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brief note by Tertius in Rom. 16: 22 and the postscript coming after the signature in
I Cor. 16: 21 and Col. 4: 18 are good examples.
It may come as a surprise to some readers to learn that it was a common practice in the
days of Paul, for writers to dictate their letters and literary efforts to amanuenses who
would take it down in shorthand. Here are the terms of apprenticeship dated 155A.D.
"Panechotes . . . . . to Apollonius, writer of shorthand, greeting. I have placed with
you my slave Chærammon to be taught the signs which your son Dionysius knows, for
a period of two years . . . . . at the salary agreed upon between us, 120 silver drachmæ
. . . . . of which sum you have received the first installment amounting to forty drachmæ,
and you will receive the second installment when the boy has learned the whole system,
and the third you will receive at the end of the period when the boy writes fluently in
every respect and reads faultlessly."
Many of our readers who have experience of shorthand writers will appreciate the last
phrase "and reads faultlessly".
There is every reason to believe that Tertius wrote the epistle to the Romans in
shorthand at the dictation of Paul.
The epistle to the Galatians provides an example of where the author, to impress one
special point upon his readers, takes the pen out of the hand of the trained scribe, and
with more cumbrous letters writes the final sentence (Gal. 6: 11-18).
One of the most pathetic of these ancient papyrus letters is the following:
"Irene to Tacunophria and Philo, good cheer! I was much grieved and wept over the
beloved one, as I wept for Didymus, and everything that was fitting I did, and all who
were with me. But truly there is nothing any one can do in the face of such things. Do
you therefore comfort one another. Good-bye."
Poor Irene. She grieved and wept. She did what was fitting--but what a blank she
faces! "But truly there is nothing any one can do." How different is the language of Paul
in I Thess. 4: 14-18, he could write "Wherefore, comfort one another with these
words", for he spoke of the Risen Saviour.
The epistles of Paul are neither valued by us because of the form in which they are
cast, nor for any novelty of style or approach. They are of perennial blessedness because
of their Divine authority, and by reason of the sacred character of their subject matter.
It is a salutary lesson for all, that these holy letters were written with the same
instruments and in the same way as were those that were secular and transient, and we are
sure that had Paul lived in our time, he would have used to the full the advantages that
accrue from the modern printing press and postal service. Let us not close without a
moment's grateful remembrances of those faithful helpers, like Tertius whose names
though unknown to us to-day are in the book of life and known to the Lord we both
serve.