"By his persuasions he has led astray a considerable number of people." Not by violence, but precisely in this way one ought to persuade. It is sufficient that Paul said "they are not gods." If the falsity of this cult is so easily exposed, then it should have been rejected long ago; but if it has power in itself, then it is impossible to uproot it so quickly.
Acts 19:28–29. Having heard this, they were filled with rage and began to cry out, saying: Great is Artemis of the Ephesians! And the whole city was filled with confusion. Having seized the Macedonians Gaius and Aristarchus, travel companions of Paul, they rushed with one accord to the theater.
They became enraged upon hearing about Artemis and the undermining of their craft, because it is characteristic of the rabble to become agitated and inflamed by any matter, even a trivial one. They had gods in the city; and they assumed a threatening posture, so as to somehow restore respect for the gods by their shouting and to drown out what had happened. They kept shouting without ceasing, as if fearing that the veneration of the gods might be extinguished altogether.
Acts 19:30–32. When Paul wanted to go in to the people, the disciples did not allow him. And also some of the chiefs of Asia, being his friends, sent to him, asking him not to show himself at the theater. Meanwhile, some cried one thing and others another, for the assembly was disorderly, and the greater part of those gathered did not know why they had gathered.
The disciples did not allow Paul to rush into the agitated crowd — so much did all the believers love him. And Paul listens to them, since he was not ambitious.
"Most of those who had gathered did not know why they had gathered." Such is the nature of a crowd: it rushes here or there without reason, like fire thrown into a forest.
Acts 19:33–34. At the suggestion of the Jews, Alexander was brought forward from the crowd. Motioning with his hand, Alexander wanted to speak to the people. But when they recognized that he was a Jew, they all cried out with one voice, and for about two hours they cried out: Great is Artemis of the Ephesians!
Why did Alexander want "to speak to the people" in his defense? After all, he was not being accused? In order to seize the moment, give everything a different turn, and calm the anger of the people.
Acts 19:35–36. Then the town clerk, having quieted the crowd, said: Men of Ephesus! What man is there who does not know that the city of the Ephesians is the servant of the great goddess Artemis and of the Diopetes? Since therefore these things cannot be denied, you ought to be calm and do nothing rash.
The town clerk answers justly and with reproach; he did not say "what person does not know of Artemis?" but rather "who does not know that our city is a servant of the great goddess Artemis?" So why are you making an uproar, as though this were something unknown? The word "servant" means, properly speaking, an attendant who sweeps or cleanses the temple. By "Diopetes" he refers to the domed temple of Zeus, or the image of Athena Pallas called the Palladium, concerning which there existed a myth among the Greeks that it had been cast down by Zeus from heaven and was not made by human hands — this was meant to astonish naive people.
Acts 19:37–40. But you have brought these men, who have neither robbed the temple of Artemis nor blasphemed your goddess. If therefore Demetrius and the craftsmen with him have a complaint against anyone, there are court sessions and there are proconsuls: let them bring charges against one another. But if you seek anything further, it shall be resolved in a lawful assembly. For we are in danger of being accused of riot for what has happened today, since there is no cause by which we could justify such a gathering. And having said this, he dismissed the assembly.
He gently rebukes them, showing that they acted rashly and that it was not proper to hold a public assembly for private reasons.