He was no longer but 4rin, not Levi but Theo dore—one who might well deem both himself and all his future life a veritable gift of God" (Ellicott, .Dist. Lent., p. t 72 ; cf. Meyer, Comment. I. 2 ; Winer, R. TV B., s. v. Matthaus, Name). The rEXCivaz, of whom he was one, are not to be identified with the properly so called—the equestrian capi talists who farmed the taxes under the Romans— but with the Voriiiores,' their underlings, a body generally regarded as infamous, and hated by their countrymen as traitors and apostates, the willing tools of the Roman oppressor. A dangerous class,' among whom He who came to seek and to save that which was lost,' found a reception denied Him by the respectable Pharisees, and won some of His most glorious triumphs. St. Matthew's special occupation was probably the collection of dues and customs from persons and goods crossing the lake of Gennesareth. It was while he was actually en gaged in his duties, NathwUpop tint 1-2. TeXi:nop, that he received the call, which he obeyed without delay. Our Lord was then invited by him to a great feast,' Luke v. 29, to which perhaps, as Neander has suggested (Lift of Christ, p. 23o, Bohn ; cf. Blunt, Unties. Coineid., p. 257), by way of farewell, his old associates, 6xNos TEXCCWOJP rroXin, were summoned. Those on the look out for discrepancies fancy they see one in the ac count of this feast; hut we may probably account for St. Matthew's silence about himself to his humility, of which we see another proof in his catalogue of the twelve, where alone his name ap pears with the title of infamy, Matthew the publi can' (Matt. x. 3, cf. Euseb., Dem. Evan., iii. 5).
St. Matthew is found once again in the company of his brother apostles after the ascension, Acts i. 13,
but of his after history we have no trustworthy in formation. According to the ROtrykta IIgrpov, cited by Clem. Alex,, Strom. vi. 5. 43, which is referred to as a traditional statement by A pollonius, cir. iSo (ap. Euscb. H. E., v. 18), all apostles re mained at Jerusalem twelve years after the cruci fixion, devoting their labours to their own country men ; and, according to Eusebius, when Matthew was called to leave them, he sought to supply the want of his personal presence, 7-6 r5 abroi3 rapovcrig, by the gift of his Aramaic gospel (H. E., iii. 24). Eusebius could only tell us that he went to preach to others,' 4' irtpovs ; nor was Origen (Euseb., H. A. iii. 1) or Jerome (De Vir. able to supply any thing more definite. This deficiency is, as usual, amply supplied by later writers, by whom the field of his missionary labours is specified as Macedonia (Isid. Hispal.), Syria (Symeon, Metaph.), Persia (Ambrose), Parthia, and Media. The favourite place was Ethiopia, a tradition probably based on Euseb., IL E. v. lc) (Socrates, IL E. i. 19 ; Ruff., H E. X. 9). Nicephorus Callistus, ii. 4I (Cir. 1350, A. D.), the latest of all, knows most about the evangelist, and finds him hearers and converts among the Anthropophagi. He also makes him die a mar tyr's death, which is accepted by the Martyrolog. Roman., in defiance of the testimony of the early church that his end was natural. According to Clem. Alex., Pad. ii. t, he practised rigid asceti cism, living on seeds and fruits, and herbs, with out flesh,' and exaggerating the abstinence of the Baptist. The apocryphal Acts and Martyrdom of Matthew,' published by Tischendorf, are un worthy of attention.—E. V.