The Acts of the Apostles

THE TREATMENT OF PERSONS 127
the names, otherwise he would certainly have given
them.^ On the other hand it is also strange that
there are some very insignificant persons whom he
has honoured by mentioning their names, in the first
place a whole list of persons with whom St. Paul (or
St. Peter) dwelt or lodged (vide supra p. 109)—this
belongs to his scheme of narrative—then some other
individuals, namely Blastus the chamberlain (xii. 20),
Dionysius and Damaris at Athens (xvii. 34), Crispus
at Corinth (xviii. 8), and Alexander at Ephesus (xix.
33). These are after all only a few instances. Except
for the cases of " Blastus " and " Alexander," which
stand quite by themselves—here the author has paid
too much deference to his sources—we may well sup-
pose that the persons in question, Dionysius, Damaris,
and Crispus, played an important part in later days
(for Crispus, see 1 Cor. i. 14 ; for Dionysius, see the
notice concerning Dionysius of Corinth in Eus. Hist.
Eccl. iv. 23), indeed that they were probably known
to the first readers. They are thus named for the
same reason that the Apostle John is named side by
side with St. Peter, and that in xxi. 9 the information
is given that St. Philip had four daughters who
were prophetesses (concerning the importance of these
daughters, see Papias and numerous other authorities,
also Clem. Alex.).
The treatment of personalities is the same in
character throughout the whole book. By this means
also the book acquires an aspect of strict uniformity.
Even the abrupt introduction of the « we " is paralleled
^ This supposition is also probable in the case of the Grammateus
at Ephesus.