St. Paul was thus dragged from the temple to the outer court, and the gates were closed, while the angry people began beating their prisoner, and would certainly have killed him had not word been taken to the Roman tribune Lysias, who sent soldiers and centurions down to the scene of contest. Lysias readily believed that the Apostle had committed some serious offence, nevertheless, however guilty, it was not lawful for the mob to punish him, so the soldiers were ordered to bring him in chains to receive judgment. {102} When the captain enquired what was the charge against the prisoner, there was such a confusion that he could not discover the truth, and therefore bade the soldiers lead St. Paul to the castle, the angry crowd following, with cries of "Away with him. Away with him." When the Apostle was brought into the castle, he turned to Lysias, and asked if he might speak with him, who replied, "Canst thou speak Greek?" Upon hearing that St. Paul was a Jew of Tarsus, he acceded to his request that he might address the people. "Men, brethren, and fathers," began St. Paul, using the Hebrew language, which was spoken in Jerusalem, and in a moment the tumult was hushed and every ear strained to listen. {103} The Apostle gave them a sketch of his early history, telling them how he once hated and persecuted the Christians, and then of his wondrous journey to Damascus--of his blindness, and its cure. He passed on to his first visit to Jerusalem, spoke of his vision in the temple, when the Lord Jesus appeared to him, and bade him depart and preach to the Gentiles. The crowd had heard him thus far with silent attention, but now their rage burst forth afresh. Were they, the sons of Abraham, to be left for the despised Gentiles? They would not suffer such words to be spoken, and once more they cry, "Away with him." Away with such an one from the earth, for it is not fit that he should live. They began casting off their heavy outer garments purposing to stone him, but Lysias ordered his soldiers to bring the prisoner within the castle. {104} He had not understood St. Paul's address, being delivered in Hebrew, but he saw how greatly the people were infuriated, and therefore judged that some terrible crime must have been committed. He accordingly told one of the centurions to scourge the prisoner, so that he might confess what he had done, and St. Paul was bound to a low pillar that he might receive this humiliating punishment. But he spoke to the centurion and said, "Is it lawful for you to scourge a man who is a Roman and uncondemned?" The centurion knew that such a thing was unlawful, so he went to Lysias to tell him that their prisoner was a Roman. {105} When Lysias found from St. Paul that he was a free-born citizen of Rome, he gave orders for him to be unbound, and convened a meeting of the Jewish council for the next day, before which the Apostle should answer the charges made against him.