We may suppose that the same westerly winds which forced the Adramyttian ship to the east of Cyprus, drove the Alexandrian ship to Myra. The land wind on the Cilician coast appears to be quite local, and, therefore, might enable St. Paul's ship to reach Myra, although the prevalent wind did not admit of the ships in that harbour proceeding on their voyage.

74

CHAPTER II.

VOYAGE FROM MYRA TO FAIR HAVENS IN CRETE.

(Acts xxvii. 7, 8.)

In this ship of Alexandria, in which the centurion and his party embarked, they proceeded on their voyage. Their progress, after leaving Myra, was extremely slow; for we are told that it was 'many' days before they were 'come over against Cnidus,' that is, before they reached the entrance of the Ægean Sea. As the distance between the two places is not more than 130 geographical miles, which they could easily have accomplished with a fair wind in one day, they must either have met with calms or contrary winds. I infer that the delay was caused by contrary winds, from the expression polis, which is translated in our authorized version 'scarce,' producing the impression that the ship had scarcely reached Cnidus when the. winds became contrary; but which ought to be rendered with difficulty,'

7 And when we had sailed slowly many days, and scarce were come over against Cnidus, the wind not suffering, as we sailed under Crete, over against Sal

mone.

expressing the difficulty which ships experience in contending with adverse winds. The same word occurs in the following verse, where it is translated 'hardly,' where there can be no doubt as to its meaning, for the general trending of the south coast of Crete, which they were navigating (πapaλeyoμevoi, v. 8), was the same as that of Asia, east and west; and we are now told that the winds were contrary. (v. 7.) Cicero, in one of his epistles, uses very similar terms to express the effects of contrary winds :

'Adversis ventis usi essemus, tardeque et incommode navigâssemus.'*

We met with contrary winds, and sailed slowly and with difficulty.'

I am satisfied, therefore, that the words in the original, Βραδυπλοουντες, και μολις γενομενοι, ‘sailing slowly and with difficulty were come,' etc., express the delays which a ship experiences in working to windward.

The question now occurs, what was the direction of the wind which produced the effects recorded in the narrative. We are told, that when they were come over against Cnidus, the wind not suffering us, we sailed under Crete, over against Salmone.' (v. 7.) The direct course of a ship on her voyage from Myra to Italy, after she has reached Cnidus, is by the north side of Crete, through the Archipelago, W. by S. Hence a ship which can make good a course of about seven points from the wind, which I have shown elsewhere† cannot be far from the truth, would not have been prevented from proceeding on her course, unless the wind had been to the west of N.N.W.

We are next told that she ran under Crete, over against Salmone,' which implies that she was able to fetch that cape, which bears about S.W. by S. from Cnidus; but unless the wind had been to the north of W.N.W., she could not have done so. The wind was, therefore, between N.N.W. and W.N.W. The middle point between these points is North-West, which cannot be more than two points, and is probably not more than one, from the true direction. The wind, therefore, would in common language have been termed north-west. Now, this is precisely the wind which might have been expected in those seas towards the end of summer. We learn from the sailing directions for the Mediterranean, that

'Throughout the whole of the Mediterranean, but mostly in the eastern half, including the Adriatic and Archipelago, the north-west winds prevail in the summer months;'*

which agrees with Aristotle's account of these winds.† According to Pliny, they begin in August, and blow for forty days.t

With north-west winds the ship could work up from Myra to Cnidus; because, until she reached that point she had the advantage of a weather shore, under the lee of which she would have smooth water, and, as formerly mentioned, a westerly current; but it would be 'slowly and with difficulty.' At Cnidus these advantages ceased; and unless she had put into that harbour, and waited for a fair wind, her only course was to run under the lee of

*Purdy's' Sailing Directions for the Mediterranean,' p. 197.

† Οἱ Ετησιαι λεγομενοι μιξιν εχοντες των τε απο της αρκτου φερομένων και Sepupov. (Arist. de Mundo, cap. iv.)

Perflant diebus quadraginta quos Etesias vocant.' (Plin. lib. ii. cap. 4.)

Crete, in the direction of Salmone* (kara Zaλuwvnv), which is the eastern extremity of that island. After passing this point, the difficulty they experienced in navigating to the westward along the coasts of Asia would recur; but as the south side of Crete is also a weather shore, with north-west winds, they would be able to work up as far as Cape Matala. Here the land trends suddenly to the north and the advantages of a weather shore cease, and their only recourse was to make for a harbour. Now, Fair Havens is the last harbour before arriving at Cape Matala, the farthest point to which an ancient ship could have attained with north-westerly winds.

The delays experienced by navigators proceeding westward in this part of the Mediterranean during the summer months, are of such constant occurrence that I have scarcely found an instance in which they have not been encountered.

Rauwolf, a German physician, who travelled in the Holy Land in the sixteenth century,† passed and repassed by the same track which St. Paul did. On his voyage eastward, the winds were favourable, i.e. westerly. The ship touched at and watered at a port which he calls Calismene (p. 16), which is evidently Fair Havens. After passing Cape Salmone, they met with a ship coming from the eastward, which had been seven weeks on her passage from Tripoli, which had been delayed by the prevailing westerly winds, and which they were obliged to supply with biscuit. On

*This promontory still retains its anciert name. (See Strabo, lib. ii. cap. 14. Apol. Rhod. lib. iv. ver. 1693. Ptol. lib. iii. cap. 17.)

+ Leonharti Rauwolfen Raiss in die Morgenländer, Augsburg, 1582. It is translated by Ray, and included in his Collection of Travels, vol. ii.