It is the middle of the first century A.D. Our scene is a prison, possibly in the Asiatic seaport Ephesus. In a dark little cell, mustiness permeated the air, mold clung to the wall. An earthen floor was packed smooth by the treading of countless prisoners. Sunlight crept through a tiny window at the ceiling. There was a crude table and a smoking lamp where a young man was writing. An older man paced the floor, dictating - sometimes in a torrent of words, then silence. A rattling sound broke the stillness as the cell door opened.

Standing in the lighted doorway was a youth, a cellmate, tall and muscular - obviously a slave. The older prisoner rushed forward, "My name is Paul, welcome ..." Silence, "And this is my friend, Timothy, he is just leaving." The guard thrust the newcomer into the…