'*
 
 Ex Libris 
 C. K. OGDEN 
 
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 (^-v- 
 
 THE LIBRARY 
 
 OF 
 
 THE UNIVERSITY 
 
 OF CALIFORNIA 
 
 LOS ANGELES
 
 A VIEW 
 
 OF THE 
 
 EVIDENCES OF CHRISTIANITY. 
 
 IN THREE PARTS. 
 VOL. II. 
 
 Printed by S. Hamilton, Weybriclge.
 
 A VIEW 
 
 OF THE 
 
 EVIDENCES OF CHRISTIANITY. 
 
 IN THREE PARTS. 
 PART I. 
 
 OF THE DIRECT HISTORICAL EVIDENCE OF CHRISTIANITY, 
 
 AND WHEREIN IT IS DISTINGUISHED FROM THE 
 
 EVIDENCE ALLEGED FOR OTHER MIRACLES. 
 
 PART II. 
 
 OF THE AUXILIARY EVIDENCES OF CHRISTIANITY. 
 
 PART III. 
 
 A BRIEF CONSIDERATION OF SOME POPULAR OBJECTIONS. 
 
 By WILLIAM PALEY, M.A. 
 
 ARCHDEACON OF CARLISLE. 
 
 THE THIRTEENTH EDITION. 
 
 1,1 " - ~^ 
 
 IN TWO VOLUMES. 
 VOL. II. 
 
 LONDON: 
 
 PRINTED FOR J. FAULDER, NEW BOND-STREET. 
 
 1810.
 
 
 / 
 
 CONTENTS 
 
 OF THE 
 
 SECOND VOLUME. 
 
 PART II. 
 
 % - 
 
 OF THE AUXILIARY EVIDENCES OF CHRISTIANITY. 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 Prophecy ----- page 1 
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 The morality of the Gospel - - - 22 
 
 CHAFrER III. 
 The candour of the writers oj the New Testament - 80 
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 Identity of Christ's character - -99 
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 Originality of Christ's character - 122 
 
 1956141
 
 VI CONTENTS. 
 
 CHAPTER VI. 
 
 Conformity of the facts occasionally mentioned or 
 referred to in Scripture, with the state of things in 
 those times, as represented by foreign and independent 
 accounts - - - page 125 
 
 CHAPTER VII. 
 Undesigned Coincidences - 185 
 
 CHAPTER VIII. . 
 Of the History of the Resurrection - - 191 
 
 CHAPTER IX. 
 
 Of the Propagation of Christianity - 199 
 
 Section II. Reflections upon the preceding Account 234 
 Section III. Of the Success of Mahometanism 248 
 
 PART III. 
 
 A BRIEF CONSIDERATION OF SOME POPULAR 
 OBJECTIONS. 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 The Discrepancies between the several Gospels - 274 
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 Erroneous Opinions imputed to the Apostles - 282 
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 
 The connexion of Christianity with the Jewish History 
 
 290
 
 > CONTENTS. Vll 
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 Rejection of Christianity - page 296 
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 
 That the Christianmiracles are not recited, or appealed 
 to, by early Christian writers themselves, sofully or 
 frequently as might have been expected - - 324 
 
 CHAPTER VI. 
 Want of universality in the knowledge and reception of 
 Christianity, and of greater clearness in the evidence 
 
 341 
 
 CHAPTER VII. 
 
 The supposed Effects of Christianity - - 356 
 
 CHAPTER VIII. 
 Conclusion - - - - - - 371
 
 PART II. 
 
 OF THE AUXILIARY EVIDENCES OF 
 CHRISTIANITY. 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 Prophecy. 
 
 Isaiah, lii. 13. liii. " JL)EHOLD,my Servant 
 shall deal prudently ; he shall be exalted 
 and extolled, and be very high. As many 
 were astonished at thee ; (his visage was so 
 marred more than any man, and his form 
 more than the sons of men) : so shall he 
 sprinkle many nations ; the kings shall shut 
 their mouths at him : for that which had 
 not been told them, shall they see; and that 
 which they had not heard, shall they con- 
 sider. Who hath believed our report? and 
 to which is the arm of the Lord revealed ? 
 For he shall grow up before him as a tender 
 
 VOL. II. R
 
 2 
 
 plant, and as a root out of a dry ground : 
 he hath no form nor comeliness ; and when 
 we shall see him, there is no beauty that 
 w r e should desire him. He is despised and 
 rejected of men, a man of sorrows, and ac- 
 quainted with grief: and we hid, as it were, 
 our faces from him ; he was despised, and 
 we esteemed him not. Surely he hath borne 
 our griefs, and carried our sorrows : yet we 
 did esteem him stricken, smitten of God, 
 and afflicted. But he was wounded for our 
 transgressions, he was bruised for our ini- 
 quities : the chastisement of our peace was 
 upon him ; and with his stripes we are heal- 
 ed. All we like sheep have gone astray; 
 we have turned every one to his own way ; 
 and the Lord hath laid on him the iniquity 
 of us all. He was oppressed, and he was 
 afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth : he 
 is brought as a lamb to the slaughter, and 
 as a sheep before her shearers is dumb, so 
 he opened not his mouth. He was taken 
 from prison and from judgement ; and who 
 shall declare his generation ? for he was cut 
 off out of the land of the living : for the 
 transgression of my people, was he stricken. 
 And he made his grave with the wicked
 
 and with the rich in his death ; because he 
 had done no violence, neither was any de- 
 ceit in his mouth. Yet it pleased the Lord 
 to bruise him ; he hath put him to grief. 
 When thou shalt make his soul an offering 
 for sin, he shall see his seed, he shall prolong 
 his days, and the pleasure of the Lord shall 
 prosper in his hand. He shall see of the 
 travail of his soul, and shall be satisfied : by 
 his knowledge shall my righteous servant 
 justify many; for he shall bear their iniqui- 
 ties. Therefore will I divide him a portion 
 with the great, and he shall divide the spoil 
 with the strong ; because he hath poured 
 out his soul unto death : and he was num- 
 bered with the transgressors, and he bare 
 the sin of many, and made intercession for 
 the transgressors/' 
 
 These words are extant in a book, pur- 
 porting to contain the predictions of a wri- 
 ter who lived seven centuries before the 
 Christian sera. 
 
 That material part of every argument 
 from prophecy, namely, that the words 
 alleged were actually spoken or written 
 
 u 2
 
 before the fact to which they are applied 
 took place, or could by any natural means 
 be foreseen, is, in the present instance, in- 
 contestable. The record comes out of the 
 custody of adversaries. The Jews, as an 
 ancient father well observed, are our libra- 
 rians. The passage is in their copies, as 
 well as in ours. With many attempts to 
 explain it away, none has ever been made 
 by them to discredit its authenticity. 
 
 And, what adds to the force of the quo- 
 tation is, that it is taken from a writing 
 declaredly prophetic ; a writing, professing 
 to describe such future transactions and 
 changes in the world, as were connected 
 with the fate and interests of the Jewish 
 nation. It is not a passage in an historical 
 or devotional composition, which, because 
 it turns out to be applicable to some future 
 events, or to some future situation of affairs, 
 is presumed to have been oracular. The 
 words of Isaiah were delivered by him in a 
 prophetic character, with the solemnity be- 
 longing to that character : and what he so 
 delivered, was all along understood by the 
 Jewish reader to refer to something that
 
 was to take place after the time of the 
 author. The public sentiments of the Jews 
 concerning the design of Isaiah's writings, 
 are set forth in the book of Ecclesiasticus* : 
 " He saw by an excellent spirit,, what 
 should come to pass at the last, and he 
 comforted them that mourned in Sion. He 
 showed what should come to pass for ever, 
 and secret things or ever they came/' 
 
 It is also an advantage which this pro- 
 phecy possesses, that it is intermixed with 
 no other subject. It is entire, separate, and 
 uninterruptedly directed to one scene of 
 things. 
 
 The application of the prophecy to the 
 evangelic history is plain and appropriate. 
 Here is no double sense ; no figurative lan- 
 guage, but what is sufficiently intelligible 
 to every reader of every country. The ob- 
 scurities (by which I mean the expressions 
 that require a knowledge! of local diction, 
 and of local allusion) are few, and not of 
 great importance. Nor have I found that 
 varieties of reading, or a different constru- 
 
 * Chap, xlviii. vcr. 24.
 
 ing of the original, produce any material 
 alteration in the sense of the prophecy. 
 Compare the common translation with that 
 of bishop Lowth, and the difference is not 
 considerable. So far as they do differ, bishop 
 Lowth's corrections, which are the faithful 
 result of an accurate examination, bring the 
 description nearer to the New Testament 
 history than it was before. In the fourth 
 verse of the fifty-third chapter, what our 
 Bible renders " stricken," he translates 
 " judicially stricken :" and in the eighth 
 verse, the clause, " he was taken from pri- 
 son and from judgement," the bishop gives, 
 " by an oppressive judgement he was taken 
 off." The next words to these, " who 
 shall declare his generation?" are much 
 cleared up in their meaning, by the bishop's 
 version; " his manner of life who would 
 declare?" i. e. who would stand forth in 
 his defence ? The former part of the ninth 
 verse, " and he made his grave with the 
 wicked, and with the rich in his death," 
 which inverts the circumstances of Christ's 
 passion, the bishop brings out in an order 
 perfectly agreeable to the event ; " and his 
 ^rave was appointed with the wicked, but
 
 7 
 
 with the rich man was his tomb." The 
 words in the eleventh verse, " by his know- 
 ledge shall my righteous servant justify 
 many/' are, in the bishop's version, " by 
 the knowledge of him shall my righteous 
 servant justify many." 
 
 It is natural to inquire what turn the 
 Jews themselves give to this prophecy*. 
 There is good proof that the ancient Rab- 
 bins explained it of their expected Mes- 
 siah-)- : but their modern expositors concur, 
 I think, in representing it as a description 
 of the calamitous state and intended resto- 
 ration of the Jewish people, who are here, 
 as they say, exhibited under the character 
 of a single person. I have not discovered 
 that their exposition rests upon any critical 
 arguments, or upon these in any other than 
 a very minute degree. The clause in the 
 ninth verse, which we render " for the 
 transgression of my people was he stricken," 
 
 * " Vaticiniura hoc Esaiie est carnificina Rabbinorum, 
 tie quo aliqui Judaei mihi confessi sunt, Rabbi nos suos < x 
 propheticis scripturis facile seextricarepotuisso, modu Esa'ias 
 tacuissct." Hulsc, Thcol. Jud. p. S18, quoted by Poolo,inloc. 
 
 t llulse, Thcol. Jud. p. 430.
 
 8 
 
 and in the margin, " was the stroke upon 
 him/' the Jews read " for the transgression 
 of my people was the stroke upon them" 
 And what they allege in support of the 
 alteration amounts only to this, that the 
 Hebrew pronoun is capable of a plural, as 
 well as of a singular signification ; that is 
 to say, is capable of their construction as 
 well as ours*. And this is all the varia- 
 
 * Bishop Lowth adopts in this place the reading of the 
 Seventy, which gives smitten to death, " for the trans- 
 gression of my people was he smitten to death." The ad- 
 dition of the words " to death," makes an end of the Jewish 
 interpretation of the clause. And the authorit)', upon 
 which this reading (though not given by the present Hebrew 
 text) is adopted, Dr. Kennicot has set forth by an argument 
 not only so cogent, but so clear and popular, that I beg 
 leave to transcribe the substance of it into this note: 
 " Origen, after having quoted at large this prophecy con-, 
 cerning the Messiah, tells us, that, having once made use of 
 this passage, in a dispute against some that were accounted 
 wise among the Jews, one of them replied that the words did 
 not mean one man, but one people, the Jews, who were 
 smitten of God, and dispersed among the Gentiles for their 
 conversion; that he then urged many parts of this prophe- 
 cy, to show the absurdity of this interpretation, and that he 
 seemed to press them the hardest by this sentence, ' for 
 the transgression of my people was he smitten to death.' 
 Now asOiigcn, the author of the llexapla, must have under- 
 ntood Hebrew, we. cannot suppose that he would have urged 
 this last text as so decisive, if the Greek version had not 
 agreed here with the Hebrew text : nor that these wise Jews
 
 tion contended for ; the rest of the pro- 
 phecy they read as we do. The probabi- 
 lity, therefore, of their exposition, is a sub- 
 ject of which we are as capable of judging 
 as themselves. This judgement is open 
 indeed to the good sense of every attentive 
 reader. The application which the Jews 
 contend for, appears to me to labour un- 
 der insuperable difficulties ; in particular, 
 it may be demanded of them to explain, 
 in whose name or person, if the Jewish 
 people be the sufferer, does the prophet 
 
 would have been at all distressed by this quotation, unless 
 the Hebrew text had read agreeably to the words " to death," 
 on which the argument principally depended ; for, by quoting 
 it immediately, they would have triumphed over him, and 
 reprobated his Greek version. This, whenever they could 
 'do it, was their constant practice in their disputes with the 
 Christians. Origen himself, who laboriously compared the 
 Hebrew text with the Septuagint, has recorded the necessity 
 of arguing with the Jews, from such passages only, as were 
 in the Septuagint agreeable to the Hebrew. Wherefore, as 
 Origen had carefully compared the Greek version of the 
 Septuagint with the Hebrew text; and as he puzzled and 
 confounded the learned Jews, by urging upon them the 
 reading " to death" in this place; it seems almost impossible 
 not to conclude, both from Origcn's argument, and the silence 
 of his Jewish adversaries, that the Hebrew text at that time 
 actually had the word agreeably to the version of the Se- 
 venty." Low th's Isaiah, p. 242.
 
 10 
 
 speak, when he says, " He hath borne our 
 griefs, and carried our sorrows, yet we did 
 esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and 
 afflicted ; but he was wounded for our 
 transgressions, he was bruised for our ini- 
 quities, the chastisement of our peace was 
 upon him, and with his stripes we are 
 healed." Again, the description in the 
 seventh verse, " he was oppressed and he 
 was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth ; 
 he is brought as a lamb to the slaughter, 
 and as a sheep before her shearers is dumb, 
 so he openeth not his mouth," quadrates 
 with no part of the Jewish history with 
 which we are acquainted. The mention 
 of the " grave," and the " tomb," in the 
 ninth verse, is not very applicable to the 
 fortunes of a nation ; and still less so is the 
 conclusion of the prophecy in the twelfth 
 verse, which expressly represents the suf- 
 ferings as voluntary ', and the sufferer as in- 
 terceding for the offenders ; " because he 
 hath poured out his soul unto death, and 
 he was numbered with the transgressors, 
 and he bare the sin of many, and made 
 intercession for the transgressors/'
 
 11 
 
 There are other prophecies of the Old 
 Testament, interpreted by Christians to re- 
 late to the Gospel history, which are deserv- 
 ing both of great regard, and of a very at- 
 tentive consideration : but I content myself 
 with stating the above, as well because I 
 think it the clearest and the strongest of 
 all, as because most of the rest, in order 
 that their value might be represented with 
 any tolerable degree of fidelity, require a 
 discussion unsuitable to the limits and na- 
 ture of this work. The reader will find 
 them disposed in order, and distinctly ex- 
 plained, in bishop Chandler's treatise on 
 the subject : and he will bear in mind, 
 what has been often, and, I think, truly, 
 urged by the advocates of Christianity, 
 that there is no other eminent person, to 
 the history of whose life so many circum- 
 stances can be made to apply. They who 
 object that much has been done by the 
 power of chance, the ingenuity of accom- 
 modation, and the industry of research, 
 ought to try whether the same, or any 
 thing like it, could be done, if Mahomet, 
 or any other person, were proposed as the 
 subject of Jewish prophecy.
 
 12 
 
 II. A second head of argument from 
 prophecy, is founded upon our Lord's pre- 
 dictions concerning: the destruction of Je- 
 rusalem, recorded by three out of the four 
 
 evangelists. 
 
 Luke, xxi. 5 25. " And as some spake 
 of the temple, how it was adorned with 
 goodly stones and gifts, he said, As for 
 these things which ye behold, the days will 
 come, in the which there shall not be left 
 one stone upon another, that shall not be 
 thrown down. And they asked him, say- 
 ing, Master, but when shall these things 
 be? and what sign will there be when 
 these things shall come to pass ? And he 
 said, Take heed that ye be not deceived, 
 for many shall come in my name, saying, 
 I am Christ ; and the time draweth near : 
 go ye not therefore after them. But 
 when ye shall hear of wars and commo- 
 tions, be not terrified : for these things 
 must first come to pass ; but the end is not 
 by-and-by. Then said he unto them, Na- 
 tion shall rise against nation, and kingdom 
 against kingdom : and great earthquakes 
 shall be in (livers places, and famines and
 
 13 
 
 pestilences; and fearful sights, and great 
 signs shall there be from heaven. But be- 
 fore all these, they shall lay their hands on 
 you, and persecute you, delivering you up 
 to the synagogues, and into prisons, being 
 brought before kings and rulers for my 
 name's sake. And it shall turn to you for 
 a testimony. Settle it therefore in your 
 hearts, not to meditate before, what ye shall 
 answer : for I will give you a mouth and 
 wisdom, which all your adversaries shall 
 not be able to gainsay nor resist. And ye 
 shall be betrayed both by parents, and 
 brethren, and kinsfolk, and friends ; and 
 some of you shall they cause to be put to 
 death. And ye shall be hated of all men 
 for my name's sake. But there shall not 
 an hair of your head perish. In your pa- 
 tience possess ye your souls. And when ye 
 shall see Jerusalem compassed with armies, 
 then know that the desolation thereof is 
 nigh. Then let them which are in Judea 
 flee to the mountains ; and let them which 
 are in the midst of it depart out ; and let 
 not them that are in the countries enter 
 thereinto. For these je the days of ven- 
 geance, that all things which are written
 
 14 
 
 may be fulfilled. But woe unto them that 
 are with child, and to them that give suck, 
 in those days : for there shall be great dis- 
 tress in the land, and wrath upon this peo- 
 ple. And they shall fall by the edge of 
 the sword, and shall be led away captive 
 into all nations : and Jerusalem shall be 
 trodden down of the Gentiles, until the 
 times of the Gentiles be fulfilled." 
 
 In terms nearly similar, this discourse is 
 related in the twenty-fourth chapter of 
 Matthew, and the thirteenth of Mark. 
 The prospect of the same evils drew from 
 our Saviour, on another occasion, the fol- 
 lowing affecting expressions of concern, 
 which are preserved by Saint Luke (xix. 
 41 44.) : " And when he was come near, 
 he beheld the city, and wept over it, say- 
 ing, If thou hadst known, even thou, at 
 least in this thy day, the things which be- 
 long unto thy peace ! but now they are hid 
 from thine eyes. For the days shall come 
 upon thee, that thine enemies shall cast a 
 trench about thee, and compass thee round, 
 and keep thee in on every side, and shall lay 
 thee even with the ground, and thy children
 
 15 
 
 within thee ; and they shall not leave in 
 thee one stone upon another ; because thou 
 knewest not the time of thy visitation/' 
 These passages are direct and explicit pre- 
 dictions. References to the same event, 
 some plain, some parabolical, or otherwise 
 figurative, are found in divers other dis- 
 courses of our Lord *. 
 
 The general agreement of the descrip- 
 tion with the event, viz. with the ruin of 
 the Jewish nation, and the capture of Je- 
 rusalem under Vespasian, thirty-six years 
 after Christ's death, is most evident ; and 
 the accordancy in various articles of detail 
 and circumstance has been shown by many 
 learned writers. It is also an advantage 
 to the inquiry, and to the argument built 
 upon it, that we have received a copious 
 account of the transaction from Josephus, 
 a Jewish and contemporary historian. This 
 part of the case is perfectly free from doubt. 
 The only question which, in my opinion, 
 can be raised upon the subject, is, whether 
 the prophecy was really delivered before 
 
 * Mat. xxi. 3346. xx ii. 17. Mark. xii. 1 12. Luke. 
 xiii.' 19. xx. 920. xxi. .513.
 
 16 
 
 the event; I shall apply, therefore, my ob- 
 servations to this point solely. 
 
 1. The judgement of antiquity, though 
 varying in the precise year of the publica- 
 tion of the three Gospels, concurs in assign- 
 ing them a date prior to the destruction of 
 Jerusalem *. 
 
 2. This judgement is confirmed by a 
 strong probability arising from the course 
 of human life. The destruction of Jeru- 
 salem took place in the seventieth year 
 after the birth of Christ. The three evan- 
 gelists, one of whom was his immediate 
 companion, and the other two associated 
 with his companions, were, it is probable, 
 not much younger than he was. They 
 must, consequently, have been far advanc- 
 ed in life when Jerusalem was taken : and 
 no reason has been given why they should 
 defer writing their histories so long. 
 
 3. 'f' If the evangelists, at the time of 
 writing the Gospels, had known of the 
 
 * Lardner, vol. xiii. 
 
 t I.c Clerc, Diss. III. de Quat. Evang. num. vii. p.541
 
 17 
 
 destruction of Jerusalem, by which cata* 
 strophe the prophecies were plainly fulfilled* 
 it is most probable, that, in recording the 
 predictions, they would have dropped some 
 word or other about the completion ; in 
 like manner as Luke, after relating the 
 denunciation of a dearth by Agabus, adds, 
 " which came to pass in the days of Clau- 
 dius Coesar * :" whereas the prophecies are 
 given distinctly in one chapter of each of 
 the first three Gospels, and referred to in 
 several different passages of each, and, in 
 none of all these places, does there appear 
 the smallest intimation that the things 
 spoken of had come to pass. I do admit, 
 that it would have been the part of an im- 
 postor, who wished his readers to believe 
 that his book was written before the event, 
 when in truth it was written after it, to 
 have suppressed any such intimation care- 
 fully. But this was not the character of 
 the authors of the Gospel. Cunning was 
 no quality of theirs. Of all writers in the 
 world, they thought the least of providing 
 against objections. Moreover, there is no 
 
 * Acts, xi. 28. 
 VOL. II. C
 
 18 
 
 clause in any one of them, that makes a pro- 
 fession of their having written prior to the 
 Jewish wars, which a fraudulent purpose 
 would have led them to pretend- They 
 have done neither one thing nor the other: 
 they have neither inserted any words, which 
 might signify to the reader that their ac- 
 counts were written before the destruction 
 of Jerusalem, which a sophist would have 
 done ; nor have they dropped a hint of the 
 completion of the prophecies recorded by 
 them, 'which an undesigning writer, writing 
 after the event, could hardly, on some or 
 other of the many occasions that presented 
 themselves, have missed of doing. 
 
 4. The admonitions* which Christ is 
 represented to have given to his followers 
 
 * " When ye shall see Jerusalem compassed with armies, 
 
 then know that the desolation thereof is nigh ; then let them 
 
 which arc in Judea, flee to the mountains; then let them 
 
 which are in the midst of it depart out, and let not them 
 
 that arein the countries enter thereinto." Luke, xxi. 20, 21. 
 
 
 
 "When ye shall see Jerusalem compassed with armies, 
 
 then let them which be in Judea flee unto the mountains ; 
 
 let him which is on the house-top not come down to take ajjry 
 
 thing out of his house ; neither let him which is in the field; 
 
 return back to Uke his clothes." Matt. xiv. 18.
 
 19 
 
 to save themselves by flight, are not easily 
 accounted for, on the supposition of the 
 prophecy being fabricated after the event. 
 Either the Christians, when the siege ap- 
 proached, did make their escape from Je- 
 rusalem, or they did not : if they did, they 
 must have had the prophecy amongst them : 
 if they did not know of any such predic- 
 tion at the time of the siege, if they did 
 not take notice of any such warning, it 
 was an improbable fiction, in a writer pub- 
 lishing his work near to that time (which, 
 on any even the lowest and most disad- 
 vantageous supposition, was the case with 
 the Gospels now in our hands), and ad- 
 dressing his work to Jews and to Jewish 
 converts (which Matthew certainly did), to 
 state that the followers of Christ had re- 
 ceived admonition, of which they made 
 no use when the occasion arrived, and of 
 which experience then recent proved, that 
 those, who were most concerned to know 
 and regard them, were ignorant or negli- 
 gent. Even if the prophecies came to the 
 hands of the evangelists through no better 
 vehicle than tradition, it must have been 
 by a tradition which subsisted prior to the 
 
 c 2
 
 20 
 
 event. And to suppose that, without any 
 authority whatever, without so much as 
 even any tradition to guide them, they had 
 forged these passages, is to impute to them 
 a degree of fraud and imposture, from every 
 appearance of which their compositions are 
 as far removed as possible. 
 
 5. I think that, if the prophecies had 
 been composed after the event, there would 
 have been more specification. The names 
 or descriptions of the enemy, the general, 
 the emperor, would have been found in 
 them. The designation of the time would 
 have been more determinate. And I am 
 fortified in this opinion by observing, that 
 the counterfeited prophecies of the Sibyl- 
 line oracles, of the twelve patriarchs, and 
 1 am inclined to believe, most others of 
 the kind, are mere transcripts of the history, 
 moulded into a prophetic form. 
 
 It is objected, that the prophecy of the 
 destruction of Jerusalem is mixed, or con- 
 nected, with expressions which relate to 
 the final judgement of the world ; and so 
 connected, as to lead an ordinary reader
 
 21 
 
 to expect, that these two events would not 
 be far distant from each other. To which 
 I answer, that the objection does not con- 
 cern our present argument. If our Saviour 
 actually foretold the destruction of Jeru- 
 salem, it is sufficient ; even although we 
 should allow, that the narration of the pro- 
 phecy had combined what had been said 
 by him on kindred subjects, without accu- 
 rately preserving the order, or always no- 
 ticing the transition of the discourse.
 
 $2 
 
 CHAPTER If. 
 
 The morality of the Gospel, 
 
 In stating the morality of the Gospel as 
 an argument of its truth, I am willing to 
 admit two points ; first, that the teaching 
 of morality was not the primary design 
 of the mission ; secondly, that morality, 
 neither in the Gospel, nor in any other 
 book, can be a subject, properly speaking, 
 of discovery, 
 
 If I were to describe in a very few words 
 the scope of Christianity, as ^revelation *, 
 
 * Great and inestimably beneficial effects ma}- accrue from 
 the mission of Christ, and especially from his death, which 
 do not belong to Christianity as a revelation; that is, they 
 might have existed, and they might have been accomplished, 
 though wehad never, in this life, been made acquainted with 
 them. These effects may be very extensive ; they may be
 
 23 
 
 I should say, that it was to influence the 
 conduct of human life, by establishing the 
 proof of a future state of reward and pu- 
 nishment, " to bring life and immortality 
 to light." The direct object, therefore, of 
 the design is, to supply motives, and not 
 rules; sanctions, and not precepts. And 
 these were what mankind stood most in 
 need of. The members of civilized society 
 can, in all ordinary cases, judge tolerably 
 well how they ought to act: but without 
 a future state, or, which is the same thing, 
 without credited evidence of that state, 
 they want a motive to their duty ; they want 
 at least strength of motive, sufficient to 
 bear up against the force of passion, and 
 the temptation of present advantage. Their 
 
 interesting even to other orders of intelligent beings. I 
 think it is a general opinion, and one to which I have long 
 come, that the beneficial effects of Christ's death extend to 
 the whole human species. It was the redemption of tkexcorld. 
 n He is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only, 
 but for the whole world;" 1 John, ii. 2. Probably the 
 future happiness, perhaps the future existence of the specie;:, 
 and more gracious terms of acceptance extended to all, might 
 depend upon it, or be procured by it. Now these e fleets, 
 whatever they be, do not belong to Christianity as a revela- 
 tion; because they exist with respect to those to whom it U 
 not revealed.
 
 24 
 
 rules want authority. The most important 
 service that can be rendered to human life, 
 and that consequently, which, one might 
 expect beforehand, would be the great end 
 and office of a revelation from God, is to 
 convey to the world authorized assurances 
 of the reality of a future existence. And 
 although in doing this, or by the ministry 
 of the same person by whom this is done, 
 moral precepts or examples, or illustra- 
 tions of moral precepts, may be occa-. 
 sionally given, and be highly valuable, 
 yet still they do not form the original pur- 
 pose of the mission. 
 
 Secondly; morality, neither in theGospel, 
 nor in any other book, can be a subject of 
 discovery, properly so called. By which 
 proposition, I mean that there cannot, in 
 morality, be any thing similar to what are 
 called discoveries in natural philosophy, in 
 the arts of life, and in some sciences; as 
 the system of the universe, the circulation 
 of the blood, the polarity of the magnet, 
 die laws of gravitation, alphabetical writ- 
 ing, decimal arithmetic, and some other 
 things of the same sort ; facts, or proofs.
 
 25 
 
 or contrivances, before totally unknown 
 and unthought of. Whoever, therefore, 
 expects, in reading the New Testament, 
 to be struck with discoveries in morals in 
 the manner in which his mind was affected 
 when he first came to the knowledge of the 
 discoveries above mentioned ; or rather in 
 the manner in which the world was affected 
 by them, when they were first published ; 
 expects what, as I apprehend, the nature 
 of the subject renders it impossible that 
 he should meet with. And the foundation 
 of my opinion is this, that the qualities of 
 actions depend entirely upon their effects, 
 which effects must all along have been the 
 subject of human experience. 
 
 When it is once settled, no matter upon 
 what principle, that to do good is virtue, 
 the rest is calculation. But since the calcu- 
 lation cannot be instituted concerning each 
 particular action, wo establish intermediate 
 rules ; by which proceeding, the business of 
 morality is much facilitated, for then it is 
 concerning our rules alone that we need 
 inquire, whether in their tendency they be 
 beneficial ; concerning our actions, we have
 
 26 
 
 only to ask, whether they be agreeable to 
 the rules. We refer actions to rules, and 
 rules to public happiness. Now, in the 
 formation of these rules, there is no place 
 for discovery, properly so called, but there 
 is ample room for the exercise of wisdom, 
 judgement, and prudence. 
 
 As I wish to deliver argument rather 
 than panegyric, I shall treat of the morality 
 of the Gospel, in subjection to these obser- 
 vations. And after all, I think it such a 
 morality, as, considering from whom it 
 came, is most extraordinary; and such as, 
 without allowing some degree of reality to 
 the character and pretensions of the reli- 
 gion, it is difficult to account for : or, to 
 place the argument a little lower in the 
 scale, it is such a morality as completely 
 repels the supposition of its being the tra- 
 dition of a barbarous age or of a barbarous 
 people, of the religion being founded in 
 folly, or of its being the production of 
 craft ; and it repels also, in a great degree, 
 the supposition of its having been the effu- 
 sion of an enthusiastic mind.
 
 27 
 
 The division, under which the subject 
 may be most conveniently treated, is that 
 of the things taught, and the manner of 
 teaching. 
 
 Under the first head, I should willingly, 
 if the limits and nature of my work ad- 
 mitted of it, transcribe into this chapter the 
 whole of what has been said upon the mo- 
 rality of the Gospel, by the author of The 
 Internal Evidence of 'Christianity ; because 
 it perfectly agrees with my own opinion, 
 and because it is impossible to say the same 
 things so well. This acute observer of hu- 
 man nature, and, as I believe, sincere con- 
 vert to Christianity, appears to me to have 
 made out satisfactorily the two following 
 positions, viz. 
 
 I. That the Gospel omits some qualities, 
 which have usually engaged the praises and 
 admiration of mankind, but which, in real* 
 ity, and in their general effects, have been 
 prejudicial to human happiness. 
 
 II. That the Gospel has brought forwards 
 some virtues, which possess the highest in*
 
 28 
 
 trinsic value, but which have commonly 
 been overlooked and contemned. 
 
 The first of these propositions he exem- 
 plifies in the instances of friendship, patriot- 
 ism, active courage ; in the sense in which 
 these qualities are usually understood, and 
 in the conduct which they often produce. 
 
 The second, in the instances of passive 
 courage or endurance of sufferings, pa- 
 tience under affronts and injuries, humility, 
 irresistance, placability. 
 
 The truth is, there are two opposite de- 
 scriptions of character, under which man- 
 kind may generally be classed. The one 
 possesses vigour, firmness, resolution ; is 
 daring and active, quick in its sensibilities, 
 jealous of its fame, eager in its attach- 
 ments, inflexible in its purpose, violent in 
 its resentments. 
 
 The other, meek, yielding, complying, 
 forgiving; not prompt to act, but willing to 
 suffer ; silent and gentle under rudeness and 
 insult, suing for reconciliation where others
 
 29 
 
 would demand satisfaction, giving way to 
 the pushes of impudence, conceding and 
 indulgent to the prejudices, the wrong- 
 headedness, the intractability of those with 
 whom it has to deal. 
 
 The former of these characters is, and 
 ever hath been, the favourite of the world. 
 It is the character of great men. There is 
 a dignity in it which universally commands 
 respect. 
 
 The latter is poor-spirited, tame, and ab- 
 ject. Yet so it hath happened, that, with 
 the Founder of Christianity, this latter is the 
 subject of his commendation, his precepts, 
 his example ; and that the former is so, in 
 no part of its composition. This and no- 
 thing else, is the character designed in the 
 following remarkable passages : " Resist 
 not evil : but whosoever shall smite thee on 
 the right cheek, turn to him the other also : 
 and if any man will sue thee at the law, and 
 take away thy coat, let him have thy cloke 
 also : and whosoever shall compel thee to 
 go a mile, go with him twain: love your 
 enemies, bless them that curse you, do
 
 30 
 
 good to them that hate you, and pray for 
 them which despitefully use you and per- 
 secute you/' This certainly is not com- 
 mon-place morality. It is very original. 
 It shows at least (and it is for this purpose 
 we produce it) that no two things can be 
 more different than the Heroic and the 
 Christian character. 
 
 Now the author., to whom I refer, has 
 not only marked this difference more 
 strongly than any preceding writer, but has 
 proved, in contradiction to first impressions, 
 to popular opinion, to the encomiums of 
 orators and poets, and even to the suffrages 
 of historians and moralists, that the latter 
 character possesses the most of true worth 
 both as being most difficult either to be ac- 
 quired or sustained, and as contributing 
 most to the happiness and tranquillity of 
 social life. The state of his argument is 
 as follows : 
 
 I. If this disposition were universal, the 
 case is clear ; the world would be a society 
 of friends. Whereas, if the other disposi- 
 tion were universal, it would produce a
 
 31 
 
 scene of universal contention. The world 
 could not hold a generation of such men. 
 
 II. If, what is the fact, the disposition be 
 partial ; if a few be actuated by it, amongst 
 a multitude who are not ; in whatever de- 
 gree it does prevail, in the same proportion 
 it prevents, allays, and terminates quarrels, 
 the great disturbers of human happiness, 
 and the great sources of human misery, so 
 far as man's happiness and misery depend 
 upon man. Without this disposition, en- 
 mities must not only be frequent, but, 
 once begun, must be eternal : for, each re- 
 taliation being a fresh injury, and, conse- 
 quently, requiring a fresh satisfaction, no 
 period can be assigned to the reciprocation 
 of affronts, and to the progress of hatred, 
 but that which closes the lives, or at least 
 the intercourse, of the parties. 
 
 I would only add to these observations, 
 that although the former of the two cha- 
 racters above described may be occasion- 
 ally useful; although, perhaps, a great 
 general, or a great statesman, may be 
 formed by it, and these may be instru-
 
 33 
 
 merits of important benefits to mankind, yet 
 is this nothing more than what is true of 
 many qualities, which are acknowledged to 
 be vicious. Envy is a quality of this sort ; 
 I know not a stronger stimulus to exertion ; 
 many a scholar, many an artist, many a 
 soldier, has been produced by it ; never- 
 theless, since in its general effects it is. 
 noxious, it is properly condemned, cer- 
 tainlv is not praised, by sober moralists. 
 
 It was a portion of the same character 
 as that we are defending, or rather of his 
 love of the same character, which our Sa- 
 viour displayed, in his repeated correction 
 of the ambition of his disciples ; his frequent 
 admonitions, that greatness with them was 
 to consist in humility; his censure of that 
 love of distinction, and greediness of su- 
 periority, which the chief persons amongst 
 his countrymen were wont, on all occasions, 
 great and little, to betray. " They (the 
 .Scribes and Pharisees) love the uppermost 
 rooms at feasts, and the chief seats in the 
 synagogues, and greetings, in the markets, 
 and to be called of men, Rabbi, Rabbi. 
 But be not ye called Rabbi, for one is your
 
 33 
 
 Master, even Christ, and all ye are brethren : 
 and call no man your father upon the earth, 
 for one is your Father, which is in heaven ; 
 neither be ye called masters, for one is 
 your Master, even Christ; but he that is 
 greatest among you, shall be your servant : 
 and whosoever shall exalt himself, shall be 
 abased ; and he that shall humble himself, 
 shall be exalted *." I make no further re- 
 mark upon these passages (because they 
 are, in truth, only a repetition of the doc- 
 trine, different expressions of the prin- 
 ciple, which we have already stated), ex- 
 cept that some of the passages, especially 
 our Lord's advice to the guests at an en- 
 tertainment-f*, seem to extend the rule to 
 what we call manners ; which was both re- 
 gular in point of consistency, and not so 
 much beneath the dignity of our Lord's 
 mission, as may at first sight be supposed, 
 for bad manners are bad morals. 
 
 It is sufficiently apparent, that the pre- 
 
 * Matt, xxiii. 6. See also Mark, xii. 39. Luke, xx. 46.; 
 xiv. 7. 
 
 + Luke, xiv. 7- 
 
 VOL. II. D
 
 34 
 
 cepts we have cited, or rather the dispo* 
 sition which these precepts inculcate, relate 
 to personal conduct from personal motives ; 
 to cases in which men act from impulse, for 
 themselves, and from themselves. When it 
 comes to be considered, what is necessary 
 to be done for the sake of the public, and 
 out of a regard to the general welfare 
 (which consideration, for the most part, 
 ought exclusively to govern the duties of 
 men in public stations), it comes to a case 
 to which the rules do not belong. This 
 distinction is plain ; and if it were less so, 
 the consequence would not be much felt : 
 for, it is very seldom that, in the intercourse 
 of private life, men act with public views. 
 The personal motives, from which they do 
 act, the rule regulates. 
 
 The preference of the patient to the he*- 
 roic character, which we have here noticed, 
 and which the reader will find explained 
 at large in the work to which we have re- 
 ferred him, is a peculiarity in the Christ- 
 ian institution, which I propose as an ar- 
 gument of wisdom very much beyond the
 
 35 
 
 situation and natural character of the per- 
 son who delivered it. 
 
 II. A second argument, drawn from the 
 morality of the New Testament, is the stress 
 which is laid by our Saviour upon the re- 
 gulation of the thoughts. And I place this 
 consideration next to the other, because 
 they are connected. The other related to 
 the malicious passions ; this, to the volup- 
 tuous. Together, they comprehend die 
 whole character. 
 
 " Out of the heart proceed evil thoughts, 
 murders, adulteries, fornications," &c. 
 " These are the things which defile a man*/' 
 
 " Wo unto you, scribes and Pharisees, 
 hypocrites ! for ye make clean the outside 
 of the cup and of the platter, but within 
 they are full of extortion and excess. 
 Ye are like unto whited sepulchres, which 
 indeed appear beautiful outward, but are 
 within full of dead men's bones, and of all 
 uncleanness ; even so ye also outwardly 
 
 * Matt. xv. iy. 
 D 2
 
 36 
 
 appear righteous unto men, but within ye 
 are full of hypocrisy and iniquity*." 
 
 And more particularly that strong ex- 
 pression -f*, " Whosoever looketh on a wo- 
 man to lust after her, hath committed 
 adultery with her already in his heart." 
 
 There can be no doubt with any reflects 
 ing mind, but that the propensities of our 
 nature must be subject to regulation ; but 
 the question is, where the check ought to 
 be placed, upon the thought, or only upon 
 the action? In this question, our Saviour, in 
 the texts here quoted, has pronounced a 
 decisive judgement. He makes the con- 
 trol of thought essential. Internal purity 
 with him is every thing. Now I contend 
 that this is the only discipline which can 
 succeed ; in other words, that a moral sys- 
 tem, which prohibits actions, but leaves 
 the thoughts at liberty, will be ineffectual, 
 and is therefore unwise. I know not how 
 to go about the proof of a point, which 
 depends upon experience, and upon a 
 
 * Matt, xxiii. 25, '27 \ lb. v. 28.
 
 37 
 
 knowledge of the human constitution, bet- 
 ter than by citing the judgement of persons, 
 who appear to have given great attention 
 to the subject, and to be well qualified to 
 form a true opinion about it. Boerhaave, 
 speaking of this very declaration of our 
 Saviour, " Whosoever looketh on a woman 
 to lust after her, hath already committed 
 adultery with her in his heart," and under- 
 standing it, as we do, to contain an injunc- 
 tion to lay the check upon the thoughts, 
 was wont to say, that, " our Saviour knew 
 mankind better than Socrates." Haller, 
 who has recorded this saying of Boerhaave, 
 adds to it the following remarks of his 
 own* : " It did not escape the observation 
 of our Saviour, that the rejection of any 
 evil thoughts was the best defence against 
 vice : for when a debauched person fills 
 his imagination with impure pictures, the 
 licentious ideas which he recalls, fail not 
 to stimulate his desires with a degree of 
 violence which he cannot resist. This will 
 be followed by gratification, unless some 
 external obstacle should prevent him from 
 
 * Letters to his Daughter.
 
 38 
 
 the commission of a sin, which he had in- 
 ternally resolved on." " Every moment of 
 time," says our author, "that is spent in 
 meditations upon sin, increases the power 
 of the dangerous object which has pos- 
 sessed our imagination." I suppose these 
 reflections will be generally assented to. 
 
 III. Thirdly, had a teacher of morality 
 been asked concerning a general principle 
 of conduct, and for a short rule of life ; and 
 had he instructed the person who consulted 
 him, " constantly to refer his actions to 
 what he believed to be the will of his 
 Creator, and constantly to have in view 
 not his own interest and gratification alone, 
 but the happiness and comfort of those 
 about him," he would have been thought, 
 I doubt not, in any age of the world, and 
 in any, even the most improved, state of 
 morals, to have delivered a judicious an- 
 swer ; because, by the first direction, he 
 suggested the only motive which acts 
 steadily and uniformly, in sight and out of 
 sight, in familiar occurrences and under 
 pressing temptations ; and in tin; second, 
 he corrected, what, of all tendencies in the
 
 39 
 
 human character, stands most in need of 
 correction, selfishness, or a contempt of 
 other men's conveniencv and satisfaction. 
 In estimating the value of a moral rule, 
 we are to have regard not only to the par- 
 ticular duty, but the general spirit: not 
 only to what it directs us to do, but to the 
 character which a compliance with its di- 
 rection is likely to form in us. So, in the 
 present instance, the rule here recited will 
 never fail to make him who obeys it con- 
 siderate, not only of the rights, but of the 
 feelings of other men, bodily and mental, 
 in great matters and in small ; of the ease, 
 the accommodation, the self-complacency, 
 of all with whom he has any concern, 
 especially of all who are in his power, or 
 dependent upon his will. 
 
 Now what, in the most applauded phi- 
 losopher of the most enlightened age of the 
 world, would have been deemed worthy of 
 his wisdom, and of his character, to say, our 
 Saviour hath said, and upon just such an 
 occasion as that which we have feigned. 
 
 " Then one of them, which was a lawyer,
 
 40 
 
 asked him a question, tempting him, and 
 saying, Master, which is the great com- 
 mandment in the law? Jesus said unto 
 him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God 
 with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, 
 and with all thy mind ; this is the first and 
 great commandment; and the second is 
 like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour 
 as thyself; on these two commandments 
 hang all the law and the prophets*/' 
 
 The second precept occurs in Saint Mat- 
 thew (xix. 16.) on another occasion similar 
 to this; and both of them, on a third simi- 
 lar occasion, in Luke (x. 27). In these 
 two latter instances, the question proposed 
 was, " What shall I do to inherit eternal 
 life?" 
 
 Upon all these occasions, I consider the 
 words of our Saviour as expressing pre- 
 cisely the same thing as what I have put 
 into the mouth of the moral philosopher. 
 Nor do I think that it detracts much from 
 the merit of the answer, that these pre-' 
 
 * Malt. xxii. 3540.
 
 41 
 
 cepts are extant in the Mosaic code ; for 
 his laying his finger, if I may so say, upon 
 these precepts ; his drawing them out from 
 the rest of that voluminous institution ; his 
 stating of them, not simply amongst the 
 number, but as the greatest and the sum 
 of all the others ; in a word, his proposing 
 of them to his hearers for their rule and 
 principle, was our Saviour's own. 
 
 And what our Saviour had said upon 
 the subject, appears to me to have fixed 
 the sentiment amongst his followers. 
 
 Saint Paul has it expressly, " If there be 
 any other commandment, it is briefly com- 
 prehended in this saying, Thou shalt love 
 thy neighbour as thyself* ;" and again, 
 " For all the law is fulfilled in one word, 
 even in this, Thou shalt love thy neigh- 
 bour as thyself"|\ w 
 
 Saint John, in like manner, " This com- 
 mandment have we from him, that he who 
 loveth God, love his brother also J." 
 
 * Rora. xiii. 9. t Gal. v. 14. $ I John, iv. 21.
 
 m 
 
 Saint Peter, not very differently : " See- 
 ing that ye have purified your souls hi 
 obeying the truth, through the Spirit, unto 
 unfeigned love of the brethren, see that ye 
 love one another with a pure heart fer- 
 vently *." 
 
 And it is so well known, as to require 
 no citations to verify it, that this love, or 
 charity, or, in other words, regard tp the 
 welfare of others, runs in various forms 
 through all the preceptive parts of the 
 apostolic writings. It is the theme of all 
 their exhortations, that with which their 
 morality begins and ends, from which all 
 their details and enumerations set out, and 
 into which they return. 
 
 And that this temper, for some time at 
 least, descended in its purity to succeeding 
 Christians, is attested by one of the earliest 
 and best of the remaining writings of the 
 apostolical fathers, the epistle of the Ro- 
 man Clement . The meekness of the Christ- 
 ian character reigns throughout the whole 
 
 * 1 Peter, i. 22.
 
 43 
 
 of that excellent piece. The occasion 
 called for it. It was to compose the dis- 
 sensions of the church of Corinth. And 
 the venerable hearer of the apostles does 
 not fall short, in the display of this prin- 
 ciple, of the finest passages of their writ- 
 ings. He calls to the remembrance of 
 the Corinthian church its former charac- 
 ter, in which " ye were all of you," he 
 tells them, " humble-minded, not boasting 
 of any thing, desiring rather to be subject 
 than to govern, to give than to receive, 
 being content with the portion God had 
 dispensed to you, and hearkening dili- 
 gently to his word ; ye were enlarged in 
 your bowels, having his sufferings always 
 before your eyes. Ye contended day and 
 night for the whole brotherhood, that with 
 compassion and a good conscience the 
 number of his elect might be saved. Ye 
 were sincere, and without offence, towards 
 each other. Ye bewailed every one his 
 neighbour's sins, esteeming their defects 
 your own*/' His prayer for them was for 
 the " return of peace, long-suffering, and 
 
 a* Ep. Clem. Rom. c. Q. ; Abp. Wake's Translation.
 
 u 
 
 patience *." And his advice to those, who 
 might have been the occasion of difference 
 in the society, is conceived in the true 
 spirit, and with a perfect knowledge, of the 
 Christian character : " Who is there among 
 you that is generous? who that is com- 
 passionate? who that has any charity? 
 Let him say, If this sedition, this conten- 
 tion, and these schisms, be upon my ac- 
 count, I am ready to depart, to go away 
 whithersoever ye please, and do whatso- 
 ever ye shall command me ; only let the 
 flock of Christ be in peace with the elders 
 who are set over it. He that shall do this, 
 shall get to himself a very great honour in 
 the Lord; and there is no place but what 
 will be ready to receive him ; for the earth 
 is the Lord's, and the fulness thereof. 
 These things they, who have their conver- 
 sation towards God, not to be repented 
 of, both have done, and will always be 
 ready to do-fv" 
 
 This sacred principle, this earnest re- 
 commendation of forbearance, lenity, and 
 
 * Ep. Clem. Rom. c. 53.; Abp. Wake's Translation, 
 t lb. c. $4.
 
 45 
 
 forgiveness, mixes with all the writings of 
 that age. There are more quotations in the 
 apostolical fathers, of texts which relate to 
 these points, than of any other. Christ's 
 sayings had struck them. " Not render- 
 ing," said Polycarp, the disciple of John, 
 " evil for evil, or railing for railing, or 
 striking for striking, or cursing for curs- 
 ing*/' Again, speaking of some, whose 
 behaviour had given great offence, " Be ye 
 moderate," says he, " on this occasion, and 
 look not upon such as enemies, but call 
 them back as suffering and erring mem- 
 bers, that ye save your whole bodyj"/* 
 
 " Be ye mild at their anger," saith Igna- 
 tius, the companion of Polycarp, " humble 
 at their boastings, to their blasphemies re- 
 turn your prayers, to their error your firm- 
 ness in the faith ; when they are cruel, be 
 ye gentle ; not endeavouring to imitate 
 their ways, let us be their brethren in all 
 kindness and moderation : but let us be 
 followers of the Lord ; for who was ever 
 
 f Pol. Ep. ad Phil. c. 2. f lb. c. 11.
 
 46 
 
 more unjustly used, more destitute, more 
 despised ?" 
 
 IV. A fourth quality, by which the mo- 
 rality of the Gospel is distinguished, is 
 the exclusion of regard to fame and repu- 
 tation. 
 
 " Take heed that ye do not your alms 
 before men, to be seen of them, otherwise 
 ye have no reward of your Father which is 
 in heaven *." 
 
 " When thou prayest, enter into thy 
 closet, and when thou hast shut the door, 
 pray to thy Father which is in secret ; and 
 thy Father which seeth in secret, shall re- 
 ward thee openly -j-. w 
 
 And the rule, by parity of reason, is ex- 
 tended to all other virtues. 
 
 I do not think, that either in these, ro 
 in any other passage of the New Testa- 
 
 * Matt. vi. 1. | Ibid. 6.
 
 47 
 
 merit, the pursuit of fame is stated as a 
 vice ; it is only said that an action, to be 
 virtuous, must be independent of it. I 
 would also observe, that it is not publicity, 
 but ostentation, which is prohibited; not 
 the mode, but the motive, of the action, 
 which is regulated. A good man will pre- 
 fer that mode, as well as those objects of 
 his beneficence, by which he can produce 
 the greatest effect ; and the view of this 
 purpose may dictate sometimes publica- 
 tion, and sometimes concealment. Either 
 the one or the other may be the mode of 
 the action, according as the end to be pro- 
 moted by it appears to require. But from 
 the motive, the reputation of the deed, and 
 the fruits and advantage of that reputa- 
 tion to ourselves, must be shut out, or, in 
 whatever proportion they are not so, the 
 action in that proportion fails of being 
 virtuous. 
 
 This exclusion of regard to human opi- 
 nion, is a difference, not so much in the 
 duties, to which the teachers of virtue 
 would persuade mankind, as in the manner
 
 48 
 
 and topics of persuasion. And in this view 
 the difference is great. When we set about 
 to give advice, our lectures are full of 
 the advantages of character, of the regard 
 that is due to appearances and to opinion ; 
 of what the world, especially of what the 
 good or great, will think and say : of the 
 value of public esteem, and of the quali- 
 ties by which men acquire it. Widely dif- 
 ferent from this was our Saviour's instruc- 
 tion ; and the difference was founded upon 
 the best reasons. For, however the care 
 of reputation, the authority of public opi- 
 nion, or even of the opinion of good men, 
 the satisfaction of being well received 
 and well thought of, the benefit of being 
 known and distinguished, are topics to 
 which we are fain to have recourse in our 
 exhortations ; the true virtue is that which 
 discards these considerations absolutely, 
 and which retires from them all to the sin- 
 gle internal purpose of pleasing God. This 
 at least was the virtue which our Saviour 
 taught. And in teaching this, he' not 
 only confined the views of his followers to 
 the proper measure and principle of human
 
 49 
 
 duty, but acted in consistency with his 
 office as a monitor from heaven. 
 
 Next to what our Saviour taught, may 
 be considered the manner of his teaching ; 
 which was extremely peculiar, yet, I think, 
 precisely adapted to the peculiarity of his 
 character and situation. His lessons did 
 not consist of disquisitions ; of any thing 
 like moral essays, or like sermons, or like 
 set treatises upon the several points which 
 he mentioned. When he delivered a pre- 
 cept, it -was seldom that he added any 
 proof or argument; still more seldom, that 
 he accompanied it with, what all precepts 
 require, limitations and distinctions. His 
 instructions were conceived in short, em- 
 phatic, sententious rules, in occasional re- 
 flections, or in round maxims. I do not think 
 that this was a natural, or would have been 
 a proper method for a philosopher or a 
 moralist ; or that it is a method which can 
 be successfully imitated by us. But I con- 
 tend that it was suitable to the character 
 which Christ assumed, and to the situation 
 
 VOL. II. e
 
 50 
 
 in which, as a teacher, he was placed. 
 He produced himself as a messenger from 
 God. He put the truth of what he taught 
 upon authority*. In the choice, therefore, 
 of his mode of teaching, the purpose by 
 him to be consulted was impression : be- 
 cause conviction, which forms the princi- 
 pal end of our discourses, was to arise in 
 the minds of his followers, from a different 
 source, from their respect to his person and 
 authority. Now, for the purpose of im- 
 pression singly and exclusively (I repeat, 
 again, that we are not here to consider the 
 convincing of the understanding), I know 
 nothing which would have so great force as 
 strong ponderous maxims, frequently urged, 
 and frequently brought back to the thoughts 
 of the hearers. I know nothing that could 
 in this view be said better, than " Do unto 
 others as ye would that others should do 
 unto you :" " The first and great command- 
 ment is, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God ; 
 and the second is like unto it, Thou shall 
 
 * I say unto you, Swear not at all ; / say unto you, Re- 
 ist not evil; say untoyou, Love your enemiest. 
 
 f Mat. v. 34 } , <4.
 
 51 
 
 love thy neighbour as thyself." It must 
 also he remembered, that our Lord's mi- 
 nistry, upon the supposition either of one 
 year or three, compared with his work, 
 was of short duration ; that, within this 
 time, he had many places to visit, various 
 audiences to address ; that his person was 
 generally besieged by crowds of followers : 
 that he was, sometimes, driven away from 
 the place where he was teaching by perse- 
 cution, and at other times, thought fit to 
 withdraw himself from, the commotions of 
 the populace. Under these circumstances, 
 nothing appears to have been so practi- 
 cable, or likely to be so efficacious, as 
 leaving, wherever he came, concise lessons 
 of duty. These circumstances at least show 
 the necessity he was under of comprising 
 what he delivered within a small compass. 
 In particular, his sermon upon the mount 
 ought always to be considered with a view 
 to these observations. The question is not, 
 whether a fuller, a more accurate, a more 
 systematic, or a more argumentative dis- 
 course upon morals might not have been 
 pronounced ; but whether more could have 
 been said in the same room, better adapted 
 
 e 2
 
 52 
 
 to the exigences of the hearers, or better 
 calculated for the purpose of impression ? 
 Seen in this light, it has always appeared to 
 me to be admirable. Dr. Lardner thought 
 that this discourse was made up of what 
 Christ had said at different times, and on 
 different occasions, several of which occa- 
 sions are noticed in Saint Luke's narrative. 
 I can perceive no reason for this opinion. 
 I believe that our Lord delivered this dis- 
 course at one time and place, in the man- 
 ner related by Saint Matthew, and that he 
 repeated the same rules and maxims at 
 different times, as opportunity or occasion 
 suggested; that they were often in his 
 mouth, and were repeated to different 
 audiences, and m various conversations. 
 
 It is incidental to this mode of moral 
 instruction, which proceeds not by proof 
 but upon authority, not by disquisition but 
 by precept, that the rules will be conceived 
 m absolute terms, leaving the application, 
 and the distinctions that attend it, to the 
 reason of the hearer. It is likewise to be 
 expected that they will be delivered in 
 terms by so much the more forcible and
 
 53 
 
 energetic, as they have to encounter natu- 
 ral or general propensities. It is further 
 also to be remarked, that many of those 
 strong instances, which appear in our Lord's 
 sermon, such as, " If any man will smite 
 thee on the right cheek, turn to him the 
 other also :" " If any man will sue thee at 
 the law, and take away thy coat, let him 
 have thy cloak also :" " Whosoever shall 
 compel thee to go a mile, go with him twain :" 
 though they appear in the form of specific 
 precepts, are intended as descriptive of 
 disposition and character. A specific com- 
 pliance with the pre cepts would be of little 
 value, but the disposition which they incul- 
 cate is of the highest. He who should 
 content himself with waiting for the occa- 
 sion, and with literally observing the rule 
 when the occasion offered, would do no- 
 thing, or worse than nothing : but he who 
 considers the character and disposition 
 which is hereby inculcated, and places 
 that disposition before him as the model to 
 which he should bring his own, takes, per- 
 haps, the best possible method of improv- 
 ing the benevolence, and of calming and 
 rectifying the vices, of his temper.
 
 34 
 
 If it be said that this disposition is un- 
 attainable, I answer, so is all perfection : 
 ought therefore a moralist to recommend 
 imperfections ? One excellency, however/ 
 of our Saviour's rules, is, that they are 
 either never mistaken, or never so mistaken 
 as to do harm. I could feign a hundred 
 cases, in which the literal application of 
 the rule, " of doing to others as we would 
 that others should do unto us/' might 
 mislead us : but I never yet met with the 
 man who w r as actually misled by it. Not- 
 withstanding that our Lord bade his fol- 
 lowers, " not to resist evil," and " to forgive 
 the enemy who should trespass against 
 them, not till seven times, but till seventy 
 times .seven," the Christian world has 
 hitherto suffered little by too much placa- 
 bility or forbearance. I would repeat once 
 more, what has already been twice re- 
 marked, that these rules were designed to 
 regulate personal conduct from personal 
 motives, and for this purpose alone. 
 
 I think that these observations will assist 
 us greatly in piercing our Saviour's conduct, 
 as a moral teacher, in a proper point of
 
 5$ 
 
 view; especially when it is considered, 
 that to deliver moral disquisitions was no 
 part of his design, to teach morality at all 
 was only a subordinate part of it ; his great 
 business being to supply, what was much 
 more wanting than lessons of morality, 
 stronger moral sanctions, and clearer "as- 
 surances of a future judgement*. 
 
 The parables of the New Testament are, 
 many of them, such as would have done 
 honour to any book in the world : I do not 
 mean in style and diction, but in the choice 
 
 * Some appear to require a religious system, or, in the 
 books which profess to deliver that system, minute direc- 
 tions for every case and occurrence that may arise. This, 
 say they, is necessary, to render a revelation perfect, espe- 
 cially one which has for its object the regulation of human 
 conduct. Now, how prolix, and yet how incomplete and 
 unavailing, such an attempt must have been, is proved by 
 one notable example: " The Indoo and Mussulman religion 
 are institutes of civil law, regulating the minutest questions 
 both of property, and of all questions which come under the 
 cognizance of the magistrate. And to what length details 
 of this kind are necessarily carried, when once begun, may 
 be understood from an anecdote, of the Mussulman code, 
 which we have received from the most respectable author- 
 ity, that not less than seventy-five thousand traditional pre- 
 cepts have been promulgated." (Hamilton's Translation of 
 thelled^ya, or Guide.)
 
 56 
 
 of the subjects, in the structure of the 
 narratives, in the aptness, propriety, and 
 force of the circumstances woven into 
 them ; and in some, as that of the Good 
 Samaritan, the Prodigal Son, the Pharisee 
 and the Publican, in an union of pathos 
 and simplicity, which, in the best produc- 
 tions of human genius, is the fruit only 
 of a much exercised, and well-cultivated 
 judgement. 
 
 The Lord's Prayer, for a succession of 
 solemn thoughts, for fixing the attention 
 upon a few great points, for suitableness 
 to every condition, for sufficiency, for con- 
 ciseness without obscurity, for the weight 
 and real importance of its petitions, is 
 without an equal or a rival. 
 
 From whence did these come? Whence 
 had this man his wisdom ? Was our Sa- 
 viour, in fact, a well-instructed philosopher, 
 whilst he is represented to us as an illite- 
 rate peasant? Or shall we say that some 
 early Christians of taste and education 
 composed these pieces and ascribed them 
 to Christ? Beside all other incredibilities
 
 57 
 
 In this account, I answer, with Dr. Jortin, 
 that they could not do it. No specimens 
 of composition, which the Christians of the 
 first century have left us, authorize us to 
 believe that they were equal to the task. 
 And how little qualified the Jews, the 
 countrymen and companions of Christ, were 
 to assist him in the undertaking, may be 
 judged of from the traditions and writings 
 of theirs which were the nearest to that 
 age. The whole collection of the Talmud 
 is one continued proof, into what follies 
 they fell whenever they left their Bible ; 
 and how little capable they were of fur- 
 nishing out such lessons as Christ delivered. 
 
 But there is still another view, in which 
 our Lord's discourses deserve to be con- 
 sidered ; and that is, in their negative cha- 
 racter, not in what they did, but in what 
 they did not, contain. Under this head, 
 the following reflections appear to me to 
 possess some weight. 
 
 1. They exhibit no particular description 
 of the invisible world. The future hap-
 
 58 
 
 piness of the good, and the misery of the 
 bad, which is all we want to be assured of, 
 is directly and positively affirmed, and is 
 represented by metaphors and comparisons, 
 which were plainly intended as metaphors 
 and comparisons, and as nothing more. As 
 to the rest, a solemn reserve is maintained. 
 The question concerning the woman who 
 had been married to seven brothers, " Whose 
 shall she be on the resurrection?" was of a 
 nature calculated to have drawn from Christ 
 a more circumstantial account of the state 
 of the human species in their future ex- 
 istence. He cut short, however, the in- 
 quiry by an answer, which at once rebuked 
 intruding curiosity, and was agreeable to 
 the best apprehensions we are able to form 
 upon the subject, viz. " That they who are 
 accounted worthy of that resurrection, shall 
 be as the angels of God in heaven." I lay 
 a stress upon this reserve, because it repels 
 the suspicion of enthusiasm : for enthusiasm 
 is wont to expatiate upon the condition of 
 the departed, above all other subjects; 
 and with a wild particularity. It is more- 
 over a topic which is always listened to 
 with preediness. The teaeher, therefore*
 
 59 
 
 whose principal purpose is to draw upon 
 himself attention, is sure to be full of it. 
 The Koran of Mahomet is half made up 
 of ft. 
 
 II. Our Lord enjoined no austerities. 
 He not only enjoined none as absolute du- 
 ties, but he recommended none as carrying 
 men to a higher degree of Divine favour. 
 Place Christianity, in this respect, by the 
 
 .side of all institutions which have been 
 founded in the fanaticism, either of their 
 author, or of his first followers : or rather 
 compare, in this respect, Christianity as it 
 came from Christ, with the same religion 
 after it fell into other hands ; with the ex* 
 travagant merit very soon ascribed to ce- 
 libacy, solitude, voluntary poverty; with 
 the rigours of an ascetic, and the vows of 
 Q. monastic life ; the hair shirt, the watch- 
 ings, the midnight prayers, the obmute- 
 scence, the gloom and mortification of 
 religious orders, and of those who aspired 
 to religious perfection. 
 
 III. Our Saviour uttered no impassioned 
 devotion. There was no heat in his piety,
 
 6'0 
 
 pr in the language in which he expressed 
 it ; no vehement or rapturous ejaculations, 
 no violent urgency, in his prayers. The 
 Lord's Prayer is a model of calm devotion. 
 His words in the garden are unaffected ex- 
 pressions, of a deep indeed, but sober piety. 
 He never appears to have been worked up 
 into any thing like that elation, or that 
 emotion of spirits, which is occasionally ob- 
 served in most of those, to whom the name 
 of enthusiast can in any degree be applied. 
 I feel a respect for Methodists, because I 
 believe that there is to be found amongst 
 them, much sincere piety, and availing, 
 though not always well-informed, Christi- 
 anity : yet I never attended a meeting o* 
 theirs, but I came away with the reflection, 
 how different what I heard was from what 
 I read! I do not mean in doctrine, with 
 which at present, I have no concern, but 
 in manner ; how different from the calm- 
 ness, the sobrietv, the good sense, and, I 
 may add, the strength and authority, of 
 our Lord's discourses! 
 
 IV. It is very usual with the human mind, 
 to substitute forwardness and fervency in a
 
 61 
 
 particular cause, for the merit of general 
 and regular morality : and it is natural, and 
 politic also, in the leader of a sect or party, 
 to encourage such a disposition in his fol- 
 lowers. Christ did not overlook this turn 
 of thought ; yet, though avowedly placing 
 himself at the head of a new institution, he 
 notices it only to condemn it. " Not every 
 one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall 
 enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he 
 that doeth the will of my Father which is 
 in heaven. Many will say unto me in that 
 day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied 
 in thy name? and in thy name have cast 
 out devils? and in thy name done many 
 wonderful works ? And then will I profess 
 unto you I never knew you : depart from 
 me, ye that work iniquity*." So far was 
 the Author of Christianity from courting 
 the attachment of his followers bv any sa- 
 crifice of principle, or by a condescension 
 to the errors which even zeal in his service 
 might have inspired! This was a proof 
 both of sincerity and judgement. 
 
 %' %> o 
 
 V. Nor, fifthly, did he fall in with any 
 
 * Mat. vii. 21, 22.
 
 62 
 
 of the depraved fashions of his country, or 
 with the natural bias of his own education. 
 Bred up a Jew, under a religion extremely 
 technical, in an age and amongst a people 
 more tenacious of the ceremonies than of 
 any other part of that religion, he delivered 
 an institution, containing less of ritual, and 
 that more simple, than is to be found in 
 any religion which ever prevailed amongst 
 mankind. We have known, I do allow, 
 examples of an enthusiasm, which has swept 
 away all external ordinances before it. 
 But this spirit certainly did not dictate our 
 Saviour's conduct, either in his treatment of 
 the religion of his country, or in the forma- 
 tion of his own institution. In both, he dis- 
 played the soundness and moderation of 
 his judgement. He censured an overstrained 
 scrupulousness, or perhaps an affectation of 
 scrupulousness, about the Sabbath: but 
 how did he censure it? not by contemning 
 or decrying the institution itself, but by de- 
 claring that " the Sabbath was made for 
 man, not man for the Sabbath ;" that is to 
 say, that the Sabbath was to be subordinate 
 to its purpose, and that that purpose was 
 the real good of those who were the sub-
 
 63 
 
 jects of the law. The same concerning the 
 nicety of some of the Pharisees, in paying 
 tithes of the most trifling articles, accom- 
 panied with a neglect of justice, fidelity, 
 and mercy. He finds fault with them for 
 misplacing their anxiety. He does not 
 speak disrespectfully of the law of tithes 
 nor of their observance of it ; but he as- 
 signs to each class of duties its proper sta- 
 tion in the scale of moral importance. All 
 this might be expected perhaps from a well- 
 instructed, cool, and judicious philosopher, 
 but was not to be looked for from an illite- 
 rate Jew ; certainly not from an impetuous 
 enthusiast. 
 
 VI. Nothing could be more quibbling, 
 than were the comments and expositions of 
 the Jewish doctors, at that time ; nothing so 
 puerile as their distinctions. Their evasion 
 of the fifth commandment, their exposition 
 of the law of oaths, are specimens of the 
 bad taste in morals which then prevailed. 
 Whereas, in a numerous collection of our 
 Saviour's apophthegms, many of them refer- 
 ring to sundry precepts of the Jewish law, 
 there is not to be found one. example of
 
 64 
 
 sophistry, or of false subtil ty, or of any 
 thing approaching thereunto. 
 
 VII. The national temper of the Jews 
 was intolerant, narrow-minded, and ex- 
 cluding. In Jesus, on the contrary, whether 
 we regard his lessons or his example, we 
 see not only benevolence, but benevolence 
 the most enlarged and comprehensive. In 
 the parable of the Good Samaritan, the 
 very point of the story is, that the person 
 relieved by him, was the national and reli- 
 gious enemy of his benefactor. Our Lord 
 declared the equity of the Divine admini- 
 stration, when he told the Jews (what, pro- 
 bably, they were surprised to hear), " That 
 many should come from the east and west, 
 and should sit down with Abraham, Isaac, 
 and Jacob, in the kingdom of heaven ; but 
 that the children of the kingdom should be 
 cast into outer darkness*/' His reproof of 
 the hasty zeal of his disciples, who would 
 needs call down fire from heaven to revenge 
 an affront put upon their Master, shows 
 the lenity of his character, and of his reli- 
 
 * Matt. viii. 11.
 
 65 
 
 gion; and his opinion of the manner in 
 which the most unreasonable opponents 
 ought to be treated, or at least of the 
 manner in which they ought not to be 
 treated. The terms, in which his rebuke 
 was conveyed, deserve to be noticed : 
 " Ye know not what manner of spirit ye 
 are of*." 
 
 VIII. Lastly, amongst the negative qua- 
 lities of our religion, as it came out of the 
 hands of its Founder and his apostles, we 
 may reckon its complete abstraction from 
 all views either of ecclesiastical or civil po- 
 licy ; or, to meet a language much in fashion 
 with some men, from the politics either of, 
 priests or statesmen. Christ's declaration, 
 that " his kingdom was not of this world," 
 recorded by Saint John ; his evasion of the 
 question, whether it was lawful or not to 
 give tribute unto Caesar, mentioned by the 
 three other evangelists ; his reply to an 
 application that was made to him, to inter- 
 pose his authority in a question of property ; 
 " Man, who made me a ruler or a judge over 
 
 * Luke, ix. 55. 
 VOL. II. F
 
 66 
 
 you P" ascribed to him by Saint Luke ; his 
 declining to exercise the office of a criminal 
 judge in the case of the woman taken in 
 adultery, as related by John, are all in- 
 telligible significations of our Saviour's 
 sentiments upon this head. And with re- 
 spect to politics, in the usual sense of that 
 word, or discussions concerning different 
 forms of government, Christianity declines 
 every question upon the subject. Whilst 
 politicians are disputing about monarchies, 
 aristocracies, and republics, the Gospel is 
 alike applicable, useful, and friendly to 
 them all; inasmuch as, 1st, it tends to 
 make men virtuous, and as it is easier to 
 govern good men than bad men under any 
 constitution ; as, 2dly, it states obedience 
 to government in ordinary cases, to be not 
 merely a submission to force, but a duty 
 of conscience ; as, 3dly, it induces dispo- 
 sitions favourable to public tranquillity, 
 a Christian's chief care being to pass 
 quietly through this world to a better; 
 as, 4thly, it prays for communities, and 
 for the governors of communities, of what- 
 ever description or denomination they be, 
 with a solicitude and fervency proportioned
 
 67 
 
 to the influence which they possess upon 
 human happiness. All which, in my opi- 
 nion, is just as it should be. Had there 
 been more to be found in Scripture of a 
 political nature, or convertible to political 
 purposes, the worst use would have been 
 made of it, on whichever side it seemed 
 to lie. 
 
 When, therefore, we consider Christ as 
 a moral teacher (remembering that this was 
 only a secondary part of his office; and 
 that morality, by the nature of the sub- 
 ject, does not admit of discovery, properly 
 so called) ; when we consider either what 
 he taught, or what he did not teach, either 
 the substance or the manner of his instruc- 
 tion ; his preference of solid to popular 
 virtues, of a character which is commonly 
 despised to a character which is univer- 
 sally extolled ; his placing, in our licentious 
 vices, the check in the right place, viz, 
 upon the thoughts: his collecting of human 
 duty into two well-devised rules, his repeti- 
 tion of these rules, the stress he laid upon 
 them, especially in comparison with posi- 
 tive duties, and his fixing thereby the sen-
 
 68 
 
 timents of his followers ; his exclusion of all 
 regard to reputation in our devotion and 
 alms, and, by parity of reason, in our other 
 virtues ; when we consider that his instruc- 
 tions were delivered in a form calculated 
 for impression, the precise purpose in his 
 situation to be consulted; and that they 
 were illustrated by parables, the choice and 
 structure of which would have been admired 
 in any composition whatever ; when we ob- 
 serve him free from the usual symptoms of 
 enthusiasm, heat and vehemence in devo- 
 tion, austerity in institutions, and a wild 
 particularity in the description of a future 
 state; free also from the depravities of 
 his age and country ; without superstition 
 amongst the most superstitious of men, yet 
 not decrying positive distinctions or external 
 observances, but soberly calling them to 
 the principle of their establishment, and to 
 their place in the scale of human duties; 
 without sophistry or trifling, amidst teachers 
 remarkable for nothing so much as frivo- 
 lous subtilties and quibbling expositions ; 
 candid and liberal in his judgement of the 
 rest of mankind, although belonging to a 
 people who affected a separate claim to
 
 69 
 
 Divine favour, and, in consequence of that 
 opinion, prone to uncharitableness, par- 
 tiality, and restitution; when we find, in 
 his religion, no scheme of building up a 
 hierarchy, or of ministering to the views of 
 human governments ; in a word, when we 
 compare Christianity, as it came from its 
 Author, either with other religions, or with 
 itself in other hands, the most reluctant 
 understanding will be induced to acknow- 
 ledge the probity, I think also the good 
 sense, of those to whom it owes its origin ; 
 and that some regard is due to the testi- 
 mony of such men, when they declare their 
 knowledge that the religion proceeded from 
 God ; and when they appeal, for the truth 
 of their assertion, to miracles which they 
 wrought, or which they saw. 
 
 Perhaps the qualities which we observe 
 in the religion, may be thought to prove 
 something more. They would have been 
 extraordinary, had the religion come from 
 any person; from the person from whom 
 it did come, they are exceedingly so. What 
 was Jesus in external appearance? A 
 Jewish peasant, the son of a carpenter,
 
 70 
 
 living with his father and mother in a re- 
 mote province of Palestine, until the time 
 that he produced himself in his public cha- 
 racter. He had no master to instruct or 
 prompt him ; he had read no books, but 
 the works of Moses and the Prophets ; he 
 had visited no polished cities; he had re- 
 ceived no lessons from Socrates or Plato, 
 nothing to form in him a taste or judge- 
 ment different from that of the res t of his 
 countrymen, and of persons of the same 
 rank of life with himself. Supposing it to 
 be true, which it is not, that all his points 
 of morality might be picked out of Greek 
 and Roman writings, they were writings 
 which he had never seen. Supposing them 
 to be no more than what some or other had 
 taught in various times and places, he 
 could not collect them together. 
 
 Who were his coadjutors in the under- 
 taking, the persons into whose hands the 
 religion came after his death ? A few fish- 
 ermen upon the lake of Tiberias, persons 
 just as uneducated, and, for the purpose 
 of framing rules of morality, as unpromis- 
 ing as himself. Suppose the mission to
 
 n 
 
 be real, all this is accounted for ; the un- 
 suitableness of the authors to the produc- 
 tion, of the characters to the undertaking, 
 no longer surprises us : but without reality, 
 it is very difficult to explain, how such a 
 system should proceed from such persons. 
 Christ was not like any other carpenter; 
 the apostles were not like any other fisher- 
 men. * 
 
 But the subject is not exhausted by these 
 observations. That portion of it, which is 
 most reducible to points of argument, has 
 been stated, and, I trust, truly. There are, 
 however, some topics, of a more diffuse 
 nature, which yet deserve to be proposed 
 to the reader's attention. 
 
 The character of Christ is a part of the 
 morality of the Gospel : one strong obser- 
 vation upon which is, that, neither as re- 
 presented by his followers, nor as attacked 
 by his enemies, is he charged with any 
 personal vice. This remark is as old as 
 Origen : " Though innumerable lies and 
 calumnies had been forged against the 
 venerable Jesus, none had dared to charge
 
 72 
 
 him with an intemperance*." Not a re- 
 flection upon his moral character, not an 
 imputation or suspicion of any offence 
 against purity and chastity, appears for 
 five hundred years after his birth. This 
 faultlessness is more peculiar than we are 
 apt to imagine. Some stain pollutes the 
 morals or the morality of almost every 
 ather teacher, and of every other law- 
 giver *f\ Zeno the stoic, and Diogenes 
 the " cynic, fell into the foulest impuri- 
 ties ; of which also Socrates himself was 
 more than suspected. Solon forbade un- 
 natural crimes to slaves. Lycurgus tole- 
 rated theft as a part of education. Plato 
 recommended a community of women. 
 Aristotle maintained the general right of 
 making war upon barbarians. The elder 
 Cato was remarkable for the ill usage of 
 his slaves ; the younger gave up the per- 
 son of his wife. One loose principle is 
 found in almost all the Pagan moralists ; 
 
 * Or. Ep. Ccls. 1. 3. num. 36. ed. Bencd. 
 
 f See many instances collected by Grotius, de Veritate 
 Christianas Religionis, in the notes to his second book, 
 p. 1 1 6. i'ocock's edition.
 
 75 
 
 is distinctly, however, perceived in the 
 writings of Plato, Xenophon, Cicero, Se- 
 neca, Epictetus; and that is, the allowing, 
 and even the recommending to their dis- 
 ciples, a compliance with the religion, and 
 with the religious rites, of every country 
 into which they came. In speaking of the 
 founders of new institutions, we cannot 
 forget Mahomet. His licentious transgres- 
 sions of his own licentious rules ; his abuse 
 of the character which he assumed, and of 
 the power which he had acquired, for the 
 purposes of personal and privileged in- 
 dulgence ; his avowed claim of a special 
 permission from heaven, of unlimited sen- 
 suality, is known to every reader, as it is 
 confessed by every writer, of the Moslem 
 story. 
 
 Secondly, in the histories which are left 
 us of Jesus Christ, although very short, and 
 although dealing in narrative, and not in 
 observation or panegyric, we perceive, be- 
 side the absence of every appearance of 
 vice, traces of devotion, humility, benignity, 
 mildness, patience, prudence. I speak 
 of traces of these qualities, because the
 
 74 
 
 qualities themselves are to be collected 
 from incidents; inasmuch as the terms are 
 never used of Christ in the Gospels, nor is 
 any formal character of him drawn in any 
 part of the New Testament. 
 
 Thus we see the devoutness of his mind, 
 in his frequent retirement to solitary 
 prayer * ; in his habitual giving of thanks-)- ; 
 in his reference of the beauties and ope- 
 rations of nature to the bounty of Provi- 
 dence J ; in his earnest addresses to his 
 Father, more particularly that short but 
 solemn one before the raising of Lazarus 
 from the dead ; and in the deep piety of 
 his behaviour in the garden, on the last 
 evening of his life|| ; his humility, in his 
 constant reproof of contentions for supe- 
 riority^ ; the benignity and arTectionate- 
 ness of his temper, in his kindness to 
 children** : in the tears which he shed 
 
 * Matt. xiv. 23. Luke, ix. 28. Matt. xxvi. 36. 
 
 + Matt, xi.25. Mark, viii. 6. John,vi.23. Luke, xxii. 17. 
 
 J Matt. vi. 2628. John, xi. 41. 
 
 H Matt. xxvi. 36" 47- 5 Mark, ix. 33. 
 
 ** Mark, x. 16.
 
 75 
 
 over his falling country*, and upon the 
 death of, his friend -j-; in his noticing of the 
 widow's mite J ; in his parables of the good 
 Samaritan, of the ungrateful servant, and 
 of the Pharisee and publican, 4 of which pa- 
 rables no one but a man of humanity could 
 have been the author: the mildness and 
 lenity of his character is discovered, in his 
 rebuke of the forward zeal of his disciples 
 at the Samaritan village ; in his expostu- 
 lation with Pilate|| ; in his prayer for his 
 enemies at the moment of his suffering^, 
 which, though it has been since very pro- 
 perly and frequently imitated, was then, I 
 apprehend, new. His prudence is discerned, 
 where prudence is most wanted, in his con- 
 duct on trying occasions, and in answers 
 to artful questions. Of these, the following 
 are examples : His withdrawing, in va- 
 rious instances, from the first symptoms of 
 tumult**, and with the express care, as 
 appears from Saint Matthewj-j", of carrying 
 
 * Luke, xix.41. f John, xi. 55. % Mark, xii. 42. 
 
 Luke, ix. 55. || John, xix. 11. 5 Luke, xxiii. 31. 
 
 ** Matt. xiv. 22. Luke, v. 15, j6. John, v. 13. vi. 15. 
 It Chap, xii. 19.
 
 76 
 
 on his ministry in quietness : his declining 
 of every species of interference with the 
 civil affairs of the country, which dispo- 
 sition is manifested by his behaviour in the 
 case of the woman caught in adultery*, 
 and in his repulse of the application which 
 was made to him, to interpose his decision 
 about a disputed inheritance -j- : his judi- 
 cious, yet, as it should seem, unprepared 
 answers, will be confessed in the case of 
 the Roman tribute J : in the difficulty con- 
 cerning the interfering relations of a future 
 state, as proposed to him in the instance of 
 a woman who had married seven brethren ; 
 and, more especially, in his reply to those 
 who demanded from him an explanation of 
 the authority by which he acted, which re- 
 ply consisted, in propounding a question to 
 them, situated between the very difficulties 
 into which they were insidiously endeavour- 
 ing to draw him\\. 
 
 Our Saviour's lessons, beside what has 
 already been remarked in them, touch, and 
 
 * John, viii. 1. + Luke, xii. 14. $ Matt. xxii. ]<). 
 lb. 28. II Matt. xxi. 23, ct seq.
 
 77 
 
 that oftentimes by very affecting represen- 
 tations, upon some of the most interesting 
 topics, of human duty, and of human medi- 
 tation : upon the principles, by which the 
 decisions of the last'day will be regulated* ; 
 upon the superior, or rather the supreme 
 importance of religion f* : upon penitence, 
 by the most pressing calls and the most en- 
 couraging invitations % ; upon self-denial , 
 watchfulness ||, placability^, confidence in 
 God**, the value of spiritual, that is, of 
 mental worship -f-f*, the necessity of moral 
 obedience, and the directing of that obe- 
 dience to the spirit and principle of the law, 
 instead of seeking for evasions in a techni- 
 cal construction of its terms jj. 
 
 If we extend our argument to other parts 
 of the New Testament, we mav offer, as 
 
 * Matt. xxv. 31,etseq. 
 
 + Mark, viii. 35. Matt. vi.Sl 33.Luke,xii. 4, 5. 1621. 
 
 + Luke, xv. 
 
 Matt v. 29. 
 
 || Mark, xiii. 37. Matt-xxiv. 42. xxv. 13. 
 
 *E Luke, xvii. 1. Matt, xviii. 33, et seq. 
 
 ** Matt. vi. 25 30. 
 
 ft John, iv. 23, 24. 
 
 $+\Matt. v. 21.
 
 78 
 
 amongst the best and shortest rules of life, 
 or, which is the same thing, descriptions of 
 virtue, that have ever been delivered, the 
 following passages : 
 
 " Pure religion, and undefiled, before God, 
 and the Father, is this ; to visit the father- 
 less and widows in their affliction, and to 
 keep himself unspotted from the world*" 
 
 " Now r the end of the commandment is, 
 charity, out of a pure heart and a good 
 conscience, and faith unfeigned f*/' 
 
 " For the grace of God that bringeth sal- 
 vation, hath appeared to all men, teaching 
 us, that, denying ungodliness and worldly 
 lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, 
 and godly, in this present world %" 
 
 Enumerations of virtues and vices, and 
 those sufficiently accurate, and unquestion- 
 ably just, are given by Saint Paul to his 
 converts in three several epistles . 
 
 * James, i. 27. + 1 Tim. i. 5. + Tit. ii. 11, 12. 
 Gal. v. li). Col.iii. 12. l Cor. xiii.
 
 19 
 
 The relative duties of husbands and 
 wives, of parents and children, of masters 
 and servants, of Christian teachers and their 
 flocks, of governors and their subjects, are 
 set forth by the same writer*, not indeed 
 with the copiousness, the detail, or the 
 distinctness, of a moralist, who should, in 
 these days, sit down to write chapters upon 
 the subject, but with the leading rules and 
 principles in each ; and, above all, with 
 truth, and with authority. 
 
 Lastly, the whole volume of the New 
 Testament is replete with piety ; with, what 
 were almost unknown to Heathen moralists, 
 devotional virtues, the most profound vene- 
 ration of the Deity, an habitual sense of his 
 bounty and protection, a firm confidence 
 in the final result of his councils and dis- 
 pensations, a disposition to resort, upon all 
 occasions, to his mercy, for the supply of 
 human wants, for assistance in danger, for 
 relief from pain, for the pardon of sin. 
 
 "# Eph. v. 33. vi. 1. 5. 2 Cor. vi. 6, 7- Rom. xiii.
 
 so 
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 
 The candour of the writers of the Nexe Tes- 
 tament. 
 
 I make this candour to consist, in their 
 putting down many passages, and noticing 
 many circumstances, which no writer what- 
 ever was likely to have forged ; and which 
 no writer would have chosen to appear in 
 his book, who had been careful to present 
 the story in the most unexceptionable form, 
 or who had thought himself at liberty to 
 carve and mould the particulars of that 
 story, according to his choice, or according 
 to his judgement of the effect. 
 
 A strong and well-known example of the 
 fairness of the evangelists, offers itself in 
 their account of Christ's resurrection, name- 
 ly, in their unanimously stating, that, after 
 he was risen, he appeared to his disciples
 
 81 
 
 alone. I do not mean that they have used 
 the exclusive word alone; but that all the 
 instances which they have recorded of his 
 appearance, are instances of appearance to 
 his disciples ; that their reasonings upon it, 
 and allusions to it, are confined to this sup- 
 position ; and that, by one of them, Peter 
 is made to say, " Him God raised up the 
 third day, and showed him openly, not to 
 all the people, but to witnesses chosen be- 
 fore of God, even to us, who did eat and 
 drink with him after he rose from the 
 dead*/' The most common understanding; 
 must have perceived, that the history of 
 the resurrection would have come with 
 more advantage, if they had related that 
 Jesus appeared, after he was risen, to his 
 foes as well as his friends, to the scribes 
 and Pharisees, the Jewish council, and the 
 Roman governor: or even if they had as- 
 serted the public appearance of Christ in 
 general unqualified terms, without noticing, 
 as they have done, the presence of his dis- 
 ciples on each occasion, and noticing it in 
 such a manner as to lead their readers lo 
 
 * Acts, x. 40,41. 
 VOL. II. G
 
 m 
 
 suppose that none but disciples were pre- 
 sent. They could have represented in one 
 way as well as the other. And if their 
 point had been, to have the religion be- 
 lieved, whether true or false; if they had 
 fabricated the story ab initio; or if they 
 had been disposed either to have delivered 
 their testimony as witnesses, or to have 
 worked up their materials and information 
 as historians, in such a manner as to 
 render their narrative as specious and un- 
 objectionable as they could ; in a word, 
 if they had thought of any thing but of 
 the truth of the case, as they understood 
 and believed it ; they would, in their ac- 
 count of Christ's several appearances after 
 his resurrection, at least have omitted this 
 restriction. At this distance of time, the 
 account as we have it, is perhaps more 
 credible than it would have been the other 
 way ; because this manifestation of the his- 
 torians' candour, is of more advantage to 
 their testimony, than the difference in the 
 circumstances of the account would have 
 been to the nature of the evidence. But 
 this is an effect which the evangelists would 
 iiot foresee i and I think that it was bv no
 
 83 
 
 means the case at the time when the 
 books were composed. 
 
 Mr. Gibbon has argued for the genuine- 
 ness of the Koran, from the confessions 
 which it contains, to the apparent disad- 
 vantage of the Mahometan cause*. The 
 same defence vindicates the genuineness of 
 our Gospels, and without prejudice to the 
 cause at all. 
 
 There are some other instances in which 
 the evangelists honestly relate what, they 
 must have perceived, would make against 
 them. 
 
 Of this kind is John the Baptist's mes- 
 sage, preserved by Saint Matthew (xi. 2.), 
 and Saint Luke (vii. 18.): "Now when 
 John had heard in the prison the works of 
 Christ, he sent two of his disciples, and 
 said unto him, Art thou he that should 
 come, or look we for another?" To confess, 
 still more to state, that John the Baptist 
 had his doubts concerning the character of 
 
 * Vol. ix. c. 60, note $6 
 c,
 
 84 
 
 Jesus, could not but afford a handle to 
 cavil and objection. But truth, like ho- 
 nesty, neglects appearances. The same 
 observation, perhaps, holds concerning the 
 apostasy of Judas*. 
 
 John, vi. 66. " From that time, many 
 of his disciples went back, and walked no 
 more with him." Was it the part of a 
 writer, who dealt in suppression and dis- 
 guise, to put down this anecdote ? 
 
 * I had once placed amongst these examples of fair con- 
 cession, the remarkable words of Saint Matthew, in his ac- 
 count of Christ's appearance upon the Galilean mountain : 
 " And when they saw him, they worshipped him ; but some 
 doubted*." I have since, however, been convinced by what is 
 observed concerning this passage in Dr. Townshend's dis- 
 course + upon the resurrection, that the transaction, as re- 
 lated by Saint Matthew, was really this: "Christ appeared 
 first at a distance; the greater part of the company, the mo- 
 ment they saw him, worshipped, but some, as yet, i. e. upon 
 this first distant view of his person, doubted; whereupon 
 Christ came up j to them, and spake to them," &c. : that 
 the doubt, therefore, was a doubt only at first, for a moment, 
 and upon his being seen at a distance, and was afterwards 
 dispelled by his nearer approach, and by his entering into 
 conversation with them. 
 
 * Chap, xxviii. 17. f Page 177- 
 
 X Saint Matthew's words are, Kai zroc-f>.8u>v 'l/itrov;, jXaX>js-ev avroi;. 
 This intimates, that, when he first appeared, it was at a distance, at lea^t from 
 many of the spectators. lb. p. I'K.
 
 85 
 
 Or this, which Matthew has preserved 
 (xiii. 58.)? " He did not many mighty 
 works there, because of their unbelief." 
 
 Again, in the same evangelist (v. 17> 18) : 
 " Think not that I am come to destroy the 
 law or the prophets ; I am not come to de- 
 stroy, but to fulfil : for 3 verily, I say unto 
 you, till heaven and earth pass, one jot, or 
 one tittle, shall in no wise pass from the 
 law, till all be fulfilled." At the time the 
 Gospels were written, the apparent tend- 
 ency of Christ's mission was to diminish 
 the authority of the Mosaic code, and it 
 was so considered by the Jews themselves. 
 It is very improbable, therefore, that, with- 
 out the constraint of truth, Matthew 
 should have ascribed a saying to Christ, 
 which, primo intuitu, militated with the 
 judgement of the age in which his Gospel 
 was written. Marcion thought this text 
 so objectionable, that he altered the words, 
 so as to invert the sense *. 
 
 Once more (Acts, xxv. 19-) : " They 
 brought none accusation against him, of 
 
 " Lardner, Cred. vol. xv. p. 4?'?.
 
 86 
 
 such things, as I supposed, but had certain 
 questions against him of their own super- 
 stition, and of one Jesus which was dead, 
 whom Paul affirmed to be alive." Nothing 
 could be more in the character of a Roman 
 governor than these words. But that is 
 not precisely the point I am concerned 
 with. A mere panegyrist, or a dishonest 
 narrator, would not have represented his 
 cause, or have made a great magistrate re* 
 present it, in this manner, i. e. in terms not 
 a little disparaging, and bespeaking, on 
 his part, much unconcern and indifference 
 about the matter. The same observation 
 may be repeated of the speech, which is 
 ascribed to Gallio (Acts, xviii. 15.) ; " If 
 it be a question of words and names, and 
 of your law, look ye to it ; for I will be no 
 judge of such matters." . 
 
 Lastly, where do we discern a stronger 
 mark of candour, or less disposition to ex- 
 tol and magnify, than in the conclusion of 
 the same history ? in which the evangelist, 
 after relating that Paul, on his first arrival 
 at Rome, preached to the Jews from morn- 
 ing until evening, adds ; " And some be-
 
 87 
 
 lieved the things which were spoken, and 
 some believed not/* 
 
 The following, I think, are passages 
 which were very unlikely to have presented 
 themselves to the mind of a forger or a 
 fabulist. 
 
 Matt. xxi. 21. " Jesus answered and said 
 unto them, Verily I say unto you, If ye 
 have faith, and doubt not, ye shall not 
 only do this which is done unto the fig- 
 tree, but also, if ye shall say unto this 
 mountain, Be thou removed, and be thou 
 cast into the sea, it shall be done; all 
 things whatsoever ye shall ask in prayer, 
 believing, it shall be done*/' It appears 
 to me very improbable that these words 
 should have been put into Christ's mouth, 
 if he had not actually spoken them. The 
 term " faith," as here used, is perhaps 
 rightly interpreted of confidence in that in- 
 ternal notice, by which the apostles were 
 admonished of their power to perform any 
 particular miracle. And this exposition 
 
 * See also chap. xvii. 20. Luke, xvii, 6".
 
 88 
 
 renders the sense of the text more easy. 
 But the words, undoubtedly, in their ob- 
 vious construction, carry with them a diffi- 
 culty, which no writer would have brought 
 upon himself officiously. 
 
 Luke, ix. 59- " And he said unto an- 
 other, Follow me : but he said, Lord, suffer 
 me first to go and bury my father. Jesus 
 said unto him, Let the dead bury their dead, 
 but go thou and preach the kingdom of 
 God *." This answer, though very express- 
 ive of the transcendent importance of re- 
 ligious concerns, was apparently harsh and 
 repulsive; and such as would not have 
 been made for Christ, if he had not really 
 used it. At least some other instance 
 would have been chosen. 
 
 The following passage, I, for the same 
 reason, think impossible to have been the 
 production of artifice, or of a cold forgery : 
 " But I say unto you, that whosoever is 
 angry with his brother without a cause, 
 shall be in danger of the judgement ? and 
 
 * See also Matt, viii, 21,
 
 89 
 
 whosoever shall say to his brother, Raca, 
 shall be in danger of the council ; but 
 whosoever shall say, Thou fool, shall be in 
 danger of hell-fire (Gehenna?)." Matt. v. 22., 
 It is emphatic, cogent, and well calculated 
 for the purpose of impression ; but is in- 
 consistent with the supposition of art or 
 wariness on the part of the relater. 
 
 The short reply of our Lord to Mary 
 Magdalen, after his resurrection (John, xx. 
 16, 170> " Touch me not, for I am not yet 
 ascended unto my Father," in my opinion, 
 must have been founded in a reference or 
 allusion to some prior conversation, for the 
 want of knowing which, his meaning is- 
 hidden from us. This very obscurity, how- 
 ever, is a proof of genuineness. No one 
 would have forged such an answer. 
 
 John, vi. The whole of the conversation, 
 recorded in this chapter, is, in the highest 
 degree, unlikely to be fabricated, especially 
 the part of our Saviour's reply between the 
 fiftieth and the fifty-eighth verse. I need 
 only put down the first sentence : " I am
 
 90 
 
 the living bread which came down from 
 heaven : if any man eat of this bread, he 
 shall live for ever : and the bread that I will 
 give him is my flesh, which I will give for 
 the life of the world." Without calling in 
 question the expositions that have been 
 given of this passage, we may be permitted 
 to say, that it labours under an obscurity, 
 in which it is impossible to believe that any 
 one, who made speeches for the persons 
 of his narrative, would have voluntarily in- 
 volved them. That this discourse was ob- 
 scure, even at the time, is confessed by the 
 writer who had preserved it, when he tells 
 us, at the conclusion, that many of our 
 Lord's disciples, when they had heard this, 
 said, " This is a hard saying ; who can 
 bear it?" 
 
 Christ's taking of a young child, and 
 placing it in the midst of his contentious 
 disciples (Matt, xviii. 2.), though as deci- 
 sive a proof, as any could be, of the be- 
 nignity of his temper, and very expressive 
 of the character of the religion which he 
 wished to inculcate, was not by any means
 
 91 
 
 an obvious thought. Nor am* I acquainted 
 with any thing in any ancient writing which 
 resembles it. 
 
 The account of the institution of the 
 eucharist bears strong internal marks of 
 genuineness. If it had been feigned, it 
 would have been more full ; it would have 
 come nearer to the actual mode of cele- 
 brating the rite, as that mode obtained 
 very early in Christian churches: and it 
 would have been more formal than it is. 
 In the forged piece, called the Apostolic 
 Constitution's, the apostles are made to en- 
 join many parts of the ritual which was in 
 use in the second and third centuries, with 
 as much particularity as a modern rubric 
 could have done. Whereas, in the history 
 of the Lord's supper, as we read it in Saint 
 Matthew's Gospel, there is not so much as 
 the command to repeat it. This, surely, 
 looks like undesignedness. I think also 
 that the difficulty arising from the con- 
 ciseness of Christ's expression, " This is 
 my body," would have been avoided in a 
 made-up story. I allow that the explica- 
 tion of these words, given by Protestants,
 
 92 
 
 is satisfactory ; but it is deduced from a 
 diligent comparison of the words in ques- 
 tion with forms of expression used in 
 Scripture, and especially by Christ upon 
 other occasions. No writer would arbi- 
 trarily and unnecessarily have thus cast 
 in his reader's way a difficulty, which, to 
 say the least, it required research and eru- 
 dition to clear up. 
 
 Now it ought to be observed, that the 
 argument which is built upon these ex- 
 amples, extends both to the authenticity 
 of the books and to the truth of the narra- 
 tive : for it is improbable that the forger 
 of a history in the name of another should 
 have inserted such passages into it : and 
 it is improbable also, that the persons 
 whose names the books bear should have 
 fabricated such passages ; or even have 
 allowed them a place in their work, if 
 they had not believed them to express the 
 truth. 
 
 The following observation, therefore, of 
 Dr. Lardner, the most candid of all ad- 
 vocates, and the most cautious of all
 
 93 
 
 inquirers, seems to be well-founded : 
 " Christians are induced to believe the 
 writers of the Gospel, by observing the 
 evidences of piety and probity that appear 
 in their writings, in which there is no de- 
 ceit, or artifice, or cunning, or design/' 
 " No remarks," as Dr. Beattie hath pro- 
 perly said, " are thrown in, to anticipate 
 objections ; nothing of that caution, which 
 never fails to distinguish the testimony of 
 those who are consious of imposture ; no 
 endeavour to reconcile the reader's mind 
 to what may be extraordinary in the nar- 
 rative/' 
 
 I beg leave to cite also another author*, 
 who has well expressed the reflection which 
 the examples now brought forward were 
 intended to suggest. " It doth not appear 
 that ever it came into the mind of these 
 writers, to consider how this or the other 
 action would appear to mankind, or what 
 objections might be raised upon them. 
 But without at all attending to this, thev 
 lay the facts before you, at no pains to 
 
 * Duchal, p. 97,98.
 
 94 
 
 think whether they would appear credible 
 or not. If the reader will not believe their 
 testimony, there is no help for it : they 
 tell the truth, and attend to nothing else. 
 Surely this looks like sincerity, and that 
 they published nothing to the world but 
 what they believed themselves/ 
 
 As no improper supplement to this chap- 
 ter, I crave a place here for observing the 
 extreme naturalness of some of the things 
 related in the New Testament. 
 
 Mark, ix. 23. " Jesus said unto him, If 
 thou canst believe, all things are possible 
 to him that believeth. And straightway 
 the father of the child cried out, and said 
 with tears, Lord, I believe ; help thou 
 mine unbelief/' This struggle in the fa- 
 ther's heart, between solicitude for the 
 preservation of his child, and a kind of 
 involuntary distrust of Christ's power to 
 heal him, is here expressed with an air of 
 reality, which could hardly be counter- 
 feited.
 
 95 
 
 Again (Matt. xxi. Q.), the eagerness of 
 the people to introduce Christ into Jerusa-* 
 lem, and their demand, a short time after- 
 wards, of his crucifixion, when he did not 
 turn out what they expected him to be, 
 so far from affording matter of objection, 
 represents popular favour in exact agree- 
 ment with nature and with experience, as 
 the flux and reflux of a wave. 
 
 The rulers and Pharisees rejecting Christ, 
 whilst many of the common people re- 
 ceived him, was the effect which, in the 
 then state of Jewish prejudices, I should 
 have expected. And the reason with which 
 they who rejected Christ's mission kept 
 themselves in countenance, and with which 
 also they answered the arguments of those 
 who favoured it, is precisely the reason 
 which such men usually give: "Have 
 any of the scribes or Pharisees believed on 
 him?" (John, vii. 48.) 
 
 In our Lord's conversation at the well 
 (John, iv. 29-)? Christ had surprised the Sa- 
 maritan woman with an allusion to a single 
 particular in her domestic situation, "Thou
 
 96 
 
 hast had five husbands; and he, whom 
 thou now hast, is not thy husband/' The 
 woman, soon after this, ran back to the 
 city, and called out to her neighbours, 
 " Come, see a man which told me all things 
 that ever I did/' This exaggeration appears 
 to me very natural ; especially in the hurried 
 state of spirits into which the woman may 
 be supposed to have been thrown. 
 
 The lawyer's subtilty in running a di- 
 stinction upon the word neighbour, in the 
 precept, " Thou shalt love thy neighbour 
 as thyself/' was no less natural, than our 
 Saviour's answer was decisive and satisfac- 
 tory (Luke, x. 2.9.)- The lawyer of the 
 New Testament, it must be observed, was 
 a Jewish divine. 
 
 The behaviour of Gallio (Acts, xviii. 
 12 17.), and of Festus(xxv. 18, 19-), have 
 been observed upon already. 
 
 The consistency of Saint Paul's character 
 throughout the whole of his history (viz. 
 the warmth and activity of his zeal, first 
 against, and then for, Christianity), carries
 
 97 
 
 with it very much of the appearance of 
 truth. 
 
 There are also some properties, as they 
 may be called, observable in the Gospels ; 
 that is, circumstances separately suiting 
 with the situation, character, and intention 
 of their respective authors. 
 
 Saint Matthew, who was an inhabitant 
 of Galilee, and did not join Christ's society 
 until some time after Christ had come into 
 Galilee to preach, has given us very little 
 of his history prior to that period. Saint 
 John, who had been converted before, and 
 who wrote to supply omissions in the other 
 Gospels, relates some remarkable particu- 
 lars, which had taken place before Christ 
 left Judea, to go into Galilee*. 
 
 Saint Matthew (xv. 1.) has recorded the 
 cavil of the Pharisees against the disciples 
 of Jesus, for eating " with unclean hands/' 
 Saint Mark has also (vii. 1.) recorded the 
 same transaction (taken probably from 
 
 * Hartley's Observations, vol. ii. p. 103. 
 VOL. II. II
 
 98 
 
 Saint Matthew), but with this addition ; 
 " For the Pharisees, and all the Jews, ex- 
 cept they wash their hands often, eat not, 
 holding the tradition of the elders: and 
 when they come from the market, except 
 they wash, they eat not : and many other 
 things there Jbe which they have received 
 to hold, as the washing of cups and pots, 
 brazen vessels, and of tables." Now Saint 
 Matthew was not only a Jew himself, but 
 it is evident, from the whole structure of 
 his Gospel, especially from his numerous 
 references to the Old Testament, that he 
 wrote for Jewish readers. The above ex- 
 planation, therefore, in him, would have 
 been unnatural, as not being wanted by 
 the readers whom he addressed. But in 
 Mark, who, whatever use he might make 
 of Matthew's Gospel, intended his own 
 narrative for a general circulation, and who 
 himself travelled to distant countries in 
 the service of the religion, it was properly 
 added.
 
 99 
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 
 Identity of Christ's character. 
 
 The argument expressed by this title, I 
 apply principally to the comparison of the 
 first three Gospels with that of Saint John. 
 It is known to every reader of Scripture, 
 that the passages of Christ's history, pre- 
 served by Saint John, are, except his pas- 
 sion and resurrection, for the most part, 
 different from those which are delivered by 
 the other evangelists. And I think the 
 ancient account of this difference to be the 
 true one, viz. that Saint John wrote after 
 the rest, and to supply what he thought 
 omissions in their narratives, of which the 
 principal were our Saviour's conferences 
 with the Jews of Jerusalem, and his dis- 
 courses to his apostles at his last supper. 
 But what I observe in the comparison of 
 these several accounts is, that, although 
 actions and discourses are ascribed to 
 
 h 2
 
 100 
 
 Christ by Saint John, in general difterent 
 from what are given to him by the other 
 evangelists, yet, under this diversity, there 
 is a similitude of manner, which indicates 
 that the actions and discourses proceeded 
 from the same person. I should have laid 
 little stress upon a repetition of actions 
 substantially alike, or of discourses contain- 
 ing many of the same expressions, because 
 that is a species of resemblance, which 
 would either belong to a true history, or 
 might easily be imitated in a false one. 
 Nor do I deny, that a dramatic writer is 
 able to sustain propriety and distinction of 
 character, through a great variety of sepa- 
 rate incidents and situations. But the evan- 
 gelists were not dramatic writers ; nor pos- 
 sessed the talents of dramatic writers ; nor 
 will it, I believe, be suspected, that they 
 studied uniformity of character, or ever 
 thought of any such thing, in the person 
 who was the subject of their histories. 
 Such uniformity, if it exist, is on their part 
 casual ; and if there be, as I contend there 
 is, a perceptible resemblance of manner, in 
 passages, and between discourses, which 
 are in themselves extremely distinct, and
 
 101 
 
 xe delivered by historians writing without 
 any imitation of, or reference to, one an- 
 other, it affords a just presumption, that 
 these are, what they profess to be, the ac- 
 tions and the discourses of the same real 
 person; that the evangelists wrote from 
 fact, and not from imagination. 
 
 
 
 The article in which I find this agree- 
 ment most strong, is in our Saviour's mode 
 of teaching, and in that particular pro- 
 perty of it, which consists in his drawing of 
 his doctrine from the occasion; or, which 
 is nearly the same thing, raising reflections 
 from the objects and incidents before him, 
 or turning a particular discourse then pass- 
 ing, into an opportunity of general instruc- 
 tion. 
 
 It will be my business to point out this 
 manner in the first three evangelists ; and 
 then to enquire, whether it do not appear 
 also, in several examples of Christ's dis- 
 courses, preserved by Saint John. 
 
 The reader will observe in the following 
 quotations, that the Italic letter contains
 
 102 
 
 the reflection; the common letter, the in* 
 cident or occasion from which it springs. 
 
 Matt. xii. 47 50. " Then they said unto 
 him, Behold, thy mother and thy brethren 
 stand without, desiring to speak with thee. 
 But he answered, and said unto him that 
 told him. Who is my mother? and who 
 are my brethren? And he stretched forth 
 his hand toward his disciples, and said, 
 Behold my mother and my^brethren : for 
 phosoever shall do the will of my Father 
 which is in heaven, the same is my brother, 
 and sister, and mother." 
 
 Matt. xvi. 5. " And when his disciples 
 were come to the other side, they had for- 
 gotten to take bread ; then Jesus said unto 
 them, Take heed, and beware of the leaven 
 of the Pharisees, and of the Sadducees. And 
 they reasoned among themselves, saying, 
 It is because we have taken no bread. 
 How is it that ye do not understand, that 
 I speak it not to you concerning bread, that 
 ye should beware of the leaven of the Pha- 
 risees, and of the Sadducees ? Then under- 
 stood they, how thathebo.de them not beware
 
 103 
 
 of the leaven of bread,but of the doctrine 
 of the Pharisees and of the Sadducees." 
 
 Matt. xv. 1, 2. 10, 11. 1520. " Then 
 came to Jesus Scribes and Pharisees, which 
 were of Jerusalem, saying, Why do thy 
 disciples transgress the traditions of the 
 elders ? for they wash not their hands when 
 they eat bread. And he called the mul- 
 titude, and said unto them, Hear and 
 understand : Not that which goeth into the 
 mouth defileth a man, but that which cometh 
 
 oat of the mouth, this defileth a man. 
 
 Then answered Peter, and said unto him, 
 Declare unto us this parable. And Jesus 
 said, Are ye also yet without understanding? 
 Do ye not yet understand, that whatsoever 
 entereth in at the mouth, goeth into the 
 belly, and is cast out into the draught? 
 but those things which proceed out of the 
 mouth come forth from the heart, and they 
 defile the man : for out of the heart pro- 
 ceed evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, for- 
 nications, thefts, false witness, blasphemies ; 
 these are the things which defile a man ; 
 
 BUT TO EAT WITH UNWASHEN HANDS, 
 DEFILETH NOT A MAN." Our Saviour.
 
 104 
 
 on this occasion, expatiates rather more at 
 large than usual, and his discourse also is 
 more divided : but the concluding sentence 
 brings back the whole train of thought to 
 the incident in the first verse, viz. the ob- 
 jurgatory qu; sticn of the Pharisees, and 
 renders it evident that the whole sprang 
 from that circumstance. 
 
 Mark, x. 13, 14, 15. "And they brought 
 young children to him, that he should 
 touch them ; and his disciples rebuked 
 those that brought them : but when Jesus 
 saw it, he was much displeased, and said 
 unto them, Suffer the little children to 
 come unto me, apd forbid them not : for 
 of such is the kingdom of God : verily I say 
 unto you, whosoever shall not receive the 
 kingdom of God as a little child, he shall 
 not enter therein." 
 
 Mark, i. 16, 17. " Now as he walked 
 by the sea of Galilee, he saw Simon and 
 Andrew his brother casting a net into the 
 sea, for they were fishers ; and Jesus said 
 unto them, Come ye after me, and I will 
 7>iake you fishers of men"
 
 105 
 
 Luke, xi. 27. " And it came to pass as 
 he spake these things, a certain woman of 
 the company lifted up her voice, and said 
 unto him, Blessed is the womb that bare 
 thee, and the paps which thou hast 
 sucked : but he said, Yea, rather blessed 
 are they that hear the word, of God, and 
 keep it." 
 
 Luke, xiii. 1 3, " There were present 
 at that season, some that told him of the 
 Galileans, whose blood Filate had mingled 
 with their sacrifices ; and Jesus answering, 
 said unto them, Suppose ye^ that these Ga- 
 lileans were sinners above all [the Galileans, 
 because they suffered such things ? I tell you, 
 Nay : but, except ye repent, ye shall all like- 
 wise perish." 
 
 Luke, xiv. 1 5. " And when one of them 
 that sat at meat with him, heard these 
 things, he said unto him, Blessed is he that 
 shall eat bread in the kingdom of God. 
 Then said he unto him, A certain man 
 made a great supper, and bade many" Sec. 
 The parable is rather too long for inser- 
 tion, but affords a striking instance of
 
 106 
 
 Christ's manner of raising a discourse from 
 the occasion. Observe also in the same 
 chapter two other examples of advice, 
 drawn from the circumstances of the enter- 
 tainment and the behaviour of the guests. 
 . 
 
 We will now see, how this manner disco- 
 vers itself in Saint John's history of Christ. 
 
 John, vi. 25. " And when they had 
 found him on the other side of the sea, they 
 said unto him, Rabbi, when earnest thou 
 hither? Jesus answered them, and said, 
 Verily I say unto you, ye seek me not be- 
 cause ye saw the miracles, but because ye 
 did eat of the loaves, and were filled. 
 Labour not for the meat which perisheth, but 
 for that meat which endureth unto everlast- 
 ing life, which the Son of man shall give 
 unto you" 
 
 John, iv. 12. " Art thou greater than 
 our father Abraham, who gave us the well, 
 and drank thereof himself, and his children, 
 and his cattle? Jesus answered, and said 
 unto her (the woman of Samaria), Who- 
 soever drinketh of this water shall thirst
 
 10? 
 
 again ; but whosoever drinketh of the water 
 that I shall give him, shall never thirst ; but 
 the water that I shall give him, shall be in 
 him a &ell of water, springing Up into ever* 
 lasting life'' 
 
 Johii, iv. 31. " In the mean while, his 
 disciples prayed him, saying, Master, eat; 
 but life said unto them, I have meat to eat 
 that ye know not of. Therefore said the 
 disciples one to another, Hath any man 
 brought him aught to eat ? Jesus saith unto 
 them, My meat is, to do the will of Him 
 that sent me, and to finish his work." 
 
 John, ix. 1 5. "And as Jesus passed 
 by, he saw a man which was blind from 
 his birth: and his disciples asked him, 
 saying, Who did sin, this man or his pa- 
 rents, that he was born blind ? Jesus an- 
 swered, Neither hath this man sinned, nor 
 his parents, but that the works of God 
 should be made manifest in him. I must 
 work the works of Him that sent me, while 
 it is day ; the night cometh, when no man 
 can work. As long as I am in tlie world, I 
 am the light of the zvorld"
 
 10S 
 
 John, ix. 35 40. " Jesus heard that they 
 had cast him (the blind man above men- 
 tioned) out : and when he had found him, 
 he said unto him, Dost thou believe on the 
 Son of God ? And he answered, and said, 
 Who is he, Lord, that I might believe on 
 him ? And Jesus said unto him, Thou hast 
 both seen him, and it is he that talketh 
 with thee. And he said, Lord, I believe ; 
 and he worshipped him. And Jesus said, 
 For judgement I have come into this world, 
 that they which sec not, might see ; and that 
 the'ys which see, might be made blind." 
 . .. 
 
 All that the reader has now to do, is to 
 compare the series of examples taken from 
 Saint John, with the series of examples 
 taken from the other evangelists, and to 
 judge whether there be not a visible agree- 
 ment of manner between them. Intheabove- 
 quoted passages, the occasion is stated, as 
 well as the reflection. They seem, therefore, 
 the most proper for the purpose of our ar- 
 gument. A large, however, and curious col- 
 lection has been made by different writers*, 
 
 * Newton on Daniel, p. 148, note a. Jortin, Dis. p.213. 
 Bishop Law's Life of Christ.
 
 109 
 
 of instances, in which it is extremely pro- 
 bable that Christ spoke in allusion to some 
 object, or some occasion, then before him, 
 though the mention of the occasion, or of 
 the object, be omitted in the history. I 
 only observe, that these instances are com- 
 mon to Saint John's Gospel with the other 
 three. 
 
 I conclude this article by remarking, 
 that nothing of this manner is perceptible 
 in the speeches recorded in the Acts, or in 
 any other but those which are attributed 
 to Christ, and that, in truth, it was a very 
 unlikely manner for a forger or fabulist to 
 attempt ; and a manner very difficult for 
 any writer to execute, if he had to supply 
 all the materials, both the incidents and 
 the observations upon them, out of his own 
 head. A forger or a fabulist would have 
 made for Christ, discourses exhorting to 
 virtue and dissuading from vice in general 
 terms. It would never have entered into 
 the thoughts of either, to have crowded to- 
 gether such a number of allusions to time, 
 place, and other little circumstances, as 
 occur, for instance, in the sermon on the
 
 110 
 
 mount, and which nothing but the actual 
 presence of the objects could have sug- 
 gested*. 
 
 II. There appears to me to exist an 
 affinity between the history of Christ's 
 placing a little child in the midst of his 
 disciples, as related by the first three evan- 
 gelistsf*, and the history of Christ's wash- 
 ing his disciples' feet, as given by Saint 
 John*. In the stories themselves there is 
 no resemblance. But the affinity which I 
 would point out consists in these two 
 articles : First, that both stories denote the 
 emulation which prevailed amongst Christ's 
 disciples, and his own care and desire to 
 correct it ; the moral of both is the same. 
 Secondly, that both stories are specimens 
 of the same manner of teaching, viz, by 
 action ; a mode of emblematic instruction 
 extremely peculiar, and, in these passages, 
 ascribed, we see, to our Saviour, by the 
 first three evangelists, and by Saint John, 
 in instances totally unlike, and without the 
 
 * See Bishop Law's Life of Christ. 
 
 + Matt.xviii. 1. Mark, ix. 33, Luke, ix. 46. 
 
 % Chap. xiii. 3.
 
 Ill 
 
 smallest suspicion of their borrowing from 
 each other. 
 
 III. A singularity in Christ's language, 
 which runs through all the evangelists, and 
 which is found in those discourses of Saint 
 John, that have nothing similar to them in 
 the other Gospels, is the appellation of 
 " the Son of man ;" and it is in all the 
 evangelists found under the peculiar cir- 
 cumstance of being applied by Christ to 
 himself, but of never being used of him, 
 or towards him, by any other person. It 
 occurs seventeen times in Matthew's Gos- 
 pel, twenty times in Mark's, twenty-one 
 times in Luke's, and eleven times in John's, 
 and always with this restriction. 
 
 IV. A point of agreement in the con- 
 duct of Christ, as represented by his differ- 
 ent historians, is that of his withdrawing 
 himself out of the way, whenever the be- 
 haviour of the multitude indicated a dispo- 
 sition to tumult. 
 
 Matt. xiv. 22. " And straightway Jesus 
 constrained his disciples to get into a ship,
 
 112 
 
 and to go before him unto the other side, 
 while he sent the multitude away. And 
 when he had sent the multitude away, he 
 went up into a mountain apart to pray." 
 
 Luke, v. 15, 16. " But so much the 
 more went there a fame abroad of him, 
 and great multitudes came together to hear, 
 and to be healed by him of their infirmi- 
 ties : and he withdrew himself into the 
 wilderness, and prayed." 
 
 With these quotations, compare the fol- 
 lowing from Saint John : 
 
 Chap. v. 13. " And he that was healed, 
 wist not who it was ; for Jesus had con- 
 veyed himself away, a multitude being in 
 that place." 
 
 Chap. vi. 15 "When Jesus therefore per- 
 ceived that they would come and take him 
 by force, to make him a king, he departed 
 again into a mountain himself alone." 
 
 In this last instance, Saint John gives 
 the motive of Christ's conduct, which is left
 
 113 
 
 unexplained by the other evangelists, who 
 have related the Gonduct itself. , 
 
 V. Another, and a more singular cir- 
 cumstance in Christ's ministry, was the 
 reserve, which, for some time, and upon 
 some occasions at least, he used in declar- 
 ing his own character, and his leaving it 
 to be collected from his works rather than 
 his professions. Just reasons for this re- 
 serve, have been assigned*. But it is not 
 what one would have expected, We meet 
 with it in Saint Matthew's Gospel, (chap, 
 xvi. 20.) : " Then charged he his disciples, 
 that they should tell no man that he was 
 Jesus the Christ." Again, and upon a dif- 
 ferent occasion, in Saint Mark's, (chap. iii. 
 11.) : "And unclean spirits, when they saw 
 him, fell down before him, and cried say- 
 ing, Thou art the Son of God : and he 
 straitly charged them that they should not 
 make him known/' Another instance si- 
 milar to this last is recorded by Saint Luke, 
 (chap. iv. 41.). What we thus find in the 
 three evangelists, appears also in a passage 
 
 * See Locke's Reasonableness of Christianity. 
 VOL. II. I
 
 114 
 
 of Saint John, (chap. x. 24, 25.). " Then 
 came the Jews round about him, and said 
 unto him, How long dost thou make us 
 to doubt ? If thou be the Christ, tell us 
 plainly." The occasion here was different 
 from any of the rest; and it was indirect. 
 We only discover Christ's conduct though 
 the upbraidings of his adversaries. But 
 all this strengthens the argument. I had 
 rather at any time surprise a coincidence 
 in some oblique allusion, than read it in 
 broad assertions. 
 
 VI. In our Lord's commerce with his 
 disciples, one very observable particular is 
 the difficulty which they found in under* 
 standing him, when he spoke to them of 
 the future part of his history, especially of 
 what related to his passion or resurrection. 
 This difficulty produced, as was natural, a 
 wish in them to ask for further explana- 
 tion ; from which, however, they appear 
 to have been sometimes kept back, by the 
 fear of giving Offence. All these circum- 
 stances are distinctly noticed by Mark and 
 Luke, upon the occasion of his informing 
 them (probably for the first time), that the
 
 115 
 
 Son of man should be delivered into the 
 hands of men. " They understood not," 
 the evangelists tell us, " this saying, and it 
 was hid from them, that they perceived it 
 not : and they feared to ask him of that 
 saying/' Luke, ix. 45. ; Mark, ix. 32. In 
 Saint John's Gospel we have, on a different 
 occasion, and in a different instance, the 
 same difficulty of apprehension, the same 
 curiosity, and the same restraint: "A little 
 while and ye shall not see me: and again, a 
 little while and ye shall see me, because I go 
 to the Father. Then said some of his dis- 
 ciples among themselves, What is this that 
 he saith unto us? A little while and ye shall 
 not see me : and again, a little while and ye 
 shall see me : and, Because I go to the Fa- 
 ther? They said, therefore, What is this 
 that he saith, A little while ? We cannot 
 tell what he saith. Now Jesus knew that 
 they were desirous to ask him, and said 
 unto them, " &c. John, xvi. 16. et seq. 
 
 VII. The meekness of Christ during his 
 last sufferings, which is conspicuous in the 
 narratives of the first three evangelists, is 
 preserved in that of Saint John under sepa- 
 
 I 2
 
 116 
 
 rate examples. The answer given by him, 
 in Saint John*, when the high priest asked 
 him of his disciples and his doctrine ; " I 
 spake openly to the world ; I ever taught 
 in the synagogue, and in the temple, whi- 
 ther the Jews always resort ; and in secret 
 have I said nothing ; why askest thou me ? 
 ask them which heard me, what I have 
 said unto them ;" is very much of a piece 
 with his reply to the armed party which 
 seized him, as we read it in Saint Mark's 
 Gospel, and in Saint Luke's-f* : " Are you 
 come out as against a thief, with swords 
 and with staves to take me ? I was daily 
 with you in the temple teaching, and ye 
 took me not/' In both answers, we discern 
 the same tranquillity, the same reference 
 to his public teaching. His mild expostula- 
 tion with Pilate, on two several occasions, 
 as related by Saint John J, is delivered 
 with the same unruffled temper, as that 
 which conducted him through the last scene 
 of his life, as described by his other evan- 
 gelists. His answer in Saint John's GospeU 
 
 * Chap, xviii. 20, 2J. 
 
 f Mark, xiv. 48. Luke, xxii. 52. 
 
 J Chap, xviii. 34. xix. 11.
 
 117 
 
 to the ofiicer who struck him with the palm 
 of his hand, "If I have spoken evil, bear 
 witness of the evil ; but if well,- why smitest 
 thou me*?" was such an answer, as might 
 have been looked for from the person, who, : 
 as he proceeded to the place of execution, 
 bid his companions (as we are told by Saint 
 Lukef-), weep not for him, but for them- 
 selves, their posterity, and their country; 
 and who, whilst he was suspended upon 
 the cross, prayed for his murderers, " for 
 they know not/' said he, " what they do/' 
 The urgency also of his judges and his pro- 
 secutors to extort from him a defence to 
 the accusation, and his unwillingness to 
 make any (which was a peculiar circum- 
 stance), appeals in Saint John's account, as 
 well as in that of the other evangelists^. 
 
 There are moreover two other corre- 
 spondencies between Saint John's history of 
 the transaction and theirs, of a kind some- 
 what different from those which we have 
 been now mentioning. 
 
 * Chap, xviii. 23. + Chap, xxiii. '28. 
 
 I See John, xix. 9- Matt, xxvii. 14. Luke, xxiii. .9.
 
 118 
 
 The first three evangelists record what 
 is called our Saviour's agony, i. e. his devo- 
 tion in the garden immediately before he 
 was apprehended ; in which narrative, they 
 all make him pray, " that the cup might 
 pass from him." This is the particular me- 
 taphor which they all ascribe to him . Saint 
 Matthew adds, " O my Father, if this cup 
 may not pass away from me, except I drink 
 it, thy will be done*." Now Saint John 
 does not give the scene in the garden : but 
 when Jesus was seized, and some resistance 
 was attempted to be made by Peter, Jesus, 
 according to his account, checked the at- 
 tempt with this reply : " Put up thy sword 
 into the sheath ; the cup which my Father 
 hath given me, shall I not drink itf?" 
 This is something more than consistency ; 
 it is coincidence : because it is extremely 
 natural, that Jesus, who, before he was ap- 
 prehended, had been praying his Father, 
 that " that cup might pass from him," yet 
 with such a pious retraction of his request, 
 as to have added, *' If this cup may not 
 pass from me, thy will be done ;" it was 
 
 * Chap. xxvi. 42. t Chap, xviii, 11,
 
 119 
 
 natural, I say, for the same person, when 
 he actually was apprehended, to express 
 the resignation to which he had already 
 made up his thoughts, and to express it in 
 the form of speech which he had before 
 used, "The cup which my Father hath 
 given me, shall I not drink it?" This is a 
 coincidence between writers, in whose nar- 
 ratives there is no imitation, but great di- 
 versity. 
 
 A second similar correspondency is the 
 following : Matthew and Mark make the. 
 charge, upon which our Lord Was con- 
 demned,, to be a, threat of destroying the 
 temple; "We heard him say, I will destroy 
 this temple, made with hands, and, within 
 three days, I will build another made with- 
 out Ijiauds*:" but they neither of them in- 
 form us, upon what circumstance this ca- 
 lumny was founded). Saint John, in the 
 earfy part of the history -f, supplies us with 
 this information i for he relates, that, on our 
 Lord's first journey; to Jerusalem, when the 
 Jews asked- him, " What sign showest thou 
 
 * Mark, xiv\ 58., f Chap. ii. 1Q.
 
 120 
 
 ? 
 
 unto us, seeing that thou doest these things: 
 he answered, Destroy this temple, and in 
 three days I will raise it up." This agree- 
 ment could hardly arise from any thing but 
 the truth of the case. From any care or 
 design in Saint John, to make his narrative 
 tally with the narratives of other evangel- 
 ists, it certainly did not arise, for no such 
 design appears, but the absence of it. 
 
 A strong and more general instance of 
 agreement, is the following. The first 
 three evangelists have related the appoint- 
 ment Of the twelve apostles*; and have 
 given a catalogue of their names in form. 
 John, without ever mentioning the appoint- 
 ment, or giving the catalogue, supposes, 
 throughout his whole narrative, Christ to be 
 accompanied by a select party of disciples ; 
 the number of these to be twelve-f*; and 
 whenever he happens to notice any one as 
 of that number j, it is one included ;in the 
 catalogue of the other evangelists : and the 
 names principally occurring in the course 
 of his history of Christ, are the names ex- 
 
 * Matt. x. 1. Mark, iii. 14. Luke, vi. 12. 
 + Chap. vi. 70. J Chap. xx. 24. vi. 71.
 
 121 
 
 tant in their list. This last agreement, 
 which is of considerable moment, runs 
 through every Gospel, and through every 
 chapter of each. 
 
 All this bespeaks reality.
 
 12 
 
 0O 
 
 ' 
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 
 Originality of our Saviours Character. 
 
 The Jews, whether right or wrong, had 
 understood their prophecies to foretell the 
 advent of a person, who by some super- 
 natural assistance should advance their na- 
 tion to independence, and to a supreme 
 degree of splendour and prosperity. This 
 was the reigning opinion and expectation 
 of the times. 
 
 Now, had Jesus been an enthusiast, it 
 is probable that his enthusiasm would 
 have fallen in with the popular delusion, 
 and that, whilst he gave himself out to be 
 the person intended by these predictions, 
 he would have assumed the character to 
 which they were universally supposed to 
 relate.
 
 123. 
 
 
 
 Had he been an impostor, it was his busi- 
 ness to have flattered the prevailing hopes, 
 because these hopes were to be the instru- 
 ments of his attraction and success. 
 
 But, what is better than conjectures, is 
 the fact, that all the pretended Messiahs . 
 actually did so. We learn from Josephus, 
 that there were many of these. Some of 
 them, it is probable, might be impostors, 
 who thought tfyat an advantage was to 
 be taken of the state of public opinion* 
 Others, perhaps, were enthusiasts, whose 
 imagination had been drawn to this par- 
 ticular object, by the language and senti- 
 ments which prevailed around them. But, 
 whether impostors or enthusiasts, they con- 
 curred in producing themselves in the 
 character which their countrymen looked 
 for, that is to say, as the restorers and de- 
 liverers of the nation, in that sense in which 
 restoration and deliverance were expected 
 by the Jews, 
 
 Why therefore Jesus, if he was, like them,., 
 either an enthusiast or impostor, did not 
 pursue the same conduct as they did, in
 
 124 
 
 framing his character and pretentions, it 
 will be found difficult to explain. A mis- 
 sion, the operation and benefit of which 
 was to take place in another life, was a 
 thing unthought of as the subject of these 
 prophecies. That Jesus, coming to them 
 as their Messiah, should come under a cha- 
 racter totally different from that in which 
 they expected him ; should deviate from 
 the general persuasion, and deviate into 
 pretensions absolutely singular and origin- 
 al ; appears to be inconsistent with the 
 imputation of enthusiasm or imposture, 
 both which, by their nature, I should ex- 
 pect, would, and both which, throughout 
 the experience which this very subject fur- 
 nishes, in fact have, followed the opinions 
 that obtained at the time. 
 
 If it be said, that Jesus, having tried the 
 other plan, turned at length to this ; I an- 
 swer, that the thing is said without evi- 
 dence ; against evidence ; that it was com- 
 petent to the rest to have done the same, 
 yet that nothing of this sort was thought 
 of by any.
 
 125 
 
 
 
 CHAPTER VI. 
 
 One argument, which has been much re- 
 lied upon (but not more than its just weight 
 deserves), is the conformity of the facts 
 occasionally mentioned or referred to in 
 Scripture, with the state of things in those 
 times, as represented by foreign and in- 
 dependent accounts; which conformity 
 proves, that the writers of the New Testa- 
 ment possessed a species of local know- 
 ledge, which could only belong to an in- 
 habitant of that country, and to one living 
 in that age. This argument, if well made 
 out by examples, is very little short of 
 proving the absolute genuineness of the 
 writings. It carries them up to the age of 
 the reputed authors, to an age in which it 
 must have been difficult to impose upon 
 the Christian public, forgeries in the names 
 of those authors, and in which there is no 
 evidence that any forgeries were attempted.
 
 It proves at least, that, the books, whoever 
 were the authors of them, were composed 
 by persons living in the time and country 
 in which these things were transacted ; and 
 consequently capable, by their situation, 
 of being well informed of the facts which 
 they relate. And the argument is stronger 
 when applied to the New Testament, than 
 it is in the case of almost any other writ- 
 ings, by reason of the mixed nature of the 
 allusions which this book contains. The,' 
 scene of action is not confined to a single 
 country, but displayed in the greatest cities 
 of the Roman empire. Allusions are made 
 to the manners and principles of the Greeks, 
 the Romans, and the Jews. This variety 
 renders a forgery proportionably more dif- 
 ficult, especially to writers of a posterior 
 age, A Greek or Roman Christian, who 
 lived in the second or third century, would 
 have been wanting in Jewish" literature ; a 
 Jewish convert in those ages would have 
 been equally deficient in the knowledge of 
 Greece and Rome *. 
 
 * Michaetis's Introduction to the New Testament (Marslt'a 
 /translation), c. ii. sect, xi.
 
 127 
 
 This, however, is an argument which 
 depends entirely upon an induction of par- 
 ticulars ; and as, consequently, it carries 
 with it little force, without a view of the 
 instances upon which it is built, I have to 
 request the reader's attention to a detail of 
 examples, distinctly and articulately pro- 
 posed. In collecting these examples, I 
 have done no more than epitomise the first 
 volume of the first part of Dr. Lardner's 
 Credibility of the Gospel History. And I 
 have brought the argument within its pre- 
 sent compass, first, by passing over some 
 of his sections in which the accordancy 
 appeared to me less certain, or upon sub- 
 jects not sufficiently appropriate or circum- 
 stantial ; secondly, by contracting every 
 section into the fewest words possible, con- 
 tenting myself for the most part with a 
 mere apposition of passages; and, thirdly, 
 by omitting many disquisitions, which, 
 though learned and accurate, are not abso- 
 lutely necessary to the understanding or 
 verification of the argument. 
 
 The writer principally made use of in the 
 iriquiry, is Josephus. Josephus was born
 
 128 
 
 at: Jerusalem four years after Christ's ascen- 
 sion. He wrote his history of the Jewish 
 war some time after the destruction of 
 Jerusalem, which happened in the year 
 of our Lord lxx," that is, thirty-seven 
 years after the ascension ; and his history 
 of the Jews he finished in the year xcm, 
 that is, sixty years after the ascension. 
 
 At the head of each article, I have re- 
 ferred, by figures included in brackets, to 
 the page of Dr. Lardner's volume, where 
 the section, from which the abridgement 
 is made, begins. The edition used, is that 
 of 1741. " 
 
 I. [p. 14.] Matt. ii. 22. "When he 
 (Joseph) heard that Archelaus did reign 
 in Judea, in the room of his father He- 
 rod, he was afraid to go thither : notwith- 
 standing, being warned of God in a 
 dream, he turned aside into the parts of 
 Galilee." 
 
 In this passage it is asserted, that Arche- 
 laus succeeded Herod in Judea ; and it is 
 implied, that his power did not extend to
 
 129 
 
 Galilee. Now we learn from Josephus, 
 that Herod the Great, whose dominion in- 
 cluded all the land of Israel, appointed 
 Archelaus his successor in Judea, and as- 
 signed the rest of his dominions to other 
 sons ; and that this disposition was ratified, 
 as to the main parts of it, by the Roman 
 emperor *. 
 
 Saint Matthew says, that Archelaus 
 reigned, was king in Judea. Agreeably to 
 this, we are informed by Josephus, not only 
 that Herod appointed Archelaus his suc- 
 cessor in Judea, but that he also* appointed 
 him with the title of King ; and the Greek 
 verb (BcMTtXevzi which the evangelist uses to 
 denote the government and rank of Arche- 
 laus, is used likewise by Josephus -f\ 
 
 The cruelty of Archelaus's character, 
 which is not obscurely intimated by the 
 evangelist, agrees with divers particulars 
 in his history, preserved by Josephus : 
 " In the tenth year of his government, 
 
 * Ant. lib. xvii. c. 8. sect. !. 
 f Dc Bell. lib. i. c. 33. sect. 7, 
 
 t VOL. II. K
 
 130 
 
 the chief of the Jews and Samaritans, not 
 being able to endure his cruelty and ty- 
 ranny, presented complaints against him 
 to Caesar*." 
 
 II. ft). 19-] Luke, hi. 1. "In the fifteenth 
 year of the reign of Tiberius Cesar, Herod 
 being tetrarch of Galilee, and his brother 
 Philip, tetrarch of Iturea and of the region 
 of Trachonitis, the word of God came 
 unto John/' 
 
 By the will of Herod the Great, and the 
 decree of Augustus thereupon, his two sons 
 were appointed, one (Herod Antipas) te- 
 trarch of Galilee and Perasa, and the other 
 (Philip) tetrarch of Trachonitis and the 
 neighbouring countries -j*. We have there- 
 fore these two persons in the situations in 
 which Saint Luke places them; and also r 
 that they were in these situations in the 
 fifteenth year of Tiberius, in other words, 
 that they continued in possession of their 
 territories and titles until that time, and 
 
 Ant. lib. xvii. c. 13. sect. 1. 
 I Ant. lib. xvii. c. 8. sect. 1
 
 132 
 
 afterwards, appears from a passage of Jose- 
 phus, which relates of Herod, "that he was 
 removed by Caligula, the successor of Tibe- 
 rius* ; and of Philip, that he died in the 
 twentieth year of Tiberius, when he had 
 governed Trachonitis and Batanea and 
 Gaulanitis thirty-seven years-jV 
 
 III. [p. 20.] Mark, vi. 17$. "Herod 
 had sent forth, and laid hold upon John, 
 and bound him in prison, for Herodias* 
 sake, his brother Philip's wife ; for he had 
 married her." 
 
 With this compare Joseph. Antiq. I. xviii. 
 c. 6. sect. 1 : " He (Herod the tetrarch) 
 made a visit to Herod his brother. Here, 
 falling in love with Herodias, the wife of 
 the said Herod, he ventured to make her 
 proposals of marriage " 
 
 * Ant. lib. xviii. c. 8. sect. 2. 
 
 f Ant. lib. xviii. c. 5. sect. 6. 
 
 J See also Matt. xiv. 113.; Luke, iii. 19. 
 
 The affinity of the two accounts is unquestionable ; but 
 there is a difference in the name of Horodias's first husband, 
 which, in the evangelist, is Philip ; in Joscphus, Herod. 
 The difficulty, however, will not appear considerably when 
 
 v a
 
 132 
 
 Again, Mark, vi. 22. "And when the 
 daughter of the said Herodias came in and 
 danced " 
 
 With this also compare Joseph. Antiq. 
 1. xviii. c. 6. sect. 4. " Herodias was mar- 
 ried to Herod, son of Herod the Great. 
 They had a daughter, whose name was Sa- 
 lome; after whose birth, Herodias, in utter 
 violation of the laws of her country, left her 
 husband, then living, and married Herod 
 the tetrarch of Galilee, her husband's 
 brother by the father's side/' 
 
 IV. [p. 29.] Acts, xii. 1. "Now, about 
 that time, Herod the king stretched forth 
 his hands, to vex certain of the Church." 
 
 we recollect how common it was in those times, for the same 
 person to bear two names. " Simon, which is called Peter; 
 Lebbeus, whose surname is Thaddeus; Thomas, which is 
 called Didymus; Simeon, who was called Niger; Saul, 
 who was also called Paul." The solution is rendered like- 
 wise easier in the present case, by the consideration, that 
 Herod the Great had children by seven or eicdit wives . 
 that Josephus mentions three of his sons under the name c f 
 Herod : that itis nevertheless highly probable, that the bro- 
 thers bore some additional name, by which they were dis- 
 tinguished from one another. Lardner, vol. ii. p. 897.
 
 133 
 
 In the conclusion of the same chapter, 
 Herod's death is represented to have taken 
 place soon after this persecution. , The ac- 
 curacy of our historian, or, rather, the un- 
 meditated coincidence, which truth of its 
 own accord produces, is in this instance re- 
 markable. There was no portion of time, 
 for thirty years before, nor ever afterwards, 
 in which there was a king at Jerusalem, a 
 person exercising that authority in Judea, 
 or to whom that title could be applied, ex- 
 cept the three last years of this Herod's 
 life, within which period the transaction 
 recorded in the Acts is stated to have taken 
 place. This prince was the grandson of 
 Herod the Great. In the Acts, he appears 
 under his family-name of Herod ; by Jo- 
 sephus he was called Agrippa. For proof 
 that he was a king, properly so called, we 
 have the testimony of Josephus in full and 
 direct terms : " Sending for him to his 
 palace, Caligula put a crown upon his 
 head, and appointed him king of the te- 
 trarchie of Philip, intending also to give 
 him the tetrarchie of Lysanias*." And 
 
 * Antiq. xviii. c, 7- sect. 10.
 
 134 
 
 that Judea was at last, but not until the 
 last, included in his dominions, appears 
 by a subsequent passage of the same Jo- 
 sephus, wherein he tells us, that Claudius, 
 by a decree, confirmed to Agrippa the 
 dominion which Caligula had given him ; 
 adding also Judea and Samaria, in the ut- 
 most extent t as possessed by his grandfather 
 Herod*. 
 
 V. [p. 32.] Acts, xii. 1923. "And he 
 (Herod) went down from Judea to Ce- 
 sarea, and there abode. And on a set 
 day, Herod, arrayed in royal apparel, sat 
 upon his throne, and made an oration unto 
 them : and the people gave a shout, say- 
 ing, It is the voice of a god, and not of a 
 man : and immediately the angel of the 
 Lord smote him, because he gave not God 
 the glory : and he was eaten of worms, and 
 gave up the ghost." 
 
 Joseph. Antiq. lib. xix. c. 8. sect. 2. " He 
 went to the city of Cesarea. Here he cele- 
 brated shows in honour of Caesar. On the 
 
 * Antiq. xix. c.5. sect 1.
 
 135 
 
 second day of the shows, early in the morn- 
 ing, he came into the theatre, dressed in 
 a robe of silver, of most curious workman- 
 ship. The rays of the rising sun, reflected 
 from such a splendid garb, gave him a ma- 
 jestic and awful appearance. They called 
 him a god ; and entreated him to be pro- 
 pitious to them, saying, Hitherto we have 
 respected you as a man ; but now we ac- 
 knowledge you to be more than mortal. 
 The king neither reproved these persons, 
 nor rejected the impious flattery. Imme- 
 diately after this, he was seized with pains 
 in his bowels, extremely violent at the very 
 first. He was carried therefore with all 
 haste to his palace. These pains conti- 
 nually tormenting him, he expired in five 
 days' time/' 
 
 The reader will perceive the accordancy 
 of these accounts in various particulars. 
 The place (Cesarea), the set day, the gor- 
 geous dress, the acclamations of the as- 
 sembly, the peculiar turn of the flattery, 
 the reception of it, the sudden and critical 
 incursion of the disease, are circumstances
 
 136 
 
 noticed in both narratives. The worms, 
 mentioned by Saint Luke, are not remark- 
 ed by Josephus ; but the appearance of 
 these is a symptom, not unusually, I be- 
 lieve, attending the disease which Josephus 
 describes, viz. violent affections of the 
 bowels. 
 
 VI. [p. 41.] Acts, xxiv. 24. " And after 
 certain days, when Felix came with his 
 wife Drusilla, which was a Jewess, he sent 
 for Paul." 
 
 Joseph. Antiq. lib. xx. c. 6. sect. 1, 2. 
 " Agrippa gave his sister Drusilla in mar- 
 riage to Azizus, king of the Emesenes, 
 when he had consented to be circumcised. 
 But this marriage of Drusilla with Azizus 
 was dissolved in a short time after," in this 
 manner : When Felix was procurator of 
 Judea, having had a sight of her, he was 
 mightily taken with her. She was induced 
 to transgress the laws of her country, and 
 marry Felix/' 
 
 Here the public station of Felix, the
 
 137 
 
 name of his wife, and the singular circum- 
 stance of her religion, all appear in perfect 
 conformity with the evangelist. 
 
 VII. [p. 46.] " And after certain days, 
 king Agrippa and Bernice came to Ce- 
 sarea to salute Festus." By this passage 
 we are in effect told, that Agrippa was 
 a king, but not of Judea ; for he came to 
 salute Festus, who at this time admini- 
 stered the government of that country at 
 Cesarea. 
 
 Now, how does the history of the age 
 correspond with this account ? The Agrippa 
 here spoken of, was the son of Herod 
 Agrippa, mentioned in the last article ; but 
 that he did not succeed to his father's 
 kingdom, nor ever recovered Judea, which 
 had been a part of it, we learn by the in- 
 formation of Josephus, who relates of him 
 that, when his father was dead, Claudius 
 intended,' at first, to have rut him imme- 
 diately in possession of his father's do- 
 minions ; but that, Agrippa being then but 
 seventeen years of age, the emperor was 
 persuaded to alter his mind, and appointed
 
 138 
 
 Cuspius Fadus prefect of Judea and the 
 whole kingdom* ; which Fadus was suc- 
 ceeded by Tiberius Alexander, Cumanus, 
 Felix, Festus-j-. . But that, though disap- 
 pointed of his father's kingdom, in which 
 was included Judea, he was nevertheless 
 rightly styled King Agrippa, and that he 
 was in possession of considerable territo- 
 ries bordering upon Judea, we gather from 
 the same authority; for, after several suc- 
 cessive donations of country, " Claudius, 
 at the same time that he sent Felix to be 
 procurator of Judea, promoted Agrippa 
 from Chalcis to a greater kingdom, giving 
 to him the tetrarchie which had been Phi- 
 lip's ; and he added moreover the kingdom 
 of Lysanias, and the province that had be- 
 longed to VarusJ." 
 
 Saint Paul addresses this person as a Jew: 
 " King Agrippa, believest thou the pro- 
 phets? I know that thou believest/' As 
 the son of Herod Agrippa, who is described 
 by Josephus to have been a zealous Jew, it 
 
 * Antiq. xix. c. Q. ad fin. 
 t lb. xx. e Bell. lib. ii. 
 X De Bell. lib. ii. c. 12. ad fin.
 
 139 
 
 is reasonable to suppose that he maintained 
 the same profession. But what is more 
 material to remark, because it is more close 
 and circumstantial, is, that Saint Luke, 
 speaking of the father (Acts, xii. 1 3.), calls 
 him Herod the king, and gives an example 
 of the exercise of his authority at Jerusalem : 
 speaking of the son (xxv. 13.), he calls him 
 king, but not of Judea ; which distinction 
 agrees correctly with the history. 
 
 VIII. [p. 51.] Acts, xiii. 6. " And when 
 they had gone through the isle (Cyprus) 
 to Paphos, they found a certain sorcerer, 
 a false prophet, a Jew, whose name was 
 Bar-jesus, which was with the deputy of 
 the country, Sergius Paulus, a prudent 
 man/' 
 
 The word, which is here translated de- 
 puty, signifies proconsul, and upon this 
 word our observation is founded. The 
 provinces of the Roman empire were of 
 two kinds; those belonging to the emperor, 
 in which the governor was called pro- 
 praetor ; and those belonging to the senate, 
 in which the governor was called pro-
 
 140 
 
 consul. And this was a regular distinc- 
 tion. Now it appears from Dio Cassius*, 
 that the province of Cyprus, which in the 
 original distribution was assigned to the 
 emperor, had been transferred to the se- 
 nate, in exchange for some others ; and 
 that, after this exchange, the appropriate 
 title of the Roman governor was pro- 
 consul. 
 
 lb. xviii. 12. [p. 55.~] " And when Gallio 
 was deputy (proconsul) of Achaia." 
 
 The propriety of the title "proconsul" 
 is in this passage still more critical. For 
 the province of Achaia, after passing from 
 the senate to the emperor, had been re- 
 stored again by the emperor Claudius to 
 the senate (and consequently its govern- 
 ment had become proconsular) only six or 
 seven years before the time in which this 
 transaction is said to have taken place -j*. 
 And what confines with strictness the ap- 
 pellation to the time is, that Achaia under 
 
 * Lib. liv.ad A. U. 732. 
 
 + Suet, in Claud, c. xxv. Dio, lib. Ixi.
 
 141 
 
 the following reign ceased to be a Romaa 
 province at all. 
 
 IX. [p. 3 52.] It appears, as well from 
 the general constitution of a Roman pro- 
 vince, as from what Josephus delivers con- 
 cerning the state of Judea in particular*, 
 that the power of life and death resided 
 exclusively in the Roman governor ; but 
 that the Jews, nevertheless, had magi- 
 states and a council, invested with a sub- 
 ordinate and municipal authority. This 
 economy is discerned in every part of the 
 Gospel narrative of our Saviour's cruci- 
 fixion. 
 
 X. [p. 203.] Acts, ix. 31. "Then had 
 the churches rest throughout all Judea and 
 Galilee and Samaria." 
 
 This rest synchronizes with the at- 
 tempt of Caligula to place his statue in 
 the temple of Jerusalem; the threat of 
 which outrage produced amongst the Jews 
 a consternation that* for a season, di- 
 
 "' Antiq. lib, xx. c. S. sect. 5. c. 1. sect, 2, 
 
 /
 
 142 
 
 verted their attention from every other 
 object*. 
 
 XL [p. 218.] Acts, xxi. 30. " And they 
 took Paul, and drew him out of the tem- 
 ple ; and forthwith the doors were shut. 
 And as they went about to kill him, ti- 
 dings came to the chief captain of the band, 
 that all Jerusalem was in an uproar. Then 
 the chief captain came near, and took him, 
 and commanded him to be bound with 
 two chains, and demanded, who he was, 
 and what he had done ; and some cried 
 one thing, and some another, among the 
 multitude: and, when he could not know 
 the certainty for the tumult, he command- 
 ed him to be carried into the castle. And 
 when he came upon the stairs, so it was, 
 that he was borne of the soldiers for the 
 violence of the people/' 
 
 In this quotation, we have the band of 
 Roman soldiers at Jerusalem, their office 
 (to suppress tumults), the castle, the stairs, 
 both, as it should seem, adjoining to the 
 
 * Joseph, de Bell. lib. xi. c. 13. ?cet. 1, 3. 4
 
 143 
 
 temple. Let us inquire whether we can 
 find these particulars in any other record 
 of that age and place. 
 
 Joseph, de Bell. lib. v. c. 5. sect. 8. " An- 
 tonia was situated at the angle of the western 
 and northern porticoes of the outer temple. 
 It was built upon a rock fifty cubits high, 
 steep on all sides. On that side where it 
 joined to the porticoes of the temple, there 
 were stairs reaching to each portico, by 
 which the guard descended ; for there was 
 always lodged here a Roman legion, and 
 posting themselves in their armour in se- 
 veral places in the porticoes, they kept a 
 watch on the people on the feast-days to 
 prevent all disorders; for, as the temple was 
 a guard to the city, so was Antonia to the 
 temple/' 
 
 XII. [p. 224.] Acts, iv. 1. "And as 
 they spake unto the people, the priests, 
 and the captain of the temple, and the 
 Sadducees, came upon them/' Here we 
 have a public officer, under the title of 
 captain of the temple, and he probably 
 a Jew, as he accompanied the priests
 
 144 
 
 and Sadducees in apprehending the 
 apostles. 
 
 Joseph, de Bell. lib. ii. c. 17- sect. 2. 
 " And at the temple, Eleazar, the son of 
 Ananias the high-priest, a young man of a 
 bold and resolute disposition, then captain, 
 persuaded those who performed the sacred 
 ministrations, not to receive the gift or sa- 
 crifice of any stranger." 
 
 XIII. [p. 225.] Acts, xxv. 12. " Then 
 Festus, when he had conferred with the 
 council, answered, Hast thou appealed 
 unto Caesar? unto Caesar shalt thou go." 
 That it was usual for the Roman presidents 
 to have a council, consisting of their friends, 
 and other chief Romans in the province, 
 appears expressly in the following passage 
 of Cicero's oration against Verres : " Illud 
 negare posses, aut nunc negabis, te, con- 
 cilio tuo dimisso, viris primariis, qui in con- 
 silio C. Sacerdotis fuerant, tibique esse vole- 
 bant, remotis, de re judicata judicasse?" 
 
 XIV. [p. 235.] Acts, xvi. 13. "And (at 
 Philippi) on the Sabbath, we went out of
 
 145 
 
 the city by a river-side, where prayer was 
 wont to be made," or where a ^oa-ev^y 
 oratory, or place of prayer, was allowed. 
 The particularity to be remarked, is the 
 situation of the place where prayer was 
 wont to be made, viz. by a fiver-side. 
 
 Philo, describing the conduct of the 
 Jews of Alexandria, on a certain public 
 occasion, relates of them, that, " early in 
 the morning, flocking out of the gates of 
 the city, they go to the neighbouririg shores 
 (for the -r^ocgy^a; were destroyed), and, 
 standing in a most pure place, they lift up 
 their voices with one accord*/' 
 
 Josephus gives us a flecree of the city 
 of Halicarnassus, permitting the Jews to 
 build oratories ; a part of which decree runs 
 thus : " We ordain, that the Jews, who 
 are willing, men and women, do observe 
 the Sabbaths, and perform sacred rites 
 according to the Jewish laws, and build 
 oratories by the sea-side^'." 
 
 * Philo in Flacc. p. 38'2. 
 
 f Joseph. Antiq. lib. xlv. c. 10. sect. 2. 
 
 VOL. J I. L
 
 146 
 
 Tertullian, among other Jewish rites and 
 customs, such as feasts, sabbaths, fasts., 
 and unleavened bread, mentions " orationes 
 Utorales" that is, prayers by the river-side*. 
 
 XV. [p. 255.] Acts, xxvi. 5. " After 
 the most straitest sect of our religion, I 
 lived a Pharisee." 
 
 Joseph, de Bell. lib. i. c. 5. sect. 2. " The 
 Pharisees were reckoned the most religious 
 of any of the Jews, and to be the most 
 exact and skilful in explaining the laws/' 
 
 In the original, there is an agreement 
 not only in the sense but in the expression, 
 it being the same Greek adjective, which is 
 rendered u strait" in the Acts, and " exact" 
 
 in Joseph us. 
 
 XVI. [p. 255.] Mark, vii. 3, 4. " The 
 Pharisees and all the Jews, except they 
 wash, eat not, holding the tradition of the 
 elders ; and many other things there be 
 which they have received to hold." 
 
 * Tertull. ad Xat. lib. i. c. 13,
 
 147 
 
 Joseph. Antiq. lib. xiii. c. 10. sect. 6. 
 " The Pharisees have delivered to the 
 people many institutions, as received from 
 the fathers, which are not written in the 
 law of Moses." 
 
 XVII. [p. 259.] Acts, xxiii. 8. " For 
 the Sadducees say, that there is no resur- 
 rection, neither angel, nor spirit : but the 
 Pharisees confess both." 
 
 Joseph, de Bell. lib. ii. c. 8. sect. 14. 
 " They (the Pharisees) believe every soul 
 to be immortal, but that the soul of the 
 good only passes into another body, and 
 that the soul of the wicked is punished 
 with eternal punishment." On the other 
 hand (Antiq. lib. xviii. c. i. sect. 4.), " It 
 is the opinion of the Sadducees, that souls 
 perish with the bodies." 
 
 XVIII. [p. 268.] Acts, v. 17. " Then 
 the high priest rose up, and all they that 
 were with him (which is the sect of the 
 Sadducees), and were filled with indigna- 
 tion." Saiut Luke here intimates, that the 
 
 l2
 
 148 
 
 high priest was a Sadducee; which is a 
 character one would not have expected to 
 meet with in that station. This circum- 
 stance, remarkable as it is, was not how- 
 ever without examples. 
 
 Joseph. Antiq. lib. xiii. c. 10. sect. 6, 7 
 ** John Hyrcanus, high priest of the Jews, 
 forsook the Pharisees upon a disgust, and 
 joined himself to the party of the Sad- 
 ducees." This high priest died one hun- 
 dred and seven years before the Christian 
 a?ra. 
 
 Again, (Antiq. lib. xx. c. 8. sect. 1.): 
 " This Ananus the younger, who, as we 
 have said just now, had received the high- 
 priesthood, was fierce and haughty in his 
 behaviour, and, above all men, bold and 
 daring, and, moreover, was of the sect of 
 the Sadducees. This high priest lived little 
 more than twenty years after the transac- 
 tion in the Acts. 
 
 XIX. [p. 282.] Luke, ix. 51. " And it 
 came to pass, when the time was come that
 
 149 
 
 he should be received up, he steadfastly 
 set his face to go to Jerusalem, and sent 
 messengers before his face. And they 
 went, and entered into a village of the 
 Samaritans, to make ready for him. And 
 they did not receive him, because his 
 face was as though he would go to Jeru- 
 salem." 
 
 Joseph. Antiq. lib. xx. c. 5. sect. 1. " It 
 was the custom of the Galileans, who went 
 up to the holy city at the feasts, to travel 
 through the country of Samaria. As they 
 were in ;their journey, some inhabitants of 
 the village called Ginaea, which lies on the 
 borders of Samaria and the great plain, 
 falling upon them, killed a great many of 
 them/' 
 
 XX. [p. 278.] John, iv. 20. " Our fa- 
 thers/' said the Samaritan woman, " wor- 
 shipped in this mountain ; and ye say, thnt 
 Jerusalem is the place where men ought 
 to worship." 
 
 Joseph. Antiq. lib. xviii. c. 5. sect. 1. 
 " Commanding them to meet him at mount
 
 150 
 
 Gerizzim, which is by them (the Sama- 
 ritan*) esteemed the most sacred of all 
 mountains/' 
 
 XXI. [p. 31?.] Matt. xxvi. 3. " Then 
 assembied together the thief priests, and 
 the elders of the people, unto the palace 
 of the high priest, who was called Caia- 
 phas" That Caiaphas was high priest, 
 and high pnest throughout the president- 
 ship of Pontius Pilate, and consequently 
 at this time, appears from the following 
 account ; He was made high priest by 
 Valerius Gratus, 'predecessor of t Pontius 
 Pilate, and was removed fiom his office 
 by Vitellius, president of Syria, after Pi- 
 late was sent away out of the province of 
 Judea. Josephus relates the advancement 
 of Caiaphas to the high-priesthood in this 
 manner: " Gratus gave the high priest- 
 hood to Simon, the son of Camithus. He, 
 having enjoyed this honour not above a 
 year, was succeeded by Joseph, who is also 
 called Caiaphas*. After this, Gratus went 
 away for Rome, having been eleven years 
 
 * Antiq. lib. xviii. c. 2- seet. 2.
 
 151 
 
 in Judea; and Pontius Pilate came thither 
 as his successor." Of the removal of Caia- 
 phas from his office, Josephus, likewise, 
 afterwards informs us ; and connects it 
 with a circumstance which fixes the time to 
 a date subsequent to the determination of 
 Pilate's government "Vitellius," he tells 
 us, " ordered Pilate to repair to Ro??ie ; and 
 after that, went up himself to Jerusalem, 
 and then gave directions concerning several 
 matters. And having done these things, 
 he took away the priesthood from the high 
 priest Joseph, who is called Caiaphas*" 
 
 XXII. (Michaelis, c. xi. sect. 11.) Acts, 
 xxiii. 4. " And they that stood by, said, 
 Revilest thou God's high priest? Then 
 said Paul, I wist not, brethren, that he was 
 the high priest." Now, upon inquiry into 
 ^he history of the age, it turns out, that 
 Ananias, of whom this is spoken, was, in 
 truth, not the high priest, though he was 
 sitting in judgement in that assumed capa- 
 city. The case was, that he had formerly 
 holden the office, and had been deposed : 
 
 * Antiq. lib. xvii. c. 5. sect. 3,
 
 152 
 
 that the person who succeeded him had 
 been murdered ; that another was not yet 
 appointed to the station ; and that, during 
 the vacancy, he had, of his own authority, 
 taken upon himself the discharge of the 
 office *. This singular situation of the high- 
 priesthood took place during the interval 
 between the death of Jonathan, who was 
 murdered by order of Felix, and the acces- 
 sion of Ismael, who was invested with the 
 high-priesthood by Agrippa ; and precisely 
 in this interval it happened that Saint Paul 
 was apprehended, and brought before the 
 Jewish council. 
 
 XXIII. [p. 323.] Matt. xxvi. 5p. " Now 
 the chief priests and elders, and all the 
 council, sought false witness against him/' 
 
 Joseph. Antiq. lib. xviii. c. 15. sect. 3, 4. 
 44 Then might be seen the high priests 
 themselves, with ashes on their heads, and 
 their breasts naked." 
 
 The agreement here consists in speaking 
 
 * Joseph. Antiq. 1. xx. c. 5. sect. 2. ; c. 6. sect. 2. ; c. 0.
 
 153 
 
 of the high priests or chief priests (for the 
 name in the original is the same), in the 
 plural number, when, in strictness, there 
 was only one high priest : which may be 
 considered as a proof, that the evangelists 
 were habituated to the manner of speaking 
 then in use, because they retain it when it 
 is neither accurate nor just. For the sake 
 of brevity, I have put down, from Jo- 
 sephus, only a single example of the appli- 
 cation of this title in the plural number; 
 but it is his usual style. 
 
 lb. [p. 871.] Luke, iii. 1. " Now in the 
 fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius Cae- 
 sar, Pontius Pilate being governor of Jur- 
 dea, and Herod being tetrarch of Galilee, 
 Annas and Caiaphas being the high priests, 
 the word of God came unto John." There 
 is a passage in Josephus very nearly pa- 
 rallel to this, and which may at least serve 
 to vindicate the evangelist form objection, 
 with respect to his giving the title of high 
 priest specifically to two persons at the 
 same time : u Quadratus sent two others 
 of the most powerful men of the Jews, as
 
 154 
 
 also the high priests Jonathan and Ana- 
 nias*" That Annas was a person in an 
 eminent station, and possessed an autho- 
 rity co-ordinate with, or next to, that of 
 the high priest properly so called, may be 
 inferred from Saint John's Gospel, which, 
 in the history of Christ's crucifixion, relates 
 that " the soldiers led him away to Annas 
 first-)-*." And this might be noticed as an 
 example of undesigned coincidence in the 
 two evangelists. 
 
 Again, [p. 870.] Acts, iv. 6, Annas is 
 called the high priest, though Caiaphas 
 was in the office of the high-priesthood. 
 In like manner, in Josephus J, " Joseph, 
 the son of Gorion, and the high priest 
 Ananus, were chosen to be supreme go- 
 vernors of all things in the city." Yet 
 Ananus, though here called the high priest 
 Ananus, was not then in the office of the 
 high-priesthood. The truth is, there is an 
 indeterminateness in the use of this title in 
 the Gospel ; sometimes it is applied exclu- 
 
 * De Bell. lib. ix c. 12. sect. 6. + xviii. 13. 
 
 X Lib. ii. c. 20. sect. 3.
 
 155 
 
 sively to the person who held the office at 
 the time ; sometimes to one or two more, 
 who probably shared with him some of the 
 powers or functions of the office; and, 
 sometimes, to such of the priests as were 
 eminent by their station or character* ; 
 and there is the very same indeterminate- 
 ness in Josephus. 
 
 XXIV. [p. 347.] John, xix. 19, 20. 
 " And Pilate wrote a title, and put it on 
 the cross." That such was the custom of 
 the Romans on these occasions, appears 
 from passages of Suetonius and Dio Cas- 
 sius : " Patrem familias canibus objecit, 
 cum hoc titulo, Impie locutus parmula- 
 rius." Suet. Domit. c.ip. x. And in Dio 
 Gassius we have the following : " Having 
 led him through the midst of the court or 
 assembly, with a writing signifying the 
 cause of his death, and afterwards cruci- 
 fying him." Book liv. 
 
 lb. " And it was written in Hebrew, 
 Greek, and Latin." That it was also usual 
 
 * Mark, xiv. 53*
 
 156 
 
 about this time, in Jerusalem, to set up 
 advertisements in different languages, is 
 gathered from the account which Josephus 
 gives of an expostulatory message from 
 Titus to the Jews, when the city was al- 
 most in his hands ; in which he says, Did 
 ye not erect pillars with inscriptions on 
 them, in the Greek and in our language, 
 " Let no one pass beyond these bounds ?" 
 
 XXV. [p. 352.] Matt, xxvii. 26. " When 
 he had scourged Jesus,*he delivered him to 
 be crucified." 
 
 The following passages occur in Jose- 
 phus : 
 
 " Being beaten, they were crucified op- 
 posite to the citadel*." 
 
 " Whom, having first scourged with 
 whips, he crucified -j-/' 
 
 " He was burnt afive, having been first 
 beaten%." 
 
 * P. 1247, edit. 24. Huds t P. 1080, edit. 45 
 
 X V. 1327, edit. 43.
 
 157 
 
 To which may be added one from Livy, 
 lib. xi. c. 5. " Productique omnes, virgis- 
 que ccesi, ac securi percussi." 
 
 A modern example may illustrate the 
 use we make of this instance. The pre- 
 ceding of a capital execution by the cor- 
 poral punishment of the sufferer, is a prac- 
 tice unknown in England, but retained, in 
 some instances at least, as appears by the 
 late execution of a regicide, in Sweden. 
 This circumstance, therefore, in the ac- 
 count of an English execution, purporting 
 to come from an English writer, would not 
 only bring a suspicion upon the truth of 
 the account, but would, in a considerable 
 degree, impeach its pretensions of having 
 been written by the author who^e name it 
 bore. Whereas the same circumstance, in 
 the account of a Swedish execution, would 
 verify the account, and support the authen- 
 ticity of the book in which it was found : 
 or, at least, would prove that the author, 
 whoever he was, possessed the informa- 
 tion and the knowledge which lie ought to 
 possess.
 
 158 
 
 XXVI. [p. 353.] John, xix. 16. " And 
 
 they took Jesus, and led him away, and he, 
 bearing his cross, went forth." 
 
 Plutarch De iis qui ser6 puniuntur, 
 p. 554.: a Paris, 1624. " Every kind of 
 wickedness produces its own particular 
 torment, just as every malefactor, when he 
 is brought forth to execution, carries his 
 own cross." 
 
 XXVII. John, xix. 32. " Then came 
 the soldiers, and brake the legs of the first, 
 and of the other which was crucified with 
 him." 
 
 Constantine abolished the punishment 
 of the cross ; in commending which edict, 
 a heathen writer notices this very circum- 
 stance of breaking the legs : E6 pius, ut 
 etiam vetus veterrimumque supplicium, 
 patibulum, etcruribussuffringendis, primus 
 removerit." Aur. Vict. Ces. cap. xli. 
 
 XXVIII. [p. 457.] Acts, iii. 1. Now 
 Peter and John went up together into the
 
 159 
 
 temple, at the hour of prayer, being the 
 ninth hour." 
 
 Joseph. Antiq. lib. xv. c. 7 sect. 8. 
 " Twice every day, in the morning and at 
 the ninth hour, the priests perform their 
 duty at the altar/' 
 
 XXIX. [p. 462.] Acts, xv. 21. " For 
 Moses, of old time, hath, in every city, 
 them that preach him, being read in the 
 synagogues every Sabbath-day." 
 
 Joseph, contra Ap. 1. ii. " He (Moses) 
 gave us the law, the most excellent of all 
 institutions ; nor did he appoint that it 
 should be heard, once only, or twice, or 
 often, but that, laying aside all other 
 works, we should meet together every week 
 to hear it read, and gain a perfect under- 
 standing of it." 
 
 XXX. [p. 465.] Acts, xxi. 23. " We 
 have four men, which have a vow on them ; 
 them take, and purify thyself with them, 
 that they may shave their heads."
 
 160 
 
 Joseph, de Bell. 1. xi. c. 15. " It is cus- 
 tomary for those who have been afflicted 
 with some distemper, or have laboured 
 under any other difficulties, to make a vow 
 thirty days before they offer sacrifices, to 
 abstain from wine, and shave the hair of 
 their heads." 
 
 lb. v. 24. " Them take, and purify thy- 
 self with them, and be at charges with them, 
 that they may shave their heads." 
 
 Joseph. Antiq. 1. xix. c. 6. " He (Herod 
 Agrippa) coming to Jerusalem, offered up 
 sacrifices of thanksgiving, and omitted no- 
 thing that was prescribed by the law. For 
 which reason he also ordered a good number 
 of Nazarites to be shaved/' We here find 
 that it was an act of piety amongst the 
 Jews, to defray for those who were under 
 the Nazaritic vow the expenses which at- 
 tended its completion ; and that the phrase 
 was, " that they might be shaved/'' The 
 custom and the expression are both re- 
 markable, and both in close conformity 
 with the Scripture account.
 
 161 
 
 ' XXXI. [p. 474] 2 Cor. xi. 24. " Of 
 the Jews, five times received I forty stripes, 
 save one" 
 
 Joseph. Antiq. iv. c. 8. sect. 21. "He that 
 acts contrary hereto, let him receive forty 
 stripes, wanting o?ie, from the public officer/' 
 
 The coincidence here is singular, be- 
 cause the law allowed forty stripes : 
 " Forty stripes he may give him, and 
 not exceed/' Deut. xxv. 3. It proves that 
 the author of the Epistle to the Corinthians 
 was guided not by books, but by facts ; 
 because his statement agrees with the ac j 
 tual custom, even when that custom de- 
 viated from the written law, and from 
 what he must have learnt by consulting 
 the Jewish code, as set forth in the Old 
 Testament. 
 
 XXXII. [p. 490.] Luke, iii. 12. " Then 
 came also publicans to be baptized." From 
 this quotation, as well as from the his- 
 tory of Levi or Matthew (Luke, v. 2p.), 
 and of Zaccheus (Luke, xix. 2.), it appears, 
 that the publicans or tax-gatherers were, 
 
 VOL. II. >I
 
 162 
 
 frequently at least, if not always, Jews! 
 which, as the country was then under a 
 Roman government, and the taxes were 
 paid to the Romans, was a circumstance 
 not to be expected. That it was the truth 
 however of the case, appears from a short 
 passage of Josephus. 
 
 De Bell. lib. ii. c. 14. sect. 45." But, 
 Florus not restraining these practices by 
 his authority, the chief men of the Jews, 
 among whom was John the publican, not 
 knowing well what course to take, wait 
 upon Florus, and give him eight talents of 
 silver to stop the building." 
 
 XXXIII. [p. 496.] Acts, xxii. 25. "And 
 as they bound him with thongs, Paul said 
 unto the centurion that stood by, Is it law- 
 ful for you to scourge a man that is a TLoman* 
 and uncondemnned ?" 
 
 " Facinus est vinciri civem Romanum ; 
 scelus verberari." Cic. in Verr. 
 
 " Ca?debatur virgis, in medio foro Mes~ 
 snna3, civis Romanus, Judiees : cum interea
 
 163 
 
 null us gemitus, nulla vox alia, istius miseri 
 inter dolorem crepitumque plagarum audie- 
 batur, nisi hagc, Civis Romanus sum" 
 
 XXXIV. [p. 513.] Acts,xxii.27. "Then 
 the chief captain came, and said unto 
 him (Paul), Tell me, Art thou a Roman? 
 He said, Yea/' The circumstance here 
 to be noticed is, that a Jew was a Roman 
 citizen. 
 
 Joseph. Antiq. lib. xiv. c. 10. sect 13 
 " Lucius Lentulus, the consul, declared, I 
 have dismissed from the service the Jewish 
 Roman citizens, who observe the rites of the 
 Jewish religion at Ephesus." 
 
 lb. ver. 28. " And the chief captain an- 
 swered, With a great sum obtained I this 
 freedom" 
 
 Dio Cassius, lib. Ix. "This privilege 
 which had been bought formerly at a great 
 price, because so cheap, that it was com- 
 monly said, a man might be made a Ro- 
 man citizen for a few pieces of broken 
 glass," 
 
 m ?
 
 164 
 
 XXXV. [p. 521.] Acts, xxviii. 16. " And 
 when we came to Rome, the centurion 
 delivered the prisoners to the captain 
 of the guard ; but Paul was suffered to 
 dwell by himself, with a soldier that kept 
 him" 
 
 With which join ver. 20. " For the hope 
 of Israel, I am bound with this chain." 
 
 " Quemadmodum eadem catena et cus- 
 todiam et militem copulat ; sic ista, quae 
 tarn dissimilia sunt, pariter incedunt." Se- 
 neca, Ep. v. 
 
 " Proconsul Kstimare solet, utmm in 
 carcerem recipienda sit persona, an militi 
 tradenda." Ulpian. 1. i. sect. De Custod. 
 et Exhib. Reor. 
 
 In the confinement of Agrippa by the 
 order of Tiberius, Antonia managed, that 
 the centurion who presided over the guards, 
 and the soldier* to whom Agrippa was to be 
 bound, might be men of mild character. 
 (Joseph. Antiq. lib. xviii. c. 7- sect. 5.) After 
 the accession of Caligula, Agrippa also, like
 
 165 
 
 Paul, was suffered to dwell, yet as a pri- 
 soner, in his own house. 
 
 XXXVI. [p. 531.] Acts, xxvii. 1. " And 
 when it was determined that we should 
 sail into Italy, they delivered Paul, and cer- 
 tain other prisoners, unto one named Ju- 
 lius." Since not only Paul, but certain 
 other prisoners, were sent by the same ship 
 into Italy, the text must be considered as 
 carrying with it an intimation, that the 
 sending of persons from Judea to be tried 
 at Rome, was an ordinary practice. That 
 in truth it was so, is made out by a variety 
 of examples which the writings of Josephus 
 furnish; and, amongst others, by the fol- 
 lowing, which comes near both to the time 
 and the subject of the instance in the Acts. 
 " Felix, for some slight offence, bound and 
 sent to Home several priests of his acquaint- 
 ance, and very good and honest men, to 
 answer for themselves to Caesar." Joseph, 
 in Vit. sect. 3. 
 
 XXXVII. [p. 539-] Acts, xi. 27. "And 
 in these days came prophets from Jerusa- 
 lem unto Antioch ; and there stood up one
 
 166 
 
 of them, named Agabus, and signified by 
 the Spirit that there should be a great 
 dearth throughout all the world (or all the 
 country) ; which came to pass in the days of 
 Claudius Casar." 
 
 Joseph. Antiq. 1. xx. c. 4. sect. 2. " In 
 their time (i. e. about the fifth or sixth year 
 of Claudius) a great dearth happened in 
 Judea." 
 
 XXXVIII. [p. 555.'] Acts, xviii. 1, 2. 
 " Because that Claudious had commanded 
 all Jews to depart from Rome." 
 
 Suet. Claud, c. xxv. " Judaeos, impul- 
 sore Chresto assidue tumultuantes, Roma 
 expulit." 
 
 XXXJX. [p. 664.] Acts, v. 37. " After 
 this man, rose up Judas of Galilee, in the 
 days of the taxing, and drew away much 
 people after him." 
 
 Joseph, de. Bell. 1. vii. "He (viz. the per-* 
 son, who in another place is called, by
 
 167 
 
 Josephus, Judas the Galilean or Judas of 
 Galilee) persuaded not a few not to enrol 
 themselves, when Cyrenius the censor was 
 sent into Judea." 
 
 XL. [p. 942.] Acts, xxi. 38. " Art not 
 thou that Egyptian which, before these 
 days, madest an uproar, and leddest out 
 into the wilderness four thousand men that 
 were murderers?" 
 
 Joseph, de Bell. 1. ii. c. 13. sect. 5. 
 " But the Egyptian false prophet brought 
 a yet heavier disaster upon the Jews ; for 
 this impostor, coming into the country, and 
 gaining the reputation of a prophet, ga- 
 thered together thirty thousand men, who 
 were deceived by him. Having brought 
 them round out of the wilderness, up to 
 the mount of Olives, he intended from 
 thence to make his attack upon Jerusalem ; 
 but Felix, coming suddenly upon him with 
 the Roman soldiers, prevented the attack. 
 A great number, or (as it should rather 
 be rendered) the greatest part of those 
 that were with him, were either slain or 
 taken prisoners.
 
 168 
 
 In these two passages, the designation of 
 the impostor, an " Egyptian," without his 
 proper name ; " the wilderness ;" his escape, 
 though his followers were destroyed; the 
 time of the transaction, in the presidentship 
 of Felix, which could not be any long time 
 before the words in Luke are supposed to 
 have been spoken; are circumstances of 
 close correspondency. There is one, and 
 only one, point of disagreement, and that 
 is, in the number of his followers, which in 
 the Acts are called four thousand, and by 
 Josephus thirty thousand : but, beside that 
 the names of numbers, more than any other 
 words, are liable to the errors of transcribr 
 ers, we are, in the present instance, under 
 the less concern to reconcile the evangelist 
 with Josephus, as Josephus is not, in this 
 point, consistent with himself. For whereas, 
 in the passage here quoted, he calls the 
 number thirty thousand, and tells us that 
 the greatest part, or a great number (acr 
 cording as his words are rendered) of those 
 that were with him, were destroyed ; in his 
 Antiquities, he represents four hundred to 
 Jiave been killed upon this occasion, and
 
 169 
 
 two hundred taken prisoners* : which cetr- 
 tainly was not the " greatest part," nor " a 
 great part/' nor "a great number," out of 
 thirty thousand. It is probable also, that 
 Lysias and Josephus spoke of the expedi- 
 tion in its different stages : Lysias, of those 
 who followed the Egyptian out of Jeru- 
 salem; Josephus, of all who were col- 
 lected about him afterwards, from different 
 quarters. 
 
 XLI. (Lardner's Jewish and Heathen 
 Testimonies, vol. hi. p. 21.) Acts, xvii. 22. 
 *' Then Paul stood in the midst of Mars- 
 hill, and said, Ye men of Athens, I perceive 
 that in all things ye are too superstitious; 
 for, as I passed by and beheld your devo- 
 tions, I found an altar with this inscription, 
 TO THE UNKNOWN GOD. Whom 
 therefore ye ignorantly worship, him de- 
 clare I unto you." 
 
 Diogenes Laertius, who wrote about the 
 year 210, in his history of Epimenides, 
 who is supposed to have flourished nearly 
 
 * Lib. 20. c. 7. sect. 6,
 
 170 
 
 six hundred years before Christ, relates of 
 him the following story : that, being invited 
 to Athens for the purpose, he delivered the 
 city from a pestilence in this manner; 
 " Taking several sheep, some black, others 
 white, he had them up to the Areopagus, 
 and then let them go where they would, and 
 gave orders to those who followed them, 
 wherever any of them should lie down, to 
 sacrifice it to the god to whom it belonged ; 
 and so the plague ceased. Hence," says 
 the historian, "it has come to pass, that to 
 this present time, may be found in the 
 boroughs of the Athenians anonymous 
 altars : a memorial of the expiation then 
 made*." These altars, it may be presumed, 
 were called anonymous, because there was 
 not the name of any particular deity in- 
 scribed upon them. 
 
 Pausanias, who wrote before the end of 
 the second century, in his description of 
 Athens, having mentioned an altar of Ju- 
 piter Olympius, adds, "And nigh unto it is 
 an altar of unknown godsf." And in an- 
 
 * In Epimenide, 1. i. segm. 1 10, 
 f Paus.Lv. p. 412.
 
 171 
 
 other place, he speaks " of altars of gods 
 called unknown*." 
 
 Philostratus, who wrote in the begin- 
 ning of the third century, records it as 
 an observation of Apollonius Tyanaeus, 
 " That it was wise to speak well of all the 
 gods, especially at Athens, where altars of 
 unknown demons were erected-f." 
 
 The author of the dialoguePhilopatris, by 
 many supposed to have been Lucian, who 
 wrote about the year 170, by others some 
 anonymous Heathen writer of the fourth 
 century, makes Critias swear by the unknown 
 god of A thens ; and, near the end of the dia- 
 logue, has these words, " But let us find out 
 the unknown god at Athens, and, stretching 
 our hands to heaven, offer to him our praises 
 and thanksgivings %" 
 
 This is a very curious and a very im- 
 portant coincidence. It appears beyond 
 controversy, that altars with this inscription 
 
 * Paus. 1. i. p. 4. 
 
 f Philos. Apoll. Tyan. 1. vi. c.3. 
 
 Lucian. in Philop. torn. ii. Gra5v. p. 767, 7S0.
 
 172 
 
 were existing at Athens, at the time when 
 Saint Paul is alleged to have been there. It 
 seems also (which is very worthy of ob- 
 servation), that this inscription was peculiar 
 to the Athenians. There is no evidence 
 that there were altars inscribed " to the 
 unknown god" in any other country. 
 Supposing the history of Saint Paul to have 
 been a fable, how is it possible that such a 
 writer as the author of the Acts of the Apo- 
 stles w r as, should hit upon a circumstance 
 so extraordinary, and introduce it by an 
 allusion so suitable to Saint Paul's office 
 and character? 
 
 The examples here collected, will be suf- 
 ficient, I hope, to satisfy us, that the -writers 
 of the Christian history knew something of 
 what they were writing about. The argu- 
 ment is also strengthened by the following 
 considerations: 
 
 I. That these agreements appear, not 
 nly in articles of public history, but some-
 
 173 
 
 times, in minute, recondite, and very pecu- 
 liar circumstances, in which, of all others, 
 a forger is most likely to have been found 
 tripping. 
 
 II. That the destruction of Jerusalem, 
 which took place forty years after the com- 
 mencement of the Christian institution, pro- 
 duced such a change in the state of the 
 country, and the condition of the Jews, that 
 a writer who was unacquainted with the 
 circumstances of the nation before that event, 
 would find it difficult to avoid mistakes, in 
 endeavouring to give detailed accounts of 
 transactions connected with those circum- 
 stances, .forasmuch as he could no longer 
 have a living exemplar to copy from. 
 
 III. That there appears, in the writers of 
 the New Testament, a knowledge of the 
 affairs of those times, which we do not 
 find in authors of later ages. In particular, 
 " many of the Christian writers of the second 
 and third centuries, and of the following 
 ages, had false notions concerning the* 
 state of Judea, between the nativity of
 
 174 
 
 Jesus and the destruction of Jerusalem*/' 
 Therefore they could not have composed 
 our histories. 
 
 Amidst so many conformities, we are not 
 to wonder that we meet with some diffi- 
 culties. The principal of these I will put 
 down, together with the solutions which 
 they have received. But in doing this, I 
 must be contented with a brevity better 
 suited to the limits of my volume than to 
 the nature of a controversial argument. 
 For the historical proofs of my assertions, 
 and for the Greek criticisms upon which 
 some of them are founded, I refer the 
 reader to the second volume of the first 
 part of Dr. Lardner's large work. 
 
 I. The taxing during which Jesus was 
 born, was " first made/' as we read, accord- 
 ing to our translation, in Saint Luke, " whilst 
 Cyrenius was governor of Syria-f-." Now it 
 turns out that Cyrenius was not governor of 
 Syria until twelve, or, at the soonest, ten 
 
 * Lardner, part i. vol. ii. p. 96Q. 
 f Chap. ii. ver. 2.
 
 175 
 
 years after the birth of Christ ; and that a 
 taxing, census, or assessment, was made in 
 Judea in the beginning of his government. 
 The charge, therefore, brought against the 
 evangelist is, that, intending to refer to 
 this taxing, he has misplaced the date of it 
 by an error of ten or twelve years. 
 
 The answer to the accusation is found 
 in his using the word " first :" " And this 
 taxing wasjirst made :" for, according to the 
 mistake imputed to the evangelist, this word 
 could have no signification whatever; it 
 could have had no place in his narrative ; 
 because, let it relate to what it will, taxing, 
 census, enrolment, or assessment, it imports 
 that the writer had more than one of those 
 in contemplation. It acquits him therefore 
 of the charge: it is inconsistent with the 
 supposition of his knowing only of the 
 taxing in the beginning of Cyrenius's go- 
 vernment. And if the evangelist knew 
 (which this word proves that he did) of some 
 other taxing beside that, it is too much, for 
 the sake of convicting him of a mistake, to 
 lay it down as certain that he intended to 
 refer to that.
 
 I/O 
 
 The sentence in Saint Luke may be con- 
 strued thus: "This was the first assessment 
 (or enrolment) of Cyrenius, governor of 
 Syria*;" the words "governor of Syria" 
 being used after the name of Cyrenius as 
 his addition or title. And this title belonging 
 to him at the time of writing the account, 
 was naturally enough subjoined to his name, 
 though acquired after the transaction which 
 the account describes. A modern writer 
 who was not very exact in the choice of his 
 expressions, in relating the affairs of the 
 East-Indies, might easily say, that such a 
 thing was done by Governor Hastings; 
 though, in truth, the thing had been done 
 by him before his advancement to the sta- 
 tion from which he received the name of 
 governor. And this, as we contend, is pre- 
 cisely the inaccuracy which has produced 
 the difficulty in Saint Luke. 
 
 * If the word which we render " first," be rendered "be- 
 fore," which it has been strongly contended that the Greek, 
 idiom allows of, the whole difficulty vanishes : for then the 
 passage would be, " Now this taxing was made before 
 Cyrenius was governor of Syria; which corresponds with 
 the chronology. But I rather choose to argne, that, however 
 the word " first" be rendered, togive it a meaning at all, it 
 militates with the objection 1 . In this I think there can be no 
 mistake.
 
 177 
 
 At any rate, it appears from trie form of 
 the expression, that he had two taxisigs 
 or enrolments in contemplation. And if 
 Cyrenius had been sent upon this business 
 into Judea, before he became governor of 
 Syria (against which supposition there is 
 no proof, but rather external evidence of 
 an enrolment going on about this time 
 under some person or other*), then the 
 census on all hands acknowledged to 
 have been made by him in the beginning 
 of his government, would form a second, 
 so as to occasion the other to be called 
 the first. 
 
 If. Another chronological objection 
 arises upon a date assigned in the begin- 
 ning of the third chapter of Saint Luke -f\ 
 " Now in the fifteenth year of the reign of 
 
 * Joscphus (Antiq. xvii. c. 2. sect. 6.) has this remarkable 
 passage ; " When therefore the whole Jewish nation took an 
 oath to be faithful to Caesar, and the interests of the king." 
 This transaction corresponds in the course of the history 
 with the time of Christ's birth. What is called a census, and 
 which we render taxing, was delivering upon oath an ac- 
 count of their property. This might be accompanied with 
 an oath of fidelity, or might be mistaken by Josephus for it. 
 
 + Lardner, part. i. vol. ii. p. 7^8. 
 VO]L. II. N
 
 178 
 
 Tiberius Caesar, Jesus began to be about 
 thirty years of age: for, supposing Jesus 
 to have been born, as Saint Matthew, and 
 Saint Luke also himself, relate, in the time 
 of Herod, he must, according to the dates 
 given in Josephus and by the Roman his- 
 torians, have been at least thirty-one years 
 of age in the fifteenth year of Tiberius. 
 If he was born, as Saint Matthew's narra- 
 tive intimates, one or two years before 
 Herod's death, he would have been thirty- 
 two or thirty-three years old at that 
 time. 
 
 This is the difficulty: the solution turns 
 upon an alteration in the construction of 
 the Greek. Saint Luke's words in the ori- 
 ginal are allowed, by the general opinion 
 of learned men, to signify, not " that Je- 
 sus began to about thirty years of age," 
 but " that lie was about thirty years of 
 age when he began his ministry." This 
 construction being admitted, the adverb 
 " about" gives us all the latitude we want, 
 and more, especially when applied, as it is 
 in the present instance, to a decimal num- 
 ber: for such numbers, even without this
 
 179 
 
 qualifying addition, are often used in a 
 laxer sense than is here contended for *. 
 
 III. Acts, v. 36. " For before these 
 days rose up Theudas, boasting himself 
 to be some body; to whom a number of 
 men, abour four hundred, joined them- 
 selves: who was slain; and all, as many 
 as obeyed him, were scattered and brought 
 to nought/' 
 
 Josephus has preserved the account of 
 an impostor of the name of Theudas, who 
 created some disturbances, and was slain ; 
 but according to the date assigned to this 
 man's appearance (in which, however, it 
 is very possible that Josephus may have 
 been mistaken -f), it must have been, at the 
 
 * Livy, speaking of the peace which the conduct of Ro- 
 mulus had procured to the state, during the whole reign of 
 his successor (Numa), has these words t: " Abillo enim 
 profectis viribus datis tantum valuit, ut, in quadraginta de- 
 inde annos, tutam pacem haberet:" yet afterwards in the 
 same chapter, " Romulus/' he says, " septem et triginta 
 regnavit annos. Numa tres et quadraginta." 
 
 + Michaelis's Introduction to the New TestarAent 
 (Marsh's translation), vol. i. p. 6*1. 
 
 X Liv. Hist, c, i. sect. IC
 
 ISO 
 
 least, seven years after Gamaliel's speech, 
 of which this text is a part, was delivered. 
 It has been replied to the objection *, that 
 there might be two impostors of this name : 
 and it has been observed, in order to give a 
 general probability to the solution, that the 
 same thing appears to have happened in 
 other instances of the same kind. It is 
 proved from Jasephus, that there were not 
 fewer than four persons of the name of 
 Simon within forty years, and not fewer 
 than three of the name of Judas within 
 ten years, who were ail leaders of insurrec- 
 tions: and it is likewise recorded by this 
 historian, that, upon the death of Herod 
 the Great (which agrees very well with the 
 time of the commotion referred to by Ga- 
 maliel, and with his manner of stating that 
 time, " before these days"), there were innu- 
 merable disturbances in Jiidea*j\ Archbi- 
 shop Usher was of opinion, that one of the 
 three Judases above-mentioned was Gama- 
 liel's Theudas * ; and that with a less varia- 
 tion of the name than we actually find in 
 
 . T . t . .. 
 
 * Lardner, part. i. vol. ii. p. <)22. 
 t Antiq. 1. xvii. C, 12. sect. 4. 
 t: Annals, p. 797,
 
 181 
 
 the Gospels, where one of the twelve apo- 
 stles is called, by Luke, Judas; and by 
 Mark, Thaddeus*. Origei>, however he 
 came at his information, appears to have 
 believed that there was an impostor of 
 the name of Theudas before the nativity 
 of Christ-}^. 
 
 IV. Matt, xxiii. 34. " Wherefore, behold, 
 I send unto you prophets, and wise men, 
 and scribes: and some of them ye shall 
 kill and crucify; and some of them shall 
 ye scourge in your synagogues, and perse- 
 cute them from city to city; that upon 
 you may come all the righteous blood shed 
 upon the earth, from the blood of righteous 
 Abel unto the blood of Zacharias, son of 
 Barachias, whomye slew between the temple 
 and the altar" 
 
 There is a Zacharias, whose death is re- 
 lated in the second book of Chronicles |, in 
 
 * Luke, vi. 16. Mark, iii. 18. 
 
 + Orig. cont. Cels. p. 44. 
 
 X " And the Spirit of God came upon Zechariah', the son 
 of Jehoiada the priest, which stood above the people, and 
 said unto them, Thus saith God, Why transgress ye the com*
 
 182 
 
 a manner which perfectly supports our Sa- 
 viour's allusion. But this Zacharias was 
 the son of Jehoiada. 
 
 There is also Zacharias the prophet ; 
 who was the son of Barachiah, and is so 
 described in the superscription of his pro- 
 phecy, but of whose death we have no ac- 
 count, 
 
 I have little doubt, but that the first Za- 
 charias was the person spoken of by our 
 Saviour: and that the name of the father 
 has been since added, or changed, by some 
 one, who took it from the title of the pro- 
 phecy, which happened to be better known 
 to him than the history in the Chronicles. 
 
 There is likewise a Zacharias, the son of 
 Baruch, related by Josephus to have been 
 slain in the temple a few years before the 
 destruction of Jerusalem. It has been in- 
 
 mandments of the Lord, that ye cannot prosper ? Because 
 ye have forsaken the Lord, he hath also forsaken you. Arid 
 they conspired against him, and stoned him "with stones, at 
 the commandment of the king, in the court of the house of the 
 &rd." 2 Chron. xxiv. 20, 21.
 
 183 
 
 sinuated, that the words put into our Sa- 
 viour's mouth contain a reference to this 
 transaction, and were composed by some 
 writer, who either confounded the time of 
 the transaction with our Saviour's age, or in- 
 advertently overlooked the anachronism. 
 
 Now suppose it to have been so; sup- 
 pose these words to have been suggested by 
 the transaction related in Josephus, and to 
 have been falsely ascribed to Christ; and 
 observe what extraordinary coincidences 
 (accidentally, as it must in that case have 
 been) attend the forger's mistake, 
 
 First, that we have a Zacharias in the 
 book of Chronicles, whose death, and the 
 manner of it, corresponds with the allusion. 
 
 Secondly, that although the name of 
 this person's father be erroneously put 
 down in the Gospel, yet we have a way of 
 accounting for the error, by showing an- 
 other Zacharias in the Jewish Scriptures, 
 much better known than the former, whose 
 patronymic was actually that which ap- 
 pears jn the text.
 
 184 
 
 Every one who thinks upon the subject, 
 will find these to be circumstances which 
 could not have met together in a mistake, 
 which did not proceed from the circum- 
 stances themselves. 
 
 I have noticed, I think, all the difficul- 
 ties of this kind. They are few; some of 
 them admit of a clear, others of a probable 
 solution. The reader will compare them 
 with the number, the variety, the closeness, 
 and the satisfactoriness, of the instances 
 which are to be set against them ; and he 
 will remember the scantiness, in many 
 cases, of our intelligence, and that difficul- 
 ties always attend imperfect information.
 
 185 
 
 CHAPTER VII. 
 
 Undesigned coincidences? 
 
 "&' 
 
 Between" the letters which bear the name 
 of Saint Paul in our collection, and his 
 history in the Acts of the Apostles, there 
 exist many notes of correspondency. The 
 simple perusal of the writings is sufficient 
 to prove that neither the history was taken 
 from the letters, nor the letters from the 
 history. And the undesignedness of the 
 agreements (which undesignedness is ga- 
 thered from their latency, their minuteness, 
 their obliquity, the suitableness of the cir- 
 cumstances in which they consist, to the 
 places in which those circumstances occur, 
 and the circuitous references by which they 
 are traced out) demonstrates that they have 
 not been produced by meditation, or by 
 any fraudulent contrivance. But coinci- 
 dences, from which these causes are ex-
 
 186 
 
 eluded, and which are too close and nu- 
 merous to be accounted for by accidental 
 concurrences of fiction, must necessarily 
 have truth for their foundation. 
 
 This argument appeared to my mind of 
 so much value (especially for its assuming 
 nothing beside the existence of the books), 
 that I have pursued it through Saint Paul's 
 thirteen epistles, in a work published by 
 me four years ago, under the title of Horae 
 Paulinae. I am sensible how feebly any 
 argument which depends upon an induc- 
 tion of particulars, is represented without 
 examples. On which account, I wished 
 to have abridged my own volume, in the 
 manner in which I have treated Dr. Lard- 
 ner's in the preceding chapter. But, upon 
 making the attempt, I did not find it in 
 my power to render the articles intelligible 
 by fewer words than I have there used. 
 I must be content, therefore, to refer the 
 reader to the work itself. And I would 
 particularly invite his attention to the ob- 
 servations which are made in it upon the 
 first three epistles. I persuade myself that 
 he will find the proofs both of agreement
 
 187 
 
 unci undesignedness, supplied by these 
 epistles, sufficient to support the conclu- 
 sion which is there maintained, in favour 
 both of the genuineness of the writings 
 and the truth of the narrative. 
 
 It remains only, in this place, to point 
 out how the argument bears upon the ge- 
 neral question of the Christian history. 
 
 First, Saint Paul in these letters affirms, 
 in unequivocal terms, his own performance 
 of miracles, and, what ought particularly 
 to be remembered, <l That miracleswere the 
 signs of an apostle*." If this testimony 
 come from Saint Paul's own hand, it is in- 
 valuable. And that it does so, the argu- 
 ment before us fixes in my mind a firm as- 
 surance. 
 
 Secondly, it shows that the series of ac- 
 tion, represented in the epistles of Saiijt 
 Paul, was real ; which alone lays a foun- 
 dation for the proposition which forms the 
 subject of the first part of our present 
 
 * Rom, xv. 18, lp. 2 Cor. xii. \%
 
 188 
 
 work> viz. that the original witnesses of the 
 Christian history devoted themselves to 
 lives of toil, suffering, and danger, in con- 
 sequence of their belief of the truth of that 
 history, and for the sake of communicating 
 the knowledge of it to others. 
 
 Thirdly, it proves that Luke, or whoever 
 was the author of the Acts of the Apostles 
 (for the argument does not depend upon 
 the name of the author, though I know 
 no reason for questioning it), was well ac- 
 quainted with Saint Paul's history; and 
 that he probably was, what he professes 
 himself to be, a companion of Saint Paul's 
 travels: which, if true, establishes, in a 
 considerable degree, the credit even of his 
 Gospel, because it shows, that the writer, 
 from his time, situation, and connexions, 
 possessed opportunities of informing him- 
 self truly concerning the transactions which 
 he relates. I have little difficulty in ap- 
 plying to the Gospel of Saint Luke what 
 is proved concerning the Acts of the Apo- 
 stles, considering them as two parts of the 
 same history; for, though there are in- 
 stances of second parts being forgeries, I
 
 189 
 
 know none where the second part is ge- 
 nuine, and the first not so. 
 
 -"'I will' only observe, as a sequel of the 
 argument, though not noticed in my work, 
 the remarkable similitude between the 
 style of Saint John's Gospel, and of Saint 
 John's Epistle. The style of Saint, John's 
 is not at all the style of Saint Paul's epi- 
 stles, though both are very singular ; nor is 
 it the style of Saint James's or of Saint 
 Peter's Epistle : but it bears a resemblance 
 to the style of the Gospel inscribed with 
 Saint John's name, so far as that resem- 
 blance can be expected to appear which is 
 not in simple narrative, so much as in re- 
 flections, and in the representation of dis- 
 courses. Writings so circumstanced, prove 
 themselves, and one another, to be genuine. 
 This correspondency is the more valuable, 
 as the epistle itself asserts, in Saint John's 
 manner indeed, but in terms sufficiently 
 explicit, the writer's personal knowledge 
 of Christ's history : " That which was from 
 the beginning, which we have heard, which 
 we have seen with our eyes, which we 
 have looked upon, and our hands have
 
 190 
 
 handled, of the word of life ; that which 
 we have seen and heard, declare we unto 
 you*." Who would not desire, who per- 
 ceives not the value of an account, de- 
 livered by a writer so well informed as, 
 this? 
 
 * Ch. i. ver. 13.
 
 191 
 
 CHAPTER VIII. 
 
 Of the history of the resurrection. 
 
 The history ofthe resurrection of Christ 
 is a part of the evidence of Christianity : 
 but I do not know, whether the proper 
 strength of this passage of the Christian 
 history, or wherein its peculiar value, as a 
 head of evidence, consists, be generally un- 
 derstood. It is not that, as a miracle, the 
 resurrection ought to be accounted a more 
 decisive proof of supernatural agency than 
 other miracles are ; it is not that, as it 
 stands in the Gospels, it is better attested 
 than some others ; it is not, for either of 
 these reasons, that more weight belongs to 
 it than to other miracles, but for the fol-> 
 lowing, viz. That it is completely certain 
 that the apostles of Christ, and the first 
 teachers of Christianity, asserted the fact. 
 And this would have been certain, if the 
 four Gospels had been lost, or never written. 
 Every piece of Scripture recognises the re- 
 iurrection. Every epistle of every apostle,
 
 192 
 
 every author contemporary with the apo- 
 stles, of the age immediately succeeding 
 the apostles, every writing from that age 
 to the present, genuine or spurious, on the 
 side of Christianity or against it, concur in 
 representing the resurrection of Christ as 
 an article of his history, received without 
 doubt or disagreement by all who called 
 themselves Christians, as alleged from the 
 beginning by the propagators of the insti- 
 tution, and alleged as the centre of their 
 testimony. Nothing, I apprehend, which 
 a man does not himself see or hear, can be 
 more certain to him than this point. I do 
 not mean, that nothing can be more cer- 
 tain, than that Christ rose from the dead; 
 but that nothing can be more certain, than 
 that his apostles, and the first teachers of 
 Christianity, gave out that he did so. In 
 the other parts of the Gospel narrative, a 
 question may be made, whether the things 
 related of Christ be the very things which 
 the apostles and first teachers of the reli- 
 gion delivered concerning him? And this 
 question depends a good deal upon the 
 evidence we possess of the genuineness, or 
 rather, perhaps, of the antiquity, credit,
 
 193 
 
 and reception of the books. On the subject 
 of the resurrection, no such discussion is ne- 
 cessary, because no such doubt can be enter- 
 tained. The only points which can enter into 
 our consideration are, whether the apostles 
 knowingly published a falsehood, or whether 
 they were themselves deceived; whether 
 either of these suppositions be possible. 
 The first, I think, is pretty generally given 
 up. The nature of the undertaking, and 
 of the men ; the extreme unlikelihood that 
 such men should engage in such a measure 
 as a scheme; their personal toils, and dan- 
 gers, and sufferings, in the cause ; their 
 appropriation of their whole time to the 
 object ; the warm and seemingly unaf- 
 fected zeal and earnestness with which 
 they profess their sincerity ; exempt their 
 memory from the suspicion of imposture. 
 The solution more deserving of notice, is 
 that which would resolve the conduct of 
 the apostles into enthusiasm; which would 
 class the evidence of Christ's resurrection 
 with the numerous stories that are extant 
 of the apparitions of dead men. There are 
 circumstances in the narrative, as it is pre- 
 served in our histories, which destroy this 
 VOL. n. o
 
 194 
 
 comparison entirely. It was not one persou 5 
 but many, who saw him ; they saw him 
 not only separately but together, not only 
 by night but oy day, not at a distance but 
 near, not once but several times; they not 
 only saw him, but touched him, conversed 
 with him, ate with him, examined his per- 
 son to satisfy their doubts. These par- 
 ticulars are decisive : but they stand, I do 
 admit, upon the credit of our records. I 
 would answer, therefore, the insinuation of 
 enthusiasm, by a circumstance which arises 
 out of the nature of the thing ; and the 
 reality of which must be confessed by all 
 who allow, what I believe is not denied, 
 that the resurrection of Christ, whether 
 true or false, was asserted by his disciples 
 from the beginning ; and that circumstance 
 is, the non-production of the dead body. 
 It is related in the history, what indeed the 
 story of the resurrection necessarily implies, 
 that the corpse was missing out of the se- 
 pulchre: it is related also in the history, 
 that the Jews reported that the followers of 
 Christ had stolen it away*. And this ac- 
 
 * "And this saying," Saint Matthew writes, "is com- 
 monly reported amongst Dhc Jews until this day," (chap.
 
 195 
 
 count, though loaded with great improba- 
 bilities, such as the situation of the dis- 
 ciples, their fears for their own safety at the 
 time, the unlikelihood of their expecting 
 to succeed, the difficulty of actual success*, 
 and the inevitable consequence of detec- 
 tion and failure, was, nevertheless, the most 
 credible accout that could be given of 
 the matter. But it proceeds entirely upon 
 the supposition of fraud, as all the old ob- 
 jections did. What account can be given 
 of the body, upon the supposition of en- 
 
 xxviii. 15.). The evangelist may be thought good authority 
 as to this point, even by those who do not admit his evi~ 
 dence in every other point : and this point is sufficient to 
 prove that the body was missing. 
 
 It has been rightly, I think, observed by Dr. Towns- 
 hend (Dis. upon the Res. p. 126'.), that the story of the 
 guards carried collusion upon the face of it: " His disciples 
 came by night, and stole him away, while we slept." Men 
 in their circumstances would not have made such an ac- 
 knowledgement of their negligence, without previous as- 
 surances of protection and impunity. 
 
 * "Especially at the full moon, the city full of people, 
 many probably passing the whole night, as Jesus and his dis- 
 ciples had done, in the open air, the sepulchre so near the 
 city as to be now enclosed within the walls" Priestley on 
 the Resurr. p. 24. 
 
 o 2
 
 196 
 
 thusiasm ? It is impossible our Lord's fol- 
 lowers could believe that he was risen 
 from the dead, if his corpse was lying be- 
 fore them. No enthusiasm ever reached 
 to such a pitch of extravagancy as that: 
 a spirit may be an illusion; a body is a 
 real thing, an object of sense, in which 
 there can be no mistake. All accounts of 
 spectres leave the body in the grave. And, 
 although the body of Christ might be re- 
 moved by fraud, and for the purposes of 
 fraud, yet, without any such intention, and 
 by sincere but deluded men (which is the 
 representation of the apostolic character 
 we are now examining), no such attempt 
 could be made. The presence and the ab- 
 sence of the dead body are alike incon- 
 sistent with the hypothesis of enthusiasm; 
 for, if present, it must have cured their en- 
 thusiasm at once ; if absent, fraud, not en- 
 thusiasm, must have carried it away. 
 
 But further, if we admit, upon the con- 
 current testimony of all the histories, so 
 much of the account as states that the re- 
 ligion of Jesus was set up at Jerusalem, 
 and set up with asserting, in the very
 
 197 
 
 place in which he had been buried, and 
 a few days after he had been buried, his 
 resurrection out of the grave, it is evident 
 that, if his body could have been found, 
 the Jews would have produced it, as the 
 shortest and compietest answer possible to 
 the whole story. The attempt of the apo- 
 stles could not have survived this refutation 
 a moment. If we also admit, upon the 
 authority of Saint Matthew, that the Jews 
 were advertised of the expectation of 
 Christ's followers, and that they had taken 
 due precaution in consequence of this no- 
 tice, and that the body was in marked and 
 public custody, the observation receives 
 more force still. For, notwithstanding 
 their precaution, and although thus pre- 
 pared and forewarned; when the story 
 of the resurrection of Christ came forth, 
 as it immediately did ; when it was pub- 
 licly asserted by his disciples, and made 
 the ground and basis of their preaching in 
 his name, and collecting followers to his 
 religion, the Jews had not the body to 
 produce: but were obliged to meet the 
 testimony of the apostles by an answer,
 
 198 
 
 > . ...... 
 
 not containing indeed any impossibility m 
 
 kself, but absolutely inconsistent with the 
 supposition of their integrity; that is, in 
 other words, inconsistent with the suppo- 
 sition which would .resolve their conduct 
 into enthusiasm. 
 
 i 
 
 
 

 
 199 
 
 CHAPTER IX. 
 
 The, propagation of Christianity. 
 
 In this argument, the first consideration is 
 the fact ; in what degree, within what time, 
 and to what extent, Christianity actually 
 was propagated. 
 
 The accounts of the matter, which can 
 be collected from our books, are as follow : 
 A few days after Christ's disappearance out 
 of the world, we find an assembly of disci- 
 ples at Jerusalem, to the number of " about 
 one hundred and twenty * ;" which hundred 
 and twenty were, probably, a little associa- 
 tion of believers, met together, not merely 
 as believers in Christ, but as personally 
 connected with the apostles, and with one 
 another. Whatever was the number of be- 
 lievers then in Jerusalem, we have no reason 
 to be surprised that so small a company 
 
 r 
 
 * Acts, i. 15.
 
 200 
 
 should assemble : for there is no proof, that 
 the followers of Christ were yet formed into 
 a society; that the society was reduced into 
 any order ; that it was at this time even un- 
 derstood that a new religion (in the sense 
 which that term conveys to us) was to be 
 set up in the world, or how the professors 
 of that religion were to be distinguished 
 from the rest of mankind. The death of 
 Christ had left, we may suppose, the gene- 
 rality of his disciples in great doubt, both 
 as to what they were to do, and concern- 
 ing what was to follow. 
 
 This meeting was holden, as we have al- 
 ready said, a few days after Christ's ascen- 
 sion : for, ten days after that event was the 
 day of Pentecost, when, as our history- 
 relates *, upon a signal display of Divine 
 agency attending the persons of the apostles, 
 there were added to the society " about 
 three thousand souls -j'." But here, it is not, 
 1 think, to be taken, that these three thou- 
 sand were all converted by this single mi- 
 racle; but rather that many, who before 
 
 * Acts, ii. 1. f Acts, ii. 41.
 
 201 
 
 were believers in Christ, became now pro- 
 fessors of Christianity; that is to say, when 
 they found that a religion was to be esta- 
 blished, a society formed and set up in the 
 name of Christ, governed by his laws, 
 avowing their belief in his mission, united 
 amongst themselves, and separated from 
 the rest of the world, by visible distinc- 
 tions ; in pursuance of their former convic- 
 tion, and by virtue of what they had heard 
 and seen and known of Christ's history, 
 they publicly became members of it. 
 
 We read in the fourth chapter* of th 
 Acts, that, soon after this, " the number of 
 the men," i. e. the society openly pro- 
 fessing their belief in Christ, "was about 
 five thousand." So that here is an increase 
 of two thousand within a very short time. 
 And it is probable that 'there were many, 
 both now and afterwards, who, although 
 they believed in Christ, did not think it 
 necessary to join themselves to this society ; 
 or who waited to see what was likely to be- 
 come of it. Gamaliel, whose advice to the 
 
 * Vense 4.
 
 202 
 
 Jewish council is recorded Acts, v. 34. ap- 
 pears to have been of this description ; per- 
 haps Nicodemus, and perhaps also Joseph 
 of Arimathea. This class of men, their 
 character and their rank, are likewise 
 pointed out by Saint John, in the twelfth 
 chapter of his Gospel : " Nevertheless, 
 among the chief rulers also, many believed 
 on him : but because of the Pharisees, they 
 did not confess him, lest they should be put 
 out of the synagogue, for they loved the 
 praise of men more than the praise of God." 
 Persons such as these, might admit the mi- 
 racles of Christ, without being immediately 
 convinced that they were under obligation 
 to make a public profession of Christianity, 
 at the risk of all that was dear to them in 
 life, and even of life itself*. 
 
 * " Beside those who professed, and (hose who rejected 
 and opposed, Christianity ; there were, in all probability, 
 multitudes between both, neither perfect Christians, nor 
 yet unbelievers. They had a favourable opinion of the 
 Gospel, but worldly considerations made them unwilling to 
 own it. There were many circumstances which inclired 
 them to think that Christianity was a Divine revelation, but 
 there were many inconveniences which attended the open 
 profession of it : and they could not find in themselves cou- 
 rage enough to bear them, to disoblige their friends and fa-
 
 203 
 
 - Christianity, however, proceeded to in- 
 crease in Jerusalem by a progress equally 
 rapid with its first success ; for, in the next* 
 chapter of our history, we read that " be- 
 lievers were the more added to the Lord, 
 multitudes both of men and women/' And 
 this enlargement of the new society appears 
 in the first verse of the succeeding chapter, 
 wherein we are told, that, " when the num- 
 ber of the diciples was multiplied, there 
 arose a murmuring of the Grecians against 
 the Hebrews, because their widows were 
 neglected -f:" and, afterwards in the same 
 chapter, it is declared expressly, that "the 
 number of the disciples multiplied in Jeru- 
 salem greatly, and that a great company of 
 the priests were obedient to the faith." 
 
 mily, to ruin their fortunes, to lose their reputation, their 
 liberty, and their life, for the sake of the now religion. 
 Therefore they were willing to hope, that if they endeavoured 
 to observe the great principles of morality, which Christ 
 had represented as the principal part, the sum and substance, 
 of religion; if they thought honourably of the Gospel ; if 
 they offered no injury to the Christians; if they did them 
 all the services that they could safely perform; they were, 
 willing to hope, that God would accept this, and that He 
 would excuse and forgive the rest/' Jortin's Dis. on th 
 Christ. Rel. p. .91. cd. 4. 
 
 * Acts, v. 14. f Acts, vi. 1.
 
 204 
 
 This I call the first period in the propa- 
 gation of Christianity. It commences with 
 the ascension of Christ, and extends, as 
 may be collected from incidental notes of 
 time*, to something more than one year 
 after that event. During which term, the 
 preaching of Christianity, so far as our 
 documents inform us, was confined to the 
 single city of Jerusalem. And how did it 
 succeed there ? The first assembly which 
 we meet with of Christ's disciples, and 
 that a few days after his removal from the 
 world, consisted of " one hundred and 
 twenty/' About a week after this, " three 
 thousand were added in one day " and the 
 number of Christians, publicly baptized, 
 and publicly associating together, was very 
 soon increased to " five thousand." "Mul- 
 titudes both of men and women conti- 
 nued to be added ;" " disciples multiplied 
 greatly/' and " many of the Jewish priest- 
 hood, as well as others, became obedient 
 to the faith ;" and this within a space of 
 
 * Vide Pearson's Antiq. 1. xviii. c. 7. Benson's History 
 f Christ, book i. p. 148.
 
 205 
 
 less than two years from the commence* 
 ment of the institution. 
 
 By reason of a persecution raised against 
 the church at Jerusalem, the converts were 
 driven from that city, and dispersed through- 
 out the regions of Judea and Samaria*. 
 Wherever they came, they brought their 
 religion with them : for, our historian in- 
 forms us f-," that " they, that were scattered 
 abroad, went every where preaching the 
 word." The effect of this preaching comes 
 afterwards to be noticed, where the his- 
 torian is led, in the course of his narrative, 
 to observe, that then (c. e. about three 
 years J posterior to this) " the churches 
 had rest throughout all Judea and Galilee 
 and Samaria, and were edified, and walk- 
 ing in the fear of the Lord, and in the 
 comfort of the Holy Ghost, were multi- 
 plied/' This was the work of the second 
 period, which comprises about four years. 
 
 Hitherto the preaching of the Gospel 
 had been confined to Jews, to Jewish 
 
 * Acts, viii. 1. f Verse 4. i Benson, book i. p. 207.
 
 206 
 
 proselytes, and to Samaritans. And I can- 
 not forbear from setting down in this place, 
 an observation of Mr. Bryant, which ap- 
 pears to me to be perfectly well founded ; 
 " The Jews still remain: but how sel- 
 dom is it that we can make a single prose- 
 lyte! There is reason to think, that there 
 were more converted by the apostles in 
 one day, than have since been won over 
 in the last thousand years*." 
 
 It was not yet known to the apostles, 
 that they were at liberty to propose the re- 
 ligion to mankind at large. That "mys- 
 tery," as Saint Paul calls it-f*, and as it then 
 was, was revealed to Peter by an especial 
 miracle. It appears to have been J about 
 seven years after Christ's ascension, that 
 the Gospel was preached to the Gentiles of 
 Cesarea. A year after this, a great mul- 
 titude of Gentiles were converted at An- 
 tioch in Syria. The expressions employed 
 by the historian are these: "A great num- 
 ber believed, and turned to the Lord;" 
 
 * Bryant on the Truth of the Christian Religion, p . 112. 
 f Eph. iii. 3 6. % Benson, book ii. p. 236.
 
 207 
 
 " much people was added unto the' Lord ;" 
 "the apostles Barnabas and Paul taught 
 much people*/' Upon Herod's death, 
 which happened in the next yearf*, it is 
 observed, that " the word of God grew and 
 multiplied %" Three years from this time, 
 upon the preaching of Paul at Iconium, 
 the metropolis of Lycaonia, "a great mul- 
 titude both of Jews and Greeks believed :" 
 and afterwards, in the course of this very 
 progress, he is represented as "making 
 many disciples" at Derbe, a principal city 
 in the same district. Three years |j after 
 this, w r hich brings us to sixteen after the 
 ascension, the apostles wrote a public letter 
 from Jerusalem to the Gentile converts 
 in Antioch, Syria, and Cilicia, with which 
 letter Paul travelled through these coun- 
 tries, and found the churches "established 
 in the faith, and increasing in number 
 daily *[[." From Asia, the apostle proceeded 
 into Greece, where, soon after his arrival 
 in Macedonia, we find him at Thessalo- 
 
 * Acts, xi. 21. 24. 26. + Benson, book ii. p. 28<?. 
 % Acts, xii. 24. Ibid. xiv. 1. 
 
 || Benson's History of Christ, book iii. p. 50, 
 
 * Acts, xvi. 5.
 
 203 
 
 nica; in which city, " some of the Jews 
 believed, and of the devout Greeks a great 
 multitude*/' We meet also here with an 
 accidental hint of the general progress of 
 the Christian mission, in the exclamation 
 of the tumultuous Jews of Thessalonica, 
 " that they, who had turned the world up- 
 side down, were come thither alsof." At 
 Berea, the next city at which Saint Paul 
 arrives, the historian, who was present, in- 
 forms us that "mam/ of the Jews believed $/* 
 The next year and a half of Saint Paul's 
 ministry was spent at Corinth. Of his suc- 
 cess in that city, we receive the following 
 intimations; " that many of the Corinthians 
 believed and were baptized ;" and "that it 
 was revealed to the apostle by Christ, that 
 he hsAmuch people in that city." Within 
 less than a year after his departure from 
 Corinth, and twenty-five|| years after the 
 ascension, Saint Paul fixed his station at 
 Ephesus, for the space of two years ^f and 
 something more. The effect of his ministry 
 
 * Acts, xvii. 4. f lb. xvii. G. % lb. xvii. 12. 
 
 lb. xviii. 8 10. |J Benson, book iii. p. l60. 
 1f Acts, xix. 10.
 
 20Q 
 
 in that city and neighbourhood drew from 
 the historian a reflection, how " mightily 
 grew the word of God and prevailed*/' 
 And at the conclusion of this period, we 
 find Demetrius at the head of a party, 
 who were alarmed by the progress of the 
 religion, complaining, that " not only at 
 Ephesus, but also throughout all Asia 
 (i. e. the province of Lydia, and the coun- 
 try adjoining to Ephesus), this Paul hath 
 persuaded and turned away much peo- 
 plef-." Beside these accounts, there oc- 
 curs, incidentally, mention of converts at 
 Rome, Alexandria, Athens, Cyprus, Cy- 
 rene, Macedonia, Philippi. 
 
 This is the third period in the propagation 
 of Christianity, setting off in the seventh 
 year after the Ascension, and ending at the 
 twenty-eighth. Now, lay these three pe- 
 riods together, and observe how the pro- 
 gress of the religion by these accounts is 
 represented. The institution, which pro- 
 perly began only after its author's removal 
 from the world, before the end of thirty 
 
 * Acts, xix. 20. f lb. vcr. 26, 
 
 VOL. IT. P
 
 210 
 
 years had spread itself through Jticlea, Ga- 
 lilee, and Samaria, almost all the numerous 
 districts of the Lesser Asia, through Greece, 
 and the islands of the iEgean Sea, the sea- 
 coast of Africa, and had extended itself to 
 Rome, and into Italy. At Antioch in Syria, 
 at Joppa, Ephesus, Corinth, Thessalonica, 
 Berea, Iconium, Derbe, Antioch in Pisidia, 
 at Lydda, Saron, the number of converts is 
 intimated by the expressions, " a great num- 
 ber," "great multitudes," "much people." 
 Converts are mentioned, without any de- 
 signation of their number*, at Tyre, Cesa- 
 rea, Troas, Athens, Philippi, Lystra, Da- 
 mascus. During all this time, Jerusalem 
 continued not only the centre of the mis- 
 sion, but a principal seat of the religion ; 
 
 * Considering the extreme conciseness of many parts of 
 the history, the silence about the numbers of converts is no 
 proof of their paucity ; for at Philippi, no mention whatever 
 is made of the number, yet Saint Paul addressed an epistle 
 to that church. The churches of Galatia, and the affairs 
 qf those churches, were considerable enough to be the sub- 
 jeetof , another lettcr,and of much of Saint Paul's solicitude: 
 yet no account is preserved in the history of his success, or 
 even of his preaching in that country, except the slight no- 
 tice which these words convey: "When they had gone 
 throughout Phrygia, and the region of Galatia they essayed 
 to go into Bithynia." Acts, xvi. 6.
 
 211 
 
 for when Saint Paul turned thither at the 
 conclusion of the period of which we are> 
 now considering the accounts, the other 
 apostles pointed out to him, as a reason 
 for his compliance with their advice, 
 " how many thousands (myriads, ten 
 thousands) there were in that city who be- 
 lieved*/' 
 
 Upon this abstract, and the writing from 
 which it is drawn, the following observa- 
 tions seem material to be made : 
 
 I. That the account comes from a person, 
 who was himself concerned in a portion of 
 what he relates, and was contemporary with 
 the whole of it; who visited Jerusalem, and 
 frequented the- society of those who had 
 acted, and were acting the chief parts in 
 the transaction. I lay down this point po- 
 sitively ; for had the ancient attestations to 
 this valuable record been less satisfactory 
 than they are, the unafFectedness and sim- 
 plicity with which the author notes his pre- 
 sence upon certain occasions, and the entire 
 absence of art and design from these notices, 
 
 * Acts, xxi. 20. 
 
 P 2
 
 212 
 
 would have been sufficient to persuade my 
 mind, that whoever he was, he actually 
 lived in the times, and occupied the situa- 
 tion, in which he represents himself to be- 
 When I say " whoever he was," I do not 
 mean to cast a doubt upon the name to 
 which antiquity hath ascribed the Acts of 
 the Apostles (for there is no cause that I 
 am acquainted with, for questioning it), 
 but to observe, that, in such a case as this, 
 the time and situation of the author is of 
 more importance than his name ; and that 
 these appear from the work itself, and in 
 the most unsuspicious form. 
 
 II. That this account is a very incom- 
 plete account of the preaching and propa- 
 gation of Christianity ; I mean, that, if what 
 we read in the history be true, much more 
 than what the history contains must be true 
 also. For, although the narrative from 
 which our information is derived, has been 
 entitled the Acts of the Apostles, it is in fact 
 a history of the twelve apostles only during 
 a short time of their continuing together at 
 Jerusalem ; and even of this period the ac- 
 count is very concise. The work afterwards
 
 213 
 
 consists of a few important passages of 
 Peter's ministry, of the speech and death 
 of Stephen, of the preaching of Philip 
 the deacon ; and the sequel of the volume, 
 that is, two thirds of the whole, is taken 
 up with the conversion, the travels, the 
 discourses, and history of the new apostle, 
 Paul ; in which history also, large portions 
 of time are often passed over with very 
 scanty notice. 
 
 III. That the account, so far as it goes, 
 is for this very reason more credible. Had 
 it been the author's design to have displayed 
 the early progress of Christianity, he would 
 undoubtedly have collected, or, at least, 
 have set forth, accounts of the preaching of 
 the rest of the apostles, who cannot, with- 
 out extreme improbability, be supposed to 
 have remained silent and inactive, or not to 
 have met with a share of that success 
 which attended their colleagues. To which 
 may be added, as an observation of the 
 same kind, 
 
 IV. That the intimations of the number 
 of converts, and of the success of the preach-
 
 214 
 
 ing of the apostles, come out for the most 
 part incident ally ; are drawn from the histo- 
 rian by the occasion; such as the murmur- 
 ing of the Grecian converts; the rest from 
 persecution ; Herod's death ; the sending of 
 Barnabas to Antioch, and Barnabas call- 
 ing Paul to his assistance ; Paul coming to 
 a place, and finding there disciples: the 
 clamour of the Jews ; the complaint of ar- 
 tificers interested in the support of the po- 
 pular religion ; the reason assigned to induce 
 Paul to give satisfaction to the Christians 
 of Jerusalem. Had it not been for these 
 occasions, it is probable that no notice 
 whatever would have been taken of the 
 number of converts in several of the pas- 
 sages in which that notice now appears. 
 All this tends to remove the suspicion of a 
 design to exaggerate or deceive. 
 
 Parallel testimonies with the his- 
 tory, are the letters of Saint Paul, and of the 
 other apostles, which have come down to us. 
 Those of Saint Paul are addressed to the 
 churches of Corinth, Philippi, Thessalonica, 
 the church of Galatia, and, if the inscription 
 be right, of Ephesus; his ministry at all
 
 215 
 
 which places, is recorded in the history : 
 to the church of Colosse, or rather to the 
 churches of Colosse and Laodicea jointly, 
 which he had not then visited. They re- 
 cognise by reference the churches of Judea, 
 the churches of Asia, and " all the churches 
 of the Gentiles*/' In the epistle ~f to the 
 Romans, the author is led to deliver a re- 
 markable declaration concerning the extent 
 of his preaching, its efficacy, and the cause 
 to which he ascribes it, " to make the Gen- 
 tiles obedient by word and deed, through 
 mighty signs and wonders, by the power of 
 the Spirit of God; so that from Jerusalem, 
 and round about unto Illyricum, I have 
 fully preached the Gospel of "Christ.** In 
 the Epistle to the ColossiansJ, we find an 
 oblique but very strong signification of the 
 then general state of the Christian mission, 
 at least as it appeared to Saint Paul : "If 
 ye continue in the faith, grounded and 
 settled, and be not moved away from the 
 hope of the Gospel, which ye have heard, and 
 'which was preached 1o every creature which is 
 
 * 1 Thcss.ii. I*. f Rom. xv. 18, 1-9. 
 
 % Col. i. 23.
 
 216 
 
 under heaven ;" which Gospel, he had re- 
 minded them near the beginning* of his 
 letter, " was present with them, as it was 
 in all the world.'' The expressions are hy- 
 perbolical ; but they are hyperboles which 
 could only be used by a writer who enter- 
 tained a strong sense of the subject. The 
 first epistle of Peter accosts the Christians 
 dispersed throughout Pontus, Galatia, Cap- 
 padocia, Asia, and Bithynia. 
 
 It comes next to be considered, how far 
 these accounts are confirmed, or followed 
 up, by other evidence. 
 
 Tacitus, in delivering a relation, which 
 has already been laid before the reader, of 
 the fire which happened at Rome in the 
 tenthyear of Nero (which coincides with the 
 thirtieth year after Christ's ascension), as- 
 serts, that the emperor, in order to suppress 
 the rumours of having been himself the au- 
 thor of the mischief, procured the Christians 
 
 * Col. i. 6.
 
 217 
 
 to be accused. Of which Christians, thus 
 brought into his narrative, the following is 
 so much of the historian's account, as be- 
 longs to our present purpose : " They had 
 their denomination from Christus, who, in 
 the reign of Tiberius, was put to death as 
 a criminal by the procurator Pontius Pilate 
 This pernicious superstition, though checked 
 for a while, broke out again, and spread not 
 only over Judea, but reached the city also 
 At first, they only were apprehended who 
 confessed themselves of that sect; afterwards 
 a vast multitude were discovered by them/'. 
 This testimony to the early propagation of 
 Christianity is extremely material. It is 
 from an historian of great reputation, living 
 near the time ; from a stranger and an ene- 
 my to the religion ; and it joins immediately 
 with the period through which the Scrip- 
 ture accounts extend. It establishes these 
 points: that the religion began at Jerusa- 
 lem: that it spread throughout Judea; that 
 it had reached Rome, and not onlv so, but 
 that it had there obtained a great number 
 of converts. This was about six years after 
 the time that Saint Paul wrote his Epistle
 
 218 
 
 to the Romans, and something more than 
 two years after he arrived there himself. 
 The converts to the religion were then so 
 numerous at Rome, that, of those who were 
 betrayed by the information of the persons 
 first persecuted, a great multitude (multi- 
 tudo ingens) were discovered and seized. 
 
 It seems probable, that the temporary 
 check with Tacitus represents Christianity 
 to have received (repressa in praesens) refer- 
 red to the persecution at Jerusalem, which 
 followed the death of Stephen (Acts, viii.) ; 
 and which, by dispersing the converts, 
 caused the institution, in some measure, 
 to disappear. Its second eruption at the 
 same place, and within a short time, has 
 much in it of the character of truth. It 
 was the firmness and perseverance of men 
 who knew what they relied upon. 
 
 Next, in order of time, and perhaps supe- 
 rior in importance, is the testimony of Pliny 
 the Younger. Pliny was the Roman go- 
 vernor of Pontus and Bithynia, two consi- 
 derable districts in the northern Dart of Asia
 
 219 
 
 Minor. The situation in which he found 
 his province, led him to apply to the empe- 
 ror (Trajan) for his direction as to the con- 
 duct he was to hold towards the Christians. 
 The letter in which this application is con- 
 tained, was written not quite eight}^ years 
 after Christ's ascension. The president, in 
 this letter, states the measures he had already 
 pursued, and then adds, as his reason for re- 
 sorting to the emperor's counsel and autho- 
 rity, the following words: "Suspending 
 all judicial proceedings, I have recourse to 
 you for advice ; for it has appeared to me a 
 matter highly deserving consideration, espe- 
 cially on account of the great number of 
 persons who are in danger of suffering : for, 
 many of all ages, and of every rank, of both 
 sexes likewise, are accused, and will be ac- 
 cused. Nor has the contagion of this su- 
 perstition seized cities only, but the lesser 
 towns also, and the open country. Never- 
 theless it seemed to me, that it may be re- 
 strained and corrected. It is certain that 
 the temples, which were almost forsaken, 
 begin to be more frequented ; and the sa- 
 cred solemnities, after a long intermission, 
 are revived. Victims, likewise, are every-
 
 220 
 
 where (passim) bought up ; whereas, for 
 some time, there were few to purchase them- 
 Whence it is easy to imagine, that num- 
 bers of men might be reclaimed, if pardon 
 were granted to those that shall repent*/'" 
 
 It is obvious to observe, that the passage 
 of Pliny's letter, here quoted, proves, not 
 only that the Christians in Pontus and Bi- 
 thynia were now numerous, but that they 
 had subsisted there for some considerable 
 time. "It is certain," he says, " that the tem- 
 ples, which were almost forsaken (plainly 
 ascribing this desertion of the popular wor- 
 ship to the prevalency of Christianity), be- 
 gin to be more frequented; and the sacred 
 solemnities, after a long intermission, are re- 
 vived/' There are also two clauses in the 
 former part of the letter which indicate the 
 same thing ; one, in which he declares that 
 he had " never been present at any trials of 
 Christians,and therefore knew not what was 
 the usual subject of inquiry and punish- 
 ment, or how far either was wont to be 
 urged/' The second clause is the following : 
 
 * C. Plin, Trajano Imp. lib. x. cp. xcvij.
 
 221 
 
 " Others were named by an informer, who, 
 at first, confessed themselves Christians, and 
 afterwards denied it ; the rest said, they had 
 been Christians, some three years ago, some 
 longer, and some above twenty years." It 
 is also apparent, that Pliny speaks of the 
 Christians as a description of men well 
 known to the person to whom he writes. 
 His first sentence concerning them is, " I 
 have never been present at the trials of 
 Christians." This mention of the name of 
 Christians, without any preparatory expla- 
 nation, shows that it was a term familiar 
 both to the writer of the letter, and the 
 person to whom it was addressed. Had it 
 not been so, Pliny would naturally have 
 begun his letter by informing the emperor, 
 that he had met with a certain set of men 
 in the province, called Christians. 
 
 Here then is a very singular evidence of 
 the progress of the Christian religion in a 
 short space. It was not fourscore years 
 after the crucifixion of Jesus, when Pliny 
 wrote this letter; nor seventy years since 
 the apostles of Jesus began to mention his 
 name to the Gentile world. Bithvnia and
 
 222 
 
 Pontius were at a great distance from Judea, 
 the centre from which the religion spread ; 
 yetin these provinces, Christianity had long 
 subsisted, and Christians were now in such 
 numbers as to lead the Roman governor to 
 report to the emperor, that they were found 
 not only in cities, but in villages and in open 
 countries; of all ages, of every rank and 
 condition ; that they abounded so much, as 
 to have produced a visible desertion of the 
 temples; that beasts brought to market for 
 victims, had few purchasers; that the sacred 
 solemnities were much neglected : circum- 
 stances noted by Pliny, for the express pur- 
 pose of showing to the emperor the effect 
 and prevalency of the new institution. 
 
 No evidence remains, by which it can be 
 proved that the Christians were more nu- 
 merous in Pontus and Bithynia than in 
 other parts of the Roman empire; nor has 
 any reason been offered to show why they 
 should be so. Christianity did not begin 
 in these countries, nor near them. I do not 
 know, therefore, that we ought to confine 
 the description in Pliny's letter to the state 
 of Christianity in those provinces, even if no
 
 223 
 
 other account of the same subject had come 
 down to us: but, certainly, this letter may 
 fairly be applied in aid and confirmation of 
 the representations given of the general 
 state of Christianity in the world, by Chris- 
 tian writers of that and the next succeed- 
 ing age. 
 
 Justin Martyr, who wrote about thirty 
 years after Pliny, and one hundred and six 
 after the Ascension, has these remarkable 
 words : " There is not a nation, either of 
 Greek or Barbarian, or of any other name, 
 even of those who wander in tribes, and 
 live in tents, amongst whom prayers and 
 thanksgivings are not offered to the Father 
 and Creator of the Universe by the name of 
 the crucified Jesus*." Tertullian, who comes 
 about fifty years after Justin, appeals to the 
 governors of the Roman empire in these 
 terms : " We were but of yesterday, and we 
 have filled your cities, islands, towns, and 
 boroughs, the camp, the senate, and the 
 forum. They (the heathen adversaries of 
 Christianity) lament, that every sex, age, 
 
 * Dial cum Try ph.
 
 224 
 
 and condition, and persons of erery rank 
 also, are converts to that name*." I do 
 allow that these expressions are loose, and 
 may be called declamatory. But even de- 
 clamation hath its bounds ; this public 
 boasting upon a subject which must be 
 known to every reader, was not only useless 
 but unnatural, unless the truth of the case, 
 in a considerable degree, correspond with the 
 description ; at least, unless it had been both 
 true and notorious, that great multitudes of 
 Christians, of all ranks and orders, w r ere to 
 be found in most parts of the Roman em- 
 pire. The same Tertullian, in another pas- 
 sage, by way of setting forth the extensive 
 diffusion of Christianity, enumerates as be- 
 longing to Christ, beside many other coun- 
 tries, the " Moors and Ga3tulians of Africa, 
 the borders of Spain, several nations of 
 France, and parts of Britain, inaccessible to 
 the Romans, the Sarmatians, Daci, Germans, 
 and Scythians j" ;" and, which is more ma- 
 terial than the extent of the institution, the 
 number of Christians in the several countries 
 in which it prevailed, is thus expressed by 
 
 * Tertull. Apol. c. 37. + Ad Jud. c. 7-
 
 225 
 
 him : "Although so great a multitude that 
 in almost every city we form the greater 
 part, we pass our time modestly and in si- 
 lence*/' Clemens Alexandrinus, who pre- 
 ceded Tertullian by a few years, intro- 
 duces a comparison between the success of 
 Christianity, and that of the most cele- 
 brated philosophical institutions : " The 
 philosophers were confined to Greece, and 
 to their particular retainers ; but the doc- 
 trine of the Master of Christianity did not 
 remain in Judea, as philosophy did in 
 Greece, but is spread throughout the whole 
 world, in every nation, and village, and 
 city, both of Greeks and barbarians, con- 
 verting both whole houses and separate in- 
 dividuals, having already brought over to 
 the truth not a few of the philosophers 
 themselves. If the Greek philosophy 
 be prohibited, it immediately vanishes ; 
 whereas, from the first preaching of our 
 doctrine, kings and tyrants, governors and 
 presidents, with their whole train, and with 
 the populace on their side, have endea- 
 voured with their whole might to exter- 
 
 * Ad Scap. c. 111. 
 VOL. II. Q
 
 226 
 
 minate it, yet doth it flourish more and 
 more*/' Origen, who follows Tertullian 
 at the distance of only thirty years, delivers 
 nearly the same account : " In every part 
 of the world," says he, " throughout all 
 Greece, and in all other nations, there are 
 innumerable and immense multitudes, who, 
 having left the laws of their country, and 
 those whom they esteemed gods, have 
 given themselves up to the law of Moses, 
 and the religion of Christ : and this not 
 without the bitterest resentment from the 
 idolaters, by whom they were frequently 
 put to torture, and sometimes to death : 
 and it is wonderful to observe, how, in so 
 short a time, the religion has increased, 
 amidst punishment and death, and every 
 kind of torture-f\" In another passage, 
 Origen draws the following candid com- 
 parison between the state of Christianity 
 in his time, and the condition of its more 
 primitive ages : " By the good providence 
 of Cod, the Christian religion has so flour- 
 ished and increased continually, that it is 
 now preached freely without molestation, 
 
 * Clem. Al. Strom, lib.vi. ad fin. 
 < Grig, in Cels, lib. i.
 
 227 
 
 although there were a thousand obstacles 
 to the spreading of the doctrine of Jesus 
 in the world. But as it was the will of 
 God that the Gentiles should have the be- 
 nefit of it, all the councils of men against 
 the Christians were defeated : and by how 
 much the more emperors and governors of 
 provinces, and the people every where, 
 strove to depress them; so much the 
 more have they increased, and prevailed 
 exceedingly*/' 
 
 It is well known, that within less than 
 eighty years after this, the Roman empire 
 became Christian under Constantine: and 
 it is probable that Constantine declared 
 himself on the side of the Christians, be- 
 cause they were the powerful party ; for 
 Arnobius, who wrote immediately before 
 Constantine's accession speaks of the 
 whole world as filled with Christ's doc- 
 trine, of its diffusion throughout all coun- 
 tries, of an innumerable body of Christians 
 in distant provinces, of the strange revolu- 
 tion of opinion of men of the greatest ge- 
 
 * Orig. cont. C'.'ls. lib. vii. 
 
 q2
 
 228 
 
 nius, orators, grammarians, rhetoricians, 
 lawyers, physicians, having come over to 
 the institution, and that also in the face of 
 threats, executions, and tortures*." And 
 not more than twenty years after Constan- 
 tine's entire possession of the empire, Julius 
 Firmicus Maternus calls upon the emperors 
 Constantius and Constans to extirpate the 
 relics of the ancient religion ; the reduced 
 and fallen condition of which is described 
 by our author in the following words : 
 " Licet adhuc in quibusdam regionibus 
 idololatriae morientia palpitent membra ; 
 tamen in eo res est, ut a Christianis omni- 
 bus terris pestiferum hoc malum funditua 
 amputetur :" and in another place " Mo- 
 dicum tantum superest, ut legibus vestris 
 extincta idololatrise pereat funesta con- 
 tagio-f-/' It will not be thought that we 
 quote this writer in order to recommend 
 his temper or his judgement, but to show 
 the comparative state of Christianity and 
 of Heathenism at this period. Fifty years 
 
 * Aoiob. in Gentes, 1. i. p. 27. 9- 5*. 42. 44. edit. Lug, 
 Rat. 1650. 
 
 f De Error. Prolan. Rclig. c. xxi. p. 17-. quoted by Lard- 
 ner, vol. viii. p. 2(>?.
 
 229 
 
 afterwards, Jerome represents the decline 
 of Paganism in language which conveys 
 the same idea of its approaching extinc- 
 tion: " Solitudinem patitur etinurbe gen- 
 tilitas. Dii quondam nationum, cum bu- 
 bonibus et noctuis, in solis culminibus re- 
 manserunt*." Jerome here indulges a tri- 
 umph, natural and allowable in a zealous 
 friend of the cause, but which could only 
 be suggested to his mind by the consent 
 and universality with which he saw the re- 
 ligion received. " But now," says he, " the 
 passion and resurrection of Christ are ce- 
 lebrated in the discourses and writings of 
 all nations. I need not mention Jews, 
 Greeks and Latins. The Indians, Per- 
 siansj Goths, and Egyptians, philosophize, 
 and firmly believe the immortality of the 
 soul, and future recompenses, which, be- 
 fore, the greatest philosophers had denied, 
 or doubted of, or perplexed with their 
 disputes. The fierceness of Thracians and 
 Scythians is now softened by the gentle 
 sound of the Gospel ; and every where 
 Christ is all in all-jV Were therefore the 
 
 * Jer. a J I.cct. ep, 5. 7- t Jer. ep. 8, ad Heliod.
 
 230 
 
 motives of Constantine's conversion ever 
 so problematical, the easy establishment of 
 Christianity, and the ruin of Heathenism 
 under him and his immediate successors, 
 is of itself a proof of the progress which 
 Christianity had made in the preceding 
 period. It may be added also, " that 
 Maxentius, the riyal of Constantine, had 
 shown himself friendly to the Christians. 
 Therefore of those who were contending 
 for worldly power and empire, one actually 
 favoured and flattered them, and another 
 may be suspected to have joined himself 
 to them, partly from consideration of in- 
 terest : so considerable were they become, 
 under external disadvantages of all sorts*." 
 This at least is certain, that throughout 
 the whole transaction hitherto, the great 
 seemed to follow, not to lead, the public 
 opinion. 
 
 It may help to convey to us some notion 
 of the extent and progress of Christianity, 
 or rather of the character and quality of 
 many early Christians, of their learning 
 
 * Lardner, vol. vii, p. 380,
 
 231 
 
 and their labours, to notice the number of 
 Christian writers who flourished in these 
 apes. Saint Jerome's catalogue contains 
 sixty-six writers within the first three centu- 
 ries, and the first six years of the fourth ; 
 and fifty -four between that time and his 
 own, viz. A. D. 392. Jerome introduces his 
 catalogue with the following just remon- 
 strance : " Let those who say the church 
 has had no philosophers, nor eloquent and 
 learned men, observe who and what they 
 were who founded, established, and adorn- 
 ed it : let them cease to accuse our faith 
 of rusticity, and confess their mistake*/' 
 Of these writers, several, as Justin, Ire- 
 naeus, Clement of Alexandria, Tertullian, 
 Origen, Bardesanes, Hippolitus, Eusebius, 
 were voluminous writers. Christian writers 
 abounded particularly about the year 178. 
 Alexander, bishop of Jerusalem, founded 
 a library in that city, A. D. 212. Pam- 
 philus, the friend of Origen, founded a li- 
 brary at Cesarea, A. D. 294. Public de- 
 fences were also set forth, by various ad- 
 vocates of the religion, in the course of its 
 
 * Jer. Pml. in Lib. de Scr. Eccl.
 
 232 
 
 iirst three centuries. Within one hundred 
 years after Christ's ascension, Quadratus 
 and Aristides, whose works, except some 
 few fragments of the first, are lost ; and, 
 about twenty years afterwards, Justin 
 Martyr, whose works remain, presented 
 apologies for the Christian religion to the 
 Roman emperors ; Quadratus and Aris- 
 tides to Adrian, Justin to Antoninus Pius, 
 and a second to Marcus Antoninus. Me- 
 lito, bishop of Sardis, and Apollinaris, 
 bishop of Hierapolis, and Miltiades, men 
 of great reputation, did the same to Marr 
 cus Antoninus, twenty years afterwards* : 
 and ten years after this, Apollonius, who 
 suffered martyrdom under the emperor 
 Commodus, composed an apology for his 
 faith, which he read in the senate, and 
 which was afterwards published -f*. Four- 
 teen years after the apology of Apollonius, 
 Tertullian addressed the work which now 
 remains under that name to the governors 
 of provinces in the Roman empire ; and, 
 about the same time, Minucius Felix com- 
 
 * F.uscb. Hist. lib. iv. c. 26. ee also Lardner,, vol. ii. 
 p. 666. 
 
 \ Lardner, vol. ii. p. 687.
 
 233 
 
 posed a defence of the Christian religion, 
 which is still extant; and, shortly after 
 the conclusion of this century, copious de- 
 fences of Christianity -were published by 
 Arnobius and Lactantius,
 
 234 
 
 SECTION II. 
 
 Reflections upon the preceding account. 
 
 In viewing the progress of Christianity, 
 our first attention is due to the number of 
 converts at Jerusalem, immediately after 
 its Founder's death; because this success 
 was a success at the time, and upon the 
 spot, when and where the chief part of the 
 history had been transacted. 
 
 We are, in the next place, called upon 
 to attend to the early establishment of 
 numerous Christian societies in Judea and 
 Galilee; which countries had been the 
 scene of Christ's miracles and ministry, 
 and where the memory of what had passed, 
 and the knowledge of what was alleged, 
 must have yet been fresh and certain. 
 
 We are, thirdly, invited to recollect the 
 success of the apostles and of their com-
 
 235 
 
 panions, at the several places to which 
 they came, both within and without Ju- 
 dea; because it was the credit given to 
 original witnesses, appealing for the truth 
 of their accounts to what themselves had 
 seen and heard. The effect also of their 
 preaching strongly confirms the truth of 
 what our history positively and circum- 
 stantially relates, that they were able to 
 exhibit to their hearers supernatural attes- 
 tations of their mission. 
 
 We are, lastly, to consider the subsequent 
 growth and spread of the religion, of which 
 we receive successive intimations, and satis- 
 factory, through general and occasional, ac- 
 counts, until its full and final establishment. 
 
 In all these several stages, the history is 
 without a parallel : for it must be observed, 
 that we have not now been tracing the 
 progress, and describing the prevalency 
 of an opinion, founded upon philosophical 
 or critical arguments, upon mere deduc- 
 tions of reason, or the construction of an- 
 cient writings (of which kind are the several 
 theories which have, at different times,
 
 236 
 
 gained possession of the public mind in va- 
 rious departments of science and literature ; 
 and of one or other of which kind are the 
 tenets also which divide the various sects 
 of Christianity); but that we speak of a 
 system, the very basis and postulatum of 
 which was a supernatural character ascribed 
 to a particular person ; of a doctrine, the 
 truth thereof depended entirely upon the 
 truth of a matter of fact then recent. 
 " To establish a new religion, even amongst 
 a few people, or in one single nation, is a 
 thing in itself exceedingly difficult. To 
 reform some corruptions which may have 
 spread in a religion, or to make new regu- 
 lations in it, is not perhaps so hard, when 
 the main and principal part of that reli- 
 gion is preserved entire and unshaken ; 
 and yet this very often cannot be accom- 
 plished without an extraordinary concur-r 
 rence of circumstances, and may be at-r 
 tempted a thousand times without success, 
 But to introduce a new faith, a new way 
 of thinking and acting, and to persuade 
 many nations to quit the religion in which 
 their ancestors have lived and died, which 
 had been delivered down to them from
 
 237 
 
 time immemorial, to make them forsake 
 and despise the deities which they had 
 been accustomed to reverence and worship ; 
 this is a work of still greater difficulty*. 
 The resistance of education, worldly policy, 
 .and superstition, is almost invincible/' 
 
 If men, in these days, be Christians in 
 consequence of their education, in sub- 
 mission to authority, or in compliance with 
 fashion, let us recollect that the very con- 
 trary of this, at the beginning, was the case. 
 The first race of Christians, as well as mil- 
 lions who succeeded them, became such 
 in formal opposition to all these motives, 
 to the whole power and strength of this 
 influence. Every argument, therefore, and 
 every instance, which sets forth the preju- 
 dice of education, and the almost irresist- 
 ible effects of that prejudice (and no per- 
 sons are more fond of expatiating upon 
 this subject than deistical w r riters), in fact 
 confirms the evidence of Christianity. 
 
 But. in order to iud^e of the argument 
 ' Jyrtin's Dis. on the Christ- }\A. p. 107. d. iy.
 
 238 
 
 which is drawn from the early propagation 
 of Christianity, I know no fairer way of 
 proceeding, than to compare what we have 
 seen of the subject, with the success of 
 Christian missions in modern ages. In 
 the East-India mission, supported by the 
 Society for promoting Christian Know- 
 ledge, we hear sometimes of thirty, some- 
 times of forty, being baptized in the course 
 of a year, and these principally children. 
 Of converts properly so called, that is, of 
 adults voluntarily embracing Christianity, 
 the number is extremely small. " Not- 
 withstanding the labour of missionaries for 
 upwards of two hundred years, and the 
 establishments of different Christian na- 
 tions who support them, there are not 
 twelve thousand Indian Christians, and 
 those almost entirely outcasts*." 
 
 I lament, as much as any man, the little 
 progress which Christianity has made in 
 these countries, and the inconsiderable ef- 
 
 * Sketches relating to the history, learning, and manners 
 of the Hindoos, p. 48. ; quoted by Dr. Roberson, Hist. Dis. 
 concerning ancient India, p. 236".
 
 239 
 
 feet that has followed the labours of its mis- 
 sionaries : but I see in it a strong proof of 
 the Divine origin of the religion. What had 
 the apostles to assist them in propagating 
 Christianity which the missionaries have 
 not? If piety and zeal had been sufficient, 
 I doubt not but that our missionaries possess 
 these qualities in a high degree : for, no- 
 thing except piety and zeal could engage 
 them in the undertaking. If sanctity of life 
 and manners was the allurement, the con- 
 duct of these men is unblamable. If the 
 advantage of education and learning be 
 looked to, there is not one of the modern 
 missionaries, who is not, in this respect, 
 superior to all the apostles: and that not 
 only absolutely, but what is of more im- 
 portance, relatively, in comparison, that is, 
 with those amongst whom they exercise 
 their office. If the intrinsic excellency of 
 the religion, the perfection of its morality, 
 the purity of its precepts, the eloquence or 
 tenderness or sublimity of various parts of 
 its writings, were the recommendations by 
 which it made its way, these remain the 
 same. If the character and circumstances, 
 under which the preachers were introduced
 
 240 
 
 to the countries in which they taught, be 
 accounted of importance, this advantage is 
 all on the side of the modern missionaries* 
 They come from a country and a people to 
 which the Indian world look up with senti- 
 ments of deference. The apostles came forth 
 amongst the Gentiles under no other name 
 than that of Jews, which was precisely the 
 character they despised and derided. If it 
 be disgraceful in India to become a Chris- 
 tian, it could not be much less so to be 
 enrolled amongst those, " quos per flagitia 
 invisos, vulgus Christianos appellabat." If 
 the religion which they had to encounter 
 be considered, the difference, I apprehend, 
 will not be great. The theology of both 
 was nearly the same : " what is supposed 
 to be performed by the power of Jupiter, of 
 Neptune, of iEolus, of Mars, of Venus, ac- 
 cording to the mythology of the West, is 
 ascribed, in the East, to the agency of Agrio 
 the god of fire, Varoon the god of oceans, 
 Vayoo the god of wind, Cama the god of 
 love*." The sacred rites of the Western 
 
 * Baghvat Gecta, p. 91. quoted by Dr. Robertson, Ind. 
 Dis. p. 306.
 
 241 
 
 Polytheism were gay, festive, and licen- 
 tious ; the rites of the public religion in the 
 East partake of the same character, with a 
 more avowed indecency. " In every func- 
 tion performed in the pagodas, as well as in 
 every public procession, it is the office of 
 these women (i. e. of women prepared by 
 the Brahmins for the purpose), to dance be- 
 fore the idol, and to sing hymns in his 
 praise ; and it is difficult to say whether 
 they trespass most against decency by the 
 gestures they exhibit, or by the verses which 
 they recite. The walls of the pagodas were 
 covered with paintings in a style no less in- 
 delicate *-f." 
 
 On both sides of the comparison, the po- 
 pular religion had a strong establishment. 
 In ancient Greece and Rome, it was strictly 
 incorporated with the state. The magistrate 
 was the priest. The highest officers of go- 
 
 * Others of the deities of the East are of an austere and 
 gloomy character, to be propitiated by victims, sometimes 
 by human sacrifices, and by voluntary torments of the most 
 excruciating kind. 
 
 t Voyage de Gentil. vol. i. p. 244 2o0. Preface to 
 Code of Gentoo Laws, p. 57 '. quoted by Dr. Roberston, 
 p. 320. 
 
 VOL. II. Tt
 
 242 
 
 vernment bore the most distinguished part 
 in the celebration of the public rites. In 
 India, a powerful and numerous cast pos- 
 sess exclusively the administration of the 
 established worship; and are, of conse- 
 quence, devoted to its service, and attached 
 to its interest. In both, the prevailing my- 
 thology was destitute of any proper evi- 
 dence: or rather, in both, the origin of the 
 tradition is run up into ages long anterior 
 to the existence of credible history, or 
 of written language. The Indian chrono- 
 logy computes aeras by millions of years, 
 and the life of man by thousands*; and 
 in these, or prior to these, is placed the 
 history of their divinities. In both, the 
 established superstition held the same 
 place in the public opinion; that is to say, 
 in both it was credited by the bulk of 
 the people^, but by the learned and 
 
 * " The Su<ffec Jogue, or age of purity, is said to have 
 lasted three million two hundred thousand years; and they 
 hold that the life of man was extended in that age to one 
 hundred thousand years; but there is a difference amongst 
 the Indian writers, of six millions of years in' the computa- 
 tion of this cera." lb. 
 
 + " How absurd soever the articles of faith may be, which 
 superstition has adopted, or how unhallowed the rites whicl*
 
 243 
 
 philosophical part of the community, either 
 derided, or regarded by them as only fit 
 to be upholden for the sake of its political 
 
 uses 
 
 * 
 
 it prescribes, the former are received, in every age and coun- 
 try, with unhesitating assent, by the great body of the peo- 
 ple, and the latter observed with scrupulous exactness. In 
 our reasonings concerning opinions and practices which 
 differ widely from our own, we are extremely apt to err. 
 Having been instructed ourselves in the principles of a re- 
 ligion worthy in every respect of that Divine wisdom by 
 which they were dictated, we frequently express wonder at 
 the credulity of nations, in embracing systems of belief 
 which appear to us so directly repugnant to right reason ; 
 and sometimes suspect, that tenets so wild and extravagant 
 do not really gain credit with them. But experience may 
 satisfy us, that neither our wonder nor suspicions are well 
 founded. No article of the public religion was called in 
 question by those people of ancient Europe with whose 
 history we are best acquainted ; and no practice, which it 
 enjoined, appeared improper to them. On the other hand, 
 every opinion that tended to diminish the reverence of men 
 for the gods of their country, or to alienate them from their 
 worship, excited, among the Greeks and Romans, that in- 
 dignant zeal which is natural to every people attached to 
 their religion by a firm persuasion of its truth/' Ind. Dis 
 p. 321. 
 
 * That the learned Brahmins of the East are rational 
 Theists, and secretly reject the established theory, and con- 
 temn the rites that were founded upon them, or rather con- 
 sider them as contrivances to be supported for their politi- 
 cal uses, see Dr. Robertson's Ind. Dis. p. 324 331. 
 
 R 2
 
 244 
 
 Or if it should be allowed, that the an- 
 cient heathens believed in their religion less 
 generally than the present Indians do, I am 
 far from thinking that this circumstance 
 would afford any facility to the work of the 
 apostles, above that of the modern mission- 
 aries. To me it appears, and I think it 
 material to be remarked, that a disbelief of 
 the established religion of their country has 
 no tendency to dispose men for the recep- 
 tion of another : but that, on the contrary, 
 it generates a settled contempt of all reli- 
 gious pretensions whatever. General infi- 
 delity is the hardest soil which the propa- 
 gators of a new religion can have to work 
 upon. Could a Methodist or Moravian 
 promise himself a better chance of suc- 
 cess, with a French esprit fort, who had 
 been accustomed to laugh at the popery 
 of his country, than with a believing 
 Mahometan or Hindoo? Or are our 
 modern unbelievers in Christianity, for 
 that reason, in danger of becoming Maho- 
 metans or Hindoos? It does not appear 
 that the Jews, who had a body of historical 
 evidence to offer for their religion, and 
 who at that time undoubtedly entertained
 
 245 
 
 and held forth the expectation of a future 
 state, derived any great advantage, as to 
 the extension of their system, from the 
 discredit into which the popular religion 
 had fallen with many of their heathen 
 neighbours. 
 
 We have particularly directed our obser- 
 vations to the state and progress of Christi- 
 anity amongst the inhabitants of India : but 
 the history of the Christian mission in other 
 countries, where the efficacy of the mission 
 is left solely to the conviction wrought by 
 the preaching of strangers, presents the same 
 idea, as the Indian mission does, of the fee- 
 bleness and inadequacy of human means. 
 About twenty-five years ago, was published 
 in England, a translation from the Dutch of 
 a History of Greenland, and a relation of 
 the mission for above thirty years carried 
 on in that country by the Unitas Fratrum, 
 or Moravians. Every part of that relation 
 confirms the opinion we have stated. No- 
 thing could surpass, or hardly equal, the 
 zeal and patience of the missionaries. Yet 
 their historian, in the conclusion of his nar- 
 rative, could find place for no reflections
 
 246 
 
 more encouraging than the following : " A 
 person that had known the heathen, that 
 had seen the little benefit from the great 
 pains hitherto taken with them, and consi- 
 dered that one after another had abandoned 
 all hopes of the conversion of those infidels 
 (and some thought they would never be con- 
 verted, till they saw miracles wrought as in 
 the apostles' days, and this the Greenland- 
 ers expected and demanded of their instruct- 
 ors) ; one that considered this, I say, would 
 not so much wonder at the past unfruitful- 
 ness of these young beginners, as at their 
 steadfast perseverance in the midst of no- 
 thing but distress, difficulties, and impedi- 
 ments, internally and externally ; and that 
 they never desponded of the conversion of 
 those poor creatures amidst all seeming 
 impossibilities */' 
 
 From the widely disproportionate effects 
 which attend the preaching of modern mis- 
 sionaries of Christianity, compared with 
 what followed the ministry of Christ and 
 his apostles under circumstances either 
 
 * History of Greenland, vol. ii. p. 376.
 
 247 
 
 alike, or not so unlike as to account for 
 the difference, a conclusion is fairly drawn, 
 in support of what our histories deliver 
 concerning them, viz. that they possessed 
 means of conviction, which we have not; 
 that they had proofs to appeal to, which 
 we want.
 
 248 
 
 SECTION III. 
 
 Of the Religion of Mahomet. 
 
 The only event in the history of the hu- 
 mau species, which admits of comparison 
 with the propagation of Christianity, is the 
 success of Mahometcinism. The Mahomet- 
 an institution was rapid in its progress, was 
 recent in its history, and was founded upon 
 a supernatural or prophetic character as- 
 sumed by its author. In these articles, the 
 resemblance with Christianity is confessed. 
 But there are points of difference, which 
 separate, we apprehend, the two cases en- 
 tirely. 
 
 I. Mahomet did not found his preten- 
 sions upon miracles, properly so called ; that 
 is, upon proofs of supernatural agency, ca- 
 pable of being known and attested by others. 
 Christians are warranted in this assertion by
 
 249 
 
 the evidence of the Koran, in which Ma- 
 homet not only does not affect the power 
 of working miracles, but expressly disclaims 
 it. The following passages of that book 
 furnish direct proofs of the truth of what 
 we allege : " The infidels say, Unless a 
 sign be sent down unto him from his lord, 
 we will not believe; thou art a preacher 
 only*/' Again; " Nothing hindered us 
 from sending thee with miracles, except that 
 the former nations have charged them with 
 imposture -f." And lastly ; "They say, Unless 
 a sign be sent down unto him from his lord, 
 we will not believe : Answer ; Signs are in 
 the power of God alone, and I am no more 
 than a public preacher. Is it not sufficient 
 for them, that we have sent down unto them 
 the book of the Koran to be read unto 
 them J?" Beside these acknowledgements, 
 I have observed thirteen distinct places, in 
 w r hich Mahomet puts the objection (unless 
 a sign, Sec.) into the mouth of the unbe- 
 liever, in not one of which does he allege 
 # miracle in reply. His answer is, " that 
 
 * Sale's Koran, c. xiii. p. 201. ed. quarto. 
 | C. xvii. p. 232, % C. xxix. p. 328,
 
 250 
 
 God giveth the power of working miracles, 
 when and to whom he pleaseth* ;" " that if 
 he .should work miracles, they would not 
 believe-f;" " that they had before rejected 
 Moses, and Jesus, and the Prophets, who 
 wrought miracles J;" "that the Koran it- 
 self was a miracle /' 
 
 The only place in the Koran in which it 
 can be pretended that a sensible miracle is 
 referred to (for I do not allow the secret 
 visitations of Gabriel, the night-journey of 
 Mahomet to heaven, or the presence in bat- 
 tle of invisible hosts of angels, to deserve the 
 name of sensible miracles), is the beginning 
 of the fifty-fourth chapter. The words are 
 these : " The hour of judgement approach- 
 eth, and the moon hath been split in sunder : 
 but if the unbelievers see a sign, they turn 
 aside, saying, This is a powerful charm." 
 The Mahometan expositors disagree in their 
 interpretation of this passage ; some ex- 
 plaining it to be a mention of the splitting 
 of the moon, as one of the future signs 
 
 * Sale's Koran, c. v. x. xiii. twice, f C.vi. 
 
 J C. iii, xxi. xxviii. j C. xvi
 
 251 
 
 of the approach of the day of judgement; 
 others referring it to a miraculous appear- 
 ance which had then taken place*. It 
 seems to me not improbable, that Mahomet 
 might have taken advantage of some ex- 
 traordinary halo, or other unusual ap- 
 pearance of the moon, which had hap- 
 pened about this time; and which sup- 
 plied a foundation both for this passage, 
 and for the story which in after-times had 
 been raised out of it. 
 
 After this more than silence, after these 
 authentic confessions of the Koran, we are 
 not to be moved with miraculous stories re- 
 lated of Mahomet by Abulfeda, who wrote 
 his life about six hundred years after his 
 death ; or which are found in the legend of 
 Al-Jannabi, who came two hundred years 
 later -f*. On the contrary, from compar- 
 
 * Vide Sale, in loc. 
 
 f It does not, I think, appear, that these historians had 
 any written accounts to appeal to, more ancient than the 
 Sonnah ; which was a collection of traditions made by order 
 of the Caliphs two hundred years after Mahomet's death. 
 Mahomet died a. d. 6*32 ; Al-Bochari, one of the six doc- 
 tors who compiled the Sonnah, was born a. d. S09; died 
 86*9. Prideaux's Life of Mahomet, p. 192. ed, 7th.
 
 252 
 
 ing what Mahomet himself wrote and said, 
 with what was afterwards reported of him 
 by his followers, the plain and fair con- 
 clusion is, that when the religion was 
 established by conquest, then, and not 
 till then, came out the stories of his mi- 
 racles. 
 
 Now this difference alone constitutes, in 
 my opinion, a bar to all reasoning from one 
 case to the other. The success of a religion 
 founded upon a miraculous history, shows 
 the credit which was given to the history ; 
 and this credit, under the circumstances in 
 which it was given, i. e. by persons capable 
 of knowing the truth, and interested to in- 
 quire after it, is evidence of the reality of 
 the history, and, by consequence, of the 
 truth of the religion. Where a miraculous 
 history is not alleged, no part of this argu- 
 ment can be applied. We admit, that mul- 
 titudes acknowledged the pretensions of 
 Mahomet: but, these pretensions being de- 
 stitute ofmiraculousevidence, we know that 
 the grounds upon which they were acknow- 
 ledged, could not be secure grounds of per- 
 suasion to his followers, nor their example
 
 253 
 
 any authority to us. Admit the whole of 
 Mahomet's authentic history, so far as it 
 was of a nature capable of being known or 
 witnessed by others, to be true (which is 
 certainly to admit all that the reception of 
 the religion can be brought to prove), and 
 Mahomet might still be an impostor, or en- 
 thusiast, or a union of both. Admit to be 
 true almost any part of Christ's history, of 
 that, I mean, which was public, and within 
 the cognisance of his followers, and he must 
 have come from God. Where matter of 
 fact is not in question, where miracles are 
 not alleged, I do not see that the progress 
 of a religion is a better argument of its 
 truth, than the prevalency of any sj^stem of 
 opinions in natural religion, morality, or 
 physics, is a proof of the truth of those 
 opinions. And we know that this sort of 
 argument is inadmissible in any branch of 
 philosophy whatever. 
 
 But it will be said, If one religion could 
 make its way without miracles, why might 
 not another? To which I reply, first, that 
 this is not the question ; the proper question 
 is not, whether a religious institution could
 
 254 
 
 be set up without miracles, but whether a 
 religion, or a change of religion, founding 
 itself in miracles, could succeed without any 
 reality to rest upon ? I apprehend these two 
 cases to be very different ; and I apprehend 
 Mahomet's not taking this course, to be one 
 proof, amongst others, that the thing is dif- 
 ficult, if not impossible, to be accomplished ; 
 certainly it was not from an unconscious- 
 ness of the value and importance of mira- 
 culous evidence : for it is very observable, 
 that in the same volume, and sometimes in 
 the same chapters, in which Mahomet so 
 repeatedly disclaims the power of working 
 miracles himself, he is incessantly referring 
 to the miracles of preceding prophets. One 
 would imagine, to hear some men talk, or 
 to read some books, that the setting up of 
 a, religion by dint of miraculous pretences 
 was a thing of every day's experience; 
 whereas, I believe that, except the Jewish 
 and Christian religion, there is no tolerably 
 well authenticated account of any such 
 thing having been accomplished. 
 
 II. The establishment of Mahomet's re- 
 ligion was effected by causes which in no
 
 %55 
 
 degree appertained to the origin of Christi- 
 anity. 
 
 - During the first twelve years of his mis- 
 sion, Mahomet had recourse only to persua- 
 sion. This is allowed. And there is suffi- 
 cient reason from the effect to believe that, 
 if he had confined himself this mode of 
 propagating his religion, we of the preset 
 day should never have heard either of him 
 or it. " Three years were silently employed 
 in the conversion of fourteen proselytes. 
 For ten years, the religion advanced with a 
 slow and painful progress, within the walls 
 of Mecca. The number of proselytes in 
 the seventh year of his mission may be esti- 
 mated by the absence of eighty-three men 
 and eighteen women, who retired to ./Ethio- 
 pia*." Yet this progress, such as it was, 
 appears to have been aided by some very 
 important advantages which Mahomet 
 found in his situation, in his mode of con- 
 ducting his design, and in his doctrine. 
 
 1. Mahomet was the grandson of the 
 most powerful and honourable family in 
 Mecca: and although the early death of his 
 
 * Gibbon's Hist. vol. ix. p. 244, et seq, : ed. Dub.
 
 256 
 
 father had not left him a patrimony suitable 
 to his birth, he had, long before the com- 
 mencement of his mission, repaired this de- 
 ficiency by an opulent marriage. A person 
 considerable by his wealth, of high descent, 
 and nearly allied to the chiefs of his coun- 
 try, taking upon himself the character of a 
 religious teacher, would not fail of attract- 
 ing attention and followers. 
 
 2. Mahomet conducted his design, in the 
 outset especially, with great art and pru- 
 dence. He conducted it as a politician 
 would conduct a plot. His first application 
 w r as to his own family. This gained him 
 his wife's uncle, a considerable person in 
 Mecca, together with his cousin Ali, after- 
 wards the celebrated Caliph, then a youth 
 of great expectation, and even already di- 
 stinguished by his attachment, impetuosity, 
 and courage*. He next expressed himself 
 
 * Of which Mr. Gibbon has preserved the following spe- 
 cimen : " When Mahomet called out in an assembly of 
 his family, Who among you will be my companion, and 
 my vizir? Ali, then only in the fourteenth year of his age, 
 suddenly replied, O prophet! I am the man; whosoever 
 rises against thee, I will dash out his teeth, tear out his eyes, 
 break his legs, rip up his belly. O prophet! I will be thy 
 vizir over them." Vol. ix. p. 2-i5.
 
 257 
 
 to Abu Beer, a man amongst the first of 
 the Koreish in wealth and influence. The 
 interest and example of Abu Beer drew in 
 five other principal persons' in Mecca, 
 whose solicitations prevailed upon five 
 more of the same rank. This was the work 
 of three years; during which time, every 
 thing was transacted in secret. Upon the 
 strength of these allies, and under the 
 powerful protection of his family, who, 
 however some of them might disapprove 
 his enterprise, or deride his pretensions, 
 would not suffer the orphan of their house, 
 the relict of their favourite brother, to be 
 insulted, Mahomet now commenced his 
 public preaching. And the advance which 
 he made during the nine or ten remaining 
 years of his peaceable ministry, was by no 
 means greater than what, with these ad- 
 vantages, and with the additional and sin- 
 gular circumstance of there being no est a" 
 blished religion at Mecca at that time to 
 contend with, might reasonably have been 
 expected. How soon his primitive ad- 
 herents were let into the secret of his views 
 of empire, or in what stage of his under- 
 taking these views first opened themselves 
 vol. ii. g
 
 258 
 
 to his own mind, it is not now easy to de- 
 termine. The event however was, that 
 these, his first proselytes, all ultimately at- 
 tained to riches and honours, to the com- 
 mand of armies, and the government of 
 kingdoms*. 
 
 3. The Arabs deduced their descent from 
 Abraham through the line of Ishmael. The 
 inhabitants of Mecca, in common probably 
 with the other Arabian tribes, acknowledged, 
 as, I think, may clearly be collected from 
 the Koran, one supreme Deity, buthad asso- 
 ciated with him many objects of idolatrous 
 worship. The great doctrine, with which 
 Mahomet set out, was the strict and exclu- 
 sive unity of God. Abraham, he told them, 
 their illustrious ancestor; Ishmael, the fa- 
 ther of their nation ; Moses, the lawgiver 
 of the Jews ; and Jesus, the author of Chris- 
 tianity ; had all asserted the same thing; 
 that their followers had universally cor- 
 rupted the truth, and that he was now com* 
 missioned to restore it to the world Was it 
 to be wondered at, that a doctrine so spe- 
 cious, and authorised by names, some or 
 
 * Gibbon, vol. ix. p. 244.
 
 259 
 
 other of which were holden in the highest 
 veneration by every description of his hear- 
 ers, should, in the hands of a popular mis- 
 sionary, prevail to the extent in which Ma- 
 homet succeeded by his pacific ministry ? 
 
 4. Of the institution which Mahomet 
 joined with this fundamental doctrine, and 
 of the Koran in which that institution is de- 
 livered, w r e discover, I think, two purposes 
 that pervade the whole, viz. to make con- 
 verts, and to make his converts soldiers 
 The following particulars, amongst others, 
 may be considered as pretty evident indi- 
 cations of these designs : 
 
 1. When Mahomet began to preach, his 
 address to the Jews, the Christians, and to 
 the Pagan Arabs, was, that the religion 
 which he taught, was no other than what 
 had been originally their own. " We be- 
 lieve in God, and that which hath been sent 
 down unto us, and that which hath been 
 sent down unto Abraham, and Ishmael, and 
 Isaac, and Jacob, and the Tribes, and that 
 which was delivered unto Moses and Jesus, 
 and that which was delivered unto the pro- 
 
 s 2
 
 260 
 
 phets from their Lord: we make no di- 
 stinction between any of them*." " He 
 hath ordained you the religion which he 
 commanded Noah, and which we have re- 
 vealed unto thee,0 Mohammed, and which 
 we commanded Abraham, and Moses, and 
 Jesus, saying, Observe this religion, and be 
 not divided therein f" " He hath chosen 
 you, and hath not imposed on you any 
 difficulty in the religion which he hath 
 
 given you, the religion of your father 
 
 f- 
 
 Abraham + 
 
 2. The author of the Koran never ceases 
 from describing the future anguish of unbe- 
 lievers, their despair, regret, penitence, and 
 torment. It is the point which he labours 
 above all others. And these descriptions 
 are conceived in terms which Mall appear 
 in no small degree impressive, even to the 
 modern reader of an English translation. 
 Doubtless they would operate with much 
 greater force upon the minds of those to 
 whom they were immediately directed. 
 
 * Sale's Koran, c. ii. p. 17. 
 + lb. c. xlii.p. 393. 
 X lb. cxxii. p. 281.
 
 261 
 
 The terror which they seem well calculated 
 to inspire, would be to many tempers a 
 powerful application. 
 
 3. On the other hand; his voluptuous 
 paradise; his robes of silk, his palaces of 
 marble, his rivers and shades, his groves 
 and couches, his wines, his dainties ; and, 
 above all, his seventy-two virgins assigned 
 to each of the faithful, of resplendent 
 beauty and eternal youth ; intoxicated the 
 imaginations, and seized the passions, of 
 his Eastern followers. 
 
 4. But Mahomet's highest heaven was 
 reserved for those who fought his battles, 
 or expended their fortunes in his cause. 
 " Those believers who sit still at home, not 
 having any hurt, and those who employ 
 their fortunes and their persons for the reli- 
 gion of God, shall not be held equal. God 
 hath preferred those who employ their for- 
 tunes and their persons in that cause, to a 
 degree above those who sit at home. God 
 had indeed promised every one Paradise; 
 but God had preferred those who fight for 
 the faith before those who sit still, by add-
 
 $62 
 
 ing unto them a great reward ; by degrees 
 of honour conferred upon them from him, 
 and by granting them forgiveness and 
 mercy*/' Again ; " Do ye reckon the giving 
 drink to the pilgrims, and the visiting of 
 the holy temple, to be actions as merito- 
 rious as those performed by him who be- 
 lieveth in God and the last day, and fighteth 
 for the religion of God? They shall not be 
 held equal with God. They who have be- 
 lieved and fled their country, and employed 
 their substance and their persons in the de- 
 fence of God's true religion, shall be in the 
 highest degree of honour with God ; and 
 these are they who shall be happy. The 
 Lord sendeth them good tidings of mercy 
 from him, and good will, and of gardens 
 wherein they shall enjoy lasting pleasures. 
 They shall continue therein for ever ; for 
 with God is a great reward f" And, once 
 more; " Verily God hath purchased of the 
 true believers their souls and their sub- 
 stance, promising them the enjoyment of 
 Paradise, on condition that they fight for 
 the cause of God: whether they slay or 
 
 - Sale's Koran, c. iy. p. 73. t lb. c. ix. p. 151.
 
 263 
 
 be slain, the promise for the same is 
 assuredly due by the Law and the Gospel 
 and the Koran*'f\" 
 
 5. His doctrine of predestination was 
 applicable, and was applied by him, to the 
 same purpose of fortifying and of exalting 
 the courage of his adherents. " If any 
 thing of the matter had happened unto us, 
 we had not been slain here. Answer; If 
 ye had been in your houses, verily they 
 would have gone forth to fight, whose 
 slaughter was decreed, to the places where 
 they diedj/' 
 
 6. In warm regions, the appetite of the 
 sexes is ardent, the passion for inebriating 
 liquors moderate. In compliance with this 
 
 * Sales's Koran, c. ix. p. Ifj4. 
 
 t "The sword," saith Mahomot, "is the key of heaven 
 and of hell; a drop of blood shed in the cause of God, a 
 night spent in arms, is of more avail than two months' fasting 
 Or prayer. Whosoever falls in battle, his sins arc forgiven at 
 the day of judgement; his wounds shall be resplendent as 
 vermillion, and odoriferous as musk ; and the loss of his 
 limbs shall be supplied by the wings of angels and cheru- 
 bim." Gibbon, vol. ix. p. 256. 
 
 j Sale's Koran, c. iii. p. 54.
 
 264 
 
 distinction, although Mahomet laid a re- 
 straint upon the drinking of wine, in the 
 use of women he allowed an almost un- 
 bounded indulgence. Four wives, with the 
 liberty of changing them at pleasure*, to- 
 gether with the persons of all his captives-]-, 
 was an irresistible bribe to an Arabian war- 
 rior. " God is minded," says he, speaking 
 of this very subject, " to make his religion 
 light unto you ; for man was created weak/' 
 How different this from the unaccommo- 
 dating purity of the Gospel ! How would 
 Mahomet have succeeded with the Chris- 
 tian lesson in his mouth, "Whosoever 
 looketh after a woman to lust after her, 
 hath committed adultery with her already 
 in his heart ?" It must be added, that 
 Mahomet did not venture upon the prohi- 
 bition of wine, till the fourth year of the 
 Hegira, or the seventeenth of his mission*, 
 when his military successes had completely 
 established his authority. The same observ- 
 ation holds of the fast of the Ramadan , 
 
 * Sale's Koran, c. iv. p. 63. 
 f Gibbon, vol. ix. p. 225. 
 
 % Mod. Univ. Hist. vol. i. p. 120. 
 
 * lb. p. 112.
 
 265 
 
 and of the most laborious part of his insti- 
 tution, the pilgrimage to Mecca*. 
 
 What has hitherto been collected from 
 the records of the Mussulman history, re- 
 lates to the twelve or thirteen years of Ma- 
 homet's peaceable preaching ; which part 
 alone of his life and enterprise admits of 
 the smallest comparison with the origin of 
 Christianity. A new scene is now unfolded. 
 The city of Medina, distant about ten days' 
 journey from Mecca, was at that time dis- 
 tracted by the hereditary contentions of 
 two hostile tribes. These feuds were ex- 
 asperated by the mutual persecutions of the 
 Jews and Christians, and of the different 
 Christian sects by which the city was in- 
 habited -f*. The religion of Mahomet pre- 
 sented, in some measure, a point of union 
 or compromise to these divided opinions. 
 It embraced the principles which were com- 
 
 * This latter, however, already prevailed amongst the 
 Arabs, and had grown out of their exccessive veneration for 
 the Caaba. Mahomet's law, in this respect, was rather a 
 compliance than an innovation J. 
 
 f Mod. Univ. Hist. vol. i. p. 100. 
 
 J Sale's Prelim. Disc. p. 122.
 
 266 
 
 mon to them all. Each party saw in it an 
 honourable acknowledgement of the funda- 
 mental truth of their own system. To the 
 Pagan Arab, somewhat imbued with the 
 sentiments and knowledge of his Jewish or 
 Christian fellow-citizen, it offered no offen- 
 sive, or very improbable theology. This 
 recommendation procured to Mahometan- 
 ism a more favourable reception at Medina, 
 than its author had been able, by twelve 
 years' painful endeavours, to obtain for it 
 at Mecca. Yet, after all, the progress of 
 the religion was inconsiderable. His mis- 
 sionary could only collect a congregation 
 of forty persons*. It was not a religious, 
 but a political association, which ultimately 
 introduced Mahomet into Medina. Ha- 
 rassed, as it should seem, and disgusted bv 
 the long continuance of factions and dis- 
 putes, the inhabitants of that city saw in 
 the admission of the prophet's authority a 
 rest from the miseries which they had suf- 
 fered, and a suppression of the violence 
 and fury which they had learned to con- 
 demn. After an embassy, therefore, com- 
 
 * Mod. Univ. Hist, vol. i. p. 8T-.
 
 267 
 
 posed of believers and unbelievers*, and of 
 persons of both tribes, with whom a treatj 
 was concluded of strict alliance and sup- 
 port, Mahomet made his public entry, and 
 was received as the sovereign of Medina. 
 
 From this time, or soon after this time, 
 the impostor changed his language and his 
 conduct. Having now a town at his com- 
 mand, where to arm his party, and to head 
 them with security, he enters upon new- 
 counsels. He now pretends that a divine 
 commission is given him to attack the 
 infidels, to destroy idolatry, and to set up 
 the true faith by the sword -f*. An early 
 victory over a very superior force, achieved 
 by conduct and bravery, established the re- 
 nown of his arms, and of his personal cha- 
 racter J. Every year after this was marked 
 by battles or assassinations. The nature 
 and activity of Mahomet's future exertions 
 may be estimated from the computation, 
 that, in the nine following years of his life, 
 he commanded his army in person in eight 
 
 * Mod. Univ. Hist. vol. i. p. 85. 
 
 + lb. p. 88. 
 
 Victory ofBedr, ib.p. 106.
 
 268 
 
 general engagements*, and undertook, by 
 himself or his lieutenants, fifty military en- 
 terprises. 
 
 From this time we have nothing left to 
 account for, but that Mahomet should col- 
 lect an army, that his army should con- 
 quer, and that his religion should proceed 
 together with his conquests. The ordinary 
 experience of human affairs leaves us 
 little to wonder at, in any of these effects : 
 and they were likewise each assisted by pe- 
 culiar facilities. From all sides, the roving 
 Arabs crowded round the standard or re- 
 ligion and plunder, of freedom and v ici r.-rv, 
 of arms and rapine. Beside the / 
 
 painted joys of a carnal paradise, Mahomet 
 rewarded his followers in this world with a 
 liberal division of the spoils, and with the 
 persons of their female captives-)-. The con- 
 dition of Arabia, occupied by small inde- 
 pendent tribes, exposed it to the impression, 
 and yielded to the progress, of a firm and 
 resolute army. After the reduction of hi 
 native peninsula, the weakness also of the 
 
 * Mod. Univ. Hist. vol. i. p. 255. 
 f Gibbon, vol. ix. p. 255.
 
 269 
 
 Roman provinces on the north and the 
 west, as well as the distracted state of the 
 Persian empire on the east, facilitated the 
 successful invasion of neighbouring coun- 
 tries. That Mahomet's conquests should 
 carry his religion along with them, will ex- 
 cite little surprise, when we know the con- 
 ditions which he proposed to the van- 
 quished. Death or conversion was the only 
 choice offered to idolaters. " Strike off 
 their heads ! strike off all the ends of their 
 fingers * ! kill the idolaters, wheresoever ye 
 shall find themf!" To the Jews and Chris- 
 tians was left the somewhat milder alterna- 
 tive, of subjection and tribute, if they per- 
 sisted in their own religion, or of an equal 
 participation in the rights and liberties, the 
 honours and privileges, of the faithful, if 
 they embraced the religion of their con- 
 querors. " Ye Christian dogs, you know 
 your option ; the Koran, the tribute, or the 
 sword %" The corrupted state of Chris- 
 tianity in the seventh century, and the 
 contentions of its sects, unhappily so fell in 
 with men's care of their safety, or their for- 
 
 * Sale's Koran, c. viii. p. 140. f lb. c. ix. p. 14.9. 
 I Gibbon, vol. ix. p. 337.
 
 270 
 
 tunes, a to induce many to forsake its pro- 
 fession. Add to all which, that Mahomet's 
 victories not only operated by the natural 
 effect of conquest, but that they were con- 
 stantly represented, both to his friends and 
 enemies, as divine declarations in his fa- 
 vour. Success was evidence. Prosperity 
 carried with it, not only influence, but 
 proof. " Ye have already/' says he, after 
 the battle of Bedr, " had a miracle shown 
 you, in two armies which attacked each 
 other; one army fought for God's true 
 religion, but the other were infidels*." 
 Again ; " Ye slew not those who were slain 
 at Bedr, but God slew them. If ye desire 
 a decision of the matter between us, now 
 hath a decision come unto you -j ." 
 
 Many more passages might be collected 
 out of the Koran to the same effect. But 
 they are unnecessary. The success of Ma- 
 hometanism during this, and indeed every 
 future period of its history, bears so little 
 resemblance to the early propagation of 
 Christianity, that no inference whatever 
 
 * Sale's Koran, c. iii. p. 36. 
 f lb. c. viii. p. 141.
 
 271 
 
 can justly be drawn from it to the preju- 
 dice of the Christian argument. For, what 
 are we comparing? A Galilean peasant 
 accompanied by a few fishermen, with a 
 conqueror at the head of his army. We 
 compare Jesus without force, without 
 power, without support, without one exter- 
 nal circumstance of attraction or influence, 
 prevailing against the prejudices, the learn- 
 ing, the hierarchy, of his country ; against 
 the ancient religious opinions, the pompous 
 religious rites, the philosophy, the wisdom, 
 the authority, of the Roman empire, in the 
 most polished and enlightened period of 
 its existence ; with Mahomet making his 
 way amongst Arabs ; collecting followers 
 in the midst of conquests and triumphs, in 
 the darkest ages and countries of the world, 
 and when success in arms not only ope- 
 rated by that command of men's wills and 
 persons which attends prosperous under- 
 takings, but was considered as a sure tes- 
 timony of divine approbation. That multi- 
 tudes, persuaded by this argument, should 
 join the train of a victorious chief; that 
 still greater multitudes should, without any 
 argument, bow down before irresistible
 
 272 
 
 power ; is a conduct in which we cannot 
 see much to surprise us ; in which we can 
 see nothing that resembles the causes by 
 which the establishment of Christianity 
 was effected. 
 
 The success, therefore, of Mahometan- 
 ism, stands not in the way of this import- 
 ant conclusion ; that the propagation of 
 Christianity, in the manner and under the 
 circumstances in which it was propagated, 
 is an unique in the history of the species. 
 A Jewish peasant overthrew the religion 
 of the world. 
 
 I have, nevertheless, placed the preva- 
 lency of the religion amongst the auxiliary 
 arguments of its truth ; because, whether it 
 had prevailed or not, or whether its preva- 
 lency can or cannot be accounted for, the 
 direct argument remains still. It is still 
 true that a great number of men upon the 
 spot, personally connected with the history 
 and with the author of the religion, were 
 induced by what they heard, and saw, and 
 knew, not only to change their former opi- 
 nions, but to give up their time, and sacri-
 
 273 
 
 fice their ease, to traverse seas and king- 
 doms without rest and without weariness, 
 to commit themselves to extreme dangers, 
 to undertake incessant toils, to undergo 
 grievous sufferings, and all this, solely in 
 consequence, and in support, of their be- 
 lief of facts, which, if true, 'establish the 
 truth of the religion, which, if false, they 
 must have known to be so. 
 
 vol. II- T
 
 PART III. 
 
 A BRIEF CONSIDERATION OF SOME 
 POPULAR OBJECTIONS. 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 The discrepancies between the several Gospels. 
 
 X know not a more rash or unphilosophi- 
 cal conduct of the understanding, than to 
 reject the substance 'of a story, by reason 
 of some diversity in the circumstances with 
 which it is related. The usual character of 
 human testimony is substantial truth under 
 circumstantial variety. This is what the 
 daily experience of courts of justice teaches. 
 When accounts of a transaction come from 
 the mouths of different witnesses, it is sel- 
 dom that it is not possible to pick out
 
 27o 
 
 apparent or real inconsistencies between 
 them. These inconsistencies are studi- 
 ously displayed by an adverse pleader, but 
 oftentimes with little impression upon the 
 minds of the judges. On the contrary, a 
 close and minute agreement induces the 
 suspicion of confederacy and fraud. When 
 written histories touch upon the same 
 scenes of action, the comparison almost 
 always affords ground for a like reflection. 
 Numerous, and sometimes important, va- 
 riations present themselves ; not seldom 
 also, absolute and final contradictions ; yet 
 neither one nor the other are deemed suf- 
 ficient to shake the credibility of the main 
 fact. The embassy of the Jews to deprecate 
 the execution of Claudian's order to place 
 his statue in their temple, Philo places in 
 harvest, Josephus in seed-time ; both con- 
 temporary writers. No reader is led by this 
 inconsistency to doubt, whether such an 
 embassy was sent, or whether such an order 
 was given. Our own history supplies ex- 
 amples of the same kind. In the account of 
 the Marquis of Argyle\s death, in the reiga 
 of Charles the Second, we have a very- 
 remarkable contradiction. Lord Claren-
 
 276 
 
 don relates that he was condemned to be 
 hanged, which was performed the same 
 day; on the contrary, Burnet, Woodrow, 
 Heath, Echard, concur in statins: that he 
 was beheaded; and that he was condemned 
 upon the Saturday, and executed upon 
 the Monday*. Was any reader of Eng- 
 ' lish history ever sceptic enough to raise 
 from hence a question, whether the Mar- 
 quis of Argyle was executed, or not? Yet 
 this ought to be left in uncertainty, ac- 
 cording to the principles upon which the 
 Christian history has sometimes been at- 
 tacked. Dr. Middleton contended, that 
 the different hours of the day assigned to 
 the crucifixion of Christ, by John and by 
 the other evangelists, did not admit of the 
 reconcilement which learned men had pro- 
 posed: and then concludes the discussion 
 with this hard remark : " We must be 
 forced, with several of the critics, to leave 
 the difficulty just as we found it, charge- 
 able with all the consequences of manifest 
 inconsistency {." But what are these con- 
 
 * Sec Biog. Britann. 
 
 f Middleton' s Reflections answered by Benson, Hist. 
 Christ, vol. iij. p. 50.
 
 277 
 
 sequences? By no means the- discrediting 
 of the history as to the principal fact, by a 
 repugnancy (even supposing that repug- 
 nancy not to be resolvable into different 
 modes of computation) in the time of 
 the day in which it is said to have taken 
 place. 
 
 A great deal of the discrepancy, observ- 
 able in the Gospels, arises from omission ; 
 from a fact or a passage of Christ's life be- 
 ing noticed by one writer, which is unno- 
 ticed by another. Now, omission is at 
 all times a very uncertain ground of 
 objection. We perceive it, not only in the 
 comparison of different writers, but even 
 in the same writer, when compared with 
 himself. There are a great many particu- 
 lars, and some of them of importance, men- 
 tioned by Josephus in his Antiquities, 
 which, as we should have supposed, ought 
 to have been put down by him in their 
 place in the Jewish Wars*. Suetonius, 
 Tacitus, Dio Cassius, have, all three, writ- 
 en of the reign of Tiberius. Each has 
 
 * T^ardncr, part i. vol. ii. p. 73-5,- et sen.
 
 278 
 
 nentioned many things omitted by the 
 rest*, yet no objection is from thence 
 taken to the respective credit of their his- 
 tories. We have in our own times, if 
 there were not something indecorous in 
 the comparison, the life of an eminent 
 person, written by three of his friends, in 
 which there is very great variety in the 
 incidents selected by them ; some appa- 
 rent, and perhaps some real contradictions ; 
 yet without any impeachment of the 
 substantial truth of their accounts, of the 
 authenticity of the books, of the compe- 
 tent information or general fidelity of the 
 writers. 
 
 But these discrepancies will be still more 
 numerous, when men do not write histories 
 but memoirs; which is perhaps the true name 
 and proper description of our Gospels : that 
 is, when they do not undertake, or ever 
 meant to deliver, in order of time, a regular 
 and complete account of all the things of 
 importance, which the person, who is the 
 subject of their history, did or said ; but 
 only, out of many similar ones, to give such 
 
 * Lardner, ib. p. 743.
 
 279 
 
 passages, or such actions and discourses, as 
 offered themselves more immediately to 
 their attention, came in the way of their 
 inquiries, occurred to their recollection, or 
 were suggested by their particular design at 
 the time of writing. 
 
 This particular design may appear some- 
 times, but not always, nor often. Thus I 
 think that the particular design which Saint 
 Matthew had in view whilst he was writ- 
 ing the history of the resurrection, was to 
 attest the faithful performance of Christ's 
 promise to his disciples to go before them 
 into Galilee ; because he alone, except 
 Mark, who seems to have taken it from 
 him, has recorded this promise, and he 
 alone has confined his narrative to that 
 single appearance to the disciples which 
 fulfilled it. It was the preconcerted, the 
 great and most public manifestation of our 
 Lord's person. It was the thing which 
 dwelt upon Saint Matthew's mind, and he 
 adapted his narrative to it. But, that there 
 is nothing in Saint Matthew's language, 
 which negatives other appearances, or which 
 imports that this his appearance to his clis-
 
 280 
 
 cjples in Galilee, in pursuance of his 
 promise, was his first or only appearance, is 
 made pretty evident by Saint Mark's Gos- 
 pel, which uses the same terms concerning 
 the appearance in Galilee as Saint Mat- 
 thew uses, yet itself records two other ap- 
 pearances prior to this : " Go your way, 
 tell his disciples end Peter, that he goeth 
 before you into Galilee, then shall ye see 
 him as he said unto you/' (xvi. 7-)- W e 
 might be apt to infer from these words, that 
 this was the first time they were to see 
 him : at least, we might infer it, with as 
 much reason as we draw the inference from 
 the same words in Matthew : yet the his- 
 torian himself did not perceive that he was 
 leading his readers to any such conclu- 
 sion ; for, in the twelfth and two following 
 verses of this chapter, he informs us of 
 two appearances, which, by comparing the 
 order of events, are shown to have been 
 prior to the appearance in Galilee. " He 
 appeared in another form unto two of them, 
 as they walked, and went into the country : 
 and they went and told it unto the residue, 
 neither believed they them : afterwards he 
 appeared unto the eleven, as they sat at
 
 281 
 
 meat, and upbraided them with their un- 
 belief, because they believed not them that 
 had seen him after he was risen/' 
 
 Probably the same observation, concern- 
 ing the particular design which guided the 
 historian, may be of use in comparing many 
 other passages of the Gospels.
 
 282 
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 
 Erroneous opinions imputed to the apostles. 
 
 A stecies of candour which is shown to- 
 wards every other book, is sometimes re- 
 fused to the Scriptures ; and that is, the 
 placing of a distinction between judge- 
 ment and testimony. We do not usually 
 question the credit of a writer, by reason 
 of an opinion he may have delivered 
 upon subjects unconnected with his 
 evidence: and even upon subjects con- 
 nected with his account, or mixed with it 
 in the same discourse or writing, we na- 
 turally separate facts from opinions, testi- 
 mony from observation, narrative from ar^ 
 gument. 
 
 o 
 
 To apply this equitable consideration to 
 the Christian records, much controversy 
 and much objection has been raised con- 
 cerning the quotations of the Old Testa-
 
 283 
 
 ment found in the New ; some of which 
 quotations, it is said, are applied in a 
 sense, and to events, apparently different 
 from that which they bear, and from those 
 to which they belong in the original. It 
 is probable to my apprehension, that many 
 of those quotations were intended by the 
 writers of the New Testament as nothing 
 more than accommodations. They quoted 
 passages of their Scripture, which suited, 
 and fell in with, the occasion before them, 
 without always undertaking to assert, that 
 the occasion was in the view of the author 
 of the words. Such accommodations of 
 passages from old authors, from books 
 especially which are in every one's hands, 
 are common with writers of all countries ; 
 but in none, perhaps, were more to be ex- 
 pected, than in the writings of the Jews, 
 whose literature was almost entirely con- 
 fined to their Scriptures. Those prophecies 
 which are alleged with more solemnity, 
 and which are accompanied with a precise 
 declaration, that they originally respected 
 the event then related, are, I think, truly al- 
 leged. Butwere it otherwise; is the judge- 
 ment of the writers of the New Testament,
 
 284 
 
 in interpreting passages of the Old, or 
 sometimes, perhaps, in receiving establish- 
 ed interpretations, so connected either 
 with their veracity, or with their means of 
 information concerning what was pass- 
 ing in their own times, as that a critical 
 mistake, even were it clearly made out, 
 should overthrow their historical credit? - 
 Does it diminish it? Has it any thing to 
 do with it ? 
 
 Another error imputed to the first Chris- 
 tians, was the expected approach of the 
 day of judgement? I would introduce this 
 objection by a remark upon what appears 
 to me a somewhat similar example. Our 
 Saviour, speaking to Peter of John, said, 
 " If I will that he tarry till I come, what is 
 that to thee* t" These words, we find, had 
 been so misconstrued, as that a report 
 from thence " went abroad among the 
 brethren, that that disciple should not die." 
 Suppose that this had come down to us 
 amongst the prevailing opinions of the early 
 Christians, and that the particular circum- 
 stance, from which the mistake sprang, had 
 
 * John, xxi. Q2.
 
 285 
 
 been lost (which, humanly speaking, was 
 most likely to have been the case), some, 
 at this day, would have been ready tore- 
 gard and o x uote the error, as an impeach- 
 ment of the whole Christian system. Yet 
 with how little justice such a conclusion 
 would have been drawn, or rather such a 
 presumption taken up, the information 
 which we happen to possess enables us now 
 to perceive. To those who think that the 
 Scriptures lead us to believe, that the early 
 Christians, and even the apostles, expected 
 the approach of the day of judgement in 
 their own times, the same reflection will 
 occur, as that which we have made with re- 
 spect to the more partial, perhaps, and tem- 
 porary, but still no less ancient, error con- 
 cerning the duration of Saint John's life. 
 It was an error, it may be likewise said, 
 which would effectually hinder those who 
 entertained it from acting the part of im- 
 postors. 
 
 The difficulty which attends the subject 
 of the present chapter, is contained in this 
 question ; If we once admit the fallibility 
 of the apostolic judgement, where are we
 
 286 
 
 to stop, or in what can we rely upon it? 
 To which question, as arguing with unbe- 
 lievers, and as arguing for the substantial 
 truth of the Christian history, and for that 
 alone, it is competent to the advocate of 
 Christianity to reply, Give me the apostle's 
 testimony, and I do not stand in need of 
 their judgement; give me the facts, and I 
 have complete security for every conclu- 
 sion I want. 
 
 But, although I think that it is compe- 
 tent to the Christian apologist to return 
 this answer; I do not think that it is the 
 only answer which the objection is capable 
 of receiving. The two following cautions, 
 founded, I apprehend, in the most reason- 
 able distinctions, will exclude all uncer- 
 tainty upon this head which can be at- 
 tended with danger. 
 
 First, to separate what was the object of 
 the apostolic mission, and declared by them 
 to be so, from what was extraneous to it, or 
 only incidentally connected with it. Of 
 points clearly extraneous to the religion, 
 nothing need be said. Of points incident-
 
 287 
 
 ally connected with it, something may be 
 added. Demoniacal possession is one of 
 these points: concerning the reality of 
 which, as this place will not admit the ex- 
 amination, or even the production of the 
 argument on either side of the question, it 
 would be arrogance in me to deliver any 
 judgement. And it is unnecessary. For 
 what I am concerned to observe is, that 
 even they who think that it was a general, 
 but erroneous, opinion of those times ; and 
 that the writers of the New Testament, in 
 common with other Jewish writers of that 
 age, fell into the manner of speaking and 
 of thinking upon the subject, which then 
 universally prevailed, need not be alarmed 
 by the concession, as though they had any 
 thing to fear from it, for the truth of Chris- 
 tianity. The doctrine was not what Christ 
 brought into the world. It appears in the 
 Christian records, incidentally and accident- 
 ally, as being the subsisting opinion of the 
 age and country in which his ministry was 
 exercised. It was no part of the object of 
 his revelation, to regulate men's opinions 
 concerning the action of spiritual substances 
 upon animal bodies. At anv rate it is
 
 288 
 
 unconnected with testimony. If a dumb 
 person was by a word restored to the use 
 of his speech, it signities little to what 
 cause the dumbness was ascribed; and the 
 like of every other cure wrought upon those 
 who are said to have been possessed. The 
 malady was real, the cure was real, whe- 
 ther the popular explication of the cause 
 was well founded, or not. The matter of 
 fact, the change, so far as it was an object 
 of sense, or of testimony, was in either case 
 the same. 
 
 Secondly, that, in reading the apostolic 
 writings, we distinguish between their doc- 
 trines and their arguments. Their doc- 
 trines came to them by revelation property 
 so called ; yet in propounding these doc- 
 trines in their writings or discourses, they 
 were wont to illustrate, support, and enforce 
 them, by such analogies, arguments, and 
 considerations as their own thoughts sug- 
 gested. Thus the call of the Gentiles, that 
 is, the admission of the Gentiles to* the 
 Christian profession without a previous sub- 
 jection to the law of Moses, was imparted 
 to the apostles by revelation, and was
 
 289 
 
 attested by the miracles which attended 
 the Christian ministry among them. The 
 apostles' own assurance of the matter re s ted 
 upon this foundation. Nevertheless, Saint 
 Paul, when treating of the subject, offers 
 a great variety of topics in its proof and 
 vindication. The doctrine itself must be re- 
 ceived : but it is not necessary, in order to 
 defend Christianity, to defend the propriety 
 of every comparison, or the validity of 
 every argument, which the apostle has 
 brought into the discussion. The same ob- 
 servation applies to some other instances ; 
 and is, in my opinion, very well founded; 
 " When divine writers argue upon any 
 point, we are always bound to believe the 
 conclusions that their reasonings end in, as 
 parts of divine revelation: but we are not 
 bound to be able to make out, or even to 
 assent to, all the premises made use of by 
 them, in their whole extent, unless it appear 
 plainly, that they affirm the premises as 
 expressly as they do the conclusions proved 
 by them*/' 
 
 * Burnet's Expos, art. 6. 
 VOL. II. U
 
 290 
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 
 The connexion of Christianity xvith the Jewish 
 history. 
 
 Undoubtedly our Saviour assumes the 
 divine origin of the Mosaic institution : and, 
 independently of* his authority, I conceive 
 it to be very difficult to assign any other 
 cause for the commencement or existence 
 of that institution; especially for the sin- 
 gular circumstance of the Jews' adherin 
 
 & 
 
 g 
 
 to the unity, when every other people slid 
 
 into polytheism ; for their being men in re- 
 ligion, children in every thing else ; behind 
 other nations in the arts of peace and war, 
 superior to the most improved in their sen- 
 timents and doctrines relating to the Deity*. 
 
 * " In the doctrine, for example, of the unity, the eter- 
 nity, the omnipotence, the omniscience, the omnipresence, 
 the wisdom, and the goodness, of God ; in their opinions 
 concerning Providence, and the creation, preservation, and 
 government, of the world.'" Campbell on Mir. p. 207. To 
 which we may add,, in the acts of their religion not being
 
 291 
 
 Undoubtedly, also, our Saviour recognises 
 the prophetic character of many of their 
 ancient writers. So far, therefore, we are 
 bound as Christians to go. But to make 
 Christianity answerable with its life, for the 
 circumstantial truth of each separate pas- 
 sage of the Old Testament, the genuine- 
 ness of every book, the information, fide- 
 lity, and judgement, of every writer in it, is 
 to bring, I will not say great, but unne- 
 cessary difficulties, into the whole system. 
 These books were universally read and re- 
 ceived by the Jews of our Saviour's time. 
 He and his apostles, in common with all 
 other Jews, referred to them, alluded to 
 
 accompanied either with cruelties or impurities: in the reli- 
 gion itself being free from a species of superstition which 
 prevailed universally in the popular religions of the ancient 
 world, and which is to be found perhaps in all religions that 
 have their origin in human artifice and credulity, viz. 
 fanciful connexions between certain appearances and ac- 
 tions, and the destiny of nations or individuals. Upon these 
 conceits rested the whole train of auguries and auspices, 
 which formed so much even of the serious part of the reli- 
 gions of Greece and Rome, and of the charms and incanta- 
 tions which were practised in those countries by the com- 
 mon people. From every thing of this sort the religion of 
 the Jews, and of the Jews alone, was free. Vide Priestley's 
 Lectures on the Truth of the Jewish and Christian Revela- 
 tion; 1794-. 
 
 u 2
 
 292 
 
 them, used them. Yet, except where he 
 expressly ascribes a divine authority to par- 
 ticular predictions, I do not know that we 
 can strictly draw any conclusion from the 
 books being so used and applied, beside 
 the proof, which it unquestionably is, of 
 their notoriety and reception at that time. 
 In this view, our Scriptures afford a valuable 
 testimony to those of the Jews. But the 
 nature of this testimony ought to be under- 
 stood. It is surely very different from, what 
 it is sometimes represented to be, a specific 
 ratification of each particular fact and opi- 
 nion; and not only of each particular fact, 
 but of the motives assigned for every action, 
 together with the judgement of praise or dis- 
 praise bestowed upon them. Saint James, 
 in his Epistle*, says, " Ye have heard of 
 the patience of Job, and have seen the end 
 of the Lord." Notwithstanding this text, 
 the reality of Job's history, and even the 
 existence of such a person, has been al- 
 ways deemed a fair subject of inquiry and 
 discussion amongst Christian divines. Saint 
 James's authority is considered as good evi- 
 
 * Chap. y. 1 1.
 
 293 
 
 dence of the existence of the book of Job 
 at that time, and of its reception by the 
 Jews; and of nothing more. Saint Paul, 
 in his Second Epistle to Timothy*, has this 
 similitude : " Now, as Jannes and Jambres 
 withstood Moses, so do these also resist 
 the truth/' These names are not found in 
 the Old Testament. And it is uncertain, 
 whether Saint Paul took them from some 
 apocryphal writing then extant, or from 
 tradition. But no one ever imagined, that 
 Saint Paul is here asserting the authority 
 of the writing, if it was a written account 
 which he quoted, or making himself an- 
 swerable for the authenticity of the tradi- 
 tion ; much less, that he so involves him- 
 self with either of these questions as that 
 the credit of his own history and mission 
 should depend upon the fact, whether 
 Jannes and Jambres withstood Moses, or 
 not. For what reason a more rigorous 
 interpretation should be put upon other 
 references, it is difficult to know. I do 
 not mean, that other passages of the Jewish 
 history stand upon no better evidence than 
 
 * Chap. iii. 8.
 
 294 
 
 the history of Job, or of Jannes and Jam- 
 bres, (I think much otherwise); but I 
 mean, that a reference in the New Testa- 
 ment, to a passage in the Old, does not so 
 fix its authority, as to exclude all inquiry 
 into its credibility, or into the separate 
 reasons upon which that credibility is 
 founded ; and that it is an unwarrantable, 
 as well as unsafe rule to lay down concern- 
 ing the Jewish history, what was never 
 laid down concerning any other, that either 
 every particular of it must be true, or the 
 whole false. 
 
 I have thought it necessary to state this 
 point explicitly, because a fashion, revived 
 by Voltaire, and pursued by the disciples 
 of his school, seems to have much prevailed 
 of late, of attacking Christianity through 
 the sides of Judaism. Some objections of 
 this class are founded in misconstruction, 
 some in exaggeration; but all proceed upon 
 a supposition, which has not been made 
 out by argument, viz. that the attestation, 
 which the Author and first teachers of 
 Christianity gave to the divine mission of 
 Moses and the prophets, extends to every
 
 295 
 
 point and portion of the Jewish history; 
 and so extends as to make Christianity re- 
 sponsible in its own credibility, for the 
 circumstantial truth (I had almost said for 
 the critical exactness) of every narrative 
 contained in the Old Testament.
 
 2.96 
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 
 Rejection of Christianity. 
 
 We acknowledge that the Christian reli- 
 gion, although it converted great numbers, 
 did not produce an universal, or even a 
 general conviction in the minds of men, 
 of the age and countries in which it ap- 
 peared. And this want of a more complete 
 and extensive success, is called the rejection 
 of the Christian history and miracles : and 
 has been thought by some to form a strong 
 objection to the reality of the facts which 
 the history contains. 
 
 The matter of the objection divides it- 
 self into two parts ; as it relates to the Jews, 
 and as it relates to Heathen nations: be- 
 cause the minds of these two descriptions 
 of men may have been, with respect to 
 Christianity, under the influence of very 
 different causes. The case of the Jews, in-
 
 297 
 
 asmuch as our Saviour's ministry was ori- 
 ginally addressed to them, offers itself first 
 to our consideration. 
 
 Now, upon the subject of the truth of 
 the Christian religion ; with us, there is but 
 one question, viz. whether the miracles were 
 actually wrought? From acknowledging 
 the miracles, we pass instantaneously to the 
 acknowledgement of the whole. No doubt 
 lies between the premises and the conclu- 
 sion. If we believe the works or any one 
 of them, we believe in Jesus. And this 
 order of reasoning is become so universal 
 and familiar, that we do not readily appre- 
 hend how it could ever have been other- 
 wise. Yet it appears to me perfectly cer- 
 tain, that the state of thought, in the mind 
 of a Jew of our Saviour's age, was totally 
 different from this. After allowing the re- 
 ality of the miracle, he had a great deal to 
 do to persuade himself that Jesus was the 
 Messiah. This is clearly intimated by va- 
 rious passages of the Gospel history. It 
 appears, that, in the apprehension of the 
 writers of the New Testament, the miracles 
 did not irresistibly carry, even those who
 
 298 
 
 saw them, to the conclusion intended to be 
 drawn from them ; or so compel assent, as 
 to leave no room for suspense, for the exer- 
 cise of candour, or the effects of prejudice. 
 And to this point, at least, the evangelists 
 may be allowed to be good witnesses; be- 
 cause it is a point, in which exaggeration or 
 disguise would have been the other way. 
 Their accounts, if they could be suspected 
 of falsehood, would rather have magni- 
 fied, than diminished, the effects of the 
 miracles. 
 
 John, vii. 21 31. " Jesus answered, 
 and said unto them, I have done one work, 
 and ye all marvel. If a man on the Sab- 
 bath-day receive circumcision, that the law 
 of Moses should not be broken; are ye 
 angry at me, because I have made a man 
 every whit whole on the Sabbath-day? 
 Judge not according to the appearance, 
 but judge righteous judgement. Then said 
 some of them of Jerusalem, Is not this 
 he whom they seek to kill? But, lo, he 
 speaketh boldly, and they say nothing to 
 him : do the rulers know indeed that this 
 is the very Christ ? Howbeit we know this
 
 299 
 
 man, whence he is : hut when Christ cometh, 
 no man knoweth whence he is. Then cried 
 Jesus in the temple as he taught, saying, 
 Ye both know me, and ye know whence I 
 am : and I am not come of myself, but he 
 that sent me is true, whom ye know not. 
 But I know him, for I am from him, and 
 he hath sent me. Then they sought to 
 take him: but no man laid hands on'him, 
 because his hour was not yet come. And 
 many of the people believed on him, and said, 
 WhenChrist cometh, will he do moremiracles 
 than those which this man hath done ?" 
 
 This passage is very observable. It exhi- 
 bits the reasoning of different sorts of per- 
 sons upon the occasion of a miracle, which 
 persons of all sorts are represented to have 
 acknowledged as real. One sort of men 
 thought, that there was something very ex- 
 traordinary in all this ; but that still Jesus 
 could not be the Christ, because there was 
 a circumstance in his appearance which 
 militated with an opinion concerning Christ, 
 in which they had been brought up, and of 
 the truth of which, it is probable, they had 
 never entertained a particle of doubt, viz.
 
 soo 
 
 that " when Christ cometh, nomanknow- 
 eth whence he is." Another sort were in- 
 clined to believe him to be the Messiah. 
 But even these did not argue as we should; 
 did not consider the miracle as of itself 
 decisive of the question ; as what, if once 
 allowed, excluded all further debate upon 
 the subject; but founded their opinion upon 
 a kind of comparative reasoning, " When 
 Christ cometh, will he do more miracles 
 than those which this man hath done?" 
 
 Another passage in the same evangelist, 
 and observable for the same purpose, is 
 that in which he relates the resurrection of 
 Lazarus : " Jesus," he tells us (xi. 43, 44.) ? 
 " when he had thus spoken, cried with a 
 loud voice, Lazarus, come forth: and he 
 that was dead, came forth, bound hand and 
 foot with grave-clothes, and his face was 
 bound about with a napkin. Jesus saith 
 unto them, Loose him, and let him go." 
 One might have suspected, that at least all 
 those who stood by the sepulchre, when 
 Lazarus was raised, would have believed in 
 Jesus. Yet the evangelist does not so re- 
 present it: " Then many of* the Jews
 
 301 
 
 which came to Mary, and had seen the 
 things which Jesus did, believed on him ; 
 but some of them went their ways to the 
 Pharisees, and told them what things Jesus 
 had done/' We cannot suppose that the 
 evangelist meant by this account, to leave 
 his readers to imagine, that any of the 
 spectators doubted about the truth of the 
 miracle. Far from it. Unquestionably, 
 he states the miracle to have been fully 
 allowed: yet the persons who allowed it, 
 were, according to his representation, ca-f 
 pable of retaining hostile sentiments to- 
 wards Jesus. " Believing in Jesus" was 
 not only to believe that he wrought mi- 
 racles, but that he was the Messiah. With 
 us, there is no difference between these two 
 things: with them, there was the greatest; 
 and the difference is apparent in this trans- 
 action. If Saint John has represented the 
 conduct of the Jews upon this occasion 
 truly (and why he should not I cannot tell, 
 for it rather makes against him than for 
 him), it shows clearly the principles upon 
 which their judgement proceeded. Whe- 
 ther he has related the matter truly or^aot, 
 the relation itself discovers the writer's own
 
 302 
 
 opinion of those principles ; and that alone 
 possesses considerable authority. In the 
 next chapter, we have a reflection of the 
 evangelist, entirely suited to this state of the 
 case: " but though he had done so many 
 miracles before them, yet believed they not 
 on him*." The evangelist does not mean 
 to impute the defect of their belief to any 
 doubt about the miracles; but to their not 
 perceiving, what all now sufficiently per- 
 ceive, and what they would have perceived, 
 had not' their understandings been governed 
 by strong prejudices, the infallible attesta- 
 tion which the works of Jesus bore to the 
 truth of his pretensions. 
 
 The ninth chapter of Saint John's Gospel 
 contains a very circumstantial account of 
 the cure of a blind man ; a miracle sub- 
 milted to all the scrutiny and examination 
 which a sceptic could propose. If a mo- 
 dern unbeliever had drawn up the interro- 
 gatories, they could hardly have been more 
 critical or Searching. The account contains 
 also a very curious conference between the 
 Jewish rulers and the patient, in which 
 
 * Chap. xii. .'i*.
 
 305 
 
 the point for our preserft notice is their re- 
 sistance of the force of the miracle, and of 
 the conclusion to which it led, after they 
 had failed in discrediting its evidence. 
 *' We know that God spake unto Moses : 
 but as for this fellow, we know not whence 
 he is." That was^ the answer which' set 
 their minds at rest. And by the help of 
 much prejudice, and great unwillingness to 
 yield, it might do so. In the mind of the 
 poor man restored to sight, which was un- 
 der no such bias, and felt no such reluct- 
 ance, the miracle had its natural operation. 
 " Herein,"" says he, " is a marvellous thing, 
 that ye know not from whence he is, yet 
 he hath opened mine eyes. Now we know, 
 that God heareth not sinners : but if any 
 man be a worshipper of God, and doeth 
 his will, him he heareth. Since the world 
 began, was it not heard, that any man 
 opened the eyes of one that was born 
 blind. If this man were not of God, he 
 could do nothing." We do not find, that 
 the Jewish rulers had any other reply to 
 make to this defence, than that which au- 
 thority is sometimes apt to make to argu- 
 ment, " Dost thou teach us?"
 
 304 
 
 If it shall be inquired, how a turn of 
 thought, so different from what prevails at 
 present, should obtain currency with the 
 ancient Jews; the answer is found in two 
 opinions which are proved to have sub- 
 sisted in that age and country. The one 
 was, their expectation of a Messiah of a 
 kind totally contrary to what the appear- 
 ance of Jesus bespoke him to be; the 
 other, their persuasion of the agency of 
 demons in the production of supernatural 
 effects. These opinions are not supposed by 
 us for the purpose of argument, but are 
 evidently recognised in the Jewish writings, 
 as well as in ours. And it ought moreover 
 to be considered, that in these opinions 
 the Jews of that age had been from their 
 infancy I) rough t up; that they were opi- 
 nions, the grounds of which they had 
 probably few of them inquired into, and 
 of the truth of which they entertained no 
 doubt. And I think that these two opi- 
 nions conjointly afford an explanation of 
 their conduct. The first put them upon 
 seeking out some excuse to themselves for 
 not receiving Jesus in the character in 
 which he claimed to be received; and th
 
 305 
 
 v 
 second supplied them with just such an ex- 
 cuse as they wanted. Let Jesus work what 
 miracles he would, still the answer was in 
 readiness, " that he wrought them by the 
 assistance of Beelzebub/' And to this 
 answer no reply could be made, but that 
 which our Saviour did make, by showing 
 that the tendency of his mission was so 
 adverse to the views with which this being 
 was, by the objectors themselves, supposed 
 to act, that it could not reasonably be sup- 
 posed that he would assist in carrying it on. 
 The power displayed in the miracles did 
 not alone refute the Jewish solution, be- 
 cause the interposition of invisible agents 
 being once admitted, it is impossible to 
 ascertain the limits by which their efficiency 
 is circumscribed. We of this day may be 
 disposed, possibly to think such opinions 
 too absurd to have been ever seriously enter- 
 tained. I am not bound to contend for the 
 credibility of the opinions. They were at 
 least as reasonable as the belief in witch- 
 craft. They were opinions in which the 
 Jews of that age had from their infancy 
 been instructed ; and those who cannot 
 see enough in the force of this reason, to 
 
 VOL. It. X
 
 <5 
 
 06 
 
 account for their conduct towards our Sa- 
 viour, do not sufficiently consider how such 
 opinions may sometimes become very ge- 
 neral in a country, and with what perti- 
 nacity, when once become so, they are, 
 for that reason alone, adhered to. In the 
 suspense which these notions, and the pre- 
 judices resulting from them, might occa- 
 sion, the candid and docile and humble- 
 minded would probably decide in Christ's 
 favour; the proud and obstinate, together 
 with the giddy and the thoughtless, almost 
 universally against him. 
 
 This state of opinion discovers to us also 
 the reason of what some choose to wonder 
 at, why the Jews should reject miracles 
 when they saw them, yet rely so much 
 upon the tradition of them in their own 
 history. It does not appear, that it had 
 ever entered into the minds of those who 
 lived in the time of Moses and the pro- 
 phets, to ascribe their miracles to the su- 
 pernatural agency of evil beings. The 
 solution was not then invented. The 
 authority of Moses and the prophets be* 
 ing established, and become the founda-
 
 307 
 
 tion of the national polity and religion, it 
 was not probable that the later Jews, 
 brought up in a reverence for that religion, 
 and the subjects of that polity, should 
 apply to their history a reasoning which 
 tended to overthrow the foundation of 
 both. 
 
 II. The infidelity of the Gentile world, 
 and that more especially of men of rank 
 and learning in it, is resolvable into a 
 principle which, in my judgement, will ac- 
 count for the inefficacy of any argument 
 or any evidence whatever, viz. contempt 
 prior to examination. The state of reli- 
 gion amongst the Greeks and Romans, 
 had a natural tendency to induce this dis- 
 position. Dionysius Halicarnassensis re- 
 marks, that there were six hundred differ- 
 ent kinds of religions or sacred rites ex- 
 ercised at Rome*. The superior classes 
 of the community treated them all as 
 fables. Can we wonder then, that Christir 
 anity was included in the number, with- 
 out inquiry into its separate merits, or the 
 
 * Jortin's Remarks on Eccl. Hist. vol. i. p. 371, 
 
 X 2
 
 308 
 
 particular grounds of its pretensions ? It 
 might be either true or false for any thing 
 they knew about it. The religion had no- 
 thing; in its character which immediately 
 engaged their notice. It mixed with no 
 politics. It produced no fine writers. It 
 contained no curious speculations. When 
 it did reach their knowledge, I doubt not 
 but that it appeared to them a very 
 strange system, sounphilosophical, deal- 
 ing so little in argument and discussion, 
 in such arguments however and discussions 
 as they were accustomed to entertain. 
 What is said of Jesus Christ, of his nature, 
 office, and ministry, would be, in the 
 highest degree, alien from the concep- 
 tions of their theology. The Redeemer 
 and the destined Judge of the human 
 race, a poor young man, executed at Jeru- 
 salem with two thieves upon a cross ! Still 
 more would the language in which the 
 Christian doctrine was delivered, be disso- 
 nant and barbarous to their ears. What 
 knew they of grace, of redemption, of jus- 
 tification, of the blood of Christ shed for 
 the sins of men, of reconcilement, of me- 
 diation? Christianity was made up of
 
 309 
 
 points they had never thought of; of terms 
 which they had never heard. 
 
 It was presented also to the imagination 
 of the learned Heathen under additional 
 disadvantage, by reason of its real, and 
 still more of its nominal, connexion with 
 Judaism. It shared in the obloquy and 
 ridicule, with which that people and their 
 religion were treated by the Greeks and 
 Romans. They regarded Jehovah himself 
 only as the idol of the Jewish nation, and 
 what was related of him, as of a piece with 
 what was told of the tutelar deities of other 
 countries: nay, the Jews were in a particular 
 manner ridiculed for bein^a credulous race; 
 so that whatever reports of a miraculous na- 
 ture came out of that country, were looked 
 upon by the Heathen world as false and 
 frivolous. When they heard of Christianity, 
 they heard of it as a quarrel amongst this 
 people, about some articles of their own 
 superstition. Despising, therefore, as they 
 did, the whole system, it was not probable 
 that they would enter, with any degree of 
 seriousness or attention, into the detail of 
 its disputes, or the merits of either side.
 
 310 
 
 How little they knew, and with what care- 
 lessness they judged, of these matters, ap- 
 pears, I think, pretty plainly from an ex- 
 ample of no less weight than that of Ta- 
 citus, who, in a grave and professed dis- 
 course upon the history of the Jews, states, 
 that they worshipped the effigy of an ass*. 
 The passage is a proof, how prone the 
 learned men of those times were, and upon 
 how little evidence, to heap together stories 
 which might increase the contempt and 
 odium in which that people was holden. 
 The same foolish charge is also confidently 
 repeated by Plutarchf*. 
 
 It is observable, that all these consider- 
 ations are of a nature to operate with the 
 greatest force upon the highest ranks ; upon 
 men of education, and that order of the 
 public from which writers are principally 
 taken : I may add also, upon the philoso- 
 phical as well as the libertine character ; 
 upon the Antonines or Julian, not less 
 than upon Nero or Domitian ; and more 
 particularly, upon that large and polished 
 
 * Tacit. Hist. lib. v. c. 2. + Sympos. lib. iv. quaest. 5.
 
 311 
 
 class of men, who acquiesced in the ge- 
 neral persuasion, that all they had to do 
 was to practise the duties of morality, and 
 to worship the deity more patrio; a habit 
 of thinking, liberal as it may appear, which 
 shuts the door against every argument for 
 a new religion. The considerations above- 
 mentioned, would acquire also strength 
 from the prejudice which men of rank and 
 learning universally entertain against any 
 thing that originates with the vulgar and 
 illiterate; which prejudice is known to be 
 as obstinate as any prejudice whatever. 
 
 Yet Christianity was still making its way : 
 and, amidst so many impediments to its 
 progress, so much difficulty in procuring 
 audience and attention, its actual success 
 is more to be wondered at, than that it 
 should not have universally conquered 
 scorn and indifference, fixed the levity of 
 a voluptuous age, or, through a cloud of 
 adverse prejudications, opened for itself a 
 passage to the hearts and understandings 
 of the scholars of the ase. 
 
 And the cause which is here assigned for 
 
 o
 
 312 
 
 the rejection of Christianity by men of 
 rank and learning among the Heathens, 
 namely, a strong antecedent contempt, ac- 
 counts also for their silence concerning it. 
 If they had rejected it upon examination, 
 they would have written about it; they 
 would have given their reasons. Whereas 
 what men repudiate upon the strength of 
 some prefixed persuasion, or from a settled 
 contempt of the subject, of the persons 
 who propose it, or of the manner in which 
 it is proposed, they do not naturally write 
 books about, or notice much in what they 
 write upon other subjects. 
 
 The letters of the Younger Pliny furnish 
 an example of this silence, and let us, in 
 some measure, into the cause of it. From 
 his celebrated correspondence with Trajan, 
 we know that the Christian religion pre- 
 vailed in a very considerable degree in the 
 province over which he presided ; that it 
 had excited his attention ; that he had in- 
 quired into the matter, just so much as a 
 Roman magistrate might be expected to 
 inquire, viz. whether the religion contained 
 any opinions dangerous to government;
 
 313 
 
 but that of its doctrines, its evidences, or 
 its books, he had not taken the trouble to 
 inform himself with any degree of care 
 or correctness. But although Pliny had 
 viewed Christianity in a nearer position 
 than most of his learned countrymen saw 
 it in ; yet he had regarded the whole with 
 such negligence and disdain (farther than 
 as it seemed to concern his administra- 
 tion), that, in more than two hundred and 
 forty letters of his which have come down 
 to us, the subject is never once again 
 mentioned. If, out of this number, the 
 two letters between him and Trajan had 
 been lost; with what confidence would the 
 obscurity of the Christian religion have 
 been argued from Pliny's silence about it, 
 and with how little truth! 
 
 The name and character which Tacitus 
 has given to Christianity, " exitiabilis su- 
 perstitio" (a pernicious superstition), and 
 by which two words he disposes of the 
 whole question of the merits or demerits 
 of the religion, afford a strong proof how 
 little he knew, or concerned himself to 
 know, about the matter. I apprehend that
 
 314 
 
 I shall not be contradicted, when I take 
 upon me to assert, that no unbeliever of 
 the present age would apply this epithet 
 to the Christianity of the New Testament, 
 or not allow that it was entirely unmerited. 
 Read the instructions given, by a great 
 teacher of the religion, to those very 
 Roman converts, of whom Tacitus speaks ; 
 and given also a very few years before the 
 time of which he is speaking ; and which 
 are not, let it be observed, a collection of 
 fine sayings brought together from different 
 parts of a large work, but stand in one 
 entire passage of a public letter, without 
 the intermixture of a single thought which 
 is frivolous or exceptionable : "Abhor that 
 which is evil, cleave to that which is good. 
 Be kindly affectioned one to another, with 
 brotherly love; in honour preferring one 
 another : not slothful in business ; fervent 
 in spirit; serving the Lord: rejoicing in 
 hope; patient in tribulation; continuing 
 instant in prayer: distributing to the ne- 
 cessity of saints ; given to hospitality. 
 Bless them which persecute you ; bless, 
 and curse not. Rejoice with them that do 
 rejoice, and weep with them that weep.
 
 315 
 
 Be of the same mind one towards another. 
 Mind not high things, but condescend -to 
 men of low estate. Be not wise in your 
 own conceits. Recompense to no man 
 evil for evil. Provide things honest in 
 the sight of all men. If it be possible, 
 as much as lieth in you, live peaceably 
 with all men. Avenge not yourselves, but 
 rather give place unto wrath : for it is 
 written, Vengeance is mine; I will repay, 
 saith the Lord : therefore, if thine enemy 
 hunger, feed him; if he thirst, give him 
 drink : for, in so doing, thou shalt heap 
 coals of fire on his head. Be not over- 
 come of evil, but overcome evil with 
 good. 
 
 " Let every soul be subject unto the 
 higher powers. For there is no power but 
 of God : the powers that be, are ordained 
 of God. Whosoever therefore resisteth the 
 power, resisteth the ordinance of God : 
 and they that resist, shall receive to them- 
 selves damnation. For rulers are not a 
 terror to good works, but to the evil. Wilt 
 thou then not be afraid of the power ? Do 
 that which is good, and thou shalt have
 
 316 
 
 praise of the same : for he is the minister 
 of God to thee for good. But if thou do 
 that which is evil, be afraid ; for he beareth 
 not the sword in vain : for he is the mini- 
 ster of God, a revenger to execute wrath 
 upon him that doeth evil. Wherefore ye 
 must needs be subject, not only for wrath, 
 but also for conscience* sake. For, for this 
 cause pay ye tribute also: for they are 
 God's ministers, attending continually 
 upon this very thing. Render therefore 
 to all, their dues : tribute, to whom tri- 
 bute is due ; custom, to whom custom ; 
 fear, to whom fear; honour to whom 
 honour. 
 
 " Owe no man any thing, but to love 
 one another : for he that loveth another, 
 hath fulfilled the law. For this, Thou shalt 
 not commit adultery, Thou shalt not kill, 
 Thou shalt not steal, Thou shalt not bear 
 false witness, Thou shalt not covet ; and if 
 there be any other commandment, it is 
 briefly comprehended in this saying, Thou 
 shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. Love 
 worketh no ill to his neighbour; therefore 
 love is the fulfilling of the law.
 
 317 
 
 - " And that, knowing the time, that now 
 it is high time to awake out of sleep : for 
 now is our salvation nearer than when we 
 believed. The night is far spent, the day 
 is at hand ; let us therefore cast off the 
 works of darkness, and let us put on the 
 armour of light. Let us walk honestly as 
 in the day ; not in rioting and drunkenness, 
 not in chambering and wantonness, not in 
 strife and envying*." 
 
 Read this, and then think of " exitiabilis 
 superstitio ! !" Or if we be not allowed, in 
 contending with Heathen authorities, to 
 produce our books against theirs, we may 
 at least be permitted to confront theirs 
 with one another. Of this " pernicious 
 superstition," what could Pliny find to 
 blame, when Tie was led, by his office, to 
 institute something like an examination 
 into the conduct and principles of the sect ? 
 He discovered nothing, but that they were 
 wont to meet together on a stated day 
 before it was light, and sing among them- 
 selves a hymn to Christ as a God, and to 
 
 * Romans, xii. 9 xiii. 13.
 
 318 
 
 bind themselves by an oath, not to the 
 commission of any wickedness, but, not to 
 be guilty of theft, robbery, or adultery; 
 never to falsify their word, nor to deny a 
 pledge committed to them, when called 
 upon to return it. 
 
 Upon the words of Tacitus we may build 
 the following observations : 
 
 First ; That we are well warranted in 
 calling the view under which the learned 
 men of that age beheld Christianity, an 
 obscure and distant view. Had Tacitus 
 known more of Christianity, of its pre- 
 cepts, duties, constitution, or design, how- 
 ever he had discredited the story, he would 
 have respected the principle. He would 
 have described the religion differently, 
 though he had rejected it. It has been 
 very satisfactorily shown, that the " su- 
 perstition" of the Christians consisted in 
 worshipping a person unknown to the 
 Roman calendar ; and that the " perni- 
 ciousness" with which they were reproached, 
 was nothing else but their opposition to 
 the established polytheism ; and this view
 
 319 
 
 of the matter was just such a one as might 
 be expected to occur to a mind, which 
 held the sect in too much contempt to con- 
 cern itself about the grounds and reasons 
 of their conduct. 
 
 Secondly ; We may from hence remark, 
 how little reliance can be placed upon the 
 most acute judgements, in subjects which 
 they are pleased to despise : and which, 
 of course* they from the first consider as 
 unworthy to be inquired into. Had not 
 Christianity survived to tell its own story, 
 it must have gone down to posterity as a 
 " pernicious superstition ;" and that upon 
 the credit of Tacitus's account, much, I 
 doubt not, strengthened by the name of 
 the writer, and the reputation of his sa- 
 gacity. 
 
 Thirdly; That this contempt prior to 
 examination, is an intellectual vice, from 
 which the greatest faculties of mind are not 
 free. I know not, indeed, whether men of 
 the greatest faculties of mind are not the 
 most subject to it. Such men feel them* 
 selves seated upon an eminence. Looking
 
 320 
 
 down from their height upon the follies of 
 mankind, they behold contending tenets 
 wasting their idle strength upon one an- 
 other, with the common disdain of the ab- 
 surdity of them all. This habit of thought, 
 however comfortable to the mind which 
 entertains it, or however natural to great 
 parts, is extremely dangerous ; and more 
 apt, than almost any other disposition, to 
 produce hasty and contemptuous, and, by 
 consequence, erroneous judgements, both 
 of persons and opinions. 
 
 Fourthly ; We need not be surprised at 
 many writers of that age not mentioning 
 Christianity at all ; when they who did 
 mention it, appear to have entirely miscon- 
 ceived its nature and character ; and, in 
 consequence of this misconception, ' to 
 have regarded it with negligence and con- 
 tempt. 
 
 To the knowledge of the greatest part of 
 the learned Heathens, the facts of the Chris- 
 tian history could only come by report. 
 The books, probably, they had never 
 looked into. The settled habit of their
 
 321 
 
 minds was, and long had been, an indiscri- 
 minate rejection of all reports of the kind. 
 With these sweeping conclusions, truth halh 
 no chance. It depends upon distinction. 
 If they would not inquire, how should they 
 be convinced? It might be founded in 
 truth, though they, who made no search, 
 might not discover it. 
 
 " Men of rank and fortune, of wit and 
 abilities, are often found, even in Christian 
 countries, to be surprisingly ignorant of re- 
 ligion, and of every thing that relates to 
 it. Such were many of the heathens. 
 Their thoughts were all fixed upon other 
 things; upon reputation and glory, upon 
 wealth and power, upon luxury and plea- 
 sure, upon business or learning. They 
 thought, and they had reason to think, 
 that the religion of their country was fable 
 and forgery, a heap of inconsistent lies; 
 which inclined them to suppose that other 
 religions were no better. Hence it came 
 to pass, that when the apostles preached 
 the Gospel, and wrought miracles in con- 
 firmation of a doctrine every way worthy 
 of God, many Gentiles knew little or 
 
 VOL. II. Y
 
 S22 
 
 nothing of it, and would not take the 
 least pains to inform themselves about 
 it. This appears plainly from ancient 
 history*." 
 
 I think it by no means unreasonable to 
 suppose, that the heathen public, espe- 
 cially that part which is made up of men of 
 rank and education, were divided into two 
 classes ; those who despised Christianity 
 beforehand, and those who received it. In 
 correspondency with which division of cha- 
 racter, the writers of that age would also 
 be of two classes ; those who were silent 
 about Christianity, 1 and those who were 
 Christians. " A good man, who attended 
 sufficiently to the Christian affairs, would 
 become a Christian; after which his tes- 
 timony ceased to be pagan, and became 
 Christian")*." 
 
 I must also add, that I think it suffi- 
 ciently proved, that 4he notion of magic was 
 resorted to by the heathen adversaries of 
 Christianity, in like manner as that of dia- 
 
 * Jortin's Disc, on the Christ, Kel. p. 66. ed. 4th. 
 f- Hartley, Obs. p. 11.9.
 
 323 
 
 bolical agency had before been by the 
 Jews. Justin Martyr alleges this as his 
 reason for arguing from prophecy, rather 
 than from miracles. Origen imputes this 
 evasion to Celsus ; Jerome to Porphyry ; 
 and Lactantius to the heathen in general. 
 The several passages, which contain these 
 testimonies, will be produced in the next 
 chapter. It being difficult however to 
 ascertain in what degree this notion prevail- 
 ed, especially amongst the superior ranks 
 of the heathen communities, another, 
 and I think an adequate, cause has been 
 assigned for their infidelity. It is probable 
 that in many cases the two causes would 
 operate together. 
 
 o
 
 524 
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 
 That the Christian miracles are not recited, or 
 appealed to, by early Christian writers them- 
 selves, so fully or frequent ly as might have 
 been expected. 
 
 I shall consider this objection, first, as 
 it applies to the letters of the apostles, 
 preserved in the New Testament ; and se- 
 condly, as it applies to the remaining writ- 
 ings of other early Christians. 
 
 The epistles of the apostles are either 
 hortatory or argumentative. So far as 
 they Mere occupied in delivering lessons 
 of duty, rules of public order, admoni- 
 tions against certain prevailing corruptions, 
 against vice, or any particular species of 
 it, or in fortifying and encouraging the 
 constancy of the disciples under the trials 
 to which they were exposed, there appears
 
 325 
 
 to be no place or occasion for more of these 
 references than we actually find, 
 
 So far as the epistles are argumentative 
 the nature of the argument which they 
 handle* accounts for the infrequency of 
 these allusions. These epistles were not 
 written to prove the truth of Christianity. 
 The subject under consideration was not 
 that which ifye miracles decided, the reality 
 of our Lord's mission; but it was that 
 which the miracles did not decide, the na- 
 ture of his person or power, the design of 
 -his advent, its effects, and of those effects 
 the value, kind, and extent. Still I main- 
 tain* that miraculous evidence lies at the 
 bottom of the argument. For nothing 
 could be so preposterous as for the disci-' 
 pies of Jesus to dispute amongst them- 
 selves, or with others, concerning his office 
 or character, unless they believed that 
 he had shown, by supernatural proofs, 
 that there was something extraordinary 
 in both. Miraculous evidence, therefore, 
 forming not the texture of these argu- 
 ments, but the ground and substratum, if 
 it be occasionally discerned, if it be inci-
 
 $2(5 
 
 dentally appealed to, it is exactly so much 
 as ought to take place, supposing the his- 
 tory to be true. 
 
 As a further answer to the objection, 
 that the apostolic epistles do not contain 
 fio frequent, or such direct and circum- 
 stantial recitals of miracles as might be 
 expected, I would add, that the apostolic 
 epistles resemble in this respect the apostolic 
 speeches, which speeches are given by a 
 writer who distinctly records numerous 
 miracles wrought by these apostles them- 
 selves, and by the Founder of the institu- 
 tion in their presence: that it is unwar- 
 rantable to contend, that the omission, or 
 infrequency, of such recitals in the speeches 
 of the apostles, negatives the existence of 
 the miracles, when the speeches are given 
 in immediate conjunction with the history 
 of those miracles: and that a conclu- 
 sion which cannot be inferred from the 
 speeches, without contradicting the whole 
 tenour of the book which contains them, 
 cannot be inferred from letters, which, 
 in this respect, are similar only to the 
 speeches.
 
 327 
 
 To prove the similitude which we allege, 
 it may be remarked, that although in Saint 
 Luke's Gospel the apostle Peter is repre- 
 sented to have been present at many de- 
 cisive miracles wrought by Christ ; and al- 
 though the second part of the same his- 
 tory ascribes other decisive miracles to 
 Peter himself, particularly the cure of the 
 lame man at the gate of the temple (Acts, 
 iii. 1.), the death of .Ananias and Sapphira 
 (Acts, v. 1.), the cure of iEneas (Acts, ix. 
 34.)? the resurrection of Dorcas (Acts, ix. 
 40.) ; yet out of six speeches of Peter, pre- 
 served in the Acts, I know but two in 
 which reference is made to the miracles 
 wrought by Christ, and only one in which 
 he refers to miraculous powers possessed 
 by himself. In his speech upon the day 
 of Pentecost, Peter addresses his audience 
 with great solemnity, thus : " Ye men of 
 Israel, hear these words: Jesus of Naza- 
 reth, a man approved of God among you, 
 by miracles, and wonders, and signs, which 
 God did by him in the midst of you, as 
 ye yourselves also know*:" &c. In his 
 speech upon the conversion of Cornelius, 
 
 * Acts, ii. 22.
 
 328 
 
 he delivers his testimony to the miracles 
 performed by Christ, in these words : " We 
 are witnesses of all things which he did, 
 both in the land of the Jews, and in Jeru- 
 salem*." But in this latter speech, no al- 
 lusion appears to the miracles wrought by 
 himself, notwithstanding that the miracles 
 above enumerated all preceded the time in 
 which it was delivered. In his speech upon 
 the election of Matthias-f, no distinct re- 
 ference is made to any of the miracles of 
 Christ's history, except his resurrection. 
 The same also may be observed of his 
 speech upon the cure of the lame man at 
 the gate of the temple $ : the same in his 
 speech before the Sanhedrim^; the same 
 in his second apology in the presence of 
 that assembly. Stephen's long speech con- 
 tains no reference whatever to miracles, 
 though it be expressly related of him, in the 
 book which preserves the speech', and 
 almost immediately before the speech, 
 *' that he did great wonders and mi- 
 racles among the people ||." Again, al- 
 though miracles be expressly attributed to 
 
 * Acts, x. 39. + i. 15. $ iii. 12. iv. 8. || vi. 8.
 
 S29 
 
 Saint Paul in the Acts of the Apostles, first 
 generally, as at Iconium (Acts, xiv. 3.), 
 during the whole tour through the Upper 
 Asia (xiv. 27. xv. 12.), at Ephesus (xix. 11, 
 1.2.) ; secondly, in specific instances, as the 
 blindness of Elymas at Paphos*, the cure 
 of the cripple at Lystra-j-, of the pythoness 
 at Philippi J, the miraculous liberation from 
 prison in the same city , the restoration of 
 Eutychus]|, the predictions of his ship- 
 wreck^], the viper at Melita**, the cure of 
 Publius's father^- 1-; at all which miracles 
 except the first two, the historian himself 
 was present : notwithstanding, I say, this 
 positive ascription of miracles to Saint Paul, 
 yet in the speeches delivered by him, and 
 given as delivered by him, in the same book 
 in which the miracles are related, and the 
 miraculous powers asserted, the appeals to 
 his own miracles, or indeed to any miracles 
 at all, are rare and incidental. In his 
 speech at Antioch in PisidiaJJ, there is no 
 allusion but to the resurrection. In his dis- 
 course at Miletus , none to any miracle ; 
 
 * Acts, xiii. 11. f xiv. S. J xvi. l6. xvi. 26. 
 || xx. 10. f xxvii. 1. ** xxviii. 6'. ff xxviii. 8. 
 J+ xiii. 16. xx. 17.
 
 330 
 
 none in his speech before Felix* ; none 
 in his speech before Festus -f ; except to 
 Christ's resurrection, and his own conver- 
 sion. 
 
 Agreeably hereunto, in thirteen letters 
 ascribed to Saint Paul, we have incessant 
 references to Christ's resurrection, frequent 
 references to his own conversion, three in- 
 dubitable references to the miracles which 
 he wrought J ; four other references to the 
 same, less direct yet highly probable ; 
 but more copious or circumstantial recitals 
 we have not. The consent, therefore, be- 
 tween Saint Paul's speeches and letters, is 
 in this respect sufficiently exact: and the 
 reason in both is the same; namely, that 
 the miraculous history was all along pre- 
 supposed, and that the question, which 
 occupied the speaker's and the writer's 
 thoughts, was this : whether, allowing the 
 history of Jesus to be true, he was, upon 
 the strength of it, to be received as the 
 
 * Acts, xxiv. 10. t lb. xxv. 8. 
 
 X Gal. iii. 5.; Rom. xv. 18, 19-5 2 Cor. xii. 12. 
 i Cor. ii. 4,5.; Eph. iii. 7-; Gal.ii.-8.; lThess.i. 5.
 
 531 
 
 promised Messiah ; and, if he was, what 
 were the consequences, what was the ob- 
 ject and benefit, of his mission ? 
 
 The general observation which has been 
 made upon the apostolic writings, namely, 
 that the subject of which they treated, did 
 not lead them to any direct recital of the 
 Christian history, belongs also to the writ- 
 ings of the apostolic fathers. The epistle 
 of Barnabas is, in its subject and general 
 composition, much like the epistle to the 
 Hebrews ; an allegorical application of 
 divers passages of the Jewish history, of 
 their law and ritual, to those parts of the 
 Christian dispensation in which the author 
 perceived a resemblance. The epistle of 
 Clement was written for the sole purpose 
 of quieting certain dissensions that had 
 arisen amongst the members of the church 
 of Corinth, and of reviving in their minds 
 that temper and spirit of which their pre- 
 decessors in the Gospel had left them an 
 example. The work of Hernias is a 
 vision : quotes neither the Old Testament 
 nor the New ; and merely falls now and 
 then into the language, and the mode of
 
 332 
 
 speech, which the author had read in our 
 Gospels. The epistles of Polycarp and 
 Ignatius had for their principal object the 
 order and discipline of the churches which 
 they addressed. Yet, under all these cir- 
 cumstances of disadvantage, the great 
 points of the Christian history are fully 
 recognised. This hath been shown in its 
 proper place*. 
 
 There is, however, another class of writ- 
 ers, to whom the answer above given, viz. 
 the unsuitableness of any such appeals or 
 references as the objection demands, to the 
 subjects of which the writings treated, does 
 not apply ; and that is, the class of ancient 
 apologists, whose declared design it was 
 to defend Christianity, and to give the 
 reasons of their adherence to it. It is ne- 
 cessary, therefore, to inquire how the mat- 
 ter of the objection stands in these. 
 
 t 
 
 The most ancient apologist, of whose 
 works we have the smallest knowledge, is 
 Quadratus. Quadratus lived about seventy 
 
 * Vol.i. p. IIS 123.
 
 333 
 
 years after the ascension, and presented 
 his apology to the emperor Adrian. From 
 a passage of this work, preserved in Euse- 
 bius, it appears that the author did directly 
 and formally appeal to the miracles of 
 Christ, and in terms as express and confi- 
 dent as we could desire. The passage 
 (which has been once already stated) is as 
 follows : " The works of our Saviour were 
 always conspicuous, for they were real ; 
 both they that were healed, and they that 
 were raised from the dead, were seen, not 
 only when they were healed or raised, but 
 for a long time afterwards : not only whilst 
 he dwelled on this earth, but also after his 
 departure, and for a good while after it; 
 insomuch as that some of them have 
 reached to our times*/' Nothing can be 
 more rational or satisfactory than this. 
 
 Justin Martyr, the next of the Christian 
 apologists whose work is not lost, and who 
 followed Quadratus at the distance of about 
 thirty years, has touched upon passages of 
 Christ's history in so many places, that a 
 
 *useb. Hist. 1. iv. c. 3.
 
 S34 
 
 tolerably complete account of Christ's life 
 might be collected out of his works. In 
 the following quotation, he asserts the per- 
 formance of miracles by Christ, in words as 
 strong and positive as the language pos- 
 sesses: " Christ healed those who from 
 their birth were blind, and deaf, and lame ; 
 causing, by his word, one to leap, another 
 to hear, and a third to see: and having 
 raised the dead, and caused them to live, 
 he, by his works, excited attention, and in- 
 duced the men of that age to know him. 
 Who, however, seeing these things done, 
 said that it was a magical appearance, and 
 dared to call him a magician, and a de- 
 ceiver of the people*." 
 
 In his first apology -j~, Justin expressly 
 assigns the reason for his having recourse to 
 the argument from prophecy, rather than 
 alleging the miracles of the Christian his- 
 tory : which reason was, that the persons 
 with whom he contended would ascribe 
 these miracles to magic; " lest any of our 
 
 * Just. Dial. p. 258, ed. Thirlby. 
 f Apolog. prim. p. 48, iU
 
 335 
 
 opponents should say, What hinders, but 
 that he who is called Christ by us, being a 
 man sprung from men, performed the mi- 
 racles which we attributed to him, by ma- 
 gical art?" The suggestion of this reason 
 meets, as I apprehend, the very point of 
 the present objection ; more especially when 
 we find Justin followed in it, by other 
 writers of that age. Irenasus, who came 
 about forty years after him, notices the 
 same evasion in the adversaries of Christi- 
 anity, and replies to it by the same argu- 
 ment: " But, if they shall say, that the 
 Lord performed these things by an illusory 
 appearance (<pavraffWg), leading these ob- 
 jectors to the prophecies, we will show 
 from them, that all things were thus pre- 
 dicted concerning him, and strictly came 
 to pass *." Lactantius, who lived a century 
 lower, delivers the same sentiment, upon 
 the same occasion: " He performed mi- 
 racles ; we might have supposed him to 
 have been a magician, as ye say, and as the 
 Jews then supposed, if all the prophets had 
 not with one spirit foretold that Christ, 
 should perform these very things-)-." 
 
 * Iren.l. ii. c. 57. t I-actant. v. s.
 
 336 
 
 But to return to the Christian apologises 
 in their order. Tertullian : " That person 
 whom the Jews had vainly imagined, from 
 the meanness of his appearance, to be , a 
 mere man, they afterwards, in consequence 
 of the power he exerted, considered as a 
 magician, when he, with one word, ejected 
 devils out of the bodies of men, gave sight 
 to the blind, cleansed the leprous, strength- 
 ened the nerves of those that had the palsy, 
 and, lastly, with one command, restored the 
 dead to life ; when he, I say, made the very 
 elements obey him, assuaged the storms, 
 walked upon the seas, demonstrating him- 
 self to be the Word of God*." 
 
 Next in the catalogue of professed apolo- 
 gists we may place Origen, who, it is well 
 known, published a formal defence of 
 Christianity, in answer to Celsus, a heathen, 
 who had written a discourse against it. I 
 know no expressions, by which a plainer or 
 more positive appeal to the Christian mi- 
 racles can be made, than the expressions 
 used by Origen; " Undc ' cedly w r e do 
 think him to be the Ch :. , and the Son of 
 
 * Tcrtull. Apolog. p. 20; ed. Priorii, Par. \6~5
 
 337 
 
 God, because he healed the lame and the 
 blind ; and we are the more confirmed in 
 this persuasion, by what is written in the 
 prophecies : " Then shall the eyes of the 
 blind be opened, and the ears of the deaf 
 shall hear, and the lame man shall leap as 
 an hart/' But that he also raised the dead, 
 and that it is not a fiction of those who 
 wrote the Gospels, is evident from hence, 
 that, if it had been a fiction, there would 
 have been many recorded to be raised up, 
 and such as had been a long time in their 
 graves. But, it not being a fiction, few 
 have been recorded : for instance, the 
 daughter of the ruler of a synagogue, of 
 whom I do not know why he said, She is 
 not dead but sleepeth, expressing some- 
 thing peculiar to her, not common to all 
 dead persons ; and the only son of a 
 widow, on whom he had compassion, and 
 raised him to life, after he had bid the 
 bearers of the corpse to stop ; and the 
 third, Lazarus, who had been buried four 
 days/' This' is positively to assert the mi- 
 racles of Christ, and it is also to comment 
 upon them, and that with a considerable 
 degree of accuracy and candour. 
 * vol. n. z
 
 338 
 
 In another passage of the same author 
 we meet \\ ith the old solution of magic ap- 
 plied to the miracles of Christ by the ad- 
 versaries of the religion. " Celsus," saith 
 Origen, " well knowing what great works 
 may be alleged to have been done by 
 Jesus, pretends to grant that the things re- 
 lated of him are true ; such as healing dis- 
 eases, raising the dead, feeding multitudes 
 with a few loaves, of which large fragments 
 were left*." And then Celsus gives, it seems, 
 an answer to these proofs of our Lord's 
 mission, which, as Origen understood it, 
 resolved the phenomena into magic ; for, 
 Origen begins his reply, by observing,. 
 " You see that Celsus in a manner allows 
 that there is such a thing as magic-f*." 
 
 It appears also from the testimony of 
 Saint Jerome, that Porphyry, the most 
 learned and able of the Heathen writers 
 against Christianity, resorted to the same 
 solution : " Unless/' says he, speaking to 
 Vigilantius, " according to the manner of 
 the gentiles and the profane, of Porphyry 
 
 ' * Oriir. cont. Cels. lib. ii. sect. 48. 
 
 t Lanlner's Jewish and Heath. Test. vol. ii. p. 2^4-. ed. 4to.
 
 339 
 
 and Eunomius, you pretend that these are 
 the tricks of demons*/' 
 
 This magic, these demons, this illusory 
 appearance, this comparison with the tricks 
 of jugglers, by which many of that age ac- 
 counted so easily for the Christian miracles, 
 and which answers the advocates of Chris- 
 tianity often thought it necessary to refute 
 by arguments drawn from other topics, 
 and particularly from prophecy (to which, 
 it seems, these solutions did not apply), 
 we now perceive to be gross subterfuges. 
 That such- reasons were ever seriously 
 urged, and seriously received, is only a 
 proof, what a gloss and varnish fashion 
 can give to any opinion. 
 
 It appears, therefore, that the miracles 
 of Christ, understood, as we understand 
 them, in their literal and historical sense, 
 were positively and precisely asserted and 
 appealed to by the apologists for Chris- 
 tianity ; which answers the allegation of 
 the objection. 
 
 * Jerome cont. Vigil. 
 7. 2
 
 340 
 
 I am ready, however, to admit, that the* 
 ancient Christian advocates did not insist 
 upon the miracles in argument, so fre- 
 quently as I should have done. It was their 
 lot to contend with notions of magical 
 agency, against which the mere production 
 of the facts was not sufficient for the con- 
 vincing of their adversaries: I do not know 
 whether they themselves thought it quite 
 decisive of the controversy. But since it 
 is proved, I conceive with certainty, that 
 the sparingness with which they appealed 
 to miracles, was owing neither to their 
 ignorance, nor their doubt of the facts, it 
 is, at any rate, an objection, not to the 
 truth of the history, but to the judgement 
 of its defend ers=
 
 341 
 
 CHAPTER VI. 
 
 Want of universality in the knowledge and re- 
 ception of Christianity , and of greater clear- 
 7iess in the evidence. 
 
 Of a revelation which really came from 
 God, the proof, it has been said, would in 
 all ages be so public and manifest, that no 
 part of the human species would remain 
 ignorant of it, no understanding could fail 
 of being convinced by it. 
 
 The advocates of Christianity do not 
 pretend that the evidence of their religion 
 possesses these qualities. They do not 
 deny that we can conceive it to be within 
 the compass of divine power, to have com- 
 municated to the world a higher degree of 
 assurance, and to have given to his commu- 
 nication a stronger and more extensive in- 
 fluence. For any thing we are able to dis- 
 cern, God could have so formed men, as to
 
 342 
 
 have perceived the truths of religion in- 
 tuitively : or to have carried on a commu- 
 nication with the other world, whilst they 
 lived in this ; or to have seen the indivi- 
 duals of the species, instead of dying, pass 
 to heaven by a sensible translation. He 
 could have presented a separate miracle to 
 each man's senses. He could have esta- 
 blished a standing miracle. He could have 
 caused miracles to be wrought in every 
 different age and. country. These, and 
 many more methods, which we may ima- 
 gine, if we once give loose to our imagina- 
 tions, are, so far as we can judge, all prac- 
 ticable. 
 
 The question, therefore, is not whether 
 Christianity possesses the highest possible 
 degree of evidence, but whether the not 
 having more evidence be a sufficient rea- 
 son for rejecting that which we have. 
 
 Now there appears to be no fairer me- 
 thod of judging, concerning any dispensa- 
 tion which is alleged to come from God, 
 when a question is made whether such a 
 dispensation could come from God or not,
 
 343 
 
 than by comparing it with other things 
 which are acknowledged to proceed from 
 the same counsel, and to be produced by 
 the same agency. If the dispensation in 
 question labour under no defects but what 
 apparently belong to other dispensations, 
 these seeming defects do not justify us, in 
 setting aside the proofs which are offered 
 of its authenticity, if they be otherwise en- 
 titled to credit. 
 
 Throughout that order then of nature, 
 of which God is the author, what we find 
 is a system of beneficence : we are Seldom 
 or ever able to make out a system of op- 
 timism. I mean, that there are few cases 
 in which, if we permit ourselves to range 
 in possibilities, we cannot suppose some- 
 thing more perfect, and more unobjec- 
 tionable, than what we see. The rain 
 which descends from heaven, is confessedly 
 amongst the contrivances of the Creator, 
 for the sustentation of the animals and ve- 
 getables which subsist upon the surface of 
 the earth. Yet how partially and irregu- 
 larly is it supplied ! How much of it falls 
 upon the sea, where it can be of no use !
 
 344 
 
 how often is it wanted where it would be 
 of the greatest ! What tracts of continent 
 are rendered deserts by the scarcity of it ! 
 Or, not to speak of extreme cases, how 
 much, sometimes, do inhabited countries 
 suffer by its deficiency or delay ! We could 
 imagine, if to imagine were our business, 
 the matter to be otherwise regulated. We 
 could imagine showers to fall, just where 
 and when they would do good ; always 
 seasonable, every where sufficient'; so dis- 
 tributed as not to leave a field upon the 
 face of the globe scorched by drought, or 
 even a plant withering for the lack of 
 moisture. Yet, does the difference be- 
 tween the real case and the imagined case, 
 or the seeming inferiority of the one to the 
 other authorize us to say, that the pre- 
 sent disposition of the atmosphere is not 
 amongst the productions or the designs of 
 the Deity? Does it check the inference 
 which we draw from the confessed bene- 
 ficence of the provision? or does it make 
 us cease to admire the contrivance? The 
 observation, which we have exemplified in 
 the single instance of the rain of heaven, 
 may be repeated concerning most of the
 
 345 
 
 phenomena of nature; and the true con- 
 clusion to which it leads is this : that to in- 
 quire what the Deity might have done, 
 could have done, or, as we even sometimes 
 presume to speak, ought to have done, or, 
 in hypothetical cases, would have done, 
 and to build any propositions upon such 
 inquiries against evidence of facts, is 
 wholly unwarrantable. It is a mode of 
 reasoning which will not do in natural his- 
 tory, which will not do in natural religion, 
 "which cannot therefore be applied with 
 safety to revelation. It may have some 
 foundation, in certain speculative a priori 
 ideas of the divine attributes; but it has 
 none in experience, or in analogy. The 
 general character of the works of nature 
 is, on the one hand, goodness both in de- 
 sign and effect ; and, on the other hand, a 
 liability to difficulty, and to objections, if 
 such objections be allowed, by reason of 
 seeming incompleteness or uncertainty in 
 attaining their end. Christianity partici- 
 pates of this character. The true simili- 
 tude between nature and revelation con- 
 sists in this ; that they each bear strong 
 marks of their original; that they each
 
 346 
 
 also bear appearances of irregularity and 
 defect. A system of strict optimism may 
 nevertheless be the real system in both 
 Cases. But what I contend is, that the 
 proof is hidden from us; that we ought 
 not to expect to perceive that in revela- 
 tion, which we hardly perceive in any 
 thing; that beneficence, of which we can 
 judge, ought to satisfy us, that optimism, 
 of which we cannot judge, ought not to be 
 sought after. We can judge of beneficence, 
 because it depends upon effects which we 
 experience, and upon the relation between 
 the means which we see acting and the 
 ends which we see produced. We cannot 
 judge of optimism, because it necessarily 
 implies a comparison of that which is tried, 
 with that which is not tried; of conse- 
 quences which we see, with others which 
 we imagine, and concerning many of 
 which, it is more than probable we know 
 nothing; concerning some, that we have 
 no notion. 
 
 If Christianity be compared with the 
 state and progress of natural religion, the 
 argument of the objector will gain nothing
 
 347 
 
 by the comparison. I remember hearing 
 an unbeliever say, that, if God had given 
 n revelation, he would have written it in 
 the skies. Are the truths of natural reli- 
 gion written in the skies, or in a language 
 which every one reads? or is this the case 
 with the most useful arts, or the most ne- 
 cessary sciences of human life ? An Ota- 
 heitean or an Esquimaux knows nothing 
 of Christianity ; does he know more of the 
 principles of deism or morality? which, 
 notwithstanding his ignorance, are neither 
 untrue, nor unimportant, nor uncertain. 
 The existence of the Deity is left to be col- 
 lected from observations, which every man 
 does not make, which every man, perhaps, 
 is not capable of making. Can it be ar- 
 gued, that God does not exist, because, 
 if he did, he would let us see him, or dis- 
 cover himself to mankind by proofs (such 
 as, we may think, the nature of the sub- 
 ject merited), which no inadvertency could 
 miss, no prejudice withstand? 
 
 If Christianity be regarded as a provi- 
 dential instrument for the melioration of 
 mankind, its progress and diffusion re-
 
 348 
 
 sembles that of other causes by which hu- 
 man life is improved. The diversity is not 
 greater, nor the advance more slow, in re- 
 ligion, than we find it to be in learning, 
 liberty, government, laws. The Deity 
 hath not touched the order of nature in 
 vain. The Jewish religion produced great 
 and permanent effects ; the Christian reli- 
 gion hath done the same. It hath disposed 
 the world to amendment. It hath put 
 things in a train. It is by no means im- 
 probable, that it may become universal : 
 and that the world may continue in that 
 stage so long as that the duration of its 
 reign may bear a vast proportion to the 
 time of its partial influence. 
 
 When we argue concerning Christianity, 
 that it must necessarily be true, because it 
 is beneficial, we go, perhaps, too far on 
 one side : and we certainly go too far on 
 the other, when we conclude that it must 
 be false, because it is not so efficacious as 
 we could have supposed. The question 
 of its truth is to be tried upon its proper 
 evidence, without deferring much to this 
 sort of argument, on either side. " The
 
 349 
 
 evidence," as bishop Butler hath rightly 
 observed, " depends upon the judgement 
 we form of human conduct, under given 
 circumstances, of which it may be pre- 
 sumed that we know something ; the ob- 
 jection stands upon the supposed conduct 
 of the Deitv, under relations with which 
 we are not acquainted." 
 
 What would be the real effect of that 
 overpowering evidence which our adver- 
 saries require in a revelation, it is difficult 
 to foretell ; at least, we must speak of it as 
 of a dispensation of which we have no ex- 
 perience. Some consequences however 
 would, it is probable, attend this eco- 
 nomy, which do not seem to befit a re- 
 velation that proceeded from God. One 
 is, that irresistible proof would restrain the 
 voluntary powers too much ; would not 
 answer the purpose of trial and probation : 
 would call for no exercise of candour, se- 
 riousness, humility, inquiry ; no submission 
 of passion, interests, and prejudices, to 
 moral evidence and to probable truth; no 
 habits of reflection ; none of that previous 
 desire to learn and to obey the will of
 
 550 
 
 God, which forms perhaps the test of the 
 virtuous principle, and which induces men 
 to attend, with care and reverence, to 
 every credible intimation of that will, and 
 to resign present advantages and present 
 pleasures to every reasonable expectation 
 of propitiating his favour. " Men's moral 
 probation may be, whether they will take 
 due care to inform themselves by impartial 
 consideration ; and, afterwards, whether 
 they will act as the case requires, upon 
 the evidence which they have. And this 
 we find by experience, is often our proba- 
 tion in our temporal capacity*/' 
 
 II. These modes of communication 
 would leave no place for the admission of 
 internal evidence; which ought, perhaps, 
 to bear a considerable part in the proof of 
 every revelation, because it is a species of 
 evidence, which applies itself to the know- 
 ledge, love, and practice, of virtue, and 
 which operates in proportion to the degree 
 of those qualities which it finds in the 
 person whom it addresses. Men of good 
 
 * Butler's Analogy, part ii. c. vi.
 
 351 
 
 dispositions, amongst Christians, are greatly 
 affected by the impression which the Scrip- 
 tures themselves make upon their minds. 
 Their conviction is much strengthened by 
 these impressions. And this perhaps was 
 intended to be one effect to be produced 
 by the religion. It is likewise true, to 
 whatever cause we ascribe it (for I am 
 not in this work at liberty to introduce 
 the Christian doctrine of grace or assist- 
 ance, or the Christian promise, that, "if 
 any man will do his will, he shall know 
 of the doctrine, whether it be of God*"), 
 it is true, I say, that they who sin- 
 cerely act, or sincerely endeavour to act, 
 according to what they believe, that is, 
 according to the just result of the proba- 
 bilities, or, if you please, the possibilities 
 in natural and revealed religion, which 
 they themselves perceive, and according 
 to a rational estimate of consequences, 
 and, above all, according to the just effect 
 of those principles of gratitude and devo- 
 tion, which even the view of nature gene- 
 rates in a well-ordered mind, seldom fail of 
 
 * John, yii. 17.
 
 352 
 
 proceeding farther. This also may have 
 been exactly what was designed. 
 
 Whereas, may it not be said that irre- 
 sistible evidence would confound all cha- 
 racters and all dispositions? would subvert, 
 rather than promote, the true purpose of 
 the divine counsels ; which is, not to pro- 
 duce obedience by a force little short of 
 mechanical constraint (which obedience 
 would be regularity, not virtue, and would 
 hardly perhaps differ from that which in- 
 animate bodies pay to the laws impressed 
 upon their nature), but to treat moral 
 agents agreeably to what they are; which 
 is done, when light and motives are of such 
 kinds, and are imparted in such measures, 
 that the influence of them depends upon 
 the recipients themselves ? " It is not meet 
 to govern rational free agents in via by 
 sight and sense. It would be no trial or 
 thanks to the most sensual wretch to for- 
 bear sinning, if heaven and hell were open 
 to his sight. That spiritual vision and fru- 
 ition is our state in patrid" (Baxter's Rea- 
 sons, p. 3.57-) There may be truth in this 
 thought, though roughly expressed. Few
 
 353 
 
 things are more improbable than that we 
 (the human species) should be the highest 
 order of beings in the universe : that ani- 
 mated nature should ascend from the lowest 
 reptile to us, and all at once stop there. If 
 there be classes above us of rational intel- 
 ligences, clearer manifestations may belong 
 to them. This may be one of the distinc- 
 tions. And it may be one, to which we 
 ourselves hereafter shall attain. 
 
 III. But may it not also be asked, whe- 
 ther the perfect display of a future state of 
 existence would be compatible with the 
 activity of civil life, and with the success 
 of human affairs? I can easily conceive 
 that this impression may be overdone ; that 
 it may so seize and fill the thoughts, as to 
 leave no place for the cares and offices of 
 mens several stations, no anxiety for 
 worldly prosperity, or even for a worldly 
 provision, and, by consequence, no suf- 
 ficient stimulus to secular industry. Of the 
 first Christians we read, "that all that 
 believed were together, and had all things 
 common ; and sold their possessions and 
 goods, and parted them to all men, as 
 vol. II. 2 A
 
 354 
 
 every man had need ; and, continuing 
 daily with one accord in the temple, and 
 breaking bread from house to house, did 
 eat their meat with gladness and singleness 
 of heart*." This was extremely natural, 
 and just what might be expected from mi- 
 raculous evidence coming with full force 
 upon the senses of mankind : but I much 
 doubt whether, if this state of mind had 
 been universal, or long-continued, the 
 business of the world could have gone on. 
 The necessary arts of social life would have 
 been little cultivated. The plough and the 
 loom would have stood still. Agriculture, 
 manufactures, trade, and navigation, would 
 not, I think, have flourished, if they could 
 have been exercised at all. Men would 
 have addicted themselves to contemplative 
 and ascetic lives, instead of lives of busi- 
 ness and of useful industry. We observe 
 that Saint Paul found it necessarv, fre- 
 quently to recall his converts to the ordi- 
 nary labours and domestic duties of their 
 condition; and to give them in his own 
 example, a lesson of contented application 
 to their worldly employments, 
 
 * Acts, ii. 4446.
 
 355 
 
 By the manner in which the religion is 
 now proposed, a great portion of the hu- 
 man species is enabled, and of these mul- 
 titudes of every generation are induced, 
 to seek and to effectuate their salvation 
 through the medium of Christianity, with- 
 out interruption of the prosperity or of the 
 regular course of human affairs. 
 
 Sa2
 
 356 
 
 CHAPTER VH. 
 
 The supposed effects of Christianity. 
 
 That a religion, which, under every form 
 in which it is taught, holds forth the final 
 reward of virtue and punishment of vice, 
 and proposes those distinctions of virtue 
 and vice, which the wisest and most cul- 
 tivated part of mankind confess to be just, 
 should not be believed, is very possible ; 
 but that, so far as it is believed, it should 
 not produce any good, but rather a bad 
 effect upon public happiness, is a proposi- 
 tion which it requires very strong evidence 
 to render credible. Yet many have been 
 found to contend for this paradox, and 
 very confident appeals have been made to 
 history, and to observation, for the truth 
 of it. 
 
 In the conclusions, however, which these 
 writers draw from what they call expe-
 
 357 
 
 rience, two sources, I think, of mistake, 
 may be perceived. 
 
 One is, that they look for the influence 
 of religion in the wrong place. 
 
 The other, that they charge Christianity 
 with many consequences, for which it is 
 not responsible. 
 
 I. The influence of religion is not to be 
 sought for in the councils of princes, in 
 the debates or resolutions of popular as- 
 semblies, in the conduct of governments to- 
 wards their subjects, or of states and sove- 
 reigns towards one another ; of conquerors 
 at the head of their armies, or of parties 
 intriguing for power at home (topics which 
 alone almost occupy the attention, and fill 
 the pages, of history) ; but must be per- 
 ceived, if perceived at all, in the silent 
 course of private and domestic life. Nay 
 more ; even there its influence may not be 
 very obvious to observation. If it check, 
 in some degree, personal dissoluteness, if it 
 beget a general probity in the transaction 
 of business, if it produce soft and humane
 
 358 
 
 manners in the mass of the community, 
 and "occasional exertions of laborious or ex- 
 pensive benevolence in a few individuals, 
 it is all the effect which can offer itself to 
 external notice. The kingdom of heaven 
 is within us. That which is the substance 
 of the religion, its hopes and consolations, 
 its intermixture with the thoughts by day 
 and by night, the devotion of the heart, 
 the control of appetite, the stead) direc- 
 tion of the will to the commands of God, 
 is necessarily invisible. Yet upon these 
 depend the virtue and the happiness of 
 millions. This cause renders the represen- 
 tations of history, with respect to religion, 
 defective and fallacious, in a greater de- 
 gree than they are upon any other subject. 
 Religion operates most upon those of 
 whom history knows the least ; upon fa- 
 thers and mothers in their families, upon 
 men-servants and maid-servants, upon the 
 orderly tradesman, the quiet villager, the 
 manufacturer at his loom, the husbandman 
 in his fields. Amongst such, its influence 
 collectively may be of inestimable value, 
 yet its effects, in the mean time, little upon 
 those who figure upon the stage of the
 
 359 
 
 world. They may know nothing of it; 
 they may believe nothing of it; they may 
 be actuated by motives more impetuous 
 than those which religion is able to excite. 
 It cannot, therefore, be thought strange, 
 that this influence should elude the grasp 
 and touch of public history : for, what is 
 public history, but a register of the suc- 
 cesses and disappointments, the vices, the 
 follies, and the quarrels, of those who en- 
 gage in contentions for power? 
 
 I will add, that much of this influence 
 may be felt in times of public distress, and 
 little of it in times of public wealth and 
 security. This also increases the uncer- 
 tainty of any opinions that we draw from 
 historical representations. The influence of 
 Christianity is commensurate with no effects 
 which history states. We do not pretend 
 that it has any such necessary and irresist- 
 ible power over the affairs of nations, as to 
 surmount the force of other causes. 
 
 The Christian religion also acts upon 
 public usages and institutions, by aji ope-
 
 360 
 
 ration which is only secondary and indirect. 
 Christianity is not a code of civil law. It 
 can only reach public institutions through 
 private character. Now its influence upon 
 private character may be considerable, yet 
 many public usages and institutions repug- 
 nant to its principles may remain. To 
 get rid of these, the reigning part of the 
 community must act, and act together. 
 But it may be long before the persons who 
 compose this body, be sufficiently touched 
 with the Christian character, to join in the 
 suppression of practices, to which they and 
 the public have been reconciled by causes 
 which will reconcile the human mind to 
 any thing, by habit and interest. Never- 
 theless, the effects of Christianity, even in 
 this view, have been important. It has 
 mitigated the conduct of war, and the 
 treatment of captives. It has softened the 
 administration of despotic, or of nominally 
 despotic governments. It has abolished 
 polygamy. It has restrained the licen-* 
 tiousness of divorces. It has put an end 
 to the exposure of children, and the im- 
 molation of slaves. It has suppressed the
 
 361 
 
 combats of gladiators*, and the impurities 
 of religious rites. It has banished, if not 
 unnatural vices, at least the toleration of 
 them. It has greatly meliorated the con- 
 dition of the laborious part, that is to say, 
 of the mass of every community, by pro- 
 curing for them a day of weekly rest. In 
 all countries, in which it is professed, it 
 has produced numerous establishments for 
 the relief of sickness and poverty ; and, in 
 some, a regular and general provision by 
 law. It has triumphed over the slavery 
 established in the Roman empire: it is 
 contending, and, I trust, will one day pre- 
 vail, against the worse slavery of the West 
 Indies. 
 
 A Christian writer*!*, so early as in the 
 second century, has testified the resistance 
 which Christianity made to wicked and 
 licentious practices though established by 
 
 * Lipsius affirms (Sat. b. i. c. 12.), that the gladiatorial 
 shows sometimes cost Europe twenty or thirty thousand 
 lives in a month ; and that not only the men, but even the 
 women of all ranks, were passionately fond of these shows. 
 See bishop Porteus's Sermon XIII. 
 
 f Bardesanes, ap. Euseb. Praep. Evang. vi. 10.
 
 362 
 
 law and by public usage : " Neither in 
 Parthia,do the Christians, though Parthians, 
 use polygamy ; nor in Persia, though Per- 
 sians, do they marry their own daughters ; 
 nor among the Bactri, or Galli, do they 
 violate the sanctity of marriage ; nor wher- 
 ever thev are, do they suffer themselves 
 to be overcome by ill-constituted laws and 
 manners." 
 
 Socrates did not destroy the idolatry of 
 Athens, or produce the slightest revolution 
 in the manners of his country. 
 
 But the argument to which I recur, is, 
 that the benefit of religion, being felt chiefly 
 in the obscurity of private stations, neces- 
 sarily escapes the observation of history. 
 From the first general notification of Chris- 
 tianity to the present day, there have been 
 in every age many millions, whose names 
 were never heard of, made better by it, 
 not only in their conduct, but in their dis- 
 position ; and happier, not so much in 
 their external circumstances, as in that 
 which is inter pracordia, in that which 
 alone deserves the name of happiness,
 
 363 
 
 the tranquillity and consolation of their 
 thoughts. It has been, since its com- 
 mencement, the author of happiness and 
 virtue to millions and millions of the 
 human race. Who is there that would not 
 wish his son to be a Christian ? 
 
 Christianity also, in every country in 
 which it is professed, hath obtained a sen- 
 sible, although not a complete influence, 
 upon the public judgement of morals. 
 And this is \ery important. For without 
 the occasional correction which public opi- 
 nion receives, by referring to some fixed 
 standard of morality, no man can foretel 
 into what extravagances it might wander. 
 Assassination might become as honourable 
 as duelling; unnatural crimes be account- 
 ed as venial, as fornication is wont to be 
 accounted. In this way it is possible, that 
 many may be kept in order by Christianity, 
 who are not themselves Christians. They 
 may be guided by the rectitude which it 
 communicates to public opinion. Their 
 consciences may suggest their duty truly, 
 and they may ascribe these suggestions to 
 a, moral sense, or to the native capacity of
 
 364 
 
 the human intellect, when in fact they are 
 nothing more than the public opinion, re- 
 flected from their own minds ; and opinion, 
 in a considerable degree, modified by the 
 lessons of Christianity. " Certain it is, and 
 this is a great deal to say, that the gene- 
 rality, even of the meanest and most vulgar 
 and ignorant people, have truer and wor- 
 thier notions of God, more just and right 
 apprehensions concerning his attributes and 
 perfections, a deeper sense of the difference 
 of good and evil, a greater regard to moral 
 obligations and to the plain and most 
 necessary duties of life, and a more firm 
 and universal expectation of a future state 
 of rewards and punishments, than, in any 
 heathen country, any considerable number 
 of men were found to have had*/' 
 
 After all, the value of Christianity is not 
 to be appreciated by its temporal effects. 
 The object of revelation is to influence 
 human conduct in this life ; but what is 
 gained to happiness by that influence, can 
 only be estimated by taking in the whole 
 
 * Clarke, Ev. Nat. Rel. p. 208. ed. .
 
 365 
 
 of human existence. Then, as hath al- 
 ready been observed, there may be also 
 great consequences of Christianity, which 
 do not belong- to it as a revelation. The 
 effects upon human salvation, of the mis- 
 sion, of the death, of the present, of the 
 future agency of Christ, may be universal, 
 though the religion be not universally 
 known. 
 
 Secondly, I assert that Christianity is 
 charged with many consequences for which 
 it is not responsible. I believe that religious 
 motives have had no more to do in the 
 formation of nine-tenths of the intolerant 
 and persecuting laws, which in different 
 countries have been established upon the 
 subject of religion, than they have had to do 
 in England with the making of the game- 
 laws. These measures, although they have 
 the Christian religion for their subject, 
 are resolvable into a principle which Chris- 
 tianity certainly did not plant (and which 
 Christianity could not universally con- 
 demn, because it is not universally wrong), 
 which principle is no other than this, that
 
 366 
 
 they who are in possession of power do 
 what they can to keep it. Christianity is 
 answerable for no part of the mischief 
 which has been brought upon the world by 
 persecution, except that w r hich has arisen 
 from conscientious persecutors. Now these 
 perhaps have never been, either numerous, 
 or powerful. Nor is it to Christianity that 
 even their mistake can fairly be imputed* 
 They have been misled by an error not pro- 
 perly Christian or religious, but by an error 
 in their moral philosophy. They pursued 
 the particular, without adverting to the ge- 
 neral consequence. Believing certain ar- 
 ticles of faith, or a certain mode of worship, 
 to be highly conducive, or perhaps essential, 
 to salvation, they thought themselves bound 
 to bring all they could, by every means, 
 into them. And this they thought, without 
 considering what would be the effect of 
 such a conclusion, when adopted amongst 
 mankind as a general rule of conduct. 
 Had there been in the New Testament, 
 what there are in the Koran, precepts au- 
 thorising coercion in the propagation of 
 the religion, and the use of violence to-r
 
 367 
 
 wards unbelievers, the case would . have 
 been different. This distinction could not 
 have been taken, nor this defence made. 
 
 I apologise for no species nor degree of 
 persecution, but I think that even the fact 
 has been exaggerated. The slave-trade de- 
 stroys more in a year, than the Inquisition 
 does in a hundred, or perhaps hath done 
 since its foundation. 
 
 If it be objected, as I apprehend it will 
 be, that Christianity is chargeable with 
 every mischief, of which it has been the 
 occasion, though not the motive; I answer, 
 that, if the malevolent passions be there, 
 the world will never want occasions. The 
 noxious element will always find a con- 
 ductor. Any point will produce an explo- 
 sion. Did the applauded intercommunity 
 of the Pagan theology perserve the peace 
 of the Roman world? did it prevent op- 
 pressions, proscriptions, massacres, devas- 
 tations ? Was it bigotry that carried Alex^ 
 ander into the East, or brought Caesar into 
 Gaul ? Arc the nations of the world, into 
 which Christianity hath not found its May,
 
 368 
 
 or from which it hath been banished, free 
 from contentions? Are their contentions 
 less ruinous and sanguinary ? Is it owing to 
 Christianity, or to the want of it, that the 
 finest regions of the East, the countries in- 
 ter quatuor maria, the peninsula of Greece, 
 together with a great part of the Mediter- 
 ranean coast, are at this day a desert? or 
 that the banks of the Nile, whose con- 
 stantly renewed fertility is not to be im- 
 paired by neglect, or destroyed by the ra- 
 vages of war, serve only for the scene of a 
 ferocious anarchy, or the supply of un- 
 ceasing hostilities ? Europe itself has known 
 no religious wars for some centuries, yet 
 has hardly ever been without war. Are the 
 calamities, which at this day afflict it, to 
 be imputed to Christianity ? Hath Poland 
 fallen by a Christian crusade? Hath the 
 overthrow in France of civil order and 
 security, been effected by the votaries of 
 our religion, or by the foes? Amongst the 
 awful lessons, which the crimes and the 
 miseries of that country afford to mankind, 
 this is one, that, in order to be a perse- 
 cutor, it is not necessary to be a bigot : 
 that in rage and cruelty, in mischief and
 
 369 
 
 destruction, fanaticism itself can- be out- 
 done by infidelity. 
 
 Finally, If war, as it is now carried on 
 between nations, produce less misery and 
 ruin than formerly, we are indebted per- 
 haps to Christianity for the change, more 
 than to any other cause. Viewed therefore 
 even in its relation to this subject, it appears 
 to have been of advantage to the world. 
 It hath humanised the conduct of wars; it 
 hath ceased to excite them. 
 
 The differences of opinion, that have in 
 all ages prevailed amongst Christians, fall 
 very much within the alternative which 
 has been stated. If we possessed the dis- 
 position which Christianity labours, above 
 all other qualities, to inculcate, these dif- 
 ferences would do little harm. If that dis- 
 position be wanting, other causes, even 
 were these absent, would continually rise 
 up to call forth the malevolent passions 
 into action. Differences of opinion, when 
 accompanied with mutual charity, which 
 Christianity forbids them to violate, are for 
 the most part innocent, and for some pur- 
 * vol. II. 2 B
 
 870 
 
 poses useful. They promote inquiry, dis- 
 cussion, and knowledge. They help to keep 
 up an attention to religious subjects, and a 
 concern about them, which might be apt 
 to die away in the calm and silence of uni- 
 versal agreement. I do not know that it is 
 in any degree true, that the influence of 
 religion is the greatest, where there are the 
 fewest dissenters.
 
 S71 
 
 CHAPTER VIIL 
 
 The Conclusion. 
 
 In religion, as in every other subject of* 
 human reasoning, much depends upon the 
 order in which we dispose our inquiries. 
 A man who takes up a system of divinity 
 with a previous opinion that either" every 
 part must be true, or the whole false, ap- 
 proaches the discussion with great disadvan- 
 tage. No other system, which is founded 
 upon moral evidence, would bear to be 
 treated in the same manner. Nevertheless, 
 in a certain degree, we are all introduced 
 to our religious studies Under this prejudi- 
 cation. And it cannot be avoided. The 
 weakness of the human judgement in the 
 early part of youth, yet its extreme sus- 
 ceptibility of impression, renders it neces- 
 sary to furnish it with some opinions, and 
 with some principles, or other. Or indeed, 
 without much express care, or much endea- 
 
 2b2
 
 372 
 
 vour for this purpose, the tendency of the 
 mind of man to assimilate itself to the 
 habits of thinking and speaking which pre- 
 vail around him, produces the same effect. 
 ThatindhTerency and suspense, that waiting 
 and equilibrium of the judgement, which 
 some require in religious matters, and which 
 some would wish to be aimed at in the con- 
 duct of education, are impossible to be 
 preserved. They are not given to the con- 
 dition of human life. 
 
 It is a consequence of this institution that 
 the doctrines of religion come to us before 
 the proofs ; and come to us with that mix- 
 ture of explications and inferences from 
 which no public creed is, or can be, free. 
 And the effect which too frequently follows, 
 from Christianity being presented to the un- 
 derstanding in this form, is, that when any 
 articles, which appear as parts of it, con- 
 tradict the apprehension of the persons to 
 whom it is proposed, men of rash and con- 
 fident tempers hastily and indiscriminately 
 reject the whole. But is this to do justice, 
 either to themselves, or to the religion? 
 The rational way of treating a subject of
 
 373 
 
 such acknowledged importance is to attend, 
 in the first place, to the general and sub- 
 stantial truth of its principles, and to that 
 alone. When we once feel a foundation ; 
 when we once perceive a ground of credi- 
 bility in its history, we shall proceed with 
 safety to inquire into the interpretation of 
 its records, and into the doctrines which 
 have been deduced from them. Nor will 
 it either endanger our faith, or diminish or 
 alter our motives for obedience, if we should 
 discover that these conclusions are formed 
 with very different degrees of probability, 
 and possess very different degrees of im- 
 portance. 
 
 This conduct of the understanding, dic- 
 tated by every rule of right reasoning, will 
 uphold personal Christianity, even in those 
 countries in which it is established under 
 forms the most liable to difficulty and ob- 
 jection. It will also have the further effect 
 of guarding us against the prejudices which 
 are wont to arise in our minds to the dis- 
 advantage of religion, from observing the 
 numerous controversies which are carried on 
 amongst its professors ; and likewise of in-
 
 374 
 
 ducing a spirit of lenity and moderation in 
 our judgement, as well as in our treatment 
 of those who stand, in such controversies, 
 upon sides opposite to ours. What is clear 
 jn Christianity, we shall find to be sufficient, 
 and to be infinitely valuable; what is du- 
 bious, unnecessary to be decided, or of 
 very subordinate importance; and what is 
 most obscure, will teach us to bear with the 
 opinions which others may have formed 
 upon the same subject. We shall say to 
 those who the most widely dissent from us, 
 what Augustine said to the worst heretics 
 of his age : " Illi in vos saeviant, qui ne- 
 sciunt, cum quo labore verum inveniatur, et 
 quam difficile caveantur errores; qui ne- 
 sciunt, cum quanta difficultate sanetur 
 oculus interioris hominis; qui nesciunt, 
 quibus suspiriis et gemitibus fiat ut 
 ex quantulacunque parte possit intelligi 
 Deus*." 
 
 A judgement, moreover, which is once 
 pretty well satisfied of the general truth of 
 the religion, will not only thus discriminate 
 in its doctrines, but will possess sufficient 
 
 * Aug. contra Ep. Fund. cap. ii. n. 2, 3.
 
 3,5 
 
 strength to overcome the reluctance of the 
 imagination to admit articles of faith which 
 are attended with difficulty of apprehen- 
 sion, if such articles of faith appear to be 
 truly parts of the revelation. It was to be 
 expected beforehand, that what related to 
 the economy, and to the persons, of the 
 invisible world, which revelation professes 
 to do, and which, if true, it actually does, 
 should contain some points remote from our 
 analogies, and from the comprehension of 
 a mind which hath acquired all its ideas 
 from sense and from experience. 
 
 It hath been my care, in the preceding 
 work, to preserve the separation between 
 evidences and doctrines as inviolable as I 
 could ; to remove from the primary ques- 
 tion all considerations which have been 
 unnecessarily joined with it; and to offer a 
 defence to Christianity, which, every Chris- 
 tian might read, without seeing the tenets 
 in which he had been brought up attacked 
 or decried : and it always afforded a satis- 
 faction to my mind to observe that this was 
 practicable ; that few or none of our many 
 controversies with one another affect or re-
 
 376 
 
 late to the proofs of our religion ; that the 
 rent never descends to the foundation. 
 
 The truth of Christianity depends upon 
 its leading facts, and upon them alone. 
 Now of these we have evidence which 
 ought to satisfy us, at least until it ap- 
 pear that mankind have ever been de- 
 ceived by the same. We have some 
 uncontested and incontestable points, to 
 which the history of the human species 
 hath nothing similar to offer. A Jewish 
 peasant changed the religion of the world, 
 and that, without force, without power, 
 without support, without one natural 
 source, or circumstance of attraction, in- 
 fluence, or success. Such a thing hath not 
 happened in any other instance. The com- 
 panions of this Person, after he himself had 
 been put to death for his attempt, asserted 
 his supernatural character, founded upon 
 his supernatural operations: and, in testi- 
 mony of the truth of their assertions, i. e. 
 in consequence of their own belief of that 
 truth, and in order to communicate the 
 knowledge of it to others, voluntarily en- 
 tered upon lives of toil and hardship, and,
 
 377 
 
 with a full experience of their danger, 
 committed themselves to the last extre- 
 mities of persecution. This hath not a 
 parallel. More particularly, a very few 
 days after this Person had been publicly 
 executed, and in the very city in which 
 he was buried, these his companions de- 
 clared with one voice that his body was 
 restored to life : that they had seen him, 
 handled him, eat with him, conversed 
 with him ; and, in pursuance of their 
 persuasion of the truth of what they told, 
 preached his religion, with this strange 
 fact as the foundation of it, in the face 
 of those who had killed him, who were 
 armed with the power of the country, and 
 necessarily and naturally disposed to treat 
 his followers as they had treated himself; 
 and having done this upon the spot where 
 the event took place, carried the intelli- 
 gence of it abroad, in despite of difficul- 
 ties and opposition, and where the nature 
 of their errand gave them nothing to ex- 
 pect but derision, insult, and outrage. 
 This is without example. These three 
 facts, I think, are certain, and would 
 have been nearly so, if the Gospels had
 
 37S 
 
 never freer* written. The Christian story, 
 as> to tlrese points, hath never varied. No 
 other hath been set up against it. Every 
 letter, every discourse, every controversy,, 
 amongst the followers of the religion ; 
 every book written by them, from the age 
 of its- commencement to the present time, 
 in; every part of the world in which it 
 hath been professed, and with every sect 
 into which it hath been divided (and we 
 have letters and discourses written by con- 
 temporaries, by witnesses of the trans- 
 action, by persons themselves bearing a 
 share in it, and other writings following 
 that age in regular succession), concur m 
 representing these facts in this manner. 
 A religion, which now possesses the greatest 
 part of the civilised world, unquestion- 
 ably sprang up at Jerusalem at this time. 
 Some account must be given of its origin ; 
 some cause assigned for its- rise. All the 
 accounts of this origin, all the explica- 
 tions of this cause, whether taken from 
 the writings of the early followers of the 
 religion (in which, and in which per- 
 haps alone, it could be expected that they 
 should be distinctly unfolded), or from
 
 379 
 
 occasional notices in other writings of that 
 or the adjoining age, either expressly al- 
 lege the facts above stated as the means 
 by which the religion ^was set up, or ad- 
 vert to its commencement in a manner 
 which agrees with the supposition of these 
 facts being true, and which testifies their 
 operation and effects. 
 
 These propositions alone lay a founda- 
 tion for our faith ; for they prove the ex- 
 istence of a transaction, which cannot 
 even in its most general parts be accounted 
 for, upon any reasonable supposition,' ex- 
 cept that of the truth of the mission. 
 But the particulars, the detail of the mira- 
 cles or miraculous pretences (for such there 
 necessarily must have been), upon which 
 this unexampled transaction rested, and 
 for which these men acted and suffered as 
 they did act and suffer, it is undoubtedly 
 of great importance to us to know. We 
 hate this detail from the fountain-head, 
 from the persons themselves; in accounts 
 written by eye-witnesses of the scene, by 
 contemporaries and companions of those 
 who were so ; not in one book, but four,
 
 380 
 
 each containing enough for the verifica- 
 tion of the religion, all agreeing in the 
 fundamental parts of the history. We 
 have the authenticity of these books, 
 established, by more and stronger proofs 
 than belong to almost any other ancient 
 book whatever, and by proofs which widely 
 distinguish them from any others claiming 
 a similar authority to theirs. If there were 
 any good reason for doubt concerning the 
 names to which these books are ascribed 
 (which there is not, for they were never 
 ascribed to any other, and we have evidence 
 not long after their publication of their 
 bearing the names which they now bear), 
 their antiquity, of which there is no 
 question, their reputation and authority' 
 amongst the early disciples of the religion, 
 of which there is as little, form a valid 
 proof that they must, in the main at least, 
 have agreed with what the first teachers of 
 the religion delivered. 
 
 When we open these ancient volumes, 
 we discover in them marks of truth, whe- 
 ther we consider each in itself, or collate 
 them with one another. The writers cer~
 
 ^ \ 
 
 381 
 
 tainly knew something of what they were 
 writing about, for they manifest an ac- 
 quaintance with local circumstances, with 
 the history and usages of the times, which 
 could only belong to an inhabitant of that 
 country, living in that age. In every nar- 
 rative we perceive simplicity and unde- 
 signedness ; the air and the language of 
 reality. When we compare the different 
 narratives together, we find them so varying 
 as to repel all suspicion of confederacy; 
 so agreeing under this variety, as to show 
 that the accounts had one real transaction 
 for their common foundation ; often attri- 
 buting different actions and discourses, to 
 the person whose history, or rather memoirs 
 of whose history, they profess to relate, yet 
 actions and discourses so similar, as very 
 much to bespeak the same character; which 
 is a coincidence, that, in such writers as 
 they were, could only be the consequence 
 of their writing from fact, and not from 
 
 imagination. 
 
 These four narratives are confined to the 
 history of the Founder of the religion, and 
 end with his ministrv. Since, however, it is
 
 certain that the affair went on, we cannot 
 help being anxious to know how it pro- 
 ceeded. This intelligence hath come down 
 to us in a work purporting to be written by 
 a person, himself connected with the busi- 
 ness during the first stages of its progress, 
 taking up the story where the former histo- 
 ries had left it, carrying on the narrative, 
 oftentimes with great particularity, and 
 throughout with the appearance of good 
 sense*, information, and candour; stating 
 all along the origin, and the only probable 
 origin, of effects which unquestionably 
 were produced, together with the natural 
 consequences of situations which unques- 
 tionably did exist ; and confirmed, in the 
 substance at least of the account, by the 
 strongest possible accession of testimony 
 which a history can receive, original letters, 
 written by the person who is the principal 
 subject of the history, Avritten upon the 
 business to which the history relates, and 
 during the period, or soon after the period, 
 
 * See Peter's speech upon curing the cripple (Acts, hi. 
 18.), the council of the apostles (xv.), Paul's discourse at 
 Athens (xvii. 22.), before Agrippa (xxvi.). I notice these 
 passages, both as fraught with good sense, and as free from 
 the smallest tincture of cuthusiasm.
 
 383 
 
 Tvhioh the history comprises. No man caii 
 say that this all together is not a body of 
 strong historical evidence. 
 
 When we reflect that some of those from 
 whom the books proceeded, are related to 
 have themselves wrought miracles, to have 
 been the subject of miracles, or of super- 
 natural assistance in propagating the reli- 
 gion, we may perhaps be led to think, that 
 more credit, or a different kind of credit, 
 is due to these accounts, than what can be 
 claimed by merely human testimony. But 
 this is an argument which cannot be ad- 
 dressed to sceptics or unbelievers. A man 
 must be a Christian before he can receive 
 it. The inspiration of the historical Scrip- 
 tures, the nature, degree, and extent of that 
 inspiration, are questions undoubtedly of 
 serious discussion ; but they are questions 
 amongst Christians themselves, and not be- 
 tween them and others. The doctrine itself 
 is by no means necessary to the belief of 
 Christianity, which must, in the first in- 
 stance at least, depend upon the ordinary 
 maxims of historical credibility*. 
 
 * See Powell's Discourses, disc. xv. p, 245.
 
 384 
 
 In viewing the detail of miracles recorded 
 in these books we find every "supposition 
 negatived, by which they can be resolved 
 into fraud or delusion. They were not se- 
 cret, nor momentary, nor tentative, nor 
 ambiguous ; nor performed under the sanc- 
 tion of authority, with the spectators on 
 their side, or in affirmance of tenets and 
 practices already established. We find also 
 the evidence alleged for them, and which 
 evidence was by great numbers received, 
 different from that upon which other mi- 
 raculous accounts rest. It was contempo- 
 rary, it was published upon the spot, it 
 continued; it involved interests and ques- 
 tions, of the greatest magnitude; it con- 
 tradicted the most fixed persuasions and 
 prejudices of the persons to whom it was 
 addressed; it required from those who ac- 
 cepted it, not a simple, indolent assent, but 
 a change, from thenceforward, of principles 
 and conduct, a submission to consequences 
 the most serious and the most deterring, 
 to loss and danger, to insult, outrage, and 
 persecution. How such a story should be 
 false, or, if false, how under such circum- 
 stances it should make its way, I think im-
 
 385 
 
 possible to be explained; yet such the 
 Christian story was, such were the circum- 
 stances under which it came forth, and 
 in opposition to such difficulties did it 
 prevail. 
 
 An event so connected with the religion, 
 and with the fortunes, of the Jewish people, 
 as one of their race, one born amongst 
 them, establishing his authority and his 
 law throughout a great portion of the civil- 
 ised world, it was perhaps to be expected, 
 should be noticed in the prophetic writings 
 of that nation ; especially when this Person, 
 together with his own mission, caused also 
 to be acknowledged the divine original of 
 their institution, and by those who before 
 had altogether rejected it. Accordingly, 
 we perceive in these writings, various inti- 
 mations concurring in the person and history 
 of Jesus, in a manner, and in a degree, in 
 which passages taken from these books 
 could not be made to concur in any person 
 arbitrarily assumed, or in any person except 
 him who has been the author of great 
 changes in the affairs and opinions of man- 
 kind. Of some of these predictions the 
 
 vol. II. 2 c
 
 386 
 
 weight depends a good deal upon the con- 
 currence. Others possess great separate 
 strength : one in particular does this in an 
 eminent degree. It is an entire descrip- 
 tion, manifestly directed to one character 
 and to one scene of things : it is extant 
 in a writing, or collection of writings, de- 
 claredly prophetic ; and it applies to Christ's 
 character, and to the circumstances of his 
 life" and death, with considerable precision, 
 and in a way which no diversity of interpre- 
 tation hath, in my opinion, been able to 
 confound. That the advent of Christ, and 
 the consequences of it, should not have 
 been more distinctly revealed in the Jewish 
 sacred books, is, I think, in some measure 
 accounted for by the consideration, that 
 for the Jews to have foreseen the fall of 
 their institution, and that it was to merge 
 at length into a more perfect and compre- 
 hensive dispensation, would have cooled 
 too much, and relaxed, their zeal for it, and 
 their adherence to it, upon which zeal and 
 adherence the preservation in the world of 
 any remains, for many ages, of religious 
 truth might in a great measure depend.
 
 387 
 
 Of what a revelation discloses to man- 
 kind, one, and only one, question can pro- 
 perly be asked, Was it of importance to 
 mankind to know, or to be better assured 
 of? In this question, when we turn our 
 thoughts to the great Christian doctrine of 
 the resurrection of the dead, and of a fu- 
 ture judgement, no doubt can possibly be 
 entertained. He who gives me riches or 
 honours, does nothing ; he who even gives 
 me health, does little, in comparison with 
 that which lays before me just grounds for 
 expecting a restoration to life, and a day 
 of account and retribution : which thing 
 Christianity hath done for millions. 
 
 Other articles of the Christian faith, al- 
 though of infinite importance when placed 
 beside any other topic of human inquiry, 
 are only the adjuncts and circumstances 
 of this. They are, however, such as appear 
 worthy of the original to which we ascribe 
 them. The morality of the religion, whe- 
 ther taken from the precepts or the ex- 
 ample of its Founder, or from the lessons of 
 its primitive teachers, derived, as it should 
 seem, from what had been inculcated by 
 
 2 r 9
 
 *! 
 
 88 
 
 their Master, is, in all its parts, wise and 
 pure ; neither adapted to vulgar prejudices, 
 nor flattering popular notions, nor excusing 
 established practices, but calculated, in the 
 matter of its instruction, truly to promote 
 human happiness, and in the form in 
 which it was conveyed, to produce impres- 
 sion and effect ; a morality, which, let it 
 have proceeded from any person whatever, 
 would have been satisfactory evidence of 
 his good sense and integrity, of the sound- 
 ness of his understanding and the probity 
 of his designs; a morality, in every view 
 of it, much more perfect than could have 
 been expected from the natural circum- 
 stances and character of the person who 
 delivered it ; a morality, in a word, which 
 is, and hath been, most beneficial to man- 
 kind. 
 
 Upon the greatest, therefore, of all pos- 
 sible occasions, and for a purpose of ines- 
 timable value, it pleased the Deity to 
 vouchsafe a miraculous attestation. Hav- 
 ing done this for the institution, when this 
 alone could fix its authority, or give to it a 
 beginning, he commit led its future pro-
 
 .389 
 
 gress to the natural means of human com- 
 munication, and to the influence of those 
 causes by which human conduct and hu- 
 man affairs are governed. The seed, being 
 sown, was left to vegetate ; the leaven, being 
 inserted, was left to ferment ; and both ac- 
 cording to the laws of nature : laws, never- 
 theless, disposed and controlled by that 
 Providence which conducts the affairs of 
 the universe, though by an influence in- 
 scrutable, and generally undistinguishable 
 by ws. And in this, Christianity is analo- 
 gous to most other provisions for happiness. 
 The provision is made; and, being made, 
 is left to act according to laws, which, 
 forming a part of a more general system, 
 regulate this particular subject, in common 
 with many others. 
 
 Let the constant recurrence to our observ- 
 ation of contrivance, design, and wisdom, 
 in the works of nature, once fix upon our 
 minds the belief of a God, and after that 
 all is easy. In the counsels of a being pos- 
 sessed of the power and disposition which 
 the Creator of the universe must possess, it
 
 390 
 
 is not improbable that there should be a 
 future state ; it is not improbable that we 
 should be acquainted with it. A future 
 state rectifies every thing ; because, if mo- 
 ral agents be made, in the last event, happy 
 or miserable, according to their conduct in 
 the station and under the circumstances in 
 which they are placed, it seems not very 
 material by the operation of what causes, 
 according to what rules, or even, if you 
 please to call it so, by what chance or ca- 
 price, these stations are assigned, or these 
 circumstances determined. This hypo- 
 thesis, therefore, solves all that objection 
 to the divine care and goodness, which the 
 promiscuous distribution of good and evil 
 (I do not mean in the doubtful advan- 
 tages of riches and grandeur, but in the 
 unquestionablv important distinctions of 
 health and sickness, strength and infirm- 
 ity, bodily ease and pain, mental alacrity 
 and depression) is apt on so many occa- 
 sions to create. This one truth changes 
 the nature of things ; gives order to confu- 
 sion ; makes the moral world of a piece 
 with the natural.
 
 391 
 
 Nevertheless, a higher degree of assur- 
 ance than that to which it is possible to 
 advance this, or any argument drawn 
 from the light of nature, was necessary, 
 especially to overcome the shock which 
 the imagination and the senses receive 
 from the effects and the appearances of 
 death, and the obstruction which thence 
 arises to the expectation of either a con- 
 tinued or a future existence. This diffi- 
 culty, although of a nature, no doubt, to 
 act very forcibly, will be found, I think, 
 upon reflection, to reside more in our habits 
 of apprehension, than in the subject; and 
 that the giving way to it, when we have 
 any reasonable grounds for the contrary, 
 is rather an indulging of the imagination, 
 than any thing else. Abstractedly con- 
 sidered, that is, considered without rela- 
 tion to the difference which habit, and 
 merely habit, produces in our faculties and 
 modes of apprehension, I do not see any 
 thing more in the resurrection of a dead 
 man. than in the conception of a child ; ex- 
 cept it be this, that the one comes into his 
 world withasystem of prior consciousnesses
 
 392 
 
 about him, which the other does not : and 
 no person will say, that he knows enough 
 of either subject to perceive, that this cir- 
 cumstance makes such a difference in the 
 two cases, that the one should be easy, and 
 the other impossible ; the one natural, the 
 other not so. To the first man, the succes- 
 sion of the species would be as incompre- 
 hensible, as the resurrection of the dead is 
 to us. 
 
 Thought is different from motion, per- 
 ception from impact: the individuality of 
 a mind is hardly consistent with the divisi- 
 bility of an extended substance; or its 
 volition, that is, its power of originating 
 motion, with the inertness which cleaves to 
 every portion of matter which our observa- 
 tion or our experiments can reach. These 
 distinctions lead us to an immaterial prin- 
 ciple : at least, they do this ; they so nega- 
 tive the mechanical properties of matter, 
 in the constitution of a sentient, still more 
 of a rational, being, that no argument drawn 
 from these properties, can be of any great 
 weight in opposition to other reasons, when
 
 393 
 
 the question respects the changes of which 
 such a nature is capable, or the manner in 
 which these changes are effected. What- 
 ever thought be, or whatever it depend 
 upon, the regular experience of sleep makes 
 one thing concerning it certain, that it can 
 be completely suspended, and completely 
 restored. 
 
 If any one find it too great a strain upon 
 his thoughts, to admit the notion of a sub- 
 stance strictly immaterial, that is, from 
 which extension and solidity are excluded, 
 he can find no difficulty in allowing, that a 
 particle as small as a particle of light, mi- 
 nuter than all conceivable dimensions, may 
 just as easily be the depositary, the organ, 
 and the vehicle of consciousness, as the con- 
 geries of animal substance which forms a 
 human body, or the human brain; that, 
 being so, it may transfer a proper identity 
 to whatever shall hereafter be united to it; 
 may be safe amidst the destruction of its 
 integuments ; may connect the natural with 
 the spiritual, the corruptible with the glo- 
 rified body. If it be said, that the mode 
 
 vor,. ir. 2d
 
 394 
 
 and means of all this is imperceptible by 
 our senses, it is only what is true of the 
 most important agencies and operations. 
 The great powers of nature are all invisible. 
 Gravitation, electricity, magnetism, though 
 constantly present, and constantly exerting 
 their influence ; though within us, near us, 
 and about us; though diffused throughout 
 all space, overspreading the surface, or pe- 
 netrating the contexture, of all bodies with 
 which we are acquainted, depend upon 
 substances and actions which are totally 
 concealed from our senses. The Supreme 
 Intelligence is so himself. 
 
 But whether these or any other attempts 
 to satisfy the imagination, bear any resem- 
 blance to the truth, or whether the imagi- 
 nation, which, as I have said before, is the 
 mere slave of habit, can be satisfied or not ; 
 when a future state, and the revelation of a 
 future state, is not only perfectly consistent 
 with the attributes of the Being who 
 governs the universe; but when it is more; 
 when it alone removes the appearances^of 
 contrariety which attend the operations of
 
 395 
 
 his will towards creatures capable of com- 
 parative merit and demerit, of reward and 
 punishment; when a strong body of his- 
 torical evidence, confirmed by many in- 
 ternal tokens of truth and authenticity, 
 gives us just reason to believe that such a 
 revelation hath actually been made; we 
 ought to set our minds at rest with the 
 assurance, that in the resources of Creative 
 Wisdom, expedients cannot be wanted to 
 carry into effect what the Deity hath pur- 
 posed: that either a new and mighty in- 
 fluence will descend upon the human world 
 to resuscitate extinguished consciousness; 
 or that, admidst the other wonderful con- 
 trivances with which the universe abounds, 
 and by some of which we see animal life, 
 in many instances, assuming improved 
 forms of existence, acquiring new organs, 
 new perceptions, and new sources of enjoy- 
 ment, provision is also made, though by 
 methods secret to us (as all the great pro- 
 cesses of nature are), for conducting the 
 objects of God's moral government, through 
 the necessary changes of their frame, to 
 those final distinctions of happiness and
 
 396 
 
 misery, which he hath declared to be re- 
 served for obedience and transgression, for 
 virtue and vice, for the use and the ne- 
 glect, the right and the wrong employment, 
 of the faculties and opportunities with 
 which he hath been pleased, severally, to 
 intrust, and to try us. 
 
 THE END. 
 
 Printed by IS. Hamilton, Weybrldge.
 
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