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"Do thy diligence to come before winter" (II Tim. 4: 21).
Then come salutations from Eubulus, Pudens, Linus and Claudia, besides all the
brethren. Of Eubulus nothing is known, except that he was a fellow-worker with Paul,
and honoured by having his name included in the epistle. Linus was the name of the
first bishop of Rome, and Irenĉus says that Linus was succeeded by Anacletus, and in the
third place from the apostles Clement received the Episcopate of the city, a person who
had beheld the blessed apostles, and had enjoyed intercourse with them, and had their
preaching still sounding in his ears (Irenĉus 3:3).
"Who was Claudia who is here connected with Pudens and Linus? Was she the
daughter of Cogidunus king of the Regni, now Surrey and Sussex? or was she the
daughter of Caractacus, the renowed British chieftain?" (Lewin).
"The Companion Bible" has the following note:
"Pudens and Claudia are supposed by some to be husband and wife, and have been
identified with Titus Claudius and Claudius Quinctilia, whose inscription over a child
they lost has been discovered near Rome."
At Chichester has been found an inscription which speaks of one Pudens, in
conjunction with King Cogidunus, dated when Nero was Consul for the fourth time,
namely 60-68A.D. Claudia of II Tim. 4: is identified by some with a British Princess
whom Pudens married, daughter of either the British king Cogidunus or Caractacus.
There is a good deal of conjecture in this identification and we can only look upon the
two names in II Tim. 4: with interest, in that it may have been, that the apostle Paul
while at Rome made the acquaintance of a Princess from our own shores, and that the
Church in Rome met at times under the roof that sheltered one of our own race. In
ancient British tradition Linus is said to be the Llin of Welsh Hagiography, the son of
Caractacus, and so the brother of Claudia. These traditions and suggestions are
interesting, but they do not form part of our faith. The Lord knows the individuals which
Paul has here named, and there will be no mistaken identities in "that day".
Whether Timothy ever reached Rome in time, we do not know, whether Paul found
physical comfort in the cloke, and spiritual comfort from the parchments is hidden from
us. Whether he made a confession of the faith at his last trial, whether he went to his
triumphant death alone or with the faithful few, we have no knowledge.
Tradition has left some account, and while tradition must always be submitted to
examination and received with reserve, it is not necessarily false.
Tradition tells us that Paul was led out through the gate which now bears his name.
Three miles further on, not far from the Ostian Road, is a place anciently known as
Aquĉ Salviĉ, and now as Tre Fontane, and there the execution is said to have taken
place. Thus without pomp or show, but rather in ignominy and desertion the great
apostle yielded up his life for the truth which had been more dear to him than life itself.