He recognized in them a power of seeking and finding God, the God close at hand, and in whom we live; and he quotes one of their own poets, accepting his statement of God's fatherly character.

Now, it is quite common for those who deny that there is any truth in heathenism, to admire this speech of Paul as a masterpiece of ingenuity and eloquence.

But he would hardly have made it, unless he thought it to be true.

Those who praise his eloquence at the expense of his veracity pay him a poor compliment.

Did Paul tell the Athenians that they were worshipping the true God _when they were not_, and that for the sake of rhetorical effect?
If we believe this concerning him, and yet admire him, let us cease henceforth to find fault with the Jesuits.
No! Paul believed what he said, that the Athenians were worshipping the true God, though ignorantly.