on his return to Jerusalem after his
conversion,――his mission to Antioch and labors there in
conjunction with Paul, when he had brought him from
Tarsus,――their visit to Jerusalem,――their return to
Antioch,――their first great mission through Asia Minor――their visit
to Jerusalem at the council, and their joint report,――their second
return to Antioch,――their proposed association in a new
mission,――their quarrel and separation,――have all been fully