Do thy diligence to come before winter. Probably this was added to hasten his coming. If he delayed, the season of the year would put off, perhaps hinder altogether, his voyage.

Eubulus greeteth thee. — Of this Eubulus nothing is known.

And Pudens, and Linus, and Claudia. — Of these, Linus was, no doubt, the first of the long line of Bishops of Rome. The date of his consecration corresponds with the year of St. Paul’s martyrdom, A.D. 66. We know, from this greeting, he was one of the few “faithful” to his old master.

It is, perhaps, fair to assume, though of course there is no certainty of this, that the consecration of Linus to the government of the Roman Church as its first Bishop was one of the dying acts done by the Apostle Paul.
Some commentators identify the other two with “Pudens and Claudia” mentioned by Martial (Epigrams, iv. 13; xi. 54). Pudens was the son of a Roman senator; to Claudia, Martial gives the name of Rufina, and states she was a Briton. The dates of the Epigrams in question would agree with the identification. It is, however, only a supposition.

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