OUTLINES EVIDENCES OF CHRI.STL\N1TY y g^ LIBRARY ■""Z 68- UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA. Received . Septe7nb£J% i88 S. Accessions No.>'/ Q ^/ Shelf No. cL ^a^tZ^c/ /7-Ari^*- /^Tcr^^L ///n^/ /S" /J^^, OUTLINES OF THE EVIDENCES OF CHRISTIANITY, FOR THE USE OF THE SYRIAN COLLEGE, COTTAYAM, J}^^.^ "fi^^y. ^^ '^- COTTAYAM: PRINTED AT THE CHURCH MISSION PRESS. 1847. CBr//oi JESUS SAITH UNTO HIM, ThOMAS, BECAUSE THOU HAST - «4 SEEN ME, THOU HAST BELIEVED: BLESSED ARE THEY THAt' HAVE NOT SEEN, AND YET HAVE BELIEVED. , JOB'N XX. 29.i Th e title of the present volume renders it scarce- ly necessary to say that it makes no pretensions to originality. The author's design has been simply to furnish a digest of the Evidences of Chris- tianity, arranged and illustrated in the manner which seemed to him best suited for the instruction of the natives of India, whether heathen, or Chris- tian ; and in the prosecution of this design, he has freely appropriated to himself any materials which promised to be serviceable, no matter whose they were, or whence they originated. Most of the writers with whose labours he has thus made free, are mentioned by name in one portion or another of the work; and the learned reader will recognise many trains of reasoning, detached ideas, or isolat- ed sentences, which he will have no difficulty in assigning to their rightful owner. But, whether advisedly, or unadvisedly, it has not been deemed requisite to overload the pages of a purely elemen- tary treatise, with references to authorities; and beyond this general acknowledgment, and the names occasionally introduced for some especial purpose, there is nothing to mark where, and to what extent, the writer has been indebted to the researches or the penetration of others. The book will not, he hopes, be the less useful, or even the IV PREFACE. less acceptable, on this account; and without pretending to any thing more than ordinary indif- ference to less disinterested motives, he trusts he can truly say that his chief object has been utility; and the only return which he can esteem of any real value, will be to learn that his labours have been crowned with a blessing to the soul of some disciple of Jesus, strengthened or won over by his advocacy; to the glory of our Redeemer's name, and the comfort of his saints on earth. The author would avail himself of this opportu- nity to point out an incidental use of the argument in support of Christianity, when conducted on the principles followed out in the present work. He has in mind the reply which it furnishes to an ob- jection often brought against such as would impugn the infallibility of the Church : for Romanists per- petually urge against their Protestant opponents, that the inspiration of Scripture can be proved only on the authority of an infallible Church : the rejection of which method, say they, involves a petitio principii, or begging of the question; be* cause, the voice of the Church being refused, the Protestant is driven to prove the inspiration of Scripture from Scripture itself; — a mode of reason- ing plainly illogical and unsound. The question, when thus put, is not correctly, because not fully, stated. We do not prove the inspiration of Scripture from its own bare unauthen- ticated assertion; for this would be, in truth, as it is represented to be, a mere begging of the question. The case stands thus:— we deduce the inspiration PREFACE. V of our sacred books from their own assertions, supported by miracles which they themselves record; which miracles, however, rest for their establishment, neither on the mere naked assertion of the authors of our books; nor on the formal decision of the Church, dogmatically and magiste- rially given, as by an authority whose sentence is peremptory and final; but on the Testimony of the Church, or, more correctly, on the testimony not even of the Church, abstractedly, as the Church, but on the testimony of history generally. In a Christian country, indeed, members of the Christian Church, do, practically, and in common parlance, receive the Scriptures, in a certain sense, on the authority of the Church to which they belong. But this is, properly, an authority of testimony, or perhaps of judgment, founded on testimony, and not of absolutism and infallibility; and the Church member who is content to accept this authority, does so on the same principle on which he receives civil regulations, judicial decisions, or the news of current events, on the authority of the press, or of society in general, without entering into all the technicalities, and minute inquiries with which the same particulars would be investigated by a govern- ment official, or a judge. Multitudes, it ought also to be remarked, having thus received the Bible as the word of God on the authority of others, are satisfied that it is so, from that confirmation of their belief which results from an experimental realization of its promises. (John iv. 42.) But the discussion of this kind of evidence is foreign to our present subject. Suppose they fail to realize this inward satisfaction. Vi PREFACE. and inquire on what the Church grounds her own authority to circulate the Scriptures under the character which she assigns to them; — or suppose some other religionist, or an infidel, to make a like inquiry: — both Scripture and the Church are now put upon their defence, and one of them must first be established independently, before it can sup- port the other. But there is an ambiguity about the words Church, and, The authority of the Church, which should be first removed . For like many other words of a similar kind, they are very frequently employed, either with no very distinct idea attach- ed to them in the mind of the speaker, or, still worse, with a design to confuse by their known and ad- mitted indefinite and fluctuating significancy. Ab- stractedly, the authority of the Church must mean, the authority of some corporate body, — no matter whether more or less extensive, or under what exter- nal form, but so constituted as to be capable of a visible expression of its decisions among men, — which, in virtue of a power lodged with it, whe- ther absolute or limited, inherent or delegated, possesses the right to pronounce, and therefore, can, so far as depends upon itself, at any time, and under any circumstances, pronounce authori- tatively upon any question, new or old, connected with the doctrines or practice of religion; — pro- vided always, if its power be delegated or limited, that it do not exceed the commission delivered to it, whether legislative, judicial, or executive. The authority thus possessed or conferred must, obvi- ously be established on a sure basis, and its seat PREFACE. Vll and specific organ carefully defined, before it can be yielded to, with any rational satisfaction, by those from whom unmurmuring obedience, and im- plicit submission is demanded. Where such a corporate body is to be found, and what are the limits of its power: whether it be one and indivisible, or whether it may be broken up into many, more or less connected; whether there may be many such bodies, each independent of the other, or whether any exist at all, is immaterial to our present investigation. Assuming only that we have arrived at a satisfactory conclusion as to what we think may properly be designated the Church, or only that we have comprehended some definition laid down by others ; it is manifest that whatever degree of authority is claimed for it, such claim, as the Romanist admits in the very structure of that objection against the Protestant on which we are engaged, can never be admitted on its own unsup- ported assertion. There must be something external to itself, by which to test its pretensions; — miracu- lous powers; an authenticated charter; or some other tangible proof, on which men may reasonably be content to stake their faith. Practically the only proof available in the case before us, is, the possession of an authoritative charter, given in some former age, and handed down uncorrupted to our own times. For miraculous powers, or other credentials are either not pretended to, at the pre- sent day, or if they be, are not found, on exami- nation, to be such as will carry with them the assent of the fair and impartial inquirer. Oral tra- dition, and the decrees of councils, cannot, clearly, A 3 Viii PREFACE. be received as of sufficient weight;— for the oral tradition preserved only by the Church, and the declaration of its own opinion in councils, is simply the Church giving both testimony and judgment in its own cause; which testimony and judgment are the very points we have to examine by external evidence. There remain the writings of the fathers of the Church, and the Scriptures of the living God. The former, disavowed, as has been over and over again proved from their own writings, for themselves personally, and for their councils, any superhuman authority*; and therefore can deter- mine dogmatically no question requiring an autho- rity greater than that of man. We come therefore, finally, to the Scriptures. But to found the infal- libility, or authority of the Church on Scripture, and at the same time to require men to receive the Scri pture itself solely on the authority of the Church, is plainly arguing in a circle . It is no better than at- tempting to found its authority on its own tradition, *SeeFaber,Ditficultiesof Romanism— pp.272 — 279 — more parti- cularly the citations from Cyril of Jerusalem and Augustine in pp. 274 & 278. Usher's Answer to a Jesuit, pp. 24 — 27. Beveridge on the xxxix Articles. — vol. i. pp. 265—269. Taylor's (Bp.) Diss, from Popery, Part ii. B. i. S.2. I add a passage from Augustine which I do not remember to have seen among those selected by Protestant divines. I do not know from which oi Augustine's works it is taken ; it is quoted with- out reference, but with the original subjoined, by the Jesuit La- cunza, or Ben Ezra, Irving's Trans, vol. i. p. 47. "The disputa- tions of any, though catholic and praiseworthy men, we ought not to hold in the same estimation with the canonical Scripture ; so as not to feel at liberty, without offence to the honour due to them, to call in question, and even to refute, any thing which we may chance to find in their writings, disagreeing with the truth, as God hath enabled others, orourselves to understand it. And as I feel in respect to the wi'itings of other men, so I ivish my readers to feel in respect of mine." PREFACE. IX or on the decision of councils and writers, to whom their own decrees alone have given authority to decide. Protestants most cordially and freely ad- mit the paramount weight due to God's own word: it is their avowed and only standard of faith: — but they deny that its Inspiration can be logically de- duced from the authority of the Church, in the sense understood by the Romanist, such authority being yet unproved; and they retort on him the charge of having fallen into the selfsame vicious train of reasoning with which he unjustly charges them; for the faultiness of the proof is too glaring to be for a moment concealed by the flimsy disguise which he flings around it, when he interposes a second subject, and a double proposition. What- ever support, then, the Church may derive from Scripture, and whether or not Scripture itself can be authenticated without the authority of the Church; the Church's own authority cannot, plainly, be independently established. Now in demonstrating the inspiration of Scrip- ture on the Protestant plan, we are entirely inde- pendent of the church, as such, whatever it be that constitutes that mystic body. We employ, it is true, what are called the writers of the Church, (but not exclusively,) and we are glad to avail our- selves of the concurrence of all ages as to the inspiration of the Scriptures. But we do not argue that they must be inspired, because these writers have so determined; or even because the Church itself, if its decision could be presented in a manner the most unexceptionable, has so determined. We are satisfied with their testimony to a simple X PREFACE. Fact, or, if you will, to two simple facts, to the opinion prevalent in their day concerning the au- thenticity and inspiration of these books; and, what is of infinitely greater moment, to the exis- tence of the books themselves. We thus go back from age to age, and find that we can trace the sister facts of the prevalence of this opinion, and of the existence of the books, up to the age of their au- thors. In this age, the opinion of contemporaries as to their inspiration will possess the very greatest weight, but we may be content only to insist on the authenticity of the books, which now becomes necessarily associated with their existence, as be- ing deduced from it by considerations dependent on the most obvious principles and free from eve- ry cavil. The authenticity is thus made out by an orderly and uninterrupted series of the most unexceptionable witnesses; unexceptionable, be it observed, not on account of the soundness of their Christian faith, (for many of them were griev- ously in error,) but on account of the manner in which their testimony is delivered, and because its validity depends on the most ordinary prin- ciples of every day life. Having, then, by extrinsic evidence to a matter of fact, ascertained the full authenticity of Scripture, we next proceed, by a line of reasoning also absolutely infallible, to de- duce the inspiration of its authors from the facts recorded in Scripture, thus independently authen- ticated, in connection with the nature of the doc- trines which it teaches: and in the whole process, the authority of the Church has never once been employed. FREFACE. Xi In very truth, if the infallibility of the Church could be made out from Scripture, (which, how- ever, it never has been, and never can be,) the greatest service the Protestant could do for the Romanist, would be to prove for him the inspira- tion of Scripture, independently of authority. For once establish this, and whether the contro- versialist maintain the extravagant notions pecu- liar to the papacy, or the more rtvoderate views of a limited authority, as common to many of the Protestant Churches, or finally, even if his defi- nition of a Church comprise no more than a single congregation, he is at least sure that his founda- tion is sound and unmoveable; and he may, in perfect security, review his superstructure, and alter or repair its defects, at leisure, as light and wisdom break in upon him from above. But with the superstructure the author of these pages is not now concerned . His only object, in these remarks, has been to furnish, briefly, an answer to the cavil of the Romanist; and in so doing to point out the argument which our common Protestantism derives from the Evidences of Christianity. Perhaps it most commonly happens that an au- thor, from his more intimate familiarity with his subject, is more sensible to its defects than the great majority of his readers ; and hence, apologies which may seem to them almost to border on an aflectation of humility, if not to degenerate entirely into the opposite of the mask they have assumed, are in truth a more genuine expression of dissatisfaction than may sometimes be supposed. XII PREFACE. The present writer has been so far sensible of some instances of faulty arrangement, and inaccuracies of expression, that he has been induced to reprint se- veral pages of the following work ; —a step which it is due to the press at which ithas been got up, to ac- knowledge thus publicly; because it has somewhat, " though not very visibly, disfigured the neatness of the printer's work, by denuding a few of the pages of their proper number of lines, and crowding others in a corresponding degree; while the commence- ment and headings of one or two sections have been left with a larger share of surrounding emptiness than has fallen to the lot of their brethren, whose original location has not been interfered with. Some deficiencies still remain which will detract from the comeliness of the dress, rather than from the internal compactness of the argument, (be the dress and framing comely and compact or other- wise,) and they will claim the indulgence of a for- bearing public, until the reception with which the work may meet, shall determine whether or no it can ever reach a second edition. The errors just alluded to are those of lesser moment: and had none of them been corrected, they would not have materially afi'ected the merits or demerits of the volume. The author has been jealously solicitous to give admission to nothing inconsistent, even to the least commandment, with the law and the testimony, — for he well knows that whatever is not according to this, has no truth in it. He cannot anticipate that all will coincide with him in his views, as to what constitutes Scripture truth; eras to what is sound and conclusive reason- PREFACE. Xiii \ ♦ ^ i ing; nor would he presume that in cases where \ others differ from him, he has always taken the j safest and straightest path. He trusts, however, that in all the leading truths of the Gospel, and in i the main structure of his argument, he has not J swerved from "the truth as it is in Jesus;" and in this 1 confidence, while he is open to the friendly rebuke i of the righteous for every failure, he would com- 1 mend his labours to that great unseen Being whom j he serves, assured that God's own cause is safe in l his own hands, and that he, and he alone, can make the feeblest instruments, if only they are tempered ^ from his forge, subservient to the edification of the 1 temple of his dear SON; to whom, and through /T^. whom, be all glory and worship and praise, now and for ever — Amen ! ' Addenda & Corrigenda. Page. line. there siege I rite I J dele the for the late short conflict at Gualior substitute the late j memorable conflicts at Feroshah and Subraon. j after 1842 add, or the occupation of Lahore in 1846. What books j for gives read give f, for whence read when * dele the comma \ .1 after backbitingSyinsert hatred of God, pride, boast- ] ing, \ after ambition, add, (or inhospitality,) an d in c ol. 2. i read haters of God, proud, boasters iwiuuiui4"ul. \ after taken, insert and quotations will enable | ! surreptitious ) after domiciled insert a period. r after has, dele six 1 for are read is ^ /or modern r^ad Roman civil | /or than read that I parallel and much else j fascinated /or parts read particles ] applicable ' accessible whether. . . .or to those of humbler rank for moved, read removed to a great extent ] abstractedly in his life \ for these read the ; The reader will also meet with some obvious errors, which it has not been thought necessary to specify. j A porti<^ of the omissions in the table p. 83 may be thus supplied : I Cent. xi. Simeon Metaphrastes (§) fl. lOSO ^ Ratherius of Verona (^) fl. 962 i Cent, X. Remir;ius(0 fl. 880 | Cent, ix, WaiafridStrabo (Z) fl. 860 ] RabanusMauri3s(0 fl. 856.... 820 14 27 17 35 22 42 25 . 25 106^ M5 41 39 45 5 66 15 77 7 102 8 103 13 105 42 col 106 1 129 34 » 40 137 10 312 11 141 9 142 11 182 13 183 27 196 5 203 11 »> 31 204 13 207 42 210 4 »5 19 >M^ 20 r2i5 29 257 36 282 42 298 8 TABLE OP CONTENTS. Introduction. pp. 1—5. Various religious systems in the world The claim of Christianity exclusive . Distinction between Evidences and Divinity Existence of Christianity the ground work of our argument ....... Design of the present treatise . 1 2 3,4 4 4 PART I. The truth op the Christian story is established by competent historical evidence; and unequivocal Internal marks of veracity, pp. 7 — 253. CHAPTER I. Preliminary Remarks, pp. 7 — 15. The necessity and consequent probability of a Divine Revelation The Proof of it in Evidence Different kinds of Evidence Direct inspiration Direct teaching of those inspired Their writings . Miracles a proof of Divine Inspiration Historical Testimony a proof that the Miracles were actually wrought . Internal Evidences 7,8 8—10 10—14 10 11,12 13 12,13 14 14,15 XVI TABLE OF 'CONTENTS. CHAPTER II. t General Proof of the identity and truth of THE Christian story, pp. 16 — 35. Four rules for testing the truth of matters of fact Impossibility of forgery in the age to which a history belongs secured by the two first Examples The New Testament a contemporary and cir cumstantial narrative of public events It could not therefore have been invented in the age assigned to its story Nor in any subsequent age Illustrati ons of the two last rules . Their application to Christianity . in: — its Sabbaths . its Clergy its Sacraments The strictness of the Christians moral code These rules not satisfied in other systems Concluding remarks .... 16 16—21 17,18 18—20 20,21 21—32 21—23 24—30 24,25 25,26 27—29 30—32 32—34 34,35 CHAPTER III. On Historical Evidence generally; and the rules by which it is examined, pp. 36 — 64. Sec. I. Position of the contemporaries of inspired men compared with that of the present age 36,37 Testimony of others our ordinary guide in secular affairs 37 The necessity that it should be so . . 37 — 39 Conveyed through the intervention of writing 39,40 Examples 41 — 45 The records of past transactions . . 41, 42 Guides for judging of the authenticity of these 42 — 44 Example of general history . . 44, 45 r--S^^<^ TABLE OF CONTENTS. XTU Sec. II. Genuineness and authenticity defined. 45, 46 Difl5culty of successfully counterfeiting . 46 Examples 46 — 50 Examination of dubious facts in authors of good general credit : . . . 49, 50 Application of the subject to the writings of the New Testament . . . 50 — 53 Sec. III. Method of investigating the complete- ness of a chain of historical Evidence . 55—60 Illustrations. ..... 55- — 60 The Chronology of ancient writers set- tled simply by quotations among them- selves 60—62 Assistance to be derived from writers of inferior credit ..... 62,63 The dark ages 63, 64 CHAPTER IV. Direct Historical Evidence op the identity of the Christian story, pp. 65 — 146. Sec. I. The History of the Greek Text, pp. 65 — 78. Canon of the New Testament .... 65 Early Editions 66, 67 Manuscripts 67 — 71 Their close agreement .... 72 Various readings 73 — 77 Discrepancies between the Greek text and anci- ent Versions and citations . . . • 77, 78 Sec. II. The testimony of Christian Writers, pp.78 — 117. Authenticity of the works cited . . . 79, 80 Favourite systems of Divinity .... 81 Table of writers in four periods ... 82 Those of the second Period considered . 83 — 85 The barrenness and want of originality in the third period 85 — 87 The fathers to Eusebius . . . . 87, 88 Four classes of writers mentioned by Eusebius . 89, 90 TABLE OF CONTENTS. Doubts concerning some booksaproof of care in settling the Canon . . . . Formation of the Canon of the New Testament Method of quotation .... Writers to Cyprian .... The divine authority of Scripture uniformly ac knowledged ..... Origen ...... Tertullian ...... Titles of respect given to the Scriptures Irenseus ...... Justin Martyr ..... The Apostolic Fathers Ancient Versions ..... Divine authority claimed by and ascribed to our writers ...... Not due to any others . • . . t Authenticity of Vedas, &c. not established. Uncorrupted preservation of the New Testament, 91 i 92—95 \ 95,96 \ 97 i 97 1 Sec. III. Corroborating Testimony. Sectarians and Heretics . Concessions of controversial adversaries Julian: Porphyry: Celsus . Mahomet ..... Heathen and Jewish writers . Ammianus Marcellinus: Libanius: Inscriptions Aurelian: Dion Cassius: Ulpian: Aurelius Antoninus: Epictetus Pimy Suetonius: Martial and Juvenal. Tacitus ..... The Acts of Pilate . Remarks. . . . Josephus. .... The language of the New Testament Hebraisms .... Latinisms .... Recapitulation. 99 ^ 100—102 i 102—107 \ 107—109 ! 110 5 111, 112 ; 113, 114 115, 116 \ pp.117— 146. i .117—119 .119—123 i .119—121 ' . 122, 123 \ . 124—137 ] Spanish \ 126 ; Galen: \ .127—128 \ . 128,129 \ 130 ^ 131 : 132 i .132—135 . 135—137 ; .137—140 \ .141—143 1 144 ] . 144,146 ; TABLE OP CONTENTS. XIX CHAPTER V. The truth of the Christian story, pp. 147 — 253. Opening remarks ...... 147, 148 The Christian Scriptures must be received or re- jected entire 149, 150 Presumption of Truth that there is no other story 151 There is direct external testimony to the leading facts ....... 151 Further division of the argument . . . 153 Sec. I. External Coincidences, pp. 154 — 171. Nature of the coincidences to be examined Circumstantiality a mark of truth Contemporary accounts of Jewish aflFairs The family of the Herods St. Paul's rebuke of Ananias The husband of Herodias : Caiaphas Privileges of a Roman Citizen The altar to the unknown God Coins and Inscriptions . Remarks t Omissions and Discrepancies 154 154 155 156—159 159, 160 160 161, 162 163 164—166 1 6,167 168—171 Sec. II. Internal Coincidences, pp. 171 — 215. Diversity of style in the New Testament . . 171 — 173 Sources of information possessed by the Christi- an writers 173 — 176 Their independence 177 — 179 Apparent discrepancies . . . . • 180 — 184 Undesigned coincidences between the Gospels . 184, 185 Cumulative evidence of the writers of the New Testament . . . . . .185—187 Coincidences between St. Paul's Epistles and the Acts of the Apostles 188—194 t Contrast of the books of Scripture with the religious writings of the Hindus, Parsees and Mahometans, . . • . . . 195 — 215 as to; — f external and internal coincidences. 195 — 202 t the truths of natural philosophy . 202 — 215 XX TABLE OP CONTENTS. Sec. III. The circumstances of the authors of our booksy I and of the promulgation of their story ^ a Proof of \ Truth, pp. 215—253. \ Miraculous nature of the Christian Story . 216 ? Its witnesses competent to judge of its miracles 217, 218 ) Their honesty . . . . . . 219—251 \ ' They openly appealed to their miracles . 220| The publicity of their accounts . . 221 i The opposition of the Jewish nation arising i from 222—234' their having crucified Jesus . . 222, 223 ; the disappointment of their expecta- tions of a Messiah. . . . 224—226 : the alterations in the Mosaic code . 226 — 228 \ the admission of the Gentiles . . 229, 230 the announcement of the destruction of I Jerusalem . . . .230— 234 { The opposition to be expected from the Gen- ! tiles 234— 236j The contrariety of the morality of the Gospel , I to the natural inclinations of the flesh . 237 — 2391 ' The personal disinterestedness of the Apos- \ ties 240—251 as to:— wealth . . . • . 240; ambition 241—2451 suffering 246—251' Conclusion 251— 253J 1 TABLE OP CONTENTS. XXI PART. II. The Christian Scriptures contain indubitable proofs THAT THEY ARE A REVELATION FROM GoD. pp. 254 424 CHAPTER I. On Miracles, pp. 255 — 334. t Sec. I. Miracles appropriate Credentials of a Reve- lation, f^. 255— 280. The constancy of the laws of nature: . . 255,256 This not a self-evident— but an experimental truth 257 — 259 The laws themselves are contingent and arbitrary 260 — 262 Importance of this consideration . . . 262 — 265 Design proves a designer, and skill in the struc- ture of the creation shows the work of a Creator 265, 266 Interruption of natural laws an appropriate me- thod of authenticating a revelation, worthy of God and suitable to men .... 267—272 The Evidence of testimony sufficient to prove miracles 272—277 The competency of that in favour of the miracles of Christianity 277 ^lost other miracles removed from competition by want of evidence 277 — 280 Sec. II. The Criterion of miracles, pp. 281 — 315. A miracle must be unequivocal; and not an ap- pearance which it is possible to account for; . 281 by legerdemain 282 by a skilful use of the less familiar laws of nature 282—287 ft must be for a definite object . . . 287—297 And associated with the person of the teacher whose doctrine it confirms .... 298, 299 The effect must follow immediately . . 299, 300 always . . . .300—304 and be continued . . 304—307 Questionable miracles .... 307 — 310 The lame man at Saragossa . . . 307 The miracles ascribed to Vespasian by Tacitus 308 — 309 XXll TABLE OP CONTENTS. Remarks The Resurrection of Jesus 310 311-516 t Sec. III. Connection between the miracles and the truth of the Doctrine, pp. 315 — 334 Limited powers of man . . . . . 317 Supernatural events brought about by some su- perior power . . . . . . 317 Not an evil power because the doctrine is pure. 318 Objections to the morality of Scripture brief- ly considered 318 — 320 Proof of its purity .... 320 No evil power superior to the author of our Scrip- tures . . . . . . . 321 No certainty of truth in words ascribed to any evil being 322 Miracles and purity of doctrine must be combined 323 — 325 Illustrations 325—328 Natural conscience the judge of good and evil . 328, 329 Revelation, not opinion, our guide in questions of religion ....... 331 — 334 CHAPTER IV. On Prophecy, pp. 335 — 405. Desire of men to know the future 335 Necromancy . . . . 336 Ambiguous oracles 337 Periodical natural phenomena . 337,338 Human foresight . 338 Evil spirits 339 Criterion of prophecy 339, 340 Plan of the present chapter 340, 341 Sec. I. The Old Testament, pp. 342—352. 1 The importance of the Old Testament . . 342 \ It is authenticated by quotations in the New . 343 — 346 : Has been in the custody of both Jews and Chris- " tians 346—347 \ External evidence of its antiquity and inspiration ; in Christian, Jewish, and heathen writers . 347, 348 \ TABLE OP CONTENTS. Ancient "Versions; the Syriac, the Targums, the Septuagint 349,350 Internal evidence, especially of the authenticity of the Pentateuch 350,351 Sec. II. Prophecies relating to the first advent of Christ, pp. 353—373. The two-fold course of prophecy, the chief rela- ting to the Messiah, the other to the Jews . 353 Its gradual development .... 354 Its scattered and enigmatical structure . . 355 The advantages of this .... 356—358 The promise to Eve and Ahraham . . 359 The time of Christ's advent .... 359—362 Symbolical prophecies ..... 363 The sacrifice of Isaac .... 363 The types of the law .... 364, 365 The prophet like unto Moses .... 365 — 366 The birth place of Christ .... 367 The development of doctrines . . . 367 — 371 The human and divine nature of Christ . 367 — 370 The atonement 370,371 Summary 371—373 Sec. III. General Prophecy, pp. 374 — 405. Secondary prophecies relating to the Jewish peo- ple and other nations connected with their 375 history . J r Prophecies relating to the destruction of ( Jerusalem 375—379 ' The cessation of miracles partially supplied by prophecy still in course of fulfilment . 380, 381 II ^ The dispersion of the Jews . . . 381—387 Unfulfilled Prophecy . . . .387—389 The state of Judaea . . . .389—393 Discriminating marks of prophecy . 393 Nineveh and Babylon . . .393—396 [II-! Egypt . ' 397 The Ishmaelites 398, 399 The posterity of Noah's sons . . . 400, 401 IN.al nature and value of the Evidence of prophecy 402, 404 Its independence 404, 405 XXIV TABLE OP CONTENTS. CHAPTER III. Conclusion, pp. 406 — 424. Reason for not entering on arguments from the propagation of the Gospel .... 406, 407 And its suitableness to the wants of man . 408 t All objections against Christianity fatal to every other religion ...... 409 t Difficulties in infidelity .... 410 t Difficulties in theory may arise from the nature of the subject . . . , 410—415 t Objections on the ground of divisions, &c. arise from the state of man as under trial . . 415 — 419 + Apostacy, &c. Avas foretold .... 419, 420 t Objections trifling when compared with the evidence 421, 422 Christianity a religion of faith . . • . 423 Conclusion 424 N. B. The chapters^ sections, and paragraphs distinguish-^ edby a"^ may be omitted, on ajirst reading, or by the Junior classes in Schools, without detriment to the continuity of the main argument. y' OP THF, ^ [UHIVERSIT INTRODUCTION Various religious systems in the world. — The claim of Chris- tianity exclusive. — Distinction between Evidences and Divinity. — Existence of Christianity the ground work of our argument. — Design of the present treatise. — IT has been almost universally agreed that there is in man an innate disposition to believe in the existence of an order of beings, superior to himself, in one or more of whom he recognises the attributes of a Deity. History and ex- perience go far to establish this hypothesis on a basis which admits of no reasonable controversy : for though it were vain to deny that many have defended, and perhaps really entertained, the notion of absolute atheism, there can be no doubt that the general bias of the human mind is to su- perstition. The practical opposition with which the founders of a new religion have had to contend, has usually assumed the form of a zeal for established institutions, rather than that of a disinclination to receive any religion at all. Even the philosophic sceptic has more commonly concealed his true principles under some mask, which the general feel- ing of mankind would have rendered it hazardous to fling away; and it has been left, for the most part, for a few apostates from Christianity to raise the standard of open infidelity. Except, therefore, in Christian countries, those who would undertake the defence of any one system of religious belief, must be prepared to encounter the opposi- tion raised agjiinst it by the advocates of every other, as well as by those who exert their influence equally against all. B 2 INTRODUCTION. The present generation has little concern, directly, "with the theories which have already hecome extinct; and the inhabitant of Hindostan as little with those which still maintain their ground in distant countries. But the native of India is brought into almost daily contact with Heathens, of various denominations, with Mahometans, Parsees, Ro- manists, Syrian Christians, members of the English Church, and Protestants of other names, and sects, each and all as- signing a divine origin to their system; and grounding its authority on some express declaration of the divine will. Most, if not all of these religionists, claim for their respective systems the exclusive possession of absolute and undivided truth; and Christians, more especially, jealously deny to every other scheme a co-equality with their own, teaching that "he that believeth not is condemned already, because lie hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God." (John iii. 18.) It is, therefore, incumbent upon all to be provided with satisfactory proofs in support of their pretensions, that men may come to a fair and rational decision, and determine for themselves to what religion they can, most safely, commit the interests of their souls. Truth never shrinks from inquiry; but while sedulously avoiding any approach to an ostentatious display, it modestly but firmly invites investigation; and when under scrutiny, it courts the application of the most searching tests; for the more varied and penetrating the trial, the more im- posing will be the exhibition of its spotless purity, and in- trinsic power. The advocates ofChristianity,sustained, as they persuade themselves, by the full force of tinith, claim, for their Scrip- tures the exclusive title of the Book of God, and press them on the earnest consideration of others. Their object is not, in the wanton trifling of speculative pleading, and philo- sophic pride, to assail the tenets of their adversaries. But serious in the firm conviction of the stability of their faith, and deeply concerned for the eternal happiness of imperish- able souls, they cannot, consistently with true charity,and the obedience which they owe to their heavenly master, abstain from an effort to break down the strong holds which are opposed to them; and they are prepared to establish their own by a mass of proof which they esteem infallible; — ox INTRODUCTION. 3 rather, in building up their own, they are confident that the rest must crumble before them unassailed; for if the truth of Christianity, in all its fulness, can be made out, its nature is such that every other religion must necessarily be false. Christianity, it should be clearly understood, is not a religion of mere outward observancf's, but of the un- derstanding, and of the heart. It is, indeed, a religion, by its first principles, based on faith; but its faith is aration^il and intelligent belief, and not one of thoughtlessness or su- perstition. Its appeals, therefore, are addressed to the rea- son, as well as to the feelings of those who approach to hear its pleadings, and in the right use of reason it has no- thing to fear, every thing to expect. From what I have just said, it will be seen, that my purpose is to conduct my argument in such a way as to place the fun- damental supports of Christianity in a clear and orderly point of view ; and not directly in the form of an attack upon other religions, the assailable positions of which will be best exposed by contrasting them with the soundness of the corresponding portions of our own defences. But an allusion having been made to the differences which exist among Christians them- selves, it may be well, briefly, to state that any further reference to these dissensions does not fall within the design of the treatise on which I am now about to enter. In some cases they are serious and fundamental : — in others so trivial as almost to vanish before an attempt to define them: but, except to avoid a possible cavil, they might have been altogether passed by, because they do not extend to the authenticity of the Scriptures, which all parties are agreed ought to be received as of divine authority. When the reader can go so far with us as to acquiesce in this common belief, he may proceed to investigate the Scriptural faithr fulness of the distinctive tenets of our several sects. He will thus be enabled to judge whether, and to what extent, the Romanist or the Syrian, the Jacobite or the Nestorian, has departed from the simplicity of the truth; and the exhibi- tion of the soundness of Protestant doctrine will direct him, among Christians, with whom he may, with the greater security, enter into communion. Our present inquiry, however, leads us no further, at least directly, than to qualify ourselves to choose between infidelity, or heathenism, or b2 INTRODtrCTION. Maliometaiiism, on the one hand, and the religion of Jesui ' Christ on the other. The more enlarged field emhraces ' the science of Divinity generally. The particular compart- ^ ment of it on which we are now engaged is that which : constitutes the Evidences of Christianity; and to this our j attention will be exclusively confined. J As the ground work of my argument I shall be content j with this postulate: — That Christianity exists; and therefore ] must have been in some way, and at some time, established. Perhaps there are few, even of the most ignorant, or most bigoted, who would not be content to allow that it has existed for ages; but it is enough to say that it exists now; — a fact j which at least none of those into whose hands this little i treatise may fall, can deny. And it must have had an origin, j for if not, it will follow that it has existed from all eternity, i This, (except so far as concerns the secret purpose of God, ■ with which we have not now to deal,) Christians disavow; and it would but ill serve the turn of those whose wish' might be to cast a doubt upon its claims. We may there- fore assume, that it owes its origin to something that hasj occurred in the past history of our earth. What that some-*- thing is, our Scriptures profess to make known; and 1 shall- now proceed, by the deductions of the simplest reasoning, | to demonstrate that this is, in truth, the real history of its; origin: and in the course of our investigation, we shall find) enough to show, that if it be, Christianity, and nothing but ^ Christianity, is the true expression of the will and woik of; God with reference to man. But the limits I have prescribed! to myself, and indeed the object I have in view, will not: admit of any thing like a full development of the several] branches of the subject. It will be my endeavour to explain; and illustrate these by selecting a few tolerably crmpletel spenmens, rather than by giving a more has y ske ch ofj the whole argument belonging to each head; and this, I| trust, will serve to bring the method of proof within thej reach of the Indian reader, and enable these unaccustomed: to such investigations, to understand the principles on whichj they are conducted. An elementary treatise cannot doj more than this, and indeed, w^ould cease to be elementary if iti did ; and those who have the will and opportunity to follow i out. the subject, may consult the more voluminous works' INTRODUCTION. 5 wherein the learned have given to the world the result of their elaborate researches. — May it please that only true God, whose Revelation I am employed in vindicating, to vouchsafe a blessing on my humble efforts, and while we mark the bulwarks and count the towers of his Zion, make these few pages instrumental in bringing numbers within her walls, and giving increased confidence to those who have already found therein a refuge. PART I. The truth of the Christian Story is established BY competent Historical Evidence; and unequivocal Internal Marks of Veracity. CHAPTER t Preliminary Remarks. Tfic neccssitif and consequent probahility of a Divine Reve^ lation. — The Proof of it in Evidence. — Differe?ii kinds of evidence} direct inspiration; direct teaching of those inspired; — their ivritings. Miracles a proof of Divine Inspiration. — Historical Testimony a proof that the nii^ racles were actually wrought. — Internal evidences. It is the more usual plan with writers on the evidences, to commence by demonstrating the necessity of a Divine Revelation. This thej^ elucidate by showing what was the state of the world in general before the appearance of Christ on earth, or that of the countries still strangers to the Gospel; and by adducing the examples of those ages and nations where the light of Revelation has been most obscur- ed: for it has always been found that the soundness of moral principle has borne a direct proportion to the clear- ness of the scriptural light enjoyed. The testimony of ancient writers is brought forward to show the depravity of mankind in general, and the opinions of eminent philoso- phers are quoted, who have asserted that, without a direct interposition from above, the reformation of the world was a hopeless task. Thus Socrates observes, "You may give over all hopes of amending men s manners for the future, imless God be pleased to send you some person to instruct you;" and similar sentiments are advanced by Plato, Cicero, and others. The confession of Porphyry, an inveterate ene- my of Christianity, is worthy of remark; it was to the effect that there was wanting "some universal method of deliver- ing men's souls, which no sect of philosophy had ever yet found out." Having thus established the necessity of a Revelation, we may fairly argue, from the relation in which we stand to God, as creatures of an all benificent Creator, that such being the wants of man, and such the character of his 8 PRELIMINARY REMARKS. [pART. I. Maker, the antecedent probability of some interference on the part of the latter, in behalf of the former, is great; and this probability will appear greater, as our sense of these two particulars becomes more clear and better defined. But there is the less need to dwell upon this, first, because practically we find that most men are fully alive, alike to the necessity, the possibility, and the probability of a Re- velation ; for, in point of fact, all save infidels, that is, all of any religion at all, profess to derive their tenets from such a source, and practically show, that with them at least, there will be no obstacle to the reception of Christianity, on the ground that they cannot entertain the idea of an interposi- tion from above: and secondly, because, though a great step is gained when we have shown the antecedent probability, and consequent credibility, of any thing not in itself im- possible or self-contradictory, this is never absolutely neces- sary ; for no antecedent improbability, however great, can overturn the certainty of a fact supported by competent evi- dence. The opposite of this has been urged, that no evidence can prove a miracle ; on the ground that it is contrary to expe- rience for a miracle to be true, but not contrary to experience for testimony to be false. The former assertion means nothing more than that we have never seen a similar case; or at least that such cases are not commonly seen; for to say they have never been seen, is to beg the question. If a miracle, or a Reve- lation, be not a thing in its o^vn nature impossible, (and none we presume will venture to assert this,) it may happen; and whatever may happen, is capable of being proved, if it do happen. I do not say that the proof will always lie within our reach; but this is an accidental circumstance; it is ca* pable of being so ; and the only question is, whether the proof adduced is sufficient to demand an assent to its truth. Testimony is unquestionably often false, but nothing short of impossibility can, in any case, make it necessarily so. The strangeness of the occurrence witnessed may give a presump- tion against it, and call for stronger evidence; still, that evidence must be weighed on its own intrinsic merits, before it be discarded as unworthy of credit. Let any thing, within the comprehension of our nature, be presented to the bodily senses of any man in the full possession of all his faculties; we may venture to say, however strange and unexpected, however impossible, in ordinary language, the occurrence CHAP. I.] PRELIMINARY REMARKS. 9 may appear, no arguments of antecedent improbability, however warmly and ably urged, would convince that man that he did not witness what his senses assure him that he did. It might have been a matter in which deception was practised, and subsequent reasoning might convince him that the transaction was not real. Still he witnessed the appearance, and nothing could shake his confidence that he had done so. But if the transaction were of such a kind as left no possible room for deception, (and such, as we shall hereafter show, were most of the Christian mi- racles,) no reasoning could dissuade him from his belief, not simply that he witnessed it, but that it was also real. This is a simple case. Now the only question is, whether the conviction of an eye witness can be transferred to the mind of another, whose knowledge of the case is derived from testimony: that is, whether we can have the same confidence in the abiKty of another to detect imposture, as we could have in ourselves; and whether we can have the same confidence in the veracity of another, as we could in the immediate exercise of our own senses. I do not say, is such confidence generally exercised; but, is it possible for it to exist? I think there is scarcely a living man, who will take the trouble fairly to go through the engage- ments of a single day, that will not say it does exist. I do not ask him to take the weightier matters in which he is concerned, for these he may probably look into him- self; but if it be found in the smallest and most ordinary trifle, the mere announcement of a stranger, or of the simplest household arrangement, it does exist, and therefore is pos- sible. All that prevents his carrying the very same prin- ciple into more important concerns, is, a not unreasonable want of reliance, sometimes on the ability, but more often on the integrity of those through whose agency he must receive a report, or manage a transaction. Such trust-worthy agents are employed, and their statements acted on; but the too general uncertainty of human testimony may justify a stranger in not receiving implicitly the representation of one as yet unknown to him. What is wanting, however, in the credibility of a single witness, may often be supplied by the concurrent testimony of a number. Our security then consists in the independent examination, and close cross questioning of many witnesses; and the diligent comparison 10 . fUELIMINART REMARKS. fpART. I. ] of their testimoriy. We may thus discover their honesty, or even if all be dishonest, by sifting well their depositions, the ; truth may be arrived at; and do we not thus, especially in ' the case where the integrity of our witnesses is fairly brought j out, often attain as great a certainty as to many transacti- j ons, as if we had been actual eye witnesses? If the story be j unusual, we may ask for stronger testimony, and scrutinize i the evidence more closely; still it is easy to imagine that the ] witnesses might be so many, and so trust-worthy, and the ] statements agree so satisfactorily, each with itself and that ; of others, that credit could not fairly be withheld. The | contrary to the infidel's assertion, then, is true. The great- ; ness of the improbability may be a just measure of the quality | und quantity of evidence required; but competent evidence i is capable of establishing any fact, so that no antecedent I want of probability can invalidate it. The probability of ! a Revelation being made, though it may materially assist ] the proof, cannot alone prove that one has been made; still less that any professed Revelation is the true and only one. i But the contrary improbability, supposing it to exist, can ■ never affect the proof, if otherwise conclusive, that one i has been made. The whole ultimately hinges on the vali- ) dity of the evidence adduced in its support. ] We come therefore to consider the manner in which this ; evidence is brought before us. A man may communicate ; with his fellow men, either by direct personal intercourse; ■ or by the intervention of a messenger, or of %vriting. Nor : is there any thing to render any of these plans impracticable, ' or unsuitable, in the case of a Divine Revelation, supposing '[ one to be made. Revelation, for convenieiice of distinction, j has been termed immediate, when the communication is ] made directly to an individual, or a collective assemblage ' of men; and mediate, wlien an individual or body of men, \ thus commissioned, make known their message to others. , Of both these methods the Cliristian Scriptures afford a l great variety of examples. It may perhaps be asked, why j has not the Revelation been immediate to each indivi- i dual, or, at the least, repeated to each successive genera- j tion ? Let it suffice for the present to remark, that it is only 1 analogous to what we see continually among men, for one i in power to communicate with those around him, and often j once for all, through others J and further that, as I have I CHAP. I.] PRELIMINARY REMARKS. . 11 already remarked, ours is a religion of faith ; and faith, as shall be more fully explained hereafter, is excluded by cer- tain personal knowledge. But the solution of this difficulty, if such it appear to any, need not here delay us; for I would repeatedly urge it on the reader's mind, that we are not so much concerned with what might have been, or even, if you please, ought to have been; as with what has been. However much the wisdom of the plan of redemption, when understood,.may commend itself to our understandings, or its marvellous condescension to our aftections, we are not bound, even if we be able, to show that it is the best that could have been contrived, or that it has been publish- ed in the best possible manner. If we can substantiate its truth, it is enough for us to knoAv, that such are the terms on which our heavenly Sovereign has announced his willing- ness to enter into an intercourse with his subjects here on earth; and that it is his good pleasure to communicate his will, for the most part, through a selected few. We find it stated that on a few rare occasions a voice fi-om heaven was heard by multitudes, as when the law was given on mount Sinai, and at the Baptism of Jesus; but that, more com- monly, the divine will was promulgated through the inter- vention of chosen men, known in the Old Testament as Pro- phets, and in the New' as Apostles; while on one occasion the Son of God, being himself very God of very God, assum- ed a human form, and thus spake openly with men. All these, except the incarnate Son of God, were men in every respect like ourselves, and subject to like infirmities. The Son of God himself differed only in this, that he partook not of the sinful corruption of our nature, but in all other particulars was like the rest of men. The intrinsic omni- science of his Divinity, which he did not lay aside when he put on the human form, rendered any Revelation from above unnecessary to him. He was himself the God from whom the Christian Revelation emanates, and on whom cen- tres the whole Christian scheme. It is in fact to demonstrate his claim to the obedience of all nations, that we cite the pro- phets and apostles as witnesses; and if we can make out their testimony to be credible, that testimony is, that he is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. And here, in passing, it may be well to pause and remind the reader, though this is not the place to enter upon the rela- 12 PRELIMINARY REMARKS. []PART. l.\ tionsliip between the three Persons of the blessed Trinity, ori to dwell upon their respective offices, that it is a first prin-j ciple of our faith, that the Son and the Holy Ghost are,j with the Father, one God, ever world without end. It will] be sufficient therefore to speak of Revelation, as the Reve^ lation, generally, of the Christians God, irrespective of the; particular Person of the Godhead whose more peculiar: office may be touched upon; without staying to state parti-' cularly that it was the Holy Ghost that moved both pro-| phets and apostles, or to discuss how far the inspiration of the prophets may be correctly ascribed to the Son of God,' or, finally, to show, that whatever light of the knowledge of the glory of God shine forth in the Christian scheme, it is all, as is implied in the very name of Christianity, in thei face of JESUS CHRIST. To resume : — on the few occasions when the voice of God spake to a multitude, the spectators could have no doubt of the reality of the transaction. When the communication wa» made through one in human form, the question was rea* sonable and proper : — the question might be reasonably and properly asked. How can we tell that you are sent from GodI The Lord spake to his prophets, sometimes in dreams and! visions of the night ; sometimes in an audible voice ; and again, by the mere exercise of an impression on their minds. How were they to discriminate between an ordinary dream, and a prophetic vision; the wanderings of an excited imagi- nation, and the suggestions of the Spirit of God; and if there were a distinguishing token sufficient for their own guidance, how were they to satisfy those to whom their message was addressed ? There may, or may not, be more ways than one by which this object might be accomplished; but there is one not to be mistaken, and beyond all con- troversy adequate to secure it. This is the performance of some work, simple and obvious to the senses of all, clearly not a cunning trick, and manifestly beyond the power of man; or the announcing of some future event, speedily to be accomplished, and obviously such as no human penetra- tion could foresee. We might not unreasonably expect a repetition of these, to such an extent as would fairly bring the certainty of a miracle having been wrought, or a future event foretold, within the reach of the generality of those whom it concerned to assure themselves of the divine cha^ CHAP. 1.2 PRELIMINARY REMARKS. 13 racter of the messenger thus accredited. But it is obvious that it would not be iiecessary that these credentials should be repeated on every occasion of his appearance in pub- lic. It would be clear from a few such exhibitions that such an one was commissioned by a Superior Power; and the seal thus unequivociilly put to his pretensions^ it is fair to suppose, would extend to the ratification of all his public and official acts, in his capacity of an emis- sary of that Power. We do not ask a well known servant to produce a warrant from his master on every message he may bring; and thus, the official character of a prophet being once established by the possession of miraculous or prophetic powers, and perhaps by their repetition on suitable and mo- mentous occasions, the authority of this general testimony would be sufficiently satisfactory; it would, moreover, be fair to presume, that did he dare to deviate from his instruc- tions, some public reprimand would be given; and the non- appearance of such reprimand would suffice to demonstrate his fidelity. To their contemporaries, then, the proof of the divine mission of the prophets and apostles was their miracles; and their spirit of prophecy, which indeed may be well in-* eluded under the general idea of a miracle. But the age in which they lived could alone be assured, from the seeing of the eye, or hearing of the ear, that the works and words ascribed to them were actually wrought and said. They have long since been gathered to their fathers; and the gift of miracles has long ceased in the Christian Church. But the message they delivered has, we are told, been put iii writing; and the Scriptures in the hands of the Christian Church profess to be those very writings; and to contain a faithful account of all we need to know concerning our religion. In what way are we to satisfy ourselves that these are indeed the writings they profess to be; and that the doctrines and the story they contain are true? If the story be strictly true, these miracles have been wrought, for it is essentially a miraculous story; and, if the miracles were wrought, the doctrines that are involved in and mixed up with them, and in support of which they were originally urged, are from heaven; and the whole scheme claims our implicit credit. This scheme was not developed at once but gradually; and the divine authority of each successive 14 PRELIMINARY REMARKS, [jPART. I. ' portion is said to hare been demonstrated by certain mi- racles. Wlien asked on what the authority of the whole : rests now, we reply the self same miracles as then. The ( primitive teacher had to produce his gift of miracles; we | have to prove that this gift was fairly displayed. The ' evidence of the miracles alone differs. The contemporary i of a prophet or apostle was satisfied of the reality of the ; miracle by the exercise of his bodily senses; we must arrive j at the same conclusion by the testimony of history. Our \ first step will therefore be, to show that we liave sure grounds ; for asserting that these miracles have been actually wrought, | precisely as related in our Scriptures; and the second, ta j deduce from their truth the divine authority of the doctrines j they were intended to substantiate. The first point will be ; conveniently embraced under two propositions, ! I. That the story we possess is the same story Chrisr j tians have had from the beginning. \ II. That that, story is true. | These two propositions will complete the first division of ; our argument. The second will lead us to discuss the sub- ject of miracles, (and prophecy,) more at large, and thejr j use in giving the stamp of divine authority to our faith. There is a general argument that will comprise both the propositions of our first part; and on which I shall bestow ; a separate chapter, before entering on the subject of histor; rical evidence. Its object will be to show, independently! of all testimony, that this story must be true, because their '■ is no assignable age in which it can have been invented^ i We shall then pursue the argument from testimony, taking^ these propositions successively under consideration. And^ while confining ourselves to this line of reasoning, the proof:] that the story we have now, is the same that Christians^ have had from the beginning, must depend solely and en^; tirely on external evidence; that is, on the testimony of; others, irrespective of any considerations arising from the' internal marks of veracity the story itself may furnish. When we come further to elicit the truth of the story, wei shall find our inquiry will not only lead us to the examina-; tion of outward and direct historical testimony; but a mass of circumstantial evidence will arise from the comparison j of many incidents involved in the story with independent,^ indifferent, and often adverse authorities; and of its several^ CHAP. 11.] PRELIMINARY REMARKS. 15 portions with each other. This kind of evidence always carries with it the greatest weight; and, when skilfully handled, is universally looked on as an infallible test of truth. It will therefore stand us in great stead; its absence in any case is to say the least suspicious; but when we find an accumulating preponderance of it crowding on our atten- tion, and absolutely nothing to detract from the presump- tion it afibrds of truth, no impartial judge can hesitate to pronounce a favourable sentence. Whether such be the case vnih the subject before us the reader must hereafter judge; an Advocate may not anticipate a verdict, however convinced of the soundness of the cause he pleads. c2 16 GENERAL PROOF OF THE IDENTITY fPART. I. CHAPTER II. General proof op the identity and truth of the Christian Story. Four rules for testing the truth of matters of fact. — Im- -possibility of forgery in the age to which a history he- longs secured by the two first. — Examples. — The New Testament a contemporary and circumstantial narrative of public events. — It could not, therefore, have been invent- ed in the age assigned to its story. — Nor in any subsequent age. — Illustrations of the two last rules. — Their applica- tion to Christianity; — in its sabbaths; — its clergy; — its sacraments. — These rules not satisfied in other systems. — Concluding remarks. The argument of the present chapter, as has been intima- ted, is purely general, and will be conducted on the principles set forth in four simple rules, that hare been laid down to test the truth of matters of fact in general; and which I shall at once set down. They are : — (1.) That the matters of fact be such that men's out- ward senses may be judges of them. (2.) That they be done publicly in the face of the world. (3.) That public monuments be kept, and outward acts performed, in memory of these facts. (4.) That these be instituted and commence from the time the matters of fact were done. The first two of these make it impossible to impose on men at the time when the facts are said to have happened; and the others will be found to extend the impossibility to every subsequent age. It must not, however, be understoood, that we consider no fact worthy of credit that has not all the marks, for, in reality, they meet in very few. What CHAP. II.] AND TRUTH OP THE CHRISTIAN STORY. 17 we assert is, that, where all meet, the matter of fact in question cannot be false; and the converse of this will like- wise hold good, that they cannot meet in any thing untrue. The ensuing remarks will be found to bear successively on each pair of these rules, and their application to the events recorded in the Ncav Testament. I shall hereafter take occasion to set before my reader the difficulties that lay in the way of a literary forgery, and the multiplicity of points on which it encounters the risk of exposure, even when availing itself of the adventitious obscurity flung around it by the lapse of ages. He will however at once see the impracticability of imposing on the world a history, representing itself as a record of passing or recent events, or a collection of letters perpetually alluding to such events, unless those events were real. For example, no one could, in the present year, pass off as true, a diary, purporting to contain a detail of the principal public occur- rences of the year 1844, in London, in Calcutta, or Madras; or a series of letters founded on these occurrences, and continually alluding to them ; these occurrences having never been witnessed or heard of by those living at the places during the time. Nor will the imposture be a whit more easy, if we imagine the diary to belong to the year 1840; 1835; or 1830. "We may go back further yet, and allow an interval of thirty, forty, or even fifty years; for many thousands are still enjoying the full possession of their bodily and mental faculties, who at the most distant of these peri- ods, had attained to man's estate and were fully competent to understand and judge of what was passing around them. We might perhaps safely extend this period, with reference even to events of no very extraordinary character, provided they were at the time of tolerable notoriety; but in the case of more engrossing objects of interest, it may obviously be much prolonged. There are still living many officers, and doubtless many more soldiers, who served at the seige of Seringapatam in 17^9; and the two sieges of Bhurtpore in 1805, & 1826. It is needless to say that no man or boy old enough to serve in any capacity whatever at either of these heart stirring scenes, could ever so far forget what actually occurred as to be persuaded of the truth of any thing substantially clashing with what he himself then saw. He could not for instance, be persuaded that General Lake com- g3 18 GENERAL PROOF OF THE IDENTITY [PART. 1. J manded at Seringapatam; or General Harris at Blmrtpore ; \ or that the British army was driven away from the former \ place ; or succeeded, at the first siege, in storming the latter; \ or that either of these places were surrendered without a I struggle. Still less could any writer now prevail on the ; British army to receive as authentic the accounts of these : sieges, had they never happened at all. Those who have ] access to the public records of government, the men and \ officers still living, whose names are mixed up with the i published narratives; the inhabitants of the localities where \ the events are said to have occurred; the whole British" army; the whole of British India, nay, the whole civilized i world, would surely forthwith unite to strangle the audaci- ; ous imposture in its very birth. It will then, I think, be \ conceded that no serious attempt at forgery would ever be i made, or if made, could ever succeed, in the age in which ] the facts involved in it are stated to have occurred ; provided \ only they be of such a nature that, if true, they must have i been notorious to all. It remains therefore only to examine l whether the events recorded in the New Testament are of ^ such a nature; and if so, it will follow that the story, if] invented, could not have been invented in the age to which I it purports to belong. ] The books of the New Testament themselves profess to be ; contemporary with the events they relate. Thus one writer i announces himself as " the disciple which testifieth of these i things," (John xxi. 24.); and another, while he disclaims the ; authority of an eye witness, tells us that he was indebted for = his information to those, who "from the beginning were eyej witnesses and ministers of the word." (Luke L I — 4.) And^ the Epistles from their nature must have been contemporary, ; The very name of a letter necessarily involves this idea; beside ■ that those in our collection perpetually appeal to events as ; fresh in the recollection of those addressed, (1 Cor. i. 14 — 16. ■ XV. 2. 2 Cor. xi. 9. xii. 12. Phil. iv. 15, 16.); and allude to' past and passing incidents, and speak of future purposes, in a" manner just such as we should expect in a correspondence i carried on at the time. But tliis is immaterial to our present] argument: we are now only concerned to show that they' could not have been invented at the time assigned to thej transactions they record; and this depends solely on thei character of those transactions. It may assist us, however, t9^ CHAP. II.] AND TRUTH OP THE CHRISTIAN STORY. ID enquire what indications they give of having been published on the spot. — There are indeed so great a number of places made the scene of some one or more of the events narrated, that, wherever published, they could scarcely fail to meet with some within whose reach there would not lie some personal test of their veracity. But, after all, Judaea was the chief theatre on which these mighty acts are said to have been displayed; and how stands the case with regard to it? The authors every where speak of themselves as Jews, or intimately connected with Jews; and as being in the con- stant habit, as indeed was every Jew, of visiting Jerusalem at longer or shorter intervals. The things related are described as those "most surely believed among us," (Luke i. 1.) that is, among Christians; and many thousands of these we are told were still domiciled in Jerusalem and Judaea. (Acts ii. 41. iv. 4. xxi. 20.) It is therefore morally certain, that some one, at least, if not more of these histories must, if they existed at all, have found their way to, and have been known and circulated in Judaea ; that is, on the spot where the transactions are stated to have happened; — whether originally published there or not, is a matter of very little moment. It remains then only to examine the nature of the facts themselves: and no one can turn over the leaves of the New Testament in the most cursory way, without at once perceiving, that a more copious and minutely circumstantial narrative could scarcely have been penned; or one more full of incidents obvious to the ordinary apprehension of even an indifferent observer. By far the greater number of these are such as absolutely to preclude the slightest possible suspicion of deception or of error; while hardly two conse- cutive pages of narrative occur, where circumstances of the greatest publicity are not brought prominently forward as an integral part of the story. Witness the baptism of Jesus, in a place represented as the resort of "Jerusalem and all Judaea, and all the region round about Jordan", (Matt. iii. Luke iii.); the sermon on the mount, (Matt. v. i.); the thousands who partook of the loaves and fishes in the wilder- ness, (Matt. xiv. 21. XV. 38.); Christ's public entry into Jerusalem, (Matt. xxi. 1-11.); and above all the crucifixion, (Matt, xxvii. Mark xv. Luke xxiii. John xix.), entailing on the writers the mention of the Roman Governor, and hiu 20 GENERAL PROOF OP THE IDENTITY [[PART. I, 3 guard; the chief priests and elders of the Jews; the Jewish rabble, in short the whole Jewish nation assembled at their passover; all engaged in an effort to crush an obnoxious | religion in the bud, and personally interested to refute the story if untrue. This latter event withal is made to have j been attended by a supernatural darkness, during the ; brightest hours of the day, from noon to three o'clock, and ; extending over the whole land. (Matt, xxvii. 45. Mark i XV. 33. Luke xxiii. 44.) Would it have been possible, i I ask, to persuade thousands that they had, at a specified ; time, been fed, I will not say miraculously but fed at all, \ in a specified place; those thousands having never gone ; collectively to that place, or having gone and witnessed na i distribution of food? And the children expressly mentioned as ptesent, would extend the time of impossible imposition ^ to very many years. Again would it have been possible to | persuade a whole nation, jealously sensitive of any thing j touching their religious prejudices, that at such a time and ' place, they, being congregated at a national feast, beheld ; the crucifixion of an individual on a religious question, : under circumstances of extreme religious excitement and < unusual natural phenomena; the main body of that nation \ having actually been present on the occasion indicated, and ] having seen no such excitement, heard of no such public ' execution, ^vitnessed no such phenomena? The events then i recorded in the New Testament, are of such a nature that, if '■ untrue, they could never have been imposed on the world within the age in which they are said to have occurred; nor, : we might add, in the next, for their memory could not have \ been so soon obliterated. It is not easy to convey the full , force of this inference in words; the whole of it hinges on ' the importance and extensive publicity of the leading facts. ' But, to put the question in as simple a form as it can assume, ■ let any one ask himself, after an attentive perusal of the ' incidents referred to in this paragraph, whether such a ! history could be received in his own country, as a trust | worthy record of what had happened there, within his own ' memory; or that of the generation before him, unless substan- \ tially true? I am persuaded he must feel that it could not; ' that such an imposture would at once be scouted as palpably j absurd, not to say insulting to the understanding of his nation; and could only meet the fate it merited, contemptu^ ; CHAP. II.] AND TRUTH OF THE CHRISTIAN STORY. 21 ous neglect, and speedy oblivion. It is then impossible that the Christian storv, purporting to be a contemporary history, circulated on the spot where its scene is laid, could have been fabricated in the age to which it professes to be- long. If it existed then it must, in the main, be true. If it be not true, it must have been invented afterwards. AVhat I have here advanced has brought our Christian story under the first two rules laid do\^^l at starting. We have now to illustrate the considerations embodied in the two that remain; and see how far they are complied with in the circumstances of that story: for if they be complied vWth, a little reflection will satisfy us that it could not have been fabricated in any age subsequent to its own. These rules, it will be recollected, are; (3.) That public monuments be kept, and outward acts performed, in memory of the facts: (4.) That these be instituted, and commence from the time the matters of fact were done. Supposing, then, some bold and ingenious writer to sit down and invent a story, said to have happened two or three thousand years ago; and to pretend that he had fortunately discovered it in some hitherto neglected manuscript, now for the first time dragged from its obscurity, and denuded of the dust of ages. It is far from impossible that many would be found to lend a willing ear to its delusions. Nay further, suppose some well known monument to exist, or some custom to prevail, whose origin and object are involved in doubt, or have been altogether forgotten; it might not be impossible, by some plausible but fictitious tale, to induce many to believe that they commemorate such and such a transaction of far remote antiquity, hitherto unknown. It is not likely that such a persuasion would generally prevail ; but to some extent it might; and indeed instances might be adduced where such impostures have deceived even the well informed. But it is a different thing to persuade a man of the truth of what he has never heard before; and to persuade to him that the event in question has been familiar to him from his childhood. It is one thing to account for the origin of a monument or a custom, and another to prevail on men to believe that they have al\>'ay.*>. looked on them as springing from that origin; when it is now for the first time propounded to them. Still less, if these 22 GENERAL PBOOF OF THE IDENTITY [[PART. I^ monuments have commonly been received, whether correctly^ or not, as commemorative of any given past transaction,. M'ould it be possible to induce a belief, not that the current' notion is faulty, but that it has never been entertained; andi to substitute for this some new theory, as the one that had: been all along regarded as the true one. An example ihayi bring this impossibility more home to the reader s mind, than'] any general statement can. Let us then resume our com-i ments on the military events before referred to. The Madras i Army List apprizes us that a great number of regiments, of; every branch of the service, bear on their colours the word Seeing apatam; and that of Bengal would doubtless tell a- like tale of Bhurtpore, among the troops of that presidency. I Supposing that nothing were known as to the meaning of; this distinctive mark; some future antiquary might conjee- i ture that it owed its origin to this or that event; perhaps; that the regiments were first raised at those places, or thatj some signal services had been performed there; and he might] get many to acquiesce in his surmises. But could he per- '' suade those regiments, or the army, that these words had beeal handed down, from age to age, as avowed memorials of that « fact, or those services? And if, as is the real state of the case, j they had been uniformly looked on, from the time they hadj become the badge' of those corps, or from time beyond thej memory of man, as the honourable memorials of eminent] services, could any reasoning or eloquence on earth per-] suade those regiments, and the army, not that they were j utterly mistaken; but that they had never so regarded them ;i that, on the contrary, they had uniformly been received as i a mark of defeat and disgrace? The impossibility of thej thing is self evident, and the argument applies to every age, ] and fills up the whole interval from the first adoption ofj such a distinctive badge, to the remotest period we can| imagine. And if it be thus impossible to palm upon men \ a false account of existing monuments; is it more easy, first 1 to prevail on them to introduce such memorials; and thenj to persuade them that they had always been familiar with : them, time out of mind? Let any man, be his station and \ influence what it may, endeavour to prevail on his own ', nation, or those of his own persuasion, a Brahmin on Brah- { mins, a Mahometan on Mahometans, to adopt some easy ; novel site, say to bow three times precisely at noon, on the , CHAP. II.] AN© TRUTH OP THE CHRISTIAN STORY. 23 first day of every month, to each of the four cardinal points : is it likely that this custom would be at once received by all? But suppose it were, could it be received as an old and well known rite, universally observed among their sect? Once more:, could it be received as notoriously commemorative of some event acknowledged to constitute the very foundation of their religion; that event having never been heard of before? Would the reader of these pages, would any of his friends and acquaintance, would any man of the present age contribute his share to the estab- lishment of such an imposture? Would he allow himself to be deceived? or would the task of deceiving others be thought so easy, as to invite his ready cooperation in the scheme? And the impossibility is equally great among the most enlightened or the most ignorant, for no ignorance can lay a man open to the delusion that he is familiar with what he has never heard of, that is that he knew it before he knew it. And yet to command complete success in an im- posture of this kind, every man, believer or sceptic, sec- tarian or opponent, must either be deceived, or unite in a conspiracy to practise on the credulity of ages to come. The absurdity of the idea is too glaring to be entertained for a moment: and if it could not be done in this age, neither could it in the last, or the one before that, or in any other; and thus, if we have existing institutions, intimately associ- ated with certain bygone actions, of which they are said, from thejirst^ to have been memorials, we are driven back from age to age, and can find none to which their introduc- tion can be assigned, till we come to that to which they are reputed to belong; and in this, as we have already seen, it is impossible they could have been received, except these actions were unquestionably real. It must, however, be carefully noted that the memorials we are speaking of ought to have been always observed, from the time of the actions they commemorate. For with- out this, the connexion between the events and their me- morial is broken, and a gap is left in which imposture may have been at work. Tlie form the case then assumes is this: a story is brought forward relating to some distant time, and men are induced to institute some rite by which its memory is preserved. But what is there to prove this Story true? The memorial may serve to prove to future 24 GENERAL PROOF OP THE IDENTITY [^PART. IS generations that it has been received as far back as the period of this institution. The interval must be filled up by other means; tlie identity of the story can only be traced to a certain point, its truth cannot, by this method, be proved at all; there is nothing to bring us to the ultimate appeal we have to make to the common sense of the generation who should have been eye witnesses of its truth. I do not say that this may not be effectually done by other means ; it may, or it may not; I only say that this argument will fail. Thus when the Christian Church annually com- memorates the Conversion of St. Paul, or even the Nativity of Christ, we cannot press these festivals as affording any infallible proof of the reality of the facts, because there is nothing in our books to connect the event commemorated with the institution of the commemorating festival; though we have other means of demonstrating both to be true* There must then be something to mark that the institution is coeval with the event it commemorates, and that it had been uninterruptedly continued from that period to the present. This is the fourth of the rules above laid do^^^l«, Now the Christian Church possesses; (1.) Two sacred ordinances, denominated sacraments; instituted by the founder of the religion, and madcj of perpetual obligation. i (2.) An order of men set apart for the administratioB| of these sacraments, and for the preaching of the word^ (3.) The dedication of one day out of every seven, a# a Sabbath^ or day of rest, to be kept holy to the Lord^ To begin with the third of these: the sabbath was notf' in its first institution, a memorial of any thing connected with the New Testament dispensation; but has become s<| by a change in the day observed. From .the very begin-: ning, our books teach us, a day was set apart for rest fromj the ordinary occupations of life, to keep alive the memory! that the Creator rested from his work, after he had framedi the worlds; and in the course of ages this day became asso-' ciated with other acts of mercy and of power. But we are, at present, only concerned with it as an institution of Christianity; and this it became when its observance wa^t transferred from the seventh day of the week, on which itj had previously been kept, to the first. We find that thdj early disciples had a custom of assembling on the first daj- CUAP. II.]] AND TRUTH OF THE CHRISTIAN STORY. 25 of the week, for the purposes of breaking bread, (that is, of celebrating one of their sacraments,) of preaching and uniting in prayer, and of making collections for objects of charity, (Acts xx. 7- 1 Cor. xvi. 2.). We are further told that there was a day known among them as the Lord's day, (Rev. i. 10.) clearly this same first day, being the day on which Christ rose from the dead. (Matt, xxviii. 1. Mark xvi. 2. Luke xxiv. L John xx. L) Now there were two classes of people, in one or other of which was comprised every individual to whom the apostles could address themselves; the heathen, to whom the notion of a Siibbatical rest was unknown; and the Jews, who possessed such an institution, but had always appropriated to it a different day. The one class could not have been prevailed on to adopt the institution, carrying with it, as it did, the novel sacrifice of an entire day in seven from their ordinary pursuits, nor the other to have altered an existing religious festival, except they Avere persuaded of the truth of the ground on which the matter rested, the resurrection of Christ: — and no future generation could have been deluded into the belief that this institution had always been observ- ed among Christians, and always for the reason assigned, if then first introduced among them. The second of the institutions above enumerated, the appointment of an order of men for the the administration of certain ordinances, and as teachers of the religion to which they appertain, presents us with a feature somewhat differing from any we have yet alluded to. It is a feature not peculiar to Christianity, for where is the religion that has not its priesthood, and its })rescribed rites an 3 j so GENERAL PROOF OP THE IDENTITY LpART. I. ] and with these expunged from its pages, the New Testa- i ment is no longer the charter of the Christian Church, i We have next summoned to our aid the acknowledged ? every day principles, and nothing more than the acknow- ! ledged every day principles hy which human life is governed; and shown that these are amply suificient to secure us, under the circumstances of the case, from any danger of ; material deception: the general truth of the story we are : warranted in concluding may be depended on. And in this - assertion I must guard against being understood to exclude j the miraculous part of it: for the principal miracles were ' of so obvious and public a character as fully to bring them ; within the conditions of our first two rules: and are so ] closely blended with the rest of the narrative, the whole story is so integrally a miraculous story, that if we except ] this part of it, we cannot say that it is generally true. If ; the miracles were never wrought, a more wholesale and j barefaced imposition could not have been put together. I The argument would bear to be pushed further, and we J might go on to deduce not merely a presumption of general truth, but of the most minute fidelity. Tlie reasoning in i support of this, is, however, common to other independent I proofs, by which the general credibility of our history is ; made out. We will, therefore, pause at this point, and ] reserve the further prosecution of the subject till those I proofs have been given. The present line of argument, it 1 will be remembered, is entirely independent of those that j are to follow; each are distinct in their nature; and un- I connected, save by the object in which they centre. If ^ what has been now urged be conclusive, as surely it is, any | further corroborating proof will twine a two-fold cord, not i quickly broken. But if any deem it inconclusive, our] defences are not yet exhausted, there is more jet to fall \ back upon; and it must at least be admitted, that the pre- i sumption of truth is strong in the extreme; the probability i of error or deception is already reduced to the lowest ebb. I There is, however, one consideration which adds such j strength to all this reasoning, that to stop short with a mere - presumption, however strong, is awarding to it a degree of 1 weight quite incommensurate with its value. There is j that in our holy religion so uncongenial to the natural man, ] its precepts are so opposed to all his darling lusts, and so j CHAP. II.] AND TRUTH OF THE CHRISTIAN STORY. 31 sternly interdict his allowed practices, that it could not have made its way in this world of wickedness, except on the most irresistible conviction of its truth. I would not be thought to imply that Christianity has not its attractions; far be such a thought from any who have tasted that the Lord is gracious! Hers is a peace that passeth all under- standing; her ways are ways of pleasantness, and all her paths are peace. (Phil. iv. 7- Piov. iii. 18.) There are thousands who will testify of the delight they have found in running the way of her commandments: it is only to those Avho understand her not, that she is forbidding; but the many are among this number; and time was when they were counted, very nearly, by the census of the world. It is not, gcneralh)^ so much a repugnance to the miracles that stands in the way of the progress of the gospel; such is indeed the case Avith the philosophical infidel; but most men are disposed to bo credulous; and the vulgar especially are ever ready to lend themselves to the wonder of the day. But are they so read)' to bid a lasting farewell to all their evil habits? When it came to the injunctions, "Puttings away lying, speak every man truth with his neighbour; — Let hrm that stole, steal no more; — Let no corrupt com- munication proceed out of your mouth ; — Let all bitterness and wrath, and anger, and clamour, and evil speaking be put away from you, with all malice; — But fornication and all uncleanness, or covetousness, let it not be once named among you, as becometh saints;'* (Eph. iv. 25, &c. v. 3.): when, I say, it came to these injunctions, would they not pause before they gave their confidence to a teacher whose story was clogged with such conditions? I cannot, perhaps, Si lect a more comprehensive epitome of a Christian's obli- gations in every walk of life, than that contained in the chapters whence these few sentences are extracted. Let any one carefully peruse, from the sixteenth verse of the fourth chapter of the Epistle to the Ephesians, to the ninth ' rse of the sixth, contrasting, as he reads on, each several 'cept with the practice of those around him; and then A himself if he would find it a light thing to bring that ractice into strict conformity with what the apostle has here enjoined ? But th(;se precepts derive all their authority from the miraculous story on which they are engrafted. When therefore presstd with the fearful conscc^uences of 32 GENERAL PROOF OF THE IDENTITY [[PART. I. disregarding them ; (Eph. v. 5, 6.) and at the same time urged pn to do so by his natural disposition and acquired habits, would not every man catch eagerly at any handle by which to overturn the truth of the story, and with it the whole Christian scheme? Had not its truth been beyond all shadow of doubt, it could not have forced its way in spite of the obstacles it must encounter. Verily if Christianity be an imposition, its reception by men, in any age, from that of Chri;-t to this very hour, is indeed a miracle scarcely less, (shall we not rightly say,) far more wonderful than the -wildest and most incongruous legend that has ever been fa Died of men or gods. But it will be expected that something should be said of those other systems, whose existence at the present day is equally self evident with that of Christianity; and whose stated festivals, initiatory and commemorative rites, and numerous priesthood, might seem to give them an equal claim upon our regard. I shall not need to add much to what has been already observed, when speaking of the constituted teachers of the Christian Church. It will in every case be found, on due examination, that some one or other of our four marks of veracity cannot be applied. One link of the chain will be wanting; and though it will not, as we have before allowed, necessarily follow, from this alone, that these systems are false, yet they will fail to place themselves on the same footing with Christianity; they are without one, at least, of its buttresses; they have fallen behind in the first portion of the race. The system that approaches nearest to a competition with the Christian faith is Mahometanism. How vastly it falls short, it will be incumbent on me to show, as the progress of our argument leads us to the several objects of comparison. It is admitted that the Koran is the genuine work of Mahomet; no question is made of the rapid pro- pagation of its doctrines; or of its extensive and long conti- nued sway. The general truth of its story is sufficiently well accredited ; its fast of Ramadan, and its pilgrimage to Mecca, to pass by other institutions, were appointed by its founder, and made of lasting obligation on all his followers ; and one day in seven has, in virtue of his injunctions, been set apart for the public worship of God. Yet all this does not come up to what has been said of the Christian's faith; CHAP. II.] AND TRUTH OP THE CHRISTIAN STORY. 33 nor is it sufficient to secure us from imposture; for wliile we do not deny tlie truth of the main facts of the story, we can detect nothifig that i7[faUibhf marks the Prophet of the one true God. It would be anticipating what will more properly come under our review at a future stage of the argument, to enter upon the subject of miracles here, and to ])oint out the deficiency of them, or any thing really equivalent to them, in the Mahometan Creed ; or at least in their sacred book, the Koran. But it comes within our pre- sent purpose to remark, that the chief of the few pretended to, the famous night journey to heaven, was of a nature that could not be judged of by the common senses of men. It depended solely on the authority of an individual, and was such that even he, supposing no deception were intended, could not have told whether it were a reality, or the baseless fabric of a vision; a revelation from above, or a mere ordi- nary dream. And the others have, if possible, as shall be shown hereafter, even lest to sustain their character as un- controvertibly supernatural events. We lose therefore the first mark of truth in a particular of the last moment. For the method we have laid down for our guidance, it will be remembered, is, to take miracles, or, wanting these, some- thing equivalent to miracles, as a sufficient proof of a divine commission; and to prove the reality of those miracles by the ordinary principles on which men act in every day life. And, if the founder of a religion disavow miraculous powers, or confine his pretensions to such as, from their very nature; can only be known to himself, it is clear that what is not < apable of being witnessed by men, cannot be proved by the testimony of men; and hence, if their be no equivalent to miracles, we have no real evidence of any sufficient stamp of divine authority put on the pretensions of the Seer, and he fails to establish his character as a Prophet. The Hindoo mythology hurries us into the opposite ex- treme; for here we are well nigh oA'erwhelmed with the ''»od of marvels that burst upon us; — but not to bring iiviction in their train. For the very excess of their over- wrought strangeness, the unnatural extravagance of their incidents, to say nothing of their intrinsic absurdity, place tliem at once beyond the capacities of man; and thus again (h'privc us of the security that ought to be derived from our first rule, and lose the presumption of truth that must 34 GENERAL PROOF OP THE IDENTITY [^PART. t. have accrued to them, had it been observed. Thus the churning of the ocean, with all its portentous results, could have been seen by no mortal eye ; and the same may be said of the exploits of Rama, Crishna, Hanuman, and almost every extant legend of their gods: it is seldom indeed that a deity is permitted to stoop so low as to perform an action within the sphere of man's observation; while by far the greater number of the New Testament wonders were, so to speak, purely wonders of humanity^ compassionate, and, except in the effecting power, every way within the compass of our nature. It would lead us too far to show the fallacy of ascribing the one class of miracles to an ima- gined grandeur, commensurate with the loftiness of the subject; or to set forth the simple and condescending intelligibility of the other, so becoming a God of mercy, ad- dressing beings of limited capacity, but endowed with senses to comprehend, and reason to appreciate, enough for all the purposes of time and of eternity; so suitable to a God who adapts the soil and climate to the plant, and the plant to its position; who apportions to the body the sustenance its nature requires; and frames that body according to the food provided for it; and who might therefore be expected to address man, as man, in language and by signs compatible with the degree of intelligence given him in the ranks of creation. But we have only space to answer an obvious inquiry. Are there not, it may be asked, parts of the Christian scheme beyond the grasp of man's intellect; and descriptions of unearthly wonders, displayed but to a very few ? And might not the heathen story, objected to because unearthly, have been in like manner supernaturally revealed to one or two, and by them made more generally known? I ansart, of the host of witness- es that force themselves on our attention in behalf of the Christian story; and that when our cause is competently pleaded, the man who will fairly and impartially weigh the pile of depositions and pleadings that can be heaped before him; and patiently go through the whole with a mind open to conviction, will be put in the position almost of an eye witness, and will rise from the investigation, as well satisfi- ed with the proof he possesses, so far as it relates to ex- ternal facts, as ever an actual hearer returned from the preaching of a Peter or a Paul. I have said we need but to apply to the subject before us the ordinary rules of every day life. — In practice what is it we depend on ? Perhaps those who have not thought much £ 38 ON HISTORICAL EVIDENCE GENERALLY ; j^PART. I. on the subject are not aware in how extensive a degree they are dependent on the good faith of others. A Uttie reflec- tion will convince us how little there is of which strictly speaking we have personal knowledge ; which we ourselves have seen or heard, or which has come, in some way or other, within the cognizance of our senses. That such and such a disease is accompanied by such and such an acute pain, we can only know experimentally, in the fullest sense of the word, if we have ourselves suffered; for even to witness the sufferings of another under its influence, would clearly be but a partial and imperfect acquaintance with the sensible acuteness of the pain. But leaving these stricter examples, and allowing a more popular and extended use of ordinary terms; a thousand instances will present themselves, de- monstrating the very limited nature of the personal experi- ence and sphere of action of almost every man. Even of those who possess the best opportunities, and the greatest powers of observation, this remark must hold. The enterprising traveller himself, who has personally visited extensive portions of the globe, cannot see all ; and in the countries he most minutely explores, must owe something to the information of others, as well as to his own observa- tion; and the notions of by far the largest majority of men as to distant places arc derived, not even from the commu- nications of private friends; but from accounts furnished by writers personally unknown. But it is not only in matters of general interest that this principle appears. It shows itself still more strikingly in the way that men stake large portions of their wealth, nay sometimes risk their entire fortunes, on the report of another; and we need not add, that the caution of most men, where their own interest is concerned, is such as to make this no mean test, wher- ever it can be applied. The merchant of Bombay or Calcutta learns from his agent, or possibly merely from a Newspaper, the state of the London, or the China market, and makes his purchases, and ships his goods on the faith of what he has heard. At best he may have a partner or a relative as his informant; but sad experience tells us it is far from impossible that even these may be designing men. Suppose he has been deceived, he may be ruined, or at least his fortune greatly impaired; yet however anxious those engaged in, commerce may be, lest a change in the CHAP. III.] AND THE RULES BY WHICH IT IS EXAMINED. 39 market curtail the anticipated profits of their adyenture, how many hundreds are there, who are so little harassed by suspicion of deception on the part of those they have con- fided in, that though we cannot perhaps say such a notion never crosses their minds, we may safely say that it never robs them of their peace, or hampers them in their plans. If a man be of the poorest rank, he must more or less depend upon his fellowmen. The labourer goes through his daily toil in the confidence that his master will remu- nerate him; and the master entrusts a commission to his servant in the expectation that it will be faithfully performed. And the more extensive a man's property, influence, or power, let him be active and penetrating as he may, unless he be more than man, the more intlispensable will it be for liim to confide in others. It is needless to say confidence will not be indiscriminately reposed in all; there will be various maxims to guide him in the selection of his agents, and in the measure of dependence he can place in each, founded chiefly on his notion of their ability or integrity. Some he will regard as worthy of very little, others of im- plicit trust; there may be one he knows to be competent for the task assigned him, but he suspects his fidelity; another he would trust as himself; but doubts his capabilities. Room will be found for the exercise of the most comsummate skill and discernment, in nicely balancing all the varied quali- fications of these several agents, and apportioning to each the post he can occupy to the best advantage. If this be mismanaged confusion and disorder, loss and ruin, may t nsue; but it is manifest without it nothing can be done. Again, it is no less self evident that in innumerable cases the communication between a principal and his subordinates must be carried on by writing. Personal interviews would in most instances be precluded by distance, if not by other it. By far the largest portion of the business of the world e2 40 ON HISTORICAL EVIDENCE GENERALLY ; [PART. I. at the present day is carried on by writing. The transac- tions of the merchant; the adjustment of the vast machinery of government; the proceedings of a court of justice; the possessions of a private family, the relations of friendly king- doms, are all secured, more or less, by writing; and inscrip- tions on stone have been frequently and successfully resorted to, as the most imperishable application of the principle, and one least open to be tampered with. Indeed if there be an age or a people among Avhom written documents are less familiar, this alone is sufficient to mark it as rude and Tincivilised. But with regard to past transactions writing is stiU more indispensable. It is true a report may be handed down from generation to generation; but we have only to observe the con- stant inaccuracies arising from verbal communications, the numerous alterations and amplifications a story undergoes in passing through many hands; the variations with which two persons, with no intention to deceive, will narrate the same event; nay even the discrepancies often traceable in a story repeated by the same individual at different periods; and we may form some notion of the great uncertainty that must attend this method; and satisfy ourselves that a statement calmly and deliberately committed to writing, with a view to be given to the world as final and authentic, must be far preferable to oral tradition, liable as this must be to accidental errors in its best form, not to mention the wilful falsifications to which it is exposed. Indeed experi- ence has shown that in those countries, and during those ages, when written records have been neglected, little or no history at all, not to say authentic history, has been preserved; and we have only to instance the dearth of Hindoo history, and the remark is strikingly vindicated to the full. But not to insist on this, I will be content to assume that the certainty of past history is, at least, greatly en- hanced by written records. This is beyond all question. But are not WTitten records themselves open to falsificati- on ? How can we assure ourselves of their integrity; especially when we go back to the remote ages of anti- quity? This is a subject of vital importance; and will well deserve much pains and thought. For all external evidence bearing on the Christian Scriptures we have no ilAP. in.] AND THE RULES BY WHICH IT IS ElCAMlNfet). 41 JiWng witness to summon; no recent facts to investigate. The newest portion of our story is nearly two thousand yeiirs old, and we necessarily depend on written testimony alone. I shall therefore devote a few pages to its illustra- tion ; and endeavour as clearly as may be, even at the ex- pense of some prolixity, to acquaint the reader with the principles on which its investigation depends. They will be seen to bear a close analogy to those on which the selection of living agents would be founded; though the difiference of circumstances will necessarily give a different turn to some points of the inquiry. But without adverting to the former, with which we have now no concern, I shall confine my observation to written testimony, and if those whose attention has not been much directed to such in- vestigations will candidly and thoughtfully consider what will be advanced, they will probably be surprised at the degree of certainty attainable, in what at first sight seems so great a difficulty ; and if the patience of those already familiar vrith the subject be wearied, I must beg of them to bear with me for the sake of those who are not; for it is for such these pages were planned and written. It is comparatively easy to pronounce upon the authenti- city of documents of but a few years standing; at least there may be facilities for conducting the inquiry ^viifch do not exist in cases of more ancient date. The handwriting of the record itself, or of its signature may be remembered; living witnesses may still be brought forward to attest its identity, or the custody it has laiti in, may vouch for it that no imposition can have been attempted. A record of a- remoter generation will presGtit greater difficulties; but the uncertainty will be found to depend far less on the distance of the time to which it professes to belong, than on other concomitant circumstances to be noticed regarding it. There is for example more uncertainty as to the transactions of many of the native states of India, of very recent date^ than of those of Greece and Rome more than two thousand irs ago. The history of almost every incident of the i'oloponnesian war is as circumstantially, and as certainly known as that of the late short conflict at Gualior; while the very existence of King Arthur, a British Prince who Uved, if he lived at all, a thousand years later, is involved in doubt and obscurity; and the same may be snid of Prester E 3 42 ON HISTORICAL EVIDENCE GENERALLY ; QpART. I. John, the Nestorian sovereign of the Keraites, and others many hundreds of years nearer to our own times. The most satisfactory method of conducting our researches, when an ancient document is laid before us, will be, if we can trace back a regular Series of records from the present time to that whose authority we have to pronounce upon. If these, as we examine them in order, refer, each to one or more that preceded it; if the dates and names, persons and places correspond; if the language be such as we know, from other sources, prevailed at the respective times to which each pro- fesses to belong; and if a diligent comparison of the whole series with itself, give a consistent narrative, free from con- fusion, and bearing no positive marks of forgery; the pre- sumption in its favour is strong, and in ordinary cases we should not fail to receive it as of good autliority. Suppose another series of records were now discovered, so far differing from the former as to be entirely independent; yet occasionally referring to the same persons, places, or in- cidents ; and each of these were found, as often as they oc- curred, to tally with those of the first series; here would be a corroborating testimony of a very convincing kind; and it would depend upon the fulness of the two records, and the minuteness of the correspondence between them, whether this were not at once satisfactory enough to relieve us of the necessity of entering on a further search; though if more evidence of a like nature did occur, it would still further persuade us of the correctness of our conclusion, and more surely confirm us therein. Moreover, so far as this series carried us back, it would carry with it our faith. If it satisfy us for fifty years, there is no reason why it should not for a hundred. If it satisf\^ us for a hundred, the very same reasons that satisfy for that period, exist in all their force for t^vo, three, four hundred; for a thousand, nay, if it could go so far back, for ten thousand. The considerations on which our conclusion is based, are independent of time; and ought to lose no part of their force at any distance of time. We prove at any time, as recent as we please, the existence of one document; that carries us back to the preceding one; and that again to one earlier still, and if each be satis- factorily proved trust-worthy, it as certainly proves its predecessors, so far as the series extends. But there is another consideration that tends to show that CHAP, in.] AND TUB RULES BY WHICU IT IS EXAMINED. 43 mere antiquity should haA'eno weight in weakening evidence otherwise satisfactory. It is this, that we should justly expect our juniors to be satisfied, not only with our testimony as to the transactions of our own time, but with the testimony we are handing them down, at least, of the generation preceding us; and they again being thus satisfied, will ex- pect their juniors to receive their testimony of their own age; of ours, and of that preceding us, the two latter of which they have derived from us. It is obvious how, in a few generations, this testimony would accumulate, while nothing depending merely on time could detract from its weight ; and carrying the same reasoning backward, mere lapse of time, independent of other considerations, ought to be no obstacle to our confidence in ancient records. Whe- ther any thing else may have occurred to shake our faith must be a matter of subsequent and independent inquiry. When the series, as we have hitherto supposed, is un- broken, the evidence is the most perfect the nature of the case admits of. But it is not essential that it should be thus absolutely unbroken, provided internal marks of au- thenticity be present. Suppose an interruption occur, corresponding to a single generation, or to more; if the parts of the series, before and after, answer to each other, so far as there is any thing common to the two, or the in- terval between them might lead us fairly to expect, the gap might safely be passed over as an accidental loss, ex- pecially if it corresponded to any knoAvn period of general disorder, or distress; and the extent of the interruption thus admissible must depend upon the peculiar circum- stances of each individual case. But should there, on the contrary, be found in the broken portions of the series, or in one pretending to be complete, discrepancies in facts, one affirming what another denies; and names and dates contra- dictory and confused ; should events be alluded to, ascer- tained to be of later date ; should the references to kings and public officers vary from the records of the nation; ^houkl the language used be more modem, or single words 1)0 introduced not then in use, we should not hesitate to reject the whole as a fabrication; or if part were consistent, that part would command our respect; where the consis- tency ended, our assent to its validity would be withdra^vn. If the originals of our series of documents, as penned in 44 ON HISTORICAL EVIDENCE GENERALLY ; fPART. II. each successive age, were preserved, it might be more satis- factory. But this is far from being a point of such impor- tance as it might at first sight appear. When we come to speak of ancient manuscripts, We shall find an opportu- nity to explain the several marks by which their antiquity may be judged of with tolerable accuracy; yet when we consider that from the decay of the materials, or any other cause, it might be necessary to substitute a copy, and that this might easily be done without its bearing on the face of it any intimation that it was a copy; and so in process of time the transcript might come to be regarded as an original, we may judge of the difficulty of being certain, in many cases, whether any given document be an original, or a copy: whereas the correctness of each is at once tested by the series itself: and thus it will appear, that, unless unusual pre- cautions are taken to certify the identity of the original, it will be more difficult to prove that identity, than that the copy we possess is in the main, a true one. The signature of a pretended original may as easily be counterfeit, as a copy be false or incorrect; the former could not be identified; the want of fidelity in the latter might be readily detected by discrepancies with the remainder of the series. Now such records as we are speaking of do exist, and are thus authenticated in private families, and among public bodies. It is thus the history of nations, as well as the rights of individuals, are substantiated, and made known. In some cases a series of documents can not be traced back more than one or two generations; in others the aeries is more extensive. Some times gaps, and periods of endless contradiction, and inextricable confusion are met with; yet these do not much, if at all, interfere with the more regular history of the preceding or following ages. In most instances, (except in very modern times,) we have neither originals, nor formally authenticated copies ; and where these do exist, they can only be consult- ed by a few. Yet men in general are fully satisfied, and the history of past ages is looked on, in its more general features, and in many cases to the minutest particulars, as no less certain than the transactions of the present day. The history of England, of Greece, of Rome, of India, un- certain as each may be in some of its darker periods, is so well ascertained that men no more question whether cHAP. III.] AND THE RULES BY WHICH IT IS EXAMINED. 45 William or Elizabeth reigned, than they do that Victoria now reigns; they are as fully persuaded that Alexander or Caesar, or Shah Allum, or Tippoo Saib, performed, in the main, the actions ascril)ed to them, as they are of the march of the British army upon Guzni and Cabool in 1842. And let it be remembered that this certainty, in almost every case, depends far less upon the direct evidence we are able to produce as to the writings whence our information is glean- ed, than on the many internal marks of veracity a discern- ing mind detects in the narratives they contain, and the moral evidence thus furnished of their truth. And if gene- ral history possess these to a degree to satisfy any reason- able mind; Christianity, as we hope to show, exceeds all in the strengths of her supports of either kind ; and more especially stands pre-eminently alone in the unbroken chain of diiect testimony she can. marshal in her favour. SECT. 11. Genuineness and authenticity defined. — Difficulty of sue* cessfully counterfeiting. — Examples. — Examination of dubious facts in authors of good general credits TTie reasoning above advanced will be greatly strengthen- ed by exhibiting further the extreme difficulty of successful forgery. But before entering upon the discussion, this may be a convenient place for defining the terms genuineness, and authenticity, of which I shall have to make a frequent use; and which I shall carefully restrict to the acceptation here explained. The former is usually taken to denote tliat a book is written by the author whose name it bears; while the latter relates to the truth of the matter it contains. A *inok may thus be genuine, though not authentic; as is the ise with most poems, plays, and other avowed works of fiction: or authentic, but not genuine; as is the case with any real history, published under an assumed name. Such is the account of Lord Anson's voyage, published under the name of Walters, but really written by Robins, on informa- ion supplied by Lord Anson himself. But the poems of 46 ON HISTORICAL EVIDENCE GENERALLY ; (_PART. I. Ro^vley, ;uid the Sliakspearian papers, (to which allusion > will presently be made,) are neither genuine nor authentic, ; being fiilse, and felselj ascribed to their respective authors. I The genuineness of a work is often a matter of some mo- \ ment, atid sometimes, as in a collection of letters, is every j thing; but in historical compositions it is clearly of far in- | ferior importance to their authenticity; and the latter is in i most cases more easily made out. The first frequently de- j pends solely on externid testimony; the latter ahvays admits, ] more or less, of the accession of internal evidence, confirm- I ing or correcting the other. Let us now illustrate the use of internal marks in de- ] tecting Avhat is spurious. We will suppose that a person ^ who has never set foot in India, undertakes to write an \ account of a journey through the southern parts of the \ Carnatic, and to pass it off as the genuine narrative of an j eye-witness. We may allow him the benefit of maps and I books, and such general information as will secure him j from any gross mistakes of geography, or description. But 1 when he comes to the detail of his several stages; the parti- i cularities of each locality; the more minute delineations of ; the several towns and villages his route takes him through; ] he must of necessity incur the risk of inevitable blunders; ^ for no man can ever describe with unerring accuracy a place | he has never seen. These errors might for a time escape J the notice of readers, themselves unacquainted with the ; country traversed; but could not for an instant elude those | dwelling on the spot; or those who had previously or subse- ] quently visited it; and thus the fabrication could not fail 'i eventually to be laid bare. But could he not avoid such 1 particularities and thus escape detection? He might make j the attempt, but beside that his work would then fail to J sustain its character of a personal narrative, and thus lose | all its interest, the very want of these particularities would | cast a suspicion over it, which no general correctness could | remove. There are two other methods of which to avail | himself: he might borrow from the publications of other | writers; or derive his materials from the unpublished notes | of some actual traveller. In either case his book would ] not be genuine. In the former it would be a mere compila- ; tion, and his pretentions to originality would at once be set aside ; in the other case the cheat might extend no further V HAP. in.'] AND THE RULES BY WHICH IT IS EXAMINED. 47 than the name; the authenticity of the book would be made out on its own merits; and the detection of the want of genuineness might be more difficult, but at the same time less important. Again should a book, in any of the languages of India pro- fessing to be written five hundred years since, contain an al- lusion by name to jMadras, as a European settlement, which it did not become till the year 1639 ; or should another, said to be written twelve hundred years before the present time, make mention of Quilon, which was founded in 825 ; or should either of these contain allusions to the English or Por- tuguese, or furnish examples of terms or idioms introduced by Europeans; these indiciitions of forgery could not be mistaken. A single oversight, an isolated word, might be ascril>ed to the carelessness of fin ignorant, or slovenly copyist; but did such form an essential part of the con- text, or repeatedly occur, this plea would not be admitted, nor could the character of the work be maintained. In the Calcutta Review for May 1844, we find a reference miide to a work of fiction, in Avhich an individual is said to have proceeded to Madras up the river Hoogly! The book makes no pretensions to authenticity; but if it did, such blunders must at once invalidate its claims. The same Article of the Review mentions a picture, in the Pictorial History of England, purporting to be a view of Calcutta in 17^6, and which contains the Government House, and the new Fort; whereas the earliest work of the latter was not built till 1770, and the former not till 1804; the one fourteen, the other forty-eight years after the period assigned for the picture. No one aware of these dates can hesitate to pronounce with certainty that the view cannot have been taken at the time assigned to it, however accu- rate a representation it may be of the city at any subseriuent period. But it may be well to give an example or two of the way in which literary forgeries have actually been exposed; for experience shows that such rarely escape the piercing scru- tiny of the well informed. More than two thousand years ago, a noted tyrant, Phalaris, flourished at Agi-igentum in Sicily ; and at some uncertain time, ])erhaps a thousand years after his death, an unknoAvn sophist forged a coUec- tiou of letters, purporting to be the production of his pen. 48 ON HISTORICAL EVIDENCE GENlHRALLY ; [PART. T. At the close of the seventeenth century, (A. D. 1694,) these were edited at Oxford, and gave rise to a stirring controversy between the Hon. Mr. Boyle, their Editor, and the learned Dr. Bentley; and although at such a distance of time from the period when the real Phalaris lived, and the pretender wrote, this latter critic was able to show, beyond ti doubt, that the letters were mere counterfeits. The argument was conducted by pointing out various anachro- nisms in names, places, and facts ; by producing passages clearly borrowed from later writers; and by showing that the style and language were such as could not have been «sed at that early period, or in the country that gave birth to Phalaris. Thus the city of Phintia is said to have pro- mised a loan of money, on interest, to the writer; whereas there is undoubted testimony that Phintia was not built till the time of Phintias, a successor of Phalaris at Agri- gentum, from whom it took its name, at a period which, from a careful comparison of dates, must have been a* least two hundred and seventy years later than the death of Phalaris. In another place the city of Naxos is spoken of under the name of Tauromenium; whereas Herodotus and Thucydides, two of the best historians Greece produced, and who came much later than Phalaris, mention it only by the former name : and a full account of the time, the reason, and manner of the change of name, is given by another trust* Avorthy historian, Diodorus, from whom it appears that the change took place above one hundred and fifty years after the latest period that can be allowed for the death of Phala- ris. The writer has again fallen into the error of speaking of Zancle and Messena as of different cities, whereas they were but one, under different names, and Phalaris must have been dead sixty years when the name Messena was first applied. These are a few of the many discrepancies brought to light, not by a simple and easy process, (for the forgery was so far skilfully conducted as not to be obvious at first sight;) but by the diligent comparison of a vast mass of authorities, supplied by an extent of erudition, and hand- led with an acuteness of criticism, rarely, if ever exceeded. Many other literary impostures have been detected by similar arguments. Such were the poems which Chatterton gave to the world in 1768, as the work of Rowley, a sup- posed author of the fifteenth century; but which were in re- CHAP. III.3 AND THE RULES BY WUICH IP IS EXAMINED. 49 ality his o>m. Such also were the papere ascribed to Shaks- peare, about the close of the last century, and exposed by Mr. Malone. One circumstance regarding these it may be use- ful to note here, as bearing on a future portion of our argu- ment. The spelling had been disguised, for the purpose of giving a more antiquated air to the language employed; but unfortunately the compilers adopted an orthography which not only did not agree with that of the age of Shakspeare, but which, from a diligent examination of well authenticated manuscripts from very early times, was proved never to have been in use at all. The phraseology was no less faulty; and one letter, professing to be from Queen Elizabeth to William Shakspeare, was addressed to him at the Globe by the Thames. The letter alludes to the Earl of Leicester, as then living. This nobleman died in 1588, and conse- quently the letter must have been written before that year; but the Globe Theatre did not open till 1594. The conclu- sion is inevitable, the letter is not genuine. One more illustration of a somewhat different point shall close the present section. Its object will be, to show the strictures sometimes passed on suspicious passages in the writings of authors otherwise of good credit. The genuine- ness of a particular passage is often canvassed ; but in this case the discussion is conducted on similar grounds to those just explained; what I here allude to are genuine passages, whose authenticity is called in question; and I shall select the well known story of the conversion of Constantine, as related by Eusebius, for an example. The historian tells us that he had the story from the mouth of tlie Emperor him- self, who confirmed it by an oath. It was, that as Constantine marched against Maxentius, he beheld, just after noon, a glorious appearance in the sky, in the form of a cross, bear- ing an inscription, By This Conquer; and that the same night Christ stood before him in a vision, and bade him make a standard of a similar fonn, and bear it at the head of his army. The story consists of two parts; the appear- ance in the sky, and the vision. This last is of a nature precluding an appeal to corroborating circumstances; but the two are so connected, that if the former be true, there can be no difficulty in admitting the latter. The question therefore turns on the reality of the mid-day appearance, ""'ow to this it is objected, first, that though an event of the r 50 ON HISTORICAL EVIDENCE GENERALLY; []PART. I. last consequence to the whole Christian Church, it is related only by Eusebius, and not so much as alluded to by any other extant writer of antiquity; secondly, that Eusebius himself has not inserted it in his Ecclesiastical History, but in the life of Constantine, and introduces it in a manner strongly indicating that he was desirous rather to put it on the authority of the Emperor, than to give it currency as a matter he himself believed ; and thirdly, that though the appearance of the cross is said to have taken place at noon, and in the presence of the whole army, Eusebius appears never to have heard of it till it was told him by the Empe- ror, after an interval of twenty years; nor does he make any mention of subsequent inquiry, though many must have been alive who were present at the time ; so that either no inquiry was made, or its result was unsatisfactory; and the great importance of the event makes this neglect the more strange, inexcusable, and suspicious. I need not bring forward the reasonings urged in vindication of Eusebius and the Emperor. It is not my intention to put the reader in possession of the whole controversy, with a view to its decision; but merely to show the nature of the touch-stone applied to every dubious fact, and the strict vigilance em- ployed in sifting them to the bottom. Enough I trust has now been said on this head to set forth the extreme difficulty of literary forgery. The im- postor, we have seen, must be prepared to encounter the penetrating scrutiny of a host of lynx-eyed critics. To avoid error his learning must be superhuman, and his watch- fulness extend to every syllable, for if he be betrayed into a single oversight, the chance of evading detection is small indeed. He is in danger of oveiTcaching himself by his very precautions, and if, to avoid the double precipice, he abstain from much particularity, so far from standing him in any stead, this very abstinence will be imputed as design-? ed, and be turned to his disadvantage. Now it requires no reasoning to show that the Christian Scriptures abound with the most minute details. Let the reader once more turn to the New Testament with this upon his mind; let him mark the continued reference to public persons; kings, em- perors, governors, and officers of every grade; let him collect the allusions to Jewish, Greek, and Roman customs; let him set down the particularities of time and place as CHAP. II.] AND THE RULES BY WHICH IT IS EXAMINED. 61 they occur. Let him further remember that the history of the New Testament comprises a period of upwards of sixty years, full of complicated changes; and that its scene of action is co-extensive, or nearly so, with the Roman Em- pire: — and then let him be told that a diligent comparison of its several parts with each other, and with contemporary authorities has detected scarcely a single discrepancy of any moment, in any of the particulars to which we have alluded. I think he cannot fail to regard this circumstance as one of no trivial importance: and that it may receive its due con- sideration, it ought to be fully understood that the state- ment which I have made is not hazarded on light and in- sufficient grounds. It may safely be asserted that so much time, talent, and anxious research has never been spent upon any subject as upon that of which I am speaking. The treasures of all antiquity have been ransacked for ma- terials to elucidate it; and the character and principles of those by whom the inquiry has been conducted is worthy of our most serious consideration. For the examination has not been left solely in the hands of friends and defenders. Perhaps we might, not unfairly, classify our authorities, in this particular, under three heads. The first of them will include Divines, whose direct and immediate object has been to explain and illustrate the sacred narrative ; and who, in the prosecution of their de- sign, have diligently examined the entire range of extant classical writers, for the express purpose of comparing them with the Scriptures. These have been, for the most part, men whose honest candour ought to exempt them from the charge of partiality; but their testimony does not stand alone. A second class of enquirers is found in those whose taste or avocations have placed them among literary men rather than among divines. They may be Christians in name or in heart, and are no strangers to the word of God; but their main a^^tention is directed to the illustration of other than ecclesiastical subjects. In the course of their reading, however, they do not fail to observe and point out such portions of their more peculiar field of labour^ as have any bearing on our Scriptures; if for no other reason, and in no other manner, yet, at least, in the same way as they do in the case of other literary works which come under their f2 52 ON HISTORICAL EVIDENCE GENERALLY; []PART I* review. But thirdly, not a small proportion of those who have explored the remnants of antiquity have been enemies of the Christian faith; and they have added to learning the most profound, and ingenuity the most refined, a degree of rancour which only the keenest hatred could have sup- plied. But the violence of passion, if it fail to overwhelm the object of its resentment, both displays and increases the weakness of the aggressor, and gives fresh confidence to the assailed. The infidel admirers of the literature of Greece and Rome intended no service to Christianity; for they sought to undermine its defences. But their labours have rendered essential service. They have failed to shake the fabric which they ventured to assault, and instead of sapping, tliey have only displayed more openly the firm solidity of its foundations- I must not, however, be understood to assert that no minor discrepancies with profane writers have been pointed out, or no omissions discovered. Of these I shall speak hereafter. It will be my business, in a future chapter, to show that in cases without number the coincidence between the facts directly stated, or what is of far greater weight, in- directly involved in our Scriptures, and those recorded by independent authors is most satisfactory and com- plete. When this has been done, it will be for the reader to judge whether such astonishing accuracy is to be over- borne by a few isolated differences; or whether, in the case of conflicting statements, the presumption may not be in favour of the correctness of our books. Meanwhile I can only repeat, by way of assertion, that no discrepancy of any moment can be detected between our writers and the secu- lar history of the period, perhaps I might say, none with any fact whatever supported by the authority of more than one historian ; — that is, none which can warrant the slightest shadow of a suspicion of spuriousness, or want of truth. The negative character of this assertion forbids the possibility of demonstrating its correctness. The onus of producing such a serious contradiction as will overturn it, lies with the objector, if any be disposed to object. To prove that there is no contradiction we must transcribe every extant author of the age of the Apostles entire, and then we are dependent on the diligence of the reader to «HAP. ni.] AND THE RULES BY WHICH IT IS EXAMINED. 53 compare them with our Scriptures. That our story has never been successfully assailed on this ground, we may depend upon it, is because it is unassailable; and if so, I will put it to any man who boasts himself a lover of irapardal dealing, whether I am asking too much in urging him to the further prosecution of the inquiry? Arrived at this stage of the investigation, the retrospect is not surely so discouraging as to justify its being dropped. I will not yet press the matter further; but I will en reat him to consider if there be not enough to make it worth g^ing on; nay, to make it incumbent on him to go on, for where nothing appears to cast suspicion upon a witness, it is surely unfair not to allow him to give his testimony to the end, even if his tale be marvellous, or one which we are reluctant to find true. The direct and positive proof of truth, carries with it the necessary absence of every mark of forgery; hut antecedent to such positive proof, this absence is of great service, and gives a real presumption of fidelity. f3 64 ON HISTORICAL EVIDENCE GENERALLY; []PART 1, SECT. IIL Method of investigating the completeness of a chain of histori- cal Evidence. — Illustrations. — The chronology of ancient writers settled simply hy quotations among themselves.-— Assistance to be derived from writers of inferior credit.—^ The dark ages. In tracing the history of Christianity the reader has now to be apprized, that though we have an uninterrupted chain of direct and positive testimony; yet each step of the series does not always formally and avowedly authenticate the one preceding it. We have no autographs of its first teachers; and our copies, so far as we know, were made in virtue of no responsible authority. Our investigation must therefore be conducted in the same manner, and on the same principles, as in similar cases of a less important kind. The principles in question are extensively applied to cases almost innume- rable, which have been, and are from time to time afresh brought before the literary world ; and the results deduced from them are received, in hundreds of instances, as in- controvertible. If, then, the application of them to the Christian Scriptures should appear to be noj; less satisfactory, •we are surely bound, in all sincerity, to take care that their influence be as great upon our minds. But the principles on which investigations of this nature are carried on, and the degree of dependence which may be safely placed upon the results, are, probably, unknown, or very imperfectly understood, by many of my readers. It will be well, therefore, before entering upon our series of documents, to illustrate, somewhat at large, these princi- ples; and point out the extent to which they are available. For if the several links of a chain of evidence do not visibly and manifestly fasten, each on that in nearest prox- CHAP. III.] AND THE RULES BY WHICH IT Ij^JQ^IINED'C imity to itself, it might, at first sight, be thoi can give no trust-worthy assistance as a mediui on the question we have to determine. To this point^ I shall now address myself, and endeavour to explain it as clearly and succinctly as I can. No better method of doing this suggests itself to me, than a simple example or two, and these, for obvious reasons, I shall draw, as far as possible, from particulars which will be more or less familiar to those for whose instruction I chiefly write. I take down, therefore, the First IMetropolitan Charge of the present Bishop of Calcutta, Dr. Wilson, delivered in the autumn of the year 1842, and the spring of 1843, to the cler- gy of the three dioceses of Calcutta, Madras, and B ; abay. In this work I find him making extensive use of Ku lai. 'j Constitutional History, from which he inserts, with unequi- Focal expressions of approval, a number of rather copious extrac*^s. Now one such insertion is a clear proof tb;it Hal- lam's 'history was extant in the year in which Bishop Wilson wrote, that he had read it, and believed it to be the work of Hallam; and that he regarded it as a trust- worthy record of the transactions of which it treats : — and each extract must continue a sufficient proof of this so long as these books exist. But there is, in the book before me, another passage singu- larly applicable to my present purpose. The Charge has ap- pended to it several additional papers, the last of which con- tains the substance of remarks delivered in the chapel of the Syrian College t Cottayam, Feb. 13, 1843; and of which the writer of these pages, and some of his readers were actual hear- ers. I find the Bishop, in the course of these remarks, alluding to the visit of Dr.Claudius Buchanan to the Syrian Churches in 1806. On examining the whole passage as it stands, I perceive that the first introduction of Dr. Buchanan's name is accompanied by no explanation as to who he was, or whence he came, or how the fact of his visit had become known at all. A little lower down, but still only in the way of allusion, and with no intimation of the quarter whence the speaker or his hearers derived their knowledge of the facts, I meet with a hurried glance at the reception which Dr. Buchanan met with from the Metran then in office; the welcome given to his proposal for printing the Syriac Scriptures, and traua- 56 ON HISTORICAL EVIDENCE GENERALLY; [PART li lating them into the vernacular tongue; and his sentiments as to the state of the Church, its Liturgy, and other particu- lars which occupied his mind. From all this I should infer, •with certainty, that the whole subject was familiar to the Bishop and those whom he addressed; and I might surmise that there existed some published record whence their in- formation was derived. But immediately preceding thi8 hasty sketch are the following words; "The somewhat sanguine view which Dr. Buchanan took of the Doctrine, Liturgy, and Discipline of the Syrian Church, has some- times been spoken of with surprize." His opinions then were widely known; so widely as to be a matter of com- mon conversation, at least among those with whom the Bishop might be supposed to communicate on matters of interest to the Chuch of Christ. Hence, if I were before in some suspense, because I knew it to be possible that the speaker, from his age, may have received his notion of Bu- chanan's views from personal intercourse with himself; and that the local interest of his hearers may have given them, from some private sources, alike familiarity with these views; this sentence will strongly indicate some published account of them, and that whatever additional information the parties most interested might possess, it was to this a tacit reference was made. At all events it is consistent with the existence of such an account, and is best explained by it; if even it be not thought to imply as much. When then I have a volume put into my hands entitled, "Christian Researches in Asia," bearing on its title page the name of the Rev. Claudius Buchanan, D. D., and containing a detailed ac- count of a comprehensive tour through India; thirty-six pages of which are devoted to the Syrians of Travancore and Malabar, and of which the third edition, (the one I happen to consult,) was printed in 1812, the conclusion is unavoidable, that here is the very authority to which all were mainly indebted for their information ; and the circu- lation of the book, (it having reached, my copy tells me, at least a third edition,) corresponds to the extent to which its writer's views were known. There is, it is true, another book, a Biography of Dr. Buchanan, whence something might be gleaned; but for all that relates to this tour, the writer of the Memoir, while he adds some "circumstances i I CHAP, m.] AND THE RULES BY WHICH IT IS EXAMINED. 67 whidi had not yet met the public eye," repeats nothing that had already appeared, hut expressly refers us back to the work now before us. Furthermore, the hasty sketch above alluded to is, in point of foct, little else than a brief sum- mary of the topics comprised in that part of ' he Researches relating to the Syrian Church; and concludes with a hope, ascribed to Buclianan, that the Syrian Church might be- come "a noble instrument for Christian Missions through- out southern India;" a sentence presenting a great simi- larity of words to one in the Researches, though slightly varied by being made a component part of a different context. It is not a little remarkable that this very passage sup- plies a peg whereon to hang two more observations, bearing on the subject I am illustrating. The first shall be dismissed in a few words. It is this, that while the Bishop apolo- gizes for, and justifies the view of Dr. Buchanan, as being at that period not only excusable, but natural, almost ne- cessary; yet he dissents from that view. This does not however invalidate the argument we have drawn from his mention of it as to the existence of the Christian Researches at the time he wrote ; and further, as the difference between them is a mere matter of opinion, an inference drawn from certain facts, it does not in the slightest degree touch the question of the author's veracity in the statement of those facts; at the very worst, it can imply only a defect of judg- ment; and in general a difference of judgment does not necessarily imply even this : for the one may be in error, as -ell as the other; or, with the amount of information pos- ssed respectively by each, both may have fairly and sound- ly argued from the premises before them. The second remark is founded on an inaccuracy near the close of the passage we are commenting upon. The Bishop says, "An union -vvith the Church of England, Dr. Buchanan, I believe, never thought of" But turning to the book itself, at page 119, the following words occur: Since my coming amongst this people, I had cherish- <\ the hope that they might be one day united with the hurch of England:" and at page 122 he gives us the ibstance of a written answer from the Syrian Bishop thus, That an union with the English Church, or, at least, such 1 connection as should appear to both churches practicable nd expedient, would be a happy event, and favourable to 58 ON HISTORICAL EVIDENCE GENERALLY ; [PART. I. the advancement of religion in India." Does not this contradiction trench upon our position? Let us see. For if we can suggest a probable solution of a difficulty of this kind, if we can show, not how it has, but how it may have arisen, it ought not to overthrow a preponderance of evidence on the other side. It may be that the two writers used the term union in somewhat different acceptations; the one meaning an amalgamation with the English Church, which was not thought of; and the other a conventional union, each retaining its distinctive characters which cer- tainly was; and this solution is the more likely from the clause by which the Syrian Metran qualifies his answer; "such a connection as should appear to both Churches prac- ticable and expedient;" and from a comparison with what Bi- shop Wilson adds: "co-operation with it he did." If this be the case there is nothing more than a want of due care in the employment of words capable of various shades of mean-* ing. But it is more material to observe that the Bishop distinctly and designedly puts a difference between this assertion and every other, and marks the want of full satis- faction in his own mind, by the expression, "I believe." And that he was giving his own impression, and not the ascertained opinion of Dr. Buchanan, is more clearly marked by the decisive language of the clause immediately following: "co-operation with it he did. He disclaimed authority, however, most distinctly in all respects; and only gave ad- vice." Compare this with page 121 of the Researches, "He (the Syrian Bishop,) asked whether I had authority from my own Church to make any proposition to him. I answered I had not," and the whole narrative furnishes abundant instances of advice. In this case we might perhaps con- jecture that the writer had not the book before him, though in general well acquainted with its contents: or more pro- bably, that he consulted it* cursorily from haste, as one might a well known book; and not being able quickly to verify his own impression, or not thinking it worth while to do so, he put down that impression, guarding it however by a qualification that distinguishes it from every other. Putting all these circumstances together, not even excepting the inaccuracy, for with its qualification it rather confirms than detracts from the weight of the presumption; there is sufficient ground to believe that Bishop Wilson either ac- (HAP. III.] AN-D THE RULES BY WHICH IT IS EXAMINED. 59 tually used, or at least was well acquainted with, and in the passage before us, referred to these Christian Researches; and I think that any one who will attentively consider what has been said, will admit that the reasoning is in no respect forced or disjointed ; but fair, legitimate, and satis- factorily conclusive. In point of fact it is in this case correct, for the writer of these pages well remembers the Bishop's having borrowed, with other books, the very vo- lume now lying open beside him, for the purpose of this address, on the evening before it was delivered. — At that time he had little thought of the assistance the circumstance would afterwards afford in supplying so appropriate a sub- ject of analysis for the illustration of the present work. But taking lower grounds, and supposing we have in the Bishop's words nothing more than a passing mention of Buchanan's visit, with no means of ascertaining whether there ever were a published account of it, or not; and that afterwards we find a book professing to contain such a record, and bearing on the face of it none of the usual marks of spuriousness, or want of truth; this alone would be a great step gained; a strong presumption in favour of the authority of this record; and one which in most ordinary cases would be esteemed sufficient. Thus in a case very nearly parallel, it was known that the famous Roman orator Cicero had left a treatise entitled Dialogues on the Republic; but except a notice of it in the other writings of the orator himself, and a few quotations in three writers of somewhat early date, not a trace of it existed, till, in the year 1822, the work was discovered in the Vatican library at Rome; with a Commentary of Augus- tine on the Psalms, which had been written over it cross- wise, a practice we shall have to speak of by and bye, as not uncommon in ages when parchment was scarce and dear. Yet on evidence so comparatively slight, this was received by the learned world as having its authenticity materially, almost legally demonstrated. Receiving then Buchanan's work as genuine; we are carried back by it to Swartz, and his fellow Missionaries in Tanjore. This brings us by an easy step to the establishment of the first Protestant Mission at Tranquebar; and, through it, brings us in contact with the Christians of continental Europe, and of England, involving the mention of their Prin- 60 ON HISTORICAL EVIDENCE GENERALLY ; [^PART. ' I. ees, commerce, universities, religious establishments, and other objects of equal interest. Of this any one may satisfy himself by a glance at a few pages of a common book, a Me- moir of Swartz, by the author of the Life of Buchanan. For full information on all these points a great variety of authors will claim a perusal; and collecting at each successive step all the well authenticated, and only the well authenticated materials that crowd upon us, as we push our researches further backwards, and taking up fully every new branch that presents itself; we shall soon fmd that starting from a single point, we have brought before us a vast mass of in- formation on an almost endless variety of subjects, characters, and nations; in short a field will be opened for the study of universal history, geography, science, and all that is, or can be an object of knowledge among men. But it is obvi- ous that to enter upon the whole of this would exceed the powers of any individual, and is beside our present purpose ; for we have now to confine our inquiry to the Christian religion. Beginning then, not from one, but several well known writers of the present day, and selecting from each, not one, but several portions of their works; and then taking for authority those only whom they, directly or incidentally, vouch for as worthy of our trust; and then consulting these with a like spirit of confidence, remember- ing that their integrity has been satisfactorily made out; and proceeding thus with each fresh set of writers, step by step, we shall come at last to the originators of the Christian Scheme, the authors of our Scriptures; and if we can in this way complete our chain, the identity of our story with that they taught, will be at once made out. This process will be further illustrated by a second ex- ample, bearing on this, but selected for a different purpose; namely, to show how the chronology of ancient writers may be traced with at least sufficient general accuracy, from no other data from that supplied by quotations among themselves, iiTespective of any direct evidence they may supply. This is necessary, because in some cases wo may be dependent on the method I am speaking of, and were it so in every case, so conclusive is it, that no detriment to our argument, would ensue. Let us then turn over the pages of the Charge delivered by the Bishop of Madras in 1842 and 1843. We find in it reference, in one way or CH.VP. in.] AND THE BULES BY WHICH IT IS EXAMINED. 61 another, to Cranmer and Ridley; to Jewel, Hooker, Sander- son, Butler, Wesley, and Whitfield; and to Bishop Corrie and Dr. Mill. We might add to these names; but these are sufficient for our purjiose, and chosen simply on account of the ages in which they severally lived. In a charge of Bishop C'orrie's we might find allusion to all these persons, hut none to the present Bishop of Madras, at least, as Bishop. In a charge of Bishop Middleton, twenty-five years since, we might find the first eight names; but pro- bably not the two latter, at least in the capacity alluded to by Bishop Spencer. In any similar document of an English Bishop, from about the middle to near the end of the last century, we might be likely enough to find some reference to Wesley and Whitfield, as then calling for a comment on their proceedings; and all the names preceding theirs might also occur. Going back another half century we lose <5ight of the two last named, and perhaps of Butler; the first traces of whose name might meet us towards its beginning. Half a century more, and the same remark will apply to Sanderson; while a century earlier, in the reign of Queen Elizabeth, only the four first names on our list could be found; and a few years previously, in the reign of Edward VI., none but the two first would be likely to occur, for Jewel, though rising into notice, was young, and had not then the reputation he yfterwards acquired; and Hooker was born the year that Edward died. Once more, in Bishop Spencer's charge we find no quotation from a single Indian writer on Christianity. Probably the lapse of another hundred years will furnish many for an eastern Bishop to bring forward; but at any rate man}'^ a name now unknown will ere then have been introduced to fame, and perhaps its owner lie slumbering in the dust. Be this as it may, the reader may now see how, by consulting different writers, and noting carefully when each name first comes up- on the scene, or if we reckon backwards, when they cease to occur, we shall have but little difficulty in forming at least a general idea of the order of their succession, and the age in which they lived. And this, be it observed, is totally independent of the real value of the writer, or the respect we may entertain for his opinions. Be he friend or enemy, trust-worthy or suspected, judicious or frivolous, it makes > difflTencc. He is not the halting place we are bound a 62 ON HISTORICAL EVIDENCE GENERALLY ; []PART. I. for, but a mere guide by the way; if we find him a com- panion whose sound and solid sense may edify us on our journey, we may thankfully make him of our company, or even M'hile away an hour, not lost in gleaning such infor- mation as he can supply : and if not, having availed our- selves of such directions as we can trust him for, we may shake him off, and Avend our way alone. But the use to be made of inferior writers shall be exem- plified by a particular instance; for to complete our series we shall be carried through a dark and entangled period, where little else than ignorance and confusion reigned; and this might detract from the satisfaction felt in that completeness, unless we carefully explain how far we depend on the authorities of this period, and how it is we may safely do so to the extent required. But we may first remark, that when we have traced back our Christian books to the verge of these dark ages, we have in reality traced them beyond; for the very same relics of those days of ignorance that justify us in characterizing them thus, prove also to demonstration that they could not have forged, either the Christian Scriptures themselves, or the works of those early writers on whose evidence regarding them we must m.ainly depend. When the beaten path leads the traveller to the wild and unfrequented waste, he feels sure that it will take him beyond, and fearlessly pursues his way; and thus whatever detriment may be suspected to have befallen our books in passing through this moral waste, (and how little this is we shall have to show hereafter,) if they are found to have emerged from it, they must have passed through, for they could not have originated in it. But to proceed. The Book of Decretals, pretending to be a col- lection of decrees issued by the early Bishops of Rome, but now acknowledged by the Romanists themselves, to be a clumsy forgery is known to have appeared during the ninth century after Christ. One proof of the ignorance of the com- piler is, that he makes the Bishops of the earlier centuries quote the Vulgate, a Latin translation of the Bible, not published till the fifth century; and not generally received by the Church of Rome till the seventh; and Victor, who was Bishop of Rome A. D. 192, is made to write to Theophilus of Alexandria, who flourished in 385! Now suppose that nothing whatever were known about the Vulgate, but that by I CHAP. III.3 AND THE RULES BY WHICH IT IS EXAMINED. 63 the latter mistake, and others of a similar kind, the forgery were fully made out, and its date assigned on the evidence on which it actually rests : we should be fully warranted in deducing with the greatest certainty the existence of the Vulgate, and of its general circulation, in the ninth century; and this on the authority of a bungling cheat, full of errors, ^'lt so. far an infallible guide, simply because we have >certained the period of its first appearance. I need not add that our information concerning the Vulgate is amply sufficient without this aid; and indeed that this information furnishes us with one of the many proofs of the forgery of the Decretals; but this supposed case may satisfactorily show, tliat to this extent, at least, if no further, we may use the worthless trash of the darkest times; and this is all we want; supposing no one opinion expressed, or fact stated by these writers could be depended on; so long as they wrote, and referred to previous writers, which they did to an extent never exceeded, their help will furnish us with the clue we need, iind bring us to the brighter ages that preceded them. Thus then we have seen how quotations, or incidental allusions, on the part of one author may confirm the authen- ticity of the writings of another, and that, even when they are at variance in matters of opinion ; we have seen further how these writings may, ■without external aid, be chronologi- cally arranged ; and what is more, how works of no esteem may become, to a limited extent, but to the full extent we require, infallible guides in picking out our way. We have now to apply these principles in the measure, and to the extent each separate authority will bear, in the investi- gation of our main subject. And in consulting the writers of each age, we find that they so frequently allude to, quote, I' ply to, confirm, or contradict their contemporaries; that I hey are so interwoven with each other, and with the age Immediately preceding them, and often with many more, Iiat it is impossible to question for a moment any of the iding points we summon them to prove. There meets IS a complicated maze of AMiters, the bare mention of whose names would be a profitless task, and the briefest review of whose works, grouping them under the most general heads, would far exceed the space we could devote to "ch a purpose. It will be impossible therefore, to go through o2 64 ON HISTORICAL EVIDENCE GENERALLY ; [^PART. I. the entire series in such a way as to answer any useful end. I shall appropriate the following chapter to the illustration of a select portion of it; drawing up a table of the princi- pal writers of each age, and adding such brief general re- marks as may seem calculated to give it a more connected character than a bare list of names : it will be sufficient to dwell on a few only of the more important and earlier writers some what more at length. 65 CHAPTER IV. Direct Historical Evidence op the Identity OF THE Christian Story. SECT. I. The history of the Greek text. Canon of the New Testament. — Early Editions. — Manti- scripts. — Their close agreement. — Various readings. — Discrepancies between the Greek text and ancient Versi- ons and citations. The only writings Protestants admit as absolutely and divinely authoritative in matters relating to the Christian Faith, are those comprehended in the Canon of Holy Scrip- ture ; by Avhich is meant, the list of books esteemed to be inspired. For the present I am restricting myself to the New Testament, the authenticity of which, as now received, we have to establish by such testimony as is, strictly and properly, that of man. For whatever use, by way of evidence, or explanation, we make of other writings, it is solely as of human productions; the productions it may be of pre-eminently learned, wise, and pious men; yet still of uninspired men. Rejecting utterly the supposed divine authority of tradition, we admit that when the volume of divine inspiration was closed, it was committed to the custody of men. The history of its uncorrupted preservation does indeed most strongly mark the guardianship of a special Providence. Still that Providence has interfered in no supernatural way; for when the purposes of our God can ])e brought about by ordinary means, he leaves his own constituted laws, controlled, but unaltered by his directing hand, to work out the ends for Aviiich they were designed; i!id his wisdom is surely as surpassingly displayed in the riginal conception of laws, whether of the natural or of 'lie moral world, so admirably and so extensively applicable G 3 66 DIRECT HISTORICAL EVIDENCE OF THE [PART. I. to the carrying on his government without overstepping their provisions, as his power is, when an occasion worthy of his interference calls for their suspension. In tracing upwards the Canon of the New Testament, the English Version of the Scriptures will at one step take us back above two hundred years, to 1611; and the Arti- cles of the English Church about fifty more, to the year 1562. It is remarkable that the Articles specify by name the books of the Old Testament, as well as those of the Apocrypha, excluded from the Canon; but their fi-amers thought it enough to say of the New; "All the Books of the New Testament, as they are commonly received, we do receive, and account them Canonical:" thus clearly manifest- ing the total absence of any doubt or difference of opinion as to these prevailing at the time. What fk^ books were then commonly received, we can have no difficulty in ascer- taining. Numerous translations had before this been completed and were widely circulated; and confessions of faith were from time to time put forth, in many of which the Canon of Scripture is set doAvn in detail, while others assume it as already agreed on and well known. Moreover the very important Council of Trent was sitting about the middle of the sixteenth century, and the Canon of Scripture was the subject of discussion in its fourth session, in 1546. The Romish Church, it is well known, admit the Apocrypha to a place in their Canon, which we deny it; and the decree of the session in question further exalts tradition to an authority utterly repudiated by Protestants. But their Canon includes by name all the Books, both of the Old and New Testament, acknowledged by the reformed Churches ; and in the New Testament no other books are added. The earliest printed editions of the Greek text also be- long to nearly the same period. Four of these are esteemed principal editions. The latest of them is that of the Elzevirs, first published at Leyden in 1624, the text of this, from its forming the basis of most subsequent editions, has acquired the appellation of the received text. The third is that of Stephens, printed in 1546, 1549, 1550, and 1568 at Paris, and at Geneva in 1551. The other two appeared at the beginning of the sixteenth century, and contest the palm of priority. That of Erasmus was first published at Basle, in 1516, and went through five editions in the course CHAP. IV.] IDENTITY OF THE CHRISTIAN STORY. 67 of the next twenty years, of all which copies still remain. The other forms the fifth volume of the Complutensiau Polyglott, printed in Spain a( the expense of»Cardinal Ximenes, and bears the date of 1514, but it was not allowed to be sold till 1522. These all contain our present books and no others; we shall therefore take it as a truth, than which none can be more demonstratively certain, that from the commencement of the sixteenth century, that is for more than the last three hundred years, the Canon of the New Testament has been the same. "We are plunged now into a darker period : and deprived, at the same time, of the immense advantage inseparable from printed books. The remains of ages anterior to that at which we have now arrived, have come down to us oily in manuscript; there is still a period of fifteen hundred years to be filled up by these; from them our present copies were printed; and on their authority we necessarily depend. The existence of literary works in manuscript will, however, be far more familiar to the native of India, than to the generality of readers in Europe, where the facility of multi- plying copies by the press has rendered manuscripts scarce and little known. The author, or his amanuensis, pens the original merely for the printer's use. This purpose answered, it becomes, if preserved, a mere literary curiosity, and is more usually neglected, or designedly destroyed. In earlier ages the autograph of the writer may have been as little intended for preservation as it usually is now. There were persons of a calling very similar to that of the compositors and pressmen of the present day, whose business it was to transcribe, either for individuals, or for public libraries; and after the rise of monastaries, this formed one the most useful, as it was one of the most unexceptionable occupations of their inmates. The reputed sanctity of these last mentioned institutions sheltered them, to some extent, from the violence of those terrific storms which swept away the expiring embers of the Roman Empire, and with it the civilization of the ancient world; and hence we are indebted to them for almost all that remains of the literature of for- 68 DIRECT HISTORICAL EVIDENCE OF THE [^PART 1^ mer times, whether sacred or profane. This will account for the form which many of our manuscripts assume. Most of them are more or less injured by time, or want of care ; but independently of this, a portion only contain the whole of the New Testament. On some copies great pains were bestowed; and other existing manuscripts were carefully and extensively collated, to insure the highest attainable accuracy. But beside these standard copies, as we might term them, very many more were transcribed, probably in a far more hasty manner, for ordinary use in the public services of the Church ; and hence the greater number of existing manuscripts contain the parts more commonly read in these services. The Gospels, for instance, are more frequently met with than the Acts of the Apostles and the Epistles, and these again more often than the book of Revelations, the copies of which are comparatively few; and several manuscripts contain merely the lessons appointed to be read on parti- cular days, arranged according to the recurrence of these days, and not in the usual order of the books from whence the selections have been made. These manuscripts, it is scarcely necessary to say, are not all of equal value in point of correctness, but we still possess many on which the very greatest labour and attention has manifestly been bestowed; and, what is more to our present purpose, whether we put together the broken fragments, (the mere accidental separation of which cannot affect the integrity of the whole, when reunited,) or examine the contents of the complete collections; the books they contain, with scarcely a single exception, are confined to those uniformly found in our printed books, and received by the Christians of the present day as constituting their sacred Canon. We possess, however, no remnant of the apostolic age. For the notion, once current, that an autograph of St. Mark was one of the treasures of the Church which bears his name at Venice, has been long since exploded; and our earliest copies are assigned to the fourth or fifth century of the Christian sera. There is indeed much difficulty in deter- mining their date with any degree of certainty; and even when the copyist, or some one for him, has subscribed his name, and the time at which his work was executed, this . HAP. IV.3 IDENTITY OF TUE CHRISTIAN STORY. 69 cannot always be depended on ; for some later possessor, to enhance the value of his property, may have counterfeited a signature, or subjoined a statement he knew to be false, or, at best, did not know to be true. Yet the argument from th^ antiquity of our manuscripts is far from being so uncertain tis to forfeit all claim upon our attention ; and it may be interesting to state the leading marks by which a near approximation may be made to their true age. The materials on which they are WTitten Avill furnish one important clue. The use of paper made from linen is known to have been later than the twelfth century; and by this the more recent copies may be distinguished. The employment of paper made from cotton preceded this; and prevailed from the twelfth century upwards to the ninth; but previously to the invention of printing, parchment, and especially that kind of it called vellum, made from the skin of the calf, was largely, and perhaps, when paper was unknown, exclusively used, whenever durability was an object. The scarcity and costliness of this article led to the destructive expedient of obliterating the writing of older copies, and re-employing the materials. Such manuscripts are known as Palimpsests or Rescripts; and may have owed their origin to the dimness of some time worn traces, already half obliterated from age, and inviting an attempt at their complete removal; but at all events the device was very extensively used to facilitate the multiplication of new and favourite works, to the often irreparable injury of such as, from the taste of the age, had ceased to be in much demand. The process, however, has not been so entirely successful as to deprive us altogether of the original contents; indeed it rarely happens that the former writing cannot be partially traced beneath, and sometimes the whole is legible; though in reuniting the dissevered pages, after their cleansing had been effected, no pains was of course bestowed to preserve their former order, and while many leaves were spoiled or lost, the rest were disarranged. I have mentioned a work of Cicero's, that had been blotted out to make way for a Commentary of Augustine's; but it was not always a profane or philosophical work that was thus supplanted. Thus the Codex Ephremi owes its name to some works of Ephrera the Syrian, written over a copy of the Septuagint and New Testament, which had been imperfectly erased, 70 DIRECT HISTORICAL EVIDENCE OF THE [pART. I. and are in most places still legible; but, as might be expected, in complete disorder, and with many chasms. The use of parchment was common to all ages, and therefore the mere employment of it can give no deci- sive clue to the date of a manuscript. Yet it is fair to conclude it would be in less request after paper became cheap and easy to be procured ; and the original writing of the twice used parchments, must manifestly have been much anterior to that superscribed. We have then in general some sort of prima facie reason for ascribing tlie highest antiquity, and consequently the greatest value, to the parchments once written, and more especially to the older traces of the palimpsests. Still it must be confessed this, taken alone, is too general and indefinite for any thing more than a bare surmise. A second and more decisive clue is furnished us in the mode in which the characters are formed. The orthography will, as we have seen, be a useful guide when testing the genuine- ness of original papers, and perhaps of copies, in the case of living languages, where extraordinary care would be required on the part of a transcriber to preserve accurately a mode of spelling differing from that prevailing in his own day. That of our Greek manuscripts, however, is nearly uniform. But while the component letters of each syllable preserve their identity, they change their mode of distribu- tion and their form. Sometimes the writing was continuous, with no divisions of chapters, verses, sentences, or words; and when in process of time one or other of these were introduced, it was not all at once, but gradually, and one while one system was followed, and anon a different one. Abbreviations of common words and terminations are also common, such as 0C for ^EOS, God; XC, for XPIXTOi: Christ, MHP, for MHTHP, mother, and so forth; and these are far more frequent in later than in earlier copies. In one age a plain and simple manner of writing was prac- tised, in another elaborate ornament was in vogue; and these illuminations, as they are called, varied continually with the taste of the writers, or those by whom they were em- ployed. Finally, there are two distinct classes of Manuscripts, the one in uncial, i. e. initial, or, as we now designate them, capital letters; and the other in small or cursive, or, as Ave say, running hand: and each of these give two or more il f r HAP. IV.^ IDENTITY OF THE CUUIS.TIAN aTOKV. 'j\ subdivisions, founded on the distinctive marks we have pointed out above. The latter class extends from the fif- teenth century to the tenth ; a subdivision of the former belongs to the eighth and ninth, and another, in every re- spect the simplest and purest, is esteemed the earliest of all; and from the close resemblance of the characters to the kind usually seen on ancient Greek monuments, and for other reasons, is supposed to reach back to the fifth, or possibly to the fourth century of the Cliristian sera. It is not compatible with my present object, even had I room, to specify all the particulars by which those whose attention has been given to the subject have been enabled to define the exact, or approximate age of any given copy. It is enough to acquaint the reader with the general nature of the grounds on which this is determined; the application of these principles require a degree of patience and skill, as well as opportunity and antiquarian lore, that falls to the share of very few; and here once more we are con- strained, or rather I should say privileged, to avail ourselves of the labours, and talents of our felloAv men, who in simple integiity, and with no disposition to strain their authorities beyond what they can fairly bear, have testified for our benefit, the result of their painful researches; and in proof of their integrity we may suggest, that had they wished to make out a case, rather than to explore the truth, they surely would never have stopped short at the fourth century, on the confines as it were of the apostolic age, when a step or two more would have taken them at once to the very fountain head. This investigation is important, inasmuch as it brings us back with absolute certainty, as to the identity of our story, to the ascertained age of the earliest extant copies. It is true the result is so far unsatisfactory, in that it is only approximate; and the uncertainty extends, in many cases, and particularly in the earlier manuscripts, over a century or two; or possibly even more. Still we are brought vastly nearer to the point we are bound for, and the quantum of evidence tlms furnished is a hundred fold more than is deemed sufficient to establish the identity of any single book antiquity has handed down to our times. But Ave have to notice another circumstance of the last moment respecting these manuscripts, in which their superiority over all others 72 DIRECT HISTORICAL EVIDENCE OP THE [PART. I. is no less conspicuous, and from which as a weighty pre- sumption of their integrity cannot fail to be drawn. The circumstance I allude to is their close and intimate agree- ment with each other, and with the versions and extracts made from them in early times. The reader will frequently have occasion to remark that manifold objections may be started as to some one or more particulars attending the propagation of the Gospel, or the preservation of its books, which in the first bald statement might startle the Christian, and fill the unbeliever's heart with hopeful anticipations of joy; but which, when sifted to the bottom, and brought out in their real bearings, are found to add incalculable strength to the argument of the former, and furnish a fresh weapon to silence the gainsay er. Such, it will be seen, is the case in the particular now before us. I will take permis- sion to repeat, what I desire the reader will not fail at every stage of our progress to bear in mind, that the books of the New Testament, and indeed of our Scriptures generally, when their Canon was completed, were committed to the custody of men; still, be it remembered under the protecting care of their Divine Author, but to be preserved by the ordinary methods, and obnoxious to the ordinary accidents, incidental to all that pertains to man. And as their authenticity was not to be vindicated by a perpetual series of miracles, but by the right exercise of reason in the examination of human evidence, so neither was their un- corrupted preservation provided for by other than ordinary human means. They were multiplied in the first ages by the labour of the copyist, as now by that of the printer; and in both cases they were liable to those minor errors, inseparable as they are found in practice, from either art: they were exempt neither from the unavoidable inadverten- cies of the careful scribe, nor from the grosser and less par- donable blunders of the slovenly, and the ignorant; neither from the unwarranted emendations of the self-conceited, nor the occasional tamperings of the dishonest. From what- ever cause arising, the number of discrepancies multiplies in a direct proportion to the number of manuscripts examined. Yet notwithstanding this, in general, the correctness of the text of any ancient author depends upon the number of the manuscripts that remain, rather than on the correctness of any one. After all the pains bestowed upon printed books, CHAP. IV.] IDEXTITY OF THE CHRISTIAN STORY. 'J3 inaccuracies have never been entirely avoided, and some- times errors of considerable moment are overlooked : hence, even in re -editing printed works, it is esteemed an advan- tage to be able to compare two or more editions. But in the casiB of manuscripts, this is still more necessary; the same time and care would seldom be bestowed on a manu- script, for the accuracy attained could not be secured for a thousand or ten thousand impressions, as it is by the press: an equal amount of labour must be expended on every successive transcription, or an equal measure of correctness could not reasonably be looked for. "In profane authors," says Dr. Bentley, "whereof one manuscript only had the luck to be preserved, as Velleius Paterculus among the Latins, and Hesychius among the Greeks, the faults of the scribes are found so numerous, and the defects so beyond all redress, that notwithstanding the pains of the learned- est and acutest critics for two whole centuries, those books still are, and are likely to continue, a mere heap of errors. On the contrary where the copies of any author are nume- rous, though the various readings always increase in propor- tion, there the text, by an accurate collation of them made by skilful and judicious hands, is ever the more correct, and comes nearer to the true words of the author." "The real text, of the sacred writers," as Michaelis has aptly ob- served, "does not now, (since the originals have been so long lost,) lie in any single manuscript or edition, but is dispersed in them all;" and the remark applies, without exception, to all ancient writers, whether sacred or profane. Inasmuch then as more manuscripts exist of the New Testament, than of any other ancient author, it is reason- able to expect a proportionate number of variations in its text. No fewer than six hundred and seventy-four ancient manuscripts, more or less complete, have been, wholly or partially, examined by Griesbach, Scholz, and others; and it has been computed that the edition of the former, found- ed on the collation of three hundred and fifty-five of these, contains one hundred and fijly thousand various readings. What then, it may be asked with some surprise, becomes of the close agreement boasted of above? There is certainly wmething paradoxical in the assertion, but it is not the less strictly true. The character of individual copies con- tra«ts strongly with what Dr. Bentley has said of those of H 74 DIRECT HISTORICAL EVIDENCE OF THE fPART. 1, profane authors; for Michaelis concludes the remark above cited by telling us that the New Testament "is competently exact, even in the worst manuscript now extant; nor is one article qf faith or moral precept cither perverted or lost in them" But every manuscript that has been examined has erasures and corrections, and where both are legible, the substituted reading is not always the best. Some of these corrections are in the same hand-writing as the ie-^t. Others have been added by a second hand : in either case they may have proceeded from the correction of a mere clerical error; they may have been altered in deference to the reading of some better manuscript; or they may have resulted from pure conjecture, or from fraud. Again the discrepancies between different copies consist of the omis- sion or addition of whole passages, as well as the employ- ment of different words, or inflexions of words. Yet with all this, no contradictions are introduced; there is nothing to detract from the testimony to a single important fact, or the full developement of a single fundamental doctrine. By far the greater number of the various readings are such as do not in any degree affect the sense, and often cannot be made apparent in a translation. Thus we have Dabid^ i'oT David; Lord for God; Mouses ioT Moses ; and changes nearly equivalent to the substitution, in English, of S^ /, for and /, or All mighty for Almighty: many of them being in fact nothing more than the amalgamation or resolution of two consecutive words, the one ending, and the other beginning with a vowel, and those vowels being changed or not as the words happen to be conjoined or separated by the writer.* Very few produce any alteration in the general purport of a sentence, and fewer still in that of an entire paragraph. Most of them relate to historical, geographical, or other collateral circumstances of minor importance, or to detached narratives that do not touch upon the leading events ; such as the story of the woman taken in adultery, forming the first eleven verses of the eighth chapter of St. John's Gospel, and which might be omitted without detriment to any truth on which Christi- *SuchaseDfO) eacflBicqjo, and @DQf!noOfT)o, in Malay alim. Examples will be readily supplied by those conversant in other oriental languages. CHAP. IV.] IDENTITY OP THE CHRISTIAN STORY, 75 anity depends: and in the very few cases where a funda- mental doctrine is involved, that doctrine may invariably be made out from other passages, concerning which no Tcsonable doubt has ever being entertained. For instance, in the famous controverted passage relating to the Trinity, (1 John V. 7-)^ ^^^^it *hat its genuineness cannot be main- tained; and the doctrine of the Trinity stands firmly on the same unassailable basis as before. As a second example we may add the litigated reading of 1 Tim. iii. 16. The words are, "God manifest in the flesh," and the question lies between OC, who, O, which, and 0C, a contraction for 0EO2 God, (C being in either case, and commonly, used for J). The last has the authority of all but three out of ninety-one manuscripts, and were OC the true reading, the sense would be the same, for the relative could only refer to 0EOZ in the preceding sentence. But admitting that O were the true reading, we lose but one passage of a great multitude by which the divinity of Christ, and the incarnation of God are sustained: the passage cannot be made to contradict these doctrines ; at the worst a single corroborating witness is withdrawn, and these great truths remain intact, as satisfactorily, if not quite as fully, sup- ported as before. Such, then, is the nature of the variations that lapse of time, and the imperfections of human nature have entailed upon our books, and so little has their purity been conta- minated by them. We may safely challenge the world to produce any single remnant of antiquity, so free from per- plexing contradiction, so uniformly consistent, so complete in every essential feature. I am not, I need hardly say, here speaking of ancient writings in their character of intellec- tual productions; but simply as of mere manual transcripts from the same original, and only with a reference to the amount of damage they have sustained by the accidents incident to their transmission to our times. And whether a comparison be instituted with literary works, or with those professing to be the standard of any existing system of religion, I repeat, that in the little they have suffered the Christian Scriptures stand alone. "The differences," observes Tomline in reference to the Old Testament, and the remark appertains as fully to the New, "are of so little iQoment that it is sometimes absurdly objected to this b2 ^6 DIRECT HISTORICAL EVIDENCE OF THE fPART. 1. j laborious work of collation, that it does not enable us to i correct a single important passage; whereas this very j circumstance implies that we have derived from these ex- cellent undertakings the greatest advantage; namely the certain knowledge of the agreement of the copies of the ancient Scriptures now extant in the original languages, , with each other, and with our Bibles." It is a circumstance worthy of note that the variations i between our manuscripts are not promiscuous and random. So great similarity exists between certain sets of them, and the readings pecidiar to these so regularly differ from those i running with like uniformity through other sets, that they i are readily classified under several distinct recensions, j Learned men are not, indeed, agreed as to their method of \ classification; and various schemes have been proposed. « The fact, however, may be stated in general to have arisen \ from some early recensions, in Egj^pt, at Constantinople, \ in Africa, or elsewhere; and the various copies made in i these countries give, in the main, the text usually received ! in their respective Churches, though minor variations were j doubtless introduced by each fresh copy made. The j existence at a very early time of two distinct classes, or ■ families, as they are termed, has been traced by a diligent j comparison of the quotations in the writings of Clement | of Alexandria and Origen, with those made by TertuUian ; and Cyprian. But the appellations given to the several j classes and their distribution is of less importance ; the fact I that they may be thus arranged is generally acknowledged i by those competent to judge of it, and it is important, not 1 only as marking the singular care that has been bestowed to { secure correctness, and therefore the veneration in which I the books were held, but also as showing at least as many \ independent lines of descent as there are distinct families of manuscripts. And their real and substantial agreement | may satisfy the Christian, and fairly suggest a presumption ■ to the unbeliever, that a special providence has watched ; over their integrity, and secured them from vital error. \ Extreme verbal accuracy, (and the errors amount to little : more than mere verbal inaccuracy,) is not thought so neces- | sary in communicating ordinary facts, or explaining ordinary I principles, as that a deficiency in this respect is fatal to their ' credit : nor is there any reason why a greater degree of CHAP. IV.] IDENTltV OP THE CHRISTtAN STORV. ^7 precision, provided there be no real ambiguity, should be deemed requisite for transmitting a divine communication. From a more perfect copy, in the words of Home, "infide- lity can expect no help, false doctrine no support, and even true religion no accession to its excellence, — as indeed it needs none." Variations such as those that do exist, so far from detracting from our confidence, gives us, on the <5ontrary, additional and most convincing proof, that in all essential points, our books have come down to us, as they left the hands of the apostles : nothing important has been added, nothing altered, nothing lost. The same remarks apply to the discrepancies which exist between the original, and such ancient vetsions as have been preserved. Most of them are of very inferior moment ; perhaps the two most interesting are found in the cases referred to above-, 1 John v. 7, and 1 Tim. iii. 16. The argument for the genuineness of the former of these depends almost entirely on the Vulgate and other versions, on the authority of which it has been admitted into the received text, though it has searcely a single Greek manuscript in its favour; in the latter passage the case is reversed; the manuscripts are almost unanimous in favour of the received reading, 0EOS; the versions read it as if translated, some from OC, and some from 0. The variations also between our books and citations in the fathers may be dismissed with a like remark; though these may, in some cases of mere verbal difference, be owing to a loose method of quotation, of which, when I come to speak in detail of the testimony of early writers, I shall have occasion to give examples. I shall say no more, in this place, than that these versions and quotations are occasionally of service to correct an error, or supply an omission in the original, by showing what was the reading when they were made : but the instances are few and by no means of importance. So much concerning the medium through which the Christian Scriptures have been preserved. All that has been said concerning this, however, weighty as it must surely be acknoAvledged, is but auxiliary to our main argu- ment. The proof of the integrity of our books, by what means so ever they have come down to us, depends far less on the antiquity of these venerable parchments, than on consideriitioDs drawn from their contents; and it is easier n3 *JS DIRECT HISTORICAL EVIDENCE OP THE [^PART. I. in almost every case, as has been already said, to ('emon- Btrate the general or minute correctness of a tale of public, or even of private interest, than to bring home to its rightful age and owner the handy work of a mere amanuensis. The i process is at once more accurately conclusive, and more | accessible to the man of ordinary acquirements and under- J Standing. I have referred above to the translations and citations ^ of the ancient Christian writers, rather with a view to the \ verbal agreement between them and the New Testament, j as now received, than to bring out the full extent of their i important testimony to its integrity. It will be my business ; now to exhibit the real value of that testimony; for it is | in fact the sheet anchor of this division of our argument, \ the main stay, to which all else is but subsidiary. I shall, j then, next advert to the catalogues, commentaries, transla- ] tions, and such other remains of the ages preceding the art ■< of printing, as will bring us connectedly to the earliest times, i The prosecution of this object will occupy considerable j space, and to it the following section will be exclusively | confined. | SECT. II. i The TESTIMONY OF Christian writers. j Authenticity ofworhs cited. — Favourite systems of divinity.'-' | Table of writers. — Those of second period considered.^^ 5 The barrenness and want (f originality in the third period. | ' — The fathers to Eusebius. — Four classes of writers men- \ Honed by Eusebius. — Doubts concerning some books a proof of care in settling the Canon. — Formation of the Canon of \ the New Testament. — Method of quotation. — Writers to 1 Cyprian. — The divine authority of Scripture uniformly \ acknowledged: that of tradition fails. — Origen. — Tertul- \ lian. — Titles of respect given to the Scriptures. — Irenceus. \ — Justin Martyr. — The Apostolic Fathers. — The Peschi- \ to Syriac Version. — Divine authority claimed by and as- l cribed to our writings.- — Not due to any others. — Uncor- | rupted preservation of the New Testament. — Conclusion. ' It is obvious that in tracing back the history of any j past event, we may commence from the present, or any CHAP. IV.] IDENTITY OP THE CHRISTIAN STORY. 79 earlier period at which our uncertainty begins. We are satisfied of the existence of Christianity now; and we may be equally so that it has existed for one, two, or any number of centuries. In Europe, the establishment of Christianity as the religion of the Roman Empire under Constantine, or a little later, is more usually chosen as a limit at which no one would demur. But taking the era of the invention of print- ing: — writings of which the original editions yet remain, have from that time been so numerous, and are so unques- tionably genuine, that, to any one conversant in western literature, the existence of the Christian story at the close of the fifteenth century, and its identity with that which we now receive, would be beyond the reach of doubt. The candid inquirer would be content to take this for granted; the enemy of Revelation would not venture to controvert it. But how is this to be brought home to the native of an eastern land? For to him our literature and religion must be less familiar, if it be not altogether novel. The tiny compass of our few contracted pages forbids the insertion, even of a catalogue, of the ponderous tomes on the subject of Christianity, with which the talent and assiduity of the last three centuries have loaded the shelves of European libraries. And were it possible to quote from all, what is to assure the Indian inquirer that the works from which we quote really exist, or are quoted with fidelity? If any were disposed to enter on a personal inquiry, the seiarch would be difficult to pursue, for these works can only be procured at a high price, and many can only be consulted at the various public libraries in whose charge they are; beside that time, ta- lent, and preseverance of no ordinary kind are indispensable. Were any considerable body of respectable heathen impelled by an earnest spirit of inquiry, it would be easy to send a deputation, personally to examine and report upon these things ; or were the natives of India in the habit of frequently visiting Europe, it might have the virtual effect of a depu- tation of this kind. But meanwhile an assurance which will answer every useful purpose maybe arrived at in this matter, in the same way as in any other; the very same assurance which satisfies men, and properly satisfies them, in all common concerns; that by which they gain their notions of the cities, manners, geography, productionsand markets of distant lands, on which Uiey risk their fortunes, and conduct the business of 80 DIRECT HISTORICAL EVIDENCE OP THE [pART. I. tbe world. From what has before been said my reader will be at no loss to understand that I refer him to the testimony of others. Let him then, if he be not already satisfied, avail himself of the facilities within his reach; let him ask informa- tion of those whose circumstanceshavemade them competent witnesses to the truth of what I here assert, and in whose integrity he feels that he can confide; and I may venture to promise him that no Englishman in India, of the smallest education, be his own religious principles what they may, will fail to assure him, (not of the truth of the Christian story, that he is not to ask,) but that evidence amounting to absolute certainty exists, that this story, whether as a nar- rative of facts, or as a repository of doctrine, for the last three hundred years has undergone no change. In the fullest and most comprehensive sense of the word, to the extent of the minutest detail, nay almost to syllables and letters, they will tell him that our story and that of our fathers of three cen- turies since, are identically one. From this point, then, I shall take up the inquiry. — In entering upon the series of writers now to be introduced to the reader's notice, it is almost superfluous to remark, that beforeany of them can be cited as competent witnesses, the authenticity, or, at least, the age, of their own works must be ascertained; and that the value of their testimony will be diminished to an extent proportionate to the degree of uncertainty in which this may be involved. It will, however, be beyond my power to state, even briefly, the particulars of the life and times of each of the authors I am about to cite, or to vindicate the authenticity of all the writings alleged. For this I am necessitated to refer to those whose ampler space and more comprehensive design have permitted them to be more diffuse; and I can only faithfully undertake that no authors shall be mentioned except those whose credit has been universally admitted ; or if a few be adduced of whom any doubt exists among the learned, a fair statement of its nature and extent shall not be withheld. But not to leave the subject wholly without illustra- tion, I have inserted a tabular view, the object of which will be explained by an inspection of its columns. I have not space to render it more comprehensive: but the student in divinity will find it a profitable and interesting exercise to compile such a table for the first four or five of three earl first four cen those they o Clement Hermas Ignatius, (cited, not named) Polycarp Papias Justin Martyr Barnabas Clement Hermas Ignatius Gregory of Neocaesarea Most of the wi the first three ries, in the b Illustrious M( Augni'stine Hufijuis m at 01 hi ti IE e( Vf St tc ra hi m m te ti ei th hi ai a5 di U] hi tt 01 F sp to m be an na ti( wi ht St CHAP. IV.] IDENTITY OP THE CHRISTIAN STORY. 81 centuries. A laborious perusal of originals would, of course, be requisite to make it complete ; but he would find it might be made tolerably full, were he only to note down carefully the information to be met with in common books; and thus he would see at a glance the mutual references by which ecclesiastical writings support and illustrate each other. For his further guidance I may remind him, that beside the multiplicity of reference so closely interlacing the con*- stituent portions of our series, the prevalence of favourite systems often gave a prominence, for many centuries, to a few eminent names. Thus in the centuries immediately preceding the reformation, the application of the abstruse principles of reason or philosophy, and the art of logic, to the illustration of Scripture truths, formed what the Latins distinguished as the scholastic divinity; and while this continued, the works of Scotus, Aquinas, and Lombard, were text books of universal reputation, while at the same time the writings of the Fathers^ (as the divines of the first ages are technically called,) formed the basis on which their flimsy superstructure was reared. At an earlier period the biblical or didactic system, as it was termed, derived its materials from the Scriptures and the fathers, to the exclusion of the puerile vagaries of philosophy, and "oppositi- ons of science falsely so called," (1 Tim. vi. 20.); and earlier still the name of Origen was a party watchword for several ages; while that of Augustine has retained a better merited celebrity, running through the entire period from his own day to this. The depressing tendency of this contracted and superstitious veneration for antiquity smothered or misdirected the few faint impulses of originality that here and there struggled into being; and robbed even the genuine piety of those days of the discerning simplicity that marks the better periods of the Church. Yet it has contributed to swell the vast body of evidence that brings us so con- vincingly to earher times; and if the ill managed compilations of a body of servile imitators did not much enrich the literature of their own age, they have at least answered one useful purpose in transmitting the originals, so well authen- ticated, to ours. I shall now endeavour to embody in a tabular form as much of the above remarks as can be conveniently comprised ' under one view; the table will contain only such names as 82 DIRECT HISTORICAL ETIDENCE OF THE [PART. I. are to find a place in the hasty sketch of ecclesiastical literature I am afterwards to give; and will he arranged backwards in the order of the deaths of the writers men- tioned; the second date denoting the period of their birth unless otherwise specified. It will be only where I do not posssess the means of ascertaining these dates, or where they are uncertain, that I shall put doA\Ti a single year, as the time about which a writer flourished, allowing a few years on either side for the duration of his testimony; but when the uncertainty of his birth or death does not extend beyond three or four years, I shall satisfy myself with one, as near enough for our present purpose, and pass over the question as one too unimportant to need any especial notice. The standard authors of the schoolmen, will be printed in large italic capitals, and the rest of this class of divines in small capitals of the same character; while those who were but partially imbued with their system^ and have the merit of much originality, are printed in ordinary italics. The more extensively renowned of the early fathers will be dis- tinguished by large Roman capitals; the patristic divines by small Roman capitals; and the rest, who may on the whole be esteemed original writers, by the usual type; these discriminating marks must not, however, be understood as intended to express any opinion as to the real merit of the writers, but simply as giving a synoptical view of their general classification; nor does this classificaton itself make any pretensions to completeness and accuracy; though in its broader features, I trust it will be found sufficiently correct. For the sake of bringing under one view an entire series from our own age to that of the apostles, I will include in my table the versions, editions and catalogues mentioned in the foregoing section : Period I. Subsequent to the invention of printing. Elzevirs' edition of 1 , r^c)A \ Decree of the Coun- ^ , ^ j^^ the Greek text, j "* | cil of Trent. vriter's specific design, \ to the fashion of the day, or perhaps, in many, with good | reason, to that thorough familiarity with the writings alluded ; to, which made the most distant hint at once intelligble and full of power. But in either case all we need is that the allusion be clear and unequivocal; the form it chances to ! assume is less material to our cause. i The reader will by this time have perceived that many of j the illustrations of the last chapter, (p. 55 — 59.) were pen- \ ned with a view to the cases now to be brought before us. ; Bearing in mind, then, the principles there explained, and the i additional thoughts suggested in the above remarks, we shall ■ be prepared to resume our series from the point at which we \ broke off: — ] Lactantius and Arnobius lived, and perhaps wrote, in the | first years of the fourth, and last of the third century. ] Their undoubted references to the New Testament are ; sufficiently numerous and well defined; but they wrote against the Gentiles, and purposely abstained, except in one .\ or two instances, from naming the Christian books; for which Lactantius openly censures Cyprian. Victorinus of i Pettaw, a distant town upon the Danube; Methodius of ^ Olympus in Lycia, and Dionysius of Rome, will fill up the interval to Cyprian, Bishop of Carthage. All that I shall i direct the reader s attention to, with reference to these, is the terms of respect by which they designate our books, as | the Old and New Testament; the divine Scriptures; the \ divine oracles. The former appellation was probably sug- j gestedby St. Paul; (2 Cor. iii. 6. 14.) the second was the ] term by which the J ews distinguished their sacred writings; I CBAP. IV.^J IDENTITY OP THE CHRISTIAN STORY. 97 tiie remaining one was of heathen origin, and appropriated to reputed communications from the gods; and all were strictly confined to the books which we now regard as divine. The testimony of the writers who have just been named, is most full and satisfactory in every point of view. But the particular part of it which I have singled out, as deserving more especial consideration, is one of the last moment at this stage of our enquiry. But it will be more convenient to reserve the formal discussion of it till we have brought our series of writers to a close. The importance of the distinction will tiien appear with greater force than it would assume here; and having simply requested the reader carefully to remark what may occur in the cour^ e of the following paragraphs, bearing on the same subject, I proceed at present with my series. Omitting Dionysius of Alexandria, and Gregory of Ne- ocaesarea, we come to the renowned and laborious Origen, catechist of Alexandria. His polyglott of the Old Testament is well known. Many of his works are lost, and some are preserved only in Latin translations, by Jerome and Rufinus, or in fragments transcribed by Eusebius, and other later writers; but quotations in those we have, are so abundant as to have suggested the remark, that "if we had all his works remaining, we should have before us almost the whole text of the Bible." In an extract found in the History of Eusebius, he makes the important declaration, "that the four Gospels alone, (that is, to the exclusion of the spurious ones,) are received without dispute by the whole Church of God under heaven:" and in another portion of his works, handed down to us by the same historian, he bears express testimony to the genuineness of most of the Epistles as- cribed to Paul, Peter, and John, as well as to the Revela- tions. He dignifies these books alone with the title of Scrip- j tures; and distinguishes the Gospels, and Apostles. These ( appellations were then used of the two divisions of the New \ Testament, in a manner precisely corresponding to the >' stinction of Law and Prophets, employed with reference \ lo the Old; — and our author declares of both Testaments, "that one and the same Spirit, proceeding from the one Cod, teaches the like things in the Gospels and Apos- tles." 98 DIRECT HISTORICAL EVIDENCE OF THE [PART I. i' "We return once more to Carthage, among the presbyter's of | which city was the apologist,Tertullian. Tertullianisthemost ] ancient of the Latin fathers, whose writings have been presery- ; ed to us ; and he affirms that all the Gospels were in the hands | of the Churches from the beginning. He observes, moreover, ; the division of Prophets, Gospels, and Apostles, just explain- ] ed ; in his account of Christian assemblies he says: "We come \ together to recollect the divine Scriptures^ we nourish our 'i faith, raise our hope, confirm our trust by the sacred word;" : and in quoting the words of the apostles he repeatedly as- j cribes them to the Spirit of the Lord. Almost every book ; now received, is quoted by him ; and Dr. Lardner has l remarked of him ; "There are perhaps more, and larger quo- | tations of the small volume of the New Testament, in this one 1 Christian author, than of all the works of Cicero, though of J so uncommon excellence for thought and style, in the writers of all characters for several ages." The Doctor has ; also extended this striking remark to Irenaeus, Bishop of ] Lyons, (of whom hereafter,) and to Clement of Alexandria, \ whose name stands next upon our list. Both Tertullian i and Clement lived and wrote in the beginning of the third, i as well as in the last years of the preceding century. Their ; names, therefore, introduce us to the writers of the second ; century. The Clement of whom I now write was an author i and teacher of great celebrity, and many of his works are \ extant. In these he observes the distinction of Law and Prophets; Apostles and Gospels; and, like Tertullian, does ' not hesitate to ascribe the apostles' words to the Holy | Ghost: — "the Holy Spirit in the Apostle says." He calls ] St. Paul's Epistles, 'divine Scriptures,' 'divinely inspired ; Scriptures,' and the books of the New Testament in general, ] 'the true Evangelical canon ;' 'the Scriptures of the Lord.* About ten years earlier, Theophilus of Antioch furnishes j the same testimony, and points out the identity of the 1 teaching of the Prophets and Gospels, "because that all be- 1 ing inspired, spoke by one and the same Spirit of God." It \ will have been observed that in some of the passages we have ; cited, the "Prophets" have been made to include the whole l of the Old Testament, as in that before us ; and so also, by | Gospels, is sometimes meant, collectively, what otherwise was termed, distributively, the Gospels and Apostles. CHAP. IV.] IDENTITY OP THE CHRISTIAN STORY. 99 We arrive now at the important testimony of Irenaeus, Bishop of Lyons in Gaul. All that has been remarked as to the testimony of the writers of this age to the divine authority of the Scriptures, applies with equal force to him. But whut makes his a name of double interest, is, that we have now come so near the apostolic age, that but one intermediate link connects us with the apostles themselves; for Irenaeus had been in early life a disciple of the aged Polycarp, and Polycarp was the pupil of St. John. Irenaeus speaks thus of his preceptor: "I almost think that I can still hear him relating how he had conversed with St. John, and with many others who had seen Jesus Christ, and repeating the words he had received from their lips, and the accounts they had given him of the Saviour's miracles and doctrines;" and this writer bears the fullest testimony to all our received books^ except the short Epistle to Phile-* TTwn, and the third of John; and makes no allusions whatever to any others. The omission of the two epistles he has not noticed, may be well accounted for by their brevity, and the little matter presented in them for quotation: for he no- where collects under one view the books he received, and it is only by putting together detached notices of them that we gather what these were. It is hardly necessary to re- mind the intelligent reader, that though the omission of them in a catalogue would have been decisive, the mere absence of any citation from them can give no fair inference that he rejected them; unless indeed they had been far more lengthy than they are. He has given a fanciful reason why there could be only four gospels; and that those are the four we now possess i- clear, because he has collected the particu- lars we know from Luke only; has given the beginning and end of Mark's Gospel; and dwells upon the reasons which in- duced John to write his. He also largely quotes the Acts of the Apostles, which he says was written by Luke, the disciple and companion of the Apostles; and has been at pains to set down the passages in which the writer represents himself as a companion of St. Paul. As the only indication of the fact is the use of t\ie first person plural, this compels him to give a summary of several of the latter chapters of the book. All his quotations, allusions, summaries, and arguments, *o far as grounded on facts, so exactly agree with our preseat books, that no modem author could fill his page» k2 iOO DIRECT HISTORICAL EVIDENCE OF THE f PART. I. ■with matter more closely in accordance with them. Thus then we have traced our books, through nearly seventeen centuries, to a time w hen we are all but brought in contact with their reputed authors; we find them, within a century after their date, broadly asserted, by one whose opportuniti- es of knowing were unequivocal, to be the productions of those to whom we ascribe them. Stronger evidence surely is scarcely needed ; but it is at hand. About the year 173, Hegesippus, in a fragment preserved by Eusebius, tells us that in a journey from Palestine to Bome, he found in every city the same doctrine taught, which the law and the prophets, and the Lord preacheth: meaning clearly by the Lordy what was more usually called the Gospels and Apostles. The writings of Justin Martyr, come within fifty years of the close of the sacred canon, and must detain us a little longer; for from this time we shall find the practice of quoting the books of the New Testament, without naming them, almost uniform : to name, was the exception, to cite without name, the rule; nor were writers at any pains to adhere closely to the precise words of the original, anxi- ous only to preserve the substance, less solicitous about the expression in which it was clothed. Yet even in simple Narratives, where diiferent witnesses are relating the same incidents, and more especially when they are recording the sayings of an individual, and must therefore, if faithful and correct, to a certain extent employ the same, or very similar language, there will generally be sufficient to enable a discerning reader to judge, with tolerable accuracy, and often with absolute certainty, how far they have copied from each other, or drawn their materials from common, or independent sources; and in the illustration of matters of opinion, and points of doctrine, the limits within which similarity of thought, and identity of expression, are con- sistent with real independence, are still more narrowed and unequivocally defined. It must be remembered, however, that even if the earliest Christian writings went no further than generally to identify the story they proceed upon, and the doctrines they teach, with those contained in our books, this, after the very near point of contact to which we have already brought those books with apostolic times, were enough to establish the point we are now contending for; CBAP. IT.] IDENTITY OP THE CHBISTIAN STORY. 101 and no violence would be done to the fairest and strictest «hain of reasoning, to deduce, with certainty, the genuine- ness of the books themselves. But legitimate as this con- clusion is, we have only a partial need of it, for the earlier writings do more than identify the story; they contain passages that fully identify many of the very pieces that now compose our sacred volume : and that the reader may judge for himself that the inference is just, I shall print a few specimens in parallel columns, setting the words of each father side by side with those of the Scripture text,' as now received. From Justin I shall put down broken parts of a passage, containing, in the compass of half a page, citations from three of the gospels, including that of St. Mark, which is more rarely quoted than the others. Justin. And in other words he says, "Depart from me into outer darkness, which the Father hath prepared for Satan and his angels." And again he said in other words, "I give unto you pow- er to tread upon serpents and scorpions, and venemous lK'asts,und upon all the power of the enemy." And before he was crucifi- ed he said, "The Son of man must suffer many things, and be rejected of the Scribes and Pharises and be crucified and rise again the third day." Matt. XXV. 41, Depart from me ye cursed into everlasting fire, prepared for the Devil and his angels. Lukex. 19. And I give unto you power to tread on serpents, and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy. Mark viii. 31. And he began to teach them that the Son of man must suffer many things, and be rejected of the elders, and of the chief priests, and scribes, and be killed, and after three days rise again. This last quotation is very similar to Luke ix. 22, but was taken from Mark, for Luke uses the passive, "be raised again." I will add an allusion to the Acts of the Apostles, and ene to St. Paul's Epistles : K 3 102 DIRECT HISTORICAL ETIDENCB OF THE QpART. I. Justin. Acts vii 22. Moses was thought worthy And Moses was learned in to partake of all the learning all the wisdom of the Egyp- of the Egyptians. tians. 2 Thess. ii. 3, 4. Speaking of Christ's second p^^ that day shall not come coming he says: "He shall ^^cept there be Si falling a- appear from heaven m glory, ^^^ g^st, and that man of when^^alsothemanofApo- sin be revealed, the son of Stacy, (ht. he of the falling perdition who opposeth and awaijj who speaketh great exalteth himself above all things against the most High, ^j^^^ j^ ^^jj^^ q^^j^ ^^. ^j^^^ j^ shall vex us Christians. worshipped, cf. Dan. vii. 25. xi. 36. With such quotations from, or allusions to most of the books of the New Testament, this writer abounds; he ex- .pressly ascribes the book of Revelation to St. John; and informs us that the Memoirs of the Apostles, by which, he elsewhere tell us, he means the Gospels, were read and expounded, when the Christians were assembled for public worship. We come at last to the Apostolic Fathers; as those are termed who lived and conversed with the apostles, or their contemporaries. Their writings are few and brief, and the genuineness of some is not very certainly established. It will be seen, moreover, from our table, that the precise year of their birth and death is unknown, nor can we say, with any degree of confidence, to what year their writings are to be assigned. It must, however, be clearly understood that the uncertainty exhibited in the table as to these, and some of the authors already commented on, — Irenaeus, for example, and Tertullian, — does not extend so far as to af- fect the age in which they lived. Where this has been the case, as it is with (Ecumenius, Suidas, and a few others, I have marked them doubtful; with regard to the rest, though there be a question of several years as to their birth or death, it may be said with absolute certainty of many a one of the intermediate years, that they were living during that year, and this is obviously sufficient for all that we require. A- gain, the allusions to the New Testament, in the apostolirith any degree of precision, be assigned to any particular age, I have therefore deemed it better to reserve them for subsequent remark ; and perhaps the place they now occupy, at the commencement of my list in point of time, may not be very far from tJiat they would by right fall into, were their history fully known. At the time the apostles wrote, Greek was, more than any other, the langu- age of the world; vernacular in many countries, in others the language in which the government was carried on, it was the universal language of the learned ; being in short, what Latin afterwards became in the West; what Sanscrit is to th« native dialects of lAdia; and wto English is fast 108 DIRECT HISTORICAL EVIDENCE OF THE []PART. I* ! becoming. Greek, therefore, was with great propriety se->| iected as the language of the New Testament, though noti Temacular to its authors; or all for whom its use was I designed. The confusion of languages necessarily makes it j impossible for any one language to render a matter of universal application, accessible to all; and that being • chosen which was at the time most extensively cultivated, ,| and most likely to meet with some in every country to I whom it was known, it was left for these to bring it within the reach of the uneducated, by interpreting it in their native tongue. We should, therefore, expect that our books would ■ soon be translated into the many provincial languages of the \ day; and accordingly, we have the testimony of Augustine, ; that the Latin church possessed many such versions, made j at the first introduction of Christianity, by authors now j unkno^vn. That called the Old Italic gradually superceded \ the others, till supplanted in its turn by Jerome's, and ' existed at least before Tertullian, who uses it towards the ; close of the second century, to the early part of which it i may probably belong. But the most important of these i Tersions, for the purposes of evidence, is the Syriac. It is \ interesting as being the language spoken in Palestine at the i time when Christ appeared, and consequently that in which ] his own discourses were actually delivered, and much of ■ the teaching of the apostles was carried on. Those Churches i indeed in which this version has been preserved regard it i as the original of the gospels ; even European critics have i been divided in opinion as to the language in which St. Matthew wrote, and some have thought he may have written -. both in Hebrew and in Greek. But whether or no we may ' allow that one gospel was composed in the then language of j Judaea, (a thing not in itself unlikely, if we were left to con- i jecture alone,) it is in the highest degree improbable, that a : system of religion, to be "preached to every creature which 1 is under heaven," (Col. i. 23.) should be promulgated in j a language confined to a comer of the earth; and it is clear \ that St. Paul, who himself spoke Greek, (Acts xxi. 37.) | would write to Greeks in a tongue they understood. But ^ the universal te^stimony of antiquity is positive, except in { the case of St. Matthew, in favour of Greek, and the Syriac j Version itself bears undoubted marks that it is a version, and that too from the Greek text we now possess; for beside CHAP. IT.] IDENTITY OP THE CHRISTIAN STORY. 109 it contains many Greek words, which might have been easily and correctly expressed in Syriac, and of which not fewer than eleven occur in a single chapter of St. Matthew, (ch. xxvii,) as well as the Latinisms that had been retained in the Greek; and beside this there are some singular mistakes which are at once accounted for by an inspection of the Greek original, and which could have arisen in no other way. But it is not likely that so important a section of the universal Church as were the Jewish Christians, would be long left without some effort to bring the New Testament within the reach of their uneducated members; and learned men are almost of one mind in assigning the Peschito, or Literal, Syriac Version to the close of the first, or beginning of the second century. It wants, as I have remarked before, the second Epistle of Peter, the second and third of John, the Epistle of Jude, and the Revelations; which have been added by later hands. But what gives peculiar value to this translation, is the fact that it was unknown in Europe till the year 1552. It had been preserved by the secluded churches in the deserts of Syria, and the mountains of Mala- bar, unknown to western nations, and the Scriptures of western nations had been preserved in Europe, unknown to them; and after the lapse of many centuries, the two were at length once more brought together, and on comparison found to differ in nothing of importance. Every name introduced, every fact stated, every doctrine propounded is the same. Our series closes with Barnabas; or, if the testimony of the Epistle which goes by his name be inconclusive, with Clement. Nor could it be more complete; for omitting every name which has been marked as doubtful, it has brought us to the very period, nay within the period, to which our books are assigned. For Clement wrote in the life time of St. John, and perhaps before that apostle had contributed his share to our collection, which was completed by his pen. During the last period which has passed under our review, I have been at some pains to point out the divine character uni- formly ascribed to our books. I now beg the reader to remark that their divine origin is an essential feature of their story. Whether justly or not, they broadly assert it of themselves. With regard to Christ himself, I refer to John iii. 1 1 ; vii. 16; ▼iii. 28; xii.49; and xiv. 10. With reference to the apostles, I may put down John xiv. 26, and xvi. 12 — 15; — two pas- sages most important to notice, for they declare, (1) that the L 110 DIRECT HISTORICAI, ETIDENCE OP THE [pART I. I Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, the Spirit of truth, (that ; is the Spirit of the living God, the third person of the blessed I Trinity,) should call to the remembrance of the apostles what \ they had heard from Christ: (2) that he should teach themall ; things, things which they had not yet heard, because they ] could not bear them ; and (3) that, speaking, not of himself, \ but "what he shall hear" of the Father; and he should not only ' guide them into all truth, but show them things to come, i These texts comprize nearly every variety of inspiration ; — \ an infallible recollection of the past ; — the full understanding of every truth ; — and the power of foretelling things to come. ; I will, therefore, only add, as specific examples of these ge- 1 neral particulars, Johnii. 22; xxi.24. 1 Cor ii. 13; vii, 10; xv, I 3, with Gal. i. 11, 12; Eph. iii. 3, 5; and the book of Re- ] Telations throughout. It is, then, an integral portion of our \ Christian story, that all which it contains, whether it be a \ simple narrative of overt acts, or a record of vocal teaching, \ or a repository of vital doctrine, and of prophecy, carries with, : it the authority of the voice of God. I say nothing at present i of the correctness of this lofty claim. It is the very point \ which this whole treatise is intended to make out, and the line of argument prescribed has not yet brought us to its ! discussion. All I design here is to show that divine authority I has been uninterruptedly claimed for, and conceded to our j Scriptures by one and all of our extant authors ; and thattheir I sacred character, from the very first, has never once been lost. | I say this character has been never lost. For, in point ' of fact, the difficulty, with reference to ages after the early • fathers, is not that this has been denied, or questioned, but ; that other books have, as we have seen, been permitted to ] share that reverence which we maintain is due to the Scrip- \ tures alone. The difficulty, however, is rather apparent than i real, and a fair statement of the case will show that the marks j of diminution in the case of every other pretender to a like \ authority, are manyand decisive; fatal to its pretensions; con-^ ; elusive in support of those of our sacred volume. The careful ! student will have repeatedly noticed the various and distant | countries, whence our selection of witnesses has been drawn, j Turn where we will, there is scarce a Christian country, for | which we have not materials for making out a continuous ; series, carrying us back to the remotest times. The lists j furnished by England, France, Germany, Greece, Italy, Syria, and the eastern churches, are so many streams, con- i CHAP. IT.] IDENTITY OF THE CHRISTIAN STORY. Ill ductipg us by independent channels, sometimes throwing out connecting branches, and sometimes, after a lengthened course, merging two in one; till they disembogue upon, or near, the apostolic times. But choose any other name you will, Lombard, or Aquinas, from the scholastic divines; Gregory, from the Popes; Augustine, or Origen from the early fathers; — the protestant churches universally with- hold their assent, perhaps from any tribute of reverence; certainly, from more than may be given to eminence in learning, zeal, or piety, in any man: — the Greek churches disavow most of the Latin fathers; the Syrian and other eastern churches further exclude most of those received by the Greeks; and finally, for several centuries nearest to the apostolic age, divine authority was conceded to none beside the books, then and now received as the Scriptures of truth. Tracing back the divine authority and antiquity of tradition and the fathers we find that the two hang by in- dependent threads, casually and loosely twisted in certain portions of their lengths, and in others disconnected. The one is weak and fragile; from the eighth century at least, it fails us; and the question of superhuman authority put upon it, falls. The other sustains its burden; and suffices to bear up the question of antiquity. But when we come to the divine authority and antiquity of our Scriptures, the double chain is firmly braced together and forms but one compacted sup- port throughout its entire length. None therefore, but these Scriptures have been acknowledged as authoritative, always, every where^ or by all. These three tests of universal con- sent fail, collectively and distributively, when applied to any single case but that of the pieces, or at least the main body of the pieces, composing the collection in our Bibles. Again, it is important to remark, that even the degree of authority attributed to the fathers in the scholastic and patristic periods, was only given them as interpreters of Scripture, not as having added any new Revelation from above ; and that none of these interpreters claimed for them- selves, as our Scriptures do claim, this authority. There is Xiothing but mere opinion to support it. An immoderate re- spect has been entertained for them, the propriety of which, for divers weighty reasons, we are disposed to question. We summon them to the bar, and find them either dis- claiming, or, at least, not advancing any title to, such a measure of regard. There is little need, therefore, to cast l2 112 DIRECT HISTORICAL EVIDENCE OF THE QpART I. about for arguments in refutation of an undefended cause ; and judgment is given by default. On the contrary, while a host of witnesses hurry us onward with a thousand fold stronger testimony, a testimony which in itself sets the case on immeasurably higher grounds, we find our Scriptures putting forth the broadest claims, and challenging inquiry. In the other cases, the inquiry drops when we reach its object; in this it has but begun. They resolve themselves into concurring witnesses; this submits itself boldly to the trial. We content ourselves, therefore, with setting down to an un- happy error, the information which had mistakenly referred us to other mere guides, as to compeers of him we seek; but availing ourselves of the direction with which we have thus fallen in, we feel our way to the final object of our search. Many of the above remarks apply equally to the mistaken reverence given to antiquity in later days, and to the few books received by individual churches in the first ages, but not finally admitted into the Canon. Although these obtain- ed a temporary credit, they meet with a treatment from those who mention them, very different from that dealt out to our Scriptures. Some of them, indeed, were the genuine production of those whose names they bear, as for example the Epistle of Clement, though not inspired; but others were more doubtful. One of the few questionable writings, falHng perhaps among the spurious of Eusebius' list, (p. 89), was the Gospel of the Hebrews, which is mentioned by Clement of Alexandria, and Origen. It agrees in the main with the Gospel of St. Matthew; but is twice only alluded to by Origen, both times with marks of disap- probation; and Clement cites it but once; while he quotes one or other of our Gospels in almost every page. Even this scanty measure of approbation is not accorded to the few real- ly spurious Christian writings, the fourth class of Eusebius, which have been mentioned by the ancients, or have come down to our days. They are neither cited nor alluded to by a single author of the first three centuries; nor have they a sha- dow of external evidence to make them worth a moment's no- tice; — except, indeed, it be to put them in juxtaposition with those which we receive as authentic, that the contrast may bring out the evidence in favour of the latter in stronger co- lours; and show the incalculable superiority they maintain. Nor is the superiority much less striking, even when set side by side with the genuine and best esteemed works of pagan CHAP. IT.] IDENTITY OP THE CHRISTIAN STORT. 113 Greece and Rome; for such a chain of unbroken testhnony to any one remnant of ancient times the world cannot aflPord. It is not usually urged in behalf of the standard books of other existing systems of religion, unless, perhaps, a partial exception may be made in favour of the Koran. The great antiquity of many of these is freely and fully ad* mitted; but scarcely a vestige of the particulars relating to their transmission now remains. An inscrutable antiquity, indeed, like that claimed for the Vedas, cuts off, in direct terms, all outward testimony; and leaves nothing beyond its own mtness concerning itself, to associate a book with its authors, with the events it relates, or with any evidence by which its divine authority was exhibited, when first given to men. And admitting that the names prefixed to the several hymns of the Vedas are those of the real authors, and that the compilation was made, as is generally aflftrmed, by Vyasa, we have nothing more certain than conjecture, by which to date the compilation, much less the original composition. Omitting the remaining sacred books of either creed, we have the Vandidad, standing to the Parsee, much in the same light as the Vedas do to the Hindu. The challenge of Dr. Wilson to the Parsees of Bombay, to bring forward historial documents that would associate the name and miracles of Zoroaster with the book ascribed to his pen, was met by a reply which can only be regarded as an acknow- ledgement that they possess no documents of the kind. Fifteen authorities were, indeed, referred to, to fill up more than two thousand years that have elapsed since the date they assign to the mission of their prophet; and though numerically few, they might have sufficed, had each been itself well authenticated, and the whole fairly distributed, at proportionate intervals, throughout the time. But most of them are avowedly the production of the last few centu- ries, and leave a gap of more than a thousand years to be filled by two or three; and these, so far from presenting any real presumption of antiquity, are replete with internal indications of a comparatively recent origin, and, worthless in other respects, cannot lend the little help that might have been extracted from them, in a question of chronology, I am anticipating a subject to be elucidated in the following section, when I add, that numerous extant inscriptions, chiefly of a religious nature, and belonging to the times of l3 Il4 DIRECT HISTORICAL EVIDENCE OP THE |[PART. t Darius and Xerxes, make no mention of Zoroaster; whil^ the language in which they are couched, bears such a rela- tionship to the Zand, as to give ground for considering it the parent of this latter tongue. Thence accrues a presump-*- tion that, if Zoroaster lived at the time set forth by the -Parsees, about 500 years before the birth of Christ, the Vandidad cannot be genuine; and that he either did jiot live in that age, or that the influence he exercised over the national religion of his country, vras very much less than is commonly supposed. This, however, is presump- tion, and not proof; nor must the ultimate bearing of this portion of our argument be misunderstood. It needs no jeasoning to show, on the one hand, that the genuineness of a treatise, professing to be founded on supernatural communications, does not alone establish this high claim; and thus, the chain of evidence substantiating the genuine- ness of the Koran, though falling far short, in strength and completeness, of that I have just gone through, is admitted to be sufficient to bring that work home to its reputed au- thor; and yet its authenticity is denied. On the other hand, we must beware of asserting that a book, whose date is unassignable, or involved in difficulty and doubt, is on this account alone, necessarily excluded from all competition for a place among the authoritative standards of a revelation. But a composition in this predicament comes to the contro- versy labouring under serious disadvantages, especially when set beside others bringing with them testimonials that place them above suspicion. It loses all shadow of external sup- port, and, in the absence of renewed interpositions from above, is flung exclusively upon its own internal excel- lency to vindicate its claim. With reference, however, to the books of the New Testa- ment, we have seen their genuineness and integrityfuUy sub- stantiated for every age; the universal consent of antiquity has authenticated by far the larger portion op our BOOKS ; general consent has authenticated all. Those con- cerning which opinion was for a time suspended, were doubt- ed of, or passed over in silence, by a few; and can scarcely, if the language of Eusebius be fairly weighed, be said to have been positively rejected by any. But most of the earliest writers, and especially Irenaeus, whose proximity to the apostolic age makes his name a host, have, as will have CHAP. IV.] IDENTITY OF THE CHRISTIAN STORY. 115 been noted by the remarks interspersed through the fore- going pages, used these latter writings unhesitatingly, and without a single intimation of suspected authority ; while all, if we except the Epistle to the Hebrews, have been uni- formly assigned to the ^vriters whose names they bear. On the other hand, it is no less clear, that none of the books received by the first Christian authors have been lost; for with the few slight exceptions above stated, and scarce worth again referring to, they use none but those we now possess. And again, setting aside the undue weight at- tached in later times to certain writers, as satisfactorily dis- posed of, and utterly untenable, none have been added: — for with the few unimportant limitations before explained, they use all we now receive. Moreover, in addition to what has been said of the imcorrupted preservation of our manuscripts, it must be fur- ther noted, that the full and ample quotations, so copiously sprinkled over the pages of Christian wTiters of every age, give us the most infallible security against any serious omissions, interpolations, or alterations, in our books; fot no trace of any material variation occurs. Nor is the mere verbal coincidence, as far as it goes, between the extract and the sacred text so sure a guard against chicanery, as the object for which the passage is cited, and the context in which it stands; for it will at once be perceived, that an alteration of the words of the quotation in an ancient author, by one who had been tampering with the text of Scripture, if practicable, would often be worse than in- sufficient: the whole tenor of the argument, perhaps of the treatise itself, must be changed, or the perversion of the sense would at once detect the fraud. The entire agreement between our books and these quotations, can only have arisen from one of these two causes. Either it re- sults from the genuineness of both; or there must have been a universal concurrence among Christians, to obliterate the genuine, and substitute, wholly or partially, some spurious productions. Such a conspiracy, were it not too monstrous an idea to be entertained at all, could not have been entered into in the life time of the apostles; — and even if they sanc- tioned any change, the new system is still their own, which is all that we are arguing for at present; — and before the tcmoval of the last of them from the scene, there were 116 DIRECT HISTORICAL EVIDENCE OP THE [^PART. I. ^ churches, at least in every province of the Roman empire, '■ nearly co-extensive with the then known world. In those -: churches we are sure that in the time of Justin Martyr, that ;■ is, within fifty years from the apostolic times, it was an ! established usage to read these books publicly, and preach ^ from them; and it Avill not be straining his testimony to ] carry the practice back to a very early day, nay even to that of the apostles themselves. It follows from this, that '; no one Church could falsify a single passage, without a ^ protest from the rest; for the wildest imagination cannot j conceive it possible that all can have been prevailed on, \ simultaneously to corrupt treasures so esteemed as were ] these books; nor could that consent, if attainable, have been \ so rapidly and universally communicated, as efi'ectually to \ have blotted out every trace of so complicated a negotiation, \ and so complete a change. A case in point presents itself in \ the history of Mahometanism; for the Suffavean monarchs ^ of Persia are said to have so strenuosly and successfully j advocated th^ title of Moussa to be regarded as the seventh l Imaum,* that no traces of a contrary opinion are now to be \ found in that country. But the Mussulmen of other coun- 1 tries have not forsaken Ismail, whose adherents numbered j among them the Fatamite Caliphs of Egypt, and the much ■ dreaded Assassins: in a solitary province the memory of Is- j mail was obliteiated,but it was beyond the power of a single, l though potent dynasty, to prevail upon the professors of their \ own religion, beyond the limits of their own dominions, and 1 this in a matter not in the least degree affecting the integrity i of the Koran; or any leading article of their creed. And if ' we need an example in the case of our own Scriptures, we may once more bring fQrward the disputed passage of 1 John } V. 7- (pp. 75 and 77-) If this were fraudulently or mistak- j ingly omitted by the Greeks, the Latin churches have ; entered their protest against its rejection: if it were foisted I in by the western Christians, the eastern have protested ; against its insertion: either way the change, comparatively i unimportant as it is, because the doctrine it contains does ^ not depend on it alone, has not passed unnoticed; how, then, \ could any really fundamental alteration have been effected, : in so extensive a field, and no memory of it be preserved? i I pause here; — these are our principal witnesses, and such ; is the manner in which their testimony is given. I have now j CHAP. IV.]] IDENTITY OF THE CHRISTIAN STORV. 117 to call in the aid of corroborating %Titnesses, and point out incidental facts, that will further strengthen our position, and fix these writings to the age to which they are assigned. These matters will occupy another section, and close what ' have to advance in support of our first proposition. The tv will then be open to take up the all important question of the truth of the Christian story. SECT, III. Corroborating testimony. Sectarians and Heretics. — Concessions of adversaries.— -» Julian. — Porphyria. — Celsus. — Heathen and Jewish wri- ters. — Ammianus Marcellinus. — Libanius. — Spanish In- scriptions. — Aurelian. — DionCassius. — Ulpian. — Galen. — Aurelius Antoninus. — Epictetus. — Pliny — Suetonius.— Martial. — Juvenal. — Tacitus. — The Acts of Pilate. — Remarks. — Josephus. — The language of the New Testa- ment. — Its Hebraisms. — Latinisms. — Recapitulation. — - My reader will not have forgotten the principle I have so often set before him, that the Christian Scriptures have been, committed to the custody of men, and therefore, to a cer- tain extent, have been liable to, and, indeed, have suffered from the accidents and imperfections inseparable from hu- man life. This is nothing more than saying that God has not maintained a series of perpetual miraciilous interposi- tions, to accomplish that which, for every useful pui-pose, can be effectually secured without them. To the instances already noted, wherein the practical working of this prin- ciple has been exemplified, I have now to add, the diversity in religious opinions which has from the beginning distracted, and to a degree disfigured, the Christian Church. If it is true, as we hope to show hereafter that it is, beyond all reasonable doubt, that our books were written under the immediate influence of God himself, it would have been wsy for their divine author to have clothed them in such 118 DIRECT HISTORICAL EVIDENCE OP THE [^PART. I. language, as that no possible room should be left for any real difference of opinion concerning the interpretation of a single passage. It would have been no less easy for him to have secured the whole from the slightest variation ; to have guided the pen of every translator, and every interpreter, so that no danger of swerving, but an hair's breadth, from the intended doctrine could have been incurred; and he might have controlled the unruly perversities of those, who from petulance or pride of intellect, have lent themselves to cor- rupt the faith, so that, when seeking to establish error, they might have found the simple truth. But such was not his purpose: while the language employed by the inspired pen- men, to give expression to the thoughts and revelations suggested by the Holy Ghost, was so far chastened that no real ambiguity detracts from the full developement of one solitary article of faith; there are a few words, or combina- tions of words, concerning the intended acceptation of which a reasonable difference of opinion may be entertained: — while the integrity of our books is as complete, and our translations as accurate, as the full security of every doctrine can demand; there are, as we have seen, some minor varia- tions. Holy men have thus been divided as to the mind of the Spirit, concerning a few unessential points of doctrine and practice; and unholy men have been permitted to draw poison even from the wells of salvation, to wrest the very Scriptures of truth to their own destruction. These writ- ings were not exempted from the secret perfidy of wily traitors, any more than from the attacks of open enemies; from the misunderstanding of the weak and unstable inter- preter, any more than from the unwitting errors of the mere transcriber. They were launched upon a wide and bois- terous ocean, and have braved the perils of ten thousand storms; their path has been among sunken rocks and treacherous shoals; the wonder is that they still tower aloft in all their stateliness, and have preserved their pre- cioHS freight undamaged; that they have lost so little, rather than so much, from the rude buffettings they have experi- enced in their eventful voyage down the stream of time. But the purpose for which these differences are introdu- ced here, is, to show to what extent the writings of the New Testament were received by those who entertained them. With regard to disputes carried on within the pale of the 4HAP. ItJ identity OF THE CHRISTIAN STORY. 119 Church, such as those concerning Origenism, or the pro- cession of the Holy Ghost, so fruitful a source of dissension between the Greek and Romish churches, nothing need be added to wliat I have said in the preceding section. The sectarians again, who withdrew from the general church, chiefly on some point of discipline, such as the Novatians, in the third centur}-, and the Donatists, in the fouith, all appealed to our Scriptures as the sole authority concerning the matters in dispute. Nor was the case otherwise with the vast plurality of the heretics, who, as Vincentius testifies, urged the testimony of Scripture explicitly and vehemently. The Arians, in the fourth century, notoriously appealed to it, with professions of the greatest deference and regard, and anathematized those who spake contrary to, what they esteemed, its doctrines. Later still, the Nestorians and Eutychians, and a host of others, defended their notions hy the interpretations they put upon its teaching; they neither denied nor corrupted the acknowledged Scriptures ; but argued from the phrases and expressions occurring in their pages. There were comparatively few who, like Mar- cion, diso\vned or mutilated a portion of our books. Yet even these received the main incidents, all, in fact, that are absolutely necessary to authenticate the religion. Chrysos- tom asserts that, before his time, many heretics had arisen, holding opinions contrary to what is contained in the Gospels, who yet received them entire, or in part. We do not, of course, go to these opposers of the truth for a full authentication of its sacred repositories; but it is important to know that they ventured to detract so little from their authority, and were willing to concede to them so large a measure of their respect. Next after those whose aim it was to pervert the religion they dishonoured, I shall adduce the testimony of open enemies. Their works have not survived in the form in which they were originally issued; but we possess large extracts from them, in the answers made by those who un- dertook to defend Christianity against their cavils. The Emperor .Julian is the latest, in order of time, of the three principal >vriters of this class. His reign was subsequent, by many years, to the establishment of Christianity as the religion of the empire by Constantine; and what we know 120 DIRECT HISTORICAL EVIDENCE OP THE j^PART. I. of his work is derived from the comments of Cyril and Jerome. He mentions the Gospels of Matthew and Luke by name ; objects to a great variety of incidents drawn from our books ; and from the extracts remaining, does not seem to have used any others. Nor does he simply ex- press the judgment of the Christian church in his time. He himself allows the early date of these records; and even argues for it; he all along supposes, and no where questions their genuineness. In the previous century. Porphyry put forth a large and formal treatise against Christianit3^ From the notices of it in ecclesiastical writers, it would seem that his animadver- sions were directed exclusively against the contents of our books, and never against their genuineness ; nor does it appear that he regarded any histories beside our present Gospek and the Acts of the Apostles, as possessing authority among Christians. Earlier still, that is, about the middle of the second ; century, Celsus, a heathen philosopher, undertook the first argumentative assault upon Christianity, of which we have any remains. His work was answered by Origen, about fifty years after, and much of it is probably embodied in the reply, for the writer of this professes "to confute every thing proposed by him, not so much observing the natural order of things, as the order which he has taken himself" There i are however many avowed extracts, and that these are faithfully given, appears, among other reasons, from the objection, as stated by Celsus, being sometimes stronger than the answer given by Origen. It does not seem that (Celsus any where accused the Christians of forging their sacred books ; he says, indeed, that he could state things concerning Jesus, different from those written by the disci- ples of Jesus; "but," he adds "I parposely omit them." A man may assert any thing, but the mere assertion of art adversary has little weight, where not a shadow of proof is brought; and, if proof could have been brought, it is hard to suppose it would have been withheld in this case^ when the veracity of the disciples would have been under- mined, and the whole Christian system fatally shaken by producing it. But while the objection, thus unsustained by evidence, is futile, it proves that books, allowed to be written by the disciples of Jesus, were then well known, CHAF. IV.] IDENTITY OP THE CHRISTIAN STORY. 121 and that they contained a history of Jesus. Celsus else- where refers to their own writings^ as furnishing him with arguments for the confutation of the Christians; and that the books he intended were our present Gospels, appears by his allusions to many incidents, precepts, and apparent discrepancies, all which are still found in our books ; while he makes no reference to any thing not found therein, and alludes to no other accounts whatever. Mention is made of a few other works written against the Christians, and some extracts from them have been preserv- ed; but what has been said of the three above recited, will apply to all; — they assume the story we now possess, nor are they known to have questioned its authenticity, or insinuated that Christians were mistaken as to those to whom their books were assigned. Porphyry, indeed, did venture to question the authenticity of the book of Daniel, chiefly on the ground that its prophecies, and their fulfilment, so closely corresponded, that it must have been written after' the event ! This is only begging the question; but that there i exists no trace even of such a suspicion thrown out against ^A-f^ the writings of the New Testament, affords a strong pre- < sumption, that, on tliis point, they were considered unassail- j able. Nor can it be any serious detriment to the argument S tlicnce deduced, that we are only acquainted with the ob- jections of these writers through their opponents. The whole 1 scheme cannot have been a cunning device, on the part of ; the Christians, to authenticate their books; for they would \ surely never have thought of building up their system by ' so dangerous an expedient; and the anticipation of success '\ from so refined a policy, could never have been strong enough to have encouraged the boldest to hazard it; while on the supposition of the genuineness of these quotations all is j natural and easy. Nor could the Christians have passed by, for it is not conceivable they would have been permit- i ted to pass by, any objection that was urged; for this would have been at once to confess their weakness, and admit that ; their religion, on that point, could not be defended. Nothing I could have been more to the advantage of a heathen : adversary, than to overturn the authority of the Christian books, for then the very foundation of the religion was gone ; and nothing could have been more strange, than for i ^^'hristian writers, replying largely on other points, to pass 122 DIRECT HISTORICAL EVIDENCE OP tHE [pART. 1. by this very essential one, had it been made. We niay^ therefore, fairly infer that it never was made ; and if not, it must have been because, with all their learning, industry, opportunities of inquiry, and with every disposition to seize on each vantage ground, the enemies of Christianity were constrained to admit the point, and allow that our books were genuine. It is difficult to assign a correct position to the concessions of Mahomet with reference to the Christian scheme. He has borrowed from it so largely, that some writers have been disposed to class him among the perverters of Christianity, rather than the originators of new and independent creeds. The hatred and rivalry of his followers has, however, been a feature in his system more broadly marked than his own disposition to imitate; and I shall not greatly err in giving him a place beside the open adversaries of our faith. The in- carnation and miraculous conception of Jesus is related in the Koran, in words obviously taken from our Gospels; "When the angels said, Mary, verily God sendeth thee good tidings, that thou shalt bear the Word proceeding from himself; his name shall be Christ Jesus, the Son of Mary, honourable in this world and in the world to come; and one of those who approach near to the presence of God, and he shall speak unto men in the cradle, and when he is grown up he shall be one of the righteous : she answered. Lord how shall I have a son, seeing that I know not a mail? The angel said, Lo, God createth that which he pleaseth; 'jyhen he decreeth a thing, he only saith unto it, Be, and it is."' Again, "Verily Christ Jesus, the Son of Mary, is the apos*le of God, and his Word, which he conveyed to Mary, said- a Spirit proceeding from him." (cf. Luke i. 30 — ^33. John i. J, &c.) Mahometans teach that six prophets were commissioned to communicate new dis- pensations from above ; four of these are characters familiar to every reader of our Old Te&vtament Scriptures, Adam, Noah, Abraham, and Moses ; the i^fth was Jesus, and the last, Mahomet himself. The Pentateuch, Psalms, and Gospels, are acknowledged as among the books given from God; but they accuse the Jews and Cliristians of altering and corrupting these; and they have therJiselves added much to the accounts transmitted in the his'tory we receive as genuine. When, however, it is considc^red that Mahomet CHAP. IV.]] IDENTITY OP THE CHRISTIAN STORY. 123 flourished about six hundred years after the time of Christ, and full three hundred after Christianity became the religion of the empire, after hundreds of Christian and heathen w-riters, the edicts of princes, and the acts of general and provincial councils, had borne the fullest testimony to an opinion of the genuineness and integrity of our books, the detractions of a rival need no refutation; especially when it is considered that the admission of their authenticity, as they exist at present, would have been a suicidal act, fatal to his own pretensions; for, as I have long since observed, no other system of religion can co-exist with Christianity in its genuine form. If it be so, indeed, as the Mussulman main- tains, that each of these six dispensations successively abro- gated the preceding, the contents of our books, or any others, might seem a cause of less solicitude. But, even in this case, a most formidable objection presents itself, in the consequent inconstancy, and want of consistency, in the purposes and plans of the Almighty; and waiving this, the argument may be shifted to a different ground. If Mahomet were thus aAithorized to repeal all that had been, by his own admis- sion, commanded before, we ask for competent credentials, by which his mission is supported, and a sound and suffici- ent proof that he was sent from God. Whether this be given has to be discussed hereafter. If it be not, he occupies but the position of a fallible man, or worse, of an interested impostor ; his concessions, as those of other adversaries, pos- sess their value, his misrepresentations, unsubstantiated by proof, can have no demand upon our credit. I have not thought it necessary to exhibit the testimony either of heretics or adversaries at any length. This is not the place to enter upon the tenets of the one, or answer the objections of the other. The discussion of the former ap- pertains to treatises on doctrinal divinity; the latter, we have just seen, do not extend to the point we are now engaged upon; and many of them have been, or willbe,hereafter tacit- ly met by the observations arising out of the topics succes- sively brought before us. Neither class of writers are leading witnesses, yet many of them go the full length of those that are. Their evidence is not merely negative, in that they do not controvert our story, or the genuineness of our books; it is positive, in that they either name them, or ground their axguments upon v?hat is now found in them; and the testi- M 2 124 DIRECT HISTORICAL EVIDENCE OP THE fpART. I. j mony of a professed enemy must obviously be estimated on two opposite principles, accordingly as it makes for or against '< the subject under investigation; for, when adverse, due al- lowances must be made, as well for want of opportunities of correct knowledge, as for partial views, and intended : misrepresentation; whereas, if it be favourable, the conces- < sion can only be ascribed to an opinion of undeniable truth, ! and must be free from every suspicion of collusion. The writers just dismissed were brought, by the design of | their treatises, into direct and actual contact vnth. the Chris- ! tian faith, in all its principal bearings. There remain a few \ others, who though enemies, were not assailants, and who ' therefore viewed the subject at a greater distance, and have i bestowed upon it still less research, and a more scanty section 1 of their pages. The vicissitudes of empires, the sagacity | of statesmen, and the exploits of warriors, present a more ] attractive material to the historian, than the speculations \ of the philosopher, or the unobtrusive workings of a peace- ] able religion. Yet peaceable as is the Christian's faith, it ; is aggressive in its nature. The weapons of its warfare : are not carnal, yet plied by meekness and patient endu- '[ ranee, it is mighty through God to the pulling down of ' strong holds (2 Cor. x. 4.); and hence, not by its violence, I but by its silent success, it soon attracted the notice of the I rulers of the world, and, as their founder had led them to i expect, they were hated of all men for his name's sake, i (Matt. X. 22.). Our Scriptures are full of intimation to the J same effect; one of the main points, indeed, at which Christ | had aimed, in the exercise of his personal ministry, was to ,' prepare his followers for this; a little before the passage above cited he had said, "ye shall be brought before gover- \ nors and kings for my sake, for a testimony against them \ and the Gentiles," (Matt, x. 18.). He himself is represented j as having been put to death by the procurator of Judaea; i the apostles are said to have been brought before the Jewish \ Sanhedrim, and the Roman governors of Judaea, and other | provinces of the empire; and to have been sent to Rome, i to appear before the emperor in person. While, on the | Other hand, the populace is stated to have arisen in irregular ^ tumults, and proceeded to unauthorized acts of violence, for which the Christians could obtain no redress. To put down ; CHAP. IV.] IDENTITY OP THE CHRISTIAN STORY. 125 references would be to enumerate almost every chapter of tiie Acts of the Apostles, and much of the Epistles; nor do the writings of the early Christians fail to set forth, in the most prominent colours, the continuance of this system, during protracted portions of the three first centuries of the Christian era. The violence and extent of these persecu- tions was such that they could not escape the notice of any; and hence, however indifferent the heathen writers of the period might be to the principles of Christianity; unobtru- sive as it is in its own genuine character; the malignity of it$ enemies gave it a prominence, and a political importance, it might not otherwise have acquired, and we may fairly expect, that if our story be true, it could not entirely have eluded the attention of some among the historians, or others, whose productions fall within the period we are speaking of, and from whom its importance seems sufficient to demand some passing mention. We do accordingly find, among the remains of the four first centuries, just such memorials as the nature of the case might lead us to expect. They go, it is true, but a little way; there is no enumeration of our books; nay, there is not the most dis- tant allusion to them at all ; yet there is a full and free re- cognition of various particulars, in perfect accordance with these books, and naturally arising out of them; and what is remarkable, though the Christian character is unjustly vili- fied, there is no single incident so much as implied, contra- dictory of any leading fact recorded in our books; no vestige of any other story ever current with any class of men. It will be convenient to cite some of the principal passages from the few extant heathen writers that have come down to us ; and then point out the particulars in which the a- greement above stated is observable; merely premising, first, that if the extracts be fewer than might be looked for, we must remember that we possess scarcely a single history of these ages in a complete state; — the works of many writers being wholly lost, others existing only in part; and some in mere broken fragments: — and secondly, that the extent to which their testimony is now urged, is only to show that Christianity existed, and bore then a character precisely consonant to that deducible from our books, whence the existence of those books themselves is also fairly inferred, and the general identity of the Christian story fully proved. M 3 i26l DIRECT HISTORICAL EVIDENCE OP THE [[pART. I. Ammianus Marcellinus, in the fourth century, was with the emperor Julian in his Persian expedition; and wrote a ' history of the empire from the reign of Nerva to the death I of Valens, in 378. The first thirteen books are lost, andi the extant portion commences from the year 353, in the i reign of Constantius, long after the empire had become ^ Christian. He has frequent references to Christianity; and notices the deposition of Athanasius, and other matters i of ecclesiastical history; but what I chiefly wish to note is, ] the estimate he had formed of the Christian religion, and ' the abuses of it ; for speaking of Constantius, who it will ] be remembered was an Arian, he says: "The Christian re- ; ligion, which in itself is plain and simple, he adulterated ■ with a childish superstition : for studying it with a vain i curiosity, instead of sober modesty, he raised many dissen- ; sions, which, when caused, he cherished and increased by ! a strife about words." Compare with this 2 Cor. xi. 3; 1 | Tim. i. 4; vi. 4. 5; 2 Tim. ii. 23; Tit. iii. 9, &c. Compare, | moreover, with 1 Tim. iii. 1 — 7; and Tit. 1. 6 — 9, his notion ! of the ofl&ce of a Christian bishop, " which," he says, "re-* ; commends nothing but justice and lenity." Many also of] the institutions and opinions then common among Christians ) are recognised in his writings. Omitting Libanius, who among other relics, has left an\ oration to Theodosius, in behalf of the heathen temples, I ' ■go back to two ancient inscriptions found at Clunia, a ; Iloman colony, in Spain, which relate to Diocletian's per-i secution, and belong to the first ten years of the fourth j century. As this is a kind of evidence novel to our pages, : I shall transcribe one of them as a specimen; l DIOCLETIANUS. JOVIUS. ET I MAXIMIAN. HERCULIUS I CAES. AUGG t AMPLIFICATO. PER. ORIEN j TEM. ET. OCCIDENTEM I IMP. ROM i ET J NOMINE. CHRISTIANORUM i DELETO. QUI. REMP. EVER \ TEBANT. i CHAP. IV.] IDB^mTY OP THE CHRISTIAN 8T0RY. 127 These inscriptions celebrate the supposed abolition of Chris- tianity; that given above may be translated thus: "Diocleti- an, Jovian, Maximian Herculius, Caesars Augusti; on occa- sion of the extension of the Roman empire in the east and west, and the extinction of the name of Christians, who were bringing the republic to ruin." The general import of the other is the same ; and the restoration of pagan worship is also commemorated. There also exists a medal struck by Diocletian with a similar inscription, "Nomine Christiano- rum deleto," "the name of Christians being extinguished." Vopiscus, a Latin writer, quotes a letter of the emperor Aurelian, probably of the year 270 or 271, wherein he taunts thesenate concerning their reluctance to consultthe Sibylline books, "as if their consultations were held in some church of the Christians, and not in the temple of all the gods." Nearly at the same time Longinus wrote his treatise of the Sublime, and though not now considering the writings of the Old Testament, it may not be amiss to introduce his notice of Moses, a character repeatedly referred to in the New Testament, whom he designates as no ordinary man, and one who had formed a just sentiment concerning the power of the deity. He quotes the fine passages in the book of Genesis," God said; Let there be light; and there was light. (Gen. 1.3.) Let the dry land appear, and it was 80. (i. 9.)" In a fragment ascribed to him there is also a tribute to the excellence of Paul of Tarsus in argu- ment ; but its genuineness cannot be satisfactorily made out, though it is not proved to have been added by a later hand. Passing by Dion Cassius, who mentions the Christians in the reign of Comraodus, and Ulpian a contemporary of Tertullian, who is said by Lactantius to have collected all the edicts against the Christians, we come to Galen, the celebrated physician, who flourished in the latter half of the second century. He blames one whom he mentions as de- clining to give a reason for some things advanced by him, "so that," he says, "we seem rather to be in a school of Moses or Christ, where we must receive laws with any reason that may be assigned;" and in another place he says: "It is easier to convince the disciples of Moses and Christ, than physicians and philosophers, who are addicted to parti- cular sects." It is not difficult to resolve the dogmatism and obstinacy here ridiculed, into the simple faith and 128 DIRECT HISTORICAL EVIDENCE OP THE [[PART. I. unshaken constancy that are spoken of as the chief orna- ments of the Christian character. "Be not afraid, only believe" (Mark, V. 36.) "He that endureth to the end shall be saved" (Matt. X.22. xxiv. 13.). "Let us hold fast the profession of our faith without wavering, (Heb. x. 23. iv. 14.). Others also liave taken a like erroneous view of the intrepid firmness of those who suffered every extremity rather than renounce the faith; thus Marcus Aurelius Antoninus, the imperial philosopher, inculcating a readiness to encounter death, says that it should "proceed from a well weighed judg- ment, and not from mere obstinacy, like the Christians." The same may be said of Epictetus, who ascribes the pati- ent endurance o/' the Galileans, as he terms them, (Luke xxii. 59. John, vii. 52. Acts, ii. 7-) to madness and habit; and of the very important extract with which I have now to present the reader, from the well known letter of the younger Pliny to Trajan. Pliny was governor of Pontus and Bithynia, in the reign of Trajan, sometime between the years 100 and 110; and in the province committed to his care he met with a body of Christians, comprising doubtless in their number some of the very individuals to whom, if our books be genuine, Peter wrote (1 Pet. i. 1); many of whom might easily be still surviving. With these people he knew not how he ought to deal, and accordingly wrote to his imperial master for instructions. Having stated that he had never been present at the trials of any Christians, and knew not what rules had been observed in punishing them, he says : "The method I have observed towards those who have been brought before me, as Christians, is this : I interrogated them whether they were Christians; if they confessed, I repeated the question twice again, adding threats at the same time ; when if they still persevered, I ordered them to be immediately punished; for I was persuaded, whatever the nature of their opinions might be, that a contumacious and inflexible obstinacy certainly deserved correction." Some, he says, being citizens of Rome, were sent thither; some, on examination, denied that they were Christians, or ever had been so, and readily invoked the gods, offered wine and frankincense before the emperor's statue, and even reviled the name of Christ : "whereas," he significantly adds, "there is no forcing, it is said, those who are really Christians CHAP. IV.] IDENTITY OP THE CHRISTIAN STORY. 129 into a compliance with any of these articles." From the information of such as had been Christians, and had for- saken that faith, he gleaned some information as to the principles and practices of this people. "They affirmed," he tells Trajan, "that the whole of their guilt or error was, that they met on a certain stated day, before it was light, and addressed themselves in a form of prayer to Christ, as to some God, binding themselves by a solemn oath, not for the purposes of any wicked design, but never to com- mit any fraud, theft, or adultery: never to falsify their word, nor deny a trust, when they should be called upon to deliver it up; after which it was their custom to separate, and then re-assemble, to eat in common a harmless meal. From this custom, however," he testifies "they desisted, after the publication of my edict, by which, according to your orders, I forbad the meeting of any assemblies." He then states that he had examined by torture two female servants, called ministrcB^ but "could discover nothing more than an absurd and excessive superstition." He gives as a reason for ad- journing further proceedings till he could hear from the emperor, that it appeared a matter highly deserving con- sideration, "more especially as great numbers must be in- Tolved in the danger of these persecutions, this inquiry having already extended, and being still likely to extend, to persons of all ranks and ages, and even of both sexes. For this contagious superstition is not confined to the cities only, but has spread itsinfection among the country villages." The extensive prevalence of the religion is further intimated by his complaint, that the temples had been almost deserted; the sacred solemnities intermitted, and the victims in no demand; but in these particulars he notes a great improve- ment, and expresses a hope that, by lenient measures, manj might still be reclaimed. The rescript of Trajan approves the measures taken, directs that the Christains are not to be sought for, but if legally convicted as such, are to be punished ; pardon, however, is to be extended to all who recant and invoke the gods; and no bill of infonnation is to be received, which has not the accuser's name subscribed. — I reserve any remarks till the completion of my quotations enable me to give a connected summary of the points embraced by the heathen ivitnesses coliectively. 130 DIRECT HISTORICAL EVIDENCE OF THE [^PART. I. Suetonius, the historian, was a friend of Pliny. In his life of Claudius, he says that that emperor "banished the Jews from Rome, because they were perpetually making distur- bances, Chrestus being their leader." And in his life of Nero, he tells us "the Christians were punished, a sort of men of a new and magical superstition." Nearly at the same time lived Martial, in one of whose epigrams the suflferings of the Christians are made the ob- ject of ridicule; and an allusion to the same sufferings is found in some lines of his contemporary Juvenal; but neither of these places would have been very available for our purpose, had it not been for a third passage in the Annals of Tacitus. Martial is referring to the story of Mucins, a familiar legend of Roman history, and which had recently been enacted on the stage. The hero of this story had shown his fortitude, by thrusting his right hand into the fire, and holding it there till it was consumed ; but, says the poet, if you think such an one brave, you are a dotajd; Nam, cum dicatur, tunica preesente molesta, Ure manum, plus est dieere: Non facio, the correct translation of these words is diificult; but the most approved rendering gives the sense: "it is amuch great- er thing, when threatened with the troublesome tunic, to say, I will not, than to obey the command, Burn your hand." This tunica molesta is once expressly mentioned by Juvenal, and again implied in the following verses; Pone Tigellinura, toeda lucebis in ilia. Qua stantes ardent, qui fixo gutture fumant; Et latum media sulcum deducit arena. ^'Describe a great villain, (such as Tigellinus, a creature of Nero's,) and you shall suffer the same punishment with those who stand burning in their own flame and smoke, their head being held up by a stake fixed to their chin, till they make a long stream on the ground." The allusion in these passages would have been almost inexplicable, had not light been thrown upon them by Seneca and Tacitus. The first writer we have no occasion to notice. Tacitus himself was contemporary with Pliny, from whose letters we learn that these two eminent men lived on terms of such close inti- macy, that they were in the habit of revising each others, CUAV. IV.] IDENTITY OF THE CHRISTIAN STOKY. 131 works, previously to publication. But his testimony be- longs to a somewhat earlier period, and has reference to the reign of Nero, to the very persecution, indeed, in which Peter and Paul are universally believed by Christians to have suffered martyrdom, and to which some of the letters of the latter are thought to refer. I must beg the reader to re- member, that the historian now before us is one of the first of his order; and that both he and Pliny occupy the very highest rank among the authors of pagan Rome. After narrating the terrible fire at Rome, in the tenth year of Nero's reign, and stating the imputation Nero lay under, of having caused it, and his unavailing efforts to abate the infamy thence incurred, he goes on: "To suppress, therefore, this common rumour, Nero procured others to be accused, and inflicted exquisite punishments upon those people who were in ab- horrence for their crimes, and were commonly known by the name of Christians. They had their denomination from Christ, 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 Judaea, the source of this evil, but reached the city also, whither flow from all quarters, all things vile and shameful, and where they find shelter and encouragement. At first those only were apprehended who confessed themselves of that sect, and afterwards, on their information, a great multitude; nor were they condemned so much for the crime of burning Rome, as for their hatred to all mankind. Their executions were so contrived as to expose them to derision and contempt. Some were covered over with the skins of wild beasts, and torn to pieces of dogs; some were crucified; others were daubed over with combustible materials, and set up as lights in the night time, and thus burned to death." These cruelties, he then tells us, were carried so far, "that at length these men, though really criminal, and deserving the extremest punishments, began to be commiserated, as people who were destroyed, not out of a regard to the public welfare, but to gratify the cruelty of one man." We are now in a position to explain the tunica molesta of Martial and Juvenal. It was a coarse cloth, smeared with pitch, wax, sulphur, or other combustibles, in which the unhappy sufferer was wrapped, and made to serve as 132 DIRECT HISTORICAL EVIDENCE OP THE [[PART. I. I 1 a torch; thus expiring in lingering tortures; and hence, i when called on to sacrifice, the refusal involved a fortitude \ in enduring, not comparable with that of Mucins; and a ; measure of suffering, to which the mere burning of the hand i was nothing. Putting together these three extracts, there \ can be little room to doubt that the two poets had the treat- [ ment dealt out to the Christians in their mind, though they \ have not named them in either case. Lastly, both Suetonius in his life of Vespasian, and Tacitus \ in the fifth book of his History, notice a belief current ] throughout the east, that about the time they were writing i of, that is about the time of the destruction of Jerusalem, there would issue from Judaea those who should possess \ themselves of the empire of the world. 1 I may here insert the "Acts made in the time of Pontius i Pilate." These are not extant; nor are they used by any I heathen author; but Justin Martyr, in his first Apology, twice ] appeals to them, in confirmation of the truth of the Christian \ story; and Tertullian, after speaking of the death, resurrecti- ' on, and ascension of Christ, asserts that Pilate sent an ac- j count of all these things to Tiberius; and elsewhere refers ' those he was addressing to their own records : "Search," says \ he, "your own writings, and you will there find that Nero was { the first emperor who exercised any acts of severity towards I the Christians." Justin and Tertullian would not have ^ wantonly risked their own reputation, and that of the cause ; they advocated, by such an appeal, when silence would ; have made nothing against them, unless well assured their \ statements would be verified by the search; we may therefore ; fairly argue, that these records did then exist, and bore testimony to the facts they alleged. Reviewing then the testimony just gone through, it is j little to say that we have a full and free recognition of the ' existence of the Christian body, under the name given them ] in our own books, (Acts xi. 26.) and obviously derived from j that of their founder. The death of Christ under Pontius \ Pilate, and in the reign of Tiberius, is as broadly stated as : words can express; the pause in the propagation of the j new faith, consequent on his death, its subsequent resus- I citation, and its extention to Rome, agree exactly with the retirement of the apostles till the day of Pentecost, ! 4;heir subsequent exertions, and the numerous Christians \ CHAP. IV.] IDENTITY OF THE CHRISTIAN STORY. 133 established at Rome. The banishment of the Jews by Clau- dius (Acts xviii. 2.) is not unlikely to have been brought about by the disturbances they raised every where against the Christians, (Acts xvii. 13; xviii. 12, &c.), and doubtless at Rome also; and probably all that Ave are to understand from what Suetonius, not himself very accurately informed, says of Chrestus, ». e. Christ, being their leader, is that the disturbances arose on account of Christ and his followers. Nor was it in Rome only, but in its remote dependencies that the religion had taken deep root. There is, indeed, a Spanish Inscription as early as the time of Nero, to the same purport as those inserted in a former page, but its ge- nuineness is problematical. Those, however, belonging to the reign of Diocletian indicate so numerous a body of Christians before the fourth century, that their suppos- ed extirpation was thought worth the trouble and cost of public monuments to perpetuate the triumph of their foes; and within fifty years after the close of the New Testament history, the heathen temples are admitted to have been almost deserted in Pontus and Bithynia. In that district, moreover, there was an order of female ser- vants, very similar to that of the deaconesses of the early church, and the widows of the New Testament; (Rom. xvi. 1, 2, 12; 1 Tim. V. a— 10; Tit. ii. 3—5); and we have a recognition of the stated meetings of the Christians on a certain day, and their custom of partaking together of a harmless meal, (Acts xx. 7; 1 Cor. xvi. 1; xi. 20 — 22.) as well as of their ready submission to the ordinances of man, when their assemblies were prohibited by their lawful go- vernor; see 1 Pet. ii. 13 — 17- This circumstance is singularly happy, inasmuch as those whose obedience is here spoken of, were members of the very church to which Peter ad-' dressed the exhortation contained in the verses referred to; and that this spirit of subjection to the powers that be was not enforced by a solitary passage, will appear from consulting, Rom. xiii. 1 — 7- Tit. iii. 1. Acts xxiii. 5. Jude 8, &c. The divinity of Christ, again, is put prominently forward as a leading tenet of the Christians, and their innocence and integrity is acknowledged by Pliny in the broadest terms. It is true that Tacitus says they were in abhorrence for their crimes: but he makes no specific charge, save the general one of hatred to all mankind; and he might have N 134 DIRECT HISTORICAL EVIDENCE OF THE QpART. 1, learned from his friend Pliny that nothing could he dis- covered more than an ahsurd and excessive superstition. Ko doubt Tacitus reports what he had heard and believed, but a vague accusation of this kind, unsubstantiated by proof, and coming from an enemy, has no claim upon our atten- tion ; — except, indeed, as it further tends to show that the state of the Christians was then, in this respect also, precisely what our books lead us to expect it would be; for Christ expressly charged his followers to count it as a matter of rejoicing w^hen men should revile, and persecute them, and say all manner of evil of them falsely for his sake, (Matt. V. 11, 12; see also 1 Pet. ii. 20; iii. 16; iv. 14.); and it is not difficult to trace in the hatred they are accused of entertaining towards all mankind, that hatred which the world was to manifest towards them, (Luke vi. 22; John XV. 18; 1 John iii. 13.); and which by an easy process, would be supposed reciprocal, or perhaps even transferred entirely to the hated party. The absurd and excessive superstition is evidently nothing more than a decisive refusal to paitici- pate in the religious ceremonies of their countrymen; and in this, and much else that implies their exclusive manners, so different from the ready compliance that marked all else, I think we can scarcely fail to perceive that they were, as they were required to be, a "peculiar people," (Tit. ii. 14; 1 Pet. ii. 9.), Avho had "come out and separated" themselves from their fellow men, (2 Cor. vi. 17); nor will it escape the intelligent reader, that in almost every case it is perse- cution that has di-awn forth the notices above extracted; while the constancy and fortitude of the persecuted, were so notorious as almost to pass into a proverb; and did not escape the more serious notice of Pliny, when he said that compliance could never be wrung from those who were really Christians. The expected universal prevalence of the religion, (Rev. xi. 15.), is also not obscurely hinted at, and that too before the event has verified the prediction. We cannot reasonably look for detail in a general history, or for minute correctness as to Christian doctrine and practice, or a fair estimate of Christian principles, from a heathen, and so far a partisan. The prejudices of birth: and education would not be easily shaken off, and while many of these authors doubtless persuaded themselves they were writing in a spirit of disinterested impartiality, they CHAP. IV.] IDENTITY OF THE CHRISTIAN STORY. 135 could scarcely escape the almost inevitable danger of giv- ing a false colouring to ^vhat they saw through a false medium, even if we acquit them of intentionally distorting the picture they were attempting to draw. Yet with the single exception of misrepresenting the Christian character, and that with no sort of proof, so far as they go, these writers agree entirely with our books; the facts they notice are identical, and no others are hinted at ; the particulars they dwell upon are such as naturally arise out of the records of the religion we possess; the very terms of re- proach are the same, — a heathen and a Jcav alike taunt the follower of Jesus as a Galilean; and even the misrepresen- tation of character is of a piece with Avhat our books intimate would be the case. The two writers whose information is most ample, are the very two who lived nearest to the time of the first promulgation of the religion ; and the one whose occupation, and the comparative moderation of whose views, led him to a strict and close scrutiny of the mode of life common among Christians, not only does not fall in with the misrepresentations of the others, but vindicates them fully from every charge. Did their evidence stand alone, it surely might afford a strong presumption, not simply of the existence of Christianity, — for of this it is as full a proof as another letter of the same Pliny is of the death of his uncle in an eruption of Mount Vesuvius, or as Tacitus' history is of the fire at Rome, — not only of the currency of the same story and principles as those now found in our books, but of the existence at that time of the books themselves. I pass on to Jewish testimony. The well known histo- ■1 nan Joseph us, was bom a little after the death of Christ, A. D. 37, and lived to near the close of the first century. He wrote, in Greek, under different titles, the history of his nation, from the Creation of the world to the destruction of Jonisalem, and was himself largely mixed up in the po- litical events of his time. He must, therefore, have known something of Christianity, though he is not likely to have understood its true nature, to the knowledge of which, **not many wise men after the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble" were called (1 Cor. i. 26); and most probably he partook of the enmity of his nation against it; for thus much we may fairly infer from the circumstance of his not n2 136 DIRECT HISTORICAL EVIDENCE OP THE [[PART. 1. having embraced it. In one passage he speaks of John, "who was called the Baptist," in terms of high respect; refers to his baptizing the Jews, commanding them "to exercise virtue, both as to righteousness towards one another, and piety towards God," and says that some of the Jews ascribed the destruction of Herod's army to the vengeance of God, as a punishment for the death of John. In another passage, the genuineness of which has never been questioned, we have the following words: "He (Ananus) assembled the Sanhedrim of judges, and brought before them the brother of Jesus, who was called Christ, whose name was James, and some others, and when he had formed an ac- cusation against them as breakers of the law, he delivered them to be stoned." James is thrice mentioned in the New Testament as the brother of Jesus, (Matt. xiii. 55. Mark vi. 3, and Gal. i. 19,); and we have here a direct notice of Jesus himself as the Christ, or Messiah of the Jews. But there is another passage in the Antiquities of Josephus, which, if genuine, goes the full length of our books, and gives the most unequivocal testimony to our story. It is found in every extant manuscript, and is quoted by Euse- bius and other writers after him, though not by any before his time; but its authenticity has been disputed, even by Christian writers; though the arguments in its favour seem greatly to preponderate. It is as follows: "Now there was about this time Jesus, a wise man, if it be lawful to call him a man. For he was a doer of wonderful works; a teacher of such men as receive the truth with pleasure. He drew over to him both many of the Jews and many of the Gentiles. He was the Christ. And when Pilate, at the suggestion of the principal men amongst us, had condemned him to the cross, those that loved him at the first did not forsake him. For he appeared to them alive again the third day: as the divine prophets had foretold these and ten thousand other wonderful things concerning him. And the tribe of Chris- tians, so named from him, are not extinct at this day." If these words are really from the pen of Josephus, they speak for themselves, and need no comment. The connexion in which they are introduced is, however, remarkable. They stand amidst a series of tumultuous proceedings that had happened at Jerusalem and Rome; yet the writer speaks of no bloodshed with reference to Christ, as he had done in CHAP, ir.] IDENTITY OP THE CHRISTIAN STORY. 137 narrating the other disturbances. The tumults attending the crucifixion will fully bear out Josephus for his location of the paragraph; while the absence of any mention of further serious consequences coincides as exactly with our Christian history. It seems hardly supposable that Josephus would say what he has done, in the second passage cited from him, concern- ing Jesus, without saying more; or that he would allude to John the Baptist, and say nothing of Christ. But, if the last citation be a surreptious interpolation, though the silence of the historian may seem strange, he says not a syllable in contradiction of the Christian story, and we shall have to make large use of him in corroboration of its minor in- cidents by and by; and once again to employ his history of the destruction of Jerusalem, almost as a commentary on the prophecies of Christ. But, if he be silent, as he is, or nearly so, if this passage be untenable, his silence must surely hare been designed; for the certainty that Christi- anity was then known throughout the world is so strong that his silence cannot shake it ; and we have an example of a similar important omission in the Life of Constantine by Eusebius, in which the writer, doubtless because he could give no satisfactory account of the transaction, has altogether passed by the hasty and violent proceedings which resulted in the unjust execution of his son Crispus. There is yet one other consideration that fixes the writ- ings of the New Testament to the age to which they are assigned; — I mean the singular structure of the language employed in their composition. The particular instances in which this is manifested can only be detected or appreciated by the scholar; but the principle on which it depends may be easily made accessible to all. It seldom happens, for in- stance, that a foreigner ever so accurately acquires a strange language, not only in pronunciation, but in idiom, as to leave nothing by which a native can detect him. A French naval captain once wrote, "I will make my duty;" where he should have said "I will do my duty." make and do are often interchangeable; we say to make obeisance^ or to do ol)€isance. "What make they there?" is used by one of the first of British poets, for "what do they there?" An- other speaks of the **fault3 he had made" though the more- N 3 138 DIRECT HISTORICAL EVIDENCE OP IHE [PART. ti usual expression would have been, "the faults he had done"; and yet we say, make a mistake, and never do a mistake, always do a wrong, and never make a wrong; and even in the case of the error we started with, make mi/ duty, would be correct in tlie sense of pay my respects. Why it is im- proper to say make a nrrong, do a mistake, make a duty, in the sense the Frenchman intended, (to bombard an ene- my's seaport,) it would not be easy to explain in such a way as infallibly to secure a foreigner from error; yet an Englishman at once, as it were intuitively, employs the correct expression, and his ear as rapidly detects the wrong. There was printed, about two years since, a very praise- worthy Essay on the Promotion of Domestic Reform among the Natives of India, by Ganput Lukhshumanji, a student in the Elphinstone Institution at Bombay. Since the first rough draft of this volume had led the present writer to avail himself of the assistance it promised to give, in elucidating the principle before us, he has learned, with regret, that the young man in question has been snatched away in the midst of his days; but leaving this, the essay was deservedly pronounced by Dr. Wilson in the Note prefixed, to be "one of no ordinary character, and well worthy of the attention both of his country-men and Euro- peans;" and I must beg to deprecate being thought to intend any disparagement of its merits, even as a piece of English composition. But in a page I casually open, (p. 24), I find the sentence, "she calls out a few of her fellow mates in the neighbourhood;" an Englishman would probably have written, "a few of her neighbours;" but at any rate would not have associated the woT([&fellow and mate., unless with reference to naval oflicers so termed ; and if the writer meant fellow wives the expression is equally unidiomatic in our language. Another casual opening (p. 41), and I stum- ble on the expression : "the most neglected and disrespected child." There appears no reason why the word in italics should not be used as a verb, or participial adjective, as respected is; but it is not. Body again seems to be em- ployed throughout, where we should have said persrni, with reference to ornamenting the person; and in p. 37 we read; *'She then labours under a most heavy curse that can ever in her life befall her." The use of a for the might have been taken for a misprint, but it is just such a mistake as CHAP. IV. J IDENTITY OF THE CHRISTIAN STORY. l39 strangers do perpetually make, and it is probably due to the author rather than the printer. In p. 34, the writer speaks of ''the young age of the boy;" for youth, or tender age; but enough has been said for our purpose, and more would be wearisome. A thousand such like expressions will occur to every one, most of them strictly correct in gi-ammar, and which could not possibly be misunderstood; of which it is hard to assign a reason why thev are incorrect, but of the harshness of which no one entertains a doubt. And when the tables are turned, and the European becomes the speaker or writer in a native language, the native will doubtless have cause to smile at many a similar error, sufficiently obvious to himself, and which yet it would puzzle him to make a stranger fully comprehend. Many of these errors probably originate in mere want of familiarity with a strange tongue; but very many of them are to be traced to the vernacular language of the speaker, and the unauthorised transference of the idioms of one language to the other. Nothing, for instance, is more common that the misuse of the English too, mistakingly oniployed for very; and many a vender has puffed off bis wares as /oo cheap, or too good, when he simply in- tended to signify their superlative cheapness, or excel- lence. It will thus be often easy, not merely to detect the foreigner, but even to tell his very country; and the deter- mination of this is doubly easy when we are familiar, not rely with the language, but with the history, manners , :id customs, and prevailing mode of thinking of any place. Xo one is ignorant how copiously a man's conversation is commonly interlarded with expressions appertaining to his peculiar calling; and this is more extensively the case as his attention is more exclusively concentrated on a single object: it is traceable even in the more cultivated diction of the educated and polite; but prevails for the most part far more largely among the self taught and unrefined: and precisely as the phrases and figures of the professional man may be an index to his occupation, so also may those of a foreigner pretty accurately proclaim his nationality. It is just such peculiarities as these that are met with in the New Testament. The language, as we have seen, is Greek, but it is not the Greek of classical authors. In what way our authors becai&e acquainted with it we are 140 DIRECT HISTORICAL EVIDENCE OP THE fPART. 1. \ not informed. It was not the language of their country, yet it was spoken in their country; and was the olficial ] language of the Roman Government, with which at least ; one of them was connected, (Matt. ix. 9.) But whether | it were familiar to them from their infancy: or had been | acquired by study, or, finally, were communicated to them | as part of the miraculous gift of tongues, said to have fallen • on them on the day of Pentecost, (Act. ii. 4, 6 — 11.), and ! on other occasions, is immaterial here. It is enough for ! our present purpose that, in some way or other, they were j acquainted with it. It is clear that if their works be rightly ! esteemed as the word of God, he could have enabled them ' to give a polished finish to their compositions, as easily as i to write at all in a foreign tongue, and on matters so far be- ; yond the comprehension of men. Better language would, ] however, have ill assorted with the mean employments of j the reputed authors, and might have been turned against 1 them. So far, then, if they be "rude in speech," (2. Cor. xi. \ 6.\ an argument is gained in their favour; and if they have mightily prevailed, it cannot have been "with enticing words i of man's wisdom, but in demonstration of the spirit and of - power, that the faith" of believers "should not stand in the | wisdom of men, but in the power of God." (1 Cor. ii. 4, 5.) I But I have here, once again, to call on the reader to ad- I mire the method of God's dealings, so uniformly manifested \ in the Christian scheme, in using human means to the j utmost limit they will bear; and only stepping beyond 1 them, when the object to be attained is out of their reach. 1 The point to be attained in this case was, to convey a de- ] cisive meaning in intelligible words. This might have been J done in cultivated phraseology; but elegant language is < very far from being essential to this. Graphic description, | and lucid arrangement, well marked precision, emphatic \ freedom and force of diction, are far from being incompatible I even with some considerable deficiencies of grammar, in \ addition to vulgarisms and foreign idiom. Hence the ■■ apostles were left to employ language suited to their edu- i cation, habits, and country ; the whole being controlled, < as we believe, by the master Spirit, that was dictating to them, to such an extent as to secure them from any error j that would defeat his purposes, or detract from the com-f^i pleteness of the message he was deputing them to deliver \ CHAP. IV.] IDELNTITY OP THE CHRISTIAN STORY. 141 to man. Offences against grammar cannot, however, be very extensively laid to the charge of the \\Titers of the New Tes- tament; but idiomatic errors may. Now it so happens that we possess such copious remains of one other language of an- tiquity, that no hesitation can be felt in saying that it is the very language which has given its peculiar colouring to our books; and that language is the one known to have been vernacular in the land wherein the larger portion of our writers are said to have been bom, educated, or domiciled I refer to the Syriac already spoken of (p. 108), and from its affinity to the ancient Hebrew, the idioms that cha- racterise the New Testament Greek are termed Hebraisms, and the Greek itself, Hebraic^ or Hellenistic- Greeks — ^the latter appellation having been adopted from the Hellefiists^ or Greek Jews, by whom it was commonly spoken. The very numerous allusions to Jewish customs, and the general prevalence of a tone of thought, no less obviously Jewish, are sufficiently apparent in every page of the New Testament writings. But the more comprehensive cast of style, in which those conversant in the literature of Western Asia have recognized the oriental and the Hebrew, cannot be exhibited in short extracts, or in such a way as to interest or instruct the ordinary reader. In this matter he must be content to take the discoveries of the learned on trust, as he would the opinion of the Sanscrit scholar on a ques- tion of Sanscrit lore; or of the physician on a question of nosology. Nor can mere isolated turns of expression be put in such a form as fully to satisfy any but those whose knowledge of the original languages may make them com- petent to judge for themselves. My wish, however, is to avoid, as much as possible, mere vague generalities, no ex- planation of which can impress the mind so effectually as an example or two. I will therefore endeavour to select a few that may be made in some measure intelligible. It must be remembered that every similarity of expression between the two languages is not to be set down as an Hebraism in Greek, or a Grecism in Syriac, for many a usage may be common to both: nor will it follow that every mode of speaking not found in classical Greek writers was foreign to the language in its purity. But when an expression is met with which never once occurs in the whole range of classical authors, and which nevertheless is 142 JDIRECT HISTORICAL EVIDENCE OF THE j^PART. I. I common in the Hebrew and its kindred tongues, we may | safely receive it as an unexceptionable example of true ! Hebraisms. Many of these must doubtless have eluded >i the penetration of the most skilled in ancient languages, ] for they often hinge upon some nicety discernible only by one whose decision is authoritative, on the ground that it is '. his mother tongue. But many such have been pointed out, and it is from such only that the following brief selection • has been made. I The classical meaning of the word vrite our books, after the expulsion of his nati- on from Palestine, and the cessation of the temple services, he could not have succeeded. Without a personal familiarity ■with all these things the character of the books could not have been the same. New forms and new combinations, as well in language as in policy, took their date from hence, Jerusalem was no longer the Jerusalem of the New Testa- ment; Judsea was no longer a home to the persecuted Jew. Again the interference of the Romans in the affairs of Judaea first took place sixty-three years before the com- nr.cncement of the Christian aera, on occasion of the disputes between Aristobulus and Hyrcanus; and Judaea first be- came a Roman province after an interval of about seventy years, on the banishment of Archelaus. A. D. 7- These 144 DIRECT HISTORICAL EVIDENCE OP THE [pART. I. facts and dates, as well as those mentioned in the foregoing paragraph, depend on authorities entirely independent of Christian writers, and are among the best established of the events recorded in ancient history. I have before stated that the official language of the Roman government in Ju- daea was Greek; but notwithstanding this, many Latin terms were, of necessity, introduced, especially in the names of coins, or implements previously unknown, just as a large sprinkling of Portuguese and English terms has passed into the languages of India, and in return, many Indian words have found a place, not only in the colloquial language of the European resident in the east, but even in the written language of his native land. Thus colony is a Latin term, appropriated to those dependencies of the Em- pire enjoying certain privileges. Custodia, a guard of soldiers, centurion, legion, are examples of military terms; and^age//Mm,an instrument of punishment peculiar to the Romans, denarius, a Roman coin, and several similar words, are met with in our books. The^e would not become familiar till after some years of constant intercourse, and many of them, the military terms for instance, probably not till after Judaea was reduced to a Roman province, and garrisons were stationed in its chief cities. We have then a very narrow limit within which the peculiar features of our books render it clear they must have been written : on either side of this limit the materials for their composition did not exist, and it is precisely within this limit, that the concurrent voice of antiquity places them. I HAVE thus taken our printed books, as they now exist, and may be read by all, and blessed be God, in a language accessible to every one; and I have summoned, to their sup- port, a series of manuscripts, which, if of the antiquity usual- ly assigned to them, at once takes us back to a very early time. But forasmuch as some uncertainty may attach to the precise age of these manuscripts, and their testimony alone might be open to objection, beside that they do not carry us far enough, — I have next traced backwards the identity of their story uninterruptedly through eighteen centuries, during which I have shown there has been no interval CHAP. IV.] DIRECT HISTORICAL EVIDENCE OF THE 145 when this has been left without prominent notice; or has lost the respect attributed to it as divine. I have selected but a few of the chief out of a vastly more comprehensive line of mtnesses that might have been adduced; and the use made of each has been measured rather by the circumscribed space I could give them, than by their copiousness, and im- portance; but they are enough to establish the point in ques- tion, and no room is left to doubt either the identity of the Christian story, or its full and uncorrupted preservation. I have next shown that almost all the early heretics have received our books ; that none of the heathen adver- saries have ventured to impugn their genuineness; that, on the contrary, the general writers of the four first cen- turies, so far as they go, recognize a story, and a set of principles current among Christians, naturally falling in with the contents of our books, and scarcely militating against them at all; that Mahomet recognizes our religion and its story; and lastly, that the language and style of the New Testament limit it to the country, the class of men, and the age to which it has been uniformly assigned. These parti- culars have been adduced less as independent testimony, though they might have been so used, than by way of cor- roboration of the main body of witnesses; and to strengthen what they have said. But I have noticed no opposing tes- timony, for there is none. Reviewing, then, the matter advanced in the present chapter, I will not say that objections may not be started ; there is nothing perhaps that is not open to some futile cavil; but I do say that if any objection be strong enough to shake the validity of the mass of evidence here ac- cumulated, there is an end to all certainty in any thing that does not pass before our own eyes. The antiquary must bid adieu to every thought of authenticating a single monument of by-gone days; the historian must confess that he knows not but that all he ^vrites is pure fable; the thickest mist of tantalizing confusion must envelope every branch of ancient knowledge; the statesman must forego to profit by the example of past ages, nor can he mould his devices to meet a present emergency, for his energy must bo cramped by want of due reliance on the nature of the in- formation he can glean : the man of science can only deduce his results from the experiments he himself has made, the 146 IDENTITY OF THE CHRISTIAN STORY. f PART. I. xnercliaiit must close his office, and wander atravelling dealer, who cannot trust his wares beyond the limits of his own per- sonal superintendence; in short, politics, history, science, bu- siness, nay, even pleasure, must be tied down to the narrow bounds of savage life, if our evidence be such as cannot be depended on. There is no objection that can be started in diminution of its conclusiveness, that will not, with equal plausibility destroy all trust in every document of past or present time; shake the very fabric of society, and, for the basis on which it noAV so securely rests, introduce one uni- versal scepticism. Let the whole attention be concentrated on one of the foibles of human nature; take a mere weak- ness, rather than a crime; take, for instance, the want of due forethought and accuracy of description on the part of the writer, and the want of due care and discrimination in the reader, and think of the thousands of possible mistakes and inconveniences that may^ and in hundreds of cases actually do arise, and we might wonder at an expression that speaks of the basis of society as secure; yet add to this all that depravity can add to weakness, each in its ten thousand varied forms, and who is there that will not still freely use the term, and say that the basis of society is secure. Now we maintain that the outward direct evi- dence, in support of the genuineness of the Christian writ- ings, which we have just gone through, is, at least, no less secure. We are free to confess that human infirmity, whether of a natural or a moral grade, has inflicted some few disfiguring wounds ; but we deny that these are of a^ depth to reach any vital part. The nature and degree of the evidence is still such that its demands upon our respect are undiminished, its strength is undecayed. In no one instance can the world produce so overwhelming a proof of a single truth it has ever received; I take therefore our first pro- position: — That the story we now possess is the same that Chris- tians have had from the beginning, as fully proved. We may now proceed to the consideration of the second proposition, and investigate its truth. CHAP, v.] TRUTH OF THE CHRISTIAN STORY. 147 CHAPTER V. The Truth of the Christian Story. Opening remarks. — The Christian Scriptures must be received or rejected entire. — Presumption of truth. — There is no other story. — There is direct external testi- mony to the leading facts. -^Further division of the argument. A written volume, claiming to be received as a divine revelation, stands on a far different footing from that of any avowedly uninspired book, whether on general subjects, or religion; and in canvassing its credibility, there is an important consideration which it is very material to take into the account. Any thing emanating from a mere man may be partially consonant to truth and right reason, and partially defaced by a greater or less amount of error. The exactest writer cannot always secure himself from an occa- sional oversight. Deficiency of information, or its want of correctness, imperfection of judgment or care in examining and interpreting documents, in sifting the evidence of facts, or deducing conclusions from them, expose the ablest and best to occasional slips, not to mention the less venial faults of erroneous first principles, caprice, hasty or interested views, and a thousand other perversions of the understand- ing or the heart. A preponderance of error will, of neces- sity, destroy the credit, and very materially detract from the usefulness of the entire work. But a considerable amount of it may, and in innumerable cases does exist, without interfering seriously with the general credit of the whole. To select a strongly marked instance: the two emi- nent historians, Hume and Gibbon, were unhappily imbued with infidel principles, and the former openly, and as an luy, the latter covertly, and under the garb of a friend, o2 148 TRUTH OF THE CHRISTIAN STORY. TPART. I. i ■- t laid themselves out to undermine the principles of Christi- ] anity. The wily enmity of Gibbon, more especially, not \ only warped his judgment, but tempted him wilfully to lay ; aside that impartial candour so needful to a good historian, : when, by so doing, he could inflict a secret wound upon the faith he abhorred. No right minded Christian can iail to acknowledge this as a very serious drawback. Yet, ] with all this, both these writers, except in matters relating ' to Christianity, are esteemed as of the highest authority ! in their respective departments of history, and are appealed i to as such, even by those who most deplore their sad apostacy ; from the Christian faith. Again, Herodotus and Xenophon ■ differ in the account they give of the death of Cyrus the ] Great. The former tells us he perished in battle against i the Scythians, the latter that he died in peace. One must j be wrong, misled probably by the information he received, ; for neither lived at a time to have personal cognizance of I the fact. This does not, however, vitally aifect their cha- j racter, as trustworthy historians, and men of pains-taking \ reseai'ch, especially when the narrative relates to their own ! times, and scenes in which themselves were present. Nay, j further, important variations are found in the narratives of :} contemporaries, each of whom may have had opportunities I of personal knowledge of the fact. Thus Josephus places ] a certain embassy of the Jews to Claudius in seed time, i Philo in harvest. Clarendon says that the Marquis of Argyle | was condemned to be hanged, and was executed on the i same day; Burnet and other authorities concur in stating- i that he was beheaded; and that the condemnation took place on a Saturday, the execution on the following Monday. ] Yet no one ever doubted whether the Je^vish embassy was I sent, or the Marquis of Argyle executed, or not. Nor has j the general credit of Josephus, Clarendon, or Burnet, been ] injured by the uncertainty as to unimportant details hence i accruing. j But the extent to which such discrepancies may be ad- I mitted, is vastly more limited when we come to a book ] dictated by One whose all searching eye penetrates into i every secret nook of universal space, and makes him a ] perpetual witness of every hidden act, at every instant of ' all time; who needs none to confess to him the inmost i devices of the most closely guarded heart; whom no cuu- ] GHAP. v.] TRUTH OF THE CHRISTIAN STORY. 149 ning can deceive, no error of judgment lead astray. The presence of unmixed truth will not in itself prove a divine revelation; but any considerable mixture of error must overturn a pretended one. There may be room to question the genuineness of an isolated passage, or the conectness of a litigated reading; and so long as these do not affect the scope of the revelation, to the extent of throwing doubt upon any leading event, or fundamental doctrine, they may be regarded as accidents of little more consequence than the indistinct sentences that might occasionally disappoint the ear of a distant hearer, when an apostle was preaching, or, if you will, the ill defined meaning of a confused peri- od, the import of which might well be gathered from other portions of the same sermon. But beyond a few minor varia- tions such as these, we are not at liberty to dispense with the closest consistency. It is contradictory to suppose a revelati- on partially true, but encumbered with perverted statements, or even with the truth so disguised, or so highly coloured, as to lead astray the simple. The supposition, indeed, in- curs no less a charge than the fearful one of blasphemy, in making "God a liar" (I John i. 10.) and a deceiver. Nor will a caviller after this sort better his position by assuming that the original truth has become interpolated and perverted by designing or mistaken men; for to admit this, is to destroy all certainty as to which is the word of God, and which is not; and exposes the divine Author to the charge of laying men open to the unavoidable necessity of con- founding truth and falsehood, in giving a revelation, and then allowing it to be so intermixed with error as to defeat his own object in giving it, and betray the trust reposed by confiding hearts in what they thought his word. The pos- sibility of error, therefore, in the very standard of truth, is admissible only within the very narrowest bounds. With regard to Christianity, indeed, with shame and sor- row be it confessed, frightful en'or has crept in, and addition upon addition, unwarranted, nay, expressly forbidden by our Scriptures, has been made to her pure form of doctrine ; but this has not arisen from any tampering with her standard. That standard, we have proved, has come down to us, with the exception of a few unimportant sentences, in every respect as it left the hand of the apostles. Whether they rightly represented it as having come from God has Q 3 150 TRUTH OF THE CHRISTIAN STORY. QPART. I. to be considered hereafter; that they did so represent it we have already seen (p. 110), and among the passages there given, we must especially notice, that "the Spirit of tmth" was to guide those on whom it alighted, "into all truth/' Understanding, then, by the Scriptures^ what has been al- ways understood by that word, God's message to man, if we can but secure the Scriptures, the whole Scriptures, and nothing but the Scriptures, we have a right, by every legitimate train of reasoning, to expect the truth, unencum- bered with error. Differences of opinion may exist as to the interpretation of a few controverted passages, that is, as to "the mind of the Spirit," (Rom. viii. 27.) as conveyed by certain words ; but none as to the full infallibility of the doctrine intended. If there be one false representation, one wilfully distorted fact, one essentially erroneous doc- trine, I see not how it can be regarded otherwise than as fatal to the credit of any professed revelation; for the character of absolute infallibility, on which alone it can claim the respect and confidence of men, is gone. Once admit the possibility of a mistake, from whatever cause arising, and there is no certainty in the integrity of any one portion; all rest on the same authority, if one be open to cavil, all may be equally so. If our story be true con- cerning Christ, and the twelve original apostles, but false in what it relates of Paul; if it be true that the apostles went about preaching in the name of Christ, but the existence of Christ be a fable ; if Christ existed and performed all that is ascribed to him, but did not die as our books represent; if all the ordinary facts be true, but the miracles an inven- tion ; or if all the history be true, but Christ were not, as is stated, in verity the Son op God, Christianity is an im- posture; and a partial truth cannot vindicate its claim to be received as from God. There is no alternative between the belief of every fact, the reception of every doctrine, and the rejection of the whole. We cannot pick and choose, and admit this because we think it plausible, or the other be- cause it commends itself to our judgment; and reject so much as chances not to fall in with our notions. The whole must stand or fall together. It is, therefore, of the most vital importance to weigh seriously the arguments in favour of the truth of our story. In doing this we must remember that the truth of one part will not necessarily involve the truth s^^ '4^ VP. v.] TRUTH OP THE CHRISTIAN STOT^ ^j^fl^'':' \^ . . the rest, and hence that it is incumbent on ttsl^i by general arguments at least, that there is noth litates against the truth. It will be for the reader"^ when he has read to the end, whether the many indical of veracity we have to set before him, be not sufficient to give all reasonable satisfaction that the whole is minutely true. One strong presumption in favour of the truth of the Christian story, is that there exists no other story. It is t a question, like that concerning the death of Cyrus, :^veen conflicting histories. Set aside our story, and have nothing whatever to show in what way so extra- iinary a change as that wrought by Christianity was brought about. It is true that mighty changes have been effected, and all memorial of the producing cause has perished; but it is in the highest degi-ee improbable that a consistent story, proved to have been cunent from the time at which the change is known to have had its origin, should be false, while no vestige of any other can be traced, in any single record of that or later times. There is surely vast additional strength given to this consideration, when we know, that not only the existence, but the fullest and firmest belief \n this story, is proved from the vast body of writers we have glanced through ; and that this belief has been at least e and Gallia Narbonensis, and there happens to remain ; a coin struck in the time of Proclus, the successor of l Serjrius Paulus, and an inscription belonging to the reign j of Caligula, under whom Aquilius Scaura was governor of Cyprus, in both which these governors are styled • proconsuls. It is curious that the learned Beza had ; actually ventured, in translating this passage of Luke, to put i proprastor, in the place of proconsul, relying on a sentence of Strabo, which he had misunderstood. But Strabo, in j calling Cyprus a praetorian province, meant that it was one j which might be given to those who had been only praetors, \ whereas there were two of the senatorial provinces which '] CHAF. v.] TRUTH OP THE CHRISTIAN STORY. 1^5 could only be held by men who had filled the office of con- sul. By these coins the accuracy of St. Luke is satisfacto- rily confirmed. This accuracy is still more conspicuous in the application of the same title to Gallic, (Acts xviii. 12.); but in this case the proof of it does not depend upon coins. Achaia, as we learn from Dion Cassius, was at first assigned to the senate. From Tacitus we find that having been much oppressed by its senatorial rulers, it was transferred to the emperor, in the time of Tiberius. Under Claudius, Sueto- nius tell us, it once more reverted to the senate, A. D. 44, and Dion says the same. Nero made the Achaians a free people, that is, no governor was set over them, either by the senate or the emperor. This is recorded by Pliny and Pau- sanias. But Suetonius relates that under Vespasian it once again became a Roman province. Now the time at which Paul was brought before Gallio must have been A. D. 52 or 53. We do not know in what year of Nero's reign freedom was given to Achaia, but Nero himself did not succeed Clau- dius till the latter part of the year 54; it was therefore during the interval when Achaia was a proconsular province, that Paul was at Corinth, and amidst the complicated changes of government which followed in such rapid succession, our historian is strictly correct in the title he uses. Returning to our illustrations from medals ; St. Luke, in another part of the book last quoted, speaks of Philippi, the chief, or first city of that part of Macedonia, and a colony. (Acts xvi. 12.) This passage has much perplexed the com- mentators, for there is reason to believe that Thessalonica, and not Philippi, was the chief city of the district when Luke wrote, Amphipolis having formerly been so. The writer might possibly mean that Philippi was the first city of Macedonia which Paul and his companions came to, after leaving Neapolis, where they had landed. But it seems far from improbable that a slight alteration in the Greek text, 80 as to make it agree with the Syriac Version, and Chry- sostom's reading of the passage, would give the true meaning, a city of the first Macedonia^ for there are extant many medals, mostly of silver, bearing the inscription, the first Macedonia, as well as one of the second, and one of the Jourlh Macedonia. None of the third have yet been dis- covered; but those I have mentioned suffice to show that l66 TRtlTH OF THE CHRISTIAN STORY. [^PART f* | Macedonia was divided, at least, into four parts, (as from I other sources Ave know it sometimes was into six,) and that ] each division was distinguished from the rest by its number, | rather than by any local denomination, drawn from the \ cities, or other peculiarities of the district itself. St. Luke, j therefore, if the proposed emendation be correct, meant to : describe Philippi as a city of the subdivision known as the ' first Macedonia. There are, moreover, other coins speaking j of Philippi as a colony^ (the term applied by the Romans j to those cities which enjoyed the advantages of Roman \ citizenship,) and among them one whose legend is COL. \ AUG. JUL. PHILIP, in full, Colonia Augustia Julia i Philippic intimating that the dignity in question had been i bestowed by Julius Caesar, and confirmed or augmented by { Augustus. But except on these coins, the circumstance is i noticed by no other writer than St. Luke; whose accuracy, ; in matters so easily confounded, is thus again brought out | by a method as unexceptionable as it is satisfactory and i clear. We may add that among the ruins of Thyatira ' there exists an inscription with the words, 01 BA$>EIZ, (the dyers^) whence we learn that the trade of dyeing was j carried on in the city where mention is made of Lydia, "a ] dealer in purple"; (Acts xvi. 14.) a coincidence of some con- \ siderable value. I omit, en masse^ a host of additional particulars; for it \ is not easy to exhaust the subject now before us, If the ] student be disposed to prosecute the inquiry, he will find | ample materials collected to his hand in the pages of Lard- i ner, Paley, Home, and others: or if his talent, taste, and ; opportunities permit it, he may consult original authors, ; and select for himself the passages bearing on our Scripture narrative. The full force of the argument can only be per- • ceived from the examination of a much larger number of j particular instances than my limits will admit of. But its j nature will be sufficiently apparent from the few which I < have selected, and from these, I think, it will at once be \ seen that no impostor, writing at random, could possibly 1 have hit on comprehensive and well sustained coincidences I of the kind above exemplified. For we have a series of I perpetually fluctuaHng changes, complicated still more by ; the many petty districts into which the country was divid- ; ed, extending over a period of about sixty years, and scarce- \ CHAP, v.] TRUTH OF THE CHRISTIAN STORY. 167 ly any of them recorded by our writers in direct terms: — > yet the correctness of every allusion to each of them, so far as we posses the means of testing them, is fully verified, and some of them are only to be explained, by the writings of contemporary historians, whose enmity to Christianity precludes the possibility of collusion. It is equally clear that no impostor, writing with Josephus before him, would have ventured on such bold apparent contradictions. His credit with men in general would have been too primary an object to allow him rashly to stake it on a manoeuvre so precarious; and he would be the last to court a reputation, based only on the vague hope that some skilful advocate would have the sagacity to discover, and be at the paius to point out, these hidden, and if feigned, far-fetched coincidences. But admit that our authors wrote when the events were fresh, and names and allusions were not liable to be mistaken, and what we observe is exactly what we might naturally expect. Artifice was not needed; and it does not appear. The facts spoke for themselves, and required no gloss. The writers fearlessly venture on this or the other political regulation, as they find it, regard- less of any consideration as to how it tallies with what they have said before. Without any care to explain seeming inconsistencies, they leave the narrative to vindicate itself There is no display of an acquired skill in the tangled history of the period ; or of their acquaintance with the works of other authors; and the absence of all solicitude, whether openly, or under an adroit disguise, to call the reader's attention to any thing of this kind, or to avoid mis- representations, carries with it an air of simple honesty too ingenuous to be mistaken. The degree of proof deducible from considerations such as these, would most assuredly be regarded as more than enough to sustain the credibility of any author, ancient or modem; and I scarcely think it will be denied, that the accuracy which distinguishes our books, is to be accounted for, only on the supposition that the writers lived when they are said to have lived and written; were personally acquainted with the countries which they pro- fess to have visited, were actors in the scenes they describe; and were conscious, or rather never staid to reason with themselves as to whether they were conscious, of integrity and truth in every word they wrote. 168 TRUTH OF THE CHRISTIAN STORY. [pART I. | We are now prepared to encounter objections based on [ the discrepancies which, it has been admitted, do exist, in some few instances, between the writers of the New Testa- | ment and secular historians. I shall first advert to mere omissions ; and then take up the question of discrepancies ; properly so-called. | Perhaps it would be safe to affirm that no one writer I has ever said all that his subject might justly have been ; made to embrace, even if he have done so much as take in i all it ought to comprehend. Each author has his own pecu- | liar object in view, each has laid down for himself some ge- \ neral outline, some definite bounds, which may exclude much ■ that is of general interest, and might be worthy of a place in : any literary production. The vastness of almost every sub- ■ ject, the limits prescribed by the circumstances of the writer, ' the cost ofpublication,orthe taste of the reader, nottomention the many accidents of memory, arrangement, and a thousand ' other contingences, shut out much that may have been j intended, or prepared; and put a practical check upon the \ expansive tendency of every work intended for general i reading. It is not therefore just to demand that every public \ event, or every allusion to laws and customs, or territorial di- I visions, shall be explained by the general writers of the period, i We must remember, moreover, with reference to events referred to in our Scriptures, but not noticed by other writers, | that much which was written in ancient times relating to i the period embraced by the New Testament history is lost; and that what we have is not all contemporary history. Livy ! •wrote only to the commencement of Augustus* reign, and i Tacitus from that of Tiberius; the interval is filled by Velleius , Paterculus, Florus, Plutarch, and others who lived long after | the times of which they wrote, and from such materials as ■ they could command. This will at once account for many ] omissions which would be supplied by more complete sour- i ces of information, and might probably explain or set aside i gome of the few existing difficulties. That no combination ; of authorities would be found against our books, we cannot take upon ourselves positively to assert; but we are war-' ranted, after the strong case which has been made out in be- i half of the sacred penmen, in assuming that such an event ; is in the highest degree improbable. At all events, under I existing circumstances, mere omission, unless it were in ! CHAP. V.^ TRUTH OF THE CHRISTIAN STORY. 169 something which would be a leading event to secular his- torians, so far from being a contradiction, is only what is almost inevitable. I say, — a leading event to secular historians, because in examining either an omission, or a real or apparent discre- pancy, it is essential to attend closely to the design, as well as to the character, of the writers we confront. Setting aside the bungling confusion, to say no worse, into which a slovenly or hasty compiler may be betrayed, we shall find Eutropins grouping together incidents in which Plutarch would discern points of difference enough to call for a distribution into many classes. A sentence, or a word, may be all the reference which Cicero or Quinctilian makes to an important fact, de- tailed in several pages of Li vy or Tacitus; andPolybius may leave to be solved by a painful comparison of scattered passages, a geographical problem which is satisfactorily dis- missed in a few words by Pomponius Mela, or by Strabo. Again, it is of some moment to consider whether the incident under investigation be introduced on purpose, and by way of direct discussion, or casually and hastily, as an object re- mote from the writers immediate design, and faintly sketched in, without much thought or care bestowed upon the justness of its outline. The degree and sources of information likely to be accessible to each author, will also form important ingredients in putting together the grounds on which to exer- cise our judgment; thus, if Josephus and Tacitus differ, as they do sometimes, in their account of the Jewish War, from whatever quarter the latter gleaned his intelligence, inas- much he was not an eye-witness, and did not write till thirty years after the event; after what has been said of Josephus in a former page, we cannot do wrong in assigning the palm of superior accuracy to him; superlatively eminent as Taci- tus unquestionably is in every matter of which he treats. On the other hand, if we may expect that some incidents mentioned or alluded to in the New Testament will be over- looked by general writers, much more may we expect that many particulars recorded by general writers will be omitted in the New Testament; for while the subject of the one class of writers led them to the direct mention of public men, and public events, the other was composing memoirs of men of the humblest rank, in no way concerned in the govern- ment of their country. A biographer has, except in a compa- ratively few cases, very little to do with public affairs, R 170 TRUTH OF THE CHRISTIAN STORY. [^PART li and it may easily happen, in pieces of this kind, that a series of very stirring contemporary events, interesting and important in the last degree, may never once be hinted at, and | names of high contemporary renown may nowhere occur, j AW, therefore, that we can require is, that when, from any | cause, they do occur, they should be introduced in strict! consistency wirh the ascertained order of events. This they ; will be if the biography have truth for its basis, but as I have^ explained already, (p. 48) it is scarcely possible they can be,| if it be a fabrication. j But to come to real discrepancies. These, it is boldly^ stated, do not exist, between the New Testament and se-j cular writers, nearly to the extent in which they are foundj among secular writers themselves; and of which examples ^ have been given in the conflicting accounts met with in| Herodotus and Xenophon, Josephus and Tacitus, or Bur-| net and Clarendon, (p. 148.) It must, however, be distinctly; understood that in confronting the authors of the New Testa- ' ment with secular historians, we do not bring our cause | to them, as to an authoritative tribunal of ultimate appeal. . It has yet to be shown that this latter class of writers is; infallible. To deal with them as such would be to admit j them to a place and dignity which, prior to adequate in-j vestigation, we do not demand for our own writers, and; cannot concede to others. We have no antecedent right toi assume the correctness of one class of writers rather than that of the other. If it be an unauthorised assumption, preceding adequate proof, to impute inaccuracy to the profane i historian, because the sacred penman relates his story in a ; different way; it is at least equally unfair to presume that: the former must be correct, and condemn the latter on his ; solitary assertion, wherever they are at variance. The two j classes stand to each other, strictly and properly, in the light ■ of contemporaneous witnesses; and we have to determine the| credit due respectively to each, from data to be selected from ; their own depositions. Each, in short, must be brought to ; the test of the general history of the period. It has beeai admitted that a far greater degree of minute accuracy isi indispensable to the credit of a book avowing itself to rest on superhuman authority. But at present we drop all con-! siderations deducible from any other sources of information ■ than such as are common to evei*y class of writings, and] putting ail, for the purpose of this enquiry, on the samej CHAP, v.] TRUTH OF THE CHRISTIAN STORY. 171 footing as human records, we proceed to ascertain their relative standing as faithful records. So far as an elementary ^ ise like the present can give them, the reader is now in ssion of data from which he may form some judgment of tne degree of weight due to the statements contained in our books, and determine whether the astonishing correctness which is proved to run through every page, can be over- balanced by a few isolated contradictions on the part of others, who are seconded by far feebler and less numerous confirm- ations of their accuracy; or whether, in such a case, the umption be not against the opposing evidence; and the i acter of our writers such that it ought to silence all the detraction with which it ever has been or ever can be assailed. SECT. II. Internal Coincidences. Smtrces of information which the Christian writers possessed.- Their independence.— Apparent discrepancies.- Undesigned coincidences between the Gospels. — Cumulative evidence of the writers of the New Testament.— Coincidences between St. Pauts Epistles and the Acts of the Apostles. — Contrast of the books of Scripture with the religious writings of the Hindus^ Parsees^ and Mahometans^ as to external and in- . ternal coincidences: — and the truths of natural philosophy^ I have already remarked (p. 93) that the New Testa- ment is a collection of a number of detached pieces, from eight independent authors, not written, so far as we know, with a view to any ulterior publication in a single volume, roUected under their sanction, or even during the life of any of the contributors. Each book is the inde- Unt testimony of one who had seen t>r inquired for elf, and written, humanly speaking, on the authority of his own peculiar office. In speaking of the New Testa- ment, and indeed of the Bible generally, we are too apt to lose sight of this. It is customary, and to a certain extent unavoi CHAP. V.3 TRirrn op the curistian story. 175 his mind. Is there a man who cannot minutely detail some event, perhaps in itself of no great importance, but deeply interesting to him, the circumstances of which, down to the very tone, the attitude, the look of each actor, are indelibly engraven on his memory, as it were with a pen of iron, and a diamond's point? (Jer. xvii. 1.) Years on years may have rolled by, yet the event seems but of yester- day. Thousands of stirring scenes may have subsequently imprinted a more or less abiding image, yet its vivid dis- tinctness is unimpaired; it defies alike erasure and confu- sion. Now very many of the incidents which the Evangelists have recorded, are of a kind which must have deeply im- pressed the minds of any but the most totally unconcerned. The man who was present when Jesus was baptized, and did not notice the voice which spake from heaven, (Luke iii. 21, 22.) or who could forget the circumstances attending the raising of Lazarus, (John xi. 30 — 46.) or the crucifixion, (Luke xxiii. 39—49.), or the healing ofthe lame man, (Acts iii. L to iv. 22.) or the death of Ananias and Sapphira, (Acts v. ] — H.) must have been concentred all in self; if not de- void of reason. But the disciples had more than the general interest of a spectator. Their curiosity was highly excited; and they were wondering, in common with many : but they had a peculiar and personal interest in these scenes, from the choice which Jesus had made of them as his companions, from the repeated assurances that to them it was given "to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven;" (Matt.xiii.lL) and from the intimations that the future should clear up what was now incomprehensible : "What I do thou knowest not now, but thou shalt know hereafter;" — (John xiii. 7-) '^Now I have told you, before it come to pass, that when it is come to pass ye might believe." (John xiv. 29.) Jesus was, more- over, in all probability, in the habit of employing frequently the same parables and illustrations to different audiences. AVc have some indubitable instances of this in modes of instruction twice repeated in the same gospel, as for exam- ple, the exhortation to cut off the right hand, and pluck out the right eye that offends, in the fifth and eighteenth chapters of St. Matthew; and it is more than probable that many of the discourses preserved by the several evangelists, HJmilar as they are in their general outline, may have been delivered on different occasions. But even where it not so to the extent which many suppose, no one can be ignoran* 176 TRUTH OF THE CHRISTIAN STORY. []PART I; of the readiness with which the very words of a teacher are remembered by those accustomed to his manner; and that more especially when his manner is popular, and at the same ^ time dignified, and impressive; and such was that of Jesus, for I "the people were astonished at his doctrine, because he taught | as one having authority, and not as the Scribes." (Matt. vii. 29. ) : Laying aside, then, even so much of supernatural aid ! as might suffice to correct the memory of our authorities, and ; considering only the nature of the events related, the magni- \ tude of some, the terror of others, and the strangeness of all; - the deep personal interest which each witness had in their pro- \ gross, and the strong personal affection which each disciple • manifested for his beloved master; the authoritative dignity \ and impressiveness of Jesus' manner; the length of time the j disciples were accustomed to his teaching, and the various as- * pects under which the same truths were exhibited, or the fre- j quent repetitions of them under the same aspect; the singular \ pains taken to awaken, and keep in suspense, a curiosity to be j gratified by something future, which, it was asserted, truly ' or not, would explain what was, for the present, imperfectly ; understood; — considering all this, I say, I think it is no , stretch of probablility to suppose, that if what they wrote \ did really happen, men in the position of the apostles, were ] competent to bear full and correct testimony to all which they ' have taken upon themselves to record. They were unlearned \ men; but they have not trenched on the province of the j learned. What they have written is such as intelligent men, \ however uneducated, might write ; and such as men of ob- : nervation, and interested as they were, might well remember. \ I have alluded to the hypotheses of some common me- ; moranda, or that the Gospels may be supplementary to ' each other; by which is meant that Mark had seen Matthew's j Gospel, and Luke those of Matthew and Mark ; and that j each wrote, as John confessedly did, with an especial re- gard to the method in which his predecessors had handled \ their subject. On a superficial view, either of these sup- ] positions might seem to detract from the independence of ; the writers. Further reflection, however, will show that ■ this is far from being a necessary result ; for a witness who ' has heard the depositions of another witness, and gives his ] full assent to the correctness of what has been stated, pro- vided only his opportunities of observing have been as great, | and his honesty |je ascertained, is as clearly an additional ] CHAP. V.|] TRUTH OP THE CHRISTIAN STORY, 177 and independent witness, as if he had made the same de- position in his OAvn words. The question, in the case of the gospels, may be determined simply by the marks which the writings themselves furnish us as to whether or not the conditions of real independence have been complied with; and if it should appear that each several witness has added to, altered, amplified, and abridp^ed his materials, with such freedom, and consistency as to indicate an unfettered judgment, remodelling a narrative with every particular of which it is intimately conversant, there can be no hesitation as to the conclusion at which we must arrive. That such a degree of independence is to be attributed to the historians of the New Testament will abundantly appear, from the different incidents selected, the manner of telling them, and the degree of fulness given to each story, according to the personal recollections, particular object, or perhaps peculiar taste of the writer. Except St. Mark, there is no one of our authors who does not introduce many incidents not noticed by the others; and even Mark has a few. A complete history would have been impossible; (John xx. 30, 31; xxi. 25.) selection and abridgment were indispensable; and it was scarcely to be expected or desired that all would select alike, though there was much that all would choose. But beside the difference in subject matter, the mode of telling a common story must be examined; for this, better than any thing else, will indicate the degree of independence to be conceded to each. Perhaps a more eligible example cannot be given than that of the cure of the palsied man, found in Matt, ix, 1—8; IVfark ii. 1—12; Luke v. 17—26. The leading feature of the story is, the power of Jesus to forgive sins. This is necessarily prominent in all. But the concommitant circumstances are given less fully by Matthew than by the others; and not to dwell on minor omissions, he says nothing of the singular device of letting the sick man through the roof. Yet on the closest inspection we can trace nothing beyond mere omis- sion in his account; there is nothing inconsistent with the tale, as told by Mark or Luke. In comparing the three narratives the abbreviated form of Matthew's sufficiently distinguishes it from the rest. To save room I will request the reader to turn to it, as it stands in the New Testament; (Matt. ix. 1 — 8.) the other two I shall set down side by side. The reader will see that the three are substantially identical. 178 TRUTH OP THE CHRISTIAN STORY. [PART I. he raustjudge for himself whether the difference in the mode of ^ teOing, be not such as to mark clearly the independent author. 1 "And again he entered into Capernaum, after some days ; and it was noised that he was in the house. And straight- way many were gathered to- gether, insomuch that there was no room to receive them, no, not so much as about the door; and he preached the word unto them. And they come unto him, bringing one sick of the palsy, which was borne of four. And when they could not come nigh unfo him for the press, they uncovered the roof where he was; and when they had broken it up, they let down the bed wherein the sick of the palsy lay. When Jesus saw their faith, he said unto the sick of the palsy. Son, thy sins be forgiven thee. But there were certain of the scribes sitting there, and rea- soning in their hearts, Why doth this man thus speak blasphemies? who can for- give sins but God only? And immediately when Jesusper- ceived in his spirit that they so reasoned within themsel- ves, he said unto them. Why reason ye these things in your hearts? Whether is it easier to say to the sick of the palsy. Thy sins be forgiven thee; or to say. Arise, and take up thy bed, and walk? But that ye may know that the Son of man "And it came to pass on a certain day, as he was teach- ing,that there Avere Pharisees and doctors of the law sitting by, which were come out of every town of Galilee, and Judaea, and Jerusalem ; and the power of the Lord was present to heal them. And, behold, men brought in a bed a man which was taken with a palsy: and they sought means to bring him in, and lay him before him. And when they could not find by what way they might bring him in, because of the multi- tude, they went upon the house top, and let him down through the tiling, with his couch, into the midst before Jesus. And when he saw their faith, he said unto him, Man, thy sins are forgiven thee. And the scribes and the Pha- risees began to reason, saying Who is this which speaketh blasphemies? Who can for- give sins but God alone? But when Jesus perceived their thoughts, he answering said unto them. What reason ye in your hearts? Whether is easier, to say. Thy sins befor- given thee, or to say. Rise up and walk? But that ye may know that the Son of man hath power upon earth to forgive sins, (he saith unto the sick of the palsy,) I say CHAP, v.] TRUTH OP THE CHRISTIAN STORY. 179 hath power on earth to forgive unto thee, Arise, and take sins, (he saith to the sifk of up thy couch, and go unto the palsy,) I say unto thee, thine house. And immedi- Arise, and take up thy bed, ately he rose up before them, and go thy way into thine and took up that whereon house. And immediately he he lay, and departed to his arose, took up the bed, and own house, glorifying God. went forth before them all; And they were all amazed, insomuch that they were all and they glorified God, and amazed, and glorified God, were filled with fear, saying, saying. We never saw it on We have seen strange things this fashion. (Mark ii. 1-12.) to day. (Luke v. 17—26.) It were easy to multiply examples precisely similar to this; and it were well for the student to read through the Evangelists for the express purpose of comparing their method of telling a common tale. It should, however, be observed that the independence of John as a contemporary witness, rests rather on the difference of matter with which his history is filled, than on his different mode of putting the same story; for it is generally agreed that his Gospel was written to supply the omissions in the other three. Much however which may be said on this head, is mere matter of opinion, and the reader must be left to form his own judgment regarding each particular case, and the whole. But if, on examination, there be found, as in almost every case, there will be found, that bold and strait forward manner which never 'Jtays to ask if what is stated agree with any other story, or if the story have been, or may be afterwards told by an- other; and yet withal, variety, without opposition; substantial agreement, without laboured efforts at coincidence; in one place fulness of detail, in another slight and distant allusion, but perfect harmony in all; each evangelist telling his story in his own way, using his own language, and choosing his own circumstances; the judicious observer will not fail to satisfy himself, that there is enough to maintain the credit of each as an independent historian. But, in point of fact, the student is far more likely, on a Tninute inspection, to be embarassed by perplexing diflicul- dcs than by an over close and scrupulous resemblance; and we should rather expect him to found his objection on discrepancies which seem to enfeeble the credit of all, f\nd the more formidably so, from the peculiar position in whidbi 180 T51UTH OF THE CHRISTIAN STORY. £pART 1. 1 the Scriptures are placed by their assumption of more than ^ humanauthority. It is, therefore, of the utmost consequence ] to ascertain whether any of these seeming inconsistencies | be of a nature to become really formidable. For it is freely ] admitted that apparent contradictions do exist, and any one j who picks out munj by his own diligence and acumen, will i probably bring forward none which have not been already : discovered. But in examining these it will be well to sug- J gest a caution which it is of the utmost importance to bear j in mind; for by the disregard of it, the unwary and super- \ ficial are often led astray. I refer to the fallacy of mistaking ! an apparent discrepancy, for a real contradiction. Where : there exists real contradiction between two witnesses, how- i ever unexceptionable the character of each for probity and j judgment, it is clear that one of them must be w rong. But if ; there be a method by which the conflicting statements can be : rendered only not inconsistent, without doing violence to the • principles of sound reason, though it will not follow that both ! are right, it is fair to presume that they mai/ be so; nor is it . necessary to show that the mode of reconciliation proposed i is the real one. It is enough that it be probable or plausible, , or even possible, for this is sufficient to remove the presump- { tion of inevitable contradiction. This remark applies \ equally to seeming discrepancies between sacred and profiane : writers; and to those found between sacred writers them- : selves. But it is of greater importance in the latter case, \ because in comparing our books with those of secular histori- j ans, we have a fair and legitimate refuge in the supposition ] of possible mistake in the conflicting statement; whereas i the nature of the case precludes this, when confining our » investigation to the sacred writers alone. But the fact is, | that the most scrutinizing inspection has failed to detect in | the New Testament any difficulty which has bid defiance \ to all efforts at resolution. It would be untrue to assert that | all commentators are of one mind as to the various solutions | which have been suggested; or thatthe solutions are all equal- i ly satisfactory. But it is broadly laid down as an established | principle, that no single point remains which can be seized ;1 on as necessarily fatal: and to this extent, at least, and more J commonly, to a much greater extent, every difficulty has va- I nished before the labours of sound and intelligent criticism. To furnish an example or two; on comparing the story r of the centurion's servant, as related by Matthew, with that | I ,1 CHAP, v.] TRUTH OP THE CHRISTIAN STOR To furnish an example or two: — on comparl^^b^ story- of the centurion's servant, as related by Matthew,N»'ith that' found in Luke, we perceive that the latter ascribes servants or friends of the centurion, what Matthew has pul in his own mouth. But it will be observed that here also, as in the account of the palsied man above referred to, Matthew's narrative is in a more abbreviated form; and nothing is more common, in every language, than to speak of things done by others, at the command, or on account of an influential individual, as if done by himself Thus a gene- ral is said to fight a battle, a nobleman to build a palace, or a master to till the soil, all which are done by others under his direction. In the same way Mark (ch. x. 35.) repre- sents the sons of Zebedee as preferring a request, which, according to Matthew, (ch. xx. 20.) was really preferred in their name by their mother; and John, in speaking of a re- port that Jesus "baptized more disciples than John," ex- pressly explains, that "Jesus himself baptized not, but his disciples;" (ch. iv. 1,2.) though he himself, and probably at the time he wrote it without any thought of this subsequent explanation, had a little before broadly stated that Jesus *tarried with" his disciples, "and baptized." (ch. iii. 22.) In all such cases the shorter account is obviously to be en- larged to meet the fuller and more detailed, and not the latter contracted to meet the former. To pass on to another discrepancy: — the superscription placed over Jesus on the cross, is differently given by the four evangelists; they are as follows : This is Jesus, the King op the Jews: (Matt, xxvii. 37.) Jesus of Nazareth, THE King op the Jews: (John xix. 19.) This is the King OF the Jews: (Lukexxiii. 38.) The Kino of the Jews: (Mark xv. 26.). The charge against Jesus was, that he made himself a king, for on no other ground would his ac- cusers have succeeded in wringing from the Roman gover- nor, against his own convictions, the sentence they^ demand- ed. (John xix. 12 — 16.) This was then the burden of the superscription; and when the chief priests car])ed at it, they only noticed this: "Write not. The King of the Jews: but that he said, I am King of the Jews." (John xix. 21.) It may be, then, that the evangelists, in noticing the fact, in- tended only to give the substance of the writing, not solici- as to the extreme accuracy of the words. Or, inasmuch 182 TRUTH OF THE CHRISTIAN STORY. [^PART. iv as the superscription was in three languages, Greek, Latin, and Hebrew, (Luke xxiii. 38. John xix. 20), and no great care is likely to have been bestowed on a paper hastily drawn up, in compliance with ordinary Roman usage, and in this case worded only in mockery of a supposed malefactor's arro- gant pretensions ; it is highly probable that the three forms may have actually exhibited the differences here observed; and that one of the evangelists has given the Hebrew, an- other the Greek, and the two others the Latin; one of these latter having merely added, This is, from the form I have first set down. Either of these explanations may be the right one, or both may be wrong; but either ought to sa- tisfy a candid mind, and are, at least, sufficient to evade the charge of necessary error. The circumstances attending the crucifixion of Jesus will present us with a fresh apparent discrepancy. St. Mark places this event at the third hour; (ch. xv, 25.), and with this the accounts of Matthew and Luke agree, though these latter do not name the hour at which the execution was actually completed. But John stands alone in assigning the condemnation of Jesus by Pilate to the sixth hour, (John xix, 14.) that is, according to the ordinary Jewish computa- tion about noon ; the very time at which, according to the rest, a supernatural darkness began, (Matt, xxvii. 45. Mark XV. 33. Luke xxiii. 44.) and continued till the ninth hour. It is difficult to suppose a mistake in a matter of such over- whelming importance; and least of all in St. John, who alone of all the disciples had taken his station at the very foot of the cross. In all difficulties originating from difference of numbers, it is important to remember that these were written in ancient times, not in words, at length, or with figures, but with numeral letters, which might easily be, and certainly often were, mistaken for each other. But it is not necessary to have recourse to this mode of reconciliation in the case before us. An easy solution is suggested by the different methods of reckoning time. This is, indeed, a source of perpetual confusion even in modem times. For instance, in England, until as late as 1753, the civil, ecclesiastical, and legal year, commenced, on the 25th of March, but histori- ans began their year on the first of January. Without due attention to this, any event falling between January 1, and ^il^ch 25, might eas;ily be assigned to the wrong year. CHAP. V.]] TRUTH OP THE CHRISTIAN STORY. 183 Thus the death of Charles I. is placed by some in January 1648, by others, with equal correctness, in January 1649; but the reader is left uncertain to which of these two, accord- ing to our present mode of computing, it ought to be assigned. Similar confusion has arisen from the nautical practice of beginning the day at noon, as do also astronomers, whereas the civil day begins at midnight; so that the first twelve hours may be assigned to either of two days, according to the form of computation used. Some writers, for example, disregarding this, have stated, on the authority of the log book of a British ship of war, tliat Caraccioli, a Neapolitan rebel, hastily tried and executed by Nelson's order, was condemned on the morning of one day, and executed on the evening of the following. But others correctly bring both events >\'ithin the compass of a few hours, for these were the morning and evening of different astronomical days, but the natural day was the same. To return, then, to the Gospel nar- ratives, St. John, who wrote after the Jewish polity had pas- sed away, divided the day after the manner of the Romans, whose civil day, as we learn from Pliny, was reckoned, as ours is, from midnight to midnight ; though their natural day was similar to that of the Jews. That St. John uni- formly employed this mode of computation, appears probable from the story of Jesus at the well of Samaria, (ch.iv. 6.); for the sixth hour of the Jews would be about noon, at which time it was not usual for the women to frequent the wells; but adopting the modern reckoning, the transaction is made to belong to the morning or evening, at either of which times, and particularly the latter, it was the prevailing custom for them to draw water. This computation would give six o'clock, of our time, for Pilate's condemnation of Jesus, and allows three hours for the necessary preparations, and the procession to Calvary; and thus falls in with Mark's statement that the crucifixion was completed about the third hour, or nine o'clock. Concerning subsequent particulars no similar difficulty occurs. One more instance shall suffice us : Matthew tells us sim- ply that Judas went and hanged himself: (ch. xxvii. 5.) Luke says nothing of this, but that "falling headlong, he burst asunder in the midst, and all his bowels gushed out." (Acts i. 18.) The probable explanation is, that the cord by which he suspended himself, or whatever it was to which it was b2 184 TRUTH OF THE CHRISTIAN STORlf. []PART. I. fastened, gave way, and by the fall, perhaps from a consider- able height, or against some projecting object, the catastrophe noticed by Luke was occasioned, and the whole transaction is correctly gathered from combining the double narrative in one. I must now leave my reader to prosecute this division of our subject for himself; and if he light on any discrepancies which his own learning or ingenuity fails to reconcile, let him be assured they will either be found of too trifling a nature to be taken into the account, or capable of solution, and in all probability long since solved, by some explanation similar to those just given. It may perhaps, be too much to say that every recon- ciled discrepancy becomes a coincidence; but very many certainly do. These will be transferred to a class among the notes of truth, to which the researches of the student are now to be directed; — that of undesigned coincidences; coincidences, not in leading facts, and direct narrative, but in minor incidents and allusions, introduced casually, and obviously not intended by the writer to elicit any inference whatever. The consistent use of the appella- tion: "the Son of man," may furnish us with an example; for without any thing to call attention to its restrictive application, throughout the four Gospels it is uniformly put in the mouth only of Christ, who uses it of himself alone, nor is it in any case used of, or towards him, by any other person. * Again, three of the evangelists record the agony of Jesus in the garden of Gethsemane, in which the burden of his cry was : "0 my Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me :" the language is figurative, and the figure is one of frequent occurrence in the Jewish Scrip- tures; there is nothing therefore particularly remarkable in the employment of it; Jesus might have chosen some other emblem under which to speak of his approaching suf- ferings, but this is the one that was on his mind. St. John omits the prayer of Jesus, but when a little later in that same night, perhaps within a few short minutes of the last retire- ment of Jesus, Peter resisted those who came to seize him, he tells us Jesus checked him with the remark: "Put up thy * It 18 once only used of Christ by another in the New Testa- ment, viz. by the proto-martyr Stepheo, (Acts vii. 56.) immediate^ ly before his death. . v.] TRUTH OP THE CHRISTIAN STORY. 185 into the sheath; the cup which my Father hath given me, shall I not drink it?" (ch. xviii. 11.) The thought that had predominated in the prayer, is here found in a speech not noticed by those who have recorded its first utterance, but by a contemporary writer, who has said nothing of the pmyer. This surely bespeaks reality in both. Again, both Matthew and Mark, agree in representing that the charge upon which an attempt was made to condemn Jesus, before the Jewish tribunal, (for that made to Pilate was different,) was, that he had declared himself "able to destroy the temple of God, and to build it in three days." (Matt. xxvi. 61 ; Mark xiv. 58.). St. John supplies us with the circum- stance on which this accusation was founded, while, in his narrative of the trial, he omits the charge. The Jews de- manded of Jesus a sign, and he replied, "Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up." "But he spake," adds the apostle in explanation, "of the temple of his body," but it was not till he had risen from the dead, that the disciples remembered the saying, and understood its meaning. (John ii. 18 — 22.) Once more; three of the trigelists have given a list of the twelve apostles; John t ices neither their appointment, nor their number, directly, but alludes to both: "Have I not chosen you twelve^" (John vi. 67 — 71); and whenever he names any, it is al- ways one included in the catalogues of the others; for though there is, in one or two instances, a variety in the mere name, as indeed there is between the catalogues themselves, the identity of the individual can always be sufficiently made out. Placing, then, the independence of our Gospels, as concur- rent histories, side by side with the harmony that runs through the whole, each mutually illustrating, amplifying, and con- firming the other; and not forgetting the strong presumption of truth tbus accruing, strengthened, as it is, by the singular corroboration they receive from secular and profane autho- rities, whenever any point of comparison presents itself; reailling, moreover, the position occupied by these writers, derived to us from the books themselves, or from the concur- rent testimony of antiquity, let us now once more take them up with a view to the cumulative nature of their evidence. liCt us suppose that we had met with only a single Gospel, that of St. Matthew, which, on investigation, we find to be R 3 186 TRUTH OP THE CHRISTIAN STORY. [|PART. 1- authenticated by the testimony, severally and distinctly given, of each and every succeeding age, from the time of its first publication; which has uniformly been received as the ge- nuine work of an eye-witness, and worthy of implicit cre- dit; and which, moreover, is supported, by a close agree- ment, so far as we have the means of ascertaining, with the general history of the period; by its simple and unas- suming narrative, by its internal consistency; and by all those many indications of authenticity, which rarely fail to strike an intelligent mind, and influence its estimate of the composition under review. Let us then suppose that a second, and somewhat briefer account, falls in our way, the acknowledged production of a companion of one of the chief original witnesses, under whose immediate directions he is generally believed to have written; — ^the circumstances of the two being, moreover, precisely similar as to external and internal evidence of truth. Let us suppose that it exhibits a correspondence with the first as to facts and sentiments, con- sistently maintained throughout, yet with such circumstanti- al variety as to satisfy us we are not engaged on a mere abridge- ment; or, at the least, that if it be an abridgement, it is one made by some bold spirit, who, so far from tamely following, has dared to vary his original, to the extent of remodelling it; and who thus, on any supposition, may be received as an independent witness ; — suppose, I say, we meet-"with such an accompaniment to our first account; would it not be universally, and justly, regarded as^a strong additional con- firmation of its authenticity, and greatly enhance its value? But suppose, again, a third account, still under the same circumstances of presumptive truth, be brought to light, professing to be the compilation of one who had "had perfect understanding of all things from the very first," "even as they delivered them which from the beginning were eye- witnesses and ministers of the word;" (Luke i. 2, 3.) which with the same variety, and more considerable additions, authenticated all that we had previously learned from the other two; and then suppose we light on a fourth history, avoAvedly the production of an eye-witness, (John xix. 35 ; xxi. 24.) and apparently intended as a supplement to the other three; passing by many incidents recorded by them, and dwelling on portions they had omitted, or treated more succinctly; but agreeing in all particulars common to the c p. v.] TRUTH OF THE CHRISTIAN STORY. 187 r, and alluding to, or impMng, but in no case contradict- ing our former accounts; — the additional conviction which would thus result, in all ordinary cases, can scarcely be measured, or set down in words. Its force would universal- ly be admitted as irresistible; and he that would still demur, would surely be regarded as one beyond the reach of con- viction, an irrecoverable sceptic, whose principles, strictly followed out, would forbid him to believe, at least, all he does not see.* It ought to make no difference that these histories were early collected into a distinct volume, and have come down to us supported by a common testimony. This rather strengthens the cogency of the argument. For how could it have been otherwise? Had any of them been overlooked by a body constituted as is the Christian Church, while embodying the very charter of its freedom, this would justly have been cast in our teeth as detracting very materially from their authority; whereas we have now the recorded opinion of those whose comprehensive researches, paramount interests, and enlarged opportunities, led them to examine the pretensions of all, and enabled them to do so with efficiency, not merely that these books possess an exclusive claim upon our attention, but that they were composed at different times, extending over an interval of certainly not much less than forty, and possibly of sixty years; and at different places, by individuals, attached each to a different apostolic mission, if I may so say, on the wide surface of the world. They are supported, it is true, by a common testimony, but each has had a due and full share of attention given to its individual claims. The independence of con- curring testimony manifestly cannot be weakened by the ac- cident of simultaneous transmission ; the question of inde- pendence must rest on its own intrinsic merits, and if thus satisfactorily made out, as in our case I think it is, must carry (1 it all the legitimate consequences derivable from its ^^ See a little pamphlet entitled. Historic Doubts of Napoleon Buonaparte, (I give the title from memory, not having the tract, or my notice of it by me,) the object of which is to show, that on the principles of Huroe and other sceptics we have no warrant for the truth of the stirring events that convulsed Europe about the begin- ning of the present century, and very recent, if not actually passing, when the tract first appearer Macedonia and Achaia for many months; the charge of >nveying this to Syria was earnestly pressed upon St. Paul. .1 Cor. viii. 4.), and in passing through Macedonia, he in- mated to the Corinthians his assent to this, and directed ]iem to prepare their offerings before he came. From orinth,and probably not long before his intended departure, I* wrote to the Christians at Rome, and an accidental (jference to a promised visit, which he is for the present )mpelled to postpone, gives him occasion to speak of the rand on which the Grecian churches were sending him to 'erusalem, which, after an unnecessary detour forced on \ im by his enemies, he is enabled to fulfil. All is thus con- i stent; the lustory and the two epistles to the Corinthians^ 192 TRUTH OF THE CHRISTIAN STORY. QPART. I. with that to the Romans, and with each other; and laying all together, we get an insight into the whole transaction which no single passage can give. Yet the process hy which this consistency is unfolded is intricate, and such as would not strike one reader in ten thousand. Many ques- tions have to be settled, from the letters themselves, as to their chronology, and the places whence they were written; and then there needs an exact and diligent inspection, and no ordinary acuteness in seizing on latent harmonies, combined with the power of bringing them out with clear- ness and precision. In fact the instances adduced must be considered with much attention before they can be fully grasped, even when fairly pointed out. I take a second instance from the Epistle to the Galatians. If any one will refer to the Acts of the Apostles, they will find it related of the apostle Paul, that, after his conversion, he preached at Damascus, but that after many days were fulfilled, the Jews taking counsel to kill him, he escaped by night, and went to Jerusalem. (Acts ix. 19 — 26.) In the Epistle just named Paul himself speaks of his conver- sion thus: "immediately I conferred not with flesh and blood, neither went I up to Jerusalem to them which were apostles before me; but I went into Arabia, and returned again to Damascus: then, after three years, I went up to Jerusalem." (Gal. i. 16, 17, 18.) The substantial agreement of these passages will at once be obvious: the Apostle did not go to Jerusalem till some considerable time after his conversion; and that the expression after many days^ will fully bear as extensive a meaning as the occasion requires, at least in the composition of a Jew, will appear from its use in a passage of the Old Testament, where in the very next sentence it is explained to mean, three years. (1 Kings, ii. 38, 39.) But beside that the terms and general complexion of the two accounts vary considerably, we notice an addition in the story, as it stands in the epistle, for this states that some portion of the three years was spent in Arabia. Such an addition shows the independence of the two writers, for had the history been compiled from the epistle, it is scarcely likely this circumstance would have been passed over in silence; and if the letter had been composed out of what the author had read of St. Paul in the history, it could never have been inserted. Thus also CBAP. v.] TRUTH OP THE CHRISTIAN STORY. 193 Peters visit to Antioch, dwelt on at some length in the epistle, (Gal. ii. 11 — 14.) is not mentioned in the Acts. These and other differences concur in satisfying us, that there can have been no correspondence between the two ■\>Titers: the fects in either tally with those related in the other; but there is no trace of imitation either in things or words. The relative position in which each piece stands to the other can be accounted for only on the supposition that the materials aie drawn from independent sources; their consistency, only by allowing that the facts did actually happen as described. There is a coincidence between this epistle and the second to the Corinthians, the more curious, because though the same circumstance is manifestly alluded to in both, the circumstance itself is nowhere explained. To the Galatians St. Paul writes: "3fjy temptation which was in ihejlesh, ye despised not, nor rejected;" (ch. iv. 14.) and to the Corinthians : "And lest I should be exalted above measure, there was given to me a thorn in the Jiesh, the messenger of Satan to buffet me. For this thing I besought the Lord thrice, that it might depart from me. And he said unto me, my grace is sufficient for thee; for my strength is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my iiifirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me." (2 Cor. xii. 7 — 9-) There was, therefore, some bodily infirmity under which the apostle laboured, cal- culated to give him, personally, great uneasiness, or he would not have so earnestly besought its removal ; and of a kind to annoy his hearers, and perhaps excite their ridicule, for it required patience to bear with it. In each epistle the mention of it is naturally introduced by the context, which however, is totally different in either; and there is every mark of a genuine and, withal, touching appeal, to a circum- stance familiar enough to his readers. But its nature is specified in no record, whence a compiler could have gained the most distant hint that such an infirmity existed at all. Lastly, without a single direct reference to Jewish perse- cution in the epistle before us, the whole tenor of it implies that the opposition the apostle had to struggle against in his ministry, was not from the heathen, so much as from those of his own countrymen, xvho could not brook the abolition of their ceremonial code, or the admission of the Gentiles into ■» 194 TRUTH OF THE CHRISTIAN STORY. [^PART. I.; the Church of Christ : for even the believing Jews wished to impose the obligations of their national rites upon their brethren from the Gentile world. An attentive perusal of the epistle will make this clear. Now this is just the state of things we find represented elsewhere. In the second Epistle to the Corinthians, five out of nine instances of ill treatment, are expressly ascribed to the Jews; another probably refers to a transaction which took place at Lystra, -when Paul was stoned, and left for dead, at the instigation of Jews from Antioch and Iconium. (Acts xiv. 19.) Of the remaining three, one arose from the enmity of the heathen,. (Acts xvi. 19 — 23) ; the two others are nowhere recorded: and though the word used denotes a Roman punishment, it may or may not have been inflicted in consequence of a Jewish accusation. (2 Cor. xi. 25.) But glancing over the pages of the history, while we meet with but two instances of heathen violence, we find that by far the larger portion of the trials which awaited the first believers, are ascribed to the jealous hatred of the Jews. The earlier persecu- tions rose purely out of this, and none but Jews were actors in them; at Antioch, at Iconium, at Lystra; even in Greece, at Thessalonica, at Berea, and at Corinth, it was always the Jewish population that made insurrec- tion, or stirred up the Gentiles. Later still, Jewish bigotry is represented as having sent Paul a prisoner to Rome; and it was Jewish coldness that drew from him the rebuke with Avhich the narrative closes. So nice and so uniform is the parallelism that runs through all our books ! In short choose what aspect we will, whether the more distant and comprehensive view of the collective mass, or the closer inspection of the minutest details, one prevailing harmony pervades the whole; one well sustained design blends all together with the undeviating comeliness of a just proportion, and each part is brought out with a variety as profuse as it is correct and pleasing: nothing ofi'ends either by defect of workmanship, or incongruity of plan. Such perfection is not of the kind cultivated in the fictitious efforts of genius, avowedly designed for mere entertainment; and belongs not to the cautious and sparing policy of the calculating impostor, writing to deceive : it is such as the bold and unsuspecting chronicler of genuine truth alone dares venture on, or can attain. CnAP. v.] TRUTH OP THE CHRISTIAN STORY. 195 In casting a recapitulatory glance over the subject of the last two sections, it will strike the intelligent reader that Christianity stands alone in presenting so vast a surface by which to test her historical precision. The points that can be submitted to examination are scattered with no sparing hand; and whether we would select these from incidents which bring us in contact with external authori- ities, or from others that may be set side by side with cor- responding references within; the discover)- of materials for investigation will cost us but a trifling effort : we are puz- zled to make our selection, but never to find from whence we may select. Contrast with this the dearth of similar materials in the case of rival systems of religion. I do not say that a want of allusion to the affairs of general history necessarily stamps a religious system with imposture. But, if there be this dearth, it at once puts them on a level, as to evidence, far below that attained by Christianity, and leaves them still further behind as competitors in the race. Hinduism scarcely presents a solitary point on which we may compare her stories with authentic, nay, even with, reputed history. Indian history, as treated of by native writers, is all incorporated with their sacred literature ; and has to be stripped of allegory and exaggeration, before it can be sobered down to the bounds of probability and reason. The few incidents that have connected this Eastern land with early European history are unnoticed by the writers of Hindostan, and much difficulty is encountered in iden- tifying places, persons, and dynasties alluded to by both: and while existing customs confirm, in a striking degree, the accuracy of western writers ; the remarks of the latter lend Jio very important illustrations to the literature of the east. Nor is the case much altered when we take up the Zand- avasta, or the Koran. The Vandidad has few traditions of any kind whatever, and its mythic history, such as it is, has no connexion with the authentic records of the Persian dynasties. The Zartusht-Namah, again, or his- tory of Zoroaster, was the work of another Zoroaster, who lived as late as A. D. 1277; that is, if Gustasp be the Darius Hystaspes of the Greek historians, somewhere about eighteen centuries after the death of the indivi- dual whose memoirs it professes to contain. The writer's ambition, it is true, does not soar bevond the credit 2s 196 TRUTH OP THE CHRISTIAN STORY. [|pART. I. of having transfused into Persian verse, the contents of an ancient and neglected volume, "veiled in doubt, and dim "with mystic age," but that volume was itself in the Pahlivi, a tongue far less ancient that the Zand, the language of the Vandidad; and he acknowledges than neither its name nor source w^as known. The Koran has more allusions to passing events, but these consist of incidents relating only to the personal adventures of Mahomet. They are confirmed, or rather explained by subsequent Mahometan writers; but the two principal and best of these lived many hundreds of years after the death of Mahomet; — Abulfeda in the first half of the fourteenth cen- tury, and Al Jannabi as late as the middle of the sixteenth ; — and neither of them could appeal to any writers of the first century of the Hegira. Yet granting that their age and opportunities had been such as to give a higher value to their testimony; it is but the testimony of an attached friend: not, indeed, to be set aside on this ground; but inapplicable in this place, where we are discussing, not the comments of early Christian writers on the Christian story; but internal coincidences, and the multipHed instances of full concurrence, drawn from a host of writers who can be classed among the indifferent, with less propriety than among gain- sayers and opponents. It has, however, been already stated that the leading facts connected with the life of Mahomet, as far, at any rate, as they are implied, or referred to in the Koran, are received as sufficiently authenticated. Its claims to divine authority are combated on different grounds; and will more particularly be canvassed in another chapter. But while on the subject of consistency with general history, it may not be amiss, though the references are not to con- temporary history, to show that the aspect of past events, as given in the Koran, is at variance with well ascertained facts. It ought to follow, that whether in reference to past, present, or future, if a volume contain statements at vari- ance with the truth, be its pretensions in other respects what they may, it cannot take its place among the admitted oracles of a truth-loving God. The eighteenth chapter of the Koran has a tradition concerning Dhu Ikarnein, (the two homed,) by which the commentators generally agree is meant Iscander alRumi, or, as we call him, Alexander the Great. The storyruns that thi» CfHAP. v.] TRtlTH OF THE CHRISTIAN STORY. 197 illustrious personage came to the place where the sun sets, and found it to set in a spring of black mud; that he then journeyed to the place where the sun rises, where he found a people with nothing to shelter them from its rays, and who could scarce understand language. For their protection a- gainst Gog and Magog he is furthermore said to havefilledthe interval between two mountains with a wall of molten iron and brass: — a legend which may be interpreted to mean that he built a strong wall to keep out the Scythian and Tartar hordes. But if such be its import, it could have had no place in a divine revelation ; for the passage is not mould- ed in the bold figurative language of animated poetry, but such as can only be taken in its homely literal meaning; and several writers, puzzled by the absurdity of ascribing the story to a period of authentic history, have thrown back its date to an imaginary Dhu'lkamein, whom they make to have lived before the time of Abraham. I shall presently have occasion to point out the incongruity of the whole passage with the uncontrovertible astromonical facts which modem science has developed; but it may be remarked that the march of Alexander into Illyria, which preceded his Asiatic expedition, did not extend so far west- ward as to bear out the use of language far less hyperbolical than Mahomet has employed; and even admitting that the brazen and iron wall is to be interpreted a^ denoting some well fortified barrier, so devoid of precision is the description, that we cannot fix its locality, or identify it with any of the cities founded by Alexander on the confines of Scythia; though our accounts of that conqueror, if not contemporary, are exact and full. In another passiige of the Koran (ch. iii.), an extract from which I have already given, (p. 118.), Mary, the mother of Jesus, contrary to the testimony of all history, is made the daughter of Amram, and sister of Aaron. It is difficult to give Mahomet credit for so gross an anachronism, and yef the explanations suggested are far from satisfactory. At the best, both the paucity of allusions to historical facts, and the extreme difficiilty of settling the correctness of those that do occur, contrast most strongly with the rich profusion with which they are scattered over every page of the Chris- tian books, and the wonderful precision with which they fall in with almost every independent record that embraces the topics they involve. 3s 1^8 TRUTH OP THE CHRISTIAN STORY; £PART. I. Nor will internal consistency avert a portion of that unfa- vourable judgment which the want of outward testimony has unavoidably engendered in our minds. The Hindu arranges his eighteen kinds of knowledge under as many different heads. The four Vedas fill up the first class. Four Upave- das, on medicine, military tactics, and mechanics, constitute the second. The third contains six Vedangas, on different branches of grammatical knowledge, on ceremonies, astro- nomy, and the explanation of difficult words in the Vedas. The last class is made up of the four Upangas, one of which comprehends the eighteen puranas; and the others treat of ethics, divine wisdom and ceremonies; and the canon and civil laws. The collective mass is admitted to the autho- rity of shastras, or sacred literature; and is believed to comprehend all knowledge, human and divine. These shastras are the productions of a great variety of authors, and of widely distant ages. It is, therefore, little to be "wondered at, if they exhibit continually altering features ; for notwithstanding the well known sameness of eastern manners, thousands of years do not roll by, without some in- constancy of thought or action creeping in. Still the distinc- tive stamp of age or authorship need have introduced no con- trariety, had one pervading spirit directed the pens of all. The opposite to this, however, is the fact. Nothing can be more notorious than that European inquirers have utterly failed to reduce to any thing at all approaching to regular and consistent arrangement, the vast body of fable consti- tuting the Hindu mythology. One and all concur in pronouncing it an heterogeneous compound, not simply in- tricate and obscure, but incomprehensible and absurd. Nor is this, as every intelligent native knows too well, because the subject has been sketched from a hasty and distant view. Men of the highest order of talent, and of painful research, have devoted to it the best energies of a ripe maturity of knowledge and judgment, — many of them rather predisposed to admire than condemn. Neither has their failure resulted from neglect of the assistance that might be expected from the interested zeal of the votaries of the system. For this has been freely invited, though not al- ways, it must be confessed, as freely given. From what has been thus gathered it may be conceded that the theo- logy of the puranas is less simple and congruous than that CHAF. v.] TRUTH OF THE CHRISTIAN STORY. 199 of the vedas; and that the tantras occupy a position still lower on the scale of decency and reason: for they set aside the ceremonies of the vedas, or prescribe them in other forms, and are replete with abominations of the grossest kinds. But what will it avail to admit a superiority, where, by hy- pothesis, all stand on one common footing of equality ; or how can preference be given to one class, if all be alike divine? There can be no degrees of omniscience, or of the certainty that accrues therefrom; and the advocate for Hinduism cannot now disencumber himself of a portion of his burden, after he has voluntarily assumed the whole. He cannot cut adrift the maze of incongruities that perplex him, by falling back on the comparative simplicity of the more ancient of his sacred books, for by so doing, he abandons what he has already made an integral prop to his system, and one whose fall would drag with it all that now constitutes the practice of his religion. Nor would the sacrifice emancipate him from the bondage in which he is held. The day is gone by when the recesses of Hinduism were veiled from Euro- pean eyes. The reluctance of the brahmins to lay bare the secret depositories of their faith has at length given way. Some, it is true are still withheld, or have been hitherto but partially examined. But sufficient samples have been made public to enable us to foi-m a tolerably just conception of the whole; and large portions of the Vedas themselves have been made accessible to the learned reader by their publication in the original Sanscrit, and to all, by faithful translations, and copious digests of their contents. There is, therefore, abundant proof that if the pages of these vene- rated books be disfigured hy fewer absurdities than are met with in the puranas, or tantras, the difference is in number and kind, rather than in degree. If they do not contain a mythology of deified heroes, there is inculcated in them a scarcely less senseless adoration of personified elements, and of the heavenly bodies, entailing on the worshipper a belief in polytheism. They contain, moreover, the ground work of the later legends, and many a story that rivals them in extravagance. Offences against reason, decency, experience, and congruity abound. A well known verse, ascribed to Lokakshee, a sage mentioned in many of tho puranas, complains that "the vedasj are at variance;" fiOO TRUTH OP THE CHRISTIAN STORY. f PART. I. and Mr. Colebrooke, whose Essay on the vedas first made Europeans familiar with their contents, gives an instance from one of the chapters of the Rig veda, "which," he tell us, "is not singular, of a disquisition on a difference of opinion among inspired authors." The difference alluded to is, whether certain sacred words were indispensable^ or not, to the validity of a form of consecration there explained. Certain it is that were the system of the Vedas restored, the religion of India would not be what it is; nor much better than it is : — and yet these books are spoken of as worthy of the highest reverence, and the source of all the shastras; — "the self-evident word proceeding out of the mouth of God." Again the compiler of the Vandidad has fallen into the singular oversight of speaking of Zoroaster, in terms that ill agree with a revelation made to the writer himself, and seem to betray a much more recent hand. Thus Hormazd, addressing Zoroaster says : "I have clearly revealed to him, (Jamshid) the law of God, and of Zoroaster :" and again: '''■Zoroaster was stronger than Ahriraan, author of the evil law; he struck the people given by this Dew." A revela- tion is surely scarcely called for to tell a man what he himself has done; nor is it congruous, even historically, to designate a code of laws by the name of one, as yet unborn, who in some future age is to establish or renew it. With as much reason might we give the title of the "Institutes of Justinian" to the twelve tables of the decemvirs, the decrees of the senate, the perpetual edict of Adrian, or the rescripts of the later emperors, because, forsooth, each one of these may have contributed their share to the regulations after- words embodied in that famous summary of jurisprudence. The author seems strangely to have forgotten himself: nor did the compiler of the Yazna, one of the two liturgical works interspersed with the Vandidad, properly so called, and included in the collection popularly designated by this last name, forget himself less strangely when he made Vi- vanghao, the father of Jamshid, the first person who con- sulted Hormazd; whereas in the passage of the Vandidad above quoted from, this is predicated of Jamshid himself. I shall insert here a somewhat different instance of in- consistency, although it does . not properly belong to this place. The sacred books of the Parsees are mere fragments CHAP, v.] TRUTH OP THE CHRISTIAN STORY. 201 of works long since lost. The Yandidad is all that remains of the complete A vasta, (or, word^) of Zoroaster, having formed the twentieth of twenty-one nusks of which it was originally composed; and the rest are said to have been destroyed by Sikandar Rumi, (Alexander the Great,) and the Caliph Omar. There is a difficulty in supposing, that when God has given a written revelation, he will subsequent- ly fail to extend to it that degree of care which would be necessary for its preservation; and the loss of so large a proportion as twenty parts out of twenty-one, is staggering in the extreme. But to let this pass; what, we may simply ask, becomes of the assertion of Zoroaster that his work was eternal? If it had been intimated that a portion would be lost, the objection could not have been framed. If even nothing had been said, it might have been avoided. But when it is declared that all the Avasta was to remain, and experience shows that the greater part has perished; here is a glaring discrepancy between the words of the pretending prophet, and notorious truth. "The two faces of the Koran," is an expression not unusual with Arabic writers, and refers to the distinction they have noticed between the simpler and milder forms of doctrine delivered at Mecca, and the more corrupt and harsher system substituted at Medina. Al Jahedh on this account compared the Koran to a body which might be sometimes turned into a man, and sometimes into a beast. "There is nothing doubtful in this book :" was the boast of Mahomet. Yet there are contradictory passages, to obviate which the Mahometan doctors have recourse to the doctrine of abrogation, telling us that several things were commanded, and afterwards for good reasons revoked. Two hundred and twenty-five verses in sixty-three chapters, have been observed, to which they find it necessary to apply this doctrine. Thus it was at first made indifferent to which quarter a worshipper turned in prayer, and then Jerusalem, and lastly Mecca was appointed SLsaKeblak. The earlier injunctions inculcated a mild submis- sive demeanour to unbelievers; but subsequent decrees com- manded that infidelity be extirpated by the sword. Other changes had reference to fasting, and ceremonial observances. But the nature of the objection to these variations should be clearly understood. It is not denied that under a change of circumstances, a change of plan may be imperatively called 202 TRUTH OF THE CHRISTIAN STORT. QpART. I. for. Moreover, if it were true that the Koran, as asserted, was "sent down in the night of al Kadr," (Kor. ch. xcvii.), entire and in one volume, to the lowest heaven, thence to be reveal- ed to Mahomet as occasion might require ; it is far from im- possible that such changes might have been foreseen and provided for. The objection is based on this; — that neither the importance of the circumstances, nor the unexception* able purity of the motives dictating the changes, nor the frequency of their occurrence, in so short a time, is com- mensurate with the restrictions Ave fairly expect in the guarded and dignified revolutions brought about by one "with whom is no variablenss, neither shadow of turning". (Jam. i. 17.) The Christian Scriptures present examples of an altered form of ritual worship; but if the steady prose- cution of a single purpose, ripening to maturity as centuries roll on, should bring about an innovation in externals twice or thrice in more than as many thousand years, as the prede- termined hour comes for each fresh developeraent of one progressing scheme; — a scheme already announced in the very ceremonies, which by gradual advances, more complete- ly portray, and at length give place to their prototype; — such revolutions are not to be named with the uncalled for changes of the three and twenty years of a single prophet's mission. Unity of purjjose may be displayed and recognized under varying outward shows ; it is the want of this that stamps outward changes with a character of inconstancy, and betrays the wild freaks of a fluctuating caprice, or the indecision of an imperfectly digested scheme. " The candid reader shall be left to determine if such caprice be worthy the counsels of the all powerful and "only wise God;" to whom "be honour and glory for ever. Amen." (1 Tim. i. 170 A more appropriate place than the present will not pre- sent itself for the consideration of another particular, having a close relation to those just discussed, and opening to us a new and no less interesting field of inquiry. I refer to the harmony that ought of necessity to exist between the verbal messages of the Creator of the Universe, and those truths of reasoning and experiment, deduced from an ex- amination of the works of his hands. There can be no real inconsistency between the book of nature, and the book of revelation, for both should bear the impress of the same CHAP, v.] TRUTH OP THE CHRISTIAN STORY. 203 all moA'ing intelligence; and if the latter contradict the former, God contradicts himself. But forasmuch as this cannot be, and that the language of nature's book may, within due limits, be read with the most absolute and uncontrovertible precision, both as to the certaintj of its facts, and the verified exactness of its laws: — a certainty and exactness open to the test of repeated examination, and invariably with the same imfailing result; — it will follow that no professed revelation, really contradictory to these facts and laws, can be for a moment entertained. It will not follow, as in parellel cases I have before observed, that every volume not at variance with physical truth, is of divine authority; for all truth is not divinely communi- cated truth. But such a want of harmony as I am speaking of must be imiversally admitted as fatal to any pretensions of a superhuman origin. If it do not lay the deity open to the charge of ignorance concerning his own works, this consequence can only be evaded by the still more untenable, because even more blasphemous imputation, of needless deception, and wilful untruth. It might, indeed, have pleased God to reveal all the hidden mysteries that are comprised in every branch of knowledge. The discoveries of the last few years might have been anticipated by an hundred ages: the recently deve* loped properties of steam, and its applicability to the use of man; the marvellous combinations and decompositions of matter that chemistry has brought to light, not only for curiosity to gape at, but for purposes of the most extensive usefulness, as well in other respects, as in medicine, by ^vllich, perhaps, it most nearly touches the dearest interests of all; all this, aud a much else that it has taken the world six thousand years to learn, and that by a slow and painful process, as yet but in its very infancy, might have been at once put on a basis as convincing as that whereon it now rests; and an infinity of curious, interesting, and useful information might have been added, in elucidation of mys- teries, which, with all its persevering toil, we may almost venture to say, the accumulated wisdom of the world will never unravel. Our God might have disclosed the wondroug mechanism by which the heavenly bodies are made to roll on in their unerring courses. He might have solved the many interesting queries that still occupy the attention of 204 TRUTH OF THE CHRISTIAN STORY. I_PART. I. the philosopher, and puzzle and check him in his career of discovery. The nature and laws of magnetic injQuence; the constitution of the globe we dwell in; the mysterious pro- perties that regulate the growth of plants, and the still more mysterious principle of life by which the animal frame is pre- served from the putrefaction it must undergo so soon as this is withdrawn ; the combination of the component elements of the body; the nature of the soul; the conditions on which the connection of the two depends; and all the many physiologi- cal difficulties, which these and a hundred other questions in- volve, would have formed themes eminently calculated to command the eager admiration of listening crowds, who are even now facinated by w hat too often can deserve no better name than idle and empty speculation. There is nothing impossible in the supposition that such a revelation might be given, though much might be urged to show that it is unlike- ly; because there cannot be a question that it is unnecessary. The skill bestowed on man amply suffices to secure for him all the conveniencies of life, and all the knowledge of the material w orld that his comfort and happiness require. Modem discoveryhas undo abtedly enlarged the stintedmea- gemess of ancient scientific knowledge to an extent of which the powers of language can scarcely convey a just idea; and modern invention has multiplied the resources of art, the instruments of science, and the conveniences of every day life, in a degree no less unbounded. Yet after all, it may be questioned how far this has enhanced the real happiness of man; for it must be remembered that wants are always multiplied in proportion to conveniences; and happiness is not incompatible with a very scanty measure of external means. But be this as it may, it is certain that spiritual knowledge, and spiritual peace, are entirely inde- pendent of these; and the proper and legitimate object of a revelation is, to make known the secrets of the unseen world, and provide for the wants of the soul. It need not therefore intermeddle with the laws that govern the material creation, or its capabilities in subservience to the uses of mankind, any more than it does with the general history of the world. The assertion that it has so interfered will not be light- ly hazarded by any one who reflects that a system of 5cience put on the authority of a divine communication, CHAP, v.] TRUTH OF THE CHRISTIAN STORY. 205 must "be unexceptionable in every point; for if not, it forms an appendage to religious doctrines, which, when thus exalted, furnishes an extra purchase for the demolition of the whole. The writers of our Scriptures have not dared to assume the responsibility thus incurred. It was beside their purpose; and even the contributions which any of them may have made to natural philosophy, — for it is recorded that one of them, Solomon, spake of trees, of beasts, and of fowls, and of creeping things, and of fishes, (1 Kings iv. 33.) — have not been preserved, as being uninspired. No advance, therefore, in the knowledge of the material world, no fresh demonstration of natural truths hitherto concealed from the eyes of men, can affect our books. The omission of such truths does not derogate from the respect they claim, nor can any theory contradict a system they do not give; the only thing we have to ascertain is, whether their casual allusions to natural phenomena be consistent with facts and laws now proved to be correct. I have only to preface the examples to he adduced by a single remark; and this will account for all that may be urgedfromour sacred books as apparently inconsistent with the truths of nature. The Christian Scriptures, being de- signed to convey no lessons in science, employ no scientific language. DeaUng with men in general, they use popular expressions, and speak as the men of their time spake of common things. To see the reasonableness of this we have only to reflect how great would be the confusion introduced into society, were every educated man, in the ordinary inter- course of life, to use strictly scientific language; — and that not simply in circles where liis attainments may have placed him inatlvance of his associates, but even among his equals. Sup- pose the astronomer to discard the conventional phaseology which makes a planet retrograde, or assigns precession to the equinoctial point ; or in more ordinary matters, suppose he scruple to sanction, even by implication, the notion of a, new moon, or the rising and setting of the heavenly bodies; suppose the chemist always on the alert to contest the pro- priety of designating any thing as positively cold, because he knows it has not parted with all its latent heat; or the anatomist to meet the agonizing groans of a broken heart, hy coldly intimating that no rupture of the organ in ques- tion can have taken place, while life remains; would not T 206 TRUTH OP THE CHRISTIAN STORY. QPART. I. such fastidious punctilioes be universally and deservedly re- probated as pedantic affectation; and a wanton and danger- ous eftbrt to intermeddle with, and subvert the established usages of language ? All attainable exactness in the use of terms will be cultivated by the intelligent writer; but he will often find that to be understood he must speak of things as they appear, rather than as they are : and, in ge- neral, the most perfect rule he can lay down for his guidance will be that which Augustine applied to the description of the creation as given by Moses, and which may, with ad- mirable propriety, be accommodated to every branch of scientific inquiry; — to employ such language that they who are not competent to understand the processes of science, shall not reject his statements as exceeding their capacity ; while the words made use of shall, so far as they go, con- tain in them a real consistency with every present or fu- ture discovery in the natural world. There is little or nothing in the New Testament that bears upon the subject before us. I have deferred the consideration of questions connected with the Old to a future chapter; but I may here borrow an illustration or two from its pages. A cavil has been raised against the miracle wrought at the word of Joshua, when the sun and moon are said to have stood still, (Josh. x. 12.), whereas the former is motionless, at least relatively to the earth; and though the latter moves round the eartb, her apparent diurnal motion is in reality owing to the earth's rotation on its axis. We need not stay to discuss the precise man- ner in which a miraculous appearance was brought about; but it is a pitiful subterfuge to cavil at the language in which it is recorded. The appearance is manifestly all that the historian refers to : he himself was, in all probability profoundly ignorant of the natural or supernatural ma- chinery by which it was brought about, nor could it have tended to edification, but rather the contrary, had a scientific description been substituted for that he has employed. Nearly similar arc the descriptions of David, when he says that Jehovah "hath founded the earth upon the seas, and establishedituponthefloods:"(Ps.xxiv. 2.), and that he "laid the foundations of the earth, that it should not be removed for ever," (Ps. civ. 5.). These passages, be it remembered, are poetical ; and poetry, eastern poetry especially, loves to CHAP, v.] TRUTH OF THE CHRISTIAN STORY. 207 indulge in imagery. We have but to gaze upon some work of art, or lofty sea girt island, whose base is concealed by the waters that surround it, and we may readily conceive how, without violence to the legitimate restraints of poetic license, the mass might be spoken of as founded on the waters: transfer this notion to some bold rocky shore, rising abruptly from the deep, and it is easy to see whence the idea might have been borrowed, that a continent, and the earth in general, "standing out of the water and in the water," (2 Pet. iii 5.) is founded on the floods. There is nothing in our Scriptures more difficult to re- concile with the real nature of things than these passages. There have, indeed, been questions raised as to the compa- tibility of the Mosaic account of the creation with recent discoveries in geology. I am not disposed to object that the principlesof that science have not yet been fixed with that absolute certainty which attaches itself to kindred branches of knowledge; but I think that its advocates have suggested considerations by which all contrariety may be satisfactorily moved: and even were geological facts incontrovertibly proved, and no probable mode suggested of reconciling them with the few words of Moses with which they have been supposed to clash ; I affirm that this single dithculty ought not to affect the estimation due to a volume so fully sub- stantiated on every other point. "We are rather bound to infer that, as it is impossible for the two books of God to contradict each other, the discrepancy can be but a seem- ing one ; that the error lies in our interpretation of the •written word; — and that a true solution may be discovered by and bye. But there are in the Scriptures statements as to natural facts that do singularly fall in with the known truth. That Job, whether or not he were acquainted with its globular form, says that God "hangeth the earth upon nothing:" (ch. xxvi. 70 «i phraseology that could not be amended by a modem astronomer, describing its actual suspension in its orbit round the sun. Again it is a de- monstrable proposition that a globular body, rapidly whirled about its axis, from the additional centrifugal force in action near its equator, has a tendency to assume a sphe- roidal shape, that is, to swell out towards its equator, and become flattened at its poles; and if the parts of which t2 208 TRUTH OP THE CHRISTIAN STORY. []PART. I. It is composed be free to move among themselves, it v/ill assume this form. Now Moses represents the earth as being originally in a fluid state : "darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters." (Gen. i. 2,). The resources of modern skill and science have devised the means, and successfully exe- cuted the task, of actually measuring the surface of the globe. The laborious methods employed will be found popularly explained in Herschell's Astronomy, or Mrs. Somerville's Connexion of the Physical Sciences; and the result is that the equatorial diameter is found to exceed the polar by nearly twenty-six and a half miles; that is, the earth actu- ally has the figure which it ought to have, if once covered with a fluid mass, meeting with no obstruction to its natural tendencies from solid bodies, and left freely to adjust its form, according to the demonstrated laws of gravitating fluid substances, revolving about a determined axis. Moses probably wrote with no personal knowledge of a theory discovered within the last two hundred years; and his ac- curacy, so far as it is confirmed by that theory, and actual experiment, must be set dovvm as an undesigned coincidence between the books of nature and of revelation. It only remains to remark on the dilemma into which the founders or defenders of other systems have brought them- selves by intermingling philosophy with religion, that is, by incorporating it with what they are bound to revere as un- changing truth. The Christian need be under no appre- hension if called on to admit that the prophets and apostles were far more ignorant of the elements of natural science, than were the compilers of the systems which eastern nations have engrafted on their religious faith. The ignorance of the former has been a safeguard, to screen them from the possi- bility of errors into which the latter have been betrayed. The wise have, indeed, been taken in their own craftiness; and their cunning is turned to their own confusion. It will not be possible for me to enter upon this subject at length. But there is not a Hindu, a Parsee, or a Mahometan into whose hands these pages are likely to fall, who does not know that the whole scheme of astronomy, geography, chemistry, anatomy, medicine, in short not only the theory of every science, but the practice of almost every art, as taught by Europeans, is diametrically opposed to what their shastras teach. It rf> CHAP, v.] TRUTH OF THE CHRISTIAN STORY. 209 not that a mere difference of opinion exists on a few mi- nor points; first principles clash, and so essentially clash, that one system or the other must be untenable. The establishment of either necessarily demolishes its opposite: truth cannot entertain the two. There need be nothing said in disparagement of the ingenuity displayed by eastern speculators. Many of their conjectures may be such as no one, in the age that produced* them, need blush to have originated. Before the days of Galileo and Bacon, Europe could furnish no better; and if there be some that ought to be excepted from the commendation just pronounced, we might find it hard to deny that conjectural theories, equally childish and absurd, were once current in our own but recently enlightened land. But in comparing ancient hypo- thesis with what Europe now maintains, it must be pressed upon the attention of all, that the main characteristic of Western science is, that it discards speculation^ and bases it theories on the sure ground of reiterated experiment. Improvements in manual labour have produced instruments of the most astonishing accuracy; and as growing experience finds new wants, growing skill devises new combinations, and dexterity of workmanship keeps pace with both. The result is, that space can be measured, whether celestial, or on the globe we inhabit, weights can be ascertained, the most unwieldy and the minutest objects examined and compared, and experiments of every kind can be conducted, with a nicety that almost exceeds belief. Astronomical changes can be calculated with infallible precision; and for any length of time, either forwards, or backwards. The precise position of a vessel on the trackless ocean, or of a spot on the earth's surface, can be ascertained. We can deter- mine the exact instant of apparent, or sidereal, or meantime of any phenomenon; and setting aside mere accidental errors of computation, which of course have nothing to do with the correctness ofthe formula? employed, the calculation will in every case lead to results that maybe thoroughly depended on. So in other sciences, the same results are found invariably to follow frova the same combinations. The trial may be made in a thousand varied forms, and repeated tens of thou- sands of t\mes, yet the effect is ever the same. These in- varia>)le results follow naturally from certain specific laws, which have been deduced from laying together a vast number T 3 210 TRUTH OP THE CHRISTIAN STORY. [[PART. L of particular cases. Like the key that fits the multifarious wards of a complicated lock, the laws thus discovered are found to unravel every difficulty to which, from the nature of the case, they are appicable; and on these grounds they are received as the key ; the very constituted laws by which nature carries on her operations. We do not pretend that the laws at present known can be pressed to interpret every mystery. We still gaze with wondering interest on much we cannot explain. But so far as they do go, we are con- fident they are sound; and inasmuch as they do not de- pend on naked reasoning; but on reasoning built on facts open to the comprehension of every one; the same convic- tion that satisfies the European, may be arrived at by any who will pursue the investigation for themselves. This is not the place to vindicate the principles of western science, or detail the observations and experiments by which they are established; but copious provision has been made for the instruction of the native population of India on the subject, and means of information are plentifully accessible to those whether to the more learned and influential, or of humbler rank. Let them enter on its investigation with minds fair- ly open to conviction, and they cannot fail to be satisfied of the inability of their own intricate systems to account for the phenomena exhibited, as they exist in nature, or as they are exhibited by artificial means; nor will they be less per- suaded of the beautiful simplicity and full sufficiency of ours. It is not necessary, however, in every case to have recourse to nicer and more laborious experiments. The occasions are but too numerous where the appeal need be carried before no higher tribunal than that of common sense and every day experience. The Zoroastian, for example, must have been driven to his very wit's end, when his reverence for the sacred elements shrunk from the impious thought that the holy flame, or the all purifying water could kill; and experience could not get over the stubborn fact, that the scorched and scalded sufferer often perishes in, or from the eficct of fire, and that the drowning man is suffocated be- neath the closing wave. Who but the Parsee would be sa- tisfied with the explanation that it is not the water that kills, nay, that it actually raises him in an attempt to save, but that one devil binds up his breath, and another carries OHAP. v.] TRUTH OP THE CHRISTIAN STORY. 211 him oif ? Is even the worshipper of Hormazd himself sa- tisfied? And if he be, will he explain how it is that water, so specific a charm against the wandering spirits of unclean- ness, that mere ablution can chase them from the crown of the head, through every member, till their final expulsion be effected from under the toes of the left foot, should itself so swarm with evil spirits, or be so universally pervaded by one or two, that no luckless wight can light upon a single spot of six feet by two, and of a depth varying according to his height, without encountering more than his match, so that when immersed in an ocean, he is carried off by foes to whom he might have bid defiance with a bucket by his side? If the Zandavasta have descended from the dignified position a revelation should assume, by inculcating homely maxims of cleanliness, agriculture, and such like matters that needed no revelation to impress them on the common sense of man, ready as he mostly is to consult his own profit and conve- nience, and quick in perceiving how these may be secured, how much further has it debased itself by absurdities such as that above alluded to; or, to take another at random from the many exposed in Dr. Wilson's excellent volume, by making it a part of a heavenly message, that deep holes displease the earth, whether dug by men, or thrown out by vermin, because, forsooth, they open so many doors whence the devils rush out from hell. Whence is it that, if the sub- terranean abode of evil spirits be so near the surface, that a sorry mouse, whose humble burrow does not exceed a dozen paltry inches, can penetrate its recesses, we do not, in our deepest wells and mines, meet with more unequivocal traces of their habitation; and how is it that water, the great source of purity, and these hated sons of Ahriman, issue forth from one and the same cavity? "Doth a fountain send forth, at the same place, sweet and bitter?" (Jam. iii. 11.) But enough of this. Let us ask Mahometans whether modem voyagers have discovered their sea of black mud, or any other sea, into which the sun sets, in any other sense than as from Bombay he may appear to set into the Indian Ocean, from Mecca into the Red Sea, from Gibraltar into the Atlantic, or from Valparaiso into the Pacific ; from each of which he may appear to rise to the countries whose eastern horizons are severally bounded by these seas. But of all that have hampered their religion with gratuitoi/U 212 TRUTH OP THE CHRISTIAN STORY. [PART. 1. Scientific dogmas, none have exceeded the ingenuity of the Hindu in weaving complicated difficulties. To pass' by the mistake of placing the earth in the centre of the solar system, and the glaring absurdities of its seas of milk, of curds, of butter, or sugar-cane juice, and its mountains whose fabled height many times exceeds its actual circumference, the popular legend concerning eclipses may be referred to, as one out of the many instances where the learned among the Hindus themselves have felt their position a delicate one, from faith and fact being found at variance. Hindu astronomy, when tested by that of Europe, will stand c6n- victed of a thousand wild and extravagant fancies, yet many of their astronomical works are acknowledged to be "splen- did monuments of the highest powers of intellect." The author of the Surya-siddhanta, and others after him, have correctly described the earth as a globe, self-balanced in infinite space; and taught that eclipses are caused by the interposition of the moon between the earth and sun, or the earth between the sun and moon, as these revolve around the earth; — a theory approximating to the truth, rational, and such as to bring the phenomena within the means of com- putation. But what then becomes of Rahoo, whose abortive efforts to seize and swallow the sun or moon, have procured for him a name that commemorates his constant failure, in that he is always constrained to forego his grasp? And if the puranas do not go so far as to countenance the vulgar notion that Rahoo actually swallows and vomits up these luminaries, they furnish the ground for it by teaching that on certain occasions Rahoo approaches them, and makes them unclean, so that their bodies then become black. The learned in the Jyotish shastra, (on astronomy,) as devout Hindus, may not dispute the authority of the vedas or puranas, but they are sorely puzzled to reconcile or apologize for discrepancies with fact, to clear up which would call for tact far exceeding that needed to penetrate the most com- plicated and hidden secrets of the natural world. Some have stopped short with the wary observation that certain absurdities "might have been so formerly, and may be so still; but for astronomical purposes, astronomical rules must be followed :" others have assumed a bolder front, and attacked and refuted unphilosophical assertions; and others have fallen back on that last resource of fabulous mythologists. CHAP. V.^ TRUTH OF THE CHRISTIAN STORY. 213 and explain away the narrative by giving it an allegorical meaniiif^, more consistent with reason and common sense. Something may, indeed, be fairly laid to the account of over strained pei-souification, and the flowery exuberance of imagery, which eastern poetry, more than any other, so unrestrainedly revels in. But metaphor has its limits, and if it trangress these, a pleasing ornament degenerates into sheer nonsense. Allegory, again, using the term in its most comprehensive meaning, is restricted in its application by the object its employment has in view. A real history may be in- tended to conceal some undeveloped truth. Such was the story of Sarah and Ilagar, (Gal. iv. 24 — 31 .) and many others in our Scriptures. In this case the mystery may be long before it is unfolded, but meanwhile the history stands as a useful record of the past. But those who advocate this mode of interpreting the shastras, do it to evade the contradictions encountered by admitting the reality of the history. If then, they be allegories, they must be fictitious tales; — fables, or parables, designed to convey some moral, or, if you will, some philosophical truth. But how can the pure essence of divine truth be taught by stringing together incongruous and unconnected absurdities? Can morality be inculcated by narratives luxuriating in the grossest li- centiousness? Can philosophy be made familiar to the Tininstructed by monstrous violations of probability? Is not this rather to shut out the real landscape by interpos- ing a gaudy, but falsely coloured picture before the eyes of the inexperienced; to amuse and allure with a gilded bauble, lest they grasp at the gold? The learned will not surely dare to avow that their object is to blind; but it were not liard to show, such must be the inevitable effect. If the design of parable be to instruct by illustrating important, but absti\ise doctrines in an easy pleasing way, when the al- legory is so wrought as to veil its prototype, in a disguise that distorts and disfigures, rather than conceals; and when its narrative is so drawn as to be readily mistaken for a real or fictitious, but independent tale, its object is manifestly defeated ; it may beguile a weary hour, but, far from in- structing, its tendency is to lead astray. That the Hindu mythoio^ is not regarded by the mass of the uninstructed as figurative, and that the utmost difficulty is experienced in making its distorted members, even tolerably fall in 214 TRUTH OF THE CHRISTIAN STORY. |[PART. I. with tlieir own ideas of well proportioned truth, is too no- torious to need a proof. A fitter place will occur hereafter to revert to this subject in connexion with moral truth ; but with reference to physical truth, the Hindu has to master a two-fold difficulty; he must reconcile the veda and puranas with his own astronomical shastras; and if he can um-avel, or sever this entangled skein, he has still to grapple with a task an intellectual Hercules would shrink from, and reconcile these shastras themselves with observed facts. He has to combat almost every position assumed by Euro- peans in every science, nor can he prove his own system true except by disproving theirs. This done, he gains but a step, for it is only removing a single presumption against his religious faith: till it be done, the professing revelation that is debased by the needless excrescence of an erroneous science, can never be admitted as the word of an omniscient God. The want of external testimony ; the scanty reference, or en- tire absence of reference, to external history; the progressive change of external rites; the cultivation of highly coloured imagery; and the employment of popular phraseology on scientific topics ; have been admitted as by no means neces- sarily incompatible with a revelation. But real contradictions to established facts, whether of history or science ; capricious changes; offences against internal consistency, common sense, and legitimate reasoning; (for I do not here insist on offences against the dignity of the mighty and all glorious God, or against his ineffable holiness and purity;) in short any thing not exhibiting that perfect congruity with truth in all its varied forms which cannot be severed from our notions of a God of truth, does at once, and by the sternest and most unbending necessity, not only shake, but utterly demolish every pretension to an authorship more trustworthy than that of man. The systems, then, with regard to which these capital offences against the law of truth have been substantiated, are not simply distanced in the race, but have fallen in their career. The brief remarks which the narrow compass of these few pages have permitted me to devote to this portion of my subject, ought alone to be sufficient to convict the systems I have commented on of fatal error. But if further depositions be required, the libraries of every institution in India, and the intelligence of every oriental scholar, will amply supply GHAP. v.] TRUTH OP THE CHRISTIAN STORY. 215 tlie deficiency; and I tnist enough has been said to show, that whether of earth, or from above, our Scriptures carry with them every outward and inward mark of undeviating truth. Supported by the strongest external evidence, direct, corro- boratory, and circumstantial, they are consistent with reason, science, and themselves. To these most cogent arguments we have only now to add that deducible from the circum- stances of the authors of these books, and of the promulgation of their story. SECT. III. The CIRCUMSTANCES OF THE AUTHORS OF OUR BOOKS, AND OF THE PROMULGATION OF THEIR STORY, A PROOF OF TRUTH. I Miraculous naiure of the Christian story. — //.9 wit7iesses competent to judge of its miracles. — Their honesty. — (1) They appealed to their miracles. — The publicity of their accounts. — The opposition of the Jewish nation arising from — their having crucified Jesus; — the disappointment of their expectations of a Messiah; — the alterations in the Mosaic code; — the admission of the Gentiles; — the announcements of the destruction of Jerusalem. — The opjwsition to be expected from the Gentiles. — The con- trariety of the morality of the gospel to the natural incli- nations of thejiesh. — (2) 'The pers(mal disinterestedness of the apo.stles : — as to wealth ; — ambition ; — suffering.^ Conclusion. A turning point has now at length been gained, whence - varied aspect is given to the scene, and its leading object is now no longer the same that it was before. I now give prominence toa particular which, to great extent, has hitherto been purposely withdrawn from view, but now invites our chief attention, and confronts us in all the fulness of outline that distinguishes the principal figure of our foreground. The general and minute correctness of the Christian writers in their notice of events of an ordinary stamp, has hitherto 21(5 TRUTH OP THE CHRISTIAN STORY. LpART. 1. commanded an almost exclusive attentioli; broken only by an occasional and accidental glimpse of the ultimate object of our research. But the narrative of the New Testament is replete with the marvellous. It is essentially a miraculous story. However deep the impress of truth borne upon its pages in the broad outline or more finished minutiae of or- dinary facts, this can avail us nothingin furtherance of the real object which the volume we are examining is alleged to ful- fil, if the extraordinary portion of its tale can be proved a fic- tion. No revelation can be contaminated by an admixture of falsehood; (v. p. 150,) if the Christian miracles were never WTOUght, Christianity, it is confessed, must be given up as a blasphemous imposture, notwithstanding the many com- mendations it might merit on other grounds. The full esta- blishment of their credibility is, therefore, a matter of the very highest consequence; and I beg the reader, throughout this section, steadily to bear in mind, that it is more especially with reference to them that the considerations about to be offered have been arranged. I endeavoured to show, at a very early stage of my argument, that no antecedent im- probability is so great, that it may not be overcome by competent evidence, (pp. 8 — 10.) The degree of improba- bility, it is there admitted, may be a just measure of the quality and quantity of evidence required, but can never be such that no evidence can surmount it. If a passing stranger tell me that he encountered heavy storms of wind and rain, in travelling along the western provinces of India, on a given day in the month of July, that is, during the height of the south-west monsoon, I should not think it worth my while to institute any further inquiry. The thing is so likely, that no great confidence in the veracity of my imformant would be required, in all ordinary cases, to satisfy me of its credibility. As little would be needed to substanti- ate the fact of a hard frost in London, on a given day of January, or of oppressively sultry weather at Madras in June. But were I told that men and carriages had crossed over the frozen surface of the Hoogly, even at the coldest season; that the fields around Delhi or Agra had been white with snow, or that the midday sun had beamed perpendi- cularly on the astonished denizens of Edinburgh, my first feeling most unquestionably would be one of incredulity, perhaps of incredulity so confirmed, that I might not think CHAP, v.] TRUTH OF THE CHRISTIAN STORY. 217 the report deserving of more notice than a comtemptuoug sneer. Yet if, on further reflection, it appeared that my informant was a man of probity and solid sense; one not likely to be imposed on by juggling tricks; one whose intellects were unimpaired, whose principles I was sure would lead him to abhor a lie, and whose gravity would set him above the suspicion of a senseless joke; — if, more- over, he mentioned a variety of corroborating circumstances, which I knew to be true, and notwithstanding all the jeer- ing ridicule to which the strangeness of his assertion would expose him, still persisted seriously to maintain his point; — if, at the same time, he had obviously nothing to gain by an interested obstinacy, and I could observe a decided, yet sober, willingness to stake, not only his character, but his all upon the truth of the assertion, my incredulity could not but be shaken, and I should, at least, be induced to prosecute the investigation a little further, and see if there existed foundations for a more confirmed belief. A concurrence of testimony from a number of individuals equally credible and disinterested, ought, I think, to produce conviction, even in the extreme cases I have supposed. I am not speaking here of the necessity of a divine interposi- tion to bring about these unnatural occurrences, or of the sufficiency of the occasion calling for such interposition; I am now only concerned with them as palpable effects, ir- respective of known or conjectured causes. That such phenomena, were they to happen, are capable of becoming the subject of testimony is self-evident; the only question would be, as to the sufficiency of the evidence to justify a free and full assent to its accuracy and truth. The considerations that have been already advanced in support of the veracity of our books ought, in all fairness, to bear them out in every particular. The reputation fcr undeviating accuracy maintained with so unblemished a consistency under the multifarious tests to which in the progress of a lengthened and diversified investigation it has been subjected, ought to satisfy us that the same scrupulous fidelity will attach itself to every incident they have recorded. Men that could interweave with their narrative the copious allusions to history, jurisprudence, manners and customs, yvhkh run through the whole series of the New Testament writers, so skilfully that no one of them is incorrect, or out V 218 tRUTH OF THE CHRISTIAN STORY. [^PART. I of place; and so unostentatiously that not one can be named that does not arise naturally and simply out of the context; were surely not deficient of observation, or devoid of ability to handle any subject they might have occasion to speak of, if not with elegance, at least with exactness and precision. And again, men who could dispose, with the most undevi- ating harmony, the complicated materials of their own peculiar subject, so that to account for their marvellous consistency on any other supposition than that of actual truth, would be ascribing to them a degree of forethought and skill, surpassing the acknowledged powers of the human mind, and thus making them authors of a miracle harder to be accounted for than any they relate; — men, I say, who could Avrite thus, may surely claim a reputation for simple honesty, closeness of penetration, and accuracy of de- scription, which should put them above suspicion of even un- designed departure from the truth. If they are free from error when launching on the troubled sea of Jewish politics, or grappling with the hazardous juxtaposition of a concise narrative, and a lengthened series of contemporary corres- pondence; they may surely be trusted when dealing with a far simpler matter, the sudden restoration of the sick to health, of the maimed to their corporeal integrity, or of the dead to life. But there is no need to fall back upon the case already made out. Such is the rich abundance ofargument in sup- port of every division of our subject, that many a convinc- ing, train of reasoning may be set aside, not as feeble or insufficient, but to make way for one even more forcible and complete. Assuming then the general truth of the Christian story, as substantiated to the full ; and taking the surprising accuracy with which w^e have demonstrated that it is drawn up, as ample security for the intellectual capa- city of its authors, to an extent far beyond what the neces- sities of the case would absolutely demand, I proceed to point out the irrefragable proofs to be deduced from consi- derations arising out of their peculiar circumstances, in further support of their honesty, and the consequent vali- lity of their testimony, to the full extent of every miracle they relate. They were not drunken, as the scoffing Jews pretended of the first preachers of the infant church, (Acts ji. 13 — 15); and as the compiler of the Zartusht-Namah CHAP. V.^ TRUTH OP THE CHRISTIAN STORY. 219 confesses he was, on the intermediate day between the two he devoted to his hasty work; nor were they mad, as the Jews said of Jesus, (Jolin. x. 20), and Festus of Paul; (Acts xxvi. 24.) for setting aside the simple dignity and wisdom of their whole demeanour, and of the doctrine they taught, intoxication or madness never did, and never can, "speak forth the words of truth and soberness," in the manner, and to the extent we have found them speak- ing. The very cunning requisite to fabricate the Chris- tian scheme, where its fabrication possible, would alone secure its authors from such imposition as could palm off the Christian miracles as realities, had they been unreal. If we can clear our writers from the imputation of a design to mislead, we may depend upon it they were not the men to be themselves deceived. I shall not, therefore, here enlarge upon a remark in a former chapter, (pp. 19, 20, 34.), to the effect that the Christian miracles were, for the most part, such as to bring them within the apprehension of the ordinary outward senses of those that saw them. This subject will call for a more extended elucidation, when we come to speak of miracles as the proof of a revelation. For the present indeed, it is enough that the appearances^ as described, were such as might be conveyed to the mind by the usual channels of sensation, and of which, therefore, the language of man is competent to convey a definitive idea ; so that a spectator may transfer to others the perception his own mind has entertained. Whether or no these appearances \rere legitimate miracles, in the received acceptation of that term, shall be discussed hereafter. That they were believed to be such needs no lengthened proof. Let one speak for all ; and Peter shall stand forward, as he did, when on the day of Pentecost he described, to a Jewish auditory, "Jesus of Nazareth," as "a man approved of God among them by miracles and wonders and signs, which God did by him." And the sentence runs on in words that may suggest a first argument in support of the actual occurrence of the miracles themselves. These were done he adds: — "in the midst of you, as ye yourselves also know." (Acts ii. 22.) ( 1 ) First, then, the apostles freely appealed to their own miracles, and to those of Jesus in their addresses, whether to friends or foes. "Truly the signs of an apostle were wrought 2u 220 TRUTH OF THE CHRISTIAN STORY. f PART. I. among you in all patience, in signs, and wonders, and mighty d^eds:" (2 Cor. xii. 12.) says St. Paul to the Corinthians. "Would Peter, we may ask, have jeoparded the feeble infancy of a yet unformed association, just struggling into life, and scarcely an hour old, by recklessly cradling it upon a lie? — ■ and not a cautious, well concocted lie; but one whose very ut- terance would have been suicidal. For had not his assertion been based on truth, his auditory would not simply have known nothing of the matter, but must have known that the things alluded to Avere not done in the midst of them, or with their certain knowledge. Again, there were con- tentions among the believers of Corinth ; false teachers had brought them into bondage, and were seeking to supplant the apostle in their confidence and affections. The greater part of both epistles to the Corinthians have a reference to these disorders; and the latter three or four chapters, more especially, of the second epistle, from one of which the foregoing extract is made, bear almost exclusively on the comparative claims possessed by the writer, and these dan- gerous innovators, on the confidence of the distracted church. Is it credible that St. Paul, on the eve of a second visit, would have hedged up his own way, put his faithful ad- herents to the blush, and wan^^only flung an easy victory into the hands of a scoffing foe, by pretending to powers he had never exhibited or possessed ; or by boasting, a little further on, (ch. xiii. 2, 3, 10.) of powers he knew he could not exer- cise; that is, by giving the lie to his assertions, in a state- ment of past incidents which were known not to have occur- red; and crowning this enormous folly by preparing a fresh triumph for his enemies, the moment he appeared among them ? Truly in this case^ "his presence were weak, and his speech contemptible;" and his "letters" neither "weighty nor powerful." (ch. x. 10.) If these epistles have not been corrupted, the facts appealed to must have occurred. But what will it avail to insinuate the possible interpolation of a single passage, while so many hundreds of a similar kind remain? The whole Christian system, I repeat, is so based on miracles, and they are so prominently appealed to, that if these be dissevered from its story its integrity is gone. But we have traced it, as it now stands, up to the age of its first appearance ; and all the legitimate deductions from its publicity in that age must be allowed. CHAP, v.] TRUTH OP THE CHRISTIAN STORY. 221 The degree of publicity it attained is an important item of inquiry. The spirit of Christianity is not exclusive, like that of brahman ism; nor close and retiring like that of the Grecian philosophy. So far from denying admission, even to its highest offices, to proselytes from other creeds, it is not content with declaring its willingness to receive with open arms every candidate for a resting place within its bosom; with all the earaestness inspired by a conviction, that in it alone a refuge has been provided for a perishing world, it affectionately urges all of every rank, nation, and religion, to examine its credentials, and hurry to seek a shelter within its pale. Its open portals invite an entrance, and its messengers run to and fro to fill its courts with welcome guests. There is no double set of doctrines for the uninitiated, and the more ripened scholar; there may be a gradual developeraent of its mysteries, milk for babes, and meat for the strong, (1 Cor. iii. 2.); but in genuine Christianity there is no reserve. Its most important prin- ciples are the first, and not the last, to be set forth. "I delivered unto you first of all" says the apostle, "that Christ died for our sins." (1 Cor. xv. 3.) Wherever the apostles went, it was not to gather around them in a secret comer a few select disciples, but in the synagogues and places of public resort, in the courts of justice, and before rulers and kings, they enforced the broad principles of their teaching by arguments, and by miracles. The leading features of the Gospel were thus obtrusively forced upon the attention of masses; and when their books began to circulate, and their letters came to be read, a hundred thousand voices must have been raised in contradiction of the facts asserted, had they not been true. "This doctrine was never preached in our city;" "that miracle was never wrought among us:" must have been the exclamation of every reader; — except, indeed, that readers would have been but few, for the books must soon have been neglected and forgotten. But what is the real state of the case ? No single remnant of anti- quity breathes a whisper in derogation of the authenticity of our accounts ; enemies ground their arguments against them on the admitted truth of the facts related; and large multitudes believed in them, and, as I shall have to no- tice presently, laid down their lives in consequence of their faith. 3u 222 TRUTH OP THE CHRISTIAN STORY, QpART. Ir But was it not indiflPerence that let these statements pass uncontradicted ? I might reply, that no amount of indif- ference can account for so strange a neglect. But it will be better to show that the men of that age were deeply inter- ested to demolish an innovation, against which every passion and prejudice were enlisted. Those who heard Peter's pente- costal sermon (p. 219) did not all embrace the Gospel; and beside the recusant believers of Corinth, there must have been others, still numbered among the idolaters, who could not have been ignorant of Paul's appeal, nor indisposed to league against the rising Church. The two apostles, whose words I have remarked upon, may be considered as the re- presentatives of their respective departments, the first as hav- ing had committed to him the Gospel of the circumcision ; the other that of the uncircumcision, (Gal. ii. 7-) > ^^^ i^ "^^^ not only at Corinth, but from Jerusalem, and round about unto Illyricum, that mighty signs and wonders had been wrought by him among the Gentiles. (Rom. xv. 19. Acts, XV. 12.). It will be convenient, then, to dispose my remarks under the two general heads suggested by the tenor of the commissions intrusted to these two seemingly main pillars of the church. (Gal. ii. 9.) The Jews will naturally come first in order; and it will be seen they were little likely to be friendly to the new religion. They had just "taken, and by wicked hands had crucified and slain," (Acts ii. 23.) its founder. The stain of blood was yet upon their garments, and the thirst for blood was yet burning in their hearts. There was at first some measure of caution in their proceedings, but the real malignity that lurked within, was not long disguised, and an occasion soon presented itself when all moderation was flung away, and an uncontrollable rage burst through all restraint. The betrayers and murderers of the Just One, were cut to the heart when their sin was faithfully charged upon them; and they gnashed on their accuser with their teeth, and crying out with a loud voice, stopped their ears, and ran upon him with one accord, and cast him out of the city, and stoned him. (Acts vii. 52 — 60.) Each fresh act of violence necessarily widened the breach. The havock made of the church by Saul, the death of James, and the imprisonment of Peter, the wrongs heaped on the now con- verted Paul, in Jerusalem, and wherever he met a Jewish CHAP. V.3 TRUTH OP THE CHRISTIAN STORY. 225 audience, all contributed to fan the already glowing flame. The nation had so committed itself that it was pledged to support its previous proceedings. On the other hand, how- ever mild and circumspect the demeanour of the Christians, in their intercourse with their angry countrymen, they were themselves necessitated, by the stern behest of paramount duty, to censure the heinous criminality of the national enmity against the "Holy one of God" (Mark i. 24) ; and delicate as was the topic, they could neither avoid nor extenuate it, without incurring the heavy guilt of faithless- ness to their masters cause. Nor does patient suffering, especially in religious conflicts, always disarm the oppressor; on the contrary, its tendency is to provoke him, in that he sees his efforts foiled; and the inveterate rancour that urges on to persecution, is too often fed, rather than glutted by the blood of its victims. Thus had the Jews embarked on a course from which there seemed no retreating; every struggle plunged them deeper in the stream; and they were hurried along more rapidly in its torrent. But this was not all. There were secret springs in ope- ration even more powerful than that hinted at above: springs that put in motion the first risings of hatred against the founder of the new faith ; and to which fresh accessions of strength accrued, when his schemes were more fully deve- loped by the proceedings of his disciples, so soon as in ac- cordance with instructions received from him, they began to execute their commission in the world. There is, indeed, no contrariety between the Mosaic and the Christian dis- pensations. At a future stage of our argument I shall take an opportunity to show that one predominating idea is pre- served throughout the entire Bible. There is real unity under apparent diversity; and the existing enmity that rankles in the heart of the Jew against the Christian, must not be construed as denoting either a real opposition between the two systems, or an implied perversion of the Mosaic ystem by the disciple of Jesus. Nor, on the other hand, is Christianity a mere oftset or variety of Judaism; the former is the main and perfect structure; and the latter stands to it somewhat in the light of a scaffold to the build- ing it is employed in rearing; or the patterns and models after which the permanent edifice is framed. It was the shadow of the approaching substance, (Heb. Tui. 5; ix. 23; 224 TRUTH OP THE CHRISTIAN STORY. [pART. X, X. 1.) and in this relationship alone, it is regarded and reverenced by the New Testament divine. When the substance appeared, this preparatory work was to be demo- lished, and cleared away; men were no longer to gaze on the portrait when its architype was before them; or dwell in the temporary tabernacle, when the solid mansion had been completed. But the Jews have perverted their own system, by clinging to the shadow when the substance has appeared; by continuing the scaffolding, when the building has been completed. Hence their enmity against those who teach that the glorious structure has been reared, and may be occupied; while they are waiting for the laying of the stone they have rejected, and still blindly refuse to see that it has taken its place as the head of the comer. (Matt, xxi. 42.) Judaism as understood and explained by Christ and his apostles, was in perfect harmony with the one grand conception that peers out through every page of our reve- lation; it is only as now held by its mistaken advocates, that it militates against a single Christian doctrine. It Avas necessary to point out this distinction, to guard against the error that might otherwise have arisen from what follows; for we have to speak of Judaism, not as taught by the Scriptures, fairly interpreted, but as perversely exhibited in the unhappy prejudices of a mistaken people. They were miserably disappointed men. Their expectations, it is true, were grounded on no certain warrant of their Scriptures, but on a sad misunderstanding of their meaning. They were looking for a great and glorious king, — their long promised Messiah ; and their anticipations, as we have seen, were shared by their gentile neighbours (p. 132). But in fastening their expectations on the many intimations of his surpassing glory and power, they had overlooked the no less clearly marked annunciations of his humility, suffer- ings, and death. Their hopes were, however, not the less overweening because hastily formed, and not duly based on the true interpretation of their charter. Their country had been long oppressed, and now groaned under the Roman yoke; their hearts were set upon a speedy and triumphant delivery ; and they fondly anticipated the political regenera- tion of their ancient monarchy in more than the meridian splendour of its pristine glory. The disciples of Jesus had drunk deeply of the prevailing error. They were free CHAP, v.] TRUTH OF THE CHRISTIAN STORY. 225 from the higoted unbelief which refused to admit that Jesus was their promised Messiah and King; but they "trusted that it had been he which should have redeemed Israel," (Luke xxiv. 21.); and so reluctant were they to part with the expectations they had formed, so tenaciously did they cling to the hope that he would yet give priority among the nations of the earth to the seed of Abraham, that the last question they pat to him was: "Lord, wilt thou at this time restore again the kingdom to Israel?" (Acts. i. 6.) Nor was it till after the day of Pentecost that they began to be persuaded that his kingdom was not of this world. (John xviii. 36.) The mistake, on the part of the disciples, which had been checked and controlled, and at length removed, remained uncorrected in the minds of the Jews; and they would necessarily measure the pretensions of Jesus by their own preconceived opinions. When, therefore, they were looking for the noble scion of a royal stock, how could they be predisposed in favour of the lowly offspring, as was generally supposed, (Luke. iii. 23.) of a poor mecha- nic; and the companion of fishermen? When they were on the alert to catch with eager ears the first note that might summon them to the field in insurrection against the hateful powers of Rome; how would they receive one who refused to be made a king, (Johnvi. 15.), and bade them give tribute to Caesar? (Matt. xxii. 17 — 21.) And when, so far from trampling on the necks of a prostrate enemy in his way to a resuscitated throne; they had seen him betrayed, and dragged away to an ignominious death, and ex- piring under circumstances of degrading insult and wanton cruelty, would they be favourably disposed to his lowly followers, who still persevered in reiterating their convic- tion of the stability of his claims as their expected Prince; and pertinaceously insisted on his resurrection from the dead, and open appearance, "not," indeed, "to all the people, but unto witnesses chosen before of God;" to whom "many infallible proofs," had been given that he had burst the bonds of death, and crowned a triumphant victory over the grave, by an actual corporeal exaltation to the right hand of God? (Acts x.41; i. 3— 10; ii. 24; vii. 55.) The ntrigues of a powerful clique, who weilded the destinies ot the nation, had compassed the death of the master. His disciple.*? taJce up the hateful cause, and embitter an unflinch- 226 TRUTH OF THE CHRISTIAN STORY. [^PART. I. ing charge of barefaced murder, by intimating that while they have denied to him whom they persecuted, the earthly honour becoming his dignified office, their very crime had supplied a cause, in virtue of which God had "highly exalt- ed him, and given him a name which is above every name: that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth; and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Clirist is Lord, to the glory of God the Father." (Phil, ii. 9—1 1.) Whatever conviction subsequent proofs might work upon the minds of a few, it is not in human nature to suppose, that the first impulses of a people whose long cherished expectations had been thus blighted ; whose crimes were thus pressed home, and whose devices had thus been foiled, could be other than opposed to the teaching of the apostles. There was a second cord, not less closely entwined about the heart of a Jew, than the hope of a speedy rescue from the thraldom of Rome. This was his paramount attach- ment to the Mosaic dispensation. How much of this might have been retained had all the house of Israel ac- quiesced in the acknowledgment of the Jesus, whom they had crucified, as their Lord and Christ; (Actsii. 36.) we have now no means of ascertaining. The repeal of the enactments of the ceremonial law, so far as concerned the Gentiles, was formal and absolute. The whole question was finally determined by a council at Jerusalem, assem- bled for this express purpose, at which many of the apostles assisted, and sentence was unanimously given that Gentile converts were free from the burden of the Mosaic law. (Acts. xv. 5 — 32.) But there was no need to legislate for a state of things that had not occurred, and would not occur for an unknown lapse of ages. The apostle, indeed, looked forward to the conversion of all Israel as an event as certain, as it will be joyous; (Rom. si. 12, 15^ 26.); but it was an event yet in futurity; no opportunity presented itself in their days for the settlement of the questi- ons as to the Mosaic code, that must arise out of it whenever it shall occur; nor has such settlement been called for up to the moment at which I write. We have, therefore, nothing more than inference to direct us in estimating the extent to which a change in their civil or religious institutions may require to be carried, when the anticipated conversion shall CHAP, v.] trtith: op the christian story. 227 take place. But that certain changes were contemplated by the founder of the new religion, as well as by his first followers, may be unequivocally made out. Hints of such a design may be traced in the authoritative language of Jesus. "Ye have heard that it was said by (or, more properly, to) them of old time. Thou shalt not kill, But I say unto you, That whosoever is angry with his brother without a cause shall be in danger of the judgment," (Matt. v. 21, 22). There is an evident contrast between the law of Moses; and the altered provisions of the Christian code introduced by Christ himself; and the chapter whence these words are taken furnish four other instances of a similar nature. The latitude of divorce permitted under the Mosaic statutes is curtailed by a nearly similar interposition of authority; "But (not, and,) I say unto you," — except that the empha- tic pronoun of the first person is not added in the Greek, as in the former examples ; (ch. xix. 8, 9.) — and the same as- sumption of legislative power is exhibited once more in the declaration that "the Son of man is Lord even of the sab- bath day." (Matt. xii. 8.) The innovations I refer to are not always in amplification of the spirit of the regulations to which they are appended. In some cases they extend or cut off the liberty before enjoyed, in others they amount to a repeal of previous enactments ; and in either case not only mark an intended change, but presuppose an authority equal, if not superior, to that by which existing institutions "vrere framed; — an authority that seems to be boldly claim- ed in the declaration of Jesus: "The law and the prophets Trere until John : since that time the kingdom of God is preached." (Luke xvi. 16.) The old system had fulfilled its office ; a part would be superceded by the completion of its types and prophecies ; and a part confiimed in the more spiritual code that was to replace it ; but the whole was to be remodelled and adapted to the requirements of the per- fected scheme. This contemplated abolition of much of the Mosaic law ia again intimated in no obscure terms in an epistle which claims the more attention, in that it is addressed to the Jews themselves ; I mean, the epistle to the Hebrews. The apostle makes no attempt to disguise the nationally un- ^■^f'lcome fact, that a '"^better covenant," "established on Iter promises," was to supplant the faulty covenant that 228 TRUTH OP THE CHRISTIAN STORY. LpART. I, had been made with their fathers ; and argues from the announcement of a new covenant, that the other must be de- cayed and waxen old, and therefore "ready to vanish away." (Heb. viii. 6, 7, 8, 13.) He sets down, (ch. viii. 1.) "the ordinances of divine service and a worldly sanctuary," as component parts of the first covenant ; seemly indicating that these were among the things to be done away ; but leaving this, and omitting a multitude of other passages, — such as that where St. Paul speaks of the ministration of condemnation, (so he designates the ceremonial law,) as "that which is (already) abolished;" (2 Cor. iii. 13.) — it is clear that, albeit the impression arose from a misconception of the true bearings of the Gospel scheme, the spirit of the teaching of Jesus and his apostles, as it concerned the Jewish nation, not to mention the decree of the Jerusalem synod respecting Gentile converts, did give ground for the suspicion so early entertained, of a design to "change the customs which Moses delivered them." (Acts vi. 14.) Now the veneration of the Jews for their law, it is notori- ous, is now, and, for more than two thousand years past, has been unbounded. The tenacity with which men universally cling to the customs of their fathers is too much a matter of every day experience to need more than a simple allusi- on to its power; but there were circumstances that tended to make it stronger in the bosom of the Jew than of a mem- ber of any other nation. The excellency of their law, the promised prosperity consequent on its strict observance, and the persuasion of its divine origin, were backed by the remembrance that their nation had once languished in a galling captivity for departing from its injunctions, and the hard learned lesson was not lost upon them. Josephus cites, at considerable length, the testimony of a heathen, Hecatae- us, in support of the respect which the Jews of Alexander's age entertained for their laws, beyond all other people; and notices his remark, that they deserve to be admired on that account. Even the believing Jews were "all jealous of the law:" their scruples had rendered the council of Jeru- salem necessary, and made James and the elders anxious for the peace of their charge, when Paul came among them. It was their opposition that caused Peter to stumble at An- tioch, and brought trouble on the churches in Galatia. (Acts XV. 1—5; xxi. 18—26; Gal. ii. 12; iii. 2; v. 2.) CHAP, v.] TRUTH OF THE CHKISTIAN STORY. 229 What wonder, then, if unbelieving Jews were enraged at the contempt which they fancied they saw heaped upon their venerated law? It is easy to account for the commotion that brought all the people together to drag Paul from the temple, and go about to kill him. (Acts xxi. 30, 31.) It is clear no favour could be looked for from minds thus prepossessed. But more is yet behind. The abolition of the ritual law, in the case of believers from the Gentile world, did not constitute the whole of the offence taken at their conversion. The most extravagant persuasions were current among the Jews that they were irreversibly certain of the divine fa- vour. Justin Martyr, in the second century, dissuades them from confiding in the delusive doctrines of their Rabbis, that "being Abraham's seed, though they continued in dis- obedience, and infidelity, the kingdom of heaven would be given them." And these overweening expectations were associated in their minds with a kindred notion, that ajl in whose veins the blood of Abraham did not flow, were iotally and for ever shut out from a participation in the covenanted mercies of their God. "The Jewish religion," it has been correctly remarked by Gibbon, "was never de- signed for conquest With the other nations they were forbidden to contract any marriages or alliances; and the pro- jhibition of receiving them into the congregation, which in some cases was perpetual," in others, "extended to the third, to the seventh, or even to the tenth generation. The obliga- tion of preaching to the Gentiles the faith of Moses, had never been inculcated as a precept of the law, nor were the Jews inclined to impose it oij themselves as a voluntary ^uty Even in their fallen state, the Jews, still asserting their lofty and exclusive privileges, shunned, instead of courting, the society of strangers." Their jealousy of strangers had, indeed, degenerated into a positive and unconquerable repugnance to sharing with them their own peculiar blessings : an occasional convert may have been now and then received, but the absence of any in- junction to proselyte, would seem, for the most part, to have been understood as a prohibition of all attempts to win over the nations to their faith ; and a salutary caution against an admixture with idolatrous neighbours, was mistaken for an interdiction of all concern for their spiritual interests. They were looked upon as aliens, incapable of receiving 1236 TRUTH OF THE CHRISTIAN STORY. []pART. I. the best gifts of God. This prejudice was largely shared by the early Jewish church, if not by the apostles themselves. It breaks out conspicuously in the astonishment of Peter's companions at the house of Cornelius, "because that on the Oentiles also was poured out the gift of the Holy Ghost:" (Acts X. 45.), and gave rise to the contention that awaited that apostle on his return to Jerusalem. (Acts xi. 1, 2.) Nor was it till after much disputation and delay, that the strangeness of this mystery wore away; and the infant church became reconciled to its broad commission to chris- tianize all nations, (Matt, xxviii. 19; v. p. 27.), in accord- ance with their master's command, and with the many pro- phecies to the effect that the root of Jesse should "reign over the Gentiles ;" and that "in him should the Gentiles trust." (Rom. XV. 9 — 16; Acts xv. 15 — 17-) It can therefore be no matter of surprize that a nation so jealous of their pri- vileges, should view with indignation those who, to borrow once again the language of Gibbon, "permitted, and even solicited" all mankind, "to accept the glorious distinction which was not only proffered as a favour, but imposed as an obligation." What wonder if, "they were filled with envy, and spake against those things which were spoken of Paul, contradicting and blaspheming?" (Actsxiii. 45.) — I quote from the narrative of events which transpired in a single city; the reader of the New Testament, needs not to be told that they are equally applicable to many a like oc- casion. But the ebullition of genuine national feeling, in its more violent exhibition, could not find a vent in words and gestures: the apostle of the Gentiles was as a plague spot in their eyes; their cry concerning him was: "Away with such a fellow from the earth, for it is not fit that he should live;" (Acts xxii. 22.); and it is not to be ascribed to their forbearance that he survived. Lastly, to the violations of national prepossessions above recounted, I have to add another, yielding in offensiveness to none. The ties that bound the son of Abraham to his father- land, will find a sympathetic response in every heart. The native of this eastern soil is not unacquainted with the inten- sity of those partialities that give the inheritance of his fore- fathers a place in his affections, which no other land can •win: and the voluntary exile from his native shores, to Tvhom interest, or ambition; the service of his country, or CHAP, v.] TRUTH OF THE CHRISTIAN STORY. 231 of his God; has given a temporary habitation in a land wherein he is a stranger, still indulges the cheering expect- ation, that when his work is done, lie may yet once more set eyes on, and, peradventure, spend the evening of his days in that loved country, to which, throughout his length- ened pilgrimage, he has emphatically appropriated the endearing appellation HOME. The partiality we are speak- ing of, so universal and so pleasing that its unenviable absence can scarcely escape the imputation of unnatural moroseness, is observed in particular cases, to become, from its excess, a broadly marked individual or national peculiarity: and with no people has this been more conspicuously displayed than among the Jews. In a former captivity their song had been : "If I forget thee, O Jerusalem, let i^iy right hand forget her cunning. If I do not remember thee, let my tongue cleave to the roof of my mouth, if I prefer not Jerusalem above my chief joy." (Ps. cxxxvii. 5, 6.) Their land was a holy land, and its very dust was reputed to pos- sess such sanctity, that when a Jew entered its borders he shook off the dust that was on his feet, lest an admixture of impure soil should pollute his sacred heritage. And the passionate attachment thus exhibited for the country at large, was in a peculiar way concentered on the Holy City, and its stately temple. There was a proud feeling of self- con tratulatory exultation, when the admiring apostles cal- led the attention of Jesus to this costly structure ; "Master, see what manner of stones, and what buildings!" (Mark xiii. 1); or bade him observe "how it was adorned with goodly stones and gifts." (Luke ixi. 5.) There are, indeed, occasions on record, when the Jews themselves defiled its sacred precincts; but these preceded the seventy years capti- yity; and after their return, the steady firmness with which they resisted every one of the many attempts to desecrate it, is universally admitted; and they never willingly surren- dered it to any unauthorized intrusion. Their veneration for it, had, indeed, risen to so extravagant a height,that wheu false witness was sought against Jesus of a crime whose penalty would be death, men came forward with the charge: •This fellow said, I am able to destroy the temple of God, and to build it in three days;" and the saying was cast ia the teeth of Jesus as he hung upon the cross ; "Thou that destroyest the temple, and buildest it in three days, save thy- x2 232 TRUTH OF THiJ CEtBISTIAN STORY. \j?ART. I. self/' (Matt. xxvi. 61; xxvii. 40.) A few years after, the same people, we are told, "went about to kill" Paiil,andall Jerusa- lem was in an uproar; because of a mere suspicion that he had brought a Greek into the temple, and thus polluted their holy place. (Act xxi. 28 — 31 .) With what feelings, then, I ask, are we to expect that a people thus violently jealous, would receive the prophetic announcement: "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?" (Luke xxi. 6.) I claim no credit here for the prophecy : I use it merely to show the kind of attraction held out to the Jewish people, by the representations of our books. Nor are the intimations of rapidly approaching desolation ilhpending over the country, the city, and the temple, spar- ingly scattered over their pages, like some unwelcome truth which faithfulness contains to utter, but fear smothers in co- vert and measured allusion. A striking degree of prominence is given to multiplied announcements of a similar purport conveyed in language free from ambiguity of every kind. Take for instance the passage of St. Luke : "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 within thee; and they shall not leave in thee one stoiie upon another, because thou knewest not the time of thy visitation." (Luke xix. 43, 44.) If the national feeling ran in the direction I have repre- sented, no more galling announcement than such as that here conveyed, could possibly have been made. Whether it were to issue in its full accomplishment or not, is im- material; the offence in either case would be nearly the same. There is no lack of proof from independent authori- ties, as to the state of the Jewish mind at the time before us ; and the Scripture estimate of it is so consonant to what we know of the natural tendencies of human passions, that it commends itself at once to our reason. But suppose that the sentiments imputed to the Jews are pure fictions, invented by the writers of our books to grace a wondrous tale ; or that existing prejudices have been greatly overstated; ebulli- tions of passing anger exaggerated into tumultuous proceed- ings; and the fury of an insignificant party expanded into the determined contumacy of the nation; would such a libel CHAP, v.] TRUTH OP THE CHRISTIAN STORY. 233 on a numerous people commend these books to tlieir atten- tion and regard, conciliate their affections, or soften down their opposition? If to avoid the stumblingblock presented by the violation of Jewish prejudices, we would shelter ourselves in the supposition of the non-existence of such, feelings, a difficulty scarcely less formidable meets us: — the solution is unnatural in itself, and equally forbidding to those whom it seeks to avoid offending. I need not again remind my reader, that Judaea was the scene in which were enacted the mighty events our histories have recorded; and that it was to the conversion of the Jewish people that the first efforts of the apostles were di- rected. The founder of the religion first drew his breath within one of their cities; among them he lived and laboured; and beyond their borders his steps were seldom bent. They, and with rare exceptions, they alone, were privileged to listen to his discourses; their streets and houses are said to have been witnesses to his miracles; it was their rulers that compassed his death, and in their chief city his con- demnation was procured. Again, those who after his death, took up the seemingly expiring cause, were for some time all of them at Jerusalem ; and, Jerusalem was at no time without the presence of some, while it was at intervals visited, certainly by many, probably, by all. Now we have proved, that the story we possess, is that circulated by the apostles themselves in and out of Judaea. Indeed, if circulated any where, it must also have been current in Judaea, for had it been unknown there, the fact must have soon gone abroad ; and its credit have been destroyed else- where. The disposition of the Jewish people, and the grounds of it, have been developed at some length ; and their important bearing on the question at issue will now appear. There was clearly no Jewish conspiracy to impose upon the rest of the world. The nation was not in league with the authors of our books. The new system was hateful to themselves; and they loudly deprecated its promulgation among others. Moreover, under such circumstances it never could have made its way, unless backed by the irresistible force of truth. A miracle must always arrest the attention of those among whom it is wrought, more powerfully than an ordinary event; and had the powers alleged to have been exercised over the laws of nature been mere pretences, n^ 3x 234 TRUTH OP THE CHRISTIAN STORY. [^PART. I^ Jewish convert could have been gained; the religion could not have weathered the storms that must have burst upon it, almost before it had launched forth upon its perilous course. Nor could such an imposture have been so much as thought of. There is, it is true, no assignable limit to the freaks of the untutored visionary; and an unfettered im- agination will luxuriate in dreams of the wildest fancy. But, beside that a madman's folly is not compatible with the steady consistency displayed in every other respect, is it within the range of probability to suppose that an impostor would risk his fairest prospects of success, by leaving the beaten path of flattery and commendation, to indulge in what could not but be received as a contemptuous disregard of national feelings, an outrage to the liveliest attachments, an open violence to the strongest antipathies, a heaping of insult on insult in the tenderest points of national honour? And that too while his fabricated story was crowded with the minutest particulars of time, and place, and names, all open to the personal knowledge of those whom he is attempt- ing to deceive, and any one of whom might be able to convi<"t him of gross and deliberate falsehood in the events related? Considering, then, how deeply the Jews were interested to crush the new religion, and the multiplied causes of disgust they saw in its provisions and giccompaniments; and setting over against this the rapid spread of the new religion, and the widely extended success that attended the preaching of the apostles, we can only account for this success by admit- ting the impossibility of controverting its facts. Notable miracles had been done by the Christian teachers, manifest to all them that dwelt in Jerusalem and Judaea^ and they could not deny them. (Acts iv. 16.) But were the Gentiles, in whose favour so much was periled, more favourable to its reception? Perhaps an easy answer to this question might be given by putting a second: Are the heathen of our own day favourable to the reception of Christianity, when it is urged upon them? Or are they indisposed to violence, when violence can be committed with impunity? The outbreak in the Missions of Southern India,* * I allude to the disturbances at and near Nulloor, in November of the present year : a detailed account of which were given in an Intermediate Number of the Madras Church Missionary Re- cord of Dec. 11th 1845. CHAP, v.] TRUTH OF THE CHRISTIAN STORY. 235 tidings of which hare opportunely reached me while I pen these lines, tell an instructive tale of what might be expected on a larger scale, were external restraint removed. The aggressive character of Christianity must never be lost sight of, in estimating the effects it is likely to pro- duce. Let men alone in the unrestrained indulgence of their evil passions, and abstain from intermeddling with their established prejudices, and they may, perliaps, tolerate an unobtrusive diversity in mere speculative principles, or or even a contrariety of outward practice. But once break through this respectful neutrality, and the probability is, that a strenuous resistance will be organised, and a host of powerful foes interpose a resolute barrier to further advance. While Christianity is supposed to be "a question of words and names," and only the law of a sect, a Gallio will care nothing for it, and decline being a judge of such matters. (Acts xviii. 14, 15.) The Romans were, it is well known, easy and indulgent in matters of religion, and readily conced- ed to the gods of conquered nations a place in their calendar. The Emperor Tiberius is even related to have proposed receiving Christ among the number of their deities; and the scheme miscarried, less from any unwillingness arising from its novelty, than from the jealousy of the senate; with whom, according to ancient custom, tlie proposition ought to have originated. But the Almighty Being whom the Christian Scriptures set forth as the One only God, will not share his glory with another. It is a first principle of our faith: "Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve." (Matt. iv. 10.) It would, however, in all probability, be some time before the real nature of the requirements of Christianity came to be generally un- derstood. The reluctant consent of Pilate to the death of Christ, was extorted from him by a political reason, "If thou let this man go, thou art not Caesar's friend : whosoever maketh himself a king speaketh against Caesar." (John xix. 12.) Festus' treatment of Paul was dictated by a desire to gratify the Jews; and there is little beyond a few tumultu- ous bursts of popular fury to indi'cate any extensive stir among the Gentile world till after the close of the sacred history. We know, however, on the authority of Tacitus, compared with the relations of ecclesiastical writers, that at a time when many of the apostles were fiftill liring, the 236 TRUTH OP THE CHRISTIAN STORY. fpART, JT. season of indifference had passed away; and a disdainful negligence had given place to active opposition. "The vari- ous modes of worship," as Gibhon, tersely, and perhaps with great general correctness, has put the case, "were all considered by the people as equally true; by the philoso- pher as equally false, and by the magistrate as equally use- ful." The people, as they were generally the first addressed, would, in all likelihood, be the first to discover the true practical bearings of the new religion ; and if not convinced, would be the most likely to be hurried on to acts of irregular violence. So soon as it was found that the belief of ages, sanctified by long prescription, and endeared to them by the immemorial usage of their fathers, must be foresworn ; that the demands of these upstart innovators extended even to the demolition or desecration of their gorgeous temples, the abolition of their sacrifices, and of those sacred shows, which had become entwined about their hearts by the proud associations of ancestral glory, as well as by the pleasing remi-: niscences of personal delight; many an angry passion would crowd upon their minds; and there would scarcely need an interested priesthood to step in, and fan the already glowing flame. These latter, however, seeing "that the hope of their gains was gone," that their "craft was in danger of being set at nought," and their gods "despised," (Acts xvi. 19; xix. 27.) would constitute an element of no mean im- portance in the awakening opposition; and no tender scruples would deter them from employing in their defence an igno- rant and deluded populace, already predisposed to lend a willing ear and a ready hand, to drink in their blandishments, "and execute their resolves. The movement thus originating would be backed by the indiff*erence of the sceptic, and the "policy of the magistrate ; for both would dread the shock of a perilous, and as they would think, uncalled for change. Alike indifferent to all religions, they would naturally side with those whose voice was given in favour of existing in- stitutions; expediency would be their only guide, and this would dictate a timely check to innovation, rather than an «qual protection of all. In Pliny the philosopher and the magistrate find a favourable representative; and we have seen the disposition he manifested to the rising church. A conference of brahmins shall introduce a further sug- gestion, as their replies to Swartz ar^ given, in general terms, CHAP, v.] TRUTH OF THE CHRISTIAN hy one who was present on the occasion: said they, " your religion, your instruction, thing; but it is inconsistent with flesh and pygnant to our carnal affections; it strikes at propensity to moral evil^ and to worldly pleasures'"^' Here is the root of the matter; a cause of disrelish for Gospel truths, alas ! not confined to heathen lands ! I shall add lit- tle, however, to what has been said in a previous chapter, (p. 30 — 32.) Economy of space compels me to avoid repetition, and I must beg of my reader to turn back to the place re- ferred to ; reminding him that the purity of heart and life inculcated in our Scriptures is not simply demanded at the hands of actual converts; but of all. The expansive com- prehensiveness of this law of holiness is not made to depend upon the accident of birth, or the voluntary assumption, op rejection of its obligations: its demands are peremptory, universal, and exacted on peril of everlasting woe. "Indig- nation and wrath, tribulation and anguish," are denounced "upon every soul of man that doeth evil, of the Jew first, and also of the Greek," (Rom. ii. 8, 9.); of him whose parentage or conversion has brought him within the Wsible household of God ; and of the stranger and alien. What- ever may be thought of this as a salutary check upon the professing Christian, for whom a cheering counterpart was found in the "glory, honour, and peace," which ivill reward his faithful steadfastness ; it could only irritate the determin- ed infidel ; and many a burning thought of passionate indig- nation must have arisen in proud rebellion against the seem- ing harshness of this arrogant demand. The natural bent of the human mind would, therefore, under almost every aspect, operate on the unbeliever to resist the instrusive advances of the unwelcome innovators,, and their stringent and forbid- ding principles, and it is inconceivable that any could have been won over by their teaching, had that been based on false- hood. The facts related in our books, whether miraculoufi or otherwise, are said to have happened in well known, easily accessible, and widely scattered countries; Judaea itself was then as accessible to llome, as India now is to England ; if the name of Paul had excited so little previous interest, that the Jews of Rome had received no letters out * Pearson's Life of Swartz, Vol. ii. p, 2S7, 238 TRUTH OP THE CHRISTIAN STORY. [PART. I* of Judaea concerning him, and they knew only that his sect ■was every where spoken against, (Actsxxviii. 21,22.), yet, when the subject was fairly before them, they had facilities for prosecuting the enquiry, in the freedom of communica- tion with every city he had visited. The very truth and purity so strenuously insisted on by the Christian teachers, as indispensible for a place in the affections of their Master, would have made a conviction of falsehood a thousand-fold more dangerous to their cause: they could, in such a case, have numbered no new converts: they themselves must soon have been forgotten. The rapid progress of their cause, I once again remark, under such disadvantages, can only be accounted for by assuming that their followers were per- suaded of their scrupulous fidelity ; and that their enemies could not deny it. The triumph of the Gospel over the formidable array of natural passions to which it has presented so firm a front, and maintained so unflinching a struggle, is vastly enhanced by its contrast with the laxity permitted, nay rather enjoined, by other systems. Dr. Wilson found in the Parsee stand- ards, "a very partial view of the claims of God on the aflPections, . . .and service of his rational creatures. They do not," he says, "exhibit the divine holiness, as it is manifested in giving a law which is holy, just, and good, in all its requisitions, and which extends these requisitions to the thoughts and intents of the heart. . . . They are more occupied with bodily cleanliness, than spiritual purity, with the avoid- ance of the defilement that occurs from contact with corp- ses, than that which occurs from contact with sin;" — but brevity makes it necessary to refer to his own pages for a fuller developement of the result of his researches. * What, again, shall we say of the morality of a system that speaks of the "venial sin of benevolent falsehood;" of false- hood being in certain cases, "even preferable to truth; and of false evidence, given from a so-called, pious motive, and with a full knowledge of the truth, being honoured by wise men as "the speech of gods"? Yet such are the doctrines of Menu. Indeed, it is a well known fact that, according to the Hindoo mythology, lying, when it suited their purpose, was no more eschewed by gods than men. Who, then, can marvel * Wilson on the Parsee Religionj p. 378, &c. CHAP, v.] TRUTH OP THE CHRISTIAN STORY. 239 that falsehood is esteemed no crime, yea rather meritorious? And what would be the obstacles such institutions would meet with, compared with those that must be marshalled against a system peremptorily requiring every man "to put away lying, and speak the truth with his neighbour," (Eph, iv, 25.) and declaring that "all liars have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone." (Rev. xxi. 8.)? Decency must cast a veil over the licentious impurities of the popular legends, and crowded festivals, that desecrate the very name of religion, with which they have become perversely associated; but the sensual abominations of Hindooism ; as well as the liberties in reference to marriage and divorce, and the promised delights of a voluptuous paradise, by which Mahomet bribed his followers, are, happily or unhappily, too well known to make it necessary to particularize them. Suffice it to say, that so far from tampering with lust, our holy faith at once denounces the most fearful penalties against its indulgence ; restricts every man to a single wife, declares the judgment of God against whoremongers and adulterers, (Heb. xiii.4.) hates "even the garment spotted by the flesh ;" ( Jude 23) ; makes it a "shame even to speak of the things" done by the heathen in secret; and puts the check at once upon the heart. (Eph. v. 12; Matt. v. 27, 28.) If deceit and sensuality is congenial to the natural man, (and who shall dare to whisper that man, to waive the question of capabilities of good, is naturally and usually inclined to good?) ; if a licence to indulge those evil passions, and facilities for the cheap purchase of their gratification, are calculated to meet a willing response from within, then have other systems held out a well compacted bait to decoy the unwary; and Christianity stands alone in having ventured on the bold and original course of bid- ding defiance to all that can conciliate, "the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life." (1 John ii. 16.) I "will not now insist that she could never have triumphed un- less supported by a higher power; but I ask, could she have succeeded, had she herself been stained with contaminations of that lying vanity she so freely condemned in others? A mistaken enthusiast may yet command respect; an involun- tary offender, surprised into a fault may deserve our pity; a detected hypocrite can win no friends. 240 TRUTH OP THE CHRISTIAN STORY. [_PART. I. {2.) Dismissing now the moral and religious condition of the Jew or Gentile, the personal position and prospects of the apostles have next to be considered. They were poor men, voluntarily poor. Of humble origin j and devoid of the influence which rank or wealth bestows, if riches or physical strength seemed, from time to time, to be flung within their grasp, it was invariably refused as utterly incapable of amalgamating with their real designs. When the liberality of individuals had placed at their disposal large sums of money, they found the charge too burdensome, for it interfered too much with "prayer, and the ministry of the word ;" and at their instance, the people chose "seven men of honest report," to whom the management of the fund was at once made over. (Acts vi. i — 6.) And whenafter- wards Paul was commissioned to convey the collection from the Macedonian and Achaian Christians to Jerusalem, he took care to have others associated with him, to avoid blame, and "provide for honest things, not only in the sight of the Lord, but also in the sight of men." (2 Cor. viii. 20, 21.) They taught, indeed, as an ordinance of the Lord, "that they which preach the gospel should live of the gospel," but they often deemed it expedient not to use this power, labouring rather with their own hands, lest they should hinder the gospel of Christ, (1 Cor. ix. 1 — 18; iv. 12.); and when they allowed their converts to minister to their wants, their modest expectations were easily satisfied: "Having food and raiment let us be therewith content." Nor was it simply that they were indifferent to the charms of wealth; their exhortations were urgent against the love of money, as the root of all evil, (1 Tim. vi. 8—10.); their master s observation was not forgotten: "It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle, than for a, rich man to enter into the kingdom of God;" (Matt. xix. 24.) and while moderate in their own desires, they did not neg- lect to "charge them that are rich in this world, not to trust in uncertain riches," or seek for "filthy lucre," lest the rust of their gold and silver, "be a witness against them, and eat up then- flesh as it were fire." (1 Tim. vi. 17, with 1 Pet. V. 2, and James, v. 3.) Ambition, again, and the lust of power, is as abhorrent to Christian principle, and apostolic practice, as avarice. Worldly aggrandizement formed no part of the object the CHAP, v.] TRUTH OP THE CHRISTIAN STORY. 241 founder of the religion, or his immediate associates, had in view. When the multitude would have taken Jesus by force, to make him a king, he withdrew himself, and "de- parted into a mountain himself alone." (John vi. 15.) When all the people ran together to Peter and John, greatly wonder- ing at the sudden cure of the lame beggar, the two apostles were at pains to impress upon them, that it was not by their own power or holiness they had made the man to walk. (Acts iii. 1 — 18.) A similar miracle, wrought upon. a second sufferer, like the former, a cripple from his birth, produced a yet stronger sensation among the citizens of Lystra; and they would have done honour to Paul and Barnabas as gods. "The gods," cried they, "are come down to us in the likeness of men." But so far from turning this seemingly favourable incident to their own advantage, the apostles rent their clothes, and ran in among the people, and with difficulty, and after many words, restrained the people from doing sacrifice to them. (Acts xiv. 8 — 18.) The first Christian teachers are never charged with exercis- ing the powers with which they were invested, for any selfish or political end; and their own account of themselves tallies, not merely with the silent, but with the positive testimony of their enemies, (p. 129.) And yet ambition, so far as the disciples are concerned, was no unknown passion, or one without its charm. The seeds of it lurked in their bosoms, and it was long before their vitality was destroyed. It is no little proof of genuine candour, that when disputes arose among them which should be the greater, they do not gloss over a frailty of which they were afterwards ashamed, but give the tale in all its naked- ness, as well as the sharp rebukes with which their master checked the unworthy contention. The hardest lesson they had to learn, and perhaps the last, was humility. When Jesus had often in vain repeated that whosoever would be chief among them, should be their servant ; (Matt. XX. 26, 27; Markix. 33; Luke xxii. 24.) knowing "that his hour was come that he should depart out of this world," he sealed his instructions on this important head, by washing his disciples feet, giving them an example that they should do as he had done to them. (John xiii. 1 — 17.) The lesson >vas learned, the noxious weed was rooted out; and if cnvard there was any emulation among them, it was to Y 242 TRUTH OF THE CHRISTIAN STORY. [|PART. I. provoke one another to love and good works; if a pre-emi- nence were sought, it was a pre-eminence in faithfulness, labour, and patient suffering. Not only were the younger instructed to submit themselves to the elder, but the ex- hortation ran thus: "Yea, all of you, be subject one to another, and be clothed with humility." (1 Pet. v. 5.) He that was taught in the word, while he contributed to the support of the teacher, was also to show all due respect, and obedience. (Gal. vi. 6; Heb. xiii. 7, 17-) This, however, was not to be exacted by a harsh assumption of official superiority, but to flow spontaneously, a willing tribute to faithfulness and reciprocating love ; — as to those who watch for souls, and must give account of their ministry: and they that had the oversight of the flock of God, were not to carry themselves "as lords over God's heritage, but as en- samples to the flock," (1 Pet. v. 3.); not as having "domi- nion over their faith," but as "helpers of their joy." (2 Cor. i. 24.) The requisites for the office of a teacher in the Christian church, and its duties, are many times described at length; (Eph. iv. 11—17; 1 Tim. iii. I— 13; Tit. i. 5—9, &c.) but rank, family, or wealth, nay, even intellect and extensive learning, are no where enumerated among its qualifications, and have as little to do with its rewards. A blameless life, a spotless reputation, a command of self, a lowliness of heart, a knowledge of spiritual things, and an aptness to communicate them to others, stand foremost in the requirements : a good degi'ee and great boldness in the faith which is in Christ Jesus; and a reward deferred to a future world, are the inducements held out to the faithful steward of the mysteries of God, Such is the standard put forth: aud we are entitled to argue that it was, at the least, very closely, if not perfectly observed by the first teachers of our faith; for had they secretly hoarded the riches they made a merit of despising; had they carried themselves with scornful arrogance towards their converts or to strangers ; this could not long have escaped the detec- tion of their contemporaries. The haughty demeanour of an upstart is not a treatment to be patiently bom with by friends; how could it conciliate enemies? If the treasure amassed by the close and niggardly, be successfully concealed in one generation, it can scarcely fail to come abroad in the next: and the very supposition of interested motives of CHAP, v.] TRUTH OF THE CHRISTIAN STORY. 243 any kind, is so fundamentally subversive of the wliole spirit of the gospel dispensation, that had these existed, even to a very limited extent, it is inconceivable that a system of doctrine, with nothing to recommend it to the propensities of converts, could have been entertained. Had the practice of its teachers been at variance with their precepts; no one would have endured the selfishness which freely indulged in the very propensities, and greedily appropriated the worldly advantages, so peremptorily refused to all beside themselves. The reader will at once see the difference between a departure from these precepts, after the system itself has become established in the affections of men; and such a departure from them at its first promulgation. In the for- mer case prejudice is already enlisted in favour of the system as a whole; men believe, too often because they have never thought at all, and not because they have weighed the matter, and been satisfied; and, careless in informing themselves of the true principles of their own religion, they allow a gradual perversion of its institutions to creep in, ■which, in subsequent ages, may be laid hold on, and not unreasonably, by an objector, as a plausible ground for hesitation, if not an excuse for permanent infidelity. If such perversion exist it cannot be concealed, and ought not; for no argument can ultimately be successful that disingenuously presumes upon ignorance to keep back, or disguise, any por- tion of the truth. It must be confessed, then, that lordly and ambitious churchmen have usurped a tyranny over the poli- tical, as well as over the religious rights of free born men; and trifled with the consciences alike of the penitent, and of the hardened sinner; and this, with a view to replenish their own unsanctified coffers, and pamper their own unhallowed appetites. The cessation, indeed, of miraculous powers in the church; and of immediate inspiration in her ministers; and the consequent necessity of education to supply its place: the altered relative position of the church and the world, in virtue of which the kingdoms of the world have, many of them, at least in profession, become "the kingdoms f our Lord and his Christ," (Rev. xi. 15.), or in other Aords, communities of Christian men: and other changes M the usages of society, have, and properly, introduced irious modifications in some par'iculars of apostolic prac- tice, under a state of things which did not exist in their y2 244 TRUTH OF THE CHRISTIAN STORY. f PART. I. day, and for which they have not provided. There have been, and there still are, good and faithful men who think that even protestant churches, the church of England not excepted, have gone too far in the voice they have assigned to ecclesiastics in affairs of state, and the emoluments they have permited them to enjoy. An attached minister of the community named above, ought scarcely to be called on to apologize for expressing his conviction, that a state provi- sion for the temporal wants of spiritual teachers, moderate, but not inadequate to the position they ought to occupy in society; and a principle which calls in those whose business it is to study the depositories of the Christian faith, to give advice in conducting the councils of a Christian state, are no deviations from the spirit of the apostolic rule. And this expression of individual opinion I am unwilling to omit, lest I should seem to cast a reflection on an establishment my heart approves. But if an objector regard political influence of even this measured kind as an abuse, or fall back upon the practices of other ages and churches, whose grievous dere- lictions of duty, are freely admitted and strongly condemned; all that I now wish to impress upon him is, that subsequent abuses, whether in the particular now before us, or in other instances, cannot fairly be urged against the system on which they have been engrafted; — unless indeed it can be shown that the system necessarily tends to produce the abuses in question, or is deficient in due precautions to avoid them. The principle that makes a system responsible for every deviation from the clearly developed intention of its legiti- mate use, must deny to fire its beneficial excellence, because accident or wilfulness sometimes makes it fearfully de- structive of human life and property: strength of body or mind must be condemned because they are sometimes pro- stituted to the basest of purposes; and in short all that the world acknowledges as good, or great, must be discarded, as prolific of evil. Now, so far from tending to foster the abuses we are speaking of, our books are full of the most solemn warnings and fearful denunciations of wrath against them. "Many," said Jesus, "will say to 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 them, I never CllAF. v.] TRUTH OF THE CHRISTIAN STORY. 245 knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity/' (Matt, vii. 22, 23.) The church is expressly warned of false teachers, bringing in damnable heresies, deceiving many, and causing the truth to be evil spoken of. "And through covetousness," it is said, "shall they with feigned words make merchandise of you : whose judgment now of a long time lingereth not, and their damnation slumbereth not." (2 Pet. ii. 1 — 3.) Many similar quotations will suggest themselves to any one who has read with attention, be it but a selection from our books. It hence appears, tliat the abuse has not so much grown out of, as in spite of, the real tendency of the prin- ciples and precautions therein unfolded. They are not to be charged on Christianity, but on the perverseness of stubborn humanity. And if this sad departure from the genuine spirit of primitive simplicity, be even now caught at, as a weapon forged to wound, how could its originators have parried the blow, when they were precluded the recourse of a fair appeal from a corrupted practice, to original intentions and tenden- cies; whenthe institutions themselves were of their own fram- ing; and when, if their precept and practice did not tally, the intention must have been to deceive? We cannot evade the inference that their professions were sincere, their prac- tice unexceptionable; and if so, where shall we find a single motive that commends itself to the natural man? The Guru has his regulated perquisites, and liberality in requiting his, oftentimes, easy labours is freely enjoined. The measure of respect conceded him is such as may well soothe his vanity, and the influence he possesses might satisfy a more than ordinary ambition. The proud superiority claimed by, and conceded to the Brahman, needs scarcely to be hinted at. Zoroaster did not forget "the fifth kind of land, which in joy is very joyful," as being presented to the priesthood; nor is he ashamed to blazon forth the pride, and want of affa- bility of the priests, in "putting to a distance those who ap- proach them;" for in this the dog is commended as resembling them! And Mahomet did not scruple to apply the alms collected from his followeps, to the relief of his poor relatives and friends, or the prosecution of his wars. There are inter- ested motives of self aggrandizement in all these cases arising out of the systems themselves. In the conduct and precepts of the apostles there was nothing of the kind: and if the ab- sence of any assignable motives be not an absoluteproof of the y3 246 TRUTH OP THE CHRISTIAN STORY. IMPART. I« correctness of a witness, it is at least a strong presumption of his sinceriiy. Moreover, a favourable presumption will ex- tend itself to the subject matter of his testimony, in a measure proportioned to the easiness with which it is open to the comprehension of ordinary judgment and observation. But, finally, there is not merely, in the case of the first Christian teachers, an absence of interested motives, in per- sisting in the truth of their story ; there was the presence of posidve, almost incessant, and generally extreme, suffering and peril, to terrify them from their course. Weariness and painfulness, watchings, hunger and thirst, cold and naked- ness, reproach, contempt and ridicule were not all : stripes, im- prisonment, and cruel deaths awaited them, whithersoever they went. Of this there is the fullest proof The violent death of the founder of the religion, and the inhuman persecutions which arose about thirty years after, are noticed, as we have seen, by Tacitus; and the tribulations which afflicted the infant church are so copiously and prominently thrust forward, as a predominating feature of the temporal portion of them that would live godly in Christ Jesus, that it cannot for a moment he imagined possible, for our books to have survived the age in which they are proved to have appeared, unless this, as well as every other integral portion of their story, were known to be faithfully portrayed. I must, however, guard my juvenile reader against a mistake that may arise, from inadvertently pressing the argument from suffering, further than it will bear; for it is not simply suffering in consequence of any allegation, that will prove even so much as a firm belief in its truth. It is clear that a man may be despised, beaten, imprisoned, or put to death, because he is, or has been, a Christian, a Hindoo, or a Mussulmam, whether by birth, from conviction, interest, or compulsion; and this will be, in either case, suffering for his religion; but it may or may not be, in attestation of his faith in it. If the liberty of recan- tation be not offered him, his sufferings partake rather of the nature of a punishment for a past offence, which has render- ed him obnoxious to the enmity of a despot, and cannot be re- garded as a test of his belief. In order, therefore, that patient endurance of tribulation may be an evidence of the sincerity of belief, such tribulation must be voluntarily undergone: there must be a free choice between it, and a renunciation of imputed principles; and this it is that gives its value to CHAP, v.] TRUTH OP THE CHRISTIAN STORY. 247 constancy under torture; for when immunity from suffering might be purchased, it is declined on the conditions with which it is clogged. Now the sufferings of the early Christi- ans were strictly voluntary. The disciples were not enticed by cunning strategy into a position whence there was no retreat : the nature of the service they were called to, was fully opened to them, and they were fairly admonished to count the cost. It was told them of a cross to bear, of friends to lose, of foes to spring up, of a sword to be en- countered, of a life to be jeoparded. (Matt. x. 34 — 39') They were to share their Lord's inheritance of glory, '''"if so be they suffered with him" (Rom. viii. 17); yea, they were even to "count it all joy when they fell into divers tempta- tions". (James i. 2.) In this was their blessedness, their glory, the token of the righteous judgment of their God, an earnest of their heavenly reward. (Matt v. 10 — 12; Rom. v. 3; 2 Thess. i. 5.) And when with this before them, they had deliberately stood forward in the arduous conflict, retreat still was in their power. It is not little remarkable, that bitter and implacable as the enemies of Christianity have shown themselves, in almost every instance they have rightly regarded the recantation of a weak disciple as a far more gratifying triumph, than the immolation of the stedfast. They desired the extirpation of the religion, ra- ther than of its professors; and they were shrewd enough to perceive, that constancy in suffering rather fed, than quench- ed the ardour of the faithful. Ileal disgrace accrued only from the infirmities of the irresolute and feeble. The first disciples, then, might have purchased an exemption from molestation by a prudent silence; or, when they had opened their perilous campaign, they might have secured a safe, if not an honourable retreat. The Jewish council at first were con- tent to "threaten them that they speak henceforth to no man in the name" of Jesus. But they could not purchase bodily ease, at the expense of inward peace; "Whether," said they, "it be right in the sight of God to hearken unto you more than unto God, judge ye. For we cannot but fipeak the things that we have seen and heard." (Acts iv. 17 — 190 Th® careful student will recall the passages of Martial and Pliny, where the voluntary nature of the suffer- ings of the faithful is so clearly marked. Indeed, nothing can be more certain than that Christiamty was, in the first ages, 248 TRUTH OP THE CHRISTIAN STORY. [PART. I. willingly embraced, with the full and certain knowledge of the perils which a professor of it must encounter; and tenaci- ously clung to by thousands upon thousands, who "were tortured, not accepting deliverance," and "resisted unto blood striving against" the sin of denying their Lord. (Heb. xi. 35; xii. 4.) And mark well for what they suffered. For it were an incautious admission to allow that even voluntary suffering is necessarily a sufficient proof of the soundness of the prin- ciple for which it is encountered. Experience can tell of many who have braved opposition, obloquy, destitution and death, in defence of some notion, which after all has no foundation in truth. The voluntary penances of Fakeers and Sanyasses, and of ascetics of any class, possess no higher value than that of showing sincerity on the part of the sufferer, if, indeed, they do so much as this. The immola- tion of the MTetched suttee, for instance, even if it were voluntary, may have been a sacrifice to the tyranny of public feeling, as well as to the memory of a revered husband: the miserable widow may have been nerved, less by the belief that she was doing an act acceptable to the gods, and beneficial to her own future happiness; than by the vision- ary horrors of an existence rendered unendurable by the consciousness that she must wear out her joyless days, an unpitied outcast, pointed at on every side by the finger of bitter scorn. But admitting the fullest sincerity on the part of these enthusiasts, what I am anxious to point out is, that they suffer for a mere opinion; and the early Christians suffered for an opinion of the truth of' certain obvious facts. The calamities that befell the church when miracles had ceased, the persecutions that came upon the martyrs of the reformation ; and the tribulations that may encompass the path of professors of the present day, must be classed under the head of sufferings for opinion. There is, however, some- thing suspicious in self-inflicted penances, that does not attach itself to afflictions coming from without. The former savour strongly of self; and lofty notions of individual merit, sadly inconsistent with true humility, are perhaps the least objectiona^ble of the many possible false principles by which they may be contaminated. But when great multitudes encounter a systematic persecution, with meek gnd unassuming cheerfulness and constancy; enduring af- CHAP, y.2 TRUTH OP THE CHRISTIAN STORY. 249 flictions not rashly inyited, but voluntarily undergone, there must be a strong presumption in favour of the trutli even of the apinion for which they sacrifice their all ; for what but this could sustain such crowds, from every rank of life, from every shade of character, from every gradation of age; the man endowed by nature with judgment, constancy, and courage, and the intellectually and morally feeble and irre- solute ; the hoary sage and the lisping infant ; the dauntless warrior and the timid female; — what, I ask, but this could sustain, as we know something did sustain, these unresisting sufferers in the trials they endured ? The annals of the Christian church are stained with many a more ghastly picture of refined and horrid cruelty than the apostle could enumerate, of persecutions before his day, but it shall suffice us to accept his delineation of the afflictions of the earlier prophets, each one of which was re-enacted at a later day; and let the reader say if there was nothing more than mere mistaken obstinacy at the root of all their constancy. "Others had trial of mockings and scourgings, yea moreover, of bonds and imprisonment, they were stoned, they were sawn asunder, were tempted, were slain with the sword; they wandered about in sheep skins and goat skins; being destitute, afflicted, tormented, (of whom the world was not worthy:) they wandered in deserts, and mountains, and dens and caves of the earth." (Heb. xi. 36 — 38.) But I am anticipating in deducing the truth of the religion, from the patience of its professors. My present object still confines me to the reality of its facts. The apostles and original witnesses of the Christian miracles suff'ered, it is clear, for the truth of the religion ; but, whatever inward sources of conviction they may have enjoyed, there were also outward, visible, and real occurrences in which their belief may have originated, or by which it may have been confirmed; and if their more secret tastes of the reality of spiritual truths be open to a suspicion of pos- sible fanaticism, their perception of sensible actions is not. A single individual, under the influence of a diseased imagination, may delude himself into the belief of inci- dents that have no place, beyond the fancies of his own disordered brain; but it is impossible for hundreds, manifest- ing in every other respect a calm and collected judgment, and the full posseision of sober reason, to have laboured per- 250 TRUTH OF THE CHRISTIAN STORY. [PART. I. manently under the hallucination of a uniformly consistent delusion. The authors of the New Testament, the twelve apostles, the seventy disciples, and their first converts, a line of witnesses extending, perhaps, considerably over a full cen- tenary of years, from the commencement of the personal mi- nistry of Christ, to the death of the last of the disciples who had known St. John; could neither have consistently main- tained a single story, nor have been credited if they did, unless that story were the true one. We, indeed, have the direct testimony of a comparatively small body of these first witnesses; to the eight writers of the New Testament the names of Clement and a few others are all that we can add; but we have seen, from heathen testimony, that "vast multitudes were apprehended" at the single city of Rome (p. 131), to say nothing of the provinces. Though some retracted under the terrors that assailed them, no one of these are ever said to have acknowledged an imposture; or denied the fads on which Christianity depends. They re- nounced the religion, but did not confess to practices of fraud: and many, stricken with unbearable remorse, return- ed to withdraw their recantation, and cheerfully resign themselves to the sufferings they had escaped. But that multitudes stood firm, is beyond all question; and we have proved that the story current among them was that we now possess. They must have known its truth or falsehood; it cannot be imagined they would have thus exposed them- selves for a mere bubble: and hence we have their silent evidence associated with that of those who have written for our information; if not to each separate deposition, at least to the general fidelity of the whole, and most certainly to the miraculous nature of the story; for take away its miracles, and it loses not so much its integrity as its very essence. I have said, — to the miraculous nature of the story, — for this is a point of much importance. It is physically impossi- ble that every, or indeed any, sufferer for the truth of the Christian miracles, can have been an eye-witness of them all. But the frequent recurrence of even singular and marvellous phenomena takes off the excess of singularity, and bringing them with the range of probable facts, renders them easier of belief. The mariners of Nechos, king of Egypt, reported that during a portion of a lengthened voy- OHAP. v.] RECAPITULATION. 251 age along the coast of Africa, and perhaps round that con- tinent, they had the sun on their right hand ; "which," says the generally credulous Herodotus, "is more than I can believe, whatever others may think of it." Herodotus had been an extensive traveller, yet the marvel that exceeded his belief is familiar enough to every child that has mastered the first elements of physical geography, and would now bring no discredit on the fidelity of any voyager. The strangeness of first impressions has worn away, and the denizen of the nothem hemisphere is content to entertain with easy credit, celestial phenomena of a similar kind, consequent on the aspect of the heavenly bodies from the southern. While miracles are rarely heard of, and never proved, there may be a just reluctance to admit their cre- dibility. Let a few be unequivocally demonstrated, and the rest are readily allowed. If we can establish the ge- neral prevalence of miraculous powers in any age, the particular instances of their exhibition ought to be a matter of little difficulty. This general prevalence is fully proved by the sufferings of large bodies of men, who had witnessed in one shape or other its open display ; the direct testimony of a much more limited number satisfies us as to detail. In attestation, then, of the miracles of the Christian story, many, in the full possession of their faculties, who had in their own persons witnessed, and borne witness of their reality, or of the reality of miracles of a similar kind, with no assignable motive but the simple persuasion of truth, did Toluntarily submit themselves to labours, dangers, and suf- ferings, solely in consequence of rheir belief; and which they might have evaded by a different line of conduct. Could such men, in such numbers, be mistaken? Could they be insincere? There is surely nothing left us but to receive their testimony, and give full credit to their tale. I HAVE now sketched the literary history of the New Testament: and shown the essential integrity of its uncor- rupted and unblemished pages. I have traced its existence, M we have it now, from the present day to the age that gave it birth. I have pointed out the marked concurrence of its i n a nnac ri ptB) the full and detailed testimony of an 252 RECAPITULATION. f PART. I. ainbroken series of Christian writers ; tlie close agreement of very ancient versions; and the plentiful considerations drawn from the candour, veneration, and scrupulous care of our own writers; backed by a free concession of genuine- ness from controversial opponents, whether heretical or he- athen; and by a copious recognition of many leading events in Jewish and pagan historians, poets, and philosophers. The facts of general history and the allusions to the manners and customs of many nations, involved in our narratives, have been compared with those met with in independent authori- ties, and have been discovered to be minutely coincident with what they have said. The closest and most astonishing in- ternal consistency has been developed; natural philosophy, common sense, and rational moderation of incident has been nowhere outraged; the story we receive has survived the opposition of centuries of discouragement and persecution: no interested motives, open, or under a well wrought disguise, are to be detected; but on the contrary, its first propagators and hundreds of their followers voluntarily exposed themselves to every kind of oppression and death in attestation of its truth ; while no vestige of any other story remains, or of any doubt or contradiction concerning ours, in any age a whit more competent than our own to enter on the investigation. Each one of the considerations dwelt upon, exceeds an hundred fold in strength all that can be advanced in support of any other book or fact whatever, that this world has ever seen; and nothing like them has ever been produced, or so much as pretended: many of them, taken singly, would bear the whole burden of the argument alone. But scarcely one has been pressed, in these pages, to its full extent. They have been suffered to fall in as component links of a continuous chain, rather than as broken up into independent lengths ; and each has had no more put upon it than a fair distribution of the whole weight seemed to demand. Their aggregate force, whe- ther as acting simultaneously in parallel lines, or wrought up into one massive whole, is, I might almost say, more than superfluously strong. I shall fail to lay bare all the se- cret fountains of the believer's joy, if I portray only the satisfaction that glows within him as he surveys the stable basement of his religion; profound and complacent as that satisfaction may be; I must, furthermore depict the wonder. CHAP, v.] RECAPITULATION. 253 lore, and praise that will fill to overflowinghis grateful heart. For itsfoundationis exceeding broad, and its immutable firm- ness such as to warrant a free indulgence in meditations fuU of soothing solid comfort. And I am persuaded, that no un- shackled judgment coald for an instant refuse a full assent to the reasonableness of his hope and peaceful joy : Let a man cast aside the prejudices of birth and education; let him suspend the partialities that custom has made almost a second nature; let him come to the inquiry with a mind unbiassed by preconceived opinions, picked up he knows not when, or how, or where; and above all, with a resolute determination not to be warped by the natural hesitation of a corrupted heart, and a nauseating abhorrence of the supposed strictness of precepts, unpalatable to the appetites of the flesh ; and I fear little for the verdict he would be constrained, yea, he would be eager to put in. Let the religious character of the investigation be, for a moment, laid aside; let it be impartially judged of, on its own merits, as an indifferent matter. The result would not be problema- tical ; approbation would not be stinted, or conviction stifled, partial, and concealed. That it is a religious question ought to add an unspeakably more powerful motive for disinter- ested inquiry ; but leaving this, I lay down my pen satisfied that, up this point, however feebly and imperfectly my task has been executed, the reasonings I have thus been enabled to bring to a close, are sufficient abundantly to establish the double proposition I have included in the first and largest division of my labours, that The truth op the Christian Story is f^tablished by competent historical evidence; and unequivocal in- TERNAL Marks op Veracity. Ejfe OF Part I. PAUT II. The Christian Scriptures contain indubitable pboof» ^hat they are a revelation from god, CHA.PTER I. On Miracles. SECTION!. jMiracles appropriate credentials op a Revelation. The constancy of the laws^ nature: — tkei/ are contingent and arbitrary laws: — design proves a designer, and skill in the structure of the creation shows the work of' a Cre- ator: — interruption of natural laws an appropriate method of authenticating a revelation, worthy of God, and suitable to men: — the evidence of testimony sufficient to prove mi- racles. — The competency of that in favour of the miracles of Christianity : — most other miracles removed from com- petition from want of evidence. I must invite my reader to peruse, more closely than perhaps he has hitherto done, some of the secrets of the book of nature; that is, some of those truths that do not lie so much on the surface as to be at once obvious to every casual observer; but which may yet, I trust, be made ac- cessible to an intelligent mind, provided such a measure of thoughtful attention be given to them, as their interest and importance, as well as their abstruseness, (if they be ab- struce,) may fairly demand. It needs but little observation to perceive that our pene- tration cannot unravel all the operations of nature. There is not an object that does not suggest questions which baffle the sagacity of the profoundest philosophers ; and the most familiar objects are as replete with mysteries as those fur- thest removed from our ken. We can no more explain how and why the seed sprouts, and the plant grows, or the volition of the mind is communicated to the obiidient limb, than we can account for the action of gravity, and the z2 256 MIRACLES APPROPRIATE [PART. II. operation of the laws in obedience to which a planet rolls on in its appointed course. Yet, notwithstanding the multitude of causes, which have not been discovered, or are not dis- coverable by man, our observation extends far enough to teach us, with absolute certainty, that the vast assemblage of creatures with which we are conversant, spiritual and corporeal, rational and irrational, animate and inanimate, yield an inevitable obedience to a great variety of gene- ral rules, some common to all, and some peculiar to each class, in virtue of which their mutual operations are so regulated that the same effects invariably result from the same causes; and that not from accident or choice, — ^for the seed, when cast into a congenial soil, does not deli- berate whether it shall grow, or the hewn tree whether it shall fall; or the plank whemer it shall float; — but from a paramount necessity, impressed, no matter how, upon the very constitution of every entity of which we have any knowledge ; and impressed with such undeviating constancy, as to earn for these invariable rules the apt and expressive designation, the laws of nature. In speaking of the connection between cause and effect, the student will find the former usually distinguished as the antecedent^ and the latter, as the consequent ; the two together constituting, what is called, a sequence. The belief of mankind in the constancy of nature's sequences is uni- versal. None but a madman would entertain the question whether the sun Avill rise to-morrow, as it has done to-day; or whether fire will always act upon given substances accord- ing to established degrees of intensity; so that the heat which is just sufficient to melt wax to-day, would not have made water boil yesterday, and will not melt iron to-morrow. The origin of this belief is involved in some obscurity. Some have argued that it is an innate principle, acquiring only correction and confirmation from experience; while others have thought it owes its existence to experience, which by an extensive induction of a vast number of parti- cular instances, at length satisfies us of the universality of its application. The question is more interesting than important, because there can be no controversy as to the universal prevalence among men, of a disposition always to look for a like result from the recurrence of the same cause, and, vice versa, to infer identity in the cause from a CHAP. 1.] CREDENTIALS OP A REVELATION. 257 recurrence of the same result. Yet this expectation does not spring from its being an obvious and necessary truth, which the mind at once perceives to flow from the nature of the things themselves. If it were so, it could not have been so commonly described as the mere fruit of observation, and experience. But, in fact, the constancy of nature is neither self-evident, nor deducible from self-evident princi- ples by any train of invincibly conclusive reasonings, an- alogous to those employed in developing the propositions of the exact sciences. And the sequences themselves, so far at any rate as we can see, though in one sense we call them necessary, (and correctly so, for the matter which is the object of them is constrained to obey,) — do not result from an absolute and inevitable necessity, arising out of any inseparable property of matter, or essential consequence o£ the very nature of things. Neither the sequences, nor our belief in their constancy are self-evident ; — for many a known result has never yet been traced to its efl&cient cause; and no one can tell before- hand what will be the consequent of an antecedent now for the first time made known. Suppose, for example, I hear, for the first time, of the proposed combination of char- coal, salt-petre, and sulphur; the closest inspection of these seemingly harmless ingredients, can give me no clue to the destructive properties of the wonderful powder their union will produce. Even after I have observed that a given cause produces a given effect, such as that the stroke of a hammer on a certain bell produces some known musical note, the expectation that a repetition of the blow will be followed by a repetition of the self-same sound, is not that kind of expectation by which I anticipate that the whole will always be greater than its part, or that two and two will always make four. My mind at once intuitively in- forms me, in these latter instances, that there is, in the very nature of things, but one inevitable conclusion; whereas in the other case I see nothing in the thing itself, abstractly ( onsidered, to lead me infallibly to anticipate that a second stroke will reproduce the musical note I had heard before; any more than I could have seen any thing in the first in- stance to inform me that it would produce a musical sound at all : or, at any rate, if, in the absence of any assignable reason why alike result should not be again observed, I feci z3 258 MIRACLES APPROPRIATE QPART. IF. that I ought to expect it will, there is nothing to warrant me in saying that it must. It is practically so difficult to distinguish between similar causes and identical ones; and between accessaries and principals; that I am obliged to call in the aid of extraneous considerations before I can fully satisfy myself of the justness of my expectation; and ex- periment alone can finally certify me, either, that a musical sound will be produced, or that on a second trial the same sound will be repeated. This would not be the case if these conclusions were self-evident : but, in truth, neither the one nor the other is so, because both result from a law of nature^ and not from the nature of the things themselves. Necessary truths, such as those I have instanced above, have properly nothing to do with the connection between cause and eflPect; for though the act of adding two substances to two already before us, causes the presence of four, there is nothing that can be said to cause that two and two should make precisely four and neither more nor less. It is so; and it must be so; and number cannot exist without its being so; but no efficient cause has brought about the effect. It is only when active cause is concerned that we can pro- perly speak of laws; and laws apply to what may or may not happen, and not to what is necessarily involved in the very essence of the idea we are discussing. This distinction will appear more clearly as we proceed. For beside self-evident truths, such as that the whole is greater than its part, or that two straight lines cannot enclose a space; there are mathematical truths, which exist equally independently of any efficient cause, and which are equally necessary, not as resulting from a law of nature, but from the nature of things. Such, for example, are the proposi- tions that the three interior angles of a plane triangle are together equal to two right angles; or that in a right angled triangle, the sum of the squares on the sides containing the the right angle are together equal to the square on the side subtending it :~ truths which, though not at once intuitively recognised, may by the intervention of a few connecting links, be shown to be as inevitable as that two and two make four: and so of other demonstrable propositions. But there is no train of reasoning by which it can be shown, from the necessary consequences of any number of conse- cutive steps, that the same bell must always give out the CHAP. I.] CREDENTIALS OP A REVELATION. 259 same sound, or any sound at all ; or that fire will emit heat, or that an acid will corrode metals, always or at all ; or in short that any natural cause will produce its own observed effect, or always produce that effect. We may reason from the observed laws of nature, through steps rendered by the nature of things imperatively conclusive, to certain inevi- table consequences; as from the known laws of force by which the heavenly bodies are governed, to the revolutions necessarily resulting from these laws, but we cannot show by any process of analysis why their motions are regulated by these laws, rather than by any other; or why, having been once subject to them they must necessarily always continue under their provisions. Nearly similar to the above, is the necessity by which a logical truth follows from its premises. For in a regular syllogism, if the two former propositions be admitted, the truth of the third is inevitable, as in the syllogism, All wicked men are i« danger of judgment: All liars are wicked men: Therefore all liars are in danger of judgment: where the justness of the premises must result in the abso- lute certainty of the conclusion. But I shall not need to do more than mention this; for it will at once be seen that antecedents and consequents, in the natural world, are not bound together by ties of this kind, and that our belief in the constancy of nature does not originate in any syllogistic reasoning. The laws of nature, to us at least, are experi- mental truths; matters of fact and not of reasoning: and the necessity arising out of the essential nature of things that they must be such as they are, and no other, is not only incapable of demonstration anteriorly to our discovery of what they are; but even when they are developed before us, this necessity cannot be made out. And so of our belief in their uniformity; — it is not a belief in a self-evident, or mathematically or logically demonstrable proposition; it is either an innate perception of an independent and properly experimental truth; or it is a persuasion directly derived from experience itself. Without pretending to pronounce decisively upon a ques- tion that may be thought beyond our reach, I am of opinion that we may discover many things which seem to intimate that the laws by which nature is now governed might have 260 MIRACLES APPROPRIATE QpART. II. been other than they are, without doing violence to any essential property of the objects they relate to. When the same body is subject to several laws, some one or more of them are often independent of the rest; or, at least, their mutual dependence cannot be traced. The law, for in- stance, which has fixed the time of the diurnal rotation of the earth upon its axis to twenty-four hours, is very nearly the same with that which has determined that Venus and Mars shall revolve upon their respective axes in about the same period. But we may not too hastily conclude that this precise period is necessary for the revolution of a large body, carried at the same time, as the planets are, by a curvilinear motion in space around a central force; for Ju- piter and Saturn perform their diurnal revolutions, the one in somewhat less, and the other in somewhat more than ten hours; and there is nothing to denote that this period, in any case, depends either on the mass of the planet, its distance from the sun, its velocity in its orbit, or any other known element in its own constitution, or its connection with extraneous masses. There seems, therefore, nothing to make the particular time of diurnal rotation observed to exist in either case, so absolutely necessary to bodies circumstanced as the planets are, as that any other would have been impossible. Again, let me immerse one hand in water at the highest temperature I can endure without real pain, and the other in melting ice or snow or the coldest water procurable; and then transfer both to a vessel of tepid water, not much above the ordinary temperature of the atmosphere. The one hand will experience the sensation of heat, and the other of cold; and were I to form my ideas of heat and cold from this single experiment, they must be sorely in- definite and confused. All this results from a certain pre- vious preparation each hand has undergone: — a kind of preparation which, in every day life, men actually do un- dergo from continual use, so that one will endure with ease and comfort a degree of heat or cold, or other so called inconvenience, in the pursuit of his ordinary occupations, which others not thus inured, would find almost intoler- able. I infer that were no very violent change made, either in the constitution of our bodies, or of the properties of heat, it might be that boiling water would no longer CHAP. I.] CREDENTIALS OF A REVELATION. 261 scald, or that the coldest water would seem warm and grateful. At any date the precise laws that now regulate our ordinary perceptions of the degrees of heat might be registered on a materially altered scale. Once again, the specific gravity of a body, or its weight compared with that of an equal bulk of water, is dependent on its density, that is, on the closeness with which its ele- mentary particles are compacted together, so as to occupy a smaller or a larger bulk; but it appears to be entirely in- dependent of colour, toughness, elasticity, and many other known properties of bodies; and there seems no reason why iron and wood retaining all their other distinctive properties, strength, fibrous texture, malleability, mineral or vegetable origin, should not have interchanged those connected with their specific gravity, so that the former might float on water as it does on mercury, and the latter sink, as some kinds do sink, in water. A thousand such instances might be adduced, and in every one the same conclusion be arrived at; viz., that the laws of nature, im- perative and invariable as they confessedly are, do not in themselves spring so necessarily from the requirements of any essential property of the matter that composes them, as that they could not have been other than they are. In their first imposition, be their origin what it may, there is reason to think they may have been contingent and arbi- trary; and not inevitable. But if any think that with our feeble knowledge it is too much to take upon ourselves to afiirm the arbitrary nature of the laws observed in the material world, simply because we see nothing to render them inevitable, I shall only remind him, that it is not necessary to prove the as- sertion. It is not difficult to show that we possess no proof to the contrary, and that if not settled in the way I have just said I think we have a reasonable warrant for settling it, the question must remain an open one; and this is enough to remove all impediment that might arise from it to the testimony in favour of an interruption of nature's laws. If that testimony be sound, at the same time that a miracle is substantiated, this question also will be determined. Or, if it be still thought that there may ultimately exist some secret necessity for these laws, any one acquainted with the change that makes a piece of common steel, a powerful 262 MIRACLES APPROPRIATE Q'ART. II. magnet, or that causes the same water to produce contrary sensations in diflferent members of the same sensitive body, must at least admit that the combinations of matter may be so infinitely diversified, and many of them altered by processes so little obvious to our senses, that it is possible for some unseen change of combinations to take place, sufficient to bring about an interruption of ordinary laws, even without militating against an assumed necessity of operations in primary elements. This is a consideration of great importance, because if the fixedness of nature's laws result from any real intrinsic necessity in the things themselves, or, at any rate, if existing combinations cannot be modified by unseen causes, while to all outward appearance the circumstances are the same, there can be no place for miracles. That which in the nature of things involves a contradiction, is an impossibility, and cannot be a miracle. For instance, to take one of two materials, and increase its volume till it exceed the other by any assignable quantity, however large, implies nothing contradictory, or intrinsically absurd: but to increase this till it shall exceed its own enlarged bulk and that of the other both together^ is not contrary to the laws of nature, but to the essential nature of things; a manifest contradiction attaches itself to the idea, for the two together must always be greater by the size of the smaller, diminutive as it may be, than the larger, taken singly, however great. So to make one coin, in every possible respect the exact counter- part of another already existing, presents no theoretical difficulty; but to make this second the same coin with the first, so that there shall be two distinct coins, and yet only one, is a contradiction. There are some familiar and some theological truths that might at first sight appear to clash with this assertion; but a little consideration will satisfy us that it is in appearance only. Thus when we say that the body and soul are one man, we proceed on the assump- tion of a union of two unlike substances in a single person; and not of the identity of each part with the other. And so, to touch with all due reverence upon that solemn mystery of our holy faith, the doctrine of the Trinity; we are taught that the Father, Son and Holy Ghost are three, and yet one: but though of one substance, they are three persons: personally, but not essentially distinct and independent. CHAP. T.] CREDENTIALS OP A REVELATION. 263 The manner and nature of these unions, like many other femiliar truths, are inexplicable by man; but they are not contradictory. The examples, however, above supposed, are not inexplicable wonders, but things that can have no ex- istence; they are not beyond the reach of our conception, but essentially contrary to reason. Not so the idea that a man should pass through fire and not be burned. For fire is not essentially destructive. Earth, stones, and metals pass through it, for the most part with their structure unin- jured, and some of them absolutely unchanged : and even were we to admit that common fire is necessarily destructive to the human frame, there is nothing contradictory in the notion that there may be communicated to it, or to man, no matter how, some new property, so that the flame shall be deprived of a portion of its wonted power, — a power which we know under certain circumstances it does part with, for the flame of naphtha may be handled with impunity : * or man's body be endued with defences against its power, not usually enjoyed. So, again, the restoration of health and strength by the skilful use of medicine, and other ordina- ry means, to a body enfeebled by sickness, is an every day occurrence ; and we can discover, in the nature of things, nothing impossible in the supposition that the same health and strength which we so often see restored, apparently at their very last ebb, should also be brought back at a some- what later stage, while the body still retains the integrity of all its parts, though death has actually taken place* There is nothing therefore self-contradictory in the statement that the mere command of some wonderful being has brought about some change which we know ordinary means, or time and nature do frequeirtly bring about, or which, so far as we can judge, is but a single step beyond the reach of ordi- nary means. Our assent or dissent to the story must be founded solely on our opinion of the authority by which it is supported ; no plea can be drawn from the fact itself to justify a backwardness in entering on the inquiry: the thing, ♦ It may be well to remind the reader that the fire into which Shadrach, Meshach and A bed ne go were thrown, (Dan. iii.) was one of unnsual fierceness, as is proved by the death of the men who cast them into it, (v. 22.); and that there was manifestly no human affency by which Aese three men were delivered from the power of the flames. 264 MIRACLES APPROPRIATE [PART. IT. for auglit we can see, may happen; the sufficiency of the evidence is the point to which our investigation must be turned. It is true that some of the secret combinations of nature have been detected by cunning men, and turned to account in winning for themselves a degree of deference which their skill has scarcely merited, and which their dissimulation ought to have converted into well deserved aversion. In a word, there may be many apparent irregularities in na- ture's sequences, which, on due inquiry, turn out not to be really so. This shall be treated of in its proper place; and will indeed constitute the body of the present chapter. But it may be well, before I pass on, to guard an expression I have just used of miraculous occurrences, so Jar as we can Judge, but a step beyond the reach of ordinary means. The sentiment will not, I trust, be taken as detracting in the least degree from their truly supernatural character, if once we can certify ourselves that they are clearly beyond the reach of man. Let the line of demarcation be placed where you will, that which exceeds the limit of humanpower, be it but in what we may be disposed to call the most trifling degree, is as verily an exercise of some superior power, as would be the most stupendous disruption of existing worlds. We may liken it to the object which a man can all but touch; and which yet, in spite of every exertion, without extrinsic aid, is as effectually excluded from his grasp, as if it were removed ten thousand miles. If the wind, to bor- row an infidel's illustration, wants ever so little of the force requisite to raise the lightest feather, the power that does raise it, independently of the operation of any existing na- tural cause, though not so calculated to excite astonishment, is as truly miraculous as if it had been exerted to raise a house or ship, or as if a mountain had been removed. These remarks anticipate a conclusion as to the interfer- ence of a supernatural power, which has to be discussed almost immediately. I must, however, make bold to di- gress once more, and again remind my reader, for I shall not find a more fitting place for taking up the subject, of the simplicity I have so often pointed out as marking alike the providential and supernatural interpositions recorded in the Christian Scriptures. We almost uniformly notice, when his interference is called for, that it is put forth to ai; extent justi CHAP. 1.] CREDENTIALS OF A REVELATION. 265 proportioned, and no more than just proportioned to the exigence of the individual case. The display of power is made, for the most part, not in the most astounding, but in the simplest possible manner; and while by this means the miracle is equally convincing, the manner of it is so pleasing, and accompanied by so little that the most fastidious taste could call a harsh and offensive violation of the ordinary course of nature, that the argument for its possibility from the kind and measure of its moderate departure from nature's laws, is converted into an argument for its probability from the simple ease and dignity with which it is accomplished. I will not say that all the Christian miracles are equally marked by this dignified, yet genuine simplicity; or that it is necessary they should be so. But that most of them are thus distinguished, must be felt by all who are conversant with their details; especially if he have also studied the monstrous violations of probability so plentifully scattered over the catalogue of the reputed miracles of other systems. A comparison of the kind of miracles put formed by different religions would be interesting and profitable, did our space permit. I will only suggest one point of contrast where, I think, the verdict can scarcely fail to be given in favour of the Cliristian scheme. It is that, if we except some visions which have clearly a symbolical meaning, there are no instances of the actual transformation of angels or men into the inferior animals; — a transformation so commonly met with, and often for the vilest of purposes, in other systems. Let common sense, divested of long prejudice, say which is the more dignified and becoming. But to return. Perhaps it does not strictly come within the scope of the present chapter to call attention to the stupendous miracle of the first creation of the world, or to the wonderful processes by which its manifold operations are carried on : for, in ordinary language, that alone is re- garded as a miracle, which is a departure from the observed course of nature ; and the regularity of that course is assumed at the basis of the argument from its interruption. I will however expend a page or two in an attempt to lead my reader from the contemplation of what he sees around him, to him by whose Almighty wisdom we contend the whole was planned. Recurring, then, to the idea of antecedent and consequent in nature's sequences, we find our minds so Aa ^^^ MIRACLES APPROPRIATE [[pART. II, indelibly impressed with the notion of their inseparable connection, that when once convinced that any particular antecedent is linked with its corresponding consequent, the presence of either is always enough to call up the idea of the other. Thus if I oilce see a piece of dark and opaque iron changing by the application of fire to a brilliant red, or white, and becoming semi-transparent; I can never again behold a glowing bar, without associating with it the idea that it has been submitted to the action of heat; and it will need only to see a furnace of sufficient intensity, to knoAV that it will produce on iron its wonted change. Now one of the most invariable of all nature's sequences, if we may use the superlative, where all, except in the case of miracles, are equally invariable, is, that the adaptation of means to an end proves intelligence in some designer. The ^inference is not, that design in a watch proves the intelligence of a watchmaker; or in a building, that of a builder: but abstractedly from every particular instance, design of any kind proves a designer. The simplest hut equally with the most complicated piece of machinery, the rough nest of the eagle, and the intricate and laborious texture of that of the bottle-bird, or the bee; the simple pile of dried leaves and sticks by the road side, and the stores of fuel for a crowded city, all alike bespeak the presence of intention ; and every appearance, be it what it may, of artifice and contrivance infallibly recalls the notion of a designer. Nothing can be more certain than that the marvellous structure of the world w^e live in proves design. Look which way you will, this obvious truth confronts you on every side, and it might seem superfluous to w^aste a single sentence in support of an assertion so unimpeachable and clear. You may discern it in the amazing skill displayed in the internal conformation of every substance you choose to examine; in the close adaptation of its every part to the wants of the other, and of the whole; and in the regularity with which we find each several creature not fashioned for itself alone, but with reference to the position it is to occupy as a portion of one vast collection of beings : for each exercises a reciprocal in- fluence on the other, and fulfils a manifest purpose in the scale of existing things; so that the food man eats, is suited to his organs; and those organs moulded to procure, prepare CHAP. I.] CREDENTIALS OF A REVELATION. 267 and digest the food provided for him. In short a world replete with contrivance, and proclaiming yea, even, in every leaf and every stone, a wisdom man can partially discern, hut cannot imitate, must surely argue an intelligence of some Superior order, by which that world was framed. Admitting, then, that the world we live in owes its ex- istence to some superior power; admitting, further, at least the possibility that its Creator still continues to take an interest in the preservation and government of the work of his own hands; and more particularly of that portion of it which we know to be distinguished above the rest by an intelligence, similar, though inferior to his own ; admitting, lastly, the possibility that this paternal interest superinduces a disposition to keep up some sort of intercourse, perpetual or occasional, between himself and these intelligent beings, whether for the due preservation of his own authority, or to promote their happiness, or for any other purpose arising out of the relationship in which they stand to him and he to them; there is surely nothing unreasonable in the ex- pectation, but, on the contrary, every consideration deducible from the legitimate exercise of reason, will concur in justi- fying an expectation, that when such a Being has a message to deliver, he will make choice of some method of doing it which shall silence all honest doubts as to the source from whence it comes; so that those to whom it comes may be in no danger of mistake on a point of such paramount im- portance to their welfare. The choice ought in propriety to remain, and indeed, must ultimately, of necessity, remain with the superior power. But whether the method fixed on be one selected by the unsolicited wisdom of that power, or conceded to the suggestions of its feebler subjects, we fairly expect that it will be, on the one hand, commensurate with the majesty of him with whom it originates, and, on the other, not disproportionate to the capacities of those for whom it is designed. Now if we admit the agency of a Creator, giving being to all things else beside himself, and subjecting them to • rtain constant laws, by imparting to them properties in irtue of which they will and must obey these laws; — the roperties imparted being contingent and arbitrary, so far IS the Creator is concerned, and not rendered essential by tiie very nature of the things themselves; — there can be no Aa2 MIRACLB6 APPROPRIATE [^PART. II. dlflSculty in perceiving that he who gave these natural proper- ties, can at pleasure either alter or suspend them ; and thus exempt matter, permanently, or temporarily, from the laws it has hitherto obeyed, and bring it under different obliga- tions, previously known to belong to matter of a different kind, or altogether new. So much, for instance, of its gravity might be taken from iron, either permanently and universally, or in a particular instance and for a time, as to give it buoyancy in water; so much might be added to that of the light feathery down as to sink it to the bottom : or some new property might be exhibited in each. Tlie power to effect these changes cannot be denied, when arguing on the admissions I have now assumed; and their propriety as credentials of a revelation, will readily appear. For the familiarity of men with a large proportion of the more ob- vious laws of nature, makes them excellent judges of any interruption they may undergo; while their own conscious weakness, and their uniform experience, makes them sensi- ble how absolutely any such interference is beyond the reach of human control. The exhibition of some surpassingly bright and glorious vision might extinguish by its very flood of light the feeble capacity of our limited powers; and would preclude the possibility of a close and personal investigation; but in any undoubted suspension of these otherwise immu-. table laws, we have a method of interposition at once be^ coming the dignity of the superior power, adequate to prove, beyond all contradiction, the source whence it emanates, and perfectly intelligible to those addressed. If, then, it is a thing to be expected that the deity should communicate with men, it must surely be admitted, that a very appropriate, if not the only appropriate, method of accrediting tlie message, will be found in some such interference with the laws of nature as I have here pointed out. A revelation is itself a violation of one of nature's ordinary sequences; for any open and visible communication from the unseen world is the very reverse of the law that commonly binds men in their intercourse with heaven. It is because an ordinary law is violated when a direct message is announced from God, that we justly ask for soma proof that this law Is really suspended; and that the message is truly what it describes itself to be ; and whoever, on whatever grounds, can bring liimself to think it a thing likely, or not impossible, th^t OHAP. 1.] CREDENTIALS OP A REVELATION. 26i> such a communication should take place, must regard it, in an equal degree, as likely, or not impossible, that it will be authenticated by a simultaneous interruption of other con- stituted sequences, that is, by what, in popular language, are designated, miracles. This will appear more strongly if it be ascertained that the communication is it be made through the instrumen- tality of men. There may be occasions when a direct interposition of the Deity himself, or the employment of spiritual agents from some higher race of beings, may be a more befitting method of delivering the required message; and then any authentication additional to the simple deliver- ing of the message, might or might not be called for, according to the circumstances of each case. But the pro- priety of an intermediate, rather than a mediate revelation, and one by the mediation of men rather than of angels, will have much to commend it to our reason. There is nothing in it, when duly weighed, beneath the majesty of an Al- mighty Being; it is no impediment to the effectual accom- plishment of his purposes; and it is compassionate towards the weaknesses of his creatures. But when a man presents himself as an accredited agent of another, we naturally and properly ask him for his credentials; and expect them to bear some direct reference to the position, wealth, and in- fluence of his employer. When, for instance an ambassador is sent from the court of an earthly monarch, his rank, his state, the value of the presents he is charged with, and the authority with which he is supported, will be commensurate with the position his sovereign occupies among the poten- tates of the age, or perhaps we should rather say, will be adjusted by considerations drawn from the relative position in which his sovereign stands to the monarch to whom he is sent. "We expect, moreover, that his deportment will partake, to a great degree, of the style and manners peculiar to his own court, so far, at least, as to mark his nationality. For, whatever reasons an ordinary traveller may have for dis- guising his name or nation, the very office of an ambassador implies that its bearer stands as the acknowledged represen- tative of his sovereign and his country. But if any modifica- tion be introduced from a regard to thestation or predilections of those to whom he is deputed, it is clear the stamp and leal of his credentials will be peculiar to him who sends. Aa3 270 MIRACLES APPROPRIATE [pART. H.) There are many ways by which a man may draw upon himself the attention of his fellow men, and force or win them over to do homage to his superiority. The world has seen, and maj'^ again see an Alexander, or a Timur, or a Buonaparte, issuing from a petty principality, or a paltry island, and overrunning almost an entire continent. The winning eloquence of a Demosthenes or a Cicero, the flow- ing numbers of a Horace, the genius of a Shakspeare, the erudition of a Parr, the all but breathing statues of a Pheidi- as or a Canova; the lofty intellect of a Bacon or a Newton, these, and a hundred other real or reputed excellencies have exacted the wonder of ages; and may, for ought we knoAv, be reproduced, and even far exceeded. To excel, therefore, in any department in which man has excelled, however surpassing that excellence may be, is not an unexception- able credential for a messenger from heaven. Nay, even integrity of life and character, and reasonableness of doctrine, indispensible as they are among the marks that will infal- libly distinguish the true delegate of a Holy God, and deservedly as they will be honoured of men, might perhaps be thought inadequate alone to indicate beyond all doubt a more than human origin; for the exhibition of a perfection not hitherto attained, does not prove that it is unattainable by man. It twctt/ differ in degree only, and not in kind; and till we can define with accuracy the utmost summit man's natural powers can climb to, we might find it hard to convince some that there is any thing necessarily marking more than man. It is for this reason, that when Mahomet so frequently appeals to the style of the Koran, inimitable, as he supposed by any human pen, (ch. ii. xiv. xvii.) were we disposed to concede the pre-eminence, in point of composition, assigned to it by him and his followers, it would avail him nothing; for sublimity of thought, and elegance and purity of style of no common order, though they may be the result of in- spiration, may also be the result of natural or highly cultiva- ted intellectual powers, unassisted by other aid than such as human resources can supply. We take exception, indeed, to the high standard claimed for the Koran as a literary work; but its merits, in this respect, need not be discussed; because we deny that the kind of evidence it furnishes is applicable to the question to be determined. But when ^he known limits of human attainment are manifestly ex- V HAP. I.] CREWBNTIAIS OF A REVELATION. 271 ceeded, when for example, a lost limb is restored by a word, when a few small loaves are multiplied to feed as many- thousands, when the winds and waves are obedient, as to a master's voice, and the dead are raised; here is a kind of interference confessedly beyond the reach of man, unequivo" cally demonstrating the interposition of some higher power, and peculiarly appropriate, if that power be the one in whom all nature has originated, and by whom it is upheld. But suppose that though God is "not far from every one of us," we do not "feel after him, and find him," (Acts xvii. 27.) in the ordinary operations of his government; — the case assumes but a slightly different turn. For, let our opinion of the origin and preservation of all things be what it may, we are persuaded of the invariableness of nature's sequences, and know well that man has no power to in- terrupt their course. But suddenly all previous experi- ence and expectation is crossed and confounded by some unwonted irregularity. A cause is in operation, and the usual consequence does not follow; fire rages, and men do not suffer from its violence : — or an effect is produced, and the usual cause is obviously "not in action; a fever is instan- taneously removed, and no medicine has been applied; a man walks upon the surface of the water, and nothing buoyant holds him up: — or an effect is seen, which it is known no natural cause can produce; a lost limb is restored, a dead man is raised. What is it that interrupts the ordi- nary train of events? Have we been mistaken as to the constancy of nature's laws? or has some power superior to nature interposed? The circumstances of the case will de- termine the question for us, for if these deviations follow invariably at the bidding, and only at the bidding of one or more particular individuals, precisely in the way and to the extent they prescribe; it will follow that chance cun have no hand in the matter, for the deviations are only witnessed under particular circumstances, and in all other cases there is the same undeviating constancy as before. The inter- ruptions thus become associated with the persons of those at whose word they appear: they, at least, must be in the secret; and the attention of all will be rivetted on them. For that a man should far exceed the ordinary powers of men, will be esteemed a breach of nature's laws, at any rate not less ■triking than the wonder by which that excess of power 272 MIRACLES APPROPRIATE fpART. II. has been displayed; and while the miracle speaks but to one point, and can only say that it is a miracle, he by whom it has been wrought may be expected to answer every in- quiry, and account for the reasons of the change. Even admitting, for argument's sake, the purest spiritualism of the Hindoo philosopher, the same inference must follow; because, assuming that all outward objects are mere delu- sion, without any real existence, or independent identity, it cannot be denied that these delusive apparitions are not fickle and uncertain, but follow and act on each other ac- cording to certain fixed and easily observable rules; and any variation from these rules ought to invite attention, and demand an inquiry into the reason for the change. In any case, then, though it might be presumptuous to say there could not be a more proper method for authenticating a divine revelation, it is seen that the method of doing so by a manifest interference with the laws of nature, is one admirably adapted to all the necessities of the case. The chief matter for deliberation, therefore, is whether such real unquestionable interference has ever taken place. It has been strangely objected by Mr. Hume, that no mi- racles can be admitted, on any testimony, if referred to the support of a new religion: though he owns, "there may possibly be miracles, or violations of the usual course of nature, of such a kind as to admit of proof from human testimony;" in cases where religion is not concerned. This admission is most important, for it saps the foundation of that sophistry by which he had attempted to deny the cre- dibility of a miracle under any circumstances whatever. It is clear that the consequences deducible from a fact, can have no bearing on the evidence upon which the fact itself depends. If the evidence be insufficient, they may pro- perly influence our judgment, but they do not alter the character of real evidence, as far as it goes, and if in itself complete, they cannot overturn it. If we can bring our- selves to believe a miracle possible in any case, why not in religion ? If it can be proved in any case, why not in reli- gion? Laying aside every other consideration, our primary question is; Was the fact really such as is represented? If so, "our philosophers," to use the words of Mr. Hume, "instead of doubting the fact, ought to receive it for certain, and ought to search for the causes whence it might be de- CHAP. I.] CREDENTIALS OF A REVELATION. 273 rived." This is a sound and satisfactory method, and we will gladly accept it for our rule. But it is not the part of consistent wisdom, after pronouncing the evidence sufficient, when canvassed, as it ought to be, on its own merits, to abide by or recede from our expressed opinion, because we like, or do not like, the consequences that must follow from its admission. The just and natural order in which to conduct the inquiry is, first, to discuss the evidence, irre- spective of the nature of the transaction, or its consequences; secondly, to examine into the nature of the fact, still laying a- side all prepossession, derived from consequences, (for though a real fact, it may not be a miracle;) and lastly^ to deduce the consequences that must follow in its train. There may be occasions when circumstances will compel us to depart from this order of investigation, or to combine the consi- derations deduced from each of the three steps I have alluded to ; but wherever this order can be followed, and full satisfaction attained on each successive step, irrespec- tive of those that follow, it will infallibly lead us to a safe conclusion. I shall then dispose my remarks in the order above sug- gested. On the first head little remains to be said, and that little may conveniently close the present section. Each of the other two will occupy a separate division of the chapter. I. Waiving Mr. Hume's admission just referred to, let us revert to his famous objection. In an earlier page I have said, briefly, that whatever is capable of happening, is capable of being proved if it do happen; and that the only question is concerning the sufficiency of the evidence, (p. 8.) We have just seen that there is, at least, no presumption whatever against the possibility of a miracle; and the in- fidel's objection is not levelled against this ; but against its evidence. It will be remembered that it is to the effect, that it is contrary to experience that a miracle should be true, but not contrary to experience that testimony should be false. Many writers have assumed that the evidence of testi- mony is inferior to the evidence of the senses, I am in- clined to think, however, that the certainty with which the mind reposes on the information of others is often equally great with that it enjoys when the information is conveyed through the intenrention of the senses, laying aside all 274 MIRACLES APPROPRIATE QpART. II. accessaries^ such as heiglit, figure, mien, dress, features, and a variety of minor particulars a correct idea of which the imperfection of language, or a reference of that lan- guage to diiferent standards in the minds of the speaker and the hearer, renders it scarcely possible for one mind ade- quately to convey to another, I think I could feel as certain of the presence, in an adjoining room, of an individual ■whom I had never before seen, and of the fact that such individual asks to see me, on the information of many a friend I could name, nay, even of a servant, as if I saw the individual in question through an aperture in the wall, and heard him invite me into his presence; nor am I less certain of the identity of the individual, on the same au- thority, than if I had heard his name from his own lips, seen him in his own house and among his own friends, and known him for a dozen years. I put a case which has actually occurred while this paper lies open before me, and I am persuaded the feeling in my own mind is such as I have said ; and would have been so, had the message deli- vered announced the sudden illness, death, or any other improbable accident to the individual I am speaking of, instead of his mere presence. Dr. Chalmers has successfully shown the fallacy of Mr. Hume's argument to lay in the confusion of different kinds of testimony. It is one of nature's sequences to expect from the same kind of testimony, the same degree of accuracy in the matter told. If I know that a man is an habitual liar, I shall never believe him, because I always expect a false report. Suppose that he more generally deceives me, though I am not so confident in his falsity, I consider it most likely he is trying to deceive me now. Let the pro- portion of truth and falsehood in his observed reports be about equal, and my faith in them is equally balanced, I know not whether to credit or discredit what he says. If his reports be more commonly trust-worthy, I incline to put faith in him; but if in the course of a long experience, I have never found him deviating from the strictest truth and accuracy, my confidence is complete. Beyond all ques- tion deceit and imposture, carelessness and inaccuracy, a- bound. But admit that they bear a far larger proportion to their contraries than they actually do, it is a fallacy to argue that because testimony is often, or generally false, CHAP* I.]] CREDENTIALS OP A REVELATION. 275 that it miiy be always so. There may be kinds of testi- mony that are always, generally, sometimes, or rarely false, varying through every rising gradation, till we come to testimony which is always true. One of the first and most important lessons the student has to learn in the investigation of questions like the pre- sent, will be to detach each really independent idea from all its accidental accompaniments, and examine it as it stands alone. This process will materially simplify the mat- ter we are now discussing; for the complete notion of the validity of testimony will involve alike the ability and the integrity of our informant; whereas, strictly speaking, the fal- sity of testimony has reference only to the latter. The ability which can lay bare every possible deception, is certainly much more rare than the integrity which can resist every pos- sible temptation to deceive; for though, in common life, capacity for conducting business may far exceed faithful- ness and truth; the detection of imposture will often call for a degree of knowledge and skill possessed by a very few; whereas the moral uprightness that would scorn a lie, may and does exist with a very moderate share of worldly wisdom. Let us then separate these two distinct and independent notions, and consider abstractedly from ability in observing, the credibility of testimony, simply on the basis of its moral worth. This we may easily do by sup- posing that the testimony relates to some obvious matters, which no one possessed of capacities above those of an idiot, that is, which no one capable of giving evidence at all, can by any possibility mistake; take for example the presence of a stranger, the concourse of a multitude, the public execution of a criminal, the sudden recovery of a notorious paralytic, or the restoration of an amputated limb. The ability of our witness is thus established; and the whole will hinge upon our opinion of his honesty alone. Now I ly that in such simple cases^ there is nothing that ought to do violence to any reasonable feeling, in the supposi- tion that the evidence of a single witness, simply on the strength of his own tried character for honesty and truth, might carry with it the fullest conviction: and is there one of my readers, I would ask, who can call to mind the name of no single friend on whose word he could give credit to any thing which bis own senses could persuade him of? But it' 276 MIRACLES APPROPRIATE QpART. II. there be, — to put an extreme case, if all men "were agreed that they could never trust a solitary witness, it matters not in the question before us. For it is still conceivable that so many men of equally confirmed integrity may have been witnesses to the same incident; that corroborating circum- stances may may have been observed by so many others : and that so powerful a train of moral considerations may strengthen and fix the whole, that we may safely say, such testimony can never lead astray : or, at the very least, that the falsity of such testimony would violate the experienced constancy of nature's sequences to an extent far greater than they are violated by a miracle. The scepticism, therefore, which refuses to believe a plain and simple miracle, supported by evidence of the kind I am now supposing, because it is in one particular contrary to experience, would thus set up a more unaccountable violation of experience in another. But, further, the objection as iirged by Mr. Hume, would go to the length of refusing credit to the sensible exhibition of an unwonted fact: for if testimony be sometimes false, the senses themselves, sight, hearing, and touch, may be, and often are deceived. Suppose some sequence of nature were violated, or apparently violated before our eyes. Sup- pose, for example, a man whom all our senses, after the fullest investigation, aided by the most competent judges, pronoimce to be truly dead; be suddenly raised to life, and pronounced by the same evidence to be truly alive. Will it be said that because sometimes a suspended anima- tion is mistaken for death, or because the senses may be, and sometimes are strangely imposed upon, the miracle cannot be admitted? That our own senses, under these circumstances, are to be distrusted rather than the reality of the transaction believed? And if it has been agreed, on the merits of the case itself, that the miracle must be accounted real, is it to be immediately discarded, if it sub- sequently appear to have been connected with a question of religion? I allow that under certain supposable circum- stances, there might be room for doubt; and so there is in many kinds of testimony. But I will put a case where the reality of death is unequivocal; — where, if you will, the head is dissevered from the body; and I will suppose that the healthy exercise of every sense is carefully tested by known surrounding objects; and that a number of CHAF. I-] CREDENTIAIS OP A REVELATION. 277 persons all in the full enjoyment of every faculty concur in their opinion of the matter before them; yet, according to the infidel's assertion. I do not say, — others cannot credit our testimony ; but we cannot credit ourselves ; and in spite of our own convictions must declare that we are deceived. But the truth is, there are circumstances under which mis- take is impossible, and the senses cannot be deceived. And there are also kindg of evidence, which cannot lead astray. It is contradictory to say that this evidence must refer to something not in the nature of things impossible, for such testimony, by the hypothesis, can never be met with, ex- cept where the subject matter of it is true: and I repeat what I said above, that its falsity would be a greater viola- tion of nature's laws than the raising a dead body to life, or the restoration of an amputated limb. My labour has been ill bestowed if I have failed in show- ing to the satisfaction of every mind honestly open to conviction, that the evidence in favour of the Christian miracles is of a kind which never can be false. The inci- dents of our story, whether common or miraculous, have been attested by a sufficient number of men of such unques- tioned good sense, if not of education and learning (I am accommodating Mr. Hume's words,) as to secure us against all delusion in themselves, of such undoubted integrity as to place them beyond all suspicion of any design to deceive others, of such credit and reputation in the eyes of mankind as to have a great deal to lose in case of being detected in any falsehood ; — for having given up all else, they would have lost, what they prized above all things, their character, and all their influence; — and at the same time, they attested the acts performed, in such a public manner, in so celebrated a part of the world, and by such sufferings, (which Mr. Hume has not required,) as to render imposture impossible, and its detection, if attempted, unavoidable. By far the larger proportion of reputed miracles sometimes put forward as competing with those of Christianity, are at once removed from all real competition on the ground of evi- dence alone. There are none that can marshal so firm an array of witnesses; and few can produce as much of evidence as ought to make any serious impression at all upon our minds. Scarcely any depend upon the testimony of eye-witnesses, or contemporaries, or of those whose proximity in time or sb 278 MIRACLES APPROPRIATE [PART. II. place to the subject or scene of their narratives can entitle them to a particle of respect, so far as concerns their cha- racter and authority as persons competent to give evidence of what they relate. The legends of the Hindoos cannot he traced up to the period to which they are assigned; the miraculous powers ascribed to Mahomet in later ages are once and again disavowed by himself; the religious books of the Parsees are, as we have seen, posterior by many hundreds of years to the miracles they record. The Greek and Roman mythology, and almost the entire circle of Popish legendary marvels, are equally destitute of contem- porary authority. The ages of authentic history, when in- telligent men marked and recorded events as they passed before their eyes, furnish but few examples of any thing supernatural : and it is, for the most part, only when lapse of time, conspiring with a rude and imperfect method of transmitting the memorials of by-gone days, has flung a veil of obscurity over the past, that the marvellous finds a frequent admission into the pages of the historian. The Memoirs of Ignatius Loyola afford a curious and in- structive instance of the gradual introduction of extraneous matter, as revolving years make it more and more difficult to sift the evidence on which it rests. The Life of this dis- tinguished man, the well known founder of the order of Jesuits, was originally published by one of his companions, a brother Jesuit, about fifteen years after his death; and the author, so far from ascribing miraculous powers to Loyola, is at some pains to explain why he was invested with no such powers. The work was republished after a second fifteen years, with many additional circumstances, the result of subsequent researches, but still with no hint of any thing approaching to a miracle. Another thirty years elapse, the order of Jesuits is assuming a position of rising importance in the Romish Church, their cause is favoured by its rulers, their influence is widely felt, their services have been con- siderable ; they are ambitious to secure the canonization of their founder, and when sixty years have rendered it diffi- cult to disprove any statement they may make, when the disposition to question their pretensions has died away, and prejudice has already become enlisted on their side, they venture, notwithstanding the silence, or rather the contrary assertions of the contemporary biographer, to put forth a CHAP. I»] CREDENTIALS OP A REVELATION. 279 catalogue of miracles, on the strength of which thej ask for Loyola a place in the Roman calendar, and an exalted position in the estimation of the world. An objection of a very similar nature may be taken to the accounts we have of the miracles of Frances Xavier, another of the early Jesuits. His ministry was exercised in India; and his history published in Europe; and that at a time when the intercourse between the two countries was tedious and imperfect, and almost confined to those disposed to favour the reputation of this zealous and active, though mistaken missionary. I shall not, I hope, be taken to assert that a narrative is false, because the proof of it is incomplete. The bearings of the argument must be distinctly understood. Assuming for the present, what I think none will deny, that Christianity cannot co-exist with heathen systems, and leaving those of erring Christians to be disposed of at some other time, the case stands thus : — A number of incompatible stories are submitted to examination. A great variety of suspicious circumstances detract from the credit of most of them; but independently of this, I find that of almost all, if I cannot say at once that they are false, I can say, that I have nt> sufiiciently convincing proof that they are true: at best, my judgment is suspended, and I am unable to yield a free assent to the truth of what I hear. But among these stories I find one, and only one, supported by the weightiest proofs. The testimony it depends on is of the very highest order, unim- peachable in itself, and substantiated in a way to which the world can produce no parallel. Dissatisfied as I was before with the competing narratives, have I not now a sufficient proof, not of their uncertainty, for that was the conclusion I had already arrived at, but of their falsehood ? Or am I to withhold my assent to a well accredited fact, because a floating rumour tells a contrary tale ? In every ordinary case, whether the matter were one of mere opinion, or one w hich required some corresponding course of action, there can be no question as to the decision that would be formed. He would be thought to show little wisdom, and to deserve as little commiseration, who incurred needless loss or ruiu by acting on a rumour, when the truth had been ascertained; r who abstained from giving full credit to a well authenti- ' ited report, because an unsubstantiated rumour, bearing some resemblance to it, is inferentially falsified by its truth. Bb2 880 MIRACLES. [part. Mi Now if we set aside the vast mass of reputed miracles ■which rest on no real testimony of any kind; together with another large class, the testimony to which is such as would be universally rejected as inadequate and unsa- tisfactory in any matter of the slightest real imj)ortance; and then add to this list, a further catalogue of some few con- cerning which the mind might reasonably he in suspense; — there will remciin a very scanty number, independently of those of Christianity, to be examined on their own intrinsic merits. The great majority, we assert, are mere unauthenti- cated rumours, and we challenge the advocate of heathenism, or &nY other faith, to produce a satisfactory proof of their au^^hority. They are as yet unproved. But the Christian miracles are based on evidence that cannot be gainsaid. — Say, reader, wherefore is it that conduct which could not fail to be reprobated in the common walks of life, excites so little attention in a question of such vital interest; why is it that myriads thus cast away their imperishable souls? II. I here dismiss the question first proposed, relating to the competency of outward evidence to prove a miracle generally; and the sufficiency of that which is advanced in support of the Christian miracles in particular. We might further plead the competency of our witnesses, as men of judgment, as well as of integrity, to speak to the real nature of the transactions they record; but there is the less need to dwell upon their ability, any further than as capable of faithfully recording what they saw, because their narrative is happily given in such a way, and the incidents they relate are of such a simple kind, that we have every facility to judge for ourselves, as Mr. Hume suggests, concern- ing the true character and causes of the appearances they have described. In discussing these I enter upon a more diversifi- ed path, in which it will be my endeavour to lead the student through the distinctions and criterions necessary for a right understanding of the second division of my subject. Its object will be to show from considerations deduced from the nature of an alleged miracle, and the circumstances under which it is said to have been wrought, what ought to be received as real miracles, and what ought to be rejected as of a fictitious or doulstful class. CHAP. I.] THE CRITERION OP MIRACLES. 281 SECT. II. The Criterion op Miracles, A miracle must he unequivocal; and not an appearance which it is possible to account for; — (1) by legerdemain; — (2) by a skilful use of the less familiar laws of nature. —(3) // must be for a definite object : — (4) and associ- ated with the person of the teacher^ whose doctrine it confirms. — (5) The effect must follow immediately ; — (6) always; — (7) and be continued. — Questionable miracles: — ihe lame man at Saragossa: the miracles ascribed to Vespasian by Tacitus. — The Resurrection of Jesus. A signature whose blotted or indistinct lineaments are not to be deciphered, or a seal whose defaced and imper- fect impression might pass for that of two or more indivi- duals, whose devices may be somewhat similar, can obviously be of little service in determining with precision the authority by which a document has been issued. And it will at once be seen that nothing can with absolute certainty be regarded as a true miracle, available for the puqioses of authenticating a divine revelation, except such occurrences as are sensibly and unquestionably suspensions of, or devia- tions from, known laws of nature; or which, at least, are accompanied by others that are so. To fulfil the object for which they are exhibited, it is not enough that they may be miracles; we require interpositions of such a kind as can be accounted for on no other supposition. It will not satisfy us that there is an apparent interference with a real or supposed law of nature; the law in question must in some instances, at least, be one on which no difference of opinion can be entertained, and the interference such as cannot be mistaken. Moreover, inasmuch as religion is a sub- ject of the most vital importance to all alike, we may not unreasonably expect that both the laws violated, and the particul.ir manner in which they are infringed, will be luch as must be obvious to the apprehension of the los^ Bb3 282 THE CRITERION OP MIRACLES. []pART. IL intellectual among men, as well as to the learned; or at least, that a fair proportion of the wonders wrought, shall be such as they are competent to judge of. (1) We must remove, then, from our list of certain mira- cles, all such appearances as admit of being set down to suc- cessful tricks of legerdemain. When a professed juggler shows off his skill, avowedly to amuse, there is no preten- sion to a miracle. But similar tricks have been extensively resorted to for the purposes of deception, and the credulous have suffered their simplicity to be imposed on. Mechanical contrivances for moving the heads and eyes of images by means of secret strings and joints; and devices for making them speak by the art of some practised ventriloquist, or by means of skilfuly constructed passages, transmitting the voice of a concealed accomplice, and numerous similar artifices, have been employed by the cunning impostor, and not unfrequently detected to his confusion. I do not remember that there are any of the New Testament mira- cles that could possibly be accounted for in this way: if there be one, it is perhaps the walk upon the waters, (Matt, xiv. 24 — 33.); but admitting that one practised in the management of some buoyant vessel might possibly succeed in an attempt apparently to walk on the surface of th=e water, no one that knows but a little of the force of the wind, and the instability of the agitated waves, can imagine this feat practicable in a storm ; (John vi. 18.) and to pass by all else that might be said, the combination of concurrent marvels, the sudden cessation of the wind, and the immedi- ate arrival of the boat at the opposite shore, demonstrate that there was something more in the case than mere dex- terity and sleight of hand. (2) I may perhaps give a second place in these remarks to that acquaintance with the less familiar operations of nature which has often enabled an impostor to pass off, as an interference with her laws, wonders which have in reahty been brought about in strict obedience to their unerring course. An example will make my meaning plain. I will suppose that some untutored but intelligent Indian is shown a piece of ice, and told that it is nothing else than water in a solid state. One might easily imagine the look of sur- prize and incredulity with which he would handle the strange object, and learn, for the first time in life, its singular CHAP. I.] THE CRITERION OF MIRACLES. 283 history. But when he had well examined it, and found that on hecoming liquid it possessed all the properties of water; when he had considered that as glass, iron, and metals generally; resin, wax, and a great variety of other things with which he is acquainted, liquify at a certain temperature, and on a reduction of temperature, again re- sume their solid form, the degree of heat requisite to produce these results varying with the material, and being always the same, or nearly the same, for the same material ; — when, I say, he had reasoned thus with himself, he might probably come to the conclusion, that at a sufficient reduction of temperature, water too would become a solid. But how to procure the requisite degree of cold might be still a mystery to him. Suppose, then, that while the tempera- ture of the surrounding atmosphere remains unchanged, and the water in every tank or vessel around him still retains its liquid form., his deliberations are cut short by a call to witness the process of freezing produced by artificial means on a cup of water, furnished by his own hand, from any reservoir he chooses ; and which, having undergone the marvellous change before his own eyes, is then returned to him, a frozen mass! Would he not reasonably be perplexed? and would it be strange if he imagined the person who had wrought this unheard of change, possessed some power over nature not enjoyed by men in general ? In short, would it be strange if he associated these novel exhibitions of superior intelligence, with the idea of some communication with the world of spirits? And might not a designing impostor, Avhom scientific research, or a fortunate accident had put in possession of natural secrets of the kind here alluded to, take advantage of the circumstance to enslave the minds of his more ignorant contemporaries ? In the case supposed, it might be long before the Indian could learn that in cer- tain climates, such changes were, at particular seasons, of every day occurrence ; and that, with proper care, the water may be made to retain its solidity: and it might be longer •till before he could satisfy himself that the mixture of a few simple ingredients would produce a degree of artificial cold, sufficient to cause the phenomenon in question, even within the tropics. Meanwhile his understanding might be enthralled, and his credulity tampered with, though no real wairaat had been produced to justify the deiaaud made 284 THE CRITERION OP MIRACLES; j^PART. II. upon liis faith. There is no doubt the vulgar have been thus imposed on, times without number, and an impression has been designedly awakened, and left upon their minds, that a law of nature has been controlled, when in truth the operator has been availing himself of some ascertained law, whose regularity enables him to command, and that too uniformly, results not attainable by the uninitiated. Many an uncommon occurrence, whether spontaneously exhibited, or brought about by the intervention of human instrumen- tality, may be the necessary and invariable result of a certain cause; and it may be only the fact that we have never traced the connection between that particular cause and its proper consequent, which prevents our assigning the occuiTcnce at once to its legitimate origin. The apparent violation, then, of nature's laws in the case of a miracle ought to be extended, to some known and certain law ; some instance in which the connection be- tween cause and effect has been accurately and repeatedly traced, and is familiar to men of ordinary intellectual powers, if not to all. And such may be easily found. We know, for example, that the application of certain medicines, or the intervention of a surgical operation, will often restore an impared, or correct a defective sight, and may even be successful in certain cases of total blindness. In ordinary cases, therefore, whatever adventitious circum- stances may have been employed simultaneously with the use of these means, whether it be some pretended incanta- tion on the part of the attendant, or a round of watchings at some reputed shrine, or any other similar device, the constancy of nature's laws will justify us in ascribing the cure, with infinitely greater probability, to the means em- ployed, than to any superhuman interference; and at any rate, admitting the possibility of a miracle, more causes than one have been in action; and we are unable to separate these so as to feel any confidence in the share to be ascribed to each ; we cannot discriminate between the effect due to the medicine, and that due to the miracle, nor can we say with certainty that the latter has been in operation at all. But let us suppose a diseased eye anointed with clay, which has been casually picked up on the spot where a fortuitous meeting between the sufferer and his benefactor has taken place; and moistened only with human spittle; the patient being CHAP. 1.3 THE CRITERION OP MIRACLE^ '^S^' ^/> y further instructed to bathe in a particular pold;^tj*e con- stancy of nature certifies us that there is no^^edicinal property residing in the clay, the spittle, or the^'Sai^t^ of , bathing, to which an instantaneously healing efficacy ca^" ascribed : an interference mth a known law of nature has been exhibited, an obvious miracle has been >vrought. Nor is the miracle less conspicuous when the sick are healed, lepers cleansed, storms hushed, or the dead raised, by a touch, or by a word. If the facts be authenticated, their nature can admit of no question. But not so with many a pretended miracle. Admit, for a moment, tliat the courtiers of Gustasp were enabled to handle fire unscathed, as the Parsee legends assert ; — any one disposed to make the experiment, will find that the flame of naptha, which abounds in Persia, may be freely suffered to play upon the human body: and many a similar trick with fire may be resolved into some similar cause. Admit that ]Mahomet literally pointed out a riven moon : be may have taken advantage of some natural optical phenomenon, whose counterpart it were not difficult to find in the records of science, and persuaded his followers that the change had take place at his bidding. Admit that the enemy fled when he threw dust in the air, to rescue his overmatched warri- ors, the artifice was one of a kind that has been resorted to, in a multitude ofinstances, withan equally signal success. The fact may be admitted, but there is no need to have recourse to a miraculous interposition to account for the result; ordinary natural causes mil fully explain every incident by which the transaction is accompanied. * I have endeavoured to express myself in such a way as to avoid implying that every transaction which can possibly ' ' resolved into a mere developement of natural causes, vhether rare, or of a more ordinary kind, ought, on this ground alone, to be peremptorily excluded from our list of authentic miracles. We may indeed, as I have said, rea- * The student will find much valuable a88i3tance, in a popular fonn, bearini; on this and the preceding parajp-aphs, in Sir David Brewster'd very interesting doudecimo on Natijrai Maoio. An acquaintance with this would enable him to explain many extraordi- nary natural phenomena, and unravel many of the artifices which have beenemployed» sometimes harmlessly to amuse, and sometimes criminaUy to deceive. 286 THE CRITERION OP MIRACLES. {^PART. II. sonably expect that if a superior power interfere with the accustomed sequences of nature, in order to confirm a com- munication he is making to man, he will do so in some way that cannot be mistaken : but it might be too much to limit his interference to such miracles only, as no combination of existing natural causes can explain. We require some such; and these may serve to authenticate the rest. But in comparing reputed miracles which may be resolved into natural results, with the miracles of Christianity, the rea- soning we employ is substantially the same with that made use of in the case of doubtful evidence. Admitting, for the purposes of our present argument, that the facts of the case, in either instance, are equally well authenticated, •we have, on the one hand, a series of transactions which may or may not be miraculous; and on the other a like series which it is absolutely impossible to account for on any other supposition. The interference of any power superior to nature is in the former case doubtful; in the latter the proof of it is complete. Now it is clear that if I have a number of mathematical instruments of a similar kind, and to all outward appearance alike, and if the perfect correct- ness of one has been, by repeated trials, satisfactorily ascer- tained, while the accuracy of the rest is still a matter for investigation; I shall not test the first by the others; but these latter by the first. If then I have a religious system, authenticated by unequivocal miracles, I shall be only acting in a religious question on the same principle which ought to guide meinevery other, if I institute a comparison between this and all other religious systems that come before me, on all points on which the nature of the case admits of a comparison, and judge of these latter systems, by their agree- ment or disagreement with the former. If the authenticat- ing power of the system whose miracles are unequivocal, declare that there exists no other power that can exhibit an equal measure of control over created beings, I fairly con- clude that the doubtful appearances alleged to emanate from a conflicting power, are not exceptions to, but unwonted exam- ples of natural laws, it may be, not yet fully understood. I make my choice between the systems by the unequivocal reality of their reputed miracles; and having thus acquired apreponder- ^nce of evidence in favour of one, I am at liberty to use its authority in dealing with the rest. 3o many, then, of the re- CBAP. .1.] THE CRITERION OF MIRACLES. ^7 puted miracles scattered overthe records of the past, as are of a doubtful nature, may be thus disposed of. Christianity has a host of real unquestionable miracles, and designates all others, in general terms, as "lying wonders," whose object is only to deceive. (Matt. xxiv. 24; 2 Thess. ii. 9, 10; Rer. xiii. 13, 14; xix. 20.) No other system, therefore, can compete with her by any appearances whose true nature is involved in uncertainty; — to attain an equal claim upon our regard a series of equally unquestionably miracles must be proved. (3) It is difficult to avoid the use of expressions anti- cipating considerations which have to be unfolded in a future paragraph, and I have already, in more than one instance, employed not only familiar words but more com- plex ideas, that have to be again taken up for further ex- planation as we proceed. I have many times spoken of miracles as an attestation of a divine revelation. I reserve for the ensuing section the fuller exposition of the process by which the mind associates the miracle with the truth of the doctrine; but the present is a convenient place to direct attention to the connection between the miracle and the doctrine itself, in virtue of Us being appealed to as an at- testation of truth. The reader >vill distinguish the act of appeal, from the admission of its conclusiveness. It is the former we are to consider now; the latter shall be disposed of by and bye. The use of miracles here referred to is a distinguishing feature, almost peculiar to the Christian story. I do not mean that the Christian miracles alone have subsequently been appealed to in attestation of doctrines that have become, in after ages, associated with the miracles; but they will be found, on investigation, to stand almost alone in this;— . that they are, in the narrative itself, associated with certain doctrines, in support of which they are openly alleged to have been exhibited, for the express purpose of producing ( onviction on the minds of men ; whereas a large proportion rif those sometimes put forward as of rival authority, or to ( ounterbalance a weight which even the infidel feels, while iie wishes to be thought unconscious of its pressure, are related as either having no definite object at all, or no such object in view. Most of the narratives we possess of su- pernatural occurrences appear, on the face of them, as if 288 THE CRITERION OP MIRACLES. PART. 11.] designed to excite astonishment rather than any other sentiment; an intention we can nowhere detect in the writers of the New Testament. The total absence of any thing like writing for effect is, indeed,, a marked charac- teristic of their style; and the marvel is how they have managed to deliver accounts so full of uncommon incidents, in the singularly unobtrusive manner that runs through all their compositions. But apart from the manner of telling, let us come to the matter told. Roman story recounts the succour brought to their faint- ing troops, in a hard fought struggle with the Latins, by Castor and Pollux, who are said to have been seen mounted on milk white steeds, and mingling in the thickest of the firay. I say nothing here of the fine scope for fiction present- ed by the maddening excitement of a lengthened and dubious combat; of the little likelihood that men occupied each in mortal conflict with a brave and stubborn enemy, could have an eye to spare for any thing more distant than their own immediate foe; or of the facility with which, at such a moment, imagination could even persuade the organs of vision that such appearances were actually presented to the eye. But, I ask, what purpose, beyond the immediate one of temporary relief, was accomplished by the miracle, ad- mitting it true? These deities had already a place in the Roman fasti ; their interposition might give an additional cause for gratitude; but nothing was added to the know- ledge their votaries possessed already. No new truth, was proclaimed ; at best there was but a confirmation of a former belief in their existence, — a belief, which true or false, is not represented to have been wavering, or to have needed renewed support. As little of apparent design, beyond that of temporary protection, is there in the account of Chrishna's famous ex- ploit of sustaining mount Goverdhen,as an umbrella, over the shepherds and shepherdesses, the companions of his boyhood, to shelter them from the storm with which the angry Indra was seeking to overwhelm them. There are, it is true, a few miracles, like those ascribed to Zoroaster, which are repre- sented as having been wrought in support of some associa- ted teaching, and there are some which we might allow to have been inferentially used for a similar end ; but there «re hundreds of others, heathen, Mahometan, and Romish, CHAP. I.] THE CRITERION OF MIRACLES. 289 >vhich must Le classed among the mere wonders of history or romauce. Perhaps they exalt some favoured deity or venerated saint, or depress his rival; perhaps they bring deliverance to a persecuted votary, or bestow success upou a steady devotee ; but beyond this they do not go; and often not so far; and it is miracles of this class we are now contrasting with those of Christianity. There is a most important difference between the circumstances under which they are said to have been wrought, and those attending the Christian miracles ; and in consequence of this difference I affirm that they arc open to very serious drawbacks in our -timation of their intrinsic worth. Tliey are open to two serious objections in point of evi- dence; and these properly come in here, rather than under our first head, because the objections arise not so much from any imperfection in the transmission of the evidence, as from considerations anterior to this, and found in the very subject of which the testimony treats. One large class of them, I allude to the prodigies related of the gods them- selves, are in their own nature incapable of being made the subject of human testimony at all. Who, we may ask, beheld the churning of the ocean, or the wars of the gods, or hundreds of the other extravagancies that fill the legendary mythology of the Hindoos? Who was privy to the famous liqht journey of Mahomet to heaven; or witnessed the Meged delivery of the successive chapters of the Koran by i; angel Gabriel? Who beheld the many visions monks id hermits are said to have been favoured with? I do 't insist hereon the many incongruities which an impartial amination could not fail to detect in the greater part these wild stories, so prodigal in stupendous marvels, led in careless profusion, apparently in mockery of con- tency and reason: and I have now less room left me than had ancitipated, when at an earlier stjige of my progress 1 declined to enter on the question as to whether or no this, shall I say, wasteful expenditure of wonders Ix; worthy the chiuracter of a high and holy God. These inviting topics might fill many a page; but I pass them by, and simply repeat my quer}': Who has come forward us a witness of these things? Will it be said that the authors of the pnranas were spectators of what they relate? Will the s(>cr proclaim himself a sufficient witness of the visionary cc 290 THE CRITERION OF MIRACLES. [[pART. II. scenes that passed before his eyes? I omit, designedly, a qualification that might have been expected, and will not say, — visions which he alleges to have passed before his eyes; — for I am willing for once to drop the insinuation that he may be designedly practising on my credulity, and only ask an assurance that what he tells me was a reality, and not a mere dream; — some creature of an over-excited imagination, rather than a revelation from above. I grant that strange appearances, and surprising changes may have been revealed to him by a Superior Power; and that he mai/ have been admitted to a close and intimate communion with that Power, in a way that ought ever to distinguish him as favoured above his brother men. But if he speak of things of which man cannot be a spectator, or of things which none but himself have seen ; supposing the proof of a divine interposition to be satisfactory to himself, that I may share his satisfaction, I must from some source or other have an assurance of his veracity and judgment before I can receive his testimony freely. He is, in fact, commu- nicating a revelation, and what he asserts cannot be received in proof of the revelation ; it is the re elation, or a part of the revelation itself; the thing to be proved, and not the proof. I will not venture to say that miracles would be the only possible way of vindicating the truth of narratives of the class I speak of, but I do say that no real demand is made upon my credit by such narratives emanating from unknown authors, or, which amounts to nearly the same thing, from authors of whom nothing is known; — from one whom I may have sound reasons for regarding as an im- postor or a fanatic; or, at best, from one whose fidelity is but very imperfectly sustained. Were there no positive evidence in favour of a contrary truth, I say, that such testimony, or rather, such statements, for they can scarcely be said to amount to testimony, have no claim upon my faith: and when they are set side by side with miracles fully within the cognizance of man, and amply supported by testimony which ought to be received as infallible, I cannot consent to look on them even as of barely possible authen- ticity: I write them down with no sort of hesitation as mere fables. It is true, indeed, that the Christian Scriptures mention prodigies which man could not have seen; and -yisions which were seen only by individuals. These I shall CHAP. 1-3 THE CRITERION OP MIRACLES. 291 have to notice again. I may here briefly remark that in every case, the correctness of the narrative is vindicated by a plenti- ful addition of simple miracles, (if I may so call them), and it is on the faith of these, as transmitted to us by human testimony, that we place the stress; it is to these that we challenge our adversaries to produce an authentic parallel. The second objection applies to the class of miracles cap- able of being witnessed by man. It will be best illustrated by an example. I will suppose that currency has been given to a report of some striking miracle, which is said to have been recently performed; say that a blind man has been restored to sight, or a dead man raised. The rumour goes abroad: one questions its reality: another supposes it may be resolved into the operation of natural causes ; the sight was not gone, life was not extinct; medical skill, perhaps of some uncommon kind, and by the aid of a newly dis- covered drug, may have brought about a favourable and a rapid change; and, being unexpected, grateful but weak minded friends have magnified it into a miracle. Possibly many hundreds of sensible men may never think about the matter at all; they cannot explain it at once; it does not concern them; they have neither time nor inclination to give their attention to the investigation of it, and so they let it pass. The resuTt is that no examination is entered into: the credulous may give it a place in their not over nicely selected catalogue of established facts ; but, in truth, it remains at best a dubious, perhaps a suspected tale. But now imagine the same rumour has attached to it something that touches the interests of all: suppose,for instance, that the cure, if really miraculous, is by law to 1)0 requited by a pe- cuniary contribution from every inhabitant of an extensive district. Methinks I see a universal stir; crowds hurry to the spot; a rigid scrutiny is set on foot. One will search for himself; another may be willing to abide by the decision of friends in whom he thinks he can confide; but on all sides the thing is sifted to the bottom ; you may rest assured the truth will be arrived at; and the process will be more easy, if for one or two, we substitute thirty, forty, or a still wider range of miracles. And what is it that makes the differ- ncc? Simply that in the one case there is nothing associ- at<'d with the rumour to interest the public; in the other that interest is most strongly excited. cc2 292 THE CRITERION OP MIRACLES. [^PART. II. But, it may he demanded, would not the supposed repeti- tion of the wonder, without the concurrent demand upon the purses of the community, be sufficient to confirm the fact, if real ? Undoubtedly it might, and for precisely the same reason, because interest would be excited, though in a diffe- rent way, and to a minor degree; asitmight also, if the display of miraculous powers Avere always, or generally, or even often, exercised in the way of relieving the sufferings of the sick, or the necessities of the poor. There are many cases on record concerning which public curiosity has been in some way or other thus called forth, an inquiry has been instituted, and imposture detected : and there are a few cases, (to be noticed hereafter,) where the miracle has been of an equivocal nature. But I am dealing with here of such as are calculated to call forth no general interest; such as encounter no op- position by clashing with popular feeling, and which therefore are suffered to pass by with little or no investigation. Such histories cannot rise above the grade of mere rumours, and are doubtful, at the very best, because they are asso- ciated with no object, avowed, or of easy inference, on which mankind may care to spend their time and thoughts. But the Christian miracles are not of this sort. There is a something in them which cannot fail to awaken the sym- pathy even of the unbeliever. A display of power is called for; and the general method chosen for its exhibition is one replete with compassion: the predominating idea is "to bind up the broken hearted;... to comfort all that mourn;" (Is. Ixi. ], 2. Luke iv. 18.) and the particular instances by which it is followed out are, in almost every case, touching manifestations of affectionate solicitude, considerate tender- ness, and heart-felt love. Look, for example, at the af- fecting history of the family at Bethany, (Luke. x. 38 — 42. John xi. 1 — 46.), of the widow of Nain (Luke. vii. 1 1 — 16.); and of the Canaanitish woman (Matt. xv. 21 — 28), and there can be but one opinion as to the peculiarly appro- priate selections Jesus made of persons on whom to show forth his power. Yet, after all, this is only incidental. There were doubtless in Israel many families as afflicted, and perhaps, as amiable, as that of Martha and Mary; there were many widowed mothers groaning under bereavements no less heavy than hers of Nain; yet Jesus singled out comparatively but a few on whom to exercise compassion. CHAP. 1-3 THE CRITERION OP MIRACLES. 293 "Was he not then partial in the distribution of his favours; and were not his miracles of less general interest than we have asserted? The answer to either query must be in the negative; because the relief of these few sufferers, or of worldly sufferings in general, was not the main object of his miracles. Had it been so, his cures, even had their number been far greater, and their range far less confined, might have been thought partial and inadequate: for he professed himself, not a Saviour, one to leave a passing blessing on a single country, or a single generation; but the Saviour of the world. ( John iv. 42.) It was not that such an one, blind from his birth, should enjoy the personal privilege of appreciating the blessing of sight ; or that two sorrowing sisters should welcome back a treasured brother from his grave, that Jesus gave light and life to a nameless beggar, and to Lazarus, but "that the works of God should be made manifest," "for the glory of God, that the Son of God might be glorified thereby:" (John ix. 3; xi. 4.). It is certain that a great majority of those who came to Jesus saw no further than the temporal benefit to be reaped from seeking him : for he himself upbraids them, that they sought him, "not because they saw the miracle, but because they did eat of the loaves and were filled;" (John vi. 26.) and had there been in reality nothing more than this in his miracle8,there would have been something in them of in terest; and enough perhaps to secure a satisfactory testimony in. their favour; but not enough to exempt them from the strictures of those who might have thought them without a sufficiently weighty object, and partial, as being, for no apparent reason, confined to a single age, and even in it to a scanty few. But when it is announced that the grand object was not the personal comfort of those few, or indeed the mere temporal comfort of any; when we reflect that the spiritual and eternal interests of the whole human race, in every age, are intimately associated with these exhibitions of extraordinary power, and that they were intended as confirmatory of the important doctrines by which they were accompanied, we see at once that the age and country and person sinks down into a mere insignificant accessary. The kind of confirmation thus given was required at the first promulgation of the doctrine, and some particular age, some particular region, some particular objects, must needs cc3 294 THE CRITERION OP MIRACLES. fpART. 11. be selected for its exhibition. I may hereafter have an opportunity to suggest some reasons why it was not conti- nual and universal ; but without dwelling on this, sufl&cient for the purpose in view was capable of being eifected within a comparatively brief time, and by a limited number of examples ; and the minor considerations of when and where, ?ind how; upon whom, and to what extent, is lost and swallowed up in the larger and overpowering object, the attestation of a message of mingled judgement and mercy from above. The miracles were wrought mainly, if not entirely, for the purpose of authenticating the words of a teacher professing to be sent from God. "The works that I do in my Father's name," said Jesus, "they bear witness of me;" (John. x. 25.) ; and again : "believe me for the very works sake ;" (Johnxiv. 11.), and when the apostles wrought special wonders, it was proclaimed to be the Lord, who "gave testimony unto the word of his grace, and granted signs and wonders to be done by their hands." (Acts xiv. 3.) Mankind at large are confessedly predisposed to credulity; fond of the marvellous, and averse to the labour of minute and careful inquiry. It is only when questions arise which bear too closely on individual faith, and fondly cherished prepossessions, or interfere too closely with the regulations of individual conduct, that they become alive to the neces- sity of a searching scrutiny. The great mass of mythology in every pagan system, is a mere collection of marvellous stories, relating to the actions of the gods, but not adduced as proofs to men of any definite article of faith, or made to bear on any moral duty. Most of them, moreover, fall in with the natural passions of men, and furnish a plea for their indulgence. The Christian miracles, on the contrary, are uniformly and consistently urged as evidences of the heavenly origin of accompanying rules of faith and prac- tice; and I scarcely need again remind my reader of the unacceptable nature of both doctrine and precept, when offered to beings constituted as men are ; or of the opposition they are calculated to excite from a godless world, (see p. 30 — 32.) There is, indeed, a repugnance to the truths of a spiritual religion, such as that preached by Jesus and his apostles, which makes men reluctant, in the first instance, to entertain its propositions. But with judgments so awful, and promises so inviting; with so much that speaks so CH^^r. I.^ THE CRITERION' OP MIRACLES. 295 powerfully to the natural conscience, (an element that may never be excluded from consideration in questions regarding religion^) backed by credentials so pertinaciously urged, and in such profuse variety, it is impossible that all can have refused it a hearing, or have failed to arrive at the truth concerning the reality of its miracles. When other miracles can be proved to have been thus pressed on the attention of men, at the time they are described as having been done, and to have been received by contemporaries as established beyond a doubt, then, and not till then, may they rank side by side with those of Christianity. But, beside these objections as to evidence, there is a want of definiteness about miracles unassociated with doctrine, which leaves an impression of the most unsatisfactory kind. What do they prove ? nothing more, at best, than the exist- ence of some unknown being possessing a power superior to the ordinary course of nature. If a man, from the works of creation, have reasoned himself into a belief in one eternal power and Godhead (Rom. i. 20.), he might infer that the power thus interfering, must be the same he has already be- come acquainted with ; or possibly the interruption of the laws laid down by this power, for no apparent cause, might serve only to confound and puzzle him. And were he doubtful before; any reflections arising from the miracle must leave hira doubtful still. We are conversant with a vast number of beings, rising through innumerable grades of physical and intellectual capacity, from the lowest state of mere material existence seen in the lifeless stone, to the highest order of terrestrial beings, man. Glancing through the mere material, the vegetable, and the animal world, we behold in each successive stage, a certain community of properties, associated with others superior, in each class, to those of the one beneath it. The superiority, however, in almost every case, is somewhat modified by a deficiency not shared by certain of the inferior orders ; so that the grooving timl)er, superior in the organization that gives it yegctable life, must yield in durability to the less marvellously constructed stone; and man himself can neither match the strength of the elephant, the speed of the horse, nor the sagacity of the dog in scenting out its prey. Among men, again, we observe the same community of qualities, inter- mingled with the same variety. There is every order of 296 THE CRITERION OF MIRACLES. [^PART. H. intellect from that but just removed from idiotcy, to the towering genius of a Newton or a Locke: and yet the mind •whose comprehensive grasp verges almost on superhuman power, is often, we might almost say, is commonly associated ■with a hand that would fail to execute with tolerable accuracy the task of the ordinary mechanic. Now unless we presume to affirm that nothing exists which is not an object of perception to our senses, that is, unless we presume that we know all things, there may be a like gradation of unseen beings, possessing equally diversified powers, whether original and self-existent, or implanted in their nature by some Being superior to all the rest; or delegated for temporary purposes by some such Being ; and some or all of these may be thus capable of actions which in men would be beyond the capabilities of their nature, but to them may be natural ; — take for an example the power of instantaneous transi- tion from place to place; or the power of moving through vacant space; — or they may be temporarily intrusted by another with powers that men are not commonly intrus- ted with; while, withal, so far from being absolutely superior, they may in certain particulars lack qualities that men possess; — for instance, they may be unable per- sonally to appreciate the bountiful provision made for man in the food that gratifies his palate, and supplies his natural wants. I do not say that these things are so, but that it is supposable that they may be so: and it will follow hence that the mere naked exhibition of a power superior to that of man, though it would prove the existence of a higher grade of beings, does not in itself prove that the immediate and ostensible instrument is the Supreme Lord of all, or the first great cause; or that divine worship is due, simply in consequence of' the exhibition of this power. There is a manifestation of a power greater than that of man; and that is all that can be said. I suppose it will be admitted that mere superiority, whe- ther physical or moral, is no ground for paying divine ho- ours to any being of any class whatever. If it were so, men must worship the elephant because of his strength; or the ignorant and imbecile must worship the learned and talented, because their acquirements, or intellect are of a higher order. The officers of a monarch generally possess much private influence and wealth, irrespective of that conferred on them CHAP. 1.] THE CRITERION OP MIRACLES. 297 by their official capacity; and in virtue of this latter thay necessarily have access to treasures, are empowered to issue orders, and exercise an authority over inferior servants in a degree to which the mass of the governed can lay no pre- tensions. Yet it would be a hasty and eiToneous conclusion were the people of the country to infer hence that homage ought to be rendered to these officers, as to sovereign kings : and to offisr such would he an act of disrespect, perhaps of rebellion, agjiinst their common lord. Nor is the danger less in conceding to an unknown being the adoration due only to a deity, simply because there has been a display of some unwonted power. For aught we know he may be a mere delegate; or he may be less exalted above the human race, than the ablest of men are above their less gifted fellows. The miracle is insufficient and perplexing, because imattended by an explanation of the inference intended to be drawn from it ; nor is it a mere hypothetical case to ima- gine that it may result in error. The men of Lystra did thus err, when they supposed that "the gods had come do\Mi in the likeness of men," because Paul and Barnabas had healed the impotent man ; and the priest of Jupiter "would have done sacrifice with the people." (Acts. xiv. 8 — 18). Had this miracle been left without an exposition of its real design, an inference would have been drawn not only un- warranted by the intention of those by whom it had l)een performed, but diametrically contrary to the design they had in >'iew. It appears, then, that no safe conclusion can be drawn from mere naked miracles, with nothing to guide us in the regulation of our estimation of, and conduct to- wards, those by whom they are displayed. If there bo nothing to make it clear that it is not right to make them the object of religious adoration, neither is there any thing on which we can rely in proof that it is right to do so. Our judgment must be suspended; at the best we have still but a flickering and uncertain spark, which cannot light us on our way, and may perplex us more. But, further, be- sides that such miracles prove nothing certainly; or rather because they prove nothing certainly, is there not a presump- tion against their reality, as implying an indistinctness of teaching in the highest degree uuAvorthy of a being of supe- rior intelligence, communicating with a class of iutcUigent beings such as men? 298 THE CRITERION OF MIRACLES. [pART. II. j (4.) It is almost superfluous to remark that wlien a miracle j is wrought for the purpose above explained, it is indispen- j sable that it be clearly brought home to the person of whose 1 doctrine it is the seal. I think it will be readily admitted j that, whether with reference to the general object of mira- | cles, or to the mode by which they are to be associated with < an individual, it will not be requisite to expose to view, on ' every occasion, the whole of these connecting links by which the completed circle preserves its continuity. The accredited \ ambassador at a foreign court, or the duly constituted agent I of a mercantile firm, having once exhibited his credentials, ; ■will repeatedly have to transact business for those he repre- ] seats without being called on, at each fresh interview, to ■ renew the exhibition. In the same way the general an- \ nounceraent of the main design of miracles, repeated so often ; as to insure a sufficient notoriety, and guard against liability I to misconception on the part of those addressed, is obviously \ sufficient. And, in like manner, when a series of miracles \ has been clearly traced to an individual, whether acting in ; his own name or that of another, a miracle wrought while j he is present, by his touch, through the intervention of { his garments, or any thing sent from him, or even by his i shadow, (Matt. ix. 20; xiv. 36. Acts v. 15; xix. 12. ) may J be fairly ascribed to him, though he may have used no expres- j sion to associate it with himself; or even though he may have ] outwardly exhibited no consciousness of its progress. But :j this will only be the case after the possession of extraordinary \ powers has been clearly traced to him by previous examples, ) in which his agency has been unequivocally proved. ^ We can imagine no more suitable method whereby this j can be effected than that of announcing verbally before- | hand, the effect which is expected to follow from the process ! about to be employed. Had we one solitary instance i of a paralytic rising and taking up his bed, while conver- i sing with Jesus, we might have set it down as a strik- j ing instance of a sudden cure, brought about perhaps by ; natural causes; but we could not with any certainty have \ attributed it to the interposition of a superior power ; and still less could we have fixed on the person to whose influ- \ ence it ought to be ascribed. Had the wind simply subsided at the moment Jesus was aroused by his disciples, we know | that such sudden calms are by no means uncommon, and ■ CTTAP. I.] THE CRITERION OP MIRACLES. 299 we mighl have written it dovn as a singular coincidence, and nothing more. But when the expected event is previ- ously announced hy the command, ''Arise, take up thy bed and walk," (]\ratt. ix. 6.); and the cure is forthwith com- plete; when the sudden calm is preceded hy a rebuke, and an injunction, "Peace, be still;" (Markiv. 39.) the miracle is at once satisfactorily associated with the speaker, and a, few such exhibitions of power suffice to establish his cha- racter as gifted, beyond all controversy, with a general control over nature's usual laws. Now the full and minutely circumstantial narratives of so large a number of the miracles of Jesus and his apostles, enable us to pronounce most confidently on the unexceptionable methods used to call the attention of the by-standers to the individual through whom, and the ultimate power by which, they were %\Tought. The case of Lazarus, of the paralytic, of the centurion's servant, of the daughter of Jairus, and of the demoniac in the synagogue of Capernaum, may be singled out ^ appropriate instances so far as Jesus himself is concern- •. J ; and a comparison of these with some of the miracles of the apostles, with that for example wrought by Peter and John on the crippled beggar; or with the expulsion of the spirit of divination from the damsel at Philippi, will manifest the same assiduous care to mark the intermediate instrument: while the command, which in the former instances had been issued by the speaker as on his own authority, uniting in his o>\Ti person both the instrumental and the primary cause, is now given in the name of Jesus, from whom a delegated power is acknowledged to be derived. (John xi. Matt. ix. 2—7. Luke vii. 1—10; viii. 41—56. iv. 33 — 37. Acts iii. iv. xvi. 1() — 18.) — I. have noted this latter particular here, though more properly belonging to another place, because it is so closely interwoven with the form of words employed to announce the miracles of the New Testa- ment : and it is important as associating the sign, not only with the visible agent, which is what I am chiefly speaking of here, but with the unseen Being to whom the real power is assigned. But to this I shall recur. One oy two more particulaFs have first to be dismissed. (5.) Of these the next in order is, that the effect must follow immediateltf on the announcement of the intention; unless, which comes to nearly the same thing, a definite SOO THE CRITERION OF MIRACLES. [[PART. II. period be, at the moment, fixed for its completion. If any considerable delay be interposed, there is not only a want of ready obedience to the injunction on the part of the objects addressed, whether rational or only materia.! ; but, what is of even greater consequence, there is room to ques- tion whether the effect has resulted from the injunction, or from the operation of natural causes, or from the interfer- ence of another power. The miracles of the New Testament arc more commonly attended by an instantaneous result: Jesus touches tlic woman whom infirmity had bowed to- gether for eighteen years, "and immediately she is made straight;" (Luke xiii. 11 — 13.) the nobleman makes his ap- plication for mercy at the seventh hour, and on his return he learns from his servants that the fever had left his son at the very hour "in the which Jesus said unto him, thy son liveth." (John iv. 46 — 54.) In general the word is scarcely uttered: "Arise and walk;" "receive thy sight;" "be it unto thee even as thou wilt;" and the paralysed limbs are strengthened; the darkened eye is opened; and the heart of the suppliant is gladdened by the immediate pos- session of the object of his prayer. There are, indeed, a few occasions in which an interval separates the announce- ment from the full enjoyment of the promised boon. A leper is sometimes directed to the abode of a priest; and a blind man to the pool of Siloam; the completion of the cure being deferred till his faith in the promise is made manifest by the outward act of obedience to the command. But these instances are comparatively rare; and in all a definite time, or some overt act is mentioned, on the accomplish- ment of which, and neither before nor after it, the effect is produced; and this is obviously a mere variation of the external form, and does not interfere with the true nature of the miracle. (6.) The effect ought always to follow on the announce- ment of the intention. A very large proportion of the ex- traordinary events, and especially of the extraordinary cures of disease, which have made a noise in the world, will be found to have been a few successful cases out of a vast number of trials. The failures are studiously kept out of sight; the slightest symptom of success is magnified and put boldly forward. The reputed miracles at the tomb of the Abbe Paris, in the churchyard of St. Medard, in Paris, have CHAP. I.] THE CRITERION OF MIRACLES. 301 formed a prominent subject of discussion in most treatises on the Evidences, and may profitably be made the text of a few brief observations here. The crowds of sick and in- firm who flocked to the tomb for relief, were, by all accounts, innumerable; yet all the cures, for which Montgeron, the indefatigable champion of the miracles, could procure vouchers, amounted to only nine/ These were none of them instantaneous; most of the patients persevered in the use of medicines during all the time of their attendance at the tomb, in some cases for days, in others, for weeks, and even months; many of the cures were incomplete, and others temporary, (on which two particulars hereafter:) but, as a set off to this sorry measure of equivocal success, it was objected by the enemies of the saint, and scarcel}-^ contra- dicted and never confuted by his friends, that the prostrations at his sepulchre produced more maladies than they cured! I think most men would be disposed to attach far greater weight to a single miracle, unaccompanied by any subse- quent attempt to repeat the exhibition of a power once satisfactorily displayed, than to a much larger number, if these latter were known to be but a few lucky instances out of a host of unsuccessful trials. And with reason: for €upposing the single miracle such as could not be the result of chance, though it would not be unfair to look for something to follow up and fix the impression it must make, there is nothing to detract from the persuasion that it has been effected by some supernatural power. If, on the one hand, there has been no second display of such power, there ifl, on the other, nothing whence to infer that this has arisen from deficiency of power; and the presumption ought to be that the subsequent abstinence from similar acts is the result of design, rather than of compulsion or inability. Whereas allowing that the miracles are unexceptionable, if they are mixed up with failures, there is an uncertainty about them which confounds us. It is not unreason- able to infer that whether from fraud, ignorance, or folly, pretensions are put forth by the visible agent which he cannot sustain ; or a suspicion may arise that the ultimate power from whom he has received his commission is limited and controlled. But he is a sorry master whose servants and dependents yield obedience to his word only when it Muita their own good will and picture; and if this be the Pd S02 THE CRITERION OP MIRACLES. [pART. II. cause of failure, who will not be emboldened to persevere in a like opposition, seeing that the pretended superior cannot enforce submission to his authority? Or if it be some still greater power that baffles his attempts, is not the conclusion inevitable, that those attempts are unacceptable to that power? And shall we risk the displeasure of the greater in yielding a willing submission to the less, at the very time when his inferiority is made apparent by his thwarted efforts? Or if the mere messenger have failed because he has gone beyond his instructions, whether be- cause they are ill-defined, and therefore ill-understood, or from inattention, pride, or self-sufficiency, or from any other cause, must not some reflection pass upon his employer, or himself, or both; enough, at least, to shake that perfect confidence we ought to have in his every word: and will not this defeat the end of the message he has to deliver? Any way there is a lack of wisdom, or of effectual superin- tendence, or of power; that is, a lack of power of one kind or other, intellectual or physical; and a circumscribed power must draw a corresponding line around the qualified measure of deference that can be conceded to it, in virtue of what it really can effect. The advocate of Christianity is not required, either by the intrinsic impossibility of the thing itself, or by his own Scriptures, to maintain the absolute inadmissibility of any miracles save those which can be traced to the Being he feels it his privilege, as well as his duty, to call the One Only living and true God. He is satisfied that most of the re- puted miracles unconnected with his faith may be set aside as unsubstantiated by any competent evidence, and many more on the ground of manifest, or possible imposture, or as being of the mere result of natural causes, or otherwise of an equivocal nature ; and perhaps he may think that all are capable of being thus disposed of. But there is enough, I think, in his own Scriptures to leave him at liberty to suppose that there may be "spirits of devils working mira- cles" "after the working of Satan, with all power and signs and lying wonders," giving "a sign or wonder" that may "come to pass;" (Rev. xvi. 14. 2 Thess. ii, 9. Deut. xiii. 2.) — so that the deceit shall not consist in the parade of a false miracle for a true one; but in bringing men un- der "strong delusion," to "believe a lie," in virtue of some CHAP. I.] THE CRITERION OP MIRACLES. 303 real miracle. I do not say that such an interpretation is the only fair one that can be given of the passages alluded to, and a few others of a similar tendency, or that I consider it the right one; but I think they are fairly capable of this interpretation, and that if I do venture to regard it as a possible thing, that evil demons may have exercised some very limited degree of power over nature's ordinary laws, I ought not therefore to be blamed. If, then, there have been instances of such interposition, it will, on investigation be found that they have been less frequent; more limited; and what is of far greater consequence, less uniformly successful than those recorded in our Scriptures. I shall have to consider, presently, the little attention they will deserve if accompanied with evil doctrine: at present I only remark that if they preceded the miracles of the New Testament, and fall short of them in frequency^ or at least in power, and are accompanied with doctrines conflicting with those of Christianity ; the system encumbered with the proofs of a limited authority, must give way before that which can produce credentials of unlimited power; just as the orders of the subordinate minister are superceded by those of his superior: and if they have followed after the establishment of Christianity, the proof of a repealed or altered institution must at least equal that by which it was established; just as the respite must be signed by the same hand, and sealed >vith the same seal, which signed and sealed the sentence; or the law must be repealed or amended by the same authority by which it was enacted. I have said a Christian ought not to be blamed by his fellow Christians if he think it possible there may have been a miracle that was only permitted, and did not originate with God. And are Christians so devoid of candour, that de- spite the numerous current tales of demoniacal interference, a large proportion of the best and wisest of them are loath to admit so much as this? Or is it that the evidence of any such interference is insufficient to satisfy their reasonable ■cruples? In very soberness we are constrained to say that our own Scriptures afford the only unexceptionable proof of any thing that can be construed into an actual miracle. If there have been such, the records of antiquity have been singularly unhappy in passing them by, and putting in their room the frivolous narratives which cannot be entertained Dd2 304 THE CRITERION OF MIRACLE^; [[pART. 11. on other grounds; and when we have set down the limited success of the magicians of Pharaoh, (Ex. rii. 11, 22; viii. *].) and admitted that this may have been the fruit of en- chantment, as it may also of legerdemain; when we have added the incantation of the witch of Endor, and the ap- pearance of Samuel (1 Sam. xxviii. 7 — 25); the story of the Pythoness of Philippi, (Acts xvi. \(y — 18), and a few other instances preserved in the same volume, the stock of authenticated miracles, (if such they may properly be es- teemed,) not originatinginour God, is well nigh exhausted. If any object to the source whence they are drawn, let them from any quarter they are able "produce their cause,... and bring forth their strong reasons... that we may con- sider them: — yea, let" their gods "do good, or do evil, that we may be dismayed, and behold it together." But they "are of nothing and their work of nought." (Is. xli. 21 — 24.) The work of the magicians was shown to be nought; and the spirit of the Pythoness Avas silenced and confounded. We wait for accounts of authenticated miracles free from the detraction of repeated failures. Such are those of Christ: though exercised mostly on man, they embrace in their compass, heaven, earth, air, and sea; the ire^ that grows, the food we live on, the wine that cheers the heart of man; the vegetable, the animal and the material creation, the maladies that afflict the body; the sorrows that weigh down the soul; the living, the dead, the very demons that wandered from their dark abode, all felt his power, and yielded implicit obedience to his authoritative word. No failure is recorded; none is hinted at, even by his enemies; and this is the more remarkable, in that, with their unex- ampled candour, the evangelists do record a failure of their own; (Matt. xvii. 14 — 21.) as Moses had done one of his. (Num. XX. 7 — 12. Deut. iii. 26.) Their faith was afterwards increased ; it was before their full and final commission had been delivered to them that in a single instance a lunatic had been brought to them in vain; we read of no farther failures; and there can have been none, or none of any moment, or the apostles could not have maintained their ground : but nothing was at any time, from any defect what- ever, impossible to Jesus. (7). It will be superfluous to make the necessit)'^ of com- pleteness in a miracle the subject of a lengthened paragraph. CHAP. I.] THE CRITERION OP MIRACLES. 305 I apprehend that no one could fail to look upon the want of it, as unsatisfactory in the highest degree. I pass on therefore to another point very nearly allied to this; and which perhaps might be dismissed with almost equal brevity. It is that the eflfect of a miracle ought to be continued, both in order to establish its reality, and to give time and opportunity to enquire into the particulars of the case. There are many nervous diseases on which excitement and chiinge of scene produce an effect which would almost seem miraculous, so rapid and so great is the alteration for the better. In some cases a permament cure may result; but it frequently happens that a return to old scenes and occu- pations brings back the disease, perhaps as suddenly as it had disappeared. Some of the cures said to have been effected at the tomb of the Abbe Paris, were of this kind, and, in some a relapse did actually occur, after the patient had returned to his home. In all such cases the proof of the fact of a temporary cure is no proof of a miracle : natural causes may have been in operation, and nothing more than these, in the progress of the cure, as well as of the disease. But the duration of the effect of the miracle, is further requisite to give time to institute a proper inquiry concern- ing its reality. The kind of supernatural agency most open to deception is that of visions. This arises in a great measure from their transitory nature. They are only presented to one or two of the senses, without the possibility of these being confirmed by the touch, of all others the least likely to be deceived; and they leave no certain marks behind them, by which, when the excitement of the moment has subsided, and the mind begins collectedly to indulge in the retrospect of the past, it may test the reality of what it has witnessed, and assign to each particular its due importance. I have already spoken of miracles of this class when seen only by individuals, as being, for the most part, things that require proof, rather than proofs of any other fact or opinion; and even when witnessed by multitudes they are certainly liable to many objections. Sir Walter Scott, in his popu- lar letters on Demonology and Witchcraft, has collected many curious instances of the infectious character of su- perstition, in moments of such excitement as the crisis of a doubtful battle, when the enthusiasm or policy of some hard pressed leader has, by a hasty exclamation, given Pd3 306 THE CRITERIOTf OP MIRACLES. [pART. Hi \ \ imaginary being to a champion of celestial race, and the \ stirring idea has been communicated from rank to rank, till \ men have actually believed they saw the apparition their fan- ] cy had conjured up. But a more singular instance is that of j crowds, near Lanark, in June and July 1686, who for j several afternoons saw, or fancied they saw, shoAvers of j bonnets, hats, guns and swords, and companies of soldiers ; inarching by the river side, appearing and disappearing in • a most extraordinary way. The "fright and trembling" j which this strange sight occasioned, persuaded about two i thirds of the terrified spectators that they actually saw what i was described to them; but the remaining third saw nothing! I A tolerably sufficient proof that the vision existed only in j the imaginations of the credulous. For though it might ] possibly have been exhibited to a portion only, as there is ; no assignable reason for the distinction, (nor indeed for a ] miracle at all,) we may conclude that, if real, it would have | been equally obvious to all. The same entertaining writer ] tells the story of a witty satirist of the foibles of humanity, i (for such he must have been,) who actually contrived, by j a well assumed attitude and expression of astonishment, to \ make some silly dupes believe they saw a bronze lion wag | his tail, while others anxiously looked on, expecting to see j a repetition of the phenomenon ! But let any one reflect on the ease with which imagination may form images in j fantastic groups of clouds or trees, or catch them from the \ remarks of others; and the frequent changes these often | seem to undergo, while in reality their outline is the same, i and he will see how little dependence is, in general, to be '\ placed on narratives of day visions; — I shall not need to | speak of dreams. ; This brings me once more to the visionary miracles of < the New Testament, of which examples will be found in » the vision of Zacharias, the transfiguration, and the vision ] of Cornelius and Peter. With regard to these, we must ; bear in mind, first that they form only a part of the miracles of those whose general power was amply attested by other miracles of a more tangible kind, as I have remarked already, j and secondly, that many of the visions themselves were ; accompanied with abiding signs of their reality, as when j Zacharias was struck dumb, and continued so till the birth '. of his promised son; or when Peter found the servants of | OHAP. I.] THE CRITERION OP MIRACLES. 307 Cornelius at his door, and Cornelius received the visit of Peter at liis own home. But omitting all these, there were numbers on whom Jesus had shown some "miracle of heal- ing," (Acts iv. 22.) and these continued to dwell in the midst of those who had witnessed their restoration, living mo- numents as well of mercy as of power; nay, of enmity too, for the uneasiness of the chief priests was great, because that through them many believed on his name. (John. xii. 9, 10, 11, 17, 18.) If the reader has perused the foregoing strictures with thought and care, I scarcely anticipate that he wall withhold his assent fi-oni them ; and if he do I shall ascribe it to the •writers indistinctness, and not to any imperfection in the principles themselves. Let him now apply these principles to any miracle he pleases, except those recorded in Scripture, and perhaps a few in earlier Christian writers, and I am persuaded that in one or other of these particulars it will be found faulty, and indecisive. I have noticed several. I will only add two more, which have generally figured somewhat conspicuously, (a distinction for which they are indebted to Mr. Hume,) in treatises on miracles. I will give the first place to that recorded in the Memoirs of Cardinal de Retz. In travelling through Spain his route lay through Saragossa, the capital of Arragon, in the cathedral church of which "they showed me," he says, "a man whose business it was to light the lamps,...tellingmethat hehad been seen seven years at the gate with one leg only. I saw him there with two." The canons of the church appealed to the in- habitants for a confirmation of the fact, and a yearly festi- val had been instituted in commemoration of the miracle. The Cardinal, we cannot but remark, writes as if he did not believe the story, and he does not seem to have set on foot any inquiry. Of tlie actual performance of the miracle no evidence is brought; the man had but one leg,— • he now has two; when, where, by whom, in whose presence, or for what purpose the wonder was performed, is not so much as hinted at; and what is very significant indeed, the man himself was neither interrogated, nor called up that the limb itb'.'U' might be examined. What proof have we that 308 THE CRITERION ©F MIRACLES. [^PART. U, the leg was not an artificial one? — A contrivance then, per- haps, but little known; and not likely, if known, to be much talked about ; for the country was one where a whisper against the church was enough to consign the unhappy sceptic to the dungeons of the Inquisition, only to be ex- changed for the horrors of an Auto da Fe. I pass on to the miracle ascribed by Tacitus to Vespasian, or rather which Tacitus relates as having been ascribed to Vespasian; for though he certainly believed that the trans- action took place as he has given it, and there is no reason whatever for questioning the correctness of his statements concerning it, he does not write as if he had any faith in the reality of the miracle. The story, in substance, is as follows : One of the common people of Alexandria, known to be diseased in his eyes, flung himself at the Emperor's knees, and besought him to anoint his cheeks and eye-balls with his spittle; and another, whose hand was disabled by accident or disease, begged to have the affected limb trodden on by Vespasian ; both alleging the counsel of the god Serapis, as the origin of their prayer. The Emperor, at first, treated the matter with contempt ; but eventually the importunity of the suppliants prevailed on him to refer the cases to his physicians, with a view to ascertain whether the diseases might be overcome by human aid. Their an- swer ran, that the power of vision was not destroyed ; and that in either case sanatory measures might restore the in- jured parts ; that perhaps it might be the will of the gods to effect a cure, and make him the instrument by which to accomplish it ; and they further reminded him that all the credit of success would be his, and all the ridicule of a failure would fall on the wretched applicants. Thus encouraged, in the presence of an expectant crowd, Vespasian yielded to their petition, and did as they desired : the hand was forth- with restored to its wonted powers; day once more shone for him that had been blind. Twenty-seven years after, when, says Tacitus, nothing was to be gained by lying, those who had been present persisted in the account thus given concerning both these men. It can scarcely fail to strike the reader how puny a figure the chief actor in this scene is made to occupy, contrasted with the bold authoritative manner, arising from a full con- acioiisness of his own high powers, which characterised the CHAP. I.] THE CRITERION OP MIRACLES. 30^ ministry of Jesus, and drew to him the attention of friends and foes ; "for he spake and it was done ; he commanded and it stood fast;" (Ps. xxxiii. 9. See, Matt. vii. 29. Luke.'v. 36. Mark. iv. 41.) The hesitation of the Emperor, and his desire to consult with the physicians, if genuine, show that we are to look to him for no explanation of a power he did not know that he possessed ; and if they were assumed, there is a presumption of imposture not easily overcome. The whole atfair wears just the appearance of a collusion, design- ed to gratify Vespasian, who is known to have been open to flaitery of this kind, and was fond of pleading visions, au- guries, and presages in support of a title weak from the obscurity of his birth, and the mode of his succession to the purple. Possibly he may not have been in the secret ; for the issue of the confederacy, whether the attempt were made or not, was certain to be such as to secure its contrivers from rebuke, and his previous consent was not at all required. The diseases, blindness, in which the organs of vision were not destroyed, and lameness from an affection of the joints, were such as would present little or no outward blemish, and might easily be feigned ; and though the blind man is said to have been notorious fnoiusj for the disease of his eyes, the length of time during which he had suffered is not specified, and as Vespasian spent some months at .Alexandria, the affair may have been many weeks in train, for the very purpose of giving it effect, when ripe for execution. At all events so much may be said in dimi- nution of the miracle ; and there are so many possible so- lutions of the case, that it can never be received as stand- ing on the same footing with the miracles of our Scriptures. These miracles, I have many times had occasion to re- mark, were of the most public character ; and they were so multiplied that no contemporary, who wished to enquire into their true nature, could be at a loss for opportunities of doing so. The evangelists have thought it enough to pass by, in general terms, a great multitude of them ; for no useful purpose would have been secured by a more volu- minous selection. (Matt. iv. 24. Luke vii. 21. John xxi. 25. Acts v. 12 — 16, Sic.) But they have recorded at large about forty of Christ's miracles, and a smaller number of those of the apostles, as samples of the rest, that posterity might 310 THE CRITERION OP MIRACLES. [^PART. Il, in forming an opinion of their character. The opponent of Christianity might be disposed to lament that those who ' have chronicled the reputed miracles of other systems of religion, did not bear in mind the distinction between an i investigation of the truth of the fact, and the reality of the miracle; and turn their attention more fully to the latter, 1 Not much pains has been bestowed upon either ques- > tion; and if it had, the result would probably have been, j that fewer prodigies would have been recorded. But we | can only take their narratives as they stand; and if their ] method of telling the tale have left us without the means i of fully testing the nature of the transactions, for aught we J know it may have been of necessity, or by design. At all I events, as it is, history furnishes no instance of an unequi- vocal miracle which can compete with those recorded in the j New Testament. We admit that an opponent who can j rear an equally substantial fabric, has no more to do to ^ effect the demolition of our own. But we have yet to learn j that one stone has been laid upon another, or that the found- ; ation has been cleared for such a superstructure. If a few ■ rough materials have been dragged together, they are such : that a breath may disperse them, or a single footfall crumble ] them into dust. The biographers of Jesus and his apostles \ vrdte as if they were but little conscious of distinctions j which since their time have been made more clear; and yet j in their simple and unassuming narrative they have com- ! bined the truth of the fact and the reality of the miracle, so \ closely and so naturally, that it is impossible to give credit ; to the one, without receiving the other also. There are, | indeed, a few miracles, as we have seen, which, had they stood alone, might have been explained away; but there are others, and these constitute the greater number, con- | cerning which no manner of doubt can be entertained; and the miracle can only be got rid of, by repudiating the fact. ■ But the facts of the New Testament history have been shown j to be authentic; I shal^, therefore, now consider it fully i proved that the Christian miracles were real. \ The publicity we have noticed in most of these miracles ] was not, I think, absolutely necessary; though the vast ] acquisition of strength the argument in their support has ! derived from this circumstance, will at once recur to all. i CHAP. I.] THE RESURRECTION OP JESITS CHRIST. 311 There is, however, one miracle that may claim a separate consideration; both on account of the paramount importance attached to it in our Scriptures, and because it was left to rest upon the testimony of a chosen few. (Actsx. 41.) It ■will be perceived that I allude to the resurredion of Jesus himself from the dead. To this event our Lord had been at great pains to direct the attention of his disciples, while yet with them, (Matt. xvi. 21; xx. 17. Johnii. 19—22, &c.), and though the impression left at the moment was only that of doubtful amazement, mingled with the sorrow which a partial comprehension of his meaning could not but excite; when afterwards they entered on the full discharge of their apostolic mission, they gave it a leading position in all their teaching, (Acts ii. 24—436; iv. 10; xiii. 33, &c.) because they now saw that by it, Jesus was "declared," or, "deter- mined to be the Son of God with power;" and that if Christ did not rise again, their preaching, and their converts' faith was vain. (Rom. i. 4. 1 Cor. xv. 14.) (1.) The considerations adduced in support of the general authenticity of our Scripture story, with the exception of those drawn from the publicity of the facts, will all ap- ply in full force to the particular now before us, and the credibility of our witnesses having been established by ar- guments which ought to carry conviction to every candid mind, will bear us out in giving our assent, on this ground alone, to the resurrection of Jesus from the dead. But, as I have just said, the importance attached to the event, and the limited number of witnesses to the fact itself, may not unreasonably call for a few brief comments, supplementary to what has been insisted on above, I observe, then, first, that it is not supposable that the apostles would, after the event, have put into the mouth of their master a prediction which was notoriously falsified by the circumstan<;es actually attending his death or burial ; or that they wou'.d make the ▼ery key stone of their preaching to turn upon a fact, which the men among whom they sought to propagate their doc- trines must have well known to be contrary to the truth, if untrue. We may fairly conclude, therefore, that either the event did happen as they affirmed ; or that some deception, such as that of stealing away the body, must have been the ground work oil which they built their story. The state- ment coold not have been introduced at a late period of theif S12 THE RESURRECTION OF JESUS CHRIST. [pART. H. ministry, for it would then have properly been objected: — Why was not this made known before ? And, infact, itformed the text of Peter's earliest sermon, on the day on wliich the (apostles opened their commission to preach in name of Christ. The production of the body would then have ut- terly confounded the infant church, and silenced its esti- mony for ever. It was not produced, and hence Ave may assure ourselves, with tolerable certainty, that whatever, had ])ecome of it, it was not in its grave. (2.) Now the circumstances of the case rendered any «urreptious disposal of the corpse absolutely impossible. The prediction of Jesus that he should rise from the dead on the third day (Matt, xxvii. 63.) was current among the Jews, and had even made a deeper impression on them than on the disciples; and it was open to them to take any precaution they thought sufficient to guard against the possibility of fraud on the part of his followers. To do this was incumbent on them, in that if they had thought it worth their while to compass his death by means which had cost them very considerable anxiety, it was surely worth their while to take some kind of precaution against a danger it required no great foresight to anticipate, — ^for a revival of ,the cause, based on the fulfilment of this prediction, might not unnaturally be expected: and their course was the more easy, seeing that the period fixed for its accomplish- jnent was so short, and an efficient watch over a sepulchre hewn out of a solid rock, and with a single entrance, was attended with so little trouble. The Jewish rulers did anti- cipate such a revival, and took precautions which could not have been made more secure; for, not willing to trust to a private watch, they enlisted the Roman Governor in their service, and having stated to him the prediction of Jesus, and their fears "lest his disciples come by night, and steal him away, and say unto the people. He is risen from the dead :" they obtained of him permission to employ for this purpose a portion of the Roman soldiery ; with an injunction in make the sepulchre "as sure as they could." (Matt, xxvii. 62 — QQ.) The stone which closed the entrance was, accord- ingly, sealed, and the watch was set. All this gave a degree of publicity to the burial of Jesus but little removed below that which attended the other circumstances connected with his trial and execution; and transferred the custody of hi» CHAP. I.] THE RESURRECTION OP JESUS CHRIST. 3lS graye to the rulicg authorities of the state. The fraudulent removal of the body was thus rendered impossible ; for we cannot suppose those timid men, who had all forsaken Jesus when he alone was in danger, would have ventured to face a body of resolute soldiers, stationed at that particular post, with orders levelled directly against themselves; or that they could have succeeded, had the attempt been made. The report which the soldiers were prevailed on to cir- culate, that while they slept the disciples stole the body, is inadmissible in every point of view. The guard are not likely to have been remiss at the very time when more than ordinary caution was required. The sealing of the sepulchre and setting of the watch is beyond all question, for Matthew would never have dared to assert as much, had it been possible to refute his tale. But to have broken the seal before the commencement of the third day, would have falsified the prediction, which had specified that precise time and no other; hence the opening of that day was but a signal to unusual vigilance, and it was the last on which vigilance would be required. Moreover, the time of the resurrection is stated to have been a little before dawn, for about dawn the women who had gone to the sepulchre were instructed by Jesus to go and tell his brethren that they should see him in Galilee; and while they were going, some of the watch came into the city, and shewed the chief priests all the things that were done. (Matt, xxviii. 10, 11.) The men actually on guard, had, therefore, probably enjoyed some hours sleep before their turn for duty came. The whole number of them was probably about sixty; and it is not likely so large a company of men, accustomed to the wakeful habits of a military life, even when not on duty, would be all asleep; or sleep so soundly as not to be aroused by the noise incident on removing a ponderous stone like that with which the mouth of the sepulclire had been closed. Still less is it supposable that any inducement which the friends of Jesus could hold out, would weigh against the cerfain punishment that awaited them, if found sleeping at their post ; for by the Roman law, and indeed by the military law of most nations, that punishment was death. Nor can we easily believe that the Jewish rulers, who had shrunk from no crime to procure the death of an innocent victim, would have failed to urge on Pilate the gross and danger- E9 314 THE RESURRECTION OP JESUS CHRIST. fPART. H, ous dereliction of duty on the part of these men, and press their immediate punishment, had their negligence really frustrated the very purpose for which they had been set to watch. Pilate, again, had suflPered himself unscrupulously to prostitute his office, and that too despite the strength of his own convictions, to abet the perpetration of a legal murder; and granting that he was privately assured that his soldiers had not been really wanting in the performance of their duty, it is not difficult to imagine he would be willing still further to gratify the Jews, by leaving uncontradicted a rumour which they thought it to their interest to spread abroad. "Whereas we cannot readily suppose that he would have passed by a fault of so serious a nature in a military man; — and he a member of an army in which discipline was maintained by the severest penalties. Finally, the tale is self-contradictory; for if asleep how could these soldiers know in what way the body was removed? and if awake to recognise the disciples, even at the latest moment, the body might have been recovered. Darkness did not favour their escape, for the moon was at the full ; and the day was about to dawn. In short, the story that the disciples stole the body carries with it its own refutation : and in whatever way the transaction was managed it certainly could not have been as the Jews pretended. The soldiers, in all probability, were conscious only of the earthquake, and the presence of the angel who rolled back the stone, since we are told that "for fear of him the keepers did shake and became as dead men i* and while they were paralysed by terror, Jesus may have pas- sed them unseen. But the earthquake and the appearance of the angel, interpreted by the reason for which they were sta- tioned at the tomb, would suffice to convince them, and with them, the chief priests, and Pilate, that the anticipated event had come to pass;— that Jesus had actually risen from the dead. (3.) Thus much was there, though Jesus probably was not himself seen by the soldiers, to make his resurrection a matter of public notoriety. But when the fear of punish- ment was removed by the statements laid before their immediate superior, Pilate, these witnesses were open to the influence of large bribes, and were prevailed on to give currency to the idle report we have just been considering. The giddy multitude are easily led to believe any thing they wish to be true; and being, as Jews, inimical to the novel ©HAP. I.] THE RESURRECTION OF JESUS CHRIST. 815 faith, (pp. 222 sq.) they received it unexamined. There is, however, to be set against this self-contradictory rumour, the intelligent testimony of numbers who, from "many in- fallible proofs," exhibited during forty days, were satisfied of the reality of the resurrection. And when I said that this miracle was exhibited only to a chosen few, I was speaking comparatively; for the number absolutety was not small. Beside that Jesus appeared to the women at the sepulchre, to Peter, John, the eleven, and others, he was, on one occasion "seen of above five hundred brethren at once; of whom the the greater part" remained alive when Paul made this statement to the Corinthians, that is, nearly thirty years after the event. (1 Cor. xv.6.) All these second- ed a steady and consistent testimony by passing their lives in labours, dangers, and sufferings, voluntarily undergone in attestation of the account they delivered, and solely in conse- quence of their belief in that account. It is not a little sin- gular that the only contradictory statement which has come down to our time, has been rescued from oblivion by one of the evangelists themselves. Now the account St. Matthew has given, both of the origin of this rumour, and of the main fact itself, the Jews were bound to controvert, if they could ; and if they had done so successfully, every Jew in Judaea, every Jew in the world must have kno>>Ti it ; Gentile ad- rersaries would have caught up the tale, and Christianity could have made no progress. But it did continue to spread beyond precedent, and only by the mild influence of convic- tion and persuasion. It is fair to conclude that the fact was incontrovertible, that the miracle had been done, and could not be denied. (4.) Lastly, laying aside all this weight of human evidence to Sijact, let us view the resurrection in the light of a doc- trine, taught by Jesus and his followers, or if you will, by his followers alone. It now stands on the same footing as all the other doctrines of the New Testament ; and its truth will be made out as they are made out, from the independent miracles by which it is supported. The reality of these has been fully shown; it remains now only to trace the connec- tion between them and the truth of the doctrine; and this is the third and last thing that has to be elucidated in the present chapter. Be2 9lt ,s£t r. III. 4 ! ldffHHV9^«HHI>-««pV«HftlPafCMBartially inflicted now, or by the hands of man^ rather than by the immediate interposition of God; this does not alter the natiire of the case, but only the mode of action; and a terrible lesson is read, in letters, of blood, to those employed as the executioners of wrath, that they too may "see it and fear, and trust in the Lord." (Ps. xl. 3.) The charge that St. Paul was favouring immorality when he claimed for himself the liberty to carry about "a sister, a woman" (1 Cor. ix. 5.) can only serve to indicate the shifts to which those are put, who seek to pick out faults of thia kind from our Scriptures; for every school-boy knows that 320 eONNECTION BETWEEN MIRACLES [p ART. 11. rUNH as often means a wife, as it does, simply, a woman; and by "sister" we are manifestly to understand, a sister in the faith, in accordance with the coiTCsponding usage of the term brother and brethren, throughout the New Testa- ment. Lastly, when St. Luke says "the lord commended the unjust steward," by "the lord," we are clearly to un- derstand the steward's master; and that the commenda- tion extends no further than to the worldly wisdom shown, but not to the morality of the action, is manifest from what follows: "For the children of this world are, in their ge- neration wiser than the children of light." (Luke xvi. 1 — 9.) But while we deplore in God's children of old, as in those of our own day, transgressions to which no one can be blind; a diligent study of the rule laid down for our guidance, tells us, first, that there is nothing commanded, nothing directly or indirectly encouraged, nothing authoritatively permitted; and, secondly, that there is nothing discerni- ble in the conduct of our great exemplar, the incarnate Son of God, as represented by the evangelists, which can be justly construed into the approval of one single action at variance Avith the dictates of the purest morality. We must take the animus of our system from its own positive enactments, and not from the failures of a few good, but still erring men : and looking at it in its own unsullied brightness, we discover that it holds up to reprobation in the broadest and most uncompromising terms, the hideous deformity of evil. Sin is an essential abomination as shown forth in its pages; the severest judgments are denounced "upon every soul of man that doeth evil;" (Rom. ii. 9.) men are warned again«t even the appearance of evil; (1 Thess. y. 22.) the very imputation of the idea that evil is allowable that good may come is branded as a slander and an accurs- ed thing; (Rom. iii. 8.) and the standard of its purity is thus briefly summed up : "Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect." (Matt. v. 48.) Such is the Christian dispensation. Its miracles there- fore, cannot have originated in any evil power. Nor can they have issued from any being whose delight is sometimes, or in some particulars, in good; and at other times, or in other particulars in evil ; for then the revelation must have partaken of the same mixed character, or, at least, could have given no admission to a total and unqualified condem- CHAP. I.] AND THE TRUTH OF DOCTRINE. 321 nation of every evil. They can only be ascribed to a power absolutely good. (2.) Again, no being, every way free, would permit miracles to be wrought against himself, and with a view to the absolute destruction of his own power, without some effort to counteract their influence, and vindicate his rights. The omission to do so would imply a deficiency of power, or of freedom in action, or, at least, an indifference to his own honour ; either of which is but little calculated to com- mand the respect of men, and support a claim to divine ado- ration as an inalienable and rightful due. Now the Christi- an miracles are wrought avowedly against evil under all its changing forms; and they are not counteracted by any thing that deserves the slightest attention at our hands. Admit- ting the reality of a few comparatively feeble exhibitions of an opposing power, these latter are so infinitely surpassed in number, and in kind, that any influence they might other- wise have acquired, is more than counterbalanced by the incomparable mass of wonders accumulated in the opposite scale; and the want of an equal or superior interposition on the part of those who are made to enter into the contest with JEHOVAH, for the afiections and service of men, is a full proof that they cannot make any approach to him in power. The "principalities and powers," of darkness are spok- en of as spoiled, and made a shew of openly; as triumph- ed over, and destroyed, (Col. ii. 15. with i. 13; and Heb. ii. 14.) And yet they are silent! Is it that they are care- less of their authorify? Is it that they have no interest in securing a hold upon the hearts of the inhabitants of the world? It is not so represented in Scripture, for our "ad- versary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour:" (1 Pet. v. 8.); and it is not so seen in the moral evil that defaces all that is under the sun. But when an opposing revelation is to be met by a like instrument, ])oaring as well attested a stamp of superior authority, "the rulers of the darkness of this world," (Ep. vi. 12.) can neither produce a similar attestation to any revelation of their own power,norprohibit the issue of one which aims at their over- throw. The attestation, therefore, of the Christian revela- tion is traced to One, who while he is absolutely good, is also superior to every evil power, and a second step is gained, from which our ascent to the third is easy and plain. S22 CONNECTION BETWEEN MIRACLES [^PART. II, (3) For all that such a Being confirms must be true. Let us, for argument's sake, suppose that a miracle has been wrought by a being capable of lying, or only per- mitting the use of lying under certain circumstances, that good may come: — what shall we say of intelligence received from an admitted liar ? What confidence can we have that we too are not among his dupes? Who shall determine in what cases he is, and in what cases he is not deceiving us; and whether the good intended is to operate upon ourselves, or upon some other, whose well being may be thought to result in a greater amount of eventual good, than could issue from averting the evil which is to befall ourselves? If Brahma lied to Siva when he declared he had seen his head, who can tell that there is truth in the Vedas that issued from the self-same lying tongae ? If Vishnu, to serve a purpose, could delude the world into the recep- tion of a fictitious Veda, how can we be certain that in other cases we may depend upon his word? Admitting that such beings could change the face of nature by a word, or by a wish, here is only a proof of power; but where, I ask, is the proof of truth? I may sift the evidences in support of the fact, and find the statement true; I may be admitted to the vision of heavenly sights, in proof that previous descrip- tions of them are real; I may test the accuracy of matters of opinion, and my judgment may pronounce them sound : but let me be once deceived by one whose promise or as- sertion has been confirmed to me by all the awful solemni- ties that can be summoned to its support, (and what more solemn than the asseveration of a god?) and let the deceit stand approved by the very principles of the deceiver: I assert that nothing can restore implicit confidence in any thing not capable of being attested by the senses, or cor- roborated by collateral proofs, or which is not a matter for the judgment to decide. Nothing can assure me, in any matter of simple faith, that I am not again deceived. The occasion which is alleged to have made one lie necessary^ may have passed away, but a new occasion for a second may have arisen. Ten thousand subsequent instances of truth cannot absolutely re-assure me; for the confessed principles of my informant tell me that his disposition to allow a departure from the truth is still unchanged. The very infrequency of the lie, and the belief that it is only in, CHAP. I.] AND THE TRUTH OF DOCTRINE. 32St so-called, pressing emergencies that artifice is employed, serve rather to make the matter Avorse; for it is on such occasions I most want to feel assured of unflinching faith- fulness and truth. Ten thousand years may have witness- ed no repetition of the fraud, and it may be called for in the events of to day. On the principle that falsehood is allowable, the truth of an entire revelation, or of any parti- cular part of it, may, without blasphemy, be questioned, for what is there to show infallibly that they are true? And ■whatever I may hope, and incline to believe, I can never be sure that I am not deceived. It is this principle, perhaps, more than any other, that casts a fatal suspicion upon most miracles of the ages subse- quent to that of the apostles; from the fourth century, at least, and downwards. Their credibility, even if real, is en- tirely destroyed by the Falsitas Dispensaiiva, as it waa called, the pious frauds of men whose principles, in this respect, were as contradictory to Scripture precepts, as the words describing their unhallowed artifice are contradictory in themselves. The precepts, and the practice of the apostles were, as we have seen, the very reverse of this ; and waiv- ing jail inferences that might be deduced from any one miracle of the early Church, later than apostolic times, we take our stand in the age when its teachers had not allowed themselves to regard as otherwise than accursed, the notion that evil was excusable, if good might haply come; for it is only when men set this principle before their eyes, that "we can uniformly give an unwavering assent to the authority alleged for every doctrine they preached, and every incident they record. I think that, abstractedly, neither purity of doctrine, normi- racles, taken singly, would be universally received by men, as at present constituted, in the light of a necessary and infiUlible proof, both of the divine original of a system, and that it is true. With regard to miracles; their number or their nature alone, can furnish us with no unanswerable reply to one who insinuates that there may be something of error in the doctrine they confirm. We possess no antecedent clue to the degree of control over nature's laws which may be exercised by evil spirits; and till we can assure ourselves with certainty that what we witness is not the work of an evil power, we cannot tell how far we may be deceived. 324 CONNECTION BETWEEN MIRACLES [^PART. II. The purity, indeed, of tlie Christian doctrine, and its wonderful adaptation to the actual state and wants of men, have been continually and successfully appealed to, in vindication of the inspiration of our Scriptures. They are, perhaps, more frequently urged than any other method of proof; and in a vast plurality of cases they fall with incon- ceivable power, because they address themselves to con- science, and experience; and need but little learning or reflec- tion for the mind to grasp them in all their force. They constitute a kind of argument, which, from the nature of the case, must depend entirely on the degree of perfection exhibited in the doctrines, and the closeness with which they "discern the thoughts and intents of the heart." But "the word of God is quick and powerful, and sharper than any two edged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit:" (Heb. iv. 12.) and hence the mere examination of its pages, viewed only by a candid and enlightened reason, must leave a presumption in favour of its inspiration of the very highest order; and if brought home to the conscience, will alone be absolutely decisive, so that even "one that believeth not, or one unlearned," finding *'the secrets of his heart made manifest," "falling down on his face will worship God, and report that God is" in it "of a truth." (1 Cor. xiv. 24, 25.) But this is not the place to enter, with this view, upon the reasonableness or the perfection of the Christian faith. At present we are contemplating it from a far more distant point than such an argument would imply; and in speaking of it, abstractedly, as a pure system, we have to consider how much weight this character alone will carry. It is easy to say, and perhaps to feel, that no one acquainted with our Scriptures can fail to acknowledge to himself that they are of God; but if the unbeliever denies that such is his impression, we cannot take upon ourselves to assert that it is; nor would it be other than harsh to suspect him, in every instance, of insincerity: for even when purity of doctrine commends itself most powerfully to our moral perceptions, unless we are persuaded that absolute purity, not of practice, (for this is not essential,) but of moral per- ception, is unattainable by man, it might still be thought possible that the doctrine is human. But I do not think the absolute corruption of the human race, extending itself to CHAP. I.] AND THE TRUTH OF DOCTRINE. 325 f'very indi\ndual of the entire species, can be incontrovertibly made out, except by an induction of particular instances, far more extensive, and a scrutiny into every secret mo- tive far more close and penetrating, than is practicable for man, even were he a competent judge; or, failing this, by revelation. Indeed so far from the moral im- perfection of man being an admitted first principle, or easily demonstrable verity, canying with it the ready assent of all, it has been controverted, even by those who have enjoyed the light of revelation, and profess to acknowledge its authority. With how little success this is not the place to show; but till this truth be felt and acknowledged, there may be some who w ill not admit it as a necessary conclusion that a system of doctrine is truly a revelation, simply on the ground that its principles are sound. On the contrary, I sus- pect that were a man to stake the divine authority of a new series of doctrines solely on their purity : notwithstanding that his personal integrity, and the excellence of his teach- ing might give him a right to expect great deference to his words, the very pretension to divine authority would engender a suspicion in the minds of many that he is prac- tising one deception at least, which had he claimed the system for his own, they would not have entertained. It is, then, in the union of purity of doctrine with mira- cles that our full strength consists; and was it not because either alone would have been insufficient satisfactorily to complete his purposes, as fully as the necessities of the case required, that in practice God has employed the two together? — Let us illustrate the matter a little further. Uprightness and integrity of character, beyond all question, carry with them, if not their due meed, yet a very consider- able meed of cespect. A man of steady consistency and indomitable honesty of purpose, may be a maik at which the unprincipled delight to level the shafts of ridicule; yet his word is believed, even where his motives are not appre- ciated or understood. But let such a man announce it to the world: I have a revelation from God: the bosom friend whose wont has been to repose the most unwavering confi- dence in every word that falls from him, will in all probability be staggered at the declaration. There is, on the one hand, a persumption that so upright a man will not lightly utter a falsehood; and on the other, that so uncommon a thing Ff 326 CONNECTION BETWEEN BIIRACLES [pART. I^ as an immediate message from heaven, will not be sent. But let him add: In proof of my assertion, a series of mira- cles shall be displayed before your eyes. Here is another assertion equally uncommon; and therefore with a presump- tion both for and against it of precisely the same kind; but the contrary presumption is capable of being removed by the actual exhibition of the miracles announced. Any obstacle arising from the uncommon nature of the thing is thus taken away, and the matter may rest on his integrity alone. His veracity is attested by the fact, in one of the two instances in which he has assumed extraordinary authority; and this, in conjunction with the un deviating honesty of his previous character, leaves a very powerful impression that his other assertion is also true. But now let us look at the doctrine he says he is commis- sioned to teach. Suppose it to inculcate evil : the proof of miraculous powers remains just where it was before; and his personal integrity may be unblemished, for he may be the in- voluntary agent of some crafty being, striving to set off his devilish machinations by the recommendation they will ac- quire as coming through an upright and respected man ! But notwithstanding this recommendation, the presence of false principles in the doctrines, their immoral tendency, or what- ever it be that marks an author capable of practising or coun- tenancing evil in any form, destroys all my confidence in the doctrine; the threatenings may be merely a politic attempt to terrify into obedience with no intention or ability to execute them; the promises may be only to allure, with no intention or ability to see that they are fulfilled; the in- structions may be such as to entrap the unwary; — in short a revelation with any indications of evil in it, has no more claim upon my faith, than a fellow creature whose character is chequered with some vice, which tells me he is not to be trusted as a righteous man. Suppose, on the contrary, our friend propound a system of doctrine levelled against evil in every possible form; so un- sparingly denouncing its abominable and essential obvious- ness that none but a Being of absolute and uncontaminated purity can in any way give it the seal of his unqualified ap- proval. Still if that approval be, I do not say, denied, but un- asked and simply withheld ; the matter of its being a revela- tion rests only on our opinion of the teacher's integrity, and CHAP. 1.3 AND THE TRUTH OP DOCTRINE. 327 we may, or may not, think that this, and the excellence of his doctrine, bears him out in the assertion that it is divine. The general association of this doctrine with miraculous powers in the person of its teacher, would give us a footing of great security. But if it be brought into still closer combination vriih tlie miracles by a direct appeal to them as an attestation of its truth ; we stand on still firmer ground, for there is not left so much as a bare possibility that the two may be inde- pendent of each other. It is not merely that the veracity of the speaker is ascertained in one of two concomitant asser- tions, and that we are left to infer his veracity in the other; but the Being, from whom he has derived a power we know he cannot possess except as derived from another, has per- mitted the exercise of that power, when openly called on to permit it, in direct attestation of doctrines which no Being could lend himself, directly or indirectly, to establish, except his dehght were in unmingled truth. We are thus assured by the miracle that the commission to deliver a revelation, is no fiction of the speaker's fancy, but a veri- table reality ; and further, that the doctrine he inculcates is also true. The attestation is given both to the pretensions of the commissioner, be his office distinguished by what term it may, and to all that he communicates in virtue of of that office. If he tell us that he declares only what he has received ; or if he advance a higher claim to the honours of a deity, we are bound to believe the whole. The power by which the miracles are wrought may or may not be iden- tified with the source from whence the doctrine flows, or with him by whom it is delivered. These are mere accidents that do not affect the leading question. If they be not identified, the authentication loses nothing of its value: there is a Being superior to nature, giving his sanction to a system of unsullied purity, which none but a Being essentially pure could approve. And if the commis- sioning and ratifying authority be one, he is giving the self same sanction to a system of his own. The Christian system does identify the two : it is one God who issues the command to teach, and who confirms; and the appeal is made to him in attestation of truths imputed to himself. We can concede much to the bare assurance of a man of known integrity, when his teaching is altogether incor- rupt; but foriismuch as a revelation is a matter neither of Ff2 328 CONNECTION BETWEEN MIRAtLES [^PART. 11, common occurrence, nor of common importance, we are glad of a corroboration, wliich, when the miracles and the doctrine are associated as I have explained, assumes the character of a public ratification from God. It is only when the doctrine is absolutely pure that the proof of truth is un- impeachable and entire. But if there be some shadow of re- luctance admissible in receiving the doctrine of Jesus and his followers, as men of tried integrity : if there were some slight demur at the very excellence of the doctrine itself, when we considered it alone, I say that we are imperatively called upon to attach the fullest credit to every word, when their teaching is combined with the works they did ; for these also bore concurrent witness of them, that the Father sent them. (John. x. 37, 38. v. 36.) When speaking of evil and good, it will of course be under- stood that I employ the terms in a moral acceptation. But it may be asked, how do we arrive at the knowledge of moral excellencies, and their contrary vices, except by revelation ; and how can we pronounce the substance of any religious doctrine to be morally good or evil, and argue from it, in support of or against a revelation, when the only means of discriminating right from wrong is derived from itself? I re- ply that we need no revelation to inform us of the distinction between good and evil, or to lead us to approve the one, and condemn the other. I do not mean that men will be able, without a revelation, minutely and correctly to draw the line between them, so that no virtue shall find a place in their list of vices; and no vice be overlooked, or transferred to vir- tue's side, or that the true nature of either will be fully un- derstood: but I mean that, in its broad features, men will rightly distribute the several enactments of their moral code; so that the general consent of mankind will^be conceded to the proposition that murder, theft, adultery, treachery, lying, fraud, and the like are morally evil; and that honesty, chastity, truth, and mercy, rank among the qua- lities which ought to be esteemed as good. This common assent to the moral character of overt acts, and often of inward dispositions, takes its rise from the natural consci- ence. Conscience, indeed, like reason and every thing else that appertains to man, is most seriously perverted, and it may be, occasionally extinguished; just as the most docile animal may, by ill management, be made vicious, CHAP. I.] AND THE TRUTH OF DOCTRINE. 329 the fertile field by neglect or wilful injury may become a wilderness, or a fmitful tree be transformed into a shape- less and unprofitable encumbrance to the soil. But, in general, it retains enough of its original correctness to approve or condemn moral actions to the extent I have pointed out above; and an abundance of passages might be adduced from writers who can never have heard of Chris- tianity in support of this assertion. Hundreds of thousands of living men might be appealed to, in the most debased communities, who, if their real feelings were brought out, would prove themselves not so far devoid of all sense of morality, as to have lost or utterly confounded every notion of right or wrong; and I think few men could be met with, who could bring themselves to credit another, if he gave ex- pression to the sentiment that murder, lying, envy, and their kindred actions and feelings are moral virtues. I do not say that they would refuse credit to one who might applaud or justify even great enormities; but I think most men would find it hard to receive it as a sincere declaration of the real state of his inward convictions, if a man pretended that he regarded them as virtues. Certain it is that, in this respect, the general sense of mankind does not theoretically swerve very greatly from the truth; like the pendulum, it may oscilate to and fro, and unlike the pendulum, with no uniform or steady motion; but it oscilates on either side a fixed line, from which its excursions do not extend to any consider- able distance. This, then, is a principle in the investigation of moral truths, of the first importance. It is as much a natural element in our constitution as are the powers of reasoning, or the capability of transferring to the mind the impressions made upon our corporeal organs, and he that demurs at the use we are making of it hero, will iind it hard to account for their own use of the terms good and evil, or for the origin of the ideas they represent, or for the tolerable uniformity of their application by the world at large. It is in this way that we form our estimate of moral purity; just as we determine of the reality of miracles by the exercise of our ordinary senses, or of our judgment in weighing and settling the credit due to the reports of others; and having formed our estimate of both on the principles it has been my endeavour to explain, we have data enough to enable us to pronounce upon the genuineness of revelation. Ff3 330 CONNECTION BETWEEN MIRACLES [tART. II* One argument in support of Christianity is now complete. I have, with the exception of the second chapter, disposed my observations so as to form one continuous thread ; and this I havfe studiously adhered to, endeavouiing to assign to each division of my subject, its due place in a lengthened chain. Stripped of the illustrations by which it has been filled up; the outline is briefly this: — The Christian religion exists; and must have had an origin. An account of its origin is in our hands, and we have to ascertain if it be the real one. This account is traced up to the times in ■which the religion had its beginning, and to the pens of some of its first propagators ; and their accounts, in general, are further proved to be worthy of our fullest confidence. But this is still short of what we want, for the real cause that led to the enquiry, is to ascertain the obligation we are under of receiving the religion, as the sole standard of our faith and practice. To satisfy us of the divine original of the system, its own method, or, at least, one of its own most favourite methods, is, to call our attention to its mi- racles. Beside the general indications of veracity deduced from other sources, we find ourselves imperatively bound to admit these miracles, from the sufferings which our witness- es underwent in maintaining a steady and consistent testi- mony to the reality of the facts ; and on the closest inspection we are convinced that they were really and truly interposi- tions of some superior power. We can meet with no other series of miracles possessing any corresponding claim upon our attention. No conflicting systems of religion, therefore, interpose! to embarass or detract from the soundness of rea- sonings drawn from the miracles; and pursuing our train of argument, we find, from the character of the doctrine as- sociated with them, that the Being from whom both have issued must be a God of absolute purity, and unrivalled by any evil power; whence we deduce the perfect faithfulness of all that he confirms; aud finally conclude that Christiani- ty is TRUE. If there has been any flaw in the argument, though the inefiiciency of a bad advocate ought not to prejudice a good cause, yet so far as the present treatise goes, the point I am aiming at is not made out. But if the connection be sustained, and each step fairly follows in continuous succession to the one that immediately precedes it, so that CHAP. I.] AN» THE TRUTH OP DOCTRENK. 331 all are in themselves satisfactory, and occupy their legitimate position as links of a connected chain, enough has been now laid before the reader to enable him to come to a decision. There are a few other matters which will detain us a little longer ; the chapter on prophecy, particularly, will demand our best attention ; but prophecy is a miracle in a different garb; and its consideration will add to the quantity, rather than to the completeness of the evidence. What follows, therefore, though properly an independent proof, may be regarded in some light as a supplementary corroboration toour main ar- gument. If the reader will, he can reserve his judgment till all has been said : but if he wUl, he may pause here, for, as I have said, sufficient materials are before him to direct him to a right conclusion. At the close of each preceding chapter he had only to consider if, so far, there were sufficient grounds to make it worth his while to go on; the turn his thoughts must now take will be; is Christianity proved to be divine? If there be any thing in what I have said in its support, to say nothing of the hints so profusely scattered, intimating much that appertains to its nature, there surely cannot be a matter of more serious and solemn interest, as well as duty, than to examine into its provisions, and to understand it well in all its bearings. But I leave this for^the reader to reflect on; and I only now intreat him to review the entire argument he has gone through, first as a matter of speculative opmion, for then he is most likely to be impar- tial ; and then with reference to the personal obligations, and personal inducements, inseparable from ^its necessary bearing upon himself. But let it be carefully borne in mind, that if we hare a revelation of the mind of God, we have in it, an authori- tative decision on a great multitude of questions which otherwise might have been open for discussion. Men too often talk of liberty in matters of religious opinion, as if all creeds were equally true; and every man might be saved by the law or sect which he professes; (Art. xviii.); or as if we possessed no certain guide to the truth. All outward liberty consistent with the interests of morality, and the true principles of a free government, must be conceded to every man, because man is not made responsible to his fellow for the faith he entertains. His own conscience must answer for it to God; and Christianity at once discards constraint 332 CONNECTION BETWEEN MIRACLES |^PART. 11. and undue influence ; for its "weapons of warfare are not carnal;" (2 Cor. x. 4.) its service is essentially a voluntary service; and its invitation runs: "My son give me thine heart." (Pro v. xxiii. 26.) But the liberty allowed by man to man, must not be confounded with that left him by his God; and the question of acceptance with God is finally closed, if a declaration of God's mind has been published to the world. Without a revelation, it might have been ar- gued that there was nothing contradictory in the idea of the same God being worshipped under different names, and -with different outward forms, by different nations, at diflferent times; or even at one and the same time. It might, again, have been contended that the choice of the beings they will worship and their mode of worship is a matter of indifference, left to communities or individuals; and though much might be urged to show the inconvenience, the evil tendency, the improbability of the truth of such a sys- tem, it would have been hard to show that, beyond a certain point, it is so utterly repugnant to reason as that it ought at once to be rejected as intrinsically absurd. Suppose, for instance, a truly humble- minded devotee, a- bashed by a sense of his unworthiness, had thought it more consonant to his own lowly estate, and more befitting the glo- rious majesty of his heavenly sovereign, to approach him through some saintly or angelic mediator; or suppose a se- cond had thought that images and pictures, by setting before him significant emblems, if not exact representations of spi- ritual beings, might stir up his sluggish devotions, and enable his imagination to fasten itself with a more vivid impression of their reality on the objects of his contemplation; the argu- ments in either case could scarcely have been confuted, though they might have been controverted, on the princi- ples of unassisted reason. At any rate, though many re- ligious theories might have been justly charged with mad- ness and folly, (as many a scientific and political theory is now thus charged,) there would have been very many questions on which, however clear and strong our own opinions, we should have been chargeable with presumption did we venture to decry the principles or practices of others. But the case is totally altered by the fact that we possess a fully authenticated revelation, in all those points on which revelation has made known the will of God. The very notion CUAP. I.]] AND THE TRUTH OP DOCTRINE. 333 of a law implies restriction; if, therefore, God has given us laws to regulate our faith, or conduct, there must of necessity be restrictions laid on the liberty of men; and to determine what these are our only appeal is "to the law and to the testi- mony" which he has granted. (Is. viii. 20.) Indubitably God may, if it so please him, leave mankind at liberty to follow the bent of their own partialities in matters he esteems in- different, and, according to our belief, he has so left them in some particulars; while in others there may be room for a difference of opinion as to the interpretation of his words, or the justness of the inferences to be deduced from them. But so far as the obvious and common sense interpretation of them is clear, this liberty, whether of thought or action, is taken away. "Whether the restrictions relate to the ■worship of a multiplicity of gods, or angels, or saints ; to the, apparently, more venial error of setting up an image, or the graver offence of paying adoration to our idol : whe- ther God forbids the false or irreverent use of his own name, or lays an absolute prohibition on swearing, in any case, by any other: whether the law under consideration enjoins active duties, or passive abstinence from forbidden crimes; if such be his law, as ordinary intelligence would under- stand its wording; no notions we may entertain of justice, probability, or reason; no custom of our forefathers, no mistaken leanings of a fallible, though it may be a sincere opinion, no pretensions of a misguided conscience, can be pleaded as a dispensation from the obligations of that law. I am prepared to maintain that there will be nothing in a revelation contrary to enlightened reason, or calculated to do violence to a truly awakened conscience. But dealing with the understanding and the conscience as actually ex- isting in man, and as corrupted by the fall, I say that on the principles of the revelation we enjoy, the plea of opinion or of conscience, if at variance with Scripture, must yield to "the obedience of the faith." (Rom. i. 5.) For to insist on it as giving a claim to undue liberty in religious prin- ciples, involves the fundamental error of making opinion usurp the office of the deity ; and dictate what is, or is not, what ought, or ought not, to be acceptable to God. It over- throws the very object of a revelation, and robbing us of the sweet secmity of a resting place furnished by Omnisci- ence, sends us once more adrift upon the pathless wild, 334 MIRACLES AND TRUTH OP DOCTRINE. []PART. 11. with no other guide than that treacherous, or, at best, imbecile companion from whose uncertain vagaries we were congratulating ourselves we had escaped. It is not that there cannot be two systems of religious faith simultaneous- ly or successively current in the world. This question we need not enter on. But it is clear there cannot be two contradictory systems, co-existent, and both true. Chris- tianity does set aside every other system. "Thou shalt have no other gods before me :" (Ex. xx. 3.) "The Lord our God is one Lord:" (Deut. vi. 4.) "Is there a God beside me ? Yea, there is no God ; I know not any." (Is. xliv. 8.) "There is none other name," than that of Christ, "under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved :" (Acts. iv. 12.) "There is one God, and one mediator be- tween God and man, the man Christ Jesus." (1 Tim. ii. 5.) "Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the w^ater under the earth. Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them." (Ex. XX. 4,5. cf Deut.iv. 10 — 19.) These passages, even had they stood alone, instead of forming, as they do, the mere gleaning of an overflowing harvest, are so simply intelligible, and so decisive, that they leave no room for entertaining the idea that systems at variance with these declarations, what- ever else they may have to recommend them, can be ac- ceptable to our God. Christianity we have proved to be confirmed by the fullest and most unanswerable sanctions of unmixed truth. Nothing supported by any inferior sanctions can be permitted to add to, subtract from, or in any way alter its accredited provisions ; and the established claim of Christianity on our affections and belief supplants every other faith ; because it can tolerate the worship of no other God than JEHOVAH ; and him only as "the God and Fa- ther of our Lord JESUS CHRIST." (Ep. i. 3.) 335 CHAPTER II. On Prophecy. Desire of men to know the future : — (I) Necromancy:—-' (2) Ambiguous oracles: — (3) Periodical natural phe- nomena: — (4) Human foresight: — (5) Evil spirits: — Criterion of prophecy. — Plan of the present chapter. A reflecting mind will at once perceive that the dispen- sation which veils the future from our eyes, is one of wisdom and of mercy; and were it possible to reverse the case, and let the knowledge of what is to happen, be as clear and certain as the knowledge of the past, there can be little doubt, that while the world continues the abode of misery and sin, mankind would cry aloud with one con- sent for a return to the old established order of things, con\*inced that ignorance, in this respect, is bliss. And yet, perhaps, no passion is more widely diffused among mankind than an anxious craving to know the future. And nothing, certainly, has ever given a freer scope for impos- ture; for, that a man should penetrate the secrets of futurity, is so universally felt to be a violation of one of nature's se- quences, that no one will venture to claim, and indeed could not secure credit for any extensive prescience, except on the ground of having been favoured with communica- tions from some unseen and more gifted power. There is, indeed, a degree of penetration by which men of thought and observation are enabled, and sometimes with surprising accuracy, to foretell the course which incipient revolutions are likely to take; and in general, there are a few distinctions it is necessary to point out, analogous to those discussed in the case of miracles, whereby we may dis- criminate between genuine and supposititiousprophecy ; and to this im|)ortant point I shall first devote a few short 336 CRITERION OF [pART. II. paragraphs. After what has been said, howerer, in the former chapter, I shall be brief in my remarks ; and I may leave it to my reader to deduce from genuine prophecy his own inferences as to the character of the deity whence it emanates, and the conclusiveness of its evidence in support of the reality of the revelation it authenticates, in precisely the same way in which we have already drawn our conclu- sions from the evidence of miracles. (1.) There is a deception by which the unthinking are sometimes imposed upon, somewhat analogous to those tricks of legerdemain, against which the less experienced reader was cautioned in the foregoing chapter. I mean that dishonest system of imposture with which every age and every country has been but too familiar; whether veiled under the pomp and dignity of the Grecian oracle ; or descending somewhat lower to the laboratory of the private speculator in necromancy and astrology, or lower still to the houseless vagabond, who boasts no higher name than that of an ordinary fortune-teller. The tact of these wary adepts in imposition enables them, with a rapi- dity which almost exceeds belief, to string together the few scraps of information which, without seeming to seek it, they can pick up from the neighbours or attendants of those who consult them; or a well laid train of cautious ques- tioning will often, even without much aid from information gleaned from others, elicit, from the very lips of there victim, so much of the history of the past, or of the plans and wishes of the future, as to give some colour to an assumption of the air of men well acquainted with every secret desire. Their trade is to deceive, and having possessed themselves thus wili- ly of a hold over the minds of the inconsiderate, they expe- rience no difficulty in foreseeing the probable event of passing circumstances. They know that the mere fact that they have given such and such an intimation of the future, will often be sufficient of itself to secure its accomplishment. The extensive influence they can exercise over multitudes, whom superstition has brought within their power, gives them the means of verifying many of their own predictions; and thus they often seem to foretell events which, in truth, are either already in process of accomplishment, or are a direct consequence of the apparent prophecy. There is many a popular tale that may be resolved into something of this •HAP. II.] •P PROPHECY. 337 kind, and any one who would contrast sucli with our Scrip- ture prophecies, will do well to look very closely into all the attendant circumstances, before he gives them a place in his catalogue of authenticated predictions. (2.) With all its dishonesty, and prolific as it is in evil, there is yet something of what man might be disposed to call merit in the system of which I have just been speaking ; for great readiness, penetration, and self-command are essential to its success. A far more clumsy artifice was resorted to by the oracles of former days, and may be employed occa- sionally at present, in the expedient of an ambiguous answer, capable of any interpretation which the event may justify. Such was the response given to Crcesus, that a mighty empire would be destroyed if he risked a war with Cyrus ; — a re- sponse which might be applied with equal propriety to the empire of Cjtus or to his own. Such again was the answer said to have been given to Pyrrhus, prior to his disastrous invasion of Italy. A Latin version of the oracles runs thus : Aio te, ^acida, Romanos vincere posse. Ibis, redibis nunquam in hello peribis. The ambiguity of this, not very imaginative couplet, may perhaps be preserved in English rhyme, thus ; Epirote, list Apollo's fixed decree ; Low in the dust Rome's host thy host shall see; A warrior thou, a warrior's wreath for thee. The defeat of either of the belligerents, and a victor's tri- umph, or a soldier's death upon the battle field ; a crown of laurel or of cypress, would alike have saved the credit of the oracle : — and yet one wonders wherein its credit lay ; for what is the worth of answers so little capable of giving th« direction required ? (3.) It is scarcely necessary to mention the accuracy with which natural, and more especially astronomical, phenomena are predicted by those who have given their attention to philosophy. The recurrence of some of these phenomena, though apparently irregular, is, in fact, no less regular than that of the most familiar of recurring changes. Their periodic returns are longer, and therefore escape the notice of the casual observer. But the same invariable laws which goYcm the course of all the heavenly bodies, are demon* og 338 CRITERION OF [PART II. } strated to regulate theirs, and there are, in fact, the same constant causes continually at -work, and issuing, in due \ course, in the same necessary results. The return of eclipses, j for example, may be determined with the same accuracy as ; the monthly changes of the moon. The period, however, j of these latter is but one short month. The fbi-mer do not re- ' cur in the same order for a space of about nineteen years. I Hence while the meanest and most ignorant are familiar | enough with the ordinary lunar phases; many an intelligent I observer of the heavens may have failed to notice the re- 1 gularity of their obscurations, simply from want of time in \ one short life; or want of records or of memory to recall * with accuracy the order of phenomena separated by so wide an interval. Yet such an one would be over hasty were i he to ascribe any thing more than superior information to ; a friend, who foretold an eclipse, or the apparently still more fortuitous return of a comet; or any other natural i event, which may be brought within the range of ordinary I calculation. (4.) A higher grade of human foresight is exemplified ; in that moral penetration by which eminent statesmen, " and close observers of mankind, are enabled to anticipate ■ the result of passing events with much confidence and pre- cision. But after all, their view is limited in time, and in comprehensiveness. It extends only to the issue of causes ' ] already in operation, and cannot develop a single incident ■ I contingent upon causes as yet unknown; nor can it venture ', ' to expatiate in the regions of a distant futurity. A few j ( short years shuts in its prospect. Even within this circum- ] f scribed limit much is conjecture; many an expectation is i f! belied by the event; and pressing emergencies and important \ changes arise wholly unexpected and unprovided for. All i human foresight, moreover, is compelled to deal much in ; generals, and cannot descend to details; audit must leave I many an if to be decided by a power no human authority j \ can control. Itsprognosticationsmay, for instance, hang on ! I the life of an individual; or be frustrated by some disastrous | I storm, or pestilence, or famine ; or by the mere freak of an in- ■ I fluential, but capricious coadjutor, of whose changing mood j li it can form no certain estimate. Let the wisest and most i IJ far-sighted of men commit to paper their anticipations of ] ' a coming year; and let the guarded language and conditional ; CHAP. II.] PROPHECY. 339 cautions, of this document, and, when its period has run out, its deficiences, and the measuie of its agreement with cur- rent events be closely Scanned, and diligently contrasted with the authoritative completeness and decision of genuine prophecy, (if such can be found, as I hope to show that it can,) and no one can for a moment fail to discriminate be- tween what is of man, and what is of God, or mistake mere human penetration, for a communication from above. (5) Lastly, I am not disposed to deny that false prophets may have been permitted, nay, I would not venture Avith over-peremptory confidence to deny that they may still be permitted, occasionally, to speak of signs or wonders which have come to pass. (Deut. xiii. 1, 2.) Let the question be left an open one. For if it be so that such power has been conceded to any evil being, the same limitations must ap- ply to it, which have been pointed out in the case of mira- cles of a similar kind ; and the same arguments will hold with reference? to the dependence which can, or rather which cannot, be placed on a revelation polluted with the slightest admixture of falsehood and delusion. In enumerating, then, the criteria of prophecy, beside that which constitutes its very essence, and therefore natu- rally stands first upon the list, I mean the necessity that it should have preceded the event; a second condition of unequivocal genuineness will be, that it relate to events which, at the time the prophecy was delivered, could not have been foreseen by man. This condition, it may be worth observing, though most obviously secured by some consider- able length of time between the prediction and the event, is nevertheless obtainable without such interval. For the nature of the circumstances may be so contrary to all ra- tional expectation, and so diverse from the manifest tendency of existing causes, that even an immediate fulfilment will be as full and unequivocal a mark of superhuman prescience as if a thousand years had intervened. Thirdly, there ought to be no equivocation in the terms in which the prediction is enunciated. But equivocation, by which I understand the applicability of the terms to contrary and conflicting events, must not be confounded with some degree of ambiguity, in the sense of indetcrminatencss of meaning; or with obscuri- ty. For a genuine prophecy, m«iy be intentionally disguised in language, of which the interpretation, antecedently to its Gg2 340 CRITERION OP [[part IT. true fulfilment, is difficult and doubtful; and even capable of a partial application to more than one similar event ; just as an enigma, when proposed, is purposely mysterious and involved; and yet the close propriety of every expression is at once conspicuously brought out, when the answer has been revealed. Lastly the scope of the prophecy should embrace at least so many points as will secure it from the suspicion that chance may have had a share in its fulfilment; or that it is a mere general expectation, foimded on the observation of past events, and deserving no higher rank than a place on the catalogue of happy conjectures, or the triumphs of human skill. A few concurrent circumstances of time, locality, or accompanying incident, will be suffici- ent for this purpose; and this condition is one which may be varied to an unlimited extent. It is, moreover, one which, if largely complied with, will perhaps, be more useful than any other in placing the question of genuineness beyond the reach of doubt. The result of our inquiries concerning the Scripture pro- phecies will be, I trust, to satisfy us that in them the prescrib- ed conditions have been most amply, though tacitly, observed. Indeed a very cursory examination of the predictions, as compared with their alleged fulfilment, might serve to con- vince us of their genuineness if only it can be proved they did actually precede the events foretold. Nay, such is their structure that it would not be difficult to show from it alone, that the supposition of a fabrication after the event is en- cumbered by so many insuperable objections as to be totally inadmissible. It will, however, be the more convenient course, first to establish the antecedent publication of the prophecies themselves; and then to investigate their struc- ture; and compare them with the facts in which their fulfilment has been traced. A very considerable portion of our Scriptures are prophetical; and it would be impossible to review the whole, either of those pi-ophecies which have been already fulfilled, or are at present in course of fulfil- ment; or of those which yet remain to be fulfilled. With the latter class it is scarcely within my province to inter- meddle; for, of whatever value they may be as evidences to a future age, their authority in the present must be established by considerations prior to any thing which can be deduced from themselves. Of fulfilled prophecy I shall CHAP. II.] PROPHECY*. 841 limit myself to those portions, whieli may be easily proved to have preceded their accomplishment; and the full ac- complishment of which may be as easily made out. For those on which more pains-taking research has to be ex- pended, I cannot here find a place; and in those selected I have no room for lengthened discussion in order to extreme accuracy of in<'erpretation or of dates. I must content myself with a rough outline; and being precluded from giving my reasons for any opinion I may propound, it is incumbent upon me to keep strictly within the bounds prescribed by the general consent of those most esteemed for judgment and reseai'ch. Happily the field is one of great luxuriance ; and it must be understood I am culling but a few flowers from a pasture thickly studded with their bloom. It suits my purpose to single out those which lie nearest my path ; and I encroach not upon the more entangled thickets, or the roses which happen to be beset with thorns. Yet not so much from a reluctance to encounter the labour, and face the danger of a more varied and extensive gathering, as because time will not permit me now to expend on it the necessary care ; and my reader s patience might scarcely tarry while I delayed him on his way. The prophecies, however, with which we shall be most concerned, will be drawn from the Old Testament; and of this very little has hitherto been said. It will be necessary, therefore, to prepare the way by a few words in vindica- tion of its antiquity. This will occupy one section of the present chapter. A second will be devoted to the predic- tions relating more immediately to the first advent of Christ; and the remaining section will embrace those more general prophecies whose fulfilment is made out independently of Scripture itself; whether from secular historians, or from what is known of the existing state of the countries, cities, or people on which they dwell. I commence with the au- thenticity of the Old Testament. og9 2f42 SECTION I, The Old Testament. The importance of the Old Testament: — it is authenticated by quotations from it in the New : — has been in the custody of both Jews and Christians: — external evidence of its antiquity and inspiration in Christian and Jewish writers: • — ancient Versions, the Syriac, the Targums, the Septu- . agint. — Internal evidence, especially of the authenticity of the Pentateuch. The compilation of a digest like the present, especially in an age when excellent materials are so profusely scattered oneveryside, makesno demanduponthe judgment, learning, or research of its author, which can he named in compari- son with the labour necessarily imposed upon one who strikes out in an untrodden path, and disposes his subject over a wider field. Yet it has its perplexities; and the fear lest any expression escape the writer, not consistent with the truth of God, or which might reasonably give oifence to the lovers of the truth, forms but a part of the difficulties with which he must contend. He is often embarassed by want of space for the right disposition and full expansion of the several divisions of his work ; for in giving promi- nence to one, the real importance of others is in danger of being mistaken, if they seem to be thrust into a corner, and have less time and labour bestowed upon them, than some other particular, which, perchance, may really yield to them in intrinsic value. I have been reluctant to assign so little room as will here be given to the consideration of the Old Testament ; not be- cause I think the few remarks which I propose to offer are in- sufficient to establish its authenticity; but lest I should be supposed unduly to underrate this older division of Holy Writ, in comparison with the portion upon which we have hitherto been almost exclusively engaged. Such a supposi- CHAP. II.] THE OLD TESTAMENT. S43 tion, however, would be most erroneous. Whether as a record of the Church of God from Adam to Christ; or as a repository of inimitable outpourings of a genuine pietj; or finally as a declaration, an enigmatical, yet a copious and glorious declaration of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, this sacred collection of the ^vritings of holy men of old, is se- cond in value to the New Testament, only because the latter is the "revelation of the mystery" which had before been kept secret; the key to the problem, the solution of the e- nigma,from the beginning proposed to men. But the enun- ciation of the problem, the wording of the enigma, does not loose its interest by the knowledge of the answer. On the contrary, its interest is redoubled, and every allusion, which before had been dark and' doubtful now becomes pregnant ■with meaning, and full of light. It was by an enlarged ap- prehension of the intimations given "in the laAv of Moses, and in the prophets," concerning Christ, (Luke xxiv. 44.) as much as by any new revelation, that the apostles were en- abled to execute their commission. They found every thing in these comprehensive writings. The birth, the life and death of Jesus; the fall of Judas; the appointment of his suc- cessor; the outpouring of the Holy Ghost, the persecution of their master and of themselves; the call of the Gentiles; — in short, from the grand leading features of the everlasting Gospel, to the minutest incidents by which its outline is filled up, every particular awakened the recollection of some vivid passage in which it had been foreshown; and were any one, for the first time, to read through the New Testament, for the express purpose of noting its allusions, direct, or indirect, to the Old, whethear in the personal mi- nistry of Jesus himself, or in that of his immediate followers, and in their epistles, he would probably be astonished at their number. For even on doctrines which he might have taken to be entirely new, he would find himself referred to something whereby they had been long since, though some- ^vhat obscurely, revealed. Many instances of this will be cited in the following pages; but the full force of the argument cannot be exem- plified by mere citations. A careful perusal of the New Testament itself, with this in view, can alone enable the reader fairly to appreciate the extent to which the harmony of which I am speaking prevails. I do not, however, noticp 344 AUTHENTICITY OF [^PART II. it here with reference to the fulfilment of prophecy, but to show that whatever may have been the origin of the Old Testament, the writers of the New held it in the very highest esteem. This earlier portion of our sacred books is not, therefore, to be set aside as of comparatively little value in the Christian scheme. My limits, and the plan I have sketched out for myself, compel me to dismiss it with less attention than I could have wished; but I should be glad to make up for paucity of words, by their significance. I therefore intreat the reader to bear in mind, that it was of the Old Testament that Jesus spake when he said : "Search the Scriptures, for in them ye think ye have eternal life: and they are they which testify of me:" (John. v. 39.); and St. Paul, when he said to Timothy : — "from a child thou hast known the holy Scriptures, which are able to make thee wise unto salvation, through faith which is in Christ Jesus. All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness: that the man of God may be perfect, throughly furnished unto all good works." (2 Tim. iii. 15.— 17.) Indeed the chief reason which has induced me to defer these remarks to this stage of my work, is that the writings of the Old Testament are so amply quoted by Jesus and his apostles, and with such direct and unequivocal assertions that they are of God, that if we can but establish the authenticity of the books of the New Testament, and their divine authority; that of the others will follow at once, by an easy and necessary consequence. A consequence, moreover, from which escape would be as unavailable as it is impos- sible. For there is in the one collection no moral duty, no doctrinal truth, no exhibition of miraculous powers, which does not reappear, either identically or by some counterpart, in the other : and any one who thinks that he has disengag- ed himself from the shackles imposed by either, should be forewarned that he has done nothing till those of the other have also been snapped asunder. Such general statements as those I have quoted above from St. John and St. Paul might be multiplied at pleasure; for the writers of the New Testament, either in so many words, or by implication, uniformly recognise the current persuasion that in the Jewish Scriptures (v. p. 97.) "holy rUAP. II.] THE OLD TESTAMEICT. 345 men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost." (2 Pet. i. 21.) But it is not on general statements alone that we rely. For these would prove the existence, in the time of the apostles, of a collection of writings, distinguished as the Scriptures, and esteemed hy them to be divine; but they would not enable us to identify their Scriptures with ours, or certify us that time and transmission has introduced no change. The apostles, however, and evangelists have put it in our power to satisfy ourselves on both these points, in the same manner in which we availed ourselves of the writings of later Christian authors, to ascertain the identity and inte- grity of the books which they themselves have left us. There are in the Gospels and Epistles about one hundred and eighty citations from, or allusions to, one or other of the books of the Old Testament. The authors of many of these are introduced by name; most of them agree verbally, and al- most all agree in sense, with the corresponding passages which occur in the volume now in our hands. A very few only of these references have caused any real difficulty; and the vari- ations between them and the originals are, for the most part, only such as may fairly be ascribed to the fact that they are given in a language different from that of their origi- nals ; and that those who used them have very frequently employed existing versions, rather than translate uniformly for themselves. The book of Psalms is quoted a greater number of times than any other of the ^vritings of the Old Testament; a- bout fifty distinct portions of it being clearly referred to. Very nearly as many references are met with to the prophe- cy of Isaiah; and the direct quotations of each of the books of Genesis, Exodus, and Deuteronomy, do not fall far short of twenty; beside a free recognition of their history in almost every page. Most of the minor prophets, although the compositions of several ef them are very short, are quo- ted either by name; or so clearly that the source of the quotation cannot be mistaken, and* the entire history of the Old Testament is assumed as the basis of the New. It is of no less importance to remark that while Jesus freely rebuked the Jews for having "frn'^trated, (thrust out of its place, or abrogated J the law of God by their traditions," (Mark vii. 9.) he no where charges them with having added to, altered, or taken from the words of the book of God, 346 AUTHENTICITY OP [PART II* Their Scriptures were his Scriptures, and his were theirs. They differed about the interpretation, but when a roll was given him in the S3Tiagogue of Nazareth, he read from it, without scruple, a passage which he did not hesitate to apply to himself, (Luke iv. 16 — 22.) ; and when he referred them to the Scriptures as testifying of himself, it was, as we have seen, to those Scriptures which they thought, or acknow- ledged, to contain the words of eternal life. (John. v. 39.) So far then as appears from the New Testament, there existed at the time it was written, no difference of opinion whatever between its authors and the Jewish nation, as to the collection of treatises received by both as having come from God. Now there are two circumstances, so familiar that Europeans would almost class them with uncontroverted truisms, which make the argument drawn from the appro- val of the Jewish Scriptures by Jesus and the apostles ab- solutely conclusive. The first is, that the books of the Old Testament as received by Jews and Protestant Christians, agree precisely at the present day. There is, it may be well to state, an apparent difference in the number of the books, aris- ing simply from the fact that their distribution is somewhat varied. For the Jew, instead of thirty-nine divisions, reckons only twenty-two, the number of letters in his alphabet. But their contents are, we might almost say, verbally the same in both; for no greater discreprancies exist between them, than are commonly met with in different copies of any work transcribed by as many hands. The second circumstance is the well known contrariety of opinion between Jews and Christians on the point which both regard as the very foundation of their hope, the coming of the Messiah. For while the Christian glories in the triumph of a slain and risen Redeemer, the Jew languishes in expectation of a deferred hope; looking idly for that which has already come. When our Jesus was on earth the Jewish nation refused to recognise him as their promised Messiah; and to this day their obstinacy has remained as invincible as it was then. It will obviously follow, from the enmity be- tween the two rival religionists, that there has been no period subsequent to the first preaching of the Gospel, when either Jews or Christians can have agreed to fabricate or alter any of the books which have been in their common lUAP. 11.1 THE OLD TESTAMENT. „ ^_, ,., . ^ ... -V^y ■ n3>~^ custody; and hence the ascertained identityo^^oje Scrip- -^^ ., tares which are still received by both, placesXtfieit iden- '-f^, tity Avith those authenticated by the writers ofHke New ., ^, Testament, beyond all possible suspicion. '. h.*, But this consideration will do more than exclude' tlu^ siis- - ST^ picion of subsequent addition or corruption. It also shuts ' out the idea of a possible fabrication of these books by the I first teachers of Christianity. For it is inconceivable that i an Israelite would have received, as the sole foundation of j his own religious belief, a portion, and that a comparatively I subordinate, for it was only a preparatory portion, of a \ system; while he rejected m toto that which, in the teach- ■■■ ing of its founders, constituted the very essence of the whole. \ Admitting for a moment that a combination might have ] been effected for ushering into the world a collection of :\ histories and prophecies hitherto unknown; Jesus and his ; followers, in their frequent controversies with the Jews, freely quoted and argued from them as ancient, well-known, ; and universally venerated by their nation. Is it conceivable ; that this would have been attempted, or allowed, if it had ; been attempted, had it been in the power of their enemies, \ not only to evade the powerful Jipplication of these stringent \ appeals, but to demolish the whole Christian fabric, by con- \ victing its builders of wilful fraud in laying one half of their foundation ? And this is but one of a host of unan- swerable objections to an imposture in the age of Christ. We might ask how a whole nation could be induced silently, and without a word of question, to receive one part of the imposture; while they indignantly rejected the remainder. j Or how the existence of the temple, the priesthood, the i festivals, the sacrifices, could be accounted for? And in these \ the mere outward act, irrespective of the letter, was alleged in support of the Christian scheme. But the supposition of ( any fabrication of the Old Testament, so late as the beginning \ of the Christian aera, is too monstrous to be for a moment en- tertained. Whatever higher antiquity may be justly ascribed ' to it, it must at any rate have been ancient then : and, this i onr(? proved, the way is prepared for a second argument inde- pendent of that from its authentication by Jesus and his foiiowers; — ^the argument from prophecy. \ But apart from ail internal evidence, the proof of so much \ as this is full and clear. The total absence of all contcm- ^ B48 AUTHENTICITY OF £PART II. porary history, till within a few hundred 3'^ears of the birth of Christ, and the vagueness and poverty of the imperfect traditions which have obscured and perverted, rather than supplied the materials for tilling up the blank that preceded, have left us without the means of contrasting the greater portion of the Old Testament with independent records; and we are consequently unable to trace back the exis- tence of those books beyond a certain period, by any testi- mony extraneous to themselves. We can, however, carry back our researches to a date ver}?^ considerably earlier than the birth of Christ. The testimony of Christian writers to the Canon of the Old Testament is equally explicit with that which they have given in the case of the New; and in parti- cular, Epiphanius, Jerome, Origen, and Melito, (the latter in a passage quoted by Eusebius,) have left catalogues exactly a- greeing with our own. The Jewish writer Philo abounds with scattered notices of most of the books at present in our canon; expressly citing many of them as divine. He is silent concern- ing a few; and there is no direct acknowledgement of the di- vine authority of some which he has quoted. But a mere ac- cidental omission does not amount to an opinion unfavour- able to their authenticity or inspiration; and his silence can be regarded in no more serious light than that of mere omis- sion, because he does not give a complete catalogue in any of his extant works; nor has he any formal discussion on the inspiration of Scripture. His treatment of the subject un- der consideration led him to make use of some books, and did not call for others ; and the turn of expression in cita- tion admits, and indeed requires some variety, to escape the tameness of constantly recurring phrases. But what the accident of composition has left undecided in Philo, has been abundantly made up by the brief but decisive testimony of his contemporary Josephus. This writer expressly enumerates the twenty two books of the Jewish division; and asserts that they were all justly regarded as divine. He has, moreover, compiled his Antiquities, "as thinking the work would ap- pear to all the Greeks worthy of their study", "from the Hebrew Scriptures;" and has scrupulously confined him- self to these, not only in the Antiquities, but in all his extant writings. The reader will by this time have be- come familiar with the peculiar value attached to the testi- mony of Josephus in all those questions on which he illu- CHAP. 11.] THE OLD TESTAMENT. '349 strates a fact or principle connected with the Christian story. The testimony given by Herodotus, Xenophon, Diodorus ^ctilus, and others to some of the incidents connected with the history or customs of the Egyptians, the victorious career of Cyrus, and the fall of Babylon and Nineveh, would lead us too far; and an opportunity may occur in a later section of adverting to some few particulars of it. I pass on to the Ancient Versions of the Old Testament; and principally to three: — ^the Peschito or Literal Syriac Ver^- sion; the Tai^ms and the Septuagint. The first of these has already been described (p. 109.) but in connection with this renewed mention of it, it may not be uninteresting to add, that at the same time that Dr. Buchanan took charge of some Syriac Manuscripts entrusted to his care by the Chris- tians of Malabar, he also pix)cured from the Jews of Cochin, and sent to England, a roll of the Pentateuch ; which on collation was foimd to agree very closely with the received text of our Bibles. It is written on goat skins died red, — a circumstance which indicates antiquity; but its exact age is xmcertain. — The Targums, or Ohaldee versions, are of va- rious and uncertain ages ; some of them prolmbly as old as the commencement of the Christian a;ra; and some of much later date. They are, except one or two, more or less mixed up with extraneous matter, being, for the most part, rather comments and paraphrases than translations. But they de- rive their chief value^as evidence, from the circumstance that they \rere unknown to Christians until within the last three centuries; and they are pre-eminently useful in establishing the genuine meaning of certain prophecies relating to the Messiah, which have been misinterpreted by the Jews. But the Septuagint yields in importance to neither of the above named versions. The reader is doubtless aware that this is the famous Greek version of the Alexandrine Jews; and that it owes its name, either to the supposed number of its translators, or to that of the Jewish Sanhedrim, to whom it was submitted for approval. Its real history is involved in much obscurity, and is not free from fable. But whether executed by order of Ptolemy Philadelphus, or for the service of the synagogue, and whether completed at one time, or gradually, there is every warrant for placing either the whole of it, or at least its commencement, in or about the year 286, or 285 before Christ. If not finished at that 350 AUTHENTICITY OF [PAKT II* lime we shall not be very far from the truth if we allow about one hundred years for its completion ; and this brings it, at the utmost, no nearer to the Christian aera, than about two full centuries from the time when Jesus en- tered on his ministerial office. Both Josephus and Philo, as well as Justin Martyr, have given full, though contradic- tory and inadmissable particulars of the execution of this translation. But the very fact that many stories were current of its origin, and much fable mixed up with the truth, proves that it must have been a work of some anti- quity in their days ; and this is all we need to prove. I may add, however, that these authors concur in assigning the whole translation to the reign of Ptolemy; and that it is freely used by the apostles in their citations from the Old Testament. By all it was held in much esteem; and it was one of the four Greek versions placed by Origen in his Hexapla, the first, and for centuries the most famous poly- glott the world had known. I have not room for the more concise allusions of Juve- nal, Tacitus, and other heathen writers to the Mosaic law, and particularly to its exclusiveness : and the opinion of Longinus on the opening verses of the book of Genesis has already been appealed to (p. 127.) I can do no more than hint at the fact that the language of almost the whole of the Old Testament had ceased to be vernacular after the captivity in Babylon; and I must forego the considerations drawn from internal structure, diversity of style, copiousness of historic allusion, and those numerous references to contem- porary facts, or established institutions, which would make forgery, in the case of books such as those of the Old Tes- tament, absolutely impossible. I cannot, however, conclude this section without requesting my reader to apply to the books of Moses the argument of Mr. Leslie, as I have at- tempted to exhibit it in the second chapter of our first part. It was to these the reasoning was first applied by its author; and the points presented for its applications are numerous and decisive. The rite of circumcision, the priesthood, the •whole of the ceremonial law, most of the civil institutions, in short, almost all that constituted the religious, political, or social peculiarities of the most singular of nations were, in one way or other, standing vouchers for the truth of the facts ■which attended the first establishmeijt of their religion. Tor CHAP. 11.3 THE OLD TESTAMENT. 351 these institutions could not have been palmed upon any generation after the age of their lawgiver, because to have done this, it would have been necessary, not only to persuade the people of that generation that these were memorials of certain past deliverances, but that they from their infancy, and their fathers from time immemorial, had actually and uninterruptedly regarded them as such. Nor could they have been imposed upon the generation contemporary with their first promulgation except the facts with which they are inseparably mixed up, and of which they are the avowed memorials, had happened as related. For no one could surely bring himself to believe that six hundred thousand people were persuaded that they had passed through a sea on foot, had witnessed the terrors of mount Sinai, had so- journed forty years in the wilderness, and gathered manna daily during all that interval, except these things had beea strictly true. And however tenacious the Jews of a later age have been of their ritual, it must be remembered that their forefathers submitted to it, only after conviction had been forced upon them by events which they were power- less to resist or gainsay. For their code of laws was one to which their repugnance, at the time, is represented as being great and abiding; and it is not a little remarkable, and not the least of the arguments in support of the authenticity, a- like of the pentateuch, and of the whole of the older division of God's word, that no blacker character can be given of the nation of Israel, and no severer curses can be levelled against them, than those which are contained in this very volume. What but an overwhelming conviction of truth- fulness can have constrained a whole nation to cherish so carefully the record of their sins and follies ; the rebukes of their angry God; and the warrant of their long and bittec desolation? Admitting, then, the divine authority of the New Testa- ment, every book which it recognises as being of God, has impressed upon it the stamp of genuineness, — genuinenessin the high sense of being traced home to God as its author, — by a decision agiiinst which there can lay no appeal. But tiiking a somewhat lower ground, and considering all the quotations in the New Testament only in the same light in which we might regard those of St. Paul from Aratus, and uh2 352 AUTHENTieiTY OP THE OLD TESTAMENT. [PAET II. other heathen writers, (Acts xvii.28. 1 Cor.xv. 33. Tit. i. 12.) that is, in proof of no more than the existence of the books ef the Old Testament in the time of the apostles; and add- ing to this, the testimony of all antiquity, the imiversal consent of the Jewish people, and the very early executionf of various translations, we have ample and more than ample proof that they must have been prior, no matter how long, to the first advent of Christ. By the broader line of argu- ment first alluded to, we demonstrate at once the inspiration of the Jewish Scriptures. On the other and narrower as- sumption we may arrive at the same conclusion from the fulfilment of their prophecies. The latter course is the one I propose to take in the present chapter. But the proof of inspiration, as drawn from prophecy, will not be entirely confined to the Old Testament predictions. I reeedcy there- fore, for the moment, from the point we have already gained with reference to the inspiration of the Gospels and Epistles; though only that our footing may be still more firmly planted ©n a field twice won: and I assume, for the purposes of the present argument, simply that these latter writings may be clearly traced to the age and authors to which they are usually assigned; and that the books of the Old Testament, on the lowest assumptions, may be certainly proved to have been ancient at the time in which the apostles liYed aid wrote. 353 SECTION IL Prophecies relating to the first advent of Christ* The iwo-fM course of prophecy: — the chief relating to the Messiah; — the other to the Jews. — Its gradual develop^ ment. — Its scattered arid enigmatical structure; and the advantages of this. — Promise to Eve: — to Abraham: — time of Christ's advent. — Symbolical prophecies: — the sacrijice of Isaac; — types of the law. — The prophet like unto Moses. — The development of doctrines; — the human and divine nature of Christ ; — the atonement. — Summary. The prophecies of the Old Testament, and indeed of the entire Bible, are not detached and isolated predictions, ha\'ing reference now to this nation or age, and now to some other, unconnected with those which precede and follow. There needs no very close inspection to detect, in prophecy, the prevalence of one main current, running continuously in a fixed direction; and tending steadily to one determined end. There are, however, many minor channels, parallel with, or branching out from this; and among them one is so conspicuously foremost in all its bearings, that it might, at first sight, seem even to be wrongly classed as a dependent and a tributary to that which we have made the more im- portant stream. The leading subject is the manifestation of the incarnate Son of God ; his assumption of man's nature; his sufferings, death, and final triumph; and the trials and glorification of his Church. The position occupied by the other subjects of prophecy will be at once accounted for by the closeness of their connection with this its primary theme. For the broader and more copious stream which ranks so obviously first among the tributiiries, bears on its surface the predic- tions relating to the commonwealth of Israel; as a member t^£ which the promised Messiah was to appear: and the ■ II h 3 354 PROPHECIES fPART II. otlier nations alluded to are, for tlie most part, those from time to time employed, occasionally for the defence of Israel, but oftener as instruments of chastisement, to administer coiTection for its sins. Scripture itself, however, whether in history, prophecy, or doctrine, uniformly declines to convey its instruction under any regular and formally syste- matic classification of its subjects. We are not to look for any open recognition, in its own pages, of the distinctions just laid down ; and the Old Testament alone^no where directly acknowledges the subserviency of any one of its divisions to another. But the presence of order is not the less real because it is concealed; and a little research may serve to satisfy us, independently of any direct assistance from the New Testament, that while the course of prophecy is mainly two-fold, that first named is, in fact, the principal, and the other the secondary stream. The direct predictions for instance, of the coming of a Redeemer are \onvn out that the conqueror should not escape without a wound. But when, where, or how, this mystery will be cleared up is left unexplained. The next time the subject recurs we find no additional light thrown upon these questions; but the promise becomes more defined by being limited to a single family; and what is of far greater moment, its comprehensiveness is very clearly pointed out. "And in thy seed, shall all the na- tions of the earth be blessed" (Gen. xxii. 18.) We have here also the first union of the grand object of prophecy with that which I have classed as its first subordinate. For if the Son of God was to become incarnate, it must be in some in- dividual family, and of some particular nation : and though it might have seemed a matter of comparative indifference whether or not this were previously made known, reason commends the plan of singling out that nation from an early age, and making it the depository of all which almighty wisdom, previously to the actual accomplishment of his contemplated purposes, might deem it expedient to reveal. We have, moreover, in this double prophecy, the first in- dubitable proof that the Jew has entirely mistaken the real nature of the privileges bestowed upon his nation. For while he is offended at the admission of the Gen- tiles to the faith, he has manifestly overlooked the ex- press announcement that the blessing to be purchased by Abraham's seed, would be common to "all the nations of the earth." But the Gentile convert will recognise in his own position as a believer in Christ, as well as in the certain truth that Jesus was by birth a Jew, a two- fold proof of the fulfilment of this prophecy, and of the foreknowledge of his God. A little further down the stream of time we fall in with a fresh limitation of the Messiah's family, (for I think we may fairly take the prophecy to intimate that he was to spring from Judah,) and a new particular is introduced ;-— 360 PROPHECIES PART 11.]] some general and obscure indications of tlie time of his ad- I vent begin to appear : "The sceptre shall not depart from j Judah, nor a lawgiver from between his feet, until SJiiloh | come." (Gen. xlix. 10.) It will be convenient to set down j here the successive advances made in specifying more and I more precisely the time of Shiloh's coming. The most exact ; is that which comes next in order of the time of its ovm i communication to this of Jacob, though separated from it by an interval of more than a thousand years. It is the \ prediction of Daniel : "Know therefore and understand, that '; from the going forth of the commandment to restore and to build Jerusalem, unto Messiah the prince, shall be seven ; weeks (or, sevens,) and three score and two weeks." (Dan. j ix. 25.) A very few years after this numerical determination ] of the season in question, another mark was given, which, ] to all at least who have lived since the date of the destruc- 1 tion of Jerusalem, must serve to fix, with certainty, the time j within which the Messiah was to appear. "And I will' shake all nations," writes the prophet Haggai, "and thei desire of all nations shall come; and I will fill this house | with glory, saith the Lord of hosts.... The glory of this latter^ house shall be greater than of the former." (Hag. ii. 7, ^O A parallel prediction is found in the last of the prophets,) perhaps designed to be explanatory of the words of Haggai:] "The Lord whom ye seek shall suddenly come to his temple,] even the messenger of the covenant whom ye delight in."i (Mai. iii. 1.) It is but fair to state that there have been' various objections raised to the interpretation which I am about to give of these several prophecies; but they have beem^ answered in a manner satisfactory to the wisest and best of commentators; and I deem it unnecessary to dwell upon them< at any length. Perhaps the weightiest of them is that takeni to the passage cited from Haggai. For the rendering o^ its first clause has been disputed; and with reference tm the second it has been said, that inasmuch as the second temple was, according to Josephus, entirely removed tdi make room for the more costly structure which Hero^ erected in its stead; no prediction having reference to th© temple of Zerubbabel, can properly be applied to that of Herod. I shall say nothing in support of the received jendering of the earlier words; "the desire of all nations;" for ihe comment, if such it is, of Malachi ought to remove anj V HAP. II.] CONCERNING CHRIST. 261 real or apparent ambiguity which they may contain; and the fulfilment of the prophecy in Christ hinges less upon their meaning, than it does upon the expression; "The glory of this latter house shall be greater than of the former." Josephus' description of Herod's renovation of the temple is somewhat perplexed, but he says plainly that "Herod took away the old foundations, and laid others, and erected the temple upon them ;" and it is difficult to evade the conclusiveness of his testimony. But it is not necessary to do so; for there is a vast difference between the violent demolition of a building, accompanied with the compulsa- tory cessation of all the uses to which it has been applied, and the mere temporary removal of it for the purpose of re- building it in greater splendour : and the usage of the best writers, and most correct speakers, even when a prolonged desolation has intervened, fully sanctions the employment of language such as that of Haggai. The following passage, for instance,is taken at random from Gibbon: — "Carthage it- self rose with new splendour from its ashes, and that capital, as well as Capua and Corinth, soon recovered all the advan- tages which can be separated from independent sovereignty.'* The Carthage of the Empire, however, was a Roman colony, and not a resuscitated remnant of the Phoenician merchants under whom it had risen to fame; whereas the temple of He- rod was only a restored building, the renovation of which may very possibly have been effected in such a way as not to in- terrupt its usual services; and Josephus himself, in narrating its destruction by Titus, speaks of it as the second temple; and without staying to notice the intenuption caused by Herod's operations, he dates its existence from its restora- tion in the time of Cyrus. History therefore has properly described, and prophecy might fairly describe this temple, from Zerubbabel to its destruction by the Romans, as being, to all intents and purposes, really one. Jesus, then, was to appear within seventy weeks, or se- rens, of years, or 490 years, ofthetimein which Daniellived: he was to come before the Jewish nation had ceased to be governed by its own civil polity: and lastly he was to come while the second temple was still standing; for in no other way than by the actual presence ofits divine master can the glory of this latter house have exceeded that of the former. (See 1 Kings vi. 20 — 30.) The confused and insufficitnt sy»n li 362 PROPHECIES [part ir; tern of ancient clironologj has made it difficult to calculate the date of leading events with that nice precision which a better method of computation has placed within the reach of more modern times. But notAvithstanding this, learned men have satisfactorily shown, that on almost any assumption with reference to the period within the limits of which the beginning and end of the prophetic period of Daniel must fall, the computation will place them at a distance of some- what less than 490 years; and many of these assumptions will fill up the precise period of sixty-nine weeks, or 483 years, which were to intervene between "the going forth*^ of the decree to build Jerusalem, and the advent of "Mes^ siah the Prince." Again, the birth of Jesus took place in the days of Herod, under whom the kingdom enjoyed, in all matters of internal administration, much real indepen- dence. But some years before Jesus had attained to man- hood, Archelaus, the son of Herod, was deprived of his power: — the sceptre passed from Judah, and the promised land became a part and parcel of the Roman empire. Lastly, about forty years after the crucifixion, when Jerusalem was levelled to the ground, its stately temple also fell, and up to this very hour, "the place thereof has known it no more.** Its glory had never equalled that of Solomon in exterior splendour; and either the Lord of hosts must have come to it in person, or the prophecy, if rightly interpreted, has failed. The marks of time indicated in Daniel's prophecy would appear not to have been altogether lost sight of by the Jews; for there is no other source to which we can, with so much propriety, ascribe the prevailing expectation that some great personage was to appear about that time in the east. (v. p, 132.) But beyond this they did not "discern the signs of the times." The approaching destruction of the temple could not, it is true, have been foreseen by that generation; but the loss of their independence was known and felt; and ought to have had its influence on their minds. Their negligence, however, and unbelief, and in general, the degree of intelligence with which a prophecy is received at the time of its delivery, or indeed at any season antecedent to its fulfil- ment, cannot aflect the evidence arising out of it, to those who live after the event. The use of prophecy, it should be remem- bered is two-fold, and depends upon its application to past or future eyents. As long as it remains unfulfilled its legitimate CHAP. II.] CONCERNING CHRIST. 363 purpose is attained, if it excite an expectation in the mind of the believer. When, in process of time, the exactness of the agreement between the prediction and its accomplishment can be pointed out, it becomes a testimony to the unbeliever. But these two uses of prophecy are independent ; for an ex- pectation may be excited of future events, which, from one circumstance or another, may never afterwards be employed in evidence; and tlie fulfilment, it is clear, may be equally exact, whether the prediction has been previously under- stood and rightly used, or not. Indeed, if the coincidences be tolerably numerous, or contain any strongly marked peculiarity, it will not even matter, for the purposes of evi- dence, whether the prediction was put in such a form as to be generally recognized as prophetical at all. But the last observationintroducesustoapost somewhat in. advance of that which we have hitherto occupied; and it opens for our contemplation a new and more extended field. Tliis must be exemplified by a few particular instances; and none can be more appropriate than the afi*ecting history of Abraham's intended sacrifice of "his son, his only son. Isaac, whom he loved." No one who reads this history, and will compare it with the circumstances attending the suffer- ings and death of Christ, can fail to trace the closest resem- blance between the two. The one is the exact counterpart of the other. In either case a father gives an only and a dearly beloved son; and that son submissively obeys. The scene of either transaction, moreover, is known to have been the same ; and it is not a little remarkable that Abraham is directed to journey three days, that this indentity of place may be established ; — a convincing proof that it was designed. Nor should the circumstance be overlooked, that in each jCase the appointed victim carries the wood prepared for his own immolation. It is true that Isaac does not suffer ; but he is received from the dead only in a figure (Heb. xi. ] 9.); and -while this is an apt type of the resurrection of Christ, the ac- tual death of the latter is indicated by the sacrifice of the ram, in a manner even more striking than it could have been by the death of Isaac; for Jesus was, at the very commencement of his ministry, as well as by the sacrifices of the law, pointed out as "the Lamb of God that taketh away the sin of the world." (Gen. xxii. 1 — 14. John i. 29.) — Let it be remarked that neither this very significant transaction, nor the scarcely ii2 364 PROPHECIES \jpAm ni less striking history of the patriarch Joseph, are any where spoken of in Scripture as bearing a typical character. Shall! we assign it as a reason, that they are so plain that he may] run who reads? (Hab. ii. 2.) ' The multiplied observances of the ceremonial law; the morning and evening lamb; the passover; the sacrifices of the day of atonement, and other similar particulars, form a se-- cond class of predictions of the same kind. They were not, j at the time, declared to be prophetical, and under the oldi dispensation, a Jew who lived in the closest familiarity "with* them, might, perhaps, be excused if he failed to see their real! design. Not so the Jew of later days; for what had been ai concealed prophecy to his forefathers, ought to have becomej incontrovertible evidence to him ; and in fact, in the words of; Davison, "the error ofthe Jcav who rejected the Christian] Faith, and would retain the Mosaic, is almost incredible.**;! The proof that God had all along a single design in view, has| its basis in the closeness of the agreement between type and] antitype. It can make no difference, that, in some instances,i he saw fit, to give, not a plain and full declaration, but sup-j pressed and enigmatical indications of it, distributed over an) extended surface, and assuming very different forms. "Willj it be thought irreverent to say, that the practical working ; of the plan was somewhat after the manner of one, who j conceals by drapery, or rough boarding, the finished beauties] of a piece of statuary, or other work of art; and yet not so^ completely, but that many prominences, if not the generalj outline, are discernible: and when the day of exhibition J has arrived, each seemingly disconnected part is recognized! in its true form and connection, and the unity of the perfect] figure is displayed? Taking, then, these symbolical histories and ceremonies! as undoubted prophecies, though not always declared, or;; even supposed to be such at their first delivery, we trace ini them the further development of God's purposes with' reference to his Son. We have seen that the heel of the! promised seed was to be bruised; and as time draws on, j the manner of his suffering begins to be shadowed forth j with gradually increasing perspicuity. The sacrifice on ' mount Moriah gives an earlier, though in itself less certain, ■ intimation that the wound inflicted by the serpent would ; be unto death; — but a death to be speedily followed by a;^ CHAP. IL] concerning CHRIST. 365 restoration to Lis father's home. The pascal lamb tells a further tale as to the manner of that death, for not a bone of him was to be broken; and its sacrifice, and the blood of every bull or goat which was offered, as well as the prohibition of the use of blood for food, all spake of the blood of Christ, which is the life of the world. Recurring to verbal prophecy the twenty-second and sixty-ninth psalms, and the fifty- third chapter of Isaiah should be carefully studied, as con- taining a history of the crucifixion and burial of Jesus which no explanation can make more plain. The resurrection, •which had been already more obscurely signified, is foretold in words in the sixteenth Psalm ; (Ps. xvi. 9. Acts ii. 25, 26.) the ascension, veiled under the yearly entrance of the High Priest within the holy of holies, is openly announced in another Psalm : (Ps. Ixviii. 18. Ep. iv. 8— -10.); and lastly the subsequent exercise of the mediatorial office is also de- picted, in the same prophecy, by the gifts received for men. (Ep. iv. 8.) The disposition into which I have thrown my subject now brings us back once more to the days of Moses. We have in the book of Deuteronomy the following declaration: "The Lord thy God will raise up unto thee a Prophet from the midst of thee, of thy brethren, like unto me." (Deut. xviii. 15.) There are two particulars which call for notice in these words. The prophecy foreshows, under a fresh aspect, the human garb in which the seed of Abraham was to appear. The people of Israel had seen the "great fire" of the Lord, and heard his voice, when he spake to them from Sinai, and they had said "Let me not hear again the voice of the Lord my God,... that I die not." (v. 16.) In answer to their prayer the Lord said unto Moses : "They have well spoken, that which they have spoken. I will raise them up a Prophet from among their brethren like unto thee, and will put my words in liis mouth; and he shall speak unto them all that I shall command him." (vv, 17, 18.) That is, the messenger foretold should not out- wardly assume the splendour and glory of a celestial being, whether of higher or lower rank, but should be a man, even one of themselves, a brother after the flesh, with whom they might freely speak of the things of God, and know no terror. ii3 36(> PROPHECIES [part It But there Is another truth in these words, which ha^ not previously been declared. The expected prophet was- to be like unto Moses: he was to speak what was put in. his mouth, — not as one of the more ordinary prophets ; but; as one commissioned to communicate a new revelation; and they who heard him were to listen, not simply as to one^ urging home upon their consciences principles already in- culcated by others; but as a lawgiver, empowered, like Moses,' to issue new enactments, and develop principles hithertd less perspicuously set forth, or altogether unrevealed. (vj pp. 226, &c.) There are doubtless many other points on^ which a comparison may be instituted between the medi- ators of the Mosaic and the Christian covenants; but this constitutes the very point by which the mission of both wad pre-eminently exalted above that of every other prophet;: (Heb. iii. 2 — 6.) and it is with an unequivocal, thougli tacit, reference to the prophecy before us that Jesus said:i "For I have not spoken of myself, but the Father whichS sent me, he gave me a commandment, what I should say,: and what I should speak. And I know that his command-- ment is life everlasting: whatsoever I speak therefore, even as the Father said unto me, so I speak. (John xii. 49; ch. viii. 38; xiv. 10.) i We left the limitation of the family in which the Mes- siah was to appear, when that of Judah had been singled out to bear the sceptre; and, as it seemed probable, to give^ birth to Shiloh, whom we take to be the promised seedj One further restriction subsequently nominated the house of David, to which both these distinctions were finally confirmed. But closely connected with the regal and genealogical prophecies are two others, the earlier revealed to David himself, and involving a cardinal Christian truth; the other, delivered about three hundred years later than the reign of David; and which, beside containing the same important doctrine, also points out the locality of the Mes- siah's birth. For convenience sake I shall put the latter prophecy first; for the matter of fact is the simpler of the two objects which it embraces; and having disposed of this, our undivided attention may then be given to the doctrine.' The prophet Micah had said; "But thou, Bethlehem Ephi-atah, though thou be little among the thousands of I CHAP. II.] CONCERNING CHRIST. 367 Judah, yet out of thex; shall he come forth unto me that is to be ruler in Israel; whose goings forth have been from of old, from everlasting" (Mic. v. 2.) The sense which the Jews attached to these words will appear from the answer of the chief priests and scribes to Herod, for when he demanded of them where Christ should be born, they said unto him, '•In Bethlehem of Judea : for thus it is written by the pro- phet, and thou Bethlehem, in the land of Juda, art not the least among the princes of Juda: for out of thee shall come a Governor, that shall rule my people Israel." (Matt, ii. 4 — G.) — But the parents of Jesus resided at Nazareth. (Luke i. 26.) No instructions were given to either of them to repair to Bethlehem; and they themselves would seem to have overlooked the prophecy. But the reigning Em- peror, a heathen, uninformed, probably, of so much as the existence of the Jewish Scriptures, and certainly little likely to attach any value to their contents, issues a decree to take a census of his vast dominions ; and the order is carried into execution in Palestine, at such a time, and in such a way, whether by a direct order from the Emperor, or at the insti- gation of his subordinates on the spot, as to insure the accomplishment of the divine purposes. For the census was taken by tribes and families, each in the cities which formed the inheritance of their fathers. Joseph and Mary, therefore, because they were of the house and lineage of David, were compelled to visit Bethlehem, the city of David; (Luke ii. 1 — 5.) and a simple providence, beyond the control of the more immediate actors in the events of the nativity, much to their discomfort, and probably against their will, unex- pectedly interposed to vindicate the prescience which, four hundred years before, had specified by name the birth place of the spiritual king of Israel. "VVe come now to the doctrine. The humanity of Christ was involved, not only in this announcement ofthe place of liis birth, and in the prophecy of Moses, but in every pro- phecy M'hich had spoken of him as the seed of the woman, the seed of Abraham, the Son of David ; or in any way as man. But it is also said; "his goings forth have been of old, from everlasting:" and from the time of David that new and wonderful revelation had begun to be unfolded, ihat he was also the Son op God. The doctrine was, indeed, enunciated •bscurcly and under an almost impenetrable veil; but it was 368 PROPHECIES []PART lU J impenetrable, not so much because of the Indistinctness of the announcement, as on account of the blindness of those who ; were so slow of heart to receive the marvellous truth which ] it concealed. But when we consider the amazing conde- ) scension implied in the supposition that "very God of very J God" should empty himself of his glory, (Phil. ii. 7- Gr.) i to mix as man among the feeble worms of the earth, it is hard i for us, even now, to censure any backwardness to entertain so i strange a truth, until evidence the most satisfactory had been J given that there was no room for mistaking the terms in which ; it was conveyed. Whether or not the prophetic intimations of i it, had they stood alone, might have sufficed to place it beyond \ all reasonable controversy, we need not now enquire. More ; than proof enough of it meets us in every page of the Newi Testament ; and if the reluctance, on the part of man, to re- j ceiveitbe,not unreasonably, great, because he cannot bring i himself at first to conceive the possibility of a truth, less full of | wonder, than of gi'ace; proportionably great will be his gra-j titude and thankful astonishment, Avhen he surveys the ir-^ refragible proof on which, as on a firm and solid basis, ifcj is sustained. — But leaving this, and availing myself of all] the light we now enjoy, I have to show" how far the divinity] of Christ was shadowed forth, before the clearer expositions^ of it, which the Gospel has disclosed. i • An inspired commentator, or if I am not here at libertyj to assume his inspiration, a commentator among the fathers- of the new theology, w ill direct us to some of the passages! in which this truth is foreshewn. They are chiefly takeni from the book of Psalms; and I shall add some of thosei which may be gathered from later prophets, w ho have tiikew up the subject in equally positive terms.-Tlie first of the cita-j tions in the Epistle to the Hebrews is from the second Psalmd "I will declare the decree: the Lord (i. e. JEHOVAH,)* hath said tmto me, Thou art my Son; this day have I^ begotten thee :" and though in one sense all creatures mayl be, and are called the Sons of God, (Job. i. 6; xxxviii. 7-)] the language here employed '■''ihis day have I begotten thee/*\ is appropriated exclusively to him who is represented as? peculiarly the eternal Son of the Father. But proceeding- onwards, we find the subject of the forty-fifth Psalm; addressed throughout in the most lofty strain: "Thou art. fairer than the children of men:" "0 mighty, with thy gloiy CHAP. II.] CONCERNING CHRIST. 369 and thy majesty:" and lest these words should be thought applica])le to any one supererainent among men, the style of address assumes a still more decisive tone ; "Thy throne, God, is for ever and ever." If this passage stood alone, it were enough to establish the pre-indication of the divinity of Christ. But this is further confirmed by the hundred and tenth Psalm: "The Lord (JEHOVAH) said unto my Lord; Sit thou on my right hand, until I make thine enemies thy footstool." Here, again, is an exaltation to an equality of power and honour, utterly incompatible with the vast differ- ence between the Creator and the creature; but consonant enough with the condition of one, by direct sonship of the same nature ; and in right of his etenial generation, worthy to be addressed by God himself as God. Omitting several less explicit declarations, together with a clearer one of Isaiah, as illustrated by St. John: (Is. vi 5. John xii. 41.) 1 hasten to give place to another passage of the prophet last named: "Unto us a child is bom, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder; and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counseller, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace." (Is. ix. 6.) There is, again, a prophecy of Jeremiah, which runs thus: "Behold, the days come, saith the Lord, that I will raise unto David a righteous Branch, and a King shall reign and prosper, and shall execute judgment and justice in the earth. In his days Judah shall be saved, and Israel shall dwell safely: and this is his name whereby he shall be called, THE LORD OUR RIGHTEOUSNESS." (Jer. xxiii. 3, 6.) I only add, in conclusion, the predictions of Isaiah and Malachi as to the nature of him whom the Baptist was to precede; "The voice of him that crieth in the wilderness. Prepare ye the way of the Lord, make straight in the desert a highway for our God. And the glory of the Lord shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together: for the mouth of the Lord hath spoken it." (Is. xl. 3, 5. Behold, I will send my messenger, and he shall prepare 'le way before me: and the Lord, whom ye seek, shall addcnly come to his temple, even the messenger of the covenant, whom ye d(?light in : behold, he shall come, saith the Lord of hosts. (Mai. iii. 1.)" These passages call for no comment; for the reader will not need again to be reminded that in each of them JEIIO V AI f, 370 PROPHECIES QPART II. J is to be substituted for the Lord. But I ought, perhaps, ' to add, that I must leave the interpretation of the earlier^ clauses of Jeremiah's prophecy undetermined. Those whoj think that a figurative explanation can be made toembodyall^ the fulness of their meaning, M^ill be satisfied to refer the j whole to the first advent of Christ. Others who would givei their voice for a future and more literal fulfilment, make it the very centre of theit peaceful expectation, that the King, ; the Branch of David, whose appearance they await, is the; self-same Lord our righteousness, who has once already; appeared to expiate their sins. Neither interpretation,! therefore, will in the slightest degree afi*ect the intimation? of doctrine, for which alone the passage has been cited. i I shall notice but one more of the doctrines of the New\ Testament which have been made the subject of prophecy :| >— I mean the doctrine of the atonement. This connects itself!^ with the intimations of the sufferings and death of Christ con- j corning which I have already offered some few partial remarks. ' They are taken up again here, to show how far the doctrine ; •with which we associate them, was unfolded, before the actu- « al exhibition of the true sacrifice for sin had finally cleared i up every doubt. The fullest and plainest declaration on; this vital doctrine will be found in the fifty-third chapter j of Isaiah ;— a declaration so express and clear that a right i understanding of it could not have failed to open, to the con- j temporary of Jesus, at least, if not to the men of former ge-p j nerations, the whole scope of all that he did and suffered, \ That the promised seed was to suffer had been known, as we j have seen from the beginning. Yery much of the detail had I been symbolized to Abraham, and to Moses; and foretold! by David. But it was left for Isaiah to anticipate the apos- j ties by unfolding the object of his sufferings; and telling : men that he was to die for them ; that he waste be a Redeem- 1 er and a Deliverer, not from earthly bondage, but from sin. ; Themethod,the extent, the enforcement, of this expiation was ] left for future ages to witness and understand. The state- j ment of it was as distinct as language can be made to convey. ' But it is desirable that the words should speak for themselves: ' "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 CHAP. II.] CONCERNING CHRIST. 371 for our iniquities : the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed. 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. Yet it pleased the Lord to hruise 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 know- ledge (or, by the knowledge of himself,) shall my righte- ous servant justify many; for he shall bear their iniquities. 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 numbered with the transgressors; and he bare the sin of many, and made intercession for the transgressors." (Is. liii. 4 — 6; 10 — 12.) "Known unto God are all his works from the beginning of the world." (Acts xv. 18.) And on this principle alone can we account for the harmony which runs through all his communications to men. I could have wished to multiply the few clusters which we have gathered from a very fruitful vineyard; and to extract more of their richness from those selected; but to do so in a manner at all commensurate with their real luxuriance would demand the free range of a volume; and I can only spare them a single section. I must leave it, therefore, to the reader, as I have been com- pelled to do under each of the subjects we have discussed, to prosecute the inquiry for himself, either by a diligent study of God's word, comparing scripture with scripture, or by a reference to those who have made prophecy the sole object of their elucidations. I would, however, suggest that should it happen, as possibly it may, that a first persual of the Old Testament fails to add so liberally to our meagre list as these remarks imply ; or should a difficulty be found, as most probably it will, in following out the progressive development and the continuity of prophecy, so plainly as 1 have spoken of them here; this is no sufficient plea for deciding against their reality, or for thro^ving up the in- quiry. For a deep but tranquil stream may thread its course among low fields and spreading shallows, which its redun- dancy overflows; and there may be little to define its banks, m 372 PROPHECIES [part il* i or betray the fulness of the flood which rolls noiselessly^ within its bed. A spectator unaccustomed to such a scene, ^ may easily fail, at a first glance, to trace the continuity of^ the main channel, or distinguish it from the wider expanse inj w^hich it is withdrawn from sight, and almost seems to| spend and dissipate its waters. Yet a closer observation! of the significant, though subdued and gentle agitation; which breaks its surface, will at length familiarize the eye with the intricacies of a somewhat deviating course; and here J and there some more decided current, bearing always in onej direction, will mark infallibly a real connection between its* more distant points; until a final proof of unity is displayed, i where the narrowing waters converge upon a single ou^let;^ and one deep channel receives the whole. A deficiency of thej power of apprehension, therefore, on the part of the observer, ; does not destroy the real unity of the series: it rather indi- cates the necessity of renewed and closer application, in j order to perceive that which has hitherto eluded his research.^ But further, if, after all, this portion of our reasoning faili to make the strong impression which I think it ought to \ make, let me once again refer the student back from the bar- i mony of the finished design, to the perfection of its detached' and disconnected parts; — from the unity of doctrine, to the| more obvious correspondence of overt acts. Confining our observation to this more simple view^, we find Jesus freely^ applying to himself, or the apostles applying to him, a great i variety of predictions, scattered here and there over almost ' every page of Scripture. We find him, moreover, studiously ? shaping his course in such a way as to bring the incidents | of his life within their range: and that to such an extent] that had they been written at random ; and had they allj been within his own control as man, their fulfilment would ; have exhibited an acuteness of perception, and a skill in- management not easily brought wdthin the compass of the \ intellect of man. But there were also events entirely be- ^ yond his own control as man. He might, for instance, as | man, have chosen Nazareth for his abode; but was it com- | petent for him to have chosen Bethlehem for his birth place; ; Or the house of David for his lineage ? And had he merely \ taken advantage of these coincidences, could he have de- spoiled Judah of its sceptre in his childhood; or compassed j the desolation of the temple, forty years after his death? ; CHAP. II.] CONCERNING CHRIST. 373 He might, again, have provoked his own destruction, but could he have chosen the Jews, or Romans, or a combination of both, as his executioners, or dictated the manner of his death? To fulfil a prophecy, he cried, "I thirst;" but could he have influenced his persecutors derisively to offer him vinegar to drink? (Ps. Ixix. 21. John xix. 28 — 30.) He might have suggested the parting ofhis garments by lot ; but could he have insured the reception of the hint; or persuaded the rough soldiery to leave his bones unbroken? Could he have arranged the circumstances of his burial, for which the con- sent of Pilate was required; and above all could he have *'loosed the pains of death;" (Acts ii. 24.) and escaped the guard that watched his grave? These and a crowd of other incidents are announced in the prediction in terms free from every shade of ambiguity: they descend to the minutest detail ; so far from being such as might have been antici- pated at any period anterior to their fulfilment, they hung in suspense to the very last moment ; and they were most of them dependent on the will of enemies, or the caprice of wild and merciless ruffians. Themostextravaganthypothesiscan- not account for them on the supposition of chance, or of an art- fiil accommodation of prophecy; and the conclusion is inevi- table, both that the prescience, which foresaw them was superhuman: and, if Jesus controlled this complicated train of events by any power inherent in himself, that such power also must have been divine. The former conclusion involves the latter, because if the inspiration of prophecy is once made out, and it thus receives the stamp of infalli- ble truth; its own assertions will bear us out in the state- ment that the prophecy was penned by the foresight of the same Omniscient Being whose omnipotence fulfilled them; and that in the widest and loftiest sense of the expression, aU rvas of GOD.— (John. xii. 41. 1 Pet. i. 11.) Kk 374 SECT. III. I ■1 General prophecy. Secondary prophecies relating to the Jewish people ; anS other nations connected with their history. — /. Prophecied relating to the destruction of Jerusalem. — //. The cessa-^, tion of miracles partially supplied by prophecy still in, course of fulfilment : — the dispersion of the Jejvs: — unfuUi filled prophecy : — the state of Judcea. — ///. Discrimatin^ marks of prophecy: — Nineveh; — Babylon; — Egypt ;-^ the Ishmaelites; — the posterity of Noah's sons. — Real^ value of the evidence of prophecy ; — its independence. ? We come now to tte subsidiary predictions, relating to the Jewish nation; and to those which may, perhaps, be said, collectively, to fill up a tertiary position in the scheme of prophecy; for they converge upon the secondary rather than upon the main stream; and are chiefly connected with this latter, not immediately, but through its larger tributary. They occupy a very considerable proportion of the sacred volume; and the fulfilment of them is sometimes, also, to be gathered from subsequent historical notices in the Scriptures themselves. But far more frequently this is not the case; and we must have recourse to the pages of secular writers, whose description of the events alluded to, gives us a testi- mony clear of all suspicion. Arabia, Egypt, Nineveh, Baby- lon, and almost every country between the Euphrates andthe Nile, are prominent subjects of prophecy; and the pre- dictions which have reference to them extend from the time immediately subsequent to their delivery, to the present day, and many of them, beyond, even to the end of the world. Those which have yet to be fulfilled cannot, in our time, be brought forward in proof of their inspi- ration : those whose fulfilment is a matter of history may be put in a form which must carry conviction to every CHAP. II.] GENERAL PROPHECY. 37^ impartial inquirer; but perhaps the more interesting, thougli, when fairly considered, they ought not to be the more satisf34ng, are those which are still in process of fulfilment; and which therefore stand forth as living wit- nesses, appealing to our very senses, in attestation of the authority whence they issued. I will briefly illustrate a few of the historical prophecies directed against Jerusalem; and then select a few from those bearing on the dispersion of the Jews. Finally, a short notice of those which relate to other nations will close the present chapter, and, indeed, will nearly complete all that is embraced in the design of the present volume. I. The first destruction of Jerusalem is plainly foretold, and its accomplishment as plainly naiTated in many of the books of the Old Testament: but most copiously and exactly in that of Jeremiah. There is no lack of internal proof by which the authenticity of the prophecy and the certainty of the event might be made out. But it will be simpler, and to many perhaps more satisfactory, to pass on, at once, to those prophecies for an account of whose fulfilment we are indebted to secular historians. I shall therefore confine my observations to the desolation of the Jewish nation by the Romans, no notice of which occurs in our ►Scriptures, except in the way of prophetic denunciation. For it is not a little remarkable, that no record, either of the prediction or of its accomplishment, is to be met with in the only author of the New Testament who is proved to have lived and written after the event; while it is imiformly agreed that those in whose pjiges the prophecies are found, must have written before any indications of their approach- ing fulfihnent had appeared. Indeed, independently of external testimony, one cogent and easily intelligible argument makes it clear that the prophecy, in its original delivery, must have preceded the event; for to say nothing of a natural reluctance on the part of Jews to chronicle the disasters of their much loved city and venerated temple, the primary object of the apostles was, avowedly, to win over the Jews. We can understand how truth may have constrained them to preserve the memory of a prophecy, unwelcome in its subject, but painfully pregnant with im- portance to tjieir nrition. But had their object been to claim Kk2 376 GENERAL PROPHECY. QPAKT Hi. | the credit of a spirit of prophecy by pretending, after the? event, that it had been foretold, they might have found in ] the political changes of the day, a choice of events on which i to frame a series of predictions without offence, if not with * acceptance, to their countrymen ; and we do not usually j find impostors deliberately running counter to all the pre- j judices of those whom they are labouring to persuade. The j currency given to these prophecies can, therefore, only be ; rationally explained on the supposition of a rooted conviction , of their genuineness and truth. There has been considerable difference of opinion as toi a certain portion of the New Testament prophecies, which ' until lately had been more commonly referred to the events j preceding and accompanying the second destraction of Jeru- 1 salem; but which many excellent men are now inclined to ' regard as having reference to events still future. I set down i the two following passages, as being universally admitted i to have received their fulfilment in the siege and capture^ of the city by Titus. "And Jesus went out, and departed from i the temple: and his disciples came to him for to shew him ! the buildings of the temple. And Jesus said unto them, { See ye not all these things? verily I say unto you. There J shall not be left here one stone upon another, that shall not \ be thrown down." (Matt. xxiv. 1, 2. See also Luke xxi. 5,6.} "And when he was come near, he beheld the city and^ wept over it, saying, if thou hadst known, even thou, at , least in this thy day, the things which belong unto thy peace! • but now are they hid from thine eyes. For the days shall i come upon thee, that thine enemies shall cast a trench about ; thee, and compass thee round, and keep thee in on every i side. And shall lay thee even with the ground, and thy ■ children within thee; and they shall not leave in thee one' stone upon another; because thou knewest not the time of • thy visitation." (Luke xix. 41 — 44.) \ With these two prophecies I shall content myself, though I it is not without much reluctance I refrain from adding to^ them a portion of the earlier verses of the twenty-fourth chapter of St. Matthew; for the application of which to the] event I am now considering, I cannot but feel there is a vast preponderance of argument. But I pass them by; because the use of them would involve some discussion, and it would be a misappropriation of the pages of a volume OEIAP. II.] GENERAL PROPHECY. 377 on the evidences, to fill them with needless disquisitions on a matter in which much latitude of opinion may fairly be conceded to Christian controversialists. My reluctance, however, is considerably modified by the consideration that, whatever interpretation be put upon the disputed prophecies in St. Matthew, and the parallel passages in St. Mark, and St. Luke, I do not think that either the certainty of the clearest prophetic intimation that the fall of Jerusalem Avas close at hand; or the determination of the interest- ing inquiries which concern the more distant return of Christ in glory, are materially affected by the decision. Some points connected with either will undoubtedly hinge upon the correct settlement of the object of these predic- tions: but the main question is not affected by it. The investigation, however, belongs rather to what will consti- tute the subsequent researches of the convinced and establish- ed Christian. For the purposes of evidence the safer plan will be to avoid all debateable ground; and keep well w ithin the acknowledged limits of sound and unquestion- able interpretation. There is no place for cavil, however, on the ground that this difference of opinion casts a veil of uncertainty on the whole scheme of prophecy. No he- sitation can be admitted as to its leading features; and we may reasonably expect that until the entire scheme has Kceived its complete accomplishment, there will be more r less difficulty in adjusting some of its minor points. The .structure of prophecy, it has been already stated, is design- edly symbolical, and hence often necessarily obscure. But difficulty of interpretation, in a few particular predictions, must be distinguished from ambiguity, arising either from a faulty structure of language, or an intention to deceive; and issuing in the perplexity, not of a doubtful meaning, but of one capable of opposite applications: nor can it detract from the certainty of fulfilment in other and more numerous cases, where the true principles of sound interpretation leave no reasonable doubt as to the proper acceptation of terms in the n'diction, and where the marks of correspondence are une- livocal in the event. The passages which I have selected involve the following particulars: (1) the entire demolition of both the city and the teen captiously, or mistakingly objected to; and were the vindication of them less satisfactory than I believe that it is, the concurrence of so many predictions, all sup- ported by strong presumptions of exact fulfilment, would form a collective argunient which true wisdom would not hastily set aside. But in the profusion of materials pre- sented by the rich exuberance of the field over which we are wandering, we need not, as I said on entering it, meddle with its more entangled and thorny glades. A few of the clearer prophecies are sufficient, and I waive the rest as not essential to my argument. It is enough if I can show that a prediction, of a nature to preclude the possibility of collusion, or mere human foresight, or fortunate chance, was manifestly known and read of men, before, — no matter how long before, but decisively, before — the event, or any leading indication of the event; and that it was afterwards so exactly accomplished in that event, as to leave no rational doubt that such was the event intended. In this I find an evidence of prescience incontrovertibly superhuman. By the same process of reasoning which I have before em- ployed with reference to miracles, I argue that a Being, whose attributes and enactments are such as those associated with these prophecies, can give his sanction to nothing but pure unmingled truth. This does not clear up difficulties which arise from the structure of the prophecy i'self; but it removes all indefiniteness which may have been caused by mere deficiency of external proof; and leaves me free to distribute the whole range of prophecy, according to its own 404 GENERAL PROPHECY. [^PART II. internal chronology, as far as it bears upon it the marks of time. For the certain proof of prescience carries with it, both the divine origin of the doctrines inculcated ; and the full authenticity of all the circumstantial detail under which the revelation has been conveyed. For further information on this subject I must refer the reader to other works; and I would particularly recom- mend to his notice Keith's Evidence of Prophecy, for a compendium of the observations of recent travellers on the existing state of Palestine, Egypt, Babylon, and other coun- tries, whose fall has been depicted in the volume of in- spiration. Perhaps he may occasionally feel there has been some want of care in ascertaining the strict applicability of a few of the prophecies brought forward ; but the instances of this are too few, and of too little consequence, to detract seriously from the real value of the book; or from the soundness of the conviction that the "Word," in which these wondrous indications of a deity are so rife, "unequivocally bears the seal and superscription of the King of Kings." In taking leave of prophecy, however, I would, once more remind the reader, that whatever amount of evidence may be thought to accrue from it, is completely independent of every other line of proof. We enter upon it with no other assumption than that of the existence of the prophecy be- fore some specific time. For the proof of this we are some- times dependent on the testimony of history; but, to the extent to which we use it, this testimony, in almost every case, cannot be esteemed as inferior to certainty itself. In other cases the nature of the prophecy enables us to dispense with even so much as this; and we may be satisfied with the simple fact that the prediction is anterior to the age in which we live. In either case the hand of Omniscience is mani- fested, and all else follows by a consequence absolutely infallible. A revelation has been made, and the proof is in itself perfect and entire, that the revelation is from God. Combine, then, the two independent proofs, that from miracles, and that from prophecy. Consider the fullness and variety of each. In either case, where a single instance, or at the most two or three, would have been justly consider- ed ample for every purpose of rational conviction, we are rather puzzled to select, than perplexed to find suitable cases for illustration. If one be disputed, or involve a discussion CHAP. 11.^ GENERAL PROPHECY. 405 too lengthy for our limits, or our powers of application, we may exchange it for some other, more obvious and easy. And so abundant is the store of materials free from all em- barrassment that it is not two or three miracles, or as many prophecies; it is not miracles alone; or prophecy alone, upon which our cause depends. Each of these independent lines of argument, as we have seen, hang from many points of sup- port, any one of which were alone sufficient to sustain it; and the truth of Christianity is thus doubly borne up on many- stranded chains of strength. Surely it is not without reason the Christian exults in a sober confidence that, even in externals, his religion boasts of a security, which infi- delity may scoff at, but shall never overturn. 406 CONCLUSION. []PART II. CHAPTER IIL Conclusion. Reason fornot entering on arguments from the propagation of the Gospel; and its suitableness to the wants of man. — All objections against Christianity/ fatal to every other reli- gion: — difficulties in infidelity. — Difficulties in theory may arise from the nature of the subject. -Objections toevidcnce ; — on the ground of divisions^ Sj-c. — arise from state of man as under trial. — Apostacy^ S^c. was foretold. — Objections trifling compared with the evidence. — Christia?iity a reli- gion qffaith. — Conclusion. Such is the basis on which Christianity rests its claims : — on miracles supported by unimpeachable testimony; and on prophecy unquestionably fulfilled. In setting in order the proof of these grand points, we have demonstrated the identity of the Christianity of our Bibles with that promul- gated by its founders; (for the writings we possess are proved to be the very foundations on which it was esta- blished;) and we have taken occasion incidentally to sketch in some of its leading doctrines; its purity; and its exclu- sive demands upon our faith and ready obedience. We have noted also its renunciation of all the ordinary methods of commending or forcing itself upon the attention of men ; whether by the "enticing words of man's wisdom;" (1 Cor. ii. 4.) or by the sword: its contrariety to all the natural passions of a corrupt heart; and its extraordinary success, notwith- standing the severity of the trials to whichithasbeen exposed This last fact has been several times advanced as affording an incontestible proof of historical truth in our sacred narra- tives; but it is capable of being pressed much further, as indicating the controlling interposition of a high and holy Being, mighty to restrain and thwart the machinations of his enemies ; to burst, with a friendly violence, the shackles ^ HAP. III.] CONCLUSION. 407 imposed by an inherent propensity to evil; and to force, by a sweet compulsion, vanquished multitudes to receive and cling to his salutary yoke, in the face of all that men most fear; and at the risk of all they love. In a former page (j)p. 324, sq.) I have admitted that independently of re- velation, it might be ditficult to prove, on any principles which would be universally received as incontrovertible, the total depravity of the whole human race. Nor do I wish to retract the concession. Men would, I imagine, readily grant, for, in truth, it is beyond all contradiction, that vice prevails ^o an extent both lamentable and alarming: andth(^y might, with no great reluctance, be brought to acknowledge, that its prevalence fearfully preponderates over the practice of simple virtue. But it might also, with some show of plau- sibility, be argued that mankind are not all equally depraved, and (hat every grade of moral purity is met with, from a bare respect to some single law of rectitude, to at least a high degree of active benevolence, and amiable innocence; nd hence it might be inferred that such innocence may ' casionally rise to absolute perfection. For our notions of • Section, by the hypothesis, must be based on a human candard; and they may lower the standard as much as they Kalt the object to be measured. Yet, after all, our con- ■ssion is practically more limited than, at first sight, it wight appear; for it only admits the difficulty of an absolute i-monstration, independently of revelation ; and leaves it T»en for us to maintain a conclusion very little inferior to lis. For arguing from the observed propensities and ac- nowledged practices of men, the ^enerfl/ corruption of our ;iture may be infallibly made out; and the very highest Itgree of presumptive proof attained, that the natural • luctance of man to receive the things of the Spirit of God, 1 Cor. ii. 14.) can be overcome by nothing short of an nfluence properly divine. Upon this powerful argument, )wever, 1 have not formally entered; nor can I do so ')W. But with these brief hints in mind, a continuous perusal of the portions of my work in which it is suc- inctly alluded to, (p. 30, &c., 237, &c., 245, &c.) may bring • home to the candid reader with some amplification of its • arings. The course of our argument has led us, once only, and ill more briefly, scarcely to glaiRe at one other branch of 408 CONCLUSION. [part II, inquiry whicli, nevertheless, we are precluded from enlarg- ing upon here. I refer to the suitableness of the Christian scheme to the present state and actual wants of man; as explaining much of the moral phenomena which we see around us, providing for the felt wants of the awakened conscience; and putting the check required upon the natu- ral dispositions of an evil heart. These interesting topics would bring with them an exposition of the Scrip>ure doc- trines concerning the corruption of man; justification by faith; the completed work of Christ; sanctification by the Holy Spirit; and the use of the law as a perfect rule of life. But to develop these vital truths in such a way as to ensure the clear statement; and scripture proof of them, with a demonstration of their reasonableness, and an ap- plication of the whole as an evidence of the divine origin of Christianity, would far exceed the space I can give to them; and might easily expand itself into a volume. I, therefore, abandon any attempt to abridge the many thoughts which these interesting topics cannot but suggest to a contemplative mind, rather than risk the danger of injuring them by too great ccmpression; and the more readily, in that the present volume has trepasf=ed but little, and not at all directly, on what may, most properly, be termed the internal, or moral, evidences of Christianity. They will form a reserve to which the diligent student may hereafter direct his attention: and perhaps he might find his labour more than repaid, were he to throw the result of his biblical researches into the form of a system of doc- trine, framed to demonstrate its divine origin from its wonder- ful adaptation to the circumstances of man. He would find that a very large proportion of the scheme of revelation, (perhaps all except that mysterious part of it which relates to the deity itself!, irrespective of his dealings with man,) might thus he turned to good account as evidence of a very convincing kind ; and while he studied the word of God, he would thus also be led to study man ; and his own heart, as an index of what is in man. And, happily, all these are studies the advantages of which it is not easy to enumerate: and on which no time or labour can ever be considered as thrown away. But in foregoing this argument, I am bound in propriety to abstain from descanlbg on its capabilities. Having, « SAP. ni.] croNCLusioN. 409 therefore, briefly given my reason for not entering on it here, my design, in the present chapter, is to glance, very suc- cinctly, at the objections which have been advanced against Christianity; or rather, more generally, to remove the im- pediment to its reception, which may be thought to arise from the fact that it is open to objection at all. Very ma- ny of the particular objections usually urged, have been tacitly or expressly met in the body of the work; and in dis- posing of the general question just alluded to, there will be opportunities for noticing specifically the few remaining allegations, which it may be worth while to make the sub- ject of a separate paragraph. But it may serve to smooth our path, if we can first per- suade ourselves that no one objection has ever been taken to Christianity, which would not fall with far more than equal weight, upon every other system of religious faith which has ever yet obtained a hold over the minds of men. This, I think, will scarcely be disputed. Whether the vulnerable point be thought to lie in some article of doc- trine, or in evidence, or in a deficiency of influence upon professors ; a wound, I repeat, if such there were, which would be fatal to Christianity, could not be inflicted without giving, by the same stroke, the death blow to every other re- ligion. Are there incomprehensible truths in our Scriptures? Who will dare to say that Hinduism, or the schemes of Ma^ hornet and Zoroaster, have nothing which their defenders would find it difficult to explain? — Is there a supposed deficiency of testimony, in support of the Christian story? Where is the evidence which other religionists can furnish as complete as ours? — Are there divisions, and disreputa- ble livers among the professing followers of Jesus? Let the sects of other systems be fairly enumerated ; and let it be confessed, for it scarcely needs to be proved, that in each and every one, there are crowds upon crowds, who, both in faith and practice, have wandered far from the precepts delivered to their fathers. An attempt might be made to evade these objections on the ground that the obscurity of the doctrines ought to be ascribed to the incapacity of the recipients, and not to any inconsistency in themselves; that tradition or internal evidence may compensate for the want of unbroken testimony ; and that a system is not to be blamed for the faults of those by whom it has been perverted. N n 410 CONCLUSION. fpART 11, But, whaterer be the real value of these answers, they only leave the question where it was before; because they are as powerful on the side of Christianity, as when urged in behalf of its competitors. If they may be admitted as sufficient in one case, they cannot consistently be rejected in another: and botli are thus thrown back upon the posi- tive evidence by which they are sustained. I do not forget that the charges against Christianity have been either false, or frivolous and feeble ; and those against other theories unanswerable; but I wish to impress it upon the reader's mind, that an admission of the validity of those against Christianity, must result in one universal spirit of scepticism and infidelity. All faith in the efficacy of every form of worship must be utterly demolished. Man must live for himself, and lean on himself; and die without a hope that there is a God who careth for his soul. And suppose that rather than allow the Christian system to be true, a man will sacrifice all religion, and resign himself to the blankhopelessness of infidelity: — Does infidelity present no difficulty? Is it a light thing to set down to the blind caprice of chance those wondrous combinations of matter, so pregnant with consummate wisdom; whose "line is gone out through all the earth, and their words to the end of the world;" heard without voice ; and shewing knowledge, though there is no "speech or language." (Ps. xix. I — 4. marg.) And does it involve no difficulty, admitting the exis- tence of the Deist's God, to suppose that he has abandoned all care for the work of his own hands, and left his creatures to drag on a wearisome existence, with nothing to cheer them beyond the grave ? The imaginations of men's hearts, when they devise for themselves forms of idolatrous adoration, lead them far astray. Yet is their error more pardonable, more natural, more reasonable, than the cold calculating pride of the heartless infidel; and if idolatry be, as it surely is, egregious folly; infidelity is never unaccompanied with a self-conceit, if possible, more fatal to the soul: for, *'Seest thou a man wise in his own conceit ? There is more hope of a fool than of him." (Prov. xxvi. 12.) But to return ; — those who think that Christianity ought to be encumbered by no difficulties, forget the analogy of all they see around them. It is admitted there are difficulties, though possibly the catalogue which an objector could draw CHAP. III.] CONCLUSION. 411 up might be reduced by more than a moiety, as containing many which present no real difficulty at all. The number, of objections, however, is of lessimportance than their nature: for, on the principle that a material in which strength is re- quired, has only the strength of its weakest part; one serious flaw will do more irreparable injury, than a hundred superfi- cial blemishes. In certain processes of reasoning any defect will be necessarily fatal; for instance, in all demonstrative truthsitthe slightest error inasingle step will vitiate the whole conclusion; and neither self-evident, demonstrative, nor logical propositions admit the co-existence of real conclu- siveness and inexplicable difficulties. But with moral reason- ings the CJise is otherwise: the question under investigation does not admit of positive demonstration, and becomes, strict- ly speaking, one of probability. Noav all such questions are open to objections of various kinds; and their determination will depend upon our estimate of the relative weight due to the considerations advanced on either side; that is, to the preponderance of one argument over the other; and not to the absence of every thing which can be advanced in opposition to either. It must not, however, be imagined that the evidence from probability is, for this reason, infe- rior in kind to that from demonstration. It is a different species of evidence, relating to a diff*erent class of subjects, and regulated by entirely different laws. But in the contest between opposite probabilities, the one may so outweigh the other, and rise to so high a degree of irresistible force, as to amount to a moral certainty; and yet this does not necessarily destroy or explain the objection, or abate any thing from its real force, be that what it may; the true position of the latter is, that it has been overruled. Perhaps it might be well to illustrate this by an example; id nothing occurs to me better adapted for the purpose ^tKan "a parable" from the masterly work of Ben Ezra on the second advent of Christ. I am reluctant to deny my reader the gratification of perusing the extract in the author's own forcible manner; but it would trench too largely upon my few remaining pages, and I am compelled to abridge. The story refers to the journey of Pope Pius VI. to Vienna, in the year 1782. This visit had for its object the prevention ofcertain extensive innovations in church affairs, which the Emperor Joseph II. bad then in contemplation; and which Nn2 412 CONCLUSION. [part II. the entreaties of Pius failed, even to suspend. Ashamed, per- haps, of the ill success attending an act of condescension so unusual, a party began, at first in diversion, but afterwards seriously, to question whether such a visit had actually been paid; and urged its extreme improbability. "What necessity •was there," said they, "that the Pope himself should remove from Rome, and make so long a journey; when it was so easy a matter to treat and to conclude any business, however grave it might be, by means of some one of his ministers, or of an envoy extraordinary, giving to him his orders and instructions ; and investing him with his authority and the fulness of his power?" And they met the assertions of eye- witnesses, and the arguments from the publicity of the transaction, by pointing out the possibility of deception; and the ease with which a prince or minister of the Pope's cour<^, might have personated his sovereign. For though the Pope was received with much pomp, and remained a month at Vienna ; it is probable that very few who saw him ■were acquainted with his person; and all who were not, were utterly imcompetent to pronounce with absolute certainty that it was he. On the one hand, then, there w^as the improbability of the journey, and the difficulty of iden- tifying a total stranger: on the other hand, the people could not easily be deceived, unless the Emperor were so too; and yet it was little likely that the papal court would risk exasperating him at so critical a juncture ; or that, under the circamstances, so bare-faced an imposture could be suc- cessfully carried through. In short, no one possessed of common sense, and free from every inducement to stifle or bury his convictions, could hesitate to say, that no rational doubt remains as to the reality of the visit. Yet this does not annihilate its original improbability: — it sets that im- probability aside as overpowered by a weight of contrary probabilities : and the importance of the object in view may, or may not, be thought satisfactorily to explain and justify so unprecedented a proceeding on the part of the proud but politic despot of Rome. The case is precisely the same with the objections taken to Christianity, whether they respect its theory, or its evi- dence. The question is a moral one; and capable of mo- ral, but not of demonstrative certainty; and it is not to be decided by the total absence of any real difficulty, but .S; CHAP. III.] CONCLtJSIOlf. 413 by the possession of a power suflSeicnt to counteract the weiglit of probability in the opposite scale. Now, to begin ■w-ith diificulties in the theory of Christianity; — they will universally be found to arise from some statement or other, which, on examination, turns out to be, properly, above hu- man reason, but never contrary to its dictates : and hence their existence, so far from causing us any concern, is itself a thing to be expected. Revelation confessedly deals in subjects of the most lofty nature ; for beside that its commu- nications are addressed to the incorporeal part of man; it speaks also of the highest and most excellent of all existing Beings; of his essence; of his purposes; of his acts. With some of the works of this exalted Being we are daily, hourly, and most intimately conversant; and yet in the most fami- liar of them we find displayed a skill of operation, which we are not only unable to imitate, but which we cannot even understand. Who, for example, can give to the hard and dry seed its vital property, and enable it to suck moisture and nourishment from the crumbling soil? Who can explain why it thus lives and grows, or lay open the pro- cess by which the complete circle of vegetation is carried on ? Who can explain how it is that volition is conveyed, instantaneously and unconsciously, to the obedient limb? Or who can tell what is that mysterious principle of life, the presence of which gives energy and animation to every facul- ty, and whose withdrawal leaves the once active frame a putrid corpse ? There are, then, facts innumerable which we know to exist ; and of which we can render no account. It is even possible that, if explained, we might be unable to com- prehend them; for though an ordinary mind is often, perhaps generally, capable of appreciating truths which it could never have discovered, it is no new thing to meet with one whose intellect is too narrow to entertain even a matter of no very extraordinary depth; and it may be so with the mind of man, as now constituted, with reference to some of the secrets of the natural world. But this is of little moment. It is enough that in God's works on earth, there are things which we do not under- stand. Can we wonder, then, if there be something be- yond our grasp, when our .attention is directed to heavenly things? (John iii. 12.) We labour under a double disa- bility. Our faculties are inadequate to the reception of Nn3 414 CONCLUSION. [[part II. the ideas: and incommensurate as these latter are with the loftiness of the subject; the imperfection of the language in which they have to be communicated, is at best not less calculated to embarass their delivery; for a revelation must either be in the language of man; or in a language, the enlarged capabilities of which would make it as diffi- cult of mastery as the ideas themselves, which it was in- vented to convey. Indeed, I think few would controvert the sentiment, that a much more plausible objection might have been raised, and one much less capable of easy resolution, had there been nothing, when God spake of himself, which did not outstrip our puny intellects, and rise above all that we are acquainted with on earth. The nature, therefore, of the truths which constitute the more peculiarly appropriate sub- jects of a revelation, is such that probability, so far from for- bidding, on the contrary, leads us to expect something which we cannot fully understand; and something, therefore, on which it may be easy to raise, and hard to resolve a difficulty. An inspection of the world in which we live, may disclose to us, not only the existence of difficulties in known truths, but of difficulties closely analogous to some of those en- countered in revelation. Analogy does not, however, remove or explain, the difficulty ; but it blunts the edge of the ob- jection, for it shows that inexplicable difficulties may co- exist with absolute and physical certainty; and therefore may also co-exist with the same high degree, if there could be degrees, of moral certainty. When, therefore, there is only a deficiency of knowledge, and no real violation of its fundamental principles, an uncleared difficulty ought not to shake the confidence reposed in a lengthened train of ir- refragable proofs. But the embarassed position assumed by the man who finds an impediment to the reception of a well-supported truth, in the existence of a difficulty which he is unable to resolve, may be further exemplified by putting the question in an inverted form. Let us, then, abandon for an instant the proposition which we have been striving to establish, that "Christianity is true;" and reversing our previous nomen- clature, let us make the objection our main proposition, and say; — "The difficulties with which Christianity is en- cumbered, are such that it must be rejected as incapable of proof." This statement becomes now the proposition to CHAP, m.] CONCLUSION, 415 be established ; and the arguments advanced in support of Christianity must be Aaewed in the light of objections to its validity. Here, then, is a feeble, and almost solitary argument, provoking opposition from what must be uni- versally admitted as a host of solid weighty difficulties, urged against it with an overwhelming force: or, on the lowest supposition, and independently of the comparative weight or number of the arguments; here is a proposition assailed by difficulties which cannot be rejected as frivolous and unreal. The same principle, therefore, which gave way to the old objection, and allowed it to displace the original proposition; must, to be consistent, a second time reverse the order of things; and reinstate the original proposition in its pristine strength and power; — or a per- petual vacillation must destroy the stability of every truth; and the mind will *'be tossed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the sleight of men, and cunning craftiness, whereby they lie in wait to deceive." (Ep. iv. 14.) I will only add, that if itbe thought that an enlarged capacity might have been given to man, commen- surate with the lofty truths embodied in the revelation; such a degree of spiritual discernment is actually promised and provided for all who will seek it in God's own appointed way, on all matters which it concerns man to know ; (1 Cor. ii. 10, 12. 1 John. ii. 27.) and that, were this carried to an extent beyond what is there provided, it would in fact be taking man out of himself, in order that he might compre- hend a revelation intended for his use as man. Thus much concerning difficulties arising out of the nature of the subjects on which a revelation may be ex- pected to dwell. It must be owned, however, that there are also some which do not spring from the intellectual inca- Ecity of man; though they may have had their origin in other perfections of his nature ; and which, therefore, cannot be iposed of as necessarily inseparable from the subject. All ob- tions founded on the partial reception of the Gospel, on the misconduct of its nominal professors, or on the sects to which it has given rise, arc of this kind; for, so far as we can see, they might have been provided against, and avoided. There ought, however, to be a full and clear understanding of thena- ture and design of Christianity before difficulties of this clas* 416 CONCLUSION. [[part II. can be properly disposed of; for if thej have arisen notwith- standing an expressed determination on the part of the founder of tlie religion and his associates to prevent them; and despite of a divine pledge that they should not occur, Christianity cannot ward off the imputation of a signal failure; and its advocates must be at once confounded and put to shame. If, on the other hand, it can be made to appear, not only that this state of things was foreseen and foretold, but that it was actually pointed out as an intended consequence of the provisions of the dispensation under which we live, and a part of the discipline of its followers; then the im- putation of failure, whether of purpose, or of foreknow- ledge, vanishes into air; and there is left only, what I shall venture to call, the minor, and by no means insuperable obstacle; — that it may seem strange that such a system should emanate from God. Of this hereafter. Let us first remove the more serious impeachment of failure, because the system itself is thought to have fallen short of its avowed and predicated ends. The declaredpurposeof Christianity, it is most true, is to break down all opposition, and to fill the earth "as the waters cover the sea." (Is. xi. 14) But it has never been said that this its final victory was to crown its first infantile struggles. On the contrary, the whole tenor of Scripture represents man s estate on earth, from its very beginning, as one of probation; and a belief in Christ, as encompassed by perils on every side. The state of Adam in paradise w^as obviously one designed to test his obedience. Abraham was commanded to offer up his son, in order to make trial of his faith. The declared object of the wanderings of the Israelites was, "to prove them." Hezekiah was left to his own pride, "to try him." "There must be also heresies among you," says St. Paul, "that they which are approved may be made manifest among you." St. Peter speaks of the "trial of faith" as "being much more precious than of gold that perisheth, though it be tri«d with fire;" and the angel of the Church of Philadelphia was reminded of "the hour of temptation, which shall come upon all the world, to try them that dwell upon the earth." (Gen. ii. iii. xxii. 1. Deut. viii. 16. 2 Chron. xxxii. 31. 1 Cor. xi. 19. 1 Pet. i. 7- Rev. iii. 10.) These are a few of the many passages which might be adduced to show in express words, what is indeed sufficiently manifest from all ;.HAP. III.] CONCLUSION. 4l7 Scripture, that its purpose is, to set before men "life and good, and death and evil :" that they may choose between the two. (Deut. XXX. i5, 19.) Christianity, then, is not a charm^ whose mere outward possession is to drive awa/ every evil; but a moral system to work on the heart and aftections of men. It provides a universal remedy; but the application of the remedy is not forced on men : — the recep- tion or rejection of it constitutes their trial. The reception of it, moreorer, is made a matter, not of knowledge, but oi faith; "The just shall live by his faith:" "He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting Hfe." (Rom. i. 17- John iii. 36.) But faith is necessarily personal ; and must be the result of inquiry, of thought, and of conviction. The trial, therefore, is an individual one; and it may easily happen that one whom the mere accident of birth has made a nominal professor, has never given his thoughts to the subject, and never personally embraced it, or understood it as a whole; and therefore, from ignorance of its provisions, or, perhaps, from casting off its obligations, he fails practi- cally to exemplify its precepts, or inwardly to enjoy its consolations. He passess through the ordeal, he is weighed in the balances, and is found wanting. (Dan. v. 27-) Most unquestionably incalculable injury is done to Christianity by the errors, to use no harsher term, of its professors; and as incalculable an accession to the strength of its evidences would accrue, did they bear continually in mind their master's precepts: "Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven." (Matt. v. 16.) "Herein is my Father glorified, that ye bear much fruit." (.John xv. 8.) But it should never be forgotten, nor kept in the back ground, that the final proof of Christianity is nowhere put upon the lives of its professors; and could not have been so put, while they are in a state of probation themselves. "The works that I do in my Father's name," Siiid Jesus, "they bear witness of me." (John X. 25.), and we have found the apostles also relying on the same appeals, (pp. 219, Sec. 294.) The evidence of miracles and prophecy was firm and certain ground to build upon; — a stable foundation, and independent of the wavering inconstancy of frail humanity. But nothing could, in common prudence, have been staked on the uniform steadfastness of believers unless the same divine power which wrought 418 CONCLUSION. [[part II, the miracles, were universally to constrain every individual member of the rising Church. Now it is obvious that were such constraining power universally applied, so that without hesitation and Avithout scruple each should, at once and by an irresistible impulse, receive the Gospel in all its fulness; this freedom of choice, this exercise of faith, this probationary state, would be in- terfered with, to the extent of entirely changing the character of the religion, and giving a new aspect to all its enact- ments. How far any are enabled to choose life and good, uninfluenced by the preventing grace of God, (Art. x.) need not be canvassed here. And to how great an extent this grace may be exercised, hereafter, in the glorious ages of Christ's kingdom, it skills us little, for the purposes of this argument, to inquire. A universally constraining power is obviously incongruous with the requirements of the present dispensation, for the Church is yet "militant here on earth;" and must look for enemies on every side. The same reason, again, which precludes the idea of a uni- versal exercise of irresistible grace, precludes also such a full measure of overflowing evidence, as must at once force con- viction, without thought or enquiry, upon every mind. It might be hard for one dissatisfied with existing proofs, to say with what measure of attestation he would be contented. When the mind is steeled against conviction, it is more often because it will not, than because it cannot, see the force of evidence. "If they hear not Moses and the prophets," said Jesus, "neither will they be persuaded, though one rose from the dead." (Luke xvi. 31.) And in truth, the men of that generation did resist the evidence, both of reiterated miracles, of the testimony of those whom Jesus had raised, and of his own resurrection from the dead. But whether such an overwhelming flood of evidence as must be abso- lutely irresistible, could be found or not, it is foreign to the design of God, as declared in the volume which we receive as indicating his will. Inveterate enemies without, and "false brethren" within; tares among the wheat; wolves in sheeps clothing; "Scoff*ers walking after their own lusts," men who "shall depart from the faith, giving heed to sedu- cing spirits, and doctrines of devils;" can take us by no surprise, for we have been forewarned that they "shall come." (2 Pet. iii. 3. 1 Tim. iv. 1. &c.) "Strait is the gate," CHAP. III.] CONCLUSION. 419 said Jesus to the multitude, and to his disciples, "and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it;" and St. Paul, when assigning a reason why the wise, the mighty, and the noble, had not been called, reminds us "that in the wisdom of God" it seemed good to him to per- mit that "the world by wisdom knew not God," in order, "by the foolishness of preaching to save them that believe." (Matt. vii. 14. Luke xiii. 24. 1 Cor. i. 21, 26.) So long, then, as the state of man is one of probation, there must be some room for testing the sincerity of his obedience and some scope for the excercise of his faith : — and so long as the "enmity of the world" retains the prominence now given it in our Scripture system, it is fair to suppose there will rema^n some points on which it may be emboldened to expend its strength. I am far from admitting that these £je really v eak points; but they are ostensibly so; and perhaps by design. For the blindest impetuosity of the most fool-hardy, will seldom be satisfied without some show of reason to justify its desperate assaults ; and will, at least, look out for some apparently neglected corner, w hose weakness may seem to render it assailable, and to invite attack. But to say only that such a state of things is in perfect accordance with the avowed design of Christianity, is to stop short of the full statement of the case. The presence of opposition, indifference, and gross perversion is rendered indispensable as a condition of its truth : for whether in the nature of things it must be so or not, it has become so un- der existing circumstances ; or else the truth of God will fail. We justly mourn over the sad dissensions which di- vide the visible Church of Christ, and deplore the vice that reigns among her members. But perhaps sometimes, from the painfulness of the thought, and from our utter inability to dive into the secret councils of God in search of a rea- son for a dispensation, to us so strange, we do not suffici- ently remember that even these calamitous departures from **the truth as it is in Jesus,** (Ep. iv. 21.) instead of being an objection to the divine original of our Scriptures, are in fact a powerful evidence in its favour. It will have been remark- ed, and may perhaps have been thought an omission, that I have made no use of the striking prophecies concerning Antirhrist,and the great apostacyof the latter days. (2The«s. ji. 1 Tim. iv. Uer. xiii, xvii, &c.) I was unwilling to do 420 CONCLUSION, [part II, so, not because a sliadow of doubt ever existed upon my mind, that these awful predictions of lying blasphemy have been most correctly applied to Rome. I think, however, that the more legitimate use of them, is to take them, not as au- thenticating revelation, but as a part of authenticated reve- lation; and then employ them, controversially, to prove the antichristian character of popery. The coincidence between the prophecy and the community to which it may apply, would, indeed, prove its inspiration, at the same time that it convicts the "beast," (Rev. xvii.) which it discovei-s, of apostacy: but the boldness and truth of the portraiture could only be thrown out by controversial researches of very con- siderable prolixity; and these constitute a less fitting topic for our pages, because they more properly concern our choice between the soundness of differing systems among the sub- divisions of the professing Christian body. (v. pp. 3 & 4.) The fact, however, that a great and fearful apostacy, as well as less considerable errors and heresies, have been foretold, while it warns each inquirer to ascertain and avoid these treacherous shoals, not only removes the objection grounded on their prevalence, so far as it may depend upon the presumption that the divine purpose has failed ; but, as I have said, it enlists the objection on the opposite side. The existence of these admitted evils proves the truth of Scrip- ture ; and to require so full a conviction as must peremto- rily put a bar to all resistance, is to require Scripture to authenticate its truth, by a step which would prove it mis- taken in a material point, and destroy the very authority which it was intended to confirm. I think we may recognize in the nature of the difficulties now under consideration, the same principle which I have often pointed out; viz., that God deals with men as men. He knows their wants, and their reasoning powc s, both in a more perfect state, and as weakened and impaired by sin; and he suits his intercourse with them to their actual position in the scale of beings. Thus he has furnished them with a revelation, conveyed to them in such a form, in such language, and under such sanctions, that a richly plentiful provision has been made for authenticating its claims. But this revelation, thus attested, has been consigned to the custody of men, and left, designedly, not unexempt from 5ome slight injury from the rough and careless handling to CHAP, ni.] CONCLUSION. ^1 which in the lapse of ages it has been exposed. But dealing vdih it after the manner of men, the scar, we reason, from a superficial wound, though it may detract from the comeli- ness of the injured feature, does not prevent our recognition of a well known friend; and the barbarous violence which has partially defaced a well wrought statue, cannot disguise from the eye of criticism, the proof that a master s hand must have chiselled out so finished a form. And this is all the injury which revelation has undergone. If the mind Avill brood over an isolated difficulty, on this or any subject, it cannot fail to be lost in a sea of doubt and perplexity; just as a single mutilated remnant might raise a question whether it had ever belonged to a piece of sculpture worthy of the name. But lay aside the objection for a moment, and let the whole mass of evidence pass under review. Weigh well in the case of our Scriptures, the vast accumulation of histori- cal evidence, extending back in one unbroken thread from this day to the age of the apostles; consider the floods of illus- tration poured upon our Scriptures by the writers of opposing creeds; contrast the humble origin, the lowly garb, the uncultivated speech, the bitter sufferings, of the early teach- ers of Christianity, with their marvellous success in so fierce a struggle with the world : glance once again over the mag- nitude and number of their miracles ; take a last look at the page of prophecy with its yet speaking wonders; and then pause to sum up deliberately the collective influence of the whole. Finally, after the impression has become well fixed, and the mind feels sensible that it has a firm grasp of its own convictions; let it turn back to the objection which it had set aside, and ask if so small a counterpoise can carry weight enough to overbalance all that has been ad- vanced in support of our Christian faith. Alone it might seem formidable, but it is not fair to examine it alone. It can only be appreciated when set beside the bulk it has to overturn. There may be something of weight in it, or it may he a mere bubble; but if not in its own nature es- sentially fatal, its value is only comparative. There is room for the exercise of judgment, and of choice; and if the balance be but trifling against it, who can claim the praise of wisdom if he prefer the lighter scale? But in truth, while we admit the existence of real difficulties, we affirm that they are most insignificant ; the merest pebbles compared o 422 CONCLUSION. [part II. with the expansive grandeur of that noble fabric of solid evidence, >vithin whose ponderous defences we walk on our way safely, and our foot does not stumble : we lie down and are not afraid; vea we lie down and our sleep is sweet. (Prov. iii. 23, 24.) Difficulties, then, arising out of considerations of evi- dence, want of union and consistency among Christians, or any other matter iii which, so far as we can see, it might have been possible to avoid them, indicate no failure of God's purposes; on the contrary, they form a part of his declared method of governing his Church; and fulfil an important office in working out his plans. The question, therefore, resolves itself into this : Can we suppose that a God of j2;oodness, in nature perfect, and in action absolutely free, would issue such a system as we have described? For it must be admitted that if we have any antecedent ground for knowing that he would not do so; this is enough to preclude the necessity of further inquiry. But I reply, at once, and in the outset, that this is a matter on which we are utterly. incompetent to sit in judgment; and I have called it a minor obstacle, not because I can easily explain it, but because it is one I am not called on to explain. It is a question which comes under the class of objections first disposed of; and to commence with it is to begin our struc- ture from the summit; an attempt in which, from the want of solid ground to move upon, we can only fail. The safe and only rational method of proceeding is to inquire as to the matter of fact, whether such a system has been issued, and if we find it has, we possess an answer to our query; and are bound to receive, in reverential silence, what is God's, as he has given it, without presuming to question why he has made it thus. The grounds for determining the matter of fact are already before the reader. I will however, suggest, further, that though we dare not assume the office of a judge in matters so far above our ken, we have the means of forming some opinion as to whether such a scheme be consonant with what we know of God: — enough, at least, to remove any antecedent impediment arising from its apparent strangeness. The objection proceeds on the supposition that there is a large amount of moral evil left without remedy, for which, it is presumed, God can, and therefore ought, to CHAP. III.]] CONCLUSION. 423 provide a cure. It Avere dangerous, in search of a reply, to speculate on the boundary eitlier of God's goodness, or of his might: for Avh ere shall we place the limit of that which exceeds all bounds? Yet it is safe to say that we may err in magnifying his attributes, even thougli no con- ception of ours can be large enough to span their "breadth, and length, and depth, and height:" (Ep. iii. 18.) but it will be not by exceeding, but by mistaking them, and despoiling one to enlarge the other: for each in its absolute perfection can admit of nothing contrary to any other; and it were hard for man to say how far justice and holiness can per- mit some particular actions, which our darkened obser- vation might mistake for exercises of mercy and of power. But this ground must be trodden warily; and to venture thereon when other paths are open, were perilous and full of fear. Let us content ourselves to observe that the earth is full of evil: evil in the natural, and evil in the moral world. What proportion the amount of happiness and good may bear to that of misery and evil we cannot calculate; nor need we. It is enough that there is a system of God's framing, in which he permits the presence of evil : where doubt and fear, and failure of purposes, and folly, and reckless indiffer- ence to secure known advantages, and desperate obstinacy in courses leading to inevitable misery and ruin; are seen and known to prevail. If therefore a revelation be given which removes but a part of this evil, and allows a part to remain, there is nothing in this more incompatible with the goodness and mercy of God, than there is in that which we are absolutely certain did before, and does still exist. Hence if this be made a ground of rejecting his Avord, it must also be a ground for denying cA'ery Avork of providence, or creation, and Avill drive us once again to the last resource of daring questioning, the difficulties of an absolute atheism. But, after all, Avhether these reflections be satisfactory or not, speculations on Avhat ought to be, can never overturn the positive evidence of Avhat has been, or now is; and I ( annot too urgently press it on the reader, that the safe Avay to meet these questions is, — to fall back on the evidence of fiiot. If such evidence be found, Ave draw our replies from revelation itself; or if revelation furnish us with none, we are satisfied to leave them undetermined. The Christian religi- on being a religion of Faith, its burden is BELIEVE; not 424 CONCLUSION. IMPART II. UNDERSTAND. If then, there he some incomprehen- .sible and doubtful questions, which we are unable to resolve, we may nevertheless believe what is clearly stated; and find an exercise for our faith in the assurance that these are matters which we need not, at present, understand. If the proof of God's interference be complete, it will not injure us or dishonour him to leave his own cause in his own hands; for verily, if he is such as he describes himself, "The judge of all the earth" cannot but "do right." (Gen. xviii. 25.) Permit me, reader, ere I lay down my pen, to urge one point upon your serious thoughts. If you have accompanied me thus far, I may presume that you feel some interest in the vital question upon which we have been engaged; and I trust, after what has been said, that you will not now alto- gether drop the inquiry. Should it be so, then, that you are determined to prosecute it to the end, let me suggest one method which never should be neglected, and can never fail. I have constantly, for one purpose or another, in the course of these pages, referred you to selected passages of the word of God. I now refer you to the whole. Read it with a view to find evidence of its truth in its own communications : read it in its own appointed method, with prayer for the en- lightening inflluence of its Heavenly Author; (I Cor. ii. 10. ...13.) and read it, lastly, with a sincere determination, so far as in you lies, to follow out its precepts; — also as one of its own appointed methods of illuminating those who would search out its truths. "If any man," it says, "will do his will, he shall know of the doctrine, whether it be of God." (John vii. 17-) Persevere in this course with steadiness and zeal; and even if you be unhappily shaken off from it for a sea- son, recur to it again. I think I may venture to assure you, for the Lord has undertaken it, that you shall not search in vain. (Is. Iv. 10, 11.) "And now, commending you to God, and to the WOJRD of his grace, which is able to build you up, and to give you an inheritance among all them which are sanctified;" (Actsxx. 32.) I bid you — Farewell. THE END. C OTTAY AM :— Printed at the Church Mission Press. 1847. 14 DAY USE RETUKN TO DESK FROM WHICH BORROWED LOAN DEPT. REN This book i o Renewed r— TEL NO. 642-3405 below, or «e^4^ rec&jvi^d FEB 16 70 -oP^ y^4t:^mj^. LD21 A-60m-6,'69 , i„:Sf«fr^*if'r/i?f)^r„;, (J90968l0)476-A-82 ^'"'^*"^rj^,^^^°^°'* 1 ¥