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parish churches, as founded before the Reformation, are dedicated to those two apostles in conjunction, and the wake, or feast, is accordingly celebrated on the Sunday next that day. But this is not the case with us protestants, for in our calendars St. Peter stands alone on June 29, and the collect, the epistle, and gospel, relate solely to him; and so this feast is understood by Bishop Sparrow, Mr. Wheatley and the other rationalists, as likewise by Mr. Nelson, in that excellent work of his, "The Companion for the Festivals and Fasts;" insomuch that we protestants commemorate only one festival in honour of St. Paul, to wit, his conversion, and even this was not admitted into the table of holydays at its first compiling, the reason of which may be seen in Mr. Wheatley*.

Now the history of the miraculous conversion of this apostle is related in the ix. xxii. and xxvi. chapters of the Acts, in the first of which places the account is, "And Saul yet breathing out threatnings and slaughter against the disciples of the Lord, went unto the High Priest and desired of him letters to Damascus to the synagogues, that if he found any of this way, whether they were men or women, he might bring them bound unto Jerusalem. And as he journeyed he came near Damascus, and suddenly there shined round about him a light from heaven, and he fell to the earth, and heard a voice saying unto him, Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou me? And he said, who art thou, Lord? And the Lord said, I am Jesus, whom thou persecutest: it is hard for thee to kick against the pricks. And he trembling and astonished, said, Lord, what wilt thou have me to do? And the Lord said unto him, arise, and go into the city, and it shall be told thee what thou must do. And the men which journeyed with him stood speechless, hearing a voice but seeing no man. And Saul arose from the earth, and when his eyes were opened he saw no man; but they led him by the hand, and brought him into Damascus, and he was there without sight, and did neither eat nor drink, &c." It is well known how prone the history-painters are to run into errors and mistakes; and one very capital they in general have committed in relation to this affair; for I suppose there are very few pieces representing this subject that do not exhibit the apostle and his company on horseback, and consequently that do not make him, when the light so suddenly and so astonishingly shone round him, and he fell to

* Wheatley, p. 196, edit. 1722. Svo.

the earth, to tumble from his horse. But in all the three narratives above cited, there is not the least foundation for this; on the contrary, I think it very apparent that the apostle was travelling on foot when this wonderful incident happened; for after he was risen from the ground, and had lost his sight through the intolerable brightness of the light from heaven, his fellow travellers set him not on his own beast, whether horse or ass, but led him by the hand, and brought him inta Damascus, a particular which is again noticed, and much in the same words*, in the xxii. chapter. It is possible, indeed, that this apostle being a Roman citizen by birth, and well educated as he was, might be in somewhat better condition of life than the other apostles, who were chiefly poor fishermen. He was, nevertheless, but a tent-maker, an honest, but a mean course of life; and, as Chrysostom observes, an argument that his parents were not of a nobler and better rank+; wherefore one has no reason to imagine he kept any beast to ride on. It is true, he carried letters from the High Priest, but these were obtained at his own request, and probably were nothing more than either a warrant to justify him in what he should attempt against the Christian converts at Damascus, or letters of recommendation to the leading men of the synagogues there, notifying his zeal for the cause, informing them who he was, and requiring them to be aiding and assisting him in the discharge of his bloody errand. Nothing is said of the High Priest's sending St. Paul to Damascus, and, in consequence thereof, equipping him: and as to the rest of the travels of our apostle, which make up so large a part of the Acts, we find him often on ship-board, but never on horseback, that I can remember, except when he was mounted by the Roman governor, Acts xxiii. and sent with expedition and secrecy by night to Cesarea. Insomuch, that one cannot but conclude that the apostle not only made this journey to Damascus on foot, but performed all his other excursions the same way, as the first preachers of the gospel commonly did. Of this we have a remarkable instance, in St. Ceada, or Chad, as related by Ven. Bede; his custom was to walk on foot when he was upon the ministry, though he was a bishop; but Archbishop Theodore, out of tenderness to him, injoined him to ride when the journies were longer than ordinary; and when he saw him rather

* The word in both places is xagaywysiv. + Dr. Cave in the Life of St. Paul.

unwilling to indulge himself in that sort, he compelled him to mount on horseback, by assisting him to do it with his own hand*.

1763, Aug.

Yours, &c.

T.Row.

MR. URBAN,

XXXIX. On the Ellipsis.

THE author of that late celebrated production, "The short Introduction to English Grammar," seems not to pay suffiéient regard to the Ellipsis: thus p. 134, he reckons that for that which to be either improper or obsolete, whereas in fact, it cannot be said to be either. In respect of impropriety, the idioms of language depend much upon the use and custom, which consequently must settle and ascertain what is proper and what not, and he himself has produced three good authorities for that used for that which; which being, as I take it, omitted in this case by Ellipsis. I shall add a few more examples from various authors.

"Do ye enquire among yourselves of that I said." Joh.

xvi. 19.

"To do always that is righteous in thy sight." 3 Collect, Morning Service.

"Godliness is great riches if a man be content with that he hath." Communion Office.

"Bake that which ye will bake to day, and seethe that ye will seethe." Exod. xvi. 23.

"I am not bound to that all slaves are free to." Othello iii. 5. "Why, that the Moor first gave to Desdemona." Ibid iii. 7, "Is it possible, he should know what he is, and be that he is?" All's Well that Ends Well, iv. 1.

But as to Shakespeare, see Johnson's Dict. in voce.

"The gyse, now a dayes,

Of some jangling jayes,

Is, to discommend,

That they cannot mend."

Skelton,

p. 251, in which author there are six other instances besides.

* Bede, p. 144, Edit Smith,

"For where eche laboureth to breake that the other maketh." Hall, Edw. v. fol. ii. b. And the same author elsewhere.

To the same sense is that in the dance of Machabree. fol. ccxxi. b. "One man breaketh that another made." "Small vaunt to flie that of constraint thou must." Mirrour of Magistrates, p. 413.

"The sonne of man hidder cam
Not for to destroye eny man

But to save that perished is."

Invective against Card. Wolsey.

"The king resolved to put nothing like restraint upon his commissioner, from effecting that he wished might be done to-morrow if it could be." Lord Clarendon's Life, ii. p. 107.

The usage, as appears from these instances, and no doubt an hundred more might be produced, is in a manner universal; and yet, as must be confessed, this way of speaking is just the contrary of these in Latin:

" Quod tibi non vis fieri, alteri ne feceris.
Quod factum fuisse non debuit, factum valet;"

where the pronoun demonstrative id is, being understood in the relative, for the full or plenary locution, I presume, should be id quod, whereas in the English idiotism, which I am here endeavouring to establish, the relative is omitted, as being understood in the pronoun. That, in many, or most of these instances, corresponds with what, as will appear by substituting this word in its place*. But something should be said, at least, about obsoleteness, for though the expression may not be improper, yet perhaps it may be obsolete and out of date. Now to try this, I will introduce a common expression or two which every body will allow to be current English at this day; of a bad man it is usual to say, he has been guilty of all that's bad. As on the contrary, of a man of worth, he has been a follower of all that's great and good. And so we should say, without scruple, of a finished drunkard, he died by that he loved.

1763, May.

Yours, &c.

See the Short Introduction, 1. c.

T. Row.

XL. Origin of some common Phrases.

MR. URBAN, YOUR correspondents have now and then entertained us with the explanation of an obscure phrase or proverb, and their attempts were generally well received. Some of your readers would be pleased with them, whilst others would be disposed to laugh, which come to the same thing, namely, the amusement of both parties, and consequently answered one purpose of your Magazine, which was to intermix the dulce with the utile. I purpose then to endeayour here the explication of one of our common phrases, of which every one knows the meaning, and but few, as I take it, the original. It is a common saying with us, that a person is a dab at such or such a thing, at music, for example, bowling, &c. and sometimes people will say, he is a dab, without naming in what, leaving you to supply that from the subject you happen to be talking upon. Now all know that the sense and meaning of these expressions is, that the party is one that is very expert in the science, or at the exercise in question. However, these expressions are mere vulgarisms, are seldom met with in authors, and only find a place in our canting dictionaries: but, nevertheless, the word dab may possibly have a rational cause or origin, though to many it may be hard to investigate. This then is what I shall try

to do.

Now as the word dab does not seem to be an old English one, that is, neither deducible from the British or the Saxon, it is probably a corruption of some better and more legitimate term, and, as I think, of the word adept. An adept is a term peculiar to the Hermetic philosophy, being allotted to the consummate proficients in alchymy, of whom the principal were Ripley, Lully, Paracelsus, Helmont, &c. And Mr. Chambers tells us, "That it is a sort of tradition among the alchymists, that there are always twelve Adepti; and that their places are immediately supplied by others, whenever it pleases any of the fraternity to die, or transmigrate into some other place, where he may make use of his gold; for that in this wicked world it will scarce purchase them a shirt." From thence the word came to be applied metaphorically to other matters, and consequently to signify a person far advanced, or perfect in any thing; and therefore it obtains exactly the same sense as a dab does; wherefore I take this latter to be a vulgar corruption of the word adept,

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