Acts 19:19

Many also of them which used curious arts The Greek has not the same word for "many" here, as in the previous verse. To mark this the Rev. Ver.has here "not a few." The "curious arts" were magic, jugglery and all such practices as make pretence to supernatural agency. The word is used of magic arts both in classical and patristic Greek, and the kindred verb is used of Socrates (Plato, Revelation 8; Revelation 8) because of his statement concerning his inward spiritual monitor or dæmon.

brought their books together We have seen above that the Jews had receipts for incantations and exorcisms professedly dating back to the days of Solomon, and among the heathen population of Ephesus such writings were vastly abundant. Indeed "Ephesian letters" was a common expression, signifying charms composed of magic words and worn as amulets, and supposed to be efficacious against all harm. We are told of a wrestler who could not be thrown while he wore. such a charm, but who was easily overcome when it was taken away. Some of these amulets were said to be composed of the letters which were upon the crown and girdle and feet of the statue of Artemis in the temple at Ephesus. See Farrar's St Paul, ii. 26, and the authorities there quoted.

and burned them before[rather, in the sight of] all men. That is, where all might see who were there. We must remember that what they burnt were rolls of written material, not books after the modern fashion, which are extremely difficult to burn. Such a burning pile must have attracted much notice, and was a proof that the descent of the Holy Ghost (Acts 19:6) had wrought in Ephesus in the same way as aforetime in Jerusalem.

and they counted the price of them And in the sacrifice we must think not only of the cost of the books, but of the hopes of gain which were thrown also into the fire by those to whom "curious arts" had been a revenue.

and found it fifty thousand pieces of silver As the scene of this abjuration was among a Greek population, it is almost certain that the Attic drachma is the coin in which the reckoning is made. As 24 of these were a little more in value than our English pound, we may consider that more than two thousand pounds worth of rolls and slips of magic treatises was consumed.