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YALE
UNIVERSITY LIBRARY

THE CRITERION;

RULES

BY WHICH

THE TRUE MIRACLES

RECORDED IN

Cbe Beta Cestament
ARE DISTIKGOISHED
FROM THE SP URIOUS MIRACLES
OF
PAGANS AND PAPISTS.
By JOHN DOUGLAS, D.D.
LORD BISHOP OF SALISBURY.

A NEW EDITION.

LOJVDOA'-:
PRINTED FOR T. CADELL AND "W. DAVIES, STRANU.

1807.
W, Flint, Printer, Old Sailey.

"j>7ttr

tilK

CRITERION,

Sift, My furprife has not been
greater than mj' concern to obfervfe that
a perfon of your good fenfe, candour, and
learning, fhould have reafoned himfelf^
as you fay you have done, into an unfa
vourable opinion of the evidences of
Chriftianity. Ever fince our laft conver-
fatlon on this fubjeft, my thoughts have
turned principally on your fcruples, and

2
on the unreafonablenefs of them ; and the
refult of my reflexions you fhall have in
the prefent flieets. Nor do I think that
this addrefs needs any apology. The im
portance of the fubjeft, and my repeated
promifes that I would give you my
thoughts concerning it, fufiBciently plead
my excufe. And happy Ihould I efteem
myfelf, if any thing I fuggeft, prove a
means of bringing you back to that reli
gion which you feem to have forfaken,
and of fatisfying you that the reafons you
affign for rejeBing the miracles recorded
in the New Teftament, ought not to
weigh with one of your difcernment.
Unfldlled in controverfy, it may feem
prefumption in me to offer my opinion on
> fubjeft, already fo fully and frequently
canvaffed by the moft eminent writers ;
and it may be thought that if their a.rg\X-
meiits have proved ineffe6lual to fatisfy
your doubts, it will be a vain attempt in
me to aim at your conviftion. But when
1 confider the nature Of many of your

8
bbjeftions, which are peculiar to youffelf,
and not borrowed from books ; when I
refleft, farther, that the controverfy, with
regard to the credibility 6f xh&Gofpel mi
racles, has, bf late> taken a turn fome-
what new, it is obvious, that to refer you
to the many excellent defences of Chrift
ianity, already in the hands of the public,
would be entirely unfatisfaftoryi fOrthefe
treatifes having been adapted to the pre
vailing objeftions of unbelievers, al the
particular periods when they were written,
it becomes neceflary that the Friends of
our religion fhould change their method of
defencej fince the attack is not carried on
in the old way^
.You may remember what points you
have chiefly inlifted upon in our debates
on this fubjeift. You granted (as every
thinking peifon muft grant) that a power
of working miracles, vefted in one affum-
ing the character of a Teacher from God,
would fufficiently eftablifh the truth of his
claim ; " but you urged, withal, that there
B 2

4
" was no folid foundation to believe that
*• any fuch perfon was ever vefted with
*' fuch a power ; for that the miracles
** ofjtfm and his Apoftles, related in the
" New Teiftament, were not fupported by
*' ftronger icvidence than were the prodi-
^ gies that difgriace the pages of Livy, and
** the Legendary Tales that fwell tike lives of
" the Romjjh faints. Now thefe latter ac-
*• counts are, onall hands, jufUy reje6Wd as
** falfe,"but the former, it feems,areadmitted
** as true: but then, how, you fay, jcan we
" fairly difpute the authenticity of the one,
*' and inlift fo much on the credibility of
" the other ? For, as the tefHmony in both
" is equally ftrong, the miracles recorded
" in both the accounts muft be equally
*' .credible. That, therefore, you had no
" way of extricating yourfelf out of this
*' labyrinth, but by rejefting, at once, all
•>' miraculous pretenlions whatever."
The whole difpute fubfifting be
tween us may be ftated thus  The Pro-
teftant Chriftian thinks himfelf obliged,.

frofint all the; principles of reafbn, to Ixe-
lieve that evidsnee true which is bjrought
to fupport the Gofpel miracles ; but is at
liberty, he thinks, from the fame princi*
pks of rea(bn, to doubt or dilbelieve the -
miracles afcribed to the Pagan's of old^ or
to the Fapifts of later timesy or, indeed, to
any other perfon fince the publication of
the Gofpel. But, herein,, you are pleafed
to charge us with ^ flirange and inconfift-
ent belief, becaufe, you fay,, the evidence
for the truth of the miraclest in each cafe,
is either the very fscvm, or equally, flrong.
I have not the leall he&tation when I
pronounce this- charge to be groundlefs.
And I truil, that I fhall be able to con
vince every candid reader of this treatife,.
addreffed to you, that bafe metal is not
more eafily dete6led, when an attempt is
uagide to pafs it for gold, than are the falfe-
pretentions of Pagamfm and Popery, when
an attempt i» made to put them on the
fame footing of credibility with the mi-.
ragles of Jefm and bis apoftles.

I moft readily admit that the credibility
of fuch extraordinary performances, as are
miracles, will not be fufficiently afcertaiur
ed, unlefs the accounts of them be autheur
ticated by fuch a weight of unexception
able teftimony, as muft fatisfy every can
did and capable inquirer after truth.
You cannot, furely, refufe to join ifTue
with me here. For, with all your unfa
vourable notions about miracles, I fee not
how you can require a greater concefTion
than this. And yet, however great it be, I
am confident I fhall not endanger the caufe
for which I am an advocate, by fetting
out with it. For if we can prove (and my
defign in the following pages is to prove)
that the evidence brought for the Gofpel
miracles, is full as extraordinary as the
fa£ls themfelves, and that no juft fufpicion
of fraud and falfehood appears in the
accounts, while every thing is the reverfe
with regard to the evidence brought for
the Pagan and Popifh miracles, if we can
prove this, I fay, jour reafon will tell us^

that we fafely iriay, and that we ought in
deed, to make a diftin6lion, and to believe
the former while we rejeft the Iatter»
But before we proceed, give me leave
to obferve, that it is in vain to begin this
important difpute, unlefs you are agreed
to decide it by the only kind of evidence
that can poffibly be had — namely, by the
credit that is due to thofe who appear as
witnelTes, or, in other words, by examin
ing the fafts with all the eircumftances of
them", and confidering, at large, the cha-'
ra£tel-Sj the views, and the conduft of
^hofe who reported them,
Writers, on the fide of infidelity, have
very rarely ventured to aflert the abfolut?
incredibility of miracle^; and their pre
caution feems very prudent. For a mi
racle being an event brought about in a
way contrary to the courfe of nature, and
the courfe of nature being the eftablifh-
ment of God, every believer of his exift-
enee, it fhould feemj muft admit, that it i^

$
in his power to reveefe itir But thi*, wck
know, has been denied by a late very in
genious, but very fceptical author,* who
has not fcrupled to give us h's reafons, why
he makes iJb^ impoffi^ility and mirifculous,
%aturc of event s,-\- fy nonymous, jmd why
he gives his decifion, that a t^irack Jup^
ported byr any humAn teJtiTryony, ismorepro^
perly afuhfeB of de-rifion than argument:^
It may not, therdfore, be improper, to
take fome notice of this author's favourite
nofttum againft ntiracles, which he himfelf
is fo fond of, astoboaft thap it will tfiith
^ wife and' learned, be a7h everlafiing chec\
iofuperfiitiousdelujions;^ for to him it feems
that all' milraicles are fuperffitio.us delu-.
fions;

* Philpfophical Eflay^, cpncexaiiig ?I,vir»an, yad^rflandr!.
ing, by David Hume, Ef^.'
-|.--. ¦ " ¦ /
+ P. 195.— where the author fneaking of Abb^ Pajris'^
nuracles iays; what have -wre now tooppofe to fuch a cloud
of witneites but the abfolute impofSbitity or miraculous na-
t»re of the events they relate ?
X P. 194—5. \ 1?4.

** A miracle," fays he, " Is A violatiori
*' of the laws of patare, and as a firm and
** unalterable experience has eftablifhed
*' thefc laws, the proof againft a miracle
*f from the very nature of the faft, is as
^* entire as any argument from experience
*» can be paffiWy imagined."* — Now it h
obvious, from this quotation, that our au*
thor's argument againft the credibility of
miracles, depends entirely upon this, o^
their being events eo»ntrary to firm and
^unalterable experience; But why an
pvent ftiould be incredible, and incapable
of being proved by teftimOny, becaufe it
is contrary to our experience, this point,
on the certainty of which alone our author's
boafted argument is built, I did not, upon
perufing the E^ay &n Miracles, find 4iiy
fittempt made to prove 5 but upon exa
mining the other effays in the colleftion,
it. appeared tjiat this point had been the
fubjedt of two fpregoing ones ;t and that
haying iqflabliflied its truth there, as he
fiippoled, he thiought himfelf warranted
* 180. t The -tth and 5thii

10
in his fubfequent EJfay on Miracles, to lay
it as the foundation of his reafoning.
What then is this grand principle of our
author's new philofophy?* — He begins
with obferving, that *' all reafonings con-
<^ cernins matter of faft, feem to be foUnd-
«^ ed on '^e relation of caufe and effeft,'
*« and that by means of that relation alone,
'* can we go beyond the evidence of our
" memory and fenfes. If you were to
^' afk a man, fays he, why he believes any
^'- matter of fa6l which is . abfent ; for in-
?« ftance, that his friend is in the country,'
*'¦ or in France ; he would give you a rear
" .fon, and this reafon would be fome other'
*'jfa6t ; as a letter received from him, or
"4he knowledge of his former refolutions
" and promifes. A man, finding a watch
^* or any other machine in a defert ifland,
" would conclude that there had once
" been men in that ifland. All our rea-
*' fonings concerning fa£l are of the fame
" nature : and here it is conftantly fup-^i
* P, 49.

11
** pofed that there is a connexion betwixt
*' the prefent faft and that inferred from
" it." Thus far his dofirine is unexcepi
tionable ; but when he proceeds to enquire
Jiow we arrive at the knowledge of caufes
and effefts; here we muft leave him, unlefs
we would, with him, contradift firft prin
ciples, and ftrike at the foundation of all
certainty. For he lays it down " as a ge-
'f neral propofition, which admits of no
^' exception, that the knowledge of this
" relation of caufe and effe£t is not, in any
'f inftance, attained by reafonings, a priori,
but arifes entirely from experience,
** when we find that particular objects.
" are conftantly conjoined with each
'* other. Let any objeft be prefented to
'•* a man of ever fo ftrong natural reafon
^' and abilities ; if t^at objeft be' entirely
" new to him, he will never be able, by
^' the moft accurate examination of its fen-
*' fibSe qualities, to difcover any of its
*' caufes and elfefts. Adam, though his
'^' rational faculties be fuppofed, at the
f * very firft, ever fo perfed, <pould not have

<(

12
<' inferred, from the fluidity and tranfpa-
" rency of water, that it would fuffocate
" him, or from the light and warmth of
" fire, that it would confume him. No
" object ever difcovers, by the qualities
" which appear to the fenfes,, either the
*' caufes which produced it, or the effeSs,
" which will arife from it ; nor can our
" reafon, unaffifted by experience, ever
" draw any inferences concerning real
*' exiftence and matter of fa£t."*
It is on the truth of thefe aflertions that
the argument depends, by which our au»
thor would prove that miracles are inca
pable of being made credible by human
feftimony. For thus they feem to be con^
netted together. Previous to our own
experience, we can difcover no connexion
between caufe and effeft, nor affure our*
felves, by reafoning, a priori, that a caufe
has an aptnefs to produce one effe6l rather"
than another. From this pofition then it
» p. 50—51,

13
ifoUows, that unlefs our own experience
has connefited a caufe with a particular
cffe6l, no teftimony of witneffes can in
duce us to believe that thiseffe(6l W3s pro
duced ; but miracles Iseing events contrary
to Jifm And unalterable experience, the prmf
t^ainjt d miracle, frofH the very nature of the
faB, is as entire as any argument from ^xpe-
rieiice can poffibly be imagined. — I have en
deavoured, with all the impartiality I am
mafter of, to give you a fair reprefentation
of this argument ; and I hope I have not
miftaken it, thou^ a miftake here might
be very pardonable, confidering the ob-
fcurity of this writer, owing more to the
Angularity of his matter than to any de-
feft in his ftyle. I fhall now endeavour
to fatisfy you, that one who can infift on
fuch points has no pretenfions to be fol
lowed as a guide.
For it fhould feem, that the very pro-
pofing of his opinion will, to every one
who has not renounced the firft principles
©f human knowledge, be a fufficient con-

Ii
filiation of it : and though we could hot
point out any inconfiftencies or contrd-
diftions in the reafoning by which it is
fupported j yet as it is apparently fceptical,
nay, as the author himfelf tells us it is fo,*
his arguments, for this ohe reafon, merit
no anfwer, becaule they can fcarcely meet
with advocates ; they may puzzle, but
they cannot convince ; they may con
found, but will never convert the readen
And it is no inconfiderable proof of the
weaknefs of a caufe, when it cannot be de
fended but by running counter to the ge
neral fenfe of mankind, and contradifting
truths looked upon as felf-evident.
If no event, however well attefled, be
credible, which contradifts experience,
then there can be no certain ftandard of
the credibility of fafts ; but this will vary
as does the experience of thofe to whom
they are propofed; for all men have not
the fame opportunities of feeing the fame
* TKe fourth ElTay he calls Scqiiical Doubts, and the ftfth.
Scfpli^al Solufioni of these Donbts.

15
tvents; and a thing may be familiar to
oncv and never heard of by another.
That there are many events true, which
men can have no experience of, is certain.
But were the doftrine which we are now
oppofing to be admitted^ no fuch thing
could ever be made credible to one who
:has not feen it: but what ftrange work
would this make in life ? and how ridicu
lous would a man make himfelf if he
rejefted matters of faft, indifputably true,
and confirmed to him by the moft unex-
<:eptionable teftimony, — merely becaufe
they were contrary to his experience.
•For inftance, what could be more contra
ry to experience, to firm unalterable expe^
rience, within thefe three or four centu
ries, than that a fmall iron bullet, of a few
pounds weight, fhould be able to batter
down the thickeft and ftrongeft walls?
At the firft invention of fire arms, fuppofe
that this fa6t had been attefted to a perfon
at a diftance, who was entirely unacquaint
ed with the principles and mechanifm of
the. new machine ; fuppofe it attefted ii?

16
the ftrongeft and moft une3^ccptionab«
manner, by thoufands of witneffes, perfons
of credit and reputation, perfons w^ho were
fpeftators, and who could not be fufpcfil-
ed of any defign to impofe a lie'— would
it be enough for the perfon to whom this
matter of faQ: was propofed, to iay I w'M
not believe it, becaufe you telj me a thiflg
contrary to uniform and conftant expe
rience ? would he not be looked upon 9S
a whimftcal fceptic, if he refuf«l to believe
it on this evidence ? — Certaaoly he wc^ld,
with every body except the author of Phi-
lofophical EJfay s, according to whole princ
eiples this evidence muft be refifted. So
that this do6lrine, that no event, however
well attefted, is to be believed, unlefs it be
warranted by experience, excludes from
being credible, events deducible from the
laws of nature, and which are to be ac
counted for on mechanical principles, as
well as it does miracles. It therefore
proves too much, and confequendy
proves nothing at all. This will be farther
illuftrated by putting the following cafe j

17
it is contrary to the uniform^ conftaiit ex^
jperienee of the inhabitants under the tor
rid zone, that water flaould become folid
ias the dry land. Suppofe, then, what we
know muft have happenedj that perfons
from our partof the world fhould go into
thofe fukry regions, and affirm there, to
the natives, that water frequently became
thus h^rd in the countries they came from ;
fuppofe that vaft numbers of witneffes
>gree in the fame atteftation, and that this
matter of fa£t is affirmed by every one
who -arrives from our climates; muft ait
this Weight of teftimony go for nothing,
merely becaufe they alTert what is con
trary to firm and unalterable experience!^
This would be very abfurd, yet, upon our
author's principles it muft. — Nor will it
make any difference to fay, that fuch
events alone are incapable of being ren
dered credible by teftimony, which are
contrary to uniform experience in all dif
ferent parts of the world. For if a perfon
be ignorant what is ufual in other climates,
then a thing contrary to the fettled courfe

18
of rature in the country where he lives,
is as much a miracle (to him I mean) as a
thing contrary to the fettled courfe of na
ture in all parts of the world. That a dead
man Ihould be again brought to life, is an
event contrary to the fettled courfe of na
ture in all parts of the world : and fup-
pofing fuch an event attefted in the moft
unexceptionable manner to the inhabitants
of any country whatever, they could have
no greater reafon to look upon it as incre»
dible, than the inhabitants of the torrid
zone have to look upon the freezing of
water as incredible.
Again— if no event, however well at
tefted, is to be believed, unlefs we have
experience for it, then would it follow
that we could never infer the poffibility
of any events by arguments drawn
from reafon, or from the nature of
the thing. Our author was aware of this,
and, therefore, to obviate fuch an ob-
jedlion, he endeavours to prove that the
4iftin6tion ufually made jjetwixt argu-

19
ments drawn from experience, and thofe
drawn from reafon is, at the bottom, er
roneous ; and afferts, " that all thofe ar^
" guments, which are fuppofed to be the
" mereeffefts of reafoning and reflexion,
*' will be found to terminate, at laft, in
" fome general principle and conclufion,
" for which we can affign no reafon but
" obfervation and experience."* But is
it poffible for any ferious man to reafon
thus in earneft ? For, if reafon, antece
dent to experience can, in no inftance,
point out a connexion betwixt caufe and
elFe6l, then muft we fay that there is no
foundation in reafon for believing that a
fabric, confifting of a variety of parts,
nicely and regularly put together, is the
cffe6l of a dejig'p.ing cauje, rather than that
it fprang from blind chance. — We univer-
fally affent to the truth of this propofition,
that whatever had a beginning arofe from
a caufe prior to it, and producing it. But
will our author affert that we could never
» p. 74.
C 2

20
ha.ve known the certainty of this, unlefs
we had drawn it from experience ? Wili
he affert that experience is our fole ground
for concluding that life, confcioufnefs, and
reafon, could not be comnmnicated but
by a caufe vefted wiih fuch perfeflions ?
Strange as thefe doHrines are, they are
the obvious confequences of the pofition
that experience alone points out the con-*
nexion between caufie and effeGt. Nor
indeed are thefe confequences fuch as our
author will difown ; for he exprefsly tells
us, that if we reafon a priori, any thing may
appear able to produce any thing, the falling
of a pebble may, for aught -we know, ex-
tinguifh the fun, or the wijh of a man con
troul the plarpets in their orbits : and again,
ibat not only the will of the Supreme Being
•may create matter, but for aught zvY can.
know, a priori, the toill of any other being
might create it, or any other caufe that the
mojl whimjical imagination can ajjignj^ — I
need fay no more to yOu I am fure, nor
' P. 254-

21
indeed id any perfon 6f fbtinc^ |udgrijJeiit*,
i& make y6a difblaJni this author a!s a
guide, whofe ai*gT!iiAiSnt a.'^it^ niifacles, if
k has- any weight, is equally an argumenii
againft the exifli^nGe of an intdlig^nt^Ty?
edufe.' TW fophiffcry of dtir author's df^m'en¥,
by which he wotild' prove, that witliiaU^
experience, we never can difcover the
connexion beiHtsfefeii cauffe a'nd efffefit, Be^
here,- that he brii!igis his inftanees- from
the laws of iftatter attd motion eftablifhed
in tfhe'WOfld; which laws being, Coiifeffedu
ly, arbitrary eonftitutions of the Creator,
the manner of their operations cannot, t^
be fure, be deducM- from any jirevioiia
reafoningi but inlift be drawn fbl^ly frorti
experience ; dnd' froiA th^effe particular in-
ftanc^s he infers hiS univerfai conclufioti'j
wHidhis evideni?ly M^\ For dbes'itatall
follow, that^ becaufe there is no connexion
difcbverable a pfiori betwixt caufe and.
elfeft in' f6me caffesi tfhere is no connexion
difcoverabie a pfioT'i 'many cafe.? Becaal^^

9A
God (and I pretend to reafon with none
but believers of a God) has eftabliflied
fuch and fuch laws in the univerfe— for
inftance, that fire fhould confume, and
water fuffbcate, and a heavy body de-
fcend — will it follow that, in this cafe, we
cannot difcover from reafon, independent
of all experience, that God could have
eftablifhed laws different from thefe at
firft, and can, when he thinks fit, fufpend
them now that they are eftablifhed "^ This
was what our author ought to have proved,
and for this plain reafon : — every one who
has admitted the exiftence of a God, will
be apt to urge that we can difcover, by
reafoning, q, priori, that there is a cour
nexion between an Omnipotent Being and
Almighty caufe ; and every effe6i that is
the objeft of power, and, confequently,
that we c^n difcover, by reafoning, a priori,
the poffibility pf miracles, becaufe it re-r
quires the exertion of no greater power
to reverfp the eftablifhed laws pf nature (in
the doing of which confifts a miracle)
than, at the beginning, to eftablifh them.

23
Our author forefaw fome fuch objeftion
as this might be urged ; for he tells us that
" though the Being to whom the miracle
" is afcribed be Almighty, it does not,
" upon that account, become a whit more
*' probable; fince it is im poffible for us to
*' know the attributes or aftions of fuch a
" Being, otherwife than from the expe-
*' rience which we have of his produftions .
*' in the ufual courfe of nature." Here
he prefents us again with fome of his pa
radoxes. Who would not have thought
that an Almighty Being could produce
every poffibility, and confequently depart
from, his produSiions in the ufual courfe of
nature P A perfon of a plain ordinary un-
derftanding would have thought, that the
very idea of Omnipotence implied the
power of doing this : and will expeft to
hear it demonftrated, that nothing is pof
fible but what is eftablifhed in the ufual
courfe of nature before he alters his opi
nion. — Unlefs, therefore, our author can
demonftrate this, which, however enter-
prizing, he has not pretended to do; un-

24
lefs he can fhew that an event, contrary
to the ufual courfe of things, is not an ob-
jeft of power ; the idea of the omnipotence
of G-od will lead us to admit the poffibility
of fuch events, and if once their poffibi
lity be admitted, in fpite of all the quibbles
of the fophift, and all the art of the fceptic,
common fenfe will teach us, that fuch
events, which are what we call miracles,
may be made credible by teftimony ; be
caufe they are fuppofed to be me^tters qf'
fa£l, of the certainty of which fpe6tator^
may have all the affurance they can have
f^r the certainty of the moft common
events. But why need I take fo much pains to
prove that miracles may become credible
by teftimony, when I can britig in our
author as concurring in the fame conclu*-
fion? It is frequently the fate pf writers,
efpecially of fuch as aim at fomethingnew
and fingular, to confute themfelves in theic
own works ; and that the author of the
Effay on Miracles^ has done- thisi, will ap-

2^
pear from the following quotatioiv: — **' I
" beg the limitation here made may be re-'
" marked, when I fay that a miracle can
^- never be proved fo as to- be the founda-
'f tion of a new fyftem of religion. For I
'-^ own that otherwife there may poffibly
*' be miracles, or violations of the ordirta-'
'•' ry courfe of nature, of fueh a kind as to
?' admit of proof from human teftimony,
'^ though, perhapsi, it will be impoffible to-
?' findany fuch in all the records of hiftbr}^
'^ Thus, fuppofe all authors, in all languaw
*' ges-, agree, that from the firft of fanuary
" 1 600, there was a total darknefs overall'
" the earth for eight days; fuppofe that
" the tradition of this event is ftill' ftrong'
" and lively among the people; that all'
" travellers, who- return from foreign!
" countries, bring us accounts of the fame'
" tradition, without the leaft variation or
" contradiiQ;ion ; it is evident that our
" prefent philofophers> inftead of doubting
" of that fafib, ought to receive it fof-
f^ certain, and ought to fearch for

26
" the caufes whence it might be de-
«* rived."* Not to infift on the obvious incon-
fiftency of recommending it to the philo- ,
fophers, to fearch for the caufes of an
event contrary to uniform and conftant )
experience, when, according to our au
thor's do6lrine, fuch a fearch would be
abfurd and ufelefs, becaufe experience alone
¦points out the connexion between caufe and.
effe^, not to infift on this, I fhall beg leave
to obferve, that in the above quotation, he
himfelf pulls down his own favorite
fcheme. — For I appeal to every reader,
whether we have not here a confeffion,
that human teftimony may, in fome cafes,
give credibility to miracles, or violations
of the laws of nature? He forgets then
that he had laid it down as a principle
" that no teftimony for any kind of mi-
" racle can ever poffibly amount to a pro-
'? bability, much lefs a proof ;t that it iis
* P. 199. + Ibid.

27
*' experience only which gives authority to
*' human teftimony,*— that a miracle fup-
** ported by any human teftimony is more
** properly a fubjeft of derifion than of
" argument ;"t — for here he allows that
teftimony, under certain eircumftances,
may give credibility to a ftranger prodigy
than ever happened. Perhaps he will fay,
that the univerfality of the miracle and of
the teftimony, in the inftance affigned by
him, makes it different from all others. I
anfwer, that admitting it does, ftill he
ftands charged with a contradiftion of his
own principles, which, how he can get
clear of, I fee not. His general opinion,
as is evident from his own words juft
quoted is, that human teftimony, in no
inftance, can prove a miracle ; how, there
fore, can this pofition be maintained, and
it be granted, at the fame time as he does
grant, that fuch a teftimony as he de-
fcribes will give credibility to the miracle
^f the eight days darknefs.? In the one
* P. 198. + P. 194.

28
place he rejefts human teftimony abfohte-
Ty, and without any refirxElions, When re
porting' a miracle ; and, in the other place,
h^ fives' us leave, provided human t^e^fti-
niony have certain' qualifications m^^n-
tioned by him-, to adteit it, however mira
culous the fa6l atteft:ed be.
But I fee no rekfon vrhy a h'eal viola
tion of the courfe of .nature — a darknefs,
for inftance, of eight days in one country
only, if attefted' by thofe who- lived- near
the pla'ce where it happened, and confirm
ed by the tradition- of thofe who had oji-
pOrtunities of knowing the fa£t,. fhould
not be looked liport a^ equally credible
with the univerfai' darknefs inft^ced- by
our author. The poffibility of a hcetl
miracle" cannot, furely, be denied- by the
perf!)n who admits the pofllbifity of fo-
ftrang'e a miracle as one extending over*
the whole darth. Now, if a local miracle
be poffible, nothing' more can be requi^
fite to eftablifh its credibility, but that we
have all the evidence for it that the nature

9.(

pf the fa6l can admit of; and as it wa$
npt u-niverfal, univerfai teftimony muj|
not be expe6led. For the nature of thp
proof from teftimiony is the fame, whether
we have five hundred or five millioiis <£
witneffes.. If the leffer number have equal
opportunities of knowing y/hat they ar-
teft, arid are equally credible in other re-
fpe6ls with the greater number, we Iiave
equal reafofi for admitting the teftimony
of both.
"You fee. Sir, that the great charapjoa
againft miracles, does himfelf admit, diat
human teftimony may prove a miracle of
as extraordinary a kind too as we can fup
pofe ever to happen.
But, upon a clofer attention, f begin to
think I have injured him, by fuppofing
that he coyld ever deny that miracles, in
general, can be made credible by teftimo
ny ; for, it feems, his opiniori is that orily
fuch miracles cannot be made credible by
teftimony, as are urged /o be the foundation

of a newfftem of religion ; and he defres us
to underjland him with this limitation .* N ot
to mifreprefent him, therefore, this limi
tation fhall be allowed him. But, at the
fame time, I would aflc him this plain
qucftion, if this be allowed him, will it not
involve him in a labyrinth of contradic
tions ? For it matters not, whether a mi
racle be wrought in fupport of a religion
or no — our author's boafted argument
ftrikes at all miracles ; and, according to
his principles, all miracles muft be reje6led,
becaufe all miracles are events contrary to
firm and unalterable experience. Before,
therefore, he had admitted that human
teftimony may give credibility to fuch
miracles as are not afcribed to a new fyftem of
religion, he fhould have taken care to have
weighed the obvious confequences of his
own arguments, which exprefsly forbid
him to believe any miracles at all. — But
not to carry this charge of inconfiftency
any farther, we have here a clear view of
* P. 199-

;5i
the principles of this gentleman. He will
believe any thing when religion is out of
the queftion, let it be ever fo ftrange; but
whenever religion is concerned, he is fo
fcrupulous, that he will admit nothing.
He grants that the moft extraordinary
prodigies may be proved by teftimony,
provided no body can aflign any end or
purpofe they could be defigned to anfwer;
but whenever miracles are appealed to as
the foundation of a newjyjtem of religion,
that is, whenever a wife and important end
can be ferved by them, then, he would
have us believe, that we have been im-
pofed upon, and that no fuch miracles
were really performed. How wild and
inconfiftent this way of talking (for I can
not call it reafoning) is, I appeal even to
yourfelf; which, while it abfolutely re-
fufes credibility to the miracles of the
Chriftian fcriptures, allows us to believe
fuch miracles and prodigies as are to be
met with in Livy or Dion Cajfius.
But what is the reafon affigned foj the

52
incredibility of miracles, when they ar^
made the foundation of a new religion ?
*'; Becaufe," fays our author, " men, in all
" ages, have been fo much impofed upon
" by ridiculous ftories of that kind, that
" this very circumftance would be a full
"proof of the cheat, and fufficient, with
" all men of fenfe, not only to make them
" rejeft the fai6i, but even reject it with*
" out farther examination."*
Are we then brought back, after all the
efforts of metaphyfical fcepticifm, to this
weak and childifh argument— ^That, be
caufe fome men have been knaves and
fools, therefore, all muft be fuch ? That be
caufe fome men's teftimony in relating mi--
racles has been falfe, no teftimony what
ever for a miraculous fa6l ought ever to
be taken.? — To infer from the world's
having been fometimes impofed upon by
falfe miracles, that no miracles have ever
been true, is as abfurd as if one fiiould
p. soo,

deny that there is any real virtue among
men, becaufe there is much hypocrify ; or
as if he fhould refufe to take any. coin,
becaufe it fometimes has been counter
feited. Counterfeit coin, fuppofes that
there is fuch a thing in the world as good
money, and no body would pretend, out
wardly, to be virtuous, unlefs fome were
really fo. In the fame manner, the falfe
miracles, about whiqh fo much work is
made, fuppofe the exiftence of real ones ;
and the cheats that have been impofed
upon the world, far from furnifhing us
with reafons to rejeft all miracles in ge
neral, are, on the contrary, a ftrong proof
that fome, of which they are imitations,
have been genuine. By w*hat criterion
we can diftinguifh the true from the falfe,
is indeed a moft iinportant enquiry, and i
will be the fubjeft of the following ftieets. j
I fhall not profecUte my examination of
this author's boafted argument againft
miracles any farther, both becaufe it has
been fully and effeftually anfwered by

34
others*, and becaufe what I have juft
thrown out muft fatisfy you that events
contrary to firm and conftant experience,
may become credible by human teftimony,
efpecially as you have his word for it ;
and he was the firft, I know of, who ever
denied it, giving us his reafon for doing
fo. In this afting the part of a fair ad-
verfary, and at the fame time, in my opi
nion, giving the fevereft blow to the
enemies of the Gofpel miracles that they
ever received -f becaufe he has fhewn that
he could n6t (and if he could not, I am
fure no other perfon can) eftablifh the
incredibility of miracles, but by calling in
queftion the firft principles of human
knowledge; but by introducing the moft
extravagant fcepticifm, that ever made its
appearance under the -venerable name of
philofophy. — I fhall only add, that an au
thor who efpoufes fuch opinions, can never
* By Dr. Rutherforth in a fermon ; by an anonymous au
thor of Remarks on an Eflay concerning Miracles ; fuppofed
to be a worthy prelate ; but more at large by theRevd Wr.
Adams of Shrewibury, and by Dr. Campbell of Aberdeen.

35
be a dangerous enemy to religion. His
arguments having novelty, may pleafe for
a while ; but fo oppofite are they to every
one's fettled notions, that their influence
cannot be lafting. Sorry I am to fay, that
the author ©f the Philofophical Effays ftem^
to have a right to this charafter, — a cha-
rafter which muft fink the value of his
Writings, in fpite of the moft eminent
abilities. Though I have fufiBciently expofed the
weaknefs of Mr. Hume's fceptical fubtil-
ties, the advocates of infidelity, in general,
not having adopted them, it is incumbent
on me to take notice of a more popular
objeQiion to which they ufually have re-
courfe. It is this, that man has a fight
within, which anfwers, to the ftifl, all the
purpofes of religion, and that a due atten
tion to his rational faculties, will, without
the affiftance of fupernatural inftruSion,
enable him to know and to a6t in conform
ity to the divine will, as the means of
D 2

36
fecuring the favour of heaven, and the
happinefs of a future life.
We may pronounce this to be an affer-
tion equally prefumptuous and unfounded.
For, however inftrufted man might be, as
originally created, it could not but be the
care of ar> all- wife and benevolent being to
rekindle the light of natural reafon, when
its corrupted and debafedftate had involv
ed the human race in all the mifchiefs of
the moft humiliating darknefs ; a darknefs,
which we know was univerfai, and would
have been infuperable, if it had not been
difpelled by the light of revelation. And
thofe minute philofophersof our days, who
difclaim all revelation as unneceffary,
would do well to confider, that Socrates,
the moft diftinguifhed philofopher of hea
then antiquity, entertained no fuch notions
of the fufficiency of human reafon. For he
exprefsly tells us, that we mujl wait till we
learn from an inJlruEtor who careth for us
and has a wonderful concern for our interefs,
in what manner we are to condud our-

37
feheswith regard to God and our fellow-
creatures*. This verdift alone, I efteem
as a complete anfwer to all the fophiftries
of a Collins, and all the declamation of a
Tindal. It is upon this footing, that the miracles
recorded in the New Teftament are to be
defended. For the expediency of a divine
revelation being once admitted, the ex
pediency of miracles may eafily be proved.
— There are but two ways by which God
could reveal his will to mankind — either
by an immediate influence on the mind of
every individual of every age, or by feleft-
ing fome particular perfons to be his inftru-
* This remarkable judgment of Socrates concerning the
expediency of a revelation, is to be mcl with in Plato's
Second Alcibiades.
flfvfl^WTTtfS" ^ta-Azia^xi. A, Hors fcrii ira^W^t o ^^ovof yrof.: u
XtifK^XTET ; 3^ Tis 0 'jiaioEva^tjy ; TjOtTCS ya^ av [AOt ooycu iosiv rSroif
Tjov JivO^uixov Ttslfiv. SaJK^. 'Of TOJ £f/V oJ (AE^St 'TTE^l o-tf.---aAA(aj
pittv KixsTiioT^^xv^aTIv oaw "TTs^i era is^o&Vi/.'txv iy(fi, PlatonW
Dialog. Selca. Ed. Cantab, p. 155, 256.

38
ments in reforming and enlightening the
world, and for this purpofe vefted by him
with fuch powers, as might carry the
ftrongeft evidence that they werereafly di^
vine teachers.
But with regard to the firft method
which I have mentioned, if you fliould
urge that this would have been the pro-
pereft, as it would have fuperfeded the ufe
and necelfity of miracles, I would defire
you to confider, that you admit what is
more extraordinary and incredible, than
the miracles you rejeft. For upon this
fuppofition, you muft believe it to be
more probable, that God fhould be con
tinually fuperfeding and afting contrary
to his own appointment, by making a new
revelation of his will to every individual,
than that he fhould only do it upon a fpe-t
cial and extraordinary occafion. —
The other method, therefore, of pub'
lifhing a revelation from Heaven,was to be
made choice of— fome particular perfons

39
"were to be appointed to teach and authen
ticate it to the world. But how were fuch
perfons, whom we fuppofe teachers from
Heaven, to prevail with others to receive
what they taught, as the will of God?
Will their bare affertion be fufficient ? At
this rate, a wide door would be opened to
impofture, and every one might, at plea-
fure, publifh the whims of a difordered
imagination, or the errors of a depraved
heart as meffages from Heaven. It muft,
therefore, be in the power of the divine
teacher to appeal to fome credential, that
may prove he has a right to be believed.
Perhaps you will fay, that the intrinfic
excellence and reafonablenefs, of what is
taught, will be effeftual for this purpofe.
But, certainly you cannot affert this if you
refle6t, that, whatever right reafon might
do, corrupted reafon, reafon funk in idola
try and fuperftition on the one hand, and
in immoral praftice on the other^ would
pay but little regard tO the inftru£lions of
thofe who could produce no authority, bat

40
the intrinfic one of their inftruftions being
agreeable to reafon. And hence it was,
that even if any of the Pagan philofophers
had taught a perfeft rule of religion and
morality, which however was far, from
being the cafe, none of them could ever
have done much good as to inftru£ling
reforming mankind. They wanted autho
rity to teach, and fan6lions to enforce, as
a law, what they taught. And as neither
the bare affertion of the teacher, nor the
reafonablenefs of what he teaches, can be
fufficient to prevail with others, to receive
him as fent from God, what elfe can be
done, in order to prove this, but to veft
him with fuch powers as might carry the
cleareft evidence of a divine afliftance ?
And what clearer evidence can be produ
ced of this affiftance, than his being vefted
with a power of performing fuch works,
as no moLn could' perform unlefs God were
with him ?
I truft, that I have not unfuccefsfuUy de
fended the Chriftian revelation from fuch
of the attacks of the advocates of infidelity

41
as have been already confidered by me.
Butfufificient notice has not; as yet been ta
ken of an objeftion, which as it feems to be
their moft favpurite topic ; it is incumbent
on me, if I would do full juftice to the fub-
je6l, to examine with due attention. The
objection is this — That men in all ages)
having been fo much impofed upon by falfe
pretenfions to fupernatural powers, a juft
fufpicion is created, that no fuch powers
have ever been a6lually exerted ; efpecially
as it is confidently afferted, that the miracles
recorded in the New Teftament, and which
we believe to be the works of God, are
not fupported by ftronger evidence than
are thofe of Paganifm and Popery which
we rejeO:. How little foundation there is
for this objection, will, I flatter myfelfj
be moft compleatly proved, in the exten-
five view of the fubjeCt which fliall be laid
before you. The accounts which have
been publifhed to the world of miracles,
in general, may, I think, be arranged
under thefe two claffes ; Firft, of events
confeffedly beyond the power of natural

42
caufes to produce; and, fecondly, of events
which though not in their own nature mi
raculous, have, in particular inftances, been
believed to be fuch from a confideration
of the pecuHar eircumftances under which
they were brought about.
Entering now upon the tafk I have un
dertaken, I fliall begin with an accurate
examination of the miracles reported to
have been wrought amongft Pagans of old,
and Chriftians of latter times, and hope
to produce fubftantial reafons for our re-
jeftion of both claffes of them, by fliewing,
firft, that fuch of them as are confeffedly
of the fupernatural kind, may, from the
infufficiency of the evidence produced in
fupport of them, be juftly flifpefted to
have never happened ; and, fecondly, that
fuch of them as we may admit to have hapr
pened, though afcribed to the exertion of
fupernatural power, were brought about
by the operation of caufes merely natural.
After having carefully illuftrated and

43
confirmed this ftatement, I fliall proceed
to an examination of the Gofpel miracles,
from which it will appear inoppofition to
the affertion of Mr. Hume and his infidel
friends, thg^t they may moft eafily be dif
tinguifhed from the jother events of the
marvellous kind, which are either the fa
brications of impofture or the dreams of
credulity, and that both claffes of them,
recorded in the New Teftament, are fup
ported by evidence fo entirely unexcep
tionable, as muft convince every lover of
truth, that they were really performed,
and that all of them are undoubtedly mi
raculous. Such then, is the plan upon which I am
to proceed, and on which I build my ex
pectation, of convincing you of the truth
of the Chriftian faith. If the premifes
propofed may be made good, as I am per-
fuaded they may, at leaft in the hands of
fome abler difputant, the conclufion is,
that the Chriftian reliction muft needs be
true, upon your own conceffion. For

44
your conceffion was, that a perfon affum-
ing the charaCler of a teacher fent from
God, and vefted with a miraculous power,
has a right to be obeyed in whatfoever he
teaches. Now that Chrift affumed the
character of a teacher from God, you
will readily grant, and it is incumbent
upon me to endeavour to prove, agreeably
to my plan, that he was vefted with the
power of performing real miracles.
In order to this, and in purfuance of
the plan that I have laid down, let us
now take into confideration fuch of the
wonderful works faid to have been per
formed amongft Pagans and Papifts as
could not poffibly be brought about by
operation of any natural caufe, and, I
flatter myfelf, that the evidence produced
in their fupport will appear to be fo very
defective and infufficient, as juftly to war
rant our rejecting them as idle tales that
never happened, and the inventions of
J>old and interefted deceivers.

45
1 have already obferved, whenl treated
of the evidence requifite to give credibi
lity to miracles, that the teftimony fup-
porting them muft be free from every
fufpicion of fraud and impofture. And
the reafon is this— Ty^e Hijiory of Mira^
cles (to make ufe of the words of an * au
thor whofe authority you will think of
fome weight) is of a kind to/ally different
from that of common events, the one to be
fufpeded always of courfe, without ths
Jlrongejl evidence to confrm it ; the other
to be admitted of courfe, without as flrong
reafon tofufped it. So that, wherever the
evidence urged for miracles leaves grounds
for a fufpicion of fraud and impofition,
the very fufpicion furnifhes fufhcient rea
fons for difbelieving them. And what I
fhall offer, under this head, will make it
evident that thofe miracles, which the
Proteftant Chriftian thinks himfelf at li
berty to rejeCl, have always been fo infuf-
* Middleton's Free Inquiry, p. 217-

4^
ficiently attefted as to leave full fcope for*
fraud and impofition to play their parts.
That I may proceed with the greater
perfpicuity, I fhall here lay down a few
general rules, by which we may try thofe
pretended miracles, one and all, wherever
they occur, and which may fet forth the
grounds on which we fufpeCl them to be
falfe. It would be an endlefs and an un
neceffary tafk to enumerate all the mani
fold accounts of miracles reported amongft
Pagans and amongft Papifs, and to ex
amine them one by one, critically, in
order to difprove them. I fliall only, by
way of illuftration of my rules, feleCl a few
memorable accounts by which may be
formed a judgment of the reft.
Now, I think it will be impoffible for
you, to affign any particular inftance of a
Pagan or Popifh miracle, the accounts of
which do not labour under one or other
of the following defefts, which we think
warrant our difbelieving them.

47
Firft, we fufpeCt miracles to be falfe
when the accounts of them are not pub-
liftied to the world till long after the time
when they are faid to have been per
formed. Secondly, we fufpeCl them to be falfe,
when the accounts are not publifhed in
the place where it is pretended they were
performed, but are propagated only at a
great diftance from the fuppofed fcene of
aClion. Thirdly, fuppofing the accounts to have
the two foregoing qualifications, we ftill
may fufpeCt them to be falfe, if in the time
when, and at the place where they took
their rife, they might be fuffered to pafs
without examination.
And when we come to try by this teft
any particular miracle of Paganifm or Po
pery, which caTi. be traced up to contem
porary witneffes, and was publifhed on
the fpot, it will be inftantly obferved that

48
it labours under one or other, or both, of
the above-mentioned eircumftances. — We
fhall ever find the people refufing any ex
amination of the miracle, through a blind
credulity and eagernefs of belief, or the
promoters of it, armed with power, ren
dering an examination impracticable.
But what occafion, you may fay, can
there be for my troubling myfelf to point
out to you the reafons why thofe miracles
ought to be rejefted as falfe, of the truth
of which you never profeffed yourfelf to
be a believer ? — I anfwer, that though you
have not profeffed a belief of them, you
and your.friends have reprefented them as
bearing equally ftrong marks of genuine-
nefs with the miracles of the gofpel, with
this profeffed view to have both of them
thought fpurious. It became neceffary,
therefore, in order to extricate our felves
out of this labyrinth in which you would
involve us, to point out fuch defeCts in the
evidence of the miracles fet up in oppofi-
tion to thofe of the Gofpel, as warrant our

491
diflbelieving them. When I have examin
ed, then, the moft memorable accounts of
thofe fpurious miracles, according to the
rules above-mentioned, I fhall proceed to
prove that the objections which deftroy
ii^«V credibility, cannot, with any juftice,
be urged againft the evidence of the mira
cles of the Gofpel.
The firfl rule laid down was, — That we
may juftly fufpeCt thofe miracles to be
falfe, the accounts of which are not pub
lifhed to the world, till long after the
time when they are faid to have been per
formed. In order to give credibility to any diftant
faCl, it is expected either that uninterrupt
ed tradition fhould have preferved and
handed dOwn the memory of it ; or, at
leaft, if the tradition has been interrupted,
that it fliould be mentioned in contempo
rary records. — And if common matters of
faCt, which cannot be traced up to the
age they pretend to, are not to be admitte4

so
as credible, this certainly holds much
ftronger with regard to miracles. Now,
upon examination, it will be found that
the accounts which we have, of many
of the boafted wonders of Paganifm and
Popery, are of this kind, that is, cannot
be traced up to the age they pretend to,
but were publifhed to the world when
length of time had, by removing the
means of examination, rendered a detec*
tion of their falfehood impoffible.
And, firft of all, under this head may
be ranged the account of the miracles of
Apotlonius of Tyana, publifhed to the
^orld in his Ufe written by Philqftraius,
It is certain that Philqjlratm did not
write till above an hundred years after
the death of h\& hero. What evidence,
therefore, have we^ that the faCls attribu
ted to this wonder-worker by his hiftorian,
were ever heard of, before he wrote?
That the life of Apolknius had been al
ready written by Mtfragenes is, indeed;

51
certain *. But fo far is this from proving
that the miracles afcribed to him by Plii-
lofratus had been, before this, taken no
tice of by Mceragenes, that the direCl
contrary may be inferred from this, that
Phihjlratus, inftead of making ufe of fuch
materials as were already in the hands of
the publicf, acquaints us that he compofe^
* Origen. contra Celfum L, 6. p. 302.
+ The reafon why Philoftratus did not make ufe of Mse-
ragenes,- who had written Apollonius's life before he did,
may be gueffed at from what Origen tells us :— -That Apot
lonius, according to the account given of him by Masrage-
nes, was looked upon as a magician and a juggler. 'AKmai
uTjro TUf til AmyAmiu (^aycixs ow ccyittis rivocs fiMcro^ovs, us n^os
ytyfirx avTov cKTeK^ovraef. — Origen loc. cit. The atitJiority,
therefore, of Mseragenes could not be appealed' to by Philo
ftratus, without defeating the intention of his book. The
former feems to have reprefented Apollonius, as he really
was, a perfon *ho could by his fuperlor art and dexterity,
perfoi^m furprizing f^ts and legerdemain tricks,- which tlie
fuperftition and ignorance of the times' gave him encourage
ment to attribute to magic. A magician being, in thofe
ages, looked upon (as appears fram many places of Ori-
gen's book juft qiib'ted) to be one who, by the ufe of certain
incantations, and- charms, and forms of barbarous words,
or by the celebi'ation of certain odd rites, could force fu-
perior beings or djemoils to affift him. This view of Apol-
lonjus's character was too difadTantageous to be adopted
e 2

53
his work, partly from hearfay talk, and
partly from an account of Apollonius de~
livered to him by the emprefs Julia the
wife of Severus^ faid, indeed, on the au
thority of the unknown perfon who gave
it to the emprefs, to have been written by
one Damis, a companion of Apollonius,
but never heard of in the world, till it fur-
nifhed materials to Philojiratus *.
Is it poffible, therefore, to give credit
to any hiftory, much lefs to a hiftory of
miracles, which ftands on this moft fufpi-
cious evidence? For the whole credit
due to the miracles of Apollonius, is ulti
mately to be refolved into the credit
due to Philojiratus himfelf; and, furely,
little credit is due to him. We have no
other evidence for the truth of thefe
ilrange faCts, but the affirmation of one
by Philoftratus, whofe work was calculated to repre-
fent him as a worker of real miracles by the affiftance of
the Pagan gods, in oppofition to the miracles afcribed by
Chriftians to the founder of their religion.
* Philoftratus, L. J. C. iii.

5S
•who lived fo long 'after they are fuppofed
to have happened, that he could not pof*
fibly know, allowing him inclined to be
impartial, whether the materials he had
to work upon were true or falfe. And
not only this— but we have no other evi*
dence for thefe wonders, but the affirma
tion of one, whom we have fufficient
grounds to fufpeCt«of having a defign to
obtrude a hiftory of lies upon the world.
— This, indeed, is more . than I need
prove, to deftroy the credibility of the
miracles of Apollonius, which is overturn^
ed by this fingle confideration, that the
account we have of them was not written
by one, who had opportunities of know
ing the truth, nor publifhed but to thofe
who, through length of time, had no op
portunities of detecting the forgery.
However, Ifiiall add fome further reflex:-
ions, from which it will appear, that inter
nal marks of falfehood are. as glaring, from
Philojiratus' s own narration, as the defeCts

54>
of its external evidence have been fhewn
to he.
The fup porters of Paganifm having ob
ferved, that the rapid and extenfive propa
gation of Chriftianity was produced by
an appeal to the miracles of its founder,
thought that they could not more effectu
ally ferve their dying caufe than by fetting
up a fimilar claim, in defence of the efta
blifhed idolatry. Accordingly, Philoftra-
ius undertook to write the life of Apollo
nius. That it may not be faid, I affert
without proof, and decide without argtj-
ment, fuffer me to mention a few particti-
lars which will demonftrate, that Philo
jiratus was not fo careful to relate what
Apollonius really performed, as to invent
a feries of miracles, which might be pa,-'
rallel to thofe afcribed by Chriftians to
fefus, and which correfpond fo exaCtly
with faCls recorded in the New Teftament,
that we need not hefitate in pronouncing
them imitated from it.

55
Is Jefus ftiled in the Gofpels the Son of
God ? Philojiratus makes his hero the re"-
puted fon of Jupiter. Do the evange-
lifts mention the appearance of an angel
to the Bleffed Virgin, and the fhining of a
ftar at the birth of Jefus ? Philojiratus
tells us, that the gods admonifhed in a
dream the mother of Apolfqnius, of the
birth of this great infant, and that, when
he was born, a flafh of lightning fell
from Heaven*. Did Jefus raife the daiigh*
ter of Jaims from the dead ? Our philo
fopher, in imitation of this, raifes to life
a young maid at Romt^. Do the Gof^
pels abound with cures of darHoiiidcs P
Apolloiiius alfo is introduced performing
the fame. Nay, farther, it is extremely
remarkable (and to the bifllop of Avtah-
che, Mr. Huet, we owe the obfervation)
that Philojiratus in relating how Apollo
nius broke off a cOrrefpondence which
one had with a damon, ufes almoft the
fame words which are ufed by St. Luki,
* Philoftratus, Lib. i. C. iv. f lb. Lib. 4, C x.

56
in relating the cure of a dcemoniac hy
our Saviour. The evangelift * tells us,
that the evil fpirit cried out, Jeo/aoh o-ou
fm ff.1 (3«fl-«vi^?ij, I befeech you not to tor
ment me : And Philojiratus, in his narra
tion, fays, that the fpirit l^nTo (/.y, (3«<r«n5in/
«uTo, befeeched him not to torment it.
Is it to be imagined that this fimili-
tude of expteffion could arife merely froni
chance ? — When we confider, on the one
hand, that the phrafeology of the writers
of the New Teftament was a very pecu
liar one, and, on the other hand, refleCt on
the great latitude of expreffion in the
Greek tongue, that Philojiratus fliould ufe
exactly the fame words with St. Luke will
appear extremely unlikely, unlefs we fup
pofe he had his Gofpel before him.
Again do we read in the ACls of the
Apoftles, that Paul and Silas were miracu-
loufly let out of prifon, and that their
fetters fell off ? Apollonius muft alfo be
? Luke, Ch. viii. V. ?«.

57
vefted with the power of fliaking off his
fetters at pleafure *. And were the apof
tles infpired . with the gift of tongues?
This qualification muft alfo be beftowed
on our philofopher f . Only his hiftorian
has happened a little to forget himfelf;
for in the courfe of his hiftory, Apollonius
cannot converfe with. Pliraortes, but
through the help of an interpretei;.
But as the refurreClion of Jefus is the ca
pital miracle of the Gofpel, it was efpe
cially neceffary that Apollonius fhould alfo
vie with Jefus here. Accordingly we
find the hero of Philoftratus rifing from the
dead I, and appearing, though I think,
but to one perfon whom he inftruCled in
the immortality of the foul.
Thefe inftances, out of a great many
others, muft convince every impartial rea
der that Philofratus had the Gofpels be-
• Phil. Lib. 7. C. X. i lb. Lib. 1. C xiii.
% Phil. Lib. 8. C. xiii.

fore him when he compofed his Life of
Apollonms, and that he invented a fet of
miracles which might bear a ftriking re-
fcmblance to thofe of the Chriftian teacher.
Other internal marks of Philoftratus s
hook being a romance, we have, in his
curious difcoveries of monkies as big as
men, of beafts with a human head and lion's
body, of women half white and half black,
of wool growing like corn, of countries
abounding with phoenixes, griffins and
dragons. A book every where inter*
(perfed with fuch anecdotes, may, perhaps,
gain credit with one who can digeft the
fpurious travels of St. John MandeviUe,
or the wonders of Lilliput and Brdbdig^
nac ; but with every ferious perfon, it
muft have carried its own confutation even
though we could have traced it up to the
time of Apollonius.
Having detained you fo long in review
ing it, and looking upon the fimilar ex
ploits of Pythagoras, as related by Por-

59
phyry and lamblicus, to be unworthy of
particular notice, let us now defcend to
times nearer our own, to the times of
monkifh ignorance and fraud, fhining with
the glorious light of miracles, if we believe
cither the public decrees of the Church
of Rome, or pay any credit to its private
writers ; but, in reality, times when the
fimplicity of the Gofpel degenerated into
grofs fuperftition, and when the inven
tions of men, fuperadded to the word of
God, were not more abfurd, than the frau
dulent contrivances to fupport them were
numerous. I think I may fafely affirm that many
of the moft noted miracles among Ro
man Catholics, are to be ranked in the
clafs of thofe faCls whofe credibility is de-
ftroyed, by their not having been publifhr
ed till length of time had thrown a veil
over the forgery.
Nay fo certain is this, that it is demon-
ftrable that many of thofe faints, to whom

60
wonders have been attributed, never had
exiftence, but in the brains of the fhame-
lefs interpolators, and ignorant tranfcri-
bers, of the Old Martyrologys, or were
never heard of, but in the impudent
legends 6f the Breviary. — Inftances
of this have been often affigned by
Proteftant writers. — Inftances of per
fons canonized who never lived*; of

* Mr. Addifon in his Travels, and Dr,']VIid<ileton, from
tim, in his Letter from Rome, mention that the Mount So-
raBe, is now called the Mount St. Orejies, to which faint
there is a convent dedicated, on the top of it. However, a&
two faints of the name of Oreftes, whofe feftivals are on the
9th of November, and on the 13th of December, have a
place not only in the Roman Martyrologys, but are alfo re
corded in the Greek Mcnason, as having fuffered under
Droclefian, one in Armenia, and the other in Ctippadocia,
and as this latter Oreftes is named exprefsly by Gregory
Nazianzen in his oration on St. Bafil : from all thefe eir
cumftances, I ftiould think that, though Sorafte be now
corrupted into St. Orefte, this cannot be urged as a proof
that St. Oreftes never e.sifted. But many other inftances
of faints who never exifted can be afEgned. Not to infift
therefore on St. ^;«/;A/6(;;ui (Stv Alban's cloak) or on St.
Veronica (a handkerchief) ignorantly converted into perfon*
•who, as they never were formally canonized, may perhaps
Ve faid not to be venerated by the church of Rome, though

61
Heathens converted into Christian
it is notorious they are venerated by the individuals of it;
— I fliall e.xtrafl from the Martyrology publiihed by Gre
gory the XVth, ancli confirmed as authentic, by a bull,
inftances which indifputably prove my affertion, of non-
entitys, or things tranfubftantiated into perfons, and prayed
to as faints. — In the front of the Romish calendar ftands a
faint AlmacMus, whofe memory is foleranized on the 1ft of
January. Jf we confider the univerfai filence of an
tiquity as to this perfon, and the perplexity Baroniusis under
about him, fuppofing him to be the fame mentioned by
Theodoret under the name of Telemachus ; will it not be
thought a very probable conjedture that, as St. Almachius
is placed in the firft line of the calendar, its title, St. Alma-,
nacum. Sanctum Aknanacum, has been, by fome ignorant
raonk in the dark ages, miftaken for an ancipnt Saint.? And
it waseafy to frame St. Almachius, of St. Almauacum, ef
pecially, if we fuppofe it wrilten in the old way of abbrevia
tion. — If any one, in oppofition to this conjedure, fliould
urge the word Almanacum to be modern, the anfwer is,
that it is a wofd as old as Porphyry, as appears fi-om a quo,.
taiion of him by Eufebiiis. — P. Evan. L. 3. C. iv. But
whatever be the fate of St, AJmachiuSj whether a real faint
or only an almanac ; another inftance of a non-entity coa..
verted into a faint, we have in Siridon, whofe feftival is on
the 2d of January. Baronjus in his note on this place,
where we read Sancti Siridonis Episcopi, pr.ofefres himfelf
entirely ignorant who this Siridon was, and where bifhop.
And well he might-; for Dr. Geddes tells us, that in fome
old MSS. of the Martyrology the true reading appears, and
|he martyr is found to be Domnus — Autiochisc St/ria^

62
Saints * ; of Heretics miftaken for otho-
Dbmni; thefe two laft words being fo corrupted as' to form
Siridon a perfon who never exifted. — On the l6th of Fe- ,
bruary we have Sancti Juliani Martyris, cum atiis quinq ;
millibus. In this place for five foldiers, quinque militihus,
Writ in abbreviation Mil. we now find miClibus. But what
is the multiplying five foldiers into five thoufand faints,
¦when we can produce an inftance of a fpear metamoj-phofed
into a foldier.? On the 15th of March is the feftival of St.
Longinus who pierced our Saviour's fide. From the Greek
word Ao',^^, which fignifies a fpear, and ufed by St. John in
the relating this fact, has been deduced the name of the fol-
dier to whom it belonged, and the fpear being once made a
Hiau, the man was eafily made a faint. I (hall give but one
inftance more, and as ftrange as the laft ; of fourfcoreand
ihree miles, converted into fo many martyrs. Under the
24th of July we read Amiterni in Vestinispassio Sanctorum
tnilitum oct'aginia trium. Now from the old MSS. Martyr
ologys it is evident vve ought to read, At Amiternum, 83
miles from Rome, of St. Victorinus : the abbreviation of Mil-
liaria, being miftaken ioiMilites. Thefe inftances are fo
flagrant that to mention more were fuperfluous. Whoever
^ould fee more may meet with them in the Traits of Dr.
Geddes. * Notto mention Eeorfia taken notice of by JIabillonin
}iis Itiner. Italicum, nor St. Viarius whofe miracles were
famous all round Eyora in Portugal, till Refendius fhewed
that no fuch perfon had ever exifted, by reading the infcrip-
tion which referred to two heathens who had been appoint
ed Viarmn Curandarum, to repair the high-ways ; whicji in-

63

dox*, and of moral and Chriftian virtues,
perfonafied into martyrs and miracle-
workers t. However as the fcenes of the
(cription, though very eafy to be underftood, was bej'ond
tiie reach of Portuguefe priefis. Not to mention thefe as
inftances, becaufe not countenanced by any public aft of
the church, the authentic Martyrology prefents us-with a
St. Bacchus, a St. Quirinux, a St. lilercuriiis, a St. Romutus,
a St. Nitammon, a St. HippQlitus, &c. &c. all which favour
much of a Pagan original. And, in particular, if we com
pare what the Romiflj church fays of St. Hippolitus, with
the fable of Ovid concerning the fon of Thefeus, of the fanre
name, it cannot be doubted that the oneftory is a copy of
the other. For as the Pagan Hippolitus was torn in funder
by wild horfes, fo, if we turn to the Martyrology, under the
ISth of AugHft, we read that the fame fate attended tlie
Chriflian Martyr of that name. What ftill confirms this,
is the giving St. Hippolitus a nurfe ; for the Martyrology,
after relating his fate, addeth passi sunt eodem Die, beata
Concordia ejus Nutrix, &c. — Every one knows what fliare
j3, nurfe had in the ftory of Phajdra and Hippolitus.
* Inftances of heretics canonized, we have in Theodbtus
an Adrian, oti the 2d of November j of Paphnutius a Mi-
lefian heretic, on the 1 1 th of September ; of Felix a fchif-
matio, on the 29th of July, &c. &c. &c.
+ We read in the Martyrology on the 1ft of Augiuft— r
^' Romae paffio Sanftarum Virginum Fidei, Spei, & Chari-
" tatis, quae fub Hadriano Principe, raartyriu-coronam
" adept£e funt." Now that there Ihould ever be throe

64
Romifh miracles are not altogether in
terra incognita. I fhall take particular
notice of one or two of their moft boafted
pretenfions, which may give you a fpeci-
men of what you are to expe6l in moft
of the reft. The inftances I propofe to
mention, are the miracles afcribed to the
two famous heroes of the order of the
Jefuits— Ignatius the founder of their
order, and Francis Xavier, their apoftle
in the Eaji Indies,
Ignatius, according to BouhoUrs, Maffei,
and feveral other writers of the order of

young women of the names of Faith, Hope, and Charity,
or, if there vvere three fuch young women, that they fliould
happen to fuffer martyrdom together, muft be owned to be
highly improbable. And if we take it into confideration
that a day was fet apart, in the old Pagan calendar of
Rome, to Hope, this creates a ftrong fufpicion, that thefe
three are imaginary martyrs, and inferted by way of ac.
commodation to Pagan prejudices — a refpeft to which has
beien demonftrated by Dr. Middleton, iu the Poflfcript to
his Letter from Rome, to have given rife to the glaring
Hsathenifm, as I may call it, of many rites and praftices
of the Romifti church.

63
'J ejus (for above twenty of them havebeeil
his biographers) was not inferior to any of
the faints, either for the number or the
ftrangenefs of his miracles. But that thefe
miracles were impudently forged, long
after he was dead, by an order of men re*
markable for their forgeries, and with the
obvious intention of extending their own
power, by exalting the reputation of their
founder, will, I think, be pretty evident
from the following particulars :
' Ribadeneira, a Spanijh jefuit. Was the
firft who undertook to give the world a
life of this faint ; and that he undef toOk it>
with a view to exalt the chara6ler of the
head of his order, we might have fuppofed,
even although he' had not told us fo him
felf, when he [fays, that he was well qua
lified to write the hiftory of Ignatius,
having, from his youth, been an eye wit-
nefs and admirer of his moft holy life.*
* -Cujus ego Viri hiftorigm quoniam a fuero fandifrini»
ipfius vitse fpeftator atque admirator fui, pleniorem & ma-
jo ri rerum fide fcribere polero. Ribaden. in Pragfat.
r

66
As, therefore, we cannot but fuppofe ttiaf
Ribadeneira, a cotemporary, muft have
heard of Ignatius^s miracles, if any had
been pretended to, fb it cannot be doubted,
that fuch a biographer would have gladly
laid bold of am opportunity of relating
riiera ; as the afcribing of miracles to his
liero, would have advanced his reputation
more than any thing elfe that could he re
lated of him.
Does then Ribadeneira afcribe any mi
racles to Ignatius^ $0 far is he from doing
this, that we are certain, from his own de^-
(claration, not only that ihe himfelf did no|
believe his faint had ever performed mi
racles, but, farther, that this was a point
nniverfally known and agreed upon. For
he enters uppn an inquiry,* in his bopkf
whence it could happen, that fo holy ^

• L. 5. C. xiii. p. 539. Sed dicat aliquis, fi vera hseg
flint, ut profefto funt, quid caufze eft quamobrem illius-
fanftitas minus eft teftata miraculis ? & ut multorum fanftor-
ura vita, fignis declarata, virtutumque operationibus ui"
flgnite.-

67
m^n bad ndt the gift of miracles beftowed
Upon him ; and the elaborate and fenfibl4
reafons which he affigns for this*, are b,

* The follo^Wing'fpecim^rl of them deferves our perufal:
Hjpc di:^erim non ut miraculprura vim elevem, fed ut pru«
dens leftor inteiligat, rem totam Deo committendam ; qui
dona fua unicuiqUe diftribuit prout vult. Potuit ille pro fu*
bccultd fa^ientr^, noftrse hoc imbecillitati dare, ne mitacu-
la unquam jalftare poffemus^ Potuit utilitati^ ut aulhore Ini-
ftituti mijius jlluftri, a Jef^i potius^ quam at) illp, npmen
trahereraus & noftra nos appellatio facta monerst, ne ab illo
Oculos uriijuarii dimoveremus : quern non folum, ut con*-
Munem humani generis liberatorem ac principem, ffed etiam
ut prtecipuum ducem colere, atque imit^ri debemus, mi-
tii mam banc focietatem fui nomin'is gloriofo titulo deco-
't'aijtemi Potui't hoc etiam tribuere temporibus, quibus haac
toiraciila necelfai-ia rtoti funt. P. 54?, 64,3.
The vein of htimility *hich runs through this paETage,
agrees but very ill with the charafter and conduft of the
Jefuits, who h3,Ve, evfer fince the foundation of their order
given the wOrld too many fatal proofs of their arrogance and
ambition ; and inftead of endeavouring to deferve the glo
rious appellation affumed by them, *by a blind obfequiouf-
iiefs to the pretenfions of the court of Rome, pretenfions in-
•Confiftent with the fecurity and independOney of the civil
¦hiagiftrate, and by their odious attempts to fap the founda
tions ofGhriftianmoraiity, have rendered the appellation of
Jefuit odious even among the moderate part of the church
of Rome; and have made the penal laws of proteftant ftates,
|)articalarly of ours, againft the religion they have prQ_ a-
f2

es
d^monftration that it was, at that tinae;
looked upon as an indifputed faft, that
Ignatius had not been vefted with any fuch
power.
' As Ignatius died in 1557, and as
Ribadeneira did not publifh his life till
1572, we may be certain that the miraclej
afcribed to this Saint had not been invent
ed or thought of during the firft fixteen
years after his death. Nay, we are certain
that they were not thought of during the
firft thirty years : for, in 1 ^Qj , Ribadeneira
publifhed a fecond edition of the life of
Ignatius ; and though, in this edition, he
tells us* he has added many new particu-
gated by treafons, afTaffinations, malfacres, and villanies of
every kind, to be afts necefl!ary for our own prefervation,
and not to be charged to a fpirit of perfecution.
* Multa mihi necefTario addenda judicavi. Priraumiiova
qusdam, quas poft libellura e.xcufum.-graviflimi viri, & Ig-
natio valde familiares, & aiite focietatem conditara intimi
neceflarii, quafi teftes oculati de ipfo Ignatio nobis retule-
runt. Turn alia, quje dubia antea mihi erant, & dihgenti
pofiea inquifitione inveftigata, certa effe comperi. Ribaden,
inPiaf. Ed. 158?-.

69
lars which he had learnt fince he publifhed
the firft, from fome of Ignatius' s moft inti
mate friends, and other matters, which be
fore had appeared doubtful, but in confe-
quence of his diligent examination he now
found to be certain ; yet, after all this care
and diligent inquiry, the miracles of Igna
tius were ftill unheard of by him, for this
edition is as filent about them as was the
firft. This then being the cafe, we may well
be furprized, that this fame Ribadeneira
fhould, in an abridgment of his work,
printed at Ipres, in 1612, afcribe miracles
to Ignatius; telling us, as his reafon for
not inferting fuch accounts before, that
though he had heard of them in 1572,
they were not fufficiently authenticated at
that time*— But this excufe cannot ferve
* Quamvis enim anno 1572, primum vitam ejus latine fcrl-
berem alia nonnulla miracula ab eo fafta noviffem, tamtn
ad eo mihi certa & explorata non erant ut in vulgus edenda
mihi perfuaderem ; poftea vero, quajftionibus de ejus iti
divoi relatione publico habitis, gravibus & ideneis teftibus
fuerantcomprobata. Cap. 18, P. 121. Edit. Ipren. l6l2,-

70
bis purpofe ; for it requires more fubtiHty
than the moft fubtile Jefuit is mafter ofj
to be able to reconcile his afferting that he
had heard of Ignatius's miracles in 1572?
with his elaborate inquiry at that very
time, into the reafons why God bad not
vef|ed bis Saint with fuch a power.
From all thefe circtmiftances, therefor^
I think myfelf authorized to. conclude, that
the miracles of Ignatius;, which, about the
year 1612, were fo boldly appealed to,
were impudent forgeries then trumpt up,
at, the diftance of above half a century
from the age they pretend to, and wheri
a deteftion of them w^s impoffible to be
fet about. And why a power of miracles;
fhould, at that time, be afcribed to this
Saint, is obvious. The Jefuits, now that
their founder had been dead almoft fixty
years, began to think of getting him a
place in the calendar :* and that th^ir or
der might not be outdone by thofe who
could boaft of a St. Francis, a St.^ Btrnardi,^
This w as obtained of Pope Gregory the XVth, in lS22.

71
>xSt. BenediSi, or a St. Dominie, they were
refolved to have a Saint Ignatius at their
head. That no objeftion, therefore, might
be made to his admiffion into the venerable
lift of Demi-gods, it was thought neceffa
ry to do wliat other ordfers of religious
had done before---to attribute to him a,
catalogue of miracl'eis which, at fuch a
diftaance of time, could not be difproved',
and the evidence of which need be but
flender to be allowed of by the church, or
rather the court of Rome, whofe power
and grandeur are moft efife61;nally fupr
ported by its claim to miracles, under the
fan6iion of which it is enabled i!0 exercifc
a boundlefs empire over the undcrft'and"
ings of its votaries.*
* It may be obferjred in geiieral, in the lives of the Rd-
niifli faints, that the accounts of the miracles afcribed to
them, are ufually faid to be extraded out of the authentic
certificates, &c. exhibited during the procefs of their cano
nization. A moft fatisfying proof that they are forgeries of
»n age pofterior to that they lay claim to; as few or none
of their ikintsare canonized till they have been fo long dead,
as to make it eafy to attribute any wondej-s to thera without
Dear of contradiftion.

73
Leaving, therefore, our military faint,
our knight-errant in devotion, to enjoy,
as the reward of his fanaticifm,* equal ho
nors with his brethren the founders of other
orders, fuffer me, now, to take under my
examination, the miracles afcribed to^Fran-.
fis Xavier, which, as they have made as
much noife as, perhaps, any boafted of by
papifts, are very proper inftances to illuf'.'
trate my argument.
I have now before me two lives of this
famous faint, written (as we may eafily
have fuppofed, though we had not known
it) by two fathers of his own orders, by
Turjellinusi m Latin, ^.tiid^hy Bouhours'm
French. But as the^ latter is little more
than a tranfcript of the former, dreSed out
jn a more elegant manner, I fhall, in the
* For a yiew of Igriatius'? pharafter fee StilUngJleefs
fanaticism of tie Church of Rome-r-Mr. Wharton's Enthu
siasm qfthe Church of Rome dempn^trated, in obfervations
on the life of Ignatius— ror Mr. Bailie's Dictionarj/, under th^
^rticle Loyola; to which laft author I own myfelf princi?
p^lly indebted for tht: remarks oa this faint's piiracles,

73
remarks which I make on thefe miracles,
confine myfelf to the account given us of
them by '. Turfellinus. And that Xavier's
miracles are inventions pofterior to his
time, will appear from the following eir
cumftances :
Turfellinus in the preface prefixed to
his firft edition, laments that no'one had
ever thought of writing this faint's life till
he had been dead thirty-five years. Be
fore any credit can be given therefore to
the miracles reported of Xavier, we muft
be fatisfied that they were publicly known
during the time intervening from his
death: but fo far is this from being the
cafe, that we can produce, what I look
upon as moft conclufive evidence, that
during tfcat time Xavier's miracles had not
been heard of- The evidence I fhall allege
is of Acpjla, who himfelf had been a mif-
fionary among the Indians. iHis work
de procurandd Indorumfalute, was printed
In the year 1585, that is above thirty-feven
ye^r^ after the death of Xavier, and in

T4
It we find an exprefs acknowledgment that
no miracles had ever been performed by
milfionaries among the Indians. For he
affigns it as one reafon why the Gofpel was
not propagated by them with the fame
fuccefs as it was by the apoftles. " That
" the power of working miracles did not
*^ fubfift among the miffionatrics, who not
?' being able to excite the admiration or
*' the fear of the barbarians, by the raajefty
*^ of any fuch works, were,, confequently,
*' defpifed by reafon of their mean ap,
^' pearance."^ — Is it to be imagined that
Acojla would have reafoned in this manner,
if, at. the time he wrote his book, the mi-
j-atcles. related by Turfellinus had been af
cribed to Xavier .^Had fuch accounts been
public,, J co/?fl,could not but t^ave heard of

* Altera caiifa ip nobis eft, cur apoftolica praedicatio
jniftitui omnino non poflit apoftolice, quod miraculorunf
nulla facultas fit:— noftri nujic temporis cum talium opef-
\jm raajeftate fefe barbaris admirandOs & timendos noR
praebeant, nihil peftat nifi ut teliqua vitse iriopia & impotej^'
tia penitus contemnatur. B.2. C. viii.

them, as he himfelf was a Je/hit ; and!,
therefore, from his filence, we may infep
Wnexceptionably, that between thirty and
forty years had elapfed before Xavier's
miracles were thought of : or, which is
tequally fubverfive of their credibility, if
they were heard of within this period,
that they met with no credit from one
who cannot be fuppofed deficient eithej
in opportunities of information, or in re^
dinefs of believing them,
That the miracles afcribed by TwrfiUi^
nus to Xavier are pofterior to the age of
'Javier, may be deduced ftill more clearly
from th& teftimony of the faint himfelf,
The miffion of this apoftle lafted ten
years ; during which time he regularly
correfponded with his friends, and the fu-.
periors o,f his order in Europe. Thefe
letters of his have been collefted, and arc
now in the hands of the public. As they
treat principally of his miffion,, of the.
progrefs he made, of the difficulties he
|iad tp ftruggle with, and the means he

76
-Efiade ufe of to convert the Indians, it
came, unavoidably, in his way, to mention
•his power of working miracles, if ever
he had been vefted with fuch a power.
'But fo far is he from giving us the leaft
hint of this, that he mentions a circum
ftance which is abfolutely inconfiftent
with the fuppofition. For, in many of
his letters, he expreffes himfelf greatly
unable to do any good amongft ^thofe
poor people, from his being ignorant of
their languages, telling us that he had
matters to inftruft him, and frankly own
ing that if he could not arrive at an ac
quaintance with them, he could do no
fervice to Chriftianity*. From Xavier
himfelf therefore, we are furnifhed not
only with a negative evidence againft his
having any miraculous power, but alfo

, * Among many other pafTages this may be quoted, F^-sit
Deus, ut ad divinarum explicationem rerum linguam con-
difcamus quamprimum ; tum demuni aliquam Chriftianx
i-ei navabimus operam. Nam nunc, quidem inter eoj
tanquammutse qua^dam ftatuas verfamur. Lib. 3. E, 5,

11
with a pofttive fa6l which is the ftrongeft
poffibfe prefumption againft it. The end
of his having a power of working mira
cles is fuppofed to be, that he might bring
over the Indians to Chriftianity. And
yet we fee that he himfelf exprefsly dif^
claims all fupernatural affiftance in that
Very inftance, in which it is reafonable to
believe Heaven would have affifted him,
had it interpofed at alf ; and his not being
affifted in which, rendered all other mira
cles, though he had performed ever fo
many, of no effe^l. For unlefs he could
draw confequences from the miracles;
unlefs he could explain himfelf to thofe
who were witneffes of them, they would be
as far from becoming Chriftians as ever.
The Roman Catholics, indeed, think they
fufficiently anfwer this argument drawn
from the filence of Xavier, by afcribing it
to an excefs of mddefty. But filence in
Xavier, as to his miracles, would have
been ascriminafas it would be in a gene
ral who gains a vi6lory, to make no men
tion -of it to his prince ; or as it would b^

in an ainballadof, to Conceal tlie fucceti
of his negociation from his conftituent.
Another circUmftanee wliich looks very
fufpicious, is furnifhed by Tiirfellinv^
himfelf. In the preface to his fecond edi-*
tion he informs us, tbat, whereas in the
firft edition, he had been able to relate
only thofe a6is of Xavier, which had been
performed at the fettlements of the Pot*
iugueze, his ftock of materials hiad been
fo enlarged, that he was now enabled to
relate the mighty deeds of his faint in other
parts of India and in Japan. As, accord*
ing to his own account, it was above
thirty-five years zftexXdVier's death, be-
fore he fet about writing his life, and as
Several years intervened between the firft
and fecond edition of it» there can be but
little credit due to thofe fupplementaf
materials (which contain the chief part of
the wonders) whofe exiftence, previoufly
to this fecond edition, we have no evidence
of, but the interefted and confequently
fufpicious teftimony of a Jefuit, writings

^9
as 1cm tells us, by the command of bis ftt-
periors, and with the profeffed view of
advancing the reputation of his newly-
founded order.
Thefe eircumftances fufficiently demon
ftrate that the miracles afcribed to Francis
Xavier, cannot be traced up, by any
proper evidence, to the age they lay claim
to, and confequently that they are to be
rejefled equally with thofe of St. Ignatius,
as labouring under the fame defe£i*
But though the inftances which I have
ftfligned under this head (and many more,
had it been neceffary, could have been
affigned) prove that fome of the moft
boafted accounts of Pagan and Pop'fh mi
racles are pofterior to the age of the per
fons to whom they are afcribed; — 'there
are, no doubt, many of thefe pretended
miracles, the accounts of which are not
liable to the above obje£lion  I proceed,
therefore, to my fecond rule, which will
diveft many of tbefe pretenfions ol their

80
eredibility, which perhaps cannot be af^
fefted by thefrjl,
The rule is this — Thofe" accounts of
miracles are to be fufpefted, which though
they may be traced up to the age they
lay claim to, have not been publifhed in
the places where it is pretended the fafts
have been wrought, but been reported
Only at a great diftance from the fuppo
fed fcene of aftion.
The grounds on which we fufpe6l fuch
accounts of miraculous fafts to be falfe,
are fo obvious as to require no formal
explanation. It will be fufficient to ob
ferve, that when accounts of miracles are
pubhflaed at a diftance from the places
where the fcenes of them are jaid, they
are publifhed to perfons who, by theif
fituation, are neceffarily deprived of the
proper means of examining what founda*
tion there is for the pretenfions ; and con
fequendy, in fuch cafes, there is full fcope
for fraud and impofition to play their

81:
parts. With regard to reports of mira
cles, the very poffibility of impofition,
creates a fufpicion of it ; and to fay that
a miracle is fufpefted, is, in other words^,
to fay it is incredible.
Take then the Romjh breviary, or the
lives of their Saints into your hands, and
you will perceive what ftrange havoc will.
be made amongft their moft boafted pre
tenfions to miracles when they are tried by
this teft. To defcend to particulars on
this head would be endlefs, and inftances
to confirm the truth of my obfervation
are fo numerous, that they are unneceffary.
Suffer me only to remark, that the mira
cles of Francis Xavier are as deficient in
the qualifications required by the fecond
as they were fhewn to be, in the qualifica
tions required by the _y5>/Z rule. And, if
they could have been traced up to the
time when they are faid to have been
wrought, their incredibility would never-
thelefs have been apparent from this cir
cumftance, that the accounts of them were

8a.
publifhed ab a vaft diftani^e froca' the-fup*-
pofed fcepe of the wondteris.
For whepe- did t^is faint difplay his- mi
raculous power ? — In the extremities of
the Eaft, in India, in Japan. And where
were the accounts of thefe faSs- made
public ; and by whom, if ever, believed?
Not on the fpot; but in Europe, at an.
immenie diftance, and confequently pro-
ppfed to perfons unavoidkbly deprived of
opportunities of coming at the- truth-, fup
pofing. them inclined" to come at- it; and*.
liableto be impofed upon by thofci whole
private interefts were conneSfed' with tbe
propagation of an impofture. For as if
appears, from Tkiifelli/nus, the original
biographer of Xavier, that he-eompofedi
the life of this Jefuiti, by ordfer of the fu*
pernors of the Jefuits, himfelf being of the
fame order; and as it is certain that the
materials, out of which he compofed his
work, were relations fent home by Jefuits;
thefe, eircumftances would have- thrown a
veil of fufpicion over this book, evenal-

th'ougli' the author had confined himfelf to
exalt Ms hero's Charai6i:er,- without going.
beyond the limits of nature. How greatly,
therefore; does our fufpicion of fraud
ftrengt?hen itfelf,' when we find- that the
fixSbs> reported are fo extraordinary * ?
There is^ lefs occafion tobe-ver^ parti
cular, under this head ; befcaufe I readily
grant that inftances of Pagan a.iid Popi^
miracles may be appealed' to, the accounts
of which will ftand the teft of both the
above-mentioned ruks ; and for the re-
jeftion of which, we can have no grounds
* The obfervation here made on the fufpicious teftimony
of the biographer of Francis Xavier, may be extended to the
biographers of all the wonder-workers of the church of
Rome. Every order is concerned about its own heJrbes ;
theother' St. Francis, St. Dominic, St. Benedid,' St. Ber
nard, St. Philip Ncri Founder of the Oratory, S/t: S^c. have
refpedlively been indebted for their lives and miracles, to
writers of the orders founded by themfelves. And each of
thefe writers feems to have fet out with this capital point
in view, to reprefent the faint of his order as ^having
performed works ftranger than any of his brother faints can
boaft of, regardlefs of truth, nay vying with each other,
who fliall affert the moft impudent falfehoods.
G 2

84<

to urge either that length of time, or that
diftance of place favoured the impofture.
What then are we to fay with regard'
to fuch accounts, which we cannot deny
to have been made public at the very
times when, and at the very places where
faid to be performed ? We reje6l thera, it
is true, equally with the reft : But what
are our grounds for doing fo, as thofe
_ iaffigned for rejefting the accounts of the
miracles already examined, are infuffi
cient.'' Thefe grounds, then, I now proceed
to fet forth by laying it down as a
Third rule, that fuppofing accounts of
miracles to have both the foregoing qua
lifications we ftill may fufpeft them to be
falfe, if in the time, and at the place they
took their rife they might be fuffered to
pafs without examination.
It can fcarcely be neceffary to premife,
that I mean not under this head, to com
prehend all accounts of miracles which

^5
can be traced up to contemporary wit
neffes, and were publifhed on the fpot.
Some of thefe are of fuch a nature as to
merit no notice. For inftance, when the
reporters of miracles content themfelves
with general affertions, and vague claims
to a miraculous power, without ever at
tempting to corroborate them by defcend-
ing to particular fafts ; and leave us
Jirangely in the dark as to the perfons by
whom, the witneffes before whom, and the
objefts upon whom thefe miraculous pow
ers are faid to beexercifed, omitting every
circumftance neceffary to be related by
them before any enquiry can be made
into the truth of the pretenfion; when
miracles, I fay, are reported in this un-
fatisfaftory manner (and inftances of mi
racles reported on the fpot by contempo
rary writers, in fuch a manner, might be
mentioned) in this cafe it would be the
height of credulity to pay any regard to
them in a dijlant age, becaufe no regard
could poffibly be paid to them in their

8^
It will ])je eqijally for.ejgH to puf pur
pofe, tp take apy potice of fuch ;^ccounls
of n?ira,c],e?, which, i£ r^J^ted on, tbe fpot
w')^ ^U jthejr cif,c,um,ftances, w^ are ,cer^
tain, never Wppfqd ,ypon any bpdy, hut,
from tjiejr fir.ft ppblicatioi?, were ,e,xplode4
as forgerie^j and were univ^erfaljy difre-
gar4^4 ?s fu/z}^.: For your prej^dic^
^^aiflflt Hjira;cljes do not arifefrpim attempts
to injp.pife upoi]i tjie worJ,d, jn this w^f;,
but frpm tjj,e fi^cc^efs pf f^^ch attempts —
npt froin fpurious miracles being detf 6lfid*
but frpm their having palled ciijrrent with
out detieiSjIon,
Setting thefe afide, thgn, as unworthy
of .oi^r ^ttpntipn, thp accounts pf miracles
proper to fep ej^aminpcj under this he^,
are fuch a§ lypre publifhed with all th^
npceffary means of inquiring into the
truth pf the pretenfjpns, and were not ex-
plpdpd asf forgeries at their firft publica-!
tion, If^nt admitted tp he triie by vafl num
bers of people to whom they were pro
pofed.

1 lay it down as a principle not to be
cohtroverted, that in order to our having
an unexceptionable teftimony for mira
cles., we muft not only be able to trace
the accounts of tbem up to the times
when, and to the places where, they are
faid to be performed; but, farther, we
muft have an affurance from the eircum
ftances attending their publication, that
their pretenfions were really examined
into before they met with any credit.
It cannot, furely, be neceffary to illuf-
trate the reafonablenefs of this affertion.
— When the truth of a common matter of
fa£l is admitted blindly, without any pre
vious examination into the teftimony fup-
porting it, a door is opened to endlefs
impofitions. Much more, is fuch a pre
vious examination neceffary, before we
can be warranted to admit the truth of
miraculous fa£ls. For, if the eircum
ftances, under which they have been pub
lifhed, give us an affurance that they
efcaped a dete£iion not from Jirength of

88
evidence, but from want of examination,
in this cafe, the accounts of them are as
fufpicious as if length of time, or diftance
of place had rendered an examination
impoffible, by throwing a veil over the
impofture. A miracle, the evidence of
which was not enquired into by thofe to
whom it was firft propofed, ought to be
reje61ed equally with a miracle, the evi
dence of which could not be enquired
into. Accounts of miracles may well be fup
pofed to have paffed without exaniina-
tion; firft, where the miracles propofed,
coincided with the favourite opinions, or
prejudices of thofe to whom they were
reported, and who, on that account, might
be eager to receive them unexamined :
Secondly where the accounts were fet on
foot, at leaft were encouraged and fup-
¦ported, by thofe who alone had the power
of detefting the fraud, and could prevent
any examination which might tend to uUt
deceive the world.

89
I think I may fafely challenge you to
produce from ancient hiftory, or from the
more modern relators of wonders amongft
Papijis, any particular miracle, which, if
it can be traced up to contemporary wit
neffes, and was publifhed on the fpot, will
BOt be inftantly obferved to labour under
one or other, or both, of the above-men
tioned defefts. We fhall ever find the
people refufing any examination of the
miracle, through a blind credulity and
eagernefs of belief, or the promoters of it
armed with power rendering an examina
tion impoffible.
Take your Livy into your bands, and
you will find this to be remarkably the
cafe of the prodigies, with which his
hiftory fo abounds. In taking notice of
a long ftring of ridiculous ftories, publifh
ed in the fifth year of the fecond Funic
war (amongft which we meet with an ox
fpeaking, with a child calling out of its
mother's womb, Io iriumphe I with a wo
man changed into a man, and other

90
equally curious faQ:s) he* exprefsly tells
us that fuch ftories were multiplied in
proportion to the credulous and fuper
ftitious difpofition of thofe who believed
tbem. No nation perhaps, ever was fo
fuperftitious as the Romans, efpecially
during the times of their republic ; a nd
this fuperftition was made ufe of, by thofe
in authority, fo as to become publicly be
neficial in cafes of emergency. Hence the
numerous and frequently repeated reports
of wonders and prodigies, which the cre
dulous and fuperftitious people believing
without any examination, they were, by
an artful management, kept in fuch a dif
pofition of mind, as was fuited to the
ftate of public affairs. Accordingly we
find in Livy, that when the above-men
tioned prodigies were reported, the con-
fuls confulted the harufpices, whofe
anfwer was, that thefe prodigies fhould be
¦* Prodigia eo anno multa nnnciata funt; quas quo
magis credebant fimplices ac religiofi homines, eo' ctiara
plura nunciabantur. Livy, B. 24. C. x.

91
taken care of by greater facrifices, and by
offering up prayers at the fhrines of all
the gods. And there feems particular
reafons why, at that junfture, it fhould be
thought convenient to alarm the minds of
the people with reports of this kind. For
Lavy tells us * that, this year, fix new le
gions were to be raifed ; and nothing could
be more proper to engage the people to
enlift, willingly, than to propagate re
ports, the belief of which, by awakening
their fuperftitbus fears of Heaven, difpo-
fed them to obedience to the magiftrate.
Amongft all the accounts of miracles,
to be met with in the old Roman hiftory,
the appearance of Ca/ior and Pollux in the
battle at the lake Regillus, has been moft
frequently made ufe of in our centrover-
fies on miracles. " In the early times of'
*' the republic, in the war with the Latins,
" the gods, Ca^or and Pollux, are faid to
" have appeared on white horfes in the
* lb. Ch. xi.

92
" Roman army, which, by their affiftance,
« gained a complete vidory ; in memory
" of which the general Pq/lhumius vowed
•' and built a temple publicly to thofe
" deities, and for a proof of the fa6l there
" was fhewn in Cicero's time, the mark of
" the horfes' hoofs on a rock at Regillus,
'^ where they firft appeared. Now this
^' miracle, with many others of the fame
" kind, hath, I dare fay, as authentic an
" atteftation, as any which the Papifts can
" produce ; the decree of a fenate to con-
'^ firm it ; a temple erefted in confequence
" of it, vifible marks of the fa£t on the
'' fpot where it was tranfafted ; and all
" this fupported by the concurrent tefti-
'^' mony of the beft authors of antiquity,
*' amongft whom Dionyfus of Halicar-
" najfus, fays that there were fubfifting in
" his time at Rome many evident proofs of
« its reality, befides a yearly feftival with
" afolemn facrifice, and proceffion in rae-
" raory of it." Thus far Dr. Middleton* i
« Letter from Rome, p. 134, 195.

93
But this miracle with all its fplendid ap
pearances of genuinenefs, will not ftand
the teft of the rule laft laid down. The
nature of the cafe fuggefts to us ftrong
fufpicious, that the whole was the fi6lion
of a politic general to infpire confidence
into his army. The fraud, from the very
complexion of it, could not poffibly be
dete6led. For in the confufion of a battle,
at which time a panic is infufed fo eafily,
a report of a different kind, that will in
fpire confidence, will get credit as eafily ;
when every one is fo bufy as not to be al
lowed time to examine what foundation
there is for it. It depended entirely on
Pojlhumius himfelf to make his ftory pafs
current, efpecially amongft perfons pre
vioufly inclined to believe ftories of mira
cles and prodigies, on the flighteft grounds.
If he publifhed it confidently, as it ap
pears, from his vowing and building a
temple, he did, others, even though they
had not been as ready to believe as he to
publifh, durft not have entered into any
examination of particulars to deteft the

54
fiftion, even though an examination of
particulars had been poffible. Thus che-
riflied, therefore, in its infancy, by the
chief magift'rate of the common-wealth,
no wonder that this pretended appearance
of the tv/in brothers fhould gain prefent
credit, and be handed down to pofterity,
commemorated by proceflions and fef
tivals*. The fame way of reafbning will over
turn the credibility of the miraculous cures
attributed to Vefpafian. The author of
the EJfiy on Miracles, fpeaks of them in
the following manner : " One of the beflf
" attefted miracles in all profane hif^rf
* Di-: Middleton in hisLetterfrtmrRoine, p.' ipSjobi
ferves, that the Parpifts hfave copied' fromthis- appparasee
of.Caflor and P6llux' on white- horfes, their ftory of St;
George, and two other faints, -not only, on white horfes but
at the head of white armies, in the Iroly war. Frequent
appearances of St. James the Patron of Sj>ain, alfo on a
whitehorfe, in the battles of that nation againft the Sara*
cens, are related by all their hiftorians, and feem bumble
imitations, though perhaps ufeful ones, of the Pagan
original.

'•' is that which Tacitus reports" of V^Jpu-
"'Jian',. who cured a^ blind- man in' Akxan-
"^ driahy, means. o^ his fpittle, and a lame
" mart by the mere tiouch of his foot, in
" abediemee to a viffon of thegod'5tfr^j!«V,
" who had. enjoined them to have recourfe
" to the empeuor for their miraculous and
"extraordinary cure*. The ftOry may
" be feen in that fine hiftorian, where
*' every circumftancefeemsto add weight
" to- the teftimony, and might bedifplayed
"^ at large, with all the fopce of argument
'^ and eloquence, if any one were now con-
" cerned to enforce the evidence of that
"exploded, and idolatrous fuperftition.
"'The gravity, folidity, age and probity of
" fo great an emperor, who, through the
" whole courfe of his life, converfed in a fa-
" miliar way with his friends and courtiers,
" and; never affe61;ed thofe extraordinary
*? airs of divinity affumed by Alexander
" and Demetrius. The hiftorian, a con-
" temporary writer noted for candour, and
" veracity, and withal the greateft and
*' moft penetrating genius perhaps of all

96
*'^ antiquity, and fo free from every tenden-
« cy to fuperftition and credulity, that he
**¦ even lies under the contrary imputation
" of atheifm and profanenefs ; the perfons
'' from whofe teftimony he related the mi-
" racle, of eftablifhed chara6ler for judg-
"ment and veracity, as we may well
'' fuppofe, eye- witneffes of the fafts, and
*'^ confirming their verdi6l after the Fla-
" vian family, were defpoiled of the empire,
" and could no longer give any reward as
" the price of a \ie—utrumque,quiinterjuere,
'* nunc quoque memorant, pojiquam nullum.
" mendaciis pretium. To which if we add
*'' the public nature of the fa6l as related,
" it will appear that no evidence can well
"¦ be fuppofed ftronger for fo grofs and fa
« palpable a falfehood *."
It feems to me that the ingenious effay
writer, in the above quotation, confounds
two things very different from each other
 The evidence that this tranfaftion hap-
* Effiiy oa Miracles, p. 19?, 193.

97
pened, and the evidence that there was
any thing fupernatural performed. The
eircumftances which he expatiates fo much
upon, the chara6ler of the emperor, the
veracity of Tacitus, the teftimony of eye-
witneffes, and the public nature of the
fafts do, indeed, prove unexceptionably,
that the two men in queftion did apply to
Vefpafian, in the manner related *. But
. * For the fatisfaiSion of the reader I have fubjoined Ta-
citus's account of this matter. Per eos menfes quibus
Vefpafianus Alexandrise ftatos asftivis flatibus dies, & certa
maris opperiebatur, multa miracula evenere, quis ccelejlis
favor, 8^ quiedam in Vefpaftanum inclinatio numinum ojlen-
deretur. Ex plebe Alexandrina quidam oculorum tabe
notus, genua ejus advolvitur, remedium csecitatis expofcens
gemitu, monitu Serapidis Dei ; quern dedita faperftitionibus
gens ante alios colit : precabaturque principem, ut genas,
et oculorum orbes dignaretur rejpergere oris excremento.
Alius manu aeger eodem Deo audlore, ut pede ac veftigio
Caefaris calcaretur, orabajt. Vefpafianus primo irridere,
afpernari, atque, illis inftantibus, modo Famam vanltatis
metuere ; modo obfecratioue ipforura, & vocibus adulantium
in fpem i'nduci, poftremo seftimari a medicLs jubet, an talis
cxcitas, ac debilitas, ope humana fuperabiles forent. Me
dici varie differere ; huic non exefam vim luminis, Sj- reditu'
ram fi pellerentur objlantla ; illi elap/os in pravumartus, ft
falubris ris adhibeatur, poJfe integrari. Id fortaje cordi
H

98
that there was any truth either in the vi-
fion of the god Serapis, or in the cures
pretended to, we are fo far frorn having
tbe ftrongeft evidence, that no evidence
can well be fuppofed weaker. .
It is certain in the firft place, that both
the complaints faid to be cured, could
eafily have been counterfeited *. The
ieis Sf divino minifierio principem electum. tyenique patrati
remedii ghriam penes Ccejdrem; irriti ladibrium penes mifero't
' f^re. Igitur Vefpafianus cunfta fortunae fuse patere ratus,
neC quidqdam ultra incredibile, lieto ipfe vultu, ereda^
quae aftabat, multitadine, jufia exfequitur. Statim con-
T^erfa ad ufum manus, ac csco reluxit dies.— Utrumque
qui interfuere nunc quoque memorant, poftquam ipaullum
mendacio pretium. Tacitus Hift. Lib. 4i.
* The report of the phyficians, as- Tacitus relates- it, con-
iirras this. According to them, the blind man's organs cf
vifion were not dfjimged, und that Ms fight might be n>-
fiored on the removal of fome objiacle. But what tiiis ob-
ftacle was, and whether there was any obftacle but what the
patient could create or remove himfelf, is not mentioned.—
Equally ambiguous doth their report reprefent the cafe of
the lame man to be— for they tell us that the dJforder ms
in the joints, and might be remedied bv (he appUeatton pf a
healing pmsr, ^ Now, fuct a lameaeis has feldom any ex»

99
fame and blind who infeft our ftreets, can
fee, and ufe their decrepid arms or legs,
when the bufinefs of the day is over-
Cures, therefore, may in fuch cafes be pre
tended to be performed, while the fpec-
tators are the dupes of a concerted fcene
of impofture. The larae need only move
that member which, before, he did not ufe,
and the blind open his contra£led eye*
lids, and the work is done. To have re-
courfe therefore to a fupernatural inter-
pofition, in this cafe, when the whole
tranfa6lion can be fo eafily accounted for
by fuppofing a coHufion to fubfift, be
tween the men who were to pretend a
cure, and the emperor, or at leaft his cour
tiers, would be highly fuperftitious. But
the poffibility of there being fuch a col-
lufion, is not all that we have to urge ;
for the relation of thefe pretended mira
cles, as given us by Tacitus, fuggefts
ftrong fufpicions that fuch a collufion ac-
ternal marks of it difcernible by the eye : fo that here,
s(lfo, there was wide fcope for isj-poftiirc.
H 2

100
tually fubfifted. The eagernefs of Vef*
pajian's courtiers preflSng him to make
trial of his healing power, and particularly
of his phyficians, who flattered him with
a compliment of his being, perhaps, cho-
fen by the gods as their inftrument in
this affair ; thefe eircumftances, added to
this confideration that the whole tranf-
aftion was calculated to do honour to the
emperor, and to add luftre to his imperial
dignity lately affumed, authorize us fuf
ficiently in our fufpicions of fraud.— And
when we confider, that the fuperftitious
Alexandrians, who were the perfons im
mediately impofed upon, would eageirly
believe miracles afcribed to Straps, the
god whom, we learn from Tacitus, they
honoured before all others ; and at the
fame time, obferve that they who had all
the means of deteftion, were the contri
vers and aftors of the fraud, we fliall then
be warranted to conclude, that Vejpajiarii
pretended miracles were not examined, in
the time and at the place where they were
publifhed, and that therefore they will

101
not bear to be tried by the rule I laft laid
down *.
* It cannot be thought I go out of my way, when I take
notice here of a remarkable inftance of the incorreftnefs,
not to fay of the unfairnefs of Dr. Middleton, whofe abili
ties as a writer, however admired, can never atone for thofe
deviations from truth, with which, efpecially in his quota
tions, he has been fo frequently charged. In his free
Inquiry, p. 171, fpeaking of the miracles in queftion, he
fuys " The fame writers (Suetonius and Tacitus) alfo
" declare that this good emperor by a divine admonition
'' from the god Serapis, publicly reftored a blind man to
" his fight," '&c. &c. — Now would not one who reads this,
imagine that the divine admonition, mentioned by the two
hiftorians, was pretended to be made to Vefpafian himfelf i
-—The Doftor's words can bear no other meaning ; and yet
it is told us, as plainly as could be, both by Tacitus and by
Suetonius, that the admonition was pretended to, by the
men themfelves, who were to be cured. Tacitus's words
J have already quoted, and Suetonius's account is as fol
lows. F' plebe quidam luminibus orbatus, item alius debili
crure, fedentem pro tribunali pariter adierunt, orantes
opem valetiidinis demonftratam a Serapide per quietem,— -
I fliall only obferve that if the author of the Eflay on Mira
cles had read Tacitus and Suetonius, as mifinterpreted, or
rather mifreprefented, by Dr. -Middleton, he might have
pledged the veracity of Vefpafian himfelf for the truth of this
vifion from the god Serapis, for which, at prefent, no other
evidence can be alleged, but the affirmation of two unna
med wretches from the dregs of the people, fit tools to be
employed in afting a part in an imppfture,

lOB
I fliall only add, that the manner in
which, as Tacitus relates, one of thefe pre
tended cures was performed by Vefpafian,
To exactly refembles that which .S*^. * John
informs us our Saviour adopted in the cure
6f the man born blind, as to afford a fair
JirefUtjiptipn, that the contrivers of the
Pagan impofture having it in their view
to check the rapid progrefs of Chriftianity,
produced by an appeal to the miracles of
its great founder, fabricated fimilar pow
ers for their emperors: — Audit is very
remafkablej that this honour was alfo
conferred On Adridn, anothe? of them,
who is reprefented as having cured blind.
nefs by the fame mode of operation.
The fame infufficiency of evidence
which deftroys the credibility of thfe Pagan
miracles above-mentiotaed, equally affe^s
the Credibifity of fuch of the Fopjh ones
that can be traced up to the times when
they were faid to be performed, and were
s John 9, p. 6.

103
publiflied on the fpot. For, on trying
them, as I have done the former, by the
teft of the third rule laid down by me, we
fhall invariably find, that the eircumftan
ces attending them are fuch as muft fatisfy
us that the evidences on which they were
fupported, had this moft capital defeft of
having never been carefully examined, as
the means of removing the fufpicion of
fraud being praflifed pn the credulous be-
Jievers. What then hath been the nature
and tendency of the miracles that have
at any time been appealed to by the
Papijis^ They were always invented to
propagate the belief of certain rites
and doctrines, and praftices, which had
crept into the church ; to advance the
reputation of fome particular chapel *;
* One of the moft boafted miracles amongft Papifts is the
tranfportation of the Virgin Mary's h.oM& from Paleftine,
firft into Dalmatia, and then after feveral changes of fitua
tion, to Loretto in tlie Pope's dominions. A ftory, which,
from, the amazing riches heaped up. in tfee treafury of the

104
image + ; or order * of religious ; or to
church built over the Holy houfe, the prefents of votaries
who croud from every part of Eqrope to Loretto, appeari
to^^have apfwered the defigned end, though if be fo big with
abfurdities, and the impofture be fo glaring, that one could
fcarcely fuppofe it poffible that the moft lamentable igno
rance, and the moft ftupid credulity, could believe it.
Turfellinus, (he fame who difplayed his talents iq celebrat
ing Francis Xavier, his beftpwed a book on the wonderful
migrations qfthe Holy houfe.
¦\- The gain arifing to the poftisflbrs of ai) image which has
a reputation of working miracles, has contributed wonder
fully to enlarge the catalogue of fpch boafted fa£ts. The
miraculous images of the blefled Virgin are moft frequent.
Amongft many others, our lady of Atocha, near Madrid ;
our ]q.dy of Montferrat in Catalonia ; our lady of Sar?i-
gojr^; ^x\A pfif lady of Halle in Brabant, are remarkable.
The laft mentioned image performs daily, fo many niiracles,
that the printed lift of them is greatly augmented, from
time to time, and now is fwelled to a large pamphlet. N^,
vhoevef vifits |ier church at Halle, may fee a Jlanding mi
racle with his pwn eyes. There is placed in a corner, a
heap of ftone bullets, which, as the infallible legend fets
forth, l^eing fired into the to,wn when it was befieged by tbe
Saracens (no matter in what age or year) the Virgin left
her place in the church, >yalked the ramparts, and having
caught the bullets ip her lap, depofited them where they
now lie. Should you diftielieve this, you will be told as a
proof of it^ being true, that, if you attempt to count thefc
l)ul}ets, you caniiot reckon the fame number twice, aiid

105
countenance opinions either fuch asweref
that if two perfons count, at the fame time, they cannot
agree in their report. That it fliould be diflicult lo reckon,
merely hy the eye (for you are debarred touching, by the
jnterpofition of iron bars) between thirty and forty bulieBs
-heaped one upon another, is eafy to be imagined. But
that there is any thing fupernatural in this, I fliould have
fcarcely thought there could be any body fo credulous a«
to believe, had I not been upon the fpot, and met with" fuch,
believers, * The miracles of monks and friars, calculated to pro
mote the interefts of monkery in general, and of the rcfpec-
tive orders of religious in particular, are equally numerous
as they are filly and ridiculous. For a fpecimen of them,
the reader may perufe Dr. Qeddes's View of all the Orders of
the Monks and Friars in the Roman Church, with an Ac
count of their Founders, &c. in the 3d vol. of his Mifcclla-
neous Trafts,
+ Of this kind are the miracles of the JJomimcans ngainS
the immaculate conception of the bletfed Virgin, aiwi tha
miracles of the Francijcans for this tenet, the former lifted.
under the banner of Thomas Aquinas, the latter under that
of Duns Scotus. A very remarkable fcene of forgery de-
tefted amopgft the Dominicans in |i convent at Berne,
1057, may be metw'ith in Burnet's Travels, from p. 31, ta
p. 41. It is an obfervation whifh I belieye upon examina
tion will be foupd to hold good, that \*;henever any preteu-
pes to miracles have been deteded, by thofe who are in
Dowcr, amongft the Papifts, thefe have always been fafts

106
contefted amongft themfelves, or
alleged in confirmation of dpclrines about which Papifts
themfelves have been divided, and the belief of which has
not been calculated fo much to be beneficial to the Holy
church in general, as to ferve the interefted views of jarring
ecclefiaftics. This has arifen from the following reafon*
When a miracle pretended to, was of fuch a nature as to
confirm a doctrine, in the belief of which all the orders of
ecclefiaftics, that is, all the ruling part of the church, equal
ly concurred and were equally interefted, in this cafe, it is
eafy to conceive that all would join in a confederacy to
propagate the fa£l among their credulous votaries. But
when a miracle has been alledged by one order of ecclefiaf
tics to confirm a doftrine admitted by them, but oppofed
hy other orders, in this cafe, as there was an oppofition of
interefts there could be no general confederacy. The ru
lers of tbe church being divided among themfelves, they
were fpies on each other; and being bound in honour to
fupport the doftrines of their refpeflive parties, nojpains
were fpared to examine into the miracles appealed to, by
their antagonift^ ; which, of courfe, has produced many
deteftions of grofs impoftures, and particularly, occafioned
the detcftion and punifliment of the adlors in the fcene of
villainy at Berne. A very fimilar inftance of impofture,
attempted by the Francifcans at Orleans, in ISS* was do.
tefted and puniflied by baniftiing the contrivers. This pre.
tended miracle not having any reference to the genefal in
terefts of the church, the civil magiftrate's interference was
readily obtained, and eafily became eifc6lual. See Gail"
lard's Life of Fiancis 1. vol, 6- p. 46o. to 466.

107
fuch * as the whole church did teach and
require as points of faith. To defcend
» The Confirmation of relique and faint worfliip has been
a fruitful fource of miracles, from the fourth or fifth cen
tury downwards. The more modern corruptions of image
Worftiip, purgatory and tranfubftantiation, have had their
truth attefted by a variety of wonderful vifions, revelations,
and prodigies, Tranfubftantiation, in particular, has been
often proved by thefpringing out of blood from the confe-
Crated wafel^. One of the rnoft remarkable ftories of this
kind, is faid to have happened at Bruflels in 1 369. Some
Jews having ftolen feveral confecrated hofts out of a
church, in contempt of the god fuppofed lo be prefent un
der the form of bread, run their knives into them, and in
ftantly there ftreamed out great quantities of blood. Three .
of thefe wafers, no doubt tbe identical ones pierced by the
Jews, are ftill preferved in St. Gudule's church at Brufl"els,
where 1 have feen them, they being expofed with great
pomp to public view, during the oftave of an annual fefti
val. For an account of this miracle, fee Deliees de Pais
Bas, V, 1. p. 121, 122, 123; fee alfo Defcription de Brusa-
eiles, p. 74^, and 73, — A miracle, ftmilar to this, is related
in the Memoirs of Brandenburgh at the year 1279, where
blood is faid to have boiled up through the ground, from a
confecrated hoft buried at Belitz. " Les Vierges miracu-
'' leufes, les images fecourables, Sf les reliques des faints
" avoient alors une vertu toute finguliere. Le Sang de
" Belitz entr'autres etoit fort renomme. Voici ce qui
" c*etoit. Une cabareiiere de cette ville vola une hoftie
*' confacree & I'enterra fous un tonneau dans fa cave,

108
to particular inftances wOuld in a great
meafure be unneceflary, becaufe the ac
count which I here give of thefe pretended
miracles is, on all hands, agreed to be the
true one. The few particulars mentioned
at the bottom of the page, may ferve, by
way of illuftration.
Such then being the nature and genius
of the pretended miracles of the church of
" pour avoir meilleur debit de fa bierre : Elle en eut des
" remords elle denonp a fon crime au cure, qui vint en pro-
" ceflion avec tout fon attirail pontifical pour deterrcr
" I'hoftie. En enfon^ant la pelle en terre on vit bouillon-
" ncrdu fang, & tout le raonde cria au miracle. L'impof-
•' ture etoit trop groffiere, & Ton fcait que c'etoit du fang
•' de boBuf, que la cabareiiere avoit verfe. Ces miracles
" ne laifFoient pas que de faire impreflion fur I'efprit des
*' pcuples." M. de Brandenburgh, p. 265. The obferva
tion of the Royal Memoir Writer that fuch miracles,
though they bore vifible marks of impofture, failed not to
make impreflions on tbe minds of the people, is founded on
this truth, that where there is a previous difpofition to be
lieve, no impofture will be too grofs to be admitted, efpe
cially when the impoftures are of fuch a kind as to b^
countenanced by thofe whofe empire over the underftand'
ings of the people is boundlefs.

109
Rome, fa£ls coinciding with the favourite
opinions, and fuperftitious prejudices,
of thofe to whom they were propofed;
that the reports and accounts of them
fliould undergo any ftrift examination, at
the time of their being publiflied, will
appear highly improbable, when we con
fider, what certainly has always been the
cafe, that the perfons with whom fuch re
ports have gained any credit, had been
trained up from their infancy in a perfua-
fion that miraculous powers are continued
in their church. A previous difpofition
of this kind, to admit miracles in general,
a credulity, and fuperftition thus ready to
embrace every ftrange ftory, will naturally
incline perfons of this chara6ler to believe,
without fcrutiny, thofe particular miracles
propofed to them, which are fo framed as
to be agreeable to their favourite fenti-
ments. Nothing will be too wonderful to
pafs current, if it be connefted with their
religious opinions. This circumftance
alone will reconcile all diSiculties, remove
all doubts, and fecure, from being formally

110
detefted^ ftories which feem induftriouffj
to have been made up of the wildeft in.
confiftenciesj and ftrangeft improbabili.
ties, as experiments how far the credulity
of the multitude may be wrought upon
with fuccefs.
And this leads me naturally to obferve
that, as the Popijh miracles have always
been propofed to thofe whofe fuperftition
and prejudices previoufly difpofed them
to believe without examination, the cre
dibility of thefe boafted wonders will be
come ftill more fufpicious, if we add
another circumftance — ^^That they have al
ways been fet on foot, at leaft have
-always been encouraged and fupported,
by thofe who, by their influence and
power, could prevent any examination
which might tend to undeceive the world.
— They have been the arts of the power-
fuiyew, to keep inawe the ignorant many,
the forgeries of the rulers of the church,
to countenance the corruptions with which
they have difgraced the church ; to add a

Ill
fanftion to doftrines and praftices vifibly
calculated to extend their own influence,
to add to their own riches, and to give
themfelves an unlimited command over
their fellow-Chriftians, though at the ex-
pence of their common Chriftianity.
This then being the cafe, it would have
been next to impofllible to have fet about
an examination of thefe pretences to mi
racles. For were we even to allow, that
thofe to whom they were propofed, had
the beft inclination in the world not to
believe but iipon proper evidence, the
danger which muft attend their giving any
figns of this inclination, would deter every
one in his fenfes from attempting a detec
tion. He who would fet himfelf up to
oppofe a fraud fupported by the authority
and influence of the rulers of the church
in a country where, in matters of religion,
the civil magiftrate is guided by the prieft,
would foon find reafon to repent of his
temerity.

11^
Can there therefore, be any hefitation
in refufing to admit the truth of miracu
lous fa6ls backed and fupported by thofe
who alone had the means of detefting the
fraud, if there was any ; and who having
the fword in their own hands, would never
point it againft themfelves, to punifla their
own impoftures?*
* The author of the FJay on Miracles,, p. J 53, has
thought proper to expatiate on the ftory related by the car.
dmal de Refz, of a door-keeper of the cathedral at Sara-
gofla who recovered a loft leg, by rubbing the ftump of it
with the- holy oil. He fets Off the evidence of this mi
racle to the greateft advantage, as attefted by a contem
porary writer, a perfon of eminence, and of a libertine and
unbelieving charafter; and the fadl of fuch a nature that
there could be no ambiguity about it, and fo public as to
be known to alt the inhabitants, of Saragoffa. But it is ob-
¦«ious that the evidence of this miracle labours under both.
the defedls juft mentioned. There was here, on the one
band, the power and influence of the clergy, particularly
the canons of the church (who are the perfons quotedby
the Cardinal as his witneffes) afferting and fupporting a
ftory the belief of which, by increafmg the veneration for
the^miraculous image of the Virgin which is in their church
(to which image the holy oil no doubt, owed its efficacy)'
would be a fure means of increafing the wealth of their

113
' Having employed more attention than
perhaps was neceflary, on the extraordina-
community. And on the other haiid, there was the blind
credulity of the fuperftitious inhabitants of kSarag-o^, bred
up from their inEancy with a perfuafion that miracles were
performed by the church, zealoufly devoted to the worfliip
of the Bleffed Virgin, and eager to embrace without exami
nation, whatever might do honour to the image of her,
which is thought the glory of their city. — There is a ftory
in Carte's Life of the Ditke of Ormonde, which I fliall here
quote, as it fliews us how httle regard ought to be paid
to miracles publiflied amongft thofe who are previoufly
difpofed to believe fuch ftories, and where there is power
and influence ading upon fuperftition and credulity.
" Whilft he (the M-arquis of Ormonde) was there (at Ly-
" ons) he called at a fliop to have his peruke mended. *
" The. mafter was a cripple, both in his hands and fept, but
" faid he would diredl his fifter to mend it as it ought to be.
" The Marquis taking another peruke from him, went to
'• gaze about the ftreets, and ftepping accidentally into the
" ne.xt church, he faw a chapel in it, which was hung with
" the prefents of feveral votaries who had received cures
•' from our lady. Among the reft he obferved an ihferip-
'' tion as well as offering, made by the very man he had
" left. When he came back to the peruke-maker, he aflced
*' him about it, wondering he fliould do fo, being ftill decre-
*•' pid. The man anfwered, that he thought that he was
" rather better than he had heen, and hoped that by doin^
" honour to the lady before hand, he might the fooper
".enjoy the reft of her benefit," Carte, yo\. 2d. p. 180^
I

114
ry works, which gentlemen of your way
of thinking have ufually put upon the
fame footing of credibility with the Gofpel
miracles, though the manifeft fabrications
of impofture, I now proceed to take into
confideration another clafs of them--^
Works, really perfbrined, but which re«.
quired no miraculous interpofition, being
brought about by the operation of caufes
merely natural.
Many inftances of this kind might be
afligned, but I Ihall, in a great meafure,
confine myfelf to one fingle inftance, as
moft to my purpofe of all others, becaufe
moft. infifted upon by my antagonifts, —
an inftance which has been a favourite
topic in all the late debates concerning
miracles, and which has furniflied you
and your friends with matter of triumph,
as if the objeQions drawn from it were
ad. An. l658. Is it to he imagined that this fellow wOuld
huve ventured to affert this glaring falfehood, in fo awful a
manner, bail he not known that any thing would pafs unno
ticed, and unexamined, that might do honour to our kd^f

ii5
uusyifwcr^ble.'— I fcarcely need ^pfornj. you
that I am now fpeaking of tbe mir9^&
afcribed to the Abb 6 Paris, and faid to be
performed at his tombj in the metropolis
of a neighbouring kingdoioa, within thefe
thirty years.
The author of the Fr&e IsqUiry hitn iht?
miraculous P(mers oJ the primitive (Jiurck
is at great pains to place th?fe works in a,
diftinguiftied point of view. For after
filHng three or four pages with 943 account
of them fet oS" to the greateft a^vanftago.'
he concludes with the following re^e^QiU
" Let our declaimers then on tb^autfeority
" of the fathers, produce, if they can* afiy
" evidence of the primitive mira^fe^ h^lf
*^ fo ftrong, as what is alleged ; for the
" miracles of the Alih^ pM^is: or, if tjjey
" cannot do it, let them give us a reafpn
*' why we muft receive thf o^e and re.
" je6i the other ; or, if they fail JiJ^ewife
" in this, let them be fo ingenuous at laft
" as to confers, that we have np other ,p^rt
" left bui either to adnjit them all, or re-
I 2

116
" je£l them all, for otherwife they can
*« never be thought to aft confiftently *."
The above quotation aims only at the
credibility of the miracles attefted by the
fathers ; but a late celebrated author oli
the fide of infidelity, and whofe opinions I
have alreadyt examined^ has urged the
miracles afcribed to the Abbe Paris, as
ifh&t affeft the credibility of all miracles
in general. " There furely (fays he) never
" waS'fo great a number of miracles af-^
" cribed to one perfon, as thofe which
*' were lately faid to have been wrought
" in France upon the tomb of the Abbe
" Paris the fdivAous Janjenift, with whofe
*1 fanftity the people were fo long delud-
*' ed. The curing of the fick, giving
" hearing to the deaf, and fight to the
" blind, were every where talked of as the
« effefts of that holy fepulchre. But
"What is more extraordinary, many of the
* See Middleton's Free Inquiry, p. 226.
t See above from page 8, to page 35.

117
"miracles were immediately pr6ved upon
" the fpot, before judges of unqueftiOned
" credit and diftinflion, in a learned agej
*' and on the moft eminent theatre that is
" now in the world. Nor is this all ;
" a relation of them was publiflied and
" difperfed every where ; nor were the
" Jefuits, though a learned body, fuppqrt-
" ed by the civil magiftrate, and deter*
*' mined enemies to thofe opinions in
" whofe favour the miracles were faid to
" have been wrought, ever able diftinftly
" to refute or deteft them. "Where fhall
" we find fuch a number of eircumftances
" agreeing tO the corroboration of one
" faft ? And what have we to oppofe to
" fuch a cloud of witnefles, but the abfo-
" lute impoflibility or miraculous nature
" of th^ events which they relate ? And
•' this, furely, in the eyes of all reafonable
" people^ will alone be regarded as a fuf-
*' ficient refutation *."
* Philofophical. Effays, p. 195.

118
What he has thus confidently afferted
to the puhiic, has been often infifted on
by yoarfelf in oar private debates. You
ufed to talk of it as a point not to be dif-
pUtedjthat the marks of genuine miracles
kid down by Mr. Ufiie*, in his Short
* Mr. LeflieJ's fiwr rnies of judging of flhe cred.i'bility of
S^icaekB, aire firft, That tbe matter of fa£lshe fuch, as that
men's outward fenfes, thear eyes, and ears, may he judges of
it. Secondly, That it he done pubh'cly in the face of the
yhJtH. "HiiTdly, tTia-t tiot -only public morraments be kept
«pin raeiBOi^yof it, butfome owtward adioiB be performed.
Fonrthlj!, That fuch monuments, and fuch aftions or ob-
fervances beniftituted,and do commence ivova the time that
flie matter of fad was doiie. ,
The Siort Method taitfi the Dei^.hsu alw^s been looked
xjponas Ml-, Leflie'* maiier-pieGe. It may feem ftranger
therefore, &at the French fliould claim this titeati£e a»
theirs. And yet they do ; far I find it inferted, with fome
incOJifiderahle rariations from the En^ifh cppy, in tbe laft
editm of tte works erf .Mbi dt St Reel. %t that Mr.
X^'e was the author of thisexijelLent book, isohvious from
the following reafons. Firft, this piece never had a place
amorigfi St. ReaTs works, till long after his death, and ftfteF
the publication of it by Lejlie, fa that we have no autherity
for its being St. Real's befides that of bookfellers and pub-
lifliers. Secondly, the learned Le Clerc^ when he attacked
the Short Method, which was above ten years after St. Red's

119
Method ivith tb€ Beijis, are applicable
to the miracles afcribed to the Jib^ Pa*
ris : that thefe fafls had an indifputable
right to his two firft marks ; being fuch as
that men's fenfes could judge of their cer
tainty, and, alfo, being performed openly
in the heart of a great city, and in the pre*
fence of crouds of fpeftators : that with
regard to his two latter marks, they were
only intended as tefts by which to try mi
racles faid to be performed in a diftant
age ; whereas the miracles afcribed to the
Abbe Paris, had this peculiar advantage
of being performed within our own me
mory: in a word, that you faw no way
how a Chriftian could extricate himfelf
out of this labyrinth, and rejeA the mi
racles of the * Janjemft faint, without
death, attributed if to the Engltyhman. Thirdly, the allu-
fion to Stone-henge, and what Js mentioned about Charles
Blount fpeak ftrongly for an Englif^ author. And, r6,urth-
ly, the French appears to be a tranflation from this circum
ftance, that whenever it differs from the En^tijfl copy it is
patche(J irp from other parts of Mr. Lefiit's works.T— His
Defence of the Short Method, &c.
* A ftiort account of the Janfenifts and Janfenifro,. .wjll

120
having equal reafon to rejefl thofe of the
founder of Chriftianity.
be proper in this place. The Janfenifts are fo denominated
from Janfenius Bithop of Ipres, who died l63S. His opi
nions gaining ground in France were complained of by the
Jefuits, to Rome, and condemned by Innocent the Xth in
1653, and by Alexander the Vllth in 1657- In the bulls of
thefe two popes, five propofitions, faid to be e.\tra£i:ed from
Janfenius's book, called Auguftinus, were condemned, and
as they containthe diftinguifliing tenets afcribed to the Jan
fenifts, by their antagonifts, I fliall infert them here. ' Firjl,
Some of God's commands are impoflible to be fulfilled by
righteous men even though they endeavour with all their
power to obey them, becaufe the grace by which they
fliould be enabled to fulfil thera is wanting. Secondly, In
our prefent ftate of corrupt nature, man never rcfifts in
ward grace. Thirdly, In our prefent, corrupt ftate, it is^
not requifite in order to a man's having nierit or demerit,
that he fliould have fuch a freedom of will as excludes ne-
ccffity ; that which excludes compulfion is~ fufficient.
Fourthly, The Semi-Pelagians admitted the neceffity of in
ward preventing grace not only to the beginning of faith,
but alfo to every future aft of it; but they were heretics
becaufe they afferted that this grace might be refifted.-
Fifthly, The Semi-Pelagians are heretics, for faying that
Chrift died for all men in general. — The condemnation of
thefe five propofitions gave rife to vaft animoClies and con-
troverfies in France, till, at laft, in l668, the Pope was
prevailed upon to require no more from the Janfenifts, than
that they fliould fubfcribe to the condemnation of the five

121
Such, then, being the ufe made of
the pretended miracles of the Abbi
propofitions in general, without mentioning their being con
tained in the book of Janfenius. This they agreed to ; and
this tranfaftion is ufually called the Peace of Janfenifin.
But the calm was of fliort duration. For fo early as l67£>.
we findMr. Arnaud, the famous Champion -of Janfenifria,
retiring out of France, not thinking himfelf fafe, any longer
there. lie was followed in his retreat by Pafquier Quef-
Jiel, a prieft of the Oratory, whofe Moral Reflexions' on the
A^ew rf/?a»!fn^, publiflied at Bruffels in 1698, occafioned
the revival of the difputes with greater violence than ever.
An approbation, prefi.xed to this book, by the Bifliop of
Chalons (afterwards Cardinal de Noailles and Archbifliop
of Paris) occafioned the condemnation of it. For the Je
fuits bearing this prelate a grudge, immediately began their
intrigues, and after feveral unfuccefsful applications, at
length in 1713, got Clement the X Ith to publifli the famous
bull or conftitution, ufually called Unigenitus, becaufe it
begins with thefe words, Unigenitus Filius Dei, &c. &c.
By this bull one Jiundred arid one propofitions, faid to be ex-
tradted from Father Quefnel's book, were condemned as
falfe, captious, blafphemous, ill founding, fcandalous, im
pious, rafli, bordering upon herefy, heretical, &c, &c. .
without giving any particular propofition its proper qualifi
cation. Lewis the XlVth now in his dotage, and under
the direftion of the Jefuits, favoured this bull fo much, that
Cardinal de Noailles and feven or eight bifliops refufing to
accept \t, Lettres de Cachet were prepared againft them,
when the king's death opened a new fcene. The govern-

in
Paris *, an examination of them becomes
very neceflary, and fliall now be entered
ment having now changed hands a change of meafures alfo
enfued, and the duke oiGrleans, the regent, not willing tn
Iiazard the peace of the kingdom by a perfecution of the
oppofers of the bull, by an edift enjoined filentc concerning
itj as the beft method of deciding the controverfy. This
injunction of filence, as it was all the Janfenifts could defire',
greatly dilpleafed the court of Rome. But though the Pope
threatened excommunication to thofe who received not the
conftitution. Cardinal de Noailles and his party, difregard-
ed the thunder of the conclave, and appealed to a general
council : hence they were called appellants. Thus fer all
went well with them. But Noailles, now doating, being
prevailed upon tp fubmit, the Duke of Orleans dying, and
the Jefuits once more getting footing at court, from that
period down to the prefent time, the Janfenifts have been
Vrndcr a cloud, and the reception of the hull fo Arenuoufly
infifted" on, as to produce the kte proceedings which have
ended in the baniftiment of the parliament of Paris.
* It may not be unentertainingto give fome account ot
this perfon, to whofe interceflion ib many wonders have
been afcribed. — The Mhe Paris was a gentleman of very
good family of the robe, and eldeft fon of a counfellor of
the parliament of Pali's. From his earlieft youth he <lifco»
vered a remarkubie turn for the extravagancies of devation.
As he grew up, this got fo far the better of his j-esfon, that
he relinquiihed all pretenfions of fuccecding to his father's
poft, to a younger brother, and dedicated himfelf to llie

123
upon. And I am not without hope that I
have it in my power to give yota fuch a
church, •Krortifytng himfelf with cofttifluai faftings, a«4
fcarcely ev'er ftirrjng fromhefore his crucifix. Not think
ing this enonghfo rnfure his falvation, he qui tted every ad-
?aiita-ge hishirth had given him, and having fold his eftate,
¦buried himfelf in an obfcure retreat, known onl^ to theficfc
and needy whom he adminiftercd unto,' and relieved. Wiitt
ail this fanftity he was, in his own <ipimon, the greatefl of
finners. This diffidence was the grand principle of his -cor.-
dmft; it made himpunifli himfelf with the moft fevere jie-
nances, tear his fleih with the moft cruel Jagellations, in
fliort, pra£life ail the extravagancies of the wildeft fanatic ;
a name, which, if a "weak judgment and a warm fancy be
charafteriftics of feiiatiCi'fm, belonged to the Meffled Deaebn,
an appellation which our Abbe was honoured with, who
thought himfelf Unworthy of the higher order of priefthood.
Having acquired a \tC& reputation of fanftity among tlie
Janfenifts, he died onthe fii-ft of May, 1727, < not 1725 '<te
Dr. ^liddleton fays') and was burred in the church-yard
of St. Medard at Paris, near the South wall of the churcH,
a tomb-ftone heing put up that covered the e.ttent of his
grave, which, from the time of his death, vras frequented by
his admirers. The number of worshippers increafmg daily, •
an opinion 'of the efficacy of worfliipping there .gained
ground alfo. By degrees it was rumoured about, that tfes
fick had by- their prayers at the tom'b heen reftored to
"health ; and cures of an aftonifliing nature had been wron^it
by the interceflion of the bleffed Deacon ; till, at letrgth, in
the year 1731 theft reports having put the whole ci*y-of

12*
view of thefe boafted fa6ls as will fatisfy
you how unfair a reprefentation of them
Paris in a ferment, and St. Medard's Church-yard being
crouded from morning to night with fick praying for re;
lief, the civil magiftrate,, unable by any other means to ftem
the torrents and clofe the lift of miracles, fell upon the ex.-
pedient of debarring all approach to. the fcene of wonderg,,
by walling up the. fepulchre. It was on th^s occafion, that
the foUowingfrequently repeated diftich was made, and put
upon the wall. De par le Roi-^— defence a Dieu
De faire miracles en ce lieu.
Our faint's miracles, after this, become lefs frequent,
though fome were attributed ftill to him, as in the cafe of
Gautier related by Montgerpn ; and even to this day, he
performs wonderful feats among the Convulfionaries, whoff
extravagancies have done fo much dlfcredit to the caufe of
Janfenifm, that the fober part of that fed have not only
difclaimed all connexion with them, but have alfo employed
fome of their ableft writers to expofe their frantic abfurdi-
Njties. Thefe convulfionifts well deferve this appellation ; for
they have amongft them adepts who can, with pleafure,
work themfelves up to the ftrangeft agitations and convul-
fions,praaifjng feats which \vould entertain a Bartholomew-
fair, audience. Mr. Powel the fire-eater may have learnt
hisart.among them, for they have fome who are invulnera-
fcle by-fire j others, again, like another fet of jugglers, are
impenetrable by the point of a fliarp fword. In the year
1749 being at Paris, I was invited to go to one of their

125
"We have had in the above. quotations from,
Dr. Middleton, and the author of the EJfaj^
on Miractes,and confequently with how lit
tle reafon they have been fet up in oppbfl*
tion to the miracles of the New Teftament.
An infinite number of treatifes concern
ing them were publiflied in France: but
the pompous book of Mr. de Montgeron
for, and the Paftoral Letters of the Arch
bifliop of Sens, againft them, contain all
that can be offered on either fide, and all
that is neceflary to enable us to form our
judgment of the affair. Thefe I have pe-
rufed with care, and fliall quote with fide
lity, and upon the whole, fatisfy you that
all the extraordinary fa6ts afcribed to the

meetings, where I was told I fhould be entertained with the
exploitsof one of their famous heroes, who could not only
bring-on convulfions when he pleafed, but when he was in
that llate, would lie on the floor and allow his breaft to be
beat with a ftone' or hammer. Though my cnricfitj' was
not fo great as to make nie a witnefs of this myfelf, the per
fon whom I.had my information from, had feen the op«-
Wtion,

126
AM>^ Paris may be included under thefe
two heads ; Firft, that in many inflancep,
fraud and impofture were fairly proved
and dete^ed, and Secondly, that the cures
naUy performed at the tomb, can be ac
counted for by natural caufes which I
fhall affign.
Firft, then, that fraud and impofture
were dete6led in many inftances, was no
torious to all the world, at the very time,
and is confirmed to us by all the vqijch"
ers which the nature of the thing ^Iow3.
Suffer me to mention two Or three, frora
the Archbifliop of 5mj; from which it
will appear how little reafon the author
of the £^ on Miracles had for afferting
—that the Jefuits, a learned body, fupported
hy the civil magif rates, and determined ene-
tnies to thofe opinions in whofe favouT the
•miracles were faid to have been wrought,
•were never able diflinBly to rtfute or AeteB
them. Six of thefe cures had been corrobora-

127.
ted by a verbal procefs taken by order of
Cardinal de Noailles, in 1728, before a
commiflary appointed by him. Three or
four years after, above twenty of the
cures of Paris, prefented a petition to
Noailles's fucceffor in the fee of that city^
requefting that four of thefe cures might
be folemnly pubUfhed to the people as
miracles. Whence, then, their filence as
to the other two ? It arofe from the no
torious dete£Han of impofture in the cafes
dfjacqttes Lament Menedrieux, and Jfean
Nivetty/fhich laft perfon in particular, was,
in confequence of a frelh examination,
made in 1732, produced and found to be
as lame and bhnd as ever, though eleven
witnefles had attefted his cure, in 1728,
before the commilfery, who chofe to be
content with their evidence, without re
quiring them to produce Nivet himfelf.
In a fubfequent petition to their arch
bifliop, the fame zealous friends of the
Ab&i Paris requefted the publication of a
great many other cures of a later date

128
than the four already prefented by them;
But fraud and impofture could be proved
bow, as well as before. One of the cafes
was of the Sieur le Doulx, who was faid
to have been cured of a fever by having
fome reliques of the Abbe Paris put
under his head, when he was given over,
and had received the facraments. Now
the impofture, here, was detefted by the
fick perfon himfelf, who in a letter writ
ten by him to the Bifliop of Laon declaresi
that the whole was a trick of the JanfC'
niji community of St. Uilaire, who had
prefled upon him a confeflbr, and admi
niftercd the facraments to him, which
might be looked upon as marks of his
being dangeroufly ill, but was far froo)
being the cafe. Laleu a laceman, and
Anne Coulon, faid to be born deaf and
dumb, and reprefented as having received
their cure at the fepulchre of the Abbe
were afterwards proved to have always
enjoyed their faculties of fpeech and hear
ing, though in an imperfeft degree. —
Anne le Franc -wns faid to be cured of %--

129
tomplication of diftempers, and amongft
others of a diforder in her eyes. On an
examination made by the Archbifliop of
Paris, it appeared from the teftimony of
all her relations, that Ihe had never been
in the dangerous way reprefented, particu
larly that (he had never had any diforder
in her eyes. — As ingenious a piece of
fraud as any, was detefted in the cafe of
the widow de Lorme, who pretended to be
ftruck with the palfy,' for going to the
toinb "with an intention to ridicule. Her
own confeflion of- the contrivance, and
other authentic documents, brought this
to light. It would be needlefs to multiply inftan
ces (which I could eafily do) becaufe thofe
already mentioned, are fufficient to prove
that fome of the pretended miraculous
cures were dete61ed to he the offspring of
fraud. But if this be certain, it is equafly
fo, that, in many of the cafes alleged, no
fraud was detefted. If the certainty of
fome of the cures could have been difput-
K

130
ed, the Archbifliop of Sens*, and other
prelates would not have laboured fo much,
as we know they did, to prove, from the
eircumftances of them, that they were ope
rations of the devil.
An examination, therefore, of thofe
cures performed at the tomb of the Abbi
Paris, the evidence of which ftands unim
peached of fraud, becomes neceflary, and
I flatter myfelf that I fliall be able to di
veft them of that miraculous garb with
which ignorance and credulity have drcff-
* The title of the Archbifliop's performance is — Inf ruc
tion Pajiorale de Monfeigneur J. Jufeph Languet, Archeve-
^ue de Sens; — ci-deVant Evequ.e de Suifons, au Stijetdes
pretendus Miracles du Diacre de St. Midard, 4' des Convul-
fwns arrivees ajbn Tombean, There are three parts, pub
liflied at three different times. In the firft, the Archbifliop
endeavours to fliew that the pretended miracles have neither
certainty nor evideace ; in the fecond, that the eircumftan
ces of them- prove they are rather the operations of the
devil than of God; in the third, he would eftablifli thi^
point, that no regard is to be paid to miracles in oppofition
to the body of chief paftors united to their head. — Had the:
prelate been fatisfied, that he had made good his firft heffiV
ihe otiter two would have been quite faperSuous*

131
ed them up, and which infidelity and fcep
ticifm affeft to cloath them in, that they
ferve their purpofes in their attacks againft
the credibility of all miracles whatever.
Miracles may be divided into two claff
es ; of effefts which are, in themfelves,
fuch as could not, by any natural means
be produced ; and of effefts, which though
in themfelves fuch as might be produced
naturally, yet could not be produced, in
that manner, and with thofe eircumftan
ces, without the interpofition of fome in-
vifible power *. When therefore an ef-
fe6l of the former kind is attefted, upon a
fuppofition that there be no defe6l in the
teftimony, the eredibility of the fa6i, at
the fame time eftabliflies the credibility of
the miracle. But when effefts of the
latter kind, effe^s which might be produ
ced naturally, are, from the attendant eir
cumftances, afcribed to invifible power,
* See the ferrhon of Bifliop Conybeare on miracles,
pages. K 2

132
in fuch cafes we muft not content our-
felves with the certainty of the fa6ls, but
before we admit the judgment of the wit-
nefles who pronounced them fupernatural,
we muft enter upon an examination of
their eircumftances ourfelves"; becaufe
thefe witnefles may have been miffed by
ignorance, prompted by credulity, or ex
cited by views of intereft, to afcribe to an
invifible fupernatural interpofition, what
really happened through the agency of
caufes merely natural. Let us, therefore,
fee, to which clafs of miracles we muft
allot the cures attril?uted to the Abb^
Paris. Now the likelieft way of difcovering
whether any of them were beyond the
reach of natural means, is to take Mont'
geron's book into our hands, to examine
the cafes he has collefted, and to reft this
point on his evidence. When you con
fider how zealous an advocate for the
miracles he was, you cannot but be of
opinion, with me, that he has taken care

133
to feleft thofe cafes which bore the ftrong
eft marks of a fupernatural interpofition ;
and therefore, if any cures, in themfelves
miraculous, could have been attributed
to his favourite faint, with any fhew
of evidence, we might have expefted to
find them in his colleftion : but that there
are none fuch to be met with there, I fliall
now fatisfy you.
Confidering that the book in queftion,
is a large quarto volume, one may well be
furprized to hear that it contains an ac
count of only eight cures *. Yet this is
the cafe; and Montgeron, I fuppofe,
thought that a few cures vouched by many
certificates, would do more to eftablifh
his faint's reputation, than many cures
vouched by few.
* Befides the eight cures which Montgeron ¦expatiates
upOn very copioufly, a ninth is alfo produced by him, and
two or three certificates concerning it, are inferted. But
as he himfelf add» nothing to corroborate it, his book may
properly be faid to treat only of eight cures.

134
The firft cure related by him is of Do^
Antonio de Palachios, a young gentlepian
who had loft one eye entirely, and was
affli^led with a weaknefs and inflammation
of the other. Now there cannot be the
leaft pretence fpr affirming that the relief
received by this patient was beyond the
reach of human means. For what hap-,
pened here } The inflamed eye, indeed,
was cured : but, it feems, our wonder
working Abb 6 could not reftore the other,
which remained as dark as before.
Or will any body pronounce the dif-
eafes of Margaret; Thibault, and of M'^f''
garet Frances THl Chefne as incurable by
natural means ? — However exaggerated
by Montgeron} however artificially branch
ed out by him into a variety of fymptotps,
yet, that complications of diftempers, ari
fing from obftruftions in the fluids, fliould
be curable by human means, cannot be
denied, The illnefs of the former of thefe
patients, arpfe, ^s Mr. Reneaimc (a pliyG"

135
cian who had originally attended her) tells
us *, from obftruftions occafioned by a
thick inflamed blood, which had not a
proper circulation. And Mr. Cojiardv^ho
had prefcribed for the latter, feems to de
rive -j- the variety of complaints under
which fhe laboured, from the fuppreffion
* Je la trouvai d'abord dangereufement malade d'une
efpece de difpofition apopleftique cauiee par une portion de
I'humeur d'une rheuniatifme gouteux, ou goute vague:
Cette humeur fe jettant fur le bras y caufa de vives dou-
leurs ; et comme la violence de la do-uleur empechoit le
mouvement de cette partie, on appelloit cette difpofition,
paralyfie. — Jl eft a reraarquer que tout le fang qu'on lui
tira etoit tres epais, coigneux, et inflammatoire ; I e fang
de cette qualite coule difficilemenl, et eft tres propre a
former des embarras. N° 5 of the certificates about Thibault
in Montgeron.
t J'ai etc appelle pour la voir vers paques de I'annee
1730. Elle etoit malade depuis plus de deux ans et demi :
Elle fe plaignoita moi d'une douleur de c&te, d'un mal de
tfte infupportable — d'un mal d'eftomaeh, vomiiTant fa noar-
jiture, &c. &c. — La fource de tant des maux, venoit d'une
ehute que la nialade avoit fait fur Feftomach, ce qui peu de
item* apres avoit etc fuivi de la fupprefllon de fes regies,
K" 5 of the certificates about Du
Chefne in Montgeron.

156
of her menfes, the confequence of a fall.
So that in thefe two cafes, nothing more
was to be done than to remove an obftruc-
tion, the remoyal of which would, of
courfe, reftore health.

The cures of Mary Anne Couronneau^
Philip Sergeant, and Louifa Hardouin,
three more of Montgeron' s miracules, who
were paralytic, will not certainly be pro
nounced beyond the reach of natural
means. Palfies, it is well known, arife
from obftruftions of the fpirits that circu
late in the nerves, fo that their influx into
the mufcles is impeded; or from obftruc-,
tions of the arterious blood. Nothing
more, therefore, was required here, than
to remove that obftruftion ; and the daily
cures of the moft univerfai palfies, fatisfy
us that the relief received by the three
abovementioned patients, might be entire
ly natural. Louifa Coirin\ complaint was
a tumor on her left breaft : and, fuppo-.
fing it to be a tumor of the moft terrible
kind — a cancer, yet have we no reafon fpr

137
pronouncing even this difeafe incurable.
It is to be effefted by changing the ftate of
the blood, and therefore, cannot be faid to.
require a fupernatural caufe. — Phyficians,
indeed, will tell us that the hiftory of phy-
fic furniflies no inftance of a cancer's being
cured: granting this to be true, what will
it prove ? It may prove the imperfeGtion
of the fcience they profefs, but it can never
prove that a cancer is abfolutely incu
rable : It may prove their ignorance: of
any human means adequate to fuch a
cure, (and the beft phyficians will confefs
their ignorance in many inftances) but can
never prove that no fuch means exift *,
There remains to be confidered, of
Montgeron's eight cures, the nature of that

*The faft generally aflTerted, that there are no inftances
of cancers cured, without the excifion of the part, is con-
tradidled by recent experience. For that AJr. Ward has
cured tumors on breafts, pronounced to be cancers, and
treated as fuch by the regular- bred furgeons and phyfi
cians, is a faft which, were it neceflary, could be coi^t
finned by defcending to particular?.

138
of Peter Gautier *, whofe eye had been
pierced through with an awl. And that
nothing happened in his cafe, which could
not be effefted by natural means, every
one, who knows any thing of the ftru61;ure
of the eye, muft admit. To a perfon un-
acquainted with this, indeed, it may feera
very furprizing, that an eye pierced
through with an awl, fliould recover its
vifion ; and, accordingly, Montgeron tri
umphs in this, as a cure which was
abfolutely above the power of natural
caufes. And, yet, inftances are far from
being uncommon, where the piercing of
the eye did not render the recovery of
fight impoffible. Particularly, the opera-
ration of couching for the cataradi is per-.
formed by running a fteel needle into the
^ This cure was performed in 1733, after the fliultingup
of the tomb, at Pezenas in Languedoc. Another curs
performed at Seignelai, the fame year, on Edmee Defvignes,
was the only one, of all thofe attributed to our Abbe, pub.
lifhed by a bifliop; with folemnity as a miracle. Tbe Bi
fhop of Auxerre, famous for his ?eal as a J^nfenift, did if
this honour.

139
eye, through the adnata, by the edge of
the cornea, till it arrive at the middle of
the catara£i. Now nothing happened to
Peter Gau tier's eye, but what is done with
out any bad confequence, in the operation
of couching. His eye was pierced through
the cornea, and the aqueous humor drop-
ped out upon his hand : and in couching,
the eye muft be pierced in the fame man
ner by the oculift, and the aqueous humor
is fometimes loft. But, then, it is well
known that this is a fubftance which is
reproduced ; and, therefore, neither the
wound made by the fliarp inftrument, nor
the confequences of that wound, the lofs
of the aqiieous humor, do imply that any
parts of the eye eflential to vi/ion were
deftroy ed *,
From the above doluftion of particu
lars, it appears that none of the cures
* Befides the reftoration of the pierced eye, the difapr
pearing of two fpecks, on the other, is made a part of this
miracle ; but fo trifling a part, that we need not fay more
of it.

140
ittributed to the Abbe Paris by Montgeron,
fire fuch as were, in themfelves, miracu
lous 5 fo that if there was any fupernatural
interpofition in bringing them about, this
inuft be collefted from the manner and
eircumftances in which they happened ;
an inquiry into which, therefore, becomes
neceffary. Now I think this muft be affirmed, that
there can be no pretence for calling in
Jupematural caufes, unlefs, from the eir
cumftances attending thefafts in queftion,
we may have an affurance that no natural
Caufes operated. But how can we have
fuch an affurance ?— The defenders of
their miraculous nature, are, indeed, in the
right when they tell us, that there can be
no natural efficacy in proftration on the
Abbe's tomb, or in fuppfication to him,
to produce the recovery of the ufe of
limbs, or the removal of dropfical fwell-
ings. But, then, they will find it extreme
ly hard to prove, that no other natural
caufes, more adequate, did operate. How

141
know \^e but that the cures would have
equally happened, though the faint had
nevjer been applied to? How know we,
that the patients were not already. in a
healing way when they fought relief froini
the Abbe ? Can we be abfolutely certain
that the ftrength of their eonftitutions bad
not got the better of their difeafes, ait this
particular junfturep Or might not raedj'
cines formerly taken, and other experi*
ments tried, have contributed to the relief
afcribed to the interpofition of our feint .?
— In a word, to ufe the obfervation of Dt^
Middleton, " every man's experience has
*' taught him, that difeafes thought fatajl
" and de-fperate, are often furprizingly
*' healed of themfelves, by fome fecret and
" fijdden effort of nature, impenetrable to
" the flcill of man ; but to afcribe this pre?
^' fently to a miracle, as weak and fuper-
*' ftitious minds are apt to do ; to the pray.-
¦ ' ers of the living, pr the interceffion ,oi
'^the dead, is what neither found reafoij
^' nor true religion will juftify". *
* Free Inquiry, p. 79.

14^
Thefe refleftions occur upon the firft
view ; and even before we are able to
point out any particular eircumftances,
which are inconfiftent with the fuppofition
of there being any fuperhatural interpofi
tion in bringing about the cures we now
treat of. And that fuch eircumftances Can
be affigned, in fome of the cafes infifted
upon by Montgeron, I fhall now endeavour
to fatisfy you.
And, firft, the circiumftances attending
the cure of Don Alphonfo are fuch as make
it matter of wonder, that Montgeron fhould
give il a place amongft the miracles of
his faint. The inflaftimation and weak
nefs of this gentleman's eye, at the time
when he began his neuvaine to the Abbe,
are, indeed, unexceptionably welt attefted.
Yet there is not the leaft, moft diftant
ground, for afcribing the relief he received
to the interceffion of the bleffed deacon.
For tlie depofitions of the witneffes men
tion this very remarkable circumftance,
that he aftually, at the fame time, made

143
ufe of remedies prefcribed by Mr. St.
Tves * an eminent oCulift, and had, for a
day or two previoufly to the removal of
the inflammation, bathed his eye with a
medicine compofed of a decoftionof Wf?/^-
mallows mixed with fome laudanum.
How ridiculous is it then, to fee the
admirers of the Abbe Paris boaft of this
as one of his mighty deeds ? The young
gentleman is troubled with an inflamma
tion in his eye; he applies to the Abbi
Paris to be cured by him ; but, at the
fame time, makes ufe cf a medicine pre
fcribed by an oculift. Which, therefore,
ought to have the honour of the cure ?
The dead faint, or the living oculift ?— •
I believe, while the latter was employed,
few will think there can be any grounds
for fuppofing that the former, at all, in
terpofed.— Befides it appears from the
certificates collefted by Montgero^n, that
• Author of a well-efteemsd book on the difeafes of the
eye. 3

144
iDon Alphonfo's eye was fo much inflamed
in the beginning of 1731, that he was
obliged to fufpend his ^ftudies ; but that
the ufe of an eye-water prefcribed by a
woman, gave him temporary relief; and
his eye continued tolerably well, till the
month of June, when he applied to our
Abbe. Can there, therefore, be any rea
fon to doubt of his being relieved, »0Wi
by the medicine of Mr. St. Tves, when we
.have this inftance of his being relieved,
before, by the medicine of an old woman?
Two other of Montgeron's cures, that of
Louifa Coirin's fwelled breaft, and that of
Peter Gautier's pierced eye,, feem very
improper inftances to prove the interpo
fition of his fainti — With regard to the
former, we have nO affurance from any
of the witneffes produced, either of her
not being in a heahng way before ffie ap*
plied to our Abbe, or of her .not- making
ufe of the medicines proper for her com
plaint, befides her own and her fervant's
evidence. The whole affair is tranfafted

145
in private ; fraud may, for aught we know,
have been praftifed, and the very fufpi
cion of fraud deftroys the credibility of
the faft.
Or if we confider the evidence urged
in fupport of Peter Gautier's cure, we fllaH
find that we have only his own word to
make us believe he was blind at the time
when he began his neuvaines to the Ahbe.
That his eye had been pierced through
with an awl, and that, in confequence of
this wound, he had loft the ufe of it, for
fome time, is proved by a cloud of wit
neffes. But that he had not recovered
the ufe of it, long before the feint was ap
plied to, depends upon his own Angle
affirmation; and how little regard ought
to be paid to it, wiU ftrike every or^ who
confiders that Gautier, even according to
Montgerorts account, was entirely direfted
and influenced by one Mr. Cariffolz. prieft,
and a moft zealous admirer of the Abbt
Paris. — But why fhould I mention bare
iiifpicions, when pofitive evidence can be
h

146'
offered, toprovethat Gawf/Vr had reco<
vered his fight, before he applied to the
bleffed deacon ? The Archbifliop of Sens,
in his Paftoral InJiruB,ion, difclofes to us
the fcene of fraud. From him we learn,
that Gmtiers own uncle gave evidence
that his nephew could fee with the pierced
eye, within a few weeks after the acci
dent, and fifteen months before he began
his prayers. Nay, farther, it appeared
that Gautier himfelf recanted his former
ftory, and figned a depofition to that
efeft*
* If I had not propofed to confine myfelf to the cures re
lated by Montgeron, J could have produced a great m^y
f^qm the Archbifliop of Sens, the eircumftances of which
Qt^wcsd th{tt there cetild not be the leaft ground for aittribot-
ing them to the interpofltion of our Abho, I fliall juft
pieptioif one or two, — Peter Lero, who was fuppofed to be
cured of (ilcejss in his left leg, by praying at the4omh, was
ip % he»Kiig way b$lb.fe he went thither : And ne wonder
t^a^tt bi« i^eer* ^vivM h^l Bp J? eightgen d?iys-«.tKe
tiwehc emglflj^ed iit pr^yjjg tp our faint.- Elizabeth I/i-
Ibe, pretended^?b be curgd of a hard fwelled breaft, hy ap
plying' to il the holy earth. But it appeared, upon exami-
i^»!i(m, that 9i« V4S niith cttMd^ an^tbat the fw^iog of her
breaft, wfts wing, to her hi*viu| taken medicines tooccafiop

14*7
But though fome of Montgeron\ mira
cules were cured, at leaft were in a way
of being cured, before they applied to ouf
faint, I muft own this cannot be affirmed
to have been the cafe of them all. For
that the difeafes of others of them were^
feemingly, at the worft, and that fudden
changes were wrought at the tomb on
fupplicants, at the very inftant of their
application, thefe are faSs, which, as they
could not be invalidated at the very time,
it would be unreafonable to deny now»
For inftance, I cannot find the leaft de-
fefl, in the evidence urged in fupport of
the cure of Margaret Thibault. The re
ality of her difeafe is attefted to us by fix
phyficians *, three of whom examined her
only two days before flie went to the
tomb, and having feen her again, imme-p
diately after her return from it, bear wit-?
an abortionj and, therefore, ceafed on hef being brought
to bed ; aqd would equally have ceafed thougli flie had
never ufed the earth.
• Meffrs, Cointre, Reneaume, Chomel, Coldevilars, Cof-
|)i«f,et D»Lepine. ;- 2

148
nefs to an amazing change wrought upon
her health, a change, which crouds of
fpeftators, prefent with her at the tomb,
alfo atteft. Nor can the Archbifhop of
Sens invalidate the truth of this, content
ing himfelf with a certificate of Mr. Siiva,
phyfician to the Duke of Orleans ; which
indeed proves that her cure was not com
plete, fhe not having recovered the ufe of
two of her fingers^ but does not affe6l the
evidence brought to prove that flie was
freed from other fymptoras. — Neither do
I find that any well-grounded objeftion
could be offered in the cafe of Margaret
Frances Duchejne. The dropfical fwelt
ing of this patient, as of Margaret Thi
bault, could not be counterfeit, and the
vifibk, fudden decreafe of thefe fwellings
was a faft of which the fenfes of the fpec-
tators could be certain. The paralytic
fupplicants, indeed, Couronneau, Sergeant,
and Hardouin, could more eafily impoffe
upon fpeftators, and pretend to be refto'.,
red to the ufe of limbs, of which they .had
fijsver bgen deprived. But I muft own.

except in the cafe of Couranneau *,, thefS
doth not feem the leaft ground for fufpi-s
cion on this head: the reality of their
complaints, and the fudden relief they re
ceived at the tomb are fO ftrongly atteft
ed, that it would be fcepticifm to fuppofe
the whole was colkifion and fraud.
But though I am obliged tO admit fome
of the fa6is, I am not obliged to admit
the confequence drawn hy the JavfeniftSf
that there was any miracle in the cafe;—
Whenever natural . caufes fufficient to ac-^
count for an event can be, affigned, it
would be folly and fuperftition to have
recourfe to fupernatural ones t. If there-^
fore I can affign natural caufes fufficient to
account for the benefit received by fome of
the fupplicants in St< Medard's church-
* The Archbifliop ftf Sens would have us believe thalf
this woman was cured before flie went to the tomb. But,'
on comparing what he advances, with the certificates pro
duced by Montgeron, i cannot think he has detedfed any"
ffaud in this cafe.
t Ne« D«U8 interCt, nifi djgnus vindice nodus. Hor,- :

ISO
yard, I think I fhall have eSeftuaEy. over-
turned the pretenfions to a miraculous
interpofition. That impreffions made on the mind
produce furprizing changes on the habit
of the body, we are as certain of, as we
are certain that a change can be wrought
on it by medicines, or any other external
caufei. The truth of this will not, I ima
gine, be difputed by any one, fo far as it
relates to a change of the habit of the body
for the worfe. For that difeafes often
take their rife from the affeftions and
paffions of the mind, is a fa£l confirmed
by experience in a vaft notoriety of in-
ftances. Can there be any thing more
ineonteftably true, than diat care and
anofiiety, difeppointment in. what we have
ardently wiffied for, and lofs of what we
have affectionately loved, by preying upon
the mind and engrofling all its attention,
wiU, diforder the whole frame of the body,
and become the fource both, of chronie
and acute complaints ?

161
But not to infift upon the more filent
and flow workings of a fettled melancholy,
ruining and undermining the health by
degrees, equally agreeable to experience,
and more appofite to our prefent purpofe,
are inftances of fudden and alarming
diforders, occafioned by the violence of
impreffions made by fear, by anger, by joy.
*— If your own experience has not brought
any fuch inftances within the reach of
your knowledgej the hiftorian will tell
you they have happened, and the phyfi
cian will corroborate his teftimony, and
affign the caufe.
Remarkable in the hiftories of Prance ^
is the ftory of John de Poi£iiers, count de
St. Valier *. Convifted of being an alfo^
* This account of John de Poiftiers 1 haVe from Moreri.
" Diane de Poidtiers Duchefle de Valentinoisj celebre fous
" le regne de Henri II. £toit fille de Jean de Poiftiers,
" Comte de St. Valier.— Diftia gagnl par fa beaut6 le ceeur
" dela plus part des grands de la cour. Jean de Foi^iets
i" fon pere fut Gonvaincu d'avoir favorife les defleins et la
" fuite d« (Jhitrles connetable de Sourbon, On Tarrsta a

153
ciate in the confpiracy of the conftable of
Bourbon, againft Francis I. and condemn
ed to lofe his head at Lions, the fear and
*' Lion.ou le roi Francois I. etoit; et depuis on le cou-
" demna a perdre la tete. Le deplaifir qu'il eut de fe voir
" penlu ful fi grand, qu'en une nuit les chevcux lui blaiii-
" chirent ft abfohiment, que ceux qui I'avoient en garde le
" prirentle lendemain pour un autre. II tomba merae daiit
" une fievre fi violente qu'encore que Diane fa fille eut ob-
" tenu fa grace, il ne put guerir, quelque rcmede qu'on y
" apportat. — Ce dela qu'eft venu le proverbe de la fievi*
'« de St. Valier." Moreri Artie. Diane de Poiftiets.
As Thuanus's aecouat "of this ftory differs fomewhat from
Moceri's, I fliall alfo infert it. " Diana patrem habuit
" Joannem Piftavieiifem, Sanvalerium, qui CaroK Bor-
" bonii conjurationis particeps, cum apud facerdotem rem
" fecreto confelTus efli^t, a facerdote delatus, & ad mortem
" damnatus eft. Gum ad fupplieium duceretur, ex pavore
" in tain acutam fehrira incidit ut, veni^ in gratiam filise—
" a Francifco impetrata, vix ad mentem' & fanitatem, ffe-
" plus mifTo fiinguine, reduci potuerit; unde fanvalerisni
" fcbris apud nos in proverbiuin abiit."
Thuanus, Lib. HI. ad An. 154-7-
But father Anfefme, in his Palais d'Honneur, p. 55,5,
more conformably to Moreri's relation, fays that St. Valier
faw death fo near him, and was fo greatly terrified on that
occafion, that, when brought back to his houfe, a fevet
feiaed him with fo much violence, that he died.. '

153
other violent paffions with which his mind
was diftra£led, had fuch an effeft, that, in
one night, his hair was turned fo entirely
grey, that the officers of the prifon too^
him next morning for another perfon.
But this was not all, for he was feized
with fo violent a fever, that though his
daughter Diana, famous under the name
of Duchefs de Valentinois, had, by her
charms, procured his pardon from the
king, no remedies, though all thatphyfic
could diftate were ufed, were able to pre
vent his death.
An inftance of a fimilar kind happened
to Henry the IV th of France, and we have
the beft authority, his own word, for its
truth. — Matthieu, his hiftorian, fays that
he was prefent when the king told the
Marquis de la Force, that when lie heard
the unexpefted and mortifying news, that
Henry the Hid had publifhed the edifl of
July 1585 (by which every Hugonot was
ordered either to go to mafs, or to leave
the kingdom in fix months) he was f©

154
greatly affe^led, that, in an inftant, the
muftachi& or whifker, on that fide of his
face which happened then to reft upon
hits hand, was converted into grey *.
But as relations of this nature will, per
haps, have greater weight when vouched
by writers in the medical way, I fliafl pre-'
fent you with a moft furprizing inftance of
the force of an impreflion made upon the
mind, in bringing on a fatal change on the
body, which I find in the Operations de
Chirurgerie of Verduc, and extrafted by
him from Kerkeren's Spicilegium AnatO'
micivnt.
Verdup, after treating of the effefts of
* Henri IV.dit au Marquis de la Force, en ptdence de
Matthieu qui le rapporte Liv. 8. ; gu'au moment qu'il ^p-
prit cette indigne foiblefl-e d'Henri III.; fa mouftadie.
blanchit tout d'un coup, du cote' ou il tenoit fon vifage
sppuye fur fa main. ^
Memoires de^ulli, ton?- i- edit. 17*7-
Another remarkable ftory of this kind, too long to b9
tranfcribsd, may be feen ia Howel's Letters^ p. 17?. '

155
the imagination of the mother on the
fidus^, proceeds to fliew the power of
imagination on ourfelves, fo as to occafion ;
difeafes, by relating the foUowing cafef .
* Fortnany curious and furprizing inftances of the lef-
fe&softhe imagination of the mother oathe fcetus,the i;«a-
der may confiilt Fienus, who is very copious on this i ,ub-
je£t, in his Treatife de Viribus Imaginationis ; Malb ran-
che's Recherche de la Feritey'B. ii. C. 7- and Dr. Jai jnes's
Diiflionary, under the Article of Imagination. As ; fome
phyficians pretend to doubt, nay, to laugh at fuch ft ( lorieSj
it may not be improper to fubjoin the opinion of Dr. Mead,
and his teftimony to their truth. " Quid mirabili .«s iis,
" qu« in graviditatibus non raro contingere videmus .? Fs-
" mina.in utero geftans, fi forte quid appetiverit, & fruftra
" fit, interdum rei. concupitse figuram quondam, au t, fimi-
" litudinem, in hac aut illd corporis parte, fcetui fuo im-
*' primit. Imo, quod majus, & prodigiiinftar, fiibi ^ ta partis
" alicujus l£efione perterrita matre, ipfa ilia pars i: i linfante
" noxam fentit, et nutrimenti defedlu marcefci t. Scio
" hujufmodi omnes hiftorias a medicis nonnuilis, <}uoniain
" qui talia fieri poffunthaud percipiunt, in dubiui m vocarL
*' — At multa, quEe ipfe vidi, exempla mihi hac i n re fcru-
" pulum, omnem ademerunt." Vide Mead's Medica Sat ira, p. 71 .
f Un colle^eur etant' alle chez un payfanpou r fe faire
payer de la taille^ le payfan lui dit qa'ilin'avoit p oint d'ar-
gent, et le prie adevouloir fe donner unpeu;de patience.
Le collefteur commanda qu'on fata fon greirier, , fit qu'on

156
'" A colleftor of the taxes having goner
*' to a farmer's houfe to receive what was

en tira le bled pour le vendre fur la place. Pendant qu'on
( brecuta fes ordres rigoreux, une vielle ferame qui fe trouva
p tcfente, lui frappa fur le dos trois on quatre fois, en lui
di '<ant, tout en colere, que faites vous ? Celui ci tout etonn^
de is paroHes, et tout emeu des coups que cette vielle femme
lui donnoif, fentit, le jotrr meme, a I'endroit ou ellel'avoit
tou the, un petit tubercule de la grotTeur d'une aveline.-
Cel fe petite tumeur devint trois jours apres aufli groffe
qu'u toe Oeuf de poule ; elle s'atlgmenfa dans la fuite fi con-
iidei ablement, qu'au bout des trois ans elle etoit aufli grofle,
qu'u de fac de bled. Le coUefteur vint a Amfterdam dani
le de. tein d'y confulter les medecins & les chirurgiens les
plus 1 iabiles. lis lui confulerent tons de fe gardcr de faire
ouvrii i fa tumeur. Le malade vint aufli trouvcr Kerfceren
pour 1 fe confulter ; il fut etonne de voir une fi prodigieufe
tumeui !. — Plufieurs attribuerent la caufe de cette tumeur
monftr tufe a un fort que cette vielle avoit jette fur cetf
fcommp ', Mais qui eft ce que ne voit pas que Cette effet
venoit i ie I'imagination de cet homme fuperftitieux, qui fe
crut en forcelle par la vielle qui Tavoit frappe fur le dos ?
Car il lui arriva ce qu'arrive aux femmes grofles qui ont
dels envi js. Son infia'gination rerfiplie de I'idee de fac de
bled qi fil avoit fait vendre a ce pauvre payfen, & fe per-
fuadant que cette vielle etoit forciere, les humeurs qui
etoient ¦ tn mouvement, prirent leur cours vers le dos, a*
I'endroit lou elles furent determinees par I'imagination, et
lafircnt ki tumeur.
• Opera fions de Chirurgerie de Verduc, c. xiv. p. %%¦•

157
« due from him, and finding him un^le to
" pay, ordered fome of the corn to be
" taken out of his granary and fold^ As
" they were executing this order rigorouf-
" ly, an old woman, who happened to be
" prefent, ftruck the colleftor, two or
" three tinies on the back j and with erjio-
" tion, cried out— what are you aboijt ?
^' The colleftor, who was deeply affe6ied
" with this circumftance, felt, that very
*' day, a little tumor about the bignefs of
*• a bean, on the fame part, which the
" woman had ftruck. Within three days,
" the fwelling had grown to the fize ot
*' an hen's egg, and, at laft, in about three
" years, was as big as a fack of corn, The
*' colleftor came to Am/terdam to confult
*' the moft expert phyficians and furgeons,
"amongft whom Kerkeren himfelf was
" confulted, who amazed to fee fo prodi-
" gious a tumor, which covered all hi*
" back, unanirtioufly agreed that it fliould
" not be opened. But he was not fo wife
*' as to pay any regard to this ; for he
?' died foon after, at Cologne, under the

Ids
" hands of a furg€on who had undertaken
« the I operation. Many attributed this
^' monftrous fwelling to his being bewitch-
" ed by the old woman. But it certainly
" arofe from the imagination of this fii-
" perftitious man, who had taken this
" ffncy into his head. For the fame thing
'* happened to him, which happens to
^' pregnant women who long for any
" thing. His imagination being filled
** with the idea of the fack of corn, which
" he had feized from the farmer, and
«' having fancied that the old woman was
*' a witch, the humours which were in
?' motion took their courfe towards the
** back, to the place whither they had
«« been determined by the imagination,
*i and th?r^ caufed the fwelling."
Verdue, in the above paflage, while h«
relates th& fa^, alfo affigris tfie caufe,
Impreffions made upon the mind, by
sfting upon thp b|opd and fpirits (a power
which we know they have, in confe
quence ef the intimate union that con^'

159
ne^s the two parts of our natJure) may be
the ?tneans of detaching too gneat a quan
tity of fluids" to a found part, which ftag-
nating there, nature may becomie oppreflT-
ed, and the tone of the folid pat ts receive
a preternatural diftention. And that a
vaft variety of difeafes may be thus occa
fioned, you will fee confirmed by the au
thority of Fienus in the note * : an autho
rity which you will hardly difpute, as I
can corroborate it with that of one ftill
alive, whom not to call the ornament of
his profeflion would be imjuft, and to fay
more of him would be impertinent "t.
• Phantafia eft caufa motus humorum 5? fpfrituum in
corpore. — Motu humorum & fpirituum poffunt varii, imo
omnis generis; morbi in nobis caufari : Nam motu humo
rum i^eflunt fieri ohftruSiones, & confequanter apoplexiae,
calculi, afthina, dyfuria, csepitas &q. vlcera & apoftemata
interna: Motu fpirituum poffunt fieri deliquia, vertigines,
&c. Imo videtur quod homo per fuam imaginationem pof-
fet fe fere affieere qaoctimqite morbo vellet. Etenim — iroa-
giuatio habet vim direftoriam: fjrgo poteft humorcs in
jquamcunque parte detevminatam dirip;ere, & ine&morbun)
facere, imo etiam hunc v.(>l ilium morbijra determinare.
De viribus Imagina, p. 1 59,
•| Dr, Mpad, whofe words are — ^unon hominem pefTun*

IGO
fsiot to enlarge, therefore, on fuch fafls,
as more inftances of them would be un-
neceflTary, I fhall now proceed to obferve,
that impreffions made upon the mind
may alfo have an efficacy to change the
habit of the body for the better, as well as
for the worfe, and to reftore as well as to
deftroy health.
And, indeed, this is a dire6l confequence
of what has been juft obferved. For as
the blood and fpirits may be fet in motion
by impreffions made on the mind, it muft
h6 allowed that fuch motions, according
to their different determinations to parti
cular parts, will remove or bring on dif
eafes. Nay I fhould even think, that it
is much eafier to account for relief being
received, in this manner, by a difeafed
dare vehcmentes animi affeftiones fsepe expcriunlur? Su-
bitus terror multos interemit ; & ipfa quando que fupra
jnodnm exultans laetitia fuit exitio.
Medica Sacra, p. 70. See alfo Dr. Nichols's
Anima Medica.

161
perfon* than to account for the altera
tions made on perfons in healthi For by
the operation of the paflions of the mind
on the fpirits*, they may be fo determined
as to produce great alterations in the mo
tions of the blood, and to communicate
fuch life and brifknefs to it, as will have
a natural efficacy to give relief under dif-^
eafes whofe feat is in the fluids. By this
means may the obftrufted canals beJopen*
* if 1 fpeak improperly, I hope the learned faculty will
excufe the inaccuracy of one who is a ftranger to the ar
cana of their profeflion, oU a point concerning which they
themfelves ate divided.^That a fluid, diftinguiflied by the
namfc of Spirits, and Animal Spifiti, and circulating in the
nervesj is the immediate inftrument, by means of which the
mind afts upon the blood; and aifefts the habit of body, has
formerly been the orthodo.'i opinion in phyfic. But, it
feems, modern refiners more inquifitivc and knowing, at
leaft, pretending lobe more fo than their predec-efibrs," dif
pute the exiftence of fuch a fluid at allj and in its place,
have fubftituted Certain vibrations of the nervous fyftem,
&e. &c. Whether fuch a fluid exifts or no, is to my argu
ment amatterof indifFtirence; and when I make ufe of tbe
term fpirits, I mean the immediate inftrument of the mind's
aftion on the body, whatever it be ; and which, though we
mould confefs onr ignorance of its naturp, muft be at
leaft owned to e.vift; M

ed, the ftagnating juices may refume their
loft circulation, and the relaxed folids re-
cover that, proper tone, which a found
part, opprefled by too great a quantity
of fluids, could not preferve.
What appears thus agreeable to reafon
has been indifputably confirmed by ex
perience ; and inftances, unexceptionably
well attefted, of difeafes being alleviated,.
for a while, if not totally removed, by
paffions excited in the mind, by fear, by
terror, by anger, by joy, may be appealed
to, for the conviftion of thofe, who have
not feen fuch fa6ls fall under their own
obfervation. A cafe of this kind, related by the Count
de Chavagnac, in his Memoirs, to have
happened to himfelf, occurs to me at pre
fent. The count, then a general in tbe
Imperial army, was laid up in bed with a
fit of the gout, when an alarm was raifed
of the march of the Marechal de Turenne
to furprize their quarters. Though be

163
was not able, before, to move either hand
or foot, the fear pf falling into the hands
of his countrymen the French, wrought
a kind of inftantaneous miracle on him.
For he got out of his bed, dreffed him
felf, and having placed himfelf in his
coach, all this without help, he was con
duced to a fafe retreat *j
But how trifling an inftance is this,
when compared to the ftory related of the
famous Monfiewr Pierejque, by Gajfendus?
The palfy had deprived Pierejque of the
* Mr. de Turenne Hytmi ete joint par foh fecouts mSr-
cha pour enlever les Lorrains dans leur quartiers i Ceux ci
en ayant eu l'avis,fe fetirerent toutela nuit. L'alarrae fut
fi viveque Mr. de Lorraine, me vint trouverpour me dire
que dans quatre heures Mr, de Turenne feroit a nous, et
que Bournonville avoit donne rendegvous aux troupes a
cinque grofles lieiies de la. Je fouffrois cruellement dans
mon lit et ne pouvois feuleraent niouvoir les pfcds, ni les
mains, tant la goute m'avoit faifi. Mais la peur de tomber
t,iitre les mains des Francois fit un miracle fur le champ.
Car je meilevai moi meme, in habillai, et misdansmaca-
kche, d.'oa Ton me conduifit a Caflel, ouj'avois envie de me
i*lir.;r. Memoires de Chavagnac, p. 333.
M 2

164
ufe of his right-fide; and alfo of his fpeechi
Lying in this helplefs condition, he re
ceived a letter from his friend Thuanuf
which he read with a degree of joy ; and
having, immediately after, heard a fong,
finely fung, he was fo tranfported with
the fweetnefs of it, that, like the fon of
Crafus, eager to exprefs what pafled witk-
in his breaft, by words, he aftually did
fo, by breaking out into an exclamation
in praife of the long ; and, from that mo
ment, his paralytic members recovered
their freedom and afitivity *. If we con-
* Corripuit ilium (Piereflcium) infignis qusedam paraty-
fis, ad dextras omnes corporis partes. Scilicet extra limeft
Domus confidebat, reclinatumque totum corpus forte ha-
hebat in dextrum femur, cum fubito fenfit ejufmodi frmur
non leviter obftupefafium. Conatus loco emoverc, nifi ad-
juvante, famulo non potuit, neque deinceps incedere ob fi"
niilem cruris, pedifqUe ftuporemi Perrepfit continuo im
brachium alFoflio, adeo ut fcripfionis fiierit incapaix. Serp-
fit et in linguam, quse proinde hafit, ao licet non nihil bal-
butire, niurmurareve videretur, voces tamen diftinguerp,
dearticulareque non potuit. Subiit quoque aurinm tin
nitus, qui, nifi aliis partibus flinul folutis, nonevanuit. Eft
autem fafta folutio poft exattam hebdomadem , occafioiie
hilafitatis, admirationifque fubna'a, Cumallataenimiram,

165
fider Gaffmdus% chJkra£ler, as a grave
and ferious philofopher, and recoiled the
opportunities he had of informing hinifelf
as to the particulars of the life of Pie-
refque, who was his patron and with whom
he generafly lived, we muft own that there
is not the leaft room for doubting the
truth of this anecdote, which is a very re-
nia;rkable confirmation of my hypothefis
^that the paffions and aflPeftions of the
mind can communicate health to the body.
But, as I obferved before, in fuch cafes
as this, the verdift of thte phyfcian is more
conclufive than the narration of the hifto
rian. And that we have the verdift of
phyfifeians confirming this cOnclufion of
the inind's being able to relieve the dif-
fuiflent literas a Thuano — laetitid quadam geftiit ; & cum
fubinde nefcio quis hymnus in Lilii, Rofseque amores fcite
cantretur, ita captiis eft fuavilate cantus et Stfopthes cu-
jiffdaw lepore, ut, quetnadmodum Crjefi filiUs, pi'orumpere
volens in ftliq«» vgrha, ac in ea fpeciatim quam pulchrura
hoc eft ! prorfus in ilia proruperit, eoque momento libertas
he'nt ^nembxis omnibus reftituta. Gaffendi Opera, V. IV. P. SO/.

166
eafes of the body, I may. boldly. affirm.
If then the judgment of one, whofe autho,
rity is as venerable, as his antiquity is
great, be decifive, as it certainly will be
allowed, I can boaft of having thp illuf.
trious father of phyfic on my fide, and can
quote Hippocrates exprefsly recommendr
ing it as being of great fervice in certain
difeafes, to excite, in the minds of the pat
tients, impreflions of anger, of fear, and
the like * — A judgment this, in which he
is far from being fingular, as it is fupport
ed in the ftrongeft manner, hyAretceiLs t,
PaulusX, and G^fl/m§, whofe opinions I
fhall refer to in the notes.

t Lib. I. de Cur. Morbis diutur. in morbis epilcpticis,
&c, confulit o^u^vjiixt.
:j: Paulus feems to allude to the above quotation froia
Hippocrates when he fays — St; Ss xai e|u9t/fu«i tfciwMin ««
ft^^aoviTi TE x*' asr jo^ouy*, mx,' truyMiyimis T]/u^<x«r. L. 1 .
§ Galen's remark on the above quotation from Hippo:
<;rates, is very judicious, and exprcfles clearly, the maniicf

167
What the phyficians of the ancients^
thus admitted, thofe of modern times
equally, confirm. — Jhomas Fienus who
wrote in the beginning of the laft century,
and whofe book de Viribus Imaginationis
has been already quoted, is as exprefs in
his opinion that the imagination wifl cure^
as we have feen in a former quotation
from him, that it will caufe difeafes.—
His eleventh difputation is on the^ery
point, and he confirms his conclufion
from the authorities of former phyficians,
from particular fafts appealed to, and
from arguments, which I need not re
peat *,

in which the paflions of the mind contribute to reftore
health. Em yovi t;w» ixXE^ujittyav ffpoSja o|u9y/.i«» ritx ru
Tvis n^furis, n xToyoy Tns ixXvirisr ixvuimScc. In Lib. de Theriaca.
* If Fienus be of this opinion, whence is it that I find
him quoted by the late Bifliop of Litchfield, as follows.
" It is a conclufion of Fienus, which he fupports with feve-
^' ral reafons, that the fancy or im igination cannot of itfelf.

16Q
.But the efficacy of impre{fions made on
the mind, m reftoring health to the body,
is no where more copioufly infifted upon,
lh?in by Pechlinus, another eminent and
more modern phyfician, in his Obfervatf-
ones PhyficQ Medica ; In that work we
meet with feveral relations of curgs effeftr

" cure any difeafes, not even fuch as are plain and fimplS,
" fuch as the heftic ordropfy, which he inftances in.'' See
Smalbrojie's Vindication of the Miracles of Jefus, vol. I.
p. 226. When I read his lordfliip's book, which was long
before I had ever met with Fienus, J cpnqludpd from the
above fpecimeni and the manner of its being applied, that
Fienus denied that the" irnagination was of any efficacy iii
curing difeafes. But I find, from perufing the book itfelf,
that no author on the fubjeft, attributed more to it than he
does,— When he afferts, therefore, which he does in his
38th conclufion, p. 171, that the fancy cannot of itfelf, per
fe, cure difeafes, he mrans only to affirm (for his booii
abound? with fchool diftinftion^) that it is only a remole
^Caufe of cures. For iii his 3.2d conclufion belays it down
as follows — " Phantafia ergo alterat & iihnuilat corpora,
*' mediante motu humorum ^ fpirituum — ex quo notan-
" dum Phantafiam effe caufam valdp remotam & peracci-
•? dens," p. 154. Fipnus, tiierefore, by afferting that the
paffions of the mind pan ftt the blood and fpirit? in mofion
admits all that I affirm ; for no one ever imagined that the
bare fancy, of itfelf, and without aiding on its |irpper inftrut
ments, could cure difiafcs.

169
ed in this manner. According to this au
thor, fevers, agues, gouts, have been got
the better of by exciting terror or fur--
prize in the mind of the patients. And,
what is ftill more extraordinary, he raeu-r
tions the cafe of a phyfician at Hamburgh
cured, by this caufe, of a rupture *. And
* Eft nonnullorum ea conditio, ut ab aniraieffeftibu*
niagisquam uUaalisre commoveantur, adto ftatim in effer-
vefcentiam iiinguine,aut plane compofito; utrjmque auteri)
tcrrori propiura videtur, ut nempe iram vel metqm parfiT
pipat. Quidquid demuni id fit, vcheniens ejqfmodi afi'e'Sus
mutat, in totum, fpirituum crafin, qua mutata, etiam fan-
guini novum induCi habitum neceffe eft. — Febres plurirous
quas remediis vulgatis fruftra folicitari yidimns, terror non-
imnquam fanayerit. — Quartanas etiam, quis credat, utut
Icntas & pituofas febrps, terro're profligari vidimus —Piiflj.-
mum virum cum quartana diu conflidlatura, &hinc, Amfte-
lodanium,-tendentem, yehiculi cafus, humerique luxatio a
febre liberavit, terrore, baud dubie, crafin fanguinis ever-
tente.-^Quam vero fjape etiam Arthritidem terror, metij
permiftus fanavit P-^Sed majus eft folida ipfa terrore ut)
labefaftari, ita & reftitui in integrum. JMedicum eco olini
r.ovi Ham.burgi — Ilic inter csetera, quibus adfljgebatur
mala, etiam hernia laborabat plurium annorum carnosa;
banc ipfam aliquot menfibus ante mortem terror percura-
vitj retradto, ad improvifum nunciuin, in inguina tumore,
}it;9 p'ofti-a amplius, res mirg, vifo.
Pecblin,Obf. Pliyfico-Medic£B liamb. iGQ'i.
p. 453 and io*.

170
if terror can perform fuch cures, fo.alfo
does he give us inftances of fimilar effefts
produced by joy. Two cafes, of a gout,
and of an inveterate ague and jaundice,
he relates as what he was witnefs of, him
felf, where health was reftored to both pa
tients (after every ufual remedy had been
tried in vain) by the joy they felt on hear
ing good news. He alfo mentions the
cure of Conringius, the f3.movLS Jufpubli-
ciji, on the authority of his fon-in-lp.w Dr..
Schelhamer, who alfured him that Conrin
gius lahounng under an ague, was cured,
without the help of medicines, and merely,
by the joy he felt from a converfation
with the learned Meibomius *.

* Vidi — ubi oblati confiilatus nuncium Titium a Poda-i
grse doloribus, quos graves pertulerit, momento liberaveri-t,
& fui menibi'oruoique potenlem fecerit. Jam alii ex ler-
t^an4 liiboranti diuturni Iftcricifque fymptomatibus comi-
tata, cum poft plurium annorum fterile conjugium, ad ter-
lias acceffiffet nuptias fexagenario vicinus, a nunCio nati ex
juvencul4 conjugefilii conceptuin gaudium, cum nihil hac-
te.nus profcciffcnt reraedia, lentem febrim ejufque fobolem,
l<?terum, feliciter profligaffe et ipfe teftis fum. — Conririgium
etiam olim,, iiicomparabilera virum, & wo^u^a9.=r«T(jy, eje

171
After what has been offered, then, ok
this head, you cannot, I think, be fo
incredulous as to doubt that difeafes, of
the moftobftinate kind, may be, and have
been, cur^d, at leaft alleviated, without
the application of the ordinary retnedies,
put, merely by the opjerations of paflions
excited, or impreflions made, on the mind
of the fick perfon.
If, therefore, I can now fatisfy you,
that the above general reflexions are ap.-
pUcable to the particular cafes of thofe
who received benefit by praying at the
Abbe Paris's tomb, and that they had their
minds properly difpofed, by fuch imprefr
fions made on them— I think I fliall ha,y§
fufficiently eftabfiflied the truth of my
propofition, that the fafls attributed to
the miraculous interceflion of the bleffei
tcrtiana xgrotantera, non remediorum apparatus, fee}
conceptum ex magni Meibomii fermonibus gaudiura unice
reftituit, qqod ex infignis ejus generi, D. D.. Schelhainert
pre habto. Pechlin, Ob. P. 4(56, 46f

172
dmcon, were brought about by natural
caufes. The firft and moft obvious refle6lion
is this, that the difeafes were of fuch
a nature as could be overcome by the
aXion of the mind on the body. From
the inftances juft Quoted, we may obferve
that gouts, palfies, fevers of all kinds, and
even ruptures, have been thus cured:
And that, in g^eneral, all difeafes, arifing
from obftrufilions and other diforders in
the blood and fpirits, may be thus relieved
Now it is obvious from the account we
have givdii of the cures attributed to the
Abbe Paris, particularly of thofe where
the change wrought on the health was
fudden, vifible, and made at the tomb *
(which are the only Ones to the purpofe)
that they were of a fimilar nature; and,
• * Coutbnneau, Sergeant and Hardouin wer^ paralytic ;
and Thibault and Du Chefne's diforders arofe from ob.
ftrudlions which put on the-fymptoms- both of the palfy and
dropfy.

173
therefore, could be brought about by
fimilar caufes.
It is alfo to be obferved, that the cures
in queftion, were performed on perfons
whofe minds were neither under any na
tural, nor under any accidental incapa
city, of affefting the habit of the body.
They were all grown up to fuch a matu
rity of age, that impreffions of every kind
were capable of being made on their
minds. But though it appears from this, that
the cures performed at the tomb of our
Abbe might poHibly have been effeXed
by impreflions made and paflions excited
in the mind, yet, that there may not re
main the leaft doubt that they ought to
he attributed to this caufe, I fhall novr
proceed to obferve that the fupplicants
who received any benefit, aBually had
their minds fo prepared and difpofed, and
fuch paflions excited in them, as were
likely to have an effefl; on the habit of

174"
the body, and relieve them - under their
diftrefs.

What; then, was this affeftion of the
ftiirid, and of what kind were thofe im
preflions,. under the influence of which
the fupplicants in St. Medard's church-
}'ard were, at the time when they received
relief .?— An enthufiaftic perfuafion, of the
efficacy of the means they made ufe of;
an unfhaken confidence of fuccefs, and a
vaft expeftation that they were to be
tured by the interceflion of the faint
tbey prayed to.
That the patients who received benefit
at our Abbe's tomb, were aftually under
the influence of fuch a difpofition of mind,
is not to be doubted. For we cannot con-
6eive that a higher inftance of veneration
^an be afligned, than the offering up of
fcrayers ; and they who came to the tomb,
kiT theexprefs purpofe of demanding the
interceffion of our faint, certainly came
i& it- prepoffeffed with an high opinion of

175
his fanftity, and firm belief of his power.
— Their minds therefore being thus heated
and inflamed, and every faculty of their
fouls burning with the raptures of devout
joy, and enthufiaftic confidence, muft it
not appear far from being impoffibfe,
after the inftances we have affigned above,
that in fome cafes, a change might be
wrought on the habit of the body ? Th§
paffions and impreffions which prompted
them to apply to the Abbe in prayer, are
not unfimilar to thofe which could con^.
vert a letter and a fong into a medicine
cnrative of Pierefque's palfy, and the con^
yerfetion of Meibomius into an effeSuail
remedy for the ague of Conringius.
That the eager confidence of the pa--
tjent in the flcill of his phyficiau, ^nd thf
firm expectation of relief by his means,
have fometimes a wonderful efficacy in
reftoring health, is a point not to be
doubted of. Fienus akeady quoted, be
fides corroborating this, opinion by the
authority of Galen and other?, telU .U:?

1?6
thafi in general, all phyficians fubfcribe'
fo it; and he gives us feveral inAandes of
cures brought about by the ufe of means,
in themfelves of no efficacy, if not ridicu
lous, nay which to all appearance v\^ere
hurtful, but which the ftrong defire and
confidence of the patients endowed with
a fanative virtue*. Peehlin alfo is very
fiifl, to the fame'ptirpofe. In his opinion,
Vaft is the power of the mind in deterrai'
nrng the opefation and efficacy of medi-'
cines. it will, aceordtfig to him, npt only
diminifh" or increafe their ufual effefe,
but alfo change them to a fnanner of ope
ration direftly contrary ; and comnratii-
catea heafing quahty to the moft. inade
quate means, even to a bread pill difguifed
as a .medicine, and fwallowed with a vaft
confidence in the fldll of the perfon whd
admintfters itt.
De Viribus InwgJnfltioMS, p. IS9 — 1?0.
•f Adeo in remediorum e'ffeiflibus rifoderandis, varianiiif-
qtto-inultum- quoque imaginationem poffe, exptrimentis iii-
dici : nunc etiam auget, nu-ne minuit, nunc etiam alio'

177
If then, in the judgment of phyficians,,
the confidence of the patient, can give
efficacy to remedies in themfelves infuf^
fielent, why Ihould it be thought at all
more extraordinary that a ftrong confi
dence and expeftation of relief, fhould
operate in fuch a manner upon fonie of
the fupplicants of the Abbe P^aris, who
may be confidered as their phyfician, as
in fome few cafes, to give a medicinal and
healing virtue, to their proftrations and
prayers at his tomb, and to convert the
holy earth applied externally, or drank,
mixed with water, into an effiicacious re*
?

What has been already offered certainly
warrants us to account for the cures
now before us, in this manner. However,
to make our conclufion ftiU more indubi-.
atque ftlio convertit mpdicgminum efSeaciain. — Ofrf^avi
medicaminum facilitates ab imaginatiqne ad il|um efteflu^
determinari quern quifqua fibi animo, certo, eo, atque ob-
jffi'nato, fingft, kc, &"c. Pechlin, Obf; F. 421^-422.
N

1-78
table, fuffer me now to obferve, that from
the accounts which we have, of the citr
cumftances attending the prayers of thofe
who received relief at the tomb of -the
Abbi Paris, we are certain that the enthxk
fajiic confidence with which their minds
were impreffed, adually did affeQ: their, boy
dies in fuch a manner, as to become a
caufe, the operation of which had a vifible
tendency, and remarkable efficacy, to
work: a favourable change on their health,
1hz.VenthuJiafm fliould warm its vota»
ries to a holy madnefs, and excite tbe
wildeft tranfports and agitations througfo
out their whole frame, is an effeft which
in a country fo fruitful of this produftion
as is ours (though enthufiiafm be the pro'
du6l of every foil and' of every religion)
muft be confiftent with the experience of
many. I myfelf, have feen the fingingof
pfalms have fo violent an effeft on an en
thufiaftic devot6e, that, being heated to a
frenzy, ftie trembled with agony, in a.
manner foamed at the mouth, and uttered

17^
fuch hideous cries that it became neceffary
to gag her, and 'carry her out of the pub
lic alTembly where this happened *. But
f\x<^h p^cenomeria are, I believe, extremely
common in the tabernacles of the fanatic
Methodijis-^, as they have been, before,
amongft their predecefTors the French
•This vfas at Ghentrin Flanders during the winter of
17-44« i.n one of the places afligned to the Britifli troops (who
then Compofed the garripDn pf that city) for their public
worfliip. The poor w'omain, wife of a foldier belonging to
the Wielch Fufileers, came next morning to me (as I had
btei^j^be chaplain who then officiated) afeing pardon fqr
having been the occafion of interrupting thp.fervice of the
church, hy her tranfports, and afcribing ^yliat had happen
ed to- her, to a divine jmpulfe.'
t The journals and other wqrks of Wefley and Whitfield
furnifli an inconceivable number of moft curious inftances
of this kind, amongft their mifled followers. But' as the
Twritings of thefe gentlemen, already almoft as much fqi'got
as if they had never been publiflied, may he difficult to Ije-
met with, the reader will have full fatisfaftion, by conful)-
iiig that excellent treatife. The Erithufiafm of Bleihodi/is and
Papijis compared; in which the folly and ahfurdity of Me-
thodifm are fo clearly pointed out, that it is amazing fo
many, who would neither be thought deficient in fenfe, nor
miftaken in their notions of religion', fliOUld fUll continu«
ander this ftate of fuperftitious enchantment. ¦
N 2

prophets : and. fuch were the tifu^Lfpefia-
cles furniflied to th? public, for feveral
mPinths, in the church-yard. ^St. Ufdard,
and particularly, by thpfe very perfons
whofe cures ^re boafted of,
The paffica^i &i the mind, as weiiav«
obferved, operate on the body, folely, by
communicating certain motions to the
blood and fpirits. And hence it is that
this caufe has fo few llriking effefts, as it
can aft pnjy by the intervention of inftru*
ments, over which its power, in moft
cafes, is very limited. But when thefe in-
ftruments obey, wlien the paffions and inii
prelfions made on the, mind can excite
fucli a ferment throughout thp, whple
firame of the body^ as was ufual amongft
the fupplicants of the Alb'e Paris, then
may we prpnounce witji a certainty, that,
ifx fuch eircumftances, if ever in any, im-
pfeffioas made on the mind wifl be able to
work a change on the health. For in this
cafe, we ^re certain, that the nervous
fyftem is. ftrongly afted upon, and that

181
frefti and violent motions are communi
cated to thfe fluids : and it is obvioufly a
conclufion which common fenfe will dic
tate, and which no one ever difputed, that
whatever can have this effeft, muft have
a natural tendency to give relief in a va
riety of difeafes whofe caufe may be trafeed ,
from obftruftions, and other diforders in
the ftagnating fluids and inafilive nerves.
It is on this principle that phyficians
account for a palfy being cured, by an at
tack of a fever ; inftances of which are to
be met with in their pra6l:ice. Fdr as the
caufe of a palfy is an impeded influx of
the fpirits, that fill the nerves, into the
jnufcles ; ojc of the arterious blood into its
veftels, it is not to be wondered at, that
the accelerated motions communicated to
the fpitits ahd blood by a fever, fhould^
fdrhetinits, be able to rernbve another dil^
eafe which had arifen from pbftruftions of
them. And if a paralytic diforder may
be cured in this manner, cah there be any
rieafon for refufing the fame efficacy to the

162
bonvulfions and agitations of Sergedntj
Gouronne.au, and Hardouin. ; as fuch agita
tions neceffarily fuppofe that the velocity
of the fluids of their bodies was greatly ac
celerated ? *
Again ; as one of the curative indica-/
cations of a dropfy is an evacuation of the
water by perfpiratiouj and as the medicines
iadminiftered by the phyfician aim to pro
duce this eScB.', need we be furprized

' ? Montgeron, in defcribihg the eircumftances of thecUres
of his paralytic miracules, tells, us of their iierve^, being feen,
by the fpedlators, to vibrate under the fliin, nay heard to
crack, with the violence of the motions communicated to
them. — Motions which, of courfe, would excite fuch a fer
ment in the fluids, as might eafily remove thofe -obftru^ioni
which occafioned their difeafe. Had the Mothodift woman,
whofe tranfports I was a fpe£lator of, laboured under a hlie
complaint, the violent motions communicated to her nerves,
might probably have ; given her relief. And .had this hap
pened, her friends, the Methodifts would, no doubt, liave
boafted of this as a miraculous cure, and with as much rea
fon as the votaries of the Abbe Paris did, in afcribing to his
interpofilioil, the relief received by,fome of his fuppUcantS)
which we fee can be fy eafily accounted fqr, ili a natural
way.

183
that the dropfical fwellings of 7%i^fl«// and
Du Chefne fliould decreafe, when we le.arn
frpm the certificates which are preferved
by Montgeron, that the/fweat run from
them, at the tomb, and after they return
ed home, in vaft quantities? And what
could be more likely to excite fuch copi
ous perfpiratipn, than the enthufiaftic
tranfport with which they prayed, and the
convulfive ftruggles which fliook their
whole frame?
Upon the whole then of this argument*
—As it appears that none of the cures af
cribed to the miraculous interceffion of the
Abbk Paris, can be pronounced beyond
the , reach of natural caufes; as I have
aflTigned, from hiftorians and phyficians,
inconteftable inftances of changes wrought '
on the hahit oftlieJ?ody, by the operation ,
of impreflions made on the mind — changes •
as 'remarkable and uncommon as any of '
thofe wrought on Montgeron's fuppqfed .
Tfiira^uli.s : ^ As, farther, I have pointed
o«t the •partieulaririipreffiort which was

tnadfe 6fl the fiiinds of thefe perfons, viz.
an enthufiaftic feoiifidence in the efficacy
6f praying to the faint : and as, laftly, We
have feen that this impreflion ai^lually ex
cised trani^Ortfe, extacies and convulfions,
which had d natural tendency tO remove
obftfUJ^lionS in the fluids, and confequent
ly to give relief under difeafes arifing from
this caufe; from all thefe confideratiphs,
I think we may infer unexceptionably,
that natural caufes have been pointed out
adequate to the produftion of the fa6ls,
which the credulous admirers of the Aibk
Paris afcribed tp his miraculous interpo
fition*.

* I will not |)refehd to e'jtclude the operation of other na
tural caufes, hefides that vyhich I have .infifled upon, li^
fome cafes, perhaps, perfpi ration^, wliich might give relief,
wefe excite(i mertely hy the great heat to which the fick per-
{(ftii W«-e estpfafed, b^ teirig futrOuWdfed By vaft cfouds of
fpp^tors iit the tomb, in a hot fuinmbr-day. In this mah-
ner the Archbifhop 0,( Sens' accounts fol" )he care of one
Mary Magdalen Maffaron, a paralytic fupplicanl.— In aDO-
tlXt t^fe, M eftbtl Ma^ to knee) was ^u'^cient to cure a
Iaiikleti£(s ill th£ kdJeiei of one Mr. ie la Salle, who goin^ to
the to^ib iivith his &(^ Rife, wbom the faint conld not cure.

183
HsdWev€^, foi- your farther G0nvi6lion,
fnffer fee to makis two or three obferva-
tions which will add ftreng;^ to my con-
ekfion, that there was nothing fuperna-'
tural in the fafts now before us^
Firft, then, it is certain from Montgt-
ton's book that the cures performed in St-
Medard'S church-yard, were not fo clofely
ponnefled with application to the blefled
(deacon, as to exclude the operation and
intervention of adequate natural caufe?-
Jlad our Abbe's fupplicants never applied
tp hina but once ; and had every one, who
Returned home freed from a lanaenefs wiih Avhich he hdj
bpen aftli^ed, in confequence of a broken thigh which had
pot been) wpll fet. This was one of the moft remarkable, ai
it is one of the beft attefted cures performed in St. Medard*»
thurch-yard. And Mr. de la Salle was fo peftcred with
inquiries into the realify of the fuppofed miraculous cure,
that he was glad to gel a certificate from two eminent fur
geons Meffrs. Petit and Pihrac, which robbed our faint of
the honour of i^, by obferving that hjs lamenefs had be^
owing to this— ^That the fibres of the tendon forined hy the
reunion of the .mufcles after his thigh was broken, had not
heen altogether feparated ; and that this feparation had
been effcfted |»y the^ffort he niade to kneel, at the tomb.

185
^d apply, received benefit, the-very in
ftant of his application; ; t^is remarkable
concurrence of the prayers and of the
cures might perhaps have; favoured the
opinion that, the peifon prayed to, inter
pofed. But the reverfe of this is the cafe.
For repeated applications to the faint were
made by thofe whofe cures are alleged as
inftances of his miraculous interceffion ;
and not only days, but weeks, nay months
]intervene4 between the firft application,
apd the relief received : which eircumftan
ces have but a very unfavourable afpe6l,
yshg^i we compare them with the fuppofi
tion that the faint contributed any thing to
this relief*,
* Don Alphonfo began his neuvaine to the Abbe on the
25ih of June, and was not cured tillthe^d of July. Thi-
fcauH commenced a fupplicanl on the 11th of July, and
though fhe received great benefit at the tomb on the 19th,
yet her legs continued fwelled till the 28tb. Couronneau
had been a long while a patient of our faint; for fo early as
the 26th of March we find her at the tomb, but without
fuccefs ; a fecond expeiimentin April was equally ineffeft-
nal, and it was not till the 13th of June that fiie received'
benefit. Du Chefne began a neuvaine in June, without

187
If it be alleged that the cures of tbme
©f the fupplicants qorrefponded fo exaflly
with an application to our Abbe, although
not the Jlfj^ application, that it would be
unreafonable to look about for the inter-
vehtion of any natural caufes : — In anfwer
to this let me obferve^ that though a fud
den change was wrought on fome of the
patients, during their . devotions at the
tomb ; yet, before there can beany reafon
for alfigningrthe interceffion of the Abbi
as the caufe of this, we muft be certain
that no paufes, naturally adequate to pro
duce this change, intervened between the
time of their being brought tp the tomb,
eiieft, aijd haying tfiiedanofherj which began on the l6th of
July, was not cjuredtill the 21<l. Sergeant began hk appli
cation, July th6 8th, and Was not cured till the 10th, and
even not then, completely, for his paralytic arm and leg did
not recover their flefti till ten- days after, feter Gautier,
was a long time an unfuccefsful patient, having tried four
neuvaines. Louifa Coirin's cure was gradual through the
ifibhths -of Au'guft and' September. And, laftly, Louifa
Hardouin, who lyas cured on the Sd of Auguft, had- been
direding. her prayers to the Abbe for fome days before.
AU thufe faft? are furniflied us by Montgeron.

188
and the inftant when the change wascf-
fefted. But fo far are we from being
certain of this, that, on the GOHirary, I
have pointed out the particular caUfe that
did intervene^-*vi2. Violent motions com-
mumcated tO their fpirits and blood, by
the agitations and tranfports to which th^
Ittpplicants were wrought up by their en
thufiaftic devotion. However fudden the
diange wrought npon their health was,
fuflScient time was ftill left for the d|jera*
tion of this caufe, which I have affigned as
the caufe which, indeed, did operate.
Another circumftance, whith excludes
a fupernatural interpofition from having
aiiy fliare in the cures attributed to the
Abbe Paris, is this, that mofi, if not all of
them, were far from being complete*
This was remarkably the cafe of Thibaulti
For not to mention that her weaknefs,
after the decreafe of her dropfical fwell
ings, was fo great as to Iconfine her to her
bed, fpr feveral days, it appears alfo from
a letter of jV|r. Silva, firft phyfician to the

IS9
JEXi^e of Qrkimf, that after ^U theibenefit
fliebogftod to have received, (hesconii*
nued deprived of the ufe of two of her
fingers ; in vl^l^htlttiiatipn Mr- Silva lays
he could BG)tilppk>upon her as one that
had been cured '^'r-But we have the mqft
renaarkable inft;anceof an i;mperfe£l cure
in the cafe lof Pio'^ Alphonfo, This y ou ng
gentleman ha<t loll one eye entirely, and
was only threatened with the lofs of the.
other. What then was the cure, ^id to
be wrought? Did the loft eye recover its
fight? No fuch thing, it ftill remained
dark, and the benefit wa?? confined to a
removal of the inflammation from the
other eye. A cure left thus imperfeft,
llfs but little pretenfion to be looked upon
as miraculous ; becaufe its being fo imper-
* Elle remuoit le bras qui felon ce qu'elle me dit avoit ete
long terns fans mouvement, et elle remuoit auflS le poignet
et plufieurs doigts ; mais il y en avoit cjeux, qu'elle etoit
dans I'impuiffance de plier. Vous fente?, Monfieijr, que
}e» chofes etant, en cet etat, je n'ai pu regajder Mademoi-
felle Thibault comme etant guerie.
N° 29 of the Certificates of Thibault's cure,
in Montgeron.

fe61j: naturally peJntsout a failure of pow-
erinnihe caiufe which brought it about.
Again; if we eonfider that, in fome <jf
the cafes, the relief received Vas Only teifk
porary, this, which could not but hapjjijitt
if the caufe I have affigned really Op^'i
ted, is inconfiftent with the fuppofition
that OmnipOtenc^e interpofed. That there
were relapfes into all the former fymptoms
IS a fati as notorious artdiiteonteftabfe' as
it is that any relief was^' ever received at
all, and which, - we^re it heceffary, ^ould
ke eonfinned by defcending to pariicular
inftances^*.:

'* This happened in the cafe of Do.n Alphonfoi The
Archbifliop of.SeTis in his Ipjlru^ion pajlofaje, -prQiaces
letters and certificntes from Madrid, (for which place the
young mun fet out, .foon after his cure) in which theretjirn
of the inflammation ill his eye is affirmed. One letter to
this purpofe from Don Francis Xavier de Xinienes, dated
December the 4th, 1731, fays that the miraclp was treated
as a chimera at Madrid, and that the cure of the young
ccnllcman arofe partly from the medicines he had ufed, an^l
partly from hi_s having intern^itted his ftudics, but that the
cure was not lafting, the diforder returning whenever he re-j

The pretenfions of the ciires, in' quef
tion, to bemi'raeul6us;*will bte ftill farthier
invalidated,' if we confider that the num^
ber of unfuccefsful votaries to our faint
vaftly exceeded the number of thofe who
received any benefit. This I mention as
an indifputed faO:, a faft acknowledged
even by the admirers of the blejfed deacon\
and which, had it been attended to, as it
ought, would have of itfelf undeceived
every one, as to the pretended miracu
lous nature of any of the cures.
That out of thoufands of fanciful, en
thufiaftic fupplicants (and that they Were
thus numerous cannot be denied) fome
fumed his books. But this is not all. The Arebbiflinp oi
Paris, in the ordonnance addreffed to hisdiopefe, dated No'
verober the 8th, 1735, publiflied a certificate figni-d by Dop
Alphonfo himfelf on the 5th of November, 1/34, in which
he reprefents his own cure as very imperfeft, and attrihuted
what little relief he ha'd received, to a rcnjedy which an
oculift had applied to his eye, three or foijr timrs, the day
preceding his going to the tomb. To this, the Archbifliop
adds two other certificates, one of them figned by Den
.Alphqnfo's uncle, to the fame effeft,

192
few, by mean^ of the agitations to which
they were wrought up, ftiould receive
fome benefit lin certain difeafes, we may
account for, and 1 hope have accounted
for, in a natural way. But if we have re
courfe to a rnkrofisilous interpofition as the
ipaufe, that a^ecj, that far the grea^tjer num?
ber of fupplicants .fliould receive no bene.
fit, will be a, difficulty not eafily to be
folved. ;,; It will be natura,! for one to
reafon with hifJjfplf : why, of fuch multir
tildes, who had recoiurfe to th^ 4^^^:-R^'
ris, has God affifted fo few ? If, as his ad
mirers pretend, the miracles were d^f^gn-
ed to convince the world that the Abbe
had died in a ftate of favour with Gpd,
and confequently that the appellants
from the bull unigenitus had been er-
roneoufly condemned, did not this reafon
hold good to the cure of every one
who fhould afk it through his ipter-
ceffion ? And did it not hold good alfo
to the cure pf all manner of difeafes, even
thofe impoffible to be cured by natural
means ?: Had any fuch cures been per«

193
formed, that a fupernatural caufe inter
pofed, could not have been denied. But
it is notorious that the reverfe was true,
fo that I fee not how the defenders of the
miraculous nature of the fafts before us,
can evade the force of the objeflions
above hinted at *.
* Of all the fupplicants to our faint, the Abbk de Befche-
ran was perhaps the moft generally taken notice of, at the
time, over all Paris, as he certainly was the moft conftant
in his devotions and agitations. This gentlemen's left leg
was about five or fi.x inches ftiorter than his right one ; and
full of confidence that the bleffed Deacon's power could
lengthen it to its proper meafure, he continued his prayers
at the tomb, about fix months. During this whole time,
he had his leg meafured every day, and daily reports of its
lengthening, were propagated. But alas 1 when the tomb
was ftiut up, he was fljll latne,, and is, at prefent (if he be
not dead within thefe-three or four years) known at Paris,
by the name of the limping Abbe, L'Abbi boiteux. The
Abbe had made himfelf fo well known, that the bad fuccefe
of his application greatly diftreffed tbe friends of our faint ;
however they were not without an anfwer, which they
thought fufficient. They granted, indeed, what every body
faw, that the Abbe ftill continued lame, but if we would
believe them, he was not fo lame as he had been, for that,
during his fi.\ months attendance at the tomb, the ftiort leg
had grown foniewhat longer, and that it was likely it would,
by degrees, have grown to the length of the other, !»ad not
O

194.
And now. Sir, I flatter myfelf, that this
long, prolix, though neceffary examina
tion into the fa6is afcribed to the fuper
natural interpofition of the Abbi Paris, has
been of fome weight in inducing you to
admit that every thing happened in a na-.
tural way.
However, as familiar examples are
more convincing than the flirewdeft rea
fons ; that the feeming infufficiency of
the caufe to which I have afcribed thefe
cures, may not incline you ftill to doubts
and fufpicions, it will not be foreign to my
purpofe, and, at the fame time, it cannot
but be entertaining, to mention one or
two inftances of cures equally extraordi-
the civil magiftrate interrupted the operation of the mira
cle, by walling up the tomb. — In ridicule of this pretenfion,
I have feen a whimfipal calculation of the time which the
Abbe' de Befcheran's complete cure would have taken up.
Reckoning the fliort leg to have lengthened the 24th part of
an inch in fix months, if it had continued to lengthen in
the fame proportion, he muft have perfeverod in leaping
upon the tomb for feventy-two years, before he could hav?
pbtained the whole deficiency of fix inchesv

195
nary with thofe performed at the tcimb of
the bleffed deacon, and which, though
the means immediately connefted with
them were, to common apprehenfion, in
fufficient to bring theih about, are, not-
withftanding, looked upon by every body
as effefts that may be, nay, mufi be ac
counted for, without calling in the agency
of any fupernatural power.
And, firft, let us confider the cures of
fcrophulous diforders by the royal touch.
This difeafe is one of the moft defperate
that the human body is fubjefl to, and in
moft, if not in all cafes, eludes the power
of medicine. Now, that a touch accom
panied with prayers, and the hanging of a
medal about the neck, Ihould cure this
difeafe, is as ftrange and unaccountable, as
that proftration on the tomb of the Abbt
Paris, Ihould cure a paralytic or dropfical
diforder. What then will you fay in this
cafe ? Will you deny the fa£l,s ? — This
cannot be done without refifting evidence
far from being contemptible. The kings
O 2

196
of England, for feveral hundreds of years,
aftually exercifed their touch. Is it, there
fore, to be imagined, if no cures had been
obferved to follow it, that an opinion of
its efficacy could have been entertained for
fuch a length of time? This you will
own to be, at leaft, improbable. But that
cures, in fome cafes, followed upon the
touch, we have the fame reafons for be*
lieving, as we have for believing that it
was ever put in praftice ; becaufe the
fame writers who mention the latter, men
tion alfo the former circumftance.— I
fliould enlarge beyond all moderate
bounds were I to give quotations from
our old hiftorians in confirmation of this.
It may be enough to obferve that fcarce
ly any of them who wrote during a period
of at leaft five hundred years, have omitted
taking notice of this ftrange fad. Poly-
dor Virgil who publifhed his Hiftory of
England in the time of Henry the Vllth,
teUs * us that, in his age, the kings of
* Solebat Edvardus Rex, divinitus, folo tadlu fanare ftru-

197
England continued to exert this power of
healing derived to them, as it were by he
reditary right, down from the Confeffor,
the firft who exercifed it. And though
Mr. Beckett, in his Enquiry into the Anti'
quity and Efficacy of Touching for the Cure
of the King's Evil, attempts to prove,
that there is no fufficient evidence for be
lieving .that the kings of England began
to exercife this fuppofed gift fo early as
the reign of Edward the Confeffor *, yet
motos, hoc eft ftrumam patieritss — quod quidem immortale
munus jure quafi hereditario ad pofteriores reges manavit ;
nam reges Angliae, etiam nunc, tadtu ac quibufdam hymnis,
uon fine ceremoniis prius recitatis, ftrumofos fanant.
Polydor. Virgil, Lib. viii. Hift. Angl. 1.
* William of Malmfbury who (according to Mr. Bec
kett) lived about 80 years after the Confeffor, is the firft
hiftorian who afcribes miracles to him ; and from him,
all our fubfequent hiftorians have derived the tradition that
Edward the Confeffor was the firft king who touched for the
fcrophula. But the filence of Ingulphus, Edward's con
temporary and acquaintance, and of Marianus Scotus, and
Florence of Worcefter who, though not contemporaries,
were, however, nearer his age than Malmftiury, ihake the
credit of his relation. And though Alexander the 1 lid's
bull fot canonizing this king, obtained about 200 years

198
is he obliged, himfelf, to own that the
antiquity of this claim is very high. Par
ticularly, he admits that Edward the Ift,
who reigned above four hundred years
ago, aftually did touch for the king's
evil, nay he owns that Petrus Blefenjis,
Archdeacon of Bath, who wrote foon after
the death of Thomas Beckett, Archbifhop
of Canterbury, pofitively afferts it as a faft,
that our kings have the power of curing
the fcrophula, which will fix the antiquity
of it, at leaft fo high as the reign of Henry
the lid, and within near a century of the
Confeffor. — In the reign of queen Eliza
beth, Tooker publifhed his book * on this
after his death ; and his life, written by Ealread Abbot of
Rievaulx in Yorkfliire, about the year I16.I, within a cen
tury of him, mention his having performed many miracles,
yet they are filent, as to his being vefted with a peculiar gift
of curing any particular difeafe more than another. — Thefe
are the authorities which Mr. Beckett has coUeded, to
prove that tht^ ceremony of touching for the cure of the
king's evil cannot be traced up, as has been generally affert
ed, to Edward the Confeffor.
* The title of this book is, Charifma, five donum fanati-
pnis : feu c:<plicatio tctius quasftionis de niirabilium fanita*

199
fubje£l ; and though I fhould give you a
very bad opinion of my judgment if I
agreed with this author in his' reafoning,
yet I fee no ground for refufing to admit
his tejiimony. However wild, and fuper
ftitious his notions be with regard to the
caufe of the cures, yet we ought not to
pay lefs credit to his atteftation of their
certainty. Leaving him, therefore, with
Polydor Virgil (and indeed all our monkifh
hiftorians) to entertain himfelf with an
opinion too abfurd to be refuted ferioufly
— that the gift of curing this difeafe, by
the touch, wa.'S vefted, as a privilege by
Heaven, in thofe who had been lawjully
inaugurated kings of England, I proceed
to confider him as a witnefs of the fafts,
which happened in his own time, of the
cures of perfons touched by Queen Eliza-
tum gratis, in qua prascipue agitur de folenni & facri cui
reges Anglije, rite inaugurati, divinitus medicati funt, &c.
&c. — by William Tooker, who according to Antony Wood,
was originally Fellow of New College, and died Dean of
Litchfield, iffSC His book beareth date 1597.

200
beth; and this particular takes up an en
tire chapter.
There he informs us, that many from
all parts of England, of all ranks and de
grees, were, to his own certain knowledge,
cured by the touch of the queen : that he
had converfed with many of them both
before and after their departure from
court, obferved an incredible ardour and
confidence in them, that the touch would
cure them, and underftood that they, ac
tually, were cured. Some of them he met
with a confiderable while after, and, upon
enquiry, found that they had been, perfeft-
ly free from their complaint, from the
time of their being touched. And, not
content ^th thefe general atteftations, he
alfo defcends to particular inftances, men
tioning the names of feveral perfons cured,
the places of their abode and other cir*
cumftances, which leave every unprejudi
ced reader at a lofs for reafoni to refufe

201
aflent to the fafts*  What has been ob
ferved with regard to Mr. Tooker ^ may be
* Permulti falutem confequuti fmit, quos omnes ennme-
rare neceffariura baud effet mihi brevitatera confedanti j
honorarium fortaffis effet, & fcribendi multi effent commen-
tarii. Ex diverfis regni provinciis confluxgre, ut requirc-
rent morbi medelam, ex familiis nobilium, ingenuorum,
tenuiorum oriundi, omnis a;tatis, fexus, ordihis, pro falute
fupplices fadi, ex agris & pagis, ex municipiis, ex hac arte
Londino nuHis laboribus, furaptibufve pepercerunt ut coram
ejus raajeftate fe fifterent. Quot ego vidi, audivique Sbo-
realibus partibus, & agro Eboracenfi-, e locis marittmis, ex
auftrali, occidentali, orientalique parte regionis hujus iiifu-
Ise frequentes accurriffe, ex ambabu? Academis, et celebri-
oribus regni provinciis omnibus conveniffe, quibufcum ego
nennullis hbenter & ftudiose contuleram, ante & poft di-
eeflionem ex curia ? Reperi autem incredibilem ardorem,.
fidem adipifcendas fanitatis, & reapfe falutem comparatata
beneficio regio intellexi. Quofdam iterum poftea offende-
ram interroganti an morbus recurreret, ingenue foffi funt
mihi fe perdiu faniffimos effe ex illo tempore, liberatofqiie
penitus ab incoinmoditate morbida. In meapatria, civitate
Exonia, neminem latere poffunt qui hodie vifunturab om
nibus Joannes Capellus honefti civis filius, & Appiliiii filia,.
fanati ab hac ftruma. Norunt omnes in oppido Molten:
meridiem verfus Archidiaconatus Barum, concivem fuunt
Joannem Sherlandiiim qui hodie vivit & valet, & palam,
profitetur, honoris ergo & grati animi officio feraper de-
vinftus, fe nullum levamenlum inveniffe aliud quam facra-
tiffimarum manuum. regiw. majeftatis tadum, nnde fib!,^

202
applied to Mr. Wijcman. For though hi*
reafoning, with regard to the caufe of the
cures of perfons touched by our kings, be
equally fuperftitious with that of Tooker,
his atteftation as to their certainty, is un
exceptionable. His office of principal
furgeon in king Charles the Ift's army,
and of ferjeant-furgeon to king Charlesihe
Ild, after the ReftoratiOn, gave him t'he
beft opportunities of information, and his
fldll in his profeffion made him lefs liable
to impofition. What then does he fay ?
— " I myfelf (thefe are his words) have
*' been a frequent eye -witnefs of many
" hundreds of cures performed by his
" Majefty's touch alone, without any af-
" fiftance of chirurgery ; and thofe, many
" of them, fuch as had tired out the en-
" deavours of able chirurgeons before
" they came thither. It were endlefs to
" recite what I myfelf have feen, and what
defperatione frado, falus obtigcrat. Norim ego quandam
ex familia antiqua Turbervillorum fcerainam, quae jam to
tum decennium fanata perftitit es illo morbo.
Tooker, Chap. viii. P. 103, &8V

205
" I have received acknowledgments of
-" by letter, not only from the feveral
" parts of this nation, but alfo from
" Ireland, Scotland, Jerjey and Guera-
"fey *, Sec,"
But not to dwell on evidence which,
perhaps, may be looked upon as antiqua
ted, if we come down to our own times, we
fliall find inftances of thefe cures attefted in
the ftrongeft manner. I myfelf have met
with a man who affured me, that Quetn
Anne's touch, and the medal which flie
hung about his neck (and which I faw
about it above twenty years after) had
cured him, when in a moft defperate way.
But as a fingle unnamed witnefs will, per
haps, meet with little credit, what will you
fay, when I name one whofe atteftation
muft be owned to be free from every fuf
picion ? I have in my eye the late Mr.
Dicken, ferjeant-furgeon to Queen Anne,
a gentleman well known for eminence in
• See Wifenian's Chirurgical Treatifes, Vol. I. p. 3S7-'

204
his profeffion. That he had opportunies
of knowing the truth muft be allowed,
for all who were to be touched, were firft
examined by him before they were
brought to her majefty ; and he made no
fecret in bearing witnefs to the certainty
of fome of the cures. This atteftation of
his muft be confiftent with the knowledge
of many ftill alive, and I relate it to you
on the authority of a phyfician of the
ftri6left honour and probity, who alfures
me that Mr. Dicken has declared to him,
that he had, in his polfelfion great numbers
of letters written to him by perfons of cha-
raBer and diftinftion, from moft parts of
England, attefting the recovery of their
relations, acquaintances and fervants, who
had come up to London to be touched,
and thanking him for the trouble he had
, taken ; that he himfelf could, from his own
knowledge, affirm, that feveral who were
touched received benefit, and, in particu
lar, he related one cafe which I fliall here
mention. A woman came to him, beg
ging that he would prefent her to be touch-

£05
ed by the queen. As from her appear
ance, he had no great opinion of her cha-
rafter, he told her the touch would be of
little fervice to her, as . he fuppofed fhe
would fell her medal, which muft continue
about the neck to make the cure lafting.
She promifed to preferve it ; was touch
ed ; had the medal given to her ; and foon
after her fores healed up. Forgetting her
promife, and now looking upon the piece
of gold as ufelefs, fhe difpofed of it; but,
foon after, her fores broke out once more.
Upon this fhe applied to Mr. Dicken a
fecond time, earneftly entreating him, to
prefent her again to the queen. He did
fo, and once more fhe was cured.
Here then we have inftances of one of
the moft inveterate difeafes being cured,
without the application and ufe of any
known, adequate means ; in confequence
of the patients being touched and having a
bit of gold hung about the neck, with pray
ers fuitable to the occafion ; which means
could have no natural efficacy to produce

206
the cure — Shall we then fay that the kings
of England have had any fupernatural
gift conferred on them, and that the cures
of perfons touched by them were fo many
miracles? This folution might, perhaps,
pafs current in the age of Polydor Virgil,
in that of Mr. Tooker, or in that of Mr.
Wijeman, but one who would account for
them fo, at this time of day, would be
expofed, and defervedly too to univerfai
ridicule *, How then do we account for
* This, in fad, has been tha fate of a late writer of tl>c
Englifi hiftory, who feems to differ from Mr. Tooker only
in thi« particular, that whereas the latter is of opinion that
fhe kings of England had this gift of healing conferred on
them in confequence of their inauguration, (neque tam
ingenila vi aliqu^ amajoribus fuis cum natura feminum &
fimilitiidine corporum ac imitatione morum propagala,
adniturktur id negotii, quam fmgulari munere divino, quod
niauguratis potius contiiigit, fuffulti, operantur fanitaten?,
are Tooker's words, p. 87.) our modern champipn of here
ditary right, mnintains that inauguration is not neceffary in
order to be vefted with this gift ; and in confirmation of
this opinion relates a ftory (a difputed one by the bye) of a
Ettic performed by the touch of the Pretender, who had
R&v.:r. been inaugurated.
See Carte's famous Note, in his 1ft Vol, of the llift.
of England,

207
them ? Very eafily, we think, in a mere
natural way. We fay, as it never was
pretended that the royal touch was benefi
cial in every inftance when tried, that in
thofe inftances when benefit was received,
the concurrence of the cure with the
touch might h.ave been quite accidental,
while adequate caufes operated and
brought about the effeft ; that, perhaps,
the difeafes might have been in a healing
way, and that at the time of being touch
ed, either the ftrength of the patient's
conftitution had brought his diforder to a
favourable crifis ; or that a change of air,
or exercife, or a new regimen, and other
fimilar caufes, had begun the cure. Or if
any of the cafes be attended by fuch eir
cumftances as prevent our attributing any
thing to the above-mentioned caufes, ftill
we think that we need not call in a fuper
natural caufe ; for that the ceremony of
being touched might be the occafion of
making fuch caufes ; aft, as would convey
benefit to fome of the patients in a way
entirely natural : In a word, we have re-.

208
courfe to the power of impreffions made
on the mind, and to the amazing effefts
which experience fatisfies us they have
upon the habit of the body, and fay that
the perfon touched, having his imagina
tion heated with the refigious folemnity
of the ceremony, the dignity of the touch
er, and other ftriking eircumftances, this
might fix a deep impreffion on his mind,
an impreffion continued by the wearing of
the medal, and which, in fome cafes, might
be a means of "reftoring health *. Some
* I ftiall greatly confirm what I have here afierted, by
quoting the opinion of an ingenious furgeon, Mr. Beckett,
who in his Enquiry into the EflScacy of Touching for the
King's Evil, already mentioned, afcribes the cures, in quef
tion, to the impreffions made on the minds of the patients,
by their confidence of receiving relief. And that this caufe
could have thisefiicacy, he proves as follows.— " Moft cer-
" tain it is, in the difeafe I am fpeaking of the blood abounds
" with a vifcous juice, and moves flowly ; it wants that
" hri& inteftine agitation of its particles that it ought to
" have as a warm fluid, and fuch as it enjoys in a found
" and hale conftitution, from whence obftrudions in the
" glands, and other evils are wont to arife. But when the
" imagination becomes fired with the hopes of a fucceeding
"cure, tbe whole mafs of blood becomes, as it were, irra."

20&
one or other of thefe natural caufes, we
affign as fufficient to account for the cures
" dialed by the fpirits contained in it ; by which means
" thofe corpnfcles which make that fluid vifcous, p): ropey,
" or difpirited, become eafily difengaged from the other
" principles it was before blended with ; and the whole mafs
" being put into a more briflc and kindly agitation, may
" force open the obftruded canals, hejp it, to throw off
" the heterogeneous particles, and difpofe it to permeate,
" as freely as it OUght, thofe veffels that conftitute the
" glands, which would fcarcely before, or but very fpar-
" ingly admit of it."
I know no objedion that can be itiade to this method of
accounting for the cures of perfons touched for the king's
evil, but this, that children have been cured by the
touch, in whom fuch an imagination could not be fuppofed
to be ferviceabie. This hath been particularly infifted upon
by Dr. Heylin, who fays he has feen great numbers of theta
healed. — But, Mr. Beckett well obferves that the Dodor
muft be underftood to mean, only, that he has feen them
touched; for when he fpeaks of fuch numbers, no body can
fuppofe that he gave himfelf the trouble qf going fo many
miles, and fo many ways, as he muft probably have done,
to enquire into the event. And,this obfervation is confirm
ed by the following inftance, which fliews that the words
tonching and healing were, at that time, fynonyraous terms.
Dr. Carr, in his Medicinal Epiftles, mentions that King
Charles the Ild, in fiich a certain fpace of time Healed
92107; which is the exad nuniber of perfons he <oueAerf
in thofe years, as appears by the regifter preferved by th«

210
fef the king^s evil by ^e touch, and the
laft mentioned of them, in particular, I
have infifted upon as fufficient to account
for the £ures afcribed to the interceffion of
the Abbt Paris. The two' cafes are pa-
raUel, except that a variety of difeafes
were cured at the tomb of our faint,
whereas the touch of our kings was never
thought fanative but of one : — A difeafe,
however of a more obftinate nature, per
haps, than- any cured in St. Medard's
church-yard. But befides the cures of fcrophuhus dif.
orders by the royal touch i we are able to
produce inftances of a great variety of
difeafes of the moft inveterate kind, the
cures of which though clofely connefted
with the ufe of means, feemingly inade
quate, are not, however, afcribed,. by any
one, to a fupernatural interpofition.
I have in my eye the famous cures per-
Keeper of his Majefty's Clofet, belonging to his Majefty's
Ch^pelv

formed by dr^atrakes, a gentlemaii oJF
Ibme fafhibn in the county of Waterfdrd
in Inland, by the llroking of his hand*
This perfonr, according to his own account
t)f himfelfi began in 1 662 to have a ftrange
perfuafion in his mind (of which he was
not able to givie a rational account t&
Others) that the gift of ctiring the king's
evil was beftowed upon him : aiid; iiport
trial, he founds his ftroking fucceedi
After this he ventured Upon agues, and>
in timci attempted aU difeafes whatever*
His fame having fpread throughout In^
land, at the requeft of the Earl of Orrery^
he came over to England in January i666j
to attempt the cure of Lad^ Cdnia^ who
was troubled with an obftinate headathi
He continued at Ragley, Lord Cdmmf%
feat in Warwickjhirie about three weeks or
a month, but could not, with all his flcill^
cure the lad j^. Howeverj dui-ing his con
tinuance at that place, great numbers all
round the country flocked to him, many
of whom were curedj while Others receiv
ed no benefit. From Ragley he removed
p 2 ^

212;
to Worcejier where his fuccefs was fo great,
that his fame having reached London, he
received an order from luOtd. Arlington
Secretary of State, to come up to town.
On his arrival he todk a houfe in Lin
coln's-Inn- Fields, and during a refidence of
many months there, very remarkable cures
were performed ; an account of* which,
as alfo of himfelf, in anfwer to fome ca
lumnies of his enemies, Greatrakes pub
lifhed before he left London, and the cures
there related, feem to have ;all the eircum
ftances neceffary in order to eftablifh the
credit of any matters of faft. The names
of thofe who were cured, their difeafes, the
time when, the places v»?here, and the wit
neffes before whom the cures were per
formed—all thefe marks of a genuine nar-
* The title of this performance is as follows. — A brief
account of Mr. Valentine Greatrakes, and divers of the
ftrange cures lately by him performed : written by himfelf,
in a letter addrcflfed to the Hon. Robert Boyle, Efq. where.
unto are anne.xed the teftimonials of feveral eminent and
worthy perfons of the chief matters of fad there related-
London, XGQG.

213
rative are to be met with in this book,
which was, befides, publifhed on the fpot,
when the fafts in queftion lay expofed to
every one's enquiry; fo that had there
been any fraud it muft have been difco-
vered. But, indeed, no fuch thing was,
or could, be affirmed. The witneffes,
many of them at leaft, are perfons of
fuch unexceptionable credit, gOod fenfe,
and learning, that, as we cannot fufpeft
they were impofed upon, fo we cannot
fufpeft they would impofe. Befides the
certificates of many gentlemen of diftinc-
tion*, we have aifo the atteftations of
grave divines -j-, and eminent phyficians J^
which laft are not very ready in admitting
* The Hon. Robert Boyle, Sir Nathaniel Holbafch, -Sir
John Godolphin, Sir Abraham Cullen, Sir Charles Doe's
fon, Colonel Wcldon, Alderman Knight, &c.
t Dr. Ruft, Dean of Connor, afterwards Bifliop of Dro
more ; Dr. Cudworth attefting the cure of his own fon ;
Dr. Whichcote attefting his own cure; Dr. Wilkins after
wards Biiiiop of .Chefter ; Mr. Patrick afterwards 'Bifliop ;
Dr. Georg'e Evans, &c. " ''
t Sir William Smith, Dr. Denton, Dr. Fairclough, Dr.
Jeremiah Aftul, and others.

2H
that cures may be effeft^id, without mak
ing ufe of the mediqjne^ whiph they thern-
j[elye5 prefcribe.
Here, then, let me afk, can ^ny mean?
be fuppofed mor? inadequate, to all ap?
pearance, to effefit cures of difeafes, than
thofe rnade ufe of by Greatrakes? And^
yet, nothing can be more certain than
th«tt there was j^o fupernatural interpofi
tion in the cafe. The cures were eflPefted
graduafly, and th^ operation of the hand
was fre<;^uently repeated ; in many cafes(
there was oe^afipn t^ make ufe of razors,
^nd other fliarp ipftruments to lay open
t^ie fores ; the number of thpfe who re-
ifeivied pp benefit from him, after repeated
trials, greatly exceeded th? number of
thofe who wer^ relieved: add to this,
that very many who received benefit, re^
geivcd no cure, button relapfed into all
their former fymptoms. Thefe and pther
eircumftances, which can be collefted from.
his own account *, fatisfy us that Great%
* Greatrakes'* bwiV being n,ow, in very fe^ hapds, \

215
rakes was no worker of miracles. Burt
whether the concurrence of Greatrakes's
fliall, for the fatisfadion of the reader, Iranfcribe one or
two certificates, that he may fee what difeafes were cured,
and the manner of their cure. The following, then, is the
certificate figned by Dean Ruft.-—^' Being defifed to give
" my teftimony of Mv. Greatrakes and his cures, I do
" hereby certify that I have with fome curiofity been ah
*' obferver of him and of his operations : and I take him to
" be a perfon of an honeft and upright mind, a fVe'eand
*' open fpirit, a cheerful and agreeable humour, an inofitn-
" fi*e converfation, of large and generous principles, and
" that carries on no defign of fadion and intereft. I have
'f been an eye-witnefs pf many hundreds th^t have come
" under his hands, efpecially during his ftay at Lord Con»
" way's for -three weeks or a month together, and I muft
" profefs myfelf cotiirinced (however it be from an imme-
" diate gift, or a peculiarity of complexion) that he has ^
" virtue more than ordinary. For though 1 have feen him
*' touch many, with little or no fuccefs, yet it muft not be
" denied that I have feen too, in very many inftances, by
" his fpittie and the touch or ftrOke of his hand, humours
" put into odd and violent fermentations, pains ftranoeiy
" fly before him, till he has chafed them out at fome of
" the extreme parts of the body, the king's evil, in a few
" daj's, wonderfully dried up; Ijnobs or kernels brought tQ
" a fuppuration ; humours ripened ; ulcerous fores (kinneti
" and amended ; hard fwellings in women's breafts abated ;
»* cold and fenfelefs limbs reftored to their heat and life ;
*' fcabs all over the bod^ which have been for many ye^r?.

^16
ftroking with fome cures was only merely
accidental, while other adequate caufes
?' and counted incurable, deadened and dried up; many
" people relieved in cafes of deafnefs, lamenefs, dimnefs of
f fight ; twenty feveral perfons in fits of the falling ficknefs
" or convulfions or hyfterical paffions (for I am not wife
?' enough to diftinguifii them) upon laying his hands upon
" their breafts (often upon the lop of their cloaths) within
M a few minutes brought to their fenfes, fo as to be able to
'' tell where their pain lay, which he has followed till he
" purfued it out of the body. I can fay little to the perma-
" nency of his cures ; many, I do believe, continue firm,
" but feveral of thofe of the falling ficknefs, I heard had
" relapfed before I left the country, but after much longer
'' intervals than they were wont to enjoy. — The forms of
" words he ufed are, God Almighty heal thee for his mercy's
" ffike: and if they profefs to receive any benefit he bids
«' them give God the praife, and that (fo far as I can
"Judge) v.'ith a fincere devotion. This is in fliort, the
" matter of fad, which is teftified to be true by me."
" George Ruft, D. D. and Dean of Connor."
I fliall add a letter from the fon of Sir Charles Doe, to
Dr. Fairclough, relating his own cafe.
"Sir,
" Whereas you defire to know what efibd Mr. Great-
" rakes's hand had upon me, this may fiiiisfy you, that the
'\ head-ach which I laboured under three or four years
" (and ufed what! means the phyficians prefcribed though
«' unfuccefsfuUy) which oft times was very violent, was
" cured by the laying on Mr. Greatrakes's hand in the folo.

^17
operated"; or whether, if his ftfoking had
an efficacy, this was owing to fome pe
culiarity in his complexion, to fome fin
gular virtue of certain effluvia from the
''* lowing manner. About the beginning of March laft,
" hearing that Mr. Greatrakes was at my Lord Mayor's
'" houfe, I repaired thither unto him and defired him (hav-
" ing the head-ach then violently on me) that he would be
" pleafed to ufe his endeavours to cure me : Whereupon
'- he demanded in what part of my head f he-pain lay, which
^ I fliewed him, and thereupon he laid his hand upon the
•' place affeded, and immediately I found the pain removed
" to another place in my head, which I alfo-direded him
" to, who purfued it till it went out of my head, and fo
*''¦ following it from place to place (laying his hand upon
" that part of my body whither it did remove) till he drove
" it into my foot, where it was very painful to me, till at
'- length, he chafed it out at my toe, I not putting off my
" flocking : which he did at two different limes, the pain
"as I conceived) being divided; whereupon I forthwith
^' found myfelf freed from all manner of pain both in head
'* and bod}', and have fo continued ever fince (blelTed be
'¦ God) in perfed health. And not only was I freed from
" the aforefaid pain of the head, but alfo from a conftant
" bleeding that continually attended it, whereas I did ufe
" to bleed every day (or every other day, at Ipaft) which
"bleeding ! am very little troubled with. This is that,
1' Sir, which I affirm to be true, who am
" Yours, &c. &c.
"JoHS Doe."

218
body of the ftroker ; or whether impref
fions made on the minds of the perfons
ftroked, might not in fome cafes, procure
relief— I fhall not take upon me to deter-
mine ; but only obferve that though the
means immediately connefted with the
cures, were to all appearance, as inade
quate as any can be fuppofed, yet there
can be no pretence for having recourfe
to fupernatural caufes to account for
them ; fince, for aught we know, fuch
means may have fome hidden efficacy,
fome pecuUar fanative virtue, (which, per*
.haps, was the cafe of Greatrakes's ftroke]
or elfe, if they have no fuch virtue apd
efficacy, they may prove the occafion of
exciting caufes, known to be adequate
to aft.
Upon the whole, then, the mighty won
ders boafted of by the admirers of the
Abbe Paris lofe their gigantic appearance
when examined clofely, and I cannot help
flattering myfelf that enough has been
faid to convince even you, that the cure^

219
performed in St. Medard'& church^yard
have no more pretenfions to be efteemed
miraculous, than have the cures qf thofe
touched hy our kings, or of thofe ftroked
by Gret^trakes,
But I had almoft forgot, that, in fup
port o^ the blejfed deacon's miraculous pow
er, befides the cures, Montgeron inftances
pther fafts, and particularly infifts upon
^is own cOnverfion as a proof of it. That
it may not, therefore, be faid that I have
neglefted any thing in the examination, I
flialj now relate this faft, as it really hap
pened, and from Montgeron's own account
pf it, you will perceive that he had not
any reafonable grounds for looking upon
bis own converfion as a miracle wrought
^y the interceflfion of the Abbi de Paris.
On the 7th of September, 1731, Mor^t-
geron, being at this time, as he tells us him
felf, both an infidel in principle and a
iibertirie in praftice, repaired to St. Me-
dard's church-y^rd, not out of devotioni

220
but with a defign to examine narrowly
the cafes of thofe who flio-uld come to afk
their cure. Scarcely had he entered the
church-yard, when he was ftruck with awe
and reverence, having never, before, heard
prayers pronounced with fo much ardour
and tranfport as he obferved amongft
the fupplicants at the tomb. ' Upon this,
throwing himfelf on his knees, refting his
elbows on the tomb-ftone, and covering
his face with his hands, he fpake the fol
lowing prayer — O thou ! by whofe inter-
cejjton fo many miracles are faid to be per-
forvied ; if it be trite, that a part of thee
furvivea the grave, and that thou haji influ
ence with the Almighty, ¦ have pity on the
darknefs of my underjianding, and through
his mercy obtain the removal of it. Having
prayed thus, man)i thoughts, as he fays,
began to open themfelves to his mind, and
fo profound was his attention, that he con
tinued on his knees four hours, not in
the leaft difturbed by the vaft crowd of
furrounding fupplicants. During this
time, all the arguments, which he ever

221-'
heard or read, in favour of Chriftianity,
occurred to him with fo much force, and
feemed fo ftrong and convincing, that he
went home fully fatisfied of the truth of
religion in general, and of the holinefs and
power of that perfon, who, as he fuppo
fed, had engaged the divine goodnefs to
enlighten his underftahding fo fuddenly.
— This is a fair reprefentation of ikft?rai-
geron's converfion as related by himfelf,
which, for the following reafOns, I think
to have lefs pretenfions, than any of the
cures have, to be looked upon as the ef-
feft of a fupernatural interpofition.
I would aflc, therefore, what certainty
could Montgeron have, or how could he
fatisfy others that thofe thoughts and re-.
fleftions, which determined him to be a
believer, were excited by the Abbe Parish
Ho\y could he difcover that they were
impreffed on his mind from above, and
were not the fuggeftions of his own
fancy? And how ftiall we be able to fatisfy
ourfelves that the fudden change of his

22^
principles was really owing to the caufd
he affigns ?— That there was nothing fu-*
pernatural in tbe cafe ; and that our con
vert was more indebted to the warmth of
his own temper, than to the interceffion of
our Abbe, we ffiall have grounds for con
cluding, if we take a view of his charac-*
ter, as we are enabled to draw it from his
own hiftory of himfelf.
Plowever odd it may feem, experience
njuft fatisfy us that a ^dden tranfition
from the extravagancies of irreligion and
libertinifm to thofe of devotion, is no un«
common appearance in life; and that
many who ,have fet out, at firft, avowed
fcoflPer^ at religion, have, in the end, run
fb far into the other extreme, as to be loft
in all the wilds of enthujiafm, the feeds of
which have been in their minds, from the
beginning. Strong paffions, and a lively
imagination, which often exclude all foli*
dity of judgment, are ingredients which
muft concur in forming the vifionary de*
Yotee, Thefe ingredients may have, ai

S23
firft proved, the caufes of a man's irreligi
on, and of his abandoning himfelf to the
greateft irregularities in praftice : and
thefe very ingredients will be able to bring
him back, and lead him as far one way,
as they had done the other.— It being im
poffible for a man totally to banifliall ap-
prehenfions of an omnipotent Being, and
future life, the infidel of the warm and fan
ciful turn of mind will often be deeply
affefted, and the terrors of the divine ven
geance working on his pliable imagination,
this may fometimes be fo effeftual as to
give his affeftions and inclinations a new
bias, and make religion occupy the place
of his lufts. — Now that Montgeron was- a
perfon of this vifionary and fanciful cha-
rafter, he himfelf fatisfies us from the fafts
he relates. At the age of one and twen
ty, before which time he had begun to in
dulge his paffions without meafure, hav
ing difguifed himfelf in women's apparel,
in order to get himfelf admitted into a
convent, to perfeft an intrigue begun with
9ne of the nuns, and being on his way

224
thither in a chaife, the horfes, on fome
fright, overturned it, and he efcaped much
bruifed, and with a broken arm. Look
ing upon this as a judgment from Heaven,
he laid afide not only his defign of get
ting admittance into the nunnery, but alfo
his profligate way of life, and put himfelf
into the hands of a prieft of the Oratory,
who made him, as he tells us, read many
good books. Soon after this he was fo
warm in his fit of devotion, that he fhut
himfelf up in the abbey of La Trappe, the
monks of which order are remarkable for
the feverity of their difcipHne. Having
continued in this retreat about a month, a
dangerous fit of ficknefs obliged him to
leave it, and, upon his recovery, his paf
fions hurried him once more into all the
exceflTes of criminal pleafure, and from
wifliing that religion might not prove true^
he, in a manner, perfuaded himfelf that it
was all a cheat. — Yet, amidft his irregula
rities, he was not eafy in his mind. He
had only endeavoured to make himfelf an
infidel, but, in fpite of himfelf, he was far

225
from bdiDg riwtted in thefe prineipies
and the reports of the miracles performed
at our Abi>e's tomhjjcing the general con
verfation about town, he became greatly
difturbed in hismind: becaufe mirades, as
he obferves, could not agree with his (yf-
tem <£ infidelity. In this ftate of |)eipleK-
ity, he took a refdution to exajuioe the
truth of the fafts reported, and accoiding'-
ly repaired to our Aide's tomb on the day
already mentioned : and what hapj^ned
at that vifit has been relatcd.^-Now that
the fervour and vehemence of devodon,
which he faw amongft the fupplicants,
fhould excite in him a ferious frame erf
mind, is extremely natural, without fuppo
fing that the interceffion of the Abbe con
tributed any thing towards it. How eafiiy
he could pafs from the libertine to the
faint, he had already fliewn us, in (hutting
himfelf up with the monks cf La Trappe.
The company of enthufiafts is infeftious ;
and it is no greater wonder, that one who
had all die feeds of an enthufiaftic devo
tion in his breaft, ffiould have them called
Q

226
out on this occafion, than that combuftible
matter ffiould take fire when touched by a
flame. That he did not cool again, as he
had done once before, can be eafily ac
counted for. When he ffiut himfelf up
with the monks of La Trappe he was
young, and his appetite for fenfual gratifi
cations ftrong and unfatisfied ; no wonder,
therefore, his fit of fanftity ffiould leave
him, at that time. But, now when the
flame of devotion was rekindled at the
tomb of the AbU Paris, he was in the de-'
cline of life, his tafte for fenfual pleafures
palled by long ufe, and his appetites jaded
by indulgence. Temptations to his former
vices, therefore, were lefs apt to entice
him ; and that, from this period, he conti
nued a zealous devotee, is perfeftly con
fiftent with the warmth and livelinefsof
his paffions, which only changed their ob-
jeft, from matters of fenfe to thofe of a
fpiritual kind,-and found the fame gratifi
cation in the latter, which they had done
in the former. — In a word ; Montgeronhad
no greater reafon to look upon his con-

22T
verfion as miraculous, than our Methodifts
have, who talk in the fame ftrain ; who
can tell you the exaft hour, nay moment,
when the Ho/); 5/>m^ began to aft upon
their minds, who, if you will believe them,
have their converfations with God, which
they pretend to be able to diftinguiffi from
the rovings of their own fancies ; dignify
ing the ridiculous fallies of their difordered
imaginations, with the awful name of fu
pernatural impulfes.— I ffiall only add,
that the extravagancies into which Mont-
. geron run, after his converfion, fome of
which you will find in the note *, give us
, * Monfieurde Montgeron, being a counfellor of the par-
hament at Paris, was involved in a quarrel which that body
had with the court in the year 1732, and, amongft others,
banifiied to Auvergne. .During'his exile, which had Only
heightened his zeal for Janfenifm, he conceived a defign
(the thought of which he feems to afcribe to a divine im-
pulfe) of coUeding the proofs and atteftations of the mira
cles of the favourite faint of his party. Full of enthufiafm
he devoted himfelf as a martyr to Janfenifm; and as he
knew what dangers he expofed himfelf to by this attempt,
that he might prepare himfelf for. fuffering, befides bis faft-
ings, penances and other feverities, he drew up a form of
prayer (a copy of which he gives us in his book) which he
Q2

g2§
a farther view of his charafter, and adcj
ftreagth to our condufion, that one of k>
diftrihuled among his fed to be oiade .ufp of for him,— On
his being permitted to return to Paris he fet about bis work,
and ufed uncommon diligence in colleding fhe letters, de-
pofnions, and certificates of the witneffes of the fuppolbl
miracles^ the oiiiginals of which papers he took care tt* de.
pofitwith public notaries for every one's fatisfadion ; and;
be colleded fo many, that he afcribes this to the immediate
care of Heaven favouring and proteding his work. Fuont
thefe papers, he-compiled his narrative of the cures, iiifeftiog
alfo the certificates abuvementioned.TlieArchbiihc^ ofSensji
Paftoral Inilru^ons being the capital performance agaitjlt
our Abbe's miracles, Montgeron entitled his book an An
fwer to the Archhiftiop. — The book being, at luft, printed
in a pompous quarto, and cledieated to the King, lie pre
pared himfelf to prefent it into his Majefty's own hand..
For eight days, he lay on a bed of afiies ; bread and walec
was his only fuftenance, and the whole period was fpenfin
devotion.— On the 27th of July, 1737, having alTembled his
family, acquainted them with his defign, aiid recommending
himfelf to their prayers, he fet out Tor Verfailles, and on
the 29th he got an opportunity of prefentfng his book into
his Majefty's own hands, to whom he, at the fame time,
made a fpeech. The King, little verfed in fuch matters,
heard him with patience, and received his' book in the itioji"
gracLous manner ; but was not a little furprized when, fooft
after Montgeron was gone, the Cardinal de Fieuri, being
informed of the afikir, told him that the author of the book
muft be imprifuned. Rlontgeron, being prepared for-fuffenn^

229
vifionary a temper might be converted, in
the manner he was, without ftlppofing any
thing fupernatural in the cafe.
Let thtcns, the fceptkal author of the
Effay tm Miracles make tbe moft he can ©f
the fafts attributed w the Abbi Paris^
what will this avail him? From what I
have fubmittcd to your cdnfideratiorti it
appears that tbongh we admit tht fafts, we
have it in our power to deny the confe
quences ; though we grant that fom^ of the
cures happened, yet arft we able to give
fufficient reafons for rejefting the claim
of the Janfenifts, to have their faint looked
»pon as a worker of miracles. This I fay*
we have it in our power to do.— I wiffi lor
the conviftion of you and of your friends,
it had been more frequently done. For I ,
nay even courting it, did not abfcond ; but, after prefentir.g
copies of his book to fhe Duke of Orleans, the firft prefiderit
of theparliaiiiKint, and the chief mdgiftrateS at fsins, retired
to his houfe, and waited with a kind of impaitence till a
jetfer de cachet came next morniil|, in confequence Of
which he was carried to prifon, from which he never got
out.

230
cannot but obferve, that fome of our de
fenders of Chriftianity have not taken a
very likely method, to evade the force of
the argument drawn from the pretended
miracles of the Abbi,'m prejudice of the
miracles of the Gofpel. The moft com
mon way has been to deny the fafts, in ge
neral, as the _produftion of fraud and im
pofture. And yet, whoever attentively
weighs the evidence urged in fupport of
fome of them, muft own that few matters
<of faft ever were confirmed by more un
exceptionable teftimony. They were per
formed openly, in the fight of the whole
world ; in the heart of one of the greateft
cities in 'the univerfe ; on perfons whom
every body could fee and examine ; whofe
difeafes could not be counterfeit, becaufe
we have the certificates of the moft emi
nent phyficians who had previoufly at
tended, or examined them ; and whofe re
covery every inhabitant of the city of Pa-
ris could fatisfy himfelf of, becaufe they
lived on the fpot. And that the fafts

231
were * examined into with all the art and
addrefs of the ruling part of the clergy,
* I cannot, therefore, avoid diffenting from the learned
Dr. Dodwcll, who in his Free Anfwer to the Free Inquiry,
(p. 132.) tells us as the reafon why we muft rejed the fads
afcribed to the Abbe Paris, " That they were not offered
" to public examination. Thdr enemies," fays he, "durft '
" not attempt a free inquiry like the Dodor's, left it ftiould
" have ended in a refledion on their own caufe.' The court
" which was, no doubt, fatisfied of the fraud, chofe rather
" to proceed by way of authority, than of argument, left
" that method fliould be carried too far, and a little pub-
" lie examination might be demanded of thofe miracles
" which were wrought in favour of received dotlrines."
Now I much fear, ihis reafon of the Dodor will not hold.
For certainly if ever fads were freely inquired into, the cures
performed in St. Medard's church-yard, were fo. That
many free inquiries were made into them, the Paftoral
Letters of the Archbiftiops of Paris, of Embrun, of Sens, of
many Biftiops, an inundation of pamphlets of private eccle
fiaftics, and the repeated controverfies*in Ihe Journaux de
Trevoux, and other periodical papers, fufficiently prove.
Nor is it lefs certain that if recourfe was had by the court to
authority, it was only becaufe argument had been tried.and
found ineffedual. — Nor is the Dodor'a reafon why the ene-
micsof the Abbe Paris durft not attempt a free inquiry (via.
left this fhould be carrjed fo far as to affed the credit of the
miracles wrought in favour of received dodrines) fuch as
will ftand examination. For who were the enemies of the
Abbe Paris's miracles ? — Thofe very perfons who by having

S3-2
backed by the civil magiftrate, is too no
torious to admit of a difpute, as it is alfo,
that fome of them could ftand the exami
nation, and remain raadetefted. So that
to rejeft and difbefieve all the cures, in
jJ6W«r in their hands, coiild, as they pleafed, ftop any dif-
agt'feabTe inquiry ; and by having the prejudices of the peo
ple in favour of the miracles admitted by themfelves, could
have iio reafon to f6ar any detedion of thefe ; which were
admitted alfo by ths Jarifenifts *Bo contended for our
Abba's miracles; (6 ffiaf the detedion of thefe, could never
etidirigter the credit of thofe admitted by both fides. Be-
Mes, Si the enehiies of the Abbe P'aris appealed fo no new
miracles- hi favour of received dodrines, the miracles fliey
admitted conldnotbe diffiroved by any new evidence. Add
to all this, that the intereft of the oppofers of the miracles of
Our Abb^, fo Clsarly pointed out the expediency of defeft-
ing them, that it is not to be fuppoCed they fhouH difcou-
rage a free inquiry into them — mereTy becaufe of a remote,
poffible confequence — becaufe, perhaps, a like public exami-
natioft Might be jtmdnded of thofe miracles, ¦which were
wrought in favour af received doEtrines. — Thefe are my rea
fons for differing from the opinion of a gentleman whofe la
bours have done fo much honour fo himfelf, artd fo much
fervice to the religion he profeffes. And I am confident,
that bis Candour will excufe thefe remarks, which I fliould
not have made, had not I been obliged, by my argument, to
afficn a reafon for rejefting the miraculous interpofition of
(he Abbe- Paris, entirely different from that mentioned by
him.

233
general, as the oSspring of fraud, muft
neceffarily give the advocates of infidelity
great advantage, and leave the Chriftian
in the labyrinth prepared for him, by puz
zling him to affign reafons why he be
lieves the miracles of our Saviour, while
he rejefts thofe afcribed to the faint of
Janjenijm.
Others, again, finding, upon an exa
mination of the evidence, that the certain
ty of fome of the cures performed in Stt
Medard's church-yard could not be doubt-"-
ed of, have admitted that they did happen,
but have accounted for them by afcribing
them to the devil. A folution this, that
can ferve only to throw confufion and
uncertainty on the point controverted.*^
But the method which I thought myfelf
obliged to follow *, leaves nothing to be
* Before my firft edition of this work in 1754, Mr. des
Voeux had publiflied his book, in which, as I learn from Dr.
Middleton, he accounts for the cures faid to be performed
en the fupplicants of our Abbe, in the manner I have at.

234
objefted, places the merits of the contro
verfy in the cleareft light, and muft for ever
filence thofe who would fet up the cures
performed in St. Medard's church-yard, in
oppofition to the Gofpel miracles, whichj
as we ffiall fee afterwards, are not liable
to the fame objeftions, becaufe in them a
fupernatural interpofition will be ffiewn to
be clear and indifputable.' — Before we pro
ceed to theproof of this, however, it may
not be improper to take notice of a few
other noted pretenfions to miracles, which
fall to the ground, in confequence of the
reafoning which has overturned thofe afi
cribed to the blefled Deacon,
And this, in particular, is the cafe of the
miracles pretended to, here ih England,
about forty or fifty years ago, by thofe
Wild enthufiafts the French prophets. They
were, all, cures of difeafes, all performed
tempted. Asthe materials in my poflcffion on this fubjed
are very complete, my not having perufed .Mr. des Voeu.x's
work, feems to be of little or no confequence.

233
on perfons whofe minds, heated with en
thufiaftic tranfport, were in an apt difpofi
tion to excite fuch a ferment in the body,
as might in fome cafes not only change
the ftate of the fluids, but alfo brace thff
relaxed folids. Of all the ftrange fafts
afcribed to thefe prophets, the cure of Sir
Richard Bulkeley of a rupture, feems the
moft proper to be fingled out as an in
ftance. That the cure really was per
formed, without the application of any
new remedy, and in confequence of prayer
and the word fpoken by the ^prophet, was
not difproved at the time, and was, foon
after, ferioufly affirmed by Sir Richard
himfelf, with all its eircumftances, to a gen
tleman ftill alive, from whom I have my
information. But though we may admit
the faft, we deny the miracle. Remem
ber the inftance, quoted frOm Pechlin, of
the cure of the Hamburgh phyficians rup
ture, by the ffiock of a piece of bad news,
and we ffiall not be at a lofs to point out
a natural caufe for. the cure received by

236
Sir Richard *. That the cures atttributed
to thefe enthufiafts arre to be accounted
for in this manner, is evident from; the bad
fuccefs. they bad where they pretended to
•perform what was indifputably^ fuperna*
tural. The refwrreftiefn of l)r. Earner is
a well-known ftory : cn this event they
fooliffily (for all enthufiafts muft ever ex
pofe themfelves) refted the credit of their
party ; and this failing, we are unavoid
ably led to accourvt for any fuCcrfs they
had in inferior inftanCes, on principled
that exclude all fupernatural iMetpofitbn.
Again ; if the reafoning concerning the
» Sir Richard's name *at famous Hot oftly loif Ivis being
curedin this manner, but alfo for his having drawn his peii
in defence Of the prophecies of his fi'd ; and for his attempt
ing to obviate the objedfions which their .ngitstions while
they uttered them, and the failure of eompktitirt at flie
time marked, had julily given rife to, by comparing the con-
dud of iiis prophets, v.ifh that of the proplivts mentioned
in the Old Teftament. The reader may fee, amongft the
tfads of Biftiop7/oa(y/f//, an excellent and mafteily AnAver
to Sir' Richard's ingenious apology, which' is, if I rciiieiflbej
right, taken notice of by Lord Shaflfiiuiy in his Letter on
EntnunaOii.

2ST
cures perforn«ied in St. Medard's church
yard, be of any weight, it will alfo overturn
the pretenfions of the famous cure of Ma
dame de la F&J^, to be a miracle. This
ftory having m^pd^ full as much noife at
P-mis, as did the cures ^.t our Abbe's tomb,
it ¥ery well deferves our notice here.
Anne Charlie, wife of Francis dela Fojfc
a cabiuetrsmakex^ forty-five years old, had,
for twenty years, been afflifted at different
times with an iffue of blood, which for the
laft feven years had given her very fevf
intervals of eafe. It being the cuftom of
the parilh where ffie dwelt ®, to have an
annual prQceffio.n on Corpus Chri/ii d^iy,
through the extent of the pariffi to the~
church, Madame de. la Foffe, on the 25th
of May^ 1725, took a refolution together-
felf carried down to the ftreet on the ap
proaching feftival, (which was to be on
the 3 iff) and, as the proceffion paffed by,
to^fli her cure by prayer to onr Saviour,
•The parlfii of St. Marn^arct, in'lhe FiiuhourgSt. Antoine
at Pari?.

23a
fuppofed to be prefent in the hoft. She
had thought of this the year before, but,
by the perfuafion of her ConfeflTor, did not
then execute her refolution. However,
ffie was determined to try it now, having
her mind fully prepoffeffed with an opi
nion that ffie ffiould, by this means,, reco-
¦ver her health. On the 28th, ffie was car
ried to church, and received the facra-
ment ; and the ^if\.. Corpus Chrijii day,
being come; ffie was carried down ftairs,
being unable to walk, and was feated in
the ftreet in a chair, ihat ffie might be
ready when the proceffion paffed by. On
its arrival, ffie attempted to kneel, but,
through weaknefs, fell from her chair on
the pavement. Raifing herfelf on her
hands and knees, ffie followed the procef
fion crawling thus on the ground, and cry
ing out, Lord, if thou wilt, thou canfi heal
me; fome thinking her mad ; others look
ing upon her to be drunk ; while
many pitied her. Having crawled about
thirty yards, and finding herfelf left be
hind, fhe endeavoured to rife. At firft,

^39
ffie raifed herfelf upon her knees,, and then,
with help, got upon her feet, all trem
bling and giddy. And now ffie cried out
again with greater tranfport, repeating
ftill, the fame words. Soon after fhe per
ceived that her heart was fortified, that a
glowing heat warmed all her limbs, and
that her legs were able to fupport. her.
For fome fteps ffie leaned on thofe who
had lifted her up ; but at laft, finding her
felf ftrong enough to walk without help,
ffie followed the proceffion till it came to
the church, which was abpve a mile from
her houfe ; and having by her earneft im
portunity got a place near to the hoft, ffie
entered the church with it ; and, from
that time, ffie was fenfible her complaint
had entirely left her.
I have related the eircumftances of this
faft, as I find thera in a pamphlet which
appeared foon»_ after : and it was fb well
attefted *, and fo publicly canvaffed, that
* The Cardinal de N»aillcs, who wa* then Archhithcp of

240
I cannot fee the leaft room for doubting
that it really happened. But that there
was any thing in it miraculous, may very
reafonably be fufpefted. The fame caufe
which could give relief to the fupplicants
in St. Medard's church-yard, will account
for the benefit received by Madame de la
Foffe. From the printed account of her
ftory, ffie appears to be a perfon of a
warm, fanciful temper ; that ffie had
wrought herfelf up to a firm perfuafion
that ffie ffiould be cured by praying to the
hoft ; and that her prayers aftually excited
in her, fuch tranfports and emotions, as

Pari?, having heard the reports of this cure, ordered a ver
bal procefs to be taken concerning it, before his ecmmifla-
ries. And the whole tranfadion being eftabliflied on tbe
evidence of a great number of witnefles, he publiflied it asa
miracle, commandinga folemn thankfgiving, and te deum to
he fung, in all the churches of Paris. M.^dame de la Foffe
lived for feveral years after, was vifiied by perfons of the
higheft rank, and even taken notice of by the King and
Queen, who faw her at Verfailles. « However, though flie
-was greatly relieved, her cure Was not abfolutely complete.
. — See Beaiifobre's Remarks ou il, in the Bibliotheque, Ger-
wanii^ue.

^41
could refemble the frenzy of the lunatic,
or the wildnefs of the drunkard.^ And
when we know that thefe eircumftances
attended her cure, need we be furprized
that her relaxed blood- veffels ffiould con-
traft, and be reftored to their proper tone?
If the accelerated motions communicated
to the nervous fyftem by a furprize, could
cure the phyfician of Hamburgh of a rup
ture, or excited by joy, could remove the
palfy of Pierefque — what reafon can there
be for doubting that thofe excited in Ma
dame de la Foffe by her warmth of devo-?
tion, might cure her of an iflue of blood?
I fliould run into an endlefs enumera-.
tion of particulars, were I to take notice
of all the inftances of cures afcribed to a,
miraculous interpofition, which, upon an
exaft examination, will fink down within
the limits of nature, and may be accounted,
for, either by the fame caufe which brought
about the cures in St. Medard's church
yard ; or elfe by fuppofing that the ufual
remedies applied by the phyfician, or the
R

242
ftrength of the patient's conftitution, and
other adequate caufes operated, whilft the
honour of the cure is attributed to fome
faint who happen«l to be invoked. Nine
ty-nine miracles, in a hundred, of thofe
pretended to in latter times, by the Papifts,
are cures of difeafes ; and I defy their ad-
Vocates to produce any ©f them more ex
traordinary than the cures of the Ab6e Pa
ris's fupplicants, or that of Madame de la
Foffe. Yet we fee that even thefe have
been accounted for in a mere natural way }
much more, therefore, thofe cures, which
had no fuch fudden operation, and with
regard to which we have no grounds for
excluding the efficacy of the ufually pre
fcribed remedies. — Indeed, a man of fenfe
Cannot avoid wondering at the extrava
gant length to which fome people can ex
tend their faith, when he obferves fo many
cures attributed, by the fuperftitious
amongft the Roman Catholics, to the mira
culous interpofition of a faint prayed to,
though the cures be flow and gradual, and
though ufual probable remedies are, at the

243
fame time, tried. Bred up, from their in
fancy in a perfuafion that miraculous pow
ers are continued in their church, and
exercifed by the interceffion of their faints;
to the prayers and mafles offered to them
they attribute all, and to the fkill of the
phyfician, and his medicines adminiftercd,
nothing. Hence may we fee their ffirines
and altars loaded with offerings of perfons
profeffing themfelves indebted for their
cures to St. Francis, or St. Anthony, when
they ought rather to have acknowledged
their obligations to Hippocrates or Boer*
haave. Reafon points out to us this general
rule. — Never to attribute any event to a
miraculous interpofition, when we can
trace the operation of natural, adequate
caufes. But the writers of the breviary,
the biographers of the Romifh faints, and
but too many others of that communion,
feem to reverfe the rule, and to think, that
the bare poffibility of there being a mira
culous interpofition, in any particular cafe,
R 2

244
is fufficient to warrant their believing that
there really was. And this is obvious, not
only from the cures which they afcribe to
their faints, but alfo from other events
which they look upon as miraculous. Thus
fome celebrated reliques, or fome favourite
image expofed to public view, and public
devotion, are looked upon to have brought
about a change of weather, which would
have happened however, and which, per
haps, the barometer had foretold.
But, though in many of the cures afcri
bed by the fuperftitious Roman Catholics
to a- miraculous interceffion, we can trace
the operation of the ufual natural caufes,
I muft. not conceal that they lay claim to
zjianding power of performing one parti
cular cure, where the fpiritual means
made ufe of, are fo clofely connefted with
the fuppofed change wrought upon the pa
tients, as to exclude every other caufe from
afting. — You may eafily guefs that I hav§
in my eye the cures of perfons faid to be
pofleffed by the devil, by fprinkling thera

245
with holy water, by the application of re
liques, by prayers, by making figns of the
crofff, and ufing other ceremonies compri
zed under the general term of exorcijing.
That fuch feats are exhibited to public
view, and frequently tranfafted in the
churches of Roman Catholics, is well
known. But certainly they are the moft
improper inftances that could poffibly be
pitched upon, as proofs of the reality of
a miraculous power fubfifting in their
church. For, if what has been offered,
under the prefent head, fatisfy us, how
little reafon the Papijis have for believing
that there is any thing fupernatural in the
cures they boaft of, even when there are
no grounds for doubting of the reality of
the difeafe, much lefs reafon is there for
believing that there is any "thing fuperna
tural performed, when the reality of the
difeafe (of the only difeafe ajianding povr-
er of curing which is claimed) is appa
rently fufpicious. — Now, this is remarkably
the cafe of the damoniacs of the church of

246
Rome. A few grimaces, wild geftures,
difordered agitations, and blafphemous ex-
clamations, fuited to the charafter of the
fuppofed infernal inhabitants, conftitute all
we know of their difeafe. And, confe
quently, as all thefe fymptoms are ambi
guous, and may be affumed at pleafure by
an irapoftor, a collufion between the ex-
orciji, and the perfon exorcijed will account
for the whole tranfaftion ; and every one,
who would avoid the charafter of being
fuperftitioufly credulous, will naturally ac-
count for it in this manner, rather than by
fuppofing that any fupernatural caufe in
tervened. Nay, indeed, the appearances of impof
ture and collufion, with regard to thecajl-
ing out of devils amongft Papifts, are fo
glaring, that there are few of themfelves
who care much to boaft of the exploits of
their exorcijis, and therefore, there feems
lefs need to enter upon any deteftion of
them, here. However, for your amufe-
ment, you may perufe, in the note, a ftory

Ml
which, while it will expofe to you the
frauds praftifed with regard to reliques,
win lead you alfo naturally to conclude,
that when the perfons out of whom devils
are fuppofed, by Papifts, to bq caft, are
treated as they were in the ftory I ffiall
quote, there will always be a like fcene of
grofs impofture brought to light *.
" In the year 1564, Prince Chriftopher of Radzivil
having taken a journey to Rome, out of devotion, the Pope,
at his departure, made him a prefent of a box of relique?,;
which on his return to Poland, foon became famous in all
that country. Some months had hardly pafled, when fome
jnoak'j came to beg the ufe of his reliques, in order to re
lieve a man poflefled by the devil. The Prince having com
plied with their requeft, the boK was, with great folemnity,
carried to church, and being applied to the body of him
1 bat was pofleffed, the devil prefently went out, with the
grimaces and geftures ufual on fuch occafiens : A miraeU !
was ihe inftant cry of all the fpedalors, and the Prince him
felf blefljed God, with handiS asd eyes lifted up to Heav«Q,
for favouring him with fo powerful a treafiire. Not long
after, the Prince being talking of what he had feen, and
boafting of the virtue of his reliques, one of hisgenile»ien
fmiled, and, after many promifes of forgivenef«, ingemipufly
told him, that in their return from Rome, h« bad unhappily
.loft ihe box of reliques, but for fear of his anger, had cau
fed another to be made as like as poffible to the true one,
Tihjch he had filled with all the little bones and other

248
And here I cannot but lament, with
trinkets that he could meet with : and that this was the box
which the monks made him believe had performed the mi
racle. The Prince fent next morning for the monks, and
enquired if^hey knew of any dcemoniac who had need of
his reliques. One was foon found to ad his part in this
farce, and the Prince caufed him to be exercifed in his pre-
fence. But when all they could do would not prevail upon
the devil to diflodge himfelf, ihe Prince ordered the monks
to withdraw, and delivered over the. pojfejfed man to another
kind of exorcifts, fome Tartars belonging to his ftables to
be well laflied till he fliould confefs the cheat. The dasmo-
niac at firft, thought to have carried it ofi^ by horrible gef
tures and grimaces, but the Tartars laying on their blowi
in good earneft, quickly moved the devil to confefs the truth,
and ^beg pardon of the Prince. — Next morning the monks,
who fufpeded nothing of what had pafled, being fent for
again, in their prefence the man threw himfelf at the
PrinceVfeet, and confeflcd that he was not poflefled with
the devil, nor ever had been in his life. The monks would
have perfuaded the Priiice that this was an artifice of the
devil, who fpoke through the mouth of that man, but when
he called for his Tartars to exorcife another devil \.\ie father
of lies, out of them alfo, they began to change their lan
guage and confefled the cheat. — The d.eledion of this im
pofture had fuch an effedon the prince, that he, foon after,
made open profeflion of the reformed religion. — See this
ftory in Archbifliop Wake's Defence of the Expofition of fbo
Podfine of the Church of England, Part 2d. p. 1^6—7, o\

249
Dr. Mead *, the prejudice which Chrif
tianity receives from the perpetration of
fuch pious frauds, or rather, as one may
exprefs it, diabolical inventions. For
though this trick of difpoffeffing-the devil,
may perhaps impofe upon a few ; yet the
wifer fort who fee through the impofture,
are but too often induced to believe, that
a religion fupported by fuch frauds, hath
no better fupport ; and are led to rejeft
Chriftianity on account of the ffiamelefs
arts to which they fee its profelTors have
recourfe.
Drelincourt'k Reponfe a M. Ie Landgrave Erneft, p. '348,
§60. * Quis non mcritoirrldet folennes iftos Romse pontificum
ritus, quibus exorcirantur, ut loqui amant, dajmoniaci,
dum homines geftus quofdam & furores, qualesa mails geniis
provenire putantur, fimulare dodi, aqua luftrali & precibus
quibufdam, quafi incantamentis, fui compotes fieri, &a
cacodaemonibus liberari fe fingant ? Verum iftie prseftlgiae,
<)uantumvis oculis & menfibus ignarse plebis illudant;
pauUo tamen fagaciores non modo ofi'endunt, fed & revera
ipfis nocent. Hi enim, dolo perfpedo, ad impietatem proni
ducyntur. — iledica Sacra prasf.

250
But, to return ; befides this power of
difpoffeffing of devils (which is the only
Jtanding miraculous cure of the church of
Rome) funding miracles of another kind,
are boafted of by Papifts. — Miracles which,
upon examination, will dwindle into mere
legerdemain tricks, or at leaft, into effefts of
a fuperior acquaintance with the powers
and properties of material compofitions.
— The liquefaftion of the congealed blood
of St. Januarius performed annually at
Naples, on the feftival of that faint, as it
is the moft celebrated of all fuch miracles
faid to fubfift in the church, deferves to be
taken notice of by me.
Now that a fubftance, vifibly dry and
folid, having the appearance of coagulated
blood, inclofed in a glafs hermetically feal-
ed, aftually does melt, while held by the
prieft in his hands, and brought near to
the faint's head, which is placed on the
altar, is a faft which thoufands of fpefta-
tors are eye- witneffes of, every year. But
however extraordinary this may feem, to

251
fuppofe, as the Neapolitans do, that there
is any miracle in the cafe, would be to
make the experiments of the natural phi
lofopher, and the tranfmutations of the chy-
mift deferve this name ; as fome of thera
are far more furprizing than the liquefac
tion of this faint's pretended blood. The
particular natural caufe is not, indeed, ab
folutely agreed upon. Some have ima
gined that the heat of the hands of the
priefts, who keep tampering with the phi
al of blood, during the celebration of mafs,
will be fufficient to make it melt *. Others
* Dr. Middleton in his Letter from Borne, quotes Mabil-
lon much to this purpofe. — '* But by whatever way (conti-
¦" nues the Dodor) it be effeded, it is plainly nothing elfe,
" but the copy of an old cheat of the fame kind, tranfaded
'' near tbe fame place, which Horace makes himfelf merry,
"with, in his Journey to i^runcfu^um; telling us, how the
" priefts would have impofed upon him and his friends, at a
¦" town called Gnatia, by perfuading them that the frankin-
" cenfe in the temple ufed to diflblve and melt miraculoufly
"•of itfelf, without the help of fire." — Letter from Rome,
p. 209. The paflage of Horace alluded to, is as follows^
— — — — Dehinc Gnatia-lymphis
Jratis cxftruda dedil rifufque, jocofque

3 52
again, have been inclined to believe that
the liquefaftion is effefted by the heat of
vaft numbers of wax tapers of a moft enor
mous fize, with which the altar is decked
out, and many of which are placed fo
conveniently, that the prieft can, without
any appearance of defign, hold the glafs
fo near to them as to make it hot, and
confequently difpofe the inclofed fubftance
to melt. I ffiould be inclined to fubfcribe
to this opinion, had I not met with a more
probable folution. I am informed (for I
never tried the experiment myfelf) that a
compofition of crocus martis and cochineal
will perfeftly refemble congealed blood ;
and by dropping the fmallefl quantity of
aquafortis amongft this compofition, its
dry particles will be put into a ferment,
tiJl, at laft, an ebullition is excited, and the
fubftance becomes liquid. That a glafs
may be fo contrived as to keep the aqua-
Dum fiumma fine, thuraliquefcere limine facro
Peifundere cupit : credat Juda:us appella
?^on egn.  . Sat. v. L. I,

253
fortis feparate from the dry fubftance, till
the critical moment when the liquefaftion
is to be effefted, may be eafily conceived.
And, in faft, the phial, which contains the
pretended blood, is fo conftituted. It is
fomething like an hour-glafs, and the dry
fubftance is lodged in the upper divifion.
Now in the lower divifion of the glafs a
few drops of aquafortis may be lodged,
without furniffiing any fufpicion, as the co
lour will prevent its being diftinguiffied.
All the attendant eircumftances of this
bungling trick *, are perfeftly well account
ed for, by admitting this folution. When^
ever the prieft would have the miracle
take effcft, he need only invert the glafs,
and then the a^rMa-^br/l/j being uppermoft,
will drop down upon the dry fubftance,
and excite an ebullition which refembles
melting. And upon reftoring the glafs to
its former pofition, the fpeftator will fee
the fubftance, the particles of which have
» iSIr. Addifon's.^'xpre{rior, in his Travels, and as he faw
the miracle performed, when he was at Naples, his judg
ment of it, is much to the purpofe.

254
been feparated by the aqud-fortis, drop
down to the bottom of the glafs, in the
fame manner that the fand runs through.
— The Neapolitans (as fit fubjefts to be
impofed upon as the moft fervile bigotry
and fuperftitious credulity can make them)
efteem this annual miracle as a mark of
(he proteftion of Heaven, and whenever
the blood fails to melt, a general panic
enfues. Now, upon a fuppofition that I
have affigned the real caufe, the priefts can
prevent the fuccefs of the miracle when
ever they pleafe; and accordingly we
know that they aftually do fo, when they
have any profpeft of advancing their own
intereft, by infufinga notion into the minds
of the Neapolitans, \hdX Heaven is angry
with their nation *.
But why do I fend you to the extremi
ties of Italy, to fee this notable miracle
performed by Papijis f An itinerant chy-
* Some few years ago the court of Naples having quar
relled wiih the Pope, his Holinefs prevailed upon Januaiiu*
BOt to let his blood melt that year.

1255
mift, fome years ago, entertained the Pro
teftant inhabitants of Great Britain, with
the fame feat,, for the fmall price of a ffiil-
ling ; and I am told that it is 2i flanding
exploit in the experiment-room of Mr.
King, who I believe, does not pretend to
be a conjurer, or worker of miracles, on
the ftrength of it.
To mention any more Jlanding m/r^-
c/fJ-* would be unneceffary, as none I
ever heard of, can vie, in reputation, with
the melting of Januarius's blood, which,
as we have ffiewn, may be a trick worthy '
of a juggler, rather than a miracle per
formed by Heaven.
* Not only the church of Rome, but the Eaflern church
es alfo, have their flanding, annual miracles. An inftance
of which we have in Maundrell's account of his Journey
from Aleppo to Jcrufalem ; where the reader will find a
particular defcription of tbe manner in which fhe Patri
arch of the Armenians, brings fire out of the Holy Sepul
chre. This annually repeated operation carries fo vifibly
the air of an impofture, in the judgment of the ignorant
Turks, that it does infinite diliervtce to the- caufe of Chrifti
anity amongft them.

256
The pret ended miracles of Paganifm
and Popery, have, I hope, been fufficient
ly expofed by placing them in their true
light, as being either the interefted con
trivances of impofture, or the fanciful mif-
conceptions of credulity. But little has
been done to eftabliffi the credibility of
the Gofpel miracles, if I reft here ; if I do
not convince you, by an accurate view
of the evidences fupporting them, that
they can be eafily diftinguiffied from thofe
fpurious events of the marvellous kind,
which infidelity has fet up in oppofition
to thera.This ta.n<. I now enter upon, and I ffiall
begin it by ffiewing that the objeftions
which effeftually difprove the miraculous
nature of thofe boafted cures of difeafes,
juft examined by me, will not hold good
when applied to the cures performed by
Jefus, and recorded in the Gofpels.
What then was the natural caufe which
I afligned as adequate to bring about the

257
cures attributed to the interceffion of the
Abbk Paris .^— This appeared to be,- ftrong
impreflions made on the' minds of fanci
ful, enthufiaftic perfons, by the confidence
they had in praying to their faint. Now
it is evident, that this cannot be affirmed
of many of the objefts relieved by J^j.
When He firft appeared as a worker of
miracles, he ftood fingJy, backed hy no
feft, efpoufed by no party. He was not
revered, from the beginning by any num
ber of followers, wrapped up with high
notions of his fanfthy, or opinion of his
power ; but gained his followers in con-
fequerice of the works which he perform
ed, to make himfelf known. Nay, far
from havitig any partyyor him, every body
had the ftrorigeft prejudices againft him.
That he was a Galilean, dind. that he was
a carpenter's Jon, had this effeft amongft
the Jews. — The fupplicants at the tOmb
of the .^4^^/ Paris were, previoufly to their
application to him, his foHowers and ad
mirers, and confequently, had the ftrong-

253
eft confidence in the efficacy of their ap
plication. But how could the ¦obfcure,
the defpifed J-tfiis, find the Jirji perfons
who were eured by him, with their minds
thus affefted, with a confidence thus fixed
on him? — True, indeed, when once his
fame had gone a.bout through Judea, and
his reputation had been fpread by thofe
whom he had healed, then may we fup
pofe that fome of thofe who were brought
before him to be cured, had a confidence
and expeftation of relief. Yet, even in
this period of his miniftry, many cures
were performed under fuch circumft^inces,
that the refief received could not be owing
to the .abovementioned caufe. In the
cure of the Roman centurion's fervant re
lated both by St. Matthew* and &
Luke t, we may obferve, that the fick per^^
fon was lying at home, and that the ap
plication for relief was not made to jf^t^fi
by the fervant himfelf, but by his maflier*
* Matth. Ch. viii. Ver. 5, Sec.
t Lulte, the beginning of the 7th Chapter,

S59
A Jknilar inftance we have in the cafe of
the nobleman's fon n^ Capernaum xeXdXedi
by St. John *.
Again ; We have feveral inftances in the
Gofpds, of cures performed on perfoAs
whog though prefent, made no application
to Jefiis fiar relief as not knowing at all,
©relfe not believing that be had power
to heal them. Of this fort are the curts
©f the infirm man lying at the Pool + ; of
the man born blind J; of the dropfical
iperlbn^, and of him who had the withered
handf . In all which caifes, there could
be no impreffions made on the minds of
the patients, that could contribute any
thing to the relief received.
But, fecondly ; though we were to
•Joht),4thCh. 4(SthVer.
+ John, 5th Ch, from the be^'nning.
X John, 9th all the Chapter.
§ Luke, I4th Chaj). 2d, 3d, &hd itli VcrTe*.
IF Mark, 3d Chap. 5 firft Verfes.'
S 2

260
grant that every one cured by Jefus had a
confidence in the efficacy of their applica
tion to him, there is one very remarkable
circumftance which clearly demonftrates
that the benefit they received could not
be owing to this caufe. And this is— The
fuccefs of the application to Jefus was'
equal on all the patients, and every one
Vtrho applied to him, was cured. This
faft appears indubitably from the Gof
pels *, and furniffies us with the ftrongeft
* It may not be improper to confirm this, by colleding
the following texts —Healing all manner of ficknefs, and all
manner of difeafe among the people. And his fame went
through Syria, and they brought unto him all fick people,
that were taken with divers difeafes and torments, and thofe
which were poflefled with devils, and thofe which were lu
natic, and thofe that had the palfy, and he healed them,
JVlatth. iv. 23, 24. — And he caft put the fpirits with his
word, and healed a// that were fick, Matth. viii. l6.-— And
Jefus went about all the cities and villages, teaching in their
Synagogues and preaching the Gofpel of the kingdom, and
healing every ficknefs and every difeafe among the people,
Matth. ix. 35. Great multitudes followed him and he
healed them all, Matth, xii. I5-. And Jefus went forthand
faw a great multitude, and was moved with compaflion to
wards them, and healed their fick, Matth. xiv. 12. And
when the men of that place had knowledge of him, they fent

261
argument that thefe cures could, not be
occafioned by the force of any impreffions
out into all the country round about, and brought unto him
all that were difeafed, and befmight him that they might
only touch the hem ofhis garment, and asmany as touched
him were madeperfedly whole, Mark vi. 5, 6.— Now when
the fun was fetting, all they that had any fick with divers
difeafes, brought them unto him; and he laid his hands on,
etery one of them and healed thera, Luke, iv. 40.— And the
whole multitude fought to touch him, for there went virtue
out of him, and healed them all, Luke vii. 19.— From thefe
and many other texts which, for brevity, I omit, I think' it
plain, that every one who applied to Jefus was healed. In-
'deed there is one or two texts which, at firft fight, may be
thought to contradid this. We read, Mark vi. 5. That
Jefus could do no mighty works there (iniiis own country)
fiive that he laid his hands upon a few fick and healed thei^.
But what St. Mark tells us Jefus could not do, St. Matthgw
relates fimply, as what he did not do : and he did not many
mighty works there, becaufe of their unbelief; Matth. xiii.
58. So that from comparing thefe two texts, it appears
that if Jefus did not perform many mighty works in his own
¦country, this was not becaufe there was any failure of powe^-
in him ; but becaufe of their unbelief j w^hich deprived him
of opportunities of difplaying his miraculous power, (as few
would, in this cafe, bring their fick to be healed by him)
and which rendered it unfit that he fliould perform many
mighty works among them ; as their prejudices againft
him, on account of his low eftate, would, he knew, make his.
miracles of no cffed. He, therefore, abftained from pey-

26^
Btecb ®n their minds. For, whence does
it happen that- the fldll of medicine has
never been a(ble to find out any remedy
that will have exaftfy the fame effeft ofl
every one that ufes it ? From this, caufe,
evidentl.y,. thiat mens cojaftitutions differ
ats much as do their faces. And, therei-^
:R)re, it always will happen, that when vaif!
numbers of people try tbe fame remedy,
fome of them will! receive greater benefit
than others, and many of them, it is likely^
will receive no benefit at all. — Now Je-
fus's miniftry lafted between three and
fi:>ur years, during all which fpace of time,
he went about doing good, healing every in
firmity of the pepple : fo that the number
of thofe who applied to- him for thdr
forming them amongft his, countrymen, benevolent even ip
this, as their guilt would, have been aggravated, if, in fpitjB
of miracles, they bad continued to rejed- the Gtifpeh— 'And
if,, in other places of the Gofpels,, we find Jefus, reqairipg
(ajth, in H.e perfons, who applied to him for relief, the rea?
fpn of this, was not that their faith was a caufe,,whicb coa-
tributed to their cure,, in a natural way, but only,, that it
rendered thera fit objeQis of having; fo gfeat a hjeflingconf
(erred on them.

263
cures, muft have been very great, admiti-
ting, thereforei that every one of them had
a confidence in the efficacy of their appli
cation, yet, that this confidence ffiould
produce the fame effeft, without any va
riation, on fb many perfons, is a thing fo
incredible, that ht muft, indeed, bie an
eaiy believer, who can fuppofe it. Ob
ferve how Hi was' with thofe who applied
to the Aibbe Paris. Were they all cured ?
So far from this, thatinconfiderabley, vaftly
fo, ^Ji?as.the ntimber of thofe who received
asny benefit. The invariablenejs, therefore,
©f the fuceefe of fo many applications to*
Jffis, makes a remarkable difthiftbtt be
tween the cures afcribed to him, and thofe
attributed to the A£b^ Faris-^dn difference
which points: out a different caufe. Had
ten thoufand perfons prayed, to the hofi
for their cures, at the fame time, and all of
them been immediately relieved; and if,
for three or four years, every one who had
made the fame application, had met with
the fame fuccefs, I ffiould hdve juftly de-
ferved to be laughed at, had I afcribed all

264
this to the caufe which, it is highly proba
ble, effefted the fingle cure of Madame de
la Foffe.,
Since then it appears, that the cures af»
cribed to Jejus cannot be accounted for,
by that particular caufe, abovementioned,
let us now fee in what other way they can
be accounted for, without allowing them
to be miracles. And there is apparently,
no other evafion left but this — to fay that
the fame cures would have happened, al^
though Jefus had .never been applied to,
and that his word or touch contributed as
little to the effefts produced, as the ftriking
of a clock contributes to any particular ef
feft produced at the fame inftant, by the
operation of its proper caufe. But fure
ly, they who can ferioufly urge this ob-!
jeftion, do not fufficiently attend to the
following eircumftances.
Had the word or touch of Jefus concur
red only with a few cures, while in other
cafes no effeft followed from them, then.

265
indeed, there might have, been room for
arguing, that the cures attributed to him
would have happened, though he had
never fpoken the word, or touched the pa
tient. But it was not once or twice, or
a few times, that Jefus' s interpofition, and
the recovery of a fick perfon, concurred;
but, I may fay in innumerable inftances;
the experiment was tried on vaft multi-
tiides, labouring under all poffible variety
of difeafes, and never tried in vain. Can
it, therefore, be faid that all thefe cures
might equally have happened, , although
the patients had never been brought to
Jefus f At this rate, be fo kind as to af-
certain when and in what cafe, we can
difcover that any particular caufe has ope
rated, What ftrengthens my obfervation is this
That not only did the application to Jefus^
and the cure always concur, as often as the
experiment was tried ;' but, farther, they
concurred inflantaneoufy . No fooner was
the word fpoken by him, but the cripple

266
walked, the deaf heard, the dumb fpake,
*he blind faw. A concurrence fo exaft,
feeriticalas this, excludes all other caufes
from halving any ffiare in the operation.
For to iraagine it poffible that this concur-
mmee could be q<uite atcidtntal, in fuch a
mnltiplicity of trials, and upon every trial,
is as wild an opinion, as it would be to
imagine that it coitld ever poffibly happen,
that for three or four years, all the fick
perfons in London ffiould recover at the
kflant when St. Paul's clock ftruck one.
—This then is the quahfication I require,
before we can be warranted to pronounce
a cure to be miraculous, though inftanta-
neoufly connefted with means naturally
infiifficient. — The concurrence and connec
tion mtift be obferved to fubffl, not only in
many inftances, but in every injiance where
the experiment was made. And this qua
lification undoubtedly belongs to the cures
afcribed to Jefus; but to none other of
all thofe boafted works fet up in oppofi
tion to them.

2^7
Add to this, that in bringing about
the cures attributed to the Abbi Pan's,
and, in general', all the cures afcribed, by
credulous Roman Catholics, to the interpo
fition of their faints, no living agent, vifi
bly, interpofes. Their faints, fo far as any
body can d.fcover, give no figns of fuch
interpofitions, the cure does not follow
any thing faid or done by them, and, con
fequently, the fpeftators are left ^t full
liberty, to call in whatever caufe reafon
may diftate, or fancy fuggeft. But no
fuch objtftion can be made againft the
miraculous interpofition of Jefus. The
cures attributed to him, he alfo claimed as
his works. He fpake the word, or touch
ed the patient, or he prayed to Heaven;,
or he made clay and anointed the cyes^
afferting at the fame time, that thefe his
words or aftions were the caufe of the
cures. But why need I be at fo much pains to
ffiew that no natural caufe brought about
the cures attributed to Jefis, when we

268
know that fome of them were fuch as no
natural caufe could poffibly bring about ?
—Indeed, in general, we reafon much in
the dark when we give our opinion as to
a difeafe being naturally curable or not.
The learned faculty, who certainly are the
beft judges, can give but little fatisfaftion,
on this pomt. For experience muft fur-
niffi us with inftances of fick perfons,
abandoned as incurable, by one phyfician,
cured -through the fuperior fliill, or, per
haps, better luck of another ; and with
inftances of others who, pronounced in
curable by every phyfician, have, by try
ing fome remedy, the prefcription of
whim or fuggeftion of fancy, been com
pletely cured. At beft, even the phyfi
cian, can, in moft cafes, only give his con-
jcfture ; for till phyfic proceed upon furer
principles than it does in its prefent ftate,
the flcill of the beft phyfician, is in gene
ral, but conjefture. However, I think,
amidft all this ambiguity and darknefs— a
difeafe may, with certainty, be pronouncT
ed incurable in a natural way, when thq

269
cure cannot be effefted witkout exerting
a power of creation.— Now,' though phy
ficians who have treated of the difeafes
cured by Jefus have, certainly, gone too
far in reprefenting them all*, as naturally
* Thomas Bartholin de Morbis Biblicis, apud Crenii Faf-
ciculum, tom. 6. Roterodara, l6()5.~Gulielmus Ader
Enarratio de JEgrot, Sj- Morbis in ^vangil. ajiud Tradat.
Biblie: in Critic. Sacr. p. 3355, 336f. tom. p. Lond.—
Bartholin alfO quotes one Mercurialis, who had written to
the fame purpofe. Dr. Mead, in his Medica Sacra; does not
carry ,the matter fo far. For though he exprcfles himfelf of
opinion — that the woman cured by Jefus, of an iflue of
blood, oi tvielve years continuance ; artd the other who was
cured of an infirm habit of body, with which fiiehad been
bent, for two arid twenty years, could have received no relief
. in a natural way, — yet he is far from aflerting any fuch
thing with regard to the cures of the palfy, epilepfy, aiid
madnefs, which two laft difeafes, he is of opinion, were the
complaints of the perfons called dtemoniacs. And here I am
naturally led to fay fomewhat on this particular miracle fo
often afcribed to Jefus in the Gofpels, the accounts of which
the enemies of Chriftianity have freat'ed'with fo much ridi
cule, and which many of the nioit learned amcihgft Chriftians
have thought liable to great difficulties. ' Certain it is that
the cures of dsemoniacs recorded in the New Teftament,
have been the fource of an infinity of fcenes of impofture,
and been imitated with fuch glaring marks of fraud, as have
given our adverfaries a pretence to dart their opprobrious

270
incurable ; there arc fome of them which
were undoubtedly, beyond the power of
taunts at i religion which needs not the aififtance of fraud :
though fraud, alas ! has been but too often applied to by
lome of its unworthy proftflbrs.
However, let us fuppofe, according to the prevailing
opinion amongft Chriftians, that the daemoniacs of the New
Tdlament laboured under difeafes fapernaturally infiided,
and that their frantic fymptoms were owing to their being
poflefled by dajmons, yet I cannot fee why this ftiould be
treated with fo much ridicule. The exiftence of daemons,
£)perior, invifible beings, will hardly be denied ; and admit
ting their exiftence, who will be fo bold as to aflTert that it
asabfard or unreafonable to fuppofe that God fliould permit
thefe beings (who can never interfere in the government of
the worid b^t by God's permiflTion on fome extraordinary
occafione) at that extraordinary period, when Chriftianity
Twas to be confirmed by /ill the varie.ty of miracles, to be
come the inftrumfnls of infiifling difeafes, that the power of
Jefus and hi^ Apoftles, over the inhabitants of the invifible
world, might be the better demonftiated ? This permiflion
ef the Deity cannot be charged with any ahfurdity, but by
the fcorner, who can, with equal eafe, drefs up the moft
evident deduftions of reafon, in a garb of ridicule.— Nor
can the fufpicions of fraud and collufion fo vifible, as I ob
ferved above, in the e.vorcifing of diemoniac^ amongft the
¦fapifts, be applicable to the inftances of fuch cures recorded
¦iti the New Teftament, becaufe Jefus did not reft his claim
to be a worker of miracles on thefti alone, (which is the
vak inthvioflances where we fufped fraud) but perfonned

m
human means, to cure, becaiafetheycon-
fifted in reftoring maimed members, which
^ifo a vaft variety of other cuies, and, befides cures^ many
works which were in their own natures miraculous, and
which remove all .grounds of fufpicion as to there being any
fraud or collufion in the performance of this.
But while I think myfelf fufficiently warranted to defend
¦the commonly received notion about the dasmoniacs of the
New Teftament .from the ridicule of the infidel, I mull, at
tlie fame time, obferve that the very learned and able at*-
thor of the EnqMiry into the Meaning qftie Dtemoniacs, ha*
taken another way of patting a flop to the objedlions v£
cavillere on this head, hy his attempt to prove that ths de
moniacs cured by Jefus did not labour under any di£ea£e
fu^ernaturally .infliifled. And indeed this feems tohecea:-
tain, that all the fymptoras afcribed to them by the Evaa-
jgelifts.are fuch as belong to difeafes whofe natural caufoB w«
can aflign. Inf morum hac /unt omnia (all the particular
fymptons of the dsemoniacs, are tp be met with in perfons
who are frantic) fays Dr. Mead in his Medica Sacra, p. 66.
And if one ofhis flcill in medicine ^ves this Judgmeat, few
'H'ill care to difputeit.
But the greateft difficulty in this fcheme is .ftill behind.
fox .admitting that all tbe fymptoms afcribed to the Scrip
ture demoniacs are to be found in mad people, yet does not
•the Scripture pofitively fay, that this madnefs was fuperna-
tuirally infli^ed ? And how can the many texts in whicli
mention is made of Jefus's rebuking the unclean fpirits, of
Ms con^erfing with them, of his cafting them out, be recon
ciled with the o.pinion wbi«h makes the difeafe of thefis pa-

272
could not be done without exerting a
creative power. I need not inform you,
tients a Hiere natural rhadnefs.' — For an anfwer to thefe
feemingly infuperable difficulties,J refer the learned reader
to the Enquiry into the Meaning of the Dcembniacs, and
ihe farther Enquiry, by the fame eminent hand, who has
done more than at firft fight one could imagine poffible, to
remove thefe difficulties, by giving fuch interpretations of
the texts which ftand moft in the way of his fcheme, as,
when compared with certain opinions and prejudices, enter
tained b}' the Jewfs in our Saviour's time, will in his opi
nion, reconcile them to his hypothefis, that the demoniacs
of the New Teftament laboured under difeafes merely natu
ral. — He has obferved, what muft be allowed to be true,
that the Jews attributed to the influence of evil fpirits, all
difeafes whofe fymptoms were extraordinary, and in parti
cular thofe by which the body was diftorted, and the mind
difturbed with melancholy or frenzy. Dr. Lighffoot^i words
are " Judaeis ufitatiflimum erat morbos quofdam graviores,
" eos prjefertim quibus vel diftortum eft corgus vel mens
" turbata & agitata phrcnefi, malis fpiritibus atfribuere."
Hor. Heb. ad. Matth. xvii. 15. And Maimonides is quoted
by the fame writer, Hor Heb. ad Luk. xiii. 11, as telling
lis that the Jews called every fort of melancholy an evil
fpirit— and as explaining evil fpirit to mean only difeafe.—-
That the idea of being pofTefiied with a dasmon was always
annexed to that of madnefs by the Jews, the author of the
Enquiry fliews alfo from feveral paflages in the New Tefta
ment, fee John vii. 20. Matth. xi. 18. John viii. 48 — 52,
and John .X. 20- In the laft text we read. Many faid k

27S
who are acquainted with the force of the
original word;, that this was the cafe, with
hath a devil and ia mad. Here madn«!r» is tniiputed (9 out
Saviour, and the itViagined caufe is — ^he hath a devil.
This then being the cafe; every madman being thoijgjit,
by'thofe with whom Jefus converffed, and to whom the Evan*
gelifts wrote, to be pofliefl'ed with a daemon, Jefus in cnriog
fuch patients, and the EvangeUftis in relating their cures,
according to the plan of the author of the Enquiry, iliake$
ufe of the terms which cuftom had made technical. When
once words are applied by univerfai cuftom to fuch and
fuch diforders, however ill grounded, filly, or foperftitiou?
the words bo, originally, they muft be made ufe of by every
one who fpeaks of thefe diforders, in order to his being un
derftood. Nor can it be thought that Jefus, by accororao*'
.dating bis language to the prevaiUng opinion abont the
caufe of madnefs, gave any countenance to this fuperftitious
hypothefis. At this rate a philofopher who talks of the
fun's rifing or fetting, may be faid to countenance the .ex
ploded fyftem of Ptolemy.— "Jefus made ufe of words
" which cuftoln had fanftified ; and his bufinefs was to cure
" the difeafes before him. He has faid nothing to aflfirra
" or deny the power of dxmons, nor was it to his purpofe ;
'.' but be ufed the language that others did, and fpoke of
" diftempers as now a phyfician would, that fliouU ufe th^
" common terms of art, without affirming or denying th*
¦ " caufe of the difeafe by fuch lauguag,e." Fa^'ther Enquiry,
p. lOS. Such,iu.gcneral, arethe prinqiples of this author,
and if it fljoiild be thought that h«' has failed in proving his
point, an4 ^at ferae of his interpretations &rs top hatih ta
T

274
regard to the xuX/toi, the maimed, who as
we learn from St. Matthew, ch. xv. ver. 30.
were amongft the perfons who received
their cures from Jefus : and one would
indeed be a caviller, who could affert that
a blindnefs from the mother's womb (and
fuch blindnefs was cured by Jefus) which
muft have arifen from fome original de-
feft in the organs of vifion, did not alfo
require a power of creation, in order to be
removed. After all : though none of the cures per
formed by JeJus had required the exertion
of a creative power to effeft them, we
fliould, neverthelefs, have had infallible af-

.be admitted, this, at leaft, muft be allowed to him, " that
" the caufe of Chrift is not affedted by the folution he main-
" tains. For in both cafes a real miracle is done; the per-
" fon affefted is cured ; and the evidence arifing from mi-
" racle, for the truth of Chriftianity, is equally ftrong. The
-" miracle is the fame, if the perfon be cured, whatever .is
" the caufe of his diftemper, whether it proceeds from un-
" clean fpirits, and their operations upon human bodies;
" or from any defedt, or from any preternatural and extra-
" ordinary mo'tions in theni." Preface to the Enquiry.

275
llirance, that they were performed mira
culoufly, and by a perfon vefted with a fu
pernatural power. For though JeJus went
about healing, every infirmity of the people,
he did not reft his claim to be a worker
of miracles on his power of healing, ^/on^?.
His hiftory furnifhes us with a variety of
works performed by him, the performance
of which was indifputably beyond . the
reach of any natural cau/es.
Some, indeed, who, of late years, have
written againft the force of the argument
drawn from miracles, in order to evade
this, have urged, 'that we have no certain
rule by which to judge whether an event
be miraculous or no -, becaufe we cannot
be certain how far the powers of natural
caufes may poflibly reach. — But, in anfwer
to this, it has been moft juftly remarked,
that though, in fome cafes. We have no cer
tainty how far the powers of natural cau
fes wfljy extend; yet are we able to
pronounce, with the greateft certainty, in
other cafes, how far they cannot extend.
T 2

?76
Particularly, whenever an effe^ happenf
which is, evidently and fenfibly, oontra-
diftory to laws known to be fixed and
eftablifhed in nature, we may pronounce
with certainty, -that fuch an effeft cannot
be accounted for, but by admitting the in
terpofition of a caufe over-ruling and fuf-
pending the eftabliflied courfe of things.
And if we examine the works of JeJ^
recorded in the Gofpekt we Chaft find many
of them to be of this kind.
For, caB any power of natural caufe»
convert water into wine? Can it be poffi
ble, in a nat-ural way, to feed thoulandsy
with a few fmajt-l loaves and fiflies, and fo
as t^t the feagments feft fliould greatly
exceed the original quantity of 'the food.?
Could it be owing to any natural caufe
^t y(g^4! walfeed on the fea, and. caufed
the tempeft to ce^afe at his commaiwl?—
lua word ;— who can be fo perverfe a§
to aHfirm, that the dead could be raifed
from their graves, and^ fpiritual ^'mr
cipfe re^uwit-ed to the Ufelefs corpfe, b«fe

277
by the interpofition of the fame c&uff^
which firft; breathed into the inanimate
clay the breath of life.-* All thefe and many
crther fuch fafts, reeordeid of JeJus, are in
their own natures miraculous, and' confe
quently though I fhould not have removed
all your doubts with regard to the cures
performed by him, we fliould ftill have thd
moft fetisfyingprodfe ofhis being a work
er of miracles. But I fee not why we
Ihould not infift upon all his cures as fo
many miracles ; for though the eircum
ftances of them, which I have mentioned,
would not have eftablifhed this to yeur
conviftion, as I hope they have, yet I
fhould look upon it as the height of abfiird
fcepticifm to doubt whether Jefus couM
cure the paralytic, or the blind, when we
fee him raifing Laziirus, the widow's fon^
theruler of the fynagogue^s daughter, and*
laftly, himfel-f, from the dead; or to pre^
tends that the perfe>n who cdtald exert a
creative power in turning water into wine,
aed-in H»urki plying a few loaves and fiflies,
fo as to be ffeod for thoufands of people.

2T8
is not to be believed^ when he claims to
himfelf the power of healing the fick.
Having offered what muft be looked'
upon as abundandy fufficient to fhew, that
a// the extraordinary works afcribed to'
Jefus, were fuch as required the exertion
of fupernatural power, I come now, as I
propofed, to produce the proofs, that fuch-
a fupernatural power was moft undoubt
edly, exerted by him, as is related in the^
New Teftament.
"When I examined the miracles reported
to have been performed amongft the Pa.
gans, and amongft Chriftians fince the
publication of the Gofpel, I laid down
fome general rules, by which we may try
themi one and all, wherever they occur,
and which will fet forth the grounds upon
which we fufpeft the accounts of them to
be falfe. And we found, that none of
thefe boafted wonders could be affigned,'
which were hot liable to one or more of
the following objeftions, each of which is-

279
a fufficient ground for rejefting the parti
cular fafts that -are affefted by it. What
then were thefe objeftions ? Firft, that
they were not publifhed to the world till
long after the time when faid to be per
formed. Secondly, that they were not
publifhed in the. places where it is pre
tended they were wrought, but only pro
pagated at a great diftance from the fup--
, pofed fcene of aftion. Thirdly, that if
.the accounts of them were publifhed at
the time when, and at the places where
they are reported to be performed, the
eircumftances under which they Were pub
lifhed, favoured their paffing without ex
amination, and ,fcreened them from dq-
teflipn. Thefe, then, being the grounds upon
which we , fufpeft thofe accounts of . mira
cles to be falfe, I cannot take a more ef
feftual way to convince you that the
Qpfpel miracles are true, than to fhew
that none of the above grounds of fufpi-
doiican.be applied to them,'by proving.

280
firft, that they were publifhed at the time
when ; fecondly, they were publiihed
at the places where faid to be performed ;
and thurdly, that the circumftancifs under
which they were publifhed, are fuch as
fatisfy us they underwent a careful exami
nation, and muft have been detefted had
they been impoftures.
And though the eftablilhing of thef^
points will prove that the teftimony for
the miracles believed by the Proteftant
Chriftian \5 ftronger, than that urged for
the miracles he rejefts, and, confequently,
will warrant his making the diftinftion, he
docs, between them ; — in order to remove
every ground of cavilling, I fhall not reft
the merits of my caufe here, but proceed
ftill ferther, by attempting to prove, firft,
that the teflimony which fupports the mi
racles recorded in the New Teftament, is
Tiotonly ftronger than that which fupports
any prietended wonders, but alfo that it is
theftrongeft that can be fuppofed, or that,
from the nature of the thing, couW be

281
had ; arid fecondly, that befides the nnex-
ceptionable proof from teftimony, the
credibility of the Gofpel miracles is
ftrengthcned by collateral evidences, pe
culiar to themfelves, and of the moft ftrik
ing nature. I muft beg your attention
while I go through all thefe particulars,
and fhall begin with proving, that the
objeftions which have been (hewn to af-
feft the teftimony for the miracles which
we rejeft, are not applicable to the tefti
mony for the miracles which WeheiieVe,
Firft, then, the miracles of Jtfus, were
publifhed and appealed to at thfe very time
when faid to be performed. We have
fhewn that matiy of the moft boafted won
ders ©f Faganifm and Popery cannot be
traced up to any cotemporary witneffes,
and were not heard of till length of time
had thrown a veil over the impofture.
Now we have all the certainty that can be
had fer a matter of this kind, that the fame
ebjeftion does not lie againft the miracles
of the Gofpel.

It would be extremely impertinent in
me to enter upon a proof that the books,
in which we have an account of the mira
cles of Jefus, are as old as the time they
lay claim to. What was never difputed
by the enemies of Chriftianity in its earlieft
ages, when opportunities and means of in
quiry were to . be had, would be denied
with a very ill grace, and with very little
probability of fuccefs, after feventeen hun
dred years have elapfed. It is fufficient
to obferve, at. prefent, that every. rule of
criticifm by which the genuinenefs of
ancient books is eftablifhed, gives tefti
mony to the genuinenefs of the books of
the New Teftament, to its being the work
of thofe authors whofe name it. bears.
Internal marks of fpurioufnefs, which have,
generally overturned the credit of fuppofi-
titious writings, never have been, nor ever
can be produced. External, corrobora
ting teftimonies, cannot be fuppofed
ftronger, than thofe we can urge, to prove
that our facred books are not the work of
any later age. We can trace them up,

283
from century to century, till we arrive at
tlie very period when they are faid to. have
been written. We can trace them up, I
fay, mentioned by the writers of every
age, and quoted by a chain of authors,
beginning with cotemporary ones, whofe
works the fevereft critics cannot fet afide,
without deftroying all certainty, without
giving up the genuinenefs of every ancient-
produftion *.
But, granting the books of the New
Teftament to be the genuine produftions
of thofe, whofe names they bear, ftill you
will objeft (as I remember you have ob
jefted to me) that it will not follow from
this, that the miracles of Jefus were pub
lifhed and avowed, till long after, the time
affigned for them. The Gofpel of St.
John; you obferved, is not thought to have
been written, at leaft, not to have been
* The reader ^ho would fee the collateral fupport of the
genuinenefs and antiquity of the New Teftament, as con
firmed by other writings, may be fatisfied by looliing into
l^ardner's Credibility of the Gofjpel Hiftory.

284;
publiflied, till 60 years after the death of
J^fus, about the year ^']. St, Luke did
not write his Gofpel, if the evidence of
antiquity is to be taken, till after the year
pf Chrift 61— that is, twenty-feven years
after his death. St. Mark, indeed, wrote
before thefe two Evangelifts,^ but two
years pofterior to St. Maithew, the earlieft
of all the Gofpel hiftorians- and St. Mat*
ihezv never was affirmed by any one^ to
have written before the year 41 — that is,
eight after the death of J^us, though
others, perhaps, with better authority, fix
the date ofhis Gofpel many years lower.
From thefe fafts, admitted by Chriftians,
you inferred, that granting the Gofpels to
be genuine, ftill, the higheft antiquity any
of thera can boaft of, comes fhort, Jen^eral
years, of the time when the miracles, there
related, are faid to have been performed ;
and, confequently, that the teftimony fer
the miracles of JeJus cannot be faitj to
have been publifhed, till length oftirae
had rendertti an examination of their pre
tenfions, difficuh to be fet about.

285
I have, fairly, reprefented the ftrength
of your objeftion and what follows is, in
my opinion, a fuSicient anfwer.
Writers in defence of Chriftianity, have,
indeed, contented themfelves, in general^
with tracing up the teftimony of the Cof^
pel miracles to the time when the hiftories
of them were written : and they thonght
this fufficient, becaufe, though that time
be poi^erior, by many years, to any of the
fafts, yet it was not fo long after, bat that
many who had it in their power to deteft
the fraud, if there was any, muft have heen
ftill alive. But, fir, it is not merely from
the Gofpels that we Chriftians infer that
Jefus's miracles were publicly avowed in
his own time.— -^o; — though the Gofpels
had never been written, we fhotrld ftill
have had fufficient grounds for affirming
this. However paradoxical this aflertioa
may feem, it can be well fupported. For
grant ITS only this conceffion (if what was
never difpwted can be called a conceffion)
that yefas lived and died at the time Chfif-

286
tians fay he did:; and this, of itfelf^ will
prove that his pretenfion to miracles was
eoaeVal with him*
That: a new religion was taught by Je
fus, is confirmed by the concurrent tefti-*
mony of all antiquity, of J^w^/Ji andPagarF,
as well as of Chriftian writers ; and is alfo
evident from the change which we knom
was introduced into theftate of .religion 5
which change . tf// hiftory fixes to that
very period which Chriftians affign for it.
And that Jefus's claim .to miracles was
coaeval with the firft publication, of Chrif
tianity is obvious ; becaufe the whole fu*
perftrufture of Gofpel doftrines and pre
cepts is built on this, foundation. For
unlefs Jefus had wrought, miracles^ .at tb,e
very time he taught, he muft have defeat
ed his own preaching* Upon no other
grounds but the authority, of God being
with him, manifefted by miracles, could
he hope for fuccefs amongft the believers
of a foriner revelation ifanftioned by lfe,e
miracles. pf Mofes,' and.r-the.. Prophets hjs

287
fucdeflToirs. : Befides, that J^/mj laid claim
to miracles may be inferred from the cha-<
rafter which we are as certain he affumed,
as we are certain he exifted. — I mean that
of his being the Mefftah expefted by the
Jews. For as the Meftiah was marked in
their prophecies, as one who fhould per*
form miracles, the claim of Jefus to be this
illuftrious perfon neceffarily fuppofes a
claim to thofe extraordinary works which
ikve Meffah was expefted to perform.-^;
Add to this — That the great fundamental
doftrine of Chriftianity — the redemption
of mankind by Chr ift's dying for our ftns^
and rifing again for our Jujiiftcation, fup-,
pofes a miracle the moft ftriking that can
be imagined. The refurreftion of ^^i^
from the dead . muft have been publicly
afferted wherever Chriftianity was preach
ed, for it is the very corner- ftone of. the
religion. If Chrift be not rifen from the
dead, both the preaching of the Apoftle, and
the faith of the convert would have been
vain.

258
Though, therefore^ the written accounts
of the miracfes of Jefus, that is, tbe Gof
pels, were not publiflied till many years;
after his death, yet, as we know, for cer-
tain, that Chriftianity was pr^ched durihg
the whole intervening time ; and, as we
are equally certain, that it could not be
preached without laying claim to mira
cles ; for thefe reafons,- I think myfelf
warranted to conclude, that the miracles
afcribed to the founder of Chriftianity, do
not labour under the firft defeft of tefti
mony, which has been ftiewn to affeft;
many of the pretended miracles fet up in
oppofition to them, but were coaeval with
the preaching of Chriftianity, and openly
avowed at the very time when they are
faid to have been w^rought.
But, fecondly, not only were tlie mira
cles afcribed to Jefus, publicly attefted
before length of time rendered an exami
nation of the pretenfion, difficult; they
were, alfo, attefted at the very places

289
where the fcene of them was laid. Unlike,
in this, to many of the lying wonders, the
reporters of which have wifely guarded
againft a deteftion of the impofture, by
publilhing them at fuch a diftance, from
the pretended fcene of aftion, that no exa
mination could be made. It has been ob
jefted, indeed, that Of the written accounts
of Jefuii miracles, only one of them, St,
Matthew's, is affirmed to have been pub-
Hfhed on the fpot : and that the other
thrfee feofpels. Were Written at fuch a dif
tance * from jtidiia, where: the miracle^
W6re faid to have been performed, as put
it out of every ont's power, into whofe
hands they came, of examining into the
truth of the fafts contained in them. —
Now, I grant that the matter of your ob-
jeftion cannot be denied ; for three of the
Gofpels Were publifhed at a vaft diftance
^ The Gofpel of St. Mark is fuppofed to have been writ
ten at Rome ; St. Luke's, according to fome, at Rome alfo,
though others will hiive it, in Greece : Sti John's Gofpel all
agree to have been written at Ephefus. V

290
from the fcene of Jefus's miracles. But
though I were to allow that this was alfo
the cafe of the fourth Gofpel, your caufe
would not, Jn the leaft, be benefited ; be
caufe we could ftill prove unexception
ably, that J fus's miracles were firft pub
liflied and avowed at the very places where
the fcenes of them are laid. For, from
what was obferved under the foregoing
head, we know that wherever Chriftianity
was preached, miracles were appealed to.
Now as Judaa was the fcene of all the mi
racles of Jefus, fo you cannot deny that
it was in Judaa where Chriftianity was
firft preached, and confequently that the
miracles appealed to by the firft preach
ers of it, were appealed to on the very
fpot. And as the miracles of Jefus, were pub
lifhed at the time when, and in the places
where faid to be wrought, fo, it is very
remarkable that the reporters of them do
not content themfelves with afferting Je
fus's miraculous power, in general, but are

291
&t pains to defcend to particular fafts ana
inftances of this power, which they relate
with all their eircumftances— a method
this which put it in every body's power to
fatisfy himfelf of the truth or falfehood of
what they report i
When reports of miracles are deficient
in this qualification, little credit can be
paid to them, becaufe the perfons to whom
they are prOpofedj are left in the dark as
to every particular neceffary to be exa
mined, before they can know whether they
are impofed Upon or not*
But if we take the Gofpels into ouir
hands, and examine the accounts we have
of the miracles recorded of Jefus, we
fliall, at firft fight, obferve that every thing
is mentioned by the reporters of them,
that could be neceffary to furnifh means
for inquiring into their foundation and
, tertainty.'^^They affert that JefuSj fOr the
fpace of three or four years, went about
through all Judcea performing his won-
u 2

S92
derful works. And what thefe works
were, they particularly relate — he turned^
water into wine ; he fed thoufands by
creating of food ; he walked on the fea;
the. elements obeyed him ; he healed every
infirmity of the people, by giving health
to the blind, the lame, the paralytic, the
lunatic, the maimed: and, to crown all,
he reftored fife to the dead. And as they
tell us the particular fafts, fo alfo do they
relate the eircumftances. The fceaes of
them are not laid in corners, and in de-
farts, where no witneffes could fee, and no
inquirers confute ; but in the moft pubhc
places, in the towns and villages, before
crowds of fpeftators, in the fynagogups,
in the ftreets. Not content with teftifying
that Jefus raifed the dead^ his hiftoriang;,
mention the particular perfons thus raifed,,
by their names, and fpecify their place of
ahode. In a word, the accounts we have;
of the miracles of Jefus feem to be drawn-
up by perfons confident that they cqu14
ftand the teft of any inquiry.

293
If, after aU that has been faid, you
fliould ftill infift that thefe accounts of the
miracles of Jefus above referred to, were
not written and publifhed till length of
time, and other circumftanteshaddeftroy-
ed the means of inquiry ; I muft here
repeat what I have already obferved, that^
independently of the teftimony of the
Evarigelifts, we are morally certain that
inflances of Jefus's miraculous power were
appealed to on the vety fp6t, and while
the fafts were yet recent in every one's
mind. His laft, and his greateft miracle,
his own refpirreBion, was, a faft which its
preachers^ from the beginning, boldly and
confidently appealed to. Now this faft
Was fo circumftanced, that every irihaDi-
tant of Jer'^dlM (and to them it was that
Jefu's and the refurreftion were firft
preached) had it in his po\Ver to know,
whether or no he was impofed upbn. And
this you cannot but own, that they who
furnifh their adverfaries with the means of
detefting them, give no infignificant proof

294
of their afferting nothing but what they
knew to be true.
Enough has been faid to prove, that
the miracles afcribed to JeJus, were ap-r
pealed to at the very time, and on the very
fpot ; and appealed to with fuch eircum
ftances as enabled every body to examine
into their pretenfions. But as I granted
that there are fome inftances of fpurious
miracles, of which all this may be equally
affirmed, before I can be authorised to
pronounce that the Gofpel miracfes are
better fupported than any of thefe preten-i
ces are, I muft proceed to fatisfy you.
Thirdly, that the eircumftances under
which the miracles of Jefus were publifh
ed, give us an affurance that they under
went a ftrift examination, and confequent-r
ly that they could not have efcaped a
deteftion had they been impoftures.
Jhou^h fome of the pretended miracle?

^95
rejefted by us may be traced up to cotem
porary witneffes, and were publicly at
tefted on the fpot, yet that they under
went no examination, I inferred from this,
that no inftances of them could be pro
duced which were not liable to one or
both of the following objeftions— either
that the perfons to whom the accounts of
them were propofed, were previoufly dif
pofed, through a blind credulity, and an
eagernefs of belief, to admit them unexa
mined, — or that the perfons who encou
raged and promoted them, were armed
with power which rendered any exami
nation imprafticable.— If, therefore, the
reverfe fhall appear to be the cafe with
regard to the Gofpel miracles, you can
not, confiftendy with your claim of impar
tiality, perfift in afferting that the former
ftand upon the fame footing of credibility
with the latter,
Firft, then, I am to fhew that the per
fons who believed the miracles of Jefus at
their firft publication, cannot be fuppofed

?96
to have admitted them without careful
examination of the evidence, and thecfearr
eft conviftion of their truth.
Had' Jefus laid claim to miracles, with
out declaring the end propofed by them,
in this cafe, as the fafts would hot have
been generally interefting, few or none
would have thought it worth while to
examine into them. They might, then,
have paffed on, without notice, m their
own age, and owed their future credit to
the contempt they were treated with at
firft ; which has, no doubt, frequently
fcreened forged miracles from a formal
deteftion. But when we confider what
the Gofpel miracles were connefted with ;
that they were works urged by Jefus their
performer as the foundation of a new. re
ligion, here the importance of the end
left it no longer a matter of indifference
whether they were true or falfe, but every
one to whom they were propofed, muft
have had a fufficient motive to weigh the
evidence of thera, with care and diligence.

29T
This argument acquires double ftrength
when we confider, that the religiou in
confirmation of which the miracfes of
Jefus were appealed to, was fubverfive of
thai believed by thofe, to whom they were
propofed. That pretenfions to miracles
whofe end was to donfirm opinions and
doftrines already eftablifhed, fliould be
admitted without due examination, by the
favourers of fuch opinions, is not at all to
be wondered at ; and this, as I have ob
ferved, greatly invalidates the moft boaft
ed wonders of Poptry. But the miracles
of Jefus, whofe end was not to counte
nance but to overturn the eftablifhed dot-
triraes, could not poffibly meet with an eafy
reception : affent to them would' be dif
ficult to be obtained, and never could be
obtained, without ferious examination and
the ftrongeft conviftion^ Other preten
fions to miracles did not gain credit, but
after the eftablifhment of thofe opinions
which they were thought to confirm, and
amongft perfons previoufly biaffed in fa
vour ofxthofe opinions. But every^ thing

293
is the reverfe with regard to the miracles
of Jefus ; for they were previous to the
belief of Chriftianity, and gave caufe to
the belief of it : every witnefs of them was
a convert, and every believer had been an
enemy, But it has been alleged, that the Jews,
in general, were extremely credulous, and
prone to give credit to ftories of the mira
culous kind ; and that, therefore, there is
room for a fufpicion, that fome of them
might admit the miracles of Jefus, withf
out fufficient grounds and careful exami
nation of the evidence. — In anfwer to this,
fuffer me to obferve, that granting the
Jewijh nation to be ever fo much difpofed
to believe pretences to miracles, the end
for which thofe of JeJus were faid to be
wrought, muft have hindered this general
difpofition from operating, fo as to make
them receive thefe particular miracles,
upon flight grounds. However apt any
one may be to admit ftories of the mira-
(culoys kind, yet he will not believe,

299
haftily, fuch as have an obvious -tendency
to overturn his favourite fentiments; The
caufe of his too eafy affent ceafes here. So
long as the miracles ftrike in -with, and
confirm his fettled opinions and prejudi
ces, they will be too eafily admitted ¦. but
when once thefe begin to interfere,— the
more ofcreduhty and enthufiafm there iis
in his temper, it will be the more difficult
to obtain his affent. For inftance ; take'
one from any of the fefts of enthufiaflf
amongft Chriftians — a Quaker, we will
fuppofe, or a Methodift. How ready fhall
we find fuch a perfon tobelieve, upon the
flighteft grounds, the truth of a divine re
velation or infpiration pretended to by,
one of his own feft, and which tends, to
confirm its favourite doftrines ? Being ex
tremely credulous, as we fuppofe from his
general charafter, it is natural to imagine
that he will greedily embrace, without
weighing the evidence, a faft highly agree
able to his pre-conceived opinions, and
which, indeed, he cannot examine, coolly
^nd impartially, through the previous'

300
biafs of his mind. — But put the cafe that
the fame credulous Methodift, is attacked
on the footing of one's having bad a reve
lation, which exprefsly condemned the
tenets of Methodifm; will the general
credulity of his temper, induce him to
give this a ready admiffion ? The reverfe
is obvious : the mere of enthufiafm and
credulity there is in him, the lefs liable
will he be to be convinced. His prejudi
ces will be too ftrong, for the evidence of
what is fo difagreeable to him ; or if he
be convinced, the convi£lion of one fo
averfe to it,, will be no weak motive to
our believing, that fuch a revelation, to
be believed by fuch a perfon, muft have
had very glaring marks of truth.
Suppofing, therefore, what is objefted,
to be true (though I fee no fufficient
grounds for fuch a fuppofition) that the
Difciples of Jejus^ under which name I
include, with the Apoftles, the whole mul
titude of believing Jews, were credulous
perfons, and previoufly difpofed to believe

301
miracfes on flight grounds ; yet, when we
confider that ,the miracles of Jefas were'
connefted whh doftrines, fubverfive of
thofe which education and prejudice had
rooted in their minds— from this we may
infer, that their general credulity, would
rather obftruft than promote their conver
fion, and, confequently, that before fueb
pcrfeaas admitted Jefus's claim to be a Di- ,
vine Teacher, they had carefully attended
to the evidence of thofe miraculous fa6fe,
on the truth of which this claim was
founded. ¦ This may fuffice, to prove, that the pre
tenfions of Jefus io be a worker of mira
cles, could never owe the credit they met
with to credulity and eagernefs of belief,
on the part of thofe to whom they were
propofed ; I come, now, to fliew that on
the part of thofe who encouraged and at
tefted thera, there was not only no poffi
bility of a confederacy ftrong enough to
ohftruft an examiiaation of the fafts, but
ferther, that the perfons who had all the

302
means of examination in their hands, ac
tually put their power in execution^ in
order, if poffibfe, to deleft them^
Miracles the offspring of impofture, dart
never have any chance to gain credit, or
pafs undetefted, in the time, or at the
place where they are pretended to be
wrought, unlefs there is a ftrong confede
racy on foot, privy to the impofture, and
engaged to carry it on ; and this, as I ob
ferved, has been generally the cafe of the
moft noted pretenfions of Popery. But
we have the fulleft affurance that can pof
fibly be had, that there was not any fuCh
confederacy pn foot, to propagate the mi
racles of JeJus. Had Chriftianity, indeed,;
been a' religion already eftablifhed in the
world when thefe miracles were pretended
to, and previoufly believed by thofe who
believed the miracles, a combination to
deceive the public might have beeUpoffi-
ble,and the very poffibility of fuch a com*
bination would juftly have excited fufpi
cions of its being real. But when wef

S03
refleft from what beginnings Chriftianity^
arofe, and in what manner it made its en
trance into the world — That Jefus, the
great founder of it, had not one follower
when he fet up his claim, and that it was
his miracles which gave birth to his feft,
not the feft., already eftablifhed, that ap-
pealed to his miracles, from thefe eircum
ftances we may conclude unexceptionably,
that there could not pofliibly be a confe
deracy ftrong enough to obftruft an exa
mination of the fafts, and obtrude a hiftory
.of lies upon the public.
But why need I infift upon this, when
I can urge, farther, that, even, though
there had been a confederacy amongft the
witneffes of the Gofpel miracles, this
could not have fcreened them from de
teftion, as the perfons who had all the
means of inquiry in their hands, were
engaged in intereft to exert themfelves on
the occafion, nay, aftuafly did put their
power in execution, againft the reporters
of thefe miracles ?

364
forged miracles may pafs current,
where power and authority fcreen them
from the too nice inquiry of examiners.
But whenever it fhall happen that thofe
who are vefted with the fupreme power
are bent upon oppOfing and detefting
them, the progrefs which they make can
be but fmall, before the impofture is dif-
covered,and finks into obfcu rity and con
tempt. If this obfervation be well found
ed, as I am confident it is, that lying won
ders fhould pafs Undetefted amongft the"
Papifts will not be thought ftrange ; fof,
as I have already mentioned, fuch ftories,
amongft them, have generally been coun
tenanced, if not invented', by thofe with
whomy alone, the power of detefting the
impofture, and of punifhing the impoftors
was lodged.— *Now the miracles of Jefus,
it is notorious, were not thus fheltered.
The evident, the declared tendency of his
w^rks, was to introduce a total changg"
into the ftate of the world, with regard to
religious opinions. It is then to b^
thought, that thofe who were vefted with

305
the fupreme power, would look On, with
indifference, and allow this change to be
brought about ; a change which their in
tereft prompted, and which their prejudi
ces biaffed them to prevent, and which,
had there been any impofture in the cafe,
they could have prevented, with the ut-
moft eafe, and in the moft effeftual
manner, by examining into the faft.s ap
pealed to, and dragging out the impoftors
to public infamy ? — Accordingly we find,
•from hiftory, that, from the very begin
ning, oppofition of every kind was made
to check the progrefs of Chriftianity, by
the rulers in that part of the world where
it was firft preached — Jefus, the great
founder of it, was put to an ignominious
death, and the perfons who witneffed his
miracles, on the very fpot where they had
been performed, were beaten, imprifoned,
fcourged, and ftotied. That theje was no
impofture detefted, therefore, could not
be owing to want of proper examination.
For, we fee, that they, who were beft fur
niflied with the means of inquir)' and 6p-
X

306
pofition, did all they could ; whom they
could not confute, they punifhed ; whom
they could not brand as impoftors, they
crowned as martyrs.
But, perhaps, you wifl objeft — what
affurance have we that the witneffes of
the miracles of Jefus were not detefted ?.
How can we be certain that the Je-wiJh
priefts, and rulers did not convift them of
impofture, by difproving the wondrous
works afcribed by them to their mafter.''
— Such an objeftion, though it may be
urged by one who is refolved not to be
convinced, can never be offered by any
impartial inquirer after truth. We have
as great certainty, as from the nature of
the thing can be expefted, that no fuch
deteftion ever was made. Had the wit
neffes of Jefus's miracles been convifted
of impofture, is it to be imagined that this
remarkable faft would not haye been
handed down to pofterity ? And yet no
fuch thingis mentioned in any one hiftory,
in any «ne writer, either amongft the Jew,

307
or amongft the Pagans. On the Con
trary, it is a point not to be controvert-,
?d, that the truth of the fafts was admitted
by the enemies of Chriftianity, in general.
¦For can it be imagined that if the Gofpel
miracles had been looked upon, by them,
as mere forgeries, that the J ewijh. rabbins
would haye imagined their ridiculous fo
lution of them, by afcribing them toje-.
fus's having ftolen the ineffable name of
Jehavah out of the temple *, or that Hie"
rocks t, CelJusX. Julian \, and the reft of
* See their Talmudical book called Avoda Zara, or of
Idolatry, published by Edzard, at Hamburgh, in4to, 1705.
+ :5^t(r ^t» To» ro/fltvTaTTE'B'omxoTfl! (meaning Apollonius of
Tyana) m Gtot, a>Xx Bcois xiyx^ianctov aiSget nyoviuSa, 0(
St S/ »\iyxs rtgariias Ttyacs Toy Ino-oy ©toy ayxyo^cvovo'i. Hiero-
cles apud Eufebium. In this quotation, Hierocles compares
the miracles of Apollonius with thofe of Jefus, the truth of
which he evidently admits, and only blames the Chrif
tians for worfhipping Jefns as a God.
J atfTT^aart S« ri Ingot avyKxrariS^fiems //.tii, truT-rais vragsc
Sp^oic Suyasfuff/y »s Ivavvs imoaxny, ev ais rovs <!nM.t>vs frriiirit axa •
t.o»9iif euiTu iis XgiTiu. SfajSaAAto S'atiTar ^(nAii(uios us atia ja*-
*fiixs xai on 6eia otnaiui ytytnyfuvxs. ^<r(, yag, otvrct crxurior
7^j«^Ti» (tf^dic^nffarrx tis Aiyvirrot, ^vvxiicuy Tivuv vti^aBevra ;
ixiuSti lv«y|^9t(y, Oeo, Si exutms reis itnenait iiiiTet ayayo^vevra,
X 2

308
the heathen antagonifts would have en
deavoured to account for them, by ma
gic ? And if thefe champions againft the
Gofpel, in its earlieft ages, had it not in
their power to call in queftion the truth of
the miracles of Jefus, how unreafonable
would it be, at our time of day, to pre- .
tend that fuch deteftion ever was made ?
.-Befides ; had the charge of impofture
been fixed, upon the witneffes of thefe
miracles, is it to be imagined, that they
could have made fo much as one con
vert ? If, for inftance, the truth of their
mafter's refurreftion could have been
— Origen contra Celfum, L. I. P. 30. Ed. Spenf. The
meaning of which quotation is, that Celfus, though h«
owned that Jefus performed miracles, afcribed thera to
magic, affirming that Jefus having been educated in Egypt,
had there learnt their art of doing wonders.
§ 'O Ji Ijio-wr— oA/yofi mgos this rgixxoctois imavms oto(ui*0
nrai, igyaa-aijunos 'Haf iv t^v ;^foyoy tjyoy ot/Sty axcnjr a|«y, u (x.)i nc
eiirai rovs xuXAow xai rv^^ovs laa-a^at Kat Siafi-oymtTas ifo^mlfi*,
t¥ BriO^a'i^a XMi tt Bvi6avico reus xufiMis, Tuv fuyj^ut t^yut nyat.
Julian apud Cyril, L. 6. Though Julian here fpeafcs of
the miracles of iefus wjth the utmofl contempt, he ad
mits their truth.

309
overturned, is it to be imagined, that,
within fifty days after it was faid to have
happened, the difcourfe of St. Peter, in
which this miracle was fo ftrongly infifted
ppon, could have added three thoufand
to the faith ?— Had the miracles appealed
to by the firft preachers of Chriftianity,
been detefted to be falfe, the fame age,
and the fame place which faw this religion
'firft preached, would have feen it forgot
ten in oblivion, and contempt.
As, therefore, the iniracles of Jefus
did not efcape deteftion frpm want of
examination, at their firft publication, I
here repeat what I have aimed to prove
(I hope, not altogether without fuccefs)
that they ftand upon a ftronger teftimony
than the fpurious preti^nces, which have
been reprefented as vying with them,
For though, fome of thefe, as I have grant
ed, may, equafly with thqfe of the Gof
pels, be traced up to cotemporary witr
neffes, and be allowed to have been pub
lifhed pn the fpot, yet I am confident,

310
that you cannot produce any one inftance,
amongft the endlefs catalogue of them,
where it wifl not be eafy, from the eircum
ftances of the cafe, to fatisfy you, that, if
the irnpofture efcaped deteftion, it efcaped
it becaufe it was propofed to thofe who
did not examine it, or was fheltered and
protefted by thofe, who had it in their
power to prevent any examination.
But the Proteftant Chriftian is not war
ranted to admit the miracles recorded in
his New Teftament, while he rejefts thofe
of a later date, merely becaufe the former
are better attefted than the latter. — His
reafons, for making the diftinftion, will
appear to ftill greater advantage, if I can
prove, as I propofed, that the teftimony
which fupports the miracles of the New
Teftament, is not on\y ftronger than that,
which fupports any pretended wonders,
but alfo *Jneftrongefi that can be fuppofed,
or that, from the nature of the thing, coiild
be had,

311
Two qualifications muft concur, to ef
tablifh the credibility of witneffes ; a fuffi
cient knowledge of the matters of faft they
atteft, and a difpofition not to falfify what
they know. And when thefe two quali
fications do concur we think ourfelves
obliged to admit whafis attefted, as true.
Now ; that the perfons, whofe teftimony
we have for the miracles of Jefus, had the
firft qualification, it would be impertinent
in me to fuppofe that you can difpute.
Let us, then, fee whether they can .be
proved to have had the other qualification
alfo : and, I flatter myfelf, that I fliall be
able to fhew that they had it ; and that,
if ever there can be any affurance of the
integrity of witneffes, in any one inftance,
we have fuch an affurance, with regard
to the witneffes of the miracles of Jefus.
That any credit is paid to human tefti
mony is, in general, owing to the know
ledge we have of human nature ; which
is fo conftituted, that men cannot be f\xi^^

312
pofed capable of giving a falfe atteftation,
when they are not under the influence of
interefted views, and felfifli paffions;
much lefs when, by fo doing, they contra-
dift every interefted motive of aftion.
Now, that the witneffes of the miracles of
Jefus were in fuch eircumftances, that they
not only had no temptations to give a
falfe atteftation, but, on the contrary, were
reftrained by the ftrongeft motives that
can influence men, from doing this, will,
I think, appear if we attend tp the follow
ing obvious refieftions.
Was their preaching of Chrift, and bear-.
ing witnefs to his miracles, the road to
greatnefs, and the means of rewards from
the rulers of their nation ? — The reverfe,
happens to be the cafe. Far from having
this temptation, their teftimony expofed
them to every hardfliip that power could
inflift, and to every diftrefs that human
nature cpuld fuffer. They had, but, ^
little before, feen their mafter crucified,
for affuming the charafter of a Teacher

313

frpm Gpd. Is it, therefore, to, be conceive
ed that had they known him to b'e an
impoflor, they would have ventured to
back his pretenfions, when they cpuld not
but expeft to meet with his fate?
But, perhaps, love of fame, and ambi
tion to be looked upon as the founders of
a new feft, may be thought motives fuffi
cient to account for their impofing upqi^
the world. — A fuppofition this, moft evi
dently groundlefs. The fchernes of men,
generally fpeaking, bear fome reference
to their ftation in life. Can it be imagin
ed, therefore, that fuch a fcheme of ac
quiring glory, by founding a new religion,
pn the ruins pf thofe eftablifhed in the.
world, could eyer enter the imagination^
of perfons in fo mean a ftation of life, a^
were the firft preachers of Chriftianity ?
Or granting it poffible, that while they
were in their fifhing-boat.s, they might en
tertain the idea of making themfelves fa
mous, isy founding a religion, yet, in faft.

314
we find, that they gave this honour to
another, affuming no higher charafter
than that of his minifters and fervants.
To him, therefore, all the fame of found
ing the new religion was due  Should it
be afleged, that, though they did not found
the religibn in their own names, the ho
nour of being looked upon as the firft
minifters and favourites of a DivineTeach-
er, may account for their confederating
to impofe • upon the world. — In anfwer to
this, I would beg you to refleft who the
perfon was, under whofe banner they in-
lifted themfelves— jf^j, reputed the fon
pf a carpenter; a man, obfcure in his
birth, and wretched throughout his life.
which was clofed, by an ignominious
death. Had they been impoftors and ac
tuated by the love of fame, is it to be fup
pofed that they would have chofen fuch a
ohe for their lord and mafter? Would
they have taken a leader from the accur-
fed tree? Jefus crucified was to the Jews
a jlumbling-hlock, and to the Greeks fool-
i/hnefs. If glory, therefore, was their
5

315
aim, this could not be got by profeffing
themfelves his followers. The difciples
could not expeft to be in greater efteem
than the mafter ; and if he was defpifed
and rejefted of men, they could not hope
to be treated with diftinftion and honour.
Let us next fee whether the profpeft of
appropriating to themfelves the wealth of
thofe whom they might convert, can be
fuppofed to have influenced them. Alas !
what hopes could they have of any gain,
by preaching not to the high and mighty,
but to the indigent and humble ? Or, ad
mitting what undoubtedly happened, that
there were perfons poffeffed of confider
able property, amongft the believers in
Jefus, yet fo far were the Apoftles from
having any lucrative views, that when the
firft converts fold their poffeffions, and
brought them the money, they declined
being concerned in the diftribution of it;
and deacons were appointed, who might
have the charge of it, and minifter to the
wants of the poor.

316
Uninfluenced, as the witneffes of Jefus %
miracles were, by the interefted motives of
reputation and honour, or by the more
fordid views of gain, perhaps it will be
faid, that their aim was to gratify fome
favourite paffion and irregular luft.— And,
indeed, religion has been, but too frcr
quently, made a cloak to irregularities of
every kind ; and under name of Teacher?
from Heaven, impoftors haye fanftified
the vileft of crimes. But the known, the
acknowledged purity of manners, andun-
blameable lives of the Difciples of Jefu^
leave no room for any fufpicion of this
Jtind. The bittereft enemies of Chriftian
ity, in the earlieft ages, never could at^
tack the moral charafters of its publifhers,
Their doftrine breathed nothing but
peace, but friendship, but piety, but be
nevolence ; and their lives correfponded,
with their doftrine. Te are witneffes and
God alfo (could they fay) liow holily, juftly
and unblameably zue have behaved ourfelves
amongft you that believed, not handling the
ward of God craftily, but by manifeftatior^

of the truth commending ourfelDei io every
man's confidence, in the fight of God.
In a word ; let us examine our hearts ;
let us revolve in our minds, every motive
and fpring of aftion that human nature iS
liable to be influenced by ; and we fhall
not be able to find out any one interefted
view which the Apoftles could have, in
bearing witnefs to the miracles of Jefus.
Shall we then fay they bore witnefs to a
He, and that they were impoftors ?^f they
were, they muft be owned to be the only
impoftors who have ever appeared, who
gained nothing, or could propofe to gain
nothing by their impofture.
But, here, perhaps, you will urge to me
the authority of the author of the Free
Inquiry, who fays that the integrity of a
witnefs of miracles is to be fufpefted
'^fhe had any favourite opinion to recoM'
mend by the authority of Juth works ; be
caufe a pretenfion to miracles has, in all
ages andnaUmSi been found the mofi effec-

318
iual inftrument of impoftors, towards delud-'
ing the multitude, and gaining their end
upon them *. Far be it from me to affert,
that this general obfervation was meant to
weaken the affurance which we have of
the integrity of the firft publifliers of
Chriftianity. However, as I know that,
in your opinion, it does extend to their
cafe, it becomes neceffary for me to fhew
that, though the Apoftles^ had favourite
opinions to recommend by the authority of
their mafier's miracles, there is, neverthe-
fefsjuot the leaft ground for a fufpicion of
their integrity as witneffes of them.
And, firft, I would remark, that the opi
nions recommended by the Apoftles on
the credit of Jefus's miracles, had not al
ways been favourite ones with them. They
were opinions, which they, as profeffors of
the Jewifh religion, could not but have
been, at firft, highly prejudiced againft
Lheir teftimony, therefore, to miracles
* Dr. Middleton's Free Inquiry, p. 218,

319
confirming thefe opinions, is, in effeft,
the teftimony of adverfaries.
But, fecondly ; though it muft be grant- .
ed that men will go great lengths, to re
commend favourite opinions ; and though -
it is not to be denied that hiftory furnifliea,
us with inftances of fome who, in order to
eftabhfli fuch opinions, have not fcrupled-
to deceive the world by pretenfions to
miracles— though, this, I fay, muft be
granted, yet, is it to be imagined that, in
cafes of this kind, men will always go all
lengths ? Common fenfe tells us they will
not ; tells us that the conduft of men, in
this refpeft, will vary according as eir
cumftances vary ; and that, while fome
fituations may be fo favourable as to en
courage them to attempt an impofture,
other fituations may be fuppofed, fo un-.
favourable, as that any attempt of this
kin(| would be the height of madnefs and
folly. To apply this to the prefent argu
ment.

320
Though hiftory furnifhes us with nlany
inftances of forged miracles, yet it is very
remarkable that both amohgft the Pagans
of old, and amongft Chriftians in later ages,
the authors or encouragers of thefe impof
tures, have been placed in fuch eircumftan
ces, that they had reafon to fear no incon
veniences on account of their teftimony.
They have not only thought themfelves
powerful enough to fcreen their forgeries
firom a deteftion ; but, farther, in «afe of
being detefted, they were free from the ap
prehenfion of any puniflimentbecaufe they
had in their own hands, or, at leaft, under
their own influence, tlie power of inflift-
ingit. But very different were the eir
cumftances under v;hich the witneffes of
the miracles of Jefus appealed to thefe
works. Here the weak and unaffifted
Were the publifliers of the miracles, — and
the ftrong and mighty, the rulers of the
World, the oppofers : here every opportu
nity and means of difcovering any im
pofture, was in the hands , of thofe who

321
were to be impofed upon ; and the power
of punifhing ; a power which we know
was aftually exercifed With all the rag?
.and violence of cruelty. For the Chrif
tian may challenge his adverfary to pro-
jduce, though he turn over every hiftory of
every nation, any one inftance where the
witneffes of any faft, fuffered, in the
manner the witneffes of the miracles of
Jefus did, for the iake of what they at
tefted. For, as we have feen, that no
temptations of pleafure, or profit, or am
bition, could influence them, fo every
view of intereft was facrificed by thera ;
they not only gained nothing, but they
loft every thing, on account of their tefti
mony. Diftrefs, jnifery, perfecution of
every kind, nay even death itfelf, dreffed
in its moft iri^tful terrors, were their en
vied reward. And if this their behaviour,
in ifuch eircumftances, cannpt give us an
lafliaraaace of their integrity, the credibility
and hitegrity of witneffes can be tiifeover-
ed iu no inftance, and human teftimony
muft be given up as entiardy ijfelejfe.
Y

322'
And now I am naturally led to confider
the force of the argument in defence of
the Gofpel miracles, drawn from fhe mar
tyrdom of the eye witneffes of them,
againft which it is common to hear from
ypur quarter, objeftions tO this purpofe,
*' That there have been martyrs amongft
" the profeffors of what is called the falfe,
" as well as amongft the profeffors of the
" true religion ; that hiftory prefents us
'' with inftances of multitudes, who have
" laid down their lives in teftimony of
" the truth of the wildeft fyftems of fu-
" perftition ; and that, therefore, a mark
" which may belong to any religion, how-
" ever falfe, can never be a mark by which
'•' to prove Chriftianity to be true."
In anfwer to this ; I would beg leave
to obferve, what, I think cannot be de
nied ; that when a perfon dies martyr to
any religion, that he fhould renounce his
life rather than renounce his opinion,
proves abfolutely that he was fincere, and
believed his opinion to be right ; at leaft,

323
no higher proof of fincerity can be givertj
But a man's believing his opinion to be
true, is no proof that it really is fo. The
Pagan, the Jew, the Mahometan, as well
as the Chriftian, thinks himfelf in the
right ; and this is the effeft of accidentah
external eircumftances, which give a. biafs
to the mind. Whenever, therefore, our
opinions have been determined by fuch
accidental eircumftances, then our martyr
dom fbiT them will prove nothing, but
that we ^re fincere in believing principles
to be true, which notwithftanding, may be
falfe. \
But, with regard to the Apoftles, we
have almoft an infallible affurance, that
jthe opinions which they fealed with their
blood, were not the effeft of accidental
biaffes on their minds, by means of which
error is embraced as frequently as truth;
but that they were founded on a rational
conviction. They had all been bred up in
the belief of notions widely different.
Education, prejudice, enthufiafm, and
Y 2

334
indeed, all the other caufes which, in the
tifual courfe of things, concur itt forming
men's opinions, oppofed their embraeing
the doftrines of the Gofpel. Their hav
ing embraced thefe doftrines cannot>
therefore, be accounted for, in the manner
We account fPr the belief of erroneous
opinions. IloWj then, can we account
for their embracittg them? only one way t
—we muft admit, what they affirm to have
been the cafe, that they were convinced by
niiracles ; by the moft ftupendous work*
performed by Jefus, during the fpace of
three or four years, works which ftamped
the authority of Heaven on his words.
So that their becoming Chriftans did not
happen from trufting tO their oWn falli^
bfe judgment, or that of Others,- but from
believing their own ^ifj/ej.
¦ The Apoftles, therefeire, and witnefles^
of Jefus's miracles, if we would reprefent
their cafe fairly, are not to be cOn-fidered
as dying for Jpecutati've opiniims, which
might be falfe though they believed theai.

325
to be true ; but they are to be confidered
as witneffes of what they themfelves had
feen,— as dying, for the truth of matters of
faSl. Now though men may believe fpeeula"
tive opinions to be true, which are falfe,
yet is it fcarcely to be conceived that they
can ever fo far deceive themfelves, as to
believe they faw fafts which they did not
really fee. If ever this happened, it can
be accounted for, on no other principle
than of the power of imagination, which
often has ftrange effefts on the perceptions
of an enthufiaftic or difordered brain*.
,* Ta-ra fiupenda autem eft imaginandi vis, ut non tninus
^Ifk quam verss innagines afSciaqt, ubi mens iis affidue fit
addi(2a. — Omnibus notanj eft., quam mirabilibys modi.s in
(qelancholicis mens perturbatur. Hie ex vitro caput fibi
fiftum putat, &, ne frangatur, foras prodire metuit.' Hie fe
mortuum efle credit, & cum mortuis fine cibo debere ver-
fari. Talia fexcenta memorantur. Memini me novilTe
virvija Uleratum, qui fe in ventre infa^tenj ggftare aflirtpa-
ret, 4fi IV* in l«c«m edendo valde folieitos erat. Duos
^tiam vidi, qjii, cum foli effent, voces, fibi in aure^ loquea-
tiumaudire putabant. Neque alia, ut opinor, conditio eft

526
The enthufiaft may poffibly fancy he fees
objefts which no where exift, in the fame
manner as he is pofitive that he has con
verfations with God, and can miftake the
wild rovings of his own fancy, for im
pulfes of the Divine Spirit. This, I fay,
may poffibly happen, though, I believe,
very few inftances of it can be affigned ;
or, if any inftances, at all, can be affigned,
they are of fingle perfons, each deceived as
to the exiftence of a different faft ; not of
any confiderable number of perfons uniform
ly deceived as to the exiftence of the fame
fafts. And, therefore, when fo many per
fons, witneffes of the miracles of Jefus,
agreed in the fame teftimony, we may be
certain, that the matter of their teftimony
muft have had fome external fource or
caufe, really exifting, and operating, uni-
fprmly, on the fenfes pf eyery on^ of
them.
illpriim, qui laiyas & fpeftra oculis cernere fibi perfuadent.
Sunt enim deliria quafK- fomnia vigilantinm, & in utrifque
pnriter mens, pro natura fpecierum objeftarum, diverfimode
{;oTpus agitat. Mead, Medica Sacra, p. 73.

. 327
Befides, that they were not mifled by
enthufiafm, to fancy they had feen what
never happened, is to be infei-red from
this confideration, that enthufiafm always
afts in conformity to the favourite notions
of the perfon who is heated by it, and, as
an * eminent writer expreffes himfelf, it
can no more work againji them, than a rapid
river can carry a boat againfi its oianftream.
How, then, can it be fuppofed that en
thufiafm will account for the belief of the
witneffes of the Gofpel miracles, when we
can be certain that their imaginations
were not, at leaft from the beginning,
heated, in favour of Chriftianity ? That
fuch perfons fliould feal their teftimony
with their blood, is the higheft proof that
can- be given, not only that they fincerely
* See, Obfervations on the Converfion of St. Paul ; tha
folid arguments of which thort, but maflecly, performance,
though drawn up fo as to be perfonal to St. Paul, may,
by a very fmall alteration, be applied to eftablifh the cha
rafters of all the Apoftles, and firft preachers of Chrif
tianity,

328
believed what they atteftedj but that what
they attefted, had really happened.
But there is ftill another objeftion to be
taken notice of— « That the hiftory of
*' mankind abounds with inftances of per-
" fons dying with a lie in their mouths :
** particularly, the cafes of malefaftors
" who, though certainly, guilty of the
** fafts laid to their charge, perfift in de-
" nying them with their lateft breath, are
** urged to fliew that, though the witneffes
" of the miracles of Jefus fealed their tef-
" timony with their blood, this is no cer-
*'• tain mark that what they attefted was
** true."— As an anfwer to this ; I think
there is not the leaft refemblance between
a malefaftor's denying his crime, and the
publifliers of Chriftianity afferting the
truth of their mafter's miracles^ in their
laft moments. A malefaftor may think
the confident denial of his crime a pro
bable means of procuring a pardon;
or, if he has no hopes of faving his
life, fhame and obftinacy may induce him

529
to perfift in declaring his innocence, as a
confeffion of his guilt would not better his
condition. Whereas, the witneffes of the
miracles of Jefus, were brought to fuffer
for no other crime but their teftimony ;
and had it in their power to efcape their
unhappy fate by retrafting it. This, yoti
will obferve, makes a wide difference.
Could you, indeed, produce inftances of
a number of malefaftors who perfift in
denying their guilt, though a pardon be
offered on condition of a confeffion of it,
this would be fomething to your purpofe.
But that ever any fuch inftance has hap
pened, or ever can happen unlefs in the
cafe of a difordered judgment, tannot be
affirmed by any one who is, in the leaft,
acquainted with the frame of human na
ture. And yet this muft be affirmed by
you, otherwife the laft-mentioned objec
tion is foreign to the purpofe *.
• It may be proper juft to hint, that the difpara^'ng re-
prelentation, which Dr. Middleton gives us, in his Free
Jwfuiry, of the views and motives that influenced th6
martyrs of the primitive ages of Chriftianity ^ reprefenta-

S30
If what has been offered, under this
head, do not fatisfy you that the teftimony
for the miracles of Jefus is as ftrong as
any teftimony can be, I own I fhall be at
a lofs to guefs at any caufes of your con
tinuing unconvinced, confiftent with your
profeffions of being open to conviftion.
, But the miracles of Jefus, are not the
only ones on which Chriftianity is built.
For the very fame perfons who gave fuch
remarkable proofs of integrity as witneffes
of them, claimed alfo to themfelves a pow
er of performing works equally miracu
lous. The pretended miracles which'have
tion, by the bye, as uncandid, as it is fatirica!) does not
affedl the force of the argument for the truth of the miracles
cf Jefus drawn from the martyrdom of the Apoftles, and
other Difciples eye-witnelTes of thefe miracles ; nor from
the martyrdom of the eye-witnefles of the miracles of the
preachers of the Gofpel in the Apoftolic age. All thefe
martyrs died attefting matters of fadl which they them
felves had feen ; this could not be affirmed, by the DoSor,
to be the cafe of the martyrs of the fecond and third cen
turies, who are the perfons whofe charafters he places in
fo unfavourable a light.— See the Free Inquiry, from p.SOOj
to '214.

331
fometimes been reprefented by unbeliev
ers, as on the fame footing of credibility
with thofe recprded in the New Tefta
ment, have, generally, been fingle fafts,
or, at leaft, fafts related of one fingle per
fon. Whereas, it is not one miracle, nor
the miracles of one perfon alone, that we
urge ; but a fucceflion of miracles, carried
on, and performed through a long traft of
time, by different perfons, in different
places, all co-operating towards the fame
end — the eftabliffiment of the religion
taught by Jefus. Let us, therefpre, now
examine whether there be any defeft in
the evidence, on the ftrength of which we
believe that the firft preachers of Chrift
tianity, Jefus's Difciples, and thofe whom
they affociated to themfelves, were really
vefted with a fupernatural power.
Now, that after Jefus hadi been put to
death in Judcea, his Difciples feparated
themfelves, throughout the wide extent
•f the Roman empire, preaching faith in

332
their crucified mafter, and affuming to
themfelves a power of working miracles,
as proofs of their being Teachers from
God, thefe are fafts not only affirmed by
the writer of their albs, himfelf an eye»
witnefs, and companion of fome of them,
but which appear alfo from their own
epiftles, addreffed to the converts whom
they had m^de in different parts of the
world. Should you deny thefe writings to be
genuine, and affirm them to be the pro
duftion of a later age (though he who
wpuld affirm this will never be abfe to
prove it) yet ftill a full affurance could
be had, that the Difciples of Jefus really
laid claim to miraculous powers, and that
this claim was well known at the time, and
in the very places when and where it is
faid to be made. For that Chriftianity
was profeffed to be received in the world.
npon the belief of miracles ; or that its
firft converts alleged, as the motive of

sss
their converfion, the mirades of fe preach
ers, is a fa€t allowed, and which muft be
afloAved, by every one who knows that
Chriftianity was then preached. ** And
** (as is obferved by one of the moft
" powerful champions which the G-ofpel
" has had in this, or indeed in any tfge)
" this thdr teftimony is the fame kind df
" evidence for thofe miracfes, as if they
** had put it in writing, and tbefe wfiiitt^
" had come down to us. And it i» real
*• evidence, becaufe it is of fafts, which
¦*• they had capacity and fall dppottunity
*' to inform themfelves of. It is a$fb diP-
« tinft from the direft or ex{)fefs hifto¥i-
"' cal evidence, though it is of <the tame
'** kind : and it would be allowed to he
'*' diftinft in all cafes. For were a f&&
Telatfed by one or more ancient Mftori-
" ans, and difputed in after-ages, that th»
*• faft; is acknowledged to have been be-
** lieved by great numbers of the a^', in
" which the hiftorian fays it was done,
** "would be "allowed an additional proof
*' of fuch faft, quite diftinft from the ex-

<«<

334
" prefs teftimony of the hiftorian *." So
that the converfion of fo many, both Jews
and Gentiles, to Chriftianity, in the time
of the Apoftles, on the ftrength of mira
cles, is a proof that miracles were pre
tended to in that age, diftinft from the
teftimony of the writer of the A£is ojthe
Apoftles, and of the writers of the Epiftles,
and would have been fufficient evidence
6f the faft, even although no cotempo
rary hiftorian had put it into writing.
The next confideration, therefore, which
naturaUy prefents itfelf is, whether thefe
pretenfions to miracles of the firft preach
ers of Chriftianity were ever detefted to
be falfe.^-That there never was any fuch
deteftion, every impartial inquirer will
conclude, when he reflefts that, if this had
happened, it muft have been handed down
to us, and would have been fo mhch im
proved by the enemies of the Gofpel, who
• See the late Biftiop of Durham's Analogy of Religioji,
p. 355,

335
had power, learning, and the prejudices
of the people on their fide, as muft have
checked its propagation for ever. — But I
decHne enlarging on this argument, not
only becaufe what was offered with regard
to the miracles of JeJus may be applied
to thofe of his own Difciples, but, alfoj
becaufe a modern unbeliever will hardly
venture to affirm, what his predeceffors
in the earlieft ages, had it not in their
power

to do *.

And as the miracles of the Apoftolical
age, never were detefted to be impoftures,
let U.S, next, fee whether fuch eircumftan
ces did not attend them, as prove that,
had they been impoftures, they could not
have avoided a deteftion.
• Julian fpeaking of St, Paul, calleth him tot matrxs vxt-
rxxpi' ''^oUf'ttu^oriyanrxsiixiairxTtutas vitt^SaM^onitoy nmiXoy.
Apud Cyril. L. 3. One who excelled every other deceiver hy
tricks he performed through the power of magic. So jthat
here is a confeffion of the' faifls, wlriie tn|Bte vilified by af.
cribing them to a reproachful caufe, .f ^

336
Confider, then, firft, the length of timtf
during which this pretenfion to miracfes
was kept up. Now from the commence
ment of the miniftry of the Apoftles, to
the death of St. John, who furvived all
ihe reft, a period of above threefcore years
dapfed. Is it then, at all, credible^ that
a fyftem of fraud ffiould not have betray
ed itfelf in lefs time than this ? When
mirades are the arts of the few to impofe
upon the many, this, of neceffity, con-
trafts the duration of the pretenfion to
them ; becanafe frauds, of long continu
ance cannot always keep in the fame
hands. In order to carry them on, there
muft be a fucceffion of cpnfederates ; and
jfijch a fikceeffion would pr-oi^nce a de
teftion of the whole, JBefides, as every
repetition of an impofture endangers its
credit, k is no inconfiderabfe proof that
the mirades -of the infpired pubiifiiers of
Chriftianity were not impoftures, fince,
•tboigh rejjffce^i* J&;sty -year«, their cre
dit remained t^thakeH,

337
This receives additional weight wheii
We confider, that thefe miracles were ndt
confined to one particular fpot, and to one
particular fet of witneffes ; but the fcenes
of them were laid in moft of the great
cities^ throughout the wide extent of the
Roman empire. — If the workers of them
had remained fixed at Jerujalem, or if,
when they did preach the Gofpel at other
places, they had all moved thither in a
body, fuch a fituation might have enabled
them to fet a confederacy on foot ; and it
might poffibly have been alleged, that
their pretenfion to miracles was backed
by a party previoufly incfined, nay inte
refted to fupport therii. But, now, all
pretence for fuch a fufpicion is cut off.
The Apoftles, unlike to confederated im
poftors, did "not keep in a body, to aid and
fupport each other, but feparated them
felves to the different corners of thei
earth i-^a 'conduft this, which as it was
neceffary In order to propagate their reli-i
gion, would have been the height of folly^
had their religion been built on fraud and
%

-338
forgery. By feparating in this manner, a
fcheme of fraud muft have dwindled to
nothing ; no regular plan could be pur
fued, no unity of defign could have fub
fifted, no community of interefts been
preferved. In a word, this conduft. Ven
ders the fuppofition of a confederacy
abfurd, becaufe it put it out of their own
power to have any number of confede
rates. For they could not poffibly meet
with any party, in the cities where they
'firft preached, inclined to fupport them.
The inhabitants of Antioch, of Athens, of
Corinth, or of any other of the places where
the Apoftles preached, never heard of the
name of JeJus, before the miracles appeal
ed to excited them to believe. To fuppofe
a confederacy, therefore, in this cafe,
would be to fuppofe it, where there was
an impoffibility of having confederates.
If to the above refieftions we add, that
ihe fame eircumftances attended the mi
racles of the Apoftles among the Gentiles,
which attended the miracles of Jefus

"330
among the Jews ; that thofe perfons to
whom they were propofed, were neither
biaffed by a previous difpofition of their
own to admit them, nor reftrained by any
power lodged with the propofers, from
examining them ; but that, on the con
trary, the Apoftles were as much oppofed
by the Pagan priefts and magiftrates, as
-their mafter had been by thofe of the
Jews ; if, I fay, we take all this into our
confideration, the conclufion will appear
juft, to every impartial inquirer, that the
Apoftolical miracles were neither fcreen
ed by any confederacy, nor owed thdr
credit to want of examination.
Having then fhewn that the miracles
recorded in the New Teftament are fup
ported by a teftimony fo full, fo free from
every defeft, and that the eircumftances
under which they were publifhed, affure
us, fo unqueftionably, of their truth, I
Own myfelf not a little furprized, to fee it
afferted by the author of the EJfay on
Miracles—." That there is not to be found,
z 2

.340
" in all hiftory, any miracle attefted by 2
" fufficient number of men, of fuch un-
" queftioned good fenfe, education and
" learning as to fecure us againft all delu-
" fion in themfelves ; of fuch undoubted
" integrity as to place them beyond all
'* fufpicion of any defign to deceive
" others ; of fuch credit and reputation
" in the eyes of mankind as to have a
*' great deal to lofe in cafe of being de-
*' tefted in any falfehood ; and at the fame
*« time attefting fafts performed in fuch a
*' public manner, and in fo celebrated a
*' part of the world, as to render the de^
" teftion unavoidable : all which circum-
" ftances are requifite to give us a full
'* affurance in the teftimony of men *."
However confidently this be afferted,
from what I have offered it feems plain,
that in every circumftance, really effen*
tial, the teftimony for the mirades of the
New Teftament, has the quafifications
?Philofophical Effajs, p. 183.

S41
which this gentleman requires. Can he
fay," that they are not attefted by a fuffi
cient number of witneffes ? This cannot
be affirmed with any juftiCe ; for we have
feen, that, independently of the teftimony
of the Apoftles themfelves, every perfon
Converted to Chriftianity by its infpired
publiffiers, may be fuppofed to be a wit
nefs of miracles performed by them. —
Will it be afferted then, that none of
them had good fenfe, learning and edu
cation enough to fecure themfelves from
delufion? To give this charafter of the
many thoufands, converts to Chrifliianity
on the evidence of miracles, would be too
wild an affertion. However ; one would
think that learning and education cannot
be very neceffary, to make men adequate
judges of matters of faft prefented to their
eyes ; and that common fenfe was all
that could be requifite in the witneffes of
the Gofpel miracles, to fecure them from
delufion. But perhaps they may be fuf
pefted of an intention to deceive others
?nd wanted integrity.— What? Can thofe

24.%
perfons be fufpefted of wanting integrity,
who, as we have feen, far from gaining
any thing by their teftimony, were in-^
volved by it in every hardffiip and dif
trefs p-T-Will he next fay, that they were
not of fuch credit and reputatioii in the
eyes of men as to have a great deal to lofe,
in qafe ofbeing detefted in any falfehood?
— To this I would ?infwer, that the witr
neffes of the New Teftament miracles,
tjiough you reprefent them in as defpica-
ble a light as you pleafe, with regard to
predit and reputation in the eyes pf the
^Orld, yet had a great deal to lofe ;— They
could fuffer pain, they could fmart under
fcotirges, thpy could feel the reftraints of
imprifpnmentj they could bleed under the
hands of the executioner. Surely they
who had their live§ to lofe, and aftually
loft themi inuft be owned to lofe a great
deal.— Or, laftly, will this: gendeman fay,
that the Gofpel miraqfes were not per
formed in fp public a manner, and in fo
pefebisated ^ part of the world as to render
g deteftion unaypi^able ? If fie can aifert

343
this, or if y(m, after what I have collefted
on this point, ffiould concur in the affer
tion, I fhall then fit down and defpair of
convincing you i — I ffiall look upon you
as being determined againft conviftion.
I ffiall only add, that as the teftimony
for the mirades of the New Teftament
has been proved to have all the circum*
ftances, which this great champion againft-
the miracles, in general, thinks requifite
to give a full affurance in the teftimony
of man, I hope that I have fufficienUy
eftabliflied their credibility ; efpecially as
I attempted, and I hope not unfuccefs
fuUy, in the beginnirig of this treatife, to
anfwer that reafoning of the fame gentle
man, which would make the miraculous
nature of a faft, to be a demonftration of
its impoffibility.
Though your patience has, by this time,
been fufficiently tried, yet as the import
ance of my fubjeft requires, that nothing
ChPuld be omitted which may ftrengthert

544
fjiy argument, 1 muft. beg the eontinuance
pf your attention, while I go through the
laft heaij which I prpppfed tp treat of, anii
attempt tP prove
That, befides the unexceptionable proof
from teftimony, the credibifity of the GpGr
pel miracles is confirmed to us, by cpllar
teral evidenpespf the mpft ftriking nature,
and which no fpuriojus miracles can bpa/|
pf. The firft pircupiftance which I Ihall
meptipn, as a collateral evidence of the
Reality pf the Gpfpel ipiri^icles, and as
adding weight tP tbe teftimpny by which
they are fupported— is the great change
introduced intp the fiate of religion, by
jthe firft preachers of Chriftiapity,
Jndcied, this point has been fo frequpntr
ly and fp well handled, and pxtended fq
amply fhroiJigh all its branches, efpecially
}n the ppble difcourfes of Biffipp Atter^
bury, and in the accurate perfprma|i?e of

3*5
Mr. Weft, that it would be entirely unne*
ceffary to enlarge upon it here. It will
fuffice, therefore, to obferve that unlefs
we believe the firft publiffiers of Chriftian
ity to have been vefted with miraculous
powers, thereby commanding attenticMi
and proving their divine miffion, it would
be impoffible to affign any one caufe ade
quate to the eftabliffiment of the religion
of Jefus, on the ruins of Pagan fuper,
ftition. Once diveft them of the power
of working miracles, which we afcribe tp
them, and we ffiall not be able to comT
prebend how they could gain fo much as
one convert to their religion. Every
difficulty and difcourageraent, that can be
imagined, oppofed the propagation of the
Gofpd. Whether we confider who its
publiffiers were, men in the loweft ftations
pf life, without ridges to bribe, authority
to awe, reputation tp influence, learning
to confute, or eloquence to perfuade thofe
to whom they jaddrelfed themfelves ; or,
whether we jconfider , wjiat they had to
^rug^le with, the power of the civil mar

giftrates, the influence of the priefts of
the eftabliffied religions, and the prejudi
ces of every hearer — in any of thefe views,
the eftabliffiment of Chriftianity, unlefs
we admit the reality of the miracles laid
claim to, muft be looked upon to have
been morally impoffible. Sooner could
the inconfiderable number of Chriftian
preachers have conquered the Roman em
pire without arms, than extended their
religion without miracfes, Rob them of
this weapon and we are confounded at the
execution they did. But once fuppofe
them thus fitted for the combat, and the
viftories which they gained will appear to
be no more than what might naturafly be
expefted. Then ffiall we comprehend,
how Chriftianity ffiould fpread itfelf with
fuch rapidity; how men ffiould be fp
eager in embracing it, though they were
fure alfo of embracing mifery and perfe*
cution ; and hpw fo many converts could
be .added to the Church, amidft the groans
of expiring martyrs.

34T
But as I am fenfible that I propofe ar^
guments to one, who will make them pafj
ftriftly in review before him, I cannot
difmifs the prefent one, without obviating
what you will, perhaps, objeft againft its
being conclufive. — It may be argued, then,
in order to weaken this argument, drawn
from the effeft which the miracles of Je
Jus and his Apoftles had, that many who
muft have feen them were not convinced
by them ; that Jefus, far from converting
the bulk of the Jews, was put to death
by them, and that the Apoftles and firft
preachers of the Gofpel, to the Gentiles,
|net with the fame fate.
In oppofition to this objeftion, I beg
leave to obferve; that, if it has any weight
at afl, it wifl prove this— That the fame
evidence muft appear with the fame de
gree of ftrength to eyery underftanding ;
the impoffibility of which refultsfrom the
very frame of our nature. Education,
prejudice,, principles diverfely efpoufed,
different capacities, and different ways of

348
thinking, aft thefe are fo many caufes
which will, neceffarily, make men to be
differently affefted with tranfaftions to
which they are witneffes. Not that I
would affirm that a man's particular biafs
of mind can ever fo far influence him,
as to make him diftruft his fenfes, provi
ded his fenfes be under the government
of his reafon, and induce him to difpute
the reality of a faft which he himfdf
faw. My meaning is, that a man's pre
judices may indujpe him to refift the con
fequences which arife from this faft;
may induce him, not to pay that regard
to it which he ought, to put the worft
conftruftion on it, and to caft about for
ways of explaining it away. And, in
this manner, it is eafy to give the reafons
why fo many Jews and Gentiles were not
converted to Chriftianity, though they
were convinced pf the reality of the mi
raculous fafts afcribed tP J^^ and his
Apoftles, That both Jew$ and G^ViUes ppuld not

349
-but be averfe, to admit the claim of the
publiffiers of Chriftianity to be Teachers
from God, is a point which will not be
difputed by any one, who recollefts that
the declared end of this new religion,
was to aboliffi the Jewijh law on the one
hand, and the Pagan fuperftition on the
other. Prepoffeffed, therefore, againft the
doftrines which thefe mirades were de
figned to confirm, no wonder that many
who were fpeftators of them, ffiould re
fufe to admit them as proofs that the
performers of them were Teachers from
God, and have recourfe to the inexplica
ble operation of magic, or to the abfurd
interpofition of Belzebub, prince of the
devils, to account for them. So that
the rejeftion of the Gofpel miracles by
fo many Jews and Gentiles, fpeftators of
them, cannot be urged as a proof that
the miracles were falfe ; it can only prove
that many, through their prejudices af
cribed them to wrong caufes.— Add to
this, that an immoral praftice, fear of
temporal inconvenience, nay, even mere

350
want of attention, might operate as fo
many impediments to a converfion to
Chriftianity, on many who could not
call in doubt the reality of the miracles
appealed to.
The rejeftion of the Gofpel miracles,
hy fome, does not, then, at all, invalidate
the prefumption we have of their truth,
drawn from the effeft which we know
they had upon other witneffes of them.
That, vaft multitudes, both Jews and Gen
tiles ffiould be converted to Chriftianity.
cannot be accounted for, without fuppof-
ing the truth of the miracles, and that
all were not converted, could not but
happen, whether we confider the general
frame of human nature, or attend to the
particular impediments which I have
pointed out.
I come, now, to confider a fecond col
lateral proof of the reality of the Gofpd
miracfes.

351
A power of working miracles, is only
one fpecies of divine affiftance, and men
may, in other inftances, be under a fuper
natural influence. As, therefore, the fup
pofed incredibility of a divine affiftance,"
in general, is the chief reafon, why the
abfolute incredibility of this particular
kind of divine affiftance — the working of
miracles, is afferted, I cannot take a more
effeftual way to fatisfy you of the truth cf
the miracfes afcribed to the firft pubhfe-
ers of Chriftianity, than to ffiew that God
was with them, in other inftances.
And, firft, that Jefus and his Apoftles
were not without a divine influenoe with
regard to what they taught ; . or, in other
words, that they could not have been the
authors of fuch a religion, unlefs they ha(i
been inftrufted from above, will appear
a very juft conclufion from tlie following
refleftipns. Who, then, were the perfons who in.
trodupcd the Chriftian religion into the

352
world ? — Men, whofe country, whofe edu
cation, whofe ftation in life, incapacitated
them from poliffiing or improving any
abilities, which they might have from na
ture, by the helps of learning, and fcience.
Jefus, the fon of a carpenter, and twelve,
illiterate fiffiermen, pubficans, and mecha
nics, do not promife great matters, when
they take upon themfelves to commence
teachers of reHgion, to treat of the ab-
ffrufe points relating to a Deity and Pro
vidence, and of the important obligations
of morality.
Great, therefore, muft be our furprize,
to find, upon looking into the books which
contain their precepts and doftrines, fuch
a view given of God as approves itfelf to
right reafon, fuch methods of worffiip
prefcribed, and fuch terms of acceptance
propofed, as are moft worthy of God to
require ; fuch a fcheme of conduft in life
enjoined towards thofe connefted with us,
as is moft ufeful to the public, and con
ducive to our own private felicity ; and

353
fuch motives to obedience urged, as are
moft effeftual to operate on men of every
temper : — In a word ; to fee their writings
filled, with the moft noble refleftions, and
with fentiments that do honour to human
nature *.

* Here it may he objefted, " that I have given a partial
" view cf the rel^on taught in the New Teftament, part of
" which, it may be (aid, far from being .igreeable to right
" reafcn, is my.lerious and incomprehenfible, by us." — The
truth of this is aeknowledgefl ; but it does not, in the leaft,
affect my argument. — If we met with a booli the greateft
part of which was in a language we underftood, while fome
few pages of it were in an unknown tongue, on a fuppofition
that the bulk of the book which we underftand, contained
nothing but what is reafonable, we fliould have fufficient
grounds for believing that the fame vein of good fenfe run
through thofe places which we do not underftand, as the
fame hand was the author of both. — This is extremely ap
plicable to the Chriftian religion. It is a fcheme imperfect-
ly underftood : what we underftand of it, which is by far
the greater part, is wife, reafonable, and beneficial. If,
then, what we do not comprehend, come (as it certainly
does) from the fame perfons who taught the reft, we have
fufficient grour.ds for bdieving that the whole fcheme, even
in thofe parts of it which are incomprehenfible by us, is
agreeable to right reafon. For a doclriiie may be above
reafon, without being contrary to it; and what is incompre
henfible by men, may, to more exulted underftandings, be
A A

35-4
Should it be faid, that all thefe are
points difcoverabie by human reafon, and
confequently that the publiffiers of Chrif
tianity might have taught them, without
being fupernatu rally inftrufted ; I would
defire you to refleft, that we can have no
other rule of judging what is difcoverabie
by human reafon, but by obferving what
difcoveries human reafon has aftually
rnade; and what the unaffifted faculties
of man have ever been able to do, in
plain and intelligible. And as there are fome fuch doftrines
contained in the New Teftament, fo can we give a very fa-
tisfaftory account why they are there. For the Chriftian
:fevelatipn does not enlarge the faculties of the human mind,
it only propofes truths which were unknown before. Now
as many truths relating tp the infinite Creator and Govern
or of the Univerfe rnuft, neceflarily, feem parado.xes to our
limited underftandings, it is not, at all, furprizing, that there
Ihould be myfteries in Chriflianity not to be fathomed by our
reafon. Such points could not but be mentioned, in a di
vine revelation prefcribiug a rule of faith : but till our
faculties be enlarged in a future ftale, it will be impoflible
for us to haye any adequate notions of them. If they be
revealed, this is enough to fatisfy us that they are true : a^
to the manner of their being true, nothing being revealed,
nothing can be known.

355
planning a fyftem of religion, and rule
of life.
And here I will not urge the extrava
gancies of uncultivated reafon, the errors
of ignorance, and the abfurdities of fuper
ftition, in the dark corners of the earth,
but, to give the argument its full force,
would defire you to confider how little,
men of the moft, exalted genius, in the
moft enlightened ages of the Pagan world,
could ever do ; how imperfeft, not to fay
irrational, their notions of the divine na
ture ; how faulty and immoral, their opi
nions of human duty ; and how wild and
indigefted, their ideas of- the invifible
world. If then a Socrates, a Plato, an AriJiotle,
and a Tully, failed in their attempts to
lay down a perfeft and confiftent fcheme
of religion and morality, how can we aci^
count for the fuperiority fo vifible in tlie
writings of the authors of the New Tefta
ment ? Nothing is left for us, but either
A A 2

356
to affirm, that the illiterate publiffiers of
Chriftianity were better qualified to fet
up for teachers of mankind, than the phi
lofophers of Greece or Rome, who had
learnt from inftruftion and fcience, all
that great abilities could learn ; or, if this
be too abfurd (as it indifputably is) we
muft allow, that they could not have
taught fo perfeft a fcheme of religion and
morality as they did, had not the darknefs
of their natural faculties been removed,
by the infpiration and influenpe of the
Divine Being.
I know not, well, what can be offered
to invalidate this argument, unlefs it be
objefted, that many of the moft import
ant articles of belief and praftice, which
we receive on the authority of the Gofpel
revelation, have been demorftrated and
delineated on principles of mere reafon,
3ut with regard to this, I would beg leave
to obferve, that there is a wide difference
between proving a doftrine to be agree?
able to reafon, after its certainty is pnce

357
known ; and difcovering its agreeablenefs
to reafon, before we have afny notion of
its certainty. Though every one is nOt
capable of difcovering a propofition in
geometry, every one will readily aflTent tq
it, after it is demonftrated. In like man
ner, though human reafqn may not be
capable of difcovering the great truths
revealed in the Gofpel, yet thefe truths
may be fo agreeable to, and fo well con
nefted with pther truths which are obvious
to reafon, that, whenever they are pro
pofed to us, we may be enabled to difcover
this conneftion, which would, otherwife,
have efcaped us. And this is, in faft, the
cafe: thpfe learned men who, fince the
appearance of Chriftianity, have deduced
all the great,principles of natural religion
from reafon, knew, previoufly, from reve
lation, the Certainty of the doftrines which
they treated of; and a Cumberland, a
Clarke, or a Wollafion, would fcarcely have
fucceeded better than Plato, or Cicero had
done before, if thev had not borrowed

558
lights from that revelation, which they
were fo happy as to be acquainted with.
As, therefore, there is the greateft rea
fon for believing, that Jefus and his Apof
tles were fupernaturally affifted, fo far as
relates to the rule of duty, and fyftem of
religion which they taught — why ffiould
it be thought incredible, that they ffiould
be fupernaturally affifted, in another re
fpeft, and enabled to work miracles ? If
there was a divine interpofition in the
former cafe, there cannot be the leaft
reafon for withholding our belief that
there was one in the latter, fince we have
all the evidence for the faft, that the
nature of it can admit of— unexception
able, teftimony.
But, left the above argument, drawn
from the perfeftion of the religion taught
hy' Jefus, ffiould not be thought conclu
five, fuffer me to add another, which, in
a manner, demonftrates the^ certainty of

359
his afting under a fupernatural influ
ence. I have her{^, in my view, his prophe
cies recorded in the Gofpels. There we
may obferve, his foretelling, that he was
to be betrayed by Judas; and denied
thrice by Peter; that he was to fuffer by
a violent death, and to be reftored to life
on the third day ; and that his Apoftles
were to meet with the moft cruel perfe
cution, and to lofe their lives on account
of the religion which he appointed them
to publiffi to the world. Befides thefe,
and others which might be mentioned,
We have a moft remarkable prediftion,
of what was to happen to Jerufalem and
the Jetviji) nationj related very circum^-
ftantially, by three of' the Evangeliftsj
Matth. ch. 24. Mark, ch. 13. Luke, ch. 21*
It confifts of many different parts, each
of which may be confidered as a diftinft
prophecy. Many very extraordinary oc
currences, nay prodigies, that were to
precede the principal event foretold, arc

360
particularly enumerated ; the remarkable
eircumftances attending the fiege of Je
rujalem ; the extremities to which the be
fieged were to be reduced ; the uncommon
feverity of the befiegers, who were to ruin
the city, and not to leave one ftone upon
another of the temple; and the fingular
fate of the Jews who were to he led cap
tives into every nation ; all thefe particu
lars are clearly mentioned by Jefus, and
hiftory furniffies the moft fatisfaftory
proofs that they haVe been completely
verified *. He, therefore, who can fup-
* The reader who wojuld fee, how remarkably this pre
diftion agrees with the events related by the hiftorians, will
receive full fatisfaftion from a perufal of Archbifliop Tll-
iotfoii's fermon 8 on the fubjeft, where he will obferve the
feveral particulars predifted of tbe dcftruftion of Jerufalem
and the forerunning events connefted with it, corroborated
in' the exprefs teftimonies of Dion CafTiu'^, Tacitus, Jofe-
phus, and other hiftorians. — See, alfo, Riftiop Pearfe's Ana-
i^fis of tbe Prophecy, in Dr. Jorlin's Remaiks on Ecclefi-
¦at'tical Hiftory. — We need not refer to (be leltimony of
hiftory, to know whether the Jews have been led captives
into all nations as our Saviour foretold ; for the-preient
filuatioti of that reprobated nation is as well knovn, as it
).'¦ Konderjul a^nd whotvor would fe' the argurutnit whroli

Q

61

pofe that fo many diftant, connefted
events, could be forefeen without the gift
of prophecy, muft, to be confiftent with
himfelf, allow it to be poffible, that the
fortuitous daffies of a pencil could pro
duce a number of regular figures in an
hiftorical pifture*.
may be drawn from it, in confirmation of Chriftianify*
pli^ced in tbe ftrongeft Jight, will read, with pleafure, the
French author of the Principes de la Foi Chretienne, as
quoted by Mr. Weft, p. 395— 409. The learned, (though
almoft forgotten) Dr. Jackfon's colleftions, relating to the
ftate of the Jews compared with the prophecies corcerning
them, alfo, greatly deferve to be confulted.
* Some figurative particulars mentioned in this predic
tion have given rife to an opinion, that a prediftion of the
deftruftion of tlie world, is interwoven with that of the de-
ftruftion of Jerufalem. But the favourers of fuch an opi
nion would do vvell to confider, how they can reconcile it,
to the plain declaration of our Saviour, who adds. Verily
I fay unto you, this generation fhall not pafs away,, till all
thefe things be fulfilled. According!}', Dr. Hammond ex
plains thefe figurative particulars in fuch a manner, as fliews
that they had a real cdmpletion at the defti-udion of Jeru
falem : and if the reader will turn to Sir Ifaac Newton's
chapter, on the Prophetic Language of Scripture, in his ob
fervations on Daniel, he will be fatisfied 4hdt fuch an inter-
prelation of ihem is fd.r from being forced and unnatural. — ¦

56'^
Si'ttce therij we can be at a certaihty,-
that Jefus was fupernaturally affifted iri
this inftance, of foretelling future contin
gencies, why ffiould we refufe to believe,
upon unexceptionable teftimony, that he
was fupernaturally affifted in another in
ftance — that of working of miracles ?~-I
need fcarcely add, that this collateral evi
dence is peculiar to the Scripture mira
cles, for that any of the pretended won
der-workers, whofe exploits have been fo
much boafted of, were vefted with the gift
of prophecy, cannot be affirmed.

However; if any one fhould be of opinion, that the deftruc-
tion of Jerufalem is predifted in fuch terms as are typical of
the deftruftion of the world, I fliall not be averfe to fub
fcribe to it ; and fliall only obfervcj that Chrift's coming to
take vengeance oh the Jews, and his coming to judge tha
world, feem to have been thought by the primitive Chrifti
ans, as oiie and the fame event ; a plain proof this of the-
jgenuinenefs of the prediftion in queftion, which muft have
heen in their hands before Jerufalem was deftroyed, other*
wife they could never have entertained an opinion, which
thofe who lived after that event raufi have tan to be
gropndlefs.

363
I eome now, to a third collateral proof
of the genuinenefs of the miracles admit
ted by the Proteftant Chriftian. And as
this ffiafl be my laft argument, fo do I
think it a moft important one.
Whether we confine ourfelves to thci
miracles of the New Teftament, or extend
our confideration to thofe of the Old
(which we equally admit) we ffiall, con
ftantly, and without any exception, find,
that all thofe perfons who are, there, fe^d
to have performed miracles, affumed the
charafter of Prophets, or Teachers fent
from God, and that their miracles were
intended as credentials, to eftabliffi their
claim, to add authority to the meffages
which they delivered, and to the law
which they taught. This is not more re
markably true of JeJus and his Difciples,
than it is of Mofes and his fficceffors the
Jewjh prophets : and, after ufing the beft
means of information^ I think myfelf war
ranted to believe it to be equally true, that
Bone of thofe perfons amongft the Papifts^

364
to whom miracles have been, afcribed,
even laid claim to fuch a divine miffion
as that by which the workers of the Scrip
ture miracles are diftinguiffied : and that
their not having laid claim to this charafter
of Teachers from Heaven, will greatly
ftrengthen the objeftions I have urged
againft the credibility of the miracles re
ported to have been wrought by them,
will, perhaps, appear to be a fair conclu
fion, if we attend to the following ob
fervations *.
. The laws eftabliflied in the univerfe, or,
in other words, the courfe of nature; may
be altered either by God's invifible agency,
or by the vifible agency of men made ufe of
as his inftruments, and veiled with powers
for this purpofe. Now, though we may
*lt may not be improper to obferve here, th-at though
the grand imptftor, who founded the Jijahometan religiQUj
afTiimcd the charafter of a Prophet or Teacher fent from
God, yet it is well known that he exprefsly difclaimed all
power of working miracles. See his Life by Dr. Pri-
tlcaux, p. 25—26.

365
be certain that God will never revei-fe the
courfe of nature, but for important ends
(the courfe of nature being the plan of
government laid down by himfelf) infinite
wifdom may fee ends highly worthy of a
miraculous interpofition, the importance
of which may lie hid from our fliallow
comprehenfion. Were, therefore, the
miracles, about the credibility of which
We now difpute, events brought about by
invifible agency, though our being able lo
difcover an important end ferved by a
miracle, would be no weak, additional
motive to our believing it, our not being
able to difcover any fuch end, could be no
motive to induce us to rejeft it, if the
teftimony produced to Confirm it \)e un
exceptionable. But the miracles about which we are,
principally, concerned, are miracles af-r
cribed to the vifible agency of men ; with
regard to which the cafe is widely differ
ent. For if, in a matter of this kind,
human reafon can arrive at any certainty.

566
there feems fufficient foundation for affert
ing, that God never will veft men with a
power of working miracles, unlefs fuch
power be vefted in them, for this one end,
to fatisfy the world that they are really
under a fupernatural influence, and are
to be looked upon as Teachers from
Heaven. That this end is of the higheft
importance, our reafon enables us to dif
cover, and I have already obferved to
you * that miracles are the beft creden
tials, to gain reception to any thing pub-
liffied in the name of the Supreme Being.
But every other end that God can propofe
to ferve by miracles, it ffiould feem may
be effefted without having recourfe to the
in^rumentality of human agents. Whether
his moral government be to be vindicated,
his fupremacy to be afferted, calamities to
be inflifted upon or, happinefs communi
cated to focieties or individuals ; or if,
befides thefe, miraculous interpofitions be
requifite for any other providential end,
Sae aboye, p, 41 — ^i.

S67
all this may be effefted by God's invifible
agency,'v}itho\\t calling in the~vifible agen
cy of men, and vefting them with power
to perform the events.
Now we cannot fuppofe, that God
would make ufe of men as his inftruments
in reverfing the laws of nature, when the
ends of his miraculous interpofition could
be effefted by his own immediate opera
tion. .For the fame arguments by which
we are enabled to difcover the wifdom of
the Deity, lead us to this conclufion, that,
in his operations, he will always aft in the
moft fimple, and regular way, without
making ufe of unneceffary, fuperfluous
means. This confideration places the Scripture
miracles, and, particularly, thofe of Jefus
and his Apoftles, on a peculiar footing of
credibility. They were performed for the
exprefs purpofe of confirming the truth of
a charafter which the workers of them
eflumed, that ofbeing reveafers of the wiU

368
of God. This is a circumftance that muft
add greatly to the weight of the teftimony
fupporting them; if, as I hope, I have
affigned fubftantial reafons for believing
that the only end of enabling men to work
miracles is to prove their divine miffion,
and that of all thofe, to whom fuch fuper
natural power has been afcribed, none
ever affumed the charafter of Teachers
from the true God — except thofe perfons,
whofe miracles are related in the Scrip
tures. I fay the true God, any claim of
a Pagan wonder-worker to a miffion, from
the falfe objefts of adoration, being only a
freffi inftance of impofture.
But, perhaps, it will be alleged, that the
miracles afcribed to the agency of the
Romifh faints have this qualification, and
were performed for the very fame pur
pofes that were propofed by the miracfes
of Jefus and his Apoftles — the confirm
ation of doftrines looked upon to be ef-
fential to Chriftianity.

369
Nothing can be farther from the truth
than this affertion. Jefus and his Apof
tles, we are certain, affu^ned the charafter
of divine Teachers, and exprefsly declared,
that their works were credentials of the
charafter affumed. But fo far is this from
being the cafe of any of the Romifh faints,
that I think I may fafely challenge their
admirers, to produce any writings of any
of them, in which a power of working
miracles is claimed, much lefs can they
inftance any one of them, who pretended
ever to have received any doftrines from
Heaven, which he might confirm by
miracles. The Romijh church derives, as
we do, all its doftrines from the infpired
publiffiers of Chriftianity, and afferts that
they have been handed down to them,
cither authorized by the Scriptures, or
warranted by tradition. None of the
pretences to mirades, therefore, amongft
them, can be otherwife urged as proofs
of their doftrines, than as they are afcribed
%Q perfons, who were believers of thefc

S70
doftrines, fuppofed to have been already
revealed. But ftill it maybe urged, that, though
the Romijh miracle-workers have never
affumed the charafter of divine Teachers,
it was highly expedient they ffiould be
vefted with fuch a power, in order to
prove the truth of their interpretations of
the Scriptures, in oppofition to Protef-r
tants and other heretics. Neither will
this pretence ferve their caufe. For we
defy them to produce an inftance of a
faint, who ever declared that he was vefted
with a miraculous power, for fuch an
end. — Befides ; moft of their famous won
der-workers lived before the reformation,
when, as yet, no body difputed thdr inter
pretations of the Scriptures, or the au
thenticity of their traditions. And thofe
few who have had the honour of miracles
attributed to them fince the reformation
(for inftances of miracle-working feem,
fince that famous period, to diminifh^

371
among Papifts, in proportion as inftances
of witchcraft have diminiflied amongft us)
have not performed their miracles under
fuch eircumftances, as could be of fervice
in converting of heretics. The fcenes of
them have been always amongft them
felves ; and none have ever had it in their
power to examine into the evidences of
them, but thofe very perfons whoin we
have reafon either to charge with credulity,
or to fufpeft of fraud. If Heaven, there
fore, had vefted the Romijh. faints with
miraculous powers, to prove the doftrines
of their church to be genuine, we may be
certain that they would have been di-
refted to exercife thefe powers, at places
where thefe doftrines were not beh'eved,
and in prefence of thofe whom it was
intended to convert to the faith. — Let,
then, the Papijis abftain (if they have any
modefty) from boafting of the truth of
their church from the glory of miracles,
till they can fend, into an heretical coun
try, miffionaries vefted with fuch a power,
gnd afferting to themfelves the charafter
B B 2

$73
bf embaffadors fr^hi Qpd, to confirm P<7«
pery. 1 ffiall only add, that as it is an indifputa^
ble faft, that the Roinifti miffiOnarieSj
preaching in the Indies, do not pretend to
he vefted with a power of working mira-,
^fes to confirm Chriftianity to Pagans,
this one confideration is enough to fatisfy
any reafonable man, that none of the her
roes of the breviary, were vefted with
fuch a ppwer, to confirrn Popery t<>
I^apj^s. Though I have, now, extended this
treatife ^o a much greater length thati I pro*
pofed at firft, I cannot condude. Without
making fome obfervations upon the late
controverfy about the miracles of the pri
mitive ages of the church, maintained oi^
the one hand by Dr. ^iddieton, and on
the Other, by an almoft lendlefs niimber of
his brethren the clergy ; a controverfy
which, though carried on by perfons
profeffing Chriftianity j^ has, neyerthefefiap

¦373'
greatly interefted the enemies of Chriftian
ity, by the manner in which it has been
copd lifted ; and as it ha,s furniffied you^
in particular, with many pf the p|)jpft;ions
which I have atternpted to anfwer, I CQuld,
not pafs it over un-remarked upon/ with*
out leaving my ftibjeft unfiniffied*
In order then to form a true judgment
of this difpute, it wfll be neceflary to call
to mind the diftinftion lately mentioned by
me, that miracles are of two forts, either
events brought about by God's immediate,
invifible interpofition, or works performed
Hy the agenpy of men made ufe of as his
inftruments 5 and to apply this to the quel^
tion before us»
Now it is to be obferved, that the con
troverfy does not at all relate to miracles
pf invifibje agency. Had Dr. Middleton
maintained, that there have been no fuch
interpofitions of Providenee fince the
publication of the Gofpel, he could haye
been eafily refuted. For, fome fu,ch iriy

374
terpofitions may be clearly traced in he
early ages of the church, fo ftrongly at
tefted as to leave us no room for doubting
of their having happened. — In particular,
he who can fuppofe that the vaft multi
tudes of Chriftian martyrs during the per-
fecutions of the three firft centuries*.

* The perfecution under the Emperor Decius about the
year 250, defcribed as follows by Dr. Cave, will give tbe
reader a juft idea of the reft. — " Perfecuting the Chriftians
" was the debate of all public councils, and the great care
" of the magiftrates, which did not vent itfelf in a few
" threatenings and hard words, but in ftudying methods of
•' cruelty, and inftruments of torments, the very apprehen-
" fion whereof is dreadful and amazing to human nature:
•' fwords and axes, fire, wild beafts, fnakes, and engines to
" ftretch and diftcnd the limbs ; iron chains made red hot,
" frames of timber fet up ftraight, in which the bodies of the
" tormented, as they ftood, were raked with nails that tore
•' off the flefti ; and innumerable other arts daily invented,
" every great man being careful that another ftiould not
" feem to be more fierce and cruel than himfelf. Some
" came as informers, others as witneffes; fome fearched all
" private corners, others feized upon them that fled, and
" fome who gaped for their neighbour's eftates, took hold of
" the opportunity to accufe and perfecute them for being
*' Chriftians. So that there was a general confufion and con-
" flernation, every man beijig afraid ofhis neareft relatives,
" the father not confulting the fafety of his child, nor tbe

375
whofe firmnefs and intrepidity amazed,
nay even wearied out their inhuman perfe-
cutors, and whofe behaviour und,er all
the variety of fufferings and torments, on
account of their religion, was fo fuperior
to the utmoft efforts of human nature in
the ufual courfe of things ; he, I fay, who
can fuppofe, that this venerable hoft of
" child regarding its duty to its parents; the Gentile fon
" betraying his Chriflian father, and the Infidel father ae-
"cufinghisfon for embracing Chriftianity ; and the bro-
" ther accounting it a piece of piety to violate the laws of
" nature in the caufe of religion, and to condenin his own
" brother becaufe a Chriftian. By this means the woods
" became full, and the cities elnpty ; and yet no fooner
" were many houfes rid of their proper owners, but they
" were turned into common gaols, the public prifons not
" being able to contain the multitudes of Chriftians that
" were fent to them. You could not go into the markets,
" or places of ufual concourfe, but you might have feen
" fome apprehended, others led to trial or execution j fome
" weeping, others laughing and rejoicing at the common
" mifery : no regard had to age, or fex, or virtue, or merit ;
" butas in a city ftormed by a proud and potent conquer-
" or, every thing was, without mercy, expofed to the
" rage and rudeiiefs of a barbarous and inhuman , enemy."
Cave's Lives of the Fathers, p. 134.

376
holy confeffors, could have braved death
with a fortitude fb uncommon, if God had
not, by his invifible agency, interpofed to
comfort and ftrengthen their minds under
fuch diftrefs, will believe a miracle great
er than any of thofe to which we Chrif
tians appeal. But fuch perfonal affiftani
ces, however certain the perfons, to whom
they were granted, might be of their
reafity, are of a nature incapable of being
fupported by teftimony, artd confequently,
properly fpeaking, not miraculous ; to us
at leaft, it cannot be made to appear fo. —
There are, however, other inftances of
interpofitions of Heaven, by invifible
agency, capable of being proved by tefti
mony, to be met with in the writers of
the primitive ages, which feem to have all
the marks of truth that teftimony can give
to matters of faft. And, not to mention
any others, that Julians attempt to rebuild
the temple of Jerufalem was defeated, by
a %nal interpofition of Providence, ap
pears to be highly credible, when we re-
colleft our Saviour's prophecy, that not

ene ftone fhoUldbe left upon another, of that
edifice *.
But it was not Dr. Middleton's defign^
to enquire into the incredibility or credi
bility of fuch miracles as thefe. And his
Free Inquiry is not, whether any miracles
were performed after the times of the
Apoftles, but whether, after that period,
miraculous powers fubfifted in the church;
not whether God interpofed at all, but
whether he interpofed, by making ufe of
men as his inftruments t.
* See Bifliop Warburton's Julian, a book writtwi with a
folidity of argument, which might always have been ex
pefted from him, and with a fpirit of candour, which his
enemies thought him incapable of till now.
+ Dr. Middleton's opinion is beft exprefled in his own
words. " The pofition which I affirm, is ; that after the
" days of the Apoftles, no flanding power of working mira-
'• cles was continued to the church, to which they might
" perpetually appeal, for the conviftion of unbelievers.
" This is what tbe title of' my work implies ; what my
" whole reafoning turns upon, and what I have often figni-
" fied in the courfe of it to be my meaning. Yet all my
*' antagonifts treat jny argument, as if it abfolutely rejedled

a7S
The decifion of the queftion, thus ftated^,
whether we hold the negative with Drj
Middleton, or the affirmative with Drs.
Dodwell and Church, is a matter of the
utmoft indifference to the caufe of Chrift
tianity^ Our faith is not built on the
foundation of the fathers, but on that of
Jefus and his Apoftles. And, therefore,
though the miraculous powers, mentioned
by the former to have fubfifted in their
age, ffiould be doubted of, nay given up,
no fincere Chriftian need be alarmed at
fuch a conceffion, if, at the fame time, it
be ffiewn, that the reafons for making it,
will not, in the leaft, affeft the miracles
recorded in the New Teftament, and that
«* every thing of a miraculous kind, whether wrought within .
*' the church by the agency of men, or on any other occa-
** fion by the immediate hand of God. That God Can
" work miracles whenever he pleafes, no bod}', I dare fay,
*• will deny : but whether he has wrought any or not, fince
" the days of the Apoftles, is an inquiry which I do not at
*• all enter into : the fingle point, which I maintain, is, that
" the church had no ftanding power of working any."
Vindication of the Free Inquiry, p. 32 — 33.

S79
whatever becomes of other pretenfions,
thefe will remain unffiaken*
One of Dr. Middleton's antagonifts has
indeed afferted — " That if all miracles
" after the days of the Apoftles, attefted
" unanimoufly by the primitive fathers,
" are no better than enthufiafm, cheat and
" impofture, then we are deprived of our
" evidence for the truth of the Gofpel
" miracfes, and Chriftianity may be called
" in queftion*." — ^^Could this affertion be
well fupported, I own that far from its
being a matter of indifference whether we
believe or rejeft the miracles of the fa
thers, thofe of the Gofpel muft ftand or
fall with them. — But I am confident, that
every one who has examined the queftion
before us, with any accuracy, will be of a
very different opinion, and wfll find rea
fon to fubfcribe to that of a writer well-
known in our church, that the miracles of
the fathers may be reJeRed without any mif-
* Preface to Jackfon's Remarks on the Free Inquiry.

tkief, and yet ihe ntiroiphj ef the 4p^le^
and of their mafier, m^ be maint.ained rfi
irue and certain **
But the judgment of one who nevef
profeffed himfelf an advocate for the mi*
racles of the fathers, is lefs to our prefent
purpofe than the judgment of their ex
prefs champions. — Dr. Merriman who cart
digeft the wild, ridiculous najracfes of the
fourth and fifth centyr jes, thofe ages of
credulity and fuperftition, fays, " that
** thefe cannot be difcredited without re-
** jcfting all accounts of miracles except
** thofe of the Scriptures i" *•" by which
exception he exprefsly ajlows that the
Scripture miracfes ftjand upon a furer
footing of credibility, and would remain
unffiaken, though all the reft were difcre-
dited-T-T-Another learned divine, the firfl
who entered the lifts againft Pr. Middl^''
* Two ^ueftioiis previous to Dr. Mjd^letpn"§ Free Inquiry,
p. 94. i Sermons ajt i<ftdy Meyer's I^eftures, p. 337.

981
fon by'anfwering his Introduftory Dif?
courfe, concurs in the fame opinion, when
he tells us, that ^- if not fo much as one
^' true miracle could be found after the
*' days of the ApoftfeS, the foundations;
^' of Chriftianity would be equally fes
" cure*'' Though I cannidit recolfeft any fuch ex
plicit dedaratiPn of Dr. Dod^well, yet I
find Dr. Chfttfch telling us *' that the mira-
^' cles i^corded in the Holy Scriptures
<^ mnft be owned to be a fufficient founda^
'' tion eif ihe €hrifti^ faith, though we
^' hadiiQ accounts at all of any fubfequent
" ones, or norite which we dould vindicate
**a.%d approve t." — Nay^, farther, which
is extremely remarkable, he obferves,
*' that the Scripture miracles are reialted
^* more circumftantially than moft of thofe
<* of the primitive ichurch. We are tbld
*'Obftrvations 'On Dr. Middleton's Introduftory Dif-
fourfe, p. 30. fuppofed to be written by Dr. Stobbing.
\ Vindication of thetiiiracuIoHB powers, &c. p. 15.

382
?* not only that they were wrought, but
" where, on whom, and before whom they
** were wrought. And this I own and
" willingly allow, to be a confiderable ad-
•' vantage, and fuch as gives them a fu-
" periority and pre-eminence above all
^' others. Yet ftfll, will our want of
*' knowing the names of the perfons,
'* who received benefit from miracles, and
*' the eircumftances of place, company,
•' &c. deftroy their credit.'' — No furely,
" There are different degrees of probabi-
" lity. The accounts of the ancient fa-
" thers may be and are fufficiently fatis-
*• faftory,and worthy of our belief, though
" they do not carry with them the felf-
<* fame very clear and convincing proofs
" of their truth, which the relations of
^^ the Evangdifts do *."
^ From all thefe quotations then, you fee
that it is a peint about which Chriftians
(even thofe who are the moft fanguine
' Ditto, p. Sfi

383
oppofers of Dr. MiddletorCs opinion) are
pretty wdl agreed, that the miracles of
the fathers do not carry with them the fame
very clear and convincing proofs qf their
truth, which the relations of the Evange^
lifts do. So that, I again repeat it, even
upon the principles of thefe gentlemen
themfelves, all that Dr. Middleton contends
for may be admitted, and yet the credibi
lity of the miracles recorded in the New
Teftarnept, will remain unffiaken,
Whether the fame arguments which
fed Dr. Berriman, the author of the ob
fervations, and Dr. Church, to allow that
the miracfes recorded by the fathers, do
not ftand upon the fame footing of cre
dibility with thofe of the Evangdifts,
ought not alfo to have led them to rejeft
them altogether, is a confideration I ffiall
not meddle with. But thus much I can
not help obferving, in order to be con
fiftent with myfelf, and with the principles
I have laid down in this treatife, that the
miraculous powers mentioned by the

384
writers of the fecond and third centuries,
are apparently liable to fome of the ob
jeftions, which I have urged as grounds
for our diffielieving the fpurious preten
fions of Popery ; and that moft, if not all,
thefe objeftions, are applicable, in their;
full force, to the miracles of the fourth
and fifth age. To be particular upon
this head, would lead me to a repetition
of what has been fo copioufly infifted
upon, by Dr. Middleton and his anfwer->
ers. Suffer me, therefore, juft to obferve,
that though our not knowing on whom^
tor by whom, or before whom, the miracles
recorded by the fathers of the fecond and
third centuries were wrought, ffiould be
allowed not to deftroy their credit (though
this is a conceffion very few will make to
Dr. Church) yet the fafts appealed to ar©
of fo ambiguous a kind, that granting they
did happen, it wi!l remain to be decided,
by a confideration of the eircumftances
attending the performance of them, whe
ther there was any miracle in the cafe,
or no, For, if we except the teftimonie*

385

of Papias and IrenceHs, who fpeak of the
raifing the dead, (and what I ffiall fuggeft
in the note will ferve to prove that their
teftimony is foreign to the prefent quef
tion.*} I can find no inftances of mira-

* The point in difpute is, whether miraculous powers
were continued in the church after the Apoftles. Papias
is quoted as faying, that a dead perfon had been raifed in
his age. But what can this prove, when it is a known
faft that Papias was cotemporary with, if hot a difciplc
of fome of the'Apoftles, and confequently lived at a time
when both parties are agreed miraculous powers did fub
fift ? The teftimony of Papias will appear ftill more foreign
to the debate,, by quoting the paifage of Eufebius wher«
it is mentioned ra /jut out xxra mt Icgairei^it $A(xrs'o» to»
UTlOToTiOt ai^x rais Svyxr^alri JiasTf (4'a', Six rut vgocr9i, SeSti^urxi.
is xxrx rovs avTovs o- Tlxitixs yzyo^stot Sivywit vxfsiKi^etM
ixvji,anay tiro Tov Tou $iA(7PS0u Gvyxrcfut {/.mfusvevi, TaH/y aryifuiurcot
»xfow yx^ atxrxmi xxr xvroy ycyoyviay i^o^ci  xxi xXKx Jt o
auro; avyfx^cvs us <x irxfo^oa-sus ayfaipou tis avnt ixoyrx
•If«(xri9iirxi, Eufebi L. III. C. 39.
" That Philip the Apoftle and his daughters lived at
" Hierapolis hath been mentioned already. As Papias^
" who was their cotemporary, relates a. wonderful hiftory
" as told to him by the daughter of Philip, I fliall taka
" notice of it here. For he tells us of one's being raifed
" from the dead, at that time  and the fame author
C C

S86
eles mentioned by the fathers before the
fourth centuryj as what were performed
•» has felated other thifigs alfo, as being handed down t»
" him by unwritten tradition." It is obvious then from
this paflage of Eufebius, of which I think I have given a
faithful tranilation, that Papias does not mention this in
ftance of a .perfon's being raifed from the dead on his own
knowledge, but as a faft, the tradition of which had been
handed down id hira by the daughters of Philip, whom he
was perfonally acquainted with, as they lived at Hierapolis,
of which he was Bifhop, Now thefe daughters of Philip
*re mentioned in the 21ft Ch^ter of the Afts of the Apof
tles. We may well fuppofe, then, that they were eye-wit-
tefles of miracles performed by their father and the other
Apofllesj and coilfequently, the inftance related by thera
to Papias, ,of one heing raifed from the dead, muft be
allowed to be a miraele of the Apoftolic age, and foreign to
i\fe prefent debate. But if the teftimony of Papias be foreign,
what fcall we fay to that of Irenseus? Dr. Middleton, re
prefents this father as telling us that the dead were frequently
Jaifed, in his time, that is, in the fecond century, and
lived for many years after; and this teftimony the Doftor
thinks hehas fuffiGietitly invalidated, by giving us inftances
of credulity, &c. in the charafter of Irenaeus, and by fliew
ing, from his cotemporary TheOphilus of Antioch, that the
Chriftians of that time, were not able to produce to their
Pagan adverlaries, any one perfon who had been raifed
from tbe dead.
Now, in my judgment, the Do&ot might have well

387
by Chriftians in their times, but the cures
qf difeafes, particularly the cures of dae-
avoided the invidious taik of depreciating Irenssus'a tef
timony. For though both he and the gentlemen who hav«
anfwered the Free Inquiry, have taken it for granted that
Irenseus fpeaks of the power of raifing the dead as fub
fifting fl;ill in his own time, this point, about which bot^
are agreed, will not appear fo evident if we examine thei
parage in which Irenseus is fuppofed to give this teftimony.
As our copies of Irenasus want the original Greek here,
I fliall give it as preferved by Eufebius, L. 5. C. vii. P. 1^7.
—roa-ovnt St airoSsoua-t rov ysx^ot tytipxi x*9us o uvfios yjytift xxi
ti awofoXo* Six ntfoatv^s, xxi tt rti asSEX^oriiTf itoKKoi vo'KKxxis Se
S(« TO xtcHxaiot, XXI rns xxrx Towoy aaO-.i\iiixs iixms xima-xusytta
(MTX n^iias iroM.ns, xxi Kirxysixs, ETOr^S'vj/e to vkv/ax rau teteXbb-
x»T05, XXI tyxf^n 0 ay^fionot rais tv^xis rut xyiut. " They
" indeed (the heretics) are far from being able to raife the
" dead, as our Lord raifed them, and as the Apoftles and
" many of the brethren raifed them by their prayers. Eut
"" frequently, upon fome neceflary occaflon, by the prayers
" .of the whole church of the place, offered up with much
" fafting, has the fpirit returned to the dead body, ajjd
" a man been given back to the prayers of the Saints." —
The drift of Irenseus's argument is to confute an opinion
of fome heretics, who affirmed that Jefus did net truly
tife from the dead but only (pxyrxa-iulus, in appearance, an
opinion founded on the fuppofed impoflibility of a refurrec-
tion, and which Irenseus fliews to be groundlefs by appealing
to fafts, to inftances of perfons who had been raifed from.
the dead by Jefus himfelf, by the Apoftles, by other brethren^.
C C 2

388
moniacs, by exorcifing them, which laft
indeed feems to be their favorite ftanding
and by the united prayers of fome churches. But I appeal to
every one whether he has given the leaft hint that any fuch
miracle was frequently performed in his own days. He
aflerts that fuch miracles had happened in the church, but
fays not a word of their continuing _/?('// to happen; and
therefore he may well be fuppofed to allude to what had
happened in the Apoftolic age, when all Chriftians arc agreed,
that miraculous powers ftill fubfifted.
But let us attend to whet follows next, as quoted from
IrentBus by Eufebius, in the fame place, and we fliall fee
farther grounds for concluding, that raifing the dead is not
one of the miraculous powers, faid by him to be exercifed
by Chriftians in his time, £/ ru exe/wu oyofixn oi aXnQus avroti
f^xSrirai, •iraf avnt AajSovrsr t»» %«?'», t'niriXovaiy, es cvifyccrix t>)
Tut XotiTut xy^fwniijy — o^ ^ev ya^ oatfA/iyxs iKocvyov^t — oi 6t ij^oyyu*
ffit tyff>V(Ti rm fiiM.oyrut, xxi aurxaixs, xxi eriatis ixsfol^rixxs,
kM.01 Se rovs xa^novTaj ^ix r-ns ruy x^'f^* EwfiEcrEwr wyrai — 101 ot
Kx9us fpa^sy, xai yotpoi yiyBpQyjaay, xxi TTX^E^^iyxy g-vy yif^it ixxyois
ersa-i. " They who are his (Jefus's) true difciples do in
" his name, confer bleflings on others by a power received
" from him — for fome co/? out Daemons, — others Aawknow-
" lege of futurity, and fee vifions, others again cure the
•' fick by impofition of hands. Befides, I have obferved
*' already the dead have been raifed and have lived many
" years amongft us." From this paftage, then, thus clofJy
tranflated, obferve, that when Irenaeus fpeaks of the caft
ing out dsemons,' of the cures of difeafes, and of the

38.9
miracle, and the only one which I find
(after having turned . over their writings
carefully, and with a view to this point)
vifions and other perfanal gifts of Chriftians, his e.xprel!lons
denote actions of the prefent time, Ixiy^yxs tXxvvovai —
»aiA,toyrxs lutrxi, otirxaias cx"""'' — thefe then were the mira
culous powers which he fays ftill fubfifted. But when he
fpeaks of raifing the dead, he immediately changes his
ftile, and fays ttxfoi vyc^^^nav have been raifed, not
'yvgoyrai, which he would have ufed had he mentioned/ this
power as ftill fubfifting. If we turn to the Latin tranf
lation preferved in our copies of Irenffius, the fame
difference of expreflion may be obferved there, " Alii
" enim daemones excludunt, alii autem prSefcientiam habeni
" futurorum, & vifiones — alii autem laborantes aliqua in-
*•' firraitate currant Sc fanos rejlituunt. Jam etiam, quem-
" admodum, diximus, & mortui refurrexerunt, & perfeve-
" raverunt nobifcum raultis annis." Iren. L. 2. C. lvii.
P. 218. From all this then, I think it is pretty evident,
that the miracle of raifing the dead is fpoken of by
Irenseus, only as vvhat had been performed formerly, not
as what continued in his time equally with the other
inftances, which according to him, were ftill fubfifting in
the church. Dr. Middleton in his pofthumous piece, P.
69, juftly correfts Dr. Dodwell forgiving a prefent fenfe to
¦nys^Scyrx, But unlefs he himfelf runs into the like miftake,
Irenaeus's faying nxpoi -nyefStia-xt cannot prove, that he
fpeaks of the dead being ftill raifed by Chriftians in his own
8ge,

390

they challenged their adverfaries to come
and fee them perform*.

• It may not be foreign to my argument to place before
the reader fome few of the many appeals made, by the
Chriflian writers of thofe ages, to the ftanding power of
cafting out daemons, by exorcifing them in the name of
Jefus. The firft I ftiall mention is from Jujlin Martyr.
Kai tvt IK rut lis\-^it ymfixtay (MxSvt ^vtxtr^e, Sa/^owoXtiwrow yotj
voMjivs xxra ifxvrx rot xocr/Mt, xxi ct rv vftsri^x b^oXei, i!o>Aot
'Tut i(*srsgm atOgwrrut rut Xfi^ixtut, fjrofxi^otres xarx rov otOfMt'
70S liiaov Xpifov rov Txvpu6cyros tiri riovTiou Tli>Mrov, visa rut «^-
tjist itxyruy sirofxirut xai eTrx^ut xai tpxpi^xtavrut (xw ixmrxs,
uc(7xyTo, xxitviyvt iiJtrai, xarxfyovyris xat iwiuxiatris rovs xarc-
^otrxs rovs xtSfuvovs SxijMnxs. Juftin Martyr, Cohortatio ad
Graecos, P. 45. Two paflages to the fame purpofe occur in
Juftin's dialogue withTrypho, P. 247 and 311. — Tertullian
boafts in the following manner ; Edatur hie aliquis fub
tribunalibus veftris, quern daemone agi conflet : Juffus a
quolibet chriftiano loqui fpiritus illus, tam fe daemonem
confttebitur de vero, quam alibi deum defalfo: jEque
producatur aliquis ex iis qui de Deo pati exiftimantur, qui
aris inhalantes numen de nidore concipiunt, qui ruftando
curantur, qui anhelando prajfantur. Ifta ipfa virgo cceleftis
pluviarumpollici tat rix,ifte ipfe jEfculapiusraedicinarumde-
monftrator, alihs de morituris fcordii & denatii & afclepiadoti
fubminiftrator, nifi fe dasmones confeflTi fuerint, chriftiano
mentiri non audentes, ibidem illius chriftiani procaciflimi
fanguinem fundite. Quid ifto opere manifeftius, quid hac
probatione fidelius? Simplicitas veritatis in medio eft;
virtus illi fuaaffiftitj nihil fufpicari licebit, magi^ aut

39X
Now, not to mention that the fame
Fathers who afcribe fuch. powers to
aliqu4 fallacia fieri. Diftis nan ^tis, fi occuli veftri & aures
permiferint vobis. — TertuU. Apol, C. 13. See alfo, a
fimilar paflage of the fame author — Ad Scapulam, C. 2.
P. 6. — St. Cyprian appeals to Demetrianus the Froconful
of Africa, with like confidence. O fi audire eos velles &
videre, quando a nobis adjurantur '& torquentur J^iritualibus
flagris, & verborum tormentis de obfeflis corporibus ejici-
unter, xjuando ejylantes & gementes voce humana, 4( potef-
tate divina flageUa &c verfcera featientes, yenturum j.udicitfW
corJitcntur, vei^4c cognofce ver?, efle quae dicimps,— r-Cyp.
ad Demet. S. 12. Minimum Fdix triumphs to the fanje puf -
poie. Hxc omnia fciuutplerique, pa^rs velirum, ipfos D^m^or
nos de femetipfls confitesri, quoties ja nobis tormenitis ver»
borura & oratianjs incendijs 4e cor-porib^s .ejiiguntur. Jpfg
Salurnus &. Serapis 4( Jupiter & quicquid d«nionum colitis,
vift-i dolore, quod fynt eJoquuntur j nee utique in turpitu-
dioem fui, nonnuilis prsefertim veft^fim a^iflentihu^, m^n-
tiunter, Ipfis teflibus eos gfle Dsemonas, de fe verutn eo^-
jfiteutifcus credite; adjurati enim per Deum verum & foluffl,
i«-viti, naiieia<:orporibus iflhprrefcunt, &, vej ejtiliunt itatiflJ,
'Vel ev^nefcunt gradatiiu, pr<out \fldes patientis .adjuyfit, iixA
gratia -cur^ntii.s ai^ra-t. — M. Feliy. P. SiO, — Julius Firmigus
a^es in the ikme defcripiion ; Ecce Daemon efl quem
(colis, cum Dei & Chrifti ejus Doraen audierit, cofUrieimefcit,
&, ut iaterrogantihu* nobis refpondeat trepdautia verba,
vix-fe coUiigit ; adiiaeijeins homini laceratuir, uritur, sapulat,
^ ^atim de comBnilJis fcelerib.us confiteitur. — D« Errorc
profa,iv tlielijg. — LaS^avMu siv(»iisthe fesacaficoMnt of tb«

393
Chriftians, allow equally that they were

behaviour of the Demons which were difpofTefled in his
time. — Quo audito, tremunt, exclamant, & uri fe verbera-
rique teftantur; interrogati quifint, quando venerint, quando
inhominem irrepferint, confitentur ficextorti, & excruciati;
virtute divini numinis exulant; propter haec verbera &
minas, fanftos & juftos viros femper oderunt. Laft. de
Juftitia, Lib. y. C. 12.
But of all the works of the fathers of the fecond and
third age, Origen's Defence of Chriftianity againft Celfus,
both on account of the length of the performance, and
of the nature of the argument there treated, is the moft
likely to give us a complete view of the nature of the
miraculous powers, claimed by Chriftians at that period.
It will not be unneceflary therefore, to quote here the prin
cipal pafTages of that work, where any mention is made
of fuch powers. — Origen tells us (P. 62. Ed. Sp.) that
ever fince the coming of Jefus there were no prophets, nor
miracles to be found among the Jews, whereas there were
fome footfteps of them, ftill amongft Chriftians, which he
had feen himfelf. E^-it ovy i\iy [j,irx my l-naov e!ri^viJ.ixv, lou-
^xiovs xxr»\iKiii^iA.iyovs- — xxi fc*)Ofv ffvi^ziov rov siyxi riyx ^Eior^iTx
v'xgxvrois. ovx ET/ yx^ vr^oipnrxi, ovoc rifx^ix, uy xxy i^vi fni
moaot iiafx xfi^'xyois ivfiaxtrxi, xxi riyx yc i^si^oyx, xxi ci mroi
^(i(uy 'ktyoyrts , iu^xxxij.iy XXI tift.iis. What then are the parti
cular inftances brought by Origen, in fupport of this general
aflTertion ? — ^The following are all that I have been able to
meet with. He mentions (p. 80.) that in his time
cures were performed in the name of J efus : Tmxiot ff§yiy.

393
exercifed by Pagans, with the affiftance
¦rov ItfiTOV, TO {J.^"/}! Tfii/.ipot "Qcpxirivca-^xi ru ovo//,aT( kdtoi;, m)s , o
@t.os ^ovXsr XI, He aflirms (p. 124.) that fome Chriflians
were able, by invoking the name of God and Jefus, to
cure the fick ; and that he himfelf had feen many freed, in
this manner, from the fevereft difeafes, fuch as madnefs
and the like : ¦^'ms \ (rniAiix rov ciXtitpiyxi ri ^as.Tsjv wr(v rxvnmi
Vx^aSo^orcpoy, titi^iixyvyrxi sy ois 6ipx'!KVovaiy, ov^tt juXKo xahovy ,
T5f ETO TOtIS Seo/^etom ^ffXIJllXS, iJ TO* IWI vrxiTi 0SOV, 'XXI ro Toj;
li)irov oto[/,!t jAirx rris ircpi avrov 'i^opias. rovrois yxq xxi n^iis supx-
nxfist iroM.ovs xiixM^yiyrxs yxKsiiuy avy.iir'jnt.xrwy, xxi ixtx-
^sciiy XXI lAxytuy, xxi aXXuy fjLV^tbiv, ocitt^ wrxy^^untoi ovrs dx{[/.o^s
sSifxmv<rxy. — He tells us (p. 133,) that the Dsaraons quilted
the bodies they poflefled, whenever adjured by the
name of Jefus; Sxifjjiyss ru oyoj^xn avrov x'txyy^XXof/.ttu jJ.otn!i
Pjiotrts xyxx'^povy xito ruy v'nxvruy 7roXiiJ:,ov[A;cyuv. — In another
place (p. 335.) he fays that many Chriftians could caft out
daemons from the poflefled, without any magical incanta
tions, but merely by exorcifing them with prayers; that
even the moft fimple rn'en could do this ; and that this
power was generally exercifed by laymen : Ivoioy i^i xxi
ro rut oxifAOyuy ysvos, ovs ovx oXiyoi vpi^ixyuy aittXxvyovtrt rut 'TTao'-
^avTwv, ovy ovoiyi 'rFs^is^yu .xxi (juxyix-u vi ^xpiJjxXEVfiKU ^pxyij.xrt,
xXXx ^oyv] f y^>j — XXI o(rx xy ovyxiro TfpoaxyEit xirXovj-spos aydpuTFos.
iis fViiixy yxg i^iuTxi ro roiovroy Trpe^ryovrpi .  Thefe then be
ing the fingle inftances produced by Origen, to corroborate
his general affertion as to the continuance of miraculous
powers in his time, this perfeftly agrees with fhe reprefen
tation which I have given of them, via. — that they confifted

394
of their daemons or Gods*, and admit
that there were exorcifts among the
in the cures of difeafes, and particularly in the cures of per
fons fuppofed to be pofleffed by fome dsemon.
* Origen in his Treatife, which I have quoted fo often,
feems to allow (for argument's fake at leaft) the power
of curing difeafes to .ffifculapius , a daemon tkilled in phy
fic; and of prophecying, to another daemon, Apollo.
I»a oe XXI ou Ixrpixoy riyx Axi/Mtx Sipx-TTiviy ou/JMrx, to> xarXouftf-
voy AoxKnirioy' iiwoiiJ-'xy vfos rovs &xvjjM^otrxs ro roixvro, hi tw
A-noXXums nxynixy, &c. &c. P. 124. But if Origen does
not come up to the point, Athenagoras, a father of the fame
age certainly does; for he mentions it as a matter
about which Chriftians were agreed, that in different place?,
cities, and countries, there were fome extraordinary works
performed in the name of idols, ro f^iy Jij xxrx romvs, xxt
lloXiis, XXI cOyri yiyysaSxi riyas I'noyof/.ct.ri ctSuXut itEpyiias, ov^n-
(Jicis xyriXiyofAiy- ov fj-tvci u((i('Kriina-xy riyis, xxi xv iKvn-n&'na-xy iripot,
Siovs toiJLioviji.ty rovs £^ sxxripx tyepyiKrxyrcs. Athenag. Legatio
pro Chrift. P. 25.
I fliall only add, that it feems to appear unexceptiona
bly, from the paflages quoted in this and in thu former
rote, that the Chriftian writers of the fecond and third
ages, did not deny the exiftenceof the Jupiter, the Saturn,
the Serapis, the Apollo, the Iris, the .ffifculapius, and
other objefts of the Pagan worfliip, but only laboured to
prove that they were not gods, but daemons : In fuppoit

S95
Jtws and Gentiles, who by the ufe of
certain forms of words ufed as charms,
and by the practice of certain rites, caft
out devik as well as the Chriftian- exor
cifts*, not to mention this, I fay which
fome may think puts thefe feats of jug
glers and impoftors, upon the fame
footing of credibility with the works af
cribed to Chriftians) may it not be al-
feged, that the objeftions urged in the
above treatife, againft fuch inftances of a
miraculous power in later ages, are appli
cable alfo to thefe ? — May it not be al
ledged, that the cures afcribed to the
prayers of Chriftians, to the impofition
of their hands, &c. in thofe early times,
of which they urged the confeffion of thefe daeiDons -them
felves, whom they fuppofed to poffefo men's bodies, and
ever whom the Chriftian e^iorcifts had fo commanding ail
influence. * This appears indnbrtably from the foUowinf authori
ties, Juftin Martyr's Dialogue with Trypho, P- 311-
Irenesus, L. II. C. v. P. 123, and Origen againft Celfus,
P. 17. P. 183—184. P. 262, which paflages I avoid traii-
fcribino;, hi the fake of brevity.

396
might, for aught we know, be really
brought about in a natural way, and be
accounted for in ihe fame way, in which
we have accounted for thofe afcribed to
the Abbe Paris, and thofe attributed by
the fuperftitious Papifts, to the inter
ceflion of their faints ? And, particularly,
fince thefe primitive cures, are, as Dr.
Church allows', related to us without any
circumftance attending them — how know
we, whether the grounds for afcribing
them to a fupernatural interpofition,
were fuch as would bear examination,
if we had the means of examination in
our power ? — With regard to the exor
cifing of devils, the only miracle which
the Chiftian apologifts challenge the Pa
gans to come and fee them perform, —
will it not be obvious to aflc, why, if
this power was continued in the church
as a proof of the truth of chriftianity,
powers alfo were not appealed to, lefs am
biguous in their nature, and other works
performed, which admit of no folution
from natural caufes, and were incapable

397
of being the effefts of fraud and collu
fion* ?
If any one, after weighing thefe ob
jeftions, ftiould ftill think the accounts
of the miracles, mentioned by the fathers

* Gregory, ufually-furnamed Thaumaturgus, flouriftied
about the middle of the third century, and many of the
miracles afcribed to him are fafts which can admit of no
folution from natural caufes. Will not this then prove
that I have given a partial view of the miraculous powers
of the fecond and third ages? I think not; and for this
reafon. Though Gregory flourifhed in the third century,
no cotemporary author mentions any thing of the ftrange
wonders which he is reported to have wrought; nor can
they be traced higher than the time of St. Bafil and St.
Gregory of Nyffa, who were brothers, and both lived about
a century after his death. They, therefore, are juftly,
rejefted as inventions of a later age, and can be believed
by thofe only who can admit the miracles afcribed to Apol
lonius, or thofe reported, fo long after his death, of Igna
tius. — Gregory of Nyffa, according to Dr. Cave's charafter
of him, Hid, Liter. P. 132, wa* apt to be too credulous. '
No wonder, therefore, he gave too much credit to old
women's tales — as the Anecdotes of the Wonder-worker
muft be allowed to be, when related (as we learn from St.
Bafil, Epift. ad Neocaeffar. 75, P. 131. T. 1.) by his aged
grandmother Macrina.

398
of the fecond and third age, to be fuffi
ciently fatisfadlory and worthy of beliefs
let him enjoy his opinion ; but however,
let him not blame thofe who are more
fcrupulous in admitting a claim to mira
cles ; and who, while they have the mi
racles recorded in the Gofpels confirmed
to them, by fo full, fo dear, fo com
manding an evidence think themfelves
at liberty to doubt of, nay to difbelieve
the miracles reported by the fathers on
evidence far lefs fatisfaftory.
Thus much with regard to the miracu
lous powers of the fecond and third cen
turies. — But if there Ihould be room for
allowing fand I am far from denying
this) that thefe ought in juftice to be
diftinguiflied from the more modern, and
more fufpicious pretenfions of Popery,
furely this favourable opinion cannot be
extended, by any one who has examined
the fubjeft, to the claims of the fourth
and fifth centuries. For though the
wonders afcribed to the heroes of

399
thofe times be related in the moft cir-
cumftantial manner, and, in general,
muft, if they were true, be allowed to
be fupernatural, fo that the defefts ob-
fervable in the accounts of the two
former ages are not applicable to them ;
yet do they fo exaftly refemble the
boafted wonders of the Romijh Saints,
that a Proteftant who goes fo low, will
never be able to give a fatisfaftory rea
fon why he will go no lower; why,
while he admits the miracles of thofe
frantic enthufiafis of the fourth or fifth
centuries, of a Paul, an Anthony, an Hi-
larion, a Simeon Stylites, he is not equally
an advocate fe)r the miracles of the four
teenth or fifteenth centuries, for St.
Nicholas Totentine and his chickens, and
for another Anthony preaching to his
fiflies. There feems lefs reafon for my ufing
of caution in giving my opinion as to
the miracles of the fourth and fifth ages,
both becaufe Dr. Church and Dr. Dod^

406
well, by confining their defence of the
primitive miracles to thofe of the three
firft ages, feem to give them up, which
is alfo done by Mr. Jackfon and Mr.
Brooke in their anfwers to the Free In
quiry) and becaufe even Mr, Dodwell
the father, who has deduced the hiftory
of the primitive miracles to the eftablifti-
ment of chriftianity by human laws,
Ihuts them up then; declaring that
many things concurred to recommend
the credit of the preceding age^, which
have no place in thofe that followed ;
and who fpeaking of the life of Gregory
called the wonder-worker, written by
Gregory of NyJJa, a bifliop of the greateft
piety and gravity, fays, " in this life
" there are many things, which breathe
*' the air of impofture, and the genius
" of the fourth century, fo that I dare
" not mix them with what is more ge-
" nuine, for fear of hurting the credit
« of all."*
* See Mr. Dodwell's Diff. Iren. as quoted by Dr. Mid-
dlttoit, Free Inquiry, P. 128, 129.

401
I fliall only add, that if ever there were
any accounts of miracles, which paffed
current without beinsr examined into at
their firft publication, and which confe
quently will not bear the teft of the third
rule which I laid down in this treatife,
this may be affirmed of the miracles re
corded by writers of the fourth and fifth
ages ; when Chriftianity, now freed from
the terrors of perfecution, and aided by
the civil magiftrate, began to be corrupted
by its credulous, or ill defigning pro
feffors, and the foundation was laid of
thofe inventions, which have gathered
like a fnow-ball, in every fucceeding
age of fuperftitious ignorance, till at laft
the fun-fliine of the reformation began
to melt the monftrous heap. And if we
think ourfelves warranted to pay no
regard to the accounts of more modern
miracles propagated in favour of image-
worlhip, purgatory and tranfubftantia
tion, the very fame reafons will lead us,
if we be confiftent with ourfelves, to rank
in the fame clafs, the miracles of the
D D

402
fourth and fifth age, propagated in favour
of monkery, and of the worfhip of faints
and reliques.
Though it may be a matter more of
curiofity than of ufe, to endeavour to
determine the exaft time when miracu
lous powers were withdrawn from the
church, yet I think that it may be de
termined with fome degree of exaftnefs.
The various opinions of learned Pro-
teftants who have extended them at all
after the Apoftles, ' fhew how much they
have been at a lofs with regard to this ;
Vv'hich has been urged by Papifts with
an air of triumph, as if Proteftants not
being able to agree when the age of mira
cles was clofed, this were an argument of
its not being clofed as yet. — If there be
any thing in this objeftion (though per
haps there is not) I think I have it in*
my power to obviate it, by fixing upon
a period, beyond which we may be cer
tain that miraculous powers did not
fubfift.

403
tn order then to this, I muft defir^
you to recolfeft that I have endeavoured^
under my laft head in the above treatife*
to fhew, that what we know of the at
tributes of the Deity, and of the ufual
methods of his government, incline us
to believe, that miracles will never be
performed by the agency and inftrument
tality of men, but when thefe men are
fet apart and chofen by God to be his
embafladors, as it were, to the worlds
to deliver fome meflage, Or to preach
fome doftrine as a law from Heaven;
and in this cafe, their being vefted with
a power of working miracles, is the
beft credential of the divinity of their
miffion. If we fet out with this as a principle —
then Ihall we eafily determine, when it
was that miracles ceafed to be performed
by Chriftians ; for we fhall be led to
conclude that the age of Chriftian mi*
racles, muft have ceafed with the age
qf Chriftian infpiration* So long as
D D 2

404
Heaven thought proper to fet apart any
particular fet of men, to be the authorized
preachers of the new religion revealed
to mankind, fo long, may we reft fatis
fied, miraculous powers were conti
nued. But whenever this purpofe waa
anfwered, and infpiration ceafed to be any
longer neceffary, by the complete publi*
cation of the Gofpel, then would the mi
raculous powers, whofe end was to prove
the truth of infpiration, be, of courfe,
withdrawn. I will not take upon me to fay, that
we can trace with any certainty, the
exaft year when Chriftianity ceafed to
be preached by perfons really infpired*
St. John, we know, who furvived the
reft of the twelve Apoftles, died very ^
near the clofe of the firft age. However^
this we know likewife, from perufing
our New Teftament, that the twelve
were not the only infpired preachers- of
* In the year 99,

40.5
Chriftianity ; but that, befides them,
many other difciples were vefted with
the fame charafter, and for this purpofe
enabled to perform fuch works as might
prove that God was xdth them. And it
is far from being improbable, that
fome of them did furvive the laft of the
Apoftles, and confequently, that miracu
lous powers were not totally with
drawn, at the beginning of the fecond
century. But if they were continued thus long,
there is all the reafon in the world to
conclude, that they did entirely ceafe
foon after. This, at leaft, is certain,
that none of the venerable fathers, the
ornaments and heads of the church in
the fecond or third age, whofe works
have come down to us, or whofe names
only are preferved, ever pretended to
put themfelves upon a footing with the
infpired publifhers of the Gofpel, or
affumed the charafter of teachers from
Heaven. The Gofpel revelation was

406
dofed with the Apoftles and with the
apoftolical affiftants; and antiquity is
unanimous in affuring us of this faft, that
in the very age immediately connefted
with that of the apoftles, their works were
diftinguifhed from any other writings of
Chriftians, and univerfally efteemed as
the oracles of truth, as the ftandard of
Chriftian faith and praftice. A moft
convincing proof that no future infpira
tion was claimed; or, if claimed, wa§
allowed of.
From what has been offiered, then,
under this head, we may eafily infer,
that Dr. Middleton might have denied
that miraculous powers were continued
in the church after the apoftolical age,
and yet have done np differvice to Chrif
tianity ; nor have furniflied us with any
grounds for calling his faith as a Chrif
tian, in queftion. And if his Free Inquiry
has had both thefe confequences, this
has arifen from his manner of fupport
ing hi? opinion, not from the real teua

407
dency of tbe opinion itfelf. — He has
juftly provoked the indignation of every
ferious Chriftian, by the indecent con
tempt with -which he treats the earh'eft
fathers of the Church, whofe names have
been venerable in every age, and whofe
labours in defence of Chfiftianity , for the
truth of which moft of them laid down
their lives, ought to have fecured them
from infult, if they could not procure his
efteem. And if there be any fuperftitious
conceits, or weak prejudices to be met
with in their works, a veil ought to have
been thrown over them, as thefe are
faults not of their own, but of the times
in which they lived ; and which, if they
difgrace the pages of the fathers of the
Chriftian Church, detraft equally from
the merit of their cotemporaries, the
philofophers of the Platonic and Pytha^
gorian fchools.
But this is only a fecondary reafon for
the offence taken by Chriftians at the Free
Jnquiry of Dr, Middleton^ Charity forbids

40S
us to put the worft conftruftion on the
intentions of any one living, but it would
be more ungenerous to treat thus one
who is now no more. — And, yet, I think
that Dr. Middleton, if he meant to rejeft
only the miracles fince the Apoftolical age,
while he admitted thofe of Jefus, which
every Chriftian muft admit, took the moft
obvious fteps to create a fufpicion that
his book was levelled equally at both.
One thing is certain, that gentlemen of
your perfuafion, have been furnifhed
with weapons againft Chriftianity, from
his magazine. For while he labours fo
ftrenuoufly to overturn the credibility of
all miraculous powers fince the Apoftles,
he leaves his readers to draw their confe
quences, nay encourages them to extend
his arguments as they pleafe. And many,
it is notorious, have extended them to
thofe miracles recorded hy. St. MaUAeWj
or St. Luke, while thofe mentioned by Ire-
naus, or Jyftin Martyr, are the only ones
exprefsly aimed at. — Dr. Middleton^ we
will fuppofe, was not aware of this, when

409
his Inquiry was firft publifhed. But after
he was aware of it, after he had feen that
the manner in which he treated his argu
ment, not the argument itfelf, had done
fo much harm to the religion he pro
feffed, it then became his duty, it was
expefted, it was neceffary, in order to
his convincing the world that he had no
other defign befides that which he
avowed, that he fhould give the antidote
as he had adminiftercd the poifpn ; by
pointing out the fuperiorty of the evi
dence by which the miracles recorded in
the New Teftament are fupported, and
by fliewing that the reafons affigned for
rejefting the mirades of the fathers
are not applicable (as I have proved
they are notj to the miracles of the Evan
gdifts. Had he done this — far from looking
upon him as a betrayer of his caufe, I
fhould rather have compared him to a
wife and prudent general, who abandons

410
outworks the maintaining of which would
lay him open to the infults of the ene
my, and retires behind baftions, againft
which all their attacks will be ineffeftual.-^
In word, had Dr. Middleton done' this,
he would have done real fervice to the
caufe of Chriftianity, by removing a fund
of cavilling, and a fource of objeftions
which have been furnifhed to the fcoffer,
by fome injudicious defenders of the
Chriftian religion, who have blended its
evidences with conneftions equally fuf
picious as they are foreign, and by aim
ing to prove more than was neceffary,
have brought into doubt what, other-
wife, would have been thought fu^ciently
proved. But as this was not attempted by Dr.
Middleton (and it were to be wifhed that
ive could difcover in his fubfequent
•writings that he had any inclination to at?
t.emptit*) the learned and worthy perfons,
f \\\s Tregtife on Prophecy : a. work where we have

411
who undertook to confute the Free Inquiry,
fliould have made this the principal view
more of invcftive than of argument, and which will be a
lafting proof that no digniiy of charackT, or fuperioi-ity
of abilities, can fecure one from the attacks of envious
fpleen and difiippointed ambition: and his pofthumous
¦vindication of the Free Inquiry, in -which from P. 5, to P.
11, he feems rather to ftrengthen than lo confute the
eharge, which had been brought againft him, of haying
dropt hints of his allowing of no revelation tefides that
?' which God has made of himfelf from the beginning,
*'* and placed continually before our eyes in the wonderful
*¦* works and beautiful fabric of this vifible world."
Pref. to Free Inquiry, P. 18,
And yet after all ; as I ftiould be very forry to give
v-p, to the enemies of Chriftianity, a writer of Dr. Mid
dleton's abilities (not to mention any thing of his pro
feffion) il is with a degree of pleafure that' I meet with the
following declaration of his fentiments, in his introduftory
difcourfe. " As far as miracles can evince the divinity
**'of a religion, the pretenfions of Chriftianity are con-
*' firmed by the evidence of fuch, as of all others on record,
" are the leaft liable to exception, and carry the cleareft
" malrks of their fincerity ; being wrought by Chnft and
" his Apoftles, for an end fo great, fo important, and fo
" univerfally beneficial, as to be highly worthy of the
" interpofition of the Deity ; and wrought by the miniftry
" of mean and fimple men, in the open view of the people,
I'as the teftiraonial of that divine miffion, to wiich

412
of their anfwers. — Inftead of making the
caufe of the fathers, as it were, the caufe

" they pretended ; and delivered to us by eye-witueffes,
" whofe honeft chavaftsrs exclude fufpicion of fraud, and
" whofe knowledge of the fa.£ts, which they related,
" fcarce admits the probability of a miftake. This is th«
" genuine ground on which Chriftianity refts," P. y4.
Dr. Middleton expreffes himfelf ftill more ftrongly in tho
prefatory difcourfe to his Letter from Rome. " That my
•' fentiments therefore (fays he) on this head may
" neither be miftaken, nor fufpefted ; and that I may give
" fatisfaftion, as far as I am able, to all, whom, by any
" freedom of expreffion, I may poflibly have offended,
" either in this, or in any other of my writings, I take
" this occafion to declare ; that I look upon miracles,
*' when accompanied with all the eircumftances, proper
" to perfuade us of the reality of the fafts, faid to be per-
" formed, and of the dignity of the end, for which they
" were performed, to be the moft decifive proofs, that cui»
'* be given, of the truth and divinity of any religion.
" This was evidently the cafe of the Jewifli and of the
*' Chriftian miracles ; wrought in- fuch a manner, as could
" leave no doubt upon the fenfes of thofe, who were the
" witneffes of them ; and for the nobleft end, for which
*' the Deity can be conceived to interpofe himfelf; the
" univerfai good and falvation of man."' — And again.
" The innumerable forgeries of this fort, which have been
" impofed upon mankind in all ages, are fo far from
" weakening the credibility of the Jewifli and Chriftian
" miracles, that they ftrengthen it. For how could we

415
of Chriflianity (which was the Very thing
the enemies of Chriftianity could with)
'-* account for a praftice fo univerfai, of forging nriradaa
" for the fupport of falfe religions, if on fome occafioiw
" thtey had not aftually been wrought, for the confirmation
" of a true one ? Or how is it poffible, that fo many fpu-
" rious copies ftiould pafs upon the world, without fome
"genuine original, froin- whence they were dravfn ; whofe
" knovin exiftence and tried fuccefs might give an ap-
" pearance of probability to the counterfeit B" P. 84 — S7-
Whether Dr. Middleton has not in many of his works,
from the famous letter to Dr. Waterknd, down to thfe
pofthumous vindi-pation of his Free Inquiry, dropt hint%
nay even defended arguments, which cannot well be re
conciled with the above declaration of his fentiments, may
perhaps admit of a debate. However, as every one would
infift upon it as a matter of mere juftice, that his clear and
pofitive deelarations fhould be the rule of delerminiflg
the real meaning and tendency of his more ambiguous
expreffions; for this reafon, I think that Dr. Middleton
cannot be claimed by writers on the fide of infidelity, and
that we have not fufficient grounds, notwithftanding the
many fufpicious circumft-ances in his works, to reprefent
^im as a difbeliever of the miracles on which Chriftianity
rs built. -^The liberty I have taken, I think juftly, in
feveral places of this treatife, to pafs cenfures on Dr.
Middleton, muft fatisfy every one, that nothing but a
regard to truth could have drawn from me the attempt, in
the prefent note, to clear his charafter from an impU'-
tation, which however cannot be called a malicious oiji^

4t4
their anfwers would have done rfiore efj
feftual fervice to their religion, had they
begun where Middleton ended, had they
fupplied what he omitted ; in fliort, had
they joined iffue with him as to the mi
racles which he rejefted, and which
they tbemfelves look upon as of no confe
quence to the caufe of the Gofpel, and
fhewn that this would not affeft the
credibility of thofe miracles on the truth
of which the Gofpel undoubtedly, is
founded. Itad this been done, your cavils as to
the want of a criterion to diftinguifh true
from falfe miracles, would have been ob
viated, and this taflc, which I have now
performed been, in a great meafure, un
neceffary. A tafli, I own, which I
Ihould never have undertaken, had not
the importance of the fubjeft made me
as he ^as written with a freedom vf expiejjion in fome
cf his works, according to his oviii confeffion, which
k'fi ronia lo his antagonifts lo miU,ike or fufpeft his real
t'it.limeiits.

413
forget my inability to do it juftiCe, dnu
the filerice of others better able to defend
Chriftianity, fecured this weak attempt
of mine, from a charge of prefumption.
And, if, after all that I have offered, you
ftill continue unconvinced, you mufi im
pute to the unfkilfulnefs of the champion,
what certainly ought not to be imputed
to the weaknefs ofhis caufe. My weapons
were good if I could have ufed them
effeftually. But though I may have failed in my
attempt to convince jy^iz^, my labour.has;
at leaft, been crowned with this happy
^ffeft ;— it has ftrengthcned my own
faith. For by being obliged to confider,
with more attention than, perhaps, I had
done before, the nature of your objec
tions, their infufBciency has appeared in
a ftronger light : And the clofeft fcrutiny
and moft' impartial examination of the
evidences v/hich fupport thofe miracles,
on the credibility of which the truth of
the Revelation in the New Teftament is

410
tiuilt, have ferved only to fatisfy me that
Chriftianity is founded upon a rod, and
that every attempt to fap its foundations
tends to difcover their ftrength the
more.'-'This conviftion, a conviftion not
the effeft of blind prejudice, but the re*
fult of honeft enquiry, has filled my
mind with a fatisfaftion, that can be felt
by thofe alone who are fincere believers
of a religion, which every one would wifh
to be true, who would wifh to attain to
that glorious immortality, which it has
brought to light and promifed to man
kind.
/ am, &c.

THE END,

W. Flint, Printer, Old Bailey.

3 9002 00458 2285

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