my guide, I am not to believe them. Now I undertake to fay, that there exifts not a fceptic in the world, who would not believe them; or, who would defend fuch incredulity."a

Enough, it is prefumed, having been said to fhew the fallacy of the principle laid down by Mr. Hume, I fhall now proceed to make a few observations on the peculiar nature of the christian miracles, and the cir cumstances attending them, and, in the refult, endeavour to fhew, that there is not merely a poffibility that thefe miraculous facts may be true, but that we have very ftrong reasons for believing they actually are fo.

In confidering the degree of credibility to which the miracles in queftion are intitled it should be recollected that they were not like the tricks of a juggler, of a useless or mischievous tendency, but that, with two

(h) For the preceding observations on miracles, fee Paley's Evidences.

exceptions, they were all acts of mercy and benevolence, performed for the accomplishment of a most important object, and peculiarly correspondent therewith ;-That some of the perfons who profefs themselves to be original witnesses of these miraculous facts, were themselves, it appears, recorders of the tranfactions :-That these witneffes

(i) Thefe exceptions are, the permiffion to the devils to enter the herd of fwine, and the withering of the barren fig-tree-on which subjects, see the different commentators.

(k) The received author of the Gospel according to St. Matthew, was an original Apoftle, and emiffary of the religion. The received author of the Gospel according to St. Mark, was an inhabitant of Jerufalem at the time, to whofe house the Apoftles were in the habit of resorting, and was himself, an attendant upon one of the most eminent of that number. The received author of the Gospel according to St. Luke, was a stated companion, and fellow-traveller, of the most active of all the teachers of the religion, and, in the course of his travels, frequently in the fociety of the original Apostles; and the received au- ́ thor of the Gospel according to St. John, was, as well as the first, one of thefe Apoftles. The Acts of the Apof tles, purport to have been written by Luke, the person who wrote the Goff el bearing that name.

Thef four Gofpels, the Acts of the Apoftles, thirteen Epiftles of St. Paul, the first Epistle of John, and the first of Peter, were received, without doubt, by those who doubted concerning the other books, which are included

were men of good fenfe and found under- • ftandings, as their writings fufficiently testi fy, and as capable of deciding on the reali ty of thefe miracles, as we ourselves fhould be, under the fame circumftances :-That the miracles were so many, of fuch various kinds, and were fo invariably performed, whenever attempted, that they could nei ther have been the effects of chance, nor the refult of fortunate experiment :-That they were performed, it appears, in open

in our prefent canon.-By the term "received," I mean," that they were believed to contain authentic accounts of the tranfactions, upon which the religion refted-were attackcd by the early adverfaries of christianity, as fuch, and were ufually appealed to, by all parties, in the controver fies which arofe in those days. ibid.

(1) One, and only one inftance, may be produced, in which the DISCIPLES of Chrift do feem to have attempted a cure, and not to have been able to perform it. The tory is very ingeniously and candidly related by three of the Evangelifts. The patient was afterwards healed by Chrift himself; and the whole tranfaction feems to have been intended, as it was well (uited, to difplay the fuperi ority of Christ, above all who performed miracles in his name; a distinction, which, during his prefence in the World, it might be neceffary to inculcate, by fome fuck proof as this." ibid.

Mark ix. 14.

day-light, indifcriminately before enemies and friends, in fome instances before a few perfons, and in others, before multitudes: That the story of them was published at the time and place, in which they are alledg ed to have been wrought, and, confequently, while the perfons were yet living, on whom the miracles are faid to have been performed :-That many of these miracles are of a nature, which abfolutely precludes the poffibility of the witneffes having been either mistaken or deceived, refpecting their reality: That in one instance, a miracle was wrought on these very witnesses themfelves, and in many inftances, these fame witnesses performed miracles on others :That the reality of the greater number of thofe miracles was, in fact, admitted by those adversaries of christianity, who lived in the earliest ages of its inftitution, and who poffeffed every means of afcertaining their truth; fuch adverfaries having attributed their performance to magic, or the agency of evil fpirits :-And lastly, it should be recollected, that "there is satisfactory evidence, that many, profefling to be original witnes

fes of the christian miracles, paffed their lives in labours, dangers, and sufferings, voluntarily undergone, in atteftation of the accounts which they delivered, and folely in confequence of their belief of those accounts; and that they alfo fubmitted, from the fame motives, to new rules of conduct."m

(m) For the evidence in fupport of the above propofition, fee the work last quoted.

Should it be objected, as indeed it has been, that miracles and even martyrdoms, are not peculiar to the christian inftitution;-that both have been alledged in support of various other religions, and religious opinions—we anfwer-That miracles have been fo alledged, is admitted; but we deny that any of them, as to their nature, and the teftimony adduced in their fupport, will bear a fair comparison with the chriftian miracles and teftimony:—On the contrary, we affert," that there is not fatisfactory evidence, that perfons, pretending to be original wit. neffes of any other fimilar miracles, have acted in the fame manner in atteftation of the accounts which they de livered, and folely in confequence of their belief of the truth of thofe accounts;' in fupport of which propofition, the reader is referred to the above work (Paley's Evid.) for an examination of the miracles which have been brought forward, as fimilar to, and for the purpose of op❤ pofing, the miraculous facts recorded in the New Tefta. ment.

I compare facts with facts, miracles with miracles; I place teftimony in oppofition to testimony;