VINDICATION O F T H E MIRACULOUS POWERS, Which Subfifted In the Three First Centuries of the Christian Church. In ANSWER to TDt^Middletons Free Enquiry. By which it is Shewn, That we have no fujfficient Reafon tO' believe, from the Doftor's Reafonings and Objedtions, that no fuch Powers were continued to the Church, after the Days of the Ap ost l es. With a P R E F A C E, Containing fome Observations on Dr. MEAD'i Account of the Demoniacs , in his New Piece, intituled, Medica Sacra. By T' H 0 MA S _C HU R C H, M. A. Ficar of Battersea, and Prebendary of St. Pavl's. Er^r OTN KAI ATT02 TH' ATTON OAirOT, AEIN EMATtOT EnEAA0OMHN, OTTfl niGANflS EAErON. KAI TOI AAH0E2 TE ( iiS EHOS EIITEIN) OT0EN EIPHKA2T, P^"'- -^pol- Socratis. LONDON: Printed for John and James Rivington, zt the Bible and Crown in St. Paul's Church-Yard. Lately Tuhlijhedy By the Rev' Mr. C H U R C H, And Sold }>y J. and J, R i v i n c t o w, LAN Explanation and Defence of the x\ Doftrine of the Church of England concerning Regeneration, Works before Grace y, and fome other Points relating thereto. IT. A Serious and Expoftulatory Letter to the Rev. Mr, George Whitefield. III. Remarks on the Rev. Mr. John Wef- Jefs laft Jmirnat, wherein he gives an Account of the Tenets and Proceedings of the Moravians, efpecially thofe in England., and of the Divifions and Perplexities of the Methodijls. IV. Some farther Remarks on the Rev. Mr. John Weflef^ laft Journal; to gether with a few Confiderations on his Farther Appeal : Shewing the Inconfiftency of his Conduct and Sentiments with the Conftitution and Dodlrine of the Church of Englandy and explaining the Articles re lating to yujiification. To which is an nexed, A Vindication of the Remarks; being a Reply to Mr. Weflef% Anfwer. THE PREFACE. H E Reader will find in the IntroduSlion an Account of the Motives, which en gaged me in this Under taking, and of the man ner, in which it is ' con duced. I have very little more to add here about the Work itfelf. , It was finifhed, a few Additions only excepted, before I had feen either of the Pieces which have been already publilhed againft the En quiry. It is no Part of my Defign to dero gate from the Merit of thefe. I have fince read them with Pleafure ; and 'tis a Satif- fadion to me, as well as a Confirmation of my own Judgment and Sentiments, to find, that we have fo frequently made ufe of the fame Reafonings^ and that I differ from them in little or nothing confiderable, that relates to the prefent Argument : Nay, I muft fair ly acknowledge, that in fome few Particulars A they ii PRE F ACE. they had carried. the Argument farther than I had done; ; in which Cafes I have taken the Liberty to, borrow fome of their Words, or to refer to.thern for a farther; Explicatiwi of the Points. . After fuch a Confefllon, the PubUcatlon of the following Papers may be thought un- neceflTary. I have only to fey this for them, that they contain, upon the Whole, a much fuller Anfwer to the Free Enquiry, _ and a much more diftinft Vindication of the Fa thers of the three firft Centuries, than has hitherto appeared. And, however fat^aiftofy the Trads of the other Gentlemen have been, fo far, as it fuited their. Inclination or Lei fu re to go; it may be prefupaed, .that many have wifhe4, and will be glad, to fee the 'Dodtor's Work more minutely exa mined, and his unfair Quotations, and falfe Reafonings, more largely opened and expofed to View. And the Author has had the Plea fure of receiving the Approbation of fome eminent, learned, and judicious PerfOns, who have taken the Trouble: of revifing thefe Pa pers, and advifed.him to offer them to the World. ' _ There is a Paflage or two in the Intro- duBory Difcourfe, lipon which as I have not remarked in its proper Place, it may not be unfit to do it here. It rdates to our great Reformers in King Edward the Sixth's Time. The Doftor canrj^t deny their Regard to 4 the I' RE F A C E. the Primitive Fathers'; but he endeavours to- account for this in the moft unkind and in vidious rfianner. After having infinuated, that they were, in the preceding R6ign, the Tools of a conceited King, he obferves, that when they were at Liberty to carry the great Work of Reformation on to Pcrfedlion, " yet, •' for the fake, either of their former Con- *' duft and Prejudices; or to pfeferve a " Charadler of Conftancy ; and to give the " leaft Scandal to the Clergy ; they en- '' deavoured, as far as they were able, tho' " fometimes by forced and unnatural Con-, " ftrudtionsy to juftify all their Proceedings " by the Example and Ufages of the an- " tient Fathers." For fuch a Sentence no doubt the Gentleman will have the Thanks of all Roman Catho|ics, to whom he has very neediefly- and unadvifedly given up the important Point of Antiquity. ——We cannot but fee here the irioft unfavourable and unjufl: Conftrudion put upon the Con- dud of the earlieft Martyrs and Champion? of our Church. But has the Author th? Gift of looking into their Hearts fo long af ter their Death, thus to pronounce upon their ading on fuch low and unworthy Mor tives, as he has here been pleafed to affign ? Could he not fuppofe it poflible for fuch great and good Men to proceed in this Matter ypr on 'Principle and Convidion ? Surely they, who adually conquered fo many other Pre- A 2 judices. m IV P RE FA C E. judlccs, and Ihewed fo*much Strength of Rjffolution and Piety, may be thought above being influenced in that manner. And their noble Defences of their Caufe from the An- tientsi to whom however they attributed no more Authority * than was due to them, farther prove, that they went upon the befl Grounds, and aded wifely, as well as con- fiftently. Again, this Gentlepian mentions it as an other Circuniflance, which keep? up our Re gard for Ecdefiaftical Antiquity, that this J*S4- *' is moftly on the Side of the Eftablifhed " Church," in Difputes about Points of Dif- cipline, and Forms of Worfhip. Now we may rather be faid to approve ' of the Me thods fettled among us, becaufe they are moft agreeable to the Primitive Pattern, than tb reverence the Fathers, becaufe they juftify fuch Methods. — — We are farther told, that " the Church will always be dif- " pofed to fupport that Authority, which *' helps it to deprefs a Set of Men, who — *' are yet more odious than the Papifts them- " felves to all the zealous Advocates, and " warm Admirers, of the Primitive Fathers.'' The Tendency of all this is plain enough. • Biftiop Hidley faid in the Difpntation, « I take and eftcem " not their Words [the Do6tor's] for the Words of Scrip- " ture. •— I account not theft M?ns I^eport$'fo fure as the •• Canonical Sqriptme." f«w, vol. iii, p. 70. §0 Bifliop Ltitimer, Set p. 8j. Court P R E F A C E. Court is here paid. to the Gentlemen of the Separation, at the Expence of the Conimu- nion of which he isaMinifier. And aU who oppofehim in tEis Scheme are to be blackened as- Enemies to the Diflenters. I think verily, this Gentlsqian would take it very ill to be fo treated. , That the Church of England fhould en deavour to fupport herfelf, and to defend that Form of Government, which ihc/ has Reafon to think apoftolical, cannot be won dered. It may more reafonably be wpn- dered, that .any in her Communion, much more any ofherMiniftcrs, fhould not think it their Duty, conftantly and zealoufly to alTert and maintain the fame againft all Opr pqfers. And this is the, only way of depref- Jing any of the Difl'entejrs, which we plead ibr, or ufe. Perfecution we defire none. And God forbid, that 'their Perfbns fliould be jc^Bus to us, on account of their Principles! This Suppofition, I hope, is quite ground- lefs. A Dillike of the one fure does not, need not, infer any Hatred of the other. , Neither is our Authox'5 AflTertion true, that they are more odious than the Papifts to all the zealous Advocates, &c. Were they fo to Archbifhop Wake and Dr. Water- land; whofe Regard, for the Fathers this Gentleman himfelf will not queftion, and whofe Moderation to the Diflenters was never doubted ? And may not many more be men- A 3 tioned, vi P R g F A G fi. tioned, and fappbfed, who think with them ; who do not put Points of Difcipline, and Points 'of Faith, on a-Level ; at leaft who judge all Compadfons between dtffereht Oppofefs ' in vidious and uielefs • and who content them- felves with admiring, and adhering to, theex- ceilent Church they have the Happinefs to 'be 'Members of, in Oppofi'tion to all Extremes whatever ? Affuredly there are, and this on the Very Account of Antiquityj' which they have Reafon to think, in the main things, in- tirely "with them. But are the Diffeiiters in general Enemies to the Fathers ? I believe hot. I fhall add the Words- of a very learned and judicious Man among theni, • who, I hope, fpeaks the .Senfe of by far the greater Part. -In the fame Paragraph in which he profeflTes to adore the Fulnefs of Scripture, he fays, "I " fee all Parties would be glad to have them " [the Antetiicene Fathers] on their Side : " And I confefs it aiSfords me a fenfible Plea- "fure to obferve, that the Scripture Do^ " drine in this momentous Point [the Trini- *' ty] was fo long preferved pure and uncor- " rupted in the Chriftian Church. I cannot •' bear, that the Memory of Perfons emi- " nent for Primitive Zeal and ' Holinefs " fhould be treated with Contempt; as their " other Accomplifhipents were far from be- " ing contemptible, fo the real Proofs, ' that the^ gayeof their Loye to Chrift, and His " Truth, PRE F A C E. ** Truth, by refjiing even unto Bhad, oblige '* us to honour and efteem them*." In the following Treatife, I haye endea voured to give Dr. Middleton as little room to complain as poflible. I have every- where treated him as a Chriftian, and only pointed out to hjs View, and that of the Reader, the unguarded and off^enfive Paflages of his Book, which have led the Author of the Letter ta him, to Gonfider him altogether as a Deift concealed ; a, Cenfure of Sufpicion, which he is'furely obliged to purge himfelf , of, However, I muft obfervcj;, that as fome of the Reafonings, and Inftances, which h& has produced, are capable of being puflied far ther, than he has carriedf ; them ; fo they adually have been pufl:ied farther, , ancj, the moft pernicious Confequences have been drawn from them. In a Volume ofEjays,not long fince pubUftied, there is one on the Subjed of Miracles. The Defign of it di- redly is to attack their Evidence, and to fet afide the Belief of them univerfally. To this End, we fee much the fame Arguments frorri Nature and Experience, which the Dodor \ has obfcurely dropped in his Pre face, more largely opened, and ftronglyin- fifted upon : We fee alfo the pretended Miracles of the Abbe de Paris applied to iri- validateaU Miracles. I cannot fay, that the Dodor .had feen this Trad. Yet furely *'Mr'4lexa»derh ElTay on Irenaus, Pref. A 4 he vih VIU PREFACE. he is concerned to prevent, by proper Guards and Explanations, the very ill Ufe, which th*.,' Enemies of Religion will make of fuch danr ge;rous Infinuations and Reafonings. And I wifh I could provoke him to employ his good Abilities in anfwering and refuting this. '; Efj'ay, which woiil4 give him.an Opportuni- ' ty at once to vindicate himfelf, and alfo the Faith and Authority of Mirac|^s in general^ from the Sophiftry, which runs thro' it. On looking over fome of the Tra;ds pub- liflied in Defence of Dr. Middkton, I find one Diftindidn much infifted upon, whjch altogether efcaped me, when I was drawing up my Rep:iarks on his Book, afid which I could never imagine would have been infifted upon. Weak, however, as it appears, it may be proper to take fome littlenotice of it, to pre* vent any Triumphs on this Account. The Pre tence is, that the Subjedof the jE«§'«/rv is on* ly fuch Miracles, as are faid to be continued^ to tJie Church, i. e. fuch as God isr^id to have worked by the, Agency or Inflyrumentality of any Chriflians after the Apoftles; and does not include, nor relate to, any extraordinary Ads of Divine Power, which Qod is £aid to have worked by Hiiiifelf, and by which He may be fuppofed, on any great Qccafions, worthy of His Wifdom» to have fufpended or revef fed the Laws of Nature. The Dodor's. Treatife is reprefented as confined to the' View of the firft of thefe, and not to , have meddled with the laft. If' P R E F A € E.. ix If I reniember right, we had fome fuch Obfervation from the Author of the Rer marks, &c. But the Letter in Defence of Z)r.' Middleton places a Sn-efs iipon it, and allows the Truth of fome Miracles, after the Days of the Apoftles, of the latter kind. And Mr. To// alfo fays, that the Dodor was no Def.p.->,i. way concerned with fuch as thefe, and lays down the above Diftindion as obvious and ufeful. As I faid before, the piftindion, never once occurred to me. Nay, it now appears to be an Evafion or Subterfuge, which I can fearce think the Dodor intended at firft. In the Titles of both the IntroduBory Difcourfe, and the Enquiry., the Words to have Jub- fifled iriy and to have continued to, the Church, feem to be put down as equivalent, and to denote any miraculous Powers then related to have exifted, of what kind foever. And in the Enquiry we find fome Aecoupts of Miracles attacked, which are reprefented. to have been done, without any Intervention of Men. So" that the right Queftion might well, be fuppofed to be, whether we have Reafcn' to believe the Accounts of any ex- traofdinary or miraculous Powers, after the Death of the Apoftles ? , ; However, if thpfe Gentlemen, and partis cularly the Dodor himfelf, with whom alone I am engaged, is refolved to abide by th| Diftin^on above j let him tell us plain P R E F A G E. ly, as L think he ftiould have done in the Entrance of his Book, whether he is ready to admit fuch Miracles of the Primitive Church, as God is faid to have worked -by) Himfelf without any vifible Inftruments,;; We fhall thus fecu re the Belief and Credit of feveral very confpicuous and important Fads, after the Apoftles, which are truly miraculous, and could only proceed from His extraordinary Power and Interpofition, And this will pave the way for our Belief of other Miracles, which are well attefted. For, if He was pleafed to give frefh Inftancessof the one fort, I fee no Reafon, why we fhould deny or doubt the Reality of the other; Our infifting on both is therefore pertinent. The Occafions, the Ends, the Ufes, and the Evidences of both, may be eafily conceived to be the fame. The Continuance of the one in the Chriftian Church appears a Pre- fumption of that of the others, and itfelf - renders them more probable. Accordingly, as we find in Scripture fe veral Inftances of both; fo^ I think, the Knowledge of thofe, which were worked immediately by God Himfelf, gives us a firong Confirmation of the Truth of thofe, which were worked by the Miniftry of His Servants. For Example,: jf the Wonders of Mofes in Egypt and the ^ildernefs could be thought to want any Support; they muft re- cej.ve it from the Confideration of God's rai- raculoufly P R E F A C E. raculoufly fhewing Himfelf in the burning Bulh, and on'Mount Sinai, with Thiin- deringi5, and Lightnings, and Voices. That thefe laft proceeded from Hirh, and not from any human Arts, or diabolical Powers, can not Once be queftioned. The fame alfo may be faid of theMiracles of ¦E///(2/6,— The Scheme therefore of the Enquiry ' va\x^ be, either diredly Or indiredly, concerned in examin ing and difproving All Miracles after the Apoftles. Nor will the Diftindion mentioned ' aboVe fufficiently defend it. And this is enough to fay of it, aS it is very far from prejudicing my' Argument; efpecially, as I 'have fol lowed the Enquiry, and mentioned very few Cafes, which had not been mentioned in this Treatife. The Remainder' of this Preface muft be dedicated to the Confideration of another Author, of the moft different Turn and Cha- rader; who hath fhewn much more Can dour and Concern for Religion, and there fore deferves a quite different Treatment. I had no fooner finifhed the Vindication, than Dr. Mead's new Book, intituled Medica Sacra, came to my Hands. In this he treats of the Demoniacs, fets afid'e all Suppofition of diabolical Agency, and reduces thefe Cafes to Madnefs, and the Epilepfy, which fome times attends it. As this is diredly contra ry to the Principles and Opinions of the Fibers, which are here defended; it will ' be XI xii P R E F A C E. be neceflary to pbviate the Force of the Prer< judicBj which fo Great a Name may poflibly raife ; and the learned Dodor will, I hope^ cxcufe me, if I declare myfelf unconvinced by what he has urged on this Subjed, and offer a few Reafons to juftify this Declara tion.; And indeed I cannot but think, that I ihould be wanting in due Refped to this learned Writer's Charader, as well as to my Subjed,, if I fhould continue to main tain the old Suppofition, and take no notice of what he has now offered to the World to difprove it. I would by no means be underftood to difpute any Point with the Dod:or,, which belongs to theprofeflion, in which he has fo long diftinguifhed himfelf. Without doubt he muft be a very good Judge of, what I make no Pretenfions to underftand, the Na ture of common Diftempers, and the Ways of removing them. But the Queftion be fore us is of another kind; whether the In^ fiances mentioned in the Gofpels and early Fathers were common Cafes ; whether they are not con{lajT|.dy reprefented therein, as caufed by Demons, or evil Spirits; whether therefore we can juftly exclude thefe from being concerned in them ? This is a Theological Point, ih which a Clergyman may decently interfere ; whidjrit is indeed liis Province to examine,; and which his Ignorance, in Phyfic will not difqualify him PRE F ACE. xii him for determining. And the Difcuflion of it with the Dodor will be much the fhorter and eafier, as his Manner of writing k that of a ferious zCalous Chriftian ; and therefore he is concerned, as much as we are, to reconcile his Scheme to the Accounts of the Evangelifts; and, if this cannot fairly be done, to give it up as indefenfible. For a right Belief of Scripture cannot be confiftent with our holding any Opinions about this Ma:tter contrary to what is there declared; or with imagining, that Language' naturally and almoft unavoidably leading Perfons into Er ror is to be found in them j much lefs found conftantly and invariably, and with a Detail of many Particulars, that can ferve to no other Purpofe, than to Confirm the Error; which I conceive muft be the Fad, if the Dodor's Explication be admitted. Hebuildsmuch upon the Authority of two p. 78, Divines ofour own Nation, and refershis Rea der to them for farther Explication and Proof of his Point. But neither of thefe, nor indeed any' modern Writers, can be of equal Autho rity in thefe Cafes with the Apoftles j who^ befides their Infpfration, had frequent Op portunities of feeing them, and whofe Vera city is unqueftionable. Mr. Mede is in deed a Writer of great Learning and Autho rity, in general. But if in the prefent Mat ter he agreed with the Dodor, we may fay, ^at his Authority is the lefe, as he was here xiv PREFACE. here nptorioufly inconfiftent :with himfelf. If he has once endeavoured- to fhew the Scripture Demoniacs to be mere Madmen, he has elfewhere, as plainly as, pofTible, dcr clared the contrary. I fl:iall only extrad.one PaflTage from him to this Purpofe. But this one, I dare fay, will be thought fufficient. Ed°7664-" The Ufe of Demon in the worft Senfe, or p, 784. "¦ diredly for. a Devil,' will be almoji con- " fined, to the Gofpels, where ,the Subjed " fpoken of being Men vexed ivith evil " Spirits, COULD admit no other " Sense nor Use. I mention Mr. M^^^ as inconfiftent on this Article, merely on the Suppofition, that he held the new Scheme, and wholly excluded the Agency of evil Spirits from his Notion of Demoniacs. But, on a clofer Viewof his Reafonings, I cannot but think, that this Sup pofition is aMiftake ; and that the Authority of this excellent Author is, upon the Whole, rather on our Side, than on the Dodoe's.. I do not find, that Mr. Mede iany-where fo much as hints, that the Demoniacs were not aduated by evil Spirits. He indeed fup- pofes them to have been Madmen.,, But Madmen he fuppofes to have been thus aduated, His Words are plain and exprefs. Sfc^o'. " ^^^^ ^^ '^^^'^' ^ %' ^^^ Jews believed " {N.B. AND so MAY we) to be troubled " and aded by evil Spirits, as it is faid of " Saul's Melancholy, that. «« evil Spirit '¦ " '¦^from P R E F A C E. *? from the Lord troubled him." I appre hend him therefore to have been in the con trary Extreme to his Relation the Dodor, and to have attributed more to the Power of evil Spirits, than we do, and not lefs. In the fame Difcourfe he difowns any In tention of afiirming, that Demons are only -Souls of bad Men, In the PaflTage cited above, he aflirmsithe Gofpel Demons to be Devils. And in this Light, all that he hath written on the Subjed appears quite Con fiftent. And perhaps, had he^ made atiy Change in his Opinion, he would have been rather induced, from Reverence to Scrip ture, to come into ours, which is indeed the middle one, viz. that the Demoniacs of the firft Centuries were poflefs'd by Devils, and Madmen fince are not; than from believing that all Madmen were pof- fefs'd, to think that none ever were. It is plainly Mr. Mede's Turn, not to repre- fent fewer things as influenced by Spirits, than are commonly fo thought, but more. He begins with the Inftance of Comets^ which he fays are " guided by an Angel of " the Lord.'' Here he fuppofes the Influ ence of Spirits to be overlooked by us, as like wife in the Cafe of Madmen. And, as to evil Spirits, towards the End he faith, that if the Energumenoi " were not fuch ** as we now-a-days conceive of no other- ^ wife than as Madnien, furely the World ** muft XV xvi PREFACE. " muft be fuppofed to be very well rid of " Devils over it hath been ; "i. e. compared with what it hath been ; " which for my " part I believe not." So that his Senfe is, not that Devils never did 'ad in it, and caufe Diftempers, but that they do ftill. And with this Notion he was at Liberty to expound the Gofpeis about Demoniacs jilft as we do. And he muft have thought, that the main Difference between Pcrfotis poflleflTed then and now, was, that now we can't difturb the-Deviis, as Chrift and his Apoftles did ; and, fo, in this refped, the ftrdftg Man armed keeps his Palace, and his Go6di are in Peace, Luke xi. :i. And probably this was underftood formerly to be Mr. Mede s Opinion ; and this bearing ho Shadow of Op- pofition to Scripture, however in other Re- fpeds grouridleife, gave no Ofl^ence. And thus far I have endeavoured to trace out this Gentleman's Sentirhents from thie Difcourfe wrote purpofely ori this Point. In another Part of his Works, he employs feveral Chapters to fhew the Notion of Demons; the Subftance of which, that We may have the Whole of his Sentiments in one View, it may not be improper to infert B. iii. c, 3. He tells us, that thofe "^^ in the Gentiles *' Theology Were Deafri, or an inferior " fort of deified Fewer s, as a middle be- ' *' ttveeri thefovereign Gods, and mdrtalMen; that, as to. their Ori^fnal, " they were the " deifid PREFACE. *' deified Souk of Men after Death ; '• that, *' befides thefe Demons — — I mean, befides *' Soul-Demons and canonized Mortals, their *« [the Gentile] Theologifts bring in another *' kind of Demons more high an4 fublimCy '' which never had been the Souls of Men, *'( nor ever were link' d to a mortal Body ;" that " this fort of Demons doth fitly anfvvcr *,' and parallel that fort of Spiiitual Powers, *' which we call Angels, as the former of f^Spul- Demons doth, thofe, which with us .*V are. called Saints. " And farther Mr, Med^ owns, that the Scripture ufes the Word De- c. 6. mon for Devil ; that this is the only Senfe of the Word in the Gofpels ; and that evil Spirits are , worfhiped under the Names of Demons, and deceafed Souls, and hence caUed fo. In all this Account, there is nothing which diredly contradids the common Notion, but much that cpnfirms it. And I thought it neceflTary to be thus particular, not only to vindicate fo great a Writer from a fuppofed Inconfiftency; but to prevent his Authority from being urged any more againft the lite ral Senfe of the Scripture Demoniacs. The fecond Writer on this Subjed, referr'd to by Dr. Mead, is the Author of The "En- quiry into the Meaning of Demoniacs in the New Teflament, publilhed not many Years fince. This Trad occafipned a pretty long a Con- XVII xviii P R E F A C E. Controverfy. Many * then engaged in De^ fence of the literal Senfe, and. in the Opinion of many learned Perfons proved this to be the true one ; anfwered the feveral Reafon ings of the Enquiries t, and^ by a diftind View of the Relations and PaflTages of Scrip ture appealed to, fliewed the new Interpre tations of thefe to be wild and forced, and irreconcileable with the plain natural Senfe of the Gofpels, ^c- It may eafily be imagined, that in an Hurry of Bufiriefs the Dodor might not have' read, perhaps not have heard any diftind Account of, or may not have remembered; the Trads publifhed againft the Enqui ries. Otherwife we can hardly fuppofe, that he would have recommended the Scheme of thefe, without taking the leaffc Notice, that there had ever been any Op- pofition to it, or attempting to explain the rnany Difiicuhies, which had been urged againft it. For, fuppofing him to be acquaint.*- * Befides the Trafts I publifh'd on this Occafion ;• Dr. ?ao^//ir printed An Anftucr ito the. Enquiry, and Aa,4fr-, fnxir to the Farther Enquiry. An anonymous Writer printed a Pamphlet, itititaled. Some Thoughts on the Miracles tf Jesus. Jir. Hutfhin/on, a Sermon preaqhed before the Uni- verfity of Oxford i which he afterwards vindicated in a Pamphlet. A Gentleman of Wadham College put out a Qkiicat Dijfertatien concerning the Word t^a-iftav and Anl- '(j.oy,iav. The Author of the Thoughts on the Miracles pubr liflied afterwards Remarks an the Re'-jienu. Mr. Pegg^ printed An Examination of the Enquiry, &c. ' I may alfo refer to three Sermons in Mr. Skeehr\ Volume, and to .Bifca^: Boyle's leftures. Vol. I. p. 281 — 300, and to a Parophleti of Mr Whijlons on this Subjeft. ' ¦* ed PR E F A C E. m ed with thefe, and that wei were not happy enough to convince him ; it might, how- everj have been expeded,.; that he would have fhewn usnudre fully our Miftake ; and if he did not care to enter anevv into the Con- troverfyi at leaft we might have hoped, that he would have obliged us with a better In terpretation of fome'of the principal Paflages of the New Teftament (that of the Devils entering into the Swine, efpecially) than the Author of the Enquiry had given us ; or with a better Vindication of his Interpreta tions, than he had been able to make for himfelf: - • But, far from this, the Dodor has not fo much as fet down the Places in the Gofpels, which treat on this Point, with any Ac curacy or Diftindnefs; but has laid before Jiis Readers only a fliort, general, imperfed, and, in a Particular or two^ miftaken, Re- prefentation of the Subftance of What is M6: therein : From whence, if his ReaderS-loofc no farther, it will be imppflible toforma , ri|htjudgpie"nt on the Queftion. Thus he fays, ^* quinetiam a multis psemonibtjs pb-P, 6$. " fefl!bs fe efle interdum clamabant, "quos " etiam ex fe iri alia corpora poflTe migfare *V credebant." Nay, they fometimes cried out, that they <0ere pofeffed with many Devils ^"Who they alfo believed could go q0 . of tbemfelves into other Bodies...^ And was it then only the Cry, the' Belrejf, or the Imagination of the a 2 Madmen, ^'iC PREFACE. Madmen, that many DCvils had entered cither into themfelves, or into the Swine ? Is this the Account the Scripture gives us ? However, not to dfcvell any longer on what the I>odor has omitted to do on this Occafion, let us confider with Attention the Force of what he has urged. And this I would do, as with all the Refped and De ference due to him, fo with, that Plainnefs, which the Truth, that, like its Great Author. knows no Refped of Perfons, demarlds of all, who' pretend to fearch after it, or hope for the Succefs of their Enquiries. Unlefs fome real Addition of Strength and Advan tage had been made to the Scheme, it would be moft unreafonable in us to alter our Seja- timenfs concerning it : In fuch Cafe, a Re gard to any Man's Abilities or Charafep, whatever, could be nothing better than mere Partiality^ and unwarrantable Prejudice. The Preface contains a Refledion, which muft not be overlooked. I need not make any Reply to whattheDodor fays of the Ex- P- 5* Orcifms pradifed by the Roman Catholics, nor fhall I give any Interruption to his de riding and expofing them, But I cannot omit, that he mentions it as a Matter of his frequent Wonder, " that our principal Clergy " fo greatly contend for the bringing Demons " upon the Stage, that the Divine Power of " Christ may triumph in the Conqueft of p. 7. " thefe infernal Enemies." Scepe quidem mirari PREFACE. xxi ntirari fqleo, cur fidei nojlrce antiftites dcemo- nas in fcenam producere t ant oper e con fen- dflnt, quofcilicet Divinum Chrijii Numeri de viSiis his infernis Joojiibus iriumphos agat. There is no roOm to be furprifed at this. They are not the Clergy, but the Scriptures, which have introduced Demons. We are obliged to abide %y the literal Senfe of thefe facred Books, vfhen there is no NecefTity to depart from it ; and to maintain and de fend, at all Evehts, the plain natural Ac^ ^piints we receive from them. This is the true and only Reafon, which leads us to be lieve .thefe Pofl'effions, and to contend fo earijeftly for them ;' and this Reafon, we ap prehend and hope, will julTiify our doing fo. There is fufficient Ground to be upon bur Guard, arid to put others upon their Guard, ggainft gll fuch lax and vyan ton Interpreta tions of Scripture, as, under Colour of Re-r gard to them, would evade their Force, arid explain them away ; and as, if admitted, ^nd encouraged, arid imitated, might, in jtime, lead us to the dilbelieving and doubt- ¦ing almoft every Truth revealed therein. This, I am perfuaded, was never in the .Dodor's Thoughts ; and I believe, he him felf will admit the Reafon here afligned to be fufficient. To go on vvith his Reasoning: We are very ready to acknowledge, that mi raculous Cures of common Difeafes are a con vincing Proof of the Power and Authority a 3 of xxii P R E F A C E. of Chrift Jefus. And if the Scripture had mentioned no others, we fhould have been filent, and fufpeded no others ; we fliould have had all Reafon to have been fatisfied with the fufficient Evidence, which God had afforded Us. Yet, if there be any additional Advantage arifing to the Argument from keeping clofe to the literal Senfe of ¦ thefe Scriptures, and fuppofing, that the Power of Devils was Vifibly over-ruled and reftrained by oar Lord, while He Hved upon Eai-th ; I know not why vve fhould forego it. And thisj I think, has been fhewn to be the Cafe. From hence, we have, in the firft Place, the plairieft Proof, that our Lord's Mi- lacles were not wrought by a:ny Affiftance of Magic, or Diabolical Power ; and confe- quently, ' that,' being fo notorioufly fuperior to, and deftrudive of, the Operations of evil Spirits, they flnfew themfelves to be truly di vine *. And this is the Argument of our Saviour Himfelf, by which He vindicated thefe His Works from the malicious, abfurd, and blafphemous Charge of the Pharifees, If Satan cq/l out Satan, Sec. An Argument, the full Force and Propriety of which, as it ftands in the Gofpels, we may defy any Pa trons of the new Scheme to explain. And then, fecondly, if Chrift, befides cu ring Perfons of Madnefs and Epilepfies in a * See Refleftions on Fleetwood's EJay on Miracles, paffim. ' " miraculous P R E F A C E. xxiii miraculous Manner, which He did on either Suppofition, farther iLewed, that the moft yirulejit, obftinate., and powerful Spirits were inferior to Him, and obedient to His Word ; ^e have here a moft undoubted, additional Difplay of His Divine Power. This I have endeavoured to fhew in a former Trad, to Reply, p. which I beg leave to refer. 94. ^'^• ^ Let us now proceed to the Dodor's Book itfelf; and.hefc he exprefiy owns, as a Point certain, that it was the. common Opinion of the Jews in our Saviour's Time, that evil Spirits freque?itly took Ffiffejion of Men, and in wonderful Ways,mofi dreadfully tormented and diJlraSied them. " Id certum eft, Ju- P. 66. " daorum animis iis temporibus ,vulgp in- " fediflTe opinionem, oecupare fsepe homines " .n^alps genios, jllofque miris modis exccu- ^^ ciare, & quafi furiis agitare," The Truth of this Opinion he denies, and thinks it pwr ing to their Ignorance of the Caufes of fome Diftempers. But how is this proved? For I^roof in fuch a Cafe muli and will bC; re quired. This, was the firm Perfuafion of our Saviour, and His Apoftles, if we are to interpret their Words at all confiftently with the common Ufe of Language, indeed with common Senfe ; and we cannot fuppofe ' them ignorant of the Power of evil Spirits, or defirpus of promoting a falfe Belief : of their Power. It was embraced by St. Luke himfelf; to whom, as a Phyfician,Dv, Mead a 4. will xxiv PREFACE. will allow * peculiar Skill and Judgment in thefe Cafes; and who, as fuch, was particularly concerned ; was, according to this Gentleman hiiVcMi, under a NeceJJity of oppofing vigoroujly this falfe Opinion, had he thought it fo. " Medici falfse ifti " opinioni fortiter obfifter^ necefle habue- " runt," p. jy..- How then floall we be aflured, that they were all miftaken, or meant differently from what they fo plainly appear to exprefs ? There is nothing impof- fible, nothing improbable, in the Notion, that there are wicked Spirits ; that they na turally have Power, and Inclination too, to torment and afflid Men ; and that they may have been fometimes permitted by God to do fo. It is no more repugnant to His infi nite Goodnefs to fuppofe Mfen afflided- in this Manner, than by any other Means or Inftruments whatever. This in general Ithink cannot be doubted by Dr. Mead, as he feems to have allowed it in the Cafe of Job. " Ad probandam " integritatem ejus, ut Satanas ilium modis " omnibus, falva tamen ipfius vita, affligeret, " Jova permififl'e dicitur." p. 2, And more fully p, 8, " Non Jobum, aut Jobi amico^; fed ipfum libri hujus audorem, calamita- (( • Neque dubium eft, quin Divus Lucas, et ipfe medicaS^ vim utriufque vocis refte intellexerit. P. ic/. This, tha' fpoke on another Occafion, is applicaljlc here. ' ' • tern PREFACE. XXV " tem banc sSatanse acceptam referre." To try his Integrity, God is faid to have per mitted Satan toafiiB him in every Way, only fcfuing his Life. It 'was not Job, or his Friends, but the Author of this Book himfelf that referred this Calamity to Satan, The Reader is defired to obferve, that the Opi nion I have now contended for, is allowed to have been that of the Author of this Book, on whofe Judgment more Strefs is here laid, and very juftly, tha,n on that of Job, or his Friends. Surely the learned Dodor muft be underftood to intimate his Agreement with this antient and infpired Author. And I may on this Suppofition aftc, whether the Apoftles and Chrift Him- fdf have not given as much Proof of their believing the Agency of the fame evil Beings, as the Author of the Book of Job did ? And therefore, why this Agency is not to be un derftood in the New Teftament, as permit ted hy God ? But the Dodor, in order to fliew the Er ror of fuch Opiriions, gives us a large Ac count of Madnefs, and defcribes the ufual Caufe and Progrefs of it. He reprefents it P. 6j, &c as a Diforder of the Imagination, owing to too clofe an Attention to any particular Sub jed, efpecially if thisbeofgreatConfequence in Life; as fetting all the PafRons to work; as being attended with a remarkable Memo ry and Cunning in Points foreign to the Caufe xxvi P R E F A C E. Caufe of the Difeafe ; as being followed with Terrors, Anxiety, Anger, and Fury; and. fometimes with Sorrow, and Trouble, and Love of Solitude. He tells us, that fuch un happy Perfons are often. long-lived jthat they can fuffer Hunger, Cold, and other Incon- veniencies, with great Eafe, by reafon of their bodily Strength ; that often, after a long time, this Madnefs is fucceeded by an Epilepfy, and then is incurable ; and, accord ing to the Difference in Mens ConftitutioRS, that, it makes, them either furious or ijielan- eholy. TJiis is the Subftance of this learned Gen tleman's Defcription of thefe Cafes. And I have no Thought of difputing the Juftuefs of it. I can eafily believe it to be as true, as I own it to be, in theOriginal, neat and elegant -r- But wh^t Conclufion can be drawn frpm hence? That the Scripture Demoniacs are nothing rnore than Inftances of thefe common Diforders ? Qr, that the AccQunts we have in the Gofpels of evil Spirits - being em ployed in pofl"effing and tormenting them> and of their being caft out of them, are all Miftakes, or defignedly fo worded, as to facrifice Truth to Jewijh PrepofTeflions ? Such an Inference would be by no means juftifiahle : And that for feveral Reafons. I. It does not appear, that the fews were wholly ignorant of the natural Caufes of Madnefs, and the Epilepfy ; or that they al ways PREFACE. ways afcribed thefe Cafes to the Povver of Demons. Indeed they were authorized to think' them fometimes Divine Inflidions. For it is threatened, D^z/A xxviii. 28. The Lordjhallfmite thee with Madnefs, and Blinds nefs, and Afionifhment of Heart {-^xpccirAv- fics, x^cikopctma, xxi iX'^'a.cret havoiexs, LXX.) Sometimes; "again, they might with Reafon think fuch Afflidions not Penalties for Sin, but the EfFeds of God's Permiflion, granted for Trial, or for unknown Reafons of Divine Wifdom, to evil Spirits; as in the Irtftiance of Job. But Madnefs is frequently men tioned in other Places of both the Old and New Teftament, by this common Name; without the leaft intimation of its having any other than a natural Caufe. And in three * Places the Word is tranflated by the LXX. Epilepfy. Therefore, when Devils are exprefly mentioned, we have Reafdri to fuppofe the Cafes uncommon, and riot merely any fuch ordinary Diftempers ; which we fee the Jews had ho need to defCribe in this 'manner; and which they riiight know fome other natural Ways of aecourit- ing for, notwithftanding any thing yet of fered to the contrary -f-. 2. Tho' * I Sam. xxi. 14, 15. a King^ ix. 11. \ Nay, tho' they had not been able to account for fome Diforders of this' kind, they might ftill fuippofe them to have a Foundation in the ordinary Courfe of Nature, when nothing appeared to fliew, that they had none, Juft as wc do XXVII xxviii PREFACE. 2. Tho' we fliould fuppofe, that the Ac^ count given above of this Diforder would, exadly fuit the feveral Inftances of Demo niacs in Scripture ; and that every Symptom related of thefe would naturally and eafily fall in with, and be included? in, that Ac count ; ftill it will not fojlpw, - tfea^ ,the Devil was no way concerned therein. He might neverthelefs be the Author and Caufe of thefe common Diforders. The Madnefs and the Epilepfy in thefe Cafes might ftill be owing to him. Diftempers, which may have natural Caufes, it is very conceivable, may alfo fometimes be inflided by this great Enemy of Mankind, and the curfed Spirits under him. Without good Warrant indeed we fhould be cautious of afcribing any fuch to thefe. But >vhen I learn from Scripture, from whence we have the beft, indeed the only good, Accoujit of their Powers and Operations, that they have been concerned in infliding them ; this I muft think fuffi cient Warrant, and believe it to be extreme ly right and juft, to refer them to fuch Spi rits. We need not indeed aflTert, that thefe p. 78. have Power granted them, " ut homines " pro libitu fuo furiis exagitent," f9 drive Men to DiJlraSiion, whenever, and in what do to this Day, with regard to feveral Difeafes, the Origin of which, I prefiime, is in a great jneafure, \i not entire ly. Unknown even to the moft learned, which yet are not for this Reafon afcribed to evil Spirits. Manner PR E F ACE. xxix Manner foever, they pleafe. Undoubtedly, they are always under God's ^yife Reftfaint and Controul. And if they were always allowed to exert their natural Power, and in dulge their rriifchievous Difpofitions, it is moft probable, that the World would be vaftly ful ler of Mifcries and Torments, than we find it. But that they may have been fometiriies permitted to bring Madnefs and Epilepfies, as well as other Diftempers, on Men, is not difficult to conceive. The Inftance. of Job is here a;gain obvious and appofite. We find, that the Dodor has defcribed this Ma lady, as a cutaneous Dijlemper, a fort of P. 9,10; Leprofy. This, in general, is owing to na tural Caufes, And yet the Dodoir makes no Scruple to allows that it is by the Au thor of the Hiftory himfelf afcribed to Sa- P- 2> 8. tan, who is faid, by the Permiflion of God, to have caufed it. Nor indeed can I fee, how the Scripture can be explained or be lieved, without referring this Cafe to him. 2. But it muft' be obferved, that tho' feme of the Diforders mentioned in the New Teftament may be without Violence re-- duced to the foregoing Defcription of Dr. Mead; yet all cannot. To Ihew this at large, it would be neceflTary to go over the Inftances particularly. But thefe have been feverally examined in the Trads pub lifhed before. Not therefore to repeat what has been already urged, I ftiall only mention one xxx P R E F A C E. one Text in St. Mark; not as having greater^ Strength in itfelf to prove the Point than feveral others, but for a Reafon which will V. 3' 4- prefently appear. No Man could bind him, no not with Chains ; becaufe that he had often been bound with Fetters and Chains, and the Chains had been plucked ajunder by him, and the Fetters broken in Pieces ; neither could any Man tame him. No natural Strength, which may attend any Fits of common Madnefs, will account for fuch frequent Efcapes, and fo many unfuccefsful Trials to confine this poor Wretch. Here I pleafe myfelf with the Thoughts, that Ifhall have Dr. Mead's Concurrence. For; in his De fcription of the Methods of treating fuch Perfons, he Ca.ys, thsit Torffients and Stripes are the lefs necejary, becauj'e all Madmen are ofj'uch weak and co^vardly Difpofitions, that even Jiich as rage moft violently., ij they are ONCE or TWICE bound, prefently yield, and afterwards abfiain, thro' Fear, from doing P. So. any Injuries. " Tormenta vero et plagae " ideo minus funt necefl"aria, quod animi " tam pufiUi et imbellis funt omnes infanr,: " ut etiam acerrime furentes, Semel aut " ITERUM vindi, quafi vidi' fe dedant^ & " in pofterum meticulofi ab injuriis in- " ferendis defiftant." Comparing thefe Ac counts together, I own, I cannot recon-; cile them; and therefore muft conclude, that they are not Accounts of one and the fame kind PREF A C E. xxxi kind of Diforder; -and corifequently, that there is fomething more in that related by St. Mark^ than common Madnefs. The Dodor proceeds to obferve, that it P. 6g, &c, is owing to our Ignorance of Phyfic, and of what daily occurs, that Men think the ffeveral Diforders, which happen to mad and epileptic Perfons, impoffible' to be brought about by the Power of Nature. I know no one now, who thinks fo ; nor any Place or Time, in which this was generally -Htddi for a certain- Truth. But we think the- Rela tions and Defcriptidns of the Evangelifts, in this Matter,L abfiilutely irreconcileable with, the HypothefiiSjithat here was nothing more than naturah And our Belief will not at all be weaken'dby that long Lift of many ftrange Cafes, which this Gentleman has -given us, that have been known in the World: As (not to omit 'the Confideration of any thing' urged) that vehement Paf- fionsdeftroy Men. — A dangerous Diflem- per fometimes pafTes. in a Moment from one Part of the Body to another. The Ve nom of a mad Dog difcovers itfelf after fome Weeks or Months, and occafions Evils no lefs grievous than thofe of the Demoniacs. — r- Women with Child wonderfully im- prefs fome Marks of their unfatisfied Long ing on the Foetus in> the Womb : Nay, what is prodigii injlar, fome are born with out a Limb, when the- Mother had been fuddenly xxxii PREFACE. fuddenly terrified with the View of another Perfon thus deformed. ¦ Falfe Images, as well as true ones, affed the Imagination ; as appears from Witches confefling their Corn- pads with Devils, and declaring what they never were guilty, of, even tho' they were fure to die for fuch Confeflions. — Melan choly Perfons imagine their Heads made of GJafs, or imagine themfelves to be dead. One Man thought himfelf with Child. — — Two others, when alone, thought they heard Voices. — - The fame is the Cafe of fuch, as believe they fee Spedres. This is the Subftance of three whole Pages of the Dodor's Book ; and we may allow it all. But the Reader muft have far greater Sagacity, than I can pretend to, if he can fee any Argument from hence to difprove the common Notion about Demo niacs. What if many furpiifing and unac countable Things have happened, and ftill happen, in the World? Will it follow, that the Pofleflions of Scripture, attended with fuch Circumftances, as the Penmen of it, writing under the Diredion of Heaven, re late, were merely natural Diforders ? Or were of the fame fort with thefe furprifipg Accidents ? Are the Inftances mentioned by the learned Dodor parallel to thefe Pof- feffions? Are any of them attributed to Demons^, thro' our Ignorance of their Caufe?? Or, if the Power. of Nature be fufficient to PREFACE. xxxia to work them, can we conclude, that it was fufficient to produce all the Circumftances related of the Poffefied of the Devils? Were evil Spirits Creatures of the Imagination on ly? And, when the Scriptures mention thefe evil Spirits, as the Authors of fuch Afflidions, and mention alfo fome amazing Confequencea of their being caft out, fuch as could not have followed theRemoval of any common Diftem pers, owing only to natural Caufes ; {hall we not believe them in their plain literal Senfe ? We are next told, that Mens Minds ^fe p. -j. moft difturbed with Fear, guilty Minds efpecially, with the Fear of Punifliment ; and that hence all- Calamities were fuppofed to be fent as Puniflhments. — Which is a moft undoubted Truth. But what Connedion has it with the prefent Argument ? It ap pears equally applicable to ordinary Diftem pers, as to extraordinary ones. . To go on with the Gentleman's Argu- iment : That Idolatry began with vi'orfliip- p. 7.. ing the Sun, Moon, &c. and afterwards pro ceeded to the Worfhip of Demons, is true. In fome Senfe alfo, thefe might rightly be thought divine Mlinifters. But that they were originally the Souls of dead Men, is a Miftake. I have fhewn in my Reply, that not even all the Heathens were of this Opi nion ; that even they acknowledged D?/72on.j both good and bad, which were of a. fiiiddle Nature between -Gods and Men * ; and that * This the Doflor may alfo fee, in part, proved by his Kinfman Mr Mede, ubi fupra. this, xxxiv PREFACE. this was probably owing to fortie traditionary Accounts of the Angels and Devils. And, with regard to the Jews and Chrijii ans, thefe have almoft univerfally confidered Demons. as Devils. The Dodor, I truft, will not deny this of Chrifiians; arid he owns it of the Jews. — He 'fays, that they were wont to afcribe every thing wonderful in Nature to the Angels. " Judaii ' — fiquid miri fa- •' ceret natura, ad a:ngelorurii Supremi Dei " miniftrorum operam referre foliti." N. B. Many Wonderful Things they cer tainly did afcribe to thefe celeftial Beings, and very rightly.- And heme, it is faid, the^ could eafily believe, that fome great Difeafes, the Caufes of which they were ig norant of, proceeded from the Operations of evil Angels. "¦ Facile in animum fibi in- " ducere poterant, ut diras quafdam asgri-,, " tudines, quae men tem fimul& corpus las-i *' derent, et qUarum caufas cognofcere ne- " quirent, ab angelorum malcrum ¦svepy&a.ii " exoriri." And hoth Phi lo znd J ofephus, are appealed to, as teftifying, that the Jews thought there were evil Angels ; and that thefe were execrable, and altogether noxious. It remains to be proved, that the Body of the Jews (whatever Joj'ephus did) thought thefe the Souls of dead Men ; and that their general Opinion concerning the Powers which God ' permitted them to exercife, was wrong and culpable. The Scripture, lam fure, much confirms it. It PREFACE, It flipuld alfo be fhewn, that the Jews attributed any great Difeafes univerfally ;\. e. all Inftances of them, to evil Angels. Mad nefs, we fav^^ before, they fometimes men- tioned, as a common Diforder ; and indeed we cannot fuppofe, that it was a very un- ufual one among them. It is not fufficient to affirm, that they were then ignorant of the Caufes pf this, and fuch-like Diftempers. This has not been proved : Neither will this alone account for their Belief, th^it, in fome particular Cafes, thefe proceeded from; evil Angels, We canpot imagine, them' igno rant in general of the natural Caufes of Dumbnefs, Blindnefs, or long Weaknefs % and yet, as the Dodor owns, fome Inftances P. 75,76. of thefe alfo are attributed in the Gofptli to Devils ; and one in particular is thus at tributed by Chrift Himfelf. And, I think, he will never be able, to prove, that our Lord fpoke this in Compliance with the ufual Language of His Age, the Truth- and Propriety of which He did not believe. And if He gave Credit to the Suppofition, it can be no Difcredit to us to reft fatished with the fame. And, as to the Jews, it is, I ap- prehetid, impoffible to fhew, that they re-. ferred all Cajes of Blindnefs, Dumbnefs, Weaknefs, or perhaps any Diforder wbat^ ever, to Devils ; any more, than that they were at all miftaken in thus accounting for Jbme very remarkable Cafes. b 2 Dr. xxxvi P R E F A C E.' p. s6,&'f. Dr. Mead infift« upon theDifeafe of Saul^' which he had before declared to be Mad nefs of the melancholy Kind, referred by the Jews to the Power of evil Angels. I have given this Cafe a particular Confidera tion in my Efay; \n which it is obferved, that fome learned Men have thought, that there was no PoiTe^flion, ftridly fpeaking, in this Cafe, and nothing more meant, thaii the ordinary Inftigatlon of the Devil, or the evil Teriiper and AffedionS of his Mind; that, however, on a particular View of the Hiftory, it appears more probable, that his Diforder was owing to Satan, „who, on the Spirit of The Lord departing ft'om him, was parmitted by God to feize and trouble hiria. The Difficulties objeded againft this Suppo fition were examined, and the Fitnefs of Mufic to relieve him(for he was not cured") fhewn. On reviewing this fo long after, I fee no Reafon to alter my Sentiments ; nor has the learned Dodor urged any new Ob- jedion,^ which are of Confequence. He ^¦^7- indeed obferves, that Difeafes, which may bejheivn to have natural Caufes, do not feem to. he rightly referred to the Anger of God, ". Nifi diferte denuhcietur illos divinitus " immitti." Unlejs it be exprefly faid-^^ be fore, that they would be fent by Him. — — « Now we may not in all, nor indeed in moft, Inftances, know the Reafons, why God has fuffered evil Spirits to take Pofleflion of Men. And it appears to be Prefumption, if not ¦. want P R E F A Q E. xxxvii want of Compaffion and Charity, to fuppofe that this always proceeds from His Anger, and is inflided by way of Vengeance and Euniflamerit. However, we need not fear to fay, that Saul's D'vCordeVy of what 3K.ind foever it was, was the Confequence, of Qpd's Difpleafure. , The Text is very plain, The Spirit of The Lord departed from^mX^ , s^n,, and an etiil Spirit from The Lord troubled y^'vi. 14. him. If the evil Spirit here denotes' only Melancholy ; yet this is exprefly faid to be from The Lord. It was fent by Him, as it had be&n deferved by Saul. And there can be no Difficulty in fuppofing, that God might permit an evil Spirit, nay, that He might here ufe the Miniftry of fuch a one, to. punifli this difobedient King. As the Dodor acknowledges, that He can, if He pleafeSy ufe the Power of natural Caufes, ^ well as of good Angels, to bring any Evils on Men; " ,Deus ipfe, il velit, tam caufarum p _g_ *'. naturalium, quam bonorum angelorum ** virtute; ad mala cujufcunque generis ho- *' minibus; infligenda, uti poteft;" Why may He not alfo employ evil Spirits to exe cute His Vengeance ? However, His Per- miffion it will in general be fufficient for us to plead. And, to return to Saul; /&^ might very reafonably have feen the Hand of God in his PUnifhment, and diftinguiflied this from any common Event; tho' he had re ceived no Threatning or Warning of it be forehand. And we have all Reafon to be lieve xxxviii PREFACE. lieve it to have been from The Lord, as the facred Hiftory aflTures us, tho' no fuch Me nace is .recorded. The Rule therefore, which the Dodor lays down concerning the Ne- ceffity of fuch previous Threatnirigs, to af- fure us of any Divine extraordinary In flidions, is rather laid dowa too univerfally, and carried too far. I have underftood the Paflage cited above' in this Manner, becaufe in the Conclufion P. 2g. of the Paragraph, the Dodor mentions com-' minationes, as well as indicia, morhorum, Threatnings, as well as Symptoms, of Dif eafes, as neceflTary to juftify our declaring thefe to be fupernatural. But if it fhould be faid, that his Meaning is only, unlefs if be. exprefly faid, that they are fent by Him, ftill my Argument is much the fame ; ftill this is true of the Cafe of Saul. It is ex prefly faid, that, the Caufe of his Diforder ' was fupernatural, from The Lord, ,And be-' fides, the Circumftances fhew the fame. — ¦' Which Obfervation will alfo hold with' regard to the Demoniacs. The Caufe of their * Diforders is mentioned exprefly enough. ' Another thing obferved is, that the^ Dijeafes, which are thus caufed by God, are either incurable, or curable by Himfelf \ only. And this was moft probably the Cafe here. For we do not find, that Saul . was cured; and fome temporary Relief it might pleafe God to affbrd him, by the means of His Servant David, to prepare the PREFACE. xxxix the way for the accomplifliing His own Defign of fetting this Perfon upon the Throne of IJ'rael after him. It is owned, that the Power of Demons P. 76. 78. over human Bodies was believed both by Jews and Gentiles. . That fome Miftakes niight be mixed with this Notion, is indeed pfpbable. JBut, furely, we can hardly ima gine, that there was never any Foundation at ail for fp univerfal a Belief. At leaft, this has not yet been difproved, and evinced to be groundlefs. Nothing hitherto oflTered has fufficiently fhewn, that there are no fuch Beings as evil Spirits; that theScrip ture Demons were not. fuch ; that thefe could have no Power over the Bodies of Men ; that they were not fometimes permitted by God to exert and exercife it ; that wife and gracious . Ends of His Providence (whether known or unknown to us, it, matters not) could not be anfwered thereby ; or that the Relations and Accounts, which we have in Scripture, do not evidently fuppofe, and teach us, that there have been fuch Pofleffions, or can be fairly and foberly explained to mean any thing elfe. When we fee fome fubftantial Proof of this Kind, it will be time enough to alter our Opinion, and give up the Caufe. But till then, I think, we muft, as Chriftians, be in all Reafon obliged to adhere to the old Suppofition ; tho* there may be a few Dif ficulties attending it, owing to our Ignorance how xl PREFACE. how fuch Things were done, or why they were for a certain Time only fuffered. — r- And whether the Dodor's Pleas amount to fuch valid Proofs'; whether he has made out any one of the Points here mentioned ; the impartial and Chriftian Reader, having now before him the Whole of this learned Gen tleman's Reafonings on this Subjed, is left to judge and determine for himfelf. And I fhall no longer flop him from the Confideration of the Free Enquiry, the Book Iprincipally intended to anfwer. Only I would beg leave to advife him, if he has Leifure and Opportunity to do it, to compare Dr. Middleton's, and my Quotations and Tranf- lations with the Originals, He will fre quently find us differ in our Accounts. I fhall not think it fair to truft his Reprefentations, without Examination. Neither do I defire to be trufted any farther myfelf. The Que ftion is chiefly a Queftion of Fad, which muft be determined by Appeals to Ecde fiaftical Antiquity. Here are our main ori ginal Evidences, by which the Point muft be decided. Whoever would be a complete Judge of them, muft make due Enquiry into them, and give them a Confideration. And I am fo far from fearing the Succefs of fuch Enquiry, that I do not fcruple to defire all capable Perfons to make it : — And then^ Vin CAT Veritas. THE [xii] THE CONTENTS. INxRODtrCTlON, Pag, I Chap. I. Containing fome RefeSlions on the Introdudory Difcourfe, 26. Ch. II. Remarks on the Preface to the Free Enquiry, S7 Ch. III. Concerning the Miracles of the Alpeftolic Fathers, 85) Ch. IV. Concermng the Perfons who worked the Miracles, 116 Ch.- V. The CharaBers of the principal Fa thers vindicated, and particularly Juftin Martyr, 123 Ch. VI. Irenseus, and the other Fathers, vin- , dicatedy i J7 Ch. xiii The CO.N TENTS. Ch. vii. The feveral Miracles confidered, 1 84 Sed. I, O/'raifing the Dead, ibid. Sed. 2. Of healing the Sick, 192 Sed:. ^. Of the Demoniacs, ic)8 Sett. 4. 0/ Vifions andDreams, 228 Sed. f. Cj/'expbunding Scripture by Divine Revelation, 260 Sed. 6. Of the Gift of Tongues, 261 Sed 7; Ofioxa.e other Accounts of iW/r^f/f-j particularly re lated; and of the Fathers 'Difpofition to Rebellion and Credulity, 270 Ch. viii. Objedions againft the Scheme of the Enquiry, and, the Dodor's Anfwers to them^ confider ed,y 287 Sed. I. Relating to the Canon of Scripture, ibid. Sed. t. Of the public Appeals and / Challenges of the Apolo- gifts, 2P2 S^ct. 3. Of Martyrdom, confidered as tf Confirmatipn of any one's Teftimony, 302 Sed. 4. How far the Enquiry. tends to fet afide the Faith of Hiftory, ^2^ Sed. 5. The Evidences for miracu- lous and common Events com- The CONTENTS. xliii compared and confid,erei, ..'.. -.' . . , . 330 Ch. viii. Sed. 6. Real Mirades not the lefs to be believed on Account of Pretences to them, 334 Sed. 7. The Martyrdom of Poly- c^X"^ farther confidered, 338 Sed. 8, Of Witchcraft, and the Popifla Miracles, 344 Sed. p. TertuUian, tic. vindicated, with regard to due En quiry, 349 Sed. 10. Some. Conceffions of the Enquiry argued from, 353 CONCLUSION. 362 A VI N DICATION O F T H E Miraculous Powers Which fubfifted in the THREE FIRST CENTURIES. INTRODUCTION: ' Containing General Observations. BEFORE I enter upon the Con fideration of Dr. Middleton's Book, it may not be improper to let the Reader know the Motives which induced me to undertake the Talk : I was not only influenced to examine this Subjed, by a general Curiofity, which had been raifed in the World by a Treatife on a Point To new and extraordinary, coming from a Gentleman of his known Learning and In genuity, and introduced in fuch a Manner to the public Notice : Befides thefe Reafons, B I A Vindication oJ the 1 had others of a moi:e.priKatc and peaiKar Nature, Son^ Years ago, 1 was <;onceroed in a Controverfy about the Meaning of the Demoniacs in the New Teftament, and en deavoured,, in fome Pamphlets then pyb- liflhed * , to fupport and juftify the literal Senfe of thefe. In order to this, I repre fented the fimilar Cafes of this Nature, which occur in the early Fathers; and particularly in the Apologies ; and laid the Strefe upon thefe Accounts, which I thought they deferved. When the Free Enquiry came out, it vs^as natural to read it with an efpecial View to this Subjed, and to examine more clofely every thing which is here-offcFsd to fet afide and overthrow thefe Teftimonies. I could not doubt, but that the whole Strength of the oppofite Caufe would be found in this Treatife ; and that if I had been in an Er ror, I (hould now be convinced of it. But the Reflik of this Search viras very different. I found little more than groundlefs A&r- tions, and improbable Suppofitions, advaoded in.Qppofition to Fads very exprefsly and fully attefted. This confirmed me in my fornier Opinion. * An, EiTay towards vindicating the literal Senfe of the Demoniacs in the New Teftament. 1737. A Reply to the Farther Enquiry, fSc. as far as the Effay is concerned. 1738. A fliort State of the Controverfy about the Demoniacs ! with a Vindication of the Reply, iSc. 1739. Froni Miraculous Powers, &'c. From hence I was led to confider, with ' tlie fame Attention, fome of the other mi raculous Fads mentioned in the early Wri ters, together with the Objedions which the Dodor has urged againft thern. Here alfo, I own, r was unfatisfied. Many things oc curred at firft Sight in this Bobk^ which ap- p'eared to ' be groundlefs and unjuftifiable. And even the fpecious and plaufible Parts of it could not ft^nd a rnore near and accurate Enquiry. In a Word, I was foon perfuaded, that the Whole, as far as it relates to the Thrfee firft Cehttiries, was capable of a fair Anfwer. Arid being thus perfuaded, I now pro- pofe to offer my Reafons to the Wol-td, and to do what Juftice I can to the great Lights and Ornaments of the antient Church. I Confine myfelf to confider the Three Firft Centuries; ahd fhall take ho notice of any thing urged againft the Fathers who lived afterwards. I have neither Books nor Lei fure enough to go lower. As to the fuc- ceeding Miracles, I vyould not be/under- ftood to determine on one Side or the Other, either for their Truth or Falfliood. Many fabillods Accounts undoubtedly there were. Biit I do hot affert, nor fuppofe, that all were fuch. The Defeat of 3f«//^«'s Attempt to rebuild the Temple at Jefufalem is ftrid ly defenfible. And fo may fome others. However, to enter into Particulars, to make B 2 the 4- A Vindication of the the proper and juft Diftindions, to feparatQ- fuch as are worthy of Credit from mere Fidions, and to vindicate the former ; is a Work far beyond my poor Abilities^ and muft be left to Perfons of far more exten- five Learning, and of the exadeft Judgment; if any fuch fhould think fit to undertake, it. It is fufficient to confute the Enquiry, if the Claims of the earlier Ages be made good., Moft learned Proteftants fuppofe, that Mi racles were in a great meafure withdrawn, when it pleafed God to put an End to the Perfecutions of the Church, and to turn the Hearts of the Emperors to embrace and pro- P. 8. ted Chriftianity. This is owned in the In- troduSiory DifcourJ'e. However this be, yet, as almoft all learned Men, both, Papifts and Proteftants, are agreed in allowing the Mi* racles of the Three Firft Centuries; it will be material, in feveral refpeds, to confider the Objedions againft thefe, and to fee, whe ther this Gentleman has difproved this^ ge neral Opinion. I cannot think it of Moment, to point out exadly the precifeTime when Miracles utterly ceafed. Moft probably, thefe Powers werg gradually withdrawn, in proportion as thei[€ w^as lefs and lefs Occafion for the Exerafe of them. But, without affigning their fin^l Period, which it may be very difficult, per-« haps not poffible, to do, we may know. as much as is - neceflary. ¦ We may know the Tinie Miraculous Powers, ^c. Times when they had not ceafed: We may be now fure, that they have long fince ceaf ed. Our Ignorance, when the laft true Miracle was worked, can be no Argument for our receiving the modern Pretences, the Falftiood of which is otherwife fully proved j nor for our rejedihg the antient Relatiohs, which there are not other and much ftrOnger Objedions againft admitting. What the Confequences of the primitive Miracles are, if allowed, is no Part of the prefent 'Queftion; which relates wholly to the Fad, whether they are to be allowed, or not. We need not here enquire, how far this Circumftance will ftrengthen the Te ftimony of the Fathers, or confirm their Au thority in other Matters. We attribute no divine Authority to them, nor admit them as our Rule and Guide j nor do we fiippofe, that they were honoured with miraculous Powers principally for our fake, or for the eftablifliing of our Faith; However, the Ufe they are of to us will be ftill the fame, whether we know, or not, how long Mira cles were continued to the Church after their Times: So long as we can prove thefe to have continued, fo long, at leaft, their Ufes will continue ; fo long the Fathers whU more clearly appear to be good Witrieffes of the, Dodrines and Difcipline of their Times ; fo long thefe may be the better prefumed, in all prime fundamental Points, to have held B 3 the A Viijxlkatipa qJ th^, the Truth. Nay, even on. the Suppofitipp, that Miracles then work,ed would prove, that we ought to follow th.em, in.all things; W,hich no one, will maintain; flill we £)f e noj:, to follow them any longer, th.an, thp, EL^^ify of fuch Miracles evidently appears; and, whe.dier yve know the precife Time of th^ir. ceafjng, or not, fp far as. this Re^Hty appears, we muft, on this. Suppofition, 'follow them. But this is. only for A^'guriient's fake. We hold np,fuch,.Confeq!uence of the .Miracles of the Ifirft Ages, nor. attribute apy fuch Au thority to thefe. And every AfJv^mage W,e exped from, either thqir Miracles or Authori ty, may intirely be fecqred, thp' w,e know not. when fijch powers flopped. SuchKnosijp- ledge then can be of no Momenf, That there have been Claims to Miracles in.all Ages, of the. Church, is, true: ForrnEi- ny Centuries, vve have Reafon tofufpedith^fp Claims; or rather to be convincjed of tl)e I^'alfhoodand Impoflure of them. Neither the .Wonders themfelves, npr. the Occafions of them, nor, the Atteftatiqns given tp them, arc at all equal or like to thofe of the early Ages. And hence, Lappreheqd, arifeSitbe Difficulty of fixing the exad Duration of tr|ae Miracles ; tho' we need -not be, afraid; of declaring, that the ea^ly ones. were truej. It, is.liere, as with other Irnpoftu res. Falfhqod often fucceeds in the Place of Truth. We may be able very clearly to fee, in many In fiances, Miraculous Powers, &'c. 7 Inftances,. the Error of modem Notions ; as alfo to difcover, that thefe did not formerly prevail. And yet it is often extremely diffi cult to point out exadly the Time when they commenced ; and we think it in gene ral fufficient to afcribe them to Credulity, Superftition, Intefeft^ Ignorancej &c. which have been found more and more to prevail, the, farther we defcend from the firft and beft Ages of the Gofpel. To proceed , When any Author offers a new Scheme, which is; contrary to the general Opinion of the ^ Chriftian World, it, I think, becomes him,, whatever^ his Abilitie-S' be, to propofe it modeftly, and not to throw out random Cenfures ' and Accufations againft all who have gone before him, and been of different Opinions. Novelties and Singular-ities^of Opi nion and Judgment are fomewhat to be fu'- fpeded, and fhould not be obtfuded upon the World by Heat, and Violence, arid Cav lumnyj but fubmitted to the Confideration of learned Men, and left to make their own Way by degrees, as- the Reafon and Ufe of them- fhall appear. N-ay, fuppofing fuch an Author ever fo firmly perfuaded of the Truth of what he* advances, and alfo con vinced,, that he has hit on a better- Way of anfvvermg fome Difficulties, than had ever been known before ;, yet 'his Sincerity would not be (hurt by leaving the old Arguments in their, full Strength, allowing: their juft B 4 Force, 8 A Vinclication of the Force, and giving his own Thoughts, as a farther Help and fubfidiary Advantage to the Caufe he profeffes to maintain. This Condud becomes the Authors of all new Notions, and would be no DifadvAntage to the fpreading of thefe. But it is very feldom, that fuch take thefe Methods. It is too ufual for Men to be fo fond of their own Noftrums, as to endeavour to make way for their Reception, by decry ing and abufing all the old, found, tried Ways of anfwering the fame End. Thus Men are prejudiced againft thefe,. and left to others, whofe Strength they cannot be im^ mediately affured of, and the Utility of which no Experience has approved. And ^s it often happens, that thefe new Schemes fail, and are as foon rejeded as they come to be well examined ; the Confequence is, that the Minds, of weak ignorant People •efpecially, are left in Uncertainty, not able to determine any thing : They are told, that the old Notions are falfe and wrong; and yet fee, that the new ones too are exploded : And thus they throw oflF all Concern for thefe Truths, and even fometimes are temfit- ed to take up with the very Errors, which the new Scheme was intended to anfwer. There is a Deference and Refped, very different from a blind CreduUty, due to Opinions generally received. An humble Man would be a little inclined to diftruft a Notion, Miraculous Powers, &'c. 9 Notion, contrary to the Perfuafion of the wifeft and beft of Chriftians in all Ages : "Or, if he thought himfelf obliged to pub- lifh it, he would do this with Humility, and proper Apologies. It is a difagreeable Refledion,, that not even Dr. Middleton himfelf, whofe Genius wants, as little as any Mart's, thefe low Arts of introducing his Sentiments, is io free from them as we could wifh. His Scheme Is owned to be new, and; big with Confe-'PKi. p. i quences. But Confequences he is " not fo Pref. p. 6, ** fcrupulous- perhaps in his Regard to, as 7- *' many of his Profeffion are apt to be: " The-' Judgments of wife Men, of almoft every wife Man before him, weigh nothing with him : And- fuch as do not come into his Notion, and think with him on this Subjed, to ufe his own Words, may " fee Vide ** what a fort of Charader and Language P- "^3- " is prepared for" them; and by the In- fults which others have met with, who have given no other Oflfence that I -know, but that of differing from him, may form a Judgment of what they are to exped for daring to do the fame. No Proteftant, he fays, can defend the Fathers, " without Vide " contradiding their own Profeffion, andP-'^9- " difgracing their own Charader ; or pro- " duce any thing but what deferves to be f' laughedat, rather than anfwered." But no 10 Ax Vindication of thm no real Friend of Truth is. to be difcouraged by any. Difficulties, of this Nature. P- 2. In the IntroduB.ory Difcourfe, Ahis Gen.. tleman fet out with making, this Deelara*- tion: " If the Fads and Teftimonies, which " obliged me to embrace it [this Opinion J, " fhould not have the fame For.ee, nor " fuggeft the fame Refledions to othexs,.T " fhall neither be furprized nor concerned " at it: For it.is every Man's Right to judge " for himfelf i and a Difference.of Opinion " is as natural to us, as a Difference, of " Tafte." He, in the next Page, fpeaks of " indulging the fame Liberty [of decla? " ring his Sentiments] to every body elfe:" This feems fair. But, whether, he. was heated by Oppofition, or what othen Caufe foever it is to be imputed to ; I amforry ta obferve, that the Spjrit and Temper of the Vid, Pref.: i5«p/ry is- very difFei'ent. The Charges of Prejudice, Bigotry, and Superftition, are very plentifully thrown out againft. his Op* pofets;, Thefe are faid to " have ffiewn 'a " great Eagernefs indeed' to diftinguifli " theirZeal, but a very little-Knowledge-of " the Queftion urged, by the Hopes, of " thofe Honours, which they have feen " others acquire, by former Attacks upon "me; and, like true Soldiers of the mili- " tant Church, prepared, to fight for. every "¦ Eftablifliment, that offers fuch Pay and " Rewards to its Defenders." This, good ' Dodior, Miraculous. Powers, ^c. n DoBar, ismotReafoning, but. Railing., to ufe Letter t fome Words \ remember, in a Pamphlet, •'^'¦- ^'^ terland. which I, formerly read. It is, r^T^^.and unr charJt^JfJs-'K.a\Ym^; unlefs you have the ^)^ier of kn,ovi(;ing Mens Hearts, and fee-. ing the fecret Motives which fway andgo-- vern them. We have yet more Dirt tiirowji.: yi? Oppofers are reproached with P'^ef- A. blin(l_ Deference to Authority. — ¦.kno'iving «,o DiftinSiion betw.e en Faith and Credulity, t/^h, a. Facility, of believing to be the fure ft, Mark of a found Chriftian. Again : " I was never trained to pace in the Tram- " mels of the Church, nor tempted by the " Sweets of itsPrefernaents, to facrifice the " philofophic I;reedom of a ftudious, to the " fervilfi.Reftraints. of an ambitious Life." Every, one fees the Infinuations and Reflec tions contained : in. this PaflTage ; and none but, the Enemies of our Conftitution can ap prove of them. In the Work itfelf we find not only fome living , Authors, who, by their Learning and Labours, as well as Ex amples, have deferved well of Chriftianity, treatfd. with; uncommon Scorn and Sneers; but-that not even Mr. Dodivejl apd Dr. Cave efcape.fome fuch. Marks of his Regard, be ing reproached for a fanguine Complexion, and a large Extent of Faith. But Dr. Wa- terland is every- where partici:^larly diflin- guifhed with the keeneff Strokes of his Refentment. Nay, the Notion, the £?;5'z«V^r has 12 A Vindication of the Pref. has fet himfelf againft, is called " an inve- " terate Impofture, which, through a long " Succeffion of Ages, has difgraced the Re- " ligion of the Gofpel, and tyrannized over "the Reafon and Senfes of the Chriftian '< World." ¦ I have coUeded fome of thefe Flowers together here, that they may not retard us in the Profecution of the Work ; fo that, whenever I meet with them, I fhall pals over them without any Notice, as Words of Courfe. And as to the Importance of this new Syftem, it is reprefented as abfolutely ne-* ceffary to the Support of the Proteftant' Caufe. The Belief of the primitive Mira cles is reprefented as leading us diredly to the Belief of the Popijh ones. Very extra ordinary truly! It is now above Two Cen turies fince the Reformation began. During this time, the moft judicious and elaborate Defences of it have been offered to the World, by feveral Proteftants of all Deno minations. But no Perfons have more di ftinguifhed themfelves in this Difpute, than the Members of the Church of England \ which have always borne an high Regard for Antiquity; an higher, as the Dodor hittiii' felf acknowledges and complains,* than thofe- of any other Proteftant Church. The -f- noble' • See Introduft. p, 48, ISc. f Reply toMr. Harding. See alfo #«f«r/«a their Religion. The Glory of finding thefe out is referved for the Enquiry. What others may think of fuch Pretences, I cannot fay : For my own part, the bare Mention of them appears to me to be fuffi cient to expofe them. There are many good Ways of diftinguifhing the Popifh Claims from the Miracles of Antiquity. A wife Man; may fee Reafon enough to re- jed the one, without rejeding the other. The former have been difproved over and over: The latter have hitherto maintained their Ground. We need not then call in the Affiftance of the mew Scheme. Nay, I cannot be with out Apprehenfions, that this. will be found unfafe ; and dangerous. It is making too great a Qonceffioft to the Roman Catholics, and giving .them an undue Ad vantage over usj to yield, that theDefences of the Reformation have hitherto proceeded generally upon a wrong 14 A Vi'ndicatid^il cf the Wrong Foundation, and that tndft of their abieft Adverfaries have been betraying and h'l^rtirig their own Caufe. And if, after all, fome of the early Miracle's 'ffiould be dfefen- fible, which I believe will apjJear to be the Cafe, it is eafy to fee, that the Papift-s aiM hhnfelf pleads, "that P. 3, " thofe Times,' which were neareft to the " Apoftles, were rieceffarily the pureft, and- " lefs fubjed'to Sufpicion pf Corruptions, •' either in Dodrine, oc in Manners, and ** Chriftian Difcipline J • it being but reafon- " able 28 A Vindication of the " able to believe, that if there be any Cor- " ;ruptions crept into the Church, they came " in by httle and litde, and by degrees, as it " happens in all other things." And again, Ibid. " That fuppofing that Chriftianity, even in " the Firft Ages, hath not been altogether *' exempt from Alteration in Dodrine ; yet " are they much more free from it, than " the fucceeding Ages can pretend to be ; " and are therefore confequently to be pre- " ferred before them in all refpeds ; it be-r *' ing here fomething like what the Pods " have fancied of the Four Ages of the " World, where the fucceeding Age always *' came fhort of the former." The Enquirer however feems not to be willing to allow the earlier Ages this Honour any longer; and fays, " Whate\^er Advantage " of Purity thpfe Firft Ages may claim in "fome particular refpeds, it is certain, " that they were defedive in fome others, *• above all which have fince fucceeded *' them." As Inftances of this, he mentions the Numbers of rank Herejies^ zr\d. fptfrious Books, which appeai-ed then ; and the dread ful Charader, which St. (^^r/^« has given of the Church, jufl; before the Died an Per fecution. The Inference we fhould draw from hence is, that even in the beft Times there, were fortic had Men ; but it cannot follow, that thofe Times were worfe than all thofe^ which have fucceeded. ' " , It Miraculous Powers, ^c. 29 It is not fair to thirik the worfe of the primitive Church, on Account of the many Herefies which troubled it. Some of thefe were ftarted even in the Days of the Apoftles. And the Fathers always ftrenuoufly oppofed ; them. Even thofe Fathers, whofe Teftimo nies we appeal to, and rely upon, in the Subjed now under Confideration, had the Judgment, the Courage, and the Honefty, to confute and expofe them, and were the , chief Inftruments of ftOp^jing their Progrefs. It is but too certain, that in every Age of Chriftianity, many have arifen, not con tented with the Dodrines of the Gofpel, but fpeaking arid writing ftrange unfound things. There is no Tenet fo fenfelefs and abfurd, that has not been advanced and fwal- lowed by fome or others. God knows, that we are at prefent peftered and befet on every Side with numberlefs new Schemes and Pre tenfions, or with old exploded ones newly revived, and perhaps difgiiifed, all warmly and Wildly maintained by their feveral Friends and Abettors. Thefe are indeed a Difgrace to Religion. But we muft not judge of the Purity of any Church from either the Num ber or the Weaknefs of them. It is of little Moment to enquire, what Age has had moft of fuch Errors to contend with, and when they have gained the moft Profelytes. It may not be eafy to determine this Point. And, if we could, probably, after all, the De- ^o A Vindication b/* the Decifion would not turn out for the Credit or Advantage of our own Times, The true Methods of forming a Judgment of the Purity of any Times, is to confider the Doc trines which were taught, the Difcipline which was obferved, and the Manners which were pradifed, by the faithful Chriftians, who kept to the Church, in them. And if we make our Comparifon with a View to thefe, there can be no doubt, but that we muft give it in favour of the earlieft Ages. Thefe will be found, on all thefe Accolints, to be incomparably the beft. If the Reader defires Satisfadion in this Particular, he may ioofe over Dr. Cave's Primitive Chriftianity, Dr. Clarke's Effays on Bapt if m, 6^c. Equally unreafonable is it to condemn the antient Church, or to fiifped its Purity, be caufe of the mmy Jpurious Books forged and publifhed under the Names of Chrift, the Apoftles, and apoftolic Writers, The Fa thers certainly ought not to fuffer on this Accountj as thefe werenot fuppofed' to h^ve, forged and publiflied them; nay, as it is chiefly from thefe, that we are able to defed the Impofture — Nor was the Church in ge neral at. all coneerncd, in them. Many of them were wrote in latter Ages : Moft 6f them; by Heretics, Some fhe knew nothing of ; fome {he rejeded • ^nd not one of ^themj was admitted into her Canon, or confidered; as genuine by her-^-The Dodor, fays indeed, " Several Miraculous Pow;^?rs, &*€. 31 " Several of which forged Books are frequently " cited and applied to the Defence of Chrifti- " anity, by the m,oft eminent Fathers of the ' ' fame Ages, as true and genuine Pieces, and of *' equal Ai^ thor ity with the $criptures them- " felves." This is, I verily believe, incapable of being proved.. The forged Books are not certainly cited at all by the earliefl Writers. * When mentioned, they are generally men tioned as forged, and of no Authority. But I do not rejinember any Infjance of their beirig thus put on a Level with the Scriptures. It is fomewhat, ftrange, that this Gentleman hgis not cited, nor fo much as referred to, any , one Father,, in Support of fo extraordinary an Aflertion. He fends his Reader indeed to Archbijhop Wakes Preliminary Difcourfe j but there is nothing in this, which can juftify the Pofition. He gives us the following Words as/thq A^chbilhop's own, printing them in Ifalicks^ as what that great Writer " tells us. That it Wfiuldbe endlefs to infift. " on all the fpurious Pieces, which were at- " tributed only to St. Paul ;.l)ut that thefu- " perftitious J^Qoks afcribed to St. Peter, " viz, his Ads, .his Gofpel, his Preaching, ^*' his Revelations, were of much greater " Aiithprfty even to the .Times o/'Eufebiijs." I have now the Treatife before me, and muft confefs, I ftapd amazed at the Liberty this * See Dr. Ttu^Z/j's Supplement to Vindication 'of St, Matthew. Dr. G?^'s Hift. X-it. Ed. ult,, V. i . p. 6. Gentleman 32 A Vindication of the Gentleman has taken. Would not any one imagine, from this Account, that the Arch- biffiop owned, that thefe latter Writings had for fome time been refpeded in the Church j that the Forgeries had impofed upOn many in it, nor were generally difcovered till the Times of Eufebius ? Lefs than this the Reader cannot conclude from fuch a Repre- fentation ; which yet will not make good what had been afferted, that they were cited as of equal Authority with the Scriptures themfelves. But yet I muft affure him, that if he does con clude and imagine as above, he will be in an Error. We have here a moft inexcufeable Perverfion of the Archbifhop 's Meaning. The very Turn and Order of his Words is altered, to convey a Senfe even contrary to what he intended. Having obferved, that " neither Eufebius, nor St. Jerom, knew any " thing more of St. Paul's Writing, than *' what we have in thofe Epiftles that are " ftill extant in onr Bibles under his Name; " except it were the Epiftle to the Hebrews, *' and vyhich is yet afcribed to him by " Eujebius" he goes on in the next Sedion, " But much greater is the Au- " thority of thofe fuppofititious Pieces," not fuperftitious, which is a Blunder either of this Gentleman or his Printer, " which the fame " Eujebius tells us were, even in thofe Days, " attributed to that other great Apoftle St. Peter." It is plain, that by the greater Authority^ (C Miraculous Powers, ^c. 33 -Jiuthority, the Archbifhop underftood no more than the more certain Antiquity of thefe latter Forgeries, which were known in Eu- febius's time, whereas the others were not. If any one can doubt this, let him read what ijgamediately follows. " Neverthelefs, feeing •• he \Eufebius\ at the fame time declares, •' that they [the fuppofititious Pieces laft- ", mentioned] were' never looked upon as ".Catholic, ,but rather as fet but by fome *',, Heretics of thpfe times (as many other ** Pieces of the like Kind were ) under " j^he venerable Name of that Apoftle, the V better to gain thereby Credit to their " Dodrine" And is this faying, that Vid. c. 9^ thefe Books were of much greater Authority §" '^^ even to the 'times o/" Eufebius .? Is it here fo much as fuggefted, that they were held in more Veneration and Efteem in the primi tive Church, than they are now ? I forbear the Refledions, which might be made on thjs Oqcafion,,, and leave it to, the Reader to make fuch as he may think proper, for himfelf *. To * It may here be very proper to obferve what Dr, Grahi fays of one of the Pieces mentioned as afcribed to St. Peter, •viz. hisPreachjng (SficiLTom.i. p. 6i, 62,): That it was a Work of fqrae Catholic Chriftians, known as early as. the Year 123. cited 'by the orthodox Fathers, tho" denied by them to be a canonical Writing of St. Peter, or any other infpired Perfon, and fufpefted to have, been in fome mea sure interpolated; that^fome Difciples of this Apoftle, not long after his Death, had wrote it, to tranfrait down to D Pofterity 34 A Vindication of the To make any Church anfwerable for the Forgeries of Heretics, or to judge of its Pu rity by thefe, is unjuft. ¦ Let us now fol low our Author. " And no Man -furely can " doubt, but that thofe, who would either " forge, or make ufe of forged Books, would, " in the fame Caufe, and for the fame Ends, " make ufe of forged Miracles." Now fhould we allow this, what is it to the Fa thers, who have not been convided of ei ther? who no more forged the Miracles, than they did the Books ? who, as they were able to diftinguifh the forged Books from fuch as were undoubtedly genuine, muft in all Reafon be allowed to have been able to diftinguifh falfe Miracles from real ones, and would not have appealed to falfe ones ? Pofterity in Writing an Account of what they had heard him preach, that it might be ever remembred. If this were the Cafe, this Work muft be ftruck out of the Lift of Forgei-ies ; fince it does not appear, that the Authors of it ever intended that it fliould pafs as St. Peter's conipofing;. And perhaps alfo the Cafe was the fame with regard to fome others of thefe old Books. They might have been Accounts given by early Chriftians from the beft Information they could get, and which in many refpefts might have been worthy of Credit, and accordingly cited by the Fathers, without any Dif grace to thefe, — Vid. Ca've, Hiji. Lit. V. i .p.zo. where he fays, the Catholics oppofed thefe traditionary Accounts to the falftt ones fpread abroad by the Heretics of the Second Century* In other Works of this Kind, we may alfo fuppofe the Apo ftles introduced and perfonated ; witiiouc any Intention to make the World believe, that they really faid what was there afcribed to them ; in the fame innocent Kind of inftrufiive Fiftion, as has been ufed by many great Authors both an tient and modern. Not Miraculous Powers, Wc. 35 Not that thefe things fhould thus be re prefented as parallel : For, fiappofing a Per fon, who could allow himfelf to forge Books .equally \#illing and inclined to forge Miracl'es . alfo, yet he would not find it equally eafy to do this, as the other. The Difficulty of fuc ceeding in this laft Attempt is much greater, than that pf fucceeding in the former. To deted one Impofition, common Capacity, and common Care, would be fufficient: Whereas to difcover the Falfhood of the other Pretences, a critical Exadnefs of Judg ment is generally neceffary. Many then may be deceived here, who would be fufficiently .guarded againft the other kind of Cheats. Accordingly, there is no furer Way for an Impoftor to be difcovered, than by the Claim of Miracles. Thefe, being Appeals to the Senfes of Mankind, are fubjed to every one's Examination. A Failure here has been known to baffle, and blow up at once the moft con fident Affertions, and the moft artful Couix- terfeits of Divine Revelation. So that, if the Fathers had knowingly made ufe of forged ' Books for genuine ones, which Charge can not be proved upon them ; ftill Reafons of Prudence might hinder them from alleging Miracles, which they knew to be forged. And, even tho' they had been deceived in that Cafe, it would by no means follow, that they were fo alfo in this. D 3 As 36; A Vindication of the As to St. Cyprian's Account of the State of Chriftians in his Times, I own, that he reports them to have been very bad. But tho' this is more to the Dodor^Purpofe, than what he had urged before ; yet it does not come up to it, or amount to a full Proof, that the earlieft Ages were not the pureft. A great Part of this Accufation, if under ftood ftridly according to the Letter, would imply, that the Church was totally corrupt, and that there was no Religion or Virtue left. But this cannot be thought the Meaning of the Martyr. It is diredly contradidory to the Accounts he gives in the Beginning of DeLapjis. this very Treatife, Mentioning the Martyrs and Confeffors, he ftiles them militum Chrijii cohors Candida, " the fincere Company of *' Chrift 's Soldiers :" He fays to them, that the Church opens her Gates with Joy, ut ad- unatis agminibus intretis, " that ye may en- ** ter in united Bodies : " He talks of Men and Women, Virgins and Boys, nec non et cce- teraftantium multitudo^ &c. " as alfo all the " Multitude of them that ftood." All which Expreffions muft imply Numbers of Perfons of all Ages and Ranks, who fuffered for Confcience-fake in that fiery Perfecution, and had been found firm to their God, and their Duty. Which could not have been the Cafe, had there been fuch an intire Degeneracy immediately before. How Miraculous Powers, ^c. 3 7 How then, you will fay, are we to in- ' lerpret the Words ? Why, as we muft equit ably interpret moft other general Cenfures of this Kind. It is a very common thing for zealous good Men, when they are lamenting the Iniquities of their Times, to exaggerate, and to indulge themfelves in rhetorical Ex preffions beyond the ftrid Truth. If there were any Inftances of the feveral Crimes here fpecified, as any fuch were too many, and too inexcufeable, we may eafily imagine, thatfo good a Man as St. Cyprian was highly offend ed and grieved at it, and was provoked to af iign fuch Vices, as the Caufes which had brought thofe fevere Trials of Perfecution on the Church. All therefore we can col led from hence is, that fome Chriftians had far declined from the Rules of their holy Re ligion ; but we cannot fay what Numbers of thefe there were ; nor determine what Pro portion they bore to the Numbers of the Virtuous and Good ; nor confequently con clude, that thofe Times were worfe than any fucceeding ones : Much lefs doth this De fcription of the State of Things in the Middle of the Third Century condemn or affed the preceding Ages of Chriftianity. It is obferveable, what handfome Terms Dr. Middleton. here ufes, fpeaking of St. Cy prian. He calls him the chief Ornament of thofe Ages — the abieft Mafter of the Times ; and fays, that the CharaBer of the Drawer D 3 muft 3^ ^ Vindication p. 114. pi-om this one Paffage, as well as thofe be fore cited, we may fee, how well this Writer has built on the Principles of Mr. Chilling- worth, and how likely his Notion is to do Service to the Proteftant Caufe. * The Doftor, p. 49. reprefents Cranmer and Ridley as labouring and gravelled at fome Paffages of the Fathers al- Jeged again|l them by their Adverfaries. But this is not true! They very clearly explained thefe. Vid. Fox, V. 3 . /. 45, &c.. Tho' had it been fo, yet the Difficulties they were under, jseing denied the Ufe of their own Books, fliould be con fidered. 4. CHAP. Miraculous Powers, &'c. 57 CHAP. II. Remarks on the Preface, IT^ is now Time to proceed to the Con fideration of the Enquiry, in which the Miracles related by the Fathers are viewed more diftindly. The Preface chiefly re lates to other Writers, who had oppofed the . IntroduBory Difcourfe. Some Parts of it have likewife already fallen under our No tice. And the few others, which affed the Credit of the Three Firft Ages, fhall now have their Examination. As to Mr. Locke's Authority in this Caufe depending, it weighs with me no more than the Enquirer's ov^^n. Without leffening or derogating from his Abilities, we may de^ fire to be excufed from fubfcribing to all his Opinions. He was indeed, as he is here re prefented, " Angularly quaUfied, by his Ta- Pref. p. 4 " lents and Studies, to difcern the exad Re- " lations and Confequences of Things." But this Charader does not qualify him to be a Judge in the Matters before us. • The pre fent Difpute muft be determined by a Re- courfe to Hiftory, more than to Philofophy. Thefe are very different Provinces, require yery difl!#ent Talents, which do not fup pofe 58 A Vindication of the pofe each other. Nay, Mr. Locke himfelf was fenfible of his Ignorance and Deficiency in this refped, and therefore defired his Friend Limhorch's Sentiments. De miraculis poft apoftolorum tempora certiorem fieri cupio. Non egofatis verfatus in hift ori a ecclefiafticay ut quid de iisftatuam nbrim. This Letter is dated Feb. zp. 1692. and it is obfervable, that his Third Letter on Toleration was ended June 20. i6p2. So that it was Eight Months after this was finiflned, that he con feffed his Ignorance and Doubts, and there fore could be no Judge of this Matter before. Should it be thought, that the Date of this Letter was i6pi-2. tho' I think it is not ufual to write this 165)2^ ftill Mr. Locke, even on this Suppofition, muft have v/ritten that Part of his Third Letter on Toleration, which fpeaks of the primitive Miracles, ei ther as early as his Letter to Limborch, or fo foon after, that he could not have fufficient tim&jto inform himfelf well of this Matter in the rhean while. Indeed, if tJiis was the Date, he probably wrote to Limborch juft when he came to that Part of the Letter on Toleration, and found himfelf at a Lofs. However this be, 'tis plain, if we will take his own Word, that his Authority in this refped can weigh nothing.- — Nay, farther, Mr. Locke has not declared himfelf of Dr, Middleton's Opinion. , His Antagonift had afferted, that Miracles ceafed, when the Empire became Chriftian ; Miraculous Powers, ^c. 59 Chriftian ; and thence argued, that the Civil Authority was to fupply their place. Mr. Locke only denies the Fad of their ftopping juft then ; but does not determine, whether they ended \yith the Lives of the Apoftles, or were continued after the ^Days of Conftan- tine ; a Queftion, which it was neither ne ceffary to his Purpofe, nor in his Power, to determine. We muft not therefore be prejudiced by this great Name ; efpecially as we have num berlefs others, far more able to decide this Point, than Mr. Locke, on our Side. Let us rather attend to the State of the Queftion, This, we are told, " depends on the joint P- 9- " Credibility of the Fads pretended to have " been produced by thofe [miraculous] Pow- " ers, and of the Witneffes who atteft them." I own, that I am here diffatisfied at fetting out. There appears to me to be fome Am biguity or Impropriety in this Way of fpeak ing. It is plain, that this Gendeman fup pofes Fads to be credible or incredible, di ftind from the Confideration of any Tefti mony. One or other of thefe Qualities are fuppofed inherent in their very Nature. Whereas, ftridly and accurately fpeaking, they bear a relation to Evidence *, Accord ing to the Strength or Weaknefs. of this, we either believe or difbelieve a Relation. I • That w|iich makes me believe, is fomething extraneous to the thing I believe. Locke'; Effay, Vol. IL p. 275- grant. 6o A Vindication of the grant, that in common Difcourfe it is not un- ufual to call any thing credible or incredible, antecedent to our Confideration of its Proof. But if we examine our Ideas, this will be found to be a loofe unphilofophical Way of expreffing ourfelves. All that can be meant is, that fuch a thing is poffible or impoffible, probable or improbable, or, at fartheft, hap pening very frequently, or very feldom. No thing can be abfolutely in itfelf incredible, but what is impoffible. Such no Evidence can prove. And therefore, if this appears, there will be no need to enquire into the Qualifications of the Witnefs. If the Fads be poffible, they may become credible upon fufficient Teftimony. Not but we may fuppofe fome fuch fd grofly improbable, that they may be thought next to impoffible; that we cannot but fufped the Truth of them, and decline examining them. , We may ad mit, that there may be Circumftances in a Fad, which may not be ftridly impoffible, yet which are fo utterly unlikely, that a Man can hardly hefitate, whether he fhall rejeft them or not. But I do not apprehend this to be the Dodor's Meaning ; or, if it is, it is not applicable to his Purpofe ; fince many of the Miracles of the primitive Church, by far the greateft Part of thofe of the Three Firft Ages, are not in this Senfe incredible *. As • For the Doftor will not fay, that all Miracles, as fuch, are incredible. And, if any other Perfon is of that Opinion, he MifacUlous Powers, &*€. 6i As then this Gentleman lays fuch a Strefs on the Credibility inherent in the Nature of Miracles, and makes the Queftion depend partly upon it ; I think he fhould have been very explicit in declaring what he would hav6 underftood by it, and in fixing on fome Rule, Teft, and Criterion, by which it might always be difcerned. At prefent, by leaving this important Point open, aiid talking in fo lax a manner, he feems not to have taken Care enough to leave us fufficient Means to diftinguifh true Miracles from falfe ones. Un believers may carry this Point much farther than he might intend. They are inclined to rejed all Miracles, as incredible. And till a fuller Account be given of this Expreffion, every one will underftand it, as he pleafes. Here therefore is a material Defed in this new Scheme. It might have been expeded, that the Enquiry would have opened with giving us the feveral Marks and Proofs of true Miracles, and the Differences between thefe and Impoftures, Then, by applying thefe Marks and Proofs to any Fads, which he had a mind to examine, it would have been eafier to fee, whether thefe would have ftood their Ground, and, if they wanted thofe Cir cumftances, to have difproved them. This would have been the plaineft and faiTeft Way of proceeding. Nor would it have been at he may be convinced of his Miftake by confulting Bifliop Butler's Analogy, Pt. II, c. 3. §. 3. all 62 A Vindication of the all difficult to have laid down thofe feveral Marks. But this would not have anfwered his Purpofe. It is eafier to harangoe upon a fuppofed Incredibility of the Fads, fuch as will defeat their Teftimony, be it what it will ; but fuch as the Reader is left to con- jedure what it is. But Dr. Middleton is not content to infift upon this. He proceeds to compare toge ther the CredibiUty or Incredibility of the; Fads, and that of the Witneffes ; and gives the Preference to the former Sort of Evi- P. 9. 1°' dence, " The Credibility of Fads lies open " to the Trial of our Reafon and Senfes ; but " the Credibility of Witneflfes depends on a " Variety of Principles, wholly concealed " from us. And tho' in many Cafes, it may " reafonably be prefumed, yet in none^ can " it be certainly known." We are here reafoning about Fads long fince paft. And the QueftioOT, I apprehend, is. Whether, and how far, fuch are worthy or unworthy of any Belief, from their internal Nature and Circumftances only, antecedently to the Confideration of any Teftimony. In a large Senfe, we may fay, that all Points what ever, even the Credibility of Witneffes itfelf, lie& open to the Trial ofour Reafon and Senfes ; fince thefe are the Inlets of our Knowledge, the Faculties, by which we muft judge of Truth and FaKhood, in general. It muft alfo be granted, that prefent Fads, which are 'Miraculous Powers, &^c. 6^ are Appeals to the Senfes, are more ftriking and fatisfadory than any long, intricate Rea fonings. And hence Miracles may be pro nounced to be the Ihorteft, and cleareft Means of Convidion of the Divine Autho rity of any Miffion, and confequently of any Dodrine, to thofe who fee them. And far ther, as we may have fufficient Certainty of their having been worked in Times paft, they muft, if well attefted, be full Proofs even to us, who do not fee them. This Gendeman indeed fays, the Credibility of Witneffes can in no cafe be certainly known. If he means infallibly known, fo as to exclude every Pof- fibility of Impofture ; he may be right. But this is not the only Sort of Certainty. There is' alfo a moral Certainty, which amounts to much more than a Prefumption, and which may in many Cafes fatisfy us, that the Relators and Witneffes of antient Fads (whether natural or fiapernatural, it matters not) deferve Credit. And in what manner can our Reafon and Senfes try any fuch Fads ? Before the Wit rieffes are examined, what Judgment can be given concerning them ? Sometimes indeed it will be eafy to difprove the Falfliood of them ;. as if they are impoffible ; if they are inconfiftent with the Divine Attributes, or any other known Truth ; or if they are contradidory to our Senfes. Sometimes we cannot forbear fufpediug them ; as when they 64 A Vindication of the they are in themfelves ridiculous, or too loW and mean to be fuppofed the Effeds of the Di vine Power pretended to, or when the Occa fions of them are as unworthy of fuch extraor dinary Interpofition. -But where none of thefe Circumftances appear, the Truth of fuch paft Fads ftill remains to be proved. And this in no cafe whatever can be proved, but by fufficient Atteftations. We certainly cannot fee them, Moft probably we have feen nothing like them. How then can they, or their fuppofed internal Truth or Credi bility, lie open to the Trial of our Reafon and SenJ'es? The utmoft we can fay of them, be fore we confider their Witneffes, is, that they might have happened, or might not have happened. But that they adually did hap pen, depends upon the Witneffes. We have therefore here an unfair Prefer- enpe given to the internal Evidence of paft Fads, above that Evidence which arifes from the Witneffes. Since the Teftimony which they give muft depend upon the Atteftations of thefe ; and if in fome Cafes we may fup pofe, that it receives Strength and Advan tage from other Circumftances, yet ftill thefe Circumftances muft be chiefly ab extra, very diftind and foreign to the Nature of the Fads themfelves, which may be confidered as not attended with them. The Dodor goes on tp obferve, that Men may deceive and be deceived, and may alfo zealoufly Miraculous Powers, &'c. 65 gealonfly defend Errors ; all which is very true ; and yet we can often be certain enough that they do not fo ; and muft often be obliged in Reafon to depend upon them. But, fays he, " Plain Fads cannot delude " us ; cannot fpeak any other Language, or " give any other Information, but what " flows from Nature and Truth." Very right, provided they are once proved. But till then they give no Information at all. They cannot be allowed to prove themfelves. This therefore is nothing to the Gentleman's Argument and Comparifon here, which does not fuppofe them proved by any Teftimony, but fets the Credibility of Fads in exprefs Oppofltion to that of Witneffes,— -Let me juft add, that however certain the Authority of plain Fads may be, yet obftinate and prejudiced People may not receive the In formation from them which they ought, and may difpute the Credibility of the plaineft ; and that there is no Difficulty in fuppofing, that fupernatural and miraculous Fads may be as plain as any others of the moft ordi nary and frequent Kind, We are now come to the Conclufion drawn from this Comparifon. " The Te- *' ftimony therefore of Fads, as it is offered " to our Senfes, in this wonderful Fabric " and Conftitution of wprldly things, may " properly be called the Teftimony of God " Himfelf ; as it carries with it the fureft F *' In- 66 A Vindication of the '\ Inftrudion in all Cafes, and to all Na- "' tions, which in the ordinary Courfe of " His Providence He has thought fit to " appoint for the Guidance of humanXife." If this Gentleman fpeaks here of the com mon and ordinary Operations of Nature, and Effeds of natural . Caufes, which prefent themfelves at all times to the View and Con fideration of intelligent Perfons ; thefe when once known and allowed (but not before) in many Inftances merit this Charader. But then it is nothing to the prefent Queftion, which relates to fuch Fads, as are hothpaft, and miraculous ; fuch as are in fome meafure contrary to the wonderful Fabric and Con ftitution of worldly Things; fuch as are out of the Way of the ordinary Courfe of God's Providence; and therefore are not to be ex amined and judged of according to this. I obferve our Author, in one Place, fpeak ing withDiflike of fome, who in Subjeds of p. 20. this Kind, are " deferting the Path of Na- " ture and Experience." And in the Paf fage juft cited, we fee the Teftimony of natural Fads infifted on. 'Tis hard to fay to what End this was mentioned. It could not furely be his Meaning to fuggeft, that no others can be allowed j and that all others contain in them Marks of Inpredibility. For this would be inconfiftent with what he elfe- wfhere admits in favour of the Miracles of Chrift and His ApofUes. But, left any fuch Con- Miraculous Powers, &'c. 6f Conclufion fhould be raflily drawn, it rnay be proper to fubjoin the Words of Mr, Locke. Tho' the common Experience and the ordinary Courfe of Things have juftly a mighty In fluence on the Minds of Men, to make them give or refufe Credit to any thing propofed to their Belief; yet there is one Cafe wherein the Strangenefs of the FaB left'ens not the Af- fent to a fair Teftimony given of it. For where fuch fupernatural Events are fuitable to Ends aimed at by Him, Who has the Power to change the Courfe of Nature, there under fuch Circumftances, they may be the fitter to procure Belief, by how much the more they are beyond, or contrary to ordinary Obfervation. This is the proper Cafe of Mi racles, which, well attefted, do not only find _ _ Credit themfelves, but give it alfo to other h.iJ'c.ie, Truths, which need fuch Confirmation. ii3- I have confidered this Paragraph of the Preface, more at large, becaufe it feems to be laid down for the Groundwork of his Sy ftem ; and yet what he really intends by it, is very hard to afeertain. I muft go on. This Author reprefents it neceffary, before we can judge of the prefent Difpute, " to Pref.p.i©? " inform oUrfclves of the proper Nature ** and Condition of thofe, miraculous Pow- " ers, which are the Subjed of it, as they " are reprefented to us in the Hiftory pfthe " Gofpel," and to learn, " from thefd fa- *' cred Records, what they really were, -for F 2 *' what 68 A Vindication of th& " what Purpofes granted, and in what Man- " ner exerted by the Apoftles, and firft Pof- " feffors of them : " And he taxes all his Adverfaries with negleding this. But may not this Charge be juftly retorted upon him felf ? Has he ever given us a full and parti cular Account of thefe Things ? I remember nothing like it. The moft we have to this P. 43. Purpofe is a Paffage in the IntroduBory Dif- courje, which is but fhort, occafionally in- ferted, not fo full and unexceptionable as it fhould have been, and which I have already accommodated to the Miracles I have en gaged in the Vindication of. Several of the following Pages relate to fome others of his Anf werers. As to the Opi nion of Grotius, it is point-blank againft him. This learned and judicious Critic y Pref p iq ^^ ^^ ^^ juftly ftyled, knew no Reafon, why fome Jhould confine the miraculous Gift of in'Marc*^ c^/Zw^ out Devils to the firft Times of the xvi. 17. Gofpels; and farther did not doubt, but that the fame Promife would be fulfilled even now to any one who Jhould preach Chrifi, in a Manner agreeable to His Will, to tl?e Hea thens, who are ignorant of Him. Other pi ous Chriftians have been of the fame Senti ments. We are not obliged to defend thefe. Nay, there is room to think, that the Go fpel has been preached, and is preached to the Heathens, in a Manner agreeable to God's Will, Miraculous Powers, &*c. 69 Will, with Succefs, and without any Mirar cles *. I agree with the Dodor, that the modern Miffionaries have worked no Miracles, and that Xavier had not the Gift of Tongues : But hope to fliew, that he triumphs a little too foon, in fuggefting that he has difproved the Account, which Irenceus gives of this Wonder in his Time \ and in his Conclufion from the Silence of all fucceeding Wri ters' concerning it. " From this Fad, and P. 22, " many more of the fame Sort, which " might be produced, the Reader will ob- " ferve, how rafh and prefumptuous it is, " to form Arguments fo peremptorily upon *' the fuppofed Neceffity or Propriety of a " Divine Interpofition, in this or that parti- " cular Cafe." This, I hope, is not laid down as an univerfal Rule. Such Arguments are not altogether to be condemned. Cafes may be fuppofed, where a Divine Interpor fition muft have been neceffary ; where we can no way account for the fubfequent Events, without having Recourfe to it. And other Cafes there are, where, tho' the iVi?- ceftity of it may not be ftridly concluded, yet the Propriety of it appears very plainly. * Mr. Dodnuell has fliewn,, that Miracles are not now fo much wanted to convert the Heathens, as they were at the firft preaching of Chriftianity ; becaufe we have m^ny natu ral Advantages, which the Apoftles had not. Se? Free An fwer, p. io,iSc. F 2 There 70 A Vindication of the There is a great Difference between thefe Two, however they are here fo placed to gether, as that a common Reader may not be able to diftinguifli them. With regard to the Gift of Tongues in particular, the Enquirer, I fuppofe, will gfant, that the Gofpel could not have been fo foon, fo extenfively, fo effedually preach- • ed in the World by the Twelve Apoftles without it. For how otherwife can we think thefe qualified to have fpoken to the different Nations of the World in their fe veral Languages ? And how otherwife could they have converted them to Chriftianity ? We fee from St, Francis Xavier' s Complaint, that this muft have been impoffible. And as to other Miracles, we may fqrm a found Argument for them in the Beginning of Chriftianity upon theit fuppofed Neceffity ; as it is demonftrable, that without Miracles it could never have been propagated;! and that, if Miracles were not worked in its favour, at firft, at leaft, its Propagation was itfelf miraculous. The Divine Interpolition therefore muft here be concluded, one way or the. other. And with regard to any fucceeding Mira cles, tho' I own the Neceffity of them does not appear fo ftrongly tome, and therefore I fhould be loth to argue from this alme to their. Truth ; yet furely we may without any Raflinefs or Prefumption fee and plead the Miraculous Powers, &>€. 71 the Propriety of the Divine Interpofition in this Cafe, tho' not to prove them a priori, yet to defend them, when they are in Fad affirmed to have been wrought. In fuppof ing this we fuppofe nothing , but what is highly \>orthy of God, and extremely fuit able to that infant and diftreffed State of His Church. And therefore, if in Hiftory, .we meet with any Accounts of thiis Nature, we are the more prepared to believe them. This is not " to decide upon the Views and Mo- " tives of the Deity, by the narrow Con- " ceptions of human Reafon," but rather to admire and acknowledge thofe Marks of Reafon and Fitnefs, which appear in fuch His Counfels and Interpofitions. Thus, as to the Gift of Tongues, fo long as it was vouchfafed, no doubt but it was neceffary and proper. It was certainly vouchfafed to others, befides the Apoftles ; becaufe others in the ABs are faid to have been thus favoured. When it was finally withdrawn, we are no-where told. Moft probably it was fooner withdrawn, than fome other Miracles. And tho' we are not concerned to affign any Reafon for this, yet I fliall beg Leave to fubjoin one, which oc curs to me, and appears very worthy of the Reader's Notice. It is in fhort this, That this Miracle was not grantedyo much to atteft the Truth, as to enable Men to preach it to Perfons of different Nations, I am far from F 4 deny- 72 A Vindication oj the denying, that it is itfelf a moft convincing Proof of the Truth of the Doctrines thus preached. But it is a Proof only to them, who are convinced of the Reality of it. And it may not be fo eafy for any particular Per fon, who is a Stranger to the Life and Cha rader of another, to attain fuch a Convidion. Suppofe a Man comes to me, pretends to be fent by God to convert me to a new Re ligion, and appeals to his talking a Language very different from his native Tongue, and which he fays he never learned, for the Con firmation of his Pretenfions. It muft be fome Time before I can make, if ever I have Opportunities to make, fuch Enquiries, as Xvill fatisfy me, that there is no Art ufed here. The Cafe of the Apoftles at the Day of Pentecofi was very fingular. Thefe were known to be , unlearned and ignorant Men, Their Education and low Employments of Life put it out of all Queftion, that they coujd not by any private Application and Induftry of their own attain the Knowledge of the Languages they fpake. And befides it pfeafed God to confer this wonderful Power upon them, in fuch a fignal and vi fible Mapner, and at fuch a very remarkable Solemnity, as quite excludes all Ground of Sufpicion. It was on the Day of Pentecofi, one of the chief Feftivals among the Jews, when there were Profelytes of all Nations Afts ii. I, at Jerufalem, that fuddenly there came a **¦ Sound Miraculous Powers, ^c. 73 Sound from Heaven, as of a ruft)ing mighty Wind, and it filled all the Houfe, where they were fitting : And there appeared unto them cloven Tongues like as of Fire, and it fat upon each of them. And afterwards, the Strangers were all amazed, and marvelled, faying one to another. Behold, are not all thefe, which fpeak, Galileans .? And how hear we every Man in our own Tongue, wherein we were born .? Parthians, and Medes, and Elam- ites, and the Dwellers in Mefopotamia, and in Judea and Cappadocia; in Pontus and Afia, Phrygia and Pamphylia, in Egypt, and in the Parts cf Libya about Cyrene, and Strangers of Rome, Jews and Profelytes, Cretes and Arabians, we do hear them fpeak in our Tongues the wonderful Works of God. Thefe extraordinary Circumftances carry the higheft Convidion with them ; as it was im poffible for any one, much more for all thefe poor Galilaans, to attain the Power of fpeak ing fluently in fo many different Languages, but by fupernatural Means. But then this was the Cafe of no other Inftance of this Kind. And therefore in any others it would not be fo eafy to diftinguifh the Divine Original. We read in the ABs of fome endued with this miraculous Power. If thefe, for Inftance, were fent Abroad in to different Countries, where they were not known, to preach the Word ; the Gift of Tongues would evidently enable them to do this. 74 ^ Vindication of the this. But this alone would not evince the Authority of their Miffion. How. fliould the People, to whom they were fent, be affured, that they had not before, to qua lify them for this Office, acquired a Skill in their feveral Languages ; for Inftance, in the Roman, Grecian, Egyptian, &c. ? Other Miracles then may be thought ftill wanting to be the Means of Convidion. If this be allowed, and I fee no Difficulty in allowing it, we fhall foon difcern the Reafon, why the Gift of Tongues might ceafe before other Miracles. When once a fufficient Number of Converts were made in any Country, and inftruded in the Nature of our Religion, thefe, or at leaft the Principal of them, were ordained and fent to teach their Countrymen. And, as they wanted no Gift of Tongues to enable them to do this, fo we have no Reafon to think, that God Almighty would continue fuch a Miracle, any longer than it was neceffary. Whereas thefe very Perfons might want, and did want, the Affiftance of other Miracles then, not only to confirm the Word, but to fupport themfelves and others, who were eminent Sufferers for the Truth. This appears to me to be a probable Way of accounting for the Silence of the Fathers after Irenceus, as to this Wonder, who yet have related the reft, without any Doubt. And on Points of this Nature, Probability is Miraculous Powers, &'c. 75 is the utmoft we can attain to. The certain Reafons of fuch Difpenfations we cannot hope to learn. The Gentleman proceeds, as follows ; "Whereas the Whole, which the Wit of " Man can poffibly difcover, either of the " Ways, or the Will of the Creator, muft " be acquired by a contrary Method ; not " by imagining vainly within ourfelves j " what may be proper or improper for Him " to do ; but by looking Abroad, and con- *' templating, ;what He has adually done ; " and attending ferioufly to that Revelation, " which He made of Himfelf from the Be- " ginning, and placed continually before " our Eyes, in the wonderful Works, and " beautiful Fabric of this vifible World." This Paffage has given peculiar Offence. And indeed I do not fee what Conftrudioa will excufe it from open Deifm. The Au thor, I would hope, did not mean to ex clude, but the Sentence, being laid down in general Terms, adually does exclude, the Scriptures of the Old and New Teftament from being any Means of difeovering either the Ways or Will of God. Whatever the Intention of the Dodor was, his Expreffion is certainly too ftrong and unguarded. And fome Reftridions and Exceptions would have been no more than neceflary. I will endeavour to colled as favourable a Jyleaning, as I can, from the Context. He IS 76 A Vindication of the is arguing againft concluding the Reality of Miracles from the fuppofed Neceffity or Propriety of them, of which I have already fpoken at large. It is of the granting or with-holding thefe Miracles, that, I will fuppofe, we muft underftand the Words, the Ways or Will of the Creator ; i. e, fuch. Ways, His Will in thej'e particula,r Cafes. Thefe vi^e can only difcover " by looking " Abroad, and contemplating, what He has " adually done;" i.e. I apprehend, by confulting thofe authentic and credible Re lations of them, which are given in Hiftory. If this be the Senfe, and no other is neceffary to carry on his Argument, it feems to be reft-r ing the Enquiry on its right Bottom, and the faireft way of determining the Fads. So far then I fhould have no great Difficulty. But, as to the next Words, I own, that I cannot poffibly accommodate or reconcile them even to this Train of Argument. For how the original Frame and Conftitution of Things is any Teft or Proof of Miracles, which are Alterations of it, I cannot appre hend. The utmoft we can learn from at tending ferioufly to this Revelation, as it is here called, fo far as the prefent Subjed is concerned, is, to know and diftinguiffi, in fome Cafes, what is impoffible. But as, on the one hand, we cannot from hence con clude, that the Author of Nature never thought fit, in order to carry on the great Pur- Mitaculous P0wers, &'c. 77 Purpofes of His Eternal Wifdom and Good nefs, to over- rule the general Laws He has eftablifhed ; fo neither, on the other, will the Confideration of thefe alone at all help us to difcover, that He has at any time over ruled them. This Method therefore, which is here laid down, is plainly infufficient, as it will neither difprove the Reality of Mir racles, nor prove it. I can think of no other Interpretation of thefe Words, which I have been examin ing, that can fuit the Defign and Reafoning of the Writer ; and therefore, till he more clearly explains and vindicates his Meaning, I muft have Leave at leaft to fay, that he is here guilty of a very grofs Inaccuracy ; and that his Argument, if it had any Weight, would bear hard, if not againft all Divine Revelation, but the original one of Nature, yet againft the Truth of Miracles in general, which cannot be known merely from at tending to the. original Conftitution of Things, reprefented as the Means of dif eovering the Whole either of the Ways or Will of the Creator. We may pafs over the Two next Pages p. 23, 24 of the Preface, which relate to a Point fo reign to our prefent Queftion ; viz. How far the miraculous Powers, conferred on the Difciples, vrere perpetually inherent in them, to be exerted at their Pleafure. I do not fee, how the Determination of this Point is con- 78 A Vindication of the conneded with the Subjed of our prefent Debate ; nor how any Prejudices againft the Dodor's Scheme can arife from any Miftake in this Matter ; tho' this is reprefented as the chief Source of them. That fuch Pow ers were exercifed occafionally, I believe, all will own. But whether they were commu nicated once for all, or immediately before each Occafion offered, and were withdrawn again as foon as it was over, feems a Point of Curiofity, and does not affed the Reality of the Miracles of the primitive Church, no more than thofe of "Scripture *. p. 25. In the next Page, we have another In ftance of unguarded Language. Our Lord is faid, by the Command, Be ye wife as Ser pents, &c. to mean to admonifli His Dif ciples, "among other Things, " that the mi- " raculous Gifts, which were indulged to •' them in this Infancy of the Gofpel, were * See Mr. DodvielPs Free Anftiocr, p. 16, iSc. where he enlarges on the Suppofition, that the Apoftles had the mira culous Powers conftantly inherent in them, tho' they could only exert them in Atteftation of the Gofpel, and not on every common and indifferent Occafion, as their Humours and Fancies diredled. And indeed Grotius, whofe Words are cited, is againft the Doftor here, and fuppofes a ftanding • miraculous Power, admirabiUs facultas, which was exerted on due Occafions. And as to the Paftage in St. 'Mark here appealed to, Itjhall be given them in that very Hour, &c. this appears to be mifapplied by the Enquirer, as it does not at all relate " to the Gift of Language orTraigues " naturally unknown, but entirely to the Ability, which they ftiouM re ceive of anfwering their potent Adverfaries wifely, and in » proper Manner. *' intended Miraculous Powers, ^c. 79 •' intended to draw- People's Attention more " ftrongly to the Contemplation of their " Manners." The Precept has plainly no Relation to Miracles, nor does our Saviour appear to have the Ufe of thefe at all in His Thoughts, when He dehvered it — -But the chief Reafon of my excepting againft this Paffage, is, that I fear fome unwary Readers may be led by this Intimation to think the Intention and Defign of thofe Wonders, mentioned therein, to be, if not the only one, yet the firft and greateft ; which would be to take away, in a very great meafure, the Force of the Argument from them. Yet I muft do this Gentleman the Juftice to own, that in the Enquiry a Miracle is faid to " yield the ftrongeft Con- P. 214. " firmation to the Truth — taught." Which N°'e- is much more than to draw People's Atten tion to the Lives and Conyerfations of the Teachers. Nor is this in the Paffage before us faid to be the fole Intention of Miracles. And yet it is here mentioned alone, withodt the leaft Intimation of any higher Ufe of them. And therefore to prevent Miftakes, as if it were the only or the chief Ufe ; I could have wiflied to have found a Word or Two added, fuch as, " were in part in- " tended to draw," &c. And perhaps the Gentleman may himfelf fee needful to ex plain himfelf on this Subjed. This 4 8 o A Vindication of the This Gentleman is not contented to take away the Credit of the Miracles related by the Fathers, but is farther of Opinion, that they were withdrawn, while fome of the Apoftle? were ftill living. He indeed prb- pofes this as a ConjeSfure, and a moft ground lefs one it is, in which, I fuppofe, he will have few or no Followers. It is very re markable, that he enters upon this Point with declaring, that the Demand, concern ing the real Duration of Miracles in the Apo- P- 27- flolic Days, is, *' rather curious than per- " tinent, and the Solution of it of no Con- " fequence to the Point in Debate," We may, I think, claim the Benefit of this Con ceffion. Why muft we be obliged to ffiew the precife Time, when true Miracles ftop- ped, any more than this Gentleman ? He will not fay, that our Ignorance of this at all prejudices the Relations of this Nature, which we have given us by the Evangelifts. No more will it prejudice thofe of the early Fathers, which we can otherwife vindicate. The Apoftles are on all hands owned to be the Guides of our Faith; and their Mira cles to be the Confirmations of their Divine Authority: Which cannot be affirmed of the Fathers. So that, if thefe Points make It neceffary for us exadly to determine when Miracles ceafed, it muft be ftill more necef fary for this Author to do it. However, an equal Miraculous Powers, &'c. ^ equal Right we undoubtedly have to require this of him, as he has to infift upon it from uSi If it is a Difficulty on one Side, it is fo on the other. And if it is " more curi- " ous than pertinent, " we are neither of us concerned to anfwer it. He thinks the Power of Miracles ftopped fome time be fore t|ie Apoftles all died. We have Rea fon to think, that it ftopped fome time after the civil Eftablifliment of our Religion. The exad Period neither of us can affign. -The Cafes, we fee, are - parallel ; nor can I difcern any material Difference, any Objec tion of .Moment, which lies from this Cir cumftance againft our Scheme, which does not prefs equally hard againft the Dodor's own. To proceed. He .acknowledges, that the P- 28s miraculous Gifts were poured out in the fulleft Manner on the firft Difciples ; "in " order to enable them more eafily toover- " rule the inveterate Prejudices both of the *« Jews and Gentiles, and to bear up againft " the djfcouraging Shocks of popular Rage " and Perfecution" But, " when they " had laid a Foundation and conquered " the firft and principal Difficulties, and " planted Churches in all the chief Cities " of the Roman Empire, and fettied a re- " gular Miniftry — as the Benefit of miracu- *' lous Powersbegan to be lefs and lefs want- ?' ed, in proportion to the Increafe of thofe G Churches, 82- , y^ Vindication of the " Churches, fo the Ufe and Exerdfe of " them began gradually to decline ; and as " foon as Chriftianity had gained an Efta- *' blifhment in every Quarter of the known " World, they were finally withdrawn " And all this- may probably be thought *' to have happened, while fome of the Apo- *' ftles were ftill living." This is the Whole of his Suppofition, in which, I be lieve, he is fingular, and will remain fo. For it is dogged, with many Difficulties. It is not probable, that Chriftianity had before the Apoftles Death gained an Eftablifliment in every Quarter of the known World. The Propagation of it was, I own, moft quick and wonderfid. But there appears no Rea fon to fuppofe it fo very early fettled. It is certain, that for fome Centuries afterwards it every-where met with the utmoft Op pofition, and the moft cruel Enemies. And if Mirades. were granted at firft to enable the Preachers of our Religion to fubdue the' Prejudices of the World, as well as to- com fort them under Perfecution ; one would think, that as long as thefe fubfifted in their full Strength, fo long fuch Powers fhould be continued for the fame Ends. And this will carry our Thoughts much lower than the -Death of all the Apoflsles, even unto the Efkblifhment of Chriftianity in the World by the Civil Power. It! however cannot be doubted, but that the Difficulties of the Apoftles Miraculous Powers, #c. t^ Apoftles lafted, as long as they lived : Their Difcouragements were not in the leaft aba ted. And tho' I am very ready to allow the Power of the Divine Graces of Faith, Hope, and Charity, when the World is cool and unbiaffed enough to pay them a due Attention and Regard ; yet furely they were far from being fo then. And therefore Mi racles were particularly ferviceable, not bare ly to lay the Foundation of our Faith, but to bufld it up, and even -for fome time to keep alive thofe' Graces, and to make our Religion, and the afiiided Profeffors of it, fuperior to all the Dangers and Enemies, which furrounded them on every Side. As to St. John's miraculoufly efcaping unhurt from a Cauldron of boiling Oil, the Dodor fays, this ".may be juftly confidered, P- 3'J " as the Fidion of the later Ages." For ^^hat Reafon, Ido not know. He has hot Vouchfafed to offer any '¦— But if it be at^'idion, which does not yet appear, how could he call it a Fidion of the later Ages ? Can the Second Century come under this Deno mination? Yet TertuUian, who flourifhed before the Clofe of this, mentions it with out the leaft Sign of Doubt, as having hap pened at Rome ; " Ubi Apoftolus Joannes, De Prz- " pofteaquam in oleum igneum demerfus, '^"P*- 5t " nihil paffos eft, in infulam relegatur." 'th\s indeed was vy:ritten an Hundred Years after the Fad ; wliich would take Irom the G 2 Autho- 84 A Vindication of the Authority of the Teftimony, were there any real Objedions againft it. But as 1 fee none, I think it not difficult to fuppofe, that Tra dition might convey down the Knowledge of fo memorable an Event for this Time with fufficient Certainty. Not to fay, that TertuUian might have had fome Evidence for this Piece of Hiftory, which is fince loft. And upon the Whole, the plain Que ftion is, Which deferves moft Credit, the Affirmation of fo early a Writer, or the Denial of this Gentleman, who comes fo many more Ages after the Fad, and who gives no one Reafon for denying it ? P. 32, " The chief Inftrument, by which they " [ the Fathers J acquired and maintained " their Credit in the World, was an Ap- " peal to a divine and miraculous Power." — With regard to this, we are now ready to join Iffue. And the World muft judge, whether this Gentleman, as he perfuades himfelf, has proved the Negative. It is hard to conceive, had fuch an Appeal been falfe, that they could have gained and long fupported any Credit by it, or have fucceed ed in fo abfurd a Defign. Their great and allowed Credit and Charader therefore, itfelf, in a great meafure, juftifies the Miracles they claimed and attefted. This will appear more fully hereafter. The Preface concludes with laying down the Method, which he would have his An- fwerer Miraculous Powers, &'c. 8^ fwerer purfue, not, " from the fuppofed p, 34. " Integrity and Piety of the Fathers, to in- " fer the Certainty of what they atteft; * but to refer us to Inftances, which tally " with their Teftimonies, and experiment- *' ally prove the Truth of them." As to the former Part, it is certain, that the In tegrity and Piety of the Fathers will not alone warrant this Conclufion. Nor do I know, who has built altogether upon it. But it will in part juftify their Affertions. It is plain from hence, that they did not intend to deceive the World. And, if we have no Reafon to think them deceived themfelves, we may then " infer the Certainty of what *' they atteft." But, as to the latter Part, the Way which is here infifted on, nothing can well be more unfair and unreafonable. In many refpeds, Hiftory only relates the general Miracles, and gives us no particular Inftances. And would he have us invent them .? Or will he ¦ fay, that fuch general Affertions and Rela tions cannot be true, bnlefs we know par- , ticular Fads which tally with them, and exemplify them ? An experimental Proof cannot be had now-a-days, as Miracles are long fince ceafed. And how any ancient Inftances, if we could produce them, can be juftly ftyled experimental Proofed us, is not eafy to imagine. Nay, fuch Inftances muft jreft on the Sme Authority, that the general G 3 Affer^ 86 A Vindication of th& Affertions do. And if this is not to be bq- lieVed, the one muft fall, as well as the other. In fuch a Cafe therefore, how can " thofe Teftimonies be verified by Fads?" When the Fads would have had no ftronger Support and Confirmation. That we have fome particular Inftances of Miracles recorded by the Writers of the Three firft Centuries, is certain. The Rea der will find feveral of thefe vindicated. And if there are not more, we fhould re- fled, that we have no Hiftorian, ftridly fpeaking, within this time. Eufebius, the firft Writer of this Clafs, flourifhed about the Beginning of the Fourth Century. The Fathers before him left only fome fhort Epiftles, or fome occafional Pieces, or gene-^ ral Defences of Chriftianity from the Cavils and Slanders of their Adverfaries ; or Con futations, of the Idolatry, Superftition, and extravagant Herefies, with which they were fu,'rrounde^, It was fufficient for their Pur pofes, to refer their pleaders to fuch Won ders, as they knew were frequently worked among them, and to invite them to corne^ 9.nd behold with their own Eyes the Truth of them. And can we think fuch Claims, in fuch Circumftances, would have been made, if they had nqt been affured of In^ ftances enou,gh to have fupported and rnflde ^hem good? What other Effed could fuch general Miraculous Powers, &'c. i?7 general Claims have had in this Cafe, but to expofe thofe who relied upon them ? That the Miracles bf Scripture are related more circumftantially than moft of thofe of the primitive Church are, is true. We are told, not only, that they were worked, but where, on whom, and before whom, they were work ed. And this I own and willingly allow to be a confiderable Advantage, fuch as gives them a Superiority and Preheminence above all others — Yet ftill, will our Want of know ing the Names of Perfons, who received Be nefit from Miracles, and the Circumftances of Place, Company, &c. deftroy their Cre dit? No furely. There are different De grees of Probability, The Accounts of the . ancient Fathers may be, and are, fufficient ly fatisfadory, and worthy of our Belief, tho' they do not carry with them the felf-fame very clear and convincing Proofs of their Truth, which the Relations of the Evange lifts do. And the Reafon of this, if we attend to it, is plain. The one did not write with the fanie Defign and View, as the others. In Hiftories of the Life of our Blefted Savi our, The Author and Founder of our Reli gion, and of fome of the Firft Ads of His principal Followers and Difciples, both writ ten by the Command, and under the Gui dance of the Holy Spirit, for the Ufe and Confirmation of all Ages, to preferve the G 4 Memory B^ A Vindication of the Memory and Belief of thofe Fads, on which their Authority was built, and by which it was fully difplayed and proved ; in fuch Hiftories, compiled for fuch Ends, it was extremely proper andqfeful to enter minute ly into Particulars, and to defcribe the feve ral Fads at large, with the Circumftances which attended them.. But the earlieft Fa thers neither publiffied Hiftories of any Per- fon's Adions (a few fhort Accounts except ed, which are particular enough) nor did they propofe to themfelves the fame Ends in Writing, They did not defign to leave an Account of the Grounds of their Religion, for the Convidion of all future Ages ; but aimed at defending themfelves, and confuting their Adverfaries, and governing the Church then in Danger and Difficulty. And to this End there was no Occafion for them to be more full and particular in the Accounts of Miracles, than they were. And therefore, upon the Whole, their Accounts may be relied on, tho' they fall fhort, in this refped, of thofe of Scripture. If there are not other Objedions againft them, this can have nq Weight. CHAP, Miraculous Powers, &'c. Sg CHAP. IIL Concerning the Miracles of the Apoftolic' Fathers. WE are now come to the Enquiry it felf; which I fhall confider in its own Method, as being very clear and diftind. The Firft Head is employed in colleding the Teftimonies relating to the prefent Ar gument. The Gentleman begins with the Enquiry, Apoftolic Fathers, and places a great Strefs P" ^' ^' on their not claiming or pretending to the Gift of Miracles, or mentioning any fuch, as having been granted in their Times. And indeed, if it could be proved, that the Com panions and immediate Succeffors of the Apoftles had no Knowledge of any Powers of this Kind, as fubfifting in their Days, and being exercifed among them ; it muft be granted, that the Prefumption would lie inuch ftronger againft the Truth of any After-relations, But will the bare Silence of thefe Fathers prove this ? Suppofing the Plea juft, that none of them have once mentioned fuch extraordinary Gifts, does it follow, that they were altogether ignorant of them ? By BO 90 A Vindication of the no means *. The Dodor thinks it " highly *' probable, that they would have made -" fome Appeal or Reference to them, in •' their circular Epiftles to the Churches, " as their Predeceffors had done," 1 am of a quite different Opinion. Thefe Writers were few in Number: We have but few of their Works remaining, and thefe very ffiort: Thefe are chiefly occafional Epiftles, not wrote for the Converfion of the Heathens, but for the Inftrudion and Confirmation of the Churches : They are of a pradical Nature, recommending Humility, Quiet, Unity, and~ Submiffion to Authority. This Gentleman himfelf has born his Teftirnony to " the inno- " cent and amiable Charader of their Lives, " and to the pious, charitable, and fervent " Strain of their paftoral Exhortations." Putting all thefe Circumftances together, I think, we can no- way wonder at our hear ing fo little of Miracles from them. They were under no Neceffity of infifting upon thefe. The Credit of the Gofpel, and of their Miniftry, were fufficiently acknow ledged by thofe, to whom they wrote. Thefe alfo had no need to be informed of the Reality of Miracles, which moft probably they knew already. Nay, in feveral of the * Mr. Dodvuell fliews, with great Probability, that, had Miracles ceafed with the Apoftles, their Succeflbrs would have taken notice of fo extraordinary an Event : And there fore concludes, from the fuppofed Silence of the ApoftoKeal Fat^hera, that.thejf were continued. See Frn Anfitier,p.i(}, &c. Canonical Miraculpus Powers, ^c. 91 Canonical Epiftles themfelves we have no more Mention of Miracles, than we have in thefe Fathers. I do not mean only the fborteft of all, but feveral of St. Pauls ; in particular, thofe to the Philippians, Coloftians, and Thej'.- falonidns. Which is a Demonftration, that Miracles might have been worked, notwith ftanding no Notice was taken of them by the Apoftolical Fathers. This Gentleman's negative Argument is therefore of no Force at all. But it may be proper to enquire, whe ther the Faft, on which he build?, be fo cer tain as he reprefents it ? Whether even thefe Writings will not furnifli us with fome Proofs of Miracles then worked ? The greateft Men have hitherto been of Opinion, that they have difcerned fufficient AUufions to thefe, nay, fome plain Accounts of them. Nor will it be difficult to vindicate this Opinion from all the Enquirer has offered to invalidate it. I fhall not, infift on the Viftons and Revela tions of Hermas, the Genuinenefs of which this Gentleman has owned, by placing him among the Apoftolical Fathers. What he thinks of thefe VifionS and Revelations, whe^ ther they were really divine, qr a dgfigned Fidion, he has not told us, H.ow^ver^ there is one Paffage in thisr Writer, whi^h feems to point to, the extraofdin^ry Gifts of the, .Spirit in his Time." He is fpeaking of the Way pf trying the Propk^t' of- God, and a falfe 'Prophet. 92 J Vindication of the Mandat. Prophet. " Cum ergo venerit homo, qui "• " habet Spiritum Dei, in Ecclefiam juftorum, " habentium fidem Dei, et oratio fit ad " Deum ; tunc Nuntius Sandus Divinitatis •' implet hominem iUum Spiritu Sando : et *' loquitur in turba, ficut Deus vult." Which Archbifhop Wake thus tranflates : When therefore a Man, who has The Spirit of God, fhall come into the Church of the Righteous, who have the Faith of God, and they pray unto The Lord ; then the Holy Angel of God fills that Man with The Bleffed Spirit, and he fpeaks in the Congregation as he is moved by God *. Here thereibre we have a Gift attefted, as occurring in thofe Times, which I know not how to think other than fuper natural, which has efcaped this Gentleman's Animadverfion, and which feems effedually to difprove his Suppofition, that there was no Reference to any fuch then. Prelim. The Archbifliop declared, that in the Difc.cio. Writings of thefe Fathers there appear fufii^ cient Indications of the Continuance of thofe extraordinary Powers. " Which," fays the p. 4. Enquirer; " he endeavours to confirm, not " by any Fads or exprefs Teftimonies, drawn " from themfelves" — — How can this Gen tleman affirm this ? When the Archbifhop, in the Firft place, cited a manifeft Declara tion of St. Clemens in Proof of his Point ; * The literal TranHaf ion is, «jGff &•=• of Chriftianity, &c. to which I refer the Reader; as alfo to Mr. Weft on ^ Defence of ~ ~ ¦ ¦ — this T 1 2 A Vindication of the this Mirade, lately publifhed. Differta- tions, &c. p. 63, ©"c. There are a Paffage or Two more under this Head of the Enquiry, which, tho' they do not relate to the Apoftolic Fathers, I wilt alfo confider in this Chapter, as they are not confiderable enough to make a feparate one. P. 30. " It is remarkable, that as the Church con- " tinned to increafe in Power and Credit, " fo its miraculous Gifts are faid to have in- " creafed alfo in the f&me Proportion : For " tho' by an Increafe of Power it certainly " ftood lefs in need of true Miracles ; yet " by the fame Power it became more able " to reward, and more likely therefore to " excite falfe Pretenfions to them " After fuch a Declaration, it is really wonderful to find this ingenious Gentleman arguing, that all the Accounts of Miracles, after the Time of the Apoftles, muft be put on a Level ; and that we cannot admit thofe of the early Chriftian Writers, but we muft be obliged likewife to fwallow all the Fables of the mo dern Popifli Writers. Has he not here given lis -himfelf one good Caufe of fufpeding thefe, which has no Place at all with regard to the others .? Had the primitive Church any Power to reward falfe Miracles ? Could any Expedations of Profit or Honour then excite Pretenfions to them ? And could the Occafion or Need of Miracles be faid to have ceafed. Miraculous Powers, Wc. 113 ibfeafed, while Prejudices and Sufferings of all Sorts continued ? V The laft Obfervation we have on this -Head is, concerning the Difference between the Miracles of the Apoftles, and thofe of ¦the following Ages. Let us fee, how far this Difference is material. The Nature of both is moft frequently the fame* But " the *' Apoftles wrought their Miracles on fpe- " cial Occafions, when they felt themfelves *' prompted to it by a divine Impulfe ; but *' at other times were deftitute of that *' Power." This might alfo have been ge* nerally the Cafe of the primitive Fathers, -for any thing we know to the contrary. But whether it was the Cafe either of thefe, oi" of the Apoftles, I cannot think of any grea^t Gonfequence 'to determine, or to add any thing more on this Point than what I have faid already. " Tho' they appeal fometimes, " in Confirmation of their Million, to the " miraculous Works— —yet we never find ." them calling out upon the Magiftrates and " People, to come and fee the mighty Won- " ders, which they were ready to exhibit *' before their Eyes, on all Occafions, at any " Warnings and in all Places, whenever they *' thought fit." But did the Apoftles ad- drefs any of their Writings to the Magiftrates, . and Heathen People i* And will not this ac count for their not thus calhng upon them ? « — Befides, at what time foever thefe Pow- I ers 1 1 4 ^ Vindication of th& ers were vouchfafed, whether once for al^^ or on every particular Occafion, they were properly ftanding Powers, for the time they lafted ; andl have no doubt, but the Apoftles could have done, vvhat fome of the Apolo- gifts did, in the particular Cafp of the De moniacs, viz. invited their Enemies to come and fatisfy themfelves about the Reality of difpoffeffing them. We may colled indeed from hence with fufficient Certainty, that there were fuch Numbers of thofe unhappy Wretches at that time, that the Fathers, who made this Challenge, apprehended, that an Occafion of working this Miracle cou|d mot be long wanting ; and that God had al ready vouchfafed Inftances enough of thefe Difpoffeffions, even by the means of com mon Chriftians, to encourage them with all humble Affurance to hope and truft in Him ,for a frefli Difplay of the fame Divine Power and Goodnefs ; when fuch Occafion fliould .offer, in order to the Glory of His Namd, and the Convidion of His Enemies. But nothing furely can be gathered from hence, to the Difadvantage of thofe Appeals and In vitations. Nothing can be more unreafonable, or fhew a more determined Refolution to cavil and find Fault, than to make what in rea lity is the ftrongeft Circumftance we can well conceive, to confirm any Account, an Objedion againft its Truth. And what elfe is Mifadulbus Powers, ^c. n j is it to fay, that " this confident and ofteii^ P. a, *' tatious Manner of proclaiming their ek- ** traordinary Powers, carries with it an Air *• of Quackery and Impofture, as it was *• pradifed by the primitive Wonder-work- *« ers^ J who — challenge all the World td *' come and fee, with what a Superiority of ** Power they could chaftife and drive thofe «* evil Spirits oUt of the Bodies of Men, ** whieh no other Conjurers, Inchanters^ or *• Eaorcifts, ha;d been able t6 ejed " them?" Bo then, Juftin Martyr and Ter tuUian are confident Quacks, oftentatious Impoftors, and are ranked among Conjurers ihd Inchanters : And all for appealing to the Vety Eyes and Ears of their moft powerful 6hd inveterate Enemies, in Proof of a plaih and public Matter of Fad : Wherfeas, had they not been fure of the Truth of this, and perfuaded, that it would ftand the ftrideft Enquiry and Trial, and that not the neareft and clofeft View could difprove it ; they had deferved a far different Accufation, and ought to be charged with Folly and Madnefs itfelf. In fhort, fuch vain Deceivers, who took fo effedual a Method to expofe, to difappoint, and to ruin, both themfelves and -their Caufe, the World, I beheve, never heard of before. I £ CHAP, 1 16 A Vindication of thi CHAP. IV. Coffcerningthe Perfons, who worked the Miracles, T I HIS Gentleman has a fliort Sedion on this his Second Head. It is not eafy to know certainly his Sentiments upon the "fpint. He undoubtedly confiders the Per fons, who pretended to work the Miracles, as Impoftors. But vvhether the Fathers were ever themfelves thefe Impoftors, we are not P. 21. l^ere told. They are owned to be " the chief *' Perfons and Champions of the Chriflian " Caufe In thofe Days." And hence alone it feems probable, that if God was then pleafed to communicate fuch Divine Gifts to any Perfons for the Benefit and Eftablifli- ment of His Church, He would favour thefe principal Perfons with them. Some of theni are indeed faid toliave been imparted even |o private Laymen. But 'tis hard to think, as was a little before obferved, while thefe pof feffed them, that the Bifliops and Martyrs were without them; and that thofe, who fucceeded the Apoftles in the great Work of propagating the Gofpel, did not alfo fucceed them in being favoured with Miracles. It P. 22. is faid, that " none of thefe venerable Saints " have Miraculous Powers, ^c. 117 " have any- where affirmed, that either they *' themfelves, or the ApoftoUc Fathers be- *' fore them, were endued with any Power « of working Miracles." What then? They might perhaps decline this, to avoid the very Appearance of Vanity and Oftentation. ' In the laft Page we fee them charged with thefe bad Principles, as well as with Quackery and Impofture, for challenging their Adverfaries to convince themfelves by feeing their Mi racles. How much more would they have been accufed of this, had they openly claimed the Exercife of thefe Powers them felves ? But indeed, whether or no we know the Reafons of this their Silence, it is a Point of very little Importance. No fort of Su fpicion can lie from hence againft the Fads they relate. They are owned to, have de clared, "that fuch Powers were — openly *' exerted in the Church ; that they had often ** feen the Wonderful Effeds of them ; and " that every-body elfe might fee the fame, ** whenever they pleafed." And are not fuch Accounts fufficiently full, and, fup^- pofing the Honefty of the Relaters, fufiicl*- ently fatisfadory? Could it be neceffary, after this, to mention the Names and Charaders of the Perfons endued with fuch Powers? Cian it be fuppofed, that fuch particular Cir cumftances would add any Weight or Autho rity to the general Fads ? ' And if, according to Origen, private Chriftians had generally I 1 the J jr^ A Vindication of the the Power of cafting out Devils, is it reafon* able to defire, that the NameSj ^c of all fuch Laymen, or indeed of any of them, fliould be fpecified ? . But we are next told, that '* the Adop? f — r in the Performance of their Miraclep *' were always charged with Fraud and Im? *' pofture by their Adverfaries," And v?ere not Chrift, and His Apoftles, fo charged by the Jews^ If the prejudiced Reprefentations of fuch perfons as Lucian^ Celfus, &c. muft pafs for Arguments, it will be eafy indeed tp 4>verthrow the Credit and Authority of the Chriftians. From fuch, no more faypiirable Accounts can be expeded. And it is fomewhat /ftrange, that any Chriftian fliould now thinly it worth his while . to repeat them with any feemirg Pleafure, pr to lay any Strefs upon them- Had the antient Workers of Miracles been no other than. Jugglers, and comiiion Cheats, we can not account for their im|iafing ppon fuch Numbers of wife, learned, and inquifitive Men, nor indeed for Chriftianity'si prevailing and gaining an Eftablifliment in the World. There would, then have been noDiflictilty to difprove the Claims and A{-» fertions of the beft Defenders of our Relis giqu; which muft foon have put a Stop te It^ Progrefs, So that the Evept itfelf is ^vi^ -dence enough, that however injurioufly Xm- fian, &c. mi^ht calumniate the Workers of ^tfaeles in their Pays, they coul4 never ?ffe<^Mly Mii'aculous Powers, Wc. 119 effedually gainfay their PoWer, or confute their Pretenfions. From what has been faid, the pretended P. 24. Difference here infifted upon between the New Teftament Miracles, and thofe of the Firft Cfen turies, vaniflies ; fince it has not been proved, that the Bifliops and Martyrs, who were appointed to prefide in the Church cf Chrift, had not thefe extraordinary Gifts committed to them. If private and inferior Perfoiis were alfo fometimes entrufted with the fame, to fhew the Power and Finger of God more clearly by the Weaknefs of the Inftruments employed, this might alfo have been the Cafe ih the Apoftolic Times. Nay, fuppofing bad Men thus honoured, even this had its Parallel in JudaS, who was one of the Twelve, who, upoh their Return from <2ieir firft Miflion, told their Lord, that even the Devils had been JubjeBto them thro' His Mame. However, we have no Reafon to believe, that there were ever rhany Inftances of this laft Nature, As to Miracles worked by the Bones and P. 25- Reljcks of Saints and Martyrs, we fhould -be glad to know what the Dodor thinks of the famous Inftance in the Old Teftament, where 2 Kingt God is faid to have reftored a dead Manito^"'-*' Life, oh his touching the Bones of Eliflia. However, it will be time enough to COn- lidei- them, when we are favoured with any genuine Accounts of fucn, well attefted by I 4 the 130 A Vindication of the the Writers of the Three firft Centuries. Wc have not in this Page fo muCh as a bare Re-fj ference to any one of them. And Mr. Mede % denies, that any Mention of Mirades dond"r by the Bodies or Relicks of Martyrs was made before the Year 3 60. We may now difcern, how little Reafon'i f. ?6, this Gendeman had to fufped, " that thofe *' ftrolling Wonder-workers, by a Dexterity ?' of juggling — impofed upon the Credulity *'. of the pious Fathers, whofe ftrong Pre- *', judices, and ardent Zeal for the Intereft'. *' of Chriftianity, swould difpofe them to ' <' embrace, without Examination, whatever *' feemed to promote fo good a Caufe." There is not the leaft Tittle of Proof for this Sufpi-? cion. The Suppofition is every way im probable, and diredly contrary to every Ac count of Antiquity. We may fit down, and,;if we will give the Reins to our Fancy, imagine^' what we pleafe. But this will not alter the Nature of Things, nor at all change the Cha raders of Men. Jt has been obferved, and indeed it can hardly be too often obferved, that there are no Grounds to believe, that • Mr Mede's Words are, " But here is the Wonder "moft '* of all to be wondered at, that none of thefe miraculous *' Signs were ever heard of in the Churph for the firft 300 «' Years after Chrift, until about tlie Year 360. after tha,t th? *¦' Empire, under Conftantine and his Sons, baving publicly ' *.' embraced the Chriftian Faith j the Church had Peace, and" *' the Bodies of the defpifed Martyrs, fuch as could be found^ *' were now beftowed in moft magnificent Temples," £5ff, ^IfoMy ojf^ the latter Ti^es, B.^.Ch.^, th?r9 Miraculous Powers, Wc. 121 diere were any fuch ftrolling Artifts in the primitive Church; much lefs, that there were fuch Numbers of them ; and leaft of all, that they fhoiild have had Power to im pofe upon all the greateft Chriftians for Two whole Centuries together. There is as little Foundation for accufing the Fathers of fuch ftrong Prejudices, and blind Creduhty. They had moft of them been prejudiced againft the Gofpel ; hid notwithftanding embraced ' it, upon Examination ; and wanted the Aflift- »nce of no Impoftures to vindicate and de fend it. In a word, it will appear from the following Chapters, in which their Chara ders will be; confidered, that they were nei ther fo very fimple, as to be led away with fuch Cheats, nor fo difhoneft, as knowingly to confent to, or concur in them. This Charader however, tho' it is very far from being juft or true, is yet much more fa vourable, than what we often find of them in other Parts of the Enquiry. Here they are only mentioned as deceived, and are allowed to be pious. It is not long, fince fome of them were abu fed as ^aeks,Impoftorsf^onjurers^&cc. And before we have done, we fliall fee them charged with wilfully propagating the Belief of Falf- hbods ; nay, fometimes with inventing them themfelves. In a word, any thing is faid of them, which will ferve the prefent 'Turn. And we are left at a Lofs, which moft to admire, Affording to thefe Accounts, their Folly, in being 122 A Vindication of th& being fo eafily deluded themfelves, or their Skill, in fo fuccefsfully deluding the World. I have before obferved, that Origen treats the Accufation of Celfus, that the Chriftians were yo^iTM, as a pure Calumny. I cannot but look back to Dr. Middleton's 23d Page, where this Paffage is quoted, tranflated, and applied ; but I think not accurately nor fairly. For his Englijh enlarges much upon the Greek. Celfus is faid to reprefent " all the " Chriftian Wonder-workers as mere Vaga- " bonds, and common Cheats." Not in the, leaft. The Words are, 0 S'e yonlx? «>ca5 3t«Ae<, he Calls us, i. e. not any particular Jugglers among the Chriftians, but us Chrifiians in general, Impoftors or Deceivers. The Word has this Senfe (Vid. Hefychium), and here plainly muft have it. For in neither of the Places, which Dr. Middleton in this Page has referred to, does there appear to be the leaft Reference to the Chriftian Claim of working Miracles. And farther, why did this Gen tleman conceal from his Reader, th&tOrigeity in both Places, both confutes Celfus's Charge at large, and treats it as mere Slander and Scurrility ? So far is the Dodor's Conclufion j Page 24. from being founded on the Tefti-» mony of Friends as well as Enemies. Nei ther fpeak of any Wonder-workers among the Chriftians, as travelling or ftrolling from City to City. So that we have here no Ar gument to prove this main Point, but the in- Miraculous Powers, Wc. 123 Inve^aives of fome of the leaft ferious of the Heathen; (and thefe too long fince amply fefuted) nay, rpiftaken too, or grievoufly mifreprefented. CHAP. V. Ithe Charaders of the primitive Pat hers vin- dic&t'ed^ and particularly (f }\x&.inMz^tyr, WP are now come to the podor's Third Head, where he confiders the Charaders of the chief Fathers, who have related miraculous Works in their Times. He opens this- with telhng us, that " the P. 26. ^* Authority of a Writer, who affirms any ** queftionable Fad, muft depend upon the *' Charader of his Veracity, and of his *' Judgment/' I am not cl^r, what is here Buderftood by queftior^able Fa.B: The Ex preffion looks obfcure. All' Fads may be call ed fo, before, their Evidence is examined into. Nor do miraculous ones, in .general, as fuch, jiS^rve to be called fo, more than any others, -With regard to thefe, which are the Subjed pf our Debate, Veracity is certainly One great Qualification in a Witnefs of them, 3ut hpw far Judgment is here requifite, is pot fo clear. There are feveral Degrees of Judgment, doyvn from ^m extraprdinary Sa-. eacity 1 24 A Vindication of the gacity and Accuracy, which is the Fortiori of but few, in comparifon, to natural Weakr nefs and Incapacity. There is alfo a great Difference of Cafes and Fads, fome of which are more difficult to be fearched into than others, and accordingly will call for greater Abilities. But this cannot be faid of Miracles univerfally. In moft of thefe Cafes, which are recorded and attefted by the Fathers of the Three Firft Centuries, no great Judgment was required to difcern the Realitiy of the Fad, and to diftinguifli the Finger of God. When we come to view thefe particularly, we fhall find common Senfe, and common Underftanding, fuflJicient for thefe Purpofes] to guard againft Miftakes and Impofitions, and to render the Teftimony credible. Ig norance, or even Errors, in other Points^ which are not quite fimilar and parallel, will not prejudice nor invalidate their Accounts of thefe. If this be not granted, it will be perhaps impoflible to find any Witnefs, on whofe Authority we can depend ; at leafl:, it will be impoflible to be fure of any fuCh; The better Way of proving the Truth of any one's Teftimony is, to give a reafonable Satisfadion of his Veracity, and of his know ing the Truth of what he affirms. The Truth of Miracles niay be known, as well as other Fads, and muft be known in the fame man ner that all others are. They are plain open Appeals to the Senfes. And therefore, if there Kfiraculous Powers, Wc. 125 there be juft Grounds to fuppofe, that the Relaters had Opportunities of feeing them, and examining them, I know not what we can defire more. "In many Cafes, the want of Judgment " alone has all the fame Effed, as the want *' of Veracity too." — Yes, where the want of Judgment is in a manner total ; fpch as will incapacitate a Man from bearing his Tefti mony on any Subjed: Or where the Fad is fuppofed to have happened at fuch a Di ftance either of Time or Place, that the Re- later might not have due Opportunities of examining it ; but muft have taken his Ac counts from Report and Hearfay. And if this be the Cafe,; his Weaknefs is more liable to be impofed upon, perhaps, in miraculous Cafes, than thofe of a more ordinary Na ture. But otherwife, I cannot fee why he cannot be as good a Judge of the one, as the others. The fame Capacity, for Inftance, which was fufficient to enable a Perfon to be certain of the Death of Chrift, was alfo fuf- ficient to affure him of His Refurredion. $0 alfo, with regard to the healing Difeafes, and cafting out Devils. It was not neceffary for the Beholders of thefe to*be Phyficians or Naturalifts. They might be miftaken in the Nature, or in the Caufes, of fuch Dif orders. And yet, without any extraordinary Degree of Judgment they might be perfedly and reafonably convinced of the Miraculbuf- nefs 126 A Vindication of thi nefs of the Cures and Difpoffeffions^ which they faw. There appears no more Difficulty here, than to know the Reality of the Dif tempers, and the Suddennefs of the Re moval of them, without the Application of any Medicines. This Gentleman farther fuppofes, that weak Men are more fubjed to Deceits, if they are Perfons of " greater Piety and Sim- " plicity of Manners. ¦' That good Men are not apt to fufped ill Defigns, is true. But what is this to open FaSis f Will Piety put put a Man's Eyes, or take away the Ufe of his Senfes? — Pretences in favour of Religion may impofe upon him. But furely, not fuch, as it is fo very eafy to fee thi^o' and difcover, Befides, if Piety and Simplicity of Man ners will take off from the Authority of any Witnefs, whom would we choofe to rely upon? Upon Men of Art and Cunning? Thefe are much more to be fufpeded of defigning to deceive us, than the others are of being deceived themfelves. Accord* ingly, the Witneftes chofen before of God to declare our Lord's Miracles to the World, were none of the Wife or Learned, but plain and well-meafting, Men ©f Integrity, Piety, and Simplicity, who were not the lefs qua lified, on account of thefe Difpofitions, for the great Office to which they were appoint* ed; but who, f®r this very Reafon, were appointed to it, and moft certainly deferve the Mlracjilous Powers, ^'^^. 127 the more our Credit and Regard. How far this is true of the- Fathers, to whom we appeal, muft now be confidered more di ftindly. Juftin Martyr comes firft, and fuffers k kindvof Perfecution thro' Sixteen Pages to gether. This Gentleman fays, *' We have P. 27. *' feen above, that among the Endowm;ents ** conferred in an extraordinary manner on " the primitive Chriftians, the Gift of ex- *' pounding the Holy Scriptures, or the My- " fieries^God, was reckoned one." On looking over the Accounts, I find nothing like any Claim to a miraculous Gift of ex pounding the Scriptures. At prefent, how ever, Juftin Martyr is charged with pre tending to this ; and great Triumph is raifed againft him on this Account. But indeed it is vain and idle. I will confider the fe veral Paffages here cited from him to fhew, that he made fuch a Claim. I will lay be fore- the Reader the Contexts, and the Ar guments which the Father is profecuting; which will be the fureft Key to let us into their true Defign and Meaning. Let me only premife, that, if he did not give his Interpretations as of Divine Author rity, we fhall have no Occafion to enter into a particular View of them. His Veracity, in this Cafe, will not be impeached. And, tho' he might miftake the Senfe of fome Paffages of Scripture; and fometimes indulge a 12 8 A Vindication ofth^ . a luxuriant Fancy too far -f-, in the Way of Allufion ; and even, in a few Inftances of httle or no Moment, argue for Notions, which cannot be defended ; nothing of all this will deftroy his Credit, as a Witnefs of Fads, where he could not well be deceived. In his Dialogue with Trypho the Jew, he quotes fome Parts of the Old Teftament; and, among othei'S, at large applies the xxift Pfalm to Chrift. After this he proceeds to cite Matth. xi. 27. All things are delivered to me of my Father ; and no Man knoweth The Father but The Son, and thofe to whom The Son Jkall reveal , Him. Then P,3 J Z.Ed, follows, h.TriY.cO\u\iv av tj/uLtv TrxvlxofTx y,cu Ihirlby. ^^^ ^^^ y^ctxiyaiv ¦iv p.-ovri Te^vn iiriS'etytvvSit^ (Tirioi'u. Then follow the Words P- 2^- quoted in the Enquiry, OvS'e yac^ S'w(x.f*.» epioi roiocv% Tii fat thcj Ftithers often fpeak of .the Sibyls, as in fpired : And therefore he. muft be under- flppd to mean, that they afcribed^ only-i.a> lo^er Dt'^r^'^ pf Infpiration to thenv and d^ not put them upon a Level with the Ifrophets of the Old and, New Teftament. 4^^; ift. this Senfe probably the Obfervation wiUb'^ifoundijuft. They did not invent thefe Writings, nor corrupt them. They found c^e Heathen, World • in Poffeffion of fome Prophecies, efteenied . at leaft to-be fuch, under the Name of the Sibylline .OKa.. €.IM: Thefe they applied to their Purpofe^ and ufed themas A.rguments to convert the Qentiles, falling .in with the common Opi nion, ai)d urging, their . Teftjin^onies as di vine-, i,;"/ ¦¦''¦-,..: " All the Critics of thefe Days confi- " der. it [the. Forgery charged on the Chri- ' ' ftians j as .one of the pious Frauds of thofe *' primi- Miraculous Powers, Wc. i^y " primitive Ages. " What, of the Three firft Centuries? Indeed they do not. Some of the; moft learned and judicious have fo- lidly, and I think unanfwerably, vindicated thefe from any Concern in fuch an Impo fture. I fliall only mention Two or Three great Men in our ow^ti Church ; Bifliop Bull *, Bifhbp Beveridge, and Dr. JenkinS; who have fhewn it to be moft highly incre dible, that Juftin Martyr, br any other of th6 early Fathers, fhould have forged thefe Verfes. To thefe we may add Co/^/^nW, who contends, that even Clemens Rsmanus might hav6' cited them ; Grotius, who fup pofes them compiled by the Jews before Chrift ; aiid Mr. Whifton, who goes far ther than' them all, and thinks them pro perly infpired 'Writnigs, and extremely an tient. How then could the Enquirer fay, that all the Critics of thefe Days allow,"that the Chriftiand forged thefe Book's ? If he meant this of the' modern Colledion or Rhapfody of Verfes, which go under the Title of Sibylline, this will not stffed the Charader of thofe cited by fuftin, Theophi- lus, and Clemens Alexandrinus. Learned Men are agreed, that this is hot genuine, arid that it vvas greatly interpolated ;¦ but not by any of thefe Fathers. Bifliop Bull affirms the fame • Bui. Prim, Trad. c. 4, Be-v. Cod. Can. Illuft. c. 14. Jeni. Reafon of Chriftianity, Part ii. c. z. §,3.. Cot. Judicium de pafter. Ep. Clem. Grot. In Matth. ii. 1 . WliiJ. Vindicat. of the Sibylline Oracles. L 2 of A Vindication of th& of the Acroftic preferved by Eufebius, and of the very Lines which Dr, Middleton has cited fcom La^dntius, as " a Specimen of P- 36- " the reft." Which was unfair, as the Lines mentioned in the earher Fathers are of a quite different Charader, and bear no fuch Marks of Forgery or Interpolation by the Hands of Chriftiaiis. It is not agreed, by whom they were ori ginally compofed, God might raife up fome Prophets among the Heathens, as He did Job and Balaam, and give them the Know ledge of fome of the greateft Events, which were to happen in the World. Or the Jews^ after their Captivity and Difperfion, might have taken fome Accounts from the Wri tings of the Prophets, and difperfed them among the Heathens ; and thus they might be put into this Form ; and, being of a pro phetical Nature, be looked upon as the Works of the Sibyls. And when the antient Sibylline Books were burnt, with the Cdpitol, about Eighty Years before the Birth of Chrift, and the Senate fent Embaffadors fome Years afterwards to bring to Rome whatever Verfes of. this Nature, they could find; thefe Verfes were found among others; nor could the Priefts, to whom this Office was committed, diftinguifh between the true and the fuppo fititious ones. This appears to be the moft. probable Ac count ; for a farther Explication pf which I muft Miraculous Powers, Wc. 149 muft refer my Readers to the Authors above- mentioned. It is fufficierit for my Purpofe, that Juftin, whofe Charader I am defend ing, no way appears to have had any Hand in the Fraud. And tho' fome are faid to have p. 37. imputed it to him, fome to IJermas, and fome to Papias; yet as this Gentleman hkth not told us who they are, much lefs on what Grounds they did i,t, the Fathers will ftand clear of fuch a Forgery *1 , /' Thus a moft grofs and palpable Forgery *' was impofed upon the ChriftiariWorld,from *.' the very midft of thofe beft and pureft " Ages ; .which, tho' rejeded and derided " from the Beginning, "by all Men of Senfe among the Heathens, yet dbtaihed fdll Credit in. the Church, through all Ages, *5 withoqt any other Ground to fupport it, " but the Utility of the Seceit, and the Au- *' thority of thofe venerable Fathers, who 5' contrived and attefted it." Before liich a fevere Sentence had been paft, the Gentle man's Proofs fliould ha;ve been much ftronger. He fhould have fhewn, which of the early Fathers contrived this j^raud, or at leaft have proved, that fqme of them did fo ; he flioUld Ijave fhewn, that the Heathens, before thefe * I ohterve'mDr. Ccfve, who tneaiions Papias.andHsrmes (not the apoftolical Father) as- taxed; in this refpedl, no Hint, that fuftin was fufpeded. f^id. Hift. Lit. V. i, p. 58. Nay he fays of the main of them, that they were JuftinoMarr tyre antiquidfa ; and that fome were extant in the time qf Cle. mens Romanus. • , . L 3 Fathers ic 150 A Vindicatio,i> oj the Fathers cited them, knew nothing of fuch Writings ; or ever difproved them ; or that all the Heathens of Senfe rejeded ^md derided them; he fhould have told us, how fuch a De ceit, fo eafily difcovered and confuted, could have been ufeful; could haye ftood its Ground ; or how we can imagine, that fo rnany Chri ftian Writers afterwards would have gone on to make ufe of fuch a deteded, exploded Forgery. Andiaftly, it would have become him to have returned an Anfwer to theRea'^ fonings and Suppofitions, which learned Men have produced on this Occafion ; every one of which appeaf s far more probable, than this his. warm and angry Accufation. But nothing of this Nature has been done, nor any thing offered, which fixes the Forgery of '¦ what Juftin cited, upon him, or any other Chriftian whatever. Difmifling therefore this Article, let us confider the next,' which relates to the Story of the LXX Verfion, and of the Cells, the Remains of which, the Father fays, he had himfelf feen at Alexandria, where he heard the Story from the Inhabitants — And fuppofe he was deceived by them, and by the Accounts of Philo and Jofephus ; will this hurt his Credit, as to other Fads done in his own Time ? If he received thefe Jle- ports too haftily, 'he might have Judgment enough to learn the Truth or Fallhood of others. It is not fair to condemn a Man in Z general. Miraculous Powers, Wc. 151 general, or to rejed his Anthority, becaufe he has been impofed u,pon in one or two Inftances. '. Whether this particular Relation was erro neous, is a Point ftill contended among the Learned. Above Twelve Years fince, the Hiftory of the Septuagint was vindicated in a very handfome, modeft, :and fcholar-like Manner, by a Gentleman who did not chufe to prefix his Name tp his Work. To this I have never heard of any Reply. If the Dodor ever faw this Pamphlet, I think he fhould have taken fome notice of it; and^ot have continued to objed againft what had found fo good an Apology. .iJuftinS) Blunder. in m^-king Ptolemy con temporary -withHerpd is again infifl:ed on. But to what Purpofe? Suppofing his Memory or Attention here to have failed him, nay, that he really erred in a Point of Chrono logy ; Ihall he forfeit ^11 Regard as a fit nefs of prefent Fads ? However, many Con fiderations have been offered to fliew the great Improbability of Juftin's making fuch a Miftake. I flball only refer the Reader to the late Dr. Twells's, Critical Examination, Partiii. Aj/^here he concludes it next to certain; thatP''^5'^'^ the Name of Herod was not in the original T:ext. It is not eafy to fuppofe, that a Gen tleman fo converfant with Books as the En quirer, fliould be ignorant of thefe Excufes and Pleas. . And if he thought them un- L 4 fatisfad:ory, 152 A Vindication of the fatisfadory, ftill he fliould' ;have confuted.* them, before he-ferved up the old Objec tions, without adding the leaft Strength or Advantage to them. As more Proofs of the Afcr^^r 's .want of P. jg. Judgment, we are told of " \\\s Jrequent'^fe " of J abulous and apocryphal Books forged " by the firft Chriftians, under the Names *' of the Apoftles." Dr. Gr^^^* mentions frob Inftances, to which only we arc referred. One of which that learned Man thought taken from the Gofpel according to the He brews, which is not properly a Forgery, and much lefs under the Name of the Apoftles; And as to the other, he was doubtful, whe^' ther "Juftin alluded to any Gofpels but the canonical ones, adding one Circumftance from Tradition. Granting however, that he cited apocryphkl Books^ how does this be^ tray a Want of Judgment, or invalidate his Teftimony as a Relator of Miracles ? No more, than his " falfe and negligent man- " ner of quoting the genuine Scriptures," to which he might fometimes rather allud?, than quote, fometimes quote by Memory, fometimes allegorize upon — All thefe things will not weaken his Teftimony, as to Fads. But " Want of Judgment alone may, in <' fome Cafes, difqualify a Man as effedually " froni being a good Witnefs, as if he want- " ed Veracity too." This has. been particu larly confidered above. In die Cafe before us. Miraculous Powers, Wc. i j 3 us, want of a nice, exad, and critical Judg ment will not difqualify him. The Gende man inftances in the Cells at Alexandria, and fays, " it is certain, that there never <' were any fuch Cells, nor any fuch Tranf- " lators; and that he was impofed up- " on by fome Jews or Chriftians of Ale xan- '* dria, who might fhew him fome old ** Ruins, under the Name of Cells," &c. I obferved before, that the Learned are not agreed' about the Truth of this Story, and that, however idle this Gentltman may think- it, it has met with an able Defender. Sup pofing, however, the Father to have been deceived in the manner here mentioned, he might not upon the Whole have been a Per fon of a weak Judgment. When a wife Man fees old Ruins, it is not always eafy from the View of them to diftinguifh what Ufes the Building was formerly. Four or Five hundred Years before, applied to. And the traditionary Reports of People upon the Spot, if they cannot be eafily contradided and confuted, will in fuch Matters have fome Weight. Nor will it always a:rgue Credulity to give Credit to them. But it will not follow from Juftin sheihg thus impofed upon, that he was deceived as to the Miracles he reports. The Cafes are far from being fimilar. The one relates to an antient Fad, the other to prefent ones : In the one, better Information was not eafy, per- 154 ^ Vindication tfthe perhaps not poflible, to. be acquired ; in the other, a common Examination and Difcern*-? ment muft have difproved the Pretences. One Search required a peculiar Turn of Ge nius, leading to the Study of ^w^/^-a^ ; the other only common Senfe, Underftandingi and Prudence. P. 40. The next thing oh]e&sd to Juftin Martyr, is his charging the Romans -with ereding a Statue to Simon Magus, with this Infcription, SiMONi Deo Sancto, which is reprefented as a pure Blunder, arifing from this fimilar Infcription, Semoni Sanco Deo Fidio Sacrvm, &c. But this Gentleman cannot but know, that the Father has been vindi cated in this refped over and over, by feve ral very learned and judicious Men, who have been far from thinking it '^ manifeft " beyond all reafonable Doubt," that he was at all mifkken in this Reprefentation and Charge. And was it then the Part of a can did Enquirer to pafs them all over in Silence, and never once H:o mention either their Ar guments, or fo much as their Names ; but to leave the unlearned Reader to imagine, that this is a Point abfolutely uncontroverted and given up ? . As Dr. Middleton has offered nothing new on this Subjed, I fhall not repeat what other V/riters have urged to fhew the utter Impro bability of fuppofing Juftin' to have been guilty of fuch a Blunder, and to anfwei: the Argu- Miraculous Powers, Wc. 155 Arguments alleged againft him on this Head. It will be fufficient to refer my Readers to Father Tillemont *, who quotes Dr. Ham- m&nd^ and Fleuri as of the fame Opinion ; Dr. Thirlby, whofe Judgment the Enquirer fo.often reUes upon ; and Dr. Twells. If indeed Juftin Martyr could be con vided " of any Fraud, or Defign to ileceive," in this Matter, we might grant that it would much take off from the Weight of his Te ftimony. 1 For the more incredible it is, that he fhould make the Miftake, the, lefs Regard to Truth, and to his Charader, he muft have had, if he knew this Appeal and Accufation to be falfe, when he made them.- — But if we admit he Was here miftaken, it would be hard indeed, that fuch an Error, which this Gentleman will not declare to be a wil ful one, and which the Circumftances of the Relation (hew, that it could not be a wilful one, fhould render his Authority fufpeded and ufelefs. The Enquirer thinks, that oncj who could not difcover the Truth in this Cafe, *' would; more eafily be caught by a P. 41. " Confederacy of fubtle and crafty Impo- ** ftors," £?£-. Such a Confederacy is all Sup pofition. And a Man, who might be mif taken in an Infcription in a Language, which was not his native Tongue, might yet have '\\ ¦ * Memoires, Tom. ii. p. 483, £s'c. thirlb. Not. in loc. ^ifiells's Examination, part iii. p. 42, fe'c . See alfo the Pre face to the laft Edition of Juftin Martyr. Capacity 156 A Vindication of the Capacity enough to diftinguifli a true Wx- vacie from a Jurpriftng Trick. ___ The laft Charge on this venerable Writer is, that he falfly accufed the Jews of hav ing "expunged many. Paffages out of the " Greek Bibles," relating to Chrift. But furely we need not enter upon this Confider ation. It is vvhoUy foreign to the prefeat Queftion, unlefs none could be good Wit*- neffes, or honeft Relators, who were not alfo found Critics, .and perfedly acquainted with biblical Learning. If indeed it could be proved, that the Father forged thefe Paflages himfelf, his Veracity and Truth could nof be depended upon. But of this his learned Editor acquits him ;, and fays of Croius, who, p. 43. accufed him of fuch -Forgeries, tha.t he hurt his .own Reputation more than ^, that of the Martyr, who could .not be fufpe,3ed of fuch a Cheat. I tranflate this frpm' a Sentence in t\\e Enquiry .; ati4 -cannot conceal my Surprize, that it was not tranflated in the Enquiry, for, the Ufe of , the Englift) Readers, who might want this Guard : As the Sentiments of Croius, under the Charader P. 42. of " an able Critic, and Proteftant Divine, " had been fully reprefented and laid before him in Englijh. ¦ ¦¦':'¦ C H A P. Miraculous Powers, Wc, 157 r G HAP. VL Iren.^us and the other fathers vindicated. TRehceus coities next, and we have much -* the fame Objedionsa gainft him : That he delivered fome untrue Dodrines as orthodox £ind apoftolic ; viz. That "our Saviour was Fifty Years old at the leaft (it would have been more jiift', if this Gentleman had faid Forty Years at leaft, ' for tho' in his Citation P. 45. he reads a (quinquagefimo, in the Original it is,' a qnadragefimo autem, et qiiinquagefima anno*, ^CJ) that " he alferted likewife the £,11,0.39 '• Dodrine of the Millennium, irt the groffeft p. 46. " Senfe of it, " froni Tiradition, efpecially pf Papias ; ^Tlot in^the groffeft Senfe, for Ce^ rinthus\ntrod\iced, befides, the Notion of In dulgence in all manner of carnal Lafts, and nuptial Enjbyments, of which we have hot • There are Two other Inftances of Careleffnefs or Un- feimefs in the Poflor's manner of citing and tranflating this Paffage, From his imperfedl Quotation it feems, as if decli- nat. Set. were affirmed of our Saviour, whereas it is in the Original faid of the Life of Man, that, from the 40th or 50th Year, it begins to verge or decline towards old Age. And then, what is worfe, is his inferting, it luas neceffary, as the rendering of Irenaus, who hath nothing like it, and only fays of our Lord, " ideo per omnem venit setatem." Three fuch Mifreprefentations in one ftiort Paffage, could hardly be acci dental, "But however this be, fuch they appear. here 158 A Vindication of the here a Word) — that he " affirms alfo, on "'the fame Authority of Tradition'—^ that P. 48. " Eraot-A and £//fli were tranflated into that " very Paradife, from which /^(^w was eX- " pelled," i3"c. (a very innocent Miftake; all that the Author feems to have meant' being, that they Were referved in Paradife, which is immediately after repreferite'd a4 the Third- Heaven, into which St. Paul v?as caught up *) that he affert^ the fabulous Story of the LXX Verfion, and that the Scriptures were deftroyed "in 'the Captivity, and reftored by EJdras, infpired- for that Purpofe. (An Error arifing from a traditional Account of the Care of Ezra in revifing the Scriptures of the- Old Teftament ; mixed, as fuch Accounts generally are, with Fable and P. 10. Fidion) —-"That'he believed Angels to have mixed with the Daughters of Men (of which before). ; ''- There is no Occafion' to enter on a more particular Examination -of th^fe Tenets. What has been faid in Defence of Juftin, is in a great meafiire applicable here. If there is any Argument in fuch Allegations, it is this. Beeaule Irenieus was miftaken in fome critical Matters, Or irnpofed ' u^oh aS to fome things which happened long' before his Time, moft of which are, befides," of v^y little Corffequence; therefore he is nottd'be * St, P«a/ himfelf ufes the Expreffions as fynonymous. % Cor. xii. 2, '4.- believed, Miraculous Pow,ers, Wc. 159 thieved, when he relates Fads as frequently done in his pwn Days ; and which, if they had not been, done, .had beeq the eafieil things in tl\©. World to difprovp. But if this be juft Reafpaing j i£the Credit of any Wri ter is thus to be fprfeited by every Miftake pr Errprhe may be found«guiltyof ; I know no antient Author? whatever, the infpired ones of the Old and New Teftament except^ ed, vvhich can maintain their Charader, or merit pur Regard. > 'Tis poffible for Perfons of Leifure and Application to vveed old Books; to extrad from them .all their odd Notions and idle Reafonings; every thing, which in the leaft claflbes;, with our, modern Manners and Senti- ments^ to call thefe Samples of their Under'- ftandings, and Upecimensof^heir Judgments ; and by placing them in one aggravated View before the Reader, ta endeavour to fink the Credit of the Books, and to expofe them to the Derifion andCpntemptof the Ill-natured and Prejudiced. This, I fay, is poffible ; but fiire it would not be ingenuous. A candid Man would rather; take the contrary Method, make Allowance for- the Age, the Author lived in, confider and admit the Ex cellencies and Beauties in him, gather what Benefit and Inftrudion he can from him, overlook and excufe Errors of no fatal Con fequence, and interpret every thing in the faireft- and moft favourable Light. This i6o A Vindication of the 5'- This Gendeman fays, that " all thofe " Abfurdities [the Dodrine of the Millen.^ " nium one'] were taught by the Fathers of " thofe Ages, not as their private Opinions " only, but as Dodrines of .the Univerfal " Church, derived immediately from the " Apoftles, and held fo neceffary, that thofe " who held the contrary, were hardly con- " fideted as real Chriftians." That Tradi-: tion was pleaded for fome of thefe Tenets, is true ; and had the Enquirer been arguing, againft Reliance upon oral Tradition, his producing fuch Inftances might have beert pertinent. But what it is to his prefent Pur pofe, farther than it ferves to blacken the primitive Fathers, I cannot fee. This Ob fervation, however, is not true. None of the Errors confidered were taught as neceffary Dodrines of the Univerfal Church. Ire-' naus is owned to ftand fingle in his Notion of Chrift's Age: And the Reader will be, fb kind to remember, that Juftin Martyr al lowed, that many pure and found Chriftims did not believe the Millennium* : So far is it from being true, that " thofe who held the " contrary, were hardly confidered as real " Chriftians." : Irenceus is alfo fallen foul upon for his " manner of expounding the Scriptures- — " indulging a wild enthufiaftic Fancy," Gfc. • Vid. Whitbfs, Treatife of the Millennium. But Miraculous Powers, Wc. i5i 'But may not a Writer, who is fober and ufeful in the main, be aUowed a few AUu fions, and allegorical Interpretations, the Force of which we cannot now eafily dif cern ? And will this make him a bad Wit nefs of Fads .? Enough has been faid on this Point already. And therefore 1 fhall only add, that in one Inftance this Gentleman has taken no.notice of what has been urged in the Father's Vindication. I mean, with re gard to- his Concluding the Number of the Gofpels from that of the Winds. Thefe numeral Kinds of Arguments were much in favour among the Antients, Heathens as well as Jews. And they were particularly ufed among the Heretics he was oppofing. It is probable therefote, that he was arguing here ad hominem^. This Sort of Proof, tho' of no Weight in itfelf, yet was apply ing to them in their own Way, agreeably to their own Principles, and feemed not ill cal culated to filence them. 1 own, I fee no thing forced in this Account. It could hardly have efcaped the Enquirer : It me rited his Attention, and Reply, if he thought it infufficient. But to revive old Difficulties, without obferving that any thing has been offered to the World, by way of folving them, is a Method of proceeding, which may be difficult to be recpnciled to that • See Twell f's Crit. Exam. Partiii, p. 56. Oraie, in M Candour 1 62 A Vindication of ths Candour and Juftice, which is due both to the Author animadverted upon, and to the Reader. ?• S4- *' I have been the fuller in opening the " Charaders and Opinions of Juftin ani " Ireneeus, that I might fave myfelf the *' Trouble of inlarging in the fame' manner *' on the reft." If he has no more to fay againft the other Fathers, than he has faid againft thefe Two, the Reader will, I hope, agree with me, that we need be in no Pain about them ; that they will ftand dieir Ground, and come off very well. Nothing has been yet proved againft them, which af. feds their moral Charader, Pr deftroys their Veracity. They are reprefented as_ weak, credulous, rafh Enthufiafts. But though aa Infinuation or two have been dropped occa fionally, this Gentleman has not yet had the Hardinefs to affert, that either Juftin or Ire nceus was a wicked difhoneft Man, or in tended knowingly and wilfully to deceive the World. Neither will all that has been urged even by this prying and inquifitive Writer, who, without Doubt, has alleged againft them the ftrongeft Circomflances he could find to \ prove his Point, amount to a Proof, that they " were deceived themfelves, as. to the Miracles ,^ they related ; which they could neither want Opportunities nor Capacities to examine and enquire into; and which it is abfurd to think ¦4- " ^^ey. Miraculous Powers, Wc. 1^3 ,jthey fhould report at random, and at fuch Hazards as they muft neceffarily run. . " But tlie later Fathers, generally fpeak- *' ing, do. but copy tlie Notions, and even "; the Blunders, of thefe Tv^o. For as they *' are the earlieft, whp have left any confider- " able Works behiiid them, fo they are the ^' firft likewife in Credit and Authority with " fucceeding Ages, on the Account of their " Piety, Learning, and AbiUties." One would think fuc|i a Conceffion as this, frpni one fo free froip Prejudices in their Favour, fhould fecure the Chara(^pr, and Authority of Juftin ^qd Irenceus, as found apd credible Witneffes of F.ads. And indeed I cannot but look i^pop it, ^§ an effednal Difcharge of them, confidered as fuch, from all he has .produced ^p invalidate their Teftimony. I know, nothjng, which can defired more in Support pf any Relation, of a plain open Matter of Fa.d, than .to be affured, that the Relater ^ g Man pf Piety, Learning, and Abilities, if he ,h?4 Opportunities of know-r ing the Truth, and may be fuppofed willing to examine it. Nay, in moft Cafes of thi^ Kind^ Xrigllrnigg and Abilities are not necef fary Qualificatipns. However, they are good Guards againft Deceit, and ipuch ftrengthen and confirm ^ny W^itnefs. As to the fuj^eding Fathers thus blindly and iniplicidy ifijllowing thefe, there is no Reafon t9 fnpppfe it in the Pa^ ticylar befpre ' M 2 us. 1 64 A Vindication of the us. Nothing can well be more abfurd, than to think, that fucceeding Writers would go on to relate Fads, as done in their own Times, without any other Grounds, than becaufe Others of Charader before them had related fuch as done in theirs. ' If Opinions thus may be taken up on Triift, and propagated or handed down from one to another,, yet Fads cannot. The Truth or Falfliood of thefe was eafy to be known when they are faid' to have happened. No Perfons in their Senfes would appeal to their Enemies for th6 Truth of them, if they afferted them only in Imitation of their Predeceffoirs. I here fpeak the Sentiments of the learned Editor of Ju- Thirlby,- flin : " Quod enim nos credere vult Bajha- Not. ad„ «{ _g-/a?,f, renquos in hac re Juftinum fecutos tt fujfle^ non eft dignum, in quo refellendo " tempus conteramus. Neque enim femper *' Opus eft, ut meris aflirmationibus argu-r 'f menta opponamus." As to BafnageV en deavouring to perfuade us, that, the other Fa thers followed Juftin in this Matter [the Sta tue ereded to Simon Magus], the Prefence is not' worthy of our wafting Time to confute it. For it is not always neceffary to oppofe. Argu ments -to mere A fertions. No Conclufion therefore can be drawn in Prejudice of the prirnitive Miracles, tho' we fhould grant, that all the later Fathers im bibed every erroneous Notion of the Two we have been confidering ; and tho' they took the Miraculous Powers, Wc. 165 the Story pf the Phoenix, as a Type of the ,jB.efurredion, from Clemens Romanus. With 'regard tp this, we are told, that "all the P. 55. ' ." Heathen Writers- — -from Herodotus down "to their own Times, treat it as nothing " but a mere Fable *." And yet both Bifliop in loc. FeU and Archbifhop #/?i^f confider the Story, Prei.Kfe gs what had obtained Credit in thofe. Days ; c.^.^.a^ jand both of them cite Tacitus's Account of the Phoenix faid to have come into Egypt a i:. * It is utterly falfc,,.that all the Heathen Writers, from . 4&''0'/i"i»,f •dpiyiv.'^ards, treat the Story of the Piasnix as a mereFatile. ' Herodotus himfelf mentions it ss an hiftorical 'Narration,' tho' lie did not think it credible; Tacitus/Dio, and others, quQ^e^ in that vevf Chapter Qi Boc-harf, to which l)r. l/liddlet^n refers, relate the Story as a, certain Faft. The Rabbins alfo appear to have believed it. Nay, feme have icoUefted it from a Paffage in : the- Book, of Job. Atid why ihould th^ I'at^ers, Ije defpifed for afferting a F?,a: thus gene rally ,hel(^, and field to have happened 'm Egypt aboiit the Tiirie of Chrift's iOeath, any more than Socrates, for believing the Story of Swans finging before their De^lti^s, from the Forefight pf tlie, Happinefs of a future Stat? ? Plato. Phted. td. North.\. i'p' And even if they had not believed the Accounts of the Phoenix, they might have argued ad hominem from.it. See more of this Matter in Wotto,n\ EditiQU of ,Clemens Romanus, p, 1 2 1 . , or, in the Notes of Junius and Bi- Jhbj) Fell (apud Cotel.J; or.'in fFaie's Prel. Difc. c. 2>. §. 23. isfc. ;It is efpecially remarkable, tiiatCelfus relates the Story .qf^the. Phoenix, as a true one ; and. that Origen fpeaks doubt fully of it, -vid. L, ^. prope finem -, and fo do many others of the later Fathers, as our Author might have feen in that Chapter of Bochart, which he, quotes ; and yet he fcruples not to fay, that they " All take the Story from Clemens of " courfe, and refer us to the fame Bird, not only as*eally " exifting,*but, as created on purpofe by. God to refute the " Incredulity of the Qentiles on the Subjeft of this, great « Article of our Faith." Surdy fuch Inaccuracy, to give it the mildfeftNamei calls for foine Acknowledgments, and more Caution for the future. M3 little A ^Vindication of the little after Chrift's Death. However, this Fad is not at all parallel to thofe, Which are the Subjeds of Our Debate. For do the Fa thers fucceflively mention the Account of the Phtznix, as happening in their feveral Days ? The Author, having mentioned fonic Er rors, the firft of which is the Millennium, t- s6. adds, ^' in all which thefe Two Fathers " Were implicidy followed, for a Century or " two at leaft, by all their Succeffors." How could this Gentleman affert this, which twexy Perfon acquainted with Ecdefiaftical Anti quity muft know to be falfe ? ^For withim this Time lived Cmius the Roman Vre^yter:, l-z- and Dionyfius Alexandrinus, who, as Eife- ^7-bius tells us, both wrote againft it. W6 might add Clemens Alexandrinus^ and Ori gen^ neither of whdm were of this Opinion. But as this is only an incidental Point, rather than dwell longer upon it, I chufe to refer to Dr. Chapman's Remarks, Pt. a. p. 7, &'C. Hitherto vVe have been employed in con fidering the "Underftanding and Judgment of the antient Fathers, and what Confequences are drawn from any Weaknefs or Errors, which may be found in them. We now come to the Queftion of their Veracity, which is of more Moment, fince they mull be given up for ever, if they 'oan be proved to have failed in this. The Enquirer fays, F. 58. " It may admitperhaps fome Debate." Very cautious indeed ! " And it "Wifl "pi-pbably -be "^' ' " thought H,E C.28.e.24, Miraculous Powers, Wc* iBf ¦*' (thtought harfli in the Opinion of. many, " to fufped Men of fuch Piety and Sandity ** of Life, either of the Invention or the " Propagation of known Forgeries." Moft certainly it will, unlefs we have. very good Grounds for fufpeding them. Candid Per fons muft have fufficient Proofs laid before them, before they condemn fuch Men of defigning' to deceive us, or joining in any Roguery. And can we think it Proof enough, that they made the Miftakes men tioned already ; that Juftin -has been fu* fpeded by Men of Learning, who, by the way, had no Foundation for doing fo; and that Ireneeus may, with equal Reafpn, be fufpeded, which indeed we are willing to ' grant.? Dr. Middkton afks, " What other " Account can be given of his frequent Ap- " peals to the Tradition and Teftimony of " the Apoftles, for the Support of fo many *' abfurd Dodrines?" Before we call Ks Veracity in queftion on this Account, it fliould be fhewn, that he invented all thefe Stories of having heai'd fuch from the Elders before him, when really he Jiad; received no fiich Informations. May not an honeft Man bo impofed upon by wrong Accounts ? May not bad Apprehenfions, or perhaps bad Memo ries, occafion fome Errors of this Nature ? Muft any Perfons be reprefented as Knaves on this Account ? M 4 But, t68 A Vindication of ths p. 59. But, *< if we abfolve 7ri?««s2<;^ from the " Forgery, it muft be charged OJi fomebody " elfe, more antient ftill and gives but a " lamentable Idea of thofe primitive Ages." If the Inventors ot it can be known, let them bear the Blame. In the mean time, let not good Men be reproached, merely becaufe they are fallible, and have been deceived. Irenceus was, mifinformed by fome whom he believed. How does this affed the Credit of thofe primidve Ages in general ? The very utmolf , which we can colled from hence, is, what ho one ever doubted, that in the -beft Times there were fome Men not fo honeft, or not fo Careful, as they fhould have been. But it cannot prove, that the primitive Mar tyrs, and Champions of the Chriftian Caufe, were fuch. \f Ireneeus was deluded hy Pa pias, who was a weak Man, and miftook the Senfe of the Apoftles, which is this Gen tleman's own Account ; how does it appear, that either of them invented their Reports, or that there was any wilful Lye in the Cafe? In fhort, much better Authority than Dr. Whitby's, whom this Gentleman here quotes, or even than his own, is required to fix fuch a Charge upon thefe. The Dpdor, as the Paffage ftands cited (for I have not the Book I by me) plainly contradids and confutes him felf with the fame Breath, in the fame Sentence, accufing Irenaus and. Papias "vvitb being at once both deceived and Deceivers ; " who^ Miraculous Powers, Wc. jS^ I' who, on the iCredit of idle Reports, and ;«' uncertain Fame, have delivered to us ," Things faid to be done by the Apoftles " and their Scholars, have lliamefully im- ' ?' pofed upon us by the Forgery of Fables.and :*' falfe Stories.". So that, according to this accurate Writer, they had l^oth received thefe Lyes ff oni others^ and yet had forged them themfelves; \vhich is impoffible. If there be any Error in the Tranflation, it is the En quirer yvho is to anfwer for it; fpr frpm him I take it. , ,, He fays, that the Traditipn, " which re- " lates to the old Age of JefuS; — may be fairly *' prefumed tp be /r^«^?«/s own Forgery." Why fo ? " Becaufe it was never embraced " by any body elfe, and,waffingularly ad- " apted to .the Argument he was then af- " ferting," ©¦£;, This ftiews, that the fuc ceeding Writers would not follow him, where they thought' him miftaken. , But how it proves the Falfhpod of his Afiiertipn, that he had this Tradition from the old Men, for my part I am at a Lofs to difcern ; and think he was not like fome modern Writers, who make no Scruple of falfifying, when it vifill ferve their Argument. , • From hence, thro' the Six following Pages, p.60. the Argument of the Enquiry is upon the Uncertainty of 'Tradition, and againft build ing any Opinion upon it, and, much more any .^rticle of pur Faith, as the earlieft Traditipn* are 1 7d A Vindication of the are found to be fo very corrupt. This is quite a diftind Point from the Truth of the Mi racles, whichis the Subjed of his Book. I might therefore pafs over all this Part, with out making any Obfervations upon it. It may not however be amifs to take notice, that all the primitive Traditions are not of one Sort ; that fome are written, univerfal, and in the main uncontradided ; that a Strefs may juftly be laid upon thefe; that they muft be admitted to provd the Genuinenefs and Truth of the 3ooks of Scripture; and that the moft learned and judicious have Jopked upon them as a Confirmation of Ibme principal Dodrines of Chriftianity, thinking it not to be fuppofed, . that the whole primi tive Church were ignorant of any of thefe. Other Traditions are oral or partial ones ; and fuch we have no Caufe to depend upon. Some of our beft Writers againft the Roman Catholics have laid great Strefs upon this Di ftindion; have urged the Erroneoufnefs of thefe latter Traditions ; and yet have taken Care to guard againft the oppofite Error, and to admit the due Weight and Authority of the former ones. The great hard Clarendon Animadv. is very clear on this Head. " Not that the^ p.ejjJsff. <« Church of England is an Enemy to, or ** difclaims the Ufe of Tradition ; but is npt ** guided and governed by it. Where the ** Tradition is univerfal and uncontradiBed,, " we have Z'&vaxichKefigtiation to it as the ''Papifts ^iifaculous Powers, Wc, " Papifts have; arid therefore we do ac- " knowledge the Reception of the Scriptures '* to be by unqueftionable and never-doubted " Tradition :• And vvhatever they believe " by as confeffed a Tradition, we belifeve like- " wife as well as they : But when they urge " many things as neceffary to be believed by *' the Authority of Tradition, we do not *' rejed the Authority, biit deny the Tradi- *' tion." That this is the Senfe of our D/- vines hkewife, I might fhew at large ; but, for Brevity, will refer to Mr. ChUlingworth^ and the TraSis againft Popery *. *' It is not therefore ftrange to find its " Authority [of Tradition] carried fo high, " and in fome Cafes magnified even above '' the Scriptures themfelves, by all the Deal- " ers in Controverfy, from the earlieft Fa- " thers down to Dr. Waterland." Such ge neral Charges pr6ve nothing but the Heat and Imprudence of their Authors. Such con temptuous Treatment of all controverfial Writers, of all Sides, and on all Subjeds, without Exception, is very extraordinary in deed. Nor will the few Examples brought juftify or excufe it. Dr. W'aterland's Senti ments we faw before ; and it will be eafy to vindicate him from ^ny frefh Charges of the fame Kind. As to the Difpute about the Time of Edfter, different "Traditions were * Vide p. 39, 64, iio, s.d'z. Tit. III. .p. 19. futrid ^fTradition, Tit.IV. 19O, £s'f. ' ' indeed 171 172 .A Vindication of the indeed alleged ; and this only fhews thp Point to have been thought indifferent by the Apoftles, who might allov^^ either Time to be proper to obferve the Feftival. TertuUian indeed prefers arguing from Tradition, in Difputes with Heretics, to^ar- P. 62. guing from Scripture. And Dr. Waterland is cited as faying, that he feems to have judged well upon the prudential Cafe, and like a wife and fagacious Man. A Reader, who looks no farther, and will not take the Trouble to confult the Place, muft think this leafRed Writer magnifying Tradition above Scrip ture. But, in truth, he has, in the Place re ferred to, fo very largely and clearly explained hothTertullia^'s Meaning, and his own, that it was unfair to quote only a Sentence Or two, detached from what went before and fol lowed ; whereas a juft Reprefentation of liis whole Reafdningf would have very fufficiently acquitted hirh ; nay, would have fhewn him to have held the dired contrary Tenet to that which he is here accufed of. It is plain from hence, that all the Caution a Man can take will not prevent his being miftaken and mifreprefented by fome Men. The Reafoning Import- is long, and I wifh the Reader would turn ance, B. jq it. The Subftance is, that in verbal Dif- '^ ' '' jputes with Heretics, who would not ov/n the Scriptures, or would cavil about the Meaning of them, it would be vain to ap peal to them i but, as it was eafy then to fee. Miraculous Powers, Wc. 173 fee, whp had fucceeded tP the Apoftles in the Church, it was better to reft fuch Difputes upon Tradition. This was what Dr. Water- land approved of, adding afterwards, that, 'now. Scripture is the only Ground of Faith; and that Antiquity is only a fubordinate Proof, or' Help to fix the true Interpreta tion of Scripture. Befides, the Heretics, againft whom Irenceus and TertuUian dif- puted, held either that the Scriptures were corrupted, or that the Apoftles were not ac quainted with the Whole of Chriftianity,^ or concealed fome main Articles of it. All this the Fathers difproved, by fhewing, that, the Faith, which the Scriptures taught, and no other, was the Faith dehvered down in the Creeds of every Church. And furely, in. this View too, they are to be commended. We cannot, in fuch a Cafe, imagine a more pro per or a ftronger Proof Thefe particular Circumftances fhould not have been fup- preffed. - I fhall remark but upon One Sentence more relating to this Point. 'The Unanimity of the Fathers in delivering any of the main Articles of our Faith has been looked upon as a very ftrong Prefumption of their Truths and in fome meafure a Proof of it, tho' not equal to that from Scripture. But if this be fo, the Gendeman fays, " it would neceffa- P.66i " rilyeftablifh all thofe mon ft rous Dodrines' " above fpecified j fince it would be difficult «* to J 74 -^ Vindication of the *< to produce any other whatfoever, in which " there was fo great an Harmony among " them,"^f. But nothing can well be more wild than this Confequence. For of thefp Opinions, the h^illennium, the old Age of thrift, the Tranftation oJ Enoch into Adam'j Paradife, had no fuch general Confent pf the Church ; and as to the Angels begetting Demons, tho' this was a common Notion^ yet it was no Point of Faith : And it is eafy to conceive, that they might err in fome fev|r Matters of this Nature, and yet deferve fome Credit and Authority, wheji- they unanir moufly report and witnefs the great Articles of Faith and Dodrine, which were believed among them. We may now return from this Digrefiion, f(3f as fuch it may be confidered, from the declared Purpofe of tlie Enquiry. Dr. Mid-!.. dktpn nejct obferves, that if " was univerfally *' received and believed tlirough all Ag,es of " the primitive Church, that there were a *' Nuinber of Magicians, Necromancers, of ' " Conjurers, both among the Gentiles and . *' the heretical Chriftians, who had each their ** particular Demons, or evil Spirits, for their *' Aiiociates, perpetually attending on their " Perforts, and obfequious to their Cpmr- " mands ; by whofe Help they could per- *' form Miracles, foretel future Events, cajtl «' ,UP the 3ools of the Dead, exhibit them " to ppen View, and infuie into People '* what- Miraculous; PcJWers, Wc. 175 f< whatever Dreams or Vifions they thought if f\.t." I, have fet down thefe Words at large, as I look upon this as a Point the moft tp his Purpofe of any that he has yet pro duced. Here is a Fad faid tp be " conftantly " affirmed by the primitive Writers and " Apologiftsj" which it is plain this Gentle man thinks entirely falfe and incredible. Two things we may properly enquire into ; How f^r it is afferted by them— —and how far it is falfe, ^ Juftin Martyr is the Firft Witnefs prOf duced. And it is true, that he mentions fe- Apol. 2, veral Powers of Necromancy and Magic, as what ought to CPhvince, the Heathens, that the Souls of Men exift ftill after De^h, and are in a State of Senfation. As thefe Powers were then generally believed, this Confe-. quence was not to be rejeded. Whether Juftin was himfdf fatisfied of the Truth of this common Opinion, or not, his Argument is the fame. From the Sentence here quoted, we cannot conclude that he was. He may very probably be fuppofed to argue in this Place ad hominem. Addreffing the Qerttiles, ¦ he takes the Advantage of fome Principles, which they acknowledged, and fonje Powers, that were claimed among them. And thi^ Suppofidon is much confirmed frpm what foUovys, where lie argues from other Topics, fuch as he cannot well be fuppofed to have believed himfelf, jret fwch a,s were properly urged 17^ -^ Vindication of the urged againft the Heathens, and muft.bfi thought to have great Weight with them. Not only the Amphilochian, Pythian, Do- doncean, and other Oracles, but the Writings of Empedocles, Pythagoras, Plato, and So crates, and in particular the Accounts of Homer's Ditch, and the Defcent of Ulyffes into Hell, and Converfation with the Dead, are mentioned as Arguments of the fame Point. But thele were purely ad hominem, and no-way fhew, that the Father at all cre dited fuch Authoritifes. In other Places of- his Works he indeedl ch^ged bpth the Heathens and Heretics with giving Heed to Demons, or evil Spirits, with being influenced and aduated by them, and / being enabled by them to work Jying" Won ders. But that this Charge was not ftridly juft and true, it will be much eafier to af fert, than to prove. . - P. 67. As to LaSiantius, who is next cited, it is certain, that he is arguing from Heathen Au thorities to prove the Immortality of the Soul. And it is very remarkable, that in' Div. Inft. the beginning of this Sedion, when he en- 1.7.0. 13. jefg upon this Point, he exprefly declines ap- peahng to the Prophets, but chufes rather to cite the Teftimonies of thofe, whom they^ who rejeSted the Truth, muft of Neceffty be lieve. " Neque nunc Prophetas in 'Tefti- " monium vocabo fed eos potius, quibus *• iftos, qui refpuunt Veritatem, credere fit " neceffe." Miraculous PdWers, Wc. i jf *' neceffe." And then he quotes Hermes, the Oracle of Apollo Milefius ; and afterwards mentions fome of the Arts and Pradices of the Magicians, which v/ere believed in the Heathen World, in Support and Confirma tion of the fame. Here, again, we may fay, that LaSiantius might do all this, tho' he himfelf gave no fort of Credit to fuch Kind of Arguments and Authorities. It was fufficient, if they were allowed'and held by thofe, whom he was applying to, and difputing with. And that this was the whole Cafe, the man ner, in which he introduces thefe Topics, and the Sentence tve have juft taken from him, appears very ftrongly to intimate. And if any Part of the Sentence cited from him looks the other Way, yet perhaps this might be only an Inaccuracy, that dropp'd from the Author in the Warmth of Writing. But, fuppofing it to have been otherwife, and that LaBantius really beheved the Arts of Necromancers, which he has mentioned ; what would fpllow ? The moft that can be made of fuch a Conceffion is, that he was deceived by fome Pretences, and hiftorical Relations, the Truth of which moft pro bably he had never any Opportunity of en quiring into, and by which many learned Men of his and the preceding Times had been mifled alfo. How will this affed the Credit of his Relatipns, where the Fads re- N lated 1.7^ '^ Vindication ^ /^^ lated are fuch, as he could not but know the Truth or Falfhood of ? -— - Howtever, fi-om other Places of his Book We may: learn his Sentiments about thefe Matters: That all ¦Necromancy was the Invention of Devils, vs^hp by their Knowledge and Power could work Prodigies, and lyirig Wonders, impo- ffng upon the Senfes of Men; and leading them away from the Triith *. Vid. lib. ii. §.y , .&c. And I knCiW no Reafon to think, that he was miftaken in this Opinion j unlefs k fliould be- pleaded, that the , Devils are not permitted to work fuch n&W^, But furely to Conclufion can be drawn from hence; i It is true, that Simon Magus is reprefent ed to have declared, that he . wrought his ahlazihg' Works by the Help of the Soul of -a young Boy, who had been violently put to Death, Sfc. But be this true or falfe, what is it to the Fathers ? The Author of the Recognitions, who gives us this Rdpre- fentation, does not appear to have believed it. Ch. i6. fpeaking of Simon's perfuadlng himfelf, " QJK)d anirharum obedientia ad * .Jwagorum qupqne- ars omnis ac potentia horum afpi- ratipnibus a)nfla,t, a< quibus invocati vifus hominujn prxfti- fligiis oBcKcantibus fallunt; ut nbn videant ea quae funtj & videre fe'putent ilia qua; non funt, &c. p. 193. Sed bm- ))i^,^fallacis funt, p. 198. Quid ei^o dicemus Magiam ? Quod orai^e? poene, fal^laciam. Sed ratio fallacias folos non " fligit.dhriftianoE, qui fpiritalfa iiequitise, iion quidem Tocia confcientia, fed immic'a Ydieritia novimus. Tertul. de anim. 6.8,65,.:.,,, . 4 ¦ *' feeler um Miraculotrs Powers, Wc. 179 " fcelerum fuorum utatur minifterium," he adds, " re autem Vera a Dsemonibus illudi- *' tur." t I have no Exception to make againft the Citations from Irenceus, Clemens Alexandri- 'ftus, TertuUian, and Cyprian. The former ficcufes fome of the earlieft Heretics of prac- tiffng magical Arts by the Affiftance of De- 'nions; in which I fee nothing improbable. The Second fays, the Magicians even boafted of their Affiftance ; which alfo may very ¦well be. The Two laft defcribe the Pow ers and Operations pf Demons very particu larly : Which Defcriptipns, for the moft . fart, may be fuppofed true. We may -tafily believe, that thefe evil Spirits were permitted then tP torment both Mens Minds and Bodies ; that, by ceafir^ their Injuries, they might in Appearance wprk- Cures, to 'fuppprt their Credit ; that they affifted ^the Magicians and Soothfayers, "invplvingFalf-^^ypy^ « hbod always; with Truth, and being them- <* felves deceived, as Well as deceiving others." , There is nothing in all this but what is agree- able^nough to their Nature and Difpofition ; nothing bu't what the early Fathers might have !had -Evidence enough of ; nothing but what the Scripture in a great meafure confirms. In deed, they mention befides, that the Demons werfe fatted with the Steams of the Vidims. Which, as they could have no Proof of, may well be thought a groundlefs and errp- N 2 neous i8o A Vindication of the neous Notion ; but which certainly ought not to take away the Force of their Wit nefs, when they affert other Matters capable of the ftrideft Proof, and occurring fre quently to them. . This Gentlema,n reprefenfs it as "the " common Opinipn of all the Fathers, taken, *' as ufual, upon 'Truft, from the Authority " of Juftin Martyr, yvho_ was. probably the " Inventorof it, that the Demons- — -began to ^' want the -rich^ Fumes and the Fat of Sa- " orifices to ftrengthen ,tli€m for the Enjoy- " ment of their luftful Pleafures. ',' TJie only Proof vve ha,ye of this is orte Line from Jufiin Martyr.; which would be infufficieht, were it ever fo pertinent. But I much que- ffipn, , whether it is at all applicable to' this Purpofe. The Englijh of it is nothing mqre, than that, after the Demons had enfiavedtbetn- f elves to their. Lufts and Paftions, they wanted Libations, and Incenfe, andViSlims* : But that this was to ftrengthen them &c; is not faid. And all that is meant may be, that after they were become wicked, they Wianted to become the Objeds of Idolatry. As to the other Fathers, who are here Univerfally charged, not one of them is fo much as re ferred to ; and it is not eafy to vindicate, where we know not the particular Accufa tions. -To fpeak what occurs to me at * flc ivS'ieff ysyoviuri y-i]* 'ro fritS-Sfii' i'7rt^u(iitt9 J^n- hu^ni'i. Apol. prefent Miraculous Powers, Wc. iSi prefent about the matter : Great Strefs was always laid on the Steams or Fume of the I^iirnt Sacrifices. We find Inftances of this in Heathen Writers. * Homer often men- tions them. They were thought pleafing and acceptable to the Gods. HenCe; by ah eafy Figure, the Gods rriight be faid to have been fed by them. The Fathers believed, and with juft Reafon, that the Heathen Idolatry was contrived and kept up by De mons or Devils. Thefe fome of them thought not pure Spirits, but light thin Bodies, which required fome Support and Nourifhmerit. This falfe Philofophy might lead thofe, who held it, into a Notion, that Sacrifices were ,fu.ch Support. This moft probably Was the Ckfe : And if it was fo, can any Candid Man from hence fay, that they are falfe Witneffes of Fads? ¦ ¦ ' . That they thought the Pagan Idolatry,- and the whole Art of Magic, to " have been " managed by the Craft and Agency of De- " mons," I have owned. But that this Opi- !^ion " is not only a Proof of the groffeft P. 70 ," Credulity, but of that peculiar Species of ;" it, which, of all others, lays a Man the *' moft open to the ddufive Arts of Impo- *' ftors," is far from being fo certain. I will be fo jiift to this Gentleman, as to give * Kyiffo-ti tT' KpAwv iKiv SMffiroi/.iyii vsfi KctTrva. Il:i. 315^. £t Diit ttcceptui penetravit in athera nidor. Ovid..Metam. xii. 153. N 3 ''the 1 82 A Vindicatio,!! of ths the, whole Argument in his own Wdrds? " For a Mind fo totally poffeffed with fii- '• perftitious Fancies, and difturbed by vain ^' Terrors, could not have either the Judg- " ment to difcern, or the Inclination to exa- " mine, or the Courage even to fufped, *' the Pretenfions of thofe vagrant Jugglers, •' who in thofe primitive Ages were fo nu- *' merous, and fb induftrioiifly employed in ^^ the Affaii* of deluding their Fellow-crea- *' tures." If a' round and handfome Period be taken as a Proof, the Point is proved. But the fuperftitious Fancies, and vain Terrors, in one P^r* <^f the Sentence, are' as far from being the Truth of the Cafe, as the Number of the vagrant Jugglers fuppofed to be in the Church, in the other. Do the Chriftian Fa^ thers once fpeak with Terror of the Won-^ ders of the Heathens or Heretics, or of the PoxVer of the Demons tp whohi they afcribe them ? Not in the leaft. They wanted nei ther Inclination nor Judgment to difprove them: They adually did difprove them. It is all Imagination to fuppofe them continu ally afraid of being poffefied and tormei^ed themfelves. Nor were the Wonders done in the pririaitive Church at all like thofe of Magic, nor were any of its Arts ufed by th6 Chriftians. They never believed, tjiat evil Spi-^ rits could wprk r^al Miracles, equal to thofe of -Scripture, or of Chriftians in their own Tillies ; but lying Wonders, Prodigies,- ap pearing Miraculoii^ Paw^r^ Wc. p^afting JN^^raeles, they did believe tben^ ca- pgible of working. Not that they were urider the leaft fuperftitious Apprehenfion pf the.m. Nor did this lead them to admi^ any Pietences of Miracles, in favour of the Truth, right. or wrong ; \^hich alfo they had np Qccafipn tp appeal to, a,^ the Xpth was fufficiently cpn- firmed otherwife., "V^ho the ijiurnerqus Jug glers were in thefe Ages, who were guilty of thefe Pretences, this Genl;l.emajti has hpt tola us, nor ca,n he |fH us. "Xhis top is all Sup- ppfitipn, unfujppprted by"|Ividence, tho' fo conhdently ^nd frequendy.' repeated for the fake pf carrying on his Scheme. In Page 71. 1 find a Word or two, which A^pts a litde puard. The Ppdpr njentigp.^ as a " Pitch of Credulity," the Perfuafidri of the early Chri(lig.ns, that they were " expofed " at every Step to Snares and Charms, con- " triyed by ^;?jaliciou.s Spirits, perpetually ",, haunting them, and watching every un- *V guarded Moment to get PofTeflion both " of tlieir .Spuls and Bodies."' Now, fo far as \he primitive Chriftians" were under any Ap,prehenfions of the Devil's Power over their Souls ; fo far at leaft is this Po'wer certain; fo far were their Apprehenfions juft. It is idle tp fuppofe, that they were afraid of his feiz- ing their own Bodies, when even the private and, comparatively, igiioran^ People arnong tJien^ fo pmmon^y and eafily caft him ou| of thofe pf Pthers. But, with regard tp their Souls^ N 4 ^" '¦ ' there 184 A Vindication of the there always was Danger, and therefore a Neceffity of Caution. It was no Credulity to believe this. This Gentleman therefore fliOuld not haye thus jumbled, thefe things together. In this, refped, he muft himfelf be as credulous as, the Fathers, were, if he [I F(f/,v.8. believes 5t. P Suppofing this particular Miradle fddn withdrawn, the're was Evidence enough left to convince the Adverfaries of • Chriftianity. And tho' it is but too ufdal with thefe Perfons to rieglei^ fuch Evidence ¦¦--'¦¦ ' as Miraculous Powejs, Wc. 191 as is before them, and to be calling out for what they pleafe to think ftronger ; yet they have but little Reafon to hope to be gratified. — -This Gendeman's Reafoning here feems to go upon the Suppofition, that God will continue any Miracle, as long as the Enemies of the Truth defy thofe who defend it to 'fhew fome Inftance of it. -But he muft give me Leave to remind him of his own Rule, which he feems here to forget, *' how rafh Pre£p,22 " and prefumptudUs it is, to form Argu- *' ments fo peremptorily upon the fuppofed "Neceffity or Pr6priety of a Divine Inter- *' pofition," and, let me add, of the Con tinuance of any fingle Miracle in any par ticular Times and Exigencies, " in this or " that particular Cafe ; and to decide upon •' the Views and Motives of The Deity, 'hy *' the narrow Conceptions of human Rea- " fon." From wh4t has been faid, it appears, and from what will farther be faid, it Will more fully appear, that the Diftindion, which learned Proteftants make between the Pri mitive and Popifh Miracles, is not fo vain as this Gentleman afferts ; fince he has not proved, nor will ever be able to prbVc, that the firft were not generally wrought " for " the fake, and in the midft, of Uribelievers:" Which neithei; was, nor is, the Cafe pf the latter. Sect. 192 A Vindication of the Sect. 2 . Of Healing the Sick. TH E next Miracle we are to examine, is that of Healing the Sick. A Miracle motl probable in itfelf, as well as the preceding one, becaufe praclifed by Chrift, and His Apoftles, as this Gentleman muft acknowledge ; and therefore to be believed, if well attefted. That the primitive Fathers bear clear and undoubted Teftimony to it, as wrought in their Days, this Gentleman cannot doubt. He therefore can have nothing to do, but tp offer fuch Objedions againft their Tefti mony, as will effedually invalidate it. But indeed we have nothing offered of this Na- tiire ; nothing, but what might have been offered, fuppofing the Cures to have been mi raculous ; nothing, but what may be offered againft any Cures of this Kind whatever. We will however fee what has been faid. And when the Evidence is fo very flender, it would be Cruelty to diffemble, or to rob it of any of its Force. Such as it is, therefore, I muft lay P- 7S- it before the Reader, i. We are told, "Some " affirm that it was done by the Impofition *' of Hands; fome by invoking the Name *' of God, and of Jefus, and reciting fome •' Story of His Life ; and others by the Ufe " ofOil" confecrated.-^ — Such Differences as thefe (for there is no fort of Inconfift ency in the Accounts) cannot, I imagine, be im- Mifaculous Powers, Wc. 1 93 ibmproved into Objedions. And we find St. James mentioning Two of them together ; Anointing themnmith Oil in the Name of the Lord. .2. We are afterwards informed pf the natural Power of Oil to. cure Wounds. But this does nPt reach the Cafe of Diftem pers, nor of other Cures faid to have been wbirked, where the Ufe of Oil is not men tioned. And there is great Difference between the gradual natural Efficacy" of Oil, and a miraculous Power attending the Ufe of it. The former could never have been miftaken for the latter, or reprefented as fuch. 3. But the Pretence of this miraculous Power " was " fo fuccefsfully maintained in the Heathen " World by Fraud and Craft, that when it ** came to be challenged by the Chriflians, it "was not capable of exciting any Attention " to it among thofe, who themfelves pre- " tended to the fame Power." Whether any Confequence was intended, to be drawn from hence, I know not. Sure I am, no one can juftly be drawn to overthrow the Pretences of the Chriftians. Neither can this Author prove, nor indeed is it probable, that the Heathens gave no Attention to them. The numerous Converfions among thefe ra ther, evince the contrary. 4. But the Chri ftians could neither deny nor deted thefe Powers claimed by the Heathens. How far they allowed them, may be feen from what has been faid above. They did not deny, O that 194 -^ Vindication of the that fonae Wohders, Prodigies, and magical Operations, had been performed. But " they " infifted always, that it was performed by " Demons or evil Spirits." And had they no Reafon for infifting on this ? And if they had, was not t\i\s fufficiently JeteSling them ? Athenagoras is here cited as faying, that «¦ extraordinary Works were performed in " the Name of Idols; from which fome " have received Benefit, others .Harm." Which fure was enough to point out the Authors of them, and to diftinguiffi them from thofe of the Chriftians. What Origen is cited for, I cannot tell ; unlefs it be to ffiew, " that the Cure of Difeafes, and the '•* Predidion of Events, are things of an *^ indifferent Nature, and which belong to « bad as well as good Beings." However, it is plain from the very Turn of the. Sen tence, that Origen is here arguing hypotheti- cally, and ad homines. If I fhould grant, fays he, that .ffifculapius cures^ Difeafes, &c. And befides, ffiould he have alloweff the Reality of fome Cures afcribed to Mfculapius^ yet he might have very fufficient Ways of diftinguiffiing thefe from the Chriftian Mi racles. And in this very Place he pleads,. We have ourfelves feen many Perfons thus- cured of fevere Diftempers whom neither- Men nor Devils had healed, p. 124.. f. The fame Gift of miraculous Cures is faid to have been pretended- to. have been ^' poffeffed more ^ ** largely. Miractilous Powers, ^'c. 195 *' largely, and exerted more openly, than " in the private Affemblies of the Chriftians. 5' For in the Temples of Mfculapius, all " Kinds of Difeafes were believed to be pub- *' licly cured, by the pretended Help of that " Deity: In Proof of which there were *' ereded in each Temple Columns or Tables " of Brafs or Marble, on which a diftind " Narrative of each particular Cure was in- " fcribed." But can this Gentleman, on this Account, put thefe Heathen Miracles on a Level with thofe related by the Fa thers ? Or argue, becaufe the one were falfe, therefore we have no Reafon to believe the Truth of the others ? If this was not his Defign, to what End did he produce them" ? But if it was, is it not eafy to perceive many Differences between them ? Do Paufanias and Strabo relate what was done in their own Thnes, as the Fathers do ? Did they die Martyrs for the Truth of the Religion thus confirmed, as many of thefe did ? Are Accounts of Miracles in Favour of Idolatry as eafy to be received, as thofe in Support of Chriftianity ? If Accpunts pf falfe Miracles are admitted to fet afide the true, thefe are pertinently enough urged. But I muft hope, that Our Author does hot intend to carry his Confequences thus far ; and that he himfelf will allow, that a great Diftindion muft ne ceffarily be made between thefe Cafes ; and diat wife and -prudent Men may rejed the O 2 Miracle 196 A Vindication of the Miracle of the Cures of Mfculapius, without being under any Neceffity of diftrUfting the Accounts of thofe either of Chrift, His Apd- ftles, or even of the firft Chriftians. How to underftand the following Sen- P. 79' tence, I am at a Lofs. " Tho' nothing can " fupport the Belief and Credit cf Miracles " more authentically, than public Monu- " ments, ereded in Proof and Memory of *' them, at the Time when they weieper- *' formed; yet, in Defiance of that Authp- *' rity, it is certain, that all thofe Heathen *' Miracles Were pure Forgeries contrived to " delude the credulous Multitude.'' That is, if I underftand right; that the utmoft Support of the Belief of Miracles has been, and is, common to pure Forgeries ; /. ^. that we can have no more Reafon to believe aHy Miifacles, than we' have to believe pure Forgeries. I do not fix this Confequence upon the Author, who I hope never faw it. But, I own, it ftares me full in the Face, And the Sentence is the more remarkable, as no Parallel between the primitive Miracles, iiid the Heathen Pretences, which was this ' Gentleman's Argument, required any fuch Declaration. It may be proper juft to add, that the Sen- tencehere cited is not a Rule particular enough to\dired' our Judgment ; and that, befides the Particulars mentioned in it, it is necef fary, that fuch Cures fhould be wrought publicly^ Miraculous Powers, Wc. 197 pubUcly, and upon fuch Subjeds as were 'known to have been really difqafed, and by fuch Perfons, as had no immediate Intereft to. promote or fecure thereby. All whiph was Fad with regard to Chriftian Miracles ; but eyery Part of it dpvjbtful, if not falfe, as to the Heathem Wonders. , The next Sentence is of the fame, Kind with that laft cited, and would , fuit much better in a Difcourfe againft rniraculous Cures in general, than in one againft thofe related by the Fathers:. '* This particular Claim of *' curing Difeafes miraculpuily, affords great '• room for fuch a Delufion, and a wide : *' Field for the Exercife of Craft. E.very "Man's Experience has taught him, that "Difeafes thought fatal and defpera,te are 'Voft furprifingly healed of themfelves, by " fome fecret and fudden Effort of Na- " ture, impenetrable to the Skill of Man : ".But to afcribe this prefently, to a Miracle, " as weak and fuperftitious Minds are. apt .t' to do; to the Prayers of the Living, or *' the Interceffions of the „ Dead ;, is what " neither found Reafon nor true Rehgion " will juftify." I own, I could have wimed, that the Word always had been here inferted inftead of prefently. For at prefent, if this' Sentence proves any thing, it proves too much, and is equally levelled, I do not fay defignedly, againft thefe Miracles pf,Ci6/-iy? and His Appftles,.as thpfe pf the Fathers. O 3 How- 198 A Vindication of the HoWeyer, I can by no means agree with thiS" Genrieman, in thinking it difficult to diftin guiffi in this Cafe between Nature and Mi racle, or in fuppofing, that this' Cure affords any great Room for Delufion. Difeafes may fometinie^ unexpededly ftop, tho' 'tis very fel dom indeed, that any of long Continuance have been krtOWn to ceafe inftantaneoufty, much lefs inthe vfery Inftant that any Perfon ffiall command or pray that it may. And yet no Perfon of common Senfe and Judgment, acquainted with the Party both before and after his Cure, as Well as -with the Circum ftances of it, can once hefitate, whether it' was natural or miraculous. That the Fa thers, who related this Miracle, did not en quire into the Fads, this Gentleman has not proved. That they were either partial and inter eft ed, or weak and credulous, however here infinuated, he has not proved. And therefore, without knowing " more precifely, "in this Cafe, the real Bounds between Na- " ture and Miracle, we'' may and Ought to " pay a Regard to fuch Stories." W S E c f . 3. Of the Demomdcs. ' E are now coffie to confider tht Cafe of the Demoniacs 5 the Curing of whom f. 80. this Author owns to be " the moft eminently " celebrated of all the miraculous Powers of *^ die primitive Church to this the an- " tient Miraculous Powers, Wp. 199 *^- tient Fathers and Apologifb make the " moft frequent Appeals, and on this they " lay the greateft Strefs," &c. And indeed^ if we cannot vindicate them on this Article, their Credit muft be loft forever, and, we muft be obliged to decline all farther Defence of them. Tis impoffible for any Words more ftrongly to exprefs a Claim to this Mi racle, than thofe ufed by all the beft Writers of the Second- and Third Centuries. Every Cireupmftahce, which can fupport any Tefti mony, or ffiew the Veracity of any Author who bears it, concur in this Cafe. So that the joint Authority of thefe 'Two Ages is here concerned. And this Gentleman, if he proves his Point, muft prove, that all the Fathers (for l do not lemember one du ring this Period, v/ho has not related thefe Wonders) were fucceffively void either of common Senfe, or common Prudence, <^ common Honefty,- or of all thefe at once. I ffiall attend the Enquirer thro' all his Reafonings, and have no doubt but I fhall convince every impartial Reader, how very far they are from coming up to the Point. This Miracle, in itfelf, cannot be faid to be incredible. Our Saviour certainly Worked it. The Relations of the Fathers differ from thofe of the Evangelifts on this Subjed but in one or two Circumftances, and thefe of no Confequence, fuch as ought not to lead tJS to rejed the Accounts, if there be nP / O 4 Flaw 200 A Vindication of the Flaw or Defed in the Atteftations. And whether there are any fuch or not, it is now time to examine. ^' It is not eafy to colled from their [the '^^ " — careant immundo fpiritu, quo ante^ mo- ^ * '.' vebantur ; et laudabiles ac probabiles in " Ecclefiayivanf,plufque per dies fingulbs in '" augn^entum coeleftis gratiae per fidei in- " crementa proficiaht., Et contra, faspe non- " nulli- — f} poflm^dum peccare coeperint, " fpiritu immundo redeunte quatiuntur ; ut " manifeftum fit, diabplnm in baptifmo fide " credehtis excludi ; fi fides poftmodum de- " fecerit, regredi." We hflve aBual Expe rience of this, that they who are baptized in Sicknefs are free from any unclean Spirit, which before they' were poffeffed with, and live in a laudable manner, approved of, in the Church; and make daily more and more Proficiency towards *an Increafe of the hea venly Grace, by means of a continual In creafe of Faith. ^ And, M the other hand, it often happens, that fome of thofe, who have been baptized in their llealth, if afterwards they fall into Sin, arefeized with an unclean Spirit returning into, them ; that it may be manifeft, that the Devilis in Baptifm ex cluded by the Faith of the Believer ; and re turns 2 22 A Vindication ef the twns upon an After.failure of Faith. And, I believe, there is no Proof of Poffeffion re turn ing after Baptifm, but for the Puniffiment of fome great Sin . i" bus al fo, in thofe InftanceiS where the Perfon could not be difpofleffed, how eafy is it to fuippofe a want of proper Qualifications and Difpofitions; fot which God was pleafed not only judicially to in- ffid, but to continue- for a time, this Pu- nifhment and Torment 1 And bow then can we clearly, or ib much as pirobably, colled firom all this, that the Cures of the Demoniac swere only ffie Ceffation of a prefent Fit of the Diforder ? I fee no Caufe to fufped them on any of ffiefe Ac- P, n, counts. We cannot " reafonably conclude," from any thing that has been faid, " that " it was nothing dfe, but a falfe Mimickry *' pf that genuine Power, which wasexer- -" cifed hy our Lord,'' &c. As far as lean judge, it appears to be of the fameiKind. P. 94. 4thly, Strefs is laid on the (great Numbers .of the Demoniacs, whoiefided chiefly in the Church, under the Care of the Exorcifts. But it is plain from Mr. Bingham's Ac count here quoted, .ffiat the Time, when Demoniacs were committed to the Exorcifts, in the manner here mentioned, was the very End of the Fourth Century : How could the Dodor, who muft know this, artfully con ceal it, under, the general Term of thofe early Ages? By this time, we might fuppofe, without Miraculous Powers, Wc. 223 without ariy imputation on the Honefty of the Clergy, orthe Exorcifts, that fome, both difeafed and idle Perfons, might apply to them to be thus maintained. And indeed, a few Years before this, there might have been fome Abufes, which the Council of Laodicea intended to reftrain, by appointing, that only Perfons c^f Difcretion, approved by the Bi- -ffiop, ffiould be fet over this Matter. And if the Confequence of this was the Diminu tion of the Numbers of fuch as applied, and were taken into Care; or the fetting afide the Office, at laft; furely^ this could not have been, if the Biffiops and Clergy had had any Schemes to carry on by fuch a Fraud. Of this more prefently. It is farther manifeft from Mr. Bingham, that this Care 'of the Exorcifts, near the Clofe of theFourth'Century, was natural; and that there was nothing miraculous in the Exercife of their Office, nor any thing more expeded from them, than a common Bleffing upon their Prayers. So -that 'this is entirely differ ent from that extraordinafy and miraculous Power of cafting out Devils ; to which, ac cording to that learned Author, this Office fucceeded.-^-— This fpoils that ingenious Re fledion of the Enquirer, that " the Method P. 95 ¦** of Telle ving fo miferable a Tribe of help- " lefs Mortals will account-— for the Con- " fidence of thofe Challenges, made to the *' Heathens by the Chriftian Apologifts, to " come 2 24 -^ Vindication of the " come and fee, at any Hpur, and any "'Warning, how they could torment — and " drive the- evil Spirits out of them ; while " they kept fuch Numbers of them in con- " ftant Pay, always ready for the Shew, " tried and difciplined by their Exorcifts, ^c. But how can this Account be allowed ; when many pf thefe Claims and Challenges were made before this Office of Exorcifts was efta- bliffied ; when, about 2 fo Years before this, Juftin Martyr told the Senate, that thefe Miracles were done by the Chriftians in Rome itfelf; when, about 200 Years before this, TertuUian provokes the Heathen Powers to caufe fome Perfon to be brought before their Tribunals, quemDamone agi conftet, " whom " it was certain, whom they muft acknow- " ledge, to have been poffeffed and aduated " by a Demon;' when the Demoniacs, or more properly the Demons, are reprefented in fuch Torments and Agonies at their Dif- poffeffion, as we can hardly fuppofe any Number of Perfons would fubmit to, for the fake of a bare Maintenance ? Befides, according to the Dodor, thefe were kept for this Purpofe in or near the Church ; and the Heathens are fuppofed to have been challenged to come to the Chriftian Churches to fee them difpoffeffed. This muft have been his Meaning. But furely he either forgets, or very falfly reprefents, the Condition of the Chriftians pf thpfe 'Times ; the Nature pf Miraculous Powers, Wc. 225 of which will ffiew, that they could not then have any fuch Retinue about their Churches, nor indeed had any Churches, properly fpeak ing. Tertullian's Words are, " Edatur hie " aliquis fub tribunalibus veftris," &c. They were the Heathen Tribunals, and Judgment- Seats,and not any fuppofed Chriftian Churches, which the Father defired for the Scene of this Miracle ; and Heathens, not Chriftians, were to bring the Perfons on whom it was to be wrought. And the Enquirer, I be lieve, would be hard put to it to produce One Inftance of a Heathen Magiflrate, with in the Three firft Centuries, invited to any Affembly of Chriftians to make a Trial of this Nature, or of any Chriftian propofing to , bring him a Demoniac for this Purpofe. In a word, this Suppofition is totally unjuft and grdundlefs, and cannot be otherwife confidered, than as the fporting of a wanton and ungoverned Imagination ; neither can I imagine, that this Author, on a ferious Re view, will pay any the leaft Regard or Cre dit to it himfelf. The laft Obfervation this Gentleman makes on this Point, is founded on Two Errors, which have been bPth confuted ; viz. that ffie Power of cafting out Devils was in the Hands only of the meaner fort of the Chri ftian Laity, till the Year 367. and that this Power, and the Office of the Exorcifts, was one and the fame, So that the Sting 2 26 A Vindication of the p. 96. of that fevere Refledion is loft, that " the " licentious Abufe of this imaginary Power, " by the many falfe and impudent Preten- " fions of crafty Impoftors on the one hand, " and wrong-headed Enthufiafts on the other, " had brought fuch a Scandal on Chriftianity " itfelf, that the Clergy were forced at laft " to interpofe, and take the Affair into their " own Hands." This is neither better nor worfe than making Hiftory. Not one Syl lable of it can be proved from any good Au thority. The Truth is, that after thefe Powers, which at firft were occafionally grant ed to every Chriftian, and efpecially to the Clergy, were no longer common to all ; and after the Church thought proper to appoint a Set of Men to take care of the Energu- mens, which ftill remained ^ the Council of Laodicea decreed, that thefe Officers ffiould be appointed by the Bijhop. This Gentleman goes on, " that this was " really the Cafe, is manifeftly ffiewn by " the Event ; fince the Exercife of this " Gift was no fooner fubjeded to any Re- " gulation, even by thofe, who favoured " and defired to fupport it, than it gradually " decreafed and expired." The miraculous Gift was in part withdrawn before this Re gulation, which was moft probably occa fioned by the Decreafe of it. However, it is hard to conceive, how fuch Regulation could naturally make it decreafe; or how the Miraculous Powers, Wc. 227 the Decreafe or Expiration of it, when thus regulated, is any fort of Argument of the licentious Abufes before fuppofed. If this Gift was only a crafty fubde Pretence, and the Clergy defired to fupport it ; it does not appear, that a prudent Regulation of it would at all have prejudiced it, or that they would have been under any Obligation of dropping it. I have gone over every thing, whether of Moment or not, which Dr. Middleton has here urged to fet afide thefe early Accounts of the Demoniacs. I have not concealed nor difguifed the Force of any one of his Argu ments ; and, I hope, have anfwered them to the Satisfadion of the candid and impartial Reader. The Credit of "thefe Authorities, and the Belief of thefe important Miracles, which make fo principal a Figure in the Writings of the Second and Third Centuries, is then fecured. And if we ffiould reft here, and not be able to vindicate the remaining Miracles ; the Negative, which the Dodor has undertaken to ffiew, cannot be main tained. But, when we have fo good Reafon to think, that thefe , Miracles were adually vporked in thofe Ages, as well as the others before confidered ; we ought to be the lefs furprifed, if we ffiould find another Kind of them claimed and afferted; nor can we reafonably refufe our Affent to thefe, if well fupported, even tho' there ffiould be a few 0^2 Difficulties 22 8 A Vindication of the Difficulties attending them, which w'e could not clear up to Satisfadion. Sect. 4.. Of Vifions and Dreams. TH E Enquirer proceeds to.confider" the "prophetic Vifions, and ex tatic Trances, " and the Difcovery of Mens Hearts, afcribed " to the primitive Church." Of this laft, however, he has not fet down any one In ftance, and very few of the others. His Objedions are levelled againft but Four Wri ters of the Three Firft Centuries, and chiefly againft TertuUian and St. Cyprian. And ffie greateft Part of what is faid under this Head, either no-way relates to it, or concerns only Matters of mere Opinion, and cannot affed the Veracity of thefe Authors. I ffiall take for granted, that fupernatural Dreams and Vifions are not only poffible, but have been adually vouchfafed by God in fome particular Cafes and Exigencies. Who ever believes the Scriptures muft adknowledge this. This kind of Miracles, in itfelf, there fore cannot be faid to be incredible ; and is to~be believed on fufficient Evidence. And yet it may be proper to obferve, that there is fomething peculiar in it, and very diftind from moft, if not all, other forts of Miracles ; as the Tranfadion is here ne ceffarily more fecret, and as others, not be ing Witneffes of it, are not fo convinced there by, Miraculous Powers, Wc. 229 by, as by the more open Fads. The Credit of Vifions, if not fupported by fuch open Fads, muft depend upon the Word of thofe, who lay Claim to them. And here may be room for Deceit. Enthufiafts may work themfelves up into an Imagination, that they are thus favoured, and miftake their own warm and ftrong Fancies for immediate di vine Diredions. And > Cheats may take this way of impofing upon the World. All this is indeed poffible. And from hence it follows, I. That ffiould we meet with fome Pretences of this Nature, which we cannot approve or vindicate altogether ; ftill ffiis will be no Reafon for refufing our Belief to other more open Fads, of the Truth of which the World could better judge, and had the moft convincing Evidence of. 2 . That, as to Relations of this Nature, great Diftin dion ought to be made between fuch Dreams and Vifions as are related to have been grant ed to others, and fuch as the Author repre fents to have happened to himfelf. "The former can have very little Strefs laid upon them, unlefs corifirmed by other Evidence. The, moft prudent and cautious Perfons may in this Cafe be deceived. And as to the latter, before we haftily give into them, it feems reafonable to enquire, how far the fuppofed Occafions of granting them were worthy of , ~ a Divine Interpofition ; how far the Perfons claiming them were liable, by their natural Q^ Temper 230 A Vindication of the Temper or Difpofition, to be impofed upon in this Matter ; whether they are fober, cool, confiftent Writers, or in any- wife wild, extravagant, and unreafonable ; l?ftly, whe ther they are Men of Probity, or not. — For if there be no Reafon to fufped their Re ports, but merely becaufe thefe are Reports of fupernatural Vifions ; this, I apprehend, will not ^t all invaUdate their Authority. It is now fo many Ages fince the World has had any Experience of this kind, that all fuch Stories are apt to appear ftrange to us. And, indeed, there is now no Occafion for thefe Miracles ; infomuch that Pretences to them cannot but be fufpeded. In fettled Times of Peace and Safety, the ordinary Di redions of Scripture, and the common Af fiftances and Confolations of God's Spirit, , are abundantly fufficient. But when the Church was in a State of continual Perfecu tion and Danger, during thofe fiery Trials, it is very reafonable to fuppofe, that the Pa tience, Prudence, and Courage of Chriftians might want fome farther Encouragement and Support. Extraordinary Cafes required ex traordinary Voichfafements. And if God was pleafed to communicate His Aids and Comforts to fome Meri, who at that time were under great Diftrefs and Tribulation for the fake of His Gofpel, and to inftrud them by Vifions, in Matters of Doubt and Difficulty, what ffiould be done ; I cannot fee Miraculous Powers, Wc. 231 fee any Reafon for our Wonder. Whether He has done this, depends upon Evidence. That fome Fathers affert it, is granted. We will now, having thus prepared our Way by thefe general Obfervations, go on to enquire, what this Gentleman has offered to difprove their Affertions. Cyprian pretends to nightly Vifions, and that the Lord admonijhed them even by in nocent Boys, who were filled with the Spirit, and were in Extafies. We fee, that this in part depended upon the Accounts of others, by which the good Father might poffibly be deceived. However, we ffiall find more Inftances from him below. And we may as well ftay to confider at once what is alleged againft his Veracity. " This Extafy was a temporary Madnefs, P- 97- " or Lofs of Senfes ; and is called by Ter- " tullian. The fpiritual Virtue in which " Prophecy confifts." To fupport this, we have Citations from Suidas, Mr. DodweU, and Philo ; which, I think, we need not en ter upon. Be this Point how it will, it is ftill a Matter of Opinion only, and does not belong to the prefent Enquiry ; which is into the Truth of Fads. " From thefe Teftimonies we may col- P. 98. " led, that the Prophecy of the primitive " Church, by Vifion or Extafy, was of the " fame Kind, as to its outward Appearance, ^* with that Divination by Fury^ as it was Q^ 4 " called, 232 A Vindication of the " called, among the Gentiles, which was " pradifed by the Delphic Pythia, and Cu- " mcean Sibyl." By what Rules of Rea^ foning this Conclufion can be drawn, is paft my Skill to find out. The regular way of ffiewing this, would have been to have laid before the Reader fome Ex trads from the primitive Writers, where they report In ftances of Perfons in their own Times pro- phefying in the manner, in which the Pythia and Sibyl are reprefented, foaming, raging, &c. Such a Comparifon would have been to the Purpofe. But has this Gentleman gi ven us any one Inftance of this kind ? Are the Authorities of Suidas, Mr. Dodwell, and Philo, fufficient to ffiew, that this was done in the primitive Church ? As to TertuUian, the Sentence cited from him no-way relates to his own Times, as may eafily appear by ¦ turning to the Place, and examining the Context, but to Adam * ; and can befides amount to no more than a Declaration of this Father's Opinion ; which is no Evidence of the general Perfuafion of Chriftians in his Time ; and which, whether true or falfe, is nothing to our prefent Purpofe. The Whole therefore muft reft on the Teftimony of St. Cyprian. And he indeed reports a Fad, as happening in thofe Days. But does he re- • Vid.Tertull. de Anima, z\. We are alfo referred to r. 24. But I find nothing in this relating to our prefent Subjeft. prefent Miraculous Powers, Wc. 233 prefent it as at all parallel to the violent Rage and Diftortions which attended the Sibj'l,&cc.} Will the Words in ecftafi, the only ones here ufed, imply any thing like this ? Moft cer tainly not. St. Peter is faid, in the A^s of the Apoftles, to have feen ev eKircca-a opa^a., Ch. xi. 5. a Vifion in a Trance, or Extafy. But does there appear in the whole Account any tem porary Madnefs, or Raging, or Foaming ? Not in the leaft. It pleafed God, by this means, to inftrud the Apoftle in His Defign of calling the Gentiles, and to dired. him to go with the Meffengers of Cornelius. But we fee npthing extravagant in St. Peter's Behaviour on this Occafion ; no Lofs of his Senfes, no Want of Judgment ; in a word, nothing like the Condud of the Pythia, &c. And the fame might be the Cafe of the Vifions men tioned by Cyprian, for any thing this Gen tleman has urged to the contrary, I am not clear, what he means by calling thefe Vifions prophetic Vifions. That they are reprefented as Divine Diredions, is true. But I do not fee, that any future Events were foretold in them, or that they were claimed on this Account : Which alone can firiSlly and properly intitle them to be called prophetic. However, if the Enquirer has failed in this firft Inftarice, he muft be owned to be more happy in the next he produces, viz. Mon- taifusjwith his Affociates and Difciples. Thefe, we 234 A Vindication of the we readily yield, may be juftly ranked with thofe, or any other. Diviners among the Heathens. But it is quite amazing, that this P. 99. Gentleman can fay, that they " firft raifed " and propagated that Spirit of Enthuljafm " in the Church, which fubfifted in it for " near a Century, under the Tide of ^(/?(j« " and Prophecy." Can any thing be more incredible, than that Perfons, whofe Tenets and Pretences were fo utterly abhorred and abominated by the Church, ffiould have Power to introduce any Notions into it; ffiould be followed in thofe very Pretences, by the chief Fathers, for near a Century ? Vid. Eu- Any Ecdefiaftical Hiftory will ffiev/ us, in feb. H, E. -what Light thefe Heretics were confidered he. '^ ' 'by the Orthodox in thofe Days. I ffiall cite only Firmilian the Friend of Cyprian, who, Ap. Cyp. in an Epiftle to him, fays of them, " In qui- ^"i-Ti- " bus cum animadvertamus non veritatis " Spiritum, fed erroris fuiffe ; cognofeimus " eos, qui falfam illorum prophetiam contra " Chrifli fidem vindicant, Chriftum habere " non poffe." When we confider thefe Men^ as not led by the Spirit of Truth, but the Spi rit of Error ; we know, that fuch as vindi cate their falfe Prophecy, contrary to the Faith of Chrifi, cannot have Chrift. This Epiftle is ftill inferted among St. Cyprian's. Rigaltius thinks it clear enough from the Style, that this very Father had tranflated it into Latin. And in the Npte upon this Paffage, Miraculous Powers, Wc. 235 Paffage, he fays, " Hie manifeftiffime Fir- " milianus a Tertulliano diffentit; et fub " perfona Firmiliani Cyprianus Magifirum " fuum deferit." Here Firmilian moft ma nifeftly differs from TertuUian ; and Cyprian, under the Cover and Words of Firmilian, leaves the Sentiments of his Mafter. And can any impartial Perfon fuppofe, that Cyprian would pretend to Vifions, in Imitation of thefe very Perfons, and be led by them into the like Errors ? Befides, his Vifions are as different from thofe pretended to by the Montanifts, as can be : Which farther fhews the Weaknefs of the Suppofition. Nay, Eu- L. v. c. 3: J'ebius tells us, that what gave Credit to the piretended Prophecies of Montanus, SCc. were the many other miraculous Gifts, which then were in the Church. It will not be eafy to vindicate TertuUian on this Head. He was a Man of a very dif ferent Turn ; warm, fevere, and eager ; and fo far from being upon his Guard againft the Errors of the Montanifts, that he adually fell into them. And therefore there can be no Wonder, that " he was impofed upon by P. 101; " the Craft of thefe extatic Vifionaries; and " by the Warmth of his Temper, and the " Force of his Prejudices, was drawn in to " efpoufe any Delufion" of this Nature, " that flattered his particular Zeal, and fa- " vourite Opinions." This is the learned Dodor's Account ; which we may reft in, and 236 ./^ Vindication (j/* /^^ and decline entering upon the Examination of the particular Cafes he has produced from this Writer : Which, however, it may be proper to obferve, are all of Viftons that hap pened to others, and not to himfelf ; which therefore he could be no Judge of ; and, con fequently, his Credulity in thefe Points will not deflroy his Charader for Veracity and Probity, as to others of a more open Nature, ffiat were eafily fearched into, and could not well be impofed either upon himfelf, or upon the World, had the Relations been falfe. The Vifions of St. Cyprian were of another Kind ; which he reports as having been vouchfafed to himfelf on fome particular Oc cafions and Exigencies of the Church. He is owned to be " a Man of a more acute " Head, and fober Mind;" which, when joined to the Charader he has all along borne of Sandity and Integrity, ffiould, methinks, incline us to pay fome Regard to his Claims and Pretenfions, unlefs thefe could be dif proved. I own, I cannot think what this Gentleman has offered fufficient to difprove them. Cyprian is faid to be a Man " fortd •' of Power, and Epifcopal Authority;" tho' Pontius, his Cotemporary and Deacon, who wrote his Life, affures us, that he would willingly have declined this Office, and with drawn himfelf from it, Antiquioribus.cedens, et indignumfe titulo tanti honoris exift imans. But fuppofe this Charge true, will it juftify wh^t Miraculous Powers, Wc. 237 what follows ? " whofe Charader would " tempt us to fufped, that he was the In- " ven tor, rather than the Believer, of fuch " idle Stories." So that this pious and holy Martyr at laft turns out a vile Cheat and Hypocrite. Surely, fuch random and im probable Charges can hurt no Charader, un lefs perhaps that of thofe who bring them, or give way to them. Had the Father been deceived, fl:ill Chriftian Candour would fug geft the moft favourable Suppofition, that he was led into the Miftake by the Warmth of his Temper ; ftill we might acquit him of defigned and wilfid Lying. But it remains yet to be ffiewn, that he was deceived ; and that his Appeals of this kind were not ftridly true and juft. Thefe Appeals are faid to be " in all que- " ftionable Points of Dodrine or Difcipline, " which he had a mind to introduce into " the Chriftian Worffiip." And if it had been fo, what more proper Occafion for fuch heavenly Vifions, than the determining fuch doubtful and queftionable Points; which, perhaps, the ordinary Authority of Church- Governors, in thofe dangerous 'Times, might not alone be fufficient to determine ? — This, however, was not the Cafe of all the Inftances here brought; as will appear, if we go over ffiem particularly. " In a Letter to Ccecilius, he declares, ?* that he had received a Divine Admcnition " to 238 A Vindication of the " to mix Water with Wine in the Sacrament ." of the Eucharift, in order to render it ef- " JeBual." But was this any queftionable Point? Or can Cyprian he faid to have de fired to introduce it into the Church ? We learn from Juftin Martyr and Irenceus, that it was the common Cuftom of the Church in their Times, long before St. Cyprian wrote. Some, however, in this Father's Days, cele brated the Eucharift in Water only, leaving out the Wine, Againft thefe the Father di reds this whole Epiftle, charging them with omitting what Chrift both did and taught. And he introduces his Reafonings in this Ep. 63. mariner: " Nec nos putes — 'Uoftra et hu- " mana confcribere, aut ultronea voluntate " hoc nobis audader aflumere, cum medio- " critatem noftram femper humili et vere- " cunda moderatione teneamus ; fed quando " aliquid Deo afpirante et mandante praeci- " pitur, neceffe eft Domino fer vus fidelis " obtemperet ; excufatus apud omnes, quod " nihil fibi arroganter affumat, qui offenfam " Domini timere compellitur, nifi faciat " quod jubetur. Admonitos autem * nos " fcias, [ut in calice offerendo Dominica " traditio fervetur, neque aliud fiat a nobis, " quam quod pro nobis Dominus prior fe- " cerit ; ] ut calix, qui in commemoratione " ejusoffertur, mixtus vino. offeratUr." This • One Mattu&ript hath vosfsiatit. Vid, Ed, Fell. is Miraculous Powers, Wc. 239 is the whole Paffage, which the Enquiry gives P. 102, US mutilated, leaving out Cyprians modeft Expreffion concerning himfelf, and alfo, without any Mark of Omiflion, the import ant Words, which I have hooked in. The Englijh of it is. Think not, that I write my own private Sentiments, or the Dodrines of Men only ; or that merely of my own Accord and Will I have boldly taken this Determina' tion upon myfelf; as I have always an humble and modeft Senfe of my mean Abilities : But when God is pleafed to order any thing by His infpired Command, the faithful Servant lies under the Neceffity of obeying his Lord : Every one muft excuj'e him, becaufe he affumes nothing arrogantly to himfelf, who muft fear the Lord's Difpleafure, unlefs he obeys His Orders. And know, that I have been ad monijhed, [that our Lord's Tradition be ob ferved in offering the Cup, and that we do nothing, but what He before did for us ,'[ that the Cup, which is offered in Commemo ration of Him, have Wine in it mixed with Water. From hence we fee, i. That this Gentle man has not given us St. Cyprian's Meaning : And that the Admonition he received was not to mix Water with the Wine, but to mix Wine with the Water. This Difference, however it may appear at firft Sight, is very material. For it is on all hands agreed, that Wine was one of the Elements appointed, and is efllential tP the Inftitutipn. The Omif- A. fion* 240 A Vindication of the fion of it therefore was ading contrary to the Command and Pattern of Chrift, who Bingham, inftitutcd it. Whereas, fince " there is no L.xv.c.z. tt pofitive Command [for mixing Water with " Wine] in the Inftitution it is common- " ly determined by modern Divines, as well *' of the Roman as Proteftant Communion, " that it is not effential to the Sacrament it- " felf" 1 own, indeed, that St, Cyprian pleads for the Mixture of both. Yet ftill the Occafion of the Admonition was the laying afide the Wine : The Subjed of it muft therefore, properly fpeaking, have been the Wine ; the Ufe of which God infifted on, and without which indeed this Sacrament muft be mangled and defedive. But, 2. What if it be queftioned, whether this Admonition was in the Way of an im mediate fupernatural Vifion f There may be perhaps fome Reafon to think the contrary. It is certain, that in the Courfe of the Epiftle there is no farther mention of the Admoni tion. The Father goes on to argue from the Scriptures, and particularly from the Words of the Inftitution : And fo far is he from infifting upon any Authority on ac count of fuch a "Vifion, that we fee exprefly, he mentions his own Meannefs, and lays the whole Strefs upon the Command and Exam ple of Chrift, Nor are we told when, or by whom, he was thus admoniffied. The Words do not neceffarily imply a Divine Diredion peculiarly to himfelf. They may mean no , , more. Miraculous Powers, Wc. 24V more, after all, than the general Diredions of Scripture, or perhaps the Advice and Di redions of wife and good Men, who had inftruded him, or whom he might have confulted on this Occafion, 1 do not affirm, that they adually were intended to mean no more. I lay down this only as a Conjedure, which may not be wholly groundlefs, arid which may deferve the Confideration of the learned Reader, — If the other Reading, men tioned above, be the true one, there is ftill lefj Ground for fuppofing any miraculous Di redion here, as then the Perfon admoniffiing might be the Father himfelf. The next Inftance, which he brings out of Cyprian, will be foon difmiffed. The Bl- ffiop threatens! fome " to execute what he p. 102 " was ordered to do againft them in a Vifion, i.' if they did not defift,'' The Latin Words are, ."Utar ea admonitione, qua me Dominus Ep. 9. uti jubet. / wiU ufe that Power of admonijh- ing, or correding, whichjhe Lord has ordered me to ufe, orintrufled to me. Which is no more jhan what. any common Biftxp might fay on iuch an Occafion, Thefe Words im ply no Vifion, tho' the Dodor hath put the -Words, in a Vifton, in Italics, as if they were Part of what Cyprian faith ; nor do they extend farther than to the ordinary Audjprity of , the Governors of the Chriftian Church, And if they did, we have nothing offered to invalidate, the Teftimony, ^' He makes the fame Threat to one Pu- R I' planus' Ep.egi •42^2 A Vindication of the " planus" &c. Here indeed he very clearly lays Claim to the Divine Diredions, granted to him on confulting God. Which^ for any thing that appears to the contrary, may be true. The Three next Inftances may be con fidered together. They relate to his ordain^ ing Three very eminent Confeffors, who had almoft fuffered Martyrdom, and had, as it were, miraculoufly efcaped ; being, as we may fay, providentially referved for the Service of the Church , 'This he gives his Clergy and People an Account of; as, being at a Diftance from them, he could not confult ffiem, as he ufed to do in Times of Peace, He fays, the il- luftrious Courage and Piety of thofe Confeffors fuperfeded the Neceffity of the ufual Spru- tiny and Teftimonies. One of thefe he re prefents as having been favoured with a Di vine Vifion to perfuade him to accept the Office, He fays, that he himfelf was ad moniffied and inftruded divina dignatione to ordain another ; and, with regard to the Third, that there went before divina fuffra^ gia ; and that it appeared ilium divinitus re- jervatum, qui ad Ecclefiafticam difcipHnam cateris effet exemplo. . Now, as to thefe two laft, it may poffibly bear a Doubt, whether Cyprian intended to claim any immediate Divine Diredions. It is poffible he might think, ffiat the Event, the extraordinary Sufferings, Efcapes, and Charaders of the Perfons ordained, :£uffici- I endy Miracialom Powers, Wc. 24^ ently intimated the* Will of God in this Matter. It is certain, that divina dignatio^ in this Writer, does not always imply a Mi racle ; fince it is onCe applied to moft- of the BiJhops of the whole Chriftian World *. > But let us grant, that in thefe Cafes he ap peals to Divine Revelations. How will it appear, that the Appeals were falfe? Dr. Middleton feems to put a moft unkind, as well as unjuft, Conftrudion- upon them. ^' This, then feetns to be the Meaning of P. 104:5 *' Cyprian',r Diligence in the Ufe of Vifions, " that, whenever he thought fit to. exert his " Epifcopal Authority, without the previous **¦ Confent of his Clergy and People, he might " obviate their Murmurs by alleging a E)i- " vine Command for ii" If this had been the Cafe, yet can we think, that' his Clergy and People were fo extremely weak, as to bei prefently 'filbnced' and fatisfied by a mere Pretence, without any Ground or Founda tion ? Or can we think, that a Perfon of •Cyprian's Judgment could hope thus to fe:- tisfy themj or reft in fo bad a Plea, when it was eafy for him to urge many better and ftronger ? If therefore the Clergy and People allowed thefe Claims of their Biffiop, it is a great Prefumption, that they were juft ; and a good Confirmation of them. * Ep. 6j. " Epifcopos plurimos Ecclefiis Dominicis m *' toto mundo divina dignatione praepofitos," In much the famjs manaer ag_ fee- ^nfldern Style, By Divine Providence ^ijhop, isf:. R a Befides, ?44 -^ Vindication of the Befides, how would this Gentleman have ffigd him have " called them together, and con- '^Jiilted them in common," when the Dif- tradwns of the Times had taken him from them ? And when he might prefume upon their Approbation of fuch truly eminent Perfons ? And fo indeed he does quod vos fcio et libenter ampleSti, et optare tales in Ecclefia noftra qiiamplurimos ordinari. Farther, we learn in Two of thefe Epiftles, that St. Cyprian did- not ad in thefe Cafes alone, but was affifted hy fome Collegues ffien prefent with him. So that he took all the Advice the Times would allow ; and, indeed, more than he was under any Neceffity of taking. For tho' Dr. Middleton reprefents it, as " the Cuftom of thofe Days, in all Clerical " Ordinations," to confult the Clergy and People ;, yet a very learned Author * has ffiewn at large, that Cyprian was not bound to do fo by any Law of God or the Church; and that it was " by the free Motion of his *' own Difcretion and Goodnefs, — a perfonal *' Virtue and Prudence, in the peculiar Cir- *' cumftances of that meek and holy Mar- " tyr." So very fitde is he to be fufpeded. of any undue Fondnefs of Power. " But the moft memorable Effed of any " of his Vifions was, his Flight and Re- * Original Draught of the primitive Church, p. 243, i^e. '' treat, Miraculous Powers, Wc. 245 " treat, when he withdrew himfelf from " his Church, in the Time of Perfecution." This is reprefented, as having given great Scandal ; as what both Cyprian and Pontius were folicitbus to excufe; which they do by pleading a particular Revelation from Heaven to command him to withdraw : A Plea, which " was nothing elfe, without P. 104; " doubt, but a mere Fidion, contrived for the ''°5- " Purpofe of quieting the Scandal and is, " in Effed, confuted by himfelf, in another " Letter in which he declares, that it was " the Advice and Authority of one Tertullus, " which prevailed with him to withdraw " himfdf," &c. This is the Whole of the Objedion. In Anfwer to which we may obferve, i . That whatever fome four or over-fevere Perfons might think, this Retreat appears to have been, upon the Whole, juftifiable and pru dential. And the Father had no Occafion to have pretended, a Vifion to excufe it, if this had not been the Cafe. a. It is unreafonable to charge fo eminent a .Champion of the Chriftian Caufe, whp after wards fuffered with fuch Refolution, with any Cowardice, or Fear of fuffering. This is what Pontius urged, and, I own, I think it fatisfa dory. " Vultis fcire feceffum ilium non fuiffe " formidinem? Ut nihil aliud exCufem, ipfe ?* poftmodum paffus eft: quam paffionem '* utique ex more vitaret,,fi et ante vitaffet." r R 3 Would is 4^ A Vindicatiofi oj the Would you be affured, that this Retreat was- not Fear? To omit other Defences, he him- felf'ofterwards fuffered : Which be would theh have- -hvoided and fled from as ufual, if he had done fo before. Nor does it appear, that he ever repented of this Retreat, or accufed himfelf on this Account. 3. The only Places in St. Cyprian's "Wri tings, that I remember, which appear to fpeak of a particular Revelation concerning this )^p.9, 14. Matter, are thefe ; *' quando ad vOs reducem *' me Dominus fecerit, qui, ut fecederem, *' -juffit ; " when God Jhall bring me back again to you, who ordered my Departure front- you ; and, " ficut Domini mandata inftruunt;" as the Commands of The Lord inftruSi me. Thefe are -general Words. When, or how, thefe Orders were given, is not faid. Here is no mention of a fpecial Revelation from Hea ven, And poffibly nothing of this might be alluded to. Nothing more can neceffarily be underftood by them, than the Divine Providence thus ordering and direding Af fairs. Nor can I fee, that the bleffed Mar tyr any more reprefents his Retreat, as the Confequence of a miraculous Interpofidon, than he depends upon a Miracle to bring him back again. Befides, the Command here given might have been that plain one of Chrift in the Gofpel, When they perfecute you Not. ad in this City, flee you into another. This Ri- ^P- *• galtius propofes in the firft place, as what the Miraculous Powers, Wc. 247 ffie Father had in h;s Eye ; tho' indeed he adds the pa,rticular Favour of an immediate Diredion, as well as other prudential Rea fons : Which ffiews, that he thought all thefe very far from being inconfiftent. — And Pontius, after having reprefented the Biffiop's Retreat as being agreeable to the Divine Ad monitions which had been granted him, go ing pn to confider the good Confequences which followed it, appears to underftand its being ordered by God, as ordered by His Providence, which preferved fo ufeful a Ser vant for the particular Exigencies of thofe difficult Times. " Nonne haec, oro, con- " filia diyina funt ? Hoc fieri fine Deo po- " tuit ? Viderint qui putant poffe fortuita •'. ifta contingere." Are not thefe Counfels divine ? Could this, happen without the Ap' ' ppintment pf God ? Let tfiem look to it, who imagine, that thefe things coujd happen by Chance. The leaft we can fay, is, that Pon tius looked upon the Advantages of Cyprian's Retreat, as Proofs of the Divine Command, which he had received. > 4. This Gentleman appears not to have rightly reprefented the Paffage where ?^. Cyprian is faid to have withdrawn himfelf Ep. 5, by the Advice of Tertullus. If I underftand him right, he only fays, that Tertullus ad- vifed him to continue in his^ Retreat. He firft expreffes his Wiffies and Defires to fee his Clergy again, ; ^hen he fays, that, for the R 4 fake 248 A Vindication of the fake of fome other Advantages, he deter mines rather " adhuc interim latebram et " quietem tenere," to keep himfelf srxix, fer cret and hid: And this is what, he fays, Tertullus counfelled, " Ut cautus et moderatus " exifterem, nec me in confpedum publi- " cum, et maxime ejus loci, ubi toties fla- " gitatus et qaaefitus fuiffem, temere com- " mitterem ; " That I ftiould be cautious, and refrain from appearing raftdy in public; and efpecially in that Place, where I had beenfo often called and fought for. How then does the Father confute himfelf? What Shadow of an Inconfiftency is there between this Account, and the other of his having been ordered by God at firft to withdraw ? ¦Thefe we fee relate to two different Times. Not but, fuppofing they had referred to the fame, ftill Cyprian might have had at once the Command of God, and the Advice of his Friends. I obferved, that Rigaltius mentions both with Approbation. So that, in every Light, this Gentleman's Argument is weak and groundlefs. On the Whole, then, if the Commands mentioned by St. Cyprian were not fpecial Divine Revelations, were only the common Orders of Scripture, of Divine Providence, or of human Prudence (in which laft Senfe we may fay that every Man is direded by God not to expofe his Life more than needs muftj; all the, Refledions and Cenfures we have Miraculous Powers, Wc. 249 have here before us, either on the Condud, or the'Plea, of the good Father, are wholly impertinent. And even on the Suppofition, that he adually appealed to a fupernatural Vifion in this Cafe, ftill this has not been proved to be a mere Fidion : There will be no Occafion thus to put every thing in the very worft Light poffible ; and, rather than im peach the Veracity of fo venerable a Writer, we may be inclined to believe, that God, on this as well as other Occafions, granted him a fpecial Diredion how to ad on fo critical and hazardous an Occafion, as that which -then prefented itfelf. I have been the longer on this Inftance, becaufe, as reprefented in the Enquiry, it bore'hardeft upon the Charader of St. Cy prian ; charging him at once with deferting his paftoral Duty out of Cowardice, and wiping off the Scandal thus given by down- bright Falffiood. But I hope my Readers now fee Reafon to think better of him. We need not enter on a Defence of Dio-^ nyftus Biffiop of Alexandria, a Man of an amiable Charader, who, in an Epiftle quoted by Eufebius, claimed a Divine Diredion to retreat. What has been offered in Vindica tion of St. Cyprian, may, in a great meafure, have place here, and fave us the Trouble of a particular Enquiry. I ffiall only add, that thefe Diredions given to Dionyftus appear to have received fome Confirmation from the Authority 250 A Vindication of the Authority of Eufebius, who has inferted them in his Hiftory, without any Blame or Exception; which we can hardly think one of his Judgment and Knowledge would have fo foon after done, had they deferved no better Charader, than that of mere Fidions. It is plain, however, from a clofer View of t..U.l.vi. Eufebius, that no Cowardice could be ob- *=• 4°- jeded to Dionyftus, who continued Four Days at home after the Search began. As to the Vifion claimed by Jerom, which ]p."io7. the Dodor mentions, be is without the Li mits of my Defign; and therefore I ftiall pafs it over, without determining any thing about it. Be it true or falfe, I cannot fee how it prejudices my prefent Reafoning. Only I beg Leave to obfefve, that the Two Commands faid to have been given to Dio nyftus and Jerom were not fo contrary, as this Author would reprefent them. For Jerom doth not fay, that he was forbidden to read Heretical Books, but Heathen ones; nor is the Reafon afligned, left he ffiould not be able to confute them. Probably he might fuppofe, that the Prohibition intended, that he might not be turned, by too much Ap plication to profane Writers, Cicero, VirgiJ^ SJnd Horace, from more edifying Studies. " If Jerom's Vifion deferved to be treated ** by his Contemporaries as a Fidion, I fee " no Reafon- — why the Vifions of Cyprian " -aud Dionyftus ffiould — merit the fam.e " Treat- Miraculous Powers, Wc. 25% " Treatment.'* And that, becaufe we have no Reafon to think, that any fober unpre judiced Perfons of their Times ever looked Jipon them as fuch. That fome contemned Dreams and Vifions in general, Cyprian owns ; Ep. 6S, but fays, they were fuch as would rather beUeve any thing againft a Prieft, than believe a Prieft. This the Enquirer takes notice of; but to what End, I cannot perceive. If that was the Cafe, had hot the Father room to complain, and objed to their Teftimony ? It is certain enough, but fure it is no Matter of Mirth to any Frierid of Religion, that there are too many fuch at prefent, who are preju- r/«» had no fort of Relation or Similitude to that Madnefs, which before had been fb juftly difproved and confuted by Miltiades, &c. " It appears to have been the current Opt- " nion of- thofe earlier Days, that the Pro- " phets alfo of the Old Teftament received f- and uttered their Revelations in Extafy." In Support of which Juftin Martyr .^ Athe nagoras,- and TertuUian, are cited. By the earlier Days here^ the Context ffiews, that we muft underftand the Times prior to the .Montanifts : But the TwO laft Writers flou- ¦ riffied Miraculous Powers^ Wc. 257 riftied after Montanus. As to TertuUian, we obferved beforCj that he was deluded by them. And it is very remarkable, that at the Clofe of the Sentence here quoted, there are thefe Words, which this Gentleman ehpfe to keep out of Sight; " de quo inter " nos et pfychicos quaeftio eft," concerning which Point there is a Difpute between us and the animal Perfons : By whom he means the Catholics, as is well known, and as Drt Cave obferves in his Life. So that we have here full Proof, that it was not the Opinion of the Catholics of thofe Days,, that a Pro phet ffiould lofe his Keafon. Neither do either of the other "Two Au thorities come up to the Point. Juftin Mar^ tyr makes np mention at all of Extafies or Vifions ; but fays only, that God's Spirit de-* Cohort, fcended upon the Prophets, making ufe of^'^g**>'«*« ffiem as Inftruments of revealing lieav&nly Knowledge ; without once intimating in what manner He difcovered this to them. Athe nagoras indeed adds thefe Words, ««? gjts-a- i-egat.pro Oiv Tcov Sv avToii P^oyia-fJicov. But, I think, ¦ '^j thefe will not fignify, as the Gentleman in* ox.p. 37; terprets them, " while they were under the "Divine Impulfe, they were tranfpprted f out of their Senfes, and dehvered in Ex- " tafy," &c. The Words appear tp imply only a ^ufpenfioif or Intermifiion of their own Reafonings, and npt any temporary Diforder in their Underftandings. It was npt of their S natural 258 A Vindication of the natural Powers or Faculties, but' from the Infpirations of God's Spirit, which they fpake/ Neither will this therefore prove. What it is brought to prove. - But if the Two laft Pages muft be looked upon as little to the Purpofe of this Gende man's Book, the next, I am fure, is more fo'; p. 112. which is to ffiew, that the Antients " were *' miftaken in thei* Notion of the Perpetuity *' of Prophecy." And fuppofe they were, what can be gathered from it ? Not, furely, that their Teftimony concerning paft or pre fent Fads is not to be depended upon. The Confequence of this would be, as no Man- uninfpired can certainly look into the Future, , therefore no fuch is to be believed. We have now done with the Head of Vifions. But the Dodor has not done with Cyprian; and, as if he was confcious, that he' had not yet difproved his Veracity, he gives us, tho' quite out of place, two or p. 113. three of his wonderful Stories, as he calls them, relating to Divine Judgments inflided ' on fuch as had kpfed, or denied Chrift. On^ was immediately ftruck dumb j another feiz- ed and torn with an unclean Spirit. Both might have been true Inftances, notwith ftanding any thing here alleged. The next Inlfance was of an Infant, to whom had- been given feme Bread dipt in Wine, which had been offered to an Idol : Which was af terwards difcovered by the Crying and Un- eafinefs Miraculous Powers, Wc. 259 eafinefa of the Child in time of Prayer, and its vomiting up the Eucharift, which was given it. This, I own, founds ftrange. Cy- ' prian fays he was an Eye-witnefs of it. But what can he be fuppofed to have feen? Only the confequent Fads, The Caufes he may be fuppofed miftaken in, without im peaching his Veracity, as to what he knew. Something extraordinary there appears to be in„the Circumftances. How far this was or was not Miracle, I will not undertake to fay. But fuppofing it was purely natural, it might naturally, in, thpfe Times, make an Impref- liqn ftrong enough on the Minds of Perfons, and thofe not very credulous neither, to be related in the manner it is, without any Im putation on their Sincerity. — We have 'Three other Inftances of Judgments happening to Apoftates, who had: prefumed to partake of the Sacrament. Thefe being grown Perfons, the Stories are eafier to be admitted. We may well fuppofe, that God, in that early , Age of ffie Church, when it was tried with Difcouragements of the moft fevere and ter rible Kind; when it had no naturalHelps to fupport ita Honour and Difcipline ; would be pleafed to. fence and guard it with fome fu pernatural Effeds and Difplay s of His own Almighty Pawer, and take care, that His holy Ordinance ffiould not be wi<^out proper Pu- nifhmenjt heedlefly and facrilegioully intrnded upon and profaned by -wicked Idplaters. Our , ' S 2 Author 26o A Vin6.ic2iti(yn of the p. 11^. Author bvvns, and ffiews, that thefe Stbrj^ " were of the greateft Ufe" to prevent thefe, " and to fupport the Difcipline pfthe Church *' And therefore God's interpofing in the man ner here repi-efented muff then have had ari excellent Influence. And I canfiot but think it a much fairer and more probable Suppofi tion, than what this Gentleman makes, rha^t thefe Stories " were partly fpt^cd, arid pafdy " dreffed up and aggravated intd' this tragi,- *' cal Form, from fome accidferifial Diforders," .£?£¦. Had they been thus accidental j they could not have carried 't'error Cnopgh with them to have guarded the Difcipline of t^e Church. From their being Urged in the manner they . werc, it is plain, they wdre not then confidered as accidental £ and if^1l be impoffible for any One," at this Diftaiice of Time, to prove them to have been me'My accidental. Sect. 5. Of Expounding the Scripturesi^J^ Divine Revelation, . v /*r H E Fifth Mirade, which is here f^- P.116. ¦*• viewed, is that " of expounding tl^e *' Scriptures, or the Myfteries of Gbd, by a " Divine Infpiration." The Enquirer fays, ffiat this " is claimed by the primitive ,1^- " thers :" But the orily one he "quotesf h^Mfin Martyr. And him We confidered before, arid fheWied, that this Gentleman had totally miftaken Miffaculqus, Powers, Wc. 26 x ^jgai^jjaken h|s lyfcaning, and built this Charge pn the tpejcVSpund of Words, without at- - tefiding to the Senfe of them. Nor has he here iadded any other Paffages oi^t of this or a^y Mother Father,^ ,pr any freffi Reafonings, ' t(3: ^iiforpe .what he had urged before on this '^"'jed; unlefs 'ft' be the obferving, that j'Men of Hdy, when under Perfecution,, P- H7, r,are apt tp, eixped, and liften tb, every Pre- ' '*' '* tence of 4 Divine Interpofition in favour * of what t^eyhelieve; and, that this was f theCii.fe6f Biffiop F//7.'^r, with regard to ;*. the '. pd^ifi of Kent. ' Which Obfervation ,?^nd,Inftance, how wide they are of the ^Jvjark, every common Reader mull of him felf feCt They neither of them relate to a , iniraculous Gift of expounding the Scriptures. And as to the general Point, it is no Confe quence, that becaufe learned and good Men have been fometimes deceived in a few par ticular Inftances, by confident Pretences of yifions and Revelations ; therefore Numbers of others, during Two Centuries at leaft, ffiould one and all be impofed upon in Mat ters of frequent Occurrence;, fometimes. Where they muft be fuppofed themfelves to have been employed and CPncerned. S E c T. 6. Of the' Gift of Tongues. Ty H AT i have faid of this fuppofed Gift ^ of interpreting Scripture, is in fome meafure true of the laft Gift confidered ; that 53 of 262 y^ Vindication of the P. 119. of Tongues. This reft^ on the Authority of Irenceus ; and there is nothing added here to fecond his Authority, ;n6r much tO overthrow it. I fliall not detain or trouble the Reader with a Repetition of what has been already faid on this Subjed, tho', in Reality, it ob^ viates almoft every, thing, which is here urged. What is new. Or has not been coh^ fidered before, 1 will now attend to. Irenceus, our Author afferts, wanted this Miracle himfelf, for the Propagation of the Life of Gofpel among the Gauls. And Dr. tiave Irenceus, indeed fays, thkt he plainly intimated, '« that ^' ^' " he was forced, to learn the Language of " the Country."' But the Paffage the Dodiir alltides to is, I fuppofe, that in the Preface of his Work, where, making an Apology for his Style, he pleads his Abode among the Celtce :- KaJ 'iriai SccpSccpov S'laAexlov ioi TrAeic^ov ccotf/pT^dfjiivcav. Now thefe "Words ex prefs only, that he Was for the mofi part em-. ployed in a barbarous Language ; which may be full as well underffood of ufing, and fpeak ing, and writing a barbarous Language, as in learning it. Nay, the former is a better Excufe, and more to his Purpofe, than the other would have been ; as contiriually con- verfing jq^ a rough and unpolifhed Language is more apt to fpoil the Style, than the learn-. ing it, And therefore this, being more agree able to the Context, appears tobe the juftefl rendering of the Wprds, 4 Bu| Miraciilous Powers, Wc. 263 But if the Whole of the^ifficulty were allowed (for I think it canqot amount to an Objedion), will it overthrow the plain, po fitive, exprefs Teftimony of Irenceus, that this Gift of Tongues was indulged to fome in his [Days? St. Paul's Queftion, one would think, ffiould determine this Point; Do all fpeak wifh Tongues f Even in; thofe Days, when this Miracle is allowed to have exifted, it was not common to all ChritHaris ; not even to aiU of Rank and Eminence, who were Partakers of fome of the extraPrdinary Gifts. It can therefore be no Prefumption .agairift the Truth of a Relation, that fuch a Power vwas in the Church at any particular Time ; tho' neither this nor that learned Ad vocate of the Chriftian Caufe, nor even the Relator himfelf. Was favoured wjth it. Whe ther Irenceus himfelf Was or not (for the 'Negative, canriot, I thirik, be evinced from his Words above). We have no Occafion to enquire: We mayrelyupori the, Account he has given, Unlefs thefe, be any ftronger Ex ceptions to his Teftimony. " But no fucceeding Father claims, or fo P. 120. " much as mentions, the fame Pretenfions*." »— If they had, would this Gentleman have been * Dr. Middleton here, p. 120. fays not only, that the Fathers did not daim, this .Miracle, but denies that any one of thehi ventured to " fpeak of it in anyother manner, than as a Gift •* peculiar to the firft Chriftians, in the .Times of the Apo- *' ftles." On which the Author of the Letter to hiin very S 4 properly 26i|, A iVindicathn of sh3 ' been more ready to have believed ffiem hj Would he not have faid, as inother Cafes, they jOply followed ffie Authority, and cor pied the Language, of: Irenceus? — -If theyq havenot mentioned them, the Reafon feenis ^ to be clear enough: It was,, becaufe they • knew no Inftances of the fame in their Pwn Times; and they did not chufe to record Fads, which they had no Proof nor Certainty of. This then ffiews their Wifdom and Ho nefty, and entirely wipes off the uncandid- Refledion, that they aflerted things at ran- dPm^ without any Enquiry,, in a blind and! fervJle Imitation of one or two. eminent' Lfeaders : Whereas we find, that not even the Authority Pf Irenceus, which was as high in the primitive Church as any pf his Age,;'? could induce them to go beyond the Bounds of Truth. ' Whether we know the Time, or notj there was a predfe Time, when Miracles ceafed in the Church. - . It is very proba.ble, that they did, not all ceafe at once. As* they were granted on fome peculiar Exir ^ gencies, fo they were feverally iwithdrawn, when fuch Neceffity ceafed .-i Mr. DodweWi thinks the Gift of Tongues withdrawn xr\^ properly. remarks;: But luho are they, -that /peak of it as a Gift peculiar to the Times of the Apofiles ? You fay, ti'er£ is not .. a fingle father, nuho ventures to /peak of it in any other man- tift. fVell, bring but Six Antenicene Fathers, ivh'o fpeakof hia this manner, and I ivill give up the n^hole Pmnt, p. i6o. the Miis^cviious Powers, Wc. 265 tke:Reign pf Marcus Aurelius^ I have of fered a Reafon above, which appears to me to have its "Weight, why it might very pro perly be withdrawn before) the offier mira*- cubus Gifts; iBut furely the Silence of fuc- c^ding Authors, as tP it, cannPt ffiew, that Ipmceus had np Grpunds for mentioning it. l * But no mention is made of any one par- * \ticular Perfon, after the Apoftolic Times, . * who exercifed this Gift.'— *— This Point, tho' the Gentleman is ready to " rifk the •f Meritpf his Argument upon" it, is really a; Point of no Cpnfequence; The, Meaning, I imagine, is, that we have npt the NamCre- cprded of any JVIan, who was thus honoured. But, as I faid before, I fee no Conclufion of Moment, which can be drawn fropi hence. t That ^' the Gift of Tongues cannot be P. i«r f eafily cpunterfeited," lam ready tpagiee with tins Author. But that this was the Rfei- fon, why a Claim to this Miracle was fooner dropped than a Pretence tP.jell\Free Ahfnkie'r,'^. ¦>,•]. '¦' ' ', ' ' ¦f I 0/ TiK irdi.YoiKia.t 'ttoKitai ui ^k 'jttfi.^oji'ci'i raV »«t7«' ij^i^fX/'l' rtcTf Aipaj' -«— //Jto/AJPst/i'cr/! , H, E. 1, vi, eg, ' ^' ' ^1)4 Miraculous Powers, Wc. 279 than which nothing well can be more falla cious. So that this is far from being parallel to the Reladons, which I have lindertaken tb vindicate : And yet neither has Dr. Middle- ton offered to confute it. -^ — The other In ftance does not appear to be reprefented as ftriSily miraculous. The Word TrapatTo^oK does not imply this, but only fomething wonderful, extraordinary ; as it was thought to be for the Stones, and Streets, and public Places, to be dropping and wet, when the Sky was remarkably clear and ferene. The Hifto rian indeed relates the common Talk about this, that it was occafioned by the horrible Barbarities and Impieties then pradifed by the Heathens : Which Obfervation, wheffiei: right or wrong, is none of his own ; nor does he give the Account in general, as what happened in his Prefence. Here again he might perhaps have been deceived by Re- ponts. And therefore neither tis this Cafe fimilar to'the others. , And we may call the Miracle in qiieftion, without diffielieving the other Relations of Miiracles in the primitive Church. I pafs oyer feveral - Pages without any Remark, as they relate to the Fathers of the Fourth and Fifth Centuries ; which are Without the Limits of my Defign. But in ¦ And yit. Dod=well owns this. Bac e traditione, non e fcriptis, Eufebius. Diff. in Irfen. ii. §.49- Where the Reader may fee his Defence qf this Miracle, which Defence the Enquirer takes no notice of. ^ T^4 Page 2 8o A Vindication of ths Page 156, we are told of " a total Change " — ^-both of Principles and Pradices— rbe- *' tween the Church when perfecuted, and *• when eftabliffied." — The early Chriftians, / declared thencifelves loyal to the Governr ment ; the latter prayed for the Deftrudion of fuch Emperors as difturbed them. Still this is nothing to the Miracles of the Three Firft Centuries ; nor, one would think, any thing to the Diffionpur of the early Fathers. Yet this Gentleman feems even from hence to pick up an Article of Accufation againft them ; aud, .joining all the Popiffi Writers, concludes, " that it was npt the want of p. 157. " Will, but of th,e Power only tp rebel, " which made the, primitive Chriftians fo " patient under the perfecuting Emperors, " and particularly under j^«//^7z,. &c.'' But can any thing well be ihore unjuft, than, thus to fufped the Truth of Mens Profeffions, and tp deny, that they were patient and paf- five upon Principle, for no other Reafon, than becaufe, in another Age, their Siic- ceflbrs betrayed greater Impatience ? And this Argument comes ftill worfe from Dr, Middleton, as he cannot infift upon it, with out contradiding what he had faid in thp formCjir Page of a Change of Principles ; whereas, according to this Suppofition, the Principles of them all are laid down as the f^me. However, it is fearce reconcileable to human Nature, but that Chriftians muft have ; made Miraculous Powers, Wc. 281 • madefome Attempts of Refiflance before, if they had thbught it allowable. According to the Accounts of Tertiillian andl Pliny, they did not want Numbers fufficierit to be for- , midable *. An Oppofition could not have made the Condition of many of them worfe thari it was. Such as were in immediate Dafi'ger would have had fome Chance to elcape. As to Julian, it is true, that the Chriftians treated him with great Indignation and Refentment. But then it muff not be concealed, that they had met with from him very peculiar Provocations. Their Cafe was different from that of the firft Chriftians. And Julians Oppreffions and Cruelty were greatly aggravated beyond thofe of ffie firft Perfecutors. " Is there no Difference," faith a lively Writer -f-, whofe Words however I do not altogether adopt,'" I appeal to all the " World, between being turned out as Sheep " among Wolves, whicli was the deplorable, " but unavoidable Cafe of the firft Chriftians, f and being worried by one of their own " Flock ? Has a Man no more Right nor Pri- " vilege after he is naturalized, ffian when " he was a Stranger or Alien, or accounted f' an Enemy ? Do not the fame Laws, which f forbid Men to invade other Mens Rights, • Titus Bilhof of Bojlra in Julian\i Time is faid, by Dr. Caf &c. Miraculous Powers, Wc. 29 c any juft and folid one. We faw before, that the Enquirer endeavoured to account for the Challenges of the Chriftian Apolo gifts by fuppofing a Number of People kept in Pay, and difciplined, by the Exorcifts. The Abfurdity of this was then ffiewn. And, indeed, this Gentleman feems here fenfible of it. For he deferts the Plea, and offers another not well confiftent with it. Let us examine ' this, and fee whether he has now fucceeded a^y better. The Subftance of the Scheme is, that It f;,_'9"3. was difficult to make their Apologies known to the World j that the Gofpel was fo de fpifed by the generality of the better Sort, during the Three firft Centuries, that they fearce ever enquired into its Pretenfions; that the principal Roman Writers mifrepre- fent the Chriftians, as a Set of defpidable Enthufiafts ; that, notwithftanding the Apo logies, their Condition, generally fpeaking, continued much the fame, till at laft they were eftabliffied by the Civil Power ; and that they were Conftantly infulted by their Heathen Adverfaries, as a ftupid, credulous, impious Sed, to vvhom all the public Ca lamities were conftantly imputed ; that Men of Figure cannot be fuppofed to have at all regarded the Writings of fo defpifed a Sed, not recommended by any Elegance of Style, and difcouraged by the Government ; much lefs, that the Emperor and Senate ffiould U 4 take 296 y^^ Vindication of the take any notice of thefe Apologies, or even know, that fuch were addreffed to them'j no more than the Government now would pay any regard to an Apology for the Me^ thoiifis, Moravians, or French Prophets; that, befides, before Printing, it was diffi cult to publiffi and difperfe Books ; and therefore, that the Apologies, addreffed to Emperors and Senates, were for many Years concealed and unknown to the Public, among the Faithful only, who were often expofed to capital Puniffiment, and their Books to b& burnt, if thCy difcovered them *. ¦ TJiis is the whole Strength of this Anfwer, And, in general, we may fay of this Suppo fition, that it is a downright Contradidion '" ' to the beft Hiftories '^nd Accounts we have pf thofe Ages and Tranfadions ; which leave us no room to doubt, whether the Chriftian Apologies were prefented, or not; and which intimate, that they often met with a moft t.iv.e.9, favourable Regard from the Emperors. Eu- .'3' 26, fehiui h^s given us, in Terms, Two Copies of Decrees made by Adrian and Antoninus to prevent the Chriflians from being molefted * SieeMv.Dod'weiriFree Anfwer, p, 112, iSc. where he argues from Dr. Middleton's own Conceffions and Reafonings, that the primitive Chriftians had fome Influence and Regard \& the Heathen World j enpugh tp prefent their Apologies, and to procure them a Reading : Asalib, p, 1 1 5 , wherehe obferves very appofitely, that " the Parliament has under «« Confideration, at this very time, an Addrefs from thj?. f Moravian B-cfthren : '\ Whpfe Petition, I think, they hav^ fitjicecomflied withj merely Miraculous Powers, Wc. 297 merely on account of their Profeffion. So that the Reader is left to- judge, whether it be right for him to believe the Teftimonies of thefe. Writers, as to fuch notorious Fads, which happened in or near their own Time, or any new Hypothefis, hpw ingenious fo ever, which this Gentleman has contrived,; to ward off a -prefent Difficulty. However fufpicious he may think himfelf obliged to be^ with regard to any miraculous Relation ; yet, what ffiould hinder him from believing fuch natural and probable, as well as plain and open. Occurrences ? Can it be thought, that the early Writers would thus forge Re- Jcripts of Princes, and palm them upon ffie World for genuine ? Farther, is it probable, that the Chriftian Apologifts would ever have taken Pen in hand in Defence of their Caufe, if they had thought it /)(j^i/^, that after all their Labour and Pains, their Defences wPuld never be feen or examined by thofe, to whom they intended' tp inferibe ffiem? Their under taking this'Tafk itfelf ffiews, that they ap prehended no Difficulty in prefenting them, or at leaft getting them prefented. Naturally they could not fail of endeavouring thisw Nor do we ever hear of any Complaints of any Difappointment or Repulfe, which they ever met with ; which, among other In ftances of Partiality and Injuftice which they reprefent, we ffiould certainly have heard of, .^•,. .; had 298 A Vindication of the had this been the Cafe. Nor were the later Apologifts difcouraged by any ill Succefs their Predeceffors had met with. — -No doubt but they would fecure fome Method of offering their Books to thofe, for whofe Perufal they wrote and defigned them. Nor can we think this fo very difficult, tho', perhaps, we may not be able to point out the particular Ways they took to do it *. That the Gofpel had ftrong Prejudices to encounter at firft fetting out, is but too cer tain. That Suetonius, Tacitus, and Pliny, greatly mifreprefent and abufe the Chriflians, is alfo true. That the Chriftian Applogifts afterwards complained of grofs Partiality and Injuftice ffiewn them by the Heathens, we allow. But what then ? Will it follow, that their Writings. were never prefented to, or regarded by, the Perfons, tp whom they were addreffed? This, as I juft now ob- * Eufebius, H. E. 1. 4. c. II. obferves, that Juftin Martyr had his Habitation at Rome, when he wrote his Apolbgy ; and mentions that as the Occaflon of his writing it. And we may find Proofs of its, having a good EiFeft on the, Em peror, and influencing his Refcript, in the new Edition of Juftin, Par. 1 742. Privine Spirit, the firm Belief of the Chriftian Dodrine, and the lively Hopes of Immorta lity, could carry them through thefe. I cannot but make two or three Remarks, by this way, on fome Points which this Gentleman feems to have mifreprefented. He goes too far, p. 202. in faying, that the Confeffors had Authority to reftore lapfed Chriftians , to Communion, " on what " Terms they thought fit."^ This his own Quotation from Cyprian ftiews. " Mandant p, ^^^^j " aliquid Martyres fieri? Si jufta, fi licita, " fi non contra Ipfum Dominum, a Dei f^- * Mr. Dod^oiU diftinguifli«;s between vain Glory, and a Regard to Reputation ; and allows, that the Martyrs fhewed npthing.of the former, but aimed only at the Praife of God, their Conferences, good Men, and the Church. Sec Diff. Cyp; X '* cerdot? 3o6 A Vindication of the " cerdote facienda funt." We fee here Terms laid down ; and that, according to this leather, they were tobe obliged in nothing but what was lawful, juft, and innocent. And that he gives Diredions to the Martyrs them felves, may be feen from his tenth Epiftle. P. 202. Again, the Dodor appears to bear too hard Note. upon the Charaders of fome antient Confeffors ; when he reprefents Cyprian as complaining of their being puffed up with Pride on account of the Title of Martyrs, and giving great Difturbance to the Peace and Difcipline of the Church. The Epiftles of St. Cyprian, here referred to, fay nothing like this. On Ep. 10. the contrary, in one of them he tells the Martyrs and Confeffors, that he heard, that they were preffed by the Impudence of fome, and their Modefty fuffered a kind of Violence, viz. to petition for the Reftor ation of the Lapf ed to the Communion of the Church. ' ' Au- " dio impudentia vos quorund^m pre- *' mi, et verecundiam veftram vim pati" — Is this the Language of one, who complains of Pride? In the next Page we are told, " that the Souls of ordinary Chriftians were to pafs to their final Blifs through a Purgation by ' Fire." As this is not explained, common Readers may apprehend, that the Fathers be lieved fuch a Purgatory, as is one of the Tenets of the Church of Rome. And therefore, topreventfuch aMiftake, Notice ffipuldhave 4 been tc ¦ We are told of another Notion, which was fufficient of itfelf "to efface all the Ter- *¦'• rors of Martyrdom ;" that, under all their Torments, " the Martyrs were miraculoufly .',* freed from all Senfe of Pain, nay, felt " nothing but Tranfports of Joy" — And that they were fupported by fome extraordinary divine Confolationis, I think certain enough. Without fuchs, human Nature muft have fainted under the Affiidions they endured; And I can eafily allow, that the Prpfped of fuch Comforts had its Share in enciJUfaging them ivnracuious rowers, ysrc. 309 them to fuffer. Yet ftill it cannot be proved, that it was generally believed, that all the Martyrs were freed from Senfe of Pain, and efpecially not in the three firft Centuries. But, however, how does this take off from the additional Weight of their Credit and Tefti- njony ? This is the Point we are to keep in View, and this does not appear affeded here by. Could bad Men, who had been concerned in inventing, or wilfully promoting, Delu fions and Forgeries, exped any of thefe hea venly Comforts ? Nor does fuch Expedation detrad from the Charader of the Martyrs. It is itfelf a moft heroic Ad of Faith and Confidence in God. The laft Motive this Gendeman men- P. 208. tions, is, " the Scandal of flying from Perfe- " cutipn,and the Infamy which attended the " lapfed Chriftians ; fo as to make Life hardly *' fupportable to thofe, who through Fear of " the Rack, and a cruel Death, had been " tempted to deny their Faith — which To- " pics, when difplayed with Art and Elo- " quence by their abieft Teachers, were fuf.. *' ficient to influence the Multitude to what " Pitch of Zeal they pleafed" Now, not to fay, that thefe very Teachers ffiewed their Sincerity, as well as Eloquence, by taking the Lead, and fetting an Example, of fuffer ing; what is there in all this, that can leffen the Authority of the Sufferers, or ffiew, that this is not heightened by their Martyrdom ? X 3 Is 3 10 A Vindicati(m of the Is It at all probable, that' artful and cunning Men would be' fwayed by the Fear of Infamy to hazard their Lives? That g6od Men might be rouzed and alarmed by the Profped of an immenfe Happinefs fet before them, is eafy to be conceived. But who can' think, that bad Men would be thus influenced? That niere Shame, and the Fear of Difgrace, would drive them ihto Tortures and Death ? '-^ Be fides, is it fo certain, fuppofing them to havts been affeded by Shame, that th6^ Principle would operate this Wayt Was there no Scan^ dai to be dreaded from the Heathen World, and which they were fure to incur by Suffer ings? Power, Authority; and Worldly Ad-^ vantages, were Certainly on the Side of their Perfecutors. Contempt and Infamy from this Quarter were the Portion of the Perfecuted! The way to Honour and Rewards lay open to the Deniers of their Religion. And can' -we fuppofe, that any but good Men would affert it at the Expence of Life itfelf? Would hot all others rather be afraid of the Difgrace, which attended Suffering, than that, which attended falling from their Diity ? If a Man does not ad on the beft and higheft Princi ples, 'tis eafy to fay, which way this of Shame will carry him'. He will be content to favd his Life, and to efcapc whole and found, though w'ith fome Difgrace, which for pri vate Perfons might not be fo very great, if they continued among the Heathens efpeci ally; MuracuiOus JuOvv-exS, 3fc. 311 aJ[ly;and which he may alfo hope to oudive, ^nd to wipe off by his future 'Cpndud. And we ^nay add, that fuch, as returned back to the <^hurch, fuffered fo much, that they gave a like .Proof of their Sincerity that the Martyrs themfelves, gave, ;j^ Notwithftanding then (thefe feverai In- dnecment§ to Martyrdom, .which have been here reckoned up, we fee, that this is a pro per Teft of the Charaders of Men ; and that it is a diftindive Sign of , their Sincerity and Truth : And, indeed, fo it proved in thofe Times. For, however ftrong .the Encourage ments may now appear, yet they were far from influencing all. In thofe Days of Trial, the, Unfettled, the Wicked, the Hy pocrites, ,tl>e. Weak, and Timorous, flinched and deferte^ ; i^sin all fuch Ca.fes it is natural to fuppofe they .would do. - But " the Heretics alfo h^d their Martyrs, P-2»9' « as well as ffie OrthpdpJ?," This all Hiftpry is faid to inform us. JBut Eufebius only .is cited : And, he does not appear to me tp fay any fuqh Thing. From fome Writer, of the fecond Centuryj whom he does not name, he gives us a loiig Extrad, concerning I^pntams,. &c. in ;vvhich we have a Chal lenge to produce " any of his Followers, who.H.E.L.v. " had been perfecuted by the Jews; or who C- '^• '^ had been killed by wicked Perfons; or " who had been taken and crucified for the *' Name of Chrifi; or of any Woman, who X 4 « had 312 A Vindication of th& *f had been fcourged or ftoned in the Jewifh *' Synagogues. — Ee' t/s, w CsP^Tiq-oi, n-arcoit TCi)v aTTo .Movlocve 3ta» yuvctlicuv AaAeic ctp^c£fA.i- vai.v,.os TIS viTQ louS'aioiv S<^icop(yfi, n vtto Trapa.- VQfJLKv airiyClav^ ; ouS'eis' ouS^e ys ra avim xpx- TifiSreis VTrep tov ovdjJiarQi a,ve<^avp6om ', ov yad ovv' ovS's jxm ovS'i sv'- (rvvayuyais lovS^Mcov Tcav yvvo-i-KOiv TH Sfjiac^iycMY) ttots, '- 7) iKi^oQoXri^i/i ; ovS-afj^ocre ovS'afi.Mi. So far then- this Author is plainly and fully againft the Reality of any Martyrs amongft the Mclntanifh. The fame Author afterwards confiders the Boafts, which thefe. Heretics made of* their Mar tyrs, and the Conclufion, which they drew from this Pretencfc in their Favour. He fays„ that " this is not at all truer than their other *' Pretences. For fome of the other Herev *' fies have, or boaft of having, many Mar- " tyrs; but we do not therefore affent to •' them^-r— The Followers of Memo^ fay, " that they have many Martyrs of Chrift *' among them ; and yet they do not in " Truth confefs. Chrift Himfelf;" To^ser'f apa,^ w} SDLX&,, irawoi y.aKh.bv ovv. uXnSrBs' icai yap tcov aAActiv cctpecrSuv nrLvss, irXitc^ovi^ ca-ovi e^qvai (forte legendum * av^ovai) fJiap- Tvpas' xai qv Tuba rovro J^^ tov a-vyxara^n- * Valefius' i Tranflation ftrengthens this Conjefture. P/a- rimosfe habere Martyres prtedicant. And a little before this Word is ufed, irpi tb? ctfT^Ki'T-J; ««<*?• ¦'/es.f ku e.ujav IM/v fif Ti/piwojsf e^^l'. And it is vifibly the Wr^er's Intentiqn through the Wliofs }o tlenj the Montanifts the Title qf Martyrs^ ' ' ' ¦ " ". ' Miraculous Powers, Wc. 313 tofxSct. MapxiwvLc^at yjaXovfjiivoi tt^vSk^ovs wovs'S'^iivyipLc^'ouft.-iscprvpsdKsyoucnv' ochXa tqv ye 'Kp^'^ov avTov xaTa.ahn'^iiay QV^ofxoAoyoua'iv. If the flight Emendatioal have offered, be received, here is no Teftimony of any real Martyrs among the Heretics. And indeed, as )ffiefe are placed on a-Level with the M?«- tof^fts, whofe Claims hehad before fb diredly denied, this moft probably is the Senfe of the Baffage. ' And the Argument requires only, that the Heretics laid in their Claims or Boafts of having Martyrs/ but were never the more to be regarded or believed — Then fol lows the Paffage quoted in the Enquiry. " When any of the Church, who had been " called to Martyrdom for the true Faith, " . accidentally met with any of the Cataphry- *-* gian Herefy, who are faid to be Martyrs, " they even then no way join them; apd, V having no Communion with them, fepa- V rating from them, finiffi their Courfe." ^TTiiS'av 01 STFi TO TJJS xaTa ocXv^siav TTK^ecas fnaprvpiov y-AriSrsviei cciro tjjs ejocAnaiai tv- •^wai fJLiTa Tivcov tmv cctto Tris tcov ^pvycuiv eupeaecai XiyojAivasv /JLapTvpoov, S'ia(pepovlai ts ¦Trpos ctvlousy.itat f/.n ycoivm.vrl^diy'ki avlois Te?\.6iovv Tai. In this Sentence it is obvious to obferve a plain Oppofition. The Menof the Chiirch are faid to have been called to Martyrdom, ffie Montanifts to have heen faid to be Mar tyrs; intimating very plainly the one to be rffll, and the other only pretended. So, that . , • this 314- A Vindication of the . this Paffage makes againft Dr. Middkton- s Suppofition, and not for it.- r.. Icanpotbutobfervefartherjthathemiftranf- lates the Paffage. He renders the laft Words /?» refufe all Communion with each other; where as it was the Catholics only, who refufed Communion with the Montanifts,, not allpvyv^ ing them to have been real Martyrs, i^nd detefling the Spirit by which they* aded. The Enquiry alfo refers us to the Eigh-r teenth Chapter of the fame Book ; but nei ther will this anfwer his Purpofe. There is indeed mention naade in it of two pretended Martyrs among the Montanifts. One was Themifon, who,,\srhen he was in the Com munion of the Church, had been in Chains. fop the Faith; but by a large Sum of Money , had bought his Liberty ; and,, being under^^f ftood to have .defer ted his Profeffion, an4- th^efore hated by all Chriftians,.turned Mon* tajfifi,. and gloried in the Title of Martyr *; O jic» ^ac^ctaas Tns-ofJioKoyias- to (rnjJiiiov, aXXm TrAjjfigj ^^-nfj-ot^c/t^v acTro^efjLSves Ta d'so'fJt.a,' Here, while he could be faid to be a Martyr, he was no Heretic. And furely fuch an Hypocrite cannot be compared with the antient Martyrs. Nor will their Credit fink with his The next Inftance is ftill worfe; Akxpnder wa^ puniffied for Thefts, and; other Wickednefs, and not for the Name of Chrift, from whofe Faith he had before • Vid. Cave. Hift. Lit, quoted in theNotes. Ed. Reading. • apofta- M!i!^culous Po^Vers, Wc. 315 rfpoftatized. Btit, in order to gain his Rdeafe through the Intereft of fome Chriftians, who had Power with the Judge, he pretended to l3iem, that ht fdffered for the Name of Chrift, -^— This is the Account We have from Eu- fMus and Ruffinus; and" of fiwh Martyrs Herefy is welcome to make its Boaft. ' 'Thefe are;' all the Authorities ffie Gentle- man has offered; and fure they are very ih- ftifteient ^^ But fiippb'fe he had proved his Point: Let us fuppofe, for Argumentation- fake, that fome of the antient Hereticks had Courage and Refold tipn enough to undergo Mai^tyrdom for what they thought to be the Truth : Wotild it follow from hence, "that they were inftncere bad Men, or that Mar tyrdom is not the bed Trial and Proof of the Honefty and Integrity of a Man's Heart ? So far from it; ffiat I think we muft (conclude, on the other hand, that, notwithftanding the Efrors, which thefe Perfons entertained, and fell into, they thoroughly believed the Caufej for.' Vvhich ' they fuffered. Hpwever credu lous Pr deceived themfelves, they had no Fraud, no Defign to deceive others. And thus far therefore an additional Weight is added even to their Atithority — On the Whole, fuppofing an Equahty in other re fpeds ; equal Abilities, equal Opportunities of knowitig' the Truth, equal' Care in fearch- inginto it ; the Teffimony of a Martyr, as fuch, muft have the Preference above that of any 3 1 6 A' Vindication of the any other. It is more furely to be relied up on, becaufe we can have little or no Reafon to fufped or doubt his Veracity. , 209. But " among the orthodox Martyrs them- *' felves there were many [proud, con- " tentious, drunken, and leud] as St. Cy- " prian complains, who, after they had nobly " fuftained the Trial of Martyrdom, and •* efcaped with Life from the 'Torments of *' their Perfecutors, yet by a petulant, fa- ^' dious, and profligate Behaviour, 'gave great " Scandal and Difturbance to the Difcipline " of the Church." I own that fome, vftno had been Confeffors, are taxed with grofs Faults. But this Father never once infi- nuates, that they were thus guilty before their Confeffon. And, unlefs this was the Cafe, no Conclufion can be drawn to the Difcredit of the Teftimony of Confeffors, and much lefs of Martyrs in general. The beft of Men are liable to fall, and have at all times need of ftrid Caution, and a watchful Guard over themfelves. But can this affed their Authority and Veracity, while they continued upright ? Confeffors might fome times be expofed to fpiritual Pride, and be taken in this Snare of ffie Devil, after they had glonoufly ffiewn their Sincerity, and proved the Strength of their Faith : And they might from hence be led into other Ads of Wickednefs. But furely, when thdy made their ConfeffiPn, we muft efteem them to Miraculous Powers, Wc. 31'^ to have been honeft and good Men ; or elfe I cannot fee, that we can have Reafon ever to efteem any fuch. The Gentleman takes Occafion to let his P. 211. Readers! kiibw the Difference between the N°'^- ^.Name of Martyr,' and- that of Confeffor. V'This "Pointvdiies not appear, of mucli Im portance. T Neither am I fure, that thefe •Titles Were not fometimes' ufed promifeu- 'f<5w/?/^.' However, his Account of the Con- -'ifeflors feems imperfed: Rigakius, in the ^"Place-to which he refers us, mentions thefe, ¦^ 'not only as fuch, as, after having made Pro- feffionstpf their Faith before the Magiftrates, were barely committed to Prifon, which is the Enquirer's Defcription of them; but as Men, whofhad fuffered Baniffiment, or the i Lofs of their Goods, for ffieName of Chrift. isf^t ^^ * " Confeffor dicatur, qui interrogatus a prje- Cypr. If sf' fide, vel proconfule, aliifve fecuU potefta- % ^• ' " tibus, Chriftianum fe effe profeffus eft; - "" vel ob Chrifti nomen exilium, carcerem, "¦' *' et bonorum fuorum: damna pertulit." I mentionJthisy obiter., only as an Inaccuracy. Not that I wholly agree with Rigaltius^ who ^^ppfopriates Torments to the Martyrs. For, though the fame Perfons are ^fometimes in- ' difcriminately ftyled either Martyrs or Cpn- feftbrs; yet it is plain from St. Cyprian, that thefe laft had endured Torments. And * Vid. Suicer. in voce Motfzus" where he cites Nazianzen as calling the Confeffors ^»(^«f fnajri/f aji. there- 31-8 A Vindication of the therefore, where thefe Titles are ufed- accu rately, and in Contradiftindion to each other, I rather think, that Death was the great Cir cumftance, which made the Difference ; and that none were thus properly Martyrs, but fuch *, as had refifted even unto Death; whereas all others, however perfecuted, were in the Clafs of Confeffors. This was the Senfe of thofe mentioned by Eufebius, who had been tortured under M^ Aurelius and L. Ver us -f-. The Remainder of this Note is taken up with reprefenting a Difference of Opinion be tween theTimes of Polycarp and TertuUian, about the Lawfulnefs of withdrawing from Martyrdom, or flying from Perfecution. What has this to do with the prefent Que ftion ? How does it detrad from the Vera^- city of Martyrs ? TertuUian, efpecially after he turned Montanift, Was a warm Man, and apt to be, too rigid, and' to carry fome Points too far. This has always been ackriowledg- ed. And if we fuppofe his Sentiments on the prefent Point an Inftance of his intem perate Zeal, or a Confequence of thjs Change, I know no bad Confequence, which we need apprehend from the Conceffion. St. Cypri an's Condud and Plea have been both con fidered at large. Andy L truft, it has not ap peared, that his Temper, or ffie Temper of * Vid. Suicer, otj.oKo-yw\ni. ' f H. E. 5, 2. Vid. Enquiry, p. 2oz. that Mirltculous Powers, Wc. 319 that Age in general, was fo enthufiaftic and vifionary, as it is here again reprefented. I cannot, however, but obferve, that even this Gendeman here intimates, that St. Cyprian's Retreat was agreeable to " the Precept " and Example of our Saviour; the Pra- " dice of His Apoftles ; and the Evangeli- " cal Martyrdom of St. Polycarp." So that this Father could be under no fort of Necef fity tP pretend a Divine Vifipn, and imme diate Diredion from Heaven, in order to ex cufe and apologize for himfelf. To which we may add, that TertuUian was not follow ed in the auftere Opinion mentioned above, by the eminent Writers of his Time. Dr. Middleton in this very Note owns, that Cle mens Alexandrinus, who flouriffied with him, differed from him intirely. And I fee no Reafon to think, that Clemens had not the Senfe of the Generality with him. This Gentleman has thought proper to conclude his Refledions on the Cafe of Mar tyrdom, with a moft remarkable Paragraph, which is abfolutely irreconcileable with the Whole that he has offered on this Subjed. " It is not my Defign to detrad in any man- P. 212; " ner from the real Merit and juft Praife of *' .thofe primitive Martyrs, who with an in- *' vincible Conftancy fuftained the Caufe of " Chrift, at the Expence of their Lives." Whatever hxsDeftgn was, which is beft known to himfelf, and with which an Opponent has nothing 3 2o A Vindication of ths nothing to do ; if his Arguments had had juft Force, they have a plain Tendency to detrad from the Credit' of thofe holy Men. The Purport of what has been urged, is, that, befides the Hopes of Immortality, there were feveral low and unworthy Motives, fuch as Obftinacy, vain Glory, and Fear of Shame, which may be thought to have influenced the firft Chriftians, and fometimes to have animated even bad Men to ehdure Mar- T. 123. tyrdom; and that even to thofe who fuffered it from the Profped Of gaining everlafting Happinefs, it gave no additional Weight to their Evidence. Now, if this was the Cafe, how can we prove, that any primitive Mar tyrs were not of this Number, thus animated, ' and thus bad ? or that the beft of them are to be credited? Whenever their Authority- is urged, the Anfwer, according to this Schepie, is ready : They might be, for ought we know, led by falfe Zeal, Obftinacy, '^f. And therefore their Goodnefs,Truth, and Sin- . cerity, cannot be depended upon. And what Reply can any one make, on the Foot of this Gentleman's Suppofitions ? However, I readily accept this Conceffion, which is better late than never ; as alfo that which immediately follows, which i recom mend to the Confideration of all our Readers. •' It is reafonable to believe, that, generally *' fpeaking, they [the primitive Martyrs] *' were the beft Sort of Chriftians, diftin- *' guiffied Miraculous Powers, Wc. 3 2 1 " guiffied by their exemplary Zeal and Piety; " and the chief Ornaments of the Church in " their feveral Ages." If the Dodor doth not comprehend Sincerity and common Ho nefty under the Charader of Piety ; he inakes a Satire on the primitive Martyrs, under. the Colour of a Panegyric : And furely he muft comprehend .them, as in another Place he p. 21.1, admits Martyrdom to prove Sincerity. And therefore I cannot look on the Sentence juft dted as lefs than a Retradation. Then, I hope jEthey were free from all Sufpicion of Craft, ,i|bove every Defign or Defire to deceive, and Ae(etving to have their Words taken, where it does not from other Confiderations appear, that they were impofed upon~ themfelves. And how then can we reconcile this with the Pofition we had above, that " this ve- " nerabfe Name made no real Difference in " the perfonal Charaders of Men, nor ought " to give any additional Weight to the Au- " thority of a Chriftian Witnefs ?" . Several of the Writers, whofe Teftimo nies we have appealed to for the Truth of Miracles in their Days, are Part of the noble Army of Martyrs and Confeffors. And it .gives us, methinks, but a melancholy Idea of thofe early Times, as well as a ftrong Proof of ffie Power of Prejudice, to think, that .thefe Perfons., allowed to be " the beft Sort " of Chriftians, diftinguiffied by their ex- " emplary Zeal and Piety, and the chief y " Orna- 322 A Vindication of the " Ornaments of the Church in their feveral " Ages ;" in fine, that thefe, than whom no more honourable Martyrs after the Days of theApoftles, and their Contemporaries, can be produced ;. were notwithftanding guilty, as we have feen them reprefented, of concur ring in Frauds, if not inventing them, and defignedly impofing upon us by Lyes and Fidions^ If this be the juft Charader of the greateft and beft Men of thofe Ages, what ffiall we think of. the generality of Chri ftians ? It is but juft, that the Charge of mifre- prefenting ffiould fall, where it is due. And it is matter of Pleafure, that the Perfons, who feem moft inclined to diftruft the pri mitive Martyrs, ffiould find themfelves at laft. ohliged to allow them the Praife of Integrity. We own, what this Gentleman adds, " that " they Were fubjed ftill to the fame Paf- " fions. Prejudices, and Errors, which were *' common to all the other pious Chriftians "' of the fame Age." Yet ftill it is incon fiftent wiffi real Piety in any Age, to forge, tp falfify, or wilfully to mifreport. " My fole View therefore is, to expofe *' the Vanity of thofe extravagant Honours, " and that idolatrous .Worffiip, which are " paid to them indifcriminately by the " Church of Rome -, and to ffiew efpecially, " that the Circumftance of their Martyr- " dom, while it gives the ftrongeft Proof " of Miraculous Powers, Wc. 322 " of the Sincerity of their Faith and Truft " in the Promifes of the Gofpel, adds no- " thing to the Charader of their Knowledge, " or their Sagacity ; nor confequently, any " Weight to their Teftimony, in Preference " to that of any other juft and devout Chri- " ftian whatfoever." Now, not to infift upon the Impropriety of mentioning thefe as a file View, which are evidently^ /we diftinB Defigns.^ to be profecuted in different Waysj I anfwer, Firft, That if the Gendeman had fet out with telling us, that thefe were his only Intentions, he might have faved him felf and his Readers fome Trouble ; and he might have urged other Arguments much more applicable to his Purpofe. Idolatry is. more eafily to be guarded againft, and dif proved, by other Topics both from Reafon, atid Scripture, than by ffiewing, that bad Men might be fometimes induced by bad Motives to fuffer Martyrdom. The Church of Rome is not likely to pay much Attention to fuch Reafonings as thefe. And I know no one, either Papift or Proteftant, who has ever thought, or is under any Temptation to think, that Martyrdom alone wfll always evince a Man's Knowledge or Sagacity. And yet, it certainly is the higheft Argument of his good Faith and Sincerity ; and therefore adds greatly to his Credibility as a Witnefs. Nor is it once to be imagined, that they, who have a fincere Faith and Truft in the Pro- y a mifes 324 A Vindication cf the mifes of the Gofpel, would willingly impofe upon us. The Perfuafion of thefe Principles muft be our beft Security againft fuch de figned Frauds. 2. 'Tis obvious to obferve the great Dif ference, which appears in the Entrance and Conclufion of the Obfervations on this par ticular Point. Then, Dr. Middleton propofed to ffiew, that Martyrdom " made no reial " Difference," ^. ^. as he muft mean, evi dences none, " in ffie perfonal Charaders of "Men:" Now, " it gives the ftrongeft " Proof of the Sincerity of their Faith and " Truft in the Promifes of the Gofpel"— Then, " it ought not to give any additional *' Weight to the Authority of a Chriftian " Witnefs :"^Now, it only " adds nothing " to the Charader of their Knowledge,^ br " their Sagacity ; nor confequently, any " Weight to their Teftimony, in Prefereiice " to that of any other juft and devout Chri- " ftian, whatfoever." So that it ffiould feem, that Knowledge and Sagacity are the only Qualifications in a Chriftian Witnefs ; or, that every Chriftian Witnefs muft neceffarily .he juft and devout ; the firft of which is con trary to Reafon, and the laft to Experience. —To folve thefe appearing Contradidions will call for all the Dodor's Ingenuity and Acumen. Confcious of far inferior Abili ties, I ffiall not fo much as attempt it. 3. But I cannot difmifs the Point, with out Miraculous Powers, Wc. 325 out making a Remark on ffie laft Sentence cited; which implies, that Martyrs are no more credible, than any other juft and ¦devout Chriftian. There feems tp be a Fallacy lurking here : A juft and de- vput Chriftian, we knpw, will not deceive. And therefore fuppofing, that we are fure, a Witiiefs is fuch, we may fo far depend upon him, whether he be a Martyr or not. But, confidering the Cprruptipn and Hyppcrify, which prevail in the World, and which often put on the Semblance of Juftice and Devotion; it is not always fo eafy a Matter to acquire a fufficient Knowledge of the real Charader of a "Witnefs. And here we cannot poffibly ,fcave any better Help than the Circumftance of Martyrdom. This therefore gives a real Weight tp any one's Teftimony, preferably to that of* all others, as it gives the greateft Afliirance, that he is an honeft, good Man, incapable of Fraud or Craft. 5 E c T. 4. How far the Enquiry tends to fet 'aftde the Faith of Hiftory. 'T^HE laft Objedion this Gentleman fets ^ himfelf to anfwer, is, that to rejed the unanimous Reports of the Fathers, will de ftroy the Credit of qU Hiftory. The Gentle men, whp a,re more immediately concerned in this, can want none of iny Affiftance to vindicate them, A.nd therefor? I ffiall not break into their Province ; but take notice y 3 *^"^y 326 A Vindication of the only of a few. things, which diredly relate to the Authority of the Miracles which I have been defending. To fpeak my own Sentiments, there ap pears to me to be fome Force in the Obje dion. I am very far from pleading for the receiving aU the Notions of our Anceftprs indifcriminately, or without due Examina- P- Z14, tion. This Point, tho' here confounded with ^'5-. the Matter of the Objedion, has really no thing to do with it. The Faith of Hiftory in general, and the falfe Opinions pf our Forefathers, arfe as diftind Things, as can be conceived. We may rejed the one, and yet be very tender of deftroying the other *. Neither do I think, that we arc under any Neceffity of admitting all the Relations of the Fathers. There are great Differences be tween them. A proper Enquiry "and Judg ment even here has its Place. Some may reafonably be rejeded : We may think, that fome Wonders were trifling or accidental, or * If the Dodlor's Defign here was to infinuate, that it is as unreafonable to condemn his Scheme on account of its be ing a >»ere No'velty, as it was in the Heathens to condemn the firft Chriftians, or the Papifts the Reformers ; I ajifwer, ? . That we do not condemn him altogether on this Account; and, 2 .The Cafes are very difparate, unlefs he can prove his Opinion to be a Point ofConfcience ; ia.nd IheW, that the allowing the Miracles of the three Firft Centuries at leaft is equally big with Errors, both in Doftrine and Praftice, as Paganifm and Popery are ; and prove his Scheme to be true, and agreeable to God's Will, as clearly and fully, as the primitive Chri ftians and the Prbteftants have maintained and defended their Religion. 5 done Miraculous Powers, Wc. 327 done at tpo great a Diftance of Time, or Place, or both, or too fecredy. And in thefe, and fuch-like Cafes, ffie Relators might have been , deceived themfelves by falfe Accounts. A few Inftances of fuch we have feen in the Courfe of thefe Papers — Other Miracles are not only of a more important Nature, of the fame Kind with thofe mentioned in Scripture, but are reprefented, as having been done openly and frequently, in the very Times of the Re lators, fometimes before their Eyes, always near enough for thefe to fearch into them, and to difprove them> if they had been falfe. — Thefe Fads are reported hy feveral fober, Jerious, pious Witneffes, who had conquered the Prejudices of Education; Men of Know- «* ledge and Learning ; to whofe Labours the fubfequent civil Eftabhffiment of our Reli- ,gion feems, under God, to have been greatly 'owing; Men, who hadnoTemptationsor Views of any prefent Pleafure, worldly Honour, or temporal Profit ; and, laftly, who manifefted their Sincerity and Faith by chearfully fuf fering for Confcience-fake all Cruelties and Indignities, and even laying down their Lives with Patience and Courage, for the Truth of that Rehgion, they taught and maintained. Such were the Works, and fuch the Au thorities, which I have been defending. And let any cool unprejudiced Perfon, who at tends to all thefe Circumlliances, and com pares what has been offered againft them, viz. Y 4 the 328 A Vindication of the the few Errors of Judgment, which thefe Fathers fell into ; the few Miftakes which they were under, with regard to other Mat ters of Fad, which they could not have fuch Evidence of; the imaginary Suppofitions of their being credulous, deceived, in 'Matters of common Occurrence, or of their being concerned in promoting a Fraud ; with all the others, mofi of which are abfolutely im probable, and every one of them unfupported by any Evidence: Let any fuch Perfon, I fay, lay all thefe Things together, and judge for himfelf, whether greater Evidence can reafonably be defired in fuch a Cafe, than we have, that Miracles did not ceafe in the pri mitive Church, till after the End of ffie Third Century ; and wheffier we can have ftronger Grounds to depend on any other Accounts whatever, thofe of Scripture ex cepted, if we rejed thefe. If Witneffes thus qualified are not to be believed, it is not eafy to fay, what merely human ones can deferve our Credit. A Man may fit down to the read ing any Author with captious Difpofitions, picking and chufing out of him, what Fads he will rejed as incredible, and for which he will receive no Evidence whatever; and, on the other hand, what he will approve of or admit, tho' in no refped better attefted. This Men may do, and I believe have often done. But furely this can never be called a fair Enquiry, or building any thing upon the Faith Miraculous Powers, Wc. 329 Faith of Hiftory. It is humouring and in dulging . their own Prejudices and Fancies, and tends to render all hiftorical Truth un certain. The Credit of an antient Witnefs of Things probable depends altogether upon his Knowledge of the Fads he relates, and ;Upon his Veracity. Where thefe may be juftly fuppofed, we cannot defire npr demand any more. And if we will oppofe his Tefti mony upon any Diflikes or Surmizes, or from any other Principle whatever, we have equal Right to oppofe the plaineft Teftimony of •another Witnefs ; every one will have a Right to do the fame that we have; and thus the Authority of Hiftory muft foon be reduced to nothing — -As therefore the primitive Fa thers have been ffiewn to have the neceffary and fufficient Qualifications mentioned above, this Confequence muft follow the fetting afide . their Authority, and diffielieving all their Accounts of Miracles, " During the three Firft Centuries, the p. 216 " whole World in a manner not onlydoubt- " ed, but rejeded the Miracles of the primi- :*' tive Chriftians" By this, I fuppofe, the Author means the- Pagan World. And this their Condud was owing to a Negled of due Enquiry and Examination, and to an unreafonable Prejudice againft, and an ex travagant Contempt of, the Ckriftians. And the fame Principles led them alfo to a Denial pf the Miracles of Chrifi and His Apoftles them» p. 330 A Vindication of the themfelves ; I mean to deny, that thefe were worked by a Divine Power; for the Fads neither the Jews nor Heathens could deny, tho' they would not admit the Confequences. And in any other Senfe the Gentleman will,, I believe, find it very hard to prove, that they rejeded the Miracles of the primitive Chriftians. 'Tis true, they did not enough attend to them ; they 'did not draw the Ufe from them, which they fhould have done; for, if they had, they would have been con verted to Chriftianity. But I never knew, that they openly oppofed and confuted them ^ nor do we find, in any of their Writings ex tant, any dired Denial of the Truth of thefe Pretences and Claims. If there had been any fuch, this inquifitive Gentleman would, I dare fay, have laid it before his Readers, as fuch a Counter^Evidence would have had more Weight, ffian all his Suppofitions. Sect. 5. The Evidences for Miracles and common Events compared and confidered. np H E Enquirer again argues, " that the •¦- " Hiftory of Miracles is of a Kind to- " tally different from that of common " Events; the one to be fufpeded always *' of courfe, without the ftrongeft Evidence " to confirm»it ; the other to be admitted of *' courfe, without as ftrong Reafon to fu- *' fped it." Now grantingjthat Miracles ffiould have Miraculous Powers, Wc. 331 have ftronger Evidence than other Fads ; yet as they are Fads, the Evidence for them muft ftill be the fame in kind with that of all others. It muft be Teftimony, And I readily own, that mere Honefty will not be fufficient to intitle this to our Regard ; and that a fufficient Knowledge of the Fads is alfo neceffary. But it appears to be as eafy •to gain a fufficient Knowledge of thefe; as • of any others of the moft common Nature. In many Cafes, a very little Experience and Difcernment will help Men to judge of their whole Nature and Circumftances, No extraordinary Wifdom, no critical Abilities, are wanted to enable a Man to be a Witnefs of the miraculous Cures of Difeafes, for in- i, ftance. Common Senfe, and common Ob fervation, will be enough to guard againft Im poftures of this kind. And I muft beg to repeat an Obfervation before made, that we find the moft common and plain Perfons ' chofen by God, to be vouchfafed the Honour, not only of feeing our Lord's Miracles, but of being appointed to teftify and record them. Weaknefs is indeed fiable to Impofi tions. But a Man muft be extreme weak in deed, not fit to report and atteft the com- moheft Event, who, when he fees a Man raifed from the Dead, or healed immediately and miraculoufly of an old bad Difeafe, cannot diftinguiffi the Hand and Finger of God, and cannot make a credible Report of fuch mi raculous 332 .^^ Vindication o/* /y5^ raculous Works ; or who can eafily miftake the Craft of cunning Jugglers for fuch Works as thefe. A Perfon muft be credulous to a Degree of Madnefs itfelf, and not fit to be trufted in any Account he gives, who can be perfuaded, that he fees fuch Fads ppenly done, which are not done. The Extent of human Art, or natural Powers, he may not indeed be thoroughly acquainted with. But this will not hinder him from being, in many Cafesi fure, that no human Art, no natural Powers, can produce fuch and fuch mighty Works. It calls for no extraordinary Judgment to guard againft Impofitions in thefe Cafes. It may be proper here to put together the fevdal Circumftances, which may at any time render a miraculous Relation juftly fufpeded ; that we may know better what Degree of Evidence ffiould attend it. If the Fads are not of an open public Nature, done plainly, or at leaft appearing in their Confe quences plainly, before the Eyes of Men ; if they are worked only in the Prefence of Friends, or prejudiced Perfons; if the Wit neffes lived many Years after they were work ed, and had no Opportunities of examining them, nor any Authority more than Hear fay and Report for them ; if they are of a trifling Nature, and unworthy of fuch a pe culiar and extraordinary Exertion of Divine Power; if the Occafions of working them evidently appear too mean and idle, and there be Miraculous Powers, Wc. 333 be no fufficient Reafon for the Almighty's interfering; if they are produced in fupport of any known Error or Vice, or ferve fome ¦fecular End, and prefent Intereft and Power ; if they are overpowered and controuled by other and fuperior Miracles ; if the Reporters of them wanted cpmmon Abilities, or com mon Integrity and Honefty, and may, rea fonably Tie thought deceived, or Deceivers ¦ In all thefe Cafes there will be room to fufped the Report, And by attending to slhefe Circumftances, we may at any time be able to diftinguifh between Impoftures and the Truth We fee, that the Qualifi cations of the Hiftorians are much the fame, whether they relate miraculous or common Fads ; and that the Difference of Evidence requifite to affure us of thofe, relates to other Points. And furely , both the Knowledge and the Honefty of an Hiftorian and Witnefs may be fully depended upon ; tho' it ffiould appear, that in other refpeds^ relating to Matters of Opinion only, 'or to diftant Fads, he was credulous or miftaken^ 1 will add, that not one of the Circumftances, which I have here mentioned; as deftroying the Cre dit of a Miracle, appears in the Accounts of thofe I have defended. Sect. 334 •^ Vindication of the Sect. 6. Real Miracles not the lefs to be belie'sed, on account of Pretences to them. P. 218. 'T^ HIS Gendeman obferves, that " a Pre- -»¦ f tenfion to Miracles has, in all Ages " and Nations, been found the moft effedual " Inftrument of Impoftors," ^c. Several In ftances of this are produced at large from hence to the End of his Book — This indeed ffiould put us upon our Guard, that we do not fwallow all fuch without Examination, nor give hafty and implicit Credit to every bold Pretender. If we diligently try the falfe Miracles by the Rules I have put together, we ffiall find, that fome or other of the Cir cumftances belong to them j and they will not be able to bear the Teft, nor ought there fore to be put upon a Level with the Mi racles of the three firft Centuries In gene ral, we may fay, that falfe Miracles are no fort of Arguments againft true ones; any more than any falfe Reafonings, or other Pretences and Counterfeits, are againft Reali ties. Nay, falfe Miracles in fome meafure bear Witnefs to the Authority of Miracles, and ffiew it to be the common Senfe and Opi nion of Mankind, not only, that there have been fuch, but that they are the beft Means of Convidion, and the ftrongeft Confirma- . tion of a Revelation. Otherwife, Impoftors would never have been encouraged to lay Claim Miraculous Powers, Wc. 335 Claim to them, nor p^ended to imitate them. We may be very fure, that there never would have been any fuch thing as counter feit Money in the World, if true Coin had not been valuahle and current. When therefore any Miracles are ofiered to Our Confideration, it is not enough to fet them afide, to put feveral falfe ones againft them, and to infinuate, that it is unrieafon- able to. receive the one, while we rejed the others. This is no way of coming at the Trath ; and the Plea will go farther than the Enquirer profeffes to intend ; will hurt the Miracles of the Gofpel, as well as thofe of the Fathers ; or rather, to fpeak more pro perly, cannot, in the Judgment of apy ferious Man, affed the Credit of eiffier of them. For this Gentleman, I bdieve, will find few or none of this Charader to agree with him, that the Heathen Accounts of Oracles, Pro digies, ,©¦<:. " may hurt in fome meafure the " general Credit of Miracles." No more, than their Idolatry hurts true Religion j or their Miftakes in Philofophy are any Reafon, why we ffiould not ftudy and embrace Phi lofophy in general. Whatever Prejudice the Mind may re ceive from the View of Impoftures and Pre tences, ftill it is no better than a Prejudice, and ought to have no Weight with us. Every Miracle ffiould reft upon its own Bottom, and ftand or fall according to its Pwn Evi dence. 33^ A Vindication of th dence. To put antietA and modern. Hea then and Chriftian ones,on a Level,is confounds ing Truth and Falffiood together. The Dif ferences between them are many and great. Some Wonders related by Dionyftus of Hali- P. 219. carnaffus, this Gentleman owns to have been " the Fidions of- — Perfons interefted;" we may add, and alfo impofed upon fuch as were prejudiced and credulous to the laftDegree, by the People in Power and Authority. The fame is true of the Romifti Miracles in gene ral; and of thofe of the Abbe de Paris, which the Event alfo difproved, and of the facred Vial, in particular. In thefe Cafes, many of the other Marks of falfe Miracles, which I have given above, are likewife found. But which of their Relators gave that higheft Proof of their Honefty and Sincerity, the laying down their Lives for Confcience-fake? The primitive Miracles had not only this At teftation, but were worked in Times pf Per fecution, when the civil Powers were their , declared Enemies, and yet were called upon and challenged to examine into thefe Fads, and to fee them. The Chriftians, in general, were Men of Simplicity and Integrity ; were not byaffed and aduated by any falfe No tions, of the End being fufficient to confe- crate the Means, or of the Lawfulnefs of bad Adions, to fupport and propagate the f luth ; had no temporal Intereft to ferve; do not appear to have been prejudiced, any far ther Miraculous Powers, ^r. 337 ther than every fincere Believer of his Reli gion is fo ; nor were their Accounts ever dif proved, or their Cheat difcovered *. Tho* therefore the Truth of Hiftory will not fuf fer by our Rejedipn pf the Heathen or Po piffi Accounts; yet it cannot be fo totally un- affeded by our giving up at once all the Miracles of the Firfl Centuries ; unlefs we had ftronger Arguments, than any hitherto offered, to juftify fuch Condud. In fome of the Cafes, which this Gentle man has mentioned, he diftinguiffies between the extraordinary and the common Fadts; admits the latter, and rejeds the former. But he cannot be fuppofed to lay this down, as an univerfal Rule of proceeding. It will not univerfally hold with regard to the Heathen Accounts themfelves. For tho', I believe, there was a great deal of Art, and Contri vance, and Fidion, in the Prodigies; yet it is eafy to conceive -j-, that fome of thefe might "'OuCtsKofJii^dL l^tfv 4-^\jS'oKoryvv']ii ]yi&. M. Apol. i. — Nec fas eft uUi de fua religione mentiri. Tertul. Apol. zi. — @io l^cifTV! TH MjMSTspa ^umi'omi, CtsKoiiivx a i'lx.'^.iviSm ciTraf' yiKiav, AKKtt S'lA Tivos iVA^yeim ToiKi^tK o-i/c/rrtve/c rtiv Imx ^i'ety J^iS'a.'.dt,\ia,v. Orig. cont. Celf. p. 35. f " There might be fome Cheats and Impoftures in thefe " Things; but a great deal was real Fadl, wherein the Priefts " did not impofe upon the People ; but evil Spirits deluded " both Priefts and People, and brought the World to have an " Opinion of their Divinity. This muft be confeffed, unr " lefs we will queftion the Credit of all Hiftory." Refleaiont e» Z)r. f leetwoodV Effay on Miracles, p. 383, the Author of which, who, is fuppofed to be the prefent Biihop of Wwctefter, I prefume, the Doftor will not rank among the 2m/}//, aor regard his Declaration as C«nt only, Z have 338 A Vindication of the have been above all human Power. The primitiveApologifts, and EufebiUs, who would doubtlefs have expofed the Fraud of them all, if they could have done it ; yet, in general, take another Method, and afcribe their Pro digies andOracles to the Affiftance and Power of the Devils; And their Accounts' have been, in the main, fubftantially, and I think, un anfwerably, vindicated" by a French Gentle- Tranfla- rn^n in his Anfwer to Mr. De Fontenelle'i E„g/!f,^ Hiftory oJOrqcles,vvhereina\fo VanDale's Sy- and pub- ftem, and the Remdrks of le Clerc, Bayle, &c. tVoV are confuted — However, the Rule juft men tioned will by no means be juftifiable, if we apply it to the Accounts of the early Fathers. Mifalcles arc not Only poffible, "but as -eafy' to be proved as any other Fads ; and are not therefbre without Reafon to be rejeded, fu fpeded, or exj^lained away. Sect. 7. The lyiartyrdom of Polycarp far- ' ther vindicated. ' 1" Am forry to find Dr, Middleton trying -¦•this Experiment with the venerable Nar- rativ^ of the Martyrdom of St. Polycarp. The miraculous Part of this Account is related and attefted in the fame Manner, and by the fame Eye- witrieffes, as the Suf ferings of the Biffiop, What therefore can it f. 220. be but Prejudice to fay, " we have no doubt *' of his Martyrdom j yet we may reafon^ 4 " ably Miraculous Powers, Wc. 33 9. " ably paufe atthe Miracles, which are faid ^i, tp have attended it ?" We muft, I think, tP make ufe of this Gendeman's Words on another Occafion, either admit them all, or rejeSi them all; or elfe I do not fee, how we can ad either ingehuoufly, or confiftently. Not that we need believe the fpurious Cir- . cumftance of the Dove, which is here again infifted upon, and which, according to the Enquiry, "might have been conveyed" into the Wood, " probably by Defign, in: order "to be let Ippfe at a certain Moment ; as in " the Funeirals of the Roman Emperors an ^f Eagle was always obferved to fly out of " the Funeral -Pile," &c. Conveyed, Sir, by whom? or by whofe Defign } you will not fay the Heathens were concerned in this; Fraud : And yet thefe only were concerned in preparing' the Wood to burn the Martyr. Andean it; be therefore probable, that the ppor perfecuted Chriftians, fuppofing, them diffioneft enough to contrive fuch a Cheat, of which however a fmall Degee of Candour will acquit them; could have had Power enough to have acconipliffied it? In order to let the Dove \oofe af a certain Moment, in ffie Prefence of their Adverfaries, theymu'ft' have had foffie Share of the Diredion and Management of this. Bufinefs. So that we fee, whatidleSuppofrtiohsare invented, and propofed as probable, purely tpinfinuate/ome Reproach on the firft Chriftians. - Firft, a * % 2. Circum- 340 A Vindication of the Circumftance is infifted on, which is wanting in the earlieft Copies, and difallowed by the greateft Critics; and then, this is accounted for, by fuppofing the antient Church guilty of an incredible Impofture, inconfiftent both wiffi their Charader, and their Circumftances at that Jundure. * And, laftly, we have here a moft unac countable Comparifon between this Martyr dom, and the Funerals of the Roman Em perors : As if the Chriftians afpired to fuch Deification, as thefe did; as if a Fraud of ffiis Nature, before the very Face of their' Perfecutors, was as eafily concerted and per formed by Men, who had far other Rewards in View, and quite different Subjeds to em ploy their Thoughts, and could have no Hopes of fucceeding in fuch a Defign, or of efcaping undifcovered by their malicious and Watchful Enemies; as by Perfons in Power . and Authority, in Times of Peace and Tran quillity, when every thing concurred to fa- *Mv.Jackfon has, much flrengthened thefe Arguments, by the following Remark. "It was eafy for an Eagle " prepared for the Purpofe to be let loofe from a Funeral " Pik, as foon as it was Jcindled, and began to blaze ; but, in " the prefent Hiftory,' the Do-ve (if there was one aftually ',' concealed in the Wood) muft have been preferved from " Fire as miraculoufly as the Body of the Martyr. For the « Pile had been a long time all in Flames, which were al- " moft fpent before the Dove is faid to fly out ; and fo, by the " Doftor's Solution, the Fire could neither burn the Dove, «• nor the Martyr; and by this Conceffion, we have two Mi- " racles inftead of one." Remarks, p. 14. , vour Miraculous Powers, Wc. 341 vour arid encourage their Contrivance; where even fuch as fufpeded it, did not dare to Ipeak their Sufpicions openly. Can thefe Cafes be reprefented as any/way fimilar? Or can we argue from the Certainty of the one, to the ProbabiUty, pr even Ppffibility, of the other ? •* The Voice, pretended to come from p. 220. ** Heaven, was heard only by a few, and " that in a Time of fuch Hurry, in which " nothing could be heard diftindly." How this. Gentleman came by this Intelligence, I cannot fay. In the Copies printed by Cote lerius, it is faid, Twy J^g (puvnv tcov n^ele^m ot Trapovlss tixovaav, vocem autem qui ex noflris prafentes erant audierunt, the Chriftians., who were prefent, heard the Voice. In Eufe bius and Ruffinus, the Words are 'nrofAo.it plurimi; but that thefe fignify only a few, I never knew before. But, fuppofe there were but a few, -vvho heard the voice, will this difcredit the Relation ? It is plain, that this Voice was intended to encourage Polycarp himfelf. If he heard it, the End of it might be anfwered. And if but one or two, tho' the original Wprds muft imply mpre pf thofe who joined in this Epiftle, heard it alfo, furely they are fufficient Witneffes — With riegard to the Hurry, in which nothing could be heard diftindly, this is alfo a groundlefs Sippofition. The Relators fay, the Voice was heard ; nay, they give us the very Words Z 3 fpoken; 34^ A Vindication of the fpoken ;. which ffiews it was heard difiinBly. That there was a Tumult or Concourfe of People, when he was brought into the Sta dium or Lifts, Trpoa-ax^ivloS oivlqu, is true^ but the Voice is faid to have been heard be fore, while he was entering into it, iitriovli *; and, befides, a Voice from Heaven may well be fuppofed to have been heard, notwith- Jlanding any Noife or Hurry we can ima gine. And 'how any common Jiuman in- diftind Voice, from one in the Croud not feen, could be miftaken for miraculous, or reprefented as a Voice from Heaven; which is this Gentleman's next Suppofition; fpr my part, exceeds all my Power of conceiving; As alfo, the way of accounting for the Flames being faid to have made ah Arch round his Body, and not to burn it ; which he thinks '* might eafily happen from the commor^ '^ Effeds of the Wind, or fomething at leaft *' fo like it, as to afford Matter enough to a " fuperftitious Fancyj to fupply the reft." It remains to be proved, that the Church of Smyrna was then fuperftitious. Mere A.frer- tions can have no Weight; nor ffiould we think the worfe of them on accopnt of any fuch, The Enquirer muft not be angry, if * I obferve that in p 1 24. wheie this Relation is recited, the Order of the Sentences is inverted, And the Tumult is placed before the Voice, and as the Martyr -was entering the lifts ; which Piece of Art, I fuppofe, was ufed, to give fome Countenance to the Suppofition here made," which the pri- ginal Order of the Words wqijld not fo well fuit. • - we Miraculous Powers, Wc. ' 343 wetdl'him, again, that, urider the Notion of explairiirig this antient T'eftimony, he flatly contradids it; and that the Authority of Eye-witneffes ought, in all Reafon and Ju ftice, tb prevail with us more, than any Schemes, which, atthe Diftance of fo many Centuries from the Fad, he thinks proper to raife ; even fuppofing them ever fo plau- fible: And this, Ithink, is more, than we can allow the prefent Account to be. How any common Effeds of the Wind could make the Fire enCompafs the Saint's Body as in a Circle, and prevent its having any Power to burn jt ; fo that his Enemies were obliged to difpatch him with a Sword ; requires a much ftronger Imagination ffian mine to form any Notion of *. And, I believe, the learned and ingenious Dodor himfelf found fome Diffi culty in conceiving this, by his adding the Words, orfemething at leaft fo like it ; which leave the Matter undetermined, and feem to allow his Readers full Liberty, provided they wiU rejed the Miracles, to' imagine whatever they have a mind to. He will not diredly fay, that the extraordinary Event was owing - * Mr. Jackfon has given this fo humourous and juft a Turn, that I cannot forbear borrowing his Words. " Th« ' '« Hiftory fays nothing of a Wind, or any thing like it. But " I will for once allow the Doftor to raife' a Wind. It muft, " as the Cafe is reprefented, be a Wind, that blew not from " any one Point of the Compafs. For, during this fuppofed "' Wind, the Body was encompaffed all round with Flames." Kmarks, p. I2. ' Z 4 altogether 344 ^ Vindication of the altogether to the Wind : He does not afligrr any other. Caufe, to which it may fairly be imputed : He would have the Reader's Fancy to fupply the reft : Tho' really, the only way to folve the Difficulty, is to admit the plain Account of the Miracle. Sect. 8. Of Witchcraft, and the Popijh Miracles, THE Strefs, which this Gentleman lays upon the Cafe of Witchcraft, requires us to beftow a Refledion or two upon it. p. 221. He fays, ^' there is not in all Hiftory any one *' miraculous Fad fo authentically attefted, • ' as the Exiftence of Witches- — yet the " Incredibility of the Thing — was found at *' laft too ftrong. for all this Force of human ?' Teftimpny; fo that the Belief of Witches *' is now utterly extind, and quietly ¦' buried, without involving Hiftory in its *' Ruin" 1 muft here make the feme Re- monftrance, which I had once before Occa fion to make. It feems furprifing, that this Gentleman ffiould thus plead againft any Fad, which yet,he thinks better attefted than