being in ftraitened circumftances: which appears to be admitting fomething extraordinary. *

confumed by lightening, and plundered, yea, burned by enemies. In particular, the calif Omar wrote to his general, when the Saracens under him had become masters of Alexandria, A. D. 6, 2. to destroy all the books in the library there. because if they agreed in doctrine with the book of God, (meaning the koran,) they were useless, and if they contradicted it, they ought not to be suffered: while, these again were so numerous, that, having been distributed among the public baths, they ferved for fuel for fix months. Abulpharaji Hiftor. Dynastiarum per Pocock, Dyn. 9 p 814. and who can tell what havock mere stupidity and ignorance may have produced! These things may check the clamours and reproaches of infidels, upon this point.

* Celfus's own words, as quoted by Origen, lib. 1. p. 22, are, Και στος εις Αιγυπτον μισθαρνησας, και κει δυνάμεων τινων πειρασθείς εφ' αις Αιγυπτιοι σεμνύνονται, επανήλθεν, εν ταις δυνάμεσι μέγα φρο νων, και δι' αυτας Θεον αυτον ανηγόρευσε. Yet I have fome doubt, whether Celfus, on the whole, did not rather maintain the appearance of miracles, through an imposition on the senses, than admit their reality. For Origen tells us ibid. p. 53. Celfus pretends to grant the truth of whatever things are written about Jefus's cures, or his reftoring to life, or his feeding multitudes with some few loaves, from which many fragments were left, or whatever things he reckons the difciples, in their humour of telling prodigies (TepαTEvocμers,) have recorded —And immediately he makes them works common with those of jugglers, (yonTor,) who promise more wonderful things, and with things done in the market-places for a few pence, by those who have learned admirable sciences from the Egyptians, and who expell demons from men, and blow out difeafes, and call up fouls of heroes, and shew expensive fuppers, tables, cakes, and fifhes, which exift net, and move as living creatures things which are not living creatures, but are beheld such in appearance, after which he afks, Because men do thefe things, will it behove us to esteem them fons of God, or must we not rather say, that ⚫ these are artifices of wicked men, and of men influenced by an evil dae'mon?' Hereupon Origen obferves, You fee how by these words, he ad⚫mitted that there is magic, though perhaps he is the fame person with

him who wrote feveral books against magic, but as it was useful to him

Hierocles, again, another writer, and a magiftrate, who was very active in perfecuting the Chriftians,in his two books, in which he endeavoured to overthrow our religion, did not deny the truth of the miracles. For says Lactantius his contemporary,' When he would destroy the wonderful actions of Jesus, and yet 'could not deny them, hetwas willing to fhew that Apollonius performed either equal or greater things." And the fame thing appears from Eufebius's confutation of his book. For though he faid, according to him, It is reasonable to think, that the actions of

for his purpose, he likens the things recorded concerning Jefus to things done from magic. And they would be like,if he had before evinced there ' was nothing but shew or femblance in them, & μxpi anode tws d

μοιως τοις μαγγανευασιν έφθανε δόξας. And then he goes on to obferve, how by his doctrine he called men to fear God, and to reform their manners, that they might be approved by him, which none of the jugglers did, and how he was an example of a virtuous life, while they were filled with the most filthy and abominable crimes; though I may not recite the paffage exactly, that I may shorten, for which reafon I alfo omit quoting the original. In another place, page 87. Origen says, Frequently already Celfus, not able to gainsay the 'miracles which Jefus is written to have done, calumniates them as ⚫ juggleries, yonteras.' If this be the cafe, there will be fome difference, indeed, between Celfus's real hypothefis, and the account generally given of it; for it will be this, that fpectators and patients were deceived about the miracles, they being tricks of legerdemain. But it is a most ridiculous and abfurd pretence For there was fuch a concurrence of by-standers, and of those who were the fubjects of the operations themselves, in behalf of the reality, as could never happen without an alteration and change of their organs of fenfation equally miraculous ; they were done alfo in a moft open and public manner, and had permanent and abiding effects.

Lib. 5. cap. 3. Quum facta ejus mirabilia deftrueret, nes ta men negaret,' &c.

*

Jefus have been magnified by Peter, and Paul, and others like them, ignorant men, liars and impoftors,' and thought Philoftratus's account of 'Apollonius's wonderful works more worthy of cre'dit,' he ftill fuppofed Jefus to have made the blind recover their fight, and to have performed fome fuch amazing things, but Apollonius to have wrought more; wherefore he blames the levity of Christians,

* Moft abfurdly. For this Philoftratus, who flourished about A. D. 210. wrote more than 100 years after the death of Apollonius, a contemporary of Nero, and relied chiefly on the formerly unknown memoirs of one Damis concerning him, (fince loft,) that were then brought to the emprefs Julia, wife of Septimius Severus, who ordered him to compofe the life of Apollonius, which we still have, from them. How filly and ridiculous stories are there told of Apollonius, as the whole are ill vouched, may be seen in Dr. Lardner's Teftimonies vol. 3. chap. 39, Of Hierocles. If there is one relation of his restoring a girl to life, when fhe was carried out to interment, to fay nothing about the probability of the whole tale's being a fiction, the author himfelf leaves room to think she was not really dead. For he says, Apollonius touching her, and murmuring fome words fecretly over her, awakened her from feeming death,170 78 Sox8vтs avaт8. And adds, ‘But * whether he found a spark of life in her, which escaped the obferva⚫tion of them that waited on her, for it is faid, as Jupiter sent a shower, fhe fent forth a fmoke from her face,' (a natural token and indication of remaining warmth and life,) or whether he recalled and • cherished up life that was extinguifhed, the event appeared not to me only, but also to others, very wonderful. Eire de 07 θηρα της ψυχης ευρεν εν εαυτή, ὃς ελέληθεί τις θεραπεύοντας, λέγεται γαρ ως ψεκάζοι μεν ὁ Ζευς, ή δε ατμίζει απο τα προσωπο, είτε απεσβέκυιαν την ψυχήν ανέθαλψε και ανέλαβεν, άρρητος ή καταληψις τότε γεγογεν εκ εμοι μόνον, αλλά και τοις παρατυχωσιν. Philoft. Op. edit. Olear. lib. 4. c. 45. To read the whole, muft fatisfy every one to what hard fhifts the heathens were driven, when they laid hold on the wonders afcribed to this man, in order to fupport the caufe of polytheifm and idolatry, in oppofition to the gofpel of Chrift.

τερατειας,

who preached Jefus to be a God for fome few prodigies repareras, and praises their own reasonable judg ment, who esteemed Apollonius, notwithstanding he had done a greater number of these things, not a God, but a man acceptable to the+ Gods.' Julian, finally, in like manner acknowledged the truth of some miracles at least, however he disparaged them. For fays he in one place, where he is speaking of the unbelief of Chrift's brethren, as quoted by ‡ Cyrill, Jefus, who commanded the winds, and walked on 'the fea, and cast out demons, and as you will have it, made the heaven and the earth, (for none of his difciples prefumed to say these things concerning him, except John alone, nor he clearly and explicitely, but let it be granted that he said them,) could 'not change the purposes of his friends and relations 'unto falvation.' And before* this, Jefus having perfuaded the worst fort among you, is celebrated a few more than 300 years, having wrought no work through the time which he lived worthy to 'be reported, unless one think to heal the lame, and the blind, and to exorcife demoniacs, in the villages Bethfaida and Bethany, are among the greatest 'works.' And fhould it not be of weight, that these

.

+ Eufeb. adv. Hieroclem, pp. 512. 513. who gives us his very words.

Lib. 6. page 213.

* Ibid, p. 191. I fhall give the original here, as it is short, while it is, at the fame time, decifire. Ο δε Ιησος αναπετας το χειρισον των παρ' ύμιν ολίγες προς τοις τριακοσίοις ενιαυτοις ονομάζεται, είρα γασαμενος παρ' όν εξη χρονον ἔργον δεν ακρης άξιον, ει μη τις ριεται τις κύλλας και τυφλός ιασασθαι, και δαιμονίζοντας εφορκίζαν εν Βαθ σαιδα και εν Βηθανια τας κωμαις, των μεγίςων εργων είναι

1

perfons * who professedly wrote against Christianity, and would have been glad to have destroyed its evidences completely, inftead of denying roundly that fuch things were done as the evangelifts fet forth, have expreffed themselves as they have done, though they could be under no restraints of fear from men? for the two firft wrote before the establishment of Christianity by Conftantine, by confequence, before any books which might be ferviceable to their cause could have perifhed, through a deference to impeial decrees; yea, in times of violent perfecution †, And Julian was himself the head of the Roman empire.

Once more, though we have not relations of the miracles and prodigies by Jewish and Gentile writers, perfifting still in enmity to our holy religion, as indeed they could never be rationally expected; (for what would it have been for them who were not wrought on by the miracles and prodigies to embrace the gospel to have entered into a detail of them, but to have bore teftimony against themselves in their rejection of it, and to have written a history to their own condemnation and confufion?) yet we

* I might also have obferved here, that Mahomet, who was almoft 300 years after Julian, attributes, in his Koran, miracles to Jefus, the fon of Mary, the apostle of God. For, befides making him speak to men in the cradle, he reprefents him to have formed of clay the figure of a bird, and to have breathed therein, whereon it became a bird; to have healed one blind from his birth, and a leper; to have raised dead perfons; and to have caufed a table defcend from heaven full of food. See Sale's tranflation, chap. 3. page 41. and chap. 5. page 97, 98. and chap. 19. page 291. with the notes.

Origen adv. Celf. lib. 1. p. 5. and Lactant. Inft. 5. 3.