the fire which reduced that temple to ruins. Pausanias, after mentioning that all the men found in Corinth were massacred, and the women and children sold as slaves, informs us that many valuable statues and paintings were removed to Rome; and Strabo says that the finest works which adorned that great capital in his time came from Corinth. At the sacking of the city, the celebrated metallic mixture was found which could never afterwards be imitated. The gold, silver, and brass, concealed by the Corinthians, were melted, and ran through the streets in burning streams, and when the flames were extinguished, a new metal was formed composed of several different ones fused by the conflagration, subsequently called Es Corinthium, or Corinthian brass. This is the common account, but its authenticity is denied by some writers. M. Klaproth maintains, on the authority of Pliny, that it was merely a term of art, and applied to a metallic mixture in very high estimation amongst the Romans, nearly resembling aurichalcum, which was composed of either copper and zinc, or of copper, tin, and lead, rendered malleable by means of calamine.

After this destruction of Corinth by the Romans, the city remained for many years deserted and in ruins until Julius Cæsar, one hundred and two years afterwards, settled on or near the site of the old city a Roman colony, by means of which it was again renewed from its state of desolation. When St Paul preached the gospel in it for nearly one year and a half, it had become a large and populous place, and was regarded as the capital of Achaia. It was visited by Pausanias two hundred and seventeen years after its restoration, when it was adorned by public buildings, and enriched with numerous works of art; and even in the time of Hierocles it was considered the metropolis of Greece. It was provided with various ornamental fountains, one of which issued from a dolphin surmounted by a brazen statue of Neptune, and another from the hoof of a Pegasus on whom

Bellerophon was mounted. On the way from the market-place towards the seaport of Lechæum was a gate surmounted by Phaton and the Sun in gilded chariots, and on the way to the citadel of Acro-Corinth were various temples, statues, and altars. Lechæum contained a temple and statue of Neptune, and the other sea-port of Cenchreæ also possessed various temples, while on the road to it from the city were groves of cypress trees, monuments, and sepulchres. Pausanias tells us that those two ports received their names from Leches and Cenchrias, the reputed sons of the mythological Neptune. On the road from the isthmus to the latter port there was a temple of Diana, containing an ancient statue of wood, and on the projection of the port were temples of Esculapius and Isis. The Bath of Helen consisted of salt water, which flowed plentifully from a rock into the sea, and is still as tepid as it was in the time of Pausanias.

The account given by that historian of this celebrated city unfolds to us a degree of splendour almost incredible in that early age. In the street called the Agora, he informs us, were a Diana Ephesia; two wooden statues of Bacchus, the one designated Lysius, the other Bacchius; a temple of Fortune with an upright statue of Parian marble; a temple sacred to all the gods; a statue of Venus; two brazen statues of Hermes, the one in a temple, the other in the open air; three statues of Jupiter, also in the open air, and a Minerva of brass, on the bases of which were figures of the Muses in relief. Above the Agora stood a temple sacred to Octavia, the sister of Augustus. On the right of the road leading to Lechæum stood a brazen Hercules, near which was the entrance to the fountain Peirene, the sources of which were adorned with white marble, and its excellent water flowed from some apartments resembling caverns in an open receptacle. Here there was also a statue of Apollo, in an inclosure which contained a picture of Ulysses punishing the suitors of Penelope. In this street there occurred a scated Hermes

in brass, with a ram standing beside him, to indicate that Hermes was the deity which presided over flocks, and not far from it were statues of Neptune, Leucothea, and Palamon. Near the statue of Neptune were baths constructed by Eurycles the Spartan, who governed Laconia under Augustus, which were reckoned the most sumptuous in Corinth. On the left of the entrance stood a statue of Neptune, and near it one of Diana, represented as engaged in the chace. Beyond the latter was the remarkable fountain already mentioned, the water flowing through the hoof of the horse Pegasus, mounted with a brazen statue of Bellerophon, the fabled son of Glaucus, king of Ephyre, the ancient name of Corinth. On the right of the street leading from the Agora to Sicyon stood a temple of Apollo, containing a brazen statue; a little farther was the Fountain of Glaucus. Above it was the Odeium, and near it the monuments of Mermerus and Pheres, sons of Media, above which stood a statue of Terror represented as a female. Not far from this was the temple of Minerva Chalinitis, so called because Minerva presented Bellerophon with the horse Pegasus, which she broke in herself, and put the bridle upon him; the statue was made of wood, with the face, hands, and feet of white marble. Near this was the Theatre, which contained a naked Hercules of wood, the alleged work of Dædalus. Above the Theatre stood the temple of Jupiter surnamed Capitolius, and not far from it was the Gymnasium. Here was the source of the water called Lerna, surrounded with columns and seats, furnishing a cool retreat in the heat of summer, and containing temples of Jupiter and Esculapius, the former having a brazen statue of the deity, the latter one of Esculapius and Hygeia in white marble. Corinth also contained altars of the Sun, and a sanctuary of Necessity and Force, into which it was unlawful to enter; temples sacred to the Fates, to Ceres, to Proserpine, to Jupiter Bunæa, so called from its reputed founder Bunas, son of Mercury; and to

VOL. I.

the Mother of the Gods, containing a pillar and a throne made of stone. On the summit of the Acro-Corinthus there was a temple of Venus, containing statues of the goddess in armour, of the Sun, and of Love bearing a bow. Such was Roman Corinth, of which the remains still exist, and also a few ruins of some of the principal temples of the ancient city. The walls of Corinth were celebrated for their height and strength, and inclosed a larger space than those of any city in Greece.

This celebrated city suffered the same calamity as its predecessor of Grecian workmanship from a conqueror more savage than the Roman consul Mummius, namely, Alaric, the destroyer of Athens and of Greece. From its situation it continued a place of importance in the Peloponnesus, and in a later age the Venetians received it from a Greek Emperor. It was taken from them by Mohammed II. in 1458, but they recovered it in 1687, and refortified the AcroCorinthus. The Turks again took it in 1715, and retained it until the Revolution of the Greeks, which terminated in the erection of the independent kingdom of Greece under Otho of Bavaria, its first king. During the Revolution it was the seat of the soi-disant Greek government.

The present state of Corinth exhibits a melancholy contrast to the splendour of its early annals. Some years ago it contained four or five mosques within its castle, and five or six small churches, which were mostly ruined. The cathedral of the bishop, dedicated to St Nicolas, is described as a very mean place for such an ecclesiastical dignity; but it contained two old manuscripts of the Scriptures, divided according to the usual readings of the Greek Church, and two liturgies of St Basil, written upon long scrolls of parchment rolled upon wooden cylinders. Very little change has occurred in the appearance of Corinth since Sir George Wheler's visit; and when Spon investigated the place, he found the families of both Christians and Turks keeping the best part of their moveables in the Castle

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"to which they were in the habit of retiring for security, whenever the corsairs, to whose robberies the coasts of Greece were then much exposed, excited any alarm below." Sir George Wheler reckoned the population about fifteen hundred in his time, half of whom were Turks, and it appears to be the same at present. Under the Turks the householders paid from eighty to six hundred piastres a-year as an acquittance of all taxes. Corinth was, however, taken and retaken so many times during the.Greek Revolution, that its population was for some years fluctuating; and Dr Lieber found it in 1821 with scarcely any inhabitants but soldiers. Mr Turner, who was at Corinth in 1812, says that it contains within its walls no remains of antiquity, except some small masses of ruined buildings and columns." My host told me," he says, "that Corinth now contains about 1300 houses, of which, including those within the Castle, which are wretched huts, three hundred are Turkish. The houses are very much scattered, and corn grows on the spaces between them. It contains six Greek churches, and three mosques." Major Keppel, who was at Corinth in 1829, says, "The town of Corinth is one heap of ruins; a few newly built huts are the only habitations now standing. Bones of men and horses lay scattered amongst the rubbish of fallen houses, and attest the last bloody massacre which visited this once prosperous town. There were five hundred troops in the Acropolis, mean, dirty looking lads, and wretchedly clothed." Colonel Leake describes Corinth as being an unhealthy place. "A "A large proportion of the inhabitants," he says, "now reside in the lower town, and a smaller in the castle; and there are few Turks.

The modern town, like the ancient, is situated on the intermediate level which lies between the foot of the AcroCorinthus and the range of cliffs. It occupies a large space of ground, being divided into several separate portions, with intervals of vineyards and corn land; and many of the houses are now

surrounded with gardens of orange, fig, almond, and other fruit trees, mixed with cypresses. It is extremely difficult to account for the great unhealthiness of Corinth in the summer and autumn, as the situation seems such as to expose it to the most complete ventilation. The dews are said to be particularly heavy. Like many of the other celebrated cities of Greece, Corinth retains its ancient name, and in common with its neighbours, Megara, Ægina, and Argos, retains it without any alteration, although some travellers, perhaps, have left it with a different impression. Korinthos in writing becomes Gortho in the vulgar tongue; the Turks call it Giurthos. It is the chief town of a Kazà, which is sixty miles in length." Its harbours are mere morasses, and corrupt the air of the place.

The Epistles to the Corinthians are addressed by St Paul to the Gentile and Jewish converts of that city, the first of which was written at Ephesus in A.D. 56, according to Lardner's computation of the travels of that Apostle, and in A.D. 57, according to Pearson, in the third year of the Emperor Nero's reign. It has been already observed that St Paul resided about eighteen months at Corinth during his first journey on the continent of Europe, and founded the church in that city. The immediate occasion of its being written was to answer some questions which the Corinthians had proposed in a letter to St Paul, but before he enters on those subjects he takes notice of the abuses and disorders which then prevailed in the Corinthian church, of which he had received private information, 1 Cor. i. 11, 12, v. 1, and the parties and factions into which they had become divided, all of which he discusses in the first four chapters. Titus was the bearer of the Epistle to Corinth, who was directed to bring an account of the manner in which it had been received. The next topic on which he enters is the case of a notorious offender who had married his father's wife while his father was still living, 1 Cor. v. 1, 2 Cor. vii. 12, whom he

which induced the Greeks to submit to the labour of contending at the public games. He then resumes the argument against partaking of things offered in the heathen temples, and particularly cautions the Corinthians against every advance towards idolatry. He settles the point that women should not pray in public unvailed; he next considers various irregularities connected with public worship, guards them against abuses in the administration of the holy eucharist, in which he gives an account of its institution, discourses on the exercise of spiritual gifts, and explains the nature and extent of Christian charity. As some of the Corinthians doubted, and others denied, the resurrection of the dead, the Apostle decides this great and peculiar article of the Christian faith in his usual masterly and conclusive manner. The last chapter contains an exhortation to the rich Christians of Corinth to contribute towards a collection that was making for their poor brethren in Judea; he promises them a speedy visit, and in the meanwhile he recommends to them Timothy and other persons, and concludes with various friendly admonitions and salutations.

From this summary we can ascertain with tolerable accuracy the internal state of the Corinthian Church. When St Paul had been at Corinth in A.D. 53 or 54, he had observed the obstinacy and opposition of the Jews in particular towards the doctrines of the gospel, and he had little doubt as to the real originators and leaders of the factions in the church. Titus we have said was the bearer of the First Epistle to the Corinthians. During the absence of Titus, the tumult excited by Demetrius the silversmith at Ephesus, where the Epistle was written, occurred; and the Apostle, leaving that city, went to Troas, and thence into Macedonia, where he met Titus on his return from Corinth. From him St Paul learnt that the Epistle had been well received by the Corinthian church; that the greater part of them had expressed much contrition for their past behaviour; that they

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Such was the report of Titus to the Apostle, which on the whole was cheering and satisfactory; but, as it was his duty not to be content with the reformation he had already effected, and finding that his former Epistle had produced beneficial results among them, it appeared to him that they required farther advice and instruction, especially as attempts were still making to pervert their faith. The Second Epistle to the Corinthians was accordingly written from Philippi in Macedonia within a year after the First, and Titus, who was returning to Corinth in company with some persons to forward the collection for the poor Christians of Judea, was entrusted with it also. Paul, says Bishop Tomline, writes in his own name, and in that of Timothy, who was now with him in Macedonia, and he addresses not only the Christians of Corinth, but of all Achaia. He begins with speaking of the consolations he had experienced under his sufferings, and of the sincerity and zeal with which he had preached the gospel. preached the gospel. He explains the reason of his not having performed his promise of visiting them, and assures them that the delay proceeded not from levity or fickleness, as perhaps his enemies had represented, but from tenderness towards the converts at Corinth, that there might be no occasion of treating them with severity when he saw them. case of the incestuous person is noticed, who, on account of his repentance, is ordered to be forgiven, and to be restored to the communion of the church. He mentions the success with which he had preached-the importance of the minis

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