With the assistance thus obtained, the plan was--to become a declared convert to the religion of Jesus, for the purpose of setting himself at the head of it; and, by means of the expertness he had acquired in the use of the Greek language, to preach, in the name of Jesus, that sort of religion, by the preaching of which, an empire over the minds of his converts, and, by that means, the power and opulence to which he aspired, might, with the fairest prospect of success, be aimed at. But, towards the accomplishment of this design, what presented itself as a necessary step, was--the entering into a sort of _treaty_, and forming at least in appearance, a sort of junction, with the leaders of the new religion and their adherents--the Apostles and the rest of the disciples. As for _them_, in acceding to this proposal, on the supposition of anything like sincerity and consistency on his part, _they_ would naturally see much to gain and nothing to lose: much indeed to gain; no less than peace and security, instead of that persecution, by which, with the exception of the Apostles themselves, to all of whom experience seems, without exception, to have imparted the gift of prudence, the whole fraternity had so lately been driven from their homes, and scattered abroad in various directions. With the Christians at Damascus, that projected junction was actually effected by him: but, in this state of things, to return to Jerusalem was not, at that time, to be thought of. In the eyes of the ruling powers, he would have been a trust-breaker--a traitor to their cause: in the eyes of the Christians, he would have been a murderer, with the blood of the innocent still reeking on his hands: no one would he have found so much as to lend an ear to his story, much less to endure it. In Damascus, after making his agreement with his new brethren, there remained little for him to do. Much had he to inform himself of concerning Jesus. Damascus--where Jesus had already so many followers--Damascus was a place for him to _learn_ in: not to _teach_ in:--at any rate, at that time.