Paul stood on the stairs and beckoned with the hand.
Beckoning with the hand
Paul’s object was to gain silence. The man who has to address a noisy crowd does not begin by howling out “Silence!” that would be an affront, but he lifts up his hand to its extreme height, and begins to beckon with it, i.e., to move it backward and forward; and then the people say to each other “Pasathe, pasathe” (“Be silent, be silent”). (J. Roberts.)
