And as he thus spake for himself, Festus said with a loud voice, Paul, thou art beside thyself; much learning doth make thee mad.
And as he thus spake for himself - `was thus making his defense,'
Festus said - `saith' [feesin (G5346 ), not efee ( G5346), is the true reading] With a loud voice - `surprised and bewildered,'
Paul, thou art beside thyself; much learning doth make thee mad - is turning thy head. The union of flowing Greek, deep acquaintance with the sacred writings of his nation, reference to a resurrection, and other doctrines-to a Roman utterly unintelligible-and, above all, lofty religious earnestness, so strange to the cultivated, cold-hearted sceptics of that day, may account for this sudden exclamation.