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@@ -1,38 +1,4 @@ -The Project Gutenberg EBook of Six Discourses on the Miracles of our -Saviour, by Thomas Woolston - -This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with -almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or -re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included -with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org - - -Title: Six Discourses on the Miracles of our Saviour - and Defences of his Discourses - -Author: Thomas Woolston - -Release Date: October 27, 2012 [EBook #41203] - -Language: English - -Character set encoding: ASCII - -*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK SIX DISCOURSES ON THE MIRACLES *** - - - - -Produced by Douglas L. Alley, III, David Ross and the -Online Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net - - - - - - - - +*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 41203 *** Thomas Woolston @@ -354,9 +320,9 @@ But to come closer to the Purpose, let's see how indifferently, I had almost said contemptibly, the Fathers speak of the Miracles of _Jesus_, and particularly of his Power of healing all bodily Diseases, which by modern _Writers_ is so much magnified and extoll'd. St. -_Irenaeus_ says,[9] that if _we consider only the then temporal Use of +_Irenæus_ says,[9] that if _we consider only the then temporal Use of Jesus's Power of Healing, he did nothing grand and wonderful_; -consequently _Irenaeus_ could not hold, that _Jesus_'s Miracles then +consequently _Irenæus_ could not hold, that _Jesus_'s Miracles then wrought, were a sufficient Proof of his divine Authority, much less of his _Messiahship_. _Origen_ says[10] that _tho' many were brought to believe in Jesus upon the Fame of the Miracles which he did once among @@ -379,7 +345,7 @@ Miracles which he wrought of old. How then can we distinguish the true Prophet from the false; the true _Christ_ from the _Anti-Christ_ by Miracles? our _Divines_ will find it hard to do it, if what the Fathers say of _Anti-christ_ be found true. Moreover History affords -us Instances of Men, such as of _Apollonius Tyanaeus_, _Vespasian_, and +us Instances of Men, such as of _Apollonius Tyanæus_, _Vespasian_, and of the _Irish Stroaker_, _Greatrex_, who have miraculously cured Diseases to the Admiration of Mankind, as well as our _Jesus_: But if any of them, or any other greater Worker of Miracles than they were, @@ -603,7 +569,7 @@ accused him of a Riot against Law and Authority. Whether there is not Reason in this Argument of _Origen_, let any one judge. St. _Hilary_ is of the same Mind with _Origen_. He says that this -Story is only a[27] Praefiguration of what will be done in Christ's +Story is only a[27] Præfiguration of what will be done in Christ's Church upon another Occasion. And he admonishes[28] us to search into the profound and mystical Import of every Part of it; particularly he hints that[29] by _the Seats of those who sell Doves_, may be @@ -705,7 +671,7 @@ agorazein], does more properly signify to _preach_ than to _buy_; and in this Sense here, according to the Fathers, it should be construed. Again, I must observe, that our Commentators are a little perplex'd to -know who, and what those [Greek: kollybiston], _Money-Changers_, +know who, and what those [Greek: kollybistôn], _Money-Changers_, were. The Greek[40] Word does import those who have a Knack to barter away little base and Brass Money, with the Effigies of an Ox or Bull on it, in exchange for good Coin. How applicable the Word was to any @@ -802,7 +768,7 @@ According to him, and other Fathers, the _Madman_ is Mankind; or if they were two, they were _Jew_ and _Gentile_ at Christ's coming, who may be said to[47] be _possess'd with Devils_, in as much as they were under the Rule of diabolical Sins, and subject to the Worship of -[Greek: Daimonion], false Deities, which we translate _Devils_. They +[Greek: Daimoniôn], false Deities, which we translate _Devils_. They were _so fierce_[48] _as no Chains could hold them_, because of their most furious Rage and Enmity to the Church, whom no Bonds of Reason could restrain from doing Violence to the Christians. They are said @@ -909,7 +875,7 @@ Colours, and to none more than Whiteness; and _Sceptics_ will say, that its no Wonder if the Countenance of _Jesus_ look'd _Rubicund_, when the Sun might shine on it. -The Word in the Original for _transfigured_, is [Greek: metamorphothe], +The Word in the Original for _transfigured_, is [Greek: metamorphôthê], that is, he was metamorphosed, transform'd, or, if you will, transfigured. And what is to be understood by a _Metamorphosis_, we are to learn not only from the natural Import of the Word, but from the @@ -986,7 +952,7 @@ to many of them. Let's hear then what the Fathers say to this miraculous Story of _Jesus_'s Transfiguration. And it is agreed amongst them, that the -whole is but a Type,[58] Prefiguration, and[59] aenigmatical +whole is but a Type,[58] Prefiguration, and[59] ænigmatical Resemblance of a future and more glorious and real Transfiguration. And whenever they speak of any Part of the Story, they never explain to us how the Matter went upon Mount _Tabor_, but tell us of what @@ -1067,9 +1033,9 @@ had treated it as ludicrously as it deserves, I don't know but at setting out, I should have put the _Clergy_ quite out of all Temper. I would not now for the World be so impious and profane, as to believe, with our _Divines_, what is contain'd and imply'd in the Letter of this -Story. If _Apollonius Tyanaeus_, and not _Jesus_, had been the Author of +Story. If _Apollonius Tyanæus_, and not _Jesus_, had been the Author of this Miracle, we should often have reproached his Memory with it. It is -said of _Apollonius Tyanaeus_, that a Table was all on a sudden, at his +said of _Apollonius Tyanæus_, that a Table was all on a sudden, at his Command, miraculously spread with Variety of nice Dishes for the Entertainment of himself and his Guests; which Miracle, our _Divines_ can tell him, makes not at all to his Credit, in as much as it was done @@ -1446,7 +1412,7 @@ FOOTNOTES: ad allegoricum sensum esse sumendam, admonet nos vel illud, Aperiam os meum in Parabolis. _In Prasat. ad Form. Spirit. Intell._ -[4] Si quidem Symbola quaedam erant quae tunc gerebantur eorum, quae Jesu +[4] Si quidem Symbola quædam erant quæ tunc gerebantur eorum, quæ Jesu virtute semper perficiuntur. _In Mat._ C. xv. [5] Omnis languor & omnis Infirmitas quam sanavit salvator tunc in @@ -1454,15 +1420,15 @@ Populo referuntur ad Infirmitates spirituales Animarum, _&c._ _In_ Mat. _C._ xvii. [6] Christi Gesta aliud portendunt. _In_ Mat. _C._ xii. Evangelicis -gestis est interior Sensus, _C._ xiv. Haec licet in praesens gesta sunt, +gestis est interior Sensus, _C._ xiv. Hæc licet in præsens gesta sunt, quid tamen in futurum significent contuendum est, _C._ x. Peragunt -formam futuri gesta praesentia, _C._ xxi. +formam futuri gesta præsentia, _C._ xxi. -[7] Quae a Jesu facta sunt, alicujus significantia erant. _Serm._ 77. +[7] Quæ a Jesu facta sunt, alicujus significantia erant. _Serm._ 77. [8] Omne quod fecit Jesus, Sacramenta sunt. _Homil._ 31. _in_ Marc. 9. -[9] Si enim temporalis erat ab eo Utilitas, nihil grande praestitit +[9] Si enim temporalis erat ab eo Utilitas, nihil grande præstitit iis, qui ab eo curati sunt, _L. V._ C. 12. _S._ 6. [10] Contra Celsum, _L._ 11. @@ -1476,7 +1442,7 @@ potestatem non magnum aliquid fecit, & quod ad benignitatem, parvum fecit. _In_ Johan. _Cap._ v. _Tract._ 17. [13] Etsi attestabantur Miracula, non defuissent (sicut & nunc -mussitant) qui magicae potentiae cuncta illa tribuerent. _Cont. Faust._ +mussitant) qui magicæ potentiæ cuncta illa tribuerent. _Cont. Faust._ _L._ XII. _C._ 45. [14] _Vid._ Sanctum _Augustinum_ de _Anti-christo_. @@ -1488,9 +1454,9 @@ Contemplationem Veritatis----Arbitrantes ibi esse invisibilem sapientiam, ubi Miraculum visibile viderimus. _In Serm. Dom. in monte_, _Lib._ 2. _Sect._ 84. -[17] Interim completur & Isaiae Prophetia non tantum in corporalibus, +[17] Interim completur & Isaiæ Prophetia non tantum in corporalibus, verum etiam in spiritualibus, _Origen_. _In Matt. Cap._ xv. Aperientur -igitur Oculi caecorum, aures surdorum audient, nam qui quondam divinis +igitur Oculi cæcorum, aures surdorum audient, nam qui quondam divinis sermonibus rejectis mysticam Sanctorum Institutionem recipere non studuerunt, libenter eam admittent. St. _Cyril in_ Loc. Is. _Vide & Sanctum Hieronymum in_ Loc. Isai. @@ -1501,48 +1467,48 @@ dedignatus tunc exhibere illas minores. _In Serm._ 88. [19] In quibus Spiritualibus maxime Christi Persona eminet. _August. Quest. 2. in Lucan._ -[20] Modo Caro caeca non aperit oculos miraculo Domini, sed cor caecum +[20] Modo Caro cæca non aperit oculos miraculo Domini, sed cor cæcum aperit oculos Sermoni Domini. Modo non resurgit mortale cadaver, sed -resurgit anima quae mortua jucebat in vivo Cadavere, _&c. August. +resurgit anima quæ mortua jucebat in vivo Cadavere, _&c. August. Serm._ 88. _S._ 3. -[21] Historia Scripturae interdum interferit quaedam vel minus gesta, -vel quae omnino geri non possunt, interdum quae possunt geri, nec tamen +[21] Historia Scripturæ interdum interferit quædam vel minus gesta, +vel quæ omnino geri non possunt, interdum quæ possunt geri, nec tamen gesta sunt. _De Principiis_, Lib. 4. -[22] Multa sunt, quae non sinunt nos simplici sensu dicta evangelica -suscipere. Interpositis enim non nullis Rebus quae ex Natura humani -sensus sibi contraria sunt; Rationem quaerere caelestis Intelligentiae +[22] Multa sunt, quæ non sinunt nos simplici sensu dicta evangelica +suscipere. Interpositis enim non nullis Rebus quæ ex Natura humani +sensus sibi contraria sunt; Rationem quærere cælestis Intelligentiæ admonemur. _In Matt. L._ xx. _S._ 2. [23] Evangelica Sacramenta in Christi factis signata omnibus non patent, & ea nonnulli minus diligenter interpretando asserunt plerumque pro salute Perniciem, & pro Cognitione Veritatis Errorem, -_&c._ _De Quaest. Divers. Quest._ 84. +_&c._ _De Quæst. Divers. Quest._ 84. [24] _Matt._ xxi. _Mark_ xi. _Luke_ xix. _John_ ii. [25] In Comment. in _Matth._ xxi. -[26] Porro cui curae est accuratior Inquisitio considerabit, an juxta -dignitatem praesentis Vitae erat, ut Jesus rem talem auderet facere, +[26] Porro cui curæ est accuratior Inquisitio considerabit, an juxta +dignitatem præsentis Vitæ erat, ut Jesus rem talem auderet facere, extrudere videlicet Mercatorum Multitudinem, qui ad Diem festum ascenderant, distributuri boves ditioribus, & tanto populo oves -mactandas per domos familiarium, quae multorum millium complerent +mactandas per domos familiarium, quæ multorum millium complerent numerum; atque eos qui in rebus talibus gloriantes producturi erant in medio Columbas, quas multi emptori erant, ceu in Conventu celeberrimo convivaturi. Considerabit hic etiam, an Nummulariorum erat non accusare Jesum contumeliose propter suas ipsorum effusas pecunias & mensas subversas. Quis autem flagello e funiculis verberatus & expulsus ab eo qui penes eos habebatur vilis, hunc adortus non -inclamasset totis viribus sese ulciscens? Cum praesertim haberet tantam -multitudinem eorum, qui sibi aeque contumeliam fieri credebant, +inclamasset totis viribus sese ulciscens? Cum præsertim haberet tantam +multitudinem eorum, qui sibi æque contumeliam fieri credebant, faventem sibi adversum Jesum? Insuper consideremus, Dei filium funiculos sumentem; sibique flagellum tenentem ad extrudendum e -templo, annon repraesentet Praeter audaciam & temeritatem, inordinatum +templo, annon repræsentet Præter audaciam & temeritatem, inordinatum etiam quiddam? In _Johan._ Tom. XI. -[27] Praefiguratio futurorum dictis praesentibus continetur. _In Matt._ +[27] Præfiguratio futurorum dictis præsentibus continetur. _In Matt._ xxi. [28] Admomemur altius Verborum Virtutes in istius modi @@ -1551,7 +1517,7 @@ significationibus contuendas, _ibid._ [29] In Cathedra est sacerdotii sedes; & eorum qui Spiritus sancti Donum venale habent, Cathedras evertet, _ibid._ -[30] Non habebant Judaei quod venire possent, neque erat quod emere +[30] Non habebant Judæi quod venire possent, neque erat quod emere quis posset, _ibid._ [31] Cathedra autem Vendentium Columbas cur everterit? Secundum @@ -1559,7 +1525,7 @@ Litteram non intelligo. Admonet Typo ejectorum de Templo hujusmodi Mercatorum, in Ecclesia Dei Consortium eos habere non posse, qui sancti Spiritus Gratiam nundinentur. _In Loc. Luc._ -[32] Juxta simplicem Intelligentiam--quod ponitus absurdum--caeterum +[32] Juxta simplicem Intelligentiam--quod ponitus absurdum--cæterum secundum Mysticos In tellectus Jesus ingreditur Templum Patris & ejicit omnes Episcopos, Presbyteros, & Diaconos, _&c. In Loc. Mat._ @@ -1569,27 +1535,27 @@ Zechar._ C. xiv. [34] Non magnum Peccatum, si hoc vendebant in Templo, quod emebatur, ut offerretur in Templo. _In Loc. Johan._ -[35] Qui sunt tamen qui boves vendunt? ut in figura quaeramus Mysterium -facti, qui sunt qui Oves vendunt Columbas? ipsi sunt qui sua quaerunt -in Ecclesia, non quae Jesu Christi. _Ibid._ +[35] Qui sunt tamen qui boves vendunt? ut in figura quæramus Mysterium +facti, qui sunt qui Oves vendunt Columbas? ipsi sunt qui sua quærunt +in Ecclesia, non quæ Jesu Christi. _Ibid._ [36] Vos enim fecistis Domum meum, Domum Negotiationis & speluncam -Latronum, significant futuros in Ecclesia. _L._ II. _Evang. Quaest. +Latronum, significant futuros in Ecclesia. _L._ II. _Evang. Quæst. Quast._ 48. -[37] [Greek: Didaskalos on, ou katangellei logon, ei me kerdos echei, -kai toutou ten trapezan anatrepei o Kyeios]. _In Johan._ C. ii. +[37] [Greek: Didaskalos ôn, ou katangellei logon, ei mê kerdos echei, +kai toutou tên trapezan anatrepei o Kyeios]. _In Johan._ C. ii. [38] _Chandler's_ Vindication, _&c._ p. 145. [39] Hoc facto longe aliud significabat Jesus, nec enim illum tantopere commovebat Templum illud mercimoniis Boum, Ovium, Hircorum & -Columbarum profanatum; sed ostendere voluit Avaritiam & Quaestum sore -capitalem Pestem Ecclesiae, quam Templum, cujus Religio mox erat -abolenda, figurabat--In nullum Hominum Genus acrius saeviit Jesus, sed +Columbarum profanatum; sed ostendere voluit Avaritiam & Quæstum sore +capitalem Pestem Ecclesiæ, quam Templum, cujus Religio mox erat +abolenda, figurabat--In nullum Hominum Genus acrius sæviit Jesus, sed hos ipse sibi servavit ejiciendos, cum videbitur. _In Loc. Matt._ xxi. -[40] _Vid._ Suicerum in [Greek: Kollubustes]. +[40] _Vid._ Suicerum in [Greek: Kollubustês]. [41] [Greek: Trapeza], apud Aristophanem est Pulpitum. _Vid._ Scapulam. @@ -1597,28 +1563,28 @@ hos ipse sibi servavit ejiciendos, cum videbitur. _In Loc. Matt._ xxi. [43] _Luke_ xiii. v. 27. -[44] _Spencer_ de Legibus Hebrae, _p._ 117. +[44] _Spencer_ de Legibus Hebræ, _p._ 117. [45] _Lib._ IV. De Principiis. [46] Hanc habeant Causam, ut esset in rebus gerendis futuri plena meditatio. _In Loc. Matt._ In hoc Typica ratio servata est. _Ibid._ -[47] Significatae sunt gentes quae multis daemonibus serviebant. +[47] Significatæ sunt gentes quæ multis dæmonibus serviebant. _Augustin in Luc. Quest._ 13. [48] Humanum genus ad Adventum Domini vexabatur furore dementi, rumpens vincula rationis. St. _Amb. in Loc. Luc._ -[49] Nudus quicunque tegumentum Naturae suae & Virtutis amisit. _Amb. +[49] Nudus quicunque tegumentum Naturæ suæ & Virtutis amisit. _Amb. Ibid._ [50] In tumulis Sepulchrorum; quid enim aliud sunt Corpora perfidorum, -nisi quaedam defunctorum Sepulchra in quibus Dei verbum non habitat. +nisi quædam defunctorum Sepulchra in quibus Dei verbum non habitat. _Ibid._ -[51] Videntes Daemones non sibi jam locum in gentibus derelinqui, ut -patiatur habitare se in Haereticis deprecantur. _Hilar. in Loc. Matt._ +[51] Videntes Dæmones non sibi jam locum in gentibus derelinqui, ut +patiatur habitare se in Hæreticis deprecantur. _Hilar. in Loc. Matt._ [52] Litera est Palea, & frequenter evenit, ut homines hujus soeculi mystica nescientes, simplici Scripturarum Lectione pascuntur. _Hieron. @@ -1628,33 +1594,33 @@ in_ Isa. xi. [54] 2 _Pet._ i. 16, 17, 18. -[55] Possunt infideles istam Vocem delatam de Caelo, per conjecturas +[55] Possunt infideles istam Vocem delatam de Cælo, per conjecturas humanas & illicitas Curiositates ad magicas Artes reserte. _In Serm._ xliii. _Sect._ 5. -[56] Neque enim Miracula propter Miracula faciebat, sed ut illa quae +[56] Neque enim Miracula propter Miracula faciebat, sed ut illa quæ faciebat, mira essent videntibus, vera essent intelligentibus. _In Serm._ xcviii. _Sect._ 3. -[57] [Greek: Helegon ten exodon autou en emelle pleroun], C. ix. V. 31. +[57] [Greek: Helegon tên exodon autou ên emelle plêroun], C. ix. V. 31. [58] Regni coelestis Honor prefiguratur. St. _Hilar. in Loc. Matt._ In -Transfiguratione futura Regni Praemeditatio & Gloria demonstrata est. +Transfiguratione futura Regni Præmeditatio & Gloria demonstrata est. St. _Hierom. in Loc. Matt._ -[59] [Greek: Ainigmatodes parodeixis tes Basileias], Anast. in Transfig. -Dom. [Greek: Ypodeigma tes doxes ekeines.] St. _Chrysost. in Loc. Matt._ +[59] [Greek: Ainigmatôdês parodeixis tês Basileias], Anast. in Transfig. +Dom. [Greek: Ypodeigma tês doxês ekeinês.] St. _Chrysost. in Loc. Matt._ [60] Sex millium scilicet Annorum Temporibus evolutis. St. _Hilar. in -Loc. Matt._ Sic post Sex aetates Dominus a perfectis Famulis +Loc. Matt._ Sic post Sex ætates Dominus a perfectis Famulis conspicietur. _Dionys. Alex. apud Damascen. in Orat. de Transfig._ [61] Et Moses & Elias apparuerunt in Gloria, cum Jesu colloquentes, in quo ostenditur Legem & Prophetas, cum Evangeliis consonare & in eadem -Gloria spiritualis intelligentiae refulgere. _Origen. in Epist. ad +Gloria spiritualis intelligentiæ refulgere. _Origen. in Epist. ad Rom._ c. 1. -[62] Montem ascendit ut te doceat, ne quaeras eum nisi in Legis & +[62] Montem ascendit ut te doceat, ne quæras eum nisi in Legis & Prophetarum montibus. _Origen in Cantic. Cantic. Hom._ 3. [63] Per nubem tetram intellige opacitatem Legis. _Damascen. in Orat. @@ -1668,7 +1634,7 @@ videre Jesum in veste candida; qui autem sequitur Sermonem Dei & ad montana, id est, excelsa Legis conscendit, isti Jesus commutatur---- Quamdiu Litteram sequimur occidentem, Moses & Elias cum Jesu non loquuntur; sin spiritualiter intelligimus, statim Moses & Elias -veniunt, id est Lex & Prophetae & colloquuatur cum Evangelio. _Johan. +veniunt, id est Lex & Prophetæ & colloquuatur cum Evangelio. _Johan. Hieros. Hom._ 32. [66] _John_ ii. @@ -1688,8 +1654,8 @@ Hieros. Hom._ 32. [73] Alia quam plurima his similia in Evangeliis inveniet, quicunque attentius legerit. _Origen. de Principiis_, lib. iv. -[74] Quae Enarratio erit Evangelii sensibilis, nisi accommodetur ad -intelligible & spirituale? Nulla sane, _Origen. is Praefat. ad Johan. +[74] Quæ Enarratio erit Evangelii sensibilis, nisi accommodetur ad +intelligible & spirituale? Nulla sane, _Origen. is Præfat. ad Johan. Evang._ [75] _See Archbishop_ Wake's _Manuscript Letter to Mr._ Chandler, @@ -1697,7 +1663,7 @@ _which is handed about Town and Country_. [76] Chandler's _Vindication_, &c. p. 81. -[77] Dominus noster ea quae faciebat corporaliter, etiam spiritualiter +[77] Dominus noster ea quæ faciebat corporaliter, etiam spiritualiter volebat intelligi, _&c. August. Serm._ xcviii. _Sect._ 3. [78] Quos in corporibus morbos sanavit Christus, hi in animabus @@ -1994,7 +1960,7 @@ with an Issue of Blood, twelve Years_. To please our _Divines_, I will allow as much of the Truth of the Letter of this Story, as they can desire. The Fathers themselves, who are for turning the whole History of _Jesus_'s Life into Allegory and Mystery, don't deny that a Woman -was cured of an _Haemorrhage_, after the Manner that is here described +was cured of an _Hæmorrhage_, after the Manner that is here described by the Evangelists. St. _Augustin_ says[80] of this Miracle, _that it was done, as it is related_; and I have a greater Veneration for his Authority, than to gainsay it. But for all that, _Infidels_ may and @@ -2027,7 +1993,7 @@ St. _Matthew_ writing of it, says the Woman was [Greek: aimorroousa], that is, _obnoxious to bleeding_; St. _Mark_ and St. _Luke_ say of her, that [Greek: ousa en reumate aimatos], she was in an efflux or running of Blood. But neither one nor the other of the _Evangelists_ signify of -what Degree her _Haemorrhage_ was, nor from what part of her Body it +what Degree her _Hæmorrhage_ was, nor from what part of her Body it proceeded, nor how often or seldom she was addicted to it. It might be, for ought we know, only a little bleeding at the Nose, that now and then she was subject to: Or it might be an obnoxiousness to an Evacuation of @@ -2040,7 +2006,7 @@ without Reason, in as much as it is necessary to know the nature of the Distemper, or none truly and properly can say, there was a great, much less a miraculous Cure wrought. -But supposing this _Haemorrhage_ proceeded from what Part of the Body +But supposing this _Hæmorrhage_ proceeded from what Part of the Body our _Divines_ think fit; How will they make a grievous Distemper of it in order to a Miracle? The Woman subsisted too long under her Issue of Blood, and bore it too well, for any to make her Case very grievous. @@ -2053,14 +2019,14 @@ Years under it. No more then, than some slight Indisposition can reasonably and naturally be made of this Woman's Distemper. And it would be well, if Infidels would rest here with their Objections against it. But what if -they should say, that this _Haemorrhage_ was rather of Advantage to the +they should say, that this _Hæmorrhage_ was rather of Advantage to the Health of the Patient, than of Danger to her, and that the Woman was more _nice_ than _wise_, or she would never have sought so much for -Help and Cure of it? Some _Haemorrhages_ are better kept open than +Help and Cure of it? Some _Hæmorrhages_ are better kept open than stop'd and dry'd up; and if _Infidels_ should say, that _this_ was a Preservative of the Life of the Woman, like an _Issue_, at which Nature discharges itself of bad Humours, Who can contradict them? Nay, -if they should say that _Jesus_'s Cure of this Woman's _Haemorrhage_ +if they should say that _Jesus_'s Cure of this Woman's _Hæmorrhage_ was a Precipitation of her Death, for she died some time after it, rather than a Prolongation of her Life, for she lived twelve Years under it, and was of good Strength, when she applied to our Saviour @@ -2121,7 +2087,7 @@ Gospel; if they should say as St. _John of Jerusalem_[83] did, _that her own Imagination cured herself_; and should urge the Probability of it, because _Jesus_ could do no Cures and[84] Miracles against Unbelief, Who can help it? In this Case our _Divines_ must prove, that -this Woman's _Haemorrhage_ was of that kind, that no Faith nor Fancy +this Woman's _Hæmorrhage_ was of that kind, that no Faith nor Fancy in herself could help her without the Divine Power; but this is impossible for them to do, unless there had been a more certain Description of her Disease, than the _Evangelists_ have given of it. @@ -2147,7 +2113,7 @@ for the _Pope_, and their Opinion of the Sanctity of the _Present_, might be persuaded of his Gift of Miracles, and desirous of his Exercise of it; and if they fancyfully or actually received Benefit by his Touch, I don't wonder, without a Miracle. And what if we had been told of the -_Popes_ curing an _Haemorrhage_ like this before us? What would +_Popes_ curing an _Hæmorrhage_ like this before us? What would _Protestants_ have said to it? Why, "that a foolish, credulous, and superstitious Woman had fancy'd herself cured of some slight Indisposition; and the crafty _Pope_ and his Adherents, aspiring after @@ -2176,7 +2142,7 @@ Studies to the mystical Interpretation, for the sake of which, this Evangelical Story was written, and originally transacted. Accordingly, they tell us that this Woman is a Type[86] of the Church of -the _Gentiles_ in after Times. And as to her _Haemorrhage_ or _Issue of +the _Gentiles_ in after Times. And as to her _Hæmorrhage_ or _Issue of Blood_, they understand it of the[87] Impurity and Corruption of the Church by ill Principles and bad Morals, that the would _flow with_. Some of the Fathers, as[88] _Gregory Nazianzen_, and[89] _Eusebius @@ -2184,11 +2150,11 @@ Gallicanus_, will have the _Issue of Blood_ to be a Type of the scarlet Sin of Blood-guiltiness in the Church: If so, we must understand it of the Effusion of Christian Blood by War and Persecution. -The _twelve Years_ of the Woman's Affliction with her _Haemorrhage_ is +The _twelve Years_ of the Woman's Affliction with her _Hæmorrhage_ is a typical Number of the Church's impure State for above _twelve Hundred Years_. And whether some of the primitive Church did not, by the said _twelve Years_ of the Woman, understand _twelve Ages_, I -appeal to[90] _Irenaeus_, to whom I refer my Readers, Accordingly this +appeal to[90] _Irenæus_, to whom I refer my Readers, Accordingly this typify'd Woman of the Church, should be the same with the Woman[91] in the Wilderness, that, as St. _John_ says, was twelve Hundred and sixty Days or Years there sustained; and by whom many Protestants, as well @@ -2205,14 +2171,14 @@ of Blood_, which, through Persecution and War, she has for many Ages labour'd under. It is not my Concern to collect all the Authorities of the Fathers to this Purpose; but only say, that if at the End of twelve Hundred and sixty Days or Years, the Church, like the Woman, be -not cur'd of her _Haemorrhage_ and mystical _Wounds_ and _Sores_; if +not cur'd of her _Hæmorrhage_ and mystical _Wounds_ and _Sores_; if her present impure and unsound State be not chang'd into an holy, healthy, and peaceable one; many good _Protestants_, as well as the Fathers, are mistaken, and abundance of Prophecies of the Old and New Testament, that have been hereunto urged, will lose their Credit. But who are meant by the _Physicians_ of the Woman, that have had the -mystical _Haemorrhage_ and Diseases of the Church Under Cure all this +mystical _Hæmorrhage_ and Diseases of the Church Under Cure all this while? Who should, but pretended Ministers, of the Gospel? Ministers of the Gospel are not only by the Fathers call'd metaphorically[92] spiritual _Physicians_; but our _Divines_ and Preachers of all @@ -2305,7 +2271,7 @@ _Messiahship_, in as much as an almost infinite Number of Prophecies of the Old Testament, will thereupon receive that Accomplishment, which hitherto, by no shadow of Reason, can be pretended to. -After such a mystical Healing of the _Haemorrhage_ of the Church, there's +After such a mystical Healing of the _Hæmorrhage_ of the Church, there's no doubt on't, but the Story of this Woman in the Gospel will be allow'd to be typical and emblematical. In the mean time, without making a Parable of the Story of her, I assert, there is little or nothing of a @@ -2343,13 +2309,13 @@ Conjectures and Solutions of this Miracle, than we should have been in another and parallel Case. The _Pope_, when last at _Benevento_, is said to have exorciz'd a -_Daemon_ out of a young Maid, which our _Divines_ no more believe than +_Dæmon_ out of a young Maid, which our _Divines_ no more believe than _Infidels_ do. But it is not at all impossible or improbable, that a young Woman might be troubled with Vapours, and go droopingly upon it, whom the holy Father, of whose Prayers and Sanctity she had a good Opinion, might relieve with his Talk, and give another Turn to her Thoughts and Temper: And if she fancy'd herself before possess'd with a -_Daemon_, or rather, if the _Pope_'s Partizans persuaded her so, it's not +_Dæmon_, or rather, if the _Pope_'s Partizans persuaded her so, it's not unlikely to make a Miracle on't. Just so may _Infidels_, with their Descants on this Miracle before us, reduce and lessen it: And what must we Believers do then? Why, we must find out a Way to ascertain the Truth @@ -2418,7 +2384,7 @@ interpret, may be said to be[102] _bow'd down_ to the Earth, when she is _prone_ and _bent_ to, and _intent on_ the literal or earthly Interpretations of the Scriptures; and _can in no wise lift up her self_, like the Woman, _that is_, can't raise her Thoughts to the -Contemplation of the caelestial, spiritual, and sublime Sense of them. +Contemplation of the cælestial, spiritual, and sublime Sense of them. Hence we see the Propriety of the Name of the Woman's Disease, call'd [Greek: pneuma astheneias], a _Spirit of Weakness_, which is not properly significative of any bodily Distemper, but succinctly is very @@ -2544,11 +2510,11 @@ have held my Peace, and said nothing to this parabolical Miracle. The Writings of the _Evangelists_ so abound with Stories of _Satan_, _Belzebub_, the _Devil_, and of greater and less Number of _Devils_, -and of _Daemons_ and of _unclean Spirits_, more than any Histories +and of _Dæmons_ and of _unclean Spirits_, more than any Histories before, as one would think, if these Stories were literally to be understood, that was the Age in which Christ came, that _Hell_ first broke loose, and then primarily infested Mankind; and that upon the -Destruction of _Judaea_ and Propagation of the Gospel, the _Devils_ +Destruction of _Judæa_ and Propagation of the Gospel, the _Devils_ accompanied the _Jews_ in their Dispersion, or the _Apostles_ in their Travels, and have been the Tempters, Seducers, and Tormentors of other Nations ever since. @@ -2572,7 +2538,7 @@ them all here, much less refute any of them. But there is an antient, rational, and cabalistical Notion of Hell, which I have learned of the Fathers, who signify, that the babylonish and bewilder'd State of Christ's Church may be call'd _Hell_, because, as the Word [Greek: -ades] does import, it is a State _without Vision_. Hence _Origen_ +adês] does import, it is a State _without Vision_. Hence _Origen_ says,[112] that whoever can form to himself an _Idea_ of the Church in time to come, when she will be dignified with the Title of the _New Jerusalem_, for her Peace and Vision may understand what is meant by @@ -2622,7 +2588,7 @@ Sabbath. And here it is to be noted out of St. _Augustin_, and most worthy of Observation it is, that at the[118] same time, in which the Church will be loosed from her Bondage; _Satan_ himself will[119] be _bound_ and _chain'd_ for a[120] _thousand Years_, the time of the -evangelical Sabbath, that is, says _Ephraem Syrus_[121] for ever. And +evangelical Sabbath, that is, says _Ephræm Syrus_[121] for ever. And how will our mystical _Satan_ or the _Dragon_ be bound and chain'd? Not with Chains or Links of Iron or other Metal; but _Vinculis Rationis_, with the Chains of Reasons and Arguments for Christian @@ -2969,7 +2935,7 @@ Abode in the Wilderness, forty Days, in Company of the _Devil_, who tempted him. This literally, as our _Divines_ understand it, is a Scandalous Story. The _Jews_, in our Saviour's Time, said, that through _Belzebub_, he cast out _Devils_; and their Posterity have -asserted, that he learn'd the Magick Art of a _Daemon_. This Story +asserted, that he learn'd the Magick Art of a _Dæmon_. This Story gives too much Grounds for such a Suspicion. Our _Divines_, who should know best, talk of abundance of Mischief, the _Devil_ has been permitted to do in the World ever since; I hope it was not by Compact @@ -3121,40 +3087,40 @@ Loc. Marci._ [85] In Locum _Matt._ -[86] Illa vero Mulier quae Fluxum Sanguinis patiebatur, Ecclesiam +[86] Illa vero Mulier quæ Fluxum Sanguinis patiebatur, Ecclesiam figurabat ex Gentibus. St. _August. in Serm._ lxxvii. _Sect._ 8. -Praeparatur igitur Mulier, in cujus Typo universalis Ecclesia sub +Præparatur igitur Mulier, in cujus Typo universalis Ecclesia sub specie designetur. _Paschas. Ratbert. in Loc. Matt._ -[87] Haec Mulier, i. e. Sancta Ecclesia de Gentibus congregata quae -lapsu Criminum deperibat Sancti _Ambrosii in Loc. Luc._ Ut Mulier, quae +[87] Hæc Mulier, i. e. Sancta Ecclesia de Gentibus congregata quæ +lapsu Criminum deperibat Sancti _Ambrosii in Loc. Luc._ Ut Mulier, quæ fluxum sanguinis patiebatur, &c. ita omnis Anima percussa incurabili Vulnere Peccati, habens fontem pravarum Cogitationum, &c. _Macarii -AEgypt. in Hom._ xx. +Ægypt. in Hom._ xx. -[88] [Greek: Epigazes gar ten phoiniken amartian]. _In Orat._ XL. +[88] [Greek: Epigazes gar tên phoinikên amartian]. _In Orat._ XL. -[89] Quae est enim haec Mulier nisi Ecclesia Gentium--Fluxum Sanguinis +[89] Quæ est enim hæc Mulier nisi Ecclesia Gentium--Fluxum Sanguinis patiebatur, quia in suorum Peccatorum Sanguine versabatur; quia Sanguinum Rapina & Occisione nutriebatur. _In Dominic._ xxiv. -[90] Adversus Haereses. _Lib._ I. _Cap._ iii. +[90] Adversus Hæreses. _Lib._ I. _Cap._ iii. [91] _Revel. Chap._ xii. _v._ 6. -[92] Excellentes Verbi Praedicatores tanquam magni Medici.--_Sancti +[92] Excellentes Verbi Prædicatores tanquam magni Medici.--_Sancti August. in Psal._ LXXXVII. _Sect._ 10. [93] Per hos enim Medicos, Ariolos & Philosophos intelligere possumus, -quorum persuasionibus caeteri credentes a fidei Veritate aberrantes ad -Animae Sanitatem attingere non valebant. _In Dominic._ xxiv. +quorum persuasionibus cæteri credentes a fidei Veritate aberrantes ad +Animæ Sanitatem attingere non valebant. _In Dominic._ xxiv. [94] Per Medicos intellige falsos Theologos. _In Loc. Marci._ [95] _Mark Ch._ v. _v._ 26. -[96] Medici Molestiam potius quam Sanitatem aegrotanti praebentes. -_Ephraem. Syri._ p. 63. +[96] Medici Molestiam potius quam Sanitatem ægrotanti præbentes. +_Ephræm. Syri._ p. 63. [97] _Mark Ch._ v. _v._ 34. @@ -3165,15 +3131,15 @@ Matt. Ch._ xvii. [100] _Luke Ch._ xiii. -[101] In Muliere infirma est Figura Ecclesiae. _Theoph. Antioch. in -Loc. Lucae._ Unde intelligitur illa Mulier in Typo Ecclesiae a Domino +[101] In Muliere infirma est Figura Ecclesiæ. _Theoph. Antioch. in +Loc. Lucæ._ Unde intelligitur illa Mulier in Typo Ecclesiæ a Domino sanata & erecta, quam curvaverat Infirmitas, alligante Satana, _Sancti -August. de Trinit. Lib._ iv. _Sect._ 7. In Typo Ecclesiae faeminam -salvat. _Sancti Ambros. in Loc. Lucae._ +August. de Trinit. Lib._ iv. _Sect._ 7. In Typo Ecclesiæ fæminam +salvat. _Sancti Ambros. in Loc. Lucæ._ [102] Totum Genus humanum tanquam ista Mulier curvatum est ad terram,--Diabolus & Angeli ejus Animas hominum curvaverunt ad terras, -id est, ut pronae in ea quae terrena, superna non quaererent. _Sancti. +id est, ut pronæ in ea quæ terrena, superna non quærerent. _Sancti. August. in Serm._ cccxcii. Qui occidentem sequuntur Literam terrena sapiunt. _Sancti Hieron. in Lib. Amos, Ch._ i. @@ -3207,29 +3173,29 @@ cccxcii. [110] Sed nesciebat Archi-Synagogus vel hoc vel illud multo excellentius sacramentum, quod Sabbato curando Dominus intimabat, quia -scilicet post sex hujus seculi AEtates perpetuae Vitae immortalis erat +scilicet post sex hujus seculi Ætates perpetuæ Vitæ immortalis erat gaudia daturus. _Venerab. Bed. in Loc._ [111] Ante Christum in cogniti & a solo sciente detecti. _In Lib._ II. _adv. Gentes_. -[112] Consequens autem est ei, qui cognoscit quae sit Hierusalem in -divisione verae Haereditatis filiorum Israel, ut intelligat Sermonem de +[112] Consequens autem est ei, qui cognoscit quæ sit Hierusalem in +divisione veræ Hæreditatis filiorum Isræl, ut intelligat Sermonem de Gehenna. _In Matt. Ch._ xxiii. -[113] Ego puto quod nomina haec Scriptura divina non pro Historia +[113] Ego puto quod nomina hæc Scriptura divina non pro Historia narraverit sed pro Causis & Rebus,--non enim tam Regum quam Vitiorum -Nomina, quae regnant in hominibus referuntur. _In Numer. Ch._ xxxi. +Nomina, quæ regnant in hominibus referuntur. _In Numer. Ch._ xxxi. [114] Quid ergo mirum videtur, si per singula genera Peccatorum -singuli Daemones ascribuntur. _In Lib. Josu. Ch._ xi. +singuli Dæmones ascribuntur. _In Lib. Josu. Ch._ xi. [115] Sed in alio quodam Libello, qui apellatur Testamentum duodecem Patriarcharum, talem quendam sensum invenimus, quod per singulos -peccantes, singuli Satanae intelligi debeant. Evidentius autem & ipsa +peccantes, singuli Satanæ intelligi debeant. Evidentius autem & ipsa Nominis ejus interpretatio hoc idem significare videtur; _Satanas_ namq; Adversarius dicitur. Omnes ergo qui adversantur dei voluntati, -Satanae possunt dici. _Ibid._ +Satanæ possunt dici. _Ibid._ [116] On Miracles, _p._ 36. @@ -3238,17 +3204,17 @@ Numerus.--Ecclesia non plenam recipiat Libertatem. _Sancti. Hieron. in Zechar. Ch._ i. [118] Illa Mulier curvata intelligitur figurare Ecclesiam, quam _in -Sexta Mundi AEtate_ a Captivitate Diaboli Jesus liberabit. _In Quaest._ -25. _Dialog._ LXV _Quaest._ +Sexta Mundi Ætate_ a Captivitate Diaboli Jesus liberabit. _In Quæst._ +25. _Dialog._ LXV _Quæst._ [119] Vidi Angelum habentem Clarem & Catenam ad ligandum -draconem.--_In Sexto Annorum Millenario_ haec Res agitur. _De Civit. +draconem.--_In Sexto Annorum Millenario_ hæc Res agitur. _De Civit. Dei. L._ XX. _Ch._ vii. [120] _Revel. Ch._ xx. _v._ 2. [121] Propter Infinitatem Annorum Mille Annos dixit. _In Serm. de -Paenitentia._ +Pænitentia._ [122] Diaboli Forman assumimus--Leonis Personam induimus & Draconis,--quando crudeles & callidi sumus. _Origen. in Luc. Hom._ viii. @@ -3257,13 +3223,13 @@ Draconis,--quando crudeles & callidi sumus. _Origen. in Luc. Hom._ viii. [124] Defence of Christianity, _p._ 8. -[125] Doctioribus inter Judaeos notissimum est,--quod Moses qui primus -fuit Salvator Israelis etiam in omni Vita & Operibus suis fuerit Typus +[125] Doctioribus inter Judæos notissimum est,--quod Moses qui primus +fuit Salvator Isrælis etiam in omni Vita & Operibus suis fuerit Typus & Figura ultimi Redemptoris. _Christian. Meyer de Gen. Christi_, p. -145. Judaei Veteres expectabant similem AEgyptiacae Liberationem, ut +145. Judæi Veteres expectabant similem Ægyptiacæ Liberationem, ut scilicet Pharaoh & omnis ejus Exercitus qui per 430 Annos Populum Dei Captivum tenuit, in Mari Rubro submersus est; sic etiam Romani qui -eodem Annorum Numero Judaeos possessuri, Ultione Domini deleantur. +eodem Annorum Numero Judæos possessuri, Ultione Domini deleantur. _Sancti Hieron. in Joel. Ch._ v. [126] See the Life of _William Lilly_. @@ -3275,7 +3241,7 @@ Cyril. Alex. in Loc._ [129] _John Ch._ x. _v._ 24. -[130] Fortasse verum non erat, _Judaeos cum Samaritanis Commmercium non +[130] Fortasse verum non erat, _Judæos cum Samaritanis Commmercium non habere_,--ac ne illud quidem verum, _neque Haustorium habes, & Puteus altus est_,--fortasse etiam neque illud, _quod Jacob ex Puteo biberit, & filii ejus, & Pecora_ ejus. _Origen. in Loc._ @@ -3286,22 +3252,22 @@ Ch._ iv. [132] Evangelica Sacramenta in Domini nostri Jesu Christi dictis factisque signata non omnibus patent, & ea nonnulli minus diligenter, minusque sobrie interpretando, afferunt plerumque pro salute -Perniciem, & pro Cognitione Veritatis Errorem, inter quae illud est -Sacramentum quod Scriptum est de hac Samaritana, _&c._ _In Quaest._ 63, +Perniciem, & pro Cognitione Veritatis Errorem, inter quæ illud est +Sacramentum quod Scriptum est de hac Samaritana, _&c._ _In Quæst._ 63, _de_ Lxxxiii. _Quest._ -[133] [Greek: Os en typo palin emin kai di ainigmatos ypodeikneus.] +[133] [Greek: Ôs en typô palin êmin kai di ainigmatos ypodeikneus.] _In Loc. Johan._ -[134] Illa Mulier Typum gerebat Ecclesiae, quae ventura erat ex -Gentibus--Ecclesiae non justificatae, sed justificandae. _Sancti. August. +[134] Illa Mulier Typum gerebat Ecclesiæ, quæ ventura erat ex +Gentibus--Ecclesiæ non justificatæ, sed justificandæ. _Sancti. August. in Loc. Johan._ [135] Tunc fatigatur Christus, quando nullam Virtutem in Populo suo recognoscit. _Sancti August. in Serm._ xciii. _Appen._ -[136] Hora sexta id est, sexta AEtate Generis Humani. _Sancti August. -in Quaest._ 64. lxxxiii. _Quaest._ +[136] Hora sexta id est, sexta Ætate Generis Humani. _Sancti August. +in Quæst._ 64. lxxxiii. _Quæst._ [137] Puteus est Divina Scriptura, scientia scatens, ut aqua, Cujus putei Profunditas sunt plena Mysteriis Symbola. _In Theoph. Ceram @@ -3309,32 +3275,32 @@ Homil._ xxxviii. _de Samaritana_. [138] Lex secundum Literam est aqua amara. _Hieronym. in Ezekiel. Ch._ xlvii. Qui bibit ex hac aqua sitiet rursus, id est, qui participat -profunditatem humanae sapientiae, prudentesque Rationes, receptis +profunditatem humanæ sapientiæ, prudentesque Rationes, receptis Intelligentiis judicio suo inventis, tamen rursus secundo cogitans, denuo dubitabit de his in quibus requieverat. _Origen. in Loc. Johan._ [139] _In Locum Johan. Evang._ [140] Quinque enim Viros habuisti, & nunc quem habes _non est Vir -tuus_. Sed non sunt haec carnabiter accipienda, ne huic ipsi Mulieri -Samaritanae similes videamur,--Per quinque Viros, quinque Libros Mosis +tuus_. Sed non sunt hæc carnabiter accipienda, ne huic ipsi Mulieri +Samaritanæ similes videamur,--Per quinque Viros, quinque Libros Mosis Nonnulli accipiunt--sed quinque Viri intelliguntur quinque Corporis -sensus. Et quia naturales sunt ipsi Sensus, qui aetatem primam regunt, -recte dicuntur Mariti. _In Quaest._ 64. _de_ lxxxiii. _Quaest._ +sensus. Et quia naturales sunt ipsi Sensus, qui ætatem primam regunt, +recte dicuntur Mariti. _In Quæst._ 64. _de_ lxxxiii. _Quæst._ [141] _Et nunc quem habes non est Vir tuus_; Quia non est in te (Ecclesia) Spiritus qui intelligat Deum, cum quo legitimum potes habere conjugium; sed Error Diaboli potius dominatur, qui te -adulterina Contaminatione corrumpit. _Venerab. Bedae in Locum._ +adulterina Contaminatione corrumpit. _Venerab. Bedæ in Locum._ [142] Magna quidem acta sunt Sacramenta, sed augustum Tempus est, ut omnia pertractentur. _In Serm._ xci. _Sect._ 2. [143] _In his Dissertation on the Blessing of_ Judah. -[144] Ut Lex Umbram continet futurorum bonorum, quae declarantur ab ea +[144] Ut Lex Umbram continet futurorum bonorum, quæ declarantur ab ea Lege; sic etiam Evangelium, quod vel a quibusque vulgaribus intelligi -existimatur, Umbram docet Mysteriorum Christi. _In Praefat. ad Johan. +existimatur, Umbram docet Mysteriorum Christi. _In Præfat. ad Johan. Evang._ @@ -3754,7 +3720,7 @@ which were never transacted; so it is of the Nature of Prophecy (and our Saviour in his whole Life prophesied) to speak of Things to come, as if they were already past; because such Prophecies are not to be understood till after their Accomplishment, and then the Reason of the -Use of the _praeter_, instead of the _future_ Tense, in Prophecy, will be +Use of the _præter_, instead of the _future_ Tense, in Prophecy, will be visible. But what, in my Opinion, is an absolute Demonstration, that there's no Truth in the Letter of this Story, is, what our Saviour adds, upon the Disciples wondering at the sudden withering of the Figtree, @@ -3879,12 +3845,12 @@ grand Sabbath. Neither can any reasonable Man conceive how otherwise[169] _the Lord should come_, (not _with ten thousand of his Saints_, as our Translation has it, but) [Greek: en myriasin agiais autou], that is, as _Origen_ interprets, _in his holy thousands_ of -Allegorists [Greek: poiesai krisen], _to criticise upon all_ the +Allegorists [Greek: poiêsai krisen], _to criticise upon all_ the Scripture, and to convince _Ministers of the Letter_ of their abominable Errors, and of their horrid Blasphemies spoken, preach'd and printed against the Holy, (Ghost or) Spirit of the Law and Prophets. As to that literal and common Pulpit-Story (with all its -Appendages) of _Jesus_'s second Coming on aetherial Clouds, as on a +Appendages) of _Jesus_'s second Coming on ætherial Clouds, as on a Wool-sack, in his human, tho' glorious and majestick Appearance, for the Resurrection of Mens Bodies, by the Sound of a Trumpet, in the Audience of the Dead, _&c._ it is the most absurd, nonsensical and @@ -3946,7 +3912,7 @@ Perplexity of _Commentators_, who with all their Wit and Sagacity can't get well over it. I shall not mention here all or any of their pretended Solutions of this Difficulty; but let us see whether we can't easily and at once unlose it. St. _Mark_'s Words are [Greek: ou -gar en kairos sykon], which are and have been commonly translated, +gar ên kairos sykôn], which are and have been commonly translated, _for the Time of Figs is not yet_. But if we change the _Point_ into an _Interrogation_, and read thus, _for was it not the Time of Figs?_ the Difficulty vanishes as certainly, as that it is absurd to suppose @@ -3967,8 +3933,8 @@ Mankind. But, that my Solution is good, will appear by what follows. And _Jesus_ finding Leaves only says, in St. _Matthew_, to the Figtree, _Let no Fruit grow on thee henceforward for ever_; which (with its parallel Place in St. _Mark_) is in my Opinion a false -Translation: The Original is, [Greek: Meketi ek sou karpos genetai eis -ton aiona], and ought to be englished, _not as yet_, or _not until +Translation: The Original is, [Greek: Mêketi ek sou karpos genêtai eis +ton aiôna], and ought to be englished, _not as yet_, or _not until now_, (that I come) _against the_ (grand) _Age_ (of the Sabbath) has Fruit grown on thee. So that the Miracle of _Jesus_ was to make the Figtree of the Church fruitful; and if her preceding unfruitful State, @@ -4167,7 +4133,7 @@ an healing Quality to the Waters for some one diseased Person? The Reason, that I ask the first of these two Questions, is, because some antient Readings of v. 4. say[183] the Angel [Greek: eloueto] _was washed_, which supposes some bodily Defilement or Heat contracted in -the Caelestial Regions, that wanted Refrigeration or Purgaton in these +the Cælestial Regions, that wanted Refrigeration or Purgaton in these Waters: But how absurd such a Thought is, needs no Proof. To impart then compassionately an healing Power to the Waters for the Benefit of the Diseased was the sole Design of the Angel's Descent into them. And @@ -4292,7 +4258,7 @@ does not overthrow the Letter of this Story; Then what I have, _Sixthly_, To add, will do it more effectually, and that is, of the _certain Man, that had an Infirmity thirty and eight Years_, and lay at this Pool for an Opportunity to be cured of it. Tho' these _thirty_ -and _eight_ Years are, in our _English_ Translation praedicated of this +and _eight_ Years are, in our _English_ Translation prædicated of this Man's Infirmity, yet more truly, according to the Original, are they spoken of the Time he lay there? and the Fathers so understood St. _John_'s Words. What this Man's Infirmity was, we are uncertain: For @@ -4482,10 +4448,10 @@ of[191] St. _Augustin_, as God shall enable me, I will now speak to. Our _English_ Version says, _There is at Jerusalem by the Sheep-Market, a Pool_. How our _Translators_ came by the Notion of a _Market_ here, I can't imagine, since there is nothing to favour it in -the Original, which stands thus, [Greek: epi te probatike -kolymbethra]: By [Greek: kolymbethra], the Fathers understand[192] +the Original, which stands thus, [Greek: epi tê probatikê +kolymbêthra]: By [Greek: kolymbêthra], the Fathers understand[192] Baptism, or the spiritual _Laver_ of Regeneration; and who is that -for, but the Flock of Christ, signified by [Greek: probatike]? So we +for, but the Flock of Christ, signified by [Greek: probatikê]? So we have another and clearer Interpretation of these two Words. And as to _Bethesda_, that is a mystical Name of the Church, which according to the Signification of _Bethesda_, is the House of Grace. And if it is @@ -4539,7 +4505,7 @@ sublime Sense, and then he will walk uprightly and steadily in the Faith, without wavering like a Paralytick. And at what Season did _Jesus_ come to this infirm Man? It was at a -Feast of the _Jews_. _Irenaeus_, _Chrysostom_, _Theophylact_, and +Feast of the _Jews_. _Irenæus_, _Chrysostom_, _Theophylact_, and _Cyril_ call it the Feast of Penticost. And the grand Feast of Penticost is, as St. _Cyril_[200] says upon the Place at the Perfection of Time, the Time of the Evangelical Sabbath, and of @@ -4764,20 +4730,20 @@ FOOTNOTES: [147] Nulla esset Ligni Culpa, quia Lignum sine sensu non habebat Culpam. Augustin _in Serm._ lxxxix. -[148] Quaerit poma; necesciebat tempus nondum esse? quod Cultor Arboris +[148] Quærit poma; necesciebat tempus nondum esse? quod Cultor Arboris sciebat, Creator Arboris nesciebat? _Augustini in Serm._ lxxxix. [149] Hoc ideo probamus, quia Passionis Domini Dies propinquabat, et scimus quo tempore passus sit. _Ibid._ -[150] Arbor non est juste siccato. _Johan. Hierosol in Loc. Marci._ +[150] Arbor non est justé siccato. _Johan. Hierosol in Loc. Marci._ [151] Si miraculum fuerat tantummodo commendandum, et non alquid -prophetice figurandum, multo clementius dominus et sua misericordia -dignius fecerat, Si quam aridam invenerat, viridem redderet, sicut +prophetice figurandum, multo clementiùs dominus et sua misericordia +digniùs fecerat, Si quam aridam invenerat, viridem redderet, sicut languentes sanavit. Tunc vero e contrario, quasi adversus Regulam -Clementiae suae invenit Arborem virentem, praeter tempus fructus nondum -habentem, non tamen fructum agricolae negantem, et aridam fecit. _In +Clementiæ suæ invenit Arborem virentem, præter tempus fructus nondum +habentem, non tamen fructum agricolæ negantem, et aridam fecit. _In Serm._ lxxxix. _Sect._ 3. [152] See Arch-Bishop _Wake_'s Letter to Mr. _Chandler_, which is @@ -4794,37 +4760,37 @@ Locum Marci._ [157] Quid sibi vult, quod in Evangelio suo Dominus Fici Parabolam _frequenter_ inducit: Habes enim alibi, quod jussu Domini Viriditas -omnis hujus Ligni frondentis aruerit. _In Loc. Lucae._ +omnis hujus Ligni frondentis aruerit. _In Loc. Lucæ._ [158] Videamus, ubi alibi scriptum de ista ficu; in Evangelio secundum Lucam legimus, &c. _In Loc. Marci. Hom._ xii. [159] _Matth._ Chap. xxi. 21. -[160] Quanquam igitur juxta Literam Haec facta non legantur ab Apostolis, +[160] Quanquam igitur juxta Literam Hæc facta non legantur ab Apostolis, sicut quidam Paganorum calumniati sunt, et garriunt contra nos, etiam in suis scriptis asserentes Apostolos non habuisse fidem, quia monues non transtulerunt neque Ficulneas verbo exsiccarunt. _In Loc. Matth._ [161] Legimus Apostolorum miracula, nusquam autem legimus arborem ab his -arefactam, aut montem in mare translatum; quaeramus ergo in mysterio ubi +arefactam, aut montem in mare translatum; quæramus ergo in mysterio ubi factum sit, non enim Verba Domini vacare potuerant. _In Serm._ lxxxix. -[162] Sed futurum aliquid Miraculo commendasse, multa sunt quae nos +[162] Sed futurum aliquid Miraculo commendasse, multa sunt quæ nos admoneant, nobisq; persuadeant imo ab _invitis_ extorqueant. _Ibid._ [163] Porro quando in hunc locum incidimus, nemo curiose inquirat, aut anxie disputet, justene an secus factum sit; sed Miraculum editum contempletur et admiretur. Nam de submersis Porcis quoq; nonnulli hanc -quaestionem moverant, factumq; justitiae colorae destitutum praedicare +quæstionem moverant, factumq; justitiæ coloræ destitutum prædicare veriti non sunt. _In Loc. Merci._ [164] Quid Arbor fici, nisi humanam naturam designet? _In Homil._ xxxi. -[165] In Ficu, Synogogae positum Exemplum est. _In Loc. Matt._ +[165] In Ficu, Synogogæ positum Exemplum est. _In Loc. Matt._ [166] Absit a nobis, ut, Jesu veniente ad nos et volente manducare de -ficu (_Ecclesiae_) non inveniatur Fructus in ea. _In Matth. Tract._ xxx. +ficu (_Ecclesiæ_) non inveniatur Fructus in ea. _In Matth. Tract._ xxx. [167] Potest autem ficus illa intelligi populus Circumcisionis. _Ibid._ @@ -4834,7 +4800,7 @@ _Augustin in Serm._ cx. [169] _Jude_, ver. 14. -[170] Inveniet infaecundam, foliis tantummodo vestitam, id est Verbis +[170] Inveniet infæcundam, foliis tantummodo vestitam, id est Verbis inanibus gloriantem, sed fructibus vacuam, Operibus quippe bonis sterilem. _In Loc. Matt._ @@ -4844,34 +4810,34 @@ non intelligentiam Scripturarum. _In Loc. Marci._ [172] Folia sola habentem, hoc est, apparentem Litteram, non Fructus Spiritus. _In Loc. Matt._ -[173] Qaerens non Sensiles Fructus sed intellectilem ex Lege et -Prophetis dulcemq, Faecunditatem. _Caesarii in Dialog._ 40. +[173] Qærens non Sensiles Fructus sed intellectilem ex Lege et +Prophetis dulcemq, Fæcunditatem. _Cæsarii in Dialog._ 40. [174] Ficus sunt dona dulcissima Spiritus Sancti, Spiritualia dogmata -et Scientia Scripturarum. _In Aggae_; _Cap._ ii. +et Scientia Scripturarum. _In Aggæ_; _Cap._ ii. [175] Esuriit autem Jesus semper in justis, volens manducare Fructum Spiritus Sancti i neis. _In Matt. Tract._ xxx. [176] Ad quem (Locum) intelligendum, ut oportet, expectandum esse -Eliae, ut nonnunquam loquuntur Veteres de Locis obscurissimis Adventum. +Eliæ, ut nonnunquam loquuntur Veteres de Locis obscurissimis Adventum. _In Excercitat. Sac. Lib._ ii. _cap._ 6. -[177] Fructus dulces omne genus de arbore Vitae comedendum praebebit +[177] Fructus dulces omne genus de arbore Vitæ comedendum præbebit Elias. _Apud Buxtorf. Synag. p._ 738. -[178] Oculis Spiritalibus viderunt Mysterium fici siccatae. _Matt. +[178] Oculis Spiritalibus viderunt Mysterium fici siccatæ. _Matt. Tract._ xvi. [179] Effodientes Literam Legis. _Cyril. Glaphyr._ L. 1. P. 1. [180] Mittitur ergo Cophinus Stercoris ad Radicem Arboris, quando -pravitatis suae Conscientia tangitur memoria Cogitationis. _Gregor. M. +pravitatis suæ Conscientia tangitur memoria Cogitationis. _Gregor. M. in Hom._ xxxi. [181] Sed hoc significat Ficulnea infructuosa, quod Mulier inclinata; et hoc Ficulnea reservata, quod Mulier erecta. Hoc autem & octodecem -Annorum Numero signatur, quod tertio die Dominus Vineae Ficulneam +Annorum Numero signatur, quod tertio die Dominus Vineæ Ficulneam venisse perhibetur. _In Homil._ xxxi. [182] _John_, Chap. v. @@ -4893,7 +4859,7 @@ agebat, _&c._ _In Loc. Johan._ [188] Defence of Christianity, P. 415. [189] Quis hic Curationis modus? quid hoc nobis mysterium -significatur? non [Greek: aplos] nec [Greek: eike] haec, sed futura +significatur? non [Greek: aplôs] nec [Greek: eikê] hæc, sed futura nobis, tanquam imagine et figura quadam describuntur, ne res nimium incredibilis et inexpectata, accedente fidei Virtute, Multitudinis Animas offenderet. _In Loc. Johan._ @@ -4904,9 +4870,9 @@ tamen sine significante aliquo Sacramento? _In Loc. Johan._ [191] Cujus Rei & cujus signi profundum mysterium, quantum Dominus donare dignatur, loquar ut potero. _Ibid._ -[192] Piscina illa Baptismum designat. _Theophyl. In Loc._ Quaenam -igitur haec descriptio? Futurum erat Baptisma plenum maximae Potestatis -& Gratiae purgaturum peccata. _Chrysost. In Loc._ +[192] Piscina illa Baptismum designat. _Theophyl. In Loc._ Quænam +igitur hæc descriptio? Futurum erat Baptisma plenum maximæ Potestatis +& Gratiæ purgaturum peccata. _Chrysost. In Loc._ [193] Per quinque Porticus, quinque Libras Mosis intelligo, St. _Theophil. Antioch. in Loc._ Quinque Porticus sunt quinque Libri @@ -4916,29 +4882,29 @@ Mosis. St. _August. in Loc._ Piscinam cingentibus languidi jacebant, et curari non poterant. Vide quomodo manet littera, convincens eum non salvans iniquum. Illis enim quinque Porticibus, in figura quinque Librorum prodebantur potius quam -sanabantur aegroti. Ergo quicunque amatis litteram fine gratia, in -Porticibus remanebitis, aegri eritis, jacentes non convalescentes, de -littera enim praesumitis. _In Psal._ lxx. +sanabantur ægroti. Ergo quicunque amatis litteram fine gratia, in +Porticibus remanebitis, ægri eritis, jacentes non convalescentes, de +littera enim præsumitis. _In Psal._ lxx. [195] Est Figura Populi in ultimis temporibus sanandi. _In Loc. Johan._ [196] Languidus ille, de quo in Evangelio legimus, quia jacebat, Typum Generis humani habere videbatur. _In Serm._ cclxxiv. _Append._ -[197] Paralyticum qui juxta Natatoriam jacebat. _Irenaei. Lib._ ii. +[197] Paralyticum qui juxta Natatoriam jacebat. _Irenæi. Lib._ ii. Chap. 22. [198] Tempus et Annus sunt centum Anni, _Tichonii in Reg._ 5^a [199] Quod autem triginta et octo Annos in Languoribus positut erat, do illo Quadraginta numero, quem supra diximus duo minus habens; et -quae sunt ista duo, nisi duo praecepta, dilectio Dei et Proximi. Ista -duo, in quibus tota Lex pendet et Prophetae, si non habuerit, languidus +quæ sunt ista duo, nisi duo præcepta, dilectio Dei et Proximi. Ista +duo, in quibus tota Lex pendet et Prophetæ, si non habuerit, languidus et Paralyticus jacet. _In Ps._ lxxxiii. -[200] Quod autem sub finem Hebdomadum Sanctae Pentecostes ipse -revertitur Hierosolymam, figurate et aenigmatice significat futurum -nostri Salvatoris Reversionem ultimis praesentis aevi temporibus. _In +[200] Quod autem sub finem Hebdomadum Sanctæ Pentecostes ipse +revertitur Hierosolymam, figuraté et ænigmatice significat futurum +nostri Salvatoris Reversionem ultimis præsentis ævi temporibus. _In Loc. Johan._ [201] Turbabat Angelus,----dictus est Dominus magni consilii Angelus. @@ -5317,10 +5283,10 @@ _Divines_ will never agree to that, which would be of ill Consequence to their Ministry, they must give a good Reason of their own, which I despair of seeing, that will comport with the Letter. -St. _Irenaeus_ too, says[209], that the _Clay and Spittle_ was of no +St. _Irenæus_ too, says[209], that the _Clay and Spittle_ was of no service to the Cure of the blind Man; and yet _Jesus_ did not use it _in vain_. Is not this an Inconsistency? How will our _Divines_ adjust -it? With _Irenaeus_, I am sure they'll not mystically solve the +it? With _Irenæus_, I am sure they'll not mystically solve the Difficulty; therefore if they don't provide another Solution of it to satisfaction; either their Ministry of the Letter, or the Reputation of _Jesus_, and this Miracle must suffer for it. @@ -5453,7 +5419,7 @@ Doctrine_ to the opening of the Eyes of our Understanding in the Knowledge of the Providence of God of all Ages; which Knowledge, Light, Sight, or Illumination, Mankind has hitherto wanted. -St. _Irenaeus_[230], gives an excellent and mystical Reason, by +St. _Irenæus_[230], gives an excellent and mystical Reason, by himself, for the use of this Ointment of _Clay_ and _Spittle_, to the Cure of this blind Man, which I shall not stay to illustrate, but only have cited it for the Meditation of the Learned and Curious. @@ -5549,7 +5515,7 @@ to form of this _Wedding_; and wish that the Letter of the Story did suggest no worse Thoughts of it to us. I should be pleas'd, if no _Infidel_ really could, what I, but for the sake of the Mystery most unwillingly should, write any ludicrous Descants on it. But if this -Story had been related of _Apollonius Tyranaeus_, as it is of our +Story had been related of _Apollonius Tyranæus_, as it is of our _Jesus_, I would have ridicul'd and satiriz'd it to the utmost of my Power, and have render'd him and his Disciples of all Nations, as contemptible as I could, for the Belief of it; and I don't doubt, but @@ -5636,7 +5602,7 @@ in Manuscript. It is as follows; Whether _Jesus_ and his Mother themselves were at all _cut_, as were others of the Company, is not so certain. She might be an abstemious Dame for ought we know; tho' if old Stories are true of - her familiarity with a _Soldier_, of whom came her _chara Deum + her familiarity with a _Soldier_, of whom came her _chara Deûm Soboles_, in all probability she would take a _Dram_ and a _Bottle_ too. But it looks as if _Jesus_ himself was a little _in_ for't, or he had never spoke so waspishly and snappishly to his Mother, @@ -5848,7 +5814,7 @@ _Justin Martyr_[243] says, it is absurd to take the Stories of the Marriages and Concubinages of the _Patriarchs_ of the Old Testament in a literal Sense. And indeed, literally consider'd, they are some of them too luscious Tales to be related by divine and inspired Penmen: -whereupon he, as well as St. _Paul_ and _Philo-Judaeus_[244], turn +whereupon he, as well as St. _Paul_ and _Philo-Judæus_[244], turn these Stories for the Honour of God and Edification of his Church, into an Allegory. Consequently, if _Justin_ had had an occasion to speak of this Marriage before us, there's no doubt on't, but he would @@ -6093,7 +6059,7 @@ the belief of this Story? Some modern _Commentators_, being aware of these difficulties in this Story, and willing to reconcile Men to the earlier belief of it, say, -as _Drusius_[258] did, that the Houses of _Judaea_ were _flat-roof'd, +as _Drusius_[258] did, that the Houses of _Judæa_ were _flat-roof'd, and not ridg'd_: And Doctors, _Lightfoot_ and _Whitby_[259] say, there was a Door on their flat Roofs, by which the _Jews_ used to ascend to the top of their Houses, where they discours'd on the Law and @@ -6322,91 +6288,91 @@ FOOTNOTES: [205] John. ix. -[206] Quid Lutum i linere opporet? hoc potius eaecum reddere, quis +[206] Quid Lutum i linere opporet? hoc potius eæcum reddere, quis unquam hoc pacto curatus est? _In Loc. Johan._ -[207] Quam ob causam dicet aliquis, cum omnia solo Verbo praestare +[207] Quam ob causam dicet aliquis, cum omnia solo Verbo præstare possit, nulloque negotio, Lutum quidem sputo macerat? _In Loc. Johan._ [208] Sed Rationem quandam mysticam habet Vis Rei istius de sputo. _Ibid._ -[209] Ei autem qui caecus fuerat a Nativitate, jam non per sermonem sed -per operationem praestitit visum; non vane, neque prout evenit, hoc -faciens, sed ut ostenderet manum Dei, eam quae ab initio plasmavit -Hominem, _&c._ Contra Haeres. L. v. c. 15. +[209] Ei autem qui cæcus fuerat a Nativitate, jam non per sermonem sed +per operationem præstitit visum; non vane, neque prout evenit, hoc +faciens, sed ut ostenderet manum Dei, eam quæ ab initio plasmavit +Hominem, _&c._ Contra Hæres. L. v. c. 15. [210] _See his Sermons before the Societys for Reformation._ p. 12. [211] Ipse Salvator noster apertissime ostendit, quod ejus Miracula Aliquid significent, dum ea faciendo, aliquid agit, quod Ratione carere videatur. Nisi enim aliquid significaret, quid necessarium -fuit, in hujus caeci Illuminatione, ut Lutum faceret, quo oculos ejus -liniret, cui solum dicere sufficiens erat. Quaeramus igitur -significationem, & videamus quid caecus iste significet. _In Homil. +fuit, in hujus cæci Illuminatione, ut Lutum faceret, quo oculos ejus +liniret, cui solum dicere sufficiens erat. Quæramus igitur +significationem, & videamus quid cæcus iste significet. _In Homil. quarta post quartam Dominicam._ [212] Similitudo erat & Typus futurorum unumquodque quod fiebat in -Corpore. Veluti nescio quis a Nativitate caecus Visum recuperavit. Vere -autem caecus iste erat a Nativitate Gentilium Populus, cui Salvator +Corpore. Veluti nescio quis à Nativitate cæcus Visum recuperavit. Vere +autem cæcus iste erat à Nativitate Gentilium Populus, cui Salvator reddidit Visum, Saliva sua ungens oculos ejus & mittens ad _Siloam_, quod interpretatur missus, mittebat quippe illos quos spiritu unxit ad Apostolos. _In Isai._ c. vi. -[213] Genus humanum est iste caecus. _In Loc. Johan._ +[213] Genus humanum est iste cæcus. _In Loc. Johan._ -[214] Caecus humanum Genus significatur. _In Com. Johan._ +[214] Cæcus humanum Genus significatur. _In Com. Johan._ -[215] Caecus iste a Nativitate, Genus humanum esse videtur a primo -homine.----Haec enim caecitas non Corporis sed Animae est. _In Loc. supra +[215] Cæcus iste a Nativitate, Genus humanum esse videtur à primo +homine.----Hæc enim cæcitas non Corporis sed Animæ est. _In Loc. supra laudat._ -[216] Per caecum naturaliter non videntem & illuminatum significat +[216] Per cæcum naturaliter non videntem & illuminatum significat Genus humanum. _In Loc. Johan._ -[217] Vere autem caecus iste erat a Nativitate Gentilium Populus. _In +[217] Vere autem cæcus iste erat a Nativitate Gentilium Populus. _In Isai._ c. vi. -[218] Caeci hujus Curationem in figuram & typus vocationis Gentium +[218] Cæci hujus Curationem in figuram & typus vocationis Gentium accepimus. _In Loc. Johan._ -[219] Intellige hoc Miraculum spiritualiter. Nam caecus quidem erat -omnis homo a Nativitate, id est, ab Initio Mundi. _In Loc. Johan._ +[219] Intellige hoc Miraculum spiritualiter. Nam cæcus quidem erat +omnis homo à Nativitate, id est, ab Initio Mundi. _In Loc. Johan._ [220] In Sabbato est figura ultimi Temporis. _St. Cyril in Loc. Johan._ -[221] Caecitas est Infidelitas. _In Loc._ +[221] Cæcitas est Infidelitas. _In Loc._ -[222] Caecus qui destituitur divino Lumine. _De Adorat._ p. 414. +[222] Cæcus qui destituitur divino Lumine. _De Adorat._ p. 414. -[223] Caecus qui sedet in tenebris omnis Ignorantiae, & non potuit +[223] Cæcus qui sedet in tenebris omnis Ignorantiæ, & non potuit videre Conditorem Mundi. _In Loc. Johan._ [224] Literam Legis sequentes, in Errores, Superstitiones & Infidelitatem incurrunt. _In Matt. Tract._ xxvi. -[225] Caecus iste est caecus in Litera, & hoc statu Sanari non potest. +[225] Cæcus iste est cæcus in Litera, & hoc statu Sanari non potest. _In Marc._ c. viii. -[226] Caeci qui imperiti Scripturarum. _In Loc. Johan._ +[226] Cæci qui imperiti Scripturarum. _In Loc. Johan._ [227] Lutum vero factum de Saliva oris Domini, ac positum super oculos -caeci, significat hic, quod naturae deerat, opere suo implere Figulum. +cæci, significat hic, quod naturæ deerat, opere suo implere Figulum. _In Loc. Johan._ -[228] Saliva sua ungens Oculos caeci & mittens ad _Siloam_ quod +[228] Saliva sua ungens Oculos cæci & mittens ad _Siloam_ quod interpretatur _Missus_, mittebat quippe illos, quos spiritu unxit. &c. _In Isa. c._ vi. [229] Saliva est perfecta Doctrina. _In Marc._ c. viii. -[230] Ei autem qui caecus fuerat a Nativitate, jam non per sermonem sed -per operationem praestitit Visum; non vane neque prout evenit hoc -faciens, sed ut ostenderet manum Dei, eam quae ab Initio plasmavit +[230] Ei autem qui cæcus fuerat à Nativitate, jam non per sermonem sed +per operationem præstitit Visum; non vane neque prout evenit hoc +faciens, sed ut ostenderet manum Dei, eam quæ ab Initio plasmavit hominem. Quapropter expuit in Terram, & fecit Lutum, & superlinivit illud Oculis, ostendens antiquam Plasmationem, quemadmodum facta est, -& manum Dei manifestans his qui intelligere possunt, per quam e Limo -plasmatus est homo. _Cont. Haereses. L._ v. _c._ 15. +& manum Dei manifestans his qui intelligere possunt, per quam è Limo +plasmatus est homo. _Cont. Hæreses. L._ v. _c._ 15. [231] John ii. @@ -6419,9 +6385,9 @@ Conventum, _&c._ _In Loc. Johan._ [234] Pueri aut Saltatores volutabantur, in his autem - Tibiae, Lyraeque Vocem habebant. Mulieres autem + Tibiæ, Lyræque Vocem habebant. Mulieres autem Cantum accipientes, volvebantur per medias - Quaecunque optimatum erant uxores atque filiae. + Quæcunque optimatum erant uxores atque filiæ. Illi vero ad Saltationem & desiderabilem Cantum Conversi delectabantur, &c. In _Homero-Centon._ @@ -6441,11 +6407,11 @@ Chrysost. in Loc. Johan._ Vide & _Theopolact. in Loc._ [240] _Vindication of the Christian Religion_, p. 82. [241] Sed quanam gratia, antequam implerentur, non fecit Miraculum, -quod longe fuisset admirabilius? Siquidem aliud est subjectae Materiae +quod longe fuisset admirabilius? Siquidem aliud est subjectæ Materiæ qualitatem mutare, aliud ipsam substantiam ex nihilo facere. _Chrysos. in Loc._ -[242] Saepe obest Magnitudo, ne Miracula creditu sint facilia. +[242] Sæpe obest Magnitudo, ne Miracula creditu sint facilia. _Theophylact. in Loc._ [243] In Dialog. cum Tryphone, _p._ 364. @@ -6459,42 +6425,42 @@ causa venit ad Nuptias. Excepto Miraculo, aliquid in ipso facto Mysterii & Sacramenti latet. Pulsemus ut aperiet & de Vino invisibili inebriet nos. _In Loc. Johan._ -[247] Nihil dicemus, quid sibi velint Hydriae, quid Aqua in Vinum +[247] Nihil dicemus, quid sibi velint Hydriæ, quid Aqua in Vinum conversa, quid Architriclinius, quid Sponsus, quid Mater Jesu in -Mysterio, quid ipsae Nuptiae? _Ibid._ +Mysterio, quid ipsæ Nuptiæ? _Ibid._ [248] Per hoc invitatus Dominus venit ad Nuptias, ut ostenderetur Sacramentam Nuptiarum,----Illarum Nuptiarum Sponsus Personam Domini figurabat, cui dictum est, servasti bonum Vinum usque adhuc, Bonum Vinum id est Evangelium servasti usque adhuc. _Ibid._ -[249] Sex Hydriae sunt sex AEtates Temporum capientes Prophetiam +[249] Sex Hydriæ sunt sex Ætates Temporum capientes Prophetiam pertinentem ad omnes gentes sive in duobus generibus hominum, id est, -Judaeis & Graecis, sive in tribus propter Noe tres Filios. _Ibid._ +Judæis & Græcis, sive in tribus propter Noe tres Filios. _Ibid._ -[250] Vocatur Salvator ad Nuptias, hoc est, Ecclesiae voto spiritus +[250] Vocatur Salvator ad Nuptias, hoc est, Ecclesiæ voto spiritus sanctus invocatur----Venit cum Discipulis suis, id est, in Loco sancto, Turba sanctorum. Mirabilia Dei Maria Mater expectat, hoc est, Virtutem Christi expectat Ecclesia.----Maria ait, ecce Vina deficiant, hoc est, Vinum Spiritus Ecclesia optat excipere.----Numquid Mulierem dicit Jesu -Mariam, quae Virgo post Pactum inventa est? Sed Ecclesiam alloquitur, quae +Mariam, quæ Virgo post Pactum inventa est? Sed Ecclesiam alloquitur, quæ non solum Mulier, sed meretrix nuncupatur. _In Sermon_ xcii. _Append._ [251] Vinum multis Locis accipimus Scripturas Sanctas meracissimum -Vigorem coelestis sapientae continentes; quibus incalescant sensus & -inebrientur Affectus. Operante Christo in Cana Galileae Vinum defecit & -Vinum sit, id est, Umbra removetur & Veritas praesentatur. Recedit Lex, +Vigorem coelestis sapientæ continentes; quibus incalescant sensus & +inebrientur Affectus. Operante Christo in Cana Galileæ Vinum defecit & +Vinum sit, id est, Umbra removetur & Veritas præsentatur. Recedit Lex, Gratia succedit. Carnalia spiritualibus commutantur. Bonum quidem Vinum est vetus Testamentum, sed sine spirituali Intellectu vanescit in Litera. _In Sermon_ xc. _Append._ Sed illud quod in Litera Legis aquam sapiebat, dum spiritualiter intellgi fecit, aquam in Vinum convertit. _In Sermon_ xci. _Append._ -[252] Per Nuptias, Conjunctionem Christi Ecclesiae, hoc est Veteris & +[252] Per Nuptias, Conjunctionem Christi Ecclesiæ, hoc est Veteris & Novi Testamenti Traditionem debemus accipere. Sponsus est Christus. Architriclinius est Moses. _In Loc. Johan._ -[253] Voluores Coeli sunt vere puri & ad caelestis sapientiae +[253] Voluores Coeli sunt verè puri & ad cælestis sapientiæ Cognitionem evolare parati. _Clem. Alex. Strom. L._ iv. [254] Quid mihi & tibi est, Mulier? Procul dubio, Fratres, latet ibi @@ -6508,10 +6474,10 @@ Expectemus quousque Domus evacuetur, Theatrum dimittatur, recedent, qui congregati sunt, poterimus privatim ad ilium accedere. _In Homil. de hoc Paralyt._ -[257] Dicet aliquis valde dimissum fuisse Locum, a quo per Tegulas +[257] Dicet aliquis valde dimissum fuisse Locum, à quo per Tegulas deposuerunt Paralytici Lectum. _Johan. Nepot. Hieros. in Loc. Luc._ -[258] Judaeorum Tecta plana erant, & non in Coniformam lastigiata. _In +[258] Judæorum Tecta plana erant, & non in Coniformam lastigiata. _In Loc. Luc._ [259] _In Loc. Marci._ @@ -6523,7 +6489,7 @@ Chrysostom. de hoc Paralyt._ Matt._ [262] Paralyticus potest intelligi Anima dissoluta Membris, id est, -bonis operibus. _Inter. Quaest. Evang._ +bonis operibus. _Inter. Quæst. Evang._ [263] Paralysis Typus est Torporis, quo piger jacet in Malitia Carnis, habens desiderium Salutis, & Torporis Ignavia & duplis Cogitationibus, @@ -6536,33 +6502,33 @@ sanatur, quia Anima a peccatis liberatur. _In Homil. in Dominic._ xix. _post Pentecost_. [265] Sed qui sunt isti quatuor, qui hunc Paralyticum portant & Domino -offerunt. Per hos enim nescio, qui melius quam quatuor Evangelistae +offerunt. Per hos enim nescio, qui melius quam quatuor Evangelistæ intelligi possunt. Nulla enim Anima nisi per istos Domino offertur, nulla Anima nisi per istorum fidem sanatur. _Euseb. Gallican. ibid._ Sum -Paraliticus, quia non operantur & immobiles sunt Vires Animae meae ad +Paraliticus, quia non operantur & immobiles sunt Vires Animæ meæ ad bonum, sed si a quatuor Evangelistis gestatus & adductus fuero ad Dominum, tunc audiam, remittuntur Peccata. _Theophylact. in Loc. Marci._ -[266] Tectum Domus qua Christus docet, ascendendum, id est, Sacrae -Scripturae Sublimitas est appetenda. _Bedae in Loc. Lucae._ +[266] Tectum Domus qua Christus docet, ascendendum, id est, Sacræ +Scripturæ Sublimitas est appetenda. _Bedæ in Loc. Lucæ._ -[267] Non utique in Infirmis exterius, qua turbae tumultuantur +[267] Non utique in Infirmis exterius, qua turbæ tumultuantur remanendum, sed Tectum Domus, &c. _Ibid._ -[268] Patefacto Tecto aegerad Jesum summittitur, quia reseratis -Scripturarum Mysteriis, ad Notitiam Christi pervenitur. _Bedae in. Loc. +[268] Patefacto Tecto ægerad Jesum summittitur, quia reseratis +Scripturarum Mysteriis, ad Notitiam Christi pervenitur. _Bedæ in. Loc. Marci._ Est Paralysis interior, ut pervenias ad Christum (forte enim latet Medicus & intus est, hoc est, iste verus Intellectus in Scriptoris occultus est) exponendo quod occultum est aperi Tectum, & depone Paraliticum. _Augustin. In Serm._ XLVI. _Sect._ 13. Impediri -turbis nisi Tecta id est operta Scripturarum aperiat, ut per haec ad -Notitiam Christi perveniat. _Ejusdam in Quaest. 4ta in Evangel. Lucae._ +turbis nisi Tecta id est operta Scripturarum aperiat, ut per hæc ad +Notitiam Christi perveniat. _Ejusdam in Quæst. 4ta in Evangel. Lucæ._ -[269] Et bene Domus Jesu juxta alterius Evangelistae Narrationem tegulis +[269] Et bene Domus Jesu juxta alterius Evangelistæ Narrationem tegulis esse contecta reperitur, quia sub contemptibili Literarum Velamine, si -adsit, qui reseret, divina spiritualis Gratiae Virtus invenietur. +adsit, qui reseret, divina spiritualis Gratiæ Virtus invenietur. Denudatio etenim Tegularum in Domo Jesu, Apertio est, in utilitate -Literae, sensus spiritualis ac arcanorum coelestium. _In Loc. Marci._ +Literæ, sensus spiritualis ac arcanorum coelestium. _In Loc. Marci._ @@ -7005,7 +6971,7 @@ It's somewhat strange, that we hear no more of the after-Fame and Life of any of the diseased Persons, whom _Jesus_ miraculously cured; excepting of the Woman, heal'd of an Issue of Blood; who, tho' she _spent_ ALL _she had, even_ ALL _her Living_ upon _Physicians_; yet -out of the Remains of it erected, says[287] _Eusebius_, at _Caesarea +out of the Remains of it erected, says[287] _Eusebius_, at _Cæsarea Philippi_, two most costly Statues of Brass, to the Memory of _Jesus_ and of herself, and of the Miracle wrought by him; which Dr. _Whitby_[288] as if he was tainted with Infidelity, endeavours to make @@ -7786,7 +7752,7 @@ Cogitation and Consent, pass into actual Sin are figured by the Young Man, carried towards his Grave. But those Sinners, who are habituated and long accustom'd to Sin, are like _Lazarus_ bury'd, and in a stinking Condition under the Corruption of it; whom _Jesus_, for all -that, with the _loud Voice_ of the Praedication of his Gospel, will +that, with the _loud Voice_ of the Prædication of his Gospel, will call forth out of the Death and Grave of their Sins to a new Life. So does St. _Augustin_ make these three dead Persons and their Resurrections, Emblems of the said three Sorts of Sinners, who are @@ -7804,7 +7770,7 @@ which, except they are excluded from the Secrets of the Heart, are a Hindrance of the Resurrection of a Sinner to a new Life. The Bearers of the Young Man[300] to his Burial are Vices, evil -Spirits, Haereticks, and Seducers; and the _Widow_, his Mother, to whom +Spirits, Hæreticks, and Seducers; and the _Widow_, his Mother, to whom he was restored, is the _Church_, who mourns for the Death of such Sinners, as are typified by that Young Man. @@ -7993,48 +7959,48 @@ FOOTNOTES: [272] John xi. [273] Quot autem mortuos visibiliter suscitaverat quis novit? non enim -omnia quae fecit scripta sunt. _Johannes_ hoc dicit, multa alia fecit -Jesus, quae si scripta essent, arbitror totum Mundum non posse Libros +omnia quæ fecit scripta sunt. _Johannes_ hoc dicit, multa alia fecit +Jesus, quæ si scripta essent, arbitror totum Mundum non posse Libros capere. Multi ergo sunt alii sino dubio suscitati, sed non frustra tres commemorati. _In Serm._ xcviii. [274] John xxi. 25. [275] Non autem vacat a Mysterio, quod, cum plures Dominus -suscitaverat, tres tantum Evangelistae eum suscitasse scripserunt. _In -Homil. Feriae quintae post Dominis. 4tam._ +suscitaverat, tres tantum Evangelistæ eum suscitasse scripserunt. _In +Homil. Feriæ quintæ post Dominis. 4tam._ -[276] Suscitaverat Dominus filiam Jairi Principis Synagogae, sed adhuc +[276] Suscitaverat Dominus filiam Jairi Principis Synagogæ, sed adhuc mediante morte, adhuc viante Spiritu, adhuc Anima Claustra Tartari nesciente. Suscitavit & unicum Matris filium, sed sic ut retineret Pheretrum, ut anticiparet Sepulchrum, ut Corruptionem suspenderet, & -praeveniret faetorem; ut ante mortuo Vitam redderet, quam tota mortuus +præveniret fætorem; ut ante mortuo Vitam redderet, quam tota mortuus jura Mortis intraret. Circa Lazarum vero quod geritur totum singulare est, quem circa Vis tota Mortis impleta est. _In Pet. Chrysol. Serm._ lxiii. -[277] Inter omnia Miracula quae fecit Dominus noster Jesu Christus, -Lazari Resurrectio praecipue praedicatur. _St. August. in Loc. Johan._ +[277] Inter omnia Miracula quæ fecit Dominus noster Jesu Christus, +Lazari Resurrectio præcipue prædicatur. _St. August. in Loc. Johan._ -[278] Mirum videri potest Historiam hanc tam illustrem a Matthaeo & +[278] Mirum videri potest Historiam hanc tam illustrem a Matthæo & Marco omissam. _In Loc. Luc._ [279] Sed videtur mihi horum uterq; contentus fuisse uno Exemplo -redditae Vitae in Jairi filia ex quo similia alia possunt intelligi. _In +redditæ Vitæ in Jairi filia ex quo similia alia possunt intelligi. _In Loc. Luc._ [280] Nondum perfecta Mors est in Puella. _St. August._ in Serm. xcviii. [281] In Epist. prima ad Corinth. Cap. xxv. -[282] Quaeri solet, cur hanc tam nobilem Historiam priores Evangelii +[282] Quæri solet, cur hanc tam nobilem Historiam priores Evangelii scriptores non attigerint. Mihi hoc succurrit, cum illi scriberent, -vixisse resuscitatum Lazarum, & periculum ei fuisse a judaeis, si quod +vixisse resuscitatum Lazarum, & periculum ei fuisse a judæis, si quod illi acciderat, palam vulgaretur. Nam etiam mox narratur C. xii. 10, ob hoc ipsum structas ei insidias. Quare visum illis hoc ad tempus subticeri posse, cum alia Exempla resuscitatorum suppeterent. At mortuo Lazaro, cum jam nemini Periculum ex rei Narratione fieri posset, additum -hoc a Johanne in hac quasi praetermissorum Collectione. _In Loc. Johan._ +hoc a Johanne in hac quasi prætermissorum Collectione. _In Loc. Johan._ [283] The last of the three _Evangelists_ writing but fifteen Years after our Lord's Ascension, might think it needless so mention a @@ -8048,7 +8014,7 @@ Memory of it, by this large Rehearsal of it. _In Loc. Johan._ [284] Quin & illud inter traditiones reperimus triginta tum Annos natum fuisse Lazarum, cum a mortuis excitatus est; atq; idem ille -postea triginta aliis annis vixit. _In Haeres._ lxvi. _Sect._ 34. +postea triginta aliis annis vixit. _In Hæres._ lxvi. _Sect._ 34. [285] Matt. xviii. 2. @@ -8056,31 +8022,31 @@ postea triginta aliis annis vixit. _In Haeres._ lxvi. _Sect._ 34. [287] In Eccl. Hist. L. vii. c. 18. -[288] In Loc. Matthaei. +[288] In Loc. Matthæi. [289] Puellam ex illo Tumultu plangentium stupore correptam esse, non vero defunctam. _In Homil. de Juri filia._ -[290] In Loc. Matthae. +[290] In Loc. Matthæ. -[291] Atque ut miraculum divinae Virtutis accresceret, dum Convivis -interrogantibus tristia Loca paenarum, sedesq; alta nocte semper +[291] Atque ut miraculum divinæ Virtutis accresceret, dum Convivis +interrogantibus tristia Loca pænarum, sedesq; alta nocte semper obscuras, Lazarus indicat diligenti narratione per ordinem. Diu -quaesiti longisq; temporibus ignorati invenerunt tandem Inferi +quæsiti longisq; temporibus ignorati invenerunt tandem Inferi Proditotem. _In Serm._ cxvi. _Append. St. August._ -[292] Princeps hic, Lex esse intelligitur, quae Dominum orat pro Plebe, -quam ipsa Christo praedicata ejus Adventos Expectatione nutriverat, ut -Vitam mortuae reddat. Nam nullum Principem credidisse legimus, ex quo +[292] Princeps hic, Lex esse intelligitur, quæ Dominum orat pro Plebe, +quam ipsa Christo prædicata ejus Adventos Expectatione nutriverat, ut +Vitam mortuæ reddat. Nam nullum Principem credidisse legimus, ex quo Persona hujus principis orantis merito in Typum aptabitur. _In Loc. Matt._ [293] John vii. 48, and xii. 42. -[294] Quae tamen tantae diversitatis Causa? Supra publice Viduce filius +[294] Quæ tamen tantæ diversitatis Causa? Supra publice Viduce filius suscitatur, hic removentur plures arbitri. _In Loc. Luc._ -[295] Qua igitur Ratione, qui tanta haec erat facturus, id quod evenit, +[295] Qua igitur Ratione, qui tanta hæc erat facturus, id quod evenit, judicasset merito Lacrymis esse prosequendum? _In Homil. de Gratiarum Actione._ @@ -8088,10 +8054,10 @@ Actione._ Catholicis quibusdam scribit Epiphanius. Vid. _Drusium in Loc. Johan._ [297] Quidam corporalia ejus Miracula stupentes, majora intueri non -norunt. Quidam vero ea, quae gesta audiunt in Corporibus nunc amplius -in Animis admirantur.----Dominus enim noster Jesus Christus ea quae +norunt. Quidam vero ea, quæ gesta audiunt in Corporibus nunc amplius +in Animis admirantur.----Dominus enim noster Jesus Christus ea quæ faciebat corporaliter, etiam spiritaliter volebat intelligi; neque -enim Miracula propter Miracula faciebat, sed ut illa quae faciebat, +enim Miracula propter Miracula faciebat, sed ut illa quæ faciebat, mira essent Videntibus, vera essent Intelligentibus.----Alii & facta mirati & intellecta assecuti. Tales nos esse debemus in Schola Christi.----Hoc dixi (de ficu arefacta) ut persuaderem Dominum Jesum @@ -8101,55 +8067,55 @@ inde etiam disceremus. Videamus ergo quid nos discere voluit in tribus mortuis, quos suscitavit. _In Serm._ xcviii. [298] Ista tria Genera Mortuorum, sunt tria Genera Peccatorum, quos -hodie suscitat Christus.----Sunt ergo instar filiae Synagogae Principis, +hodie suscitat Christus.----Sunt ergo instar filiæ Synagogæ Principis, qui peccatum intus in Corde babent, in facto nondum habent. Condemnatur Consensus ad Iniquitatem; respiratur ad Salutem atq; Justitiam. Surgit mortuus in Domo, reviviscit Cor in Cogitationis Secreto. Facta est ista -Resurrectio Animae mortuae intus intra Latebras Conscientiae, tanquam intra +Resurrectio Animæ mortuæ intus intra Latebras Conscientiæ, tanquam intra Domesticos Parietes.----Alii post Consensum eunt in factum, tanquam efferentes mortuum, ut quod latebat in Secreto, appareat in publico. Nonne illi juveni dictam est, _Tibi dico, surge_ & redditus est Matri; sic qui jam fecerit, si forte admonitus & commotus Verbo Veritatis ad -Christi Vocem resurgit, vivus redditur Ecclesiae.----Qui autem faciendo +Christi Vocem resurgit, vivus redditur Ecclesiæ.----Qui autem faciendo quod malum est, etiam mala Consuetudine se implicant, tales Consuetudine maligna pressi, tanquam sepulti, ita sepulti ut de Lazaro dictum est, jam _putet_. In Serm. xcviii. [299] _Cum ejecta esset Turba, intravit._ Moraliter non resurgit -Anima, quae intrinsecus jacet mortua, nisi prius a secretioribus Cordis -excludatur inopportuna saecularium Cogitationum Multitudo. _In Loc. +Anima, quæ intrinsecus jacet mortua, nisi prius a secretioribus Cordis +excludatur inopportuna sæcularium Cogitationum Multitudo. _In Loc. Matt._ [300] Mali isti Portitores, qui ad sepeliendum hominem ferunt, sunt -Vitia & maligni spiritas, Haeretici & seductores. Hos enim nisi Dominus -sisteret, quoscunq; semel acciperent, sepulturae & aeternae Damnationi +Vitia & maligni spiritas, Hæretici & seductores. Hos enim nisi Dominus +sisteret, quoscunq; semel acciperent, sepulturæ & æternæ Damnationi traderent. Suscitatus igitur Adolescens sedet, loquitur & Matri -redditur, quia ad Penitentiam conversus in Ecclesiae pace quiescit, Dei -Magnalia loquitur, sua peccata confitetur; & Ecclesiae reconciliatur. -_Euseb. Gallic. in Homil. Feriae quinta post Domin. 4tam._ +redditur, quia ad Penitentiam conversus in Ecclesiæ pace quiescit, Dei +Magnalia loquitur, sua peccata confitetur; & Ecclesiæ reconciliatur. +_Euseb. Gallic. in Homil. Feriæ quinta post Domin. 4tam._ [301] _Et lacrymatus est Jesus._ Lacrymemur igitur & nos pro omnibus -illis, quos in Faetore Vitiorum jacere sentimus. _Euseb. Gallic. in -Homil. Feriae 5ta post Domin. 4tam._ +illis, quos in Fætore Vitiorum jacere sentimus. _Euseb. Gallic. in +Homil. Feriæ 5ta post Domin. 4tam._ [302] Lapis autem revolutus a Monumento significat Infidelitatis Duritiam ab Hominum Corde submotam. _Theop. Antioch. in Loc. Johan._ [303] Quod enim tunc temporis factum est in una Puella, hoc in sine -Temporum futurum est, ut fiat in tota Sonagoga. _In Homil. Feriae 5ta +Temporum futurum est, ut fiat in tota Sonagoga. _In Homil. Feriæ 5ta post Domin. 4tam._ -[304] Synagoga circa finem saeculi erit restituta saluti. _In Loc. Matt._ +[304] Synagoga circa finem sæculi erit restituta saluti. _In Loc. Matt._ [305] Jairus illuminatus vel illuminans, Moses intelligitur. _Bed._ in _Loc. Mat._ [306] Ad hanc ergo Principis filiam dum properat Dei Verbum, ut salvos -faceret filios Israel, sancta Ecclesia de Gentibus congregata, quae -inferiorum Lapsu Criminium deperibat, paratam aliis fide praeripuit +faceret filios Isræl, sancta Ecclesia de Gentibus congregata, quæ +inferiorum Lapsu Criminium deperibat, paratam aliis fide præripuit Sanitatem. _St. Ambros. in Loc. Luc._ Quod vero post restitutam -immundae Mulieri Valetudinem, defuncta Puella a mortuis restituitur; ne -hoc quidem ab exquisita Allegoria alienum. Nam Reliquiae salvae fiant, +immundæ Mulieri Valetudinem, defuncta Puella a mortuis restituitur; ne +hoc quidem ab exquisita Allegoria alienum. Nam Reliquiæ salvæ fiant, juxta Apostolum, cum ingressa fuerit Gentium Plenitudo. _Theop. Ceram. in Homil. de Jairi filia._ @@ -8158,7 +8124,7 @@ in Homil. de Jairi filia._ [308] Per Lazarum Genus humanum ostenditur. _Theop. Antioch. in Loc. Johan._ Nostra Resurrectio figuratur per Lazari Resurrectionem.----Spelunca sive Sepulchrum Lazari Litteram Legis -umbratilem designat.----_Magna Voce clamavit Jesus_, id est, Praedicatio +umbratilem designat.----_Magna Voce clamavit Jesus_, id est, Prædicatio Evangelii per quam humana Natura Peccatorum Vinculis & in Sepulchro Infidelitatis jacens vocatur ad Vitam. _Theop Ceram. in Homil. de Lazaro._ @@ -8176,7 +8142,7 @@ I. The old Apology reviv'd, _&c._ II. Dissertatio de Pontii Pilati Epistola ad Tiberium circa Res Jesu Christi gestas. -III. Origenis Adamantii Epistolae duae circa Fidem vere orthodoxam & +III. Origenis Adamantii Epistolæ duæ circa Fidem vere orthodoxam & scripturarum Interpretationem. IV. The exact Fitness of the Time of Christ's Advent. demonstrated by @@ -8483,7 +8449,7 @@ xxviii. to have made the Speech following. project a feign'd Resurrection of _Jesus_ (in Accomplishment of his Prediction) by stealing his Body away, and pretending he is risen from the dead. Should such a Sham-Miracle be contrived amongst them, - and cunningly executed, it would be [Greek: plane] (_not an Error + and cunningly executed, it would be [Greek: planê] (_not an Error but_) an Imposture of worse Consequence to our Nation and Religion, than the former in _Lazarus_ could have been, if it had never been detected: We crave therefore the Favour of your _Excellency_, to @@ -9664,16 +9630,16 @@ Loc. Matt._ [313] _Upon the Place in_ Matthew. [314] Si Jesus volebat re vera declarare suam divinam Potentiam, -debuerat suis Insultatoribus, ipsique Praesidi qui capitalem sententiam -contra se tulerat, denique caeteris omnibus se ostendere. _In Orig. +debuerat suis Insultatoribus, ipsique Præsidi qui capitalem sententiam +contra se tulerat, denique cæteris omnibus se ostendere. _In Orig. Lib._ ii. _contra Celsum_. -[315] In _Limborchii_ Amica Collatione cum Judaeo. +[315] In _Limborchii_ Amica Collatione cum Judæo. -[316] Magna sane Res & miranda occurrit hoc loco, quae non solum +[316] Magna sane Res & miranda occurrit hoc loco, quæ non solum aliquem ex vulgo Credentium exercere posset, sed perfectiores etiam; -cur non Dominus post Resurrectionem aeque ac superioribus temporibus -conspiciendum se praebuerit. _In Lib._ ii. _cont._ Celsum. +cur non Dominus post Resurrectionem æque ac superioribus temporibus +conspiciendum se præbuerit. _In Lib._ ii. _cont._ Celsum. [317] Quamvis Celsus has Jesu post Resurrectionem Apparitiones conferre conetur cum vulgaribus Spectris & Visionibus. _In Origen. @@ -9694,27 +9660,27 @@ Discipulus Domini nuncupatur. Hic munda sindone corpus involvit; & quidem in hoc eodem linteo reperimus de coelo ad Petrum universorum Animantium genera summissa. Ex quo forte non superflue intelligitur sub lintei hujus nomine consepeliri Christo Ecclesiam: quia tum in eo, -ut in Confusione Ecclesiae mundorum atque immundorum Animalium fuerit +ut in Confusione Ecclesiæ mundorum atque immundorum Animalium fuerit congesta diversitas. Domini igitur Corpus tanquam per Apostolorum doctrinam in vacuam & novam requiem Lapidis excisi, _viz._ in pectus -duritiae Gentilis quodam doctrinae opere excisum Christus infertur, rude +duritiæ Gentilis quodam doctrinæ opere excisum Christus infertur, rude scilicet & novum, & nullo antea ingressu timoris Dei pervium. Et quia -nihil praeter cum oporteat in pectora nostra penetrare, Lapis Ostio -advolvitur: ut quia nullus antea in nos divinae Cognitionis Auctor +nihil præter cum oporteat in pectora nostra penetrare, Lapis Ostio +advolvitur: ut quia nullus antea in nos divinæ Cognitionis Auctor fuerat illatus, nullus absque eo postea inferatur. Metus deinde -furandi Corporis, & Sepulchri Custodia atque Obsignatio, Stultitiae +furandi Corporis, & Sepulchri Custodia atque Obsignatio, Stultitiæ atque Infidelitatis Testimonium est; quod signare Sepulchrum ejus -voluerint, cujus praecepto conspexissent de Sepulchro mortuum +voluerint, cujus præcepto conspexissent de Sepulchro mortuum suscitatum. _In Loc. Matt._ -[321] Ad hoc enim Dominus hodie resurrexit, ut Imaginem nobis futurae +[321] Ad hoc enim Dominus hodie resurrexit, ut Imaginem nobis futuræ Resurrectionis ostenderet. _In Serm._ clxviii. _Append._ -[322] Quid singula significent, quaerere sanctae quidem Deliciae sunt. +[322] Quid singula significent, quærere sanctæ quidem Deliciæ sunt. _In Johan. Evang. C._ xx. _Tract._ 120. [323] Monumentum Christi est divina Scriptura, in qua Divinitatis & -Humanitatis ejus mysteria densitate Litterae veluti quadam muniuntur +Humanitatis ejus mysteria densitate Litteræ veluti quadam muniuntur Petra. _In Diversos Homil._ 2. [324] Ne putes, tunc solummodo traditus est Christus Principibus @@ -9723,20 +9689,20 @@ Evangelii & Apostolorum traditas esse in Manus falsorum Sacerdotum & Scribarum; num intelliges quia Verbum Veritatis traditum est Principibus iniquis & Scribis? _In Mat. C._ xx. -[325] Interpretario autem Nominis Barabbae est Patris Filius: Jam -itaque Arcanum Infidelitatis futurae ostenditur, Christo Patris Filium -praeferendo, Antichristum scilicet hominem Peccari & Diaboli filium, +[325] Interpretario autem Nominis Barabbæ est Patris Filius: Jam +itaque Arcanum Infidelitatis futuræ ostenditur, Christo Patris Filium +præferendo, Antichristum scilicet hominem Peccari & Diaboli filium, potiusque adhortantibus principibus suis eligunt, Damnationi reservatum, quam Salutis Authorem. _In Loc. Matt._ -[326] Velum Templi scissum est, & omnia Legis Sacramenta, quae prius +[326] Velum Templi scissum est, & omnia Legis Sacramenta, quæ prius tegebantur, prodita sunt atque ad Gentium Populum transierunt. _In Loc. Matt._ -[327] Petrae scissae, id est, universa Vaticinia Prophetarum. _In Epist. +[327] Petræ scissæ, id est, universa Vaticinia Prophetarum. _In Epist. ad Hedibriam._ -[328] Sed mihi videtur Terrae Motus & reliqua typum ferre credentium, +[328] Sed mihi videtur Terræ Motus & reliqua typum ferre credentium, quod pristinis Errorum vitiis derelictis, & Cordis emollita duritia, postea agnoverint Creatorem. _In Loc. Matt._ @@ -9746,10 +9712,10 @@ est. _In Libro 4to de Trinitate, Sect. 10._ [330] De tribus diebus, multi sancti multa hinc senserint atque dixerint----Sed nos neutram eorum vacantes sententiam; melius tamen, si placet in his spiritualem requiramus Intellectum, tres Dies tria -Tempora Saeculi ponentes. _In Serm. de Symbolo._ +Tempora Sæculi ponentes. _In Serm. de Symbolo._ [331] Cum disputamus adversus eos, & cum conquirimus advicem, tunc -quaerimus locum Dogmatis illius in litera Legis Historiae, & ostenditur +quærimus locum Dogmatis illius in litera Legis Historiæ, & ostenditur secundum Historiam stare non posse. _In Psal._ xxxvi. [332] _Pastoral Letter_, P. 25. @@ -9762,10 +9728,10 @@ Novo Homil._ viii. [334] Vera Christi Miracula & Sanatio Infirmorum est spiritualis. _In Matt. C._ xxv. -[335] Haec licet in praesens gesta sunt, quid tamen in futurum +[335] Hæc licet in præsens gesta sunt, quid tamen in futurum significent contuendum est. _In Matt. C._ x. _S._ 1. Christi Gesta aliud portendunt. _C._ xii. _S._ 1. Peragunt formam futuri gesta -praesentia. _C._ xxi. +præsentia. _C._ xxi. [336] _Pastoral Letter_, P. 3. @@ -9784,7 +9750,7 @@ I. The Old Apology reviv'd, _&c._ II. Dissertatio de Pontii Pilati Epistola ad Tiberium circa Res Jesu Christi gestas. -III. Origenis Adamantii Epistolae duae circa Fidem vere orthodoxam & +III. Origenis Adamantii Epistolæ duæ circa Fidem vere orthodoxam & Scripturarum Interpretationem. IV. The exact Fitness of the Time of Christ's Advent demonstrated by @@ -11059,7 +11025,7 @@ against that Ecclesiastical Wealth and Power, which the _Bishop_ is possess'd of, and does think not disagreeable to the Mind of Christ and his poor Apostles. If any _Bishop_ is the concealed Author of this Treatise, he must secretly be of the Opinion of the atheistical Pope, -who said, _quantum nobis profuit haec de Christo Fabula_, what vast +who said, _quantum nobis profuit hæc de Christo Fabula_, what vast Advantage has the Story of Christ been to us Popes and Bishops." I readily gave into the Opinion of my _Rabbi_, and wonder'd, _Bishop Sherlock_ did not so much as by a publick Advertisement clear himself @@ -11289,12 +11255,12 @@ incurrunt. _In Matt. Tract._ 26. [346] _Discourse_ the Fifth, _p._ 69. [347] Inveniatur enim in Christianismo non minor (nequid dicam -arrogantius) fide Ratio & Enarratio Propheticorum aenigmatum, -parabolarumque evangelicarum, aliarumque innumerarum figurarum, quae +arrogantius) fide Ratio & Enarratio Propheticorum ænigmatum, +parabolarumque evangelicarum, aliarumque innumerarum figurarum, quæ vel in _Gestis_ continentur vel Legibus. _Cont. Celsum. Lib._ I. [348] Quidam corporalia ejus Miracula stupentes, majora intueri non -norunt. Quidam vero ea, quae gesta audiunt in Corporibus, nunc amplius +norunt. Quidam vero ea, quæ gesta audiunt in Corporibus, nunc amplius in animis admirantur,----Tales nos esse debemus in Schola Christi. _In Serm._ xcviii. @@ -11310,7 +11276,7 @@ Serm._ xcviii. [354] Est adhuc alia Pugna his omnibus violentior; quod ii, quod Legem secundum Carnem intelligunt, adversantur his, qui secundum spiritum -sentiunt, & persequuntur eos. _In Genesiae Hom._ vii. +sentiunt, & persequuntur eos. _In Genesiæ Hom._ vii. [355] In Fifth _Discourse_, p. 67. @@ -11336,7 +11302,7 @@ sentiunt, & persequuntur eos. _In Genesiae Hom._ vii. PART II. - _Nec Religionis est cogere Religionem, quae sponte + _Nec Religionis est cogere Religionem, quæ sponte suscipi debeat, non Vi._ Tertull. _LONDON_: @@ -11903,7 +11869,7 @@ because they lived nearer to the Days of _Christ_ and his Apostles, whose Mind and Will consequently they must needs know better, than we at this Distance: And because (what the _Bishop_ elsewhere grants) those primitive Ages, as well as the Apostolical one, were in some measure -inspired, upon the credible Testimonies of _Origen_, _Irenaeus_, and +inspired, upon the credible Testimonies of _Origen_, _Irenæus_, and _Eusebius_, whose Words I shall not stay here to produce. Hence then, in the Authority of the Fathers, I should think, there is @@ -12008,7 +11974,7 @@ have said _better_, Authority for them, than _that_ of the Fathers and Apostles, _viz._ the Authority of the more ancient _Jews_. The Bishop of _St. David_'s[379] says, "The Christian Fathers (and why did he not say the _Apostles_ too?) derived this allegorical Practice from -the Jewish Interpreters." He owns[380] "that _Philo Judaeus_ was a +the Jewish Interpreters." He owns[380] "that _Philo Judæus_ was a great mystical Writer as his Works which are extant testify"; and[381] confesses that "there is Reason to believe, that this mystical Way of expounding Scripture was of greater Antiquity than _Philo_ himself, @@ -12066,7 +12032,7 @@ the Doctrines of our Religion, and to confute the _Gentiles_ out of their own Books. For it was asserted by the Fathers, and confess'd by the _Gentile_ Philosophers, that the Mythology of the _Greeks_, the hieroglyphical Learning of the _Egyptians_ and the Oneirocritism of the -_Chaldaeans_, was all borrowed from the _Hebrews_, and had their Rise +_Chaldæans_, was all borrowed from the _Hebrews_, and had their Rise from the mystical and allegorical Interpretation of the Scriptures, as shall be made manifest, if the _Bishop_ and I go on in this Controversy: And _therefore_ the Fathers studied the Writings of the _Greeks_, and @@ -12102,7 +12068,7 @@ Memory a little, he might have consider'd, what he says in another Place,[388] that the Anagogical was the accustomed Way of the whole Nation of the _Jews_ from _Moses_'s Time; and he might have known what St. _Hilary_, whom I cited before, says, that _Moses_ taught the -Children of _Israel_ the anagogical and allegorical Way; and whatever +Children of _Isræl_ the anagogical and allegorical Way; and whatever he may think, _Origen_ says,[389] that _Moses_ by the Acuteness of his Understanding, penetrated into the mystical and anagogical Meaning of his own Law. And tho' this _Bishop_ says above, that he is not @@ -12453,13 +12419,13 @@ the Eyes of his Understanding he may discern, and show to his Episcopal Brethren, _Christ_ spiritually sitting and coming on the Clouds of the _Letter_ to the same Purposes that the old Jews, Fathers and Apostles say he is to come, _viz._ To open and illustrate the Parables and -AEnigma's of the Scriptures, to restore Prophecy, to shew us God Face to +Ænigma's of the Scriptures, to restore Prophecy, to shew us God Face to Face; and to raise All from a spiritual Death to Life again. And blessed are all those, who love and desire such his Appearance. In my _Third Discourse_ on _Miracles_, I happen'd to speak of _Christ_'s second and spiritual Advent on the Clouds of the Law and -Prophets; and to say "that the common Notion of his Coming on aerial +Prophets; and to say "that the common Notion of his Coming on ærial Clouds for the Resurrection of dead Bodies, _&c._ is the most senseless and unphilosophical, that ever was taught to Mankind;" which gave Offence to my _Bishop_, who animadverted upon me for it; but if @@ -12811,14 +12777,14 @@ no Persecution._ 4. _A Defence of the Scripture-History, &c._ [365] _In his Dedication to the Queen._ -[366] Siquidem Symbola quaedam erant, quae tunc gerebantur, eorum quae +[366] Siquidem Symbola quædam erant, quæ tunc gerebantur, eorum quæ Jesu virtute semper perficiuntur. _In Matt._ C. xv. -[367] Peragunt Formam futuri Gesta praesentia. _In Matt._ C. xxi. +[367] Peragunt Formam futuri Gesta præsentia. _In Matt._ C. xxi. -[368] Quae a Jesu facta alicujus significantia erant. _In Serm._ lxxvii. +[368] Quæ a Jesu facta alicujus significantia erant. _In Serm._ lxxvii. -[369] Ipse Salvator noster apertissime ostendit, quod ejus miracula +[369] Ipse Salvator noster apertissimè ostendit, quòd ejus miracula aliquid significent, dum ea faciendo aliquid agit, quod ratione carere videatur. _In Hom. quarta post Dominic. quartam._ @@ -12830,16 +12796,16 @@ videatur. _In Hom. quarta post Dominic. quartam._ faciebat in Corpore. _In Isai._ C. vi. [373] Adventus Christi unus quidem in Humilitate completus est, alius -vero speratur in Gloria: Et hic primus Adventus in Carne, mystico +verò speratur in Gloria: Et hic primus Adventus in Carne, mystico quodam Sermone, in Scripturis sanctis umbra ejus appellatur. _In Jesu Nave_, C. viii. [374] Pertingit ad usque secundum & diviniorem Christi Adventum Johannis Testimonium. _Origen. in Lucam. Tom._ V. -[375] Appropinquat enim Regnum Coelorum, ut Scribae qui in simplici +[375] Appropinquat enim Regnum Coelorum, ut Scribæ qui in simplici Littera acquiescunt, resipiscentes ab ejusmodi Intellectu, erudiantur -spirituali Doctrina, quae est per Jesum Christum, vivum Verbum, quae +spirituali Doctrina, quæ est per Jesum Christum, vivum Verbum, quæ vocatur Regnum Coelorum. _In Matt._ C. xiii. [376] _P._ 123, 124. @@ -12855,13 +12821,13 @@ vocatur Regnum Coelorum. _In Matt._ C. xiii. [381] Ibid. [382] Nam idem Moses quamvis Veteris Testamenti verba in literis -condidisset, tamen separatim quaedam ex occultis Legis secretiora +condidisset, tamen separatim quædam ex occultis Legis secretiora mysteria septuaginta senioribus, qui Doctores deinceps manerent, intimaverat. _In Psal._ ii. Sect. 2. [383] _P._ 96. -[384] _Origenes_ decem scripsit Stromateas, omnia nostrae religionis +[384] _Origenes_ decem scripsit Stromateas, omnia nostræ religionis dogmata de _Platone_, _Aristotele_, _Numenio_, _Cornutoque_ confirmans. _In Epist. ad Magnum._ @@ -12876,29 +12842,29 @@ confirmans. _In Epist. ad Magnum._ [389] Perspicuum est Mosem mentis acie Legis Veritatem Historiarumque apud Scripturam Allegorias juxta Anagogen vidisse. _In Johan. Tom._ VI. -[390] Asseverant Judaei, deum Mosi primum Legem scriptam tradidisse, +[390] Asseverant Judæi, deum Mosi primùm Legem scriptam tradidisse, arque hanc postea in longo illo Dierum 40 spatio, quo in monte apud se -agebat Moses, exposuisse, ita ut singulorum praeceptorum genuinum +agebat Moses, exposuisse, ita ut singulorum præceptorum genuinum Sensum, Causas, & Fines tum Rationem quoque eadem adimplendi illi accurate declararet. _Apud Wagens. Tel. ignea._ p. 580. [391] See _Basnage_'s History of the _Jews_, p. 189. -[392] Doctioribus inter Judaeos notissimum est, quod Moses qui primus +[392] Doctioribus inter Judæos notissimum est, quod Moses qui primus fuit Salvator Israelis, etiam in omni Vita & Operibus suis fuerit Typus & Figura ultimi Redemptoris. _Christiani Meyer_ de Gen. Christi, _p._ 145. -[393] Judaei veteres expectabant similem AEgyptiacae Liberationem, ut +[393] Judæi veteres expectabant similem Ægyptiacæ Liberationem, ut scilicet Pharoah & omnis ejus Exercitus qui per 430 Annos Populum Dei captivum tenuit, in mari rubro submersus est; sic etiam Romani qui -eodem Annorum numero Judaeos possessuri, ultione Domini deleantur. _In +eodem Annorum numero Judæos possessuri, ultione Domini deleantur. _In Joelis_ C. iii. [394] 1 Cor. _C._ x, 1, 2, 6. -[395] Eloquar Propositiones sive AEnigmata ab Initio, id est, ex quo -Populi Congregatio adducta est ex AEgypto. _In Ps._ lxxvii. _Sect._ 4. +[395] Eloquar Propositiones sive Ænigmata ab Initio, id est, ex quo +Populi Congregatio adducta est ex Ægypto. _In Ps._ lxxvii. _Sect._ 4. [396] See _Basnage_'s History of the _Jews_, p. 189. @@ -12935,7 +12901,7 @@ I. The old Apology reviv'd, _&c._ II. Dissertatio de Pontii Pilati Epistola ad Tiberium circa Res Jesu Christi gestas. -III. Origenis Adamantii Epistolae duae circa Fidem vere orthodoxam & +III. Origenis Adamantii Epistolæ duæ circa Fidem vere orthodoxam & Scripturarum Interpretationem. IV. The exact Fitness of the Time of Christ's Advent, demonstrated by @@ -13007,359 +12973,4 @@ in the original text. End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of Six Discourses on the Miracles of our Saviour, by Thomas Woolston -*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK SIX DISCOURSES ON THE MIRACLES *** - -***** This file should be named 41203.txt or 41203.zip ***** -This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: - http://www.gutenberg.org/4/1/2/0/41203/ - -Produced by Douglas L. 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Hart was the originator of the Project Gutenberg-tm -concept of a library of electronic works that could be freely shared -with anyone. For forty years, he produced and distributed Project -Gutenberg-tm eBooks with only a loose network of volunteer support. - -Project Gutenberg-tm eBooks are often created from several printed -editions, all of which are confirmed as Public Domain in the U.S. -unless a copyright notice is included. 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You may copy it, give it away or -re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included -with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org - - -Title: Six Discourses on the Miracles of our Saviour - and Defences of his Discourses - -Author: Thomas Woolston - -Release Date: October 27, 2012 [EBook #41203] - -Language: English - -Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1 - -*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK SIX DISCOURSES ON THE MIRACLES *** - - - - -Produced by Douglas L. Alley, III, David Ross and the -Online Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net - - - - - - - - - - Thomas Woolston - - - SIX DISCOURSES - ON THE MIRACLES - OF OUR SAVIOUR - - _and_ - - DEFENCES - OF HIS DISCOURSES - 1727-1730 - - - Garland Publishing, Inc., New York & London - - [Illustration] - - 1979 - - - - - A - DISCOURSE - ON THE - MIRACLES - OF OUR - _SAVIOUR_, - - In VIEW of the Present - Controversy between INFIDELS - and APOSTATES. - - --_Nostrum est tantus componere Lites._ - - The Fifth Edition. - - By THO. WOOLSTON, B. D. sometime - Fellow of _Sidney-College_ in _Cambridge_. - - _LONDON_: - - Printed for the Author, and Sold by him - next door to the _Star_, in _Aldermanbury_, - and by the Booksellers of _London_, and - _Westminster_, 1728. - - [Price One Shilling.] - - - - -[Illustration] - - TO THE - - Right Reverend Father in God - - ~_EDMUND_~, - - Lord BISHOP of _London_. - - -MY LORD, - -Upon no other View do I make a Dedication of this Discourse to your -_Lordship_, then to submit it to your acute Judgment, expecting soon -to hear of your Approbation or Dislike of it. If it so happen, that -you highly approve of it, I beg of you to be sparing of your -Commendations, least I should be puff'd up with them. - -In my _Moderator_, some Expressions dropt from my Pen about the -Miracles of our Saviour, which, for want of Illustration then, gave -your _Lordship_ some Offence, and brought upon me more Trouble: But, -having now fully and clearly explain'd my self out of the Fathers, I -hope you'll be reconciled to me; and as you are a Lover of Truth, -will, against Interest and Prejudice, yield to the Force of it. - -Whether your Prosecution of me, for the _Moderator_, was just and -reasonable, I'll not dispute here, having already expostulated that -Matter with you in several Letters, to which you would not condescend -to give me any Answer. For what Reason you was silent, is best known -to your self. But, in my own Vindication, I hope, I may publish -without Offence, that your taking me for an _Infidel_, was such a -Mistake as I thought no _Scholar_ could have made; and the Injury -done to my Reputation and low Fortunes, by the Prosecution, so -considerable, that the least I expected from your _Lordship_, was a -courteous Excuse, if not an ample Compensation, for it. - -As to the Expediency of prosecuting _Infidels_ for their Writings (in -whose Cause I am the farthest of any Man from being engaged) I will here -say nothing. The Argument, _pro_ and _con_, has already, by one or -other, been copiously handled. And I don't know but I might be, with -your _Lordship_, on the persecuting side of the Question; but that it -looks as if a Man was distrustful of the Truth of Christianity, and -conscious of his own Inability to defend it; or he would leave that -_good Cause_ to God himself and the Sword of the Spirit, without -calling upon the _Civil Magistrate_ for his Aid and Assistance. - -That scurvy _Writer_ of the _Scheme of literal Prophecy_, &c. which -your _Lordship_ must have heard of, would insinuate, that they are -only atheistical Priests, who, for fear of their Interests in the -Church, set Persecutions on foot: But after your _Lordship_ has -publish'd a strenuous Defence of Christianity to the Purpose of our -present Controversy, I'll have no such Suspicions of you. - -Your _Lordship_'s persecuting (or, if you will, prosecuting) Humour, -is reputedly all pure Zeal for God's Glory; and, with all my Heart, -let it be so accounted, whether it be according to Knowledge or not. -Against Popery and Infidelity you are all Ardency! Who does not -commend you? Who can question the Sincerity of the Zeal of a -Protestant _Bishop_, and of a Protestant _Clergy_, when they persecute -the Enemies of their Church, that considers their own Steadiness to -Principles against Interest, under all Changes, since the Reformation; -and their Abhorrence of Extortion upon the People, for the Duties of -their Function, in and about this City. Such Honesty and Constancy in -their Profession, is a Proof of the Integrity of their Hearts, or I -know not where to find one. - -But that your _Lordship_'s Zeal for Religion is very remarkable and -successful, I could prove by many Instances; one is, _that_ of your -routing a turbulent Sect of _Peripateticks_ out of St. _Paul_'s -Cathedral; and if you could as effectually clear _Christ_'s Church of -_Infidels_, what a glorious Bishop would you be! - -And what Pity is it, that _Infidels_ likewise are not to be quell'd -with your Threats and Terrors! which (without the Weapons of sharp -Reasonings, and thumping Arguments, that others are for the Use of) -would transmit your Fame to Posterity, for a notable Champion for -Christianity, as certainly as, that your judicious Prosecution of the -_Moderator_ for Infidelity is here remember'd by, - -[Sidenote: London, _April_ 17, 1727.] - - _My_ ~LORD~, - _The Admirer of - Your Zeal - Wisdom and - Conduct, - Thomas Woolston_. - - - - -[Illustration] - - A - DISCOURSE - ON THE - MIRACLES - OF OUR - _SAVIOUR_, &c. - - -If ever there was an useful Controversy started, or revived in this -Age of the Church, it is _this_ about the _Messiahship_ of the holy -Jesus, which the _Discourse of the Grounds_, &c. has of late rais'd. I -believe this Controversy will end in the absolute Demonstration of -Jesus's _Messiahship_ from Prophecy, which is the only way to prove -him to be the _Messiah_, that great Prophet expected by the _Jews_, -and promised under the Old Testament. And tho' this way of Proof from -Prophecy seems to labour under many Difficulties at present; and tho' -some _Writers_ against the _Grounds_, being distressed with those -Difficulties, are for seeking Refuge in the Miracles of our Saviour; -yet we must persist in it, till what I have no doubt of, his -_Messiahship_ shall be clearly made out by it. - -And the way in Prophesy that I would take for the Proof of _Jesus_'s -_Messiahship_, should be by an allegorical Interpretation, and -Application of the Law and the Prophets to him; the very same way, -that all the Fathers of the Church have gone in; and the very same -way, in which all the ancient _Jews_ say their _Messiah_ was to fulfil -the Law and the Prophets: But this way does not please our -ecclesiastical _Writers_ in this Controversy, neither will they at -present give any Ear to it. - -The Way in Prophecy that they are for taking, is by a literal -Interpretation and Application of some Prophecies of the Old Testament -to our _Jesus_, but they are hitherto unsuccessful in this Way. The -Authors of the _Grounds_ and of the _Scheme_, grievously perplex them -with their Objections against this way of Proof, so far as, being -sensible, I say, of almost insuperable Difficulties in it, they are -flying apace to the Miracles of our Saviour, as to their sole and -grand Refuge. - -But to show that there's no Sanctuary for them in the Miracles of our -Saviour, I write this Discourse: And this I do, not for the Service of -Infidelity, which has no Place in my Heart, but for the Honour of the -Holy _Jesus_, and to reduce the _Clergy_ to the good old way of -interpreting Prophecies, which the Church has unhappily apostatis'd -from, and which, upon the Testimony of the Fathers, will, one Day, be -the Conversion of _Jews_ and _Gentiles_. - -For this Opinion, that there is no Sanctuary in the Miracles of our -Saviour, I chanc'd to say in the _Moderator_,[1] _That Jesus's -Miracles, as they are now-a-days understood, make nothing for his -Authority and Messiahship_. And again,[2] _That I believe, upon good -Authority, some of the Miracles of Jesus, as recorded by the -Evangelists, were never wrought, but are only related as prophetical -and parabolical Narratives of what will be mysteriously and more -wonderfully done by him_: Which Expressions gave Offence to some of -our _Clergy_, and brought upon me their Indignation and Displeasure. -I see no Reason to depart from the said Expressions, or so much as to -palliate and soften them, much less to retract them; but in -Maintenance of my Opinion, to the Honour of our _Messiah_, and the -Defence of Christianity, I write this Treatise on Jesus's Miracles, -and take this Method following. - -I. I will show, that the Miracles of healing all manner of bodily -Diseases, which _Jesus_ was justly famed for, are none of the proper -Miracles of the _Messiah_, neither are they so much as a good Proof of -his Divine Authority to found a Religion. - -II. That the literal History of many of the Miracles of Jesus, as -recorded by the Evangelists, does imply Absurdities, Improbabilities, -and Incredibilities, consequently they, either in whole or in part, -were never wrought, as they are commonly believed now-a-days, but are -only related as prophetical and parabolical Narratives of what would -be mysteriously and more wonderfully done by him. - -III. I shall consider what Jesus means, when he appeals to his -Miracles as to a Testimony and Witness of his Divine Authority, and -show, that he could not properly and ultimately refer to those he -then wrought in the _Flesh_, but to those mystical ones, which he -would do in the _Spirit_; of which those wrought in the Flesh are but -mere Types and Shadows. - -In treating on these Heads, I shall not confine my self only to -Reason, but also to the express Authority of the Fathers, those holy, -venerable, and learned Preachers of the Gospel in the first Ages of -the Church, who took our Religion from the Hands of the Apostles, and -of apostolical Men, who dy'd, some of them, and suffer'd for the -Doctrine they taught; who professedly and confessedly were endu'd with -divine and extraordinary Gifts of the Spirit; who consequently can't -be supposed to be Corrupters of Christianity, or Teachers of false -Notions about the Miracles of our Saviour, or so much as mistaken -about the apostolical and evangelical Sense and Nature of them. I know -not how it comes to pass, but I am a profound Admirer, and an almost -implicit Believer of the Authority of the Fathers, whom I look upon as -vast Philosophers, very great Scholars, and most orthodox Divines. -Whatever they concurrently assert, I firmly believe. And tho' they -are, for the most part, mysterious Writers out of the Reach of the -Capacities of many, who slight them; yet I, who have had the Honour -and Happiness of much of their Acquaintance, fancy my self well -apprised of their Meanings. If at any time I read a Passage in them -which I don't presently apprehend, I salute it with Veneration for all -that, till my Understanding is opened to receive the Sense of it. If I -meet with but a single Opinion in any one of them, I pay my Respects -to it; but where there is an Harmony and Agreement of Opinion amongst -them, it is with me, and ought to be with all Christians, of such -Weight, as to bear down all Prejudice, Opposition, and Contradiction -before it; or the Authority of no Man, whether ancient or modern, is -to have any Regard paid to it; and of what ill Consequence to Religion -such an utter Rejection of Authority will be, I need not say. - -This I thought fit to premise, concerning the Authority of the -Fathers, to abate of the Prejudice beforehand, which some may conceive -against the following Discourse about the Miracles of _Jesus_. I don't -question, but some may be startled at the foregoing Heads, as if, what -is the farthest of any thing from my Heart, the Service of Infidelity -was in View; but craving the Temper and Patience of such Readers for -a while, and they shall find, that its no other than just Reasoning, -clear Truth, and primitive Doctrine about _Jesus_'s Miracles, that I -advance: Or if it should so happen, that none besides my self should -discern the Reasoning and Truth of the Argument; yet I hope it will -not be thought a Crime to revive primitive Doctrine, which none will -be able to deny it to be, whether they like it or not. If I err, I err -upon Choice with the Fathers, of whose Faith I am. And if any are -offended at what follows about the Miracles of _Christ_, let them turn -their Displeasure and Indignation against the Fathers, for whose -express or implicit Opinions I can be deserving of no Blame. - -I am sorry for the Occasion of such a Preface against Offence, which -the Apostacy of the Age, and its Unacquaintedness with the Fathers, -has made necessary. So I enter upon the particular handling of the -Heads foregoing. And, - -I. I will show that the Miracles of healing all manner of bodily -Diseases, which _Jesus_ was justly famed for, are none of the proper -Miracles of the Messiah, nor are they so much as a good Proof of -_Jesus_'s divine Authority to found and introduce a Religion into the -World. - -And to do this, let us consider, first, in general, what was the Opinion -of the Fathers about the Writings of the _Evangelists_ in which the Life -of _Christ_ is recorded. _Eucherius_ says,[3] _That the Scriptures of -the New as well as Old Testament, are to be interpreted in an -allegorical Sense_. And this his Opinion, is no other than the common -one of the first Ages of the Church, as might be proved by many the like -Expressions of other Fathers. As in such Expressions, they do not except -the Writings of the _Evangelists_; so they must include the History of -_Christ_'s Miracles, which as well as other Parts of the History of his -Life, is to be allegoriz'd for the sake of its true Meaning; -consequently the literal Story of Christ's Miracles proves nothing. - -But let's hear particularly their Opinion of the Actions and Miracles -of our Saviour. _Origen_ says, that[4] _Whatsoever Jesus did in the -Flesh, was but typical and symbolical of what he would do in the -Spirit_; and to our Purpose,[5] that _the several bodily Diseases -which he healed, were no other than Figures of the spiritual -Infirmities of the Soul, that are to be cured by him_. St. _Hilary_ is -of the same Mind with _Origen_, as any one may see by the[6] -Expressions referr'd to, and his Commentary on St. _Matthew_. St. -_Augustin_,[7] and St. _John_[8] of _Jerusalem_, both say, that the -Works of _Jesus_ import farther Mysteries; and with them, the rest of -the Fathers agree, making the Miracles that _Jesus_ did then, no more -than the Shadow of some more powerful and mystical Operations to be -done by him, as I could show by more Citations out of them, if it was -needful. But from the foregoing Citations out of the Fathers it is -plain, in their Opinion, that our modern _Divines_ are in the wrong of -it, to lay much Stress on any of the Operations of _Jesus_, which he -did in the Flesh, for the Proof of his divine Authority and -_Messiahship_, which is only to be proved by his more mysterious -Works, of which those done in the Flesh are but Type and Figure. - -But to come closer to the Purpose, let's see how indifferently, I had -almost said contemptibly, the Fathers speak of the Miracles of -_Jesus_, and particularly of his Power of healing all bodily Diseases, -which by modern _Writers_ is so much magnified and extoll'd. St. -_Irenæus_ says,[9] that if _we consider only the then temporal Use of -Jesus's Power of Healing, he did nothing grand and wonderful_; -consequently _Irenæus_ could not hold, that _Jesus_'s Miracles then -wrought, were a sufficient Proof of his divine Authority, much less of -his _Messiahship_. _Origen_ says[10] that _tho' many were brought to -believe in Jesus upon the Fame of the Miracles which he did once among -the_ Jews, _yet_ (what implies the Insufficiency of them for the -Conversion of Men) _he intimates that his greater and mystical Works -do prove his Authority_. St. _John_ of _Jerusalem_ says[11] that -_Jesus's Cures performed upon the Blind_, &c. _were indeed -considerable and great, but unless he do daily as mighty Works in his -Church, we ought to forbear our Admiration of him._ St. _Augustin_ not -only says[12] that _if we examine into Jesus's Miracles by human -Reason, we shall find he did nothing great, considering his Almighty -Power, and considering his Goodness, what he did was but little_; but -he tells us also, that[13] _such Works as Jesus did, might be imputed -to, and effected by Magic Art_. And accordingly _Moses_ and our -Saviour himself confess, that false Prophets, and false Christ's, will -do Miracles; and _Anti-Christ_ himself, according to St. _Paul_, will -do them to the Deception of Mankind. Nay, the Fathers[14] say, what I -believe, that _Anti-Christ_ will imitate and equal _Jesus_ in all his -Miracles which he wrought of old. How then can we distinguish the true -Prophet from the false; the true _Christ_ from the _Anti-Christ_ by -Miracles? our _Divines_ will find it hard to do it, if what the -Fathers say of _Anti-christ_ be found true. Moreover History affords -us Instances of Men, such as of _Apollonius Tyanæus_, _Vespasian_, and -of the _Irish Stroaker_, _Greatrex_, who have miraculously cured -Diseases to the Admiration of Mankind, as well as our _Jesus_: But if -any of them, or any other greater Worker of Miracles than they were, -should withall assume to himself the Title of a Prophet, and Author of -a new Religion, I humbly conceive, we ought not to give heed to him. - -Neither is there the least Reason that we should; for the Power of -doing Miracles is no certain, nor rational Seal of the Commission and -Authority of a divine Lawgiver. St. _Paul_ says[15] there is a -_Diversity of the Gifts of the Spirit, for to one is given by the -Spirit, the Word of Wisdom; to another the Word of Knowledge; to -another the Gift of Healing; to another the working of Miracles; to -another Prophecy; to another discerning of Spirits; to another divers -Kinds of Tongues; to another the Interpretation of Tongues._ These -Gifts may be given apart and separately. One of them may be conferr'd -on this Man, and another of them on his Neighbour. There is no -Necessity that any two or more of these Gifts should meet in one Man. -To argue then, that a Man, who has one of these Gifts, must have the -other; that is, that he must needs have the Gift of Wisdom, or of -Prophecy, or of discerning of Spirits, or of divers Kinds of Tongues, -because he has the Gift of Healing and of working Miracles, is very -inconclusive, and false Reasoning: And yet this is the Reasoning of -our modern Writers who would prove _Jesus_'s Authority, to found a -Religion, from his Miracles. I don't question but _Jesus_ had all the -foresaid Gifts and Powers of the Spirit in a most superlative Degree; -but then it is unreasonably inferr'd, for all that, that a Man, -because he of Certainty has some of them, must of consequence have the -other. St. _Augustin_[16] cautions us against being deceived into a -good Opinion of a Man's Wisdom, because of his Power to do Miracles. -And I think accordingly, that we may as well say, that the strongest -Man is the wisest; or that a good Physician must needs be a good -Casuist; or that the best Mathematician is the ablest Statesman, as -that _Jesus_, because he was a Worker of Miracles, such as his are, -and a Healer of all manner of Diseases, ought to be received as the -Guide of our Consciencies, the Director of our Understandings, the -Ruler of our Hearts, and the Author of a Religion. - -What then will the Writers against the _Grounds_ do to prove _Jesus_'s -Authority and _Messiahship_ from his Miracles? Or how by his Miracles -will they be able to distinguish him from an Impostor, a false -Prophet, and the _Anti-christ_? Why, they will say perhaps, - -1. That besides Greatness of Power, there was nothing but Goodness, -Kindness, and Love to Mankind shewn in _Jesus_'s Miracles. As to the -Miracles of false Prophets and Impostors, if they be, many of them, of -a kind and benevolent Aspect, yet the _Devil_'s Foot, if we look well -to it, will discover it self in some ludicrous and mischievous Pranks: -But _Jesus_'s Miracles were all of a beneficent Nature; He went about -doing good, healing all manner of Diseases among the People, and did -no Wrong to any one; which is a good Argument, they say, of his divine -Authority, or God would not have suffer'd, nor the _Devil_ have work'd -such a Testimony in behalf of it. On this Head our _Divines_ are -copious and rhetorical, and many notable and florid Harangues have -they made on it. But - -In answer to them, they don't seem to have their Memories at Hand, when -they declaim at this rate. The Fathers, upon whose Authority I write, -will tell such Orators, that _Jesus_, if his Miracles are to be -understood in the literal Sense, did not only as foolish Things as any -Impostor could do, but very injurious ones to Mankind. I shall not here -instance in the seemingly foolish and injurious Things which _Jesus_ did -for Miracles, intending under the next Head to speak to some of them: -But they are such, if literally true, as our _Divines_ do believe, as -are enough to turn our Stomachs against such a Prophet; and enough to -make us take him for a _Conjuror_, a _Sorcerer_, and a _Wizard_, rather -than the _Messiah_ and Prophet of the most High God. But - -2. To prove the _Messiahship_ of the Holy _Jesus_ from his Miracles, -our _Divines_ urge the Prophecies of the Old Testament, such as that -of _Isaiah_, _C._ xxxv. _V._ 5, 6. _Then the Eyes of the Blind shall -be opened, and the Ears of the Deaf shall be unstopp'd; then shall the -lame Man leap as the Hart, and the Tongue of the Dumb sing_; and say -that these Prophecies were accurately fulfill'd by our _Jesus_ in the -several specifical Cures of Blindness, Deafness, Lameness, and -Dumbness, which he often perform'd upon one or other; and, inasmuch as -our Saviour seems to appeal to such Prophecies, do conclude this his -Accomplishment of them, to be no less than a Demonstration, that he -was the true _Messiah_, that great Prophet, who was to come into the -World. To which I answer, - -_First_, That the Accomplishment of Prophecies that can neither be -given forth by human Foresight, nor fulfill'd in a Counterfeit, are -good Proofs of _Jesus_'s _Messiahship_: But then, what shall we say if -others besides _Jesus_ should do the like Cures and Miracles? It is -said of _Anti-christ_, and I believe it, that he will not only do all -the Miracles that _Jesus_ did, but will appeal to the like Prophecies -too. How then we are to distinguish the _true_ Christ from the _false_ -Christ by Miracles and Prophecies in this Case, is the Question, which -I leave with our _Divines_ to consider of an Answer to, against the -Time that it is proved that _Anti-christ_ does all those Miracles, -which _Jesus_ in the Flesh wrought. But - -_Secondly_, The foresaid Prophecies and others mentioned in _Isaiah_, -neither were, nor could be Prophecies of the miraculous Cures of -bodily Diseases which _Jesus then_ did. And this may be made appear, -not only from the Context of those Prophecies which received then no -Accomplishment from _Jesus_, who ought to have fulfill'd one Part of -the Prophecy as well as the other, or is not to be taken for the -Fulfiller of either; but from the Opinion of both _Jews_ and -_Fathers_, who adjourn the Accomplishment of those Prophecies to -Christ's spiritual Advent. But - -_Thirdly_, The Prophet _Isaiah_, in the Place above cited, speaks not -of bodily Blindness, _&c._ which the _Messiah_ is to heal, but of the -spiritual Distempers of the Soul, metaphorically so called; as may be -easily proved, not only from the Prophecies themselves, but from the -old _Jews_, who were allegorical Interpreters of those Distempers, and -from the antient Fathers,[17] who so understood them. Consequently our -_Jesus_'s healing of those bodily Diseases, was no proper -Accomplishment of those Prophecies. It is true our Saviour, _Matt._ -xi. 4, 5. seems to appeal to those Prophecies, and to make his Cure -of corporal Distempers an Accomplishment of them: But he means not in -the literal Sense, that our _Divines_ take him in, as I shall show -hereafter, when I come to consider what _Jesus_ means, by appealing to -his Works and Miracles, as bearing Witness of him. - -Our _Divines_ then may admire and adore _Jesus_ as much as they please -for his Miracles of healing bodily Distempers; but I am for the -spiritual _Messiah_ that cures those Distempers of the Soul, that -metaphorically pass under the Names of Blindness, Lameness, Deafness, -_&c._ And the Cure of these spiritual Diseases, is the proper and -miraculous Work of the true _Messiah_; for the sake of which, says[18] -St. _Augustin_, _Jesus_ condescended to do those _little_ Miracles of -healing bodily Distempers, which were but the Type and Shadow of his -more stupendous Miracles of curing spiritual Diseases. The Cure of -spiritual Infirmities is a God-like[19] Work, above the Imitation of -Man or of _Anti-christ_, infinitely more miraculous than the healing -any bodily Distempers can be. - -Whether our _Jesus_ be at this Day such a spiritual _Messiah_, I leave -to our _Divines_ to consider, with those spiritual Distempers of the -Church, that seem to want his miraculous Hand and Touch. The Fathers -of the Church said, that _Jesus_ was _in part_ such a spiritual -_Messiah_ in their time, and argued[20] his _Messiahship_, not from -bodily Cures, but from his most miraculous Cures of the Diseases of -the Soul: But there was another and future Time, in which he would be -such a spiritual and glorious _Messiah_ to the greatest Perfection. In -the mean while, no healing of corporal Distempers can prove _Jesus_ to -be the _Messiah_, nor any other of his miraculous Works recorded in -the _Evangelists_: So far from it, that - -II. I shall prove that the literal Story of many of _Jesus_'s Miracles, -as they are recorded in the _Evangelists_, and commonly believed by -Christians, does imply Improbabilities and Incredibilities, and the -grossest Absurdities, very dishonourable to the Name of Christ; -consequently, they, in whole, or in part, were never wrought, but are -only related as prophetical and parabolical Narratives of what would be -mysteriously and more wonderfully done by him. - -The reading of this Head will, I doubt not, strike with Horror some of -our squeamish _Divines_, who, notwithstanding they will sacrifice almost -any Principles to their Interest, will not bear that our literal -evangelical History of such renown'd Miracles should be thus called in -Question, and contemptuously spoken of. What does this _Author_ mean, -will some say, thus to do Service to Atheism and Infidelity? Away with -him! Our Indignation is moved against him! No Censure and Punishment can -be too severe for such Impiety, Profaneness, and Blasphemy, as is aim'd -at, and imply'd in this Proposition. - -To calm therefore the Spirits, and abate the Prejudices of such -Accusers, I must proceed with the greater Caution and with Reason and -Authority well fortify myself before and behind, or I shall feel the -Weight of the Displeasure of our _Divines_, who are prepossess'd of -the Belief of the literal Story of all _Jesus_'s Miracles. - -Before then I enter upon the particular Examination of any of his -Miracles, I will premise two or three general Assertions of the -Fathers about them. And first _Origen_[21] says, that in the -historical Part of the Scriptures, _There are some Things inserted as -History, which were never transacted, and which it was impossible -should be transacted; and other Things, again, that might possibly be -done, but were not_. This he asserts of the Writings of the -_Evangelists_, as well as of the Old Testament, and gives many -Instances to this Purpose. St. _Hilary_[22] says, _There are many -historical Passages of the New Testament, that if they are taken -literally, are contrary to Sense and Reason, and therefore there is a -Necessity of a mystical Interpretation_. And St. _Augustin_[23] says, -that _there are hidden Mysteries in the Works and Miracles of our -Saviour, which if we incautiously and literally interpret, we shall -run into Errors, and make grievous Blunders._ Of the same Mind are the -rest of the Fathers, as might be proved by express or implicit -Citations; but, studying Brevity, I think the three Testimonies above, -enough to cool the Rage, and assuage the Prejudices of my Adversaries -against the Proposition before us, which I now come to a particular -Consideration of; that is, to shew that the Story of many of _Jesus_'s -Miracles is literally absurd, improbable, and incredible. And - -1. To speak to that Miracle of _Jesus_'s _driving the Buyers and Sellers -out of the Temple_, which all the[24] four Evangelists make mention of. - -I have read in some modern Author whose Name does not occur to my -Memory, that this was, in his Opinion, the most stupendous Miracle that -_Jesus_ wrought. And, in truth, it was a most astonishing one, if -literally true, and _Jesus_ must appear more than a Man, he must put on -an awful and most majestick Countenance to effect it. It is hard to -conceive, how any one in the Form of a Man, and of a despised one too, -(and we don't read that _Jesus_ chang'd his human Shape) with a Whip in -his Hand, could execute such a Work upon a great Multitude of People, -who were none of his Disciples, nor had any regard for him. Supposing he -could, by his divine Power, infuse a _panick_ Fear into the People; yet -what was the Reason that he was so _eaten up_ with Zeal against the -Profanation of that House, which he himself came to destroy, and which -he permitted, I may say commanded, to be filthily polluted not long -after. But not to form by my self an Invective against the Letter of -this Story, let's hear what the Fathers say to it, - - * * * * * - -_Origen_ makes the whole but a[25] Parable. His allegorical Expositions -of it, are frequent, and one time or other he gives us the mystical -Meaning of every Part of it. By the _Temple_, he understands the Church: -By the _Sellers_ in the Temple, he means such _Preachers_ who make -Merchandize of the Gospel, whom the Spirit of Christ, some time or -other, would rid his Church of. He is so far from believing any thing of -the Letter of this Story, that he has form'd a[26] large Argument -against it: The Substance of which is, that if _Jesus_ had attempted any -such thing, the People would have resisted, and executed their Revenge -on him; if he had effected it, the Merchants of the Temple might have -reproach'd him with Damage done to their Wares; and would have justly -accused him of a Riot against Law and Authority. Whether there is not -Reason in this Argument of _Origen_, let any one judge. - -St. _Hilary_ is of the same Mind with _Origen_. He says that this -Story is only a[27] Præfiguration of what will be done in Christ's -Church upon another Occasion. And he admonishes[28] us to search into -the profound and mystical Import of every Part of it; particularly he -hints that[29] by _the Seats of those who sell Doves_, may be -understood the Pulpits of Preachers who make Sale of the Gifts of the -Spirit, which is represented by a Dove. As to the Letter of the Story, -he is plain enough, that there was no such[30] Market kept in the -Temple of _Jerusalem_: And if any Historians besides the _Evangelists_ -had asserted it, I know of none, who would have been so foolish as to -believe that Oxen and Sheep and Goats were there sold. - -St. _Ambrose_ too is for the Mystery, and against the Letter of this -Story, saying[31] what should be the Reason that _Jesus_ should -overturn the Seats of those that sold Doves? This must be, says he, a -figurative Story, and signifies nothing less than the future Ejection -of Priests out of his Church, who shall make Gain and Merchandize of -the Gospel. - -St. _Jerome_, as his manner is in other Cases, gives us a literal -Exposition of this Miracle, as far as it will bear it: But then corrects -himself again, saying, there are[32]Absurdities in the Letter; but, -according to its mystical Meaning, _Jesus_ will enter his Temple of the -Church, and cast out of it Bishops, Priests, and Deacons, who make a -Trade of Preaching. And in another Place he tells us of the mystical[33] -Whip, that _Jesus_ will make use of to this Purpose. - -St. _Augustin_ also is against the Letter of the Story of this -Miracle, saying,[34] Where could be the great Sin of selling and -buying Things in the Temple, that were for the Use of it, and offer'd -as Sacrifice in it? We must therefore, says he, look for the Mystery -in this[35] figurative Story, and enquire what is meant by the Oxen, -and Sheep, and Doves, and who are the Sellers of them in Christ's -Church; and he is very positive that Ecclesiasticks, who are selfish, -and make worldly Gain of the Gospel, are here meant. And as to the -Expression of _turning the Temple into a Den of Thieves_, he says it -has Respect to the[36]_Clergy_ in Time to come, who would make such a -Den of Christ's Church. - -Lastly, with the foregoing Fathers agrees St. _Theophylact_, who is an -Allegorist too upon this Miracle, saying, that those[37] who sell -Doves, are the Priests who sell spiritual Gifts; and that Christ -sometime or other would overturn their Seats, and clear his Church of -them. In another Place he intimates what are meant by Oxen and Sheep, -_viz._ the literal Sense of the Scriptures. And if the literal Sense -be irrational and nonsensical, the Metaphor we must allow to be -proper, inasmuch as now-a-days, dull and foolish and absurd stuff we -call Bulls, Fatlings, and Blunders. - -Behold a wonderful Harmony among the Fathers in their Rejection of the -literal, and Espousal of the mystical Sense of this Miracle. It is -said of the Church in her first Ages, that she was inspired; and so -she was, or before an Hire for the Priesthood was established, and -pleaded for, she could never have written in this Fashion. If the -Fathers had lived now, and written thus, we should have thought the -Spirit of _Quakerism_ was gotten amongst them, or they would never -have given such an Exposition of this Story to favour an Enmity to an -_Hireling Priesthood_. - -How and when Christ's Power, according to the Figure and Parable -before us, will enter his Church, and drive out of her these -ecclesiastical Merchants, is not the Question. But when ever it does -so effectually, it will be a stupendous Miracle, much greater than the -typical one is supposed to be; and not only a Proof of Christ's divine -Power and Presence in his Church, but an absolute Demonstration of -his _Messiahship_ from his Accomplishment both of the foresaid -Prophecies of the Fathers, and of other remarkable ones of the _Old -Testament_, which will be then clearly understood, and which it is not -my Business here to apply or mention. - - * * * * * - -Against the aforesaid Exposition of this Miracle, perhaps it may be -objected, that (excepting a little Reasoning against the Letter of it) -this is only the chimerical and whimsical Dream of the Fathers, whose -Notions are obsolete, and who[38] _have adulterated Christianity with -their Cant and Jargon_; and that none of our _Protestant_ and Orthodox -_Divines_ have ever given into their Opinion. - - * * * * * - -I confess, that none of our Protestant _Divines_, whom I know do -embrace the foresaid Exposition of the Fathers, but it may be nothing -the worse for all that: And tho' their Exposition may be very -disagreeable to the Priesthood of this Age, yet I can tell them of the -greatest Man of these last Ages, and that was _Erasmus_, who, -cautiously expressing himself for fear of giving Offence to the -_Clergy_, is of the same Mind with the Fathers; or he would not say -that[39] _that Work of_ Jesus _did prefigure somewhat else: For_ Jesus -_could not be zealous against the Prophanation of that Temple of the_ -Jews, _which was soon to be destroy'd, but meant to shew his Dislike -and Hatred of ecclesiastical Covetousness, which, after the Way of the -Type, he would take his Opportunity to rid the Church of._ - -Before I dismiss this Miracle, I must observe, that if the Fathers are -right above, then our _Latin_ and _English_ Translations of the Place -in St. _Matthew_ err in a main Point. Instead of reading, _and Jesus -cast out them that sold and bought_, it should be, _those who sold and -preach'd_; that is sold what they preach'd: For the Word [Greek: -agorazein], does more properly signify to _preach_ than to _buy_; and -in this Sense here, according to the Fathers, it should be construed. - -Again, I must observe, that our Commentators are a little perplex'd to -know who, and what those [Greek: kollybistôn], _Money-Changers_, -were. The Greek[40] Word does import those who have a Knack to barter -away little base and Brass Money, with the Effigies of an Ox or Bull -on it, in exchange for good Coin. How applicable the Word was to any -Merchants of the old Temple at _Jerusalem_, is hard to conceive. But -it is very agreeable to our ecclesiastical _Collybists_, who, as I may -appeal to Freethinkers, vend their brasen-faced Bulls and Blunders at -an extravagant and great Price. And if [Greek: trapezas], which is -translated _Tables_, does properly signify[41] _Pulpits_, who can help -it? - -So much then on the Miracle of _Jesus_'s driving the _Sellers_ and -_Buyers_ out of the Temple. And how I appeal to our _Divines_, whether -it be not an absurd, improbable, and incredible Story according to the -Letter, and whether it be any other than, as the Fathers said of it, a -prophetical and parabolical Narrative of what would be mysteriously -and more wonderfully done by _Jesus_. And so I come to speak to a - -2. Second Miracle of Jesus, and that is, that of his[42] _casting the -Devils out of the Madman or Madmen, and permitting them to enter into -the Herd of Swine, which thereupon ran down a Precipice, and were all -choaked in the Sea_. - -To exorcise, or cast Devils out of the Possess'd, without considering -the Nature of such a Possession, or the Nature and Power of the Devil, -we'll allow to be not only a kind and beneficent Act, but a great -Miracle. But then, be the Miracle as great as can be imagined, it is no -more than what false Teachers,[43]_Workers of Iniquity_, and even some -Artists amongst the _Jews_, have done before; consequently, such a work -of _Exorcism_ in our Saviour, could be no Proof of his divine Authority. -And if there was no more to be said against this Miracle, this is enough -to set it aside, and to spoil the Argument of _Jesus_'s divine Power -from it. But there are many Circumstances in the Story literally -consider'd, that would induce us to call the Truth of the whole into -question. How came those Madmen to have their Dwelling amongst the Tombs -of a Burying-Ground? Where was the Humanity of the People, that did not -take Care of them, in Pity to them, as well as for the Safety of -others? Or if no Chains, as the Text says, which is hardly credible, -could hold them, it was possible surely, as well as lawful, to dispatch -them, rather than their Neighbours and Passengers should be in Danger -from them. Believe then this Part of the Story who can? But what's -worse, its not credible there was any Herd of _Swine_ in that Country. -If any Historians but the _Evangelists_ had said so, none would have -believed it. The _Jews_ are forbidden to eat Swine's Flesh; what then -should they do with Swine (which are good for nothing till they are -dead) who eat neither _Pig_, _Pork_, nor _Bacon_? Some may say that they -were kept there for the Use of Strangers: but this could not be; because -that after the Time of _Antiochus_, who polluted the Temple with the -Sacrifice of an Hog, the _Jews_[44] forbad, under the Pain of an -_Anathema_, the keeping of any _Swine_ in their Country. Perhaps it may -be said, that the _Gadarens_, so call'd from the Place of their Abode, -were not _Jews_, but neighbouring _Gentiles_, with whom it was lawful to -eat, and keep _Swine_. We will suppose so, tho' it is improbable; but -then its unlikely (without better Reason than at present we are -apprised of) that our Saviour would permit the Devils to enter into a -Herd of them to their Destruction. Where was the Goodness and Justice of -his so doing? Let our _Divines_ account for it if they can. It is -commonly said of our Saviour, and I believe it, that his Life was -entirely innocent, that his Miracles were all useful and beneficial to -Mankind, and that he did no Wrong to any one. But how can this be -rightly said of him, if this Story be literally true? The Proprietors of -the Swine were great Losers and Sufferers; and we don't read that -_Jesus_ made them amends, or that they deserv'd such Usage from him. The -Proprietors of the Swine, it seems upon this Damage done them by -_Jesus_, desire him to depart out of their Coasts, to prevent farther -Mischief; which was gentler Resentment, then we can imagine any others -would have made of the like Injury. I know not what our _Divines_ think -of this Part of the Story, nor wherefore _Jesus_ escaped so well; but if -any _Exorcist_ in this our Age and Nation, had pretended to expel the -Devil out of one possess'd, and permitted him to enter into a Flock of -Sheep, the People would have said that he had bewitch'd both; and our -Laws and Judges too of the last Age, would have made him to swing for -it. - -Without Offence, I hope, I have argued against the Letter of this -strange Story of the holy _Jesus_; I should not have dared to have said -so much against it, but upon the Encouragement of _Origen_ and other -Fathers, who say, we ought to expose the Absurdities of the Letter, as -much as may be, to turn Men's Heads to the mystical and true Meaning. - -Let's hear then what the Fathers say to this Miracle. _Origen_'s -Commentaries on this Part of St. _Matthew_, and St. _Luke_'s Gospel, -are lost; otherwise unquestionably he would not only have told us, -that he believed no more of the Letter of this Story, than he did of -the Devil's[45]taking our Saviour to the Top of a Mountain, and -shewing him all the Kingdoms of the World; but, as he is an admirable -_Mystist_, would have given us curious Light into the Allegory and -Mystery of it. But without _Origen_, we have enough in the other -Fathers against the Letter of this Story. - -St. _Hilary_ reckoning up all the Parts of this Miracle together, says -of it, that it is[46] typical and parabolical, and written for our -Meditation of what would be done hereafter by the holy _Jesus_. -According to him, and other Fathers, the _Madman_ is Mankind; or if -they were two, they were _Jew_ and _Gentile_ at Christ's coming, who -may be said to[47] be _possess'd with Devils_, in as much as they were -under the Rule of diabolical Sins, and subject to the Worship of -[Greek: Daimoniôn], false Deities, which we translate _Devils_. They -were _so fierce_[48] _as no Chains could hold them_, because of their -most furious Rage and Enmity to the Church, whom no Bonds of Reason -could restrain from doing Violence to the Christians. They are said -_to be_[49] _naked_, because they were destitute of the Clothing of -the Spirit, and of Grace. And may be said to be _among the_[50] -_Tombs_; because they were dead in Traspasses and Sins. After that -_Jesus_ had exorcis'd these diabolical Spirits out of the _Gentiles_, -and brought them to their right Senses, which was upon their -Conversion to the Faith; then a _good Way off_, some Ages after, did -the like _Devils_, by divine Permission, enter into a[51] _Herd of -Swine_, i. e. into _Hereticks_ of impure Lives and furious Natures. -What sort of _Hereticks_ are meant, or whether they are not to be -understood of Christians In general, let our _Divines_ consider. But -one would be apt to think that _Ministers of the Letter_ are included, -because the _Letter_ of the Scripture is mystically call'd[52] -_Swines_ Food. I am not obliged to pursue the mystical Interpretation -of this Parable (for so I will call it) thro' all its Parts, nor to -say what is meant by the Sea, that the _Swine_ are to be absorp't in; -but leave our _Divines_ to chew upon this mystical Construction given -them in part, and to consider, whether there's not a Necessity for -such an Interpretation to make the Story credible. - -And thus have I given you the Opinion and Exposition of the Fathers -upon this Miracle, which they turn all into Mystery. If our _Divines_ -are still far adhering to the Letter of this Story, let them account -for the Difficulties it is involv'd with. To cure Men violently -distracted, and possess'd with _Devils_, is, whether it be miraculous -or not, a good and great Work; but to send the _Devils_, who without -_Jesus_'s Permission could not go into the _Herd of Swine_, was an -Injury done to the Proprietors, and unbecoming of the Goodness of the -holy _Jesus_. Neither is there any other Way to solve the Difficulty, -than by looking upon the whole, with the Fathers, as Type and Figure. - -If this miraculous Story had been recorded of _Mahomet_, and not of -_Jesus_, our _Divines_, I dare say, would have work'd it up to a -Confutation of _Mahometanism_. _Mahomet_ should have been, with them, -nothing less than a _Wizard_, an _Enchanter_, a _Dealer_ with familiar -Spirits, a sworn _Slave_ to the Devil; and his _Mussulmen_ would have -been hard put to it to write a good Defence of him. - -When our Saviour was brought before _Pilate_ to be arraign'd, try'd, -and condemned, _Pilate_ put this Question to the _Jews_, saying, _What -Evil hath Jesus done?_ If both, or either of the Stories above, had -been literally true of _Jesus_, there had been no need of false -Witnesses against him. The Merchants of the Temple were at hand, who -could have sworn "that he was the Author of an Uproar and Riot, the -like was never seen on their Market-Day; that they were great -Sufferers, and Losers in their Trades; and, whether he or his Party -had stolen any of their Goods or not, yet some were embezzled, and -others damaged; and all thro' the outragious Violence of this unruly -Fellow, against Law and Authority." If such Evidence as this was not -enough to convict him of a capital Crime, then the _Swine-Herds_ of -the _Gadarenes_ might have deposed, "how they believed him to be a -_Wizard_, and had lost two thousand Swine through his Fascinations: -That he bid the Devils to go into our Cattle, is not to be deny'd. And -if he cured one or two of our Countrymen of a violent Possession, yet -in as much as he did us this Injury in our Swine, we justly suspect -him of diabolical Practices upon both." - -Upon such Evidence as this, _Pilate_ asks the Opinion of the _Jews_, -saying, _What think you?_ If they all had condemn'd him to be guilty -of Death, it is no wonder, since there is not a _Jury_ in _England_ -would have acquitted any one arraign'd and accused in the like Case. - -It is well for our literal _Doctors_, that such Accusations were not -brought against _Jesus_; or their Heads would have been sadly puzzled -to vindicate his Innocence, and to prove the Injustice and -Undeservedness of his Death and Sufferings. But for this Reason, if no -other, that no such Crimes were laid to his Charge, I believe little -or nothing of either of the seemingly miraculous Stories before us, -but look upon them both as prophetical and parabolical Narratives of -what would mysteriously and more wonderfully, and consistently with -the Wisdom and Goodness of _Jesus_, be done by him. And so I pass to a - -3. Third Miracle of _Jesus_, and that is _his Transfiguration_[53] _on -the Mount_. And this is the darkest and blindest Story of the whole -Gospel, which a Man can make neither Head nor Foot of; and I question -whether the Conceptions of any two thinking _Doctors_ do agree about -it. To say there is nothing in the Letter of this Story, we Believers -must not, because St. _Peter_[54] says he was an Eye-witness of -_Jesus_'s Majesty, saw his Glory on the Mount, and heard the Voice out -of the Cloud. But as Infidels will be prying into the Conduct of -_Jesus_'s Life, and forming their Exceptions to the Credibility or -Probability of this or that part of it, so we Christians should be -ready at an Answer, that might reasonably satisfy them; and not -forcibly bear down their Opposition, which will make no sincere -Converts of them. And I believe they would easily distress us with -Difficulties and Objections to the Letter of this Story. - -St. _Augustin_ himself[55] owns, that the whole of it might be -perform'd by Magic Art; and we know, in these our Days, that some -Jugglers are strange Artists at the Imitation of a Voice, and to make -it as if it came from a far off, when it is uttered close by us, and -can cast themselves too into different Forms and Shapes, without a -Miracle, to the Surprise and Admiration of Spectators. - -But what, I trow, do our _Divines_ mean by _Jesus_'s -_Transfiguration_. We read that his Countenance did shine like the -Sun, and his Raiment was made as white as Snow, and that's all. And is -this enough can we think, to demonstrate that Transaction, a -miraculous _Transfiguration_? Philosophers will tell us, that the -Reflections of the Light of the Sun will change the Appearance of -Colours, and to none more than Whiteness; and _Sceptics_ will say, -that its no Wonder if the Countenance of _Jesus_ look'd _Rubicund_, -when the Sun might shine on it. - -The Word in the Original for _transfigured_, is [Greek: metamorphôthê], -that is, he was metamorphosed, transform'd, or, if you will, -transfigured. And what is to be understood by a _Metamorphosis_, we are -to learn not only from the natural Import of the Word, but from the -ancient Use of it. Accordingly, it signifies nothing less than the -Change or Transformation of a Person into the Forms, Shapes, and -Essences of Creatures and Things of a quite different Species, Size, and -Figure: But _Jesus_, it is conceived, was not so _transfigured_. Our -_Divines_, I suppose, would not have him thought such a _Posture-Master_ -for the whole World. If I, or anyone else, should assert, that _Jesus_ -upon the Mount transform'd himself into a Calf, a Lyon, a Bear, a Ram, a -Goat, an Hydra, a Stone, a Tree, and into many other Things of the -animate and inanimate World, I dare say there would, among our orthodox -_Divines_, be such Exclamations against me for Blasphemy, as the like -were never heard of. They, to be sure, will not hear of such a -Transfiguration; nor, like good plain believers, will bear any thing -more than that _Jesus_'s _Countenance did shine_ like the Sun, and the -Colour of his Vestments was changed; which whether it comes up to the -Import of a _Metamorphosis_ or not, they don't care. - -But to close with our _Divines_, and acknowledge that the glorious -Change of _Jesus_'s Countenance, and of the Colour of his Vestments, -was a true and proper Transfiguration, and that it was as real and -wonderful a Miracle as could be wrought: But then we may, I hope, ask -them, what was the particular Reason and Use of this Miracle? Was it a -Miracle only for the sake of a Miracle? That's an Absurdity in the -Opinion of[56] St. _Augustin_, who says, what is reasonable to think, -that all and every one of _Jesus_'s Miracles had its particular End -and Use; or he who is the Wisdom as well as Power of God, had never -wrought them. And what, I pray, was the life of this Miracle? Of that -the evangelical History is silent, and our _Divines_, with all their -reasoning Faculties, can say nothing to it. - -And what did _Moses_ and _Elias_ on the Mount with _Jesus_? Was it in -their own proper Persons that they appear'd? or were they only some -Spectres and Apparitions in resemblance of them? It is said, that they -were talking with _Jesus_; what then did they talk about? The three -greatest Prophets and Philosophers of the Universe could not possibly -meet and confer together, but on the most sublime, useful, and -edifying Subject. Its strange that the Apostles, who over-heard their -Confabulation, did not make a Report of it, and transmit it to -Posterity for our Edification and Instruction. St. _Luke_, as our -_English_ Translation has it, seems to say that they talk'd together -of _Jesus_'s _Decease which he should accomplish at Jerusalem_; but -this can't be the Meaning of St. _Luke_'s[57] Words, which so -interpreted, are no less than a _Barbarism_, and, I appeal to our -Greek _Criticks_, an Improper Expression of such Signification. We -must then look for a more proper Construction of the Phrase in St. -_Luke_, or we must remain in the Dark, as to the Subject, that _Moses_ -and _Elias_ talked with _Jesus_ about. - -But further, Why could not this Miracle have been wrought in the -Valley as well as upon a Mountain, whither _Jesus_ and his three -Apostles ascended for the Work of it? Naughty _Infidels_ will say, it -was for the Advantage of a Cloud, which often moves and rests on the -Tops of Mountains, to display his Pranks in. And why was it not done -in the Presence of the Multitude, as well as of his three Apostles? -The more Witnesses of a Miracle, the better it is attested, and the -more reasonably credited; and there could not surely be too many -Witnesses of this, any more than of others of _Jesus_'s Miracles, if -real ones. Ought not the unbelieving Multitude, for many Unbelievers -unquestionably were amongst them, to have had a Sight and Hearing of -this Miracle, as well as the Apostles? Who should rather see the -Miracle, than those who wanted Conviction? Were they to take the -Report of the Miracle upon the Word of the Apostles, who were Parties -in the Cause? Our _Divines_ may possibly say they ought: But -_Infidels_ and _Free-Thinkers_ would cry out against them, for -juggling Tricks, and pious Impostures. - -These are all Difficulties and hard Questions about the Miracle of -Christ's Transfiguration, which our _Clergy_, who are Admirers of the -Letter of that Story, are obliged to account for; and I believe it -will be long enough before they give a proper and satisfactory Answer -to many of them. - -Let's hear then what the Fathers say to this miraculous Story of -_Jesus_'s Transfiguration. And it is agreed amongst them, that the -whole is but a Type,[58] Prefiguration, and[59] ænigmatical -Resemblance of a future and more glorious and real Transfiguration. -And whenever they speak of any Part of the Story, they never explain -to us how the Matter went upon Mount _Tabor_, but tell us of what -_this_ or _that_ Part of it is figurative and emblematical; and how it -is to be understood, and will be fulfill'd in future Time. As thus, by -_the_[60] _six Days_, they understood six Ages of the World, after -which a real and mysterious Transfiguration will be exhibited to our -intellectual Views. By _Moses_ and _Elias_[61] talking with _Jesus_, -they mean the Law and the Prophets, upon an allegorical -Interpretation, bearing Testimony unto Christ as the Fulfiller of -them. By the[62] _Mountain_ on which this future Transfiguration will -be exhibited, they understand the sublime and anagogical Sense of the -Law and the Prophets. By his _Transfiguration_ it self, they mean his -taking upon him, and passing through the Forms of all the Types of him -under the Law, as of a Lamb, a Lion, a Serpent, a Calf, a Rock, a -Stone, and of many others, which he is to fulfil, and which will then -be clearly discern'd by us. By the black Cloud[63] that at present -obstructs this Vision, they understand the Letter of the Old -Testament. By the white[64] Vestments of _Jesus_, they mean the Words -of the Scriptures, which will then shine clear and bright. By the -Voice out of the Cloud, they mean, with St. _Peter_, the Word of -Prophecy, that will sound in the Ears of our Apprehensions. And -lastly, they tell us, that the Way to attain to the Sight of this -glorious Vision, is by ascending (not by local Motion, but by Reason) -to the Tops of the Mountain of the mysterious and sublime Sense of the -Law and the Prophets. If we continue in the Plains and Vallies[65] of -the Letter, like the Multitude under the Mountain, we shall never see -_Jesus_ in his shining Vestments, nor how he was transform'd into the -Types of the Law; nor _Moses_ and _Elias_ talking with him; nor the -Law and the Prophets agreeing harmoniously in a Testimony to him. - -After this fashion do the Fathers, one or other of them, copiously -treat on every Part of this Transfiguration of _Jesus_. I could -collect an almost infinite Number of Passages out of their Writings to -this Purpose: But from these few it is plain, they look'd on the -Story of Christ's Transfiguration, but as a Figure and Parable; and -they were certainly in the right on't, in as much as this their Sense -of the Matter, and no other, will solve the Difficulties before -started against the Letter, as any one may discern, if he attentively -review and compare one with the other: As, for instance, this their -Sense and Interpretation lets us into the Reason of _Moses_ and -_Elias_'s appearing on the Mount with _Jesus_; and gives us to -understand what they talk'd about, and that was, not on _Jesus_'s -_Decease which he would accomplish at_ Jerusalem, as our Translation -has it, but on the Prophecy of the Old Testament; particularly, as St. -_Luke_ says, on _Moses_'s Book of _Exodus, and how he would fulfill -it_ at the New Jerusalem. - -Whether any, besides my self, does really apprehend, and is willing to -understand this Story of Christ's Transfiguration, as I do, I neither -know nor care. I am not bound to find others Ears, Eyes, and -Capacities. What I have said is enough to shew the Sense of the -Fathers about this Matter. If any dislike their concurrent Opinion of -_Jesus_'s Transfiguration's being an Emblem, an Enigma, and figurative -Representation of a future and most glorious Transfiguration, such a -one as they speak of; let him account for the Difficulties and -Objections which I have before raised against the Letter of this -Story. In the mean time I shall think it, literally, an absurd, -improbable, and incredible one, and no other than a prophetical and -parabolical Narrative of what will be mysteriously and more -wonderfully done by _Jesus_. - -And thus I have considered _three_ of the Miracles of our Saviour, and -shewn how they are Absurdities, according to the Letter, consequently -do make nothing for his Authority and _Messiahship_. I can and will do -as much by his other Miracles; for I would not have any one think I am -gotten to the End of my Tedder, but for some Reasons best known to my -self, I publish these Remarks on these three first. After the _Clergy_ -have chew'd upon these a while, I will take into Examination some -others of _Jesus_'s Miracles, which for their literal Story are -admired by them. As for Instance, - -I will take to task his Miracle[66] _of changing Water into Wine at a -Marriage in Cana of Galilee_; which was the beginning of _Jesus_'s -Miracles, and should by right have been first spoken to; but I am -almost too grave to handle the Letter of this Story as I ought; and if I -had treated it as ludicrously as it deserves, I don't know but at -setting out, I should have put the _Clergy_ quite out of all Temper. I -would not now for the World be so impious and profane, as to believe, -with our _Divines_, what is contain'd and imply'd in the Letter of this -Story. If _Apollonius Tyanæus_, and not _Jesus_, had been the Author of -this Miracle, we should often have reproached his Memory with it. It is -said of _Apollonius Tyanæus_, that a Table was all on a sudden, at his -Command, miraculously spread with Variety of nice Dishes for the -Entertainment of himself and his Guests; which Miracle, our _Divines_ -can tell him, makes not at all to his Credit, in as much as it was done -for the Service and Pleasure of luxurious Appetites. But if _Apollonius_ -had done, as our _Jesus_ did at this Wedding, they would have said much -worse of him; and that, modestly speaking, he delighted to make his -Friends thoroughly merry, or he would not be at the Pains of a Miracle -to turn so much Water into Wine, after they had before _well drank_. If -the Fathers then don't help us out at the mystical and true Meaning of -this Miracle, such farther Objections may be form'd against the Letter, -as may make our _Divines_ asham'd of it. - -I will also take into Examination _Jesus_'s Miracle[67] of _feeding -many Thousands in the Wilderness with a few Loaves and Fishes_; which, -according to the Letter, are most romantick Tales. I don't in the -least question _Jesus_'s Power to magnify or multiply the Loaves, and, -if he pleass'd, to meliorate the Bread: But that many Thousands of -Men, Women, and Children, should follow him into the Wilderness, and -stay with him three Days and Nights too, without eating, is a little -against Sense and Reason. Whether the Wilderness was near to, or far -from the People's Habitations, the Difficulties attending the Story -are equally great. I wonder how _Jesus_ amused them all the while, -that they had the Patience to stay with him without Food; but I much -more wonder, that no Victuallers besides the _Lad_ with his Loaves and -Fishes, of whom, and his Occupation, whether it was that of a _Baker_ -or _Fishmonger_; and of his Neglect of his Master's Business here; and -of the Reason that he met with no hungry Chapmen for his Bread before, -we shall make some Enquiry; but particularly why he alone, I say, and -no other Victuallers, no other Retalers of Cakes and Gingerbread -followed the Camp. In short, for all the imaginary Greatness of the -Miracle (which there is a way to reduce and lessen) of _Jesus_'s -feeding his Thousands with a few Loaves, there must be some -Fascination or Enchantment (condemn'd by the Laws of the _Jews_ as -well as of other Nations) in the Matter; or the People if they had -stay'd one Day, would not two, much less three _to faint_, but would, -especially the Women and Children, have been for returning the first -Night home. We must then seek to the Fathers (who say the five Books -of _Moses_ are the _five Barley Loaves_, &c. and the septiform'd -Spirit, the _seven Loaves_, &c.) for a good Notion of this Miracle, -and if they don't make it a Parable; do what our _Divines_ can, it -will turn to the Dishonour of the holy Jesus. - -I will also consider the Miracle of _Jesus_'s[68] _curing the Man sick -of the Palsy, for whom the Roof of the House was broken up, to let him -down into the Room where_ Jesus _was, because his Bearers could not -enter in at the Door for the Press of the People_. This literally is -such a _Rodomontado_, that were Men to stretch for a Wager, against -Reason and Truth, none could out-do it. Where was the Humanity of the -People, and wherefore did they so tumultuate against the Door of the -House? Its _strange_ they had not so much Compassion on the -_Paralytick_, as to give way to him: Its _more strange_ that his Bearers -could get to the Top of the House with him and his Bed too, when they -could not get to the Door, nor the Sides of it: Its _yet stranger_, that -the good Man of the House would suffer his House to be broken up, when -it could not be long ere the Tumult of the People would be appeas'd: But -most _strange_, that _Jesus_, who could drive his thousands out at the -Temple before him, and draw as many after him into the Wilderness, did -not, by Force or Persuasion, make the People to retreat, but that such -needless Trouble and Pains must be taken for the miraculous Cure of this -poor Man. Let's think of these Things against the Time, that out of the -Fathers I prove this Story to be a Parable. - -I will also take into Consideration the Miracle of _Jesus_'s curing -_the_[69] _blind Man, for whom Eye-Salve was made of Clay and -Spittle_; which Eye-Salve, whether it was balsamick or not, does -equally affect the Credit of the Miracle. If it was naturally -medicinal, there's an End of the Miracle; and if it was not at all -medicinal, it was foolishly and impertinently apply'd, and can be no -otherwise accounted for, than by considering it, with the Fathers, as -a figurative Act in _Jesus_. - -I will also take into Consideration the several Stories of _Jesus_'s -raising of the Dead; and, without questioning his actual bringing of -the Dead to Life again, will prove from the Circumstances of those -Stories, that they are parabolical, and are not literally to be -apply'd to the Proof of _Jesus_'s divine Authority and Messiahship; -or, for Instance, _Jesus_, when he raised _Jairus_'s[70] Daughter from -the Dead, would never have turned the People out of the House, who -should have been his best and properest Witnesses. - -I will also consider the Miracle of _Jesus_'s[71] _cursing the -Fig-Tree_, for its not bearing Fruit out of Season; which, upon the -bare mention of it, appears to be a foolish, absurd, and ridiculous -Act, if not figurative. - -I will also consider the[72] Journey of the Wisemen out of the East, -with their (literally) senseless and ridiculous Presents of -_Frankincense_ and _Myrrhe_, to a new-born Babe. If with their _Gold_, -which could be but little, they had brought their _Dozens_ of Sugar, -Soap, and Candles, which would have been of Use to the Child and his -poor Mother in the Straw, they had acted like wise as well as good -Men. But what, I pray, was the Meaning and Reason of a Star, like a -_Will-a-Whisp_, for their Guide to the Place, where the holy Infant -lay. Could not God, by divine Impulse, in a Vision or in a Dream, as -he ordered their Return home, have sent them on this important Errand; -but that a Star must be taken or made out of Course to this Purpose? I -wonder what Communication passed between these Wisemen and the Star, -or how they came to know one anothers Use and Intention. But the -Fathers shall speak hereafter farther to the Senselessness of this -Story literally, and make out the Mystery and true Meaning of it. - -I will also, by the Leave of our _Divines_, take again into -Consideration the miraculous Conception of the Virgin _Mary_, and the -Resurrection of _Jesus_ from the Dead. I do believe, if it may so -please our _Divines_, that _Jesus_ was born of a pure Virgin, and that -he arose from the Dead: But speaking too briefly, in the _Moderator_, -to these two Miracles, they took Offence. I will therefore give them a -Review, and speak home to them; particularly to Christ's Resurrection, -the evangelical Story of which literally, is such a Complication of -Absurdities, Incoherences, and Contradictions, that unless the Fathers -can help us to a better Understanding of the _Evangelists_ than we -have at present, we must of Necessity give up the Belief of it. - -These and many[73] other of the historical and miraculous Parts of -_Jesus_'s Life, will I take into Examination, and shew, that none of -them literally do prove his divine Authority: so far from it, that they -are full of Absurdities, Improbabilities, and Incredibilities; but that -his whole Life in the Flesh, is but[74] Type, Figure, and Parable of his -mysterious and spiritual Life and Operations in Mankind. - -In the End of this Head, it will be a curious and diverting Subject to -examine the Miracles of _Jesus_ as they are literally understood, by the -Notions which our _Divines_ have advanced about Miracles; and to shew, -that even their Notions compared with Christ's Miracles, are destructive -of his Authority, and subversive of Christianity. This, I say, would be -a most diverting Undertaking, and it will be strange, if some -_Free-Thinker_, that loves Pleasure of this kind, does not take the -Hint, and snatch the Work out of my Hands. If I do it my self, I shall -have especial Regard to the Writers against the _Grounds_, without -passing by Mr. _Chandler_'s _Essay on Miracles_; on which the more -Remarks will be made, if it be but to pay my Respects to the -_Archbishop_'s Judgment, and to shew my Admiration at those extravagant -Praises, which his _Grace_ at _Lambeth_ has bestowed on that Author. -Among other his notable Notions of a Miracle (and the _Archbishop_ says -he has[75] _set the Notion of a Miracle upon a clear and sure -Foundation_) one is,[76] _That Miracles should be Things probable as -well as possible, that they do not carry along with them the Appearance -of Romance and Fable, which would unavoidably prejudice Men against -believing them_. This is certainly a good and right Notion of a divine -Miracle; and I don't doubt, but according to it, Mr. _Chandler_ and the -_Archbishop_ think, they can justify the literal Story of our Saviour's -Miracles, against the Charge of _Fable_ and _Romance_: But whether they -are able to do it or not, I shall go on, in some Discourses hereafter to -be publish'd, to prove that our _Divines_, by espousing the Letter of -Christ's Miracles, have deceived themselves into the Belief of the most -arrant _Quixotism_ that can be devis'd and palm'd upon the -Understandings of Mankind. I say, they have deceived themselves; for -neither the Fathers, nor the Apostles, nor even _Jesus_ himself, means -that his Miracles, as recorded in the _Evangelists_, should be taken in -a literal Sense, but in[77] a mystical, figurative, and parabolical one. -And this should bring me to the - -III. Head of my Discourse; that is, to consider what _Jesus_ means, when -he appeals to his Works and Miracles, as to a Witness and Testimony of -his divine Authority; and to shew, that he could not properly and truly -refer to those supposed to be wrought by him in the _Flesh_, but to -those mystical ones he would do in the _Spirit_, of which those -seemingly wrought by him in the Flesh, are but Types and Shadows. - -But this Head can't be rightly spoken to, till I have more amply -discuss'd the former, which, by God's Leave, I promise to do: And if -my _courteous Readers_ will be so kind as to trust me till that Time, -I assure them to prove, that no Ignorance and Stupidity can be -greater, than the Imagination that _Jesus_ really appeal'd to his -Miracles, supposed to have been wrought by him in the Flesh, as to a -Witness and Testimony of his divine Authority, and _Messiahship_. - -In the mean Time our _Divines_ may go on in their own Way, if they -think fit, and admire _Jesus_ of old, and celebrate his Power and -Praises for healing of bodily Diseases, and doing other notable Feats -according to the Letter of the evangelical Story; but I am for the -spiritual _Jesus_ and _Messiah_, who cures the worse[78] Distempers of -the Soul, and does other mysterious and most miraculous Works, of -which those recorded in the Evangelists, are but Figure and Parable. -This is the primitive and concurrent Opinion about the true _Messiah_, -which the Fathers universally adher'd to. Whether our _Jesus_, at this -Day, be such a spiritual _Messiah_ to his Church, or whether she does -not stand in need of such a one, is the Question that our _Divines_ -are to see to. But I will add here, what I believe, and than have -another Opportunity to prove, that God on purpose suffer'd or -empower'd _false_ as well as _true_ Prophets, _bad_ as well as _good_ -Men, such as _Apollonius_, _Vespasian_, and many others to cure -Diseases, and to do other mighty Works, equal to what are literally -reported of _Jesus_, not only to defeat us of all distinction between -true and false Miracles, which are the Object of our bodily Senses, -but to raise and keep up our Thoughts to the constant Contemplation of -_Jesus_'s spiritual, mysterious, and most miraculous Works, which are -the Object of our Understandings, and loudly bespeak the Power, -Wisdom, and Goodness of God; and which are to be the absolute -Demonstration of _Jesus_'s divine Authority and _Messiahship_ to the -Conversion of _Jews_ and _Infidels_. - -I have no more to do at present, but, like a _Moderator_, to conclude -with a short Address and Exhortation to _Infidels_ and _Apostates_, -the two contending Parties in the present Controversy. And - -_First_, To _Apostates_, I mean the Writers against the _Grounds_ and -_Scheme_. Whether you, _grave Sirs_, who account your selves orthodox -_Divines_, tho' there is little but Contradiction and Inconsistency -amongst you, do like the Name of _Apostates_ which is given you, I -much question: But it is the properest, I could think of, for your -Desertion of primitive Doctrine about Prophecy and Miracles. I could, -not improperly have given you a worse _Title_, but I was willing to -compliment you, rather than reproach you with this. - -But setting aside the Title of _Apostates_, whether it be, in your -Opinion, opprobrious or not; you may plainly perceive, that I am, -_Sirs_, on your Side, as to the Truth of Christianity; and if you'll -accept of my Assistance for the Proof of _Jesus_'s Messiahship from -Prophecy, upon the Terms of the allegorical Scheme proposed in my -_Moderator_, you shall find me your hearty Abettor. Upon the -allegorical Scheme, I don't doubt but we shall soundly drub and mawl -_Infidels_, and beat them out of the Field of Battle. If you, being -wedded to the literal Scheme, will not accept of my Assistance, you -may go on in your own Way, and see the Event of the Controversy, -which in the End will turn to your Dishonour. - -You, _Sirs_, can't but be sensible, how those two great Generals, Mr. -_Grounds_, and Mr. _Scheme_, with their potent Armies of Reasons and -Authorities against your literal Prophecies, have grievously -distress'd and gall'd you; and if you don't make an honourable Retreat -in Time, and seek to _Allegorists_ for Help, will gain a compleat -Victory and Triumph over you. - -Instead of the Help of _Allegorists_, you, I find, under the -Disappointment of your literal Scheme, chuse rather to have Recourse to -_Jesus_'s Miracles: But what little Dependence there is upon his -Miracles, in your Sense, I have in _part_ proved in this Discourse; and -this I have done (give me leave repeatedly to declare it) not for the -Service of your unbelieving Adversaries, but to reduce you to the good -old Way of interpreting Oracles, which, upon the Testimony of the -Fathers, will, one Day, be the Conversion of the _Jews_ and _Gentiles_. - -Whether you, _Sirs_, will be pleas'd with this short Discourse on -Christ's Miracles, I much question. But before you put your selves -into a Rage against it, I beg of you to read St. _Theophilus_ of -_Antioch_, _Origen_, St. _Hilary_, St. _Augustin_, St. _Ambrose_, St. -_Jerome_, St. _Chrysostom_, St. _John_ of _Jerusalem_, St. -_Theophylact_, and other occasional ancient Pieces on one part or -other of the _Evangelists_; and you'll find how they countenance such -a Discourse as this on Miracles, and will abundantly assist me in the -Prosecution of it. - -I expect, _Sirs_, that some of you will be ready to rave against me -for this Discourse; but this is my Comfort, that if your Passion -should arise to another Prosecution of me, you can't possibly separate -any of mine from the Opinions of the Fathers to ground a Prosecution -on: And what Dishonour in the End will redown to Protestant and -pretendedly learned _Divines_ of the Church of _England_, to persecute -again the Fathers for primitive Doctrine, I desire you to think on. - -But, as I suppose, you'll have more Wit, _Sirs_, than to prosecute me -again for this Discourse; so I hope you'll have more Ingenuity, than -odiously (after your wonted manner) to represent me to the Populace, -for Profaneness, Blasphemy, and Infidelity. If you dislike the whole, -or any part of this Discourse, appear like Men and Scholars, from the -_Press_ against it. Use me as roughly in Print as you think fit, I'll -not take it ill. - - _Veniam petimus, dabimusq; vicissim._ - -I desire nothing more than to be furiously attack'd from the _Press_, -which, if I am not much mistaken, would give me a long'd for -Opportunity to expose your Ignorance to more Advantage. - -Be not longer mistaken, _good Sirs_. The History of _Jesus_'s Life, as -recorded in the _Evangelists_, is an emblematical Representation of -his spiritual Life in the Soul of Man; and his Miracles are Figures of -his mysterious Operations. The four Gospels are in no Part a literal -Story, but a System of mystical Philosophy or Theology. - -If you are resolved not to come into this Opinion, I beg of you again, -before you break forth into a Passion, to try to vindicate the literal -Story of the three Miracles spoken to in this Discourse, _viz._ those -of Jesus'_s driving the Buyers and Sellers out of the Temple; of his -exorcising the Devil out of the Madman; and of his Transfiguration on -the Mount;_ which if you are able to defend against the Fathers, and -my Objections, I'll give up the Cause to you, and own my self (what I -am far enough from being) an impious Infidel and Blasphemer, and -deserving of the worst Punishment. In the mean time, I make bold again -to assert, that the literal Story of Christ's Life and Miracles, is -an absurd and incredible Romance, full of Contradictions and -Inconsistencies; and that modern Paraphrases are not only a -consequential Reflection on the Intellects of the _Evangelists_, and -their divine Gifts of the Spirit, as if they could not write an -intelligible and coherent Piece of Biography without your Help at this -Distance of Time; but have even darken'd and obscured the seemingly -native Simplicity of the Story of the Life of _Jesus_. So leaving you -to chew upon this, I turn - - * * * * * - -My Address to _Infidels_, particularly to the two most renown'd Writers -of the Party, Mr. _Grounds_, and Mr. _Scheme_. I should, _Gentlemen_, by -right, salute you with the Title of _Free-Thinkers_, a proper Name for -your philosophical Sect, who are for the free Exercise of your Reason -about divine and speculative Points in Theology. And I had distinguish'd -you by this Title from your apostatical Adversaries, but that I had a -mind to oblige my old Friends the _Clergy_, in giving you a no more -honourable Title than I do them. And I trust you will not be offended at -the Title of _Infidels_, since not only your Writings seem to have a -Tendency to Infidelity; but, if there be any Fault in your Principles, -you know how to charge it on your Adversaries, the pretended Advocates -for Christianity, whose Absurdities, false Reasonings, Inconsistencies, -and foolish Glosses on the Scriptures, have occasioned your Departure -from the Faith in Christ. - -I thank Mr. _Scheme_ for the noble Present of his Book, which I -received and read with Pleasure. But instead of one, he should have -sent me a _Dozen_ for the Use of Friends and Borrowers, who are very -curious and importunate for the Perusal of it. For what Reason he -envies the _Booksellers_ the publick Sale of his Work, chusing rather -to give it away _gratis_, than that they should reap any Profit by it, -I know not. Surely it is not to bring an _Odium_ on the _Clergy_ for -Persecutors, as if such an useful and philosophical Piece might not -appear publickly without Danger from them: If so, I hope the _Clergy_ -will resent the Indignity, and invite him to a Publication of his -Book, with a Promise of Impunity, which would wipe off the Reproach, -which this clandestine Method of disposing of it has cast on them. - -I once almost despair'd, _Sirs_, of seeing such another Piece from -your Quarter. I was afraid the Prosecution of the _Moderator_, would -have deterr'd you from the Press, whereby our excellent Controversy on -Foot must have been dropt: But the sudden and unexpected Appearance of -Mr. _Scheme_, has revived me, and rejoiced the Cockles of my Heart. -Go on then, _great Sirs_, in this Controversy, which Mr. _Grounds_ -happily commenc'd; and if you are deny'd the Liberty of the Press, and -publick Sale of your Books, I hope you'll, for all that, as occasion -offers it self, oblige the Learned and Curious with some more of your -bright Lucubrations, tho' you print them, and dispose of them in this -clancular and subtil Method. - -It is not that I wish well to your Cause of Infidelity, that I thus -encourage you. You have more Sense and Reason than to suspect me tainted -with unbelieving Principles. Christianity will stand its Ground against -your battering Armour; and the Church of Christ will be the more firmly -establish'd on a Rock of Wisdom, for that Opposition you make to it. -Tho' you will entirely vanquish the literal _Schemists_, and ride in -Triumph over them, yet other Defenders of the Faith, call'd -_Allegorists_, will arise to your Confutation and final Overthrow. - -If I am not mistaken, _Sirs_, your Adversaries, the literal -_Schemists_, whom I call _Apostates_, are about making a Retreat, and -yielding the Field of Battle to you. The _Bishop_ of _Litchfield_, the -greatest General on their Side, will not only find it hard to levy -any more Forces in Defence of his _twelve_ literal Prophecies; but he -knows that, if he draws his Sword any more against you, he must attack -too the Authority of the Fathers for the allegorical Interpretation of -some of those Prophecies, already urg'd in my _Supplements_ to the -_Moderator_; or, if the Fathers are neglected by him; they and I, -keeping out of the Reach of his _Bug-Bear_, will treat him with such -familiar Language, as never was given to one of his Order. - -Mr. _Scheme_ seems to promise us a Discourse on the Miracles in the -Scriptures; I hope he'll be as good as his Word, and ere long publish -it. This Discourse of mine can't possibly supersede his. As I question -not but his Thoughts and Remarks on Miracles will be very considerable; -so I shall be a little impatient till I see them. But be his Discourse -on Miracles of what Kind soever, I believe it will hardly be an -Obstruction to my Undertaking in Hand, which I intend, by God's Leave, -to go on with, to the Honour of the holy _Jesus_, our spiritual -_Messiah_, to whom be Glory and Praise for ever and ever. _Amen._ - - - ~_FINIS._~ - -FOOTNOTES: - -[1] Page 44. - -[2] Page 53. - -[3] Universam porro Sacram Scripturam tam Novi quam Veteris Testamenti -ad allegoricum sensum esse sumendam, admonet nos vel illud, Aperiam os -meum in Parabolis. _In Prasat. ad Form. Spirit. Intell._ - -[4] Si quidem Symbola quædam erant quæ tunc gerebantur eorum, quæ Jesu -virtute semper perficiuntur. _In Mat._ C. xv. - -[5] Omnis languor & omnis Infirmitas quam sanavit salvator tunc in -Populo referuntur ad Infirmitates spirituales Animarum, _&c._ _In_ -Mat. _C._ xvii. - -[6] Christi Gesta aliud portendunt. _In_ Mat. _C._ xii. Evangelicis -gestis est interior Sensus, _C._ xiv. Hæc licet in præsens gesta sunt, -quid tamen in futurum significent contuendum est, _C._ x. Peragunt -formam futuri gesta præsentia, _C._ xxi. - -[7] Quæ a Jesu facta sunt, alicujus significantia erant. _Serm._ 77. - -[8] Omne quod fecit Jesus, Sacramenta sunt. _Homil._ 31. _in_ Marc. 9. - -[9] Si enim temporalis erat ab eo Utilitas, nihil grande præstitit -iis, qui ab eo curati sunt, _L. V._ C. 12. _S._ 6. - -[10] Contra Celsum, _L._ 11. - -[11] Coecum curavit, magnum quidem est, quod fecit, sed nisi quotidie -fiat, quod olim factum, nobis quidem magnum esse cessavit. _Homil._ -30. _in_ Marc. 9. - -[12] Si humano captu & ingenio consideremus Jesum facientem, & quod ad -potestatem non magnum aliquid fecit, & quod ad benignitatem, parvum -fecit. _In_ Johan. _Cap._ v. _Tract._ 17. - -[13] Etsi attestabantur Miracula, non defuissent (sicut & nunc -mussitant) qui magicæ potentiæ cuncta illa tribuerent. _Cont. Faust._ -_L._ XII. _C._ 45. - -[14] _Vid._ Sanctum _Augustinum_ de _Anti-christo_. - -[15] 1 _Cor._ C. xii. - -[16] Atque illud ad Rem maxime partineat, ne decipiamur tendentes ad -Contemplationem Veritatis----Arbitrantes ibi esse invisibilem -sapientiam, ubi Miraculum visibile viderimus. _In Serm. Dom. in -monte_, _Lib._ 2. _Sect._ 84. - -[17] Interim completur & Isaiæ Prophetia non tantum in corporalibus, -verum etiam in spiritualibus, _Origen_. _In Matt. Cap._ xv. Aperientur -igitur Oculi cæcorum, aures surdorum audient, nam qui quondam divinis -sermonibus rejectis mysticam Sanctorum Institutionem recipere non -studuerunt, libenter eam admittent. St. _Cyril in_ Loc. Is. _Vide & -Sanctum Hieronymum in_ Loc. Isai. - -[18] Et nunc majores sanitates operatur, propter quas non est -dedignatus tunc exhibere illas minores. _In Serm._ 88. - -[19] In quibus Spiritualibus maxime Christi Persona eminet. _August. -Quest. 2. in Lucan._ - -[20] Modo Caro cæca non aperit oculos miraculo Domini, sed cor cæcum -aperit oculos Sermoni Domini. Modo non resurgit mortale cadaver, sed -resurgit anima quæ mortua jucebat in vivo Cadavere, _&c. August. -Serm._ 88. _S._ 3. - -[21] Historia Scripturæ interdum interferit quædam vel minus gesta, -vel quæ omnino geri non possunt, interdum quæ possunt geri, nec tamen -gesta sunt. _De Principiis_, Lib. 4. - -[22] Multa sunt, quæ non sinunt nos simplici sensu dicta evangelica -suscipere. Interpositis enim non nullis Rebus quæ ex Natura humani -sensus sibi contraria sunt; Rationem quærere cælestis Intelligentiæ -admonemur. _In Matt. L._ xx. _S._ 2. - -[23] Evangelica Sacramenta in Christi factis signata omnibus non -patent, & ea nonnulli minus diligenter interpretando asserunt -plerumque pro salute Perniciem, & pro Cognitione Veritatis Errorem, -_&c._ _De Quæst. Divers. Quest._ 84. - -[24] _Matt._ xxi. _Mark_ xi. _Luke_ xix. _John_ ii. - -[25] In Comment. in _Matth._ xxi. - -[26] Porro cui curæ est accuratior Inquisitio considerabit, an juxta -dignitatem præsentis Vitæ erat, ut Jesus rem talem auderet facere, -extrudere videlicet Mercatorum Multitudinem, qui ad Diem festum -ascenderant, distributuri boves ditioribus, & tanto populo oves -mactandas per domos familiarium, quæ multorum millium complerent -numerum; atque eos qui in rebus talibus gloriantes producturi erant in -medio Columbas, quas multi emptori erant, ceu in Conventu celeberrimo -convivaturi. Considerabit hic etiam, an Nummulariorum erat non -accusare Jesum contumeliose propter suas ipsorum effusas pecunias & -mensas subversas. Quis autem flagello e funiculis verberatus & -expulsus ab eo qui penes eos habebatur vilis, hunc adortus non -inclamasset totis viribus sese ulciscens? Cum præsertim haberet tantam -multitudinem eorum, qui sibi æque contumeliam fieri credebant, -faventem sibi adversum Jesum? Insuper consideremus, Dei filium -funiculos sumentem; sibique flagellum tenentem ad extrudendum e -templo, annon repræsentet Præter audaciam & temeritatem, inordinatum -etiam quiddam? In _Johan._ Tom. XI. - -[27] Præfiguratio futurorum dictis præsentibus continetur. _In Matt._ -xxi. - -[28] Admomemur altius Verborum Virtutes in istius modi -significationibus contuendas, _ibid._ - -[29] In Cathedra est sacerdotii sedes; & eorum qui Spiritus sancti -Donum venale habent, Cathedras evertet, _ibid._ - -[30] Non habebant Judæi quod venire possent, neque erat quod emere -quis posset, _ibid._ - -[31] Cathedra autem Vendentium Columbas cur everterit? Secundum -Litteram non intelligo. Admonet Typo ejectorum de Templo hujusmodi -Mercatorum, in Ecclesia Dei Consortium eos habere non posse, qui -sancti Spiritus Gratiam nundinentur. _In Loc. Luc._ - -[32] Juxta simplicem Intelligentiam--quod ponitus absurdum--cæterum -secundum Mysticos In tellectus Jesus ingreditur Templum Patris & -ejicit omnes Episcopos, Presbyteros, & Diaconos, _&c. In Loc. Mat._ - -[33] Faciet Dominus Flagellum de Scripturarum Textuum Testimoniis. _In -Zechar._ C. xiv. - -[34] Non magnum Peccatum, si hoc vendebant in Templo, quod emebatur, -ut offerretur in Templo. _In Loc. Johan._ - -[35] Qui sunt tamen qui boves vendunt? ut in figura quæramus Mysterium -facti, qui sunt qui Oves vendunt Columbas? ipsi sunt qui sua quærunt -in Ecclesia, non quæ Jesu Christi. _Ibid._ - -[36] Vos enim fecistis Domum meum, Domum Negotiationis & speluncam -Latronum, significant futuros in Ecclesia. _L._ II. _Evang. Quæst. -Quast._ 48. - -[37] [Greek: Didaskalos ôn, ou katangellei logon, ei mê kerdos echei, -kai toutou tên trapezan anatrepei o Kyeios]. _In Johan._ C. ii. - -[38] _Chandler's_ Vindication, _&c._ p. 145. - -[39] Hoc facto longe aliud significabat Jesus, nec enim illum -tantopere commovebat Templum illud mercimoniis Boum, Ovium, Hircorum & -Columbarum profanatum; sed ostendere voluit Avaritiam & Quæstum sore -capitalem Pestem Ecclesiæ, quam Templum, cujus Religio mox erat -abolenda, figurabat--In nullum Hominum Genus acrius sæviit Jesus, sed -hos ipse sibi servavit ejiciendos, cum videbitur. _In Loc. Matt._ xxi. - -[40] _Vid._ Suicerum in [Greek: Kollubustês]. - -[41] [Greek: Trapeza], apud Aristophanem est Pulpitum. _Vid._ Scapulam. - -[42] _Matt._ viii. _Mark_ v. _Luke_ viii. - -[43] _Luke_ xiii. v. 27. - -[44] _Spencer_ de Legibus Hebræ, _p._ 117. - -[45] _Lib._ IV. De Principiis. - -[46] Hanc habeant Causam, ut esset in rebus gerendis futuri plena -meditatio. _In Loc. Matt._ In hoc Typica ratio servata est. _Ibid._ - -[47] Significatæ sunt gentes quæ multis dæmonibus serviebant. -_Augustin in Luc. Quest._ 13. - -[48] Humanum genus ad Adventum Domini vexabatur furore dementi, -rumpens vincula rationis. St. _Amb. in Loc. Luc._ - -[49] Nudus quicunque tegumentum Naturæ suæ & Virtutis amisit. _Amb. -Ibid._ - -[50] In tumulis Sepulchrorum; quid enim aliud sunt Corpora perfidorum, -nisi quædam defunctorum Sepulchra in quibus Dei verbum non habitat. -_Ibid._ - -[51] Videntes Dæmones non sibi jam locum in gentibus derelinqui, ut -patiatur habitare se in Hæreticis deprecantur. _Hilar. in Loc. Matt._ - -[52] Litera est Palea, & frequenter evenit, ut homines hujus soeculi -mystica nescientes, simplici Scripturarum Lectione pascuntur. _Hieron. -in_ Isa. xi. - -[53] _Matt._ xvii. _Mark_ ix. _Luke_ ix. - -[54] 2 _Pet._ i. 16, 17, 18. - -[55] Possunt infideles istam Vocem delatam de Cælo, per conjecturas -humanas & illicitas Curiositates ad magicas Artes reserte. _In Serm._ -xliii. _Sect._ 5. - -[56] Neque enim Miracula propter Miracula faciebat, sed ut illa quæ -faciebat, mira essent videntibus, vera essent intelligentibus. _In -Serm._ xcviii. _Sect._ 3. - -[57] [Greek: Helegon tên exodon autou ên emelle plêroun], C. ix. V. 31. - -[58] Regni coelestis Honor prefiguratur. St. _Hilar. in Loc. Matt._ In -Transfiguratione futura Regni Præmeditatio & Gloria demonstrata est. -St. _Hierom. in Loc. Matt._ - -[59] [Greek: Ainigmatôdês parodeixis tês Basileias], Anast. in Transfig. -Dom. [Greek: Ypodeigma tês doxês ekeinês.] St. _Chrysost. in Loc. Matt._ - -[60] Sex millium scilicet Annorum Temporibus evolutis. St. _Hilar. in -Loc. Matt._ Sic post Sex ætates Dominus a perfectis Famulis -conspicietur. _Dionys. Alex. apud Damascen. in Orat. de Transfig._ - -[61] Et Moses & Elias apparuerunt in Gloria, cum Jesu colloquentes, in -quo ostenditur Legem & Prophetas, cum Evangeliis consonare & in eadem -Gloria spiritualis intelligentiæ refulgere. _Origen. in Epist. ad -Rom._ c. 1. - -[62] Montem ascendit ut te doceat, ne quæras eum nisi in Legis & -Prophetarum montibus. _Origen in Cantic. Cantic. Hom._ 3. - -[63] Per nubem tetram intellige opacitatem Legis. _Damascen. in Orat. -de Transfigur._ - -[64] Vestimenta candida Jesu sunt Sermones & Scripta Evangeliorum. -_Origen in Loc. Matt._ - -[65] Si quis Litteram sequitur, & deorsum est totus, hic non potest -videre Jesum in veste candida; qui autem sequitur Sermonem Dei & ad -montana, id est, excelsa Legis conscendit, isti Jesus commutatur---- -Quamdiu Litteram sequimur occidentem, Moses & Elias cum Jesu non -loquuntur; sin spiritualiter intelligimus, statim Moses & Elias -veniunt, id est Lex & Prophetæ & colloquuatur cum Evangelio. _Johan. -Hieros. Hom._ 32. - -[66] _John_ ii. - -[67] _Matt._ C. xiv. and xv. _&c._ - -[68] _Mark_ ii. _Luke_ v. - -[69] _John_ ix. - -[70] _Mark_ v. - -[71] _Matt._ xxi. _Mark_ xi. - -[72] _Matt._ ii. - -[73] Alia quam plurima his similia in Evangeliis inveniet, quicunque -attentius legerit. _Origen. de Principiis_, lib. iv. - -[74] Quæ Enarratio erit Evangelii sensibilis, nisi accommodetur ad -intelligible & spirituale? Nulla sane, _Origen. is Præfat. ad Johan. -Evang._ - -[75] _See Archbishop_ Wake's _Manuscript Letter to Mr._ Chandler, -_which is handed about Town and Country_. - -[76] Chandler's _Vindication_, &c. p. 81. - -[77] Dominus noster ea quæ faciebat corporaliter, etiam spiritualiter -volebat intelligi, _&c. August. Serm._ xcviii. _Sect._ 3. - -[78] Quos in corporibus morbos sanavit Christus, hi in animabus -existunt, & supernam ejus opem requirunt. _Johan. Nepos. Hieros._ Hom. -LXI. - - - - - A SECOND - DISCOURSE - ON THE - MIRACLES - OF OUR - _SAVIOUR_, - - In VIEW of the present Controversy - between INFIDELS and - APOSTATES. - - _Audendum est, ut illustrata Veritas pateat, - multique ab Errore liberentur._ Lactant. - - By THOMAS WOOLSTON, sometime - Fellow of _Sidney-College_ in _Cambridge_. - - _LONDON_: - - Printed for the Author, Sold by him in _Bell-Alley_, - _Coleman-Street_, and by the Booksellers of - _London_ and _Westminster_. 1727. - - [Price One Shilling.] - - - - -[Illustration] - - TO THE - Right Reverend Father in God - _EDWARD_, - Lord BISHOP of _Lichfield_. - - -MY LORD, - -Your Fame for that celebrated Book, call'd the _Defence of -Christianity_, is the Occasion of this Dedication. I need not tell you, -what vast Reputation you have acquired by it: You have been not only -often applauded from the Press, but have met with large Compliments and -Thanks from your Clergy for it. And tho' Mr. _Scheme_ has very -untowardly written against you, yet this is _still_ your Honour, that -you are an _Author_, not unworthy of his Regard and Notice. - -I am, in Opinion with the Fathers, against an establish'd Hire for -the Priesthood, thinking it of disservice to true Religion: But when -I consider'd the Usefulness of your Lordship's Episcopal Riches and -Honours to this Controversy, I almost chang'd my Mind. Your exalted -Station in the Church, has given Credit and Authority to your Work, -which, if it had came from the Hands of a poor Priest, had never been -so much admir'd; neither would Mr. _Scheme_, I believe, nor my self, -have paid so many Respects to it. - -For this Reason, I wish some more of your _Order_ would appear in this -Controversy, that the World might see what famous Men are our -_Bishops_, and of what Use their _Hundreds_ and _Thousands_ a Year are -to the Defence of Christianity; which, if such able Hands were not -amply hired to its Support, might be in Danger, as certainly as, that -Men of low Fortunes must needs be Men of poor Parts, little Learning, -and slender Capacities to write in Vindication of it. - -Some have conceiv'd Hopes that the great _Bishop_ of _London_, from -his last Charge to his _Clergy_, will second you in this Controversy; -if so, there's no doubt on't, but his Performance will be commensurate -to his State and Revenues. Of his Zeal in the Controversy, he has -already given a notable Instance, when he prosecuted the _Moderator_; -and I dare say, he'll vouchsafe us a more remarkable Specimen of his -Knowledge in it, as soon as he can spare Time for't; and then (Oh my -Fears!) he'll pay me off for my Objection against Christ's -Resurrection, which he would have persuaded the Civil Magistrate to -have done for him. - -But whether the _Bishop_ of _London_ seconds you or not, it's Time, -_my Lord_, to expect another Volume from you, in Answer to Mr. -_Scheme_, which, for all the Reports that are spread of your intended -Silence, I hope soon to see publish'd. What will the People say, if -that _Philisthin_ goes off, giving you the last Blow in the -Controversy? Nothing less than that he has gotten the better of the -Learned _Bishop_ of _Lichfield_, and has refuted Christianity to the -Conviction of the Bishop himself, who would renounce it too, but for -the temporal Advantages he enjoys by it. - -Think, _my Lord_, on the Dishonour of such Reflections, and resume -Courage against the Adversary. I look upon you as a more sturdy -Gladiator than for one Cut on the Pate, to quit the Stage of Battle. -Tho' Mr. _Scheme_ has unluckily hit you on a soft Place, and weaken'd -your Intellectuals for a while; yet he is a generous Combatant, and -gives you Time to recover your wonted Strength of Reason. At him again -then, _my Lord_, and fear not, in your Turn, to give him such a -Home-Thrust, as will pierce his unbelieving Heart. - -And when your _Lordship_ engages him again from the _Press_, I hope -you'll be more explicite for Liberty of Debate. Through godly Zeal for -_Church_, you unhappily made a Slip, in your _Dedication_ to the _King_, -on the persecuting Side of the Question, which had lik'd to have sully'd -the Glory of your whole Work. Such a grand Philosopher, as you are, -should trust alone to the Goodness of your Cause, and the Strength of -your Reasonings, in Defence of it: Such a potent Champion for -Christianity, as you are, should disdain the Assistance of any, but of -God, to fight for you. The Use of the Civil Sword on your Side, is not -only a Disparagement to your Parts, but a Disgrace to our Religion. - -I know not what your _Lordship_ may think on't, but the Prosecution of -the _Moderator_ was, in the Judgment of others, more than of my self, -some Reproach to you: Because of a few slender Animadversions, I made -on your renown'd Book, some think I suffer'd a Prosecution, which you, -in Honour, should have discourag'd. I am willing to acquit you as much -as may be; and would, if I could, impute it to your Forgetfulness, -rather than your Malice, that you step'd not between me and Danger. - -Whether this Discourse will be acceptable to your Lordship, is -somewhat uncertain; I am afraid it will be a little disgustful to -your nice and delicate Taste in Theology, which relishes nothing -better than the plain and ordinary Food of the Letter of _Christ_'s -Miracles: But however, you will readily interpret this _Dedication_ to -your Honour, and if you should make me a large present of Gold for it, -I sincerely assure your _Lordship_, it will be more than I aim'd at; -neither do I desire any other Return for it, than to be endulg'd the -Liberty and Pleasure to pay my customary Respects to your Writings; -and upon proper Occasions to testify to the World, how much I am, - -[Sidenote: London, _October_ 13^{th} 1727.] - - MY LORD, - The Admirer of - Your Wit, Learning - and Orthodoxy, - _Thomas Woolston_. - - - - -[Illustration] - - A SECOND - DISCOURSE - ON THE - MIRACLES - OF OUR - _SAVIOUR_, &c. - - -I here publish another _Discourse_ on our Saviour's Miracles, which I -am not only oblig'd to, by the Promise I made in my former; but am -encouraged to it by the Reception which _that_ met with. If any of our -_Clergy_ were, and besides them, few or none could be offended at my -former _Discourse_, they should have printed their Exceptions to it, -and, if possible, their Confutation of it, which might perhaps have -prevented me the giving them any more Trouble of this Kind. - -In my former _Discourse_ I fairly declar'd, that if the _Clergy_ could -disprove my Arguments against the _Letter_, and for the _Spirit_ of -the Miracles I there took to task, I would not only desist from the -Prosecution of my Design, but own my self an impious _Infidel_ and -_Blasphemer_, and deserving of the worst Punishment: But since they -are all mute and silent, even in this Cause, which in Honour and -Interest they should have spoken out to, they ought not to be angry, -if I proceed in it. I have given them time enough to make a Reply, if -they had been of Ability to do it: What must I think then upon their -Silence? Nothing less than that my Cause is impregnable, and my -Arguments and Authorities in Defence of it irrefragable; and though -they don't professedly yield to the Force of them; yet they have -nothing to say in Abatement of their Strength, or it had certainly -seen the Light before now. - -I go on then in my undertaking to write against the literal Story of -our Saviour's Miracles, and against the Use that is commonly made of -them to prove his divine Authority and Messiahship: And this I do, I -solemnly again declare it, not for the Service of Infidelity, but for -the Honour of the Holy Jesus, and to reduce the _Clergy_ to the good -_old Way_, and the _only Way_ of proving his Messiahship, and that is, -by the allegorical Interpretation of the Law and the Prophets. -Therefore, without any more Preamble, I resume again the Consideration -of the three Heads of Discourse, before proposed to be treated on to -this Purpose. And they are, - -I. To shew, That the Miracles of healing all manner of Bodily -Diseases, which _Jesus_ was justly fam'd for, are none of the proper -Miracles of the _Messiah_, neither are they so much as a good Proof of -his divine Authority to found a Religion. - -II. That the literal History of many of the Miracles of _Jesus_, as -recorded by the _Evangelists_, does imply Absurdities, Improbabilities, -and Incredibilities; consequently they, either in whole or in part, were -never wrought, as they are commonly believed now-a-days, but are only -related as prophetical and parabolical Narratives of what would be -mysteriously, and more wonderfully done by him. - -III. To consider, what _Jesus_ means, when he appeals to his Miracles, -as to a Testimony and Witness of his divine Authority; and to shew -that he could not properly and ultimately refer to those, he then -wrought in the _Flesh_, but to those mystical ones, which he would do -in the _Spirit_, of which those wrought in the Flesh are but mere -Types and Shadows. - -I have already spoken, what I then thought sufficient to the first of -these Heads; and though I could now much enlarge my Reasons, and -multiply Authorities upon it to the same Purpose; yet I shall not do -it; but only, by Way of Introduction to my following _Discourse_, say, -that if it had been intended by our Saviour, that any rational -Argument for his divine Authority and _Messiahship_ should be urged -from his miraculous healing Power; the Diseases which he cured, would -have been accurately described, and his Manner of Operation so -cautiously express'd, as that we might have been sure the Work was -supernatural, and out of the Power of Art and Nature to perform: But -the _Evangelists_ have taken no such Care in their Narrations of -Christ's Miracles. As for Instance, _Jesus_ is supposed often -miraculously to cure _Lameness_; but there is no Account of the nature -and degree of Lameness he cured; nor are we certain, whether the Skill -of a _Surgeon_, or Nature it self, could not have done the Work -without his Help. If the _Evangelists_ had told us of Men, that wanted -one or both their Legs, (and such miserable Objects of Christ's Power -and Compassion, were undoubtedly in those Days as well as in ours) and -how _Jesus_ commanded Nature to extend itself to the entire Reparation -of such Defects; here would have been stupendous Miracles indeed, -which no Scepticism, nor Infidelity itself could have cavill'd at; nor -could I, nor the Fathers themselves have told how to allegorize, and -make Parables of them. But there is no _such_ Miracle recorded of -Christ, nor any thing equal to it; so far from it, that the best and -greatest Miracles of _Jesus_, which must confessedly be those related -at large, (for no Body can suppose he did greater than those more -particularly specify'd) are liable to exception, being so blindly, and -lamely, and imperfectly reported, as that, by Reasonings upon the -Letter of the Stories of them, they may be dwindled away, and reduced -to no Wonders, which brings me to treat again on the - -II. Second Head of my Discourse, and that is, to shew, that the -literal History of the Miracles of _Jesus_, as recorded in the -_Evangelists_, does imply Absurdities, Improbabilities and -Incredibilities; consequently they, in whole or in part, were never -wrought, but are only related as parabolical Narratives of what would -be mysteriously, and more wonderfully done by him. - -To this Purpose I, in my former Discourse, took into Examination -_three_ of the Miracles of Jesus, _viz._ those, of _his driving the -Buyers and Sellers out of the Temple_; Of _his exorcising the Devils -out of the Madmen, and sending them into the Herd of Swine;_ and _Of -his Transfiguration on the Mount_. How well I perform'd on these -Miracles which have been admired for their literal Story, let others -judge and say. - -I now will take into Consideration three others of _Jesus_'s Miracles, -_viz._ those, Of _his healing a Woman that was afflicted with an Issue -of Blood, twelve Years_; Of _his curing the Woman that labour'd under -a Spirit of Infirmity, eighteen Years_; and Of _his telling the_ -Samaritan _Woman her Fortune of having had five husbands, and living -then in Adultery with another Man_: Which are, all three, reputedly -most miraculous and admired Stories. The two former, they say, are -Arguments of _Jesus_'s mighty Power; and the latter, of his immense -Knowledge: But how little of certain Power and Knowledge there is in -any of them, according to the Letter, will be seen in the sequel of -this Discourse. Infidels, I dare say, if they had not wanted Liberty, -would e'er now have facetiously exposed those Stories. If I snatch -that Work out of their Hands, our _Clergy_ ought to be glad, because -what I do in it, is to the Honour of the Holy _Jesus_, and to turn -those pretendedly miraculous Stories into divine Mysteries. - -In my former Discourse I gave my _Readers_ some Reason to expect, that -in _this_ I would treat on some of _Jesus_'s Miracles, which I there -mentioned, _viz._ _On his turning Water into Wine at a Marriage in_ -Cana _of_ Galilee; and _On his feeding of Thousands with a few Loaves -and Fishes in the Wilderness_; and _On his Cure of the Paralytick, for -whom the Roof of the House was broken up to let him down into the Room -where_ Jesus _was_, &c. And I then really did design to speak to these -Miracles, but upon Consideration, finding them most ludicrous Subjects -according to the Letter, I forbear it at present, having no -Inclination to put the _Clergy_ quite out of all Temper. If any should -say, this is Fear and Cowardice in me, I can't help it: But, for all -that, now I have the _Clergy_ in a tolerable good Humour for Liberty, -I'll endeavour to keep them in it, and not disturb them by an hasty -and unnecessary Provocation of them. Who knows not, that the _Clergy_, -like an untamed _Colt_, that I have a mind to ride, may be apt to -winch and kick, and may give me a Fall before I come at the end of my -Journey, to the Disappointment of my Readers? They shall therefore be -gently handled and stroak'd, till they are a little more inur'd to the -Bit and Saddle: And for their Sakes will I postpone such Miracles as -are most obnoxious to Ridicule, and at present chuse the aforesaid -_three_, that of almost any in the Gospel may be most inoffensively -treated on. I begin then, - -1. To speak to that Miracle of _Jesus_'s[79] healing a _Woman diseased -with an Issue of Blood, twelve Years_. To please our _Divines_, I will -allow as much of the Truth of the Letter of this Story, as they can -desire. The Fathers themselves, who are for turning the whole History -of _Jesus_'s Life into Allegory and Mystery, don't deny that a Woman -was cured of an _Hæmorrhage_, after the Manner that is here described -by the Evangelists. St. _Augustin_ says[80] of this Miracle, _that it -was done, as it is related_; and I have a greater Veneration for his -Authority, than to gainsay it. But for all that, _Infidels_ may and -will take into Examination the nature of this Miracle, and if possible -make little or nothing of it. And if I do this for them, it is not to -do Service to Infidelity, but to turn Mens Heads to the mystical Use -of it, for which it is recorded. - -As there is a particular Narration of this Miracle, among the few -others, that are specified; so Reason should tell us, that if the -Letter of the Story of _Christ_'s Miracles, as our _Divines_ hold, is -only to be regarded, this is one of the greatest that Jesus wrought, -or it would not be related by itself, but thrown into the Lump of all -manner of Diseases, which He heal'd. And how then shall we come to the -Knowledge of the greatness of this Miracle? Why, there are but two -Ways to it, and they are, - -_First_, By considering the nature of the Disease, or the lamentable -Condition of the Patient before Cure. And - -_Secondly_, By considering the Manner or Means by which the Cure was -performed. - -If one or both of these Considerations don't manifest the Certainty of -a Miracle, _Infidels_ may conclude there was none in it. - -_First_, As to the nature of the Disease of this Woman, we are much in -the Dark about it, and very uncertain of what Kind and Degree it was. -St. _Matthew_ writing of it, says the Woman was [Greek: aimorroousa], -that is, _obnoxious to bleeding_; St. _Mark_ and St. _Luke_ say of her, -that [Greek: ousa en reumate aimatos], she was in an efflux or running -of Blood. But neither one nor the other of the _Evangelists_ signify of -what Degree her _Hæmorrhage_ was, nor from what part of her Body it -proceeded, nor how often or seldom she was addicted to it. It might be, -for ought we know, only a little bleeding at the Nose, that now and then -she was subject to: Or it might be an obnoxiousness to an Evacuation of -Blood by Siege or Urine: Or it was, not improbably, of the menstruous -Kind. Any of these might be the Case of this Woman for what's written; -and I don't find that any of our _Divines_ have determined of what sort -it was. But a great Miracle is wrought, they think, in her Cure, without -knowing the Disease; which _Infidels_ will say is asserted at Random and -without Reason, in as much as it is necessary to know the nature of the -Distemper, or none truly and properly can say, there was a great, much -less a miraculous Cure wrought. - -But supposing this _Hæmorrhage_ proceeded from what Part of the Body -our _Divines_ think fit; How will they make a grievous Distemper of it -in order to a Miracle? The Woman subsisted too long under her Issue of -Blood, and bore it too well, for any to make her Case very grievous. -_Beza_[81] will have it, that is was a constant and incessant Effusion -of Blood that the Woman labour'd with. But this could not be, nor was -it possible, as I suppose _Physicians_ will agree, for Nature to -endure it so long, or the Woman to live twelve Days, much less twelve -Years under it. - -No more then, than some slight Indisposition can reasonably and -naturally be made of this Woman's Distemper. And it would be well, if -Infidels would rest here with their Objections against it. But what if -they should say, that this _Hæmorrhage_ was rather of Advantage to the -Health of the Patient, than of Danger to her, and that the Woman was -more _nice_ than _wise_, or she would never have sought so much for -Help and Cure of it? Some _Hæmorrhages_ are better kept open than -stop'd and dry'd up; and if _Infidels_ should say, that _this_ was a -Preservative of the Life of the Woman, like an _Issue_, at which -Nature discharges itself of bad Humours, Who can contradict them? Nay, -if they should say that _Jesus_'s Cure of this Woman's _Hæmorrhage_ -was a Precipitation of her Death, for she died some time after it, -rather than a Prolongation of her Life, for she lived twelve Years -under it, and was of good Strength, when she applied to our Saviour -for Cure, or she could never have born the press of the People to come -at him; Who can gainsay them? It is true she was very sollicitous for -a Cure, and uneasy under her Distemper, or she would never have spent -all she had on _Physicians_; which is a Sign, some may say, that her -Disease was grievous, irksome, and dangerous, as well as incurable by -Art. But _Infidels_ will say, not so; for there are some slight -cutaneous Distempers, sometimes issuing with a little purulent and -bloody Matter, that nice Women will be at a great Expence for Relief, -and are always tampering, and often advising about them, though to no -Purpose: And if they should say that this was the worth of the Case of -this Woman, Who can disprove it? - -In short then here is an uncertain Distemper both in Nature and -Degree; how then can there be any Certainty of a Miracle in the Cure -of it? Mr. _Moore_, the _Apothecary_, accurately describes the -Diseases he pretends to have cured; and he is in the right on't so to -do, or he could not recommend his Art, and aggrandize his own Fame. So -the Bodily Disease of this Woman should have been clearly and fully -represented to our Understanding, or we can form no Conception of -Christ's Power in the Cure of it. And I can't but think that the -_Evangelists_, especially St. _Luke_ the _Physician_, had made a -better Story of this Woman's Case, if Christ's Authority and Power had -been to be urg'd from the Letter of it. It's enough to make us think, -Christ cured no extraordinary and grievous Maladies, or the -_Evangelists_ would never have instanced in this, that so much -Exception is to be made to. As then, reasonably speaking, there was no -extraordinary Disease in this Woman cured, and consequently no great -Miracle wrought; so let us now, - -_Secondly_, Consider the Manner of the Cure, and whether any Miracle -is to be thence proved. _The Woman said within her self,[82] that if -she could but touch the Hem of Jesus's Garment, she should be made -whole._ And I can't but commend her, at this distance of Time, for the -Power of her Faith, Persuasion, or Imagination in the Case, which was -a good Preparative for Relief, and without which, it's certain, she -had continued under her Disease. The Power of Imagination, it's well -known, will work Wonders, see Visions, produce Monsters, and heal -Diseases, as Experience and History doth testify. There being many -Instances to be given of Cures performed by frivolous Applications, -Charms, and Spells, which are unaccountable any other Way, than by the -Imagination of the Patient. Against the Reason and Judgment of a -_Physician_, sometimes the diseased will take his own Medicines and -Benefit. And I don't doubt, but Stories may be told of Cures wrought, -the Imagination of the Patient helping, by as mean a Trifle, as the -Touch of Christ's Garments, and no Miracle talk'd on for it. Even in -the ordinary, natural, and rational Use of Physick, it is requisite, -that the Patient have a good Opinion of his _Physician_ and of his -Medicines. A good Heart in the Sick, tends not only to his Support, -but helps the Operation of Prescriptions. As despair and dejection of -Mind sometimes kills, where otherwise reasonably speaking, proper -Medicines would cure; so a good Conceit in the Patient at other times, -whether the Medicines be pertinent or not, is almost all in all. And -if Infidels should say that this was the Case of this Woman in the -Gospel; if they should say as St. _John of Jerusalem_[83] did, _that -her own Imagination cured herself_; and should urge the Probability of -it, because _Jesus_ could do no Cures and[84] Miracles against -Unbelief, Who can help it? In this Case our _Divines_ must prove, that -this Woman's _Hæmorrhage_ was of that kind, that no Faith nor Fancy -in herself could help her without the Divine Power; but this is -impossible for them to do, unless there had been a more certain -Description of her Disease, than the _Evangelists_ have given of it. - -Our _Divines_ will indeed tell us, what I believe, that it was the -Divine Power co-operating with the Faith and Imagination of the Woman -that cured her; because Jesus says _that Virtue had gone out of him_ -to the healing of her: And I wish _Infidels_ would acquiesce here, and -not say, that _Jesus_'s Virtue hung very loose on him, or the Woman's -Faith, like a Fascination, could never have extracted it against his -Will and Knowledge: But what if they should say, that _Jesus_, being -secretly appriz'd of the Woman's Faith, and Touch of him, took the -Hint; and to comfort and confirm her in her Conceit, and to help the -Cure forward, said, _Virtue was gone out of him?_ This would be an -untoward Suggestion, which if Infidels should make, our Divines must -look for a Reply to it. - -It is said of the _Pope_, when he was last at _Benevento_, that he -wrought three Miracles, which our Protestant _Clergy_, I dare say, -believe nothing at all of. But, for all that, it is not improbable, but -that some diseased People, considering their superstitious Veneration -for the _Pope_, and their Opinion of the Sanctity of the _Present_, -might be persuaded of his Gift of Miracles, and desirous of his Exercise -of it; and if they fancyfully or actually received Benefit by his Touch, -I don't wonder, without a Miracle. And what if we had been told of the -_Popes_ curing an _Hæmorrhage_ like this before us? What would -_Protestants_ have said to it? Why, "that a foolish, credulous, and -superstitious Woman had fancy'd herself cured of some slight -Indisposition; and the crafty _Pope_ and his Adherents, aspiring after -popular Applause, magnified the presumed Cure into a Miracle. If they -would have us _Protestants_ to believe the Miracle, they should have -given us an exacter Description of her Disease, and then we could better -have judg'd of it". The Application of such a supposed Story of a -Miracle wrought by the _Pope_, is easy; and if _Infidels_, _Jews_, and -_Mahometans_ who have no better Opinion of _Jesus_, than we have of the -_Pope_, should make it, there's no Help for it. - -And thus have I made my Descants on this supposed Miracle before us -and argued, as much as I could, against the Miraculousness of it, both -from the _Nature_ of the Disease, and the _Manner_ of the Cure of it. -Whether any one shall think I have said any thing to the Purpose or -not, is all one to me. My Design in what I have done, is not to do -Service to Infidelity, but, upon the Command and Encouragement of the -Fathers, to turn Mens Thoughts to the mystical Meaning of the said -Miracle, which I come now to give an Account of. - -None of the Fathers (excepting St. _Chrysostom_[85], who writes here -more like an _Orator_ than a _Physician_) ever trouble themselves, when -they speak of this Miracle, about the Nature of the Disease, literally, -in this Woman, or the greatness of the Cure of it; but alone bend their -Studies to the mystical Interpretation, for the sake of which, this -Evangelical Story was written, and originally transacted. - -Accordingly, they tell us that this Woman is a Type[86] of the Church of -the _Gentiles_ in after Times. And as to her _Hæmorrhage_ or _Issue of -Blood_, they understand it of the[87] Impurity and Corruption of the -Church by ill Principles and bad Morals, that the would _flow with_. -Some of the Fathers, as[88] _Gregory Nazianzen_, and[89] _Eusebius -Gallicanus_, will have the _Issue of Blood_ to be a Type of the scarlet -Sin of Blood-guiltiness in the Church: If so, we must understand it of -the Effusion of Christian Blood by War and Persecution. - -The _twelve Years_ of the Woman's Affliction with her _Hæmorrhage_ is -a typical Number of the Church's impure State for above _twelve -Hundred Years_. And whether some of the primitive Church did not, by -the said _twelve Years_ of the Woman, understand _twelve Ages_, I -appeal to[90] _Irenæus_, to whom I refer my Readers, Accordingly this -typify'd Woman of the Church, should be the same with the Woman[91] in -the Wilderness, that, as St. _John_ says, was twelve Hundred and sixty -Days or Years there sustained; and by whom many Protestants, as well -as the Fathers, understand the Church universal. When the said twelve -Hundred and sixty Days or Years of the Church's being in the -Wilderness, did commence or will end, is none of my Business to -enquire or ascertain. But as this Woman in the Gospel is said after -_twelve Years_ Affliction, to be cured of her Disease by _Jesus_; so -it is the Opinion of the Fathers, that the Church universal, after -_twelve Hundred Years_ of her Wilderness State, will be purified and -sanctified by the Gifts of the Spirit of Christ, and enter upon a more -holy, peaceable, and happy Condition, absolutely freed from her _Issue -of Blood_, which, through Persecution and War, she has for many Ages -labour'd under. It is not my Concern to collect all the Authorities of -the Fathers to this Purpose; but only say, that if at the End of -twelve Hundred and sixty Days or Years, the Church, like the Woman, be -not cur'd of her _Hæmorrhage_ and mystical _Wounds_ and _Sores_; if -her present impure and unsound State be not chang'd into an holy, -healthy, and peaceable one; many good _Protestants_, as well as the -Fathers, are mistaken, and abundance of Prophecies of the Old and New -Testament, that have been hereunto urged, will lose their Credit. - -But who are meant by the _Physicians_ of the Woman, that have had the -mystical _Hæmorrhage_ and Diseases of the Church Under Cure all this -while? Who should, but pretended Ministers, of the Gospel? Ministers -of the Gospel are not only by the Fathers call'd metaphorically[92] -spiritual _Physicians_; but our _Divines_ and Preachers of all -Denominations like the Metaphor, and think themselves able -_Physicians_ at the Diseases of the Church, which they are forward to -prescribe and apply Medicines to, whenever, in their Opinion, she -stands in need of them. Whether our _Divines_ like to be accounted the -_Physicians_ of the Text before us, I much question; but it is certain -that[93] _Eusebius Gallicanus_ expressly says, that our _Divines_ and -pretended Philosophers are meant by them; and venerable _Bede_[94] -upon the Place is of the same Mind too. - -The Woman of the Gospel is said[95] to _suffer many Things of many -Physicians, and was nothing better'd, but rather grew worse_; that is, -she grew worse not in time only, but through the Use of her -_Physicians_, who were her[96] Tormentors. So the Diseases of the -Church in time have increased, for all the Use she has made of her -spiritual Physicians, _the Clergy_. In every Age has the Church been -degenerating in Morals and Principles, as any one knows, that is able -to make an Estimate of Religion in times past; and all along have her -ecclesiastical _Quack Doctors_ contributed to her ill State of Health. -As many Physicians with their different Applications tormented the -poor Woman; so our many _Empericks_ in Theology with their different -_Schemes_ of Church Government and various _Systems_ of Divinity, -like so many Prescriptions for Cure, have increased the Divisions, -widen'd the Wounds, and inflamed the Sores of the Church. And if the -Woman's _Issue of Blood_ be, according to the Fathers, a particular -Type of the Blood of the Church, that is shed in Persecution and War; -our Theological Pretenders to Physick, have been so far from providing -and prescribing a good _Stiptic_ in this Case that they have been the -Occasion of the Effusion of much Christian Blood; there having been -many a War and Persecution, that these _Incision_ Doctors, who should -be all _Balsam_, have been the Cause of. - -The Woman _spent all her Living_, all her yearly Income, upon her -Physicians, and as it seems to a bad Purpose; so very great and large -Revenues of the Church, are expended on her ecclesiastical Doctors in -spiritual Physick: And to what End and Purpose? Why, to open and widen -the bleeding Wounds of the Church, which they should heal and salve -up. It is now about _twelve Hundred Years_, like the _twelve Years_ of -the Woman, that the _Clergy_, our Practitioners in Theological -Physick, have received of the Church vast Fees, Stipends and -Gratuities (for before that time her _Doctors_ prescrib'd freely) to -take care of her Health and Welfare; but unless God provide in due -time a Medicine of his own, she is likely to continue in a diseased -and sorrowful Condition for all them. - -One would think that the Woman of the Gospel might have had more Wit -than to lay out all she was worth upon _Physicians_ to no good -Purpose; one would think that after some Experience of their -Insufficiency to cure her, she might have forborn seeing them, and -reserved the Remains of her Estate for better Uses: So the Fees and -Revenues of the Church, after due Experience of the Inability of her -spiritual Doctors to heal her Sores, might have been in my Opinion -better employ'd, and the Church of Christ more out of Danger of Wounds -and Sickness, by Sin and Error. Certain it is, that many an _Issue of -Blood_, through Persecution and War, had been prevented; if such -barbarous and blood thirsty Doctors of Ecclesiastical Physick, had -never been so fee'd and hired to take care of the Welfare of the -Church, which, for all their Spiritual Medicines, will continue in a -languishing Condition, till heal'd by the Virtue and Graces of the -Spirit of Christ in his foresaid appointed Time. - -So much then to the mystical Interpretation of the Story of the Cure -of the _Issue of Blood_ in this Woman. Every minute Circumstance of -it is thus to be allegorized, if need was. Whether the _Clergy_ will -like this parabolical Explication of it, I neither know nor care. They -have their Liberty with _Atheists_ and _Infidels_ to believe as little -of it as they think fit; and I hope they'll give me leave with the -Fathers of the Church to believe as much of it as I please. But -whether they approve of this allegorical Interpretation of this -supposed Miracle or not; they must own, that if the Church, after the -foresaid _twelve Ages_, should be purified and sanctified; if her -Errors and Corruptions, of which the Woman's _Uncleanness_ is a Type, -should be heal'd; if War and Persecution, typified by her _Issue of -Blood_, should then entirely cease; if all Christians should then be -united in Principle, Heart and Affection, and made to walk in a -peaceable and quiet State, as the Woman was[97] _bid to go in Peace_; -if the Church should then _come behind_ Jesus (which[98] is a Figure -of future Time) and rightly touch by Faith, and apprehend his[99] -Garments or Words of Prophecy, about which Christians have hitherto -been _pressing_ and urgent; and if the Gifts of the Spirit, like -_Virtue on the Woman_, should then be poured forth upon the Church to -the absolute Cure of her present Diseases, we must, I say, allow the -Story of this Woman to be an admirable Emblem and typical -Representation; and the Accomplishment of it most miraculous and -stupendous; and not only an indisputable Proof of the Power and -Presence of Christ with his Church, but a Demonstration of his -_Messiahship_, in as much as an almost infinite Number of Prophecies -of the Old Testament, will thereupon receive that Accomplishment, -which hitherto, by no shadow of Reason, can be pretended to. - -After such a mystical Healing of the _Hæmorrhage_ of the Church, there's -no doubt on't, but the Story of this Woman in the Gospel will be allow'd -to be typical and emblematical. In the mean time, without making a -Parable of the Story of her, I assert, there is little or nothing of a -Miracle to be made of her Cure, unless we were at a greater Certainty -about the Nature of her Disease, and the Manner, rationally speaking, -of _Jesus_'s healing of it. And so I pass to the Consideration of - -2. Another Story of a miraculous Cure perform'd by _Jesus_ on another -Woman, and that is on her, who[100] _had a Spirit of Infirmity, eighteen -Years, and was bow'd together, and could in no wise lift up -herself----being bound of Satan_, &c. This too, as I suppose, is with -our _Divines_ a great Miracle, and one of the greatest that _Jesus_ -wrought, or it had not been specify'd, but cast indiscriminately into -the Number of all manner of Diseases, which he heal'd. And for the sake -of the Letter, and to please our _Divines_, whom I would not offend -wilfully, I will allow, that _Jesus_ might lay his Hands on, and speak -comfortably to such a drooping, stooping, and vaporous Woman, full of -Fancies of the _Devil_'s Temptation and Power over her; and she might -thereupon recover, and be afterwards of a more cheerful Heart, and erect -Countenance, freed from the whimsical Imagination of being -_Satan-ridden_: And what of all that? Where's the Miracle? If the Story -of such a Miracle had been related of any _Impostor_ in Religion, of an -_Arch-Heretick_, or _Popish Exorcist_, our _Divines_ would have flouted -at it; they would have told us, there was nothing supernatural and -uncommon in the Event, nor any thing at all to be wonder'd at in it. -Taking the _Devil_ out of this Story, and there's no more in it, than -what's common for a simple, melancholy, and drooping Woman, to be -chear'd and elated upon the comfortable Advice and Admonition of a -reputedly wise and good Man. And the putting the _Devil_ into the Story, -in another Case, our _Divines_ would have said was only the Fancy of the -Woman, or the Device of the _Miracle-Monger_, to magnify his own Art and -Power. And if _Infidels_, _Jews_, and _Mahometans_, should say so of -this Story of _Jesus_, they would be no more unreasonable in their -Conjectures and Solutions of this Miracle, than we should have been in -another and parallel Case. - -The _Pope_, when last at _Benevento_, is said to have exorciz'd a -_Dæmon_ out of a young Maid, which our _Divines_ no more believe than -_Infidels_ do. But it is not at all impossible or improbable, that a -young Woman might be troubled with Vapours, and go droopingly upon it, -whom the holy Father, of whose Prayers and Sanctity she had a good -Opinion, might relieve with his Talk, and give another Turn to her -Thoughts and Temper: And if she fancy'd herself before possess'd with a -_Dæmon_, or rather, if the _Pope_'s Partizans persuaded her so, it's not -unlikely to make a Miracle on't. Just so may _Infidels_, with their -Descants on this Miracle before us, reduce and lessen it: And what must -we Believers do then? Why, we must find out a Way to ascertain the Truth -and Greatness of the Miracle, or give it up. We must determine certainly -what was the Woman's Distemper, and how the Cure of it by ordinary Means -was impossible, or make no more Words about it. - -And how can we come at the Knowledge of this Woman's Disease, but by the -original Words of the _Evangelist_. St. _Luke_ says, she was one [Greek: -pneuma echousa astheneias], _that had a Spirit of Weakness_, that is, -was poor-Spirited and pusilanimous; and if she was [Greek: synkyptousa], -_bow'd down_ upon't, its no more than might be expected of a -disconsolate, melancholy and dejected Person. Here then is the Disease -of the Woman: If it had been worse, St. _Luke_, the Physician, if he was -of Sufficiency in his Art, should better have express'd himself; so as -to give us another Conception of it. And if _Satan_ had not been -brought into the Tale, whom it is easy, by reasoning as above, to -exorcise out of it, here is a no more grievous Distemper, than what upon -the comfortable Exhortations of a wise Man may be cured. And do what our -Divines can, they can make literally no more of this Story. - -It is said, that for _eighteen Years_ the Woman labour'd under this -Disease. And she might be _hippish_ and _drooping_ for a longer time, -and be no less easily at last cured. It's pity the _Evangelist_ had -not told us how old this Woman was, when the Distemper first seiz'd -her; then we could have made better Conjectures about the Nature and -Cure of it. If there was any room to suppose, either from the Words of -Scripture or extra-scriptural History, that she was about _fifty_ or -_sixty_, when she first began to droop and the _Devil_ got upon her -Back; here had been Scope for a most stupendous Miracle; and our -_Divines_ might have asserted, what no Body could have contradicted, -that _Jesus_ had made an old Woman, who was _bow'd down_, not only -under the Weight of _Satan_, but under the Burthen of seventy or -eighty Years, young again; and had restored her to the Health, Vigor, -and Beauty of one of fifteen. Here would have been a mighty Miracle -indeed. And I don't doubt, but our _Divines_ would willingly get into -such a Notion of this Miracle, and would heartily espouse it, but for -the Offence they must needs give to decrepid old Women, who may be out -of Conceit with themselves upon it, as if they carried the _Devil_ on -their Shoulders, as the Cause of their Decripedness and Incurvity. And -such an Offence would be of ill Consequence. - -Reasonably then speaking, there was not much in the Disease and Cure -of this Woman. Excepting that Part, which _Satan_ bears, in the Story, -there is nothing wonderful in it. And supposing _Jesus_ might exorcise -the _Devil_ out of this Woman, or dismount him from off her Shoulders; -yet even this makes nothing for his Divine Power and Authority, in as -much as many _Exorcists_ among the _Jews_ and even among _Papists_, if -Protestants had not more Wit than to believe it, could do as much. And -after all, I don't believe the _Evangelist_ intended, that our Saviour -should be had in Admiration for the Letter of this Miracle, or St. -_Luke_ would accurately have described the Disease, so as to put it -out of the Power of Nature and Art to heal it, and of the Wit of -_Infidels_ to cavil at the miraculous Cure of it. Neither do I find -that the Fathers of the Church ever trouble themselves about the -Letter of this Story, which is some Argument, that no great Heed is to -be given to it; but are only curious about the Mystery, for which this -Miracle was related, and which I come now to give an Account of. - -As the Fathers said of the Woman with her _Issue of Blood_, that she -was a Type of the Church; so they say of this Woman with her _Spirit -of Infirmity_, that she is a[101] Figure of the Church too. - -As the Woman was _bow'd together_; so the Church, as the Fathers do -interpret, may be said to be[102] _bow'd down_ to the Earth, when she -is _prone_ and _bent_ to, and _intent on_ the literal or earthly -Interpretations of the Scriptures; and _can in no wise lift up her -self_, like the Woman, _that is_, can't raise her Thoughts to the -Contemplation of the cælestial, spiritual, and sublime Sense of them. -Hence we see the Propriety of the Name of the Woman's Disease, call'd -[Greek: pneuma astheneias], a _Spirit of Weakness_, which is not -properly significative of any bodily Distemper, but succinctly is very -expressive of the Church's _Weakness_ at the _Spirit_ of Prophecy, -which at this Day she labours under. - -As it was _eighteen Years_ that the Woman was griev'd with her _Spirit -of Infirmity_, for so long had her Distemper been growing on her; so it -is almost eighteen (hundred) Years, or the eighteenth Century of Years, -that this _Infirmity_ of the Church at the _Spirit_ of Prophecy has been -coming on her: And she is now so _bent_ to the Earth of the Letter, that -nothing less than the Hand and Power of Jesus, that erected the Woman, -can raise her to mystical, divine, and sublime Contemplations on the Law -and Prophets. St. _Augustin_[103] will have these _eighteen Years_ of -the Woman's _Infirmity_, as she is a Type of the Church, to be -synchronical with the[104] _three Years_ of the Fig-Tree's -Unfruitfulness. I don't rightly apprehend his mystical Arithmetic. But -this is certain, upon the Authority of the Fathers, that those two -Numbers, with the _twelve Years_ of the Woman's _Issue of Blood_, are -all conterminous and will end together: Consequently at the same time, -that the Woman of the Church will be cured of her _Issue of Blood_, she -will be heal'd of her _Infirmity_ at the _Spirit_ of Prophecy; _that -is_, at the Conclusion of certain grand Periods of Time she will enter -upon a blessed State of _Peace_ and _Vision_; which is the concurrent -Doctrine of the Fathers, as any one may discern, that has dip'd into -them, and is a good Confirmation of our present Exposition, and mystical -Application of the miraculous Story before us. - -St. _Luke_ says, that the Woman could not lift up herself [Greek: eis -to panteles], _v._ 11. which, without animadverting on our _English_ -Translation, should be rendered, _until all was perfected_, or until -the _Perfection of Time_, which, the Apostle[105] and the Fathers -agree, is the Time for the Church to be cured of her _Weakness_, and -to be endu'd with _Power_ at the Spirit of Prophecy. - -As the Woman was heal'd by _Jesus_ on the Sabbath-Day; so the Church, -upon the ample Authorities of the Fathers, which Men of Reading will -excuse me the Production of, is certainly to be heal'd of her _spiritual -Infirmity_, at the Understanding of Prophecy against the mystical -and[106] grand Sabbath, which, according to the Fathers, commences at -the Expiration of her eighteen (hundred) Years _Weakness_. - -But the _Ruler of the Synagogue is said to be moved with Indignation, -v._ 14. at this charitable Work of _Jesus_, in healing of the Woman, -because it was done on the Sabbath-Day; which in my Opinion can't be -literally true: Though I am willing enough, to please our _Divines_, -to allow as much as may be of the Letter of this Story, yet I except -against this Part of it. _Origen_ says, there are some things of the -Gospel related as Facts, which were not done; and I believe this of -the Ruler of the Synagogue to be one of them. Human Nature, I think, -is not capable of such base and unnatural Resentment. Works of -Necessity, and requisite Offices of Kindness and Charity to Man and -Beast, were allow'd by the Law, and practised by the _Jews_ on the -Sabbath: And the Cure of this Woman, though on the Sabbath-Day, was -such an Act of Beneficence and Compassion in the Holy _Jesus_, that I -can't but think _bad_, as well as _good_ Men, would rather glorify -God, that had given such Power unto Man, than find fault with it. But -in the Mystery of this Part of the Story, there is clear Sense and -Truth. Who then is this _Archisynagogus_, or Ruler of the Synagogue, -that will be full of Indignation at the healing of the Church of her -foresaid _Infirmity_ at the _Spirit_ of Prophecy? _Origen_ says that -the[107] right Interpretation of the Names of Persons and Places in -Scripture is of good Use to the mystical Application. Accordingly -_Archisynagogus_ does signify the _Chiefs of our Congregations_: And -who should they be then but the Clergy? And if this ben't enough to -fix this Name and Character upon them, then let _Theophanes Cerameus_ -speak here, who says, that the _Archisynagogus_, is a[108] _Type of -all Priests_, who will be against the foresaid miraculous healing of -the Church. And why will the _Clergy_ be mov'd 'with Indignation at -the curing the Church of her _Infirm_, and restoring her to a _sound_ -Spirit of Prophecy? Because as St. _Augustin_ says,[109] they are not -only _bow'd down_ to the Letter themselves; but because this -_Infirmity_ of the Church will be a Reproach to them, in as much as it -is a Proof of their Apostacy and Insufficiency at Prophecy; and the -Cure of it will be attended with such Consequences, as affect their -Reputation and Interests. Who can question but the _Clergy_, who are -the _Archisynagogus_ of the Text, and who are for the Church's -_bending_ and _stooping_ to the low Sense of the Letter of the -Scripture, will be averse to her being rais'd, _lifted up_, and -erected to the Contemplation of the sublime, anagogical, and heavenly -Sense of it? Such an Healing and Erection of the Church will vex them -at the Heart, as it will bring _Shame_ and loss of Interest along with -it; and they will undoubtedly be _Adversaries_ to this good Work of -_Christ_, which, upon the Testimony of all Antiquity, is to be done on -or against the Evangelical and great Sabbath. - -Our Saviour is supposed to reprove the _Ruler_ of the _Synagogue_, for -his _Indignation_ at the Cure of the Woman on the Sabbath-Day, saying, -_v._ 15. _Thou Hypocrite, doth not each one of you on the Sabbath -loose his Ox or his Ass from the Stall, and lead him away to Watering? -And ought not this Woman to be loos'd from this Bond on the -Sabbath-Day?_ There is Force in this Argument according to the Letter: -And the _Ruler_ of the _Synagogue_, and other _Jesus_'s Adversaries -hereupon, might well be _asham'd_ for finding Fault with such a -merciful and beneficent Work done on the _Sabbath_; when they -themselves did Works on the _Sabbath_ of much less Consequence. But -to[110] the Mystery. What may be said to our Ministers of the Letter, -of whom the _Archisynagogus_ is a Type, for their Averseness to the -healing of the Church in like manner? Why, that they are _Hypocrites_, -that is, superficial Criticks on the Scriptures, and don't consider -that _the Law is spiritual_, and how against the Evangelical Sabbath -every Man is to be released from his Bondage and Servility to -irrational Principles (for which he has been like an _Ox_ and an -_Ass_) and to be conducted to drink of the Waters of Divine Wisdom: -For this grand Sabbath will be a Day of absolute Liberty, perfect -_Rest_, immense Knowledge, real Vision and Contemplation on God and -his Providence, as the antient _Jews_ and Fathers so copiously -declare, that they who are ignorant herein, may be _ashamed_; -consequently they might know, that the Church is to be cured of her -_Spirit of Weakness_ at Prophecy on that Day. - -But _Satan_ is said to have _v._ 16. _bound_, and, as is supposed, -_bow'd down_ this Woman; the literal Truth of which I much question: -But how then has _Satan bound and bow'd down_ the Church? This, -seemingly, is the great Difficulty in the mystical Application of this -Story, and must be the great Curiosity of my Readers to know how I -will account for it. If the Fathers don't help me out at this dead -Lift, and that clearly and intelligibly too, I shall abate of my -Veneration for them. If they don't tell me, and make me to apprehend, -what this _Satan_ is, that for many Ages has _bound_ and oppress'd the -Church after the supposed Manner of the typical Woman, I had better -have held my Peace, and said nothing to this parabolical Miracle. - -The Writings of the _Evangelists_ so abound with Stories of _Satan_, -_Belzebub_, the _Devil_, and of greater and less Number of _Devils_, -and of _Dæmons_ and of _unclean Spirits_, more than any Histories -before, as one would think, if these Stories were literally to be -understood, that was the Age in which Christ came, that _Hell_ first -broke loose, and then primarily infested Mankind; and that upon the -Destruction of _Judæa_ and Propagation of the Gospel, the _Devils_ -accompanied the _Jews_ in their Dispersion, or the _Apostles_ in their -Travels, and have been the Tempters, Seducers, and Tormentors of -other Nations ever since. - -_Arnobius_[111] says, _That before Christ, Devils were things unknown -to the World_; by which _Arnobius_ must mean, either that they were -hardly talk'd of before, or that their Nature was not understood, till -Christ inform'd us of it. In both these Senses, I believe, _Arnobius_ -may be taken, _viz._ that there was not only little Talk of _Satan_ -and the _Devil_, but less of his Nature apprehended, before _Christ_ -by his Parables and parabolical Miracles, rightly interpreted, -instructed us in it. And if after Ages have departed from the true and -original Doctrine of _Devils_, making a literal Story of that, which -is only mystical and cabalistical; and have formed to themselves -_Ideas_ of hideous and horrible Fiends, _Mormos_ and _Hobgoblins_, it -shall not disturb me. - -As to the Place and State of _Hell_, many are the Notions of _Divines_ -of several Ages past, as well as of the present. I shall not recount -them all here, much less refute any of them. But there is an antient, -rational, and cabalistical Notion of Hell, which I have learned of the -Fathers, who signify, that the babylonish and bewilder'd State of -Christ's Church may be call'd _Hell_, because, as the Word [Greek: -adês] does import, it is a State _without Vision_. Hence _Origen_ -says,[112] that whoever can form to himself an _Idea_ of the Church in -time to come, when she will be dignified with the Title of the _New -Jerusalem_, for her Peace and Vision may understand what is meant by -_Hell_, and all that is written of it. - -As then the Fathers had a cabalistical Notion of _Hell_, which modern -_Divines_ are Strangers to; so they had of _Satan_, and the _Devil_ -and his Angels. I own myself at a Loss for an express Testimony out of -the Fathers about _Satan_ in the Text before us; but according to -their Explications of _Satan_ in other Places, nothing more is meant -by him here than, "That furious Principle and Temper in Man that is -not only averse to Liberty in Religion, but for binding, restraining, -and tying down the Church and Christian People to certain Opinions and -Ways of Worship." In such a State of Bondage has the Woman of the -Church been kept, by such a _Satan_, in one Order of Men or other, -for all Ages past. And that this is a right and primitive Notion of -_Satan_, I could prove by Authorities enough. _Origen_ tells us[113] -of the Names of Kings in prophetical Scripture, which would be Enemies -to Christ's Church; but such Kings never did, nor would personally -exist; their Names, according to Interpretation, standing only for so -many Sins and Vices, reigning in Mankind. To the same Purpose he -says[114] _human Vices are Devils_: And _Satan_ himself, (as the Word -signifies _Adversary_) is with him[115] and the antient _Jews_ too, no -other than an _Aversness_ in Man to the Will of God. I could quote -other Fathers to this Purpose; but being sparing of my Pains at -present, I refer my Readers to my former[116] _Discourse_, in which -they will see the Opinion of the Fathers about the _Devils_ in the -Madman, and afterwards in the Herd of Swine; from which let them -judge, whether the Fathers could have any other Notion of _Satan_ -here, than what I have represented. It is certain, and may be easily -prov'd, that by _Satan_, the _Dragon_ and the _Devil_, mentioned in -the _Revelations_, nothing more is to be understood, than a furious, -persecuting, satanical, and diabolical Temper in Man; and if what St. -_John_ writes of _Satan_ be cabalistical and allegorical; the other -Assertions of the Evangelists and Apostles about _him_ will of Course -come under that Denomination; or the primitive Rule of Interpretation -of Scripture according to the natural Signification of the Names of -Persons and Places is not good. - -As then the _Woman_ of the Gospel was, as is supposed, _v._ 16. _bound -by Satan, loe, for eighteen Years_: So the foresaid furious Principle -in Man, which is a mystical _Satan_, an _Adversary_ to Liberty, has -bound the Church, _loe_, to the _eighteenth_ Century of Years: But she -is to be entirely released from this spiritual Bondage, and set -at[117] _perfect Liberty_ against the acceptable and Evangelical -Sabbath. And here it is to be noted out of St. _Augustin_, and most -worthy of Observation it is, that at the[118] same time, in which the -Church will be loosed from her Bondage; _Satan_ himself will[119] be -_bound_ and _chain'd_ for a[120] _thousand Years_, the time of the -evangelical Sabbath, that is, says _Ephræm Syrus_[121] for ever. And -how will our mystical _Satan_ or the _Dragon_ be bound and chain'd? -Not with Chains or Links of Iron or other Metal; but _Vinculis -Rationis_, with the Chains of Reasons and Arguments for Christian -Liberty, which will restrain the _Adversary_, _Satan_, from any more -Impositions and Persecutions of the Church. And I can't here but -applaud the great Mr. _Grounds_ and Mr. _Scheme_, for their Work and -Labour of Love to Mankind, in making _Chains_ of Argumentations for -Liberty, which I hope will prove of sufficient Strength to bind -_Satan_ and restrain him (in Dr. _Rogers_, Bishop _G--bs--n_, and -others his Angels) from giving any more Molestation to Christian -Philosophers in their Enquiries after, and Lucubrations on Divine -Truth. All the Honour that I aim at in that Work is, by the Help of -the Fathers, to point out that anti-Christian Principle or Temper in -the _Clergy_[122] which, for its _Averseness_ to Liberty, is called -_Satan_; for its _Calumnies_, is called the _Devil_; for its -_Furiousness_, is called the _Dragon_; and for its _Unreasonableness_, -is called the _Beast_, to the intellectual Views of Mankind, and to -direct them how to apprehend and lay hold on it. - -Our Saviour, according to _Origen_, had never call'd _Peter_,[123] -_Satan_, if _Satan_ had been any Thing else than _Man-averse_ to the -Will of God. - -And thus have I spoken to the Miracle of _Jesus_'s healing the _Woman -of her Spirit of Infirmity, whom Satan had bound and bow'd down_, -which, according to the Letter, is no Miracle at all; and some Parts -of the Story are improbable and incredible; but the mystical -Completion of it will be most prodigious, and a Demonstration not only -of Christ's Power and Presence in his Church, but of his -_Messiahship_, in as much as a vast Number of Prophecies of the _Old -Testament_, more than can soon be collated to this Purpose, will -thereupon receive their Accomplishment. And so I come to a - -3. _Third_ miraculous Story of _Jesus_'s, that is of his telling -(_John_ iv.) the Woman of _Samaria_ her Fortune, _of having had five -Husbands, and being then an Adulteress_, &c. in which there is a -notable Miracle display'd, in the Opinion of our _Divines_, that -proves _Jesus_'s Omniscience, or he could not so have search'd into -the Heart of this Woman, and told her such Occurrences, that concern'd -her Life past. I thought once of transcribing here entirely this -Story; and so I would, but that it is a long one, and might have set -some Readers, who are by this time awaken'd to pry into the -Absurdities of the Letter, a laughing, before I had time my self -regularly to animadvert on it. - -Whether there was any Truth at all in the Letter of this Story, I -should much have questioned, but that some Fathers write of it, as if -they believed it literally, tho' they make a mystical and allegorical -Explication of the whole and every part of it. And I, having a sincere -Veneration for the Fathers, will not contradict them, (and I hope this -Concession will please the _Clergy_) but, for all that, can't like any -part of this Story literally, but could almost wish, that the Fathers, -for the Honour of _Jesus_, had made the whole no other than a Parable. - -It's strange that no _Jews_ or _Infidels_ have as yet ludicrously -treated this Story to the, almost, Confutation of our Religion. If -their Tongues had not been ty'd by the aforesaid _Satan_ or -_Adversary_ to Liberty, I can't think but they must have made some -pleasant Animadversions upon it before now. If such a broken, -elliptical, and absurd Tale had been told of any other Impostor in -Religion; the Wits of our _Clergy_ had been at Work to expose it -plentifully; and indeed there's no need of much Wit to make this Tale -nauseous and ridiculous to vulgar Understandings. - -I shall not myself here make all the Remarks I can to the Disadvantage -of this Story: I am not as yet so disposed to make Scoffers and -_Infidels_ laugh at the _Clergy_ for their Adherence to the Letter of -it. All I shall do now, is to make my Observations on the two Uses, -that the Clergy very seriously put this Story to, and they are, - -_First_, to prove the Expectation that there was amongst the -_Samaritans_, of a _Messiah_ to come; And - -_Secondly_, to prove _Jesus_'s Omniscience, or he could not have entered -into the Heart of the Woman, and told her, that she had had five -Husbands, and was then an Adulteress. To these two Purposes, I find this -Story urged by our _Divines_, and I must needs say, as to the - -_First_ of them; it is rightly from hence asserted by the[124] -_Bishop_ of _Lichfield_ and others, that the _Samaritans_ had an -Expectation of a _Messiah_: But why then did not the _Bishop_ and -others, who are now in Quest after Arguments of _Jesus_'s Messiahship, -prove him hence to be the _Messiah_, because he told the _Samaritan_ -woman her Fortune? If this was a real and substantial Argument to her -of _Jesus_'s _Messiahship_, it ought to be urg'd by the Clergy at this -Day. The Controversy about _Jesus_'s Messiahship is now on foot; Why -do the Advocates for it overlook this Proof of it? Why, because, as I -suppose, they are aware, that _Infidels_ would make sport with it. But -if _Jesus_'s telling the Woman her Fortune was no real and conclusive -Argument of his being the _Messiah_; St. _John_ has told us an -impertinent Tale of a simple Woman, upon whose Credulity and false -Notions _Jesus_ palm'd himself as the true _Messiah_; and whether he -did not ill thus to banter and deceive the Woman, let any one judge. - -But let us here behold the Difference amongst the _Jews_ and -_Samaritans_, as to the Expectation of a _Messiah_. Some of the old -_Jews_, like the Apostles, expected the _Messiah_ would be a temporal -Prince, a great Warriour and Conqueror of the World. Others[125] of -them, like the Fathers, expected he would be a Prophet like _Moses_ in -all Things, and deliver his People out of another _Egypt_: But here the -_Samaritans_ expected he would be a _Conjurer_ and _Fortune-Teller_; or -there is no Sense in what the Woman said to the Men of the City, _v._ -29. _Come and see a Man that has told me all that I have done_, -particularly my Fortune of having had five Husbands, and being now an -Adulteress, _Is not this the Christ?_ What could she mean, but that the -_Messiah_ would be a strolling _Fortune-Teller_, to inform People of the -Events of their Lives past and to come? And _Jesus_ to humour the Woman -in her Conception of himself and of the _Messiah_, says to her, _v._ 26. -_I that speak unto thee, am He._ Whether our _Divines_ like _Jesus_ the -better for this Story of him literally, I can't tell; but I am sure they -dislike the Fortune-telling Trade at this Day in others, and believe it -to be all Fraud, and are for punishing strolling _Gypsys_ for Cheats, -who practice it; and in the last Age were intent on the[126] Prosecution -of judicial Astrologers, who pretended to it: And if antient History had -furnish'd us with an Instance of the Punishment of a pretended -_Fortune-Teller_ in the Reign of _Tiberius_, they could not have found -Fault with it. Whether any Accusations were laid against _Jesus_ for -such his Delusions of the People, we know not. Evangelical History is -silent, or the _Evangelists_ have prudently suppressed it. But I much -wonder, that our _Gypsys_, from this Story, don't account themselves the -genuine Disciples of _Jesus_, being endu'd with the like Gifts and -exercising no worse Arts, than he himself practised. - -If the _Samaritans_ did not expect the _Messiah_ would be a -_Fortune-Teller_; how came the Thought into the Woman's Head, that -_Jesus_ was the _Messiah_, because he had told her, her Fortune? What -can our _Divines_ say to it? Why, they must either say, that his -telling the Woman her Fortune was a real Proof of his _Messiahship_; -or that the Woman was foolish and credulous, and drew a false -Conclusion; and if she had not been an impudent and graceless Whore, -would have gone away blushing, and never have divulg'd, as the Text -supposes she did, her Shame to the Men of _Sychar_, who too had but -little Wit, or they had never stir'd from their Homes, to see such a -Fortune-Teller upon the Report of a poor Whore. - -But the Men of the City had their Fortunes too told them by _Jesus_, -and they concluded him to be the _Messiah_ upon it; or there is no -Sense in what they _v._ 42. _said to the Woman, Now we believe not -because of thy Saying, for we have heard him ourselves, and know that -this is indeed the Christ_: What could they hear, but their Fortunes, -as the Woman had before? And if _Jesus_, whose Ability at all fair -Questions in the magic Art I don't question, did tell them their -Fortunes; I hope he had more Prudence than to talk to them in common -of their Fornications and Adulteries, which might occasion domestick -Jarrs, and the Breach of good Neighbourhood amongst them; but if he -directed any of them to find their lost Cattle, and help'd them again -to their stolen Goods, he did well, and they alone did amiss, to -conclude thereupon, _that he was indeed the Christ_. Let our _Divines_ -now judge whether I have not made a natural and excellent Comment on -this part of the Story, which relates to the Expectation and Opinion, -which the _Samaritans_ had of a _Messiah_ to come. But, - -_Secondly_, From this Story literally our _Divines_ prove _Jesus_'s[127] -Omniscience; and _Cardiognostick_ Power to tell what was in the Hearts -and Thoughts of Man. But how so? Is it because he told a Woman, that she -was an Adulteress, and had had five Husbands? Where's the Consequence? -_Duncan Campbel_, and other _Moorfields_-judicial-Astrologers have done -greater Feats at Conjuration than _this_, and never were thought to be -Omniscient. And for any Thing appears in this Story of our Saviour, it -might be all Cheat and Fraud in him. If _Infidels_ should assert it, our -_Divines_ could not disprove it. If they should say, it was possible for -_Jesus_ to get Intimations of these and other Circumstances of the -Woman's Life, before he attempted to tell her, her Fortune; we can't -say, that this is an impious and unreasonable Suggestion, since it is -the common Subtilty of delusive Fortune-Tellers, to get what -Intelligence they can by Insinuations and Informations, before they -utter their Oracles, and ambiguous Responses to simple poor Folks. And -there is one Circumstance in this Story, that looks very ill upon -_Jesus_, and is enough to make him suspected for a Cheat in his -pretended Art, and that is, he seems to draw the Woman in by a[128] -_Wile_ to hear her Fortune, saying to her, _v._ 16. _Woman go, call thy -Husband_; upon whose denying she had any Husband, Jesus was forward, -very forward to surprize her with his Knowledge of her having had five -Husbands, and living then in Adultery; which raising the silly Woman's -Admiration of his prophetick and soothsaying Talent, he closes with her -Conceptions, and what upon other Occasions, before wiser People, he -was[129] backward to own, says to her, _that he was the Messiah_; and so -he pass'd for the _Messiah_ with her and the Men of _Sychar_, who had no -more Wit than to receive him for such, upon such Proof, and gave him -Entertainment for no less than _v._ 40. _two Days_. I am glad we hear of -no Money, he squeez'd out of them for the exercise of his prophetick -Art, which our _Divines_ would have made an Argument of their Divine -Right to Tythes, Fees, and Stipends for their Divinations. - -But no more of this silly Story according to the Letter. To point at -it is enough to expose it to the considerate and unprejudiced. I could -not help saying so much as I have; because it is necessary to form -some Invective against the Letter, to make way for the Reception of -the mystical and allegorical Interpretation of it, which I am now to -speak to. - -Tho' the Fathers, against whose Authority I dare not write, or I should -be tempted to it in this Case, acknowledge the Letter of this Story, -suspecting only some[130] particular Passages of it; yet they look upon -the whole, for all that, as a[131] typical Narration, and endeavour at -the mystical Construction of all and every part of it. St. _Augustin_, -as if he was afraid some Christians of after Times should espouse, as -our Divines do, only the Letter, prefaces his Exposition of this Story -with these Words, saying,[132] _There are mysteries in all the Sayings -and Actions of our Saviour, particularly in the Story of the Woman of_ -Samaria, _and whoever carelesly and imprudently_ (meaning literally) -_interprets it, will advance erroneous and pernicious Doctrine_; which, -if modern Commentators had any Regard for the Authority of St. -_Augustin_, is enough to deter them from their literal Expositions. The -most literal Interpreter among the Fathers, whom I know of, is St. -_Cyril_, and he says[133] there is a Type and Parable in this Story. But -to descend to Particulars. - -By the _Woman of Samaria_ is to be understood an[134] Heretical and -Adulterous Church, which Jesus, _being wearied_ with her[135] corrupt -State, will meet with in _the sixth Hour_, that is in[136] the _sixth -grand Age_ of the World. So, by the By, according to the Fathers, -_Jesus_ will come to, and meet with the _Samaritan_ Church to her -Edification, at the same time, that he cures the Church of her _Issue -of Blood_ and _Spirit of Infirmity_. - -And where did _Jesus_ meet with the Woman of _Samaria_? At _Jacob_'s -_Well_, where she was for Water to quench Thirst: So at the[137] -_Well_ of the Holy Scriptures, whose Sense lies deep as in a Well, and -flows with Knowledge as with Water, will Christ then find his Church, -drawing and drinking of the[138] Waters of the Letter, which could not -quench the Thirst of the Soul hitherto: But in the Perfection of Time, -signified by the _sixth Hour_, will Christ, according to the Fathers, -enable her to draw out of this _Well_ of the Profundity of the -Scriptures, spiritual Waters of Divine Knowledge, which will daily -more and more, like the Fountains of the Waters of Life, arise and -flow in upon the Soul, and constantly recreate and refresh her with -Wisdom, to her Delight and Satisfaction; so as she may be said never -to thirst more, after the Manner she does now. - -And Jesus _then_ told the Woman of _Samaria_, _all that she had done_: -So will Christ in the _sixth Hour_, that is, towards the latter End of -the _sixth Age_ of the World, give the Woman of the Church to -understand _all that she has done_, according to the Writings of -_Moses_ and the Prophets, who, upon the Testimony of the Fathers, have -written a prophetical History of her, in Types, Symbols and Parables; -which Understanding of the Things that have been prophecy'd of her, -will enable her, of Consequence, to prove and declare to the World, -with Joy and Pleasure, that _Jesus_ is the true Messiah, the Christ, -and Fulfiller of the Law and the Prophets. - -But particularly, as _Jesus_ then told the Woman that _she had had -five Husbands, and was then an Adulteress_ with one who was not her -true Husband: So the Church will be made to apprehend, according -to[139] _Origen_ and[140] St. _Augustin_, and others, how she has had -five Husbands of the five bodily Senses, that is, metaphorically -speaking, has been _wedded_ not only to sensual Pleasures, but to the -sensible Things of the Letter of the five Books of _Moses_; and that -at present, consequently, she lives in Adultery[141] with Anti-Christ, -whom the Fathers call the Devil, instead of the Spirit of Christ, the -Spirit of the Law, who should be her true Spouse, whom she should -_call_ for, and believe in. - -And not only the Woman of _Samaria_, but the Men of the City, -_Sychar_, believ'd _Jesus_ to be the Messiah, _v._ 42, upon what he -said to themselves as well as to her: So the Ministers of the Letter, -who are _Sycharites_, according to _Origen_ and _Theophanes Cerameus_, -will be clearly convinced, and be able to convince others, that _Jesus -is the Christ or Messiah_, when they shall hear, learn and apprehend -from the Spirit of the Law and the Prophets, that the Church and all -she has been doing, was foretold and prophecy'd of. - -Lastly, _Jesus_'s Disciples, _v._ 27. are said _to Marvel that he -talk'd with the Woman_. What in the Name of Wonder, literally, could -be the Meaning of this? Did they _Marvel_ at _Jesus_'s Condescention -to speak to a Woman, as if the Sex was beneath his Care? Or did they -_Marvel_ that he who was very bashful, had Courage to speak to one? Or -did they _Marvel_ at his Conversation with a Whore, for fear of his -being tempted by her? Some one or other of these must be the _Marvel_ -of the Disciples; but how absurd and ridiculous they all are, -according to the Letter, let a reasonable Man judge. But mystically, -the true Disciples of our Lord, who understand the Mysteries of the -Kingdom of Heaven, will, when they are apprized of _Jesus_'s spiritual -Conversation with his Church, and of all the Things that she has done -according to Prophecy, _Marvel_ with rapturous Astonishment at the -Wisdom and Power of God in the Accomplishment of the Scriptures. - -After such a Mystical and Allegorical Manner, is every minute -Circumstance of this Story of the _Samaritan_ Woman to be apply'd. -St. _Augustin_[142] says there are so many great Mysteries contain'd -in it, that they require much Time to go through them all. I find it -so, and that no less than a Volume might be written of them, out of -the Fathers. But what I have briefly here touch'd on, is enough to -convince any one of the Absurdities of the Letter of this Miracle, -which consisted in the telling a Woman her Fortune, and such a -Fortune, as _Jesus_ by Craft might come to the Knowledge of. -Therefore, for the Honour of _Jesus_, let us look upon the whole Story -as a typical and parabolical Representation of what would be -mysteriously and more wonderfully done by him. - -And thus I have spoken to the three Miracles, proposed to be treated -on in this Discourse. Before I enter upon my third general Head, which -is, _to consider what Jesus means when he appeals to his Miracles as -to a Witness of his Divine Authority_; I must take to Task some more -of his pretended Miracles even till I have not left him a good, -credible and substantial Miracle, according to the Letter, to appeal -to. The Consequence of which will be, that his mysterious Operations -are to prove his Authority and Messiahship, or we must give up him and -his Religion for a Piece of Fraud and Imposture. - -What Miracles will be the Subject of my next Discourse, I can't -certainly foretell, but there are many Historical as well as -miraculous Parts of _Jesus_'s Life, that according to the Letter, are -to be call'd into Question; such as - -The History of his riding on an Ass to _Jerusalem_. I have given some -Offence on this Point already in my _Moderator_, and ought to excuse -or justify my self, by calling the Fathers to Account for laughing at -the Letter of that Story. It was an untoward saying of St. _Jerome_, -that I there cited, and suffered a Prosecution for: But it is a worse -Intimation of St. _John_ of _Jerusalem_, who, if there was any literal -Truth in the Peoples pulling off their Garments, and Branches of -Trees, and strewing them in the Way of _Jesus_, will needs have it not -respectfully but mischievously done, to make the Colt stumble, and so -dismount his Rider. And according to him it may be questioned, whether -the _Hosannahs_ of the People were of any more Respect to _Jesus_, -than the _Huzzahs_ of a _Mob_ would be to the Bishop of _L----n_, if -to shew his Meekness and Lowlyness, he should ride upon an Ass, in his -_Pontificalibus_ through this City. But I have here a momentous -Controversy to decide about the Beast _Jesus_ rode on. St. _Matthew_ -seems to say, he rode upon both _Ass_ and _Colt_ together. St. _Mark_ -and St. _Luke_ say, he rode upon the _Colt, on which Man never before -sat_. The Bishop of _Lichfield_ says, he rode upon the _Ass_ (on which -Man had before sat) and the _Colt_ ambled after. St. _Cyril_ and St. -_Chrysostom_ say, he rode upon the _Colt_, and the _She-Ass_ trotted -after. St. _John_ the _Evangelist_ says he rode upon a _Mule_, or an -[Greek: onarion] Ass-like Creature of the neuter Gender. The _Jewish -Cabalists_ say, their _Messiah_ was to ride on a great huge _Ass_, big -enough to carry him and all true Israelites, and that the Ministers of -_Antichrist_ would then hang an _A-ss_. So do the great Doctors of the -World differ! To whom I shall decree the Prize of Orthodoxy, I shan't -foretell; but am inclined to favour the Opinion of the _Cabalists_. -However, I shall be very grave as well as learned on this Head: And if -I can, I will, to oblige Dr. _Sherlock_, hook in a Digression about -_Shilo_'s _binding his Fole to the Vine, and his Asses Colt to the -choice Vine_: The Accomplishment of which _literal_ Prophecy seems to -have been drop'd in the Providence of God, or the _Dean_ of -_Chichester_[143] had never stopt at it. I will endeavour to look it -up, in some Corner of History, if it be but to merit the Praises of -the _Master_ of the _Temple_. - -I must also sometime take into Consideration the Story of _Jesus_'s -Abode in the Wilderness, forty Days, in Company of the _Devil_, who -tempted him. This literally, as our _Divines_ understand it, is a -Scandalous Story. The _Jews_, in our Saviour's Time, said, that -through _Belzebub_, he cast out _Devils_; and their Posterity have -asserted, that he learn'd the Magick Art of a _Dæmon_. This Story -gives too much Grounds for such a Suspicion. Our _Divines_, who should -know best, talk of abundance of Mischief, the _Devil_ has been -permitted to do in the World ever since; I hope it was not by Compact -and Agreement between them; but it would have been of some -Satisfaction to the Contrary, if the _Evangelist_ had told us expresly -upon what Terms they mett and parted. As Fables go, it is said to the -Honour of St. _Dunstan_, that he took the _Devil_ by the Nose, when he -tempted him; and if _Jesus_ had taken him by the _Collar_, and thrust -him into his _Dungeon_, and there chain'd him, and shut _Hell-Gates_ -upon him; I appeal to honest plain Christians, whether such an -_Herculean_ Labour would not have pleased them well. Ever since I read -of _Martin Luther_'s Conversation with the _Devil_, I have had but -indifferent Thoughts of his _Protestantism_; and unless the Fathers -turn this Story before us into Mystery, Allegory and Cabalism, I shall -think ill of Christianity. - -I should also take into Examination the Story of an Angel's appearing -to the Shepherds, and saying to them; _Behold I bring you Tidings of -great Joy_, &c. If there was any Truth literally in _this_ Story, and -in _that_ of a Star's appearing to the wise Men, there must be a great -Mistake in the Report of both of them. St. _Matthew_ and St. _Luke_ -have both blunder'd. It was the Star that appear'd to the Shepherds by -Night; and the Angel (I speak upon Reason and Authority) that was sent -to the wise Men. What then to do with these two Stories, and to salve -the Credit of the _Evangelists_, I knew not, till the Fathers directed -me to the Use of a mythological _Metamorphosis_: And then I presently -learn'd the Trick on't, to transform Stars into Angels, and Shepherds -too, or Pastors of Christ's Flock (which was the Difficulty) into -wise Men; and so I made one Moral or Mistery of the two Fables. - -I must also some Time take to task the Story of the _many dead Bodies of -the Saints, that upon Christs Resurrection, came out of their Graves, -and appear'd unto many_; which is too imperfectly related to merit -Credit. The _Evangelist_, if he would have a reasonable Man believe his -Story, should have told us, who those Saints were, and what Numbers of -them; and whether they appear'd to the converted or unconverted _Jews_; -whether they were some of the Patriarchs and Prophets of old, or some -lately departed Disciples, who, for all _Jesus_'s healing Power, died in -the Time of his Ministry; and whether there were any Women among those -Saints; and whether they appear'd naked (as _Jesus_ modestly did to -_Mary Magdalen_, unless he flip'd himself by _Stealth_ into the Cloths -of the Gardener, which might be the Reason of her Mistake, for she -suppos'd she saw the Gardener) and whether they return'd again to -Corruption, or ascended into Heaven. For want of these specifical -Circumstances, the _Evangelist_ has told us a Tale, that has neither -Head nor Foot to it: and unless the Fathers mystically answer, to -Satisfaction, every one of the aforesaid _Queries_, I'll reject this -Story for mere Romance and Imposture. - -These and many other historical and seemingly miraculous Stories of -the Gospel, are some time to be taken into Consideration; for I will -not give this Work over, till I have demonstrated beyond all -Contradiction, that the evangelical Writings are but the Shadow of -Divine Mysteries; and that literal Interpreters, whom[144] _Origen_ -calls _vulgar Capacities_, are under a Mistake, if they think, they -understand any Thing, as they ought, of the four Gospels. - -I should conclude now, as it becomes a _Moderator_, with an Address to -_Infidels_ and _Apostates_, the great Combatants in this Controversy. -But I have not Room to be as large, as I would, in my Exhortations to -them distinctly, so I can only desire them to continue the Controversy -with Zeal and Vigour, not doubting but it will end to the Honour of -Jesus, the Good of his Church, and the Happiness of Mankind. The blessed -Fruits of this Controversy are already seen and felt in the almost Cure -of a most malignant Distemper, call'd _Bigottry_, which has been the -Bane of human Society, and in Times past more destructive of the World -than either War or Pestilence. Go on then, _Great_ and _Good Sirs_, till -the Cure is perfected. And as you merit Praises and Rewards for your -several Labours; So I hope you'll meet with them. The _Nobility_ and -_Gentry_, of the Kingdom, as I learn, are sensibly touch'd with the -Usefulness of this Controversy; whereupon it is to be hoped the -_Legislative Authority_ will soon give Thanks to the great Mr. _Grounds_ -and Mr. _Scheme_ for their Pains in it; and not forget to do Justice to -the _Bishops_ and _Clergy_ according to their Merits. But I can't stay -here to talk more on this Head, being obliged to make an Epistolary - - * * * * * - -_P. S._ To Mr. _T. Ray_, the Author of a _Discourse_, call'd _Our -Saviour's Miracles vindicated_, &c. As I, _Sir_, enter'd the _Press_, -you came forth, or I might possibly have paid more of my Respects to -you another Way. But upon mature Consideration, I found a properer -Reply could not be made to you, than is the foregoing Discourse; -which, if you are not sick of your former Performance, will find you -some more Work. And that you may write more pertinently against this -Discourse, than you did against my other, I'll give you some -Instructions, _viz._ if you think of writing to the Purpose, you must -prove these two Things; _First_, that the Fathers did not hold the -Stories of _Jesus_'s Miracles to be typical and figurative; and -_Secondly_, that _Jesus_'s Miracles neither will nor can receive a -mysterious and more wonderful Accomplishment. But you have not said -one Syllable to either of these Points; consequently have written -nothing to the Purpose against me. As for Instance; In the Miracle of -_Jesus_'s _driving the Buyers and Sellers out of the Temple_: You -should prove, _First_ that the Fathers don't hold that Miracle to be -typical of the future Ejection of _Bishops_, _Priests_, and _Deacons_ -out of the Church, that make Merchandize of the Gospel: And -_Secondly_, that it was impossible that the Miracle should receive -such an Accomplishment. But you have done nothing of this. So, if you -should attempt again to write against this Discourse, as for Instance, -against my Explication of the Miracle of _Jesus_'s healing the Woman, -that _had an Issue of Blood_; you must prove that _that_ Story neither -was in the Opinion of the Fathers Typical, nor could receive a -mystical Accomplishment; or you may as well hold your Peace. And -after all, whether your Reasonings for the Letter of Christ's -Miracles, are equal to mine against it, let our Readers judge, who -will easily discern, that you jump over my choicest Invectives against -the Letter, as if you was afraid of being touch'd by them. - -As to your charging me falsly in one or two Places, with -Misrepresentations of the Fathers, I'll expostulate that Matter with -you, when I hear that the _Bishop_ of _London_ gives your Performance, -the Reputation of a solid, and substantial one, by a Change of your -_Cloak_ into a _Gown_, which you seem to aim at; or you had never so -besmear'd the _Bishop_ with your Compliments, nor had been so -mealy-mouth'd as to the Point of Liberty. - -But what need you, _Sir_, have told the World, that you take me for an -_Unbeliever of the Scriptures_. If the _Bishop_'s wise Prosecution of -me for an _Infidel_ had not given you the Hint, you could never of -your self have made that Discovery. And why did you not join the -Fathers with me in Unbelief? I thought I had been of the same Faith -with them. A Man of your Penetration into another's Principles, will, -I suppose, from this present going Discourse, conclude me to be a -downright _Atheist_. And what must I do then to clear my self! - -If you write any more, _Sir_, I desire you, without making more Haste -than good Speed, to be as expeditious as you can; or you will not -prevent my Publication of another Discourse, like these two, to the -Honour of _Jesus_, to whom be Glory for ever and ever. _Amen._ - - ~_FINIS._~ - -FOOTNOTES: - -[79] _Matt. Ch._ ix. _Luke Ch._ viii. _Mark Ch._ v. - -[80] Factum quidum est, &, ita ut narratur, impletum. _In Serm._ -lxxvii. _Sect._ 7. - -[81] _On Mat. Chap._ ix. - -[82] _Matt. Ch._ ix. _v._ 21. - -[83] Non autem Fimbria Jesu, sed ejus Cogitatio eam salvam fecit. _In -Loc. Marci._ - -[84] _Matt. Ch._ xiii. _v._ 58. - -[85] In Locum _Matt._ - -[86] Illa vero Mulier quæ Fluxum Sanguinis patiebatur, Ecclesiam -figurabat ex Gentibus. St. _August. in Serm._ lxxvii. _Sect._ 8. -Præparatur igitur Mulier, in cujus Typo universalis Ecclesia sub -specie designetur. _Paschas. Ratbert. in Loc. Matt._ - -[87] Hæc Mulier, i. e. Sancta Ecclesia de Gentibus congregata quæ -lapsu Criminum deperibat Sancti _Ambrosii in Loc. Luc._ Ut Mulier, quæ -fluxum sanguinis patiebatur, &c. ita omnis Anima percussa incurabili -Vulnere Peccati, habens fontem pravarum Cogitationum, &c. _Macarii -Ægypt. in Hom._ xx. - -[88] [Greek: Epigazes gar tên phoinikên amartian]. _In Orat._ XL. - -[89] Quæ est enim hæc Mulier nisi Ecclesia Gentium--Fluxum Sanguinis -patiebatur, quia in suorum Peccatorum Sanguine versabatur; quia -Sanguinum Rapina & Occisione nutriebatur. _In Dominic._ xxiv. - -[90] Adversus Hæreses. _Lib._ I. _Cap._ iii. - -[91] _Revel. Chap._ xii. _v._ 6. - -[92] Excellentes Verbi Prædicatores tanquam magni Medici.--_Sancti -August. in Psal._ LXXXVII. _Sect._ 10. - -[93] Per hos enim Medicos, Ariolos & Philosophos intelligere possumus, -quorum persuasionibus cæteri credentes a fidei Veritate aberrantes ad -Animæ Sanitatem attingere non valebant. _In Dominic._ xxiv. - -[94] Per Medicos intellige falsos Theologos. _In Loc. Marci._ - -[95] _Mark Ch._ v. _v._ 26. - -[96] Medici Molestiam potius quam Sanitatem ægrotanti præbentes. -_Ephræm. Syri._ p. 63. - -[97] _Mark Ch._ v. _v._ 34. - -[98] Dei Posteriora sunt novissima tempora. _Origen in Psal._ xxxvi. - -[99] Vestimenta Jesu sunt Sermones & Scripta Evangeliorum. _Origen in -Matt. Ch._ xvii. - -[100] _Luke Ch._ xiii. - -[101] In Muliere infirma est Figura Ecclesiæ. _Theoph. Antioch. in -Loc. Lucæ._ Unde intelligitur illa Mulier in Typo Ecclesiæ a Domino -sanata & erecta, quam curvaverat Infirmitas, alligante Satana, _Sancti -August. de Trinit. Lib._ iv. _Sect._ 7. In Typo Ecclesiæ fæminam -salvat. _Sancti Ambros. in Loc. Lucæ._ - -[102] Totum Genus humanum tanquam ista Mulier curvatum est ad -terram,--Diabolus & Angeli ejus Animas hominum curvaverunt ad terras, -id est, ut pronæ in ea quæ terrena, superna non quærerent. _Sancti. -August. in Serm._ cccxcii. Qui occidentem sequuntur Literam terrena -sapiunt. _Sancti Hieron. in Lib. Amos, Ch._ i. - -[103] Quid illa Mulier octo decem Annos habens in Infirmitate. Sex -Diebus Deus perfecit opera sua. Ter seni decem & octo faciunt. Quod -ergo significavit triennium in Arbore, hoc octo decem Anni in illa -Muliere. _In. Serm._ cx. - -[104] _Luke Ch._ xiii. 7. - -[105] 1 _Cor. Ch._ xiii. 9, 10. - -[106] Ut Deus sex Dies in tantis Rebus fabricandis laboravit; ita & -Religio ejus & Veritas in his sex millibus Annorum laboret, necesse est, -malitia dominante & prevalente. Et rursus, quoniam perfectis operibus -requievit Die septimo, eumque benedixit; necesse est, ut in sine sexti -millessimi Anni Malitia omnis aboleatur e terra & regnet per Annos mille -justitia; sitq; tranquilltas & requies a Laboribus, quos Mundus jamdiu -perpessus est. _In Lanctant. Instit. Lib._ VII. _Ch._ xiv. Dies septimus -etiam nos ipsi erimus quando (Christi) Benedictione & sanctificatione -fuerimus pleni & refecti; ibi vacantes videbimus, quoniam ipse est Deus. -_Sancti August. de Civit. Dei. Lib._ XXII. _Ch._ xxx. - -[107] Contemnenda non est accurata circa Nomina Diligentia ei qui -volucrit prole intelligere sacras Literas. _In Johan. Evang. Tom._ 8. - -[108] Jam Archi-Synagogus adumbrat omnes Sacerdotes, &c. _In. Hom._ xii. - -[109] Caluminabantur autem erigenti, qui, nisi curvi? _In Serm._ -cccxcii. - -[110] Sed nesciebat Archi-Synagogus vel hoc vel illud multo -excellentius sacramentum, quod Sabbato curando Dominus intimabat, quia -scilicet post sex hujus seculi Ætates perpetuæ Vitæ immortalis erat -gaudia daturus. _Venerab. Bed. in Loc._ - -[111] Ante Christum in cogniti & a solo sciente detecti. _In Lib._ II. -_adv. Gentes_. - -[112] Consequens autem est ei, qui cognoscit quæ sit Hierusalem in -divisione veræ Hæreditatis filiorum Isræl, ut intelligat Sermonem de -Gehenna. _In Matt. Ch._ xxiii. - -[113] Ego puto quod nomina hæc Scriptura divina non pro Historia -narraverit sed pro Causis & Rebus,--non enim tam Regum quam Vitiorum -Nomina, quæ regnant in hominibus referuntur. _In Numer. Ch._ xxxi. - -[114] Quid ergo mirum videtur, si per singula genera Peccatorum -singuli Dæmones ascribuntur. _In Lib. Josu. Ch._ xi. - -[115] Sed in alio quodam Libello, qui apellatur Testamentum duodecem -Patriarcharum, talem quendam sensum invenimus, quod per singulos -peccantes, singuli Satanæ intelligi debeant. Evidentius autem & ipsa -Nominis ejus interpretatio hoc idem significare videtur; _Satanas_ -namq; Adversarius dicitur. Omnes ergo qui adversantur dei voluntati, -Satanæ possunt dici. _Ibid._ - -[116] On Miracles, _p._ 36. - -[117] Quamdiu vera Pax veniat, & Sabbatismus, & Septem decadarum -Numerus.--Ecclesia non plenam recipiat Libertatem. _Sancti. Hieron. in -Zechar. Ch._ i. - -[118] Illa Mulier curvata intelligitur figurare Ecclesiam, quam _in -Sexta Mundi Ætate_ a Captivitate Diaboli Jesus liberabit. _In Quæst._ -25. _Dialog._ LXV _Quæst._ - -[119] Vidi Angelum habentem Clarem & Catenam ad ligandum -draconem.--_In Sexto Annorum Millenario_ hæc Res agitur. _De Civit. -Dei. L._ XX. _Ch._ vii. - -[120] _Revel. Ch._ xx. _v._ 2. - -[121] Propter Infinitatem Annorum Mille Annos dixit. _In Serm. de -Pænitentia._ - -[122] Diaboli Forman assumimus--Leonis Personam induimus & -Draconis,--quando crudeles & callidi sumus. _Origen. in Luc. Hom._ viii. - -[123] _Mark Ch._ viii. _v._ 33. - -[124] Defence of Christianity, _p._ 8. - -[125] Doctioribus inter Judæos notissimum est,--quod Moses qui primus -fuit Salvator Isrælis etiam in omni Vita & Operibus suis fuerit Typus -& Figura ultimi Redemptoris. _Christian. Meyer de Gen. Christi_, p. -145. Judæi Veteres expectabant similem Ægyptiacæ Liberationem, ut -scilicet Pharaoh & omnis ejus Exercitus qui per 430 Annos Populum Dei -Captivum tenuit, in Mari Rubro submersus est; sic etiam Romani qui -eodem Annorum Numero Judæos possessuri, Ultione Domini deleantur. -_Sancti Hieron. in Joel. Ch._ v. - -[126] See the Life of _William Lilly_. - -[127] See Dr. _Hammond_ on the Place. - -[128] Percontando de Viro, Occasionem cepit occulta revelandi. _Sancti -Cyril. Alex. in Loc._ - -[129] _John Ch._ x. _v._ 24. - -[130] Fortasse verum non erat, _Judæos cum Samaritanis Commmercium non -habere_,--ac ne illud quidem verum, _neque Haustorium habes, & Puteus -altus est_,--fortasse etiam neque illud, _quod Jacob ex Puteo biberit, -& filii ejus, & Pecora_ ejus. _Origen. in Loc._ - -[131] Plena Mysteriis & gravida Sacramentis. _Sancti August. in Johan. -Ch._ iv. - -[132] Evangelica Sacramenta in Domini nostri Jesu Christi dictis -factisque signata non omnibus patent, & ea nonnulli minus diligenter, -minusque sobrie interpretando, afferunt plerumque pro salute -Perniciem, & pro Cognitione Veritatis Errorem, inter quæ illud est -Sacramentum quod Scriptum est de hac Samaritana, _&c._ _In Quæst._ 63, -_de_ Lxxxiii. _Quest._ - -[133] [Greek: Ôs en typô palin êmin kai di ainigmatos ypodeikneus.] -_In Loc. Johan._ - -[134] Illa Mulier Typum gerebat Ecclesiæ, quæ ventura erat ex -Gentibus--Ecclesiæ non justificatæ, sed justificandæ. _Sancti. August. -in Loc. Johan._ - -[135] Tunc fatigatur Christus, quando nullam Virtutem in Populo suo -recognoscit. _Sancti August. in Serm._ xciii. _Appen._ - -[136] Hora sexta id est, sexta Ætate Generis Humani. _Sancti August. -in Quæst._ 64. lxxxiii. _Quæst._ - -[137] Puteus est Divina Scriptura, scientia scatens, ut aqua, Cujus -putei Profunditas sunt plena Mysteriis Symbola. _In Theoph. Ceram -Homil._ xxxviii. _de Samaritana_. - -[138] Lex secundum Literam est aqua amara. _Hieronym. in Ezekiel. Ch._ -xlvii. Qui bibit ex hac aqua sitiet rursus, id est, qui participat -profunditatem humanæ sapientiæ, prudentesque Rationes, receptis -Intelligentiis judicio suo inventis, tamen rursus secundo cogitans, -denuo dubitabit de his in quibus requieverat. _Origen. in Loc. Johan._ - -[139] _In Locum Johan. Evang._ - -[140] Quinque enim Viros habuisti, & nunc quem habes _non est Vir -tuus_. Sed non sunt hæc carnabiter accipienda, ne huic ipsi Mulieri -Samaritanæ similes videamur,--Per quinque Viros, quinque Libros Mosis -Nonnulli accipiunt--sed quinque Viri intelliguntur quinque Corporis -sensus. Et quia naturales sunt ipsi Sensus, qui ætatem primam regunt, -recte dicuntur Mariti. _In Quæst._ 64. _de_ lxxxiii. _Quæst._ - -[141] _Et nunc quem habes non est Vir tuus_; Quia non est in te -(Ecclesia) Spiritus qui intelligat Deum, cum quo legitimum potes -habere conjugium; sed Error Diaboli potius dominatur, qui te -adulterina Contaminatione corrumpit. _Venerab. Bedæ in Locum._ - -[142] Magna quidem acta sunt Sacramenta, sed augustum Tempus est, ut -omnia pertractentur. _In Serm._ xci. _Sect._ 2. - -[143] _In his Dissertation on the Blessing of_ Judah. - -[144] Ut Lex Umbram continet futurorum bonorum, quæ declarantur ab ea -Lege; sic etiam Evangelium, quod vel a quibusque vulgaribus intelligi -existimatur, Umbram docet Mysteriorum Christi. _In Præfat. ad Johan. -Evang._ - - - - - A THIRD - DISCOURSE - ON THE - MIRACLES - OF OUR - _SAVIOUR_, - - In VIEW of the Present - Controversy between INFIDELS - and APOSTATES. - - _Litteratos gravissimo Somno stertere convincam_, - HIERON. - - The Third Edition. - - By THO. WOOLSTON, B.D. sometime - Fellow of _Sidney-College_ in _Cambridge_. - - _LONDON_: - - Printed for the Author, and Sold by him - next door to the _Star_, in _Aldermanbury_, - and by the Booksellers of _London_, and - _Westminster_. 1728. - - [Price One Shilling.] - - - - -[Illustration] - - TO THE - - Right Reverend Father in GOD - - _RICHARD_, - - Lord Bishop of St. DAVID'S. - - -MY LORD, - -_In your_ Sermon _before the_ Societies _for Reformation of Manners, -you are pleased to give a Character of my former_ Discourses on -Christ's Miracles; _which, tho' I don't at all like, yet I thank you -for the Favour of taking Notice of them; a_ Favour _that I have long'd -for from a considerable_ Clergyman; _but could not flatter myself -with the Hopes of receiving it from so great a_ Prelate. - -_Some of the inferior_ Clergy, _whom I despise for their Ignorance and -Malice, have before in their Conversation represented me as an_ -impious _and_ blasphemous Infidel; _and I have met with Affronts for -it: But I never imagin'd that any, much less your_ Lordship, _would -have ventur'd such a Character of me from the_ Press, _for fear of a -Resentment, which would not be agreeable. Surely your_ Lordship _has -not read my_ Discourses, _but has taken a Report of them upon Trust, -from some Ecclesiastical_ Noodle; _or you could never have been so -much mistaken about my Design in them_. - -_I took myself to be a_ Christian _of the same Faith with the Fathers -of the Church; and, without Vanity, think, I have publish'd some -Tracts, in Defence of Christianity, equal, if not superior to any -Thing this Age has produced. I repeatedly also in my_ Discourses on -Miracles, _to obviate the Prejudices of an ignorant_ Clergy, _made -solemn Protestations of the Sincerity of my Design, not to do Service -to Infidelity, but to make Way for the Demonstration of_ Jesus_'s -Messiahship from Prophecy: But all these Asseverations of the -Integrity of my Heart, it seems, stand for nothing (and I don't wonder -at it) with the_ Clergy, _who in their Principles, their Oaths, and -Subscriptions are so accustom'd to prevaricate with God and Man. I -shall make no more serious Protestations of my Faith, but expect your_ -Lordship _should soon publish a Defence of your foul_ Charge _against -me, that I may see what Skill you have in the impious and blasphemous -Writings of an_ Infidel. - -_And if your railing_ Accusation _be not soon followed with a -Dissertation of more Reason, I shall insist on a publick Reparation of -the Injury done to my Reputation by your_ vile _and_ slanderous _Sermon; -and appeal to the worshipful_ Societies _for Reformation of Manners, -whether it be not just and reasonable, you should do one or the other_. - -_Now I have laid hold on your_ Lordship, _than whom I could not have -wish'd for an_ Adversary, _that will do me more Honour to overcome, I -will hold you fast; and you must expect to be teaz'd and insulted from -the_ Press, _if you enter not the Lists against me_. - -_A clear Stage_, my Lord, _and no Favour. If you have the Sword of the -Spirit in your Hand, cut as sharply as you can with it. I had -conceiv'd a great Opinion of your Learning, and should have been a -little apprehensive of the Power of it; if you had not in your_ Sermon -_betray'd as great Weakness and Ignorance, as could be in a poor_ -Curat; _or you had never asserted that the_ Greek _Commentators -adher'd more strictly, to the litteral Sense of the Holy Scriptures; -as if you knew not, that St_. Theophilus _of_ Antioch, _and even_ -Origen _himself and others, the greatest_ Allegorists, _if a -Comparison may be made, were_ Commentators _of the_ Greek _Church_. - -_The sooner your_ Lordship _appears from the_ Press, _the better, in as -much as you may possibly prevent my Publication of more_ Discourses _of -this Kind. And that it may not be long first, I will accept of a -Dissertation from you, on any two or three of the Miracles, I have -handled, as sufficient for all. Take your Choice of them: but don't I -beseech you, touch the Miracle of_ Jesus_'s driving the_ Buyers _and_ -Sellers _out of the Temple, because it is a_ hot _one, and may possibly -burn your Fingers. The Miracles, that I have most ludicrously and, of -consequence, most offensively handled, are the_ two _of this present -Discourse. If you please_, my Lord, _let them be the easy and short Task -imposed on you. If you can defend the Letter of the Stories of these_ -two _Miracles, I'll quietly give up the Rest to you._ - -_So heartily thanking your_ Lordship _for the Favour done me, in -taking Notice of my_ Discourses on Miracles, _which shall be turn'd to -good Use and Advantage, I subscribe myself_, - -[Sidenote: _Feb. 26. 1728_] - - _My LORD_, - _Your most obliged_ - _Humble Servant_, - Tho. Woolston. - - - - -[Illustration] - - A THIRD - DISCOURSE - ON THE - MIRACLES - OF OUR - _SAVIOUR_, &c. - - -My two former Discourses having met with a favourable Reception, I am -encourag'd to go on and publish another; which, without any more -Preface, I enter upon, by a Repetition of three general Heads, at -first proposed to be spoken to, and they were, - -I. To show that the Miracles of healing all Manner of bodily Diseases, -which _Jesus_ was justly famed for, are none of the proper Miracles of -the _Messiah_, neither are they so much as a good Proof of his divine -Authority, to found a Religion. - -II. To prove, that the literal History of many of the Miracles of -_Jesus_, as recorded by the _Evangelists_, does imply Absurdities, -Improbabilities, and Incredibilities; consequently they, either in -whole or in part, were never wrought, as they are commonly believed -now-a-days, but are only related as prophetical and Parabolical -Narratives of what would be mysteriously and more wonderfully done by -him. - -III. To consider, what _Jesus_ means, when he appeals to his Miracles, -as to a Testimony and a Witness of his divine Authority; and to show -that he could not properly and ultimately refer to those he then -wrought in the _Flesh_, but to those Mystical ones, that he would do -in the _Spirit_, of which those wrought in the Flesh are but mere -Types and Shadows. - -Tho' I have already, spoken what may be thought sufficient, to the -first of these Heads; yet I have several Things still, both from -Reason and Authority, to add to it; but having not here a convenient -Place for that purpose, I defer it to a better Opportunity; and so -pass immediately to the Resumption of my - -II. Second general Head, and that is, to prove, that the literal -History of many of the Miracles of _Jesus_, as recorded by the -_Evangelists_, does imply Absurdities, Improbabilities and -Incredibilities; consequently they, either in whole or in part were -never wrought, as it is commonly believed now-a-days, but are only -related, as Prophetical and parabolical Narratives of what would be -mysteriously and more wonderfully done by him. - -To this Purpose I have taken into Examination six of the Miracles of -_Jesus_, _viz._ those. - -1. Of his driving the Buyers and Sellers out of the Temple. - -2. Of his exorcising the _Devils_ out of the Mad-men, and sending them -into the Herd of Swine. - -3. Of his Transfiguration on the Mount. - -4. Of his healing a Woman, that had an Issue of Blood, twelve Years. - -5. Of his curing a Woman that had a Spirit of Infirmity, eighteen -Years, and - -6. Of his telling the _Samaritan_ Woman her Fortune of having had five -Husbands, and being then an Adulteress with another Man. - -Whether I have not prov'd the Storys of these Miracles, either in -whole or in part, to consist of Absurdities, Improbabilities, and -incredibilities, according to the Proposition before us, I leave my -_Readers_ to judge; and now will take in Hand - -7. A Seventh Miracle of _Jesus_; _viz._ that[145] _of his cursing the -Figtree, for not bearing Fruit out of Season_; which Miracle, upon the -bare mention of it, appears to be such an absurd, foolish, and -ridiculous, if not malicious and ill-natured Act in _Jesus_, that I -question, whether, for Folly and Absurdity, it can be equalled in any -Instance of the Life of a reputed wise Man. The Fathers, such as -_Origen_, St. _Augustin_, St. _John of Jerusalem_, and others, have -all said as smart Things, as the wittiest Infidels can, against the -Letter of this Story. St. _Augustin_[146] very plainly says, that -_this Fact in Jesus_, upon Supposition that it was done, was _a -foolish one_. If therefore I treat this Story a little more -ludicrously than ordinary, and expose the Folly of the Fact as well as -of the modern Belief of it, I hope their Authority and Example will -plead my Excuse for it. - -_Jesus_ was hungry, it seems, and being disappointed of Figs, to the -Satisfaction of his Appetite, cursed the Figtree. Why so peevish and -impatient? Our _Divines_, when they please, make _Jesus_ the most -patient, resign'd and easy under Sufferings, Troubles and -Disappointments, of any Man. If he really was so, he could hardly have -been so much out of Humour, for want of a few Figs, to the Allay of -his Hunger. But to curse the Figtree upon it, was as foolishly and -passionately done, as for another Man to throw the Chairs and Stools -about the House; because his Dinner is not ready at a critical Time, -or before it could be got ready for him. - -But _Jesus_ was hungry, some will say, and the Disappointment provoked -him. What if he was hungry? He should, as he knew the Return of his -Appetite, have made a better and more certain Provision for it. Where -was _Judas_ his Steward and Caterer with his Bag of Victuals as well -as Money? Poor Forecast, and Management amongst them, or _Jesus_ had -never trusted to the uncertain Fruits of a Figtree, which he espy'd at -a Distance, for his Breakfast. - -And if _Jesus_ was frustrated of a long'd-for Meal of Figs, what need he -have so reveng'd the Disappointment on the[147] senseless and faultless -Tree? Was it, because he was forc'd to fast longer than usual and -expedient? not so, I hope neither: Could not Angels, if he was in a -desert Place, have administered unto him? Or could not he miraculously -have created Bread for himself and his Company, as he multiplied or -increased the Loaves for his Thousands in the Wilderness? What Occasion -then for his being out of Humour for want of Food? If he was of Power to -provide Bread for others on a sudden, he might sure have supply'd his -own Necessities, and so have kept his Temper, without breaking into a -violent Fit of Passion, upon present Want and Disappointment. - -But what is yet worse, _the Time of Figs was not yet_, when Jesus -look'd and long'd for them. Did ever any one hear or read of any -thing more[148] unreasonable than for a Man to expect Fruit out of -Season? _Jesus_ could not but know this before he came to the Tree, -and if he had had any Consideration, he would not have expected Figs -on it, much less, if he had regarded his own Reputation, as a wise -Man, would he have so resented the Want of them. What, if a _Yeoman_ -of _Kent_ should go to look for _Pipins_ in his Orchard at _Easter_, -(the supposed Time[149] that _Jesus_ sought for these Figs) and, -because of a Disappointment, cut down all his Trees; What then would -his Neighbours make of him; Nothing less, than a _Laughing-stock_; and -if the Story got into our publick News, he would be the Jest and -Ridicule of Mankind. How _Jesus_ salv'd his Credit upon this his wild -Prank; and prevented the Laughter of the _Scribes_ and _Pharisees_ -upon it, I know not; but I cannot think of this Part of the Letter of -this Story, without smiling at it at this Day; and wonder our -_Divines_ are not laugh'd out of Countenance for reading it gravely, -and having _Jesus_ in Admiration for it. - -Again, I would gladly know, whose Figtree this was, and whether -_Jesus_ had any legal Right to the Fruit, if haply he had found any on -it, or any Leave or Authority to smite it with a Curse for its -Unfruitfulness? As to the Tree's being _Jesus_'s Property, that could -not be. For he was so far from being either Landlord or Tenant, that -it's said he had not where to lay his Head. During the Time of his -Ministry, he was but a Wanderer, like a Mendicant Fryar, or an -itinerant Preacher, and before that Time was no better than a -Journeyman Carpenter (of whose Workmanship, I wonder, the Church of -_Rome_ has no holy Relicks, not so much as a Three-footed-stool, or a -Pair of Nutcrackers;) consequently he had no House nor Land of his own -by Law, much less any Figtree, and least of all _this_ which he espy'd -at a distance in his Travels. How then had he any Right to the Figs, -if he had met with any? I hope he ask'd Leave beforehand of the -Proprietor, or _Infidels_ will say of him, that if he had had an -Opportunity he would have been a _Rob-Orchard_. And it he had no Right -to the Fruit, much less to smite the Tree with a Curse; where was his -Honour,[150] _his Justice_, his Goodness, and his Honesty in this Act? -The _Evangelists_, if they would have us to think, _Jesus_ did no -wrong to any Man, should have left us somewhat upon Record, to -Satisfaction, in this Case; or _Infidels_, who have here Scope for it, -will think worse of _Jesus_, than possibly he may deserve. Whether -_Jesus_, modestly speaking, met with any Blame or Reprimand from the -Proprietor, for his Act of Execration, none can affirm or deny. But if -any one so spitefully and maliciously should destroy almost any other -Tree, whether fruitful or not, of another Man's, in this Country, he -would have good Luck, if he escaped the House of Correction for it. - -And what now have our _Divines_ to say, to all this Reasoning against -the Letter of this Story? Nothing more than "That the Act of cursing the -Figtree, whether it be at this Distance of Time reconcilable to Reason, -Justice and Prudence or not, was a supernatural Work, above the Power of -Nature or Art to imitate; consequently it was a Miracle, and they will -admire and adore _Jesus_ for it." And to agree with them at present, -that it was a real Miracle, and a supernatural Event, yet I hope, -they'll acknowledge, that if _Jesus_, as St. _Augustin_[151] says, had, -instead of cursing the Figtree, made a dry, dead and withered one, -immediately to bud, flourish and revive, and in an Instant to bring -forth ripe Fruits, out of Season, it would have pleased them much -better. Such an Instance of his Power had been an indisputable Miracle: -Such an Instance of his divine Power had carry'd Goodness along with it, -and none of the foresaid Exceptions could have been made to it: Such an -Instance of his Almighty Power, had been a Demonstration of his being -Lord of the Creation, and Author of the Fruits of the Earth for the Use -of Man, in their Season, or he could not have produced them out of -Season: In such an Instance of Power, his Divine Care and Providence -against Hunger and Want would have been visible; and it would have been -an Admonition to us, to depend daily upon him for the Comforts and -Necessaries of Life: Such an Instance of his Power would have been, as -St. _Augustin_ says above, like his Miracles of healing Diseases, of -making the Languid, _Sound_; and the Feeble, _Strong_; and we might more -certainly have inferr'd from one with the other, that both were the -Operations of a good God. But this Instance of his cursing the Figtree -in this Fashion spoils the Credit, and sullies the Glory of his other -Miracles. It is in its own Nature of such a malevolent Aspect, that its -enough to make us suspect the Beneficence of _Christ_ in his other -Works, and to question whether there might not be some latent Poyson and -diabolical Design under the Colour of his fairer Pretences to Almighty -Power. It is so like the malignant Practices of _Witches_, who, as -Stories go, upon Envy, Grudge, or Distaste, smite their Neighbours -Cattle with languishing Distempers, till they die, that it's hard, if -not impossible, to distinguish one from the other, in Spite and Malice. -If _Mahomet_, and not _Jesus_, had been the Author of this Miracle, our -_Divines_ would presently have discover'd the _Devil_'s Foot in it, and -have said that _Satan_ drew him into a Scrape, in the Execution of this -mad and foolish Frolick, on purpose to expose _him_ for a _Wizard_ and -_his_ Musselmen of all Ages since for _Fools_ in believing on him. The -Spirit of _Christ_, who is all Love and Mercy, should, one would think, -breath forth nothing but Goodness and Kindness to Mankind; but that such -a pestilential Blast, like a mortiferous North-East Wind in some -Seasons, should proceed from his Mouth, to the Destruction of another -Man's harmless and inoffensive Tree, is what none upon Earth can account -for. - -Our _Divines_, one or other of them, have publish'd several notable -Notions about Miracles, and have laid down good Rules to distinguish -_true_ from _false_ ones; but none of them, as far as I perceive, have -taken any Pains to shew the Consistence of _Jesus_'s Miracles to their -own Rules and Notions. Mr. _Chandler_, (who as the _Archbishop_[152] -says, has rightly slated the Notion of a Miracle) among his Rules of -judging by whom Miracles are perform'd, says,[153] _That the Things -pretended to be done, are to be such, as that it is consistent with -the Perfections of God to interest himself in_; and again, _they must -be such as answer to the Character of God as a good and gracious -Being_; and again, _It seems reasonable to believe, that whenever the -first and best of Beings is pleased to send an extraordinary Messenger -with a Revelation of his Will, he will furnish him with such Proofs of -his Mission, as may argue, not only the Power of him in whose Name be -comes, but his Love to Mankind, and his Inclination to do them good_. -I have no Dislike to these Notions of Mr. _Chandler_; but as it is not -to be questioned, that he (and the _Archbishop_ too) had this Miracle -of _Jesus_'s cursing the Figtree, and some others, as of his -_boisterous driving the Buyers and Sellers out of the Temple_; of _his -sending the Devils into the Herd of Swine_; of _his turning Water into -Wine for the Use of Men, who had before well drank_, &c. in his View, -when he gave forth the foresaid Rules; (for acute and learned Writers -in Theology are supposed to have their Wits about them;) so it is to -be hop'd that he or the _Archbishop_ will soon publish somewhat to -reconcile these Miracles of _Jesus_ to their own Notions; tho' I don't -expect it before _latter Lammas_. - -But after all, it may be questioned, if Infidels should go about it, -whether this Work of _Jesus_ was miraculous; and whether there was not -more of the Craft of Man, than of the Power of God in it; or to use -Mr. _Chandler_'s[154] Words, whether it don't _look like the little -Tricks and cunning Deceits of Impostors_. St. _Matthew_ says, -_presently the Figtree withered away_; but this _presently_ is an -indeterminate Time, and may be understood of a Day, or a Week or two, -as well as of the Moment in which the Words were spoken, _Let no Fruit -grow on thee henceforward for ever_. St. _Mark_ says, _that in the -Morning as the Disciples passed by; they saw the Figtree dry'd up from -the Roots_, which was at least the Day[155] after the Curse was -utter'd, so that there was certainly four and twenty Hours for its -withering; and if it is said that the _Tree dry'd up from the Roots_, -it does not imply that the Trunk of it perish'd, or was reduc'd to -nothing; but only that the green Leaves of the Whole, and of every -Part of it, were in a withering Condition: And might not all this be -done without a Miracle? What if _Jews_ and _Infidels_ should say, that -_Jesus_, being minded to impose on his Disciples and Followers, took a -secret Opportunity beforehand to lay his Carpenter's Ax to the Root of -this Tree, and so imperceptibly circumcised it, as that the Leaves -did, what they will do, wither in a Night and a Day's Time. God -forbid, that I should think, _Jesus_ did so; but as to the Possibility -of such a Fraud in an Impostor, none can doubt of it. - -I am so far from thinking there was any such Fraud in this supposed -Miracle of _Jesus_, that I don't believe it was at all done by him -according to the Letter: And for this I have not only a clear and -intrinsick Proof from the Story itself; but the Authority of the -Fathers. St. _Ambrose_, treating on the Parable of the Figtree in[156] -St. _Luke_, intimates, that what St. _Matthew_ and St. _Mark_ write of -_Jesus_'s cursing the Figtree, is but[157] Part of the same Parable. -And St. _John_ of _Jerusalem_[158] says expressly enough, that the three -_Evangelists_ write of one and the same Figtree, consequently -parabolically, and that, what St. _Matthew_ and St. _Mark_ write of it, -was no more a literal Transaction, than the Parable in St. _Luke_. -Thanks to these holy Fathers for their ridding us of the Belief of the -Letter of this Story, which otherwise might have perplex'd us with its -Absurdities before urg'd. And to their Opinion I desire it may be added -and considered, whether it be not as reasonable in itself to take what -the three _Evangelists_ write of this Figtree as Part of one Story, as -well as, what they write of the _Woman with her Issue of Blood_, and of -_Jesus's calling the Devils out of the Madmen_, and of other Miracles -which are but several Relations of the same Story, Parable or Miracle, -Neither is it any Argument for a literal Transaction of this Miracle, -that the _Evangelists_ speak of it, as a Thing done: For, as _Origen_ -says, there are some Things spoken of in the _Evangelists_, as Facts, -which were never transacted; so it is of the Nature of Prophecy (and -our Saviour in his whole Life prophesied) to speak of Things to come, -as if they were already past; because such Prophecies are not to be -understood till after their Accomplishment, and then the Reason of the -Use of the _præter_, instead of the _future_ Tense, in Prophecy, will be -visible. But what, in my Opinion, is an absolute Demonstration, that -there's no Truth in the Letter of this Story, is, what our Saviour adds, -upon the Disciples wondering at the sudden withering of the Figtree, -saying,[159] _that if they had Faith they should not only do what was -done to the Figtree; but should say to this Mountain_, (that was near -him, I suppose) _be thou removed and cast into the Sea, and it shall be -done_. But these Things were never litterally done by them, consequently -_Jesus_ himself did not litterally curse the Figtree; or the Disciples -wanted Faith for the doing the said Miracles, which is an Absurdity to -suppose; or _Jesus_ talked idly of a Promise to invest them with a -Power, they were never to be possess'd of. But of what ill Consequence -to Religion, either of these Suppositions is, let the old Objection in -_Paschasius Rathertus_[160] speak; which I shall not stay here to urge -and revive; but only say at present, that if _Jesus_ actually cursed a -Figtree, his Disciples ought to have done so too, and to remove -Mountains. If we adhere to the Letter in one Case, we must in the other -also; but we are only to look to the Mystery in both, or St. -_Augustin_[161] will tell us, that _Jesus_ utter'd vain, empty and -insignificant Words and Promises. - -St. _Augustin_, who believes no more of the Letter of this Story, than -I do, says, that the Works of _Jesus_ are all figurative and of a -spiritual Signification, which is so manifest from his Act of cursing -the Figtree, as Men must,[162] _whether they will or not_ acknowledge -it. But he is mistaken: Tho' there might be none in his Time who -would question, that this supposed Fact of _Jesus_ had a mystical -Signification; yet if he had liv'd in our Days, he would have met with -_Divines_, who, for all the foresaid Absurdities and their Cogency to -drive us to Allegory, do adhere to the Letter only, whether the Truth, -Credibility and Reasonableness of it be defensible or not. But then to -do Justice to St. _Augustin_'s Assertion, he would have met with -others, who _against their Wills_, interpret this Miracle -figuratively, such as Dr. _Hammond_ and Dr. _Whitby_, who say, _Jesus_ -cursed the Figtree by way of Type of the Destruction of the _Jewish_ -State, which declined and wasted away after the Similitude of this -withering Tree. But why then don't these _Commentators_ allegorically -interpret and apply other Miracles of our Saviour? Because they think -the Letter will stand good and abide the Test without an Allegory. And -why do they allegorise this Miracle only? Because of the Difficulties -and Absurdities of the Letter, which they can't account for. And are -these Reasons good? No, certainly: The _Evangelists_ should have made -the Distinction for them. They should have told us, which Miracles are -to be allegoris'd and mystically applied, and which are not; or we -are to allegorise all or none at all. And how came these modern -Allegorists of this Miracle to apply it as they do, and to make it a -mystical Representation of the Ruin of the _Jewish_ State? Did they -take up this Notion of their own Heads, or did they borrow it of the -Fathers? Why in all Probability they took the Hint from the Fathers; -wherefore then don't they, what none of them do, cite and acknowledge -their Authors for it? Because, like Men of Subtilty, they would be -thought to devise it of themselves; for if they had quoted the Fathers -for it, the Fathers would have oblig'd them, upon their Authority, to -allegorise the rest of _Jesus_'s Miracles, in the way that I have -interpreted some of them; but this would not have agreed with their -Stomachs for many Reasons. No Thanks then to the aforesaid -_Commentators_ for their allegorical Application of this Miracle, -which they are again to desert, or abide the Consequence of -allegorising others also, which for their Interests and Reputations -they will not do. Therefore let them return again to the Letter of -this Miracle, and say for it, what is all that is to be said for it, -with _Victor Antiochenus_, an Apostatical Writer of the fifth -Century,[163] _that when we read this Passage of Scripture concerning -the Figtree_, Jesus _cursed, we ought not curiously to enquire whether -it was wisely or justly done of_ Jesus, _or not; but we ought to -contemplate and admire this Miracle, as well as that of_ Jesus'_s -drowning the Swine, notwithstanding some think it void of the Face of -Justice_. Ay, ay, our _Divines_ must allegorise all _Jesus_'s -Miracles, or betake themselves to this Opinion of _Victor_; which this -_Free-thinking_ Age will hardly let them quietly rest in. So, -supposing our _Divines_ to be, what they generally are, still -Ministers of the Absurdity of the Letter, I pass to the Consideration -of the Authority of the Fathers, and to see, whether we can't learn of -them this Parable of the Figtree. - -Who or what is meant by the Figtree seems not to be agreed among the -Fathers; or, more properly speaking, they are not agreed, all of them -to apply it always to one and the same Thing. Some, as[164] _Gregory_ -the _Great_, say Human Nature or Mankind is typified by the Figtree. -Others, as[165] St. _Hilary_, say the _Jewish_ Church or State is -meant by it. Others, as[166] _Origen_ say, it is a Type of the Church -of Christ. So do the Fathers seem to be divided in their Opinions; but -it is without any Difference or Inconsistency with each other. For as -there is, according to the Fathers, Mystery upon Mystery in all the -Actions of _Jesus_; so I believe the Figtree here, as a Type, may be -properly enough apply'd to the foresaid three Purposes. And if the -Fathers had been ask'd their Opinion in this Case, I dare say, they -would have said so too. This is certain that _Origen_[167] understands -it as applicable to the _Jewish_ as well as the _Christian_ Church. -And St. _Augustin_, as Occasion offers itself, takes it in the -foresaid three Senses. When they understand it as a Type of all -Mankind, they say that the _three Years_ of its Unfruitfulness are to -be interpreted of the[168] _three grand Periods_ of the World; the -_one_ before the Law of _Moses_; _another_ under the Law; and the -_third_ under the Gospel; at the Conclusion of which _third_ Period, -as it was an ancient and common Opinion, _Jesus_ in Spirit would come -to his Figtree of Mankind, and animadvert on them for their -Unfruitfulness, not by any Destruction of human Nature, but by a -Cessation of its Unfruitful State, which then will wither away, and be -turn'd into a fruitful one against the grand Sabbath, or acceptable -Year, which is the Year signified in the Parable, _that it is to be -let alone to bring forth Fruit in_. They that understand the Figtree -as a Type of the _Jewish_ State, mean by the _three Years Jesus_ came -to it, the _three Years_ of his preaching among the _Jews_; at the End -of which, after _Christ_'s Passion and Resurrection, the _Jewish_ -State, like the Figtree, withered away, and, for its Unfruitfulness, -was rooted up. They, that understand the Figtree as a Figure of the -Church of _Christ_, by the _three Years_, mean the apocalyptical -_twelve hundred and sixty Days_ (that is, three Years and a half) of -the Church's barren and unfruitful State in the Wilderness, at the -Conclusion of which, the Fathers say, _Jesus_ will come again to his -Church or Figtree, seeking Fruit on it. - -Some perhaps may be ready here to interpose with a Question, and say, -how will _Jesus_ then come to his Church? I have carefully perused the -Fathers upon this Question, and can't find that they mean any more by -_Christ_'s second or spiritual Advent, than that clear _Truth_, right -_Reason_ and divine _Wisdom_ (which are the mystical Names of _Jesus_) -will descend upon the Church, on the Clouds of the Law and the -Prophets, to the Removal of her unfruitful and unprofitable Errors, -and to enable her to bring forth the Fruits of the Spirit, against the -grand Sabbath. Neither can any reasonable Man conceive how -otherwise[169] _the Lord should come_, (not _with ten thousand of his -Saints_, as our Translation has it, but) [Greek: en myriasin agiais -autou], that is, as _Origen_ interprets, _in his holy thousands_ of -Allegorists [Greek: poiêsai krisen], _to criticise upon all_ the -Scripture, and to convince _Ministers of the Letter_ of their -abominable Errors, and of their horrid Blasphemies spoken, preach'd -and printed against the Holy, (Ghost or) Spirit of the Law and -Prophets. As to that literal and common Pulpit-Story (with all its -Appendages) of _Jesus_'s second Coming on ætherial Clouds, as on a -Wool-sack, in his human, tho' glorious and majestick Appearance, for -the Resurrection of Mens Bodies, by the Sound of a Trumpet, in the -Audience of the Dead, _&c._ it is the most absurd, nonsensical and -unphilosophical, (such groundless and worthless Stuff have the -_Clergy_ sold and preach'd to God's People!) that ever was told -against Reason, against prophetick and evangelical Scripture, and -against other antient and good Authority. It is no Place here to -multiply Testimonies and Arguments to either of these Purposes which -my Readers, if they do but attend, will see no Occasion for. But if -our _Divines_ should think I have put a false Gloss on the Text of St. -_Jude_ above, I have a Bundle of Arguments and Testimonies to produce -in Defence of it, at their Service. - -In the Parable of St. _Luke_, it is said, _Lo, these three Years come -I seeking Fruit on this Figtree_; as if _Jesus_ came annually and -successively for _three Years_ together: but according to the -Original, it ought to be read, _Lo, it is three Years and I now -come_, or, _Lo, the three Years are now past, and I come_. And here it -is to be noted, that whether we understand the Figtree, as a Figure of -the Church in particular, or of Mankind in general; the mystical -Number of _three Years_ will terminate about the same Time, against -the Evangelical Sabbath, on which the Unfruitfulness of the Church, or -of Mankind, according to the Fathers, is to have an End put to it. - -And _Jesus_, when he came to the Figtree, _found nothing thereon but -Leaves only_: So _Jesus_, when he comes to his Church, will find -nothing in her but Leaves only. And what is here meant by Leaves? Let -the Fathers, such as[170] St. _Hilary_, St. _John_[171] _of -Jerusalem_, and[172] St. _Theophylact_ tell us, who by Leaves -understand a vain and empty Appearance of Wisdom and good Works, or -the Words and Letter of the Scriptures, which are the Leaves of the -Oracle, without any Figs of spiritual Interpretations of them. And -whether this ben't the Case of the Church at present, our _Divines_ -are to consider. The Figs that _Jesus_ may be supposed to look for at -his Coming, are not only the Fruits of the Spirit mention'd by St. -_Paul_, but[173] _spiritual Interpretations_ of the Scriptures, which -St. _Jerome_[174] says are _mystical Figs_; because, as ripe Figs are -sweet to the Palate of our Mouths, so are they no less delicious to -the Soul of Man. - -But _Jesus_ is said to be _hungry_ after Figs: so will _Jesus_ in -Spirit _hunger_ for the mystical Figs of his Church, that is, as -_Origen_[175] rightly interprets, he will earnestly desire, like a Man -that is hungry, the Fruits of the Spirit in his Church, which will be -as grateful to him as Figs can be to a Man naturally. To understand -this Expression of _Jesus_'s _Hunger_ literally, is such a mean -Circumstance of Life, that unless it be, what's next to impossible, -necessarily introductory to some noble Transaction, its unfit to be -remember'd of a _Saint_ in History. _Diogenes Laertius_ would have -disdain'd to mention such a frivolous Circumstance in the Life of a -Philosopher as _this_ of _Jesus_. But if we understand this _Hunger_ -in _Jesus_ mystically, and figuratively of his Desires of the Fruits -of the Spirit in his Church, it is sublime and noble; and the Emblem -confessedly proper and instructive. - -But _Jesus_ is said to come to the Figtree at an unseasonable Time; -_For the Time of Figs was not yet_; which Expression has been the -Perplexity of _Commentators_, who with all their Wit and Sagacity -can't get well over it. I shall not mention here all or any of their -pretended Solutions of this Difficulty; but let us see whether we -can't easily and at once unlose it. St. _Mark_'s Words are [Greek: ou -gar ên kairos sykôn], which are and have been commonly translated, -_for the Time of Figs is not yet_. But if we change the _Point_ into -an _Interrogation_, and read thus, _for was it not the Time of Figs?_ -the Difficulty vanishes as certainly, as that it is absurd to suppose -_Christ_ should come to his Figtree and look for Fruit, when he could -not reasonably expect any. This my Solution of this Difficulty -certainly serves the Purpose of the mystical Interpretation; and if -it does not the litteral, I answer, we are not to heed the Letter, -which seldom or never has any Sense or Truth in it. But, by the by, it -does the litteral too, since there are no Grounds from the Text to -think, what has been the common Opinion, that it was about the -_Jewish_ Passover that _Jesus_ came to the Figtree. If this my -Solution of the Difficulty don't please, I must say with[176] -_Heinsius_, that it must be left as a Knot for _Elias_ to untie, who, -according to the[177] ancient _Jews_, is first to gather Fruits off -this mystical Figtree, and present them to the intellectual Taste of -Mankind. But, that my Solution is good, will appear by what follows. - -And _Jesus_ finding Leaves only says, in St. _Matthew_, to the -Figtree, _Let no Fruit grow on thee henceforward for ever_; which -(with its parallel Place in St. _Mark_) is in my Opinion a false -Translation: The Original is, [Greek: Mêketi ek sou karpos genêtai eis -ton aiôna], and ought to be englished, _not as yet_, or _not until -now_, (that I come) _against the_ (grand) _Age_ (of the Sabbath) has -Fruit grown on thee. So that the Miracle of _Jesus_ was to make the -Figtree of the Church fruitful; and if her preceding unfruitful State, -which (in St. _Mark_) _Jesus_ is said to curse, or rather to devote to -Ruin, wasted away, it was by Consequence. - -But what Time of Day was it that _Jesus_ came to the Figtree? It was in -the _Morning_. And of what Day? That is uncertain as to the Letter, but -according to the mystical Extent of the _Three Years_, whether we -understand the Figtree as a Type of the Church, or of all Mankind of all -Ages, it will be on the _Morning_ of the great Sabbath, when, upon the -Appearance of the Light of Christ, like the Rising of the Sun, an -unfruitful and erroneous Church must needs wither away. And the -Disciples on the said _Morning_ will, as _Origen_[178] says, with their -intellectual Eyes behold her waste with Admiration. And then too, they -under Christ _will do what is done to the Figtree_, of the Church, and -_remove Mountains_ of Antichristian Power, that exalt themselves -against him; as the Fathers interpret, and I need not explain. - -And what is meant by the Means, which St. _Luke_ speaks of, to make -the Figtree of the Church fruitful on the Sabbatical Year; _the Year -it is to be let alone to bear Fruit in_? There must be _digging about -it_, that is[179] into the Earth of the Letter of the Scriptures, and -_dunging_ of it, that is calling[180] to Remembrance her Sins and -Errors of the Time past, which rationally speaking will make the -Church to bring forth good Fruit. - -After this Fashion is the rest of the Parable of the Figtree to be -allegorized out of the Fathers. St. _Gregory_[181] the _Great_ and St. -_Augustin_, make these two Stories or Parables, _viz._ of the Figtree, -and of the Woman with her _Spirit of Infirmity_, as they are blended -together in St. _Luke_, to be Figures of the same Mystery. The -_eighteen Years_ of the Woman's Infirmity and the _three Years_ of the -Figtree's Unfruitfulness, they will have to be mystically -synchronical. And the Woman's _Incurvity_ to the Earth is, they say, -significative of the same Thing with the _Unfruitfulness_ of the -Figtree. And the _Erection_ of the Woman on the Sabbath is of the same -Import with the _Reservation_ of the Tree for Fruitfulness on that -Day. And let any one see, if they don't admirally agree, as I have -interpreted these two Parables. - -Before I dismiss this Story of the Figtree, I can't but adore the -Providence of God, that the Miracle has been hitherto placed in the -withering away of the Tree. If the Miracle had been a plain Story of a -dead and wither'd Tree's being made to bring forth Leaves and Fruit on -a sudden; this would have been such a manifestly supernatural Work, -and so agreeable to modern Notionists about Miracles, that Mens -Thoughts would have been so absorpt in the Consideration of the -Letter, as they would never have extended them to the Contemplation of -the Mystery. And our Divines would have made such a Noise, in our Ears -of the Excellency and Marvellousness of such a Miracle, as that there -would be no bearing of it. But But as the _Evangelists_ have in a -good Measure suppress'd all mention of the after Fruitfulness of the -Tree; and the Story, by Misconstruction, is clog'd with the foresaid -Difficulties and Absurdities, we are of Necessity driven to the search -after Mystery for good Sense and Truth in it. - -And thus have I spoken enough to the Miracle of _Jesus_'s cursing the -Figtree, which according to the Letter is a foolish and absurd Story: -But the mystical Operation, of which the Letter is a Shadow, will be -ravishing, marvellous and stupendous; and not only a Proof of -_Christ_'s Power, and Presence in his Church, but a Demonstration of -his _Messiahship_, in as much as an infinite Number of Prophecys upon -Prophecys, will thereupon be discern'd to be accomplish'd, or the -Church can't bring forth the Fruits of the Spirit, that is Spiritual -Interpretations of the Scriptures, like ripe Figs. And so I pass to an - -8. _Eighth_ Miracle of _Jesus_, and that is,[182] "of his healing a -Man of an Infirmity, of thirty eight Years Duration, at the Pool of -_Bethesda_, that had five Porches, in which lay a great Multitude of -impotent Folk, blind, halt, withered, waiting the troubling of the -Waters, upon the Descent of an Angel, who gave a Sanative Virtue to -them, to the curing of any one, be his Distemper of what kind soever, -who first stept down into them." - -This whole Story is what our Saviour calls a _Camel_ of a monstrous -Size for Absurdities, Improbabilities and Incredibilities, which our -_Divines_, and their implicit Followers of these last Ages, have -swallowed without chewing; whilst they have been straining at _Knats_ -in Theology, and hesitating at frivolous and indifferent Things of the -Church, of no Consequence. - -As to _Jesus_'s Miracle in this Story, which consisted in his healing -a Man, of no body knows what _Infirmity_, there neither is nor can be -proved any Thing supernatural in it, or there had been an express -Description of the Disease, without which it is impossible to say, -there was a miraculous Cure wrought. As far as one may reasonably -guess, this Man's _Infirmity_ was more _Lazyness_ than _Lameness_, and -_Jesus_ only shamed him out of his pretended Illness, by bidden him to -take up his Stool and walk off, and not lie any longer, like a lazy -Lubbard and Dissembler, among the Diseased, who were real Objects of -Pity and Compassion: Or, if he was no Dissembler, he was only -fancyfully sick, and _Jesus_ by some proper and seasonable Talk -touch'd his Heart, to his Relief; and so, by the Help of his own -Imagination, he was cured, and went his Way. This is the _worst_ that -can be made of this _infirm_ Man's Case; and the _best_ that can be -said of _Jesus_'s Power in the Cure of him, as will appear, by and by, -upon Examination into it. But the other Parts of the Story of the -healing Virtue of the Waters, upon the Descent of an Angel into them, -is not only void of all good Foundation in History, but is a -Contradiction to common Sense and Reason, as will be manifest after an -Inquiry into the Particulars of it. - -St. _John_ was the beloved Disciple of our Lord, and I hope he lov'd -his Master: or he was worse than an Heathen, who loves those who love -him: But this Story, and some others, that are peculiar to his Gospel, -such as, of _Jesus's telling the Samaritan Woman her Fortune_; _of his -healing the blind Man with Eye-Salve made of Clay and Spittle_; _Of -his turning Water into Wine for the Use of Men, who had before well -drank_; and of _his raising Lazarus from the Dead_, are enough to -tempt us to think, that he wilfully design'd, either to blast the -Reputation of his Master, or to try how far the Credulity of Men who -through blind Love were running apace into Christianity, might be -imposed on; or he had never related such idle Tales, which, if the -_Priesthood_, who should be the philosophical Part of Mankind, had not -been amply hired into the Belief of them, would certainly have been -rejected with Indignation and Scorn before now. - -St. _John_ wrote his Gospel many Years after the other _Evangelists_: -What then should have been his peculiar Business? Certainly nothing -more, than to add some remarkable Passages of Life, to _Jesus_'s -Honour, which they had omitted; and to confirm the Truths which they -had before reported of him. But St. _John_ is so far from doing this, -that the Stories, he has particularly added, are not only derogatory -to the Honour of _Jesus_, but spoil his Fame for a Worker of Miracles, -which the other _Evangelists_ would raise him to. By reading the other -_Evangelists_, one would think, that _Jesus_ was a Healer of all -manner of Diseases, however incurable by Art and Nature, and that -where-ever he came, all the sick and the maim'd (excepting a few -Infidels) were perfectly cured by him. But this Story before us will -be like a Demonstration, that _Jesus_ was no such Worker of Miracles -and Healer of Diseases, as he is commonly believed to have been; and -that he wrought not near the Number of Cures, he is supposed to have -done, much less any great ones. The best Conception that an impartial -Reader of the Gospel can form of _Jesus_, is, that he was a tolerable -good natural _Orator_, and could handsomely harangue the People off -hand, and was according to the Philosophy of the Times, a good -_Cabalist_; and his Admirers finding him endewed with the Gift of -Utterance, which was thought by them more than human, they fancy'd he -must have the Gift of healing too, and would have him to exercise it; -which he did with Success, upon the Fancies and Imaginations of many, -who magnified his divine Power for it. And the Apostles afterwards, to -help forward the Credulity and Delusion of the People, amplified his -Fame with extravagant Assertions and strange Stories of Miracles, -passing the Belief of considerate and wise Men. Whether this -Representation of the Case, according to the _Letter_ of the Gospels, -be false and improbable, let my _Readers_ judge by the Story before -us, which I come now to dissect, and make a particular Examination -into the several Parts of it. Accordingly it is to be observ'd - -_First_, that this Story of the _Pool_ of _Bethesda_, abstractedly -considered from _Jesus_'s Cure of an infirm Man at it, has no good -Foundation in History: It merits no man's Credit, nor will any -reasonable Person give any heed to it. St. _John_ is the only Author -that has made any mention of this Story; and tho' his Authority may be -good, and better than another Man's in Relation to the Words and Actions -of _Jesus_, in as much as he was most familiar and conversant with him; -yet, for foreign Matters, that have no immediate Respect to _Jesus_'s -Life, he's no more to be regarded than another _Historian_, who, if he -palm upon his _Readers_ an improbable Tale of senseless and absurd -Circumstances, will have his Authority questioned, and his Story pry'd -into by the Rules of _Criticism_, and rejected or received as it is -found worthy of Belief and Credit. If there had been any Truth in this -Story before us, I cannot think but _Josephus_ or some other _Jewish_ -Writers, it is so remarkable, peculiar and astonishing an Instance of -the Angelical Care and Love to the distressed of _Jerusalem_, would have -spoken of it: But I don't find they have; or our modern _Commentators_ -would have refer'd to them, as to Testimony of the Credibility of the -Gospel-History. _Josephus_ has professedly written the History of the -_Jewish_ Nation, in which he seems to omit nothing that makes for the -Honour of his Country, or for the Manifestation of the Providence of God -over it. He tells us of the Conversation of Angels with the Patriarchs -and Prophets, and intermixes Extra-Scriptural Traditions, as he thought -them fit to be transmitted to Posterity. How came he then and all other -_Jewish_ Writers to forget this Story of the Pool of _Bethesda_? I -think, we may as well suppose that a Writer of the natural History of -_Somersetshire_ would neglect to speak of the medicinal Waters of -_Bath_, as _Josephus_ should omit that Story, which, if true, was a -singular Proof of God's distinguishing Care of his peculiar People, or -an Angel had never been frequently, as we suppose, sent to this Relief -of the Diseased amongst them. Is then St. _John_'s single Authority -enough to convey this Story down to us? Some may say, that there are -several Prodigies, as well as political Events of antient Times, that, -tho' they are reported but by one Historian, meet with Credit; and why -may not St. _John_'s Testimony be equal to another Writer's? I grant it; -and tho' it is hardly probable but that this Story, if true, before us, -must have had the Fortune to be told by others; yet St. _John_'s single -Authority shall pass sooner than another Man's, if the Matter be in -itself credible and well circumstanc'd. But where it is blindly -imperfectly and with monstrously incredible Circumstances related, like -this before us, it ought to be rejected. Which brings me, - -_Secondly_, To ask, what was the true Occasion of the Angel's Descent -into this Pool? Was it to wash and bath himself? Or, was it to impart -an healing Quality to the Waters for some one diseased Person? The -Reason, that I ask the first of these two Questions, is, because some -antient Readings of v. 4. say[183] the Angel [Greek: eloueto] _was -washed_, which supposes some bodily Defilement or Heat contracted in -the Cælestial Regions, that wanted Refrigeration or Purgaton in these -Waters: But how absurd such a Thought is, needs no Proof. To impart -then compassionately an healing Power to the Waters for the Benefit of -the Diseased was the sole Design of the Angel's Descent into them. And -God forbid, that any should philosophically debate the Matter, and -enquire how naturally the Waters deriv'd that Virtue from the Angel's -corporal Presence. The Thing was providential and miraculous, our -_Divines_ will say, and so let it pass. But I may fairly ask, why one -diseased Person only at a Time reap'd the Benefit? Or why the whole -Number of impotent Folks were not at once healed? I have a notable -Answer presently to be given to these Questions; but I am afraid -beforehand, our _Divines_ will not approve of it: Therefore they are -to give one of their own, and make the Matter consistent with the -Goodness and Wisdom of God; or the said Questions spoil the Credit of -the Story, and make an idle and ridiculous Romance of it. And when -their Hands are in, to make, what it impossible, a satisfactory Answer -to the said Questions; I wish, that, for the sake of _Orthodoxy_, they -would determine, whether the Angel descended with his Head or his -Heels foremost, or whether he might not come, swauping upon his Breast -into the Waters, like a Goose into a Horse-pond. But, - -_Thirdly_, How often in the Week, the Month or the Year did the Angel -vouchsafe his Descent into the Pool? And for how many Ages before -_Christ_'s Advent, and why not since and even[184] _now_, was this -Gracious and Angelical Favour granted? St. _John_ should have been -Particular as to these Points, which he could not but know -Philosophers would be curious to enquire about. If it was but once in -the Year, as St. _Chrysostom_[185] hints, little Thanks are due to him -for his Courtesy. One would think sometimes, that his Descent was -frequent; or such a Multitude of impotent Folk, variously disorder'd -had never attended on it. And again at other Times, one would think -that his Descent was seldom, or the Diseased as fast as they came, -which could not be faster than the Angel could dabble himself in the -Waters, had been charitably dismissed with restor'd Health. Here then -is a Defect in St. _John_'s Story, and a _Block_, at which wise and -considerate Freethinkers will stumble. But, - -_Fourthly_, How came it to pass, that there was not better Care taken, -either by the Providence of God, or of the Civil Magistrates of -_Jerusalem_ about the Disposal of the Angelical Favour to this or that -poor Man, according to his Necessities or Deserts: But that he, who -could fortunately catch the Favour, was to have it. Just as he who -runs fastest obtains the Prize: So here the Diseased, who was most -nimble and watchful of the Angel's Descent, and could first plunge -himself into the Pool, carried off the Gift of Sanation. An odd and a -merry Way of conferring a divine Mercy. And one would think that the -Angels of God did this for their own Diversion, more than to do good -to Mankind. Just as some throw a Bone among a Kennel of Hounds, for -the Pleasure of seeing them quarrel for it; or as others cast a Piece -of Money among a Company of Boys for the Sport of seeing them scramble -for it: So was the Pastime of the Angels here. It was the Opinion of -some Heathens, that _Homines sunt Lusus Deorum_, the Gods sport -themselves with the Miseries of Mankind; but I never thought, before I -considered this Story, that the Angels of the God of the _Jews_ did so -too. But if they delighted in it, rare sport it was to them, as could -be to a _Town-Mobb_. For as the poor and distressed Wretches were not -to be supposed to be of such a polite Conversation, as in Complaisance -to give place to their betters, or in Compassion to make way for the -most miserable; but upon the Sight or Sound of the Angel's Fall into -the Pool, would without Respect of Persons strive who should be first: -So those who were behind and unlikely to be cured, would like an -unciviliz'd _Rabble_, push and press all before them into it. What a -Number then, of some hundreds perhaps, of poor Creatures were at once -tumbled into the Waters to the Diversion of the City Mob, as well as -of God's Angels? And if one arose out of it, with the Cure of his -Disease, the rest came forth like drown'd _Rats_, to the Laughter of -the foresaid Spectators; and it was well if there was not sometimes -more Mischief done, than the healing of _one_ could be of Advantage, -to those People. Believe then this Part of the Story, let him that -can. If any Angel was concern'd in this Work, it was an Angel of -_Satan_ who delights in Mischief; and if he healed _one_ upon such an -Occasion, he did it by way of Bait, to draw others into Danger of Life -and Limb. But as our _Divines_ will not, I suppose, bear the Thoughts -of its being a bad Angel; so I leave them to consider upon our -Reasonings, whether it was credible that either a good or a bad Angel -was concerned, and desire them to remember to give me a better Reason, -why but _one_ at a Time was healed. - -If any Pool or Cistern of Water about this City of _London_ was so -blessed with the Descent of an Angel to such an End, the Magistrates, -such is their Wisdom, would, if God did not direct, take care of the -prudent Disposal of the Mercy to the best Advantage of the Diseased. -And if they sold it to an infirm _Lord_ or _Merchant_, who could give -for it most Money, to be distributed among other Poor and distressed -People, would it not be wisely done of them? To suppose they would -leave the Angelick Favour to the Struggle of a Multitude, is absurd -and incredible. And why then should we think otherwise of the -Magistrates of _Jerusalem_? Away then with the Letter of this Story! -And if this be not enough to confute it. Then, - -_Fifthly_, Let us consider, to its farther Confutation, who and what -were the impotent Folk, that lay in the Porches of _Bethesda_, waiting -the Troubling of the Waters. St. _John_ says they were _Blind_, -_Halt_, _Withered_, and as some Manuscripts[186] have it, -_Paraliticks_. And what did any of these there? How could any of them -be supposed to be nimble enough of Foot to step down first into the -Waters, and carry off the Prize of Sanation, before many others of -various Distempers? Tho' the troubled Waters might be of such -medicinal Force as to heal a Man of whatsoever Disease he had; yet -none of the foresaid Persons for want of good Feet and Eyes could -expect the Benefit of it. Tho' the Ears of the Blind might serve him -to hear, when the Angel plump't like a Stone into the Waters, yet -through want of Sight for the guidance of his Steps, he would by -others be jostled out of the right Way down into them. And if the Lame -had good Eyes to discern the Descent of the Angel, yet Feet were all -in all to this Purpose: Consequently these impotent Folk, specified by -St. _John_, might as well have stay'd at Home, as resorted to -_Bethesda_ for Cure. I know not what Fools the Diseased of _Jerusalem_ -of old might be, but if there was such a Prize of Health to be strove -for, by the Distempered of this City, I appeal to all Men of common -Sense, whether the _Blind_, the _Lame_, the _withered_ and -_Paralyticks_ would offer to put in for it. St. _John_ then forgot -himself, or else blundered egregiously, or put the Banter upon us, to -try how far an absurd Tale would pass upon the World with Credit. -There might be, if there was any litteral Sense in the Story, many of -other Distempers, but there could be neither _blind_, _halt_ nor -_withered_, without _such an Absurdity_, as absolutely disparages the -Story, blasts the Credit of the _Relator_, or rather brings to mind -the Assertion of St. _Ambrose_, that the Letter of the _New_ as well -as of the _Old Testament_ lies abominably. If what I have here said -does not overthrow the Letter of this Story; Then what I have, - -_Sixthly_, To add, will do it more effectually, and that is, of the -_certain Man, that had an Infirmity thirty and eight Years_, and lay -at this Pool for an Opportunity to be cured of it. Tho' these _thirty_ -and _eight_ Years are, in our _English_ Translation prædicated of this -Man's Infirmity, yet more truly, according to the Original, are they -spoken of the Time he lay there? and the Fathers so understood St. -_John_'s Words. What this Man's Infirmity was, we are uncertain: For -[Greek: astheneia] _Weakness_ or _Infirmity_ is a general Name of all -Distempers, and may be equally apply'd to one as well as to another: -Whereupon, tho' we can't certainly say from this Man's Infirmity, that -he was a Fool to lay there so long, expecting that Cure, which it was -impossible for him to obtain; yet what he says to our Saviour, _I have -no Man, when the Waters are troubled to put me into the Pool, but -while I am coming another steppeth down before me_, does imply his -Folly sufficiently, or rather the Incredibility of the whole Story. -What then did this _infirm_ Man at this Pool, if he had neither Legs -of his own good enough, nor a Friend to assist him, in the Attainment -of Sanation? Was he not a Fool, if it was possible for any to be so -great a one, for his Patience? Would it not have been as wisely done -of him to wait, in the Fields so long, the Falling of the Sky, that he -might catch Larks? The Fathers say, this Man's _Infirmity_ was the -_Palsy_; but whether they said so for the Sake of the Mystery, or to -expose the Letter, I know not. But that Distemper, after _thirty_ and -_eight_ Years Duration, and Increase; if it was more curable than -another at first, had in that time undoubtedly so weakened and -render'd him uncapable to struggle with others for this Relief, that -it is without Sense and Reason to think he should wait so long for it. -Our _Divines_, if they so please, may commend this Man for his -Patience, but after a few Years, or rather a few Days Experience, -another Man would have been convinc'd of the Folly and Vanity of his -Hopes, and returned Home. If he could not put in for this Benefit, -with Prospect of Success in his more youthful Days, when the Distemper -was young too, much less Reason had he to hope for it in his old Age, -after _thirty_ and _eight Years_ Affliction, unless he dream'd of, -what was not to be imagin'd, an Opportunity, without Molestation and -Competition, to go off with it. Whatever then our _Divines_ may think -of this Man and his Patience, I will not believe there ever was such a -Fool; and for this Reason will not suppose St. _John_ could literally -so romance, unless he meant to bambouzle Mankind into the Belief of -the greatest Absurdity. A Man that Lies with a Grace to deceive -others, makes his Story so hang together, as to carry the Face and -Appearance of Truth along with it; which this of St. _John_, that for -many Ages has been swallowed, for the Reason before us, has not. But -what is the worst of all against this Story is, - -_Seventhly_, That which follows, and absolutely destroys the Fame and -Credit of _Jesus_ for a Worker of Miracles. _And_ V. 1, 2, 3. _Jesus -went up to Jerusalem, where there was by the Sheep-Market, a Pool, -called Bethesda, having five Porches, in which lay a great Multitude -of impotent Folk, blind, halt, withered._ Why then did not _Jesus_ -heal them? Here was a rare Opportunity for the Display of his Healing -and Almighty Power; and why did he not exercise it, to the Relief of -that Multitude of impotent Folk? If he could not cure them, there's an -End of his Power of Miracles? and if he would not, it was want of -Mercy and Compassion in him. Which way soever we take this Case, it -turns to the Dishonour of the Holy _Jesus_. What then was the Reason, -that of so great a Multitude of diseased People, _Jesus_ exerted his -Power, and extended his Mercy, on only _one_ poor Paralytick? St. -_Augustin_[187] puts this Question and Objection into my Mouth; and -tho' neither He nor I start it for the Service of Infidelity, but to -make Way for the Mystery, yet I know not why _Infidels_ may not make -Use of it, till Ministers of the Letter can give a satisfactory Answer -and Solution to it. - -The Evangelists, _Matthew_, _Mark_, and _Luke_, tell such Stories of -_Jesus_'s healing Power, as would incline us to think he cured all -where-ever he came. He _heal'd_, they say, _all Manner_ of Diseases -among the People, and they make mention of particular Times and -Places, where all the Diseased were healed by him, which Assertions -imply, that _Jesus_'s healing Power was most extensive and (excepting -to an hard-hearted and unbelieving _Pharisee_ now and then) universal; -so far that it might be question'd, whether any died, during the Time -of his Ministry, the Places where he came: And our _Divines_ have so -harangued on _Jesus_'s Miracles, as would confirm us in such an -Opinion: But this Story in St. _John_ confutes and confounds all. St. -_John_ in no Place of his Gospel talks of _Jesus_'s healing of many, -nor of all manner of Diseases, much less of all that were Diseased; -which, if it be not like a Contradiction to the other _Evangelists_, -is some Diminution of their Authority, and enough to make us suspect, -that they stretch'd much in praise of their Master, and said more to -his Honour than was strictly true. But this Place before us is a flat -Contradiction to them, and _Jesus_ is not to be supposed to heal many -in any Place, much less all manner of Diseases, or he had never let -such a Multitude of poor Wretches pass without the Exercise of his -Power and Pity on them. Some good Reason then must be given for -_Jesus_'s Conduct here, and such a one as will adjust it to the -Reports of the other Evangelists; or _Infidels_ will think, that -either they romanc'd for the Honour of their Master, or that St. -_John_ in Spite told this Story to the Degradation of him. I can -conceive no better of this Matter according to the Letter. - -The _Bishop_ of _Litchfield_ very remarkably says,[188] _that Jesus -where-ever he went, healed all that came to him without Distinction, -the impotent, halt, withered_. He certainly had this Text of St. -_John_ in his Eye, when he said so, because _Impotent_, _Halt_, -_Withered_, are only mention'd here, where _Jesus_ cured _none_ of -them: Whereupon if his _Lordship_ had made but a marginal Reference to -this Text, it would have been the best Jest and Banter, with a Sneer, -that ever was put upon _Jesus_ and his Power of Miracles: As it is, -it's a very good one, and I desire my Readers to take Notice of it, -that his Lordship may not lose the Credit and Praise of it. It's for -such Circumspection of Thought, Exactness of Expression, and Acuteness -of Wit, that I admire that _Prelate_, and must needs say of him, -whether he ever be translated to _Canterbury_ or _York_, or not, that -he's an _arch_ Bishop. - -But to return and go on. The Conduct of _Jesus_, to all Appearance, is -not only blameable, his Power of healing disputable, and his Mercy -indefensible, for that he cured but _one_ infirm Man out of a -Multitude, at _Bethesda_, but, - -_Eightly_, and lastly, it may reasonably be questioned, whether he -wrought any Miracle in the healing of this _one_ Man. Miracles (to say -nothing of the ridiculous Distinction between divine and diabolical -ones) are Works done out of the Course of Nature, and beyond the -Imitation of human Art or Power. Now whether the Cure of this infirm -Man can be brought under this Definition of a Miracle, may be doubted. -What this Man's _Infirmity_, which is a general Name for all -Distempers, was, we know not. How then can we say he was miraculously -cured, unless we knew his Disease to be incurable by Art, which none -can affirm? The worst that we know of this Man's Case, is, that it was -of a long Continuance, no less than of _eight_ and _thirty_ Years: And -the _Bishop_ of _Litchfield_ and others in their florid Harangues of -_Jesus_'s Works, make the Cure of such Chronical Diseases to be -miraculous: But why so? Many Instances may be given of Infirmities of -human Nature, of a long Duration, which in Time, and especially in -old Age, wear off. If such Infirmities don't occur to the Memory of -our _Divines_, I could put them in Mind of them. And who knows but -this was the Case of this impotent Man, whose Infirmity _Jesus_ -observing to be wearing off, bid him to be gone, and take up his -Couch, for he would soon be made whole. - -The Fathers indeed call this Man's Infirmity the _Palsy_, which in -truth is generally worse than better by Time, and after _thirty_ and -_eight_ Years, must needs be very deplorable, and incurable without a -Miracle. But why do they call it the Palsy? They have no Authority for -it from the Text, without which, as our litteral _Doctors_ will not -subscribe to their Opinions in other Cases; so why should I here? In -short, the Fathers had never call'd it the _Palsy_, but for the sake -of the Mystery; and I am not bound to own _that_ to have been the -Distemper, any more than it was want of Legs; for that would be making -of Miracles for _Jesus_, without Reason and Authority. - -If _Jesus_ here had healed the whole _Multitude of impotent Folk_; -without Enquiry what Numbers there might be of them, I should have -believed that he wrought there many great Miracles, in as much as in -such a great Multitude, there must needs, in all Probability, be some -incurable by Art or Nature: But since he cured only this _one_ Man, it -affords Matter of Speculation, whether he was the _most_ or the -_least_ diseased amongst them. Our _Divines_, for the sake of the -Miracle, may possibly suppose him to be the most grievously afflicted -of any; but _Infidels_, on the other hand, will say, not so: but with -their Cavils will urge that this infirm Man was either a Dissembler, -whom _Jesus_ shamed out of his pretended Disease, or that he was only -hippish, and fancyfully more than really distemper'd of a long Time, -whom _Jesus_ by suitable Exhortations and Admonitions, working upon -his Imagination, persuaded into a Belief of his Cure, and bid him to -walk off. Certain it is, that _Infidels_ will say, it was not a Power -of Miracles in _Jesus_ which heal'd him, or he had used it then and -there for the Sanation of others also. - -And thus have I finish'd my Invective against the Letter of this Story; -which, if any are offended at, they enjoy, what is the most reasonable -Thing in the World, the same Liberty to write for the Letter, which I -have used against it: And so I pass to the Consideration of the -Opinions and Expositions of the Fathers on this strange Story. - -The Fathers, upon whose Authority I form'd my preceding Invective -against the Letter, so universally betake themselves to the mystical -Interpretation of this Story, that it may be question'd, whether any -of them, more than myself, believ'd any Thing at all of the Letter of -it. St. _Chrysostom_, who is as much a litteral Interpreter of the -Scriptures as any of them, here intirely discards the Letter, saying -admirably thus,[189] _what a strange Way and Story of healing the -Diseased is here? but what is the Mystery of it? that we are to look -to. The Matter could not be so simply and unadvisedly transacted -litterally, as it is related. There must be somewhat future here, as -by a Type and Figure, signify'd; or the Story, it is so incredible in -itself, will give Offence to many._ St. _Chrysostom_ was certainly in -the right on't; and I wonder, for which no Reason but want of Liberty -can be given, that _Infidels_ have not before now, with their Jests -and Cavils, ridiculed this Story. St. _Augustin_, to the same Purpose, -says,[190] _Can any one believe, that these Waters of Bethesda were -wont to be troubled in this Fashion, and that there was not Mystery, -and a spiritual Signification in it?_ Yes, I could tell St. -_Augustin_, that our modern _Divines_ seem to believe it, tho' he, if -he was now alive, would laugh at them for it. But to come to the -profound Mystery signified by this Story, which to use the Words -of[191] St. _Augustin_, as God shall enable me, I will now speak to. - -Our _English_ Version says, _There is at Jerusalem by the -Sheep-Market, a Pool_. How our _Translators_ came by the Notion of a -_Market_ here, I can't imagine, since there is nothing to favour it in -the Original, which stands thus, [Greek: epi tê probatikê -kolymbêthra]: By [Greek: kolymbêthra], the Fathers understand[192] -Baptism, or the spiritual _Laver_ of Regeneration; and who is that -for, but the Flock of Christ, signified by [Greek: probatikê]? So we -have another and clearer Interpretation of these two Words. And as to -_Bethesda_, that is a mystical Name of the Church, which according to -the Signification of _Bethesda_, is the House of Grace. And if it is -said to be at _Jerusalem_, it is not to be understood of the Old -_Jerusalem_, but of the _New_ and Apocalyptical _Jerusalem_, at the -Entrance into which the Flock of Christ will be baptiz'd by the Waters -of the Spirit, as in a mystical Laver. - -_Bethesda_ is said to have five _Porches_, that is, as the Fathers[193] -agree, the five Books of _Moses_, which are as so many Doors of Entrance -into the House of Wisdom, or of the Grace of _Christ_. - -At these _five Porches_ of the five Books of Moses lay _a great -Multitude of impotent Folk, blind, halt, withered_. And who are these -mystically? The ignorant, erroneous, and unstable in Faith and -Principle, as the Fathers often understand them spiritually. And what -is the Reason of these their mystical Diseases? Because, as St. -_Augustin_[194] and other Fathers say, they rest on the Letter of the -Law, which throws them into various Errors, like Diseases, of -different Kinds, of which they can't be cured without the Descent of -the Spirit, like an Angel, to instruct them mystically to interpret. - -With these impotent Folk lay _a certain Man who had an Infirmity_. And -who is this infirm Man? Mankind in general, say St. _Cyril_[195] -and[196] St. _Augustin_, And what is his Infirmity? The Fathers call it -the[197] _Palsy_, because of his Instability, and Unsteadiness in Faith -and Principles, which is now the Case of Mankind. St. _John_ calls it -[Greek: astheneian] _a Weakness_, which being a general Name of all -Distempers, we can't guess what might be here the specifical one. But -reasonably speaking, according to the Rule of Interpretation, this Man's -_Infirmity_ is the same with the Woman's _Spirit of Infirmity_, and that -is a Weakness at the Spirit of Prophecy, which Mankind, as well as the -Woman of the Church, is to be cured of in the Perfection of Time. - -And how long did this Man with his Infirmity lay in these Porches of -_Bethesda_? _Thirty eight Years_: So has Mankind with his Weakness at -the Spirit of Prophecy lay eight and thirty (hundred)[198] Years, -reckoning two thousand under the Law, and eighteen hundred since under -the Gospel. St. _Augustin_[199] has an ingenious and more mystical way -of Computation of these _thirty and eight Years_, which pleases me -too, but possibly some Readers may not so easily apprehend it, unless -they are well acquainted with the Mystery of Prophetical Numbers. - -And how is Mankind to be cured of his Infirmity at the Spirit of -Prophecy? By being instructed, by the Spirit of Truth, who is to come -at the Conclusion of the said thirty and eight mystical Years, _to -arise and take up his bed and walk_, that is, to raise his Thoughts to -the Contemplation of the divine Mysteries of the Law, and to lift up -his Bed of the Letter, on which he has hitherto _rested_, into a -sublime Sense, and then he will walk uprightly and steadily in the -Faith, without wavering like a Paralytick. - -And at what Season did _Jesus_ come to this infirm Man? It was at a -Feast of the _Jews_. _Irenæus_, _Chrysostom_, _Theophylact_, and -_Cyril_ call it the Feast of Penticost. And the grand Feast of -Penticost is, as St. _Cyril_[200] says upon the Place at the -Perfection of Time, the Time of the Evangelical Sabbath, and of -_Jesus_'s spiritual Advent, which will be a Time of feasting on -intellectual and divine Mysteries, of seeing Visions and of dreaming -Dreams; consequently at that Time, as the ancient _Jews_ and Fathers -assert, Mankind will be cured of this Infirmity at the Spirit of -Prophecy. And this too is the _certain Season, that the Angel will -descend and trouble the Waters_. By Angel is here meant[201] the -Spirit of Christ. And by Waters the Fathers understand,[202] the -People of all Nations. But how will the Descent of the Spirit of -Truth, like an Angel, trouble these Waters, that is, give any -Molestations and Disturbance to the People? Is there not a Mistake in -the Oracle? If the _Clergy_ will be but greater Lovers of Truth than -of their Interests; if they, who should be Teachers of Forbearance of -one another in Love, will but keep their Temper, there would be found -a mistake in it. But alas! - -_Lastly_, The _Jews_, as is intimated, seem to have been mov'd with -Indignation at the Cure of the infirm Man, saying to him, ver. 10. _it -is the Sabbath, it is not lawful for thee to carry thy Bed_; which -litterally could not be true. The _Jews_ were not such precise -Observers of the Sabbath; nor _so stupid and foolish_, as St. -_Cyril_,[203] says, as to think the taking up and carrying a Stool to -be a Breach of it. But mystically, it is to be fear'd, this will be -most true, and that the _Clergy_, who would be _Jews_ inwardly, and -the Circumcision in Spirit, will be bitter Enemies to Man's Exaltation -of his Couch of the Letter of the Scriptures on or against the -Evangelical Sabbath, and will make it, if possible, an _unlawful_ -Work; because it will bring to them Shame, Dishonour and Loss of -Interests along with it. - -After this Manner is every other Circumstance of this Story to be -allegorically apply'd out of the Fathers. The Moral or Mystery of the -whole, in short, is this, that at the Perfection of Time, signified by -the _Sabbath_, the _Pentecost_, the End of _thirty eight Years_, the -Spirit of Truth will descend on Mankind, to their Illumination in -Prophecy, and to the healing of their _Errors_, call'd _Diseases_; -which is admirably represented by the Parable before us, that -according to the Letter, has neither Reason nor common Sense in it. - -And thus have I spoken to _eight_ of the Miracles of _Jesus_; and -whether I have not shew'd them, in whole or Part, according to the -Proposition before us, to consist of Absurdities, Improbabilities, -and Incredibilities; and whether they are not prophetical and -parabolical Narratives of what will be mysteriously, and more -wonderfully done by _Jesus_, I appeal to my _Readers_. - -After another Discourse of some other Miracles, I intend to take into -Examination the several Stories of _Jesus_'s raising of the Dead as of -_Lazarus_, _Jairus_'s Daughter, and the Widow's Son of _Naim_; which -reputedly are _Jesus_'s grand Miracles; but, for all the seeming -Greatness and Excellency of them, I don't doubt but to give the Letter -of these Stories a Toss out of the Creed of a considerate and wise -Man; at least show their Insufficiency for the Purpose for which they -have been hitherto apply'd. And if I should afterwards, by the Leave -and Patience of the _Bishop_ of _London_, give my Objection against -_Christ_'s Resurrection a Review, and some more Force, then what will -become of the Argument of _Christ_'s Power, Authority, and -_Messiahship_ from his Miracles? - -But, besides _Jesus_'s Miracles, I am, as Opportunity serves, to take -into Consideration some of the Historical Parts of his Life; and shew -them to be no less sensless, absurd and ridiculous than his Miracles. - -And why may I not sometimes treat on the Parables of _Jesus_, and show -what nonsensical and absurd Things they are, according to the -Expositions of our most famous Commentators of these last Ages. _Jesus_ -was certainly the absolute, and most consummate Perfection of a -_Cabalist_, _Mystist_, _Parabolist_ and _Enigmatist_; but according to -modern Commentaries and Paraphrases, he was the merest Ideot and -Blockhead that ever open'd his Mouth, in that sort of Learning, to the -Instruction of Mankind. And I am oblig'd a little to speak to the -Absurdities of _Christ_'s Doctrine and Parables, because one Article of -the Prosecution against me was for saying, _that any of the Philosophers -of the Gentiles_, or _any rational Man_ (meaning according to modern -Expositions) _would make a better Teacher, than Jesus was_. - -What a great deal of Work have I upon my Hands, which, if God spare my -Life and Health, I intend to go on with: If what I have already done -in it be not acceptable to the _Clergy_, their Way to prevent the -Prosecution of this great Undertaking, is to battle me upon what's -past. Who knows but they may write, if they would try their Strength, -so acutely in Defence of the Letter of _Jesus_'s Miracles already -discuss'd, as may effectually stop my Mouth, and prevent my giving -them any more Trouble of this Kind? And I suppose I have now gotten an -Adversary in the _Bishop_ of St. _David_'s, who has already discharg'd -one Fool's Bolt at me. - -There has nothing been a more common Subject of Declamation among the -_Clergy_ than the _Reasonableness_ of Christianity, which must be -understood of the History of _Christ_'s Life and Doctrine, or the -Application of the Word _Reasonableness_ to the Christian Religion is -impertinent. But if I proceed, as I have begun in this Work, I shall -shew Christianity, as it is understood, to be the most unreasonable -and absurd Story, that ever was told; and our modern Systems of -Theology groundless and sensless in almost every Part of them. -_Mahometanism_, without Offence be it spoken, is a more _reasonable_ -Religion than the Christian, upon modern _Schemes_ and _Systems_. - -If what I here say is offensive to our _Divines_, the _Press_ is open -for them as well as for myself, and they may, if they can, shew their -Resentment of it. Thanks unto God and our most excellent Civil -Government for such a Liberty of the _Press_: A Liberty that will lead -and conduct us to the Fountain of Wisdom and Philosophy, which -Restraint is a down-right Enemy to. And that this Blessing of Liberty -may be continued, for all _Bishop Smallbrook_ and Dr. _Roger_'s -_Hobbism_, is, I dare say, the Desire of the curious, inquisitive, and -philosophical Part of Mankind. If this Liberty should be taken away, -what a notable Figure will our _Divines_ make from the _Press_ and -_Pulpit_, declaiming on the Reasonableness, Excellency and Perfection -of the Christian Religion, without an Adversary; and telling their -Congregations, that all, their bitterest and acutest Enemies can -object, is clearly answered! - -The _Press_, of late Years, has been productive of so many cogent and -persuasive Arguments for Liberty of debate, and the Advocates for this -Liberty, in the Judgment of the impartial and considerate, have so far -gotten the better of their Adversaries, that I wonder any one can -appear in behalf of Persecution. If I was a _Bishop_ or _Doctor_ in -_Divinity_, I shou'd think it a Disgrace to my Station and Education -to ask the Assistance of the Civil Authority to protect my Religion: I -should judge my self unworthy of the Wages and Emoluments I enjoy'd, -for the Preaching and Propagation of the Gospel, if I was unable to -give an Answer to any one, that ask'd a Reason of my Faith; Or if I -was so Shallow-pated, as to think Heresy and Infidelity punishable by -the Civil Magistrate, I should think myself as much oblig'd to confute -by _Reason_, as he is to punish by the _Sword_. If the _Bishop_ of -_London_ had taken this Course with me; if he had publish'd a -Refutation of my supposed Errors, as well as endeavour'd at a -Prosecution of me for them, I had forgiven him the Wrongs and Injuries -done me, and made no repeated Demands of Satisfaction for them. - -Christianity is, as I believe, founded on a Rock of Wisdom; and what's -more, has an omnipotent and omniscient God on its Side, who can incline -the Hearts of Men to believe, and open the Eyes of their Understanding -to discern the Truth of it; consequently there can be no Danger in the -Attempts of our Adversaries, whether, _Jews_, _Turks_ or Domestick -_Infidels_, against it. But Persecution implys Weakness and Impotency in -God to defend his own Cause; or his Priests would not move for the Help -of the Arm of Flesh in Vindication of it. And if, at this Time of Day, -after so many Treatises of _Infidels_, and some of them as yet -unanswered, against our Religion, this good Cause should be taken out of -the Hands of God, and committed to the Care of the Civil Magistrate; if -instead of Reason the Clergy should have Recourse to Force, what will -By-standers, and even Well-wishers to Christianity say? Nothing less -than that _Infidels_ had gotten the better of _Christ_'s Ministers, and -beaten them at their own Weapons of Reason and Argument. - -The two great Pleaders for Persecution, to the Disgrace of themselves -and Dishonour of our Religion, that have lately arose are Dr. _Rogers_ -and the _Bishop_ of St. _David_'s. Dr. _Rogers_'s chief Reason against -Liberty of Debate, is because, as he says it is pernicious to the -Peace and Welfare of the Community, by unsettling the Minds of the -People about the Religion established: But here's no consequence, -unless it could be proved, that such as the great Mr. _Grounds_ and -Mr. _Scheme_, have it in their Hearts to raise Mobbs upon the -Government, and to beat out the Brains of the _Clergy_. All the Harm, -or rather Good, they aim at, is to exercise the Wits of the _Clergy_ -with their Doubts and Objections; and if the Passions of our -_Ecclesiasticks_ are not raised upon it, to the doing of Violence to -these _Gentlemen_, the Peace of the Publick will never be disturb'd. -As to myself, tho' I have a vast and numerous Party on my Side, no -less than all the Fathers and primitive Christians for some Ages; yet -as we were peaceable and quiet Subjects of old and passively obedient -to the _Emperors_ of _Rome_; so we will continue to the Civil -Authority of this Nation. We only take the Liberty to awaken the -Clergy out of a Lethargy of Dulness and Ignorance; and hope the Civil -Magistrate will consider the Goodness and Charity of our Intentions, -and guard us against their Insults for it. - -The _Bishop_ of St. _David_'s[204] says, "It is absurd to assert, that -the Liberties of any Nation will allow, with Impunity, a Set of -distinguish'd Infidels to insult and treat with the greatest Contempt -and Scorn the most sacred and important Truths, that are openly -professed, by the whole Body of the People, of whatever Denomination." -By a Set of Infidels, I suppose, he means me and the Fathers: And by -_treating with Contempt and Scorn the most sacred and important -Truths_, he means, our burlesquing, bantering and ridiculing the -_Clergy_ for their Ministry of the Letter: And for _this_ he would, I -conceive, have incensed the _Societies_ for Reformation of Manners to -a Prosecution of me. And if they had not been wiser, and more -merciful than their Preacher, I must have gone to Pot. But why should -the _Bishop_ dislike this way of Writing? Don't he know, that the -Fathers of the Church used to jest and scoff at the _Gentiles_ and -their Priests for their foolish Superititions? Don't he know, that our -_Reformers_ banter'd and ridicul'd Popery out of Doors, and almost -within the Memory of Man, it was reckon'd but a dull Sermon, that was -not well humm'd for its Puns and Jest on the Papists? why then should -the _Bishop_ be against that way of writing, which was of good Use to -the _Reformers_, and first _Christians_? The grand Subject for -_Burlesque_ and _Banter_, in my Opinion, is _Infidelity_; and that -_Bishop_, who can't break two Jests upon _Infidels_ for their one upon -Christianity, has but a small Share of Wit. The Christian Religion -according to the _Bishop_, will abide the Test of calm and sedate -Reasoning against it, but can't bear a Jest; O strange! - -But to leave these two Contenders for Persecution to the Chastisement of -acuter Pens. What I have here pleaded for Liberty is not thro' any Fears -of Danger to myself, but for the Love of Truth and Advancement of -Christianity, which, without it, can't be defended, propagated and -sincerely embraced. And therefore hope, that the Controversy before us, -between _Infidels_ and _Apostates_ will be continued by the Indulgence -of the Government, till Truth arises and shines bright to the -Dissipation of the Mists of Error and Ignorance; like the Light of the -Sun to the Dispersion of the Darkness of the Night. I will by God's -Leave, go on to bear my part in the Controversy; And, if it was not more -against the Interests than Reason of the _Clergy_ to believe me, would -again solemnly declare that what I do in it is with a View to the Honour -of _Jesus_, our spiritual _Messiah_, to whom be Glory for ever. _Amen._ - - ~_FINIS._~ - -[Illustration] - -FOOTNOTES: - -[145] _Matt._ Chap. xxi. _Mark_, Chap. xi. - -[146] Hoc factum, nisi figuratum, stultum invenitur. _In Serm._ lxxvii. - -[147] Nulla esset Ligni Culpa, quia Lignum sine sensu non habebat -Culpam. Augustin _in Serm._ lxxxix. - -[148] Quærit poma; necesciebat tempus nondum esse? quod Cultor Arboris -sciebat, Creator Arboris nesciebat? _Augustini in Serm._ lxxxix. - -[149] Hoc ideo probamus, quia Passionis Domini Dies propinquabat, et -scimus quo tempore passus sit. _Ibid._ - -[150] Arbor non est justé siccato. _Johan. Hierosol in Loc. Marci._ - -[151] Si miraculum fuerat tantummodo commendandum, et non alquid -prophetice figurandum, multo clementiùs dominus et sua misericordia -digniùs fecerat, Si quam aridam invenerat, viridem redderet, sicut -languentes sanavit. Tunc vero e contrario, quasi adversus Regulam -Clementiæ suæ invenit Arborem virentem, præter tempus fructus nondum -habentem, non tamen fructum agricolæ negantem, et aridam fecit. _In -Serm._ lxxxix. _Sect._ 3. - -[152] See Arch-Bishop _Wake_'s Letter to Mr. _Chandler_, which is -handed about Town and Country. - -[153] _Vindication of the Christian Religion_, p. 82. - -[154] _Ibid._ - -[155] Quod sequenti die viderint exaruisse fieum. _Theophylact. in -Locum Marci._ - -[156] Chap. xiii. - -[157] Quid sibi vult, quod in Evangelio suo Dominus Fici Parabolam -_frequenter_ inducit: Habes enim alibi, quod jussu Domini Viriditas -omnis hujus Ligni frondentis aruerit. _In Loc. Lucæ._ - -[158] Videamus, ubi alibi scriptum de ista ficu; in Evangelio secundum -Lucam legimus, &c. _In Loc. Marci. Hom._ xii. - -[159] _Matth._ Chap. xxi. 21. - -[160] Quanquam igitur juxta Literam Hæc facta non legantur ab Apostolis, -sicut quidam Paganorum calumniati sunt, et garriunt contra nos, etiam in -suis scriptis asserentes Apostolos non habuisse fidem, quia monues non -transtulerunt neque Ficulneas verbo exsiccarunt. _In Loc. Matth._ - -[161] Legimus Apostolorum miracula, nusquam autem legimus arborem ab his -arefactam, aut montem in mare translatum; quæramus ergo in mysterio ubi -factum sit, non enim Verba Domini vacare potuerant. _In Serm._ lxxxix. - -[162] Sed futurum aliquid Miraculo commendasse, multa sunt quæ nos -admoneant, nobisq; persuadeant imo ab _invitis_ extorqueant. _Ibid._ - -[163] Porro quando in hunc locum incidimus, nemo curiose inquirat, aut -anxie disputet, justene an secus factum sit; sed Miraculum editum -contempletur et admiretur. Nam de submersis Porcis quoq; nonnulli hanc -quæstionem moverant, factumq; justitiæ coloræ destitutum prædicare -veriti non sunt. _In Loc. Merci._ - -[164] Quid Arbor fici, nisi humanam naturam designet? _In Homil._ xxxi. - -[165] In Ficu, Synogogæ positum Exemplum est. _In Loc. Matt._ - -[166] Absit a nobis, ut, Jesu veniente ad nos et volente manducare de -ficu (_Ecclesiæ_) non inveniatur Fructus in ea. _In Matth. Tract._ xxx. - -[167] Potest autem ficus illa intelligi populus Circumcisionis. _Ibid._ - -[168] Arbor ficulnea Genus humanum est----Triennium autem tria sunt -Tempora, unum ante Legem, alterum sub Lege, tertium sub gratia. St. -_Augustin in Serm._ cx. - -[169] _Jude_, ver. 14. - -[170] Inveniet infæcundam, foliis tantummodo vestitam, id est Verbis -inanibus gloriantem, sed fructibus vacuam, Operibus quippe bonis -sterilem. _In Loc. Matt._ - -[171] Habentem folia et non fructus; Verba, non Sensus; Scripturas, -non intelligentiam Scripturarum. _In Loc. Marci._ - -[172] Folia sola habentem, hoc est, apparentem Litteram, non Fructus -Spiritus. _In Loc. Matt._ - -[173] Qærens non Sensiles Fructus sed intellectilem ex Lege et -Prophetis dulcemq, Fæcunditatem. _Cæsarii in Dialog._ 40. - -[174] Ficus sunt dona dulcissima Spiritus Sancti, Spiritualia dogmata -et Scientia Scripturarum. _In Aggæ_; _Cap._ ii. - -[175] Esuriit autem Jesus semper in justis, volens manducare Fructum -Spiritus Sancti i neis. _In Matt. Tract._ xxx. - -[176] Ad quem (Locum) intelligendum, ut oportet, expectandum esse -Eliæ, ut nonnunquam loquuntur Veteres de Locis obscurissimis Adventum. -_In Excercitat. Sac. Lib._ ii. _cap._ 6. - -[177] Fructus dulces omne genus de arbore Vitæ comedendum præbebit -Elias. _Apud Buxtorf. Synag. p._ 738. - -[178] Oculis Spiritalibus viderunt Mysterium fici siccatæ. _Matt. -Tract._ xvi. - -[179] Effodientes Literam Legis. _Cyril. Glaphyr._ L. 1. P. 1. - -[180] Mittitur ergo Cophinus Stercoris ad Radicem Arboris, quando -pravitatis suæ Conscientia tangitur memoria Cogitationis. _Gregor. M. -in Hom._ xxxi. - -[181] Sed hoc significat Ficulnea infructuosa, quod Mulier inclinata; -et hoc Ficulnea reservata, quod Mulier erecta. Hoc autem & octodecem -Annorum Numero signatur, quod tertio die Dominus Vineæ Ficulneam -venisse perhibetur. _In Homil._ xxxi. - -[182] _John_, Chap. v. - -[183] Vid. Milli. Nov. Test. _In Loc._ - -[184] Quare modo non movetur Aqua? _St. Ambros de Sacrament._ _Lib. -C._ 2. - -[185] [Greek: Eis monos tou eniautou etherapeueto.] _In Serm. contra -Eberietatem._ - -[186] Vid. Milli. Nov. Test. _In Loc._ - -[187] Tot jacebant & unus curatus, cum posset uno Verbo omnes erigere. -Quid ergo intelligendum est, nisi quia Potestas & Bonitas illa magis -agebat, _&c._ _In Loc. Johan._ - -[188] Defence of Christianity, P. 415. - -[189] Quis hic Curationis modus? quid hoc nobis mysterium -significatur? non [Greek: aplôs] nec [Greek: eikê] hæc, sed futura -nobis, tanquam imagine et figura quadam describuntur, ne res nimium -incredibilis et inexpectata, accedente fidei Virtute, Multitudinis -Animas offenderet. _In Loc. Johan._ - -[190] Aqua turbata----credas hoc Angelica Virtute fieri solere, non -tamen sine significante aliquo Sacramento? _In Loc. Johan._ - -[191] Cujus Rei & cujus signi profundum mysterium, quantum Dominus -donare dignatur, loquar ut potero. _Ibid._ - -[192] Piscina illa Baptismum designat. _Theophyl. In Loc._ Quænam -igitur hæc descriptio? Futurum erat Baptisma plenum maximæ Potestatis -& Gratiæ purgaturum peccata. _Chrysost. In Loc._ - -[193] Per quinque Porticus, quinque Libras Mosis intelligo, St. -_Theophil. Antioch. in Loc._ Quinque Porticus sunt quinque Libri -Mosis. St. _August. in Loc._ - -[194] Mosis quinque Libros scripsit, sed in quinque Porticibus -Piscinam cingentibus languidi jacebant, et curari non poterant. Vide -quomodo manet littera, convincens eum non salvans iniquum. Illis enim -quinque Porticibus, in figura quinque Librorum prodebantur potius quam -sanabantur ægroti. Ergo quicunque amatis litteram fine gratia, in -Porticibus remanebitis, ægri eritis, jacentes non convalescentes, de -littera enim præsumitis. _In Psal._ lxx. - -[195] Est Figura Populi in ultimis temporibus sanandi. _In Loc. Johan._ - -[196] Languidus ille, de quo in Evangelio legimus, quia jacebat, Typum -Generis humani habere videbatur. _In Serm._ cclxxiv. _Append._ - -[197] Paralyticum qui juxta Natatoriam jacebat. _Irenæi. Lib._ ii. -Chap. 22. - -[198] Tempus et Annus sunt centum Anni, _Tichonii in Reg._ 5^a - -[199] Quod autem triginta et octo Annos in Languoribus positut erat, -do illo Quadraginta numero, quem supra diximus duo minus habens; et -quæ sunt ista duo, nisi duo præcepta, dilectio Dei et Proximi. Ista -duo, in quibus tota Lex pendet et Prophetæ, si non habuerit, languidus -et Paralyticus jacet. _In Ps._ lxxxiii. - -[200] Quod autem sub finem Hebdomadum Sanctæ Pentecostes ipse -revertitur Hierosolymam, figuraté et ænigmatice significat futurum -nostri Salvatoris Reversionem ultimis præsentis ævi temporibus. _In -Loc. Johan._ - -[201] Turbabat Angelus,----dictus est Dominus magni consilii Angelus. -_Augustin in Serm._ cxxv. _Sect._ 3. - -[202] Turbavit Aquam, id est, turbavit Populum. _Ejusdem in Ps._ cii. - -[203] Sabbatum est et Grabatum non licet tollere. Quid stupidius aut -inertius esse potest? _In Loc. Johan._ - -[204] Sermon before the Society for Reformation, _&c._ p. 12. - - - - - A FOURTH - DISCOURSE - ON THE - MIRACLES - OF OUR - _SAVIOUR_, - - In VIEW of the Present - Controversy between INFIDELS - and APOSTATES. - - _Canes qui oblatrant contra Inquisitionem - Veritatis._ Clem. Alex. - - The Third Edition. - - By THO. WOOLSTON, B.D. sometime - Fellow of _Sidney-College_ in _Cambridge_. - - _LONDON_: - - Printed for the Author, and Sold by him - next door to the _Star_, in _Aldermanbury_, - and by the Booksellers of _London_, and - _Westminster_, 1728. - - [Price One Shilling.] - - - - -[Illustration] - - TO THE - Right Reverend Father in GOD - _FRANCIS_, - Lord Bishop of St. ASAPH. - - -MY LORD, - -_If the_ Convocation _had been sitting, I would have made this -Dedication to them, and humbly implored of them, what, for their Love to -the Fathers, they would readily have granted, a Recommendation of these -my_ Discourses _on_ Miracles _to the_ Clergy: _But being unhappily -disappointed of a Session of that_ Reverend _and_ Learned _Body, for -whose wise Debates and orthodox Votes I have such a Veneration, as is -not to be express'd in a few Words, I presently turn'd my Thoughts on -your_ Lordship, _to whom a_ Dedication _is due, because of your Respect, -often declared, for the Authority of the Fathers, which induces me to -think, you now approve of the Use I have made of them_. - -_But what I am here to applaud your_ Lordship _for, is, your_ -Discourse _call'd_ Difficulties and Discouragements, _&c. That -admirable Satire against modern Orthodoxy and Persecution! How was I -tickled in the Perusal of it! It is plainly the Sense of your Soul, or -you had set your Name to it: And if the Temptation of Praise for it, -had not been too great to be resisted, I could have wish'd you had -always conceal'd your self; and then you had not written against the -Grain, an aukward Piece on_ Church Power, _like a Retraction, to -reingratiate your self with some Ecclesiastical_ Noodles, _whom you no -more, than, I need to care for_. - -_I have sometimes wondered_, My Lord, _where and when the Great Mr._ -Grounds _imbibed his notable Notions about Religion and Liberty; for -he suck'd them not in with his Mothers Milk, who, I suppose, train'd -him up in the Belief of Christianity: But when I consider'd, that he -was once the_ Pupil _of Mr._ Hare _at_ Cambridge, _my wonder ceas'd. -Under your_ Lordship_'s Tuition, it seems he laid the Foundation of -his distinguish'd Learning and Opinions! His Pupillage will be your -immortal Honour! I wonder, none of the Writers against him have as yet -celebrated your Praise for it! How does he imitate and resemble his_ -Tutor _in Principles! I can't say, he surpasses you, since there is -such a Freedom of Thought and Expression in your_ Difficulties, _&c. -so strongly savouring of Infid--ty, that he has not as yet equall'd_. - -_Upon your_ Lordship'_s Advancement to a Bishoprick_, Difficultys and -Discouragements _not withstanding, I wish'd, without prescribing to -the Wisdom of the Government in the choice of a learned Prelate, that -the great Mr._ Grounds, _for the good of the Church too, might be soon -consecrated: And I should not have despair'd of it, but that he is a_ -Gentleman _of real Probity and Conscience, and might possibly boggle -at Subscriptions, unless you and Bishop_ Hoadly _could help him to -some of your_ Reserves _and_ Distinctions, _wherewith you must be both -well Stock'd, to overcome that_ Difficulty. _And why should not_ Dean -Swift _for his Writings, as well as some others, be made a Bishop? I -should like to see him one; if the_ then _Right Reverend Bishop_ -Grounds _would not think him, for his_ Tale of a Tub, _too loose in -the Faith, for his Company_. - -_Don't, imagine,_ My Lord, _that I am forming of Schemes for my self to -be a Bishop. Tho' these my_ Discourses _on_ Miracles _are of very great -Merit, as well as your Lordship's_ Difficulties, _&c. yet you may be -assured, I have no such View, when I tell you, that the Honour, the -Fathers have exalted me to, of a_ Moderator _in this Controversy, sets -me above all Ecclesiastical Preferment, excepting the_ Arch-Bishoprick -_of_ Canterbury, _which I'm afraid will be void, before the King is -apprised of my singular Worth and Qualifications for it_. - -_But however, if such excellent_ Prelates, _as_ Grounds, Hoadly, Swift, -Hare _and_ my self _were at the Head of Ecclesiastical Affairs, what -would we do? What should we not do? What would not this free-thinking -Age expect from us? Nothing less, than that, according to our -Principles, we should endeavour to set Mankind at perfect Liberty, and -to lay open the dirty Fences of the Church, call'd Subscriptions, which -are not only the Stain of a good Conscience, but the_ Discouragements, -_your_ Lordship _hints at, in the Study of the Scriptures: And if we -made a Push for an Act of P----t to turn the_ Clergy _to Grass, after -King_ Henry VIIIth's _Monks and Fryars; where would be the Harm of it? -Nay, the Advantage to the Publick, as well as to Religion, would be -great, if their Revenues were apply'd to the Payment of National Debts; -with a Reserve to our selves_ (_remember_, My Lord) _of large Emoluments -out of them, according to our great Merits; otherwise worldly-wise Men -will repute us impolitick Fools, which you and Bishop_ Hoadly, _I humbly -presume, will never endure the Reproach of_. - -_So, hoping your Lordship will accept of this Dedication to your -Praise, in as much Sincerity as it is written, I subscribe myself_, - -[Sidenote: London, _May_ 14. 1728.] - - My LORD, - The Admirer of your - Difficultys and - Discouragements, - _Thomas Woolston._ - - - - -[Illustration] - - A FOURTH - DISCOURSE - ON THE - MIRACLES - OF OUR - _SAVIOUR_, &c. - - -Now for a _fourth_ Discourse on _Jesus_'s Miracles, which, as before, -I begin with a Repetition of the three general Heads, at first -proposed to be treated on; and they are, - -I. To show, that the Miracles of healing all manner of bodily -Diseases, which _Jesus_ was famed for, are none of the proper -Miracles of the _Messiah_; neither are they so much as a good Proof of -his divine Authority to found a Religion. - -II. To prove that the literal History of many of the Miracles of -_Jesus_, as recorded by the _Evangelists_, does imply Absurdities, -Improbabilities and Incredibilities; consequently they, either in the -whole or in part, were never wrought, as it is commonly believed -now-a-days, but are only related as prophetical and parabolical -Narratives, of what would be mysteriously, and more wonderfully done -by him. - -III. To consider what _Jesus_ means, when he appeals to his Miracles, -as to a Testimony and Witness of his divine Power; and to show that he -could not properly and ultimately refer to those he then wrought in -the _Flesh_, but to the mystical ones, he would do in the Spirit; of -which those wrought in the Flesh are but mere Types and Shadows. - -I am upon the second of these Heads, and according to it, have, in my -_former Discourses_, taken into examination _eight_ of the Miracles of -_Jesus_, _viz._ those: - -1. Of his driving the Buyers and Sellers out of the Temple. - -2. Of his exorcising the _Devils_ out of the Mad-men, and sending them -into the Herd of Swine. - -3. Of his Transfiguration on the Mount. - -4. Of his Healing a Woman, that had an Issue of Blood, twelve Years. - -5. Of his curing a Woman, that had a Spirit of Infirmity, eighteen -Years. - -6. Of his telling the _Samaritan_ Woman, her fortune of having had -five Husbands, and being than an Adulteress with another Man. - -7. Of his cursing the Fig-tree for not bearing Fruit out of season. And, - -8. Of his healing a Man of an Infirmity at the Pool of _Bethesda_. - -Whether it be not manifest, that the Literal and Evangelical Story of -these Miracles, from what I have argu'd and reason'd upon them, does -not consist of Absurdities, Improbabilities, and Incredibilities, -according to the Proposition before us, let my Readers judge; and so I -come to the Consideration of - -9. A ninth Miracle of _Jesus_, _viz._ that[205] of his giving sight to -a Man who was born blind, by the means of Eve-salve, made of Dirt and -Spittle. - -Blindness, as far as one may guess by the Evangelical History, was the -Distemper that _Jesus_ frequently exercis'd his Power on: And there is -no doubt to be made, but he heal'd many of one Weakness, Defect and -Imperfection, or other in their Eyes, but whether he wrought any -Miracle upon any he is supposed to have cured, is uncertain. There -are, as it's notorious, many kinds of Blindness, that are incurable by -Art or Nature: and there are other kinds of it, that Nature and Art -will relieve a Man in. But whether _Jesus_ used his healing Power -against the former, as well as the latter sort of Blindness, is more -than can be affirm'd, or at least proved by our _Divines_. And unless -we knew of a certainty, that the sore or blind Eyes, _Jesus_ cured, -were absolutely out of the reach of Art and Nature; _Infidels_ will -imagine, and suggest, that he was only Master of a good Ointment for -sore Eyes, and being successful in the use of it, ignorant People -would needs think, he wrought Miracles. - -The World is often bless'd with excellent _Oculists_, who thro' Study -and Practice have attain'd to wonderful Skill in Eye-Maladies, which, -tho' they are of various sorts, yet, by Custom of Speech all pass -under the general Name of _Blindness_. And sometimes we hear of famous -_Chance-Doctors_, like _Jesus_, who by a Gift of God, Nature, or -Fortune, without any Skill in the Structure of the Eyes, have been -very successful in the Cure of one Distemper or other incident to -them: Such was Sir _William Read_, who, tho' no Scholar, nor of -acquir'd Abilities in _Physick_ and _Surgery_, yet cured his Thousands -of sore or blind Eyes; and many of them too to the surprise and -astonishment of profess'd _Surgeons_ and _Physicians_. Whether He, or -_Jesus_, cured the greater number of Blindness may be question'd. To -please our _Divines_, it shall be granted that _Jesus_ cured the -greater Numbers; but that he cured worse or more difficult Distempers -in the Eyes, can't be proved. Sir _William_ indeed met with many Cases -of blind and sore Eyes, that were out of the reach of his Power; and -so did _Jesus_ too, or he had never let great Multitudes of the blind, -and otherwise distemper'd People, go unheal'd by him. Our _Divines_ -will here say, that it was never want of Power in _Jesus_, but want of -Faith in the diseased, if he did not heal them; but in other -_Surgeons_ and _Physicians_, it is confessedly their own -Insufficiency: To which I have only this Answer, that our -_Physicians_ and _Surgeons_ are to be commended for their Ingenuity, -to impute it to their own Defect of Power, and not to lay the Blame -upon their Patients, when they can't cure them: And it is luckly for -us Christians, that we have _this Salvo_ for the Credit of _Jesus_'s -miraculously healing Power, that it was not fit, he should exert it -against Unbelief; otherwise reasonably speaking, He with Sir _William -Read_, _Greatrex_, _Vespasian_, our former _Kings_ of _England_, and -_Seventh-Sons_, must have pass'd but for a _Chance-Doctor_. - -But to come to the particular Consideration of the Miracle before us. -_Jesus_ restored, it seems, a blind Man to his Eye-sight, by the use -of a peculiar Ointment, and washing of his Eyes, as directed, in the -Pool of _Siloam_. Where lies the Miracle? I can't see it; but hope our -_Divines_ will take their opportunity to point it out to me. Our -_Surgeons_, with their Ointments and Washings can cure sore and blind -Eyes of one sort or other; and _Jesus_ did no more here; and yet he -must be reckon'd a Worker of Miracles; and they but artificial -Operators: where's the Sense and Reason of this difference between -them? If Mr. _Moor_, the _Apothecary_, for the notable Cures he -performs, by the means of his Medicines, should write himself, and be -accounted by his Admirers, a _Miracle-worker_; he and they would be -but laugh'd at for it: And yet _Jesus_ for his curing the sore Eyes of -a poor Man with an Ointment, must be had in veneration for a divine -and miraculous Operator, as much as if by the breath of his Mouth he -had removed an huge Mountain! - -A Miracle, if I mistake not the Notion of our _Divines_ about it, is a -supernatural Event, or a Work out of the Power of Nature or Art to -effect. And when it is spoken of the Cure of a Disease, as of -Blindness or Lameness, it ought to be so represented, as that skilful -and experienced _Surgeons_ and _Physicians_, who can do strange and -surprizing Cures by Art, may give it upon their judgment, that no -Skill of Man could reach that Operation; but that it ought to pass for -the Work of a divine and almighty Hand and Power. But there is no such -care taken in the Description of any of the Diseases, which _Jesus_ -cured; much less of this before us; against the miraculousness of -which, consequently, there are these two Exceptions to be made: - -_First_, that we know nothing of the Nature of this poor Man's -Blindness; nor what was the defect of his Eyes; nor whether it was -curable by Art or not: Without which Knowledge, it is impossible and -unreasonable to assert, that there was a Miracle wrought in the Cure -of him. If his blindness or weakness of Eye-sight was curable by human -means, and Jesus did use those means, there's an end of the Miracle. -If the _Evangelist_ had given us an accurate Description of the -Condition of this Man's Eyes before Cure, we could have judg'd better: -But this is their constant neglect in all the Distempers _Jesus_ -heal'd, and is enough to induce us to doubt of his miraculous Power. -There are, as I have said, some sorts of sore or blind Eyes curable by -Art, as Experience does testify; and there are others incurable, as -_Physicians_ and _Patients_ do lament. Of which sort this Man's was, -we know not. The worst that we know of his Case, is, that he was blind -from his Birth, or Infancy, which might be: and yet Time, Nature and -Art, may give relief to him. As a Man advances in Years, the diseases -of Childhood and Youth wear off. What we call the _King's-Evil_, or an -Inflammation in the Eyes, in time will abate of its Malignity. Nature -will not only by degrees work the Cure it-self, but the seasonable -help of a good _Oculist_ will soon expedite it, tho' in time of -Infancy he could be of no use. And who knows but this might be the -Case of this blind Man, whose Cure _Jesus_ by his Art did only hasten -and help forward. However, there are Grounds enough to suspect, that -it was not divine Power which heal'd this Man, or _Jesus_ had never -prepared and order'd an _Ointment_ and _Wash_ for him. - -Should our _Divines_ suppose or describe, for the _Evangelist_, a -state of Blindness in this Man, incurable by Art; that would be -begging the Question, which no Unbeliever will grant. But to please -them, I will yield, without Enquiry into the Nature of this Man's -Blindness, that, if _Jesus_ had used no Medicines; if with only a word -of his Mouth he had cured the Man, and he had instantaneously -recover'd, as the Word was spoken; here would have been a real and -great Miracle, let the Blindness or Imperfection of the Man's Sight -before, be of what kind or degree soever. But _Jesus_'s use of -Washings and Ointments absolutely spoils and destroys the Credit of -the Miracle, and we ought by no means to ascribe _that_ to the -immediate Hand and Power of God, which _Medicines_ and _Balsams_ are -apply'd to the Effect of. And this brings me to the - -_Second_ Exception against the miraculousness of the Cure of this -blind Man, which is, that _Jesus_ used human means for the Cure of -him; which means, whether they were at all proper and effectual in -themselves, do affect the Credit of the Miracle, and give occasion of -suspicion, that it was Art and not divine Power that heal'd him, or -_Jesus_, for his Honour, had never had recourse to the use of them. -And what were those Means, or that Medicine, which _Jesus_ made use -of? Why, "He spit upon the Ground, and made a Balsam of Dirt and -Spittle, and anointed the poor Man's Eyes with it, and he recover'd." -A strange and odd sort of an Ointment, that I believe was never used -before, nor since, for sore and blind Eyes! I am not Student enough in -_Physick_ and _Surgery_ to account for the natural and rational use of -this Balsam; but wish that skilful Professors of those Sciences would -help me out at this difficulty. If they could rationally account for -the use of this Eye-salve, tho' it was by supposing, that Jesus -imperceptibly had in his Mouth a proper unctuous and balsamick -Substance, which he dissolv'd into Spittle, they would do great -service to a certain Cause; and I wonder none of them, whether well -or ill affected to Religion, have as yet bent their Thoughts to it. - -In the Practice of _Physick_ and _Surgery_, there are sometimes very -odd and unaccountable Medicaments made use of; and now-and-then very -whimsical and seemingly ridiculous ones, by old Women, to good -Purpose: But none of them are to be compared to _Jesus_'s Balsam for -sore Eyes. I have heard of a merry _Mountebank_ of Distinction, whose -catholick Medicine was _Hasty-Pudding_, which indeed is a notable -Remedy against the _Esuriency_ of the Stomach, that the Poor often -labour under. But _Jesus_'s Eye-Salve, for absurdity, whim, and -incongruity, was never equall'd, either in jest or in earnest, by any -_Quack-Doctor_. Whether _Infidels_ think of this Ointment of the Holy -_Jesus_ with a smile; or reflect on it with disdain, I can't guess. As -to myself, I should think with St. _Chrysostom_[206], that this -Eye-Salve of _Jesus_ would sooner put a Man's Eyes out, than restore a -blind one to his Sight. And I believe that our _Divines_, for the -Credit of the Miracle, and our _Surgeons_, for the Honour of their -Science, will agree, that it could not be naturally operative and -effective of the Cure of the blind Man. - -What then was the Reason of _Jesus_'s using this strange Eye-Salve; -when, for the sake of the Miracle, and for the honour of his own Power, -he should have cured the Man with a word speaking? This is a Question -and Objection in St. _Cyril_[207] against Ministers of the Letter, who -are obliged to give an Answer to it, that will consist with the Wisdom -and Power of _Jesus_, otherwise they must give up the Miracle or make -him a vain, insignificant and trifling Agent. St. _Cyril_, of whose mind -I am, says[208] that the Reason of the use of this Balsam made of Dirt -and Spittle is to be fetch'd from the Mystery. But, in as much as our -_Divines_ will never agree to that, which would be of ill Consequence to -their Ministry, they must give a good Reason of their own, which I -despair of seeing, that will comport with the Letter. - -St. _Irenæus_ too, says[209], that the _Clay and Spittle_ was of no -service to the Cure of the blind Man; and yet _Jesus_ did not use it -_in vain_. Is not this an Inconsistency? How will our _Divines_ adjust -it? With _Irenæus_, I am sure they'll not mystically solve the -Difficulty; therefore if they don't provide another Solution of it to -satisfaction; either their Ministry of the Letter, or the Reputation -of _Jesus_, and this Miracle must suffer for it. - -I am puzzled to think, how our _Divines_ will extricate themselves out -of this Strait, and account for the use of this Eye-Salve, without any -Diminution of the Miracle. Surely, they will not say that _Jesus_ used -this sensless and insignificant Ointment to put a _Slur_ upon the -Practice of _Physick_ and _Surgery_, as if other Medicines were of no -more avail than his _Dirt_ and _Spittle_. They have more wit than to say -so; least it incense a noble and most useful Profession, not so much -against themselves, as against _Jesus_, and provoke them to a nicer and -stricter Enquiry, than I can make into his Miracles, the Diseases he -cured, and his manner of Operation; and to infer from thence, that he -could be no miraculous Healer of Diseases who used Medicines; nor his -_Evangelists_ orthodox at Theology, who were so inexpert at Anatomy and -the Description of bodily Distempers. This might be of bad Consequence -to Religion: And yet I wonder that none of them, who may be supposed a -little disaffected to Christianity, have taken the Hint from this -pretended Miracle before us, and some others, to endeavour at a Proof of -_Jesus_'s being little better than a _Quack-Doctor_. - -If I was, what I am not, an _Infidel_, I should think, from the Letter -of this Story, that _Jesus_ was a _juggling Impostor_, who would pass -for a miraculous Healer of Diseases, tho' he used underhand, proper -Medicines. The _Clay and the Spittle_ he made an open shew of, as -what, to Admiration, he would cure the blind Man with; but in reserve -he had a more sanative Balsam, that he subtilly slip't in the room of -the Clay, and repeatedly to good purpose anointed the Man's Eyes with -it. But as the Authority of the Fathers, and their mystical -Interpretation of this Story is alone my safe-guard against such an -ill opinion of _Jesus_; so I would now gladly know upon what Bottom -the Faith of our _Divines_ can stand, as to this Miracle, and -_Jesus_'s divine Power in it. - -I have perused some of our _Commentators_ on the Place, and don't -perceive that they hesitate at this strange Eye-Salve; nor make any -Questions about the pertinent or impertinent Use of it. Whether it is, -that they sleep over the Story, or are aware of greater Difficultys in -it, than can be easily surmounted, and therefore dare not touch on't, -I know not. But now that we enjoy Liberty of debate, which will make -us Philosophers, and I have taken the Freedom to make a stricter -Scrutiny than ordinary into _Jesus_'s Miracles, and to consider what -Absurditys, their Stories, and _this_ in particular, are clog'd with; -it is incumbent on our _Divines_ to answer solidly these Questions, -_viz._ What was the Reason of _Jesus_'s Use of this Eye-Salve made of -Clay and Spittle? Whether, if it was of service to the Cure of the -blind Man, it does not destroy the Miracle? And if it had no effect in -the Cure of him, whether _Jesus_ was not a _vain_ and _trifling_ -Operator, making use of insignificant and impertinent Medicines to the -Diminution of his divine Power? There Questions are not ludicrous, -but _calm and sedate Reasoning_, which _Bishop Smalbroke_[210] does -not disapprove of. Therefore a grave, rational, and substantial Answer -is expected to them, such as will be a Vindication of the Wisdom and -Power of _Jesus_, without any Diminution of the Miracle. - -Should our _Divines_ say, that this Matter was an Act of unsearchable -Wisdom and must be left to the Will of our Saviour, and not curiously -pry'd into, any more than some other Dispensations of Providence, that -are past finding out: This Answer, which I believe to be the best, -that can be given, will not do here. The Miracles of _Jesus_ are, as -our _Divines_ own, Appeals to our Reason and Senses for his Authority; -and by our Reason and Senses they are to be try'd, condemn'd or -approved of. If they will not abide the test of Reason and Sense, they -are to be rejected, and _Jesus_'s Authority along with them. Therefore -a more close, pertinent and serious Answer is to be given to the said -Questions; which as I believe to be impossible, consistently with the -Letter; so our _Divines_ must of necessity go along with me to the -Fathers for a mystical and allegorical Interpretation of the Story of -this Eye-Salve; or the Miracle will fall to the Ground, and _Jesus_'s -divine Power be in great danger with it. - -St. _Cyril_, (who is one of _Bishop Smalbroke_'s Greek Commentators, -that should strictly adhere to the Letter) signifies, as I before -observ'd, that _Jesus_'s Use of this Clay and Spittle would be an -Absurdity, if it was not to be accounted for, from the Mystery. - -_Eusebius Gallicanus_, treating on this Miracle, says[211]; "that our -Saviour apparently manifests that his Miracles are of a spiritual and -mystical Signification, because in the Work of them, he does somewhat -or other, that literally has no Sense nor Reason in it. As for -Instance, in the Cure of this blind Man, what occasion was there for -_Clay and Spittle_ to anoint his Eyes, if it was not of a mystical -meaning, when with a Word of his Mouth, _Jesus_ could have cured him? -Let us then set aside the Letter of the Story, and Search for the -Mystery, and consider who is meant by this Blind Man, _&c._" - -_Origen_ too, upon occasion of this Miracle, and its Absurdity -according to the Letter, says[212]; "that whatever _Jesus_ did in the -Flesh was but a Type and Figure of what he would do in Spirit, as is -apparent from the Miracle of his curing a blind Man, which nobody -knows why it was so done, if it be not to be understood of a mystical -Ointment to open the Eyes of the blind in Understanding." - -And who then is this blind Man mystically? St. _Augustin_[213], St. -_Jerome_[214], _Eusebius Gallicanus_[215], St. _Theophilus_ of -_Antioch_[216], _Origen_[217], St. _Cyril_ of _Alexandria_[218], and St. -_Theophylact_[219], (Four of them, _Bishop Smalbroke_'s Greek and -literal Commentators!) say, this _blind Man_ is a Type of Mankind of all -Nations, who in the Perfection of Time signified by the Sabbath[220] in -the Story, is to be cured of this Blindness in Understanding. - -And what is Mankind's Blindness here signified? St. _Augustin_[221], -St. _Cyril_[222] and St. _Theophylact_[223], say, it is Ignorance, -Error and Infidelity, or the want of the intellectual Sight and -Knowledge of God and his Providence. _Origen_[224], St. _John_ of -_Jerusalem_[225], and St. _Theophylact_[226], (Still _Bishop -Smalbroke_'s literal and Greek Commentators!) tell us the Reason of -this spiritual Blindness of Mankind, that is, because they adhere to -the Letter of the Scriptures. - -And how will _Jesus_, or right _Reason_ and _Truth_, which are his -mystical Names, cure Mankind of this his spiritual Blindness? By his -mystical _Spittle_ temper'd with mystical _Dirt_. And how shall we do to -understand this mystical Ointment, so as to make it a proper Medicine -for Mankind's spiritual Blindness? St. _Theophilus_ of _Antioch_[227], -has an allegorical Interpretation of this _Clay_ and _Spittle_ of our -Lord; but as it is hard to apprehend his meaning, I shall not here -insist on it. _Origen_ says[228], that the anointing of the blind Man's -Eyes with _Spittle_, is to be understood of the Unction of the _Spirit_ -of Christ. But this does not give us rightly to understand the Metaphor -and Figure. St. _John_ of _Jerusalem_ says, that by the _Clay_ and -_Spittle_ is meant[229] _perfect Doctrine_, which in Truth may open the -Eyes of Mens Understanding: But what is _perfect Doctrine_? Why, to help -the Fathers out here, without departing from their Opinions, by the -_Spittle_ of Jesus must be understood the _Water_ of the Spirit -instill'd into the _Earth_ of the Letter of the Scriptures, which -temper'd together, does, in the Judgment of them all, make _perfect -Doctrine_ to the opening of the Eyes of our Understanding in the -Knowledge of the Providence of God of all Ages; which Knowledge, Light, -Sight, or Illumination, Mankind has hitherto wanted. - -St. _Irenæus_[230], gives an excellent and mystical Reason, by -himself, for the use of this Ointment of _Clay_ and _Spittle_, to the -Cure of this blind Man, which I shall not stay to illustrate, but only -have cited it for the Meditation of the Learned and Curious. - -The Story of the blind Man, as St. _John_ has related it, is long, and -would take up more time, than I have to spare at present, to go thro' -all the Parts of it. What I have done at present is enough to awaken -others to the Consideration, not only of the Absurdities of the -Letter, but of the mystical Interpretation of the rest. - -The Miracle, which consisted literally in the Cure of a blind Man by -the use of an Ointment made of _Dirt_ and _Spittle_, is absurd, -sensless and unaccountable; but in the Mystery, there is Wisdom and -Reason. And the Cure of Mankind of the Blindness of his Understanding, -by the _Spirit_'s being temper'd with the _Letter_ of the Scriptures, -which is the mystical _Eye-Salve_, will not only be a most stupendous -Miracle, but a Proof of _Jesus_'s _Messiahship_ beyond all -contradiction, in as much as by such an opening of the Eyes of our -Understandings, which have been hitherto dark, we shall see, how he is -the Accomplishment of the Law and the Prophets. And so I pass to a - -10. Tenth Miracle of Jesus, _viz._[231] _That of his turning Water -into Wine, at a Marriage in_ Cana _of_ Galilee. This is call'd the -beginning of _Jesus_'s Miracles; but whether it is to be understood of -the _First_ of his whole Life, or of the _First_ that he wrought in -_Cana_ of _Galilee_, is not agreed amongst _Divines_. I shall not -enter into the Dispute, which as it is of no Consequence to my Cause -in hand; so I shall pass it by, and not urge any Arguments for or -against either side of it. - -Tho' I would not for the World be so impious and profane as to -believe, what is contain'd and imply'd in the Letter of this Story; -yet I am still too grave to handle it as ludicrously as I ought; and -it is now against the grain, that I write so freely, as I shall -against it, being unwilling, not only to put the _Clergy_ out of all -Temper, but, to give _Scoffers_ and _Infidels_ so great an Advantage -against their Ministry of the Letter. Some may wonder that I, who have -gone so far in the ludicrous display of the gross Absurdities of some -other Miracles, should boggle at this. But to be ingenuous, and speak -the Truth sincerely, I am still a Christian (for all what the -_Bishop_ of St. _David_'s,[232] _Archdeacon Stubbs_, and others would -make of me) upon the Principles of the Fathers, and have a greater -Veneration for the Person of the Holy _Jesus_, than to be forward to -make such sport with him, his Mother, and his Disciples, as this Story -affords Scope for. And if it was not for the necessity of turning the -_Clergy_'s Heads to the Consideration of Mysteries; this Miracle -should have been pass'd by in silence. - -There were some antiently, whom St. _Chrysostom_[233] writes of, -whether _Jews_, _Gentiles_, or _Hereticks_, I know not, who took great -offence at the Story of this Wedding, accounting it, from what is -related in St. _John_, as a riotous Feast, and that _Jesus_ and his -Mother, and his Disciples, not only bore a part in the Revellings, but -were most to blame for them, or he should not have countenanced them -with his Presence, much less promoted them, by the Change of a large -quantity of Water into Wine for the use of a Company, who were already -_drunk_ with it. But I, with St. _Chrysostom_, am inclined to -believe, that, if _Jesus_ did grace this Wedding with his Presence, -there was no Excess encouraged, or so much as suffer'd at it. If he -did accept of the Invitation of the Bridegroom, it was for an -Opportunity, not so much to turn _Water_ into _Wine_, as to make a -proper Discourse to the People of conjugal Duties; and, as he was a -Searcher of the Hearts, secretly to admonish the Married of the Sin -and Mischief of Adultery; tho' we read not of a seasonable and good -Word spoken at it. - -And the Empress _Eudocia_, a nursing Mother of the Church, has given -us a Poetical, and I hope a fictitious Description of this Wedding. -She makes a sumptuous and voluptuous Feast of it; and writes[234] of -_Musick_ and _Dancing_ in abundance, enough to make us think of such -Mirth and Pastime here, as was unbecoming of a Company of Saints to be -present at. Whether it was, that this _Empress_, being only -accustom'd to the Excesses of a Court, could form no meaner -Conceptions of a Country Wedding; or whether she had any -extra-scriptural Authority for what she writ, I know not: But I -believe, that, if _Jesus_ was at all at a Marriage-Feast, the whole -was conducted with Decency, Order, and Sobriety; and if he there -wrought any Miracle, it was to manifest his Glory, to the Conversion -of some, and Confirmation of the Faith of others. - -And our _Translators_ of the _Bible_ too have given occasion to -suspect somewhat of Excess at this Wedding; or they need not have made -the Waterpots to hold two or three Firkins apiece. If I had been the -Translator, they should not have held above two or three _Pints_ -apiece, which Measure is as agreeable to the Original as _Firkin_; -neither can I imagine, that _Jesus_, if he did convert Water into -Wine, would do it in so large a Measure, for fear of an intemperate -abuse of it, but only gave the Company a cast of his miraculous Power, -and a little Taste of his Love and Good-will to them. - -Such are the Conceptions, that, to the Honour of _Jesus_, I am willing -to form of this _Wedding_; and wish that the Letter of the Story did -suggest no worse Thoughts of it to us. I should be pleas'd, if no -_Infidel_ really could, what I, but for the sake of the Mystery most -unwillingly should, write any ludicrous Descants on it. But if this -Story had been related of _Apollonius Tyranæus_, as it is of our -_Jesus_, I would have ridicul'd and satiriz'd it to the utmost of my -Power, and have render'd him and his Disciples of all Nations, as -contemptible as I could, for the Belief of it; and I don't doubt, but -our Christian _Priests_ would have given me ample Praises and -Commendations for so doing. It is said of _Apollonius_, that for the -Entertainment of his Friends, he commanded variety of nice Dishes of -Meat, together with Bowls of choicest Wines, all on a sudden to descend -upon his Table and range themselves in good Order. Whether there was any -Truth in this Miracle of _Apollonius_, is not the Question; but Mr. -_Chandler_[235] could see a Fault in it, (tho' none in _Jesus_'s Wine at -this Wedding) as if it was done for the Pleasure of luxurious Appetites, -tho' we read of no Intemperance at it, which can't be said of the -_Wedding-Feast_ before us. Our _Divines_ I suppose, no more than -myself, believe any thing of the said Miracle in _Apollonius_; but, if -it was really wrought, I fancy, I could have lampoon'd him for it, and -would have made it a diabolical Work, like that, as Fables go, of the -Feastings of _Wizards_ and _Witches_; and our _Divines_ (passing by -_Jesus_'s _Wine_ here) would readily, as they are Believers of the -Storys of Witchcraft, have struck in with me. - -But setting aside that miraculous Story of _Apollonius_, which has but -_one_ Voucher; the Case before us is _Jesus_'s _turning Water into -Wine_ for the use of Men, who had before _well drank_. How shall I -force Nature and Faith to ridicule this Story? How shall I lay aside -that profound Veneration for the Holy _Jesus_, which Conversation with -the Fathers, more than the Prejudice of Education has begotten in me, -and ludicrously here treat him and his Miracle too, as is incumbent -upon me, to make way for the Mystery? In short, I can't do it, in my -own Name; but having met with a satirical Invective of a supposed -Jewish _Rabbi_ to this purpose, I here publish it, that our _Clergy_, -as well as myself, may think of an Answer to it, and so prevent that -Mischief it may do by being handed about among _Jews_ and _Infidels_, -in Manuscript. It is as follows; - - "You Christians pay Adoration to _Jesus_, whom you believe to be a - divine Author of Religion, sent of God for the Instruction, - Reformation and Salvation of Mankind, and what induces you to this - Belief of him, is, (besides some obscure Prophecies, which you can't - agree upon, and which neither your selves, nor any body else - understands the Application of) the History of his Miracles: But I - wonder, you should have a good opinion of him for his Miracles, - which, if he wrought no better than what are recorded of him, by - your _Evangelists_, are, if duly consider'd, enough to alienate your - Hearts from him. I can't spare time now to examine into all of them, - but according to the cursory Observation I have made on them, there - is not one so well circumstanced, as to merit a considerate Man's - belief, that it was the Work of an omnipotent, all-wise, just and - good Agent. Some of them are absurd Tales, others foolish Facts, - others unjust Actions, others ludicrous Pranks, others jugling - Tricks, others magical Enchantments; and if many of them had been - better and greater Operations than they are, and of a more useful - and stupendous Nature than they seem to be; yet the first Miracle - that he wrought, _viz._ that of his _turning Water into Wine_ at an - extravagant and voluptuous Wedding at _Cana_ of _Galilee_, is enough - to turn our Stomachs against all the rest. It is in itself enough to - beget in us an ill opinion of _Jesus_, and to prepossess us with an - aversion to his Religion, without farther Examination into it. It is - enough to make us suspect his other Miracles, of what Name soever, - to be of a base, magical, and diabolical Extraction; or he had never - set up for a divine worker of Miracles with so ill a grace. Would - any sober, grave, serious and divine Person, as you Christians - suppose _Jesus_ to have been, have vouchsafed his Presence at a - Wedding; where such Levities, Diversions and Excesses (in our Nation - of the _Jews_, as well as in all others) were indulg'd on such - Occasions, as were not fit to be seen, much less countenanc'd by the - _Saint_, you would make of him. If your _Jesus_, his Mother, and his - Disciples had not been merry Folks in themselves, they would have - declined the Invitation of the _Bridegroom_; nay, it they had been - at all graver and more serious People than ordinary, no Invitation - had been given to such _Spoil-Sports_: But boon Companions they - were, and of comical Conversation, or there had been at a Wedding no - Room for them. You Christians may fancy, what you please, of _Jesus_ - and his Mother's Saintship; but the very Text of the Story implies, - they were Lovers of good Fellowship and Excess too, upon occasion; - or he had never, upon her Intimation, turn'd so large a quantity of - Water into Wine, after all or most of the Company were far gone with - it. You may suppose, if you please, that all were sober, and none - intoxicated, and that the Want of Wine proceeded from the abundance - of Company, rather than excess in drinking; but why then did _John_ - the _Evangelist_ use the word [Greek: methysthasi], which implies, - they were more than half Seas over? And if _Jesus_ and his Mother - had not both a mind to _top_ them up; the one would not have - requested, nor the other have granted a Miracle to that purpose. - Whether _Jesus_ and his Mother themselves were at all _cut_, as - were others of the Company, is not so certain. She might be an - abstemious Dame for ought we know; tho' if old Stories are true of - her familiarity with a _Soldier_, of whom came her _chara Deûm - Soboles_, in all probability she would take a _Dram_ and a _Bottle_ - too. But it looks as if _Jesus_ himself was a little _in_ for't, or - he had never spoke so waspishly and snappishly to his Mother, - saying, _Woman, what have I to do with thee_? _mine Hour is not yet - come_: which was very unbecoming of a dutiful Son, who, excepting - when he ran away from his Parents, and put them to[236] _Sorrow_ and - _Trouble_ to look him up, was, and is still in Heaven, say the - _Roman Catholicks_ a most obedient Child. You modern Christians may - put what Construction you can upon the words above of _Jesus_ to his - Mother, to salve his Credit; but the Fathers of your Church[237] - confess them to be a sharp and surly Reply to her, which, if it did - not proceed from the natural badness of his Temper, derived, _ex - traduce_, from his supposed Father yet, was certainly the effect of - Drinking, and that's the more likely, because it is a _broken_ and - _witless_ Sentence, such as _Fuddlecaps_ utter by halves, when the - _Wine's in_, and the _Wit's out_. Your modern _Commentators_ are - sadly puzzled to make good Sense of this broken and abrupt Sentence - of _Jesus_, and a pertinent Reply of it, to what his Mother said to - him, _they have no Wine_: If you will bear with me, I'll help you - out at this dead lift, and give you the true meaning of it _thus_. - _Jesus_'s Mother being apprised of a deficiency of Wine, and - willing, as well as the _Bridegroom_, that the Company should be - thorowly merry before they parted, intimates to her Son, (whom she - knew to be initiated in the Mysterys of _Bacchus_) _that they had no - Wine_: But before she could finish her Request to him, He, mistaking - her meaning, imagines, she was cautioning against drinking more - Wine, and exhorting him to go home; whereupon he takes her up short - and quick, saying, _Woman, what have you to do with me?_ (for that - too is the _English_ of the _Greek_) I'll not be interrupted in my - Cups, nor break Company; _for mine Hour is not yet come_ to depart: - But after he rightly apprehended her, he goes to work, and rather - than the Company should want their fill, by trick of Art, like a - _Punch-maker_, meliorates Water into what they call'd Wine. That - this is the obvious Interpretation, and natural Paraphrase of the - Words before us, shall be try'd by the Absurd Comments now-a-days - put upon them, that are enough to make a considerate Man laugh, if - not hiss at them. - - "Some antient Hereticks[238], very gravely inferr'd from this - Expression, _Woman, what have I to do with thee_, that _Mary_ was - neither a Virgin, nor _Jesus_ her Son; or he had never accosted her - with such blunt Language, that implys, they could not be so akin to - each other. This was a perplexity to St. _Augustin_, and gave him - some trouble to explain the Expression, consistently with her - Virginity (for all she cohabited with the old Carpenter) and his - Filiation. But this being a quibble, that has been long since - dropt, I shall not revive, nor insist on it. But that the - Expression above do's suppose a little Inebriation, in _Jesus_, I - may avert, neither is there a better Solution to be made of it. - - "The Fathers of your Church, being sensible of the absurdity, - abruptness, impertinence, pertness, and senslesness of the Passage - before us according to the Letter, had recourse to a mystical and - allegorical Interpretation, as the only way to make it consistent - with the Wisdom, Sobriety and Duty of the Holy _Jesus_. But you - _Moderns_, abandoning Allegories and Mysteries on Miracles, have - endeavour'd, I say, to put other Constructions upon it, as may - comport with the Letter and Credit of Jesus: But how insipid and - sensless they are, I appeal to a reasonable Man, who will give - himself the trouble to consult them, upon the Place, and save me - the Pains of a tedious and nauseous Work to recount them for him. - - "But to Humour the Christian Priesthood at this Day, I will suppose - that _Jesus_, and his Mother, and Disciples, tho' Fishermen, to - have been all sober, grave and serious at this Wedding, suitably to - the Opinion that their Followers now would have us to entertain of - them. But then it is hard to conceive them, less than Spectators - and even Encouragers of Excess and Intemperance in others; or - _Jesus_, after their more than sufficient drinking for the - satisfaction of Nature, had never turn'd Water into Wine, nor would - his Mother have requested him to do it, if, I say, they had not a - mind, and took Pleasure in it too, to see the Company quite - _stitch'd up_. - - "A sober, prudent and wise Philosopher or _Magician_, in the place - of _Jesus_, if he had an Art or Power to turn Water into Wine, - would never have exercised it upon such an occasion; no, not to - please his best Friends, nor in obedience to the most indulgent - Parent. What would he have said in such a Case? That the Company - had drank sufficiently already, and there was no need of more Wine: - The Bridegroom had kindly and plentifully entertain'd his Guests, - and he would not for the Honour of God, who had endow'd him with a - divine Power, be at the Expence of a Miracle to promote the least - Intemperance. Whether such a Speech and Resolution in _Jesus_, upon - this occasion, would not have been more commendable, than what he - did, let any one judge. - - "If I was a Christian, I would, for the Honour of _Jesus_, renounce - this Miracle, and not magnify and extol it as a divine and good - Act, as many now-a-days do. I would give into, and contend for the - Truth of _that Gloss_, which the _Gentiles_ of old[239] by way of - Objection put upon it, _viz. That the Company having exhausted the - Bridegroom's Stock of Wine, and being in Expectation of more_; - Jesus, _rather than the Bridegroom should be put to the Blush for - deficiency, palm'd a false Miracle, by the help of the Governour of - the Feast, upon a drunken Crew; that is, having some spirituous - Liquors at hand, mingled them with a quantity of Water, which the - Governour of the Feast vouch'd to be incomparable good Wine, - miraculously made by_ Jesus: _and the Company being, thro' a - vitiated Palate, uncapable of distinguishing better from worse, and - of discovering the Fraud, admired the Wine and the Miracle; and - applauded_ Jesus _for it, and perhaps became his Disciples upon - it_. If I, I say, was a Disciple of _Jesus_, I would give this - Story such an old turn for his Credit. And I appeal to indifferent - Judges, whether such a daubing of the Miracle, to remove the - Offence of _Infidels_ at this Day, would not be politically and - wisely done of me. Whether modern Christians may be brought into - such a Notion of this supposed Miracle, I know not; but really - there is room enough to suspect such a Fraud in it. - - "But supposing _Jesus_'s Change of Water into Wine to have been a - real Miracle; none commission'd of God for the Reformation and - Instruction of Mankind would ever have done it here. Miracles (as - Mr. _Chandler_[240] says excellently well) _must be such things, as - that it is consistent with the Perfections of God, to interest - himself in_; and again, _they must argue not only the Power of God, - but his Love to Mankind, and his Inclination to do them good_; - which this of _Jesus_ is so far from, that it has an evil Aspect - and Tendency, as is above represented; consequently it is to be - rejected, and no longer esteem'd a divine Miracle; neither is - _Jesus_ to be received as a Revealer of God's Will for it, as Mr. - _Chandler_ will bear me witness. - - "No doubt on't, but you Christian Priests would have us _Jews_ and - _Infidels_, to believe the whole Company at this Wedding, for all - what is intimated by St. _John_ to the contrary, to consist of - sober and demure Saints. I will suppose so; but then, what occasion - had they at all for Wine? What reason could there be for God's - Power to interpose and make it, especially in so large a quantity, - for them? I can conceive none. If any of the Company had been taken - with fainting Fits; and _Jesus_ for want of a Cordial Bottle, had - created a chearing Drain or two, I could not have found fault with - it; tho' even here, if he had restored the _Patient_ with a word of - his Mouth, it had been a better Miracle, than making of Wine for - him: But that he should make for a Company of Sots, a large - quantity of Wine, of no less than twelve or eighteen Firkins of - _English_ Measure, enough to intoxicate the whole Town of _Cana_ of - _Galilee_, is what can never be accounted for by a Christian, who - should, one would think, wish this Story, for the Reputation of - _Jesus_ expunged out of the New Testament. - - "Besides, if _Jesus_ had really and miraculously made Wine, which - no Power or Art of Man could do, he should, to prevent all - suspicion of deceit in the Miracle, have done it without the use of - Water. You Christians say, he is the original Cause of all Things - out of nothing; why then did he not[241] create this Wine out of - nothing? why did he not order the Pots to be emptied of their - Water, if there was any in them, and then with a word of his Mouth - command the filling them with Wine instead of it? Here had been an - unexceptionable Miracle, which no _Infidels_ could have cavil'd at, - for any thing, but the _needlessness_ of it. But this subject - Matter of Water spoils the Credit of the Miracle. The Water-Pots, - it seems, are to be fill'd, before _Jesus_ could do the notable - Feat; is not this enough to make us think, that Jesus was but an - artificial _Punch-maker_? Could not he create Wine without Water - for a Transmutation? Yes, you'll say he could: what was the Reason - then, that he did not? This is a reasonable Question to a learned - Priesthood: and a rational Answer should be given to it. And a - Question too it is that heretofore has been under debate. Some said - that the Water might be used to abate of the[242] immensity of the - Miracle, which otherwise for its greatness might have surpass'd all - Belief. But this Reason will not do. A Miracle can't be too great - in itself, if well attested, to transcend Credit: but it may easily - be too little to conciliate the Faith of a Free-Thinker. The - Fathers of your Church fetch'd a Reason, for the use of Water here, - from the Mystery; but since Mysterys on Miracles are set aside by - the Priesthood of this Age, they are to assign another and good - Reason of their own; or this Miracle is to be rejected, as a Piece - of Art and Craft in the Operator, if for no other Reason than - this, that _Jesus_ used Water to make Wine. - - "All that I have to say more to this Miracle, is, that it is to be - wish'd, if Jesus could turn Water into Wine, that he had imparted - the Secret and Power to his Disciples of the _Priesthood_ of all - Ages since, which would have been of greatest Advantage to them in - this World. He has empower'd them, they say, to remit Sins, which - few old Sinners think themselves the less in danger for: And he has - enabled them, some say, to transubstantiate Bread into Flesh, and - Wine into Blood, which none but foolish and superstitious Folks - believe they ever did: And he promised to invest them with a Power - to do greater Miracles than himself, even to remove Mountains, and - to curse Trees; but I thank God, they never were of so strong a - Faith, as to put it in Practice, or we might have heard of the - _natural_ state, as well as we do now of the _civil_ state of some - Countrys, ruin'd and overturn'd by them. But this Power to - transmute _Water into Wine_, without Labour and Expence, would have - been of better worth to them, than all their other Priestly - Offices. Not, that our Conduits would thereupon run with Wine, - instead of Water; or that Wine would be cheaper and more plentiful - than it is now, excepting among themselves, if they could withal - curse Vineyards. They would make the best Penny they a could of - their divine Power. And as surely as they can now fell the - Waterdrops of their Fingers at a Christening, at a good Rate, they - would set a better Price on their miraculously made Wine, and give - a notable Reason for its dearness, _viz._ that Miracles should not - be _cheap_, which would bring them into Contempt, and lessen the - Wonder and Admiration of them." - -So ends the Invective of a suppos'd Jewish _Rabbi_ against this -Miracle; which our _Divines_, as well as myself, are to consider of an -Answer to. Whether they shall think themselves able to answer the -rational Parts of it, consistently with the Letter, I know not; but I -own myself unable, and believe it impossible for them, to do it: And -therefore they must of necessity go along with me to the mystical -Interpretation of the Fathers; or this Miracle will turn to the -dishonour of _Jesus_, and disadvantage of his Religion. - -_Justin Martyr_[243] says, it is absurd to take the Stories of the -Marriages and Concubinages of the _Patriarchs_ of the Old Testament in -a literal Sense. And indeed, literally consider'd, they are some of -them too luscious Tales to be related by divine and inspired Penmen: -whereupon he, as well as St. _Paul_ and _Philo-Judæus_[244], turn -these Stories for the Honour of God and Edification of his Church, -into an Allegory. Consequently, if _Justin_ had had an occasion to -speak of this Marriage before us, there's no doubt on't, but he would -have made Mystery of all and every Part of it. - -To the same purpose _Origen_[245] says, "That since the Law is a shadow -of good Things to come, and writes sometimes of Marriages and of -Husbands and Wives; we are not to understand it of Marriages according -to the Flesh, but of the spiritual Marriage between Christ and his -Church. As for Instance, _Abraham_ had two Sons, _&c._ here we ought not -to confine our Thoughts to carnal Marriages, and their Offsprings; but -to extend them to the Mysteries here signified. And there are almost a -thousand other places in Scripture about Marriages; but in every place -(_unusquisque Locus castum & divinum de Nuptiis continet Intellectum -secundum Expositionem moralem_) is to have a divine, moral, and mystical -Construction put on't. Whoever therefore reads the Scriptures about -Marriages, and understands no more by them, than carnal Marriages; he -errs, not knowing the Scriptures, nor the Power of God." From hence may -be easily concluded, what was _Origen_'s opinion about this Marriage in -_Cana_ of _Galilee_, if there were no other Passages in him for a -Confirmation of it. But to come closer to the Purpose. - -St. _Augustin_[246] says, there is Mystery signified in the Story of -this Marriage, as in all _Jesus_'s Miracles, which it becomes us to -open and search for; till, if possible, we are _inebriated_ with the -spiritual and invisible Wine, that _Jesus_ made at this Feast. And -again[247] says, Let us then consider the several Particulars of the -Story, and what is meant by the six Waterpots; and the Water that is -turn'd into Wine; and the Governor of the Feast; and who are the -Bridegroom and the Bride; and who is the Mother of _Jesus_ in a -Mystery; and what is to be understood by the Marriage. - -And again, says St. _Augustin_[248], there is Mystery in this Marriage, -or _Jesus_ upon no invitation had gone to it. The Bridegroom is our Lord -himself, to whom it is said thou hast reserv'd the good Wine of the -Gospel _until now_, that is, until the typified Time of the Celebration -of this mystical Marriage, which according to St. _Augustin_[249] is to -be on the sixth Age of the World, signified by the six Water-Pots, -holding two or three Firkins apiece, that is, all Mankind, as they are -divided into the _two_ sorts of _Jews_ and _Gentiles_, or into _three_, -as they are descended of the _three_ Sons of _Noah_. - -And in another Place, the same St. _Augustin_ interpreting this Story, -says[250] thus; "Our Saviour is invited to a Marriage; what can that -mean but that the Holy Spirit is courted and invocated by the Church, -wishing to be espoused to him? _Jesus_ comes with his Disciples, that -is, into a holy Place of a Company of Saints. _Mary_ the Mother of our -Lord signifies to him, _that they have no Wine_; so the Church makes -known to him, the Deficiency of the Spirit, which she waits for the -Power of. And if _Jesus_ calls _Mary_, a Woman; he means the Church, -who by Transfiguration may be a Virgin, the Mother, the Spouse of -Christ, and a Whore too." - -And again St. _Augustin_ explaining[251] what is meant by the Water, -and the Wine that it wou'd be turn'd into, at the Time of the -spiritual Celebration of this Marriage of Christ with his Spouse of -the Church, says plainly enough, that by _Water_ is meant the Letter -of the Scriptures; and by the best _Wine_ is to be understood -spiritual Interpretations, which would transport the understandings of -Men with divine knowledge; and warm their Hearts and Affections into a -spiritual _Inebriation_; after the similitude of Wine natural. - -St. _Theophilus_ of _Antioch_, a most antient Greek Commentator (who -according to _Bishop Smalbroke_ should strictly adhere to the Letter) -says[252], that by this Marriage is meant the Conjunction of Christ -and his Church, as it is the Tradition of the Old and New Testament. -And that _Jesus_ himself is the Bridegroom; and _Moses_ the Governor -of the Feast. - -Other Fathers, such as St. _Cyril_, St. _Theophylact_ and St. _Jerome_ -are of the same mind about the mystical Interpretation of this -Marriage, as might be prov'd by Passages out of them, if I had room -here to cite them. But I must observe here, that according to the -Fathers, the Story of this Marriage is but another Emblem of the -Marriage of the Lamb with the Bride of the _New Jerusalem_, spoken of -in the _Revelations_, to which all the Fowls of the Air will be -invited, that is, spiritual and heavenly minded Christians, who[253] -soar and fly aloft in their divine and sublime Contemplations on the -anagogical Sense of the Scriptures, which will exhibit those -intellectual Dainties, they are there to be entertain'd with. - -What I have here said out of the Fathers to the Story of this -Marriage, is enough to quicken our _Divines_ to search for the like -mystical Interpretation of the whole. The Part of it that's most -difficult to be spiritually expounded, is that saying of _Jesus_ to -his Mother, _Woman, what have I to do with thee? mine Hour is not yet -come._ For the clear interpretation of which, I own, I meet with -little in the Fathers. But St. _Augustin_[254] assures us, there's -latent Mystery in the words. How then shall we come at it? Why, if we -cast away the _Interrogation_, and look upon the Sentence, as -ellyptical, like an infinite number of prophetical ones, the Sense -paraphrastically, and agreeably to the rest of the Mystery, arises -thus: In answer to the Woman of the Church's Expectation of the Wine -of the Spirit; _Jesus_ will tell her or make her to understand of what -importance it is to her (and himself) to be supply'd with that -mystical Wine to her Edification, which it was not his time to pour -forth upon the Church, till the Celebration of his Nuptials with her. - -And thus have I done with the Miracle of _Jesus_'s turning Water into -Wine at a Marriage of _Cana_ of _Galilee_. Whether it be not an absurd -and offensive Story according to the Letter, let any one judge. If -the supposed Jewish _Rabbi_ has forced a worse Sense upon it, than it -will naturally bear, our _Clergy_ may expostulate with him for it, -which they hardly will any otherwise than by Exclamations against him, -without Reason and Authority. But in the mystical Operation of this -Miracle at the Marriage of Christ with his Church, there will be the -Wisdom and Power and Goodness of God visible. And it will be a -demonstration of _Jesus_'s _Messiahship_, in as much as the Water of -the Letter of the Law and the Prophets can't be turn'd into the Wine -of spiritual Interpretations, but we must discern how he is the -Accomplisher and Fulfiller of them. And so I pass to an - -11. _Eleventh_ Miracle of Jesus, _viz._[255] That of his healing a -Paralytick, for whom the Roof of the House was broken up to let him -down into the Room where _Jesus_ was. - -And this Story (without excepting that of the Pool of _Bethesda_) is -the most monstrously absurd, improbable and incredible of any -according to the Letter. There is not one Miracle of _Jesus_ -specifically related, that does not labour under more or less -Absurdities, either in Substance or Circumstance: But this, for number -and greatness of Absurdities, I think surpasses them all: And the -Absurdities of it too are so obvious and stare a Man in the Face, that -I wonder they are hitherto overlook'd; and that considerate and -intelligent Persons have not before now hesitated and boggled at them. -If Interest had not blinded the Eyes of our learned _Clergy_, they -would easily have descry'd the Incredibilities and Absurdities of this -Story; and in another _Impostor_'s Case presently have pointed them -out to the ridicule of his Admirers and Adorers. - -If a Man was to torture his Brains for the Invention of a romantick -Tale of improbable and surprizing Circumstances, that he might, -withal, hope to palm for a Truth, if it was but for a Week or a Day, -upon the Faith and Understanding of the Credulous; he could never have -presumed, I think, so far upon the weakness of their Intellects, as to -imagine any thing so grossly and notoriously contradictory to Sense -and Reason, would have gone down with them, as is _this_ before us, -which has pass'd currently thro' many Ages of the Church, has been -read with attention by the Learned, and revered by the rest of -Christians, without any exception, hesitation, or doubt of the Truth -of it. In short, so palpable is the falsity of the Story of this -Miracle, that it requires no Sagacity to detect it; and was it not for -the sake of the Mystery more than to expose the Folly of the _Clergy_ -in believing of it, I had never bestow'd the following Pains on it. - -The People, it seems, so press'd and throng'd about the Door of the -House, where _Jesus_ was, that the Paralytick and his Bearers could -not get near it. What did they so throng and press for? Was it to see -_Jesus_, who was _without Form and Comeliness_, according to the -Prophet _Isaiah_; or, who was one of the most graceful of the Sons of -Men, as _Painters_ and _Publius Lentulus_ do describe him? This could -not be the Reason of the Croud. Tho' a Person extraordinary, either -for Beauty or Deformity may attract the Eyes of the People, and -occasion too a Throng about him; yet this could be no Reason for a -_Press_ about _Jesus_, at _Capernaum_, where he dwelt, and was -commonly seen and well known. - -Was it then to hear him preach? Nor this neither. Tho' an excellent -Preacher does sometimes, and a very indifferent one does oftener draw -multitudes after him; yet _Jesus_, as a Prophet, was without Honour -at _Capernaum_, his own Country; consequently, it is not to be -supposed that, for his Doctrine, he was so much follow'd here, tho' we -read, that he _preach'd the Word unto them_. - -Was it then to behold him working of Miracles and curing of the -diseased? This is the likeliest Reason of the Crouds and Throng about -him. And perhaps it was a Day appointed beforehand for his healing of -the diseased, which might occasion a more than ordinary Concourse of the -People. But then this Reason would have induced the People to make way -for the _Lame_, _Blind_, and _Paralyticks_ to come to _Jesus_; for they -frustrated their own Hopes and Expectations of seeing Miracles wrought; -and acted more unreasonably than ever Mob did, or can be supposed to do. - -But whatever was the Reason of this tumultuous Crouding, which is hard -to be accounted for; it's said, the poor _Paralytick_ with his Bearers -could not get to the Door of the House for the _Press_, and therefore -in all haste is he haul'd to the Top of the House, and let down, thro' -a breach of the Roof, into the Room where _Jesus_ was. What need was -there of such Haste and Pains to get to _Jesus_ for a Cure? It was but -waiting a while, not many Hours, and in all probability the Tumult -would be appeas'd, and access easily had to him. But that the Bearers -of the poor Man should enterprise a trouble and difficulty, that could -not require less Time, than the Tumult could be supposed to last, is a -little strange and somewhat incredible. - -St. _Chrysostom_ says[256], that the _Paralytick_ saw that the -Market-place or Street was throng'd with People, who had obstructed -all Passage to the House, where _Jesus_ was; and yet he did not so -much as say to his Friends and Bearers, "What's the Reason of this -Tumult? Let's stay till it is appeas'd, and the House clear'd of the -People, who ere long will depart; and then we shall privately and -quietly get admittance to Jesus," But why did he not say so? Any one -beside himself and his Bearers, if they had any Reason and Senses -about them, would have so argued. St. _Chrysostom_ says, it was their -_Faith_ that made them in such haste to get to _Jesus_: But I should -have thought their _Faith_ might have work'd _Patience_, and disposed -them to stay till Jesus could come out to them, or they get in to him: -And it is an Addition to the strangeness and incredibility of this -Story, that it did not. - -But supposing this _Paralytick_ in such haste and danger of Life, that -he could not wait the dispersion of the Tumult, but, for want of a free -entrance at the Door, is, cost what it will, to be rais'd to the top of -the House, and a breach must be there made for him. The Question is, -whether such an Enterprize was or could be feisable and practicable? I -have no Conception of the possibility of it. If they could not get to -the Door of the House for the Press; of consequence they could not come -at the Sides of it. How should they? over the Heads of the People? -That's not to be imagined; consequently here's another difficulty in the -Story, that renders it yet more strange and incredible. - -But, without questioning the possibility and easiness of getting the -_Paralytick_ and his Couch over the Heads of the Mob, to the sides of -the House; thither he is brought, where we now behold him and his -Bearers with their Pullies, Ropes, and Ladders (that were not at hand, -nor could suddenly be procured) hauling and heaving him to the top of -the House. Of what height the House was, is not of much Consequence. -Some for the Credit of the Story may say[257], it was a _very low -one_; tho' antient and modern _Commentators_ are pretty well agreed, -that it was an _upper-Room_, where _Jesus_ was; consequently the House -was at least two Stories high: But if it was much higher, I'll allow -that Art and Pullies (which they wanted for the present) would raise -the Man and his Bed to the top of it: So we will not dispute nor -differ upon that matter. On the top of the House then, we are now to -behold the _Paralytick_ and his Bearers with their Hatchets and -Hammers, _&c._ (which they forgot to bring with them, for they could -not think of any use they should have of them) uncovering the Roof of -the House; breaking up _Tiles_, _Spars_, and _Rafters_, and making a -Hole, capacious enough for the Man and his Bed to be let thro'. An -odd, strange, and unaccountable Work _this_, which, if they had not -been cunning Fellows, would hardly have enter'd into their Heads to -project. But at work they are, when it was well, if Jesus and his -Disciples escaped with only a broken Pate, by the falling of Tiles, -_&c._, and if the rest were not almost smother'd with the Dust; for it -was over their Heads that the breach was made. Where was the good Man -of the House all this while? Would he suffer his House to be thus -broken up, and not command them to desist from their foolish and -needless Attempt, till the Mob was quell'd, and there was a free -entrance at the Door of his House, which could not be long first? Is -there nothing in all this, of difficulty and obstruction in the way of -the belief of this Story? - -Some modern _Commentators_, being aware of these difficulties in this -Story, and willing to reconcile Men to the earlier belief of it, say, -as _Drusius_[258] did, that the Houses of _Judæa_ were _flat-roof'd, -and not ridg'd_: And Doctors, _Lightfoot_ and _Whitby_[259] say, there -was a Door on their flat Roofs, by which the _Jews_ used to ascend to -the top of their Houses, where they discours'd on the Law and -religious Matters; and that it was thro' such a Door, by a little -widening of the sides of it, that the _Paralytick_ was let down in the -presence of _Jesus_. To which Opinion I would yield, if it was not -liable to these Objections, _viz._ that it is not reconcilable to what -St. _Luke_ says, of _their letting the Paralytick down thro' the -Tiling with his Couch, in the midst, where Jesus was_; nor hardly -consistent with what St. _Mark_ says of their _uncovering_ and -_breaking up the Roof of the House_: which Expressions the -_Evangelists_ had never used, if there had been a Door for him to -descend by. But to indulge _Lightfoot_ and _Whitby_ in their Notion; I -may ask them, what occasion was there then of widening the doorway, -and breaking down the sides of it? They'll say, because the Passage -otherwise was too narrow, for the Man's Couch to get thro'. Why then -did not they take him out of his Couch, and let him down in a Blanket, -a Chair, or a Basket? Or rather, why did not _Jesus_, to prevent this -Trouble and Damage to the House, ascend thro' this Door, to the Top of -it, and their speak the healing Word to this poor Man? To say, that -_Jesus_ could not or would not go up to the Paralytick, I would not, -for Fear of an Imputation of Blasphemy against me. Our _Divines_ -therefore are to look for, what they'll hardly find, an Answer to the -said Question, which will consist with the Wisdom, the Goodness and -Honour of _Jesus_; or here will be another and insuperable Bar to the -Credibility of this Story. - -In short, there are more and greater Difficultys affecting the Credit -of this Miracle, on the side of _Jesus_, than any before urg'd. Could -not he, as it was antiently[260] objected, have made the Access to -himself more easy? Could not he, to prevent all this Trouble and Pains -of getting to the Top of the House, and of breaking up the Roof of it, -have desired or even forc'd the People to make way for this poor Man -and his Bearers? This was not impossible for him to do. If it was hard -for another; it was not for him, who was omnipotent. He that could -drive his Thousands before him out of the Temple; and draw as many -after him into the wilderness, might surely, by Force or Persuasion -have made the People, how unreasonably mobbish soever, to retreat. And -why did he not? Without a good and satisfactory Answer, which I can't -conceive, to this Question, here is the most unaccountable and -incredible part of the whole Story, that reflects on the Wisdom, the -Power and Goodness of _Jesus_. If there had been no other absurd -Circumstances of it, this is enough to spoil its Credit, so far as -that I believe it impossible for _Ministers_ of the _Letter_, with all -their Wit, Penetration and Sagacity to get over it. - -Believe then the Story of this Miracle, thus taken to Pieces, who can? -It is such an Accumulation of Absurdities, Improbabilities, and -Incredibilities, that a Man of the most easy Faith, if he at all -think, can't digest. It's not credible, I said, to suppose, the People -of _Capernaum_, where _Jesus_ dwelt, and was well known and little -admired, would at all _press_ to see or hear him: And if the occasion -of their Concourse was to behold his Miracles; it is less-reasonable -to think they would tumultuate to their own disappointment; but rather -make way for the diseased, for the satisfaction of their own -Curiosity, to come to him: And if they did mob it to their own -disappointment, about the Door of the House; it was next to -impossible for the poor Man and his Couch to be heav'd over their -Heads, and rais'd to the top of it: More unreasonable yet to think, -the master of the House would suffer the Roof of it to be so broken -up: But most of all against Reason to suppose, _Jesus_ would not give -forth the healing word, and prevent all this Labour, or by his divine -Power disperse the People, that the _Paralytick_ might have present -and easy access to him. - -Whether all this be not absolutely shocking of the Credit of this Story, -let my Readers judge. In my Opinion, no Tale more monstrously romantick -can be told. I don't here question _Jesus_'s Power to heal this -Paralytick, nor the miraculousness of the Cure of him: The trouble of -that Question is saved me, by the many other incredible Circumstances of -the Story, which are such a Contradiction to Sense and Reason, as is not -to be equall'd, in any thing, that's commonly receiv'd and believ'd by -Mankind. _Cicero_ says, that there is nothing so absurd, which some of -the Philosophers have not held. And they might and did, some of them, -hold gross Absurdities. But the Letter of the Story of this Miracle -before us, which is the Object of the Faith of our learned Priesthood -at this Day is a Match for the worst of them. - -But as absurd, as this Story is, I expect that our _Clergy_ will be -disgusted at my ludicrous display of it; and that Arch Deacon _Stubbs_ -in particular will again be ready to exclaim against me, and say, that -this is turning a _miraculous Fact_ and a _divine Testimony_ of our -Religion into Ridicule. Whereupon it is to be wish'd, _that -Arch-Deacon_ would write, what would be a Pleasure to see, a -Vindication of this Story. If he can account for the possibility and -credibility of the Letter of it, he shall have my leave to make -another dull Speech in _Convocation_ against me. And it is not -unlikely, but he may say as much for it, as another Man: For as the -Story is senseless, so it is the better suited to his Head and Brains. -But if he don't, I much question, whether any other Clergyman of more -Wit will, appear in Defence of it. - -So absurd is the Letter of this Story, that for the Honour of _Jesus_, -and Credibility of his Gospel, it is absolutely necessary to turn it -into Allegory. To the Fathers then, let us go for their help in this -Case. If they did not read me a better Lecture upon this Miracle, than -do our modern _Commentators_, I should be almost tempted to renounce my -Religion upon it: But as they have rationally and rightly instructed me -in its true meaning, so I retain my Christian Faith, and admire the -Sublimity of the Mystery, which I am now to give an account of. - -By this _Paralitick_, St. _Hilary_[261] says, is to be understood -_Mankind_ of all Nations, which opinion too the Fathers held of the -_Paralitick_, who was heal'd at the Pool of _Bethesda_. And by his -Palsy is not meant any bodily Distemper, but the spiritual Palsy of -the Soul, that is, as St. _Augustin_[262] and St. _Jerome_[263] -interpret, a dissoluteness of Morals, and an unsteadiness of Faith and -Principles, which is the Condition of Mankind at present, who want -_Jesus_'s help for the Cure of it. _Eusebius Gallicanus_[264] says, -our Saviour's words signify, that it is not a bodily but a spiritual -Disease here meant; or he had never said to the Paralytick, _Son, thy -Sins are forgiven thee_, which words respect the inward Man, and -demonstrate the Palsy here to be a disease Of the Soul. - -The Man sick of the Palsy had _four Bearers_. And who are they -mystically in this Case? Why, the Fathers[265] understand by them the -_four Evangelists_, on whose Faith and Doctrine Mankind is to be -carry'd unto Christ; for no Soul can be brought unto him, for the -Sanation of his Sins and Errors, but by these _four_. - -But to the top of the House is Mankind, thus paralytically diseased, -to be carry'd by the four Evangelists, his Bearers. And what then is -this House and its Top? The House of _Jesus_ is the intellectual -Edifice of the World, otherwise call'd Wisdom's House; of the -beautiful Buildings of which the Scriptures prophetically treat: -therefore to the _sublime Sense_ of the Scriptures, call'd the -Top[266] of the House, is Man to be taken: He is not to abide in the -_low and literal Sense_[267] of them, where People _press_ and strive -in vain to come to _Jesus_: But if he is taken to the Sublimity of the -Scriptures and there _open_[268] _the House_ of Wisdom, he will -presently be admitted to the Presence and Knowledge of _Jesus_. - -Venerable _Bede_, who is altogether a Transcriber of the Fathers, for -which Reason I cite him among the Fathers, says[269], that by the -_Tiles_ of the House spoken of in St. _Luke_, is meant the _Letter_ of -the Scriptures, which is to be laid open for the manifestation of Christ -and of divine Mysteries to the healing of Man's spiritual Palsy, the -unsteadiness and dissoluteness of his Morals and Principles. - -So much, in short, then to the mystical Interpretation of the Story of -this Miracle. The literal Sense of it is so encumber'd with romantick -Circumstances, as are enough to turn a Man's Heart against -Christianity it self: But in the Mystery there will be a most -stupendous Miracle, which will be not only an Argument of _Jesus_'s -divine Power, but of his _Messiahship_, as certainly as his House of -Wisdom, of which the Scriptures write, is open'd to the Manifestation -of his Presence, and to the Cure of Mankind of his paralytical -Disease, call'd an instability of Faith and Principles. - -And thus have I, in this _Discourse_, taken into Examination three more -of _Jesus_'s Miracles; which I submit to the Judgment of my Readers, -whether the literal Story of them does not consist of Absurdities, -Improbabilities and Incredibilities according to the Proposition before -us; and whether there is not a necessity, for the Honour of _Jesus_, to -turn them into prophetical and parabolical Narratives of what will be -mysteriously and more wonderfully done by him. - -My next _Discourse_, if my mind hold, shall treat on the three Stories -of _Jesus_'s raising of the dead, _viz._ of the Widow of _Naim_'s Son, -of _Jairus_'s Daughter, and of _Lazarus_; after which I will give the -literal History of Christ's Resurrection, that sandy Foundation of the -Church, a Review; and so conclude my Discourses on the Miracles of our -Saviour. - -To run thro' all the Miracles of _Jesus_, and handle them in the manner -I have done the foregoing, would be a long and tedious Work. But if our -_Divines_ shall think, I have selected only those Miracles, which are -obnoxious to Cavil and Ridicule; and have omitted others, that literally -are a more unexceptionable Testimony of _Jesus_'s divine Power, and -Authority; I will, for their Satisfaction take more of them to Task, and -give the Letter of their Stories, the like ludicrous treatment. If I -mistake not, the Miracles already spoken to, together with those of -_Jesus_'s raising of the dead, and of his own Resurrection, are the most -famous and remarkable of any others: And according to the Observation I -have made on the rest, they are no less but rather more liable to -Ridicule and Exception. But if any are of a contrary Opinion, and will -let me know, which in their Judgment are more unexceptionable Miracles, -I will vouchsafe them an Examination. I am sure there is not one -Miracle, which the Fathers of the Church did not turn into Allegory; and -if we don't at this Day make mystical Operations of them, they will none -of them according to the Letter, stand their Ground, nor abide the Test -of a critical Inquiry into them. - -I don't expect, that this _Discourse_ will be any more pleasing and -acceptable to the _Clergy_, who are _Ministers_ of the _Letter_ of -_Jesus_'s Miracles, as well as of the Prophecies of him, than any of my -former: But their Displeasure in the Case will give me no Disturbance, -nor am I concern'd about any Resentment, they can make of it. If they -are offended at these _Discourses_, they should as they came forth, have -written solid Confutations of them, and so have prevented my Publication -of any more of this kind: But instead of serious and potent Reasonings -against me, I have met with little else but oral Railings, Exclamations, -Defamations, and attempts for Prosecution; which have been so far from -terrifying me, that they give me a secret Pleasure, and animate me to -proceed in the Undertaking in hand. - -I did not much question but the _Bishop_ of St. _Davids_, whom I look'd -upon as a Person of Ingenuity and Learning, would, before this Time, -have publish'd somewhat in Confutation of one or other of my former -_Discourses_. Whether he was not obliged to it, or to make me some -publick Reparation of the Injury done to my Reputation, by his -slanderous Sermon, I appeal now to the worshipful _Societys_ for -Reformation of Manners; to whom, and to other Civil Magistrates, I hope -his Sermon, without Reason, will be a Caution, that no Pulpit-Invective -move them to prosecute or think the worse of any Author. - -Liberty of thinking, writing and judging for our selves in Religion is -a natural, a Christian, and a protestant _Right_: It is a _Right_ that -the Magistrates as well as the Subjects are interested in, and are to -see to the Conservation of, or their Understandings as well as their -Purses will be ridden and oppress'd by an ignorant and tyrannical -Priesthood. I urge not this for my own security against Prosecution -for Infidelity and Blasphemy, declaring that if the _Bishops_ of -_London_, St. _Davids_, or _Arch-Deacon Stubbs_, who are zealous for -Persecution, will but engage me on the Stage of Controversy, and make -good their Accusations against me, I will submit to the worst -Punishment, that can be inflicted on the worst Offender. - -In the mean time I will go on with my Undertaking, to the advancement -of Truth, and demonstration of the _Messiahship_ of the Holy _Jesus_, -to whom be Glory for ever, _Amen_. - - ~_FINIS._~ - -FOOTNOTES: - -[205] John. ix. - -[206] Quid Lutum i linere opporet? hoc potius eæcum reddere, quis -unquam hoc pacto curatus est? _In Loc. Johan._ - -[207] Quam ob causam dicet aliquis, cum omnia solo Verbo præstare -possit, nulloque negotio, Lutum quidem sputo macerat? _In Loc. Johan._ - -[208] Sed Rationem quandam mysticam habet Vis Rei istius de sputo. -_Ibid._ - -[209] Ei autem qui cæcus fuerat a Nativitate, jam non per sermonem sed -per operationem præstitit visum; non vane, neque prout evenit, hoc -faciens, sed ut ostenderet manum Dei, eam quæ ab initio plasmavit -Hominem, _&c._ Contra Hæres. L. v. c. 15. - -[210] _See his Sermons before the Societys for Reformation._ p. 12. - -[211] Ipse Salvator noster apertissime ostendit, quod ejus Miracula -Aliquid significent, dum ea faciendo, aliquid agit, quod Ratione -carere videatur. Nisi enim aliquid significaret, quid necessarium -fuit, in hujus cæci Illuminatione, ut Lutum faceret, quo oculos ejus -liniret, cui solum dicere sufficiens erat. Quæramus igitur -significationem, & videamus quid cæcus iste significet. _In Homil. -quarta post quartam Dominicam._ - -[212] Similitudo erat & Typus futurorum unumquodque quod fiebat in -Corpore. Veluti nescio quis à Nativitate cæcus Visum recuperavit. Vere -autem cæcus iste erat à Nativitate Gentilium Populus, cui Salvator -reddidit Visum, Saliva sua ungens oculos ejus & mittens ad _Siloam_, -quod interpretatur missus, mittebat quippe illos quos spiritu unxit ad -Apostolos. _In Isai._ c. vi. - -[213] Genus humanum est iste cæcus. _In Loc. Johan._ - -[214] Cæcus humanum Genus significatur. _In Com. Johan._ - -[215] Cæcus iste a Nativitate, Genus humanum esse videtur à primo -homine.----Hæc enim cæcitas non Corporis sed Animæ est. _In Loc. supra -laudat._ - -[216] Per cæcum naturaliter non videntem & illuminatum significat -Genus humanum. _In Loc. Johan._ - -[217] Vere autem cæcus iste erat a Nativitate Gentilium Populus. _In -Isai._ c. vi. - -[218] Cæci hujus Curationem in figuram & typus vocationis Gentium -accepimus. _In Loc. Johan._ - -[219] Intellige hoc Miraculum spiritualiter. Nam cæcus quidem erat -omnis homo à Nativitate, id est, ab Initio Mundi. _In Loc. Johan._ - -[220] In Sabbato est figura ultimi Temporis. _St. Cyril in Loc. Johan._ - -[221] Cæcitas est Infidelitas. _In Loc._ - -[222] Cæcus qui destituitur divino Lumine. _De Adorat._ p. 414. - -[223] Cæcus qui sedet in tenebris omnis Ignorantiæ, & non potuit -videre Conditorem Mundi. _In Loc. Johan._ - -[224] Literam Legis sequentes, in Errores, Superstitiones & -Infidelitatem incurrunt. _In Matt. Tract._ xxvi. - -[225] Cæcus iste est cæcus in Litera, & hoc statu Sanari non potest. -_In Marc._ c. viii. - -[226] Cæci qui imperiti Scripturarum. _In Loc. Johan._ - -[227] Lutum vero factum de Saliva oris Domini, ac positum super oculos -cæci, significat hic, quod naturæ deerat, opere suo implere Figulum. -_In Loc. Johan._ - -[228] Saliva sua ungens Oculos cæci & mittens ad _Siloam_ quod -interpretatur _Missus_, mittebat quippe illos, quos spiritu unxit. &c. -_In Isa. c._ vi. - -[229] Saliva est perfecta Doctrina. _In Marc._ c. viii. - -[230] Ei autem qui cæcus fuerat à Nativitate, jam non per sermonem sed -per operationem præstitit Visum; non vane neque prout evenit hoc -faciens, sed ut ostenderet manum Dei, eam quæ ab Initio plasmavit -hominem. Quapropter expuit in Terram, & fecit Lutum, & superlinivit -illud Oculis, ostendens antiquam Plasmationem, quemadmodum facta est, -& manum Dei manifestans his qui intelligere possunt, per quam è Limo -plasmatus est homo. _Cont. Hæreses. L._ v. _c._ 15. - -[231] John ii. - -[232] _See his Speech in Convocation, printed in the_ Post-Boy _of_ -March _the 30th_. - -[233] Rursus hoc in loco calumniantur nonnulli hunc ebriosorum fuisse -Conventum, _&c._ _In Loc. Johan._ - -[234] - - Pueri aut Saltatores volutabantur, in his autem - Tibiæ, Lyræque Vocem habebant. Mulieres autem - Cantum accipientes, volvebantur per medias - Quæcunque optimatum erant uxores atque filiæ. - Illi vero ad Saltationem & desiderabilem Cantum - Conversi delectabantur, &c. - In _Homero-Centon._ - - -[235] _Vindication of the Christian Religion._ p. 82. - -[236] Luke ii. 48. - -[237] Christus asperius respondit, quid tibi & mihi, Mulier? _St. -Chrysost. in Loc. Johan._ Vide & _Theopolact. in Loc._ - -[238] Vide Sanctum Augustinum. _In Loc. Johan._ - -[239] Apud St. Chrysostomum _In Loc. Johan._ - -[240] _Vindication of the Christian Religion_, p. 82. - -[241] Sed quanam gratia, antequam implerentur, non fecit Miraculum, -quod longe fuisset admirabilius? Siquidem aliud est subjectæ Materiæ -qualitatem mutare, aliud ipsam substantiam ex nihilo facere. _Chrysos. -in Loc._ - -[242] Sæpe obest Magnitudo, ne Miracula creditu sint facilia. -_Theophylact. in Loc._ - -[243] In Dialog. cum Tryphone, _p._ 364. - -[244] In Lib. de Abrahamo. - -[245] _In Matt. Tract._ xxii. - -[246] Aliquid enim & in ipsis factis innuit nobis, puto, quia non sine -causa venit ad Nuptias. Excepto Miraculo, aliquid in ipso facto -Mysterii & Sacramenti latet. Pulsemus ut aperiet & de Vino invisibili -inebriet nos. _In Loc. Johan._ - -[247] Nihil dicemus, quid sibi velint Hydriæ, quid Aqua in Vinum -conversa, quid Architriclinius, quid Sponsus, quid Mater Jesu in -Mysterio, quid ipsæ Nuptiæ? _Ibid._ - -[248] Per hoc invitatus Dominus venit ad Nuptias, ut ostenderetur -Sacramentam Nuptiarum,----Illarum Nuptiarum Sponsus Personam Domini -figurabat, cui dictum est, servasti bonum Vinum usque adhuc, Bonum -Vinum id est Evangelium servasti usque adhuc. _Ibid._ - -[249] Sex Hydriæ sunt sex Ætates Temporum capientes Prophetiam -pertinentem ad omnes gentes sive in duobus generibus hominum, id est, -Judæis & Græcis, sive in tribus propter Noe tres Filios. _Ibid._ - -[250] Vocatur Salvator ad Nuptias, hoc est, Ecclesiæ voto spiritus -sanctus invocatur----Venit cum Discipulis suis, id est, in Loco sancto, -Turba sanctorum. Mirabilia Dei Maria Mater expectat, hoc est, Virtutem -Christi expectat Ecclesia.----Maria ait, ecce Vina deficiant, hoc est, -Vinum Spiritus Ecclesia optat excipere.----Numquid Mulierem dicit Jesu -Mariam, quæ Virgo post Pactum inventa est? Sed Ecclesiam alloquitur, quæ -non solum Mulier, sed meretrix nuncupatur. _In Sermon_ xcii. _Append._ - -[251] Vinum multis Locis accipimus Scripturas Sanctas meracissimum -Vigorem coelestis sapientæ continentes; quibus incalescant sensus & -inebrientur Affectus. Operante Christo in Cana Galileæ Vinum defecit & -Vinum sit, id est, Umbra removetur & Veritas præsentatur. Recedit Lex, -Gratia succedit. Carnalia spiritualibus commutantur. Bonum quidem -Vinum est vetus Testamentum, sed sine spirituali Intellectu vanescit -in Litera. _In Sermon_ xc. _Append._ Sed illud quod in Litera Legis -aquam sapiebat, dum spiritualiter intellgi fecit, aquam in Vinum -convertit. _In Sermon_ xci. _Append._ - -[252] Per Nuptias, Conjunctionem Christi Ecclesiæ, hoc est Veteris & -Novi Testamenti Traditionem debemus accipere. Sponsus est Christus. -Architriclinius est Moses. _In Loc. Johan._ - -[253] Voluores Coeli sunt verè puri & ad cælestis sapientiæ -Cognitionem evolare parati. _Clem. Alex. Strom. L._ iv. - -[254] Quid mihi & tibi est, Mulier? Procul dubio, Fratres, latet ibi -aliquid Mysterii. _In Loc. Johan._ - -[255] Matt. ix. Mark ii. Luke v. - -[256] Paralyticus reppletum videret Theatrum, Aditus Interclusos, -Portum obseptum,----Non tamen dixit Propinquis suis, quid hoc Rei est? -Expectemus quousque Domus evacuetur, Theatrum dimittatur, recedent, -qui congregati sunt, poterimus privatim ad ilium accedere. _In Homil. -de hoc Paralyt._ - -[257] Dicet aliquis valde dimissum fuisse Locum, à quo per Tegulas -deposuerunt Paralytici Lectum. _Johan. Nepot. Hieros. in Loc. Luc._ - -[258] Judæorum Tecta plana erant, & non in Coniformam lastigiata. _In -Loc. Luc._ - -[259] _In Loc. Marci._ - -[260] Numquid enim facilem illi potuit Accessum redere? _Apud -Chrysostom. de hoc Paralyt._ - -[261] In Paralytico Gentium universitas offertur me denda. _In Loc. -Matt._ - -[262] Paralyticus potest intelligi Anima dissoluta Membris, id est, -bonis operibus. _Inter. Quæst. Evang._ - -[263] Paralysis Typus est Torporis, quo piger jacet in Malitia Carnis, -habens desiderium Salutis, & Torporis Ignavia & duplis Cogitationibus, -ac si enervatus Membris ostendit. _In Loc. Marci._ - -[264] In hoc enim quod ait, remittuntur tibi Peccata, interiorem -hominem, id est, spiritum paryliticum esse demonstrat. Hoc enim non -dixisset, si ad Corporis Infirmitatem respexisset. Non ideo Corpus -sanatur, quia Anima a peccatis liberatur. _In Homil. in Dominic._ xix. -_post Pentecost_. - -[265] Sed qui sunt isti quatuor, qui hunc Paralyticum portant & Domino -offerunt. Per hos enim nescio, qui melius quam quatuor Evangelistæ -intelligi possunt. Nulla enim Anima nisi per istos Domino offertur, -nulla Anima nisi per istorum fidem sanatur. _Euseb. Gallican. ibid._ Sum -Paraliticus, quia non operantur & immobiles sunt Vires Animæ meæ ad -bonum, sed si a quatuor Evangelistis gestatus & adductus fuero ad -Dominum, tunc audiam, remittuntur Peccata. _Theophylact. in Loc. Marci._ - -[266] Tectum Domus qua Christus docet, ascendendum, id est, Sacræ -Scripturæ Sublimitas est appetenda. _Bedæ in Loc. Lucæ._ - -[267] Non utique in Infirmis exterius, qua turbæ tumultuantur -remanendum, sed Tectum Domus, &c. _Ibid._ - -[268] Patefacto Tecto ægerad Jesum summittitur, quia reseratis -Scripturarum Mysteriis, ad Notitiam Christi pervenitur. _Bedæ in. Loc. -Marci._ Est Paralysis interior, ut pervenias ad Christum (forte enim -latet Medicus & intus est, hoc est, iste verus Intellectus in -Scriptoris occultus est) exponendo quod occultum est aperi Tectum, & -depone Paraliticum. _Augustin. In Serm._ XLVI. _Sect._ 13. Impediri -turbis nisi Tecta id est operta Scripturarum aperiat, ut per hæc ad -Notitiam Christi perveniat. _Ejusdam in Quæst. 4ta in Evangel. Lucæ._ - -[269] Et bene Domus Jesu juxta alterius Evangelistæ Narrationem tegulis -esse contecta reperitur, quia sub contemptibili Literarum Velamine, si -adsit, qui reseret, divina spiritualis Gratiæ Virtus invenietur. -Denudatio etenim Tegularum in Domo Jesu, Apertio est, in utilitate -Literæ, sensus spiritualis ac arcanorum coelestium. _In Loc. Marci._ - - - - - A FIFTH - DISCOURSE - ON THE - MIRACLES - OF OUR - _SAVIOUR_, - - In VIEW of the Present - Controversy between INFIDELS - and APOSTATES. - - ----_Ridiculum acri - Fortius & melius magnas plerumq; secat Res._ - - The Second Edition. - - By THO. WOOLSTON, B.D. sometime - Fellow of _Sidney-College_ in _Cambridge_. - - _LONDON_: - - Printed for the Author, and Sold by him - next door to the _Star_, in _Aldermanbury_, - and by the Booksellers of _London_, and - _Westminster_, 1728. - - [Price One Shilling.] - - - - -[Illustration] - - TO THE - Right Reverend Father in God - _THOMAS_, - Lord BISHOP of _Bangor_. - - -MY LORD, - -Whatever we poor _Authors_ may sometimes pretend to, by the Dedication -of our Works to _Great_ Men; it's certain we aim at nothing less than -Rewards and Preferments, whether we deserve them or not: That this is -my Design in _Dedications_, is so apparent, that it's to no Purpose to -deny or dissemble it. - -Wherefore else have I made Choice of some of our Learned and Wealthy -_Bishops_ for the Patrons of these _Discourses_, which I foresaw -would be grateful to their nice and critical Palates? Wherefore else -have I been so profuse of such Compliments on their _Lordships_, as I -was sure, they would take great Pleasure in? Wherefore else, _My -Lord_, do I inscribe _this_ to your _Right Reverend_ Name, but that I -expect your Approbation of it, and hope for a Recompence, equal to the -Honour, that is here done you. - -Some, who are envious, _My Lord_, of my good Fortune in _Episcopal_ -Patrons, will not believe that I have receiv'd so much as one _Purse_ of -_Gold_ for any of my _Dedications_; but I would have such Malignants to -know, that the less I have receiv'd, the more there is behind: And I can -moreover assure them, that their _Lordships_ have it in their Heads and -their Hearts too, highly to advance me in the World; and if their -Endeavours for my Promotion fail not, I shall be a very _Great_ Man. - -Such primitive Doctrine, _My Lord_, as I have reviv'd, must, in the -Judgment of our _Bishops_, be deserving of their distinguish'd -Favours: And if they should Design for me such a _mystical_ Crown of -Glory, as the _Gentile Priests_ help'd some of the Fathers of the -Church to; I profess without Dissimulation, that, for all my Love to -_Mysteries_, it will be more than I am ambitious of: But if the Honour -is forc'd on me, it will be my Duty to their _Lordships_, to sound an -_allegorical_ Trumpet of their Fame, that their Names, which, might -otherwise be soon forgotten, may be everlastingly remember'd for their -Love and Good-will towards me. - -But the chief Foundation, _My Lord_, of my Merits lies, they say, in my -Treatment of the Miracles of our Saviour, after the Manner you handled a -Scripture-Prophecy, of a _Man's kicking a Serpent on the Pate, for -biting him by the Heels_: And if your _Lordship_ got a -_Welsh-Bishoprick_ upon it, what may not I expect for my more -meritorious Works of the same kind? The Great _Mr. Scheme_ has -celebrated your Praise for that Effort of your Wit: And I must needs -say, to your _Lordship_'s Applause, that were not your Thoughts -unhappily shackled with Interest and Subscriptions, (an Unhappiness you -sadly lament!) you would endeavour to make as pleasant Work with the -_Letter_ of the _Old_, as I can do with that of the _New_ Testament. - -I have not here Room, _My Lord_, for a sufficient and deserv'd -_Encomium_ on your _Use and Intent of Prophecy_; therefore must be -content to say of it, in short, that it is a most curious Piece of, -what the Fathers call, _Engastromuthism_; or such a singular Specimen -of a Webb, spun out of a Man's own Bowels, as one of fewer Brains in -his Head can hardly equal. - -It was wisely done of your _Lordship_ to caution your Readers against -taking your _Book_ for an Answer to Mr. _Grounds_; otherwise it had not -been impossible, but some others as well as the _Worshipful Benchers_ of -the _Temple_ might have mistaken the _Use_ and _Intent_ of it. - -After I had gone thro' your _beautifully-printed_ Work, I wish'd, _My -Lord_, for another _Decoration_ of it, that some Annotations out of -the Fathers had been subjoin'd to it. How would your Notions then and -Theirs about Prophecy have stood as a _Foil_ to each other! How should -I then have admired the Difference between a _Rich_ Bishop and a -_Poor_ Father as to Wit and Sense! How should I then have contemplated -the Usefulness of Ecclesiastical Wealth in our _Clergy_ for the -Understanding of the Inspirations of the poor old Prophets! - -When your _Lordship_ is call'd upon for another Edition of your _Book_, -vouchsafe me the Favour of making some marginal Remarks on it, which -shall not be without their good Use. As you know, savoury Sawce makes -some sort of Food go down the better; so a little more of that Salt, -which Mr. _Scheme_ has too sparingly sprinkled on your _Work_, will give -your _Readers_, a right Relish of it: But whether I am indulg'd this -Favour or not; I than take another opportunity, according to Promise -elsewhere made, of testifying to the World, how much I am, - -[Sidenote: October 25. 1728.] - - _My LORD, - The Admirer of - Your_ Use _and_ - Intent _of Prophecy_, - _Thomas Woolston_. - - - - -[Illustration] - - A FIFTH - DISCOURSE - ON THE - MIRACLES - OF OUR - _SAVIOUR_, &c. - - -According to Promise in my last _Discourse_, I am in _this_ to take -into Examination the three Miracles of _Jesus_'s raising the dead, -_viz._ Of _Iairus_'s Daughter[270]; of the Widow of _Naim_'s Son[271]; -and of _Lazarus_[272]: The literal Stories of which I shall show to -consist of Absurdities, Improbabilities and Incredibilities, in Order -to the mystical Interpretation of them: And because some of our -_Bishops_ and _Clergy_ were a little disgusted at the ludicrous -Treatment of the _Letter_ of some foregoing Miracles, I will handle -these with the more Caution; being as unwilling, as any Man of my -primitive Faith can be, to offend weak Brethren. - -Whether _Jesus_ rais'd any more from the dead, besides the foresaid -three Persons is uncertain from the Evangelical History. St. -_Augustin_[273] thinks, he rais'd many others; and he founds his -Opinion on the modest _Hyperbole_ of St. _John_, who supposes[274] -_the World it self could not contain the Books that might be Written -of Jesus_. And _Eusebius Gallicanus_, of whose Mind entirely I am, -says[275] the Reason lies in the Mystery, why these _three_, and no -more than these _three_ Miracles of this Kind are recorded by the -_Evangelists_. But since our _Divines_ are averse to Mysteries on -Miracles, I would gladly know their Opinion, whether _Jesus_ rais'd -any others from the dead, or not: I have made some search into modern -Writers for their Opinion in this Case, but can't find it: And unless -I knew their Opinion, it would be lost Labour to argue against either -Side of the Question, and much more against both Sides of it: But I -can assure our _Divines_, that, which Side of the Question soever they -should hold, the Consequence upon the Argument would be neither better -nor worse, than that they must of necessity espouse the mystical and -allegorical Interpretation of these Miracles, or grant that _Jesus_ -literally rais'd none from the dead at all. - -But waving that sort of Argument for the present against the _Letter_; -these three Miracles are reputed the greatest that _Jesus_ wrought: -And I believe, it will be granted on all hands, that the restoring a -Person, indisputably dead, to Life again, is a stupendous Miracle; and -that two or three such Miracles well circumstanced, and credibly -reported, are enough to conciliate the Belief of Mankind, that the -Author of them was a divine Agent, and invested with the Power of God, -or he could not do them. But God knows, (and for the sake of the -Mystery, I am not sorry to say it) this is far from being the Case of -these three Miracles before us, or of any one them. - -That these three Miracles are not equally great, but differ in Degree, -is visible enough to any one, that but cursorily reads, and compares -theirs Stories one with another. The Fathers of the Church[276] have -taken Notice of such a Difference amongst them. The greatest of the -three, and indeed, the[277] greatest Miracle, that _Jesus_ is suppos'd -to have wrought, is that of _Lazarus_'s Resurrection; which, in Truth, -was a most prodigious Miracle, if his Corps was putrified and stank; -or if there were no just Exceptions to be made to the Credibility of -the Story. Next to that, in magnitude, is _Jesus_'s raising of the -Widow's Son, as they were carrying him to his Burial: And a great -Miracle it was to bring him to Life again; if none before or since had -been mistaken for dead, and carried to their Graves alive; or if no -Impostor and his Confederates could frame such a seemingly miraculous -Scene, as is that whole Story, to his own Glory. The least of the -three is that of his raising _Jairus_'s Daughter, which in Appearance -is so far from a Miracle, that according to the Story itself, she was -but asleep, or by the Shrieks of By-standers frighted out of her -Senses for the present. - -But however it really might be with these three supposed dead and -revived Persons; the Case of none of them was well enough -circumstanced to serve the Purpose of our _Divines_. I am apt to -believe with the Fathers, that _Jesus_ actually did raise the dead; -but then, as these Miracles are only recorded for the sake of the -_Mystery_, I affirm that none of them, as to the _Letter_, will abide -the Test of a critical Examination, nor stand its Ground against such -Exceptions as may be made to them. If _Jesus_ was to raise any dead -Bodies to Life, for a Testimony of his divine Power and Authority, he -would and should have made Choice of other dead Persons, under other -Circumstances of Death; and the History of their Resurrection should -have been more credibly and carefully transmitted to Posterity, so as -there should have been no Room left to make a reasonable Doubt of the -Truth of it. But this, I say, is not the Case in the Resuscitation of -any of these Persons, as will appear from the following Remarks and -Observations upon them. And - -1. Observe, that the unnatural and preposterous Order of Time, in -which these Miracles are related, justly brings them all under -suspicion of Fable and Forgery. The greatest of the three is -indisputably that of _Lazarus_'s Resurrection; but since this is only -mention'd by St. _John_, who wrote his Gospel after the other -_Evangelists_, and above sixty Years, according to the best -Computation, after our Lord's Ascension; here is too much Room for -Cavil and Question, whether this Story be not entirely his Invention. -What could be the Reason that _Matthew_, _Mark_, and _Luke_, who all -wrote their Gospel's before _John_, and many Years nearer to the Death -of our Saviour, should omit to record this remarkable and most -illustrious Miracle of _Lazarus_? They could not forget it, nor be -ignorant of it, if the Story had been really true; and to assign any -other Reason than Ignorance or Forgetfulness, is hard and impossible. -To aggrandize the Fame of their Master, for a Worker of Miracles, was -the Design of all the _Evangelists_, especially of the three first, -who may be presumed to make a Report of the greatest, if not of all, -that _Jesus_ wrought: But that there should come after them an -_Evangelist_ with an huge and superlatively great Miracle, and meet -with Credit for it, is against all Sense and Reason; neither is there -any Story, so disorderly told, in all History, that _Critics_ will -admit of the Belief of. The first Writer of the Life of an _Hero_, to -be sure makes mention of all the grand Occurrences of it, and leaves -no Room for _Biographers_ afterwards, but to enlarge and paraphrase -upon what he has written, with some other Circumstances and Additions -of less Moment. If a third or a fourth _Biographer_ after him shall -presume to add a more illustrious Transaction of the _Hero_'s Life, it -will be rejected as Fable and Romance, tho' for no other Reason than -this, that the first Writer must have been appris'd of it, and would -have inserted its Story, if there had been any Truth in it. And -whether St. _John_'s Story of _Lazarus_'s Resurrection, that Miracle -of Miracles, ought not to be subjected to the like Criticism upon it, -_Christians_ may consider, and _Infidels_ will judge. - -What then was the Reason, I ask again, that the three first -_Evangelists_ neglected to record this renown'd Miracle of _Lazarus_? -And why too (may I enquire here) did not _Matthew_ and _Mark_ mention -the Story of the Widow of _Naim_'s Son, as they could not but know of -it, if true, more certainly than _Luke_, the Companion of _Paul_, who -alone has made a Report of it? _Grotius_ says,[278] _it may seem -strange that this illustrious Miracle of the Widow's Son_ was omitted -by _Matthew_ and _Mark_: And what is the Reason that _Grotius_ gives -for this strange Omission? Why, he tells us[279] _that these two -Evangelists were content with one miraculous Instance of this Kind, by -which Christians might judge of_ Jesus'_s Power in others also_. And -is this Reason sufficient? True it is, they were content with one -Instance; but if they had made a Report of two or three more of the -same sort, no body would have thought their History of _Christ_ -overcharg'd with impertinent and tautological Repetitions. But one -Instance of a Person rais'd from the dead, they were, says _Grotius_, -content with: And I'll grant one to be sufficient: But which then -should they, as wise and considerate _Historians_ have made Choice of, -the greatest or the least Miracle? The greatest, to be sure, and that -was of _Lazarus_, or of the Widow's Son, if they knew of either. But -instead of either of these, they tell us the Story of _Jairus_'s -Daughter, that is[280] an imperfect and disputable Miracle, in -Comparison of the other two, which consequently they knew nothing at -all of, or they would have preferr'd the Report of them. - -If _Matthew_, the first Writer, had recorded only the Story of -_Lazarus_, whose Resurrection was the greatest Miracle; and if _Luke_ -had added _that_ of the Widow of _Naim_'s Son; and _John_ lastly had -remember'd us of _Jairus_'s Daughter, which the other _Evangelists_, -not through Ignorance or Forgetfulness, but studying Brevity, had -omitted, then all had been well; and no Objection had hence lain -against the Credit of any of these Miracles, or against the Authority -of the _Evangelists:_ But this unnatural and preposterous Order of -Time, in which these Miracles are recorded (the greatest being -postponed to the least) administers just Occasion of suspicion of the -Truth and Credibility of all their Stories. And it is lucky for -Christianity, that _Jews_ and _Infidels_ have not hitherto hit upon -the _Absurdity_ of this preposterous Narration, or they might have -form'd a cogent Objection against these Miracles thus, saying; - - "_Jesus_, it is manifest, rais'd not the dead at all. The only - Person, that Christians can reasonably pretend, he did raise, was - _Jairus_'s Daughter, whom _Matthew_ writes of; and she, according to - the Story was only in a Sleep, or an Extacy, when _Jesus_ revived - her. But the _Galileans_, who were after a Time call'd _Christians_, - finding their Account in a Resurrection-Miracle; _Luke_, for the - former Advantage of the Cause, devised another Story of better - Circumstances, in the Widow of _Naim_'s Son: But this not being so - great a Miracle, as the Church still wanted; _John_, when no body - was alive to contradict and expostulate with him for it, trumps up a - long Story of a thumping Miracle, in _Jesus_'s raising of _Lazarus_, - who had been not only dead, but buried so long that he stank again. - But to prove the Story of this Miracle to be false and fabulous, we - need say no more than that it was last recorded. If there had been - any Truth in it, the first _Evangelist_ would have remember'd us of - it. - - "We don't suppose, that you Christians, because of your Prejudices, - will subscribe to this Account, that we thus give of the Rise of - these Miracles: But this is certain, that if these three Miracles - had not been reported of _Jesus_, but of _Mahomet_, in the same - disorder of Time, by three different Historians, you would - presently have scented the Forgery and Imposture: You would justly - have affirm'd that the three Stories were apparently three Fables - and Falsehoods; and that the three Historians visibly strove to - outstretch each other: That the _first_ was sparing and modest in - his Romance; and the _second_, being sensible of the Insufficiency - of the former's Tale, devises a Miracle of a bigger Size; which - still not proving sufficient to the End proposed; the _third_ - Writer, rather than his Prophet's Honour should sink for want of a - Resurrection-Miracle, forges a Story of a monstrously huge one; - against which it is, and always will be Objection enough, that it - was not related by the first Historian. So would you Christians - argue against these three Miracles in another Impostor's Case; and - there is not a judicious _Critic_ in the Universe, that would not - approve of the Argument, and applaud the Force of it, tho' you will - not endure the Thoughts of it in the Case of your _Jesus_. - - "But to come nearer home to you; supposing _John_ (who was then - above a Hundred, and in his Dotage) had not reported this Miracle - of _Lazarus_; but that _Clement_ (joining it with his[281] - incredible Story of the Resurrection of a _Phoenix_) or _Ignatius_, - or _Polycarp_, or the Author of the _Apostolical Constitutions_ had - related it; would not your Christian _Critics_ have been at work to - explode it? There is not an antient extra-evangelical Tradition of - any Note about _Jesus_, that some or other of your _Critics_ have - not boggled at; but such a Story as this of _Lazarus_ would have - been received by none. I question, whether Mr. _Whiston_ would not - have rejected the _Constitutions_ upon such a Story in them; or if - his Fancy for some other Things in them had overcome his Reason - against this; yet _Bishop Smallbroke_, who has written against the - Canonicalness of the _Constitutions_, with his judicious - Animadversions upon this Story, would absolutely have overthrown - their Authority. And what would he have said here? Not only that - the Miracle smells rankly of Forgery and Fraud, or the - _Evangelists_, especially _Matthew_, had never forgotten to record - it; but he would have reminded us of intrinsic Notes (_hereafter to - be mention'd_) of Absurdity, and Incredibility, that would for ever - have cashier'd the Belief of it. And whether we _Infidels_ ought - not to take the same Liberty to criticize on _John_'s Gospel, which - you do on your Apostolical Fathers, who wrote before him, let the - impartial and unprejudiced judge: If in justice we ought to take - it; we are sure we could give two or three notable Reasons (but - that We will not now put Christians out of Temper with them) why - _John_ may be suspected of a Mistake or Fraud in this Miracle, - rather than any other Christian Writer of the _first_ or _second_ - Century." - -To such an unhappy Objection, arising from the unnatural and -preposterous Order of Time, in which they are recorded, are these -three Miracles before us obnoxious. And I am thinking how Ministers of -the Letter will be able to get over it. As for my self, who am for the -mystical Interpretation of these Miracles, I have a solid and -substantial Answer at hand to the foresaid Objection, an Answer that -curiously accounts for the Order of Time in which these Miracles are -related; but my Answer will not please our _Divines_, nor stand them -in any stead; therefore they must look up another good one of their -own, that will comport with the _Letter_; or the said Objection, -improved with another presently against _Lazarus_'s Resurrection, will -be too hard, not for Christianity it self, but for their Ministry. - -_Grotius_, being aware of the foresaid Objection, has given us such -a[282] Solution of it as then occurr'd to his Thoughts. Dr. _Whitby_, -not being satisfied with _Grotius_'s Solution, has given us[283] -another: But how weak and insufficient both their Solutions are, I -will not spare Time to consider, till some _Writer_ shall appear in -Defence of the Sufficiency and Strength of one or other of them. And -so I pass to a - -2. Second Observation, by Way of Objection to the _Letter_ of these -Miracles, and that is, by enquiring, what became of these three -Persons after their Resurrection? How long did they live afterwards? -And of what Use and Advantage were their restored Lives to the Church -or to Mankind? The Evangelical and Ecclesiastical History is entirely -silent as to these Questions, which is enough to make us suspect their -Stories to be merely romantick or parabolical; and that there were no -such Persons rais'd from the dead; or we must have heard somewhat of -their Station and Conversation in the World afterwards. It's true, -that _Ephiphanius_[284] says, what he found among Traditions, that -_Lazarus_ lived thirty Years after his Resurrection: But how did he -spend his Time all that while? Was it to the Honour of _Jesus_, to the -Service of the Church, and Propagation of the Gospel? Of that we know -nothing; tho' in Reason and Gratitude to _Jesus_, his Benefactor, it -ought to have been so spent; and if it had been so employ'd, History -surely would have inform'd us of it. According to the Opinion of -_Grotius_, in a Citation above, _Lazarus_ for the rest of his restored -Life absconded, and skull'd about the Country for Fear of the _Jews_, -who lay in Wait for him; which is a Suggestion, not only dishonourable -to _Jesus_, as if the same Power, that rais'd him from the dead, could -not protect him against his Enemies; but reproachful to _Lazarus_ -himself, who should have chosen to suffer Death again, rather than not -bear an open Testimony to _Jesus_, the Author of his Resurrection. -However it was, we hear no more of _Lazarus_, than that he lived -thirty Years afterwards, which Tradition, without other Memorials of -his Life, brings the Miracle more under suspicion of Fable, than if he -had dy'd soon after it. And of _Jairus_'s Daughter, and of the Widow -of _Naim_'s Son, which is astonishing, we read nothing at all. Does -not this Silence in History about them, make their Miracles -questionable, and but like _Gulliverian_ Tales of Persons and Things, -that out of the Romance, never had any Being. - -_Jesus_ did but[285] _call a little Child, and set him in the midst_ -of his Disciples; and that Act was remember'd in the Piety and -Zeal[286] of _Ignatius_, who made a renown'd Bishop. But the Favour -and Blessing conferr'd on these three rais'd Persons was exceedingly -greater; and one might have expected, that _Lazarus_ and the Widow's -Son would have been eminent Ministers of the Gospel. But instead of -that, their Lives afterwards were pass'd in Obscurity, or, what's as -bad, Ecclesiastical History has neglected a Report of them. What can -any one hereupon think less, than that the Favour of the Miracles was -lost on undeserving Persons, which I abhor the Thoughts of; or that -their Stories are but Parables, which I rather incline to. - -Ministers of the _Letter_ may here say, "That the Ecclesiastical History -of the Apostolical Age is very scanty; and that many Memorials of other -Persons and Transactions are lost and buried in Oblivion: Which unhappy -Fate has attended the after-Lives and Actions of these rais'd Persons, -or undoubtedly we should have had a famous Record of them." This is not -impossible; tho' in the Wisdom of Providence it is hardly probable, but -that some more Remembrance must have been left of one or other, if not -of all the three Persons; in as much as such a Remembrance of them would -now-a-days have no less gain'd a Belief of the Miracles, than this -Historical Silence tends to the Discredit of them. - -It's somewhat strange, that we hear no more of the after-Fame and Life -of any of the diseased Persons, whom _Jesus_ miraculously cured; -excepting of the Woman, heal'd of an Issue of Blood; who, tho' she -_spent_ ALL _she had, even_ ALL _her Living_ upon _Physicians_; yet -out of the Remains of it erected, says[287] _Eusebius_, at _Cæsarea -Philippi_, two most costly Statues of Brass, to the Memory of _Jesus_ -and of herself, and of the Miracle wrought by him; which Dr. -_Whitby_[288] as if he was tainted with Infidelity, endeavours to make -an idle Tale of. But excepting, I say this Story of this Woman, we -hear nothing of any other heal'd Person; which is Matter of some -Speculation: But that the Persons rais'd from the dead should not at -all be mention'd in History for their Labours and Lives afterwards to -the Honour of _Jesus_, is absolutely unaccountable. Whether such a -profound Silence in History about them be not shocking of the Credit -of the Miracles, let our _Divines_ consider. I am of Opinion that if -_Jesus_ really rais'd these Persons from the dead; this and no other -Reason, in the Providence of God, can be given for the Silence of -Ecclesiastical History about them afterwards, than to make -_dead-letter'd_ Stories of their Miracles, in order to turn our Heads -entirely to the Consideration of their mystical Signification, without -which the _Letter_, for the Argument before us, is deserving of no -Regard nor Credit. But - -3. By way of Objection to the _Letter_ of these three Miracles, let us -consider the Condition of the Persons rais'd from the dead; and -whether they were at all proper Persons for _Jesus_ to work such a -Miracle upon, in Testimony of his divine Power. If they were improper -Persons according to the _Letter_, it's not credible that He, who was -the Wisdom of God, would raise them; or if he did, it was because they -were the properest to make mystical Emblems of their Stories. - -That _Jesus_ ought to have rais'd all that dy'd, where-ever he came, -during the Time of his Ministry, none, I presume, can hold. Two or three -Instances of his almighty and miraculous Power of this Kind will be -allow'd to be sufficient: But then they must be wisely and judiciously -made Choice of, out of a vast Number of Persons, that must needs die in -that Time. Where then was his Wisdom and Prudence to chuse these three -Persons above others to that Honour? Why were all of them, or indeed any -one of them preferr'd to other Persons of a different Age and Condition -in the World? Nay, if the _Letter_ of their Stories is only to be -regarded, were not all these three Persons almost the improperest and -most unfit of any for _Jesus_ to exercise that Power on? - -_Jairus_'s Daughter was an insignificant _Girl_ of twelve Years old: And -there could be no Reason for raising her, but to wipe sorrow from the -Hearts, and Tears from the Eyes of her Parents, who ought to have been -better Philosophers, than immoderately to grieve for her. And was here a -good Reason for _Jesus_ to interpose with his Almighty Power? No -certainly; a Lecture of Patience and Resignation this Case had been -enough. And tho' _Jesus_ could raise her from the dead; yet for as much -as that Favour was to be conferr'd but on a few; and his Miracles ought -to be useful as well as conspicuous, she should have been pass'd by, as -an improper Object of his Power, in Comparison of many others, presently -to be named. If therefore a better Reason, than what's discernible in -the _Letter_, is not to be fetch'd from the Mystery; I can't suppose -that _Jesus_, the Wisdom of God would raise this _Girl_; but that the -modern Belief of her Resuscitation, exclusive of the mystical -Signification, is, as shall be by and by argued, altogether groundless. - -The Widow of _Naim_'s Son too was but a [Greek: neaniskos] _Youth_, -and whether any thing older than the _Girl_ above is doubtful; but his -Life certainly was of no more Importance to the World after, than -before his Resurrection. And why was he then one of the _three_ to be -rais'd from the dead? Why had he this Honour done him, before others -of greater Age, Worth, and Use to Mankind? Some will say, for the -Comfort or his sorrowful Mother. And is this Reason sufficient? A -Discourse on the Pleasures of _Abraham_'s Bosom, where she would e'er -long meet her Son, had been enough to chear her Heart. If therefore -the Fathers don't help me to a solid mystical Reason, why the Son and -_only Son_ of a Widow was to be rais'd by _Jesus_, as they were -carrying him to his Burial, I'll not believe, He would raise this dead -_Boy_ rather than many others, for the Manifestation of his Power; but -that the Story of his Resurrection, as shall soon be reasonably -proved, was all Sham and Cheat. - -_Lazarus_ indeed was _Jesus_'s Friend, whom he Loved; and as I will -not question but _Jesus_'s Affection was wisely and deservedly placed -on him; so here, to Appearance, was a better Reason for the raising of -him, than of either of the other Two. But even this Reason, supposing -_Jesus_ was to raise but three Persons, is not sufficient against the -Cases of many others, that may be put for the Manifestation of his -Power, for the Illustration of his Wisdom and Goodness, and for the -Conversion of Unbelievers: Consequently, if this Story of _Lazarus_ be -not parabolical, the litteral Fact is disputable, and obnoxious to -such Exceptions presently to be observed against it, as will not be -easily got over. - -_Jesus_ rais'd the dead, and wrought other Miracles, say our _Divines_ -often, not only to manifest his own Power and Glory, but his Love to -Mankind, and his Inclination to do them good: For which Reason his -Miracles are useful and beneficial as well as stupendous and -supernatural Acts, on purpose to conciliate Men's Affections as well -as their Faith to him. On this Topick our _Divines_ are copious and -rhetorical, when they write on _Jesus_'s Miracles, as if no more -useful and wonderful Works could be done, than what he did. And I do -agree with them, that (what Reason bespeaks) the Miracles of a -pretended Author of Religion ought to be both as useful and great as -well as could be. But such were not _Jesus_'s Miracles according to -_Letter_, and least of all his Acts of raising the dead. For if we -consider the Persons rais'd by him, we shall find, he could hardly -have exerted his Power on any of less Importance to the World, both -before and after their Resurrection. A young _Girl_ indeed is fitter -to be raised than a decripid old Woman, who by the Course of Nature -was to return to Corruption again, as soon as restored to Life: And a -_Boy_ rather than an infirm old Man for the same Reason: And _Lazarus_ -the Friend of _Jesus_, perhaps, and but perhaps, rather than his -profess'd Enemy. But what are these three Persons in Comparison of -many others of other Circumstances? Instead of a _Boy_, and a _Girl_ -and even of _Lazarus_, who were all of no Consequence to the Publick, -either before or since; I should think, _Jesus_ ought to have rais'd -an useful Magistrate, whose Life had been a common Blessing; an -industrious Merchant, whose Death was a publick Loss; a Father of a -numerous Family, which for a comfortable Subsistance depended on him. -Such dead Objects of _Jesus_'s Power and Compassion could not but -offer themselves, during the Time of his Ministry, and if he meant to -be as useful as he could, in his Miracles, he would have laid hold on -them. If a few Persons only were to be rais'd from the dead, the -foresaid were the properest, whose Resurrection and Return to Life -would have begotten the Applause as well as the Wonder of the World; -would most extensively have spread _Jesus_'s Fame; and would have -gain'd him the Love and Discipleship of all that heard of his being -so great a Benefactor to Mankind. Such Instances of his Power would -have demonstrated him to be a most benign as well as a mighty Agent; -and none in Interest or Prejudice could have open'd their Mouths -against him, especially if the Persons rais'd from the dead were -selected upon the Recommendation of the People of this or that City. -But that an insignificant _Boy_ and a _Girl_, (forsooth!) and the -obscure _Lazarus_, are preferr'd by _Jesus_, to such publick and more -deserving Persons is unaccountable. Their Story therefore, upon this -Argument, savours of Romance and Fraud; and unless the _Mystery_ help -us to, what the _Letter_ can't, a good reason for _Jesus_'s Conduct -here, the Miracles may be hence justly question'd, and the Credibility -of their Report disputed. - -But now I am speaking of the Fitness and Unfitness of deceased Persons -to have this grand Miracle wrought on them; it comes into my Head to -ask, why _Jesus_ rais'd not _John_ the Baptist to Life again? A Person -of greater Merits, and more Worthy of the Favour of _Jesus_ and of -this Miracle, could not be. If _Jesus_ could raise any from the dead -he would surely have raised him; and why did he not? This is a -reasonable Question and an Answer should be thought on for it. Was it -a Thing out of _Jesus_'s Power? Not so; He was Omnipotent, and could -by Force or Persuasion have rescued _John_'s Head out of the Hands of -his Enemies; and the tacking it again to his Body, and the infusing -new Life into him was no more difficult to _Jesus_, than the -Resuscitation of a stinking Carcass. If _Jesus_ had here exerted his -Power, and rais'd his dearest Friend and choicest Minister for the -Preparation, if not Propagation of the Gospel, none could question his -Ability to raise any others, tho' he had rais'd no more. But in as -much as _John_ the _Baptist_, one of his singular Merits and Services -to _Christ_, was overlook'd and neglected by him; and three useless -and insignificant Persons had this Honour done them, the Facts may -reasonably be called into question, and, if the Mysteries don't solve -the Difficulty, their litteral Stories may hence be accounted foolish, -fictitious and fabulous; especially if we consider, - -4. That none of these three rais'd Persons had been long enough dead -to amputate all Doubt of _Jesus_'s miraculous Power in their -Resurrection. As to _Jairus_'s Daughter, she was but newly expired, if -at all dead, when _Jesus_ brought her to Life again. _Jesus_ himself -says, she was but asleep. And according to _Theophanes Cerameus_[289], -and _Theophilact_[290] there is Room to suspect that this _Girl_ was -only [Greek: Katochos] _beside herself_. And it is not impossible, but -the passionate Skreams of the Feminine By-standers might fright her -into Fits, that bore the Appearance of Death; otherwise why did -_Jesus_ turn there inordinate Weepers out of the House, before he -could bring her to her Senses again? And why did he tell her Parents, -that she was only in a sleep, but to Comfort them with the Possibility -of his awakening her out of it? Is not this destructive of the -Miracle, and making no more of it, than what another Man might do? And -is there not some Probability, that here's all of this Story? But -supposing she was really dead, yet for the sake of an indisputable -Miracle in her Resurrection, it must be granted, that she ought to -have been much longer, some Days if not Weeks, dead and buried. - -As to the Widow of _Naim_'s Son, there was somewhat more of the -Appearance of Death in him, than in _Jairus_'s Daughter. He was -carried forth to his Burial, and so may be presumed to be really a -dead Corpse. But might not here be Fraud or Mistake in the Case? -History and common Fame affords Instances of the mistaken Deaths of -Persons, who sometimes have been unfortunately buried alive, and at -other Times happily, by one Means or other, restored to Life: And who -knows but _Jesus_, upon some Information or other, might suspect this -Youth to be in a lethargick State, and had a Mind to try, if by -chafeing, _&c._ he could not do, what successfully he did, bring him -to his Senses again: Or might not a Piece of Fraud be here concerted -between _Jesus_, a subtil Youth, and his Mother and others; and all -the Formalities of a Death and Burial contrived, that _Jesus_, whose -Fame for a Worker of Miracles was to be rais'd, might here have an -Opportunity to make a shew of a grand one. The Mourning of the Widow, -who had her Tears at Command and _Jesus_'s casual meeting of the -Corpse upon the Road, looks like Contrivance to put the better Face -upon the Matter. God forbid, that I should suspect, there was any -Fraud of this Kind here; but of the Possibility of it, none can doubt. -And where there is a Possibility of Fraud, it is Nonsense, and mere -Credulity to talk of a real, certain and stupendous Miracle, -especially where the Juggler and pretended Worker of Miracles has -been detected in some of his other Tricks. All that I have to say here -to this Matter, is, that if _Jesus_ had a Mind to raise the Son of -this Widow, in Testimony of his divine Power, he should have suffer'd -him to have been buried two or three Weeks first; otherwise, if the -Mystery don't account for _Jesus_'s stopping the Bearers of the Corpse -upon the Road, here is too much Room for suspicion of Cheat in the -Letter of the Story. - -_Lazarus_'s Case seems to be the less exceptionable of the three. He -had been buried _four Days_, and supposed to be putrified in the -Opinion of his Sister _Mary_, and of modern Christians: And if so, his -Resuscitation was a most grand and indisputable Miracle. And I could -have wish'd, if I had not loved the _Mystery_ rather than the -_Letter_, that no Cavil and Exception could have been made to it. -Whether _Lazarus_, who was _Jesus_'s Friend and beloved Disciple, -would not come into Measures with his Lord, for the Defence of his -Honour, and Propagation of his Fame, _Infidels_, who take Christianity -for an Imposture, will not question: And whether he would not consent -to be interr'd alive, in a hollow Cave, where there was only a Stone -laid at the Mouth of it, as long as a Man could fast, none of them -will doubt. Four Days was almost too long for a Man to fast without -danger of Health; but if those _four Days_ are number'd according to -the Arithmetick of Jesus's _three Days_ in his Grave, they are -reducible to two Days and three Nights, which Time, if no Victuals -were secretly convey'd with him, a Man might fast in _Lazarus_'s Cave. -As to the _stinking_ of _Lazarus_'s Carcass: that, _Infidels_ will -say, was but the Assertion of his Sister beforehand, like a Prologue -to a Farce. None of the Spectators at his Resurrection say one Word of -his stinking. And as to the Weepings and Lamentations of _Jesus_ and -of _Lazarus_'s Sisters, they will say that was all Sham and -Counterfeit, the better to carry on the Juggle of a feign'd -Resurrection. And what's worst of all, they will say, that tho' -_Jesus_ did call _Lazarus_ forth with a _loud Voice_, as if he had -been as deaf as a dead Man; yet his _Face was bound about with a -Napkin_, so that the Spectators could not discern what was of the -Essence of the Miracle, the Change of his Countenance from a dead to a -live one, which is a plain Sign, that it was all Fraud and Imposture. - -God forbid, that I should have the same sense with _Infidels_, of this -Matter; but to be just to their Suggestions and Imaginations here, I -must needs say, there are some other unhappy Circumstances, presently -to be consider'd, in this Story, which, if they are not emblematical, -make it the most notorious Cheat and Imposture that ever was put upon -Mankind. In the mean Time, from what is here argued, it is plain, that -_Lazarus_ was not so long dead and buried, as that there is no Room to -doubt of the Miracle of his Resurrection. - -Now whether these Arguments against these three Miracles, drawn from -the Shortness of the Time, in which these Persons lay for dead, have -any Force in them, let our _Divines_ consider. If nothing of all this -is in their Opinion affecting of the Credit of the Miracles; yet they -must allow, that _Jesus_, if he could raise the dead, might have made -Choice of other Instances of Persons, more unquestionably dead, who -had lain longer in their Graves, and were in a visible State of -Putrefaction. And if this grand Miracle of raising the dead was to be -wrought by _Jesus_ for the Manifestation of his Glory, and in -Testimony of his Authority; he should have exercised his Power on some -such Persons, nominated by the Magistrates of this or that City, who -with the People should be present at the miraculous Operation, -beholding the putrified Bodies, (without a Napkin before their Faces) -and how they were suddenly enliven'd and invigorated with new Flesh, -after the Similitude of their pristine Form, when in Health and full -Strength. Because that _Jesus_ rais'd not some such Persons to Life, I -must take the Stories of the three Miracles before us to be but -typical of more mysterious Works; or believe them for the Arguments -above to be downright Cheats and Fables. And what is enough to induce -a modern _Divine_ to this Opinion. Is - -5. The Consideration, that none of these rais'd Persons did or could, -after the Return of their Souls to their Bodies, tell any Tales of -their separate Existence otherwise the Evangelists had not been silent -in this main Point, which is of the Essence of Christianity. Are not -our _Divines_ here reduced to an unhappy _Dilemma_, either to deny the -separate Existence of the Soul, or the precedent Deaths of these -rais'd Persons? As Christians, We profess to believe both, which -seemingly are incompatiable; or the Evangelists had made such a -Relation, as their return'd Souls had given of the other World. Was -any Person, in this Age, to be rais'd to Life, that had been any time -dead; the first Thing that his Friends and Acquaintance would enquire -of him, would be to know, where his Soul had been; in what Company; -and how it had fared with him; and Historians would certainly record -his Narrative. The same Curiosity could not but possess People of old, -when these Miracles were wrought; and if the rais'd Persons had told -any Stories of their separate Existance, the Evangelists no less -unquestionally would have reported them, in as much as such a Report -would have been, not only a Confirmation of that Doctrine; which is of -the Essence of our Religion; but an absolute Confutation of the -_Sadducees_ and _Sceptists_ of that Age, and of the _Materialists_ of -this. But this their Silence in this Case is of bad Consequence, -either to the Doctrine of the Soul's Existence in Separation from the -Body, or to these Miracles themselves, since we must hereupon almost -necessarily hold, that these rais'd Persons were not at all dead, or -that their Souls dy'd with them. - -The Author of a Sermon, ascrib'd to St. _Augustin_ tells us[291] that -_Lazarus_ after his Resurrection made a large Report of _Hell_, where -he had been: But as this is a mere Fiction of that Author, without the -least Authority from Scripture; so I presume it will be accounted a -_Blunder_ in him, to suppose the Soul of _Lazarus_, the Friend and -beloved of _Jesus_, was in Hell. The Soul of _Jesus_ indeed, for -Reasons best known to himself, upon his Death, descended into Hell, -when some think he should rather have gone, with the penitent Thief, -into Paradise. But the Thoughts, that any of _Jesus_'s Friends should -go to Hell, I suppose will not be born with; or what will become of -the Preachers of this Age, who would be accounted Men or that -Denomination. And if _Lazarus_'s Soul had been in Paradise, it was -hardly a good Work in _Jesus_ to recall it, for thirty Years -afterwards, to the Miseries and Troubles of this wicked World. I wish -therefore our _Divines_ could determine, where _Lazarus_'s Soul was -for the four Days of his Burial; because I can't possibly conceive any -thing else, than that he was not really dead, or that his Soul dy'd -with him, or went to a bad place, otherwise after his Resurrection he -had never absconded for fear of the _Jews_, as if he was unwilling to -die again, and return to the Place from whence he came. - -But however it was with the Souls of these rais'd Persons before their -Re-union to their Bodies, here is another Difficulty and Objection -against these Miracles; and how will our _Divines_ get over it? -Perhaps they may say, that tho' these rais'd Persons were before -really dead; yet their Souls were not as yet gone to their Places -prepared of God for them, but continued hovering about their Bodies, -like the Flame about the Snuff of a Candle, with desires - - ----_iterumq; reverti - Corpora_---- - -to be again rejoin'd to them. And withall my Heart let this Answer pass, -if our _Divines_ and _Infidels_ can so agree upon it. As for my own -Opinion, it is this, that these Miracles of _Jesus_ are Parables, and -that it was beside the Purpose of the Parable, and of the _Evangelists_ -to say any thing of the Place and State of the Soul upon its Separation -from the Body; otherwise the Letter of their Stories is manifestly -obnoxious to the Objection above, or the Deaths of these pretended -rais'd Persons, upon Christian Principles, are questionable. But - -6. And lastly, Let us consider the intrinsick Absurdities and -Incredibilities of the several Stories of these three Miracles. And -such Absurdities shall we find in them, that, if they had been -intended as Testimonies of _Jesus_'s divine Power, had never been -inserted in their Narratives. - -As to _Jairus_'s Daughter, and her Resurrection from the dead, St. -_Hilary_[292] hints, that there was no such Person as _Jairus_ whose -Name was fictitious, and coin'd with a spiritual Signification for the -Use of the Parable; and he gives this Reason, and a good Reason it is, -why he thought so, because it is elsewhere[293] intimated in the -Gospel, that none of the Rulers of the Synagogues confessedly believed -on _Jesus_. Is not here then a stumbling-Block at the Threshold of the -Letter of this Story? But why did _Jesus_ say, this Girl was but in a -Sleep? If he was going to work a Miracle in her Resuscitation, he -should not have call'd Death, _Sleep_; but if others had been of a -contrary Opinion, he should first have convinced them of the Certainty -of her Death, before he did the great Work on her. And why did he -charge the Parents of the Girl not to speak of the Miracle? If he -meant it as Testimony of his divine Power, he should rather have -exhorted them, in justice to himself to publish it, and make it well -known. And why, as St. _Ambrose_[294] puts the Question, did he turn -the People out of the House, before he would raise her? The more -Witnesses are present at a Miracle, the better it is attested, and the -more readily believed by others; and who should be present at the -Miracle rather than those who were incredulous of _Jesus_'s divine -Power? Are not all these Circumstances, so many _Absurdities_, which, -if they are not to be accounted for in the _Mystery_, are so far -destructive of the _Letter_, as that it is Nonsense and Folly in our -_Divines_ to talk of a Miracle here, against _Jesus_'s express Word -and Prohibition to the contrary. - -As to the Story of the Widow of _Naim_'s Son, excepting what is before -observed of the shortness of the Time, in which he lay dead, and of -the Unfitness of his Person to be rais'd before an Husband and Father -of a Family, to the Comfort of his Wife and Children, (which are -enough to overthrow the Credulity of the Miracle) I have here no more -Fault to find in the Letter of it. - -But the long Story of _Lazarus_ is so brimful of Absurdities, that, if -the Letter alone is to be regarded; St. _John_, who was then above a -hundred, when he wrote it, had lived beyond his Reason and Senses, or -he could not have committed them. - -I have not Room here to make Remarks on all these Absurdities, which -would be the Work of a Volume; but shall single out three or four of -them at present, reserving the rest for another Opportunity, when the -whole Story of this Miracle will appear to be such a Contexture of -Folly and Fraud in its Contrivance, Execution, and Relation, as is not -to be equall'd in all Romantick History; and our _Divines_ will find -themselves so distress'd upon the Dissection and Display of it, as -that they must of Necessity allow this Story to be but a Parable; or, -what's most grievous to think on, give up their Religion upon it. - -_First_ then, observe that _Jesus_ is said to have _wept_ and -_groan'd_ for the Death of _Lazarus_: But why so, says[295] St. -_Basil_? Was not this an _Absurdity_ to weep at all for the Death of -him, whom he could, and was about to recover to Life again? Another -Man may as reasonably grieve for the Absence of his Friend, whose -Company and Presence he can retrieve in an Instant, as that _Jesus_ -should shed Tears for _Lazarus_ in this Case. If _Jesus_ could not or -would not raise him from the dead, he ought not, as a Philosopher, who -knows Man is born to die, to betray so much Weakness as to weep for -him. Patience and Resignation unto God upon the Death of our dearest -Friends and Relations is what all Philosophers have rightly taught; -and _Jesus_, one would think, should have been the most Heroical -Example of these Graces; and how came he to fail of it here? A Stoical -Apathy had better became him than such childish and effeminate Grief, -which not only makes him a mean and poor-spirited Mortal; but is a -gross _Absurdity_ and _Incredibility_ upon Consideration of his Will -and Power to fetch _Lazarus_ to Life again. If there be not, -according to the Fathers, Mystery in these Tears of _Jesus_, they are -a foolish and unnatural Prelude to a Farce, he was acting in the -pretended Resuscitation of _Lazarus_. - -Some antient Catholicks, not being apprised of the Mystery, were so -offended at these Words, _Jesus wept_, that, as _Epiphanius_[296] -says, they expung'd them out of their Bibles; and I wonder, they have -not, before now, disturb'd the Faith of Ministers of the Letter, to -the utter Rejection of the Miracle. - -_Secondly_, Observe that _John_ says, it was with _a loud Voice_, that -_Jesus_ call'd _Lazarus_ forth out of his Cave. And why, I pray, a -louder Voice than ordinary? Was dead _Lazarus_ deafer than _Jairus_'s -Daughter, or the Widow's Son? Or was his Soul at so great a Distance -from his Body, as he could not hear a still and low Voice? Some such -silly Reason as _this_ must be given for this _loud Voice_ here; but -how absurd it is according to the Letter, Infidels will judge, till -Christians can assign a better. The dead can hear the Whisper of the -Almighty, if Power go along with it, as soon as the Sound of a -Trumpet. St. _John_ then should not have written of a _loud Voice_, -unless he meant to adapt his Story to the Capacities and Conceptions -of the Vulgar, who have no Apprehensions of God's Power, out of -sensible and human Representations of it. - -_Thirdly_, Because that a Miracle should be well guarded against all -Suspicion of Fraud, I was thinking to make it an _Absurdity_, that the -Napkin, before _Jesus_ rais'd _Lazarus_, was not taken from his Face, -that the Spectators might behold his mortified Looks, and the miraculous -Change of his Countenance from Death unto Life. What _Infidels_ think of -this Circumstance I know not: I hope it is not with them a Token of -Fraud and Imposture; tho' I must needs say, that if the Fathers did not -let me in to the Mystery of the Napkin about _Lazarus_'s Face when -_Jesus_ call'd him forth, I should not my self like it. - -_Fourthly_, and lastly, Observe, St. _John_ says, v. 45. that _many of -the Jews, who had seen the Things that Jesus did_ here; _believed on -him_; and _some of them_, v. 46. who did not believe, _went their Ways -to the Pharisees and told them what Things Jesus had done_ in this -pretended Miracle, and how the Business was transacted: Whereupon the -Chief Priests and Pharisees were so far incens'd as v. 53. _from that -Day forth they took Council together to put him to Death_; and Ch. -xii. 10. _consulted, that they might put_ Lazarus _also to Death_. -Jesus _therefore_ (and his Disciples and _Lazarus_ fled for it, for -they) v. 54. _walk'd no more openly among the Jews_, but _went thence -into a Country near to the Wilderness_ (a convenient hiding Place) -_and there continued with his Disciples_; otherwise in all Probability -they had been all sacrificed. - -I dare not argue upon these Circumstances, neither would I, for the -Honour of _Jesus_ have mention'd them; but that my old Friend, the -Jewish _Rabbi_, who help'd me to the Satirical Invective against -_Jesus_'s Miracle of _turning Water into Wine_, has hence form'd an -Objection against _Lazarus_'s Resurrection, and sent me a _Letter_ -upon it, desiring me to publish it, and exhort the _Clergy_ to answer -it; otherwise he would clandestinely hand it about to the Prejudice of -our Religion: Whereupon I, rather than Christianity should so suffer, -do here publish it, and it is as follows. - - "_Sr._ When we last discours'd on _Jesus_'s Miracles, I promised to - send you my Thoughts on _Lazarus_'s Resurrection, which I look upon - as a notorious Imposture, and for the Proof of it, need go no - farther, than to the Circumstances of its Story, which your - _Evangelist_ has related. - - "If there had been an indisputable Miracle wrought in _Lazarus_'s - Resurrection; why were the _Chief-Priests_ and _Pharisees_ so - incens'd upon it, as _to take Council to put both Jesus_ and - _Lazarus_ to _Death for it_? Where was the Provocation? I can - conceive none. Tho' the _Jews_ were ever so canker'd with Malice - and Hatred to _Jesus_ before; yet such a most stupendous Miracle - was enough to stop their Mouths, and turn their Hearts: Or if their - Prejudices against _Jesus_ were insuperable, and they hated him but - the more for the Number and Greatness of his Miracles; yet why is - poor _Lazarus_, inoffensive _Lazarus_, upon whom this good and - great Work was wrought, an Object of their Hatred too? Your - _Divines_ are to give a credible and probable Account of this - Matter, such a one as will comport with Reason and Sense; or we - shall conclude, that it was _Fraud_, detected in this pretended - Miracle, which justly provok'd the Indignation of our Ancestors. - - "To say, what is all you can say, that it was downright Inhumanity, - Barbarity and Brutality in the _Jews_ to hate _Lazarus_ as well as - _Jesus_, will not do here. Tho' this may pass with many Christians, - who are ready to swallow, without chewing, any evil Reports of our - Nation; yet it can't go down with reasonable and unprejudic'd Men, - who must have other Conceptions of human Nature in all Ages and - Nations, than to think it possible, that a Man, in _Lazarus_'s - Case, can be hated and persecuted for having had such a good and - wonderful Work done on him. And why then was he hated and - persecuted? I say, for this, and no other Reason, than because he - was a Confederate with _Jesus_ in the wicked Imposture, he was - putting upon Mankind. - - "But supposing, what is never to be granted, that the _Jews_ of old - were so inhuman, brutish, and barbarous as to hate and persecute - _Lazarus_ as well as _Jesus_ for this Miracle; yet why did _Jesus_ - and his Disciples, with _Lazarus_, run away and abscond upon it? - for they v. 54. _walk'd no more openly among the_ Jews, _but went - thence into a Country near to the Wilderness, and there_ Jesus - _continued with his Disciples_. Is not here a plain Sign of Guilt - and of Fraud? Men, that have God's Cause, Truth and Power on their - Side, never want Courage and Resolution to stand to it. And - however your Christian _Priests_ may palliate the cowardly and - timerous Conduct of _Jesus_ and his Confederates in this Case; yet - with me, it's like Demonstration, that there was a discover'd Cheat - in the Miracle, or they would undauntedly have faced their Enemies, - without Fears And Apprehensions of Danger from them. - - "Our Ancestors then, who unquestionably detected the Fraud, were in - the right on't to prosecute with Severity, the whole Party - concern'd in it: And if they had aveng'd the Wickedness of it upon - _Lazarus_ as well as they did upon _Jesus_, I should have commended - them for it. Whether such a monstrous Imposture, as was this - pretended Miracle, happily discover'd does not call aloud for - Vengeance and most exemplary Punishment; and whether any Nation of - the World would suffer the like with Impunity, let any Man judge. - - "For all the Reports of your Gospels, it is unnatural to hate a - miraculous Healer of Diseases; and there must be somewhat supprest - about the Inveteracy of the _Jews_ to _Jesus_, or his healing - Power, if it was so great as is imagined, must have reconciled them - to him: But that they should hate not only _Jesus_ for raising the - dead, but the Person rais'd by him, is improbable, incredible, and - impossible. - - "If Historians can parallel this Story of the Malignity of the - _Jews_ towards _Jesus_ and _Lazarus_ upon such a real Miracle, with - any Thing equally barbarous and inhuman, in any other Sect or - Nation; we will acknowledge the Truth of it against our ancient - Nation: Or if such Inhumanity, abstractedly consider'd, be at all - agreeable to the Conceptions any one can form of Human Nature in - the most uncivilis'd and brutish People, we will allow our - Ancestors, in this Case, to have been that People. - - "Was such a real and indisputable Miracle, as this of _Lazarus_ is - supposed, to be wrought at this day in Confirmation of - Christianity, I dare say, it would bring all us _Jews_, to a Man, - into the Belief of it: And I don't think it possible, for any - People to be so begotten, byass'd, and prejudiced, as not to be - wrought on by it. Or if they would not part with their Interests - and Prejudices upon it, they would have more Wit and Temper, than - to break forth into a Rage against all or any of the Persons - concern'd in it. And, for my Life, I can entertain no worse - Thoughts of our old Nation. - - "Supposing God should send an Ambassador at this day, who, to - convince Christians of the Mischiefs and Inconvenience of an - _Hireling Priesthood_, should work such a Miracle as was this of - _Lazarus_'s Resurrection, in the Presence of a multitude of - Spectators; how would your _Bishops_ and _Clergy_ behave themselves - upon it? Why, they would be as mute as Fishes; or if they did fret - and grieve inwardly for the Loss of their Interests; yet they would - have more Prudence (ask them else,) than to show their Anger - openly, and persecute both _Agent_ and _Patient_ for it. Wherefore - then are they so censorious and uncharitable as to preach and - believe another Notion and Doctrine of our Ancestors? - - "But if a false Prophet, for the subversion of an _Hireling - Priesthood_, should, in spite to the _Clergy_, counterfeit such a - Miracle, and be detected in the Operation; how then would Priests - and People, Magistrates and Subjects behave upon it? Why, they - would be full of Indignation, and _from that day forth would take - Council to put_ the Impostor and his Confederate to Death, of which - they would be most deserving; and if they did not abscond and fly - for it, like _Jesu_ and his Disciples _to a Wilderness in the - Country_ to hide themselves, the Rage of the Populace would hardly - wait the Leisure of Justice to dispatch and make terrible Examples - of them. Was not this exactly the Case of _Jesus_'s Imposture in - the Resurrection of _Lazarus_; and of the Punishment he was - threaten'd with, and afterwards most justly underwent for it? - - "Mankind may be in some Cases very obdurate, and so hard of Belief, - as to stand it out against Sense, Reason and Demonstration: But I - will not think worse of our Ancestors than of the rest of Mankind; - or that they any more than others would have withstood a clear and - indisputable Miracle in _Lazarus_'s Resuscitation. Such a manifest - Miracle, let it be wrought for what End and Purpose, we can - possibly imagine, would strike Men with Awe and Reverence; and none - could hate and persecute the Author of the Miracle; least He who - could raise the dead, should exert his Power against themselves, - and either wound or smite them dead with it. For which Reason, the - Resurrection of _Lazarus_, on the certain Knowledge of our - Ancestors, was all Fraud, or they would have reverenc'd and adored - the Power of him, that did it. - - "It may be true, what _John_ says, that _many of the Jews, who had - seen the Things that Jesus did, believed on him_, that is, believed - that he had wrought here a great Miracle: But who were these? the - ignorant and credulous, whom a much less _juggler_ than Mr. - _Fawkes_ could easily impos'd on. But on the other hand, it is - certain, according to _Christian Commentators_, that _some of them_ - did not believe the Miracle, but _went their ways to the Pharisees - and told them what Things Jesus had done_, that is, told them, - after what manner the Intrigue was managed; and complain'd of the - Fraud in it. How they came to suspect and discover the Fraud, was - not _John_'s Business to relate; and for want of other ancient - Memorials, we can only guess at it. Perhaps they discern'd some - motion in _Lazarus_'s Body, before the Word of Command, to _come - forth_, was given; perhaps they discover'd some Fragments of the - Food, that for _four days_ in the Cave, he had subsisted on. But - however this was, they could not but take Notice of the _Napkin - about his Face_ all the while; which _Jesus_, to prevent all - suspicion of Cheat, should have first order'd to be taken off, that - his mortify'd Countenance might be view'd, before the miraculous - Change of it to Life was wrought. This neglect in _Jesus_ (which I - wonder _John_ had no more Wit than to hint at) will be a lasting - Objection to the Miracle. _Jesus_ was wiser, than not to be aware - of the Objection, which he would have obviated, if he durst, by a - Removal of the Napkin, to the satisfaction of all Spectators there - present. Because this was not done, we _Jews_ now deny, there was - any Miracle wrought; and, whether our Unbelief upon this - Circumstance be not well grounded, we appeal to Christian Priests - themselves, who must own, that if there was a Miracle here, the - Matter was ill conducted by _Jesus_, or foolishly related by his - _Evangelist_." - - "It is a sad Misfortune, that attends our modern enquiry after - Truth, that there are no other Memorials extant of the Life and - Miracles of _Jesus_, than what are written by his own Disciples. - Not only old Time has devour'd, but Christians themselves, (which - in the Opinion of the impartial makes for us) when they got Power - into their Hands, wilfully destroy'd many Writings of our - Ancestors, as well as of _Celsus_ and _Porphiry_ and others, which - they could not answer; otherwise I doubt not but they would have - given us clear Light into a the Imposture of _Lazarus_'s - Resurrection: But if _Jesus_, according to his own _Evangelists_, - was arraign'd for a _Deceiver_ and _Blasphemer_, in pretending to - the Sonship and Power of God by his Miracles; in all Probability - this Piece of Fraud in _Lazarus_ was one Article of the Indictment - against him; and what makes it very likely, is that the _Chief - Priests_ and _Pharisees_, from the Date of this pretended Miracle, - _took Council together to put him to Death_, not clandestinely or - tumultuously to murder him, but judicially to punish him with - Death, which, if they proved their Indictment by credible and - sufficient Witnesses, he was most worthy of. - - "As it is plain from the Story in _John_, that there was a Dispute - among the By-standers at _Lazarus_'s Resurrection, whether it was a - real Miracle or not; so it is the Opinion of us _Jews_, which is of - the Nature of a Tradition, that the _Chief-Priests_ and civil - Magistrates of _Bethany_, for the better Determination of the - Dispute and quieting of the Minds of the People, requir'd that - _Jesus_ should re-act the Miracle upon another Person, there lately - dead and buried. But _Jesus_ declining this Test of his Power, the - whole Multitude of Believers as well as of Unbelievers before, - question'd the Resurrection of _Lazarus_; and were highly incens'd - against both him and _Jesus_ for the Deceit in it. And this was - _one_ Reason among others of that vehement and Universal Outcry and - Demand, at _Jesus_'s Tryal, for his Crucifixion. I'll not answer - for the Certainty of this Tradition or Opinion, but as the - Expedient was obvious, so it has the Face of Truth and Credibility; - and for the Proof of it, I need only appeal to Christian _Priests_ - and _Magistrates_; whether, under a Dispute of a Miracle of that - Consequence, they would not require, for full Satisfaction, it - should be acted over again; and, if the _Juggler_ refused, whether - there would not be a general Clamour of People of all Ranks for his - _Execution_. - - "_Matthew_, _Mark_ and _Luke_, who knew as much of this - Sham-Miracle as _John_, had not the Confidence to report it; - because, when they wrote, many Eye-Witnesses of the Fraud were - alive to disprove and contradict them; therefore they confined - their Narratives to _Jesus_'s less juggling Tricks, that had pass'd - more current: But after the _Jewish_ State was dissolved, their - judicial Records were destroy'd, and every Body dead that could - confute him, _John_ ventures abroad the Story of this Miracle; and - if the good Providence of God had not infatuated him, in the - Insertion of the Circumstances here observed, it might have pass'd - through all Generations to come, as well as it has done for many - past, for a grand Miracle. - - "Thus, _Sir_, have you a few of my Thoughts on the pretended - Miracle of _Lazarus_'s Resurrection. I have more to bestow on it, - but that I would not be tedious. There's no need to argue against - the other two Resurrection-Stories. You know _omne majus includit - minus_, and if the greatest of the three Miracles be an Imposture, - the two less ones of Consequence are Artifice and Fraud. And rather - than the Miracle of _Lazarus_ shall stand its Ground, I'll have - t'other Bout at it from some other Circumstances; the Consideration - of which will make it as foolish and wicked an Imposture, as ever - was contrived and transacted in the World; such a _wicked - Imposture_ of most pernicious Consequence to the Welfare of the - Publick, that it is no Wonder, the People, by an unanimous Voice, - call'd for the Releasement of _Barabbas_, a Robber and Murderer, - before _Jesus_. I don't suppose these Arguments against this - Miracle will be convincing of your Christian _Clergy_, who are - hired to the Belief of it. But however, a _Bishop_ of many - _thousands_ a Year to believe, can't in Conscience deny, that the - Arguments above are a sufficient Justification of our _Jewish_ - Disbelief of it. - - "If you, Sir, should write a Discourse gainst the Letter of the - Story of _Jesus_'s Resurrection, I beg of you to accept of a few of - my Conceptions on that Head, which, I promise you, shall be out of - the common Road of thinking. Your _Divines_ think they have - exhausted that Subject, and absolutely confuted all Objections that - can be made against it, but are much mistaken. Sometimes we _Jews_ - dip into their Writings on this Head, and always smile with - Indignation at their foolish Invectives against the Blindness of - the Eyes, and Hardness of the Hearts of our Ancestors. If they - would but favour us with a Liberty to write for our selves, a - reasonable Liberty, which in this Philosophical Age we don't - despair of, especially under so wise just and good a Civil - Administration, as this Nation is happily bless'd with, we would - cut them out some more Work, which they are not aware of. In the - mean Time I am your assured Friend," - - _N.N._ - -So ends the Letter of my Friend, the _Jewish Rabbi_, which consists of -_calm_ and _sedate_ Reasoning, or I would not have publish'd it; for I -am resolv'd he shall no more impose upon me with his ludicrous and -bantering Stuff, like his Satirical Invective against _Jesus_'s -Miracle of _turning Water into Wine_, so offensive to our Godly -_Bishops_. And because it consists of _calm_ and _sedate_ Reasoning, -which _Bishop Smalbroke_ allows of, I hope his _Lordship_ will take it -into Consideration, and write an Answer to it, which I, without the -Help of the Mystery, can't do. - -If the foresaid _Letter_ be offensive to our _Clergy_, who don't judge -it meet that the _Jews_ should take this Liberty to write against the -Miracles of our Saviour, and in Vindication of their own disbelief of -Christianity, I beg of them, for the Love of _Jesus_, not to let their -Displeasure be visibly seen; because the _Jews_ will then laugh in their -Sleeves, and perhaps openly insult and triumph upon it: But if they will -privately acquaint me with their Displeasure at it, I'll promise them -to hold no more Correspondence with such _Jewish Rabbies_; neither will -I ever hereafter publish any other Objections against _Christ_'s -Religion and Miracles, than what come from the _Hotentots_ and -_Pawawers_: and then it will be strange, if our dignified _Clergy_, of -most grave and demure Looks, can't solidly confute the worst, that such -ignorant and illiterate People can urge against them. - -And thus have I done with my Objections against the Letter of these -three Miracles. If our _Divines_ shall think there is little or -nothing of Force in them; then an Answer, which I should be glad to -see, may the more easily be made to them. As for my part, without -being conceited of the Acuteness and Strength of any of the -Objections, I think it impossible satisfactorily to reply to them, -without having Recourse to the Opinions of the Fathers, that these -three Miracles, whether they were ever litterally transacted or not, -are now but emblematical Representations of mysterious and more -wonderful Operations to be perform'd by _Jesus_. - -To the Fathers then let us go for their mystical Interpretation of -these Miracles. St. _Augustin_, in his Introduction to a Sermon on the -Widow of _Naim_'s Son, says[297] thus, "There are some so silly as to -stand amazed at the corporal Miracles of _Jesus_, and have no -Consideration of his greater and spiritual Miracles, signified by -them: but others who are wiser can hear of the Things that _Jesus_ did -on Men's Bodys, without being astonish'd at them, chusing rather to -contemplate with Admiration his more wonderful Works on Men's Souls; -after the similitude of bodily Miracles. And these are the Christians -that conform their Studies to the Will of our Lord; who would have his -corporal Miracles, spiritually interpreted: For He wrought not -Miracles in the Flesh, for the sake of such Miracles abstractedly -consider'd; but that, if they were surprising to some Mens Senses, -they should be more astonishing to the Understanding of others, who -apprehend the spiritual Meaning of them. And they who by Contemplation -can attain to the mystical Signification of _Jesus_'s Miracles, are -the best Scholars and most learn'd Disciples in his Church and School. -And, (_speaking of the Absurdity of Jesus's cursing the Figtree -according to the Letter_) presently after says, that this he observ'd, -that he might persuade his Hearers to think, that our Lord _Jesus_ -therefore wrought Miracles, that he might signify somewhat by them, -which he would have his Disciples to learn and consider of. Come now, -_says he_, and let us see what we are mistically and spiritually to -understand by the Stories of the three Persons rais'd from the dead." - -There are two Ways, that the Fathers took in the moral and mystical -Interpretation of these Miracles: One was from the Number _three_, and -their Difference in Magnitude. According to which they said with St. -_Augustin_[298] that these three sorts of dead Persons, so rais'd to -Life, are Figures of three sorts of Sinners, whom _Jesus_ raiseth from -the death of Sin to the Life of Righteousness. They who have conceiv'd -Sin in their Hearts, and have not brought it forth into Act; are -figured by _Jairus_'s Daughter, who lay dead in the House of her -Father, and was not taken forth to her Burial. Others, who after -Cogitation and Consent, pass into actual Sin are figured by the Young -Man, carried towards his Grave. But those Sinners, who are habituated -and long accustom'd to Sin, are like _Lazarus_ bury'd, and in a -stinking Condition under the Corruption of it; whom _Jesus_, for all -that, with the _loud Voice_ of the Prædication of his Gospel, will -call forth out of the Death and Grave of their Sins to a new Life. So -does St. _Augustin_ make these three dead Persons and their -Resurrections, Emblems of the said three Sorts of Sinners, who are -dead in Trespasses and Sins, and by the Power of _Jesus_ quicken'd to -a Life of Righteousness. And to this Opinion of St. _Augustin_, do St. -_Ambrose_, _Eusebius Gallicanus_, and Venerable _Bede_ agree. And -according to this Notion of these Miracles they descend to a -particular Explication of the several Parts of their Stories. As to -give you two or three Instances. - -The People who were turn'd out of the House, upon the raising of -_Jairus_'s Daughter, which is an _Absurdity_ according to the _Letter_ -are, says[299] _Bede_, a Multitude of wordly and wicked Thoughts, -which, except they are excluded from the Secrets of the Heart, are a -Hindrance of the Resurrection of a Sinner to a new Life. - -The Bearers of the Young Man[300] to his Burial are Vices, evil -Spirits, Hæreticks, and Seducers; and the _Widow_, his Mother, to whom -he was restored, is the _Church_, who mourns for the Death of such -Sinners, as are typified by that Young Man. - -_Jesus_'s _weeping_ for dead _Lazarus_, which is an _Absurdity_ -according to the _Letter_, is a Sign[301] of the deplorable State, -that habitual Sinners are in, enough to excite the Sorrows and -Mournings of good Christians, who have the Spirit of _Christ_, for -them. And the Stone that lay at the Grave of _Lazarus_, is[302] a -figure of the Hardness of the Heart of such a Sinner which must be -taken away before _Jesus_ will call him to a new Life. So do the -Fathers moralise and allegorise every Minute Circumstance of these -three Miracles, as any one, who will consult them, may find, and save -me the Trouble of a tedious Recital of their Authorities. - -But the other mystical Way of interpreting these three Miracles is by -making them Types of three great Events at the Time of _Christ_'s -spiritual Advent. Accordingly the raising of _Jairus_'s Daughter is a -Type of the Conversion of the _Jews_ at that Day, as _Eusebius -Gallicanus_[303] and venerable _Bede_[304] and others expound it. By -_Jairus_, the Ruler of a _Synagogue_; is meant _Moses_[305]; and by -his Daughter is to be understood the _Jewish Church_, which, being at -present in a State of Spiritual Death, will be revived and converted -in the Perfection of Time. And to the mystical Resurrection or -Restitution of the _Jewish Synagogue_, call'd _Jairus_'s Daughter, -will _Jesus_ come[306] at the same Time he heals the Woman of the -Church of her Issue of Blood. And this is the Reason that the Stories -of these two Miracles are blended together by the _Evangelists_, with -their synchronical Numbers of the Age of the _Girl_ and of the Disease -of the Woman; because they are Types of that blessed Scene of Affairs -at the Conversion of the _Jews_, when the Fulness of the _Gentiles_ is -come in. Concerning which blessed state of the Church, _Origen_[307] -says, _Jesus_ wrought many Miracles, by Way of Type and Figure. - -Among all the Miracles that _Jesus_ wrought, and are recorded by the -_Evangelists_, I think, as far as I have had Occasion to observe, the -Fathers are most scanty in their Interpretations of that of the Widow -of _Naim_'s Son: Excepting what is before noted of his being a figure of -a Sinner dead in actual, tho' not habitual Sin, I find very little. But -if _Origen_'s Comments on this Miracle had been extant, I dare say he -would have given us this following Interpretation of it. This Widow, he -would have call'd the Church; and her _only Son_ or masculine Offspring, -he would have call'd the _Spiritual Sense_ of the Scriptures, which is -now dead, and that the _Ministers_ of the _Letter_, who are his Bearers, -are for interring him within the _Earth_ of the _Letter_: But _Jesus_, -upon his Spiritual Advent will put a stop to the Intention of such -Bearers, by reviving the _Spiritual Sense_ of the Scriptures; and by -restoring it, like a _quicken'd Son_, to the Comfort of his Mother, the -Church; who has been in a sorrowful and lamentable Condition upon the -Death and Want of it: This, I am sure, would be _Origen_'s -Interpretation of this Miracle, which, if I had Room here, by a little -Circumlocution, I could prove. - -As to _Lazarus_'s Resurrection, it is in the Opinion of the Fathers[308] -a Type of the general and mystical Resurrection of Mankind in the -Perfection of Time. But this is a most copious Subject; and unless I -could here throughly handle it, I had much better say nothing. - -And thus have I done with the three Resurrection Stories. If the -_Convocation_, next Session, would determine by an Orthodox Vote, -whether _Jesus_ rais'd any more, than the said three Persons, from the -dead or not; I would present them with a new and more entertaining Chain -of Thoughts against these Miracles; such a Chain of Thoughts, as, upon -the Conclusion, let them hold which Side of the Question, they please, -will necessarily induce us to hold the mystical Meaning of these -Miracles, or to grant that _Jesus_ rais'd none from the dead at all. - -My next and last _Discourse_ on _Jesus_'s Miracles shall be against -the Letter of the Story of his own Resurrection, in which, if our -_Bishops_ will keep their Temper and Patience, till I publish it, I'll -cut out such a Piece of Work for our _Boylean Lectures_, as shall -hold them tug, so long as the _Ministry_ of the _Letter_ and an -_Hireling Priesthood_ shall last. If _Christ be not risen_, then, -according to the Inference of St. _Paul_, _is their Preaching vain_; -and why should the People be any longer charg'd with the Maintenance -of an ignorant and idle Order of Men, to no Use and Purpose? - -If I had not had Experience of it, I could never have believed that, for -all the ludicrous Nature of these _Discourses_, our _dignified Clergy_ -could have been so foolish or malicious as to prosecute me for an -_Infidel_ and _Blasphemer_ upon them. How a Man may be mistaken in -himself! I took my self for a real Advocate for the Truth of -Christianity; and was so vain as to imagine these Discourses tended to a -Demonstration of _Jesus_'s Messiahship: And tho' the _Bishop_ of -_London_ may be of a contrary Opinion, yet I am still so conceited of my -Ability to defend our Religion, that I'll stake my Life against his -_Bishoprick_, which I'll not be troubled with, if I win it, that he -can't form an Objection against Christianity, which I can't solidly -confute, and make our Readers merry too, with his Weakness and -Impertinence in it. But perhaps it may be unbecoming of his Lordship's -Character, and against the Grain, to make an Objection to that -Religion, which he finds much _temporal_, as well as some _spiritual_ -Comfort in the Profession of; I will therefore descend to another -Proposal, _viz._ If he'll but publish an Answer to the _Jewish Rabbi_'s -Letter in this Discourse, and vouchsafe me the pleasure of a Reply to -him; then (to save the Civil Magistrate's Trouble) I will suffer any -Punishment that in his Clemency he shall think fit to inflict on me, for -what's past. Oh, what a Hazard do I here run of Life or Liberty! - -Some Christians, in my Case, would think it a sad Misfortune to be -odiously represented as an _Infidel_ and _Blasphemer_; but I, in -Temper and Principle, despise such Obloquies, Slanders and -Defamations; and would not give a Rush to remove them, so long as I -had the Answer of a good Conscience that I was undeserving of them: -But considering, that it is the Duty of a Christian to seek the Peace -and Friendship of all about him, and especially of our good _Bishops_, -who, in Compassion to the Danger they think my Soul is in, have taken -zealous and laudable Pains with the _Civil Magistrate_ for my -Conviction and Conversion; I do here, for the sake of a Reconciliation -with their _Lordships_ and other good People, make a formal and -solemn Confession of my Christian Faith, which tho' I don't express in -the Words of the _Apostical_, _Nicene_ or _Athanasian_ Creeds; yet -will do it in such Terms as will be a Demonstration that at the Bottom -I am found as a _Roch_. Be it known then to all Christian People, that - -_Imprimis_, I believe upon the Authority of the Fathers, that the -Ministry of the Letter of the _Old_ and _New_ Testament is downright -_Antichristianism_. - -_Item_, I believe upon the Authority of the Fathers, that the Miracles -of _Jesus_, as they are recorded by the Evangelists, _litterally_ -understood, are the _lying Wonders_ of Antichrist. - -_Item_, I believe upon the Authority of the Fathers, that all opposition -and Contradiction to spiritual and allegorical Interpretations of the -Scripture, is the Sin of _Blasphemy_ against the Holy Ghost. - -_Item_, I believe upon the Authority of the Fathers, that the -_Ministry_ of the _Spirits_ or allegorical Interpretations of the Law -and the Prophets will be the Conversion of _Jews_ and _Gentiles_. - -_Item_, I believe upon the Authority of the Fathers, that the -_Ministry_ of the _Letter_, and an Hireling-Priesthood have been the -Cause of the Infidelity and Apostacy of these latter Times. - -_Item_, I believe upon the Authority of the Fathers, that the Spirit -and Power of _Jesus_ will soon enter the Church and expel -Hireling-Priests, who make Merchandise of the Gospel, out of her, -after the manner he is suppos'd to have driven the _Buyers_ and -_Sellers_ out of the Temple. - -These are a few Articles of that Faith, once deliver'd to the _Saints_ -of the primitive Church, which I firmly believe, and will earnestly -contend for. Now I appeal to the Christian World, whether a Man of -such a Faith, like Heart of Oak, can be an Infidel or Blasphemer. Upon -this ingenuous Confession of my Faith, which I make by way of -Atonement for my past supposed Errors and Offences, I hope the -_Bishops_ and all good Christian People will be reconciled to me. - -St. _James_ says, that _Faith without Works is dead_, and how a Man -ought to show his Faith by his Works, without which Faith is an empty -and airy Nothing. Accordingly I am making what haste I can to show the -Sincerity of my Faith by these my _Works_ and _Discourses_ of this -Kind. And by the Grace of God, I hope our Bishops will find me as -unmoveable as a Rock in the said Faith. - -According to the foresaid Articles of this my Faith, I am so fully -convinced, not only of the Error of the _Ministry_ of the _Letter_, -but of the Mischiefs and Inconveniences of an _Hireling-Priesthood_, -that, having set my Shoulders to the Work, I am resolv'd, by the Help -of God, to endeavour to give _both_ a Lift out of this World. This is -fair and generous Warning to our _Clergy_ to sit fast, and look to -their own Safety, or they may find me a stronger Man than they may be -aware of. And tho' I don't expect long to survive the Accomplishment -of so great and glorious a Work; yet I am delightfully ravish'd and -transported with the Forethought and Contemplation of the Happiness of -Mankind, upon the Extinction of Ecclesiastical _Vermin_, out of God's -House; when the World will return to its _Primogenial_ and -_Paradisaical_ State of Nature, Religion and Liberty; in which we -shall be _all taught of God_, and _have no need_ of a foolish and -contentious Priest, hired to harangue us with his Noise and Nonsense. -Which blessed State of the World God of his infinite Mercy hasten, for -the sake of our Spiritual Messiah, Mediator and Redeemer _Jesus -Christ_. To whom be Glory for ever, _Amen_. - - - ~_FINIS._~ - -[Illustration] - -FOOTNOTES: - -[270] Mat. ix. Mark v. Luke viii. - -[271] Luke vii. - -[272] John xi. - -[273] Quot autem mortuos visibiliter suscitaverat quis novit? non enim -omnia quæ fecit scripta sunt. _Johannes_ hoc dicit, multa alia fecit -Jesus, quæ si scripta essent, arbitror totum Mundum non posse Libros -capere. Multi ergo sunt alii sino dubio suscitati, sed non frustra -tres commemorati. _In Serm._ xcviii. - -[274] John xxi. 25. - -[275] Non autem vacat a Mysterio, quod, cum plures Dominus -suscitaverat, tres tantum Evangelistæ eum suscitasse scripserunt. _In -Homil. Feriæ quintæ post Dominis. 4tam._ - -[276] Suscitaverat Dominus filiam Jairi Principis Synagogæ, sed adhuc -mediante morte, adhuc viante Spiritu, adhuc Anima Claustra Tartari -nesciente. Suscitavit & unicum Matris filium, sed sic ut retineret -Pheretrum, ut anticiparet Sepulchrum, ut Corruptionem suspenderet, & -præveniret fætorem; ut ante mortuo Vitam redderet, quam tota mortuus -jura Mortis intraret. Circa Lazarum vero quod geritur totum singulare -est, quem circa Vis tota Mortis impleta est. _In Pet. Chrysol. Serm._ -lxiii. - -[277] Inter omnia Miracula quæ fecit Dominus noster Jesu Christus, -Lazari Resurrectio præcipue prædicatur. _St. August. in Loc. Johan._ - -[278] Mirum videri potest Historiam hanc tam illustrem a Matthæo & -Marco omissam. _In Loc. Luc._ - -[279] Sed videtur mihi horum uterq; contentus fuisse uno Exemplo -redditæ Vitæ in Jairi filia ex quo similia alia possunt intelligi. _In -Loc. Luc._ - -[280] Nondum perfecta Mors est in Puella. _St. August._ in Serm. xcviii. - -[281] In Epist. prima ad Corinth. Cap. xxv. - -[282] Quæri solet, cur hanc tam nobilem Historiam priores Evangelii -scriptores non attigerint. Mihi hoc succurrit, cum illi scriberent, -vixisse resuscitatum Lazarum, & periculum ei fuisse a judæis, si quod -illi acciderat, palam vulgaretur. Nam etiam mox narratur C. xii. 10, ob -hoc ipsum structas ei insidias. Quare visum illis hoc ad tempus -subticeri posse, cum alia Exempla resuscitatorum suppeterent. At mortuo -Lazaro, cum jam nemini Periculum ex rei Narratione fieri posset, additum -hoc a Johanne in hac quasi prætermissorum Collectione. _In Loc. Johan._ - -[283] The last of the three _Evangelists_ writing but fifteen Years -after our Lord's Ascension, might think it needless so mention a -Miracle concerning a Person, living so near _Jerusalem_, where there -was so great a Fame thereof, and so many living Witnesses. St. _John_, -writing his Gospel, say the Ancients, above sixty Years after our -Lord's Ascension, when by the Deaths of the Person, and most of the -Witnesses that were present at his Resurrection, the Memory and Fame -of it might be much impair'd, had great Reason to perpetuate the -Memory of it, by this large Rehearsal of it. _In Loc. Johan._ - -[284] Quin & illud inter traditiones reperimus triginta tum Annos -natum fuisse Lazarum, cum a mortuis excitatus est; atq; idem ille -postea triginta aliis annis vixit. _In Hæres._ lxvi. _Sect._ 34. - -[285] Matt. xviii. 2. - -[286] In Nicephor. Callist. Eccl. Hist. L. ii. c. 35. - -[287] In Eccl. Hist. L. vii. c. 18. - -[288] In Loc. Matthæi. - -[289] Puellam ex illo Tumultu plangentium stupore correptam esse, non -vero defunctam. _In Homil. de Juri filia._ - -[290] In Loc. Matthæ. - -[291] Atque ut miraculum divinæ Virtutis accresceret, dum Convivis -interrogantibus tristia Loca pænarum, sedesq; alta nocte semper -obscuras, Lazarus indicat diligenti narratione per ordinem. Diu -quæsiti longisq; temporibus ignorati invenerunt tandem Inferi -Proditotem. _In Serm._ cxvi. _Append. St. August._ - -[292] Princeps hic, Lex esse intelligitur, quæ Dominum orat pro Plebe, -quam ipsa Christo prædicata ejus Adventos Expectatione nutriverat, ut -Vitam mortuæ reddat. Nam nullum Principem credidisse legimus, ex quo -Persona hujus principis orantis merito in Typum aptabitur. _In Loc. -Matt._ - -[293] John vii. 48, and xii. 42. - -[294] Quæ tamen tantæ diversitatis Causa? Supra publice Viduce filius -suscitatur, hic removentur plures arbitri. _In Loc. Luc._ - -[295] Qua igitur Ratione, qui tanta hæc erat facturus, id quod evenit, -judicasset merito Lacrymis esse prosequendum? _In Homil. de Gratiarum -Actione._ - -[296] _Lacrymatus est Jesus_, quod aliquando erasum fuisse a -Catholicis quibusdam scribit Epiphanius. Vid. _Drusium in Loc. Johan._ - -[297] Quidam corporalia ejus Miracula stupentes, majora intueri non -norunt. Quidam vero ea, quæ gesta audiunt in Corporibus nunc amplius -in Animis admirantur.----Dominus enim noster Jesus Christus ea quæ -faciebat corporaliter, etiam spiritaliter volebat intelligi; neque -enim Miracula propter Miracula faciebat, sed ut illa quæ faciebat, -mira essent Videntibus, vera essent Intelligentibus.----Alii & facta -mirati & intellecta assecuti. Tales nos esse debemus in Schola -Christi.----Hoc dixi (de ficu arefacta) ut persuaderem Dominum Jesum -Christum ideo Miracula fecisse, ut aliquid illis Miraculis -significaret; ut excepto eo, quod mira & magna & divina erant, aliquid -inde etiam disceremus. Videamus ergo quid nos discere voluit in tribus -mortuis, quos suscitavit. _In Serm._ xcviii. - -[298] Ista tria Genera Mortuorum, sunt tria Genera Peccatorum, quos -hodie suscitat Christus.----Sunt ergo instar filiæ Synagogæ Principis, -qui peccatum intus in Corde babent, in facto nondum habent. Condemnatur -Consensus ad Iniquitatem; respiratur ad Salutem atq; Justitiam. Surgit -mortuus in Domo, reviviscit Cor in Cogitationis Secreto. Facta est ista -Resurrectio Animæ mortuæ intus intra Latebras Conscientiæ, tanquam intra -Domesticos Parietes.----Alii post Consensum eunt in factum, tanquam -efferentes mortuum, ut quod latebat in Secreto, appareat in publico. -Nonne illi juveni dictam est, _Tibi dico, surge_ & redditus est Matri; -sic qui jam fecerit, si forte admonitus & commotus Verbo Veritatis ad -Christi Vocem resurgit, vivus redditur Ecclesiæ.----Qui autem faciendo -quod malum est, etiam mala Consuetudine se implicant, tales Consuetudine -maligna pressi, tanquam sepulti, ita sepulti ut de Lazaro dictum est, -jam _putet_. In Serm. xcviii. - -[299] _Cum ejecta esset Turba, intravit._ Moraliter non resurgit -Anima, quæ intrinsecus jacet mortua, nisi prius a secretioribus Cordis -excludatur inopportuna sæcularium Cogitationum Multitudo. _In Loc. -Matt._ - -[300] Mali isti Portitores, qui ad sepeliendum hominem ferunt, sunt -Vitia & maligni spiritas, Hæretici & seductores. Hos enim nisi Dominus -sisteret, quoscunq; semel acciperent, sepulturæ & æternæ Damnationi -traderent. Suscitatus igitur Adolescens sedet, loquitur & Matri -redditur, quia ad Penitentiam conversus in Ecclesiæ pace quiescit, Dei -Magnalia loquitur, sua peccata confitetur; & Ecclesiæ reconciliatur. -_Euseb. Gallic. in Homil. Feriæ quinta post Domin. 4tam._ - -[301] _Et lacrymatus est Jesus._ Lacrymemur igitur & nos pro omnibus -illis, quos in Fætore Vitiorum jacere sentimus. _Euseb. Gallic. in -Homil. Feriæ 5ta post Domin. 4tam._ - -[302] Lapis autem revolutus a Monumento significat Infidelitatis -Duritiam ab Hominum Corde submotam. _Theop. Antioch. in Loc. Johan._ - -[303] Quod enim tunc temporis factum est in una Puella, hoc in sine -Temporum futurum est, ut fiat in tota Sonagoga. _In Homil. Feriæ 5ta -post Domin. 4tam._ - -[304] Synagoga circa finem sæculi erit restituta saluti. _In Loc. Matt._ - -[305] Jairus illuminatus vel illuminans, Moses intelligitur. _Bed._ in -_Loc. Mat._ - -[306] Ad hanc ergo Principis filiam dum properat Dei Verbum, ut salvos -faceret filios Isræl, sancta Ecclesia de Gentibus congregata, quæ -inferiorum Lapsu Criminium deperibat, paratam aliis fide præripuit -Sanitatem. _St. Ambros. in Loc. Luc._ Quod vero post restitutam -immundæ Mulieri Valetudinem, defuncta Puella a mortuis restituitur; ne -hoc quidem ab exquisita Allegoria alienum. Nam Reliquiæ salvæ fiant, -juxta Apostolum, cum ingressa fuerit Gentium Plenitudo. _Theop. Ceram. -in Homil. de Jairi filia._ - -[307] Quarum Rerum Causa multa fuere Jesu Miracula. _In Johan. Cap. XI._ - -[308] Per Lazarum Genus humanum ostenditur. _Theop. Antioch. in Loc. -Johan._ Nostra Resurrectio figuratur per Lazari -Resurrectionem.----Spelunca sive Sepulchrum Lazari Litteram Legis -umbratilem designat.----_Magna Voce clamavit Jesus_, id est, Prædicatio -Evangelii per quam humana Natura Peccatorum Vinculis & in Sepulchro -Infidelitatis jacens vocatur ad Vitam. _Theop Ceram. in Homil. de -Lazaro._ - - - - - BOOKS _written by Mr._ WOOLSTON, _and Sold by him next Door below - the_, Star _in_ Aldermanbury, _and by the Booksellers of_ London - _and_ Westminster. - - -I. The old Apology reviv'd, _&c._ - -II. Dissertatio de Pontii Pilati Epistola ad Tiberium circa Res Jesu -Christi gestas. - -III. Origenis Adamantii Epistolæ duæ circa Fidem vere orthodoxam & -scripturarum Interpretationem. - -IV. The exact Fitness of the Time of Christ's Advent. demonstrated by -Reason, against the Objections of the old Gentiles, and modern -Unbelievers. - -V. Four Free-Gifts to the Clergy, or Challenges to a Disputation on -this Question, Whether the Hireling Priests of this Age, who are all -Ministers of the Letter, be not Worshippers of the Apocalyptical Beast -and Ministers of Anti-Christ. - -VI. An Answer to the said four Free-Gifts. - -VII. Two Letters to Dr. _Bennet_, on this question, Whether the People -call'd _Quakers_, do not the nearest of any other Sect in Religion, -resemble the Primitive Christians in Principle and Practice. - -VIII. An Answer to the said two Letters. - -IX. The Moderator between an Infidel and an Apostate: or the -Controversy between the _Grounds_ and his ecclesiastical Opponents, -set in a clear Light, _&c._ - -X. Two Supplements to the Moderator, _&c._ - -XI. A Defence of the Miracle of the _Thundering Legion_, against a -Dissertation of _Walter Moyle_ Esq. - -XII. Five Discourses on the Miracles of our Saviour. - - - - - A SIXTH - DISCOURSE - ON THE - MIRACLES - OF OUR - _SAVIOUR_, - - In View of the Present Controversy between - INFIDELS and APOSTATES. - - _Jamque Opus exegi_,---- - - The SECOND EDITION. - - By THO. WOOLSTON, B.D. sometime - Fellow of _Sidney-College_ in _Cambridge_. - - _LONDON_: - Printed for the AUTHOR, and Sold by him - next Door to the _Star_, in _Aldermanbury_, and - by the Booksellers of _London_ and _Westminster_. - - MDCCXXIX. - - [_Price One Shilling._] - - - - -[Illustration] - - TO THE - Right Reverend Father in GOD, - JOHN, - Lord Bishop of _Oxford_. - - -MY LORD, - -When _the following_ Discourse _was finish'd and ready for the_ Press, -_I consider'd to what_ Bishop _the_ Dedication _of it would be most -acceptable_ (_for I am resolv'd that none but_ Bishops _as yet shall -have the Honour of my_ Dedications) _and I had not long ponder'd upon -the Matter, before I hit upon your_ Lordship, _who must needs be -pleas'd with this_ Discourse, _because of the Advantage, that you, as -well as my self, in the End, will reap by it_. - -BY _Virtue of your_ Professorship _at_ Oxford, _you_, my Lord, _are a_ -Moderator _at theological Disputations, as I am here: And whether the -Execution of your Office be as troublesome as mine is, I know not: But -if the Design of this_ Discourse _takes Place, we shall find that -modern Controversies about Religion are all vain; and thereupon be_ -both _of us soon eas'd of the Trouble of our_ Moderations _at them_. - -IT _may be_, my Lord, _you are not so weary of your_ Moderatorship, -_as I am: Besides, that you are better paid for your Pains, your -Disputants are more amicable, and, in the midst of their Disputes, -more tractable: Tho' they may warmly contend, at the present, for and -against the Point in Debate; yet like_ Lawyers _who are no less -zealous for their_ Clients _in the Day, they commonly agree to drink a -Bottle together at Night, and go to Bed, good Friends. And this is -very well done of them._ - -BUT _my Disputants_, my Lord, _call'd_ Infidels _and_ Apostates, _at -whose Controversy I have the Trouble, by the Appointment of the -Fathers, to preside, are more stubborn, turbulent and refractory. What -ill Treatment they would give each other, if it was in their Power, I -know not: But my_ Apostates, _since they can't be aveng'd on their -Adversaries, are full of Resentment against their_ Moderator, _because -I am not altogether partial to their Side; and how I shall escape -their Indignation, God alone knows_. - -WHATEVER _the_ Clergy, my Lord, _whom I dignify with the Title of_ -Apostates, _may think, I look upon my self as a notable_ Moderator -_of the Controversy; I have shewn them all the Favour I can in it, and -would have brought them off with Honour, but for a_ little Flaw, _here -discover'd, in the Foundation of their Church, which, for the -Determination of our Disputes, must be confess'd and granted_. - -IF _your_ Lordship, _upon reading this_ Discourse, _should be of the -same Mind with me, I beg of you to stroak the_ Clergy _into Temper, -Patience and Compliance: Tell them, they have been long orthodox and -glorious Victors over_ Infidels, _and that it would be now an Act of -Generosity to yield to them in a_ small Point; _upon which such a -Pacification would ensue, as nothing hereafter would be able to -dissolve_. - -BUT _I have another Favour_, my Lord, _here to crave of you_, viz. -_that you would be pleas'd to persuade my old Friend, the_ Bishop _of_ -London, _to stay at Home this_ Lent, _and keep to his_ Prayers _and_ -Fasting, _for the casting out a certain_ Kind _of ----, that by Fits -he's unhapily troubled with; or upon the Publication of this_ -Discourse, _I shall be in Danger of being soon knapp'd for it_. - -IF _your_ Lordship _will do me that Favour, then I will do you as good -a Turn; and praise you for your Doctrine of_ Passive Obedience, -_preach'd at the_ Coronation: _Tho' many may laugh at your Revival of -that Doctrine, saying the_ Clergy _upon an Occasion, which our most -excellent_ Sovereign _will never give them, would again have Recourse -to their_ Reserves _and_ Distinctions; _yet I say it was well done of -your_ Lordship _to preach it, that the Tongues and the Hands (to say -nothing of the Hearts) of the_ Clergy _might go together in -Subscriptions to_ Articles _and_ Homilies; _and so avoid that -Prevarication and Inconsistency, which some now have no more Wit than -to charge them with_. - -SO _not questioning your_ Lordship's _Approbation of this_ Discourse -_and the_ Dedication; _nor doubting but you'll make me as bountiful a -Recompence for it, as any of my other Episcopal Patrons have done; I -subscribe my self_, - -[Sidenote: _Feb. 15th 1728-9_] - - My Lord, - The Admirer of your - Passive Obedience Sermon, - _Thomas Woolston_. - - - - -[Illustration] - - A SIXTH - DISCOURSE - ON THE - MIRACLES - OF OUR - _SAVIOUR_, &c. - -Here goes my sixth and last _Discourse_ on _Jesus_'s _Miracles_; the -Subject whereof is the literal Story of his own Resurrection; which, -according to the Proposition in Hand, I am to shew to consist of -Absurdities, Improbabilities and Incredibilities. And I hope our -_Bishops_ will quietly permit the Publication of this _Discourse_, -especially if I assure them that I mean nothing worse by it, than to -make way for the understanding what the Fathers write of the mystical -Resurrection of _Jesus_ out of the Grave of the Letter of the Law and -the Prophets; of which mystical Resurrection of our _spiritual Jesus_, -the Evangelical Story of the Resurrection of a _carnal Christ_ is but -mere Type and Shadow. - -I am so far from designing any Service to Infidelity by this -_Discourse_, that I aim at the Accomplishment of some of St. _John_'s -Apocalyptical Visions. The Fathers say that a _Church_, built on the -Letter of the Scriptures, particularly on the Letter of _Jesus_'s -Miracles, is _Babylon_; and that antiliteral Arguments and mystical -Interpretations will be the Downfal of her. Whether there is any Truth -in this Opinion of the Fathers, I am minded to make the Experiment; -and tho' I should bring the old House of the Church over my Head, and -be crush'd to Pieces in its Ruins, I can't forbear it: But however, I -would advise the _Clergy_ to make Haste and _come out of Babylon_, for -Fear of the worst; or they, who upon the Authority of the Fathers are -_the Merchants of Babylon_, will _weep_[309] _and mourn_ upon her -Fall, because _none will buy their Merchandize_ of the Letter _any -more_. Dear _Jesu_, that such a _Student_ as I am in the _Revelations_ -of St. _John_, and an Interpreter of them too, upon the Authority of -the Fathers, should be charg'd with Blasphemy and Infidelity! - -So to Work I went; and I had not been long musing by myself, how to -sap this Foundation of the Church, before I was sensible of my own -Insufficiency for it. Whereupon I sent to my old Friend, the _Jewish -Rabbi_, for his Thoughts on this grand Miracle of _Jesus_'s -Resurrection, which he gave me some Promise of. But I desired him to -forbear all Ludicrousness, Satire and Banter, for fear of Offence: For -tho' our _Clergy_ liked Volumes of Jests and Facetiousness, if they -were discharg'd against _Jews_, _Turks_, and _Infidels_; yet when they -were levell'd at _Ministers_ of the _Letter_, the _Case was alter'd_, -as quoth _Plowden_, and they were not to be borne with. Therefore he -was to remember that Decency, Seriousness and Calmness of Argument, -required by the _Bishop_ of _London_[310] or I durst not print it. - -In Compliance with my Desires he sent me the following _Letter_, -which, having purg'd it of a few _Puns_ and _Cunundrums_, because all -Appearance of _Wit_, as of _Evil_, was to be abstain'd from, I here -publish, and it runs thus. - -_SIR_, - -According to your Request, I here send you my Thoughts on _Jesus_'s -Resurrection, in which I shall be shorter than I would be, because of -the customary Bounds of your _Discourses_. - -The Controversy between us _Jews_ and you _Christians_ about the -_Messiah_ has hitherto been of a diffusive Nature: But as the Subject of -_this_ is the Resurrection of your _Jesus_; so, by my Consent, we'll now -reduce the Controversy to a narrow Compass, and let it turn intirely on -this grand Miracle and Article of your Faith. If your _Divines_ can -prove _Jesus_'s Resurrection against the following Objections, then I -will acknowledge him to be the _Messiah_, and will turn Christian, -otherwise he must still pass with us for an Impostor and false Prophet. - -I have often lamented the Loss of such Writings, which our _Ancestors_ -unquestionably dispers'd against _Jesus_, because of the clear Sight -they would give us, into the Cheat and Imposture of his Religion. But -I rejoice and thank God, there is little or no Want of them, to the -Point in Hand. For I had not long meditated on the Story of _Jesus_'s -Resurrection, as your _Evangelists_ have related it, but I plainly -discern'd it to be the most notorious and monstrous Imposture, that -ever was put upon Mankind. And if you please to attend to my following -Arguments, which require no Depth of Judgment and Capacity to -apprehend, I am persuaded that you and every one disinterested, will -be of the same Mind too. - -To overthrow and confute the Story of this monstrous and incredible -Miracle, I was thinking once to premise an Argument of the Justice of -the Sentence denounc'd against and executed upon _Jesus_, who was so -far from being the innocent Person, you Christians would make of him, -that, as may easily be proved, he was so grand a _Deceiver_, -_Impostor_ and _Malefactor_, as no Punishment could be too great for -him. But this Argument (which I reserve against a Day of perfect -Liberty, to publish by it self in Defence of the Honour and Justice of -our _Ancestors_) would be too long for the Compass of this Letter; and -therefore I pass it by, tho' it would give Force to my following -Objections; it being hard and even impossible to imagine, that God -would vouchsafe the Favour of a miraculous Resurrection to one, who -for his Crimes deservedly suffer'd and underwent Death. - -But waving, I say, that Argument for the present, which of itself -would be enough to prejudice a reasonable Man against the Belief of -_Jesus_'s Resurrection; I will allow _Jesus_ to have been a much -better Man, than I believe him to have been; or as good a one in -Morals as your _Divines_ do suppose him; and will only consider the -Circumstances of the Evangelical Story of his Resurrection; from -which, if I don't prove it to have been the most bare-fac'd Imposture -that ever was put upon the World, I deserve for the Vanity of this -Attempt, a much worse Punishment, than he for his Frauds endured. - -I have sometimes wonder'd, considering the Nature and Heinousness of -_Jesus_'s Faults, for which he dy'd, that our _Chief Priests_ and -_Pharisees_ had any Regard to his Prediction (which was so like a -Bambouzlement of the Populace) that he was to rise again the _third Day_ -after his Crucifixion. There's no other Nation in the World, which would -not have slighted such a vain Prognostication of a known Impostor. Let -him foretell with ever so much Confidence his speedy Return to Life, I -dare say, any other Magistrates of ordinary Prudence would have despised -him for a presumptuous _Enthusiast_: But, when I reflected on the -Imposture of _Lazarus_'s Resurrection, and of what pernicious -Consequence it had like to have proved to the Peace and Welfare of our -Nation, if it had not been happily discover'd, my Wonder here ceas'd; -and I as much admire now the Wisdom, Caution and Circumspection of our -_Chief Priests_ against all possible Fraud and Deceit in the foretold -Resurrection of _Jesus_. Tho' _Jesus_ himself, the Head of the -Confederacy, and prime Projector of the design'd Cheat in the Case of -_Lazarus_ was cut off, yet his Associates were still numerous; and it -was not impossible, but they might concert a Project of a counterfeited -Resurrection of him, in Accomplishment of his Prophecy, that might be of -more fatal Consequence, and tend to such Confusions and Distractions -among the People, as would not be soon quell'd and quieted. Whereupon -our _Chief Priests_ very prudently consider of Precautions against Cheat -here, and wisely make Application to _Pilate_ the _Governour_, that -proper and effectual Measures may be taken against a false and feign'd -Resurrection, for Fear of the ill Effects of it. And one of them, as -the _Spokesman_ of their Company, seems, according to _Matthew_, Ch. -xxviii. to have made the Speech following. - - _SIR_, "We remember that this Deceiver and Impostor _Jesus_, who was - yesterday crucified, and justly suffer'd Death for his Blasphemy and - many Delusions of the People (that were of bad Consequence, and - might have been of much worse, if he had not been timely brought to - condign Punishment) said repeatedly before, that notwithstanding the - Death he was to undergo he should rise again to Life the _third Day_ - after. It is not that we are at all apprehensive of such a wonderful - and miraculous Event, which knowing him to have been a false Prophet - as well as a deceitful Juggler, we have no Fears nor Belief of. But - as it is not long since, that the Inhabitants in and about _Bethany_ - had like to have been fatally deluded and imposed on by him, in the - pretended Resuscitation of _Lazarus_, one of his Disciples and - Confederates in Iniquity; so it is not altogether impossible nor - improbable but his Disciples and Accomplices, who are many, may - project a feign'd Resurrection of _Jesus_ (in Accomplishment of his - Prediction) by stealing his Body away, and pretending he is risen - from the dead. Should such a Sham-Miracle be contrived amongst them, - and cunningly executed, it would be [Greek: planê] (_not an Error - but_) an Imposture of worse Consequence to our Nation and Religion, - than the former in _Lazarus_ could have been, if it had never been - detected: We crave therefore the Favour of your _Excellency_, to - give Command for the making his Sepulchre sure, till the _third_ Day - is past, that neither his _dead_ Body may be taken away, and a - Resurrection pretended; nor a _living_ one slipt into its Place, and - a Miracle counterfeited on that Day, when we will be present at the - opening of the Sepulchre, and give Satisfaction to the People of his - being a false Prophet." - -Whether _Pilate_ was at all intent on the Prevention of Fraud in this -Case, or would not willingly have connived at it, to increase the -Divisions and Distractions of our then unhappy Nation, may be -question'd: But the Request of our _Chief Priests_ was so reasonable, -and their Importunities so urgent, that he could not resist them; and -therefore order'd them a _Watch_ for the Sepulchre, which they might -make as sure, as they could, against Fraud and Imposture, till the -_third Day_. - -Whereupon our _Chief Priests_ deliberate, what Measures were fittest -to be taken to this Purpose. And as I can't, and don't believe any Man -else can, devise any better for the Security of the Sepulchre against -Fraud, than what they took; so I admire and applaud their Prudence, -Circumspection, and Precaution in the Case. They _seal'd the Stone_ at -the Mouth of the Sepulchre, and placed a Guard of Soldiers about it; -which were _Two_ such certain Means for the Prevention or Detection of -Cheat in a Resurrection, as are not to be equall'd by any other. - -They _seal'd the Stone_ of the Sepulchre, which, tho' it was no Security -at all against Violence, yet was an absolute one against Fraud. How the -_Stone_ which fitted the Mouth of the Sepulchre, as a Door does the -Entrance into a Room, was seal'd, I need not describe. The Use and -Manner of sealing the Doors of Closets, of Chests, and of Papers is -common; and as it is an obvious Expedient, for the Satisfaction of the -Signators, against Deceit; so it has been an antient as well as a modern -Practice. _Darius_, King of _Babylon_,[311] seal'd the Door of the Den -of Lions, wherein _Daniel_ was cast, with his own Signet: And wherefore -did he so? For the Satisfaction of himself and of his Courtiers, when he -came again to open and compare the Signature with his Signet, that no -Art nor Artifice had been used for the Preservation of _Daniel_. So our -_Chief Priests_ seal'd the Stone of _Jesus_'s Sepulchre, which they -design'd to be present at the opening of, on the _third Day_, the Time -appointed by _Jesus_ for his Resurrection, and then give ample -Satisfaction to the People, that there was a real, or could be no -Resurrection of his Body. Wherefore else did they _seal_ the Stone of -his Sepulchre? - -Your _Grotius_[312] thinks, that _Pilate_'s Seal was affix'd to the -Stone of the Sepulchre; but, as I believe, _Pilate_ little concern'd -himself about the Prevention of Deceit here; so I much question it. It -is more reasonable to think that the _Chief Priests_ and other Civil -Magistrates of _Jerusalem_ with their several Seals, which could not -be open'd, but by themselves, without Suspicion of Fraud, sign'd the -Stone, and intended to be present, on the Day appointed, at the -opening of the Sepulchre; not doubting, what no body could question, -but _Jesus_ would wait their coming, and arise to Life, if he could, -in the Sight of themselves, and of a vast Concourse of People, that -were sure to attend on them to behold the Miracle. Such a Resurrection -would have been of Satisfaction to the whole Nation; and such a -Resurrection, reasonably speaking, _Jesus_ would, if he could, have -vouchsafed in Accommodation to the _sealing_ of the _Stone_. - -But, notwithstanding this Precaution, in sealing of the Stone, the -best that could be taken against Fraud, _Jesus_'s Body was privately -slipt off, early in the Morning of the Day before, and a Resurrection -pretended by his Disciples; and you would have us and our Ancestors to -believe, there was no Deceit in the Case; tho' confessedly none of the -_Sealers_ of the Sepulchre were present: Who can believe it? Was, or -can there be, any Imposture more against Sense and Reason palm'd upon -the Understandings of Mankind? If there had been a real Resurrection, -the _Sealers_ of the _Stone_ would have been the _Openers_ of the -Sepulchre; wherefore else was the _Stone seal'd_? - -A Question, that here arises, is, On what Day, and what Time of the Day, -did our _Chief Priests_, the Sealers of the Stone, expect, what they -could not think would ever come to pass, _Jesus_'s Resurrection? Or what -was the Extent of the Time meant by _Jesus_, when he said that after -_three Days_, or on the _third Day_ after his Passion, he should rise -again? If any Impostor or Prophet like _Jesus_ should in this Age so -predict his Resurrection, and be executed on _Friday_, the Day for his -Resurrection would be presumed to be _Monday_, and not _Sunday_ Morning -before Day. And I humbly conceive former Ages and Nations, and our -Nation in particular did compute after this Fashion. Accordingly on -_Monday_ our _Chief Priests_ I don't doubt, intended to be present at -the opening of the Seals of the Sepulchre, and to behold the Miracle: -But _Jesus_'s Body was clandestinely moved off early on _Sunday_ (the -Day before _that_ signified and predicted for his Resurrection) to the -Laughter more than the Surprize of our Ancestors, at the Notoriety of -the Fraud committed, and at the Vanity of a Resurrection pretended upon -it. And I may appeal even to your _Chief Priests_ of the Church, -whether here's not another Note of Cheat and Imposture; and whether the -Disciples were not afraid to trust _Jesus_'s Body, its full time, in the -Grave; because of the greater Difficulty to carry it off afterwards, and -pretend a Resurrection upon it. - -But because your _Divines_ (who have singular Knacks at making two -Nights and a full Day, that _Jesus_ was buried, to be _three Days_ and -_three Nights_; and whose various Ways of Computation I always smile -at) do assert that _Sunday_ was the _third Day_, on which, in -Accomplishment of _Jonah_'s Prophecy, and of his Own Prediction, he -was to rise again; I will suppose so with them, and will, if they -please, grant that our _Chief Priests_, and the _Sealers_ of the -Sepulchre, expected his Resurrection on that Day, and intended, for -the opening of the Seals, to be present at it. - -But at what Time of the Day were they to come or could be expected at -the Sepulchre? Not long before Noon. But _Jesus_'s Body was gone -betimes in the Morning, before our _Chief Priests_ could be out of -their Beds; and a barefac'd Infringment of the Seals of the Sepulchre -was made against the Laws of Honour and Honesty, and a Resurrection -confidently talk'd of by the Disciples; and yet your Christian -Priesthood at this Day would have us to believe, there was no Fraud -and Deceit in all this! O most monstrous! - -If our _Chief Priests_ had trespass'd upon _Jesus_'s Patience, and -would not attend at the Sepulchre for the opening of the Seals, on the -Day and Time appointed; if they had been for confining him longer in -the Grave than was meet, according to Prophecy, then his Resurrection, -without their Presence, had been excusable and justifiable. But this -his pretended Rising to Life, not only a Day before the _Chief -Priests_ could imagine he would, or earlier in the Morning than he -should, for the Sake of their requisite Presence, is, together with -the Fracture of the Seals against the Law of Security, such a manifest -and indisputable Mark and Indication of Fraud, as is not to be -equall'd in all or any of the Impostures, that ever were attempted to -be put upon the World. - -In short, by the sealing of the Stone of the Sepulchre, we are to -understand nothing less than a Covenant enter'd into between our _Chief -Priests_ and the _Apostles_, by which _Jesus_'s Veracity, Power and -_Messiahship_ was to be try'd. Tho' we read not of the Apostles giving -their Consent to the Covenant, yet it was reasonably presum'd and could -not have been refus'd, if ask'd. The Condition of the seal'd Covenant -was, that if _Jesus_ arose from the dead in the Presence of our _Chief -Priests_, upon their opening the Seals of the Sepulchre, at the Time -appointed; then was he to be acknowledg'd to be the _Messiah_: But if he -continued in a corrupt and putrified State of Mortality, then was he to -be granted to be an _Impostor_: Very wisely and rightly agreed! And if -the Apostles had stood to this Covenant, Christianity had been nipt in -its Bud, and suppress'd in its Birth. But they had other Views, and -another Game to play at all Adventures. The Body was to be removed and a -Resurrection pretended, to the Delusion, if possible, of all Mankind, in -which they have been more successful than could be imagin'd upon a -Project that had so little Sense or Reason, so little Colour of Truth or -Artifice in the Contrivance and Execution of it. Our _Chief Priests_ -were apprehensive at first of their stealing the Body away, and -pretending a Resurrection: But after the _sealing_ of the _Stone_, those -Fears vanish'd; because upon the stealing the Body, away against such -Security and Precaution, the Fraud would be self-evident, and want no -Demonstration and Proof of it. But, for all this Precaution, I say, the -Body was in a barefaced Manner taken away, a Resurrection talk'd of, and -to the Amazement of every one, who can think freely, has been believed -thro' all Ages of the Church since. Upon the whole then, I think, you -may as well say, when a seal'd Closet is broken open, and the Treasure -gone without the Privity of the Signators, that there's no Wrong done; -as that in the Resurrection of _Jesus_, there was no Fraud. The Cases -are equal and parallel. What then can your Christian _Priests_ say to -this demonstrative Argument of a manifest and bare-faced Cheat in -_Jesus_'s Resurrection? I have been thinking, what they will or can say; -and upon the maturest Consideration I don't find they can make any other -than one or more of these shuffling Answers to it, _viz._ - -1. That it was impossible for the Disciples to steal the Body of -_Jesus_ away, because of the Watchfulness of the Guards, and therefore -there was a real Resurrection, tho' the _Chief Priests_ and _Sealers_ -of the Sepulchre were not present at it. - -2. That, tho' the _Chief Priests_ and _Sealers_ of the Stone of the -Sepulchre were not present, as I say they ought to have been, to -behold the Miracle; yet his Resurrection was afterwards made as -manifest to them, as if they had been there present. - -3. That if _Jesus_ did not really arise from the dead, the Belief of -his Resurrection could never have been so propagated at first, nor -would have been retain'd in the World for so many Ages since. - -I can think of no other Answers, and believe it impossible for your -Christian _Priests_ to form any other, to the foresaid Argument of -Fraud in _Jesus_'s Resurrection: But how weak, frivolous and -insufficient they all and every one are, will appear upon a little -Examination into them. - -1. Then, against the aforesaid demonstrative Argument of Fraud, it may -be pretended, _That it was impossible for the Disciples to steal the -Body of_ Jesus _away, because of the Watchfulness of the Guards; and -therefore there was a real Resurrection, tho' the_ Chief Priests, -_the_ Sealers _of the Sepulchre were not present at it_. - -To which I reply, and confess, that if it was impossible to evade the -Guards of the Sepulchre, then there was a real Resurrection; but if -there was but a bare Possibility of evading them, then this Answer is -of no Force. And I am of Opinion, that the Thing was not only -possible, but easy, feasible, and practicable. Tho' the _Roman_ -Soldiers were of as much Fidelity and Integrity as any of their -Profession; yet it is well known, that such Creatures are subject to -Bribery and Corruption, if the Disciples had any Money to tempt them -with: Or if their Faithfulness to their Trust was untainted; yet it is -not improbable, but their Officers, at the Direction of _Pilate_, who -found his Account in the Distractions of our Nation, might give them -the Hint to wink hard at the Commission of such a Fraud. But not to -insist on either of these Ways to evade the _Watch_; our Ancestors -said, what your _Evangelist_ has recorded, that the Disciples taking -the Opportunity of the Sleep of the Guards, carry'd the Body of -_Jesus_ off; which was a thing both possible and probable. - -Of what Number the _Watch_ did consist is uncertain. Your _Whitby_[313] -says they were _sixty_; but he has no Reason nor Authority to think, -they were so many. If they had been to be a Guard against Violence, I -could easily have believed they were more; but in as much as they were -only a _Watch_ against Fraud, and against any casual defacing of the -_Seals_ on the Stone, before the _Chief Priests_ came to open the -Sepulchre, _three_ or _four_ Soldiers were sufficient, and I don't -think, there were any more set to this Purpose. - -It is not then at all improbable, that so few Soldiers should be fast -asleep at that time of Night, or so early in the Morning, when the -clandestine Work was done; especially after keeping such a _Gaudy-day_ -as was the Feast of the Passover, which, like the Festivals of other -Nations, was celebrated with Excess. Foot Soldiers then, you may be -sure, upon the Bounty of one or other, did no more want, than they -would scruple to take their _Fill_, which like an Opiat, lock'd up -their Senses for that Night, when the Disciples, being aware of the -lucky Opportunity, carry'd the Body of _Jesus_ off safely. - -And where's the Absurdity to suppose, that the Disciples themselves -might contrive the Intoxication of the Guards? _Herodotus_ tells us a -Story of a Deadbody's being stolen away by such an Artifice. And I -don't think the Disciples of _Jesus_ either so foolish or -conscientious, as not to take the Hint, and enterprize the like Fraud. -_Peter_, who, upon Occasion, could _swear_ and _curse_ like a -_Trooper_, would hardly scruple to fuddle a few _Foot-Soldiers_. But -which way soever it came to pass, the Watch were asleep, which is -neither hard to conceive nor believe; and then the Disciples executed -_that_ Fraud, which has been the Delusion of Nations and Ages since. - -Your _Evangelists_ would hint that the _Chief Priests_ gave Money to -the Soldiers to say, they were asleep, when the Disciples stole the -Body of _Jesus_ away, as if they were brib'd to a false Testimony; but -there neither was nor could be any such thing. If there had been a -real Resurrection to their Astonishment and Amazement, as it is -represented in your Gospels, no Money could so soon have corrupted -them to a false Witness, being under such Fears of God and of _Jesus_. -I don't doubt but our _Chief Priests_ might reward the Soldiers for -speaking the Truth, and exhort them to persist in it, with a Promise -to _secure_ them against the Anger of _Pilate_ for their sleeping and -Neglect of their Duty. - -Here then is no _Answer_ to the foresaid Argument or Objection against -_Jesus_'s Resurrection. It was not at all impossible for the -Disciples, who stole the Body away, to avoid the Guards, who were and -may reasonably be supposed to be lull'd asleep, when the Disciples did -it. Neither is there any more Force in the - -2. Second Answer to it, _viz. That tho' the Chief Priests, the Sealers -of the Stone of the Sepulchre, were not present, opening the Seals and -beholding the Miracle; yet his Resurrection was afterwards made as -manifest to them, as if they had been there present_. - -Ay, this is somewhat like an Answer, if there be any Truth in it. A -Manifestation of _Christ risen_ afterwards to our _Chief Priests_ would -have been equivalent to their Presence at and Sight of the Miracle. But -how was his Resurrection manifested to them? did _Jesus_ ever afterwards -appear personally to them, to their Satisfaction, that he was the same -Person, whom they crucified and put to Death for a Deceiver and false -Prophet? No; this is not once affected by your _Evangelists_ or ever -insinuated by any antient or modern Writer. How then was _Jesus_'s -Resurrection made manifest to our Chief Priests? Why; your _Divines_ -say, what is all that can be said here, that the Words of the Disciples, -who, being Men of Honesty, Simplicity and Integrity, would not lye, are -to be taken for it. Very fine, indeed! our Chief Priests are to take the -Words of the Disciples for _Jesus_'s Resurrection, and look upon them as -Men of Veracity, when they knew and experienc'd them to be grand Cheats, -not only in stealing the Body of _Jesus_ away, but in the _known -Imposture_ of _Lazarus_'s Resurrection, or your _Evangelist_ had never -implicitly called it so. When therefore Deceivers will not be _Lyars_; -nor Thieves _Dissemblers_ of the Fact they are accused of, I will own -_Jesus_'s Resurrection to have been manifest enough to our _Chief -Priests_. There's no need of more Argument here: He that bellows more -Words on it, loses Time. - -It has been a constant Objection of us _Jews_, against the -Resurrection of _Jesus_, that he appear'd not personally afterwards to -our _Chief Priests_, to _Pilate_ and to others his Crucifiers and -Insultors, to upbraid them with their Infidelity and ill Treatment of -him. Whether _Jesus_ would not have done so, if he really arose from -the dead; and whether he ought not in Reason, for the Conviction and -Conversion of Unbelievers, to have done so, with me is no Question. -_Celsus_ of old[314] in the Name of the _Jews_ made the Objection; and -_Olibio_, a late _Rabbi_[315] has repeated it. But in all my Reading -and Conversation with Men or Books, I never met with a tolerable -Answer to it. _Origen_ and _Limborch_, the Writers against _Celsus_ -and _Olibio_, gently slide over the Objection, as if it was too hot or -weighty to be touch'd and handled by them. To recite the poor, short -and insufficient Answers of those two Great Authors, to the Objection, -would be the Exposing of them, and giving such Strength to the -Objection, which it don't want. Therefore I will leave the Objection, -which _Origen_[316] owns to be a considerable one, to the Meditation -of your modern Advocates for Christianity; and when they can prove, -that _Jesus_, after his Resurrection did personally appear to his -Crucifiers, the _Chief Priests_ and _Sealers_ of the Sepulchre, to -their Confutation; or that, according to the Law of Reason, he ought -not to have appear'd to them, then I will turn _Christian_, and grant, -that in the Argument above, which proves plain Fraud in the -Resurrection, there's no Force nor Truth. In the mean time _Jesus_'s -Non-Appearance to the _Chief Priests_ is a Confirmation, that he did -not arise from the Dead, but that his Body was stolen away, or he -would have waited in the Grave, the coming of the Sealers of the -Stone, and their regular opening of the Sepulchre, to the Conviction -and Conversion of all there present, and Confirmation of the Faith of -all Ages and Nations since. But, - -3. A third Answer to the foresaid Argument of Fraud in the Resurrection -of _Jesus_, drawn from the Nature, Use and Design of sealing the Stone -of the Sepulchre, is, _that tho' the_ Sealers _of the Sepulchre were not -present, opening the Seals and beholding the Miracle; yet_ Jesus _did -certainly arise from the Dead, or the Belief of his Resurrection could -never have been at first propagated by the Apostles, nor would for so -many Ages of the Church since have stood its Ground_. - -Here's as little Reason in this Answer as in either of the two former. -Who knows not, that many Errors in Philosophy, and as many Frauds in -Religion have been sometimes accidentally, sometimes designedly -espoused and palm'd upon Mankind, who in Process of Time become so -wedded to them thro' Prejudice and Interest, that they will not give -themselves Leave to enquire into the Rise and Foundation of them. -False Miracles have been common Things among Christians; and as the -Resurrection of _Jesus_ is their grand and fundamental one, so it is -not at all difficult to account for the Rise, Propagation and -Continuance of the Belief of it. - -Why it has been believed thro' these latter Ages of the Church, is no -Wonder at all. The Priests had their Interest in it; the ignorant and -superstitious had their Comfort in it; and the wise and considerate, -for fear of Persecution, durst not enquire into the Grounds of it. - -The only Difficulty here is to know, upon what Principle, the Project -and Story of _Jesus_'s Resurrection was at first devised. And whether -it was Ambition or Revenge upon our ancient and Pharisaical -Priesthood, that prompted the Apostles to it, is all one to me. Such -bad Principles too often put Men upon desperate Attempts. But -however, an Imposture it was, for the Argument above. To say the -Apostles and Confederates in the Fraud, would not have stood to it, -and have dy'd for it, if the Resurrection had not been real Fact, -signifies nothing. Many Cheats and Criminals, besides them, have -asserted their Innocencey, and deny'd their Guilt in the utmost -Extremity of Death, without the like Views of Honour and Fame. The -only Thing that's surprizing and astonishing in this Sham-Miracle, is, -that tho' it was the most manifest, the most bare-faced, and the most -self-evident Imposture that ever was put upon the World; yet it has -been the most fortunate and successful, having past thro' many Ages -and Nations with Reputation and Renown; and might have continued for -as many Generations to come, but for the Argument above, that -perfectly and clearly overthrows its Credit. - -But some may say here, where was the Wisdom and Providence of God, all -this while, to suffer so many Ages and Nations to labour under such a -Delusion? Why, I'll tell you; The Providence of God in it was, "To -humble Mankind, in the End, for their vain Ostentation of Wisdom, -Learning and _Science falsly so call'd_; "To shame them for their -Madness and Wickedness to persecute one another for different Opinions -in that Religion, whose very Foundation is false and groundless; "To -caution them against a blind and implicit Faith for the future; -against believing any thing out of the Sight and Reach of their -Understandings; "To admonish them of the Necessity of Liberty to -think, speak and write freely about Religion, for the Correction of -Errors and Discovery of Truth; and, lastly, "To reduce the World, when -it should be ripe for it, to the golden Religion of Nature, which upon -the Testimony of our old _Cabalistical_ Doctors, and of your _Jesus_ -himself, is the _End of the Law and the Prophets_. - -And thus have I spoken to the _Answers_, which your _Christian -Priesthood_ may be presumed to make, to the foresaid Argument of Fraud -in _Jesus_'s Resurrection, drawn from the Design of our _Chief -Priests_ in sealing of the Stone of his Sepulchre. I should not have -concern'd my self to speak to these their supposed _Answers_, but to -save them the Trouble of making them, and the Imagination of there -being some Force in them. - -As to the Stories in your _Evangelists_ of _Jesus_'s several Appearances -after his pretended Resurrection, sometimes to the Women, and at other -Times to his Disciples, I am not at all obliged to refute them. If these -Appearances had been more frequent, better circumstanced, and more -solemnly averr'd, they would have wanted no Confutation. There's no -Doubt on't, but the Disciples, who, for the Argument above, -unquestionably stole _Jesus_'s Body away, in order to pretend a -Resurrection, would talk much of his appearing to them, and of the -Conversation afterwards, they had with him. And if they had told better -and more plausible Tales of their Sight of and Conversation with him, it -would be nothing to the Purpose; _better_, I say, _and more plausible -Tales_ than those upon Record, which for Absurdity, Nonsense and -Incoherence carry their own Confutation along with them. - -Whoever blends together the various History of the four _Evangelists_, -as to _Jesus_'s Appearances after his Resurrection, will find himself, -not only perplex'd how to make an intelligible, consistent, and -sensible Story of it; but must, with _Celsus_[317] needs think it, if -he closely think on't, like some of the confused and incredible -womanish Fables of the Apparitions of the Ghosts of deceased Persons, -which the Christian World in particular has in former Ages abounded -with. The Ghosts of the Dead in this present Age, and especially in -this Protestant Country, have ceas'd to appear; and we now-a-days -hardly ever hear of such an Apparition: And what is the Reason of it? -Why, the Belief of these Stories being banish'd out of Mens Minds, the -crafty and vaporous forbear to trump them upon us. There has been so -much clear Proof of the Fraud in many of these Stories, that the wise -and considerate Part of Mankind has rejected them all, excepting -_this_ of _Jesus_, which, to Admiration, has stood its Ground. It's no -Wonder indeed, that the _Clergy_, who are more incredulous than other -Folks as to Stories of Apparitions, do stick to _this_ of _Jesus_, the -only one excepted out of all others. It is a sweet Morsel of Faith, -and they readily swallow and digest it, because they live by it; -otherwise this Story of _Jesus_'s Appearances after Death had hardly -escaped the Fate of other Apparitions; nay, would have been rejected -one of the first of them; there being hardly one, I dare say it, among -all the Stories of Apparitions, were they to be collected together; -that's more absurd and incredible than _this_ of _Jesus_. - -I have not Room here to make any Remarks on your Evangelical Story of -_Jesus_'s Apparitions after his Death; and if I had, I durst not do it, -for fear of an offensive Ludicrousness, and of transgressing the Rules -of _Decency_, _Sobriety_ and _Sedateness_ of Argument, you have confined -me to. But however; I can't read the Story without smiling, and there -are two or three Passages in it, that put me in Mind of _Robinson -Cruso_'s filling his Pockets with Biskets, when he had neither Coat, -Waste-coat, nor Breeches on. Sometimes I think your _Evangelists_ wanted -Wit to adapt their Tale to Sense, and to accommodate the Transaction to -Nature; and sometimes I think them crafty, and were minded, like _Daniel -de Foe_ in his aforesaid _Romance_, to put the Banter upon the Credulity -of Mankind, with some disguised and latent Absurdities, that, in the -Conclusion and Discovery, they might be heartily laugh'd at for the -Belief of them. I dare not, I say, so much as hint at one of these -Absurdities, lest I should be unwarily tempted to crack a Jest on it. -But the Time, I hope, is coming, when I shall use more Freedom. And -should your Priesthood, in Proof of _Jesus_'s Resurrection, urge any of -these Stories of his corporal Presence and Appearance after it, then I -trust, they'll permit me to make as merry Descants on them, as your -_Bishops_, when Academical _Jesters_, used to do on other Men's Bulls -and Blunders. - -In the mean time I depend on the foregoing single, sober and sedate -Argument of Fraud in this grand Miracle, which I found on the Nature -and Design of sealing the Sepulchre; and for Confirmation of my -Opinion and Proof of Fraud in it, will conclude this Letter with a -parallel Case and Story. Not many Years since, one Dr. _Emms_, of the -Society of the _French_ Prophets, who in their Inspirations were, like -_Jesus_ and his Disciples of old, Declaimers against the Pharisaical -Priesthood of this Age, did by himself, or some of his Fraternity did -for him, predict his Resurrection on a certain Day, when there was a -Concourse of People about his Grave in vain to behold the Miracle, as -there would have been about _Jesus_'s Sepulchre, if he had lain in it, -his full Time. But supposing in this Case, that the Magistrates and -Priesthood of this City, to prevent a Cheat and Delusion of the -People, had interr'd the _Doctor_ in a Church-Vault, and seal'd the -Door of it against the Day appointed for his Resurrection, commanding -a _Night-Watch_ to look to the Vault, that no Violence or Deceit be -used: This would have been a wise Precaution against Fraud, as was in -the Case of _Jesus_. But what if his Fraternity, having a Mind, like -_Jesus_'s Disciples, to bambouzle the People and Priesthood, had, some -of them drawn the Watch aside to a _Gin-shop_, whilst others carry'd -the Body off, pretending a Resurrection? What would all reasonable Men -have said here? That it was an impudent and bare-fac'd Imposture. But -to carry on the Farce; supposing, the _Doctor_'s Fraternity had -afterwards averr'd that they had seen and convers'd with him alive, -several Times, as before his Death; and had told particular Stories of -their Conversation with him; as _first_ of all, how he appear'd to -some of their Women (who were admonish'd of the Certainty of his -Resurrection by a Youth or an Angel or two, they could not tell -whether, but they were as like to Angels, which they never saw before -in their Lives, as Youths could be) who knew him, not by his -Countenance, for _their Eyes were holden_, but by his Talk on -Scripture Prophecy, which was his usual Cant before his Death. And at -another Time he appear'd to his old Acquaintance, who knew him, not by -the Features of his Face, but by an habitual Motion and Action of his -Hand in _breaking of Bread_. And at another Time he was corporally -present, but _they thought, they saw a Spirit_. About _eight Days -after that_, he appear'd among more of his old Friends, but for all -their former Intimacy with him, some of them _doubted_ whether it was -the _Doctor_ or not. At another Time he came to them in _another Form_ -and Shape, unlike to his pristine one, but they were sure it was _He_ -by his Exposition of the Scripture. At another Time, when they were -assembled together and the Doors were lock'd, _for fear of the -Clergy_, the _Doctor_ slipt unexpectedly into their Company, either -from behind a Curtain, or miraculously enter'd at the Key-hole. And -the last Time he appear'd, there was one of his intimate Friends had -not known him, but by a _Sore_ in his Breast, which the Power of God, -in his Resurrection, did not heal: After which, they said, he -_vanish'd away, was taken up into Heaven_, and they saw him no more. -Supposing, I say, the _French_ Prophets had told such like Stories of -_Doctor Emms_'s Resurrection and of his Appearances to them; what -would your Priests and all other wise Men have said to it? Why, that -it was all idle Tales, manifest Lyes, Sham, and Imposture; and that if -the _Doctor_, in Confutation of the Errors of our Priests, had risen -to Life, God would have kept him in his Sepulchre, his full time, and -have rais'd him in the Presence of Priests, Magistrates and People; -and that he would have walk'd afterwards publickly in the Streets -without Danger, to the Satisfaction of all, who knew him, that he was -the same _Emms_ who died and was bury'd: _Without Danger_, I say, from -the Populace, who would have been so far from affronting him, that -they would have almost adored him for the miraculous Favour God had -done him, in his Resurrection from the Dead; and that he would never -have skulk'd about, and absconded himself for _forty Days_ together, -before he was pretendedly translated; and therefore there was nothing -but notorious Deceit and Imposture in all these Pretences. - -I need not make the Application of this Case and Story, which your -_Priests_ know how to do for me. To say here, that there's none would -be so desperate to engage in such a Fraud, as is the supposed Case of -Dr. _Emms_ above, is a Mistake. Many Thousands for their Diversion -would enterprise it; and the Stories of the Apparitions of Ghosts, -which are almost all the Frauds of the Crafty to delude the Ignorant, -do prove it. I my self would be forward to concert such an Intrigue, -if it were but to put the Banter upon the _Clergy_, to ruffle their -Tempers, and secretly to laugh at them. Nothing would deter me from -it, but Fears of the Civil Magistrate, which was not the Danger of the -Disciples of _Jesus_, because _Pilate_, for the Sake of Rule over the -_Jews_, was a Countenancer of every Faction amongst them; and -particularly[318] _Tiberius_, upon _Pilate_'s Representation of the -Matter, soon commanded that the Disciples of _Jesus_ should not be -molested, nor call'd into Question: So the Disciples stood to the -Fraud, told the Story of _Jesus risen_ so often, till they believed it -themselves, and drew Multitudes into the Belief of it: Which Belief -must have continued thro' all Generations to come, but for my Argument -of Fraud, before urg'd and argued. - -Here, Sir, before I conclude this Letter, I think it my Duty however to -give you my Opinion of the Religion, that _Jesus_ and his Disciples -were for introducing into the World. Tho' I believe, what I have proved, -his Resurrection, to be a Piece of Fraud, and his other Miracles to have -been all Artifice; and tho' our _Chief Priests_ and ancient Nation are -justifiable in the Sentence, that was pass'd and executed upon _Jesus_; -yet I must do him and his Disciples the Justice, to own, that the -Doctrine they taught was, for the most Part of it, good, useful and -popular, being no other than the Law and Religion of Nature, which, all -Nations being wearied with their own Superstitions, and sick of the -Burthen of their Priests, ran apace into. Accordingly one[319] of your -ancient Fathers says, that they _who lived according to the Law of -Nature, were true Christians_. And I must needs say, that if Christians, -in Process of Time, had not sophisticated this primitive Religion of -_Jesus_; if they had not built their systematical Divinity upon him, and -brought strange Inventions of Men into his Worship; if, lastly, they had -not again subjugated and entangled themselves with another and worse -Yoke of Bondage, to an intolerable and tyrannical Priesthood of the -Church, the World might have enjoy'd great Happiness under _Jesus_'s -Religion, even _that Happiness_ which is now only to be expected upon a -Disproof of his miraculous Resurrection, that has been the Foundation of -a most confused Superstructure of wild Doctrines and Opinions: Or more -truely speaking, _That Happiness_ of the State of Nature, Religion and -Liberty, which may be look'd for upon the coming of our _Messiah_, the -allegorical Accomplisher of the Law and the Prophets; whose Advent, upon -the Tradition of our _Cabalists_, will be towards the latter End of the -_Sixth_ grand Age of the Creation, to remove from our Faces and our -Hearts the Veil of the Letter; and in the mean while I adhere to the -umbratical Rites, Ceremonies and way of Worship, derived from our -Forefathers. - -Thus, Sir, have I finish'd my _Letter_ on _Jesus_'s Resurrection; and -whether I have not said enough to justify our _Jewish_ Disbelief of -that Miracle, let your _Chief Priests_ judge. I don't expect my -Argument against it will be convincing of any of your Preachers. They -have a potent Reason for their Faith, which we _Jews_ can't come at; -or I don't know but we might believe with them. - -I trust you'll meet with no Molestation for the Publication of this -_Letter_; neither do I think, it was any thing of mine, inserted in -your Discourses, that at any time brought Trouble on you. It was your -own Imprudence to rave, as you do, against _Ecclesiasticks_. What need -had you to talk of the Mischiefs and Inconveniences of an Hireling -Priesthood? What Occasion had you to call them Ecclesiastical Vermin, -and to speak of the Happiness of Mankind upon their Extinction? These -things are very provoking. And here's the true Source, in my Opinion, -of all your Troubles! - -Tho' I have here shewn, that _Christ is not risen_, yet I have more -Wit than to make the Inference of St. _Paul_, that _their Preaching is -vain_. Their Oratory is still useful, if it be but to tickle the Ears -and amuse the Understandings of the People about Doctrines they -underhand not, whether true or false. And such an Order of Men, as are -your Priesthood, are, by their Habit of long Robes, an Ornament to -Society; and it is an Honour to the Country to have them well fed and -clad. Had I Room for it, I could write a curious _Encomium_ in Praise -of them, and tell the World of what Use and Advantage they have been, -in all Ages. O what Wars and Persecutions might have been rais'd in -the World, but for their pacifick Tempers! How would Sin and -Immorality have broke in upon Mankind, like a Deluge, but for the -Goodness of their Lives, and the Excellency of their Precepts! How has -the Increase and Multitude of their warm Sermons been the Ruin of -_Satan_'s hot and divided Kingdom of Darkness and Error! It's owing to -their Pains and Labours, that every Age, for many past, has been -improving in Virtue, till the present, which for Piety and good Morals -is that perfection of Time, which is not to be meliorated but by the -Restitution of the golden Age. - -So could I enlarge in Praise of your _Clergy_; and so should you have -done; and then you might have disputed, as you do, against any -Doctrines, Miracles and Articles of Faith, without Molestation. Try, if -you can't correct that fundamental Error, you have committed. Assert -still, if you can, with Dr. _Rogers_, the Necessity of an establish'd -Priesthood, well paid, for the Service of the _King_ and the Country, -under all Changes of Religion; which may be a Means to retrieve their -Favour, and will beget in me a better Opinion of your Prudence, than at -present is entertain'd by your _Assured Friend_ N. N. - -So ends the Letter of my Friend, the _Jewish Rabbi_, in which, to my -Comfort, he has conform'd himself to the Rules of _Sedateness_, -_Decency_ and _Sobriety_ of Argument, prescrib'd by the two great -_Bishops_ of _London_ and St. _David_'s. If the Weight and Solidity of -his Argument don't grieve the _Clergy_, I am in no Pain for the Levity -and Ludicrousness of it. And whether the Weight and Nature of his -Argument against _Jesus_'s Resurrection will at all startle and -surprize them, I know not; but I profess for my self, that I might -have study'd long enough for such an Argument against it, as this -_Rabbi_, with his great grey Beard, has presently hit of. He told me -beforehand, that his Thoughts on _Jesus_'s Resurrection should be out -of the common Road of thinking; and I must needs say, he has been as -good as his Word, or no Man ever kept his Promise. - -There are two Things very remarkable in his Argument: The _one_ is, -the Use and Design of sealing the Stone of _Jesus_'s Sepulchre, which -he lays great Stress on, to the Proof of Fraud in his Resurrection; -and the _other_ is, his Application of these Words, _the last Error_ -(or as he reads Deceit or Imposture) _will be worse than the first_ -or former, in which he makes the _Chief Priests_ in their Speech to -_Pilate_, to refer to _Lazarus_'s Resurrection as the former known -Imposture. If his Application be just and true, the Consequence is, -that the Resurrections of _Jesus_ and _Lazarus_ are both Impostures. -It grieves me to the Heart to think of this Consequence, which our -_Divines_ are to see to, and evade, if they can. No sooner did I read -his Application of the foresaid Words, but I run to our _Commentators_ -for another and better Exposition of them: But alas! to my Sorrow, -they made nothing of them, but a sort of a _proverbial Expression_, -which the _Chief Priests_ must have spoil'd and knock'd out of Joint. -Being then under great Trouble for the Truth of Christianity, and the -Certainty of these two grand Miracles, I refer the Matter to our -Learned _Clergy_, desiring them to be as speedy as they can in another -and more proper Interpretation of the foresaid Words, or _Jews_ and -_Infidels_ will run away with them in the _Rabbi_'s Sense, to the -Confutation of our holy Religion. - -I consider'd lately, that _Easter_ drew nigh, when it was usual for -our _Divines_ in their Pulpits, to insist on the Proof of _Jesus_'s -Resurrection; and therefore I hasten'd the Publication of this -_Discourse_, that they might have these two peculiar Texts, _viz._ of -_sealing the Stone_ of the Sepulchre, and of _the last Error_ or -Imposture _will be worse than the first_, to treat on. He that -produces a Sermon or Sermons, wresting the foresaid Texts out of the -Hands of my _Rabbi_, and putting another Sense on them, to the Credit -of _Jesus_'s and _Lazarus_'s Resurrection, - - _Erit mihi magnus Apollo_, - -and by my Consent shall be the next _Arch-Bishop_ of _Canterbury_. - -But my Heart aches a little for our _Divines_, and I almost despair of -their clean Solutions of the foresaid two Difficulties. What must they -do then? Why, they must give up their _Religion_ as well as their -_Church_, or go along with me to the Fathers for their mystical -Interpretation of the whole Story of _Jesus_'s Resurrection. - -That the Fathers, without questioning their Belief of _Jesus_'s -corporal Resurrection universally interpreted the Story and every Part -of it mystically, is most certain. St. _Hilary_[320] enumerates many -Particulars of the Story, and intimates what they are typical and -figurative of, as any one may see by the Citation referr'd to, which I -have not Room to translate and illustrate. - -St. _Augustin_[321] says, that _Jesus_'s Resurrection from the Dead at -that time, was to exhibit an Image and Resemblance of his future and -mystical Resurrection. And elsewhere says[322] that it's a holy Pleasure -to consider and search for the things signified by the Story of it. - -That _Origen_ is of the same Opinion, no body need question. A -Multitude of his Testimonies might be produced to this Purpose, but I -shall mention only one[323], wherein he asserts, that by the Sepulchre -of _Jesus_ is to be understood the _Letter_ of the Scriptures, in -which, as in a Rock, he is reposited. - -St. _John_ of _Jerusalem_[324] by the Crucifiers of _Jesus_ -understands false Teachers, meaning _Ministers_ of the _Letter_ to be -sure, because he himself was a great Allegorist. - -St. _Hilary_ says that[325] _Barabbas_ is a Type of _Antichrist_; and -by _Antichrist_, as I have elsewhere shewn out of the Fathers, is -meant the _Letter_ of the Scriptures, which modern Commentators and -Crucifiers of _Jesus_ would prefer to the Spirit. For these are the -two, _Letter_ and Spirit, the _Christ_ and _Antichrist_, that are -contrary one to another. - -St. _Jerom_[326] says, that by the _Vail_ of the _Temple_ rent at -_Jesus_'s Resurrection, is to be understood the opening the _Vail_ of -the _Letter_ of the Law and the Prophets for the Manifestation of the -divine Mysteries contain'd in them. And by the rending of the Rocks -according[327] to him is to be understood the Apertion of the Oracles -of God, that were before as hard as a Rock, till his spiritual -Resurrection for the Illustration of them. And by the Earthquake, He -says is meant the Shaking of the[328] Hearts of Men, and preparing -them, by a Dereliction of their old Errors, for the Susception of the -true Knowledge of God. - -As to the Time that _Jesus_ was dead and bury'd, which modern -_Divines_ call _three Days_ and _three Nights_, St. _Augustin_ -says[329] that according to the Scripture he was not so long dead and -buried. Many, says[330] he, have put various Constructions on the Time -of _Christ_'s Burial, endeavouring to make three Days of it: But we, -without slighting any of their Opinions, are for a mystical -Interpretation, and suppose, that by the three Days are to be -understood Three Ages of the World. - -The Day would fail me to collect all the Passages out of the Fathers, -in Interpretation of one or other of the Parts of the Story of -_Jesus_'s Resurrection, but what I have here said in a few Citations, -is enough to show, that they look'd upon the whole Story, as -emblematical of his spiritual Resurrection out of the _Grave_ of the -_Letter_ of the Scriptures, in which he has been buried about _three -Days_ and _three Nights_, according to that mystical Interpretation of -prophetical Numbers which I have learn'd of them. - -And thus have I done with the Miracle of _Jesus_'s Resurrection, -which, by the Help of my Friend the Jewish _Rabbi_, I have shewn, -according to the Letter, to consist of the greatest Incredibilities. -And with this I conclude my _Discourses_ on his Miracles, intending to -treat on no more of them, unless I am invited or provoked to it. I had -once an Inclination to make another _Discourse_ on _Jesus_'s -miraculous Conception, and on his feeding his Thousands, in the -Wilderness, with a few Loaves and Fishes; but upon a little -Consideration on the Letter of those two Stories, I found myself too -grave for the Work; and my _Rabbi_'s Thoughts are too gay and wanton; -therefore it must be omitted, till the _Clergy_ importune me to it, -and signify their Curiosity to see it perform'd by me. - -My Discourses hereafter, if God spare me Life and Liberty, which under -his Providence I don't despair of, to publish another Volume, shall -treat on some historical Passages of the New Testament, such as, "On -the Stories of _Jesus_'s Birth; and the Appearances of Angels to the -Shepherds keeping Watch over their Flocks by Night: "The Journey and -Presents of the Wise Men to _Jesus_: "The Slaughter of the Innocents -at _Bethlehem_, and of _Herod_'s Cruelty: "The Travels of _Joseph_ -with the Child _Jesus_ and his Mother into _Egypt_: "The Disputation -of _Jesus_ with the _Doctors_ in the Temple, and his Elopement from -his Parents: "His riding on an Ass to _Jerusalem_; and on other such -like Passages of his Life. For I am resolv'd to give the Letter of the -Scripture no Rest, so long as God gives me Life and Abilities to -attack it. _Origen_[331] _says_, that _when we dispute against -Ministers of the Letter, we must select some historical Parts of -Scripture, which they understand literally, and shew that according to -the Letter, they can't stand their Ground, but imply Absurdities and -Nonsense_. And how then is such a Work to be perform'd to best -Advantage? Is it to be done in a grave, sedate, and serious Manner? -No, I think Ridicule should here take Place of sober Reasoning, as the -more proper and effectual Means to cure Men of their foolish Faith and -absurd Notions. As no wise Man hardly ever reprehends a Blunderbuss -for his Bull, any other way, than by laughing at him; so the Asserters -of nonsensical Notions in Theology should, if possible, be satirized -and jetted upon, or they'll never be put out of Countenance for, nor -desert their absurd Doctrines. And there never was a polemical Divine, -that, if he had an Opportunity and Advantage over the Weakness of his -Adversary, did not take such a ludicrous and merry Course with him. - -But on such historical Passages of the Gospel as before mention'd, do -I trust to publish another Volume of _Discourses_, like to these on -_Jesus_'s Miracles; and at present pass to my third general Head, at -first proposed to be spoken to, and that is, - -III. To consider what _Jesus_ means, when he appeals to his Works and -Miracles, as to a Testimony and Witness of his Authority; and to show -that he did not properly and ultimately refer to these done in the -_Flesh_, but to those mystical ones he would do in the _Spirit_, of -which those done in the Flesh are but mere Types and Shadows. - -And on this Head I shall be short, there being no Occasion of many -Words on it. The _Bishop_ of _London_[332] has collected many Sayings -of _Jesus_, wherein he seems to appeal to the Works he then did and -had done in Flesh, as to a Witness of him. But why might not _Jesus_ -then prophesy, and mean the spiritual Works which _He-in-us_ would do? -It is the known Way of the Prophets to speak of Things to come, as if -they were already past, because such Prophecies are not to be -understood, till their Accomplishment: Even so did _Jesus_ prophesy, -when he appeal'd to his Works, as I could prove from the Nature and -Manner of his Expressions, but that the Argument would be dry and -tedious: And therefore I refer the Matter entirely to the Fathers, who -asserted that _Jesus_ prophesied in his _Miracles_ as well as in his -_Parables_, and that the Works he then did in the Flesh were but Types -of his mysterious Operations, that would be the Demonstration of his -Authority and Messiahship. Hence it is that _Origen_[333] says that -_Jesus_'s first coming was but a Type and Shadow of his spiritual -Advent and that his[334] true Miracles, by which his Authority is to -be proved, are spiritual: Hence it is that St. _Hilary_ repeatedly -says[335] that _Jesus_'s Works were significative and predictive of -mysterious Operations, which we were especially to look to. And Hence -it is that all the other Fathers interpreted the Miracles of _Jesus_ -in a mystical and allegorical Sense. - -The Question then is, to what Miracles did _Jesus_ truly and properly -appeal, in the Opinion of the Fathers, for his Authority and -Messiahship? Was it to the Typical or Antitypal Works? was it to the -_Shadow_ or to the _Substance_ of his Operations? To his substantial -Operations, to be sure, which are and will be his spiritual ones upon -the Soul, that are greater than those once done on Men's Bodies, and -which will be a proper Proof of his divine Power. And to declare my -Opinion freely, I am only for such a spiritual _Messiah_, who will -cure the _Errors_ call'd the Diseases of Mankind, which _Jesus_ of -_Nazareth_ has not as yet done. - -But not to dispute this Point with _Bishop Gibson_, I will leave him -in the Enjoyment of his Opinion of his literal _Messiah_, and -miraculous Operator on Men's Bodies; if he'll but indulge me in the -Belief of my spiritual _Messiah_ to come for the healing of modern -Distempers call'd the Sins and Errors of Mankind. And in the mean time -let us draw the Comparison between his _literal_ and my _spiritual_ -Jesus; and let the World judge, to whom the Preference is to be given -for Power and Authority. - -Bishop _Gibson_ is for _Jesus_ of _Nazareth_'s Messiahship, because he -cured the _bodily Blindness_ of many miraculously; And a good Work it -was: But I am for the Messiahship of a spiritual _Jesus_ to come, who -will open the _blind Eyes_ of our Understandings to discern Truth from -Error, which will be a most glorious Operation, that his _Jesus_ of -_Nazareth_ has not as yet done. - -Bishop _Gibson_ is for _Jesus_'s Messiahship, who once cured _bodily -Deafness_ in many, which was indeed well done of him: But I am for the -Messiahship of a spiritual _Jesus_ to come, to heal the _Deafness_ of -our Souls, or their _Dulness_ in Apprehension of sublime Mysteries, -which will be a divine Work, that his _Jesus_ has not as yet done. - -Bishop _Gibson_ is for _Jesus_'s Messiahship, because he cured Men's -bodily _Lameness_, for which I do praise him: But I am for a spiritual -_Jesus_'s Messiahship, who will heal Mankind of their _Halting_ -between two and more Opinions; a more blessed Work, that _Jesus_ of -_Nazareth_ has not as yet done for us! - -And so, comparing all other Diseases of Body and Soul together, I am for -the _Jesus_, who will heal the Diseases of the Soul; and have a much -less Regard for _Bishop Gibson's Jesus_, who cured the Diseases of a few -Men's Bodies; but for all that, am not angry with the _Bishop_ for his -high Veneration of his _Jesus_, neither would I by any Means have him -prosecuted and punish'd for not being of the same Mind with me. - -But, because the _Bishop_ suspects me of Infidelity, in that I have -ludicrously treated some of the Miracles of his _Jesus_, which by the by -he has not vindicated from the Absurdities and Incredibilities I charged -them with; I will humour the _Bishop_, and supposing _Jesus_ wrought -literally those Miracles which are allegorically interpreted by me, will -in those very Miracles compare his _literal_ and my _spiritual_ Jesus -together; and appeal to all Men of Consideration, which is the most -worthy of the Title and Honour of the true _Messiah_. - -Bishop _Gibson_ is for his _Jesus_'s Messiahship, who miraculously -drove the _Buyers_ and _Sellers_ out of the Temple, just as if a Man, -was God to invest him with Power, should furiously drive the -_Butchers_ and _Grasiers_ with their Cattle, to the Confusion of their -several Properties, out of _Smithfield_: A notable Miracle That! But I -am for the spiritual _Jesus_'s Messiahship, who according to the Form -of that typical Story, will at his Coming expel Ecclesiastical -Merchants out of his Church, who make Merchandise of the Gospel, -selling their _Bulls_ and _Beasts_, and _Fatlings_ of the Letter: A -most glorious and beneficial Work to Mankind will this be! And to -prepare Mens Souls for the Susception of such a spiritual _Jesus_, I -intend to publish a _Discourse_ of the Mischiefs and Inconveniencies -of an _Hireling Priesthood_, wherein it shall be proved, that Mankind -can't be either good, wise or happy under the Kingdom of this -_Messiah_ to come, without an Abolition and Extirpation of them. - -Bishop _Gibson_ is for the Messiahship of his _Jesus_, who _cast the -Devils out of the Madmen, and permitted them to enter into the Herd of -Swine_, that _ran violently down a Precipice, and were choak'd in the -Sea_: How great a Miracle it was thus to cure the Madmen, the _Bishop_ -may know best, being perhaps better acquainted with the Devil than I -am; but was it not for Pity to the _Swineherds_, for their Losses, I -could even now laugh at the Thoughts of the Hoggs running and tumbling -down-hill, as if the _Devil_ drove them: But leaving the Bishop -_calmly_, _decently_, and _seriously_ to admire the Wisdom and Justice -of his _Jesus_ in that Act, I am for the spiritual _Jesus_, who, -according to the typical Form of that Story, exorcis'd the furious and -diabolical Tempers out of the _Jews_ and _Gentiles_ of old, whom no -Chains of Reason could hold from doing Violence to the Christians, -till they were converted; and tho' He permitted the like persecuting -and diabolical Spirits to enter into Ecclesiastical Swine; yet will -they be precipitated into the _Sea_ of the Knowledge of God, wherein -they will be absorpt with divine Visions and Contemplations. O most -glorious Work! that bespeaks the Wisdom, Power and Goodness of our -spiritual _Jesus_, from the Beginning to the End of it. - -Bishop _Gibson_ admires his _Jesus_, for his Transfiguration on Mount -_Tabor_, tho' neither He nor any Body else can tell, wherein lay the -Miracle, nor into what various Figures and Shapes _Jesus_ was -transform'd: But I am for the spiritual _Jesus_, whose glorious -Transfiguration, after _six_ grand Days of the Creation, will be -conspicuous, when with the Eyes of our Understanding we shall behold -him metamorphosed into the Forms of all the Types of him under the -Law. I am now ravish'd with the intellectual View of this -Transfiguration; and believe, was I to set about it, I could give -others (except the Bishop) an Idea and Conception or it to their -Astonishment at the Glory of _Jesus_ in it. - -Bishop _Gibson_ is for the Messiahship of _Jesus_ of _Nazareth_, -because he cured a _Woman of an Issue of Blood_, after she had spent -all she had upon Physicians to no purpose, which might be, or might -not be a Miracle, for any thing he can argue upon it: But I am for the -spiritual _Jesus_'s Messiahship, who, at his Coming, will, according -to that typical Story, cure the _Woman_ of the Church of her _Issue of -Blood_, that is shed in Persecution and War, which her Ecclesiastical -Physicians of the _Clergy_ have not been able to stop, tho' they have -receiv'd large Fees and Stipends of the Church to that Purpose. Will -not this be a desirable and beneficial Work to all Nations? And who -knows not, (excepting the _Bishop_) that it is of the Office of the -true Messiah, to give _abundance of Peace_ to Mankind, to _make the -Lion to lye down with the Lamb_; and to induce Men to _break their -Swords into Plough-shares_, and _their Spears into Pruning-hooks_; and -to _make Wars to cease_ in all the World. Which Prophecies are so far -from being fulfill'd by _Jesus_ of _Nazareth_, that there has been -nothing but Wrangling and Jangling, and Scolding and Fighting about -him ever since. I wonder the Want of the Accomplishment of the -foresaid Prophecies has not long before now occasion'd the Rejection -of _Jesus_'s Messiahship, or of the Authority of the Prophets. - -Bishop _Gibson_ is for his _Jesus_'s being the Messiah, because he -cured an old _Woman_ of a _Spirit_ of, no body knows what, -_Infirmity_; consequently little or nothing is to be laid for the -Greatness of that Miracle. But I am for the spiritual _Jesus_'s -Messiahship, who, according to the Figure of that literal Story, is to -heal the _Woman_ of the Church of her _Infirmity of the Spirit_ of -Prophecy, which _Jesus_ of _Nazareth_ has not done for her, or there -would not be so many Disputes about Prophecies and their -Interpretations, so far, as there is hardly one Prophecy that -Christians are agreed about the Sense of. It is the grand -Characteristick of the true _Messiah_, that he's to restore Prophecy -and the Way of Interpretation of the Prophets, upon the allegorical -Scheme too. I speak this, not only upon the Authority of the Prophets -themselves, but upon an almost infinite Number of Testimonies of -ancient _Jews_ and _Fathers_; accordingly I expect the Advent of a -spiritual Messiah, who alone can do it, to heal the Church of her -present _Infirmity_, and to restore the Art and Gift of Prophecy. - -Bishop _Gibson_ is an Admirer of _Jesus_ of _Nazareth_, because he -told a poor Whore of _Samaria_, her Fortune of _having had five -Husbands_, and being then an Adulteress with another Man; which, -according to the Letter, is such a poor sort of a Miracle, that I can -hardly think of it without blushing: But I am an Adorer beforehand of -the spiritual _Jesus_ who, according to that Type, will out of the Law -and the Prophets, allegorically interpreted, tell the present -heretical and adulterous Woman of the Church _all that she has done_, -and how she has been wedded to the sensible Things of the _five_ Books -of _Moses_, and is now an Adulteress with the _Anti-Christ_ of the -Letter. Such an Information of the Church will be a most stupendous -and miraculous Work, and a Demonstration of our _Jesus_'s Messiahship -beyond Contradiction, in as much as it will be agreeable to the -Opinion, that all Antiquity entertain'd of the true _Messiah_, _viz._ -that he was to let us into the Sight, Knowledge and Understanding of -the Wisdom and Beauty of Providence thro' all Ages of the World. - -Bishop _Gibson_ admires _Jesus_ of _Nazareth_ for _his cursing the -Figtree; for not bearing Fruit out of Season_: Shame on that Miracle, -according to the Letter, and on all Admirers of it! But I am for the -spiritual _Jesus_, who, at his coming to the Figtree of his Church, -will make its present unfruitful State to _wither away_, and cause it -to produce the Fruits of the Spirit, and allegorical Interpretations -of the Scriptures, that are compared to sweet and ripe Figs. For such -his Advent to this miraculous and beneficial Purpose I daily pray and -say too, Blessed are all those who love his Appearance! - -After this Fashion could I go thro' the other Miracles, I have treated -on in these _Discourses_; and upon the Comparison set plainly before -the Eyes of my _Readers_ the Difference between the _literal_ Miracles -of Bishop _Gibson's carnal_ Jesus and the _allegorical_ ones of my -_spiritual_ Jesus, as to Stupendousness, Use and Excellency: But what -I have here done in the seven Instances above, is enough to induce us -to believe, with the Fathers, that _Jesus_'s first Coming in the -_Flesh_ was but a Type and Shadow of his second Advent in the -_Spirit_; and that _Jesus_ of old, when he appeal'd to his Works then -done, as to a Witness of his Authority, did only prophesy, and refer -ultimately to his mystical Operations, that are alone the Proof of his -Godlike and divine Power. Bishop _Gibson_ says[336] of me, that -_pretending to raise the Actions and Miracles of our Saviour to a more -exalted and spiritual Meaning, I have labour'd to take away the -Reality of them, and by that to destroy one of the principal Evidences -of Christianity_. But I presume now, he'll be sensible of the Rashness -and Incogitancy of that Accusation. If he be not, I shall say of him, -in Case he write any more for _Jesus's literal_ Miracles in Opposition -to his _allegorical_ ones that he's like the Dog in the Fable (the -Bishop will excuse the Coarseness of the Comparison) that let go the -_Substance_ of his Mutton, and catch'd at the Shadow, and so, like a -foolish _Cur_ as he was, lost both. - -And thus have I done with the _Three_ general Heads at first proposed -to be handled in these _Discourses_. Now whether I am, upon the whole, -an _Infidel_, or _Believer_ of Christianity, the World is to judge. -I'll make no more solemn Declarations of my Belief of it, much less at -this Juncture of Time, when I am under Prosecution for Infidelity; -because it would be a sneaking, tame, and cowardly Act in me, and such -an Argument of that Meanness of Spirit, as I abhor and detest. My -_Works_ shall speak for me, in which, being conscious of the Innocency -of my Intentions, and of the Usefulness of my Design, I mean to -proceed; not doubting but some of our _clergy_, upon two or three -more _Discourses_ against the Letter of the _New Testament_, will find -me out, what I am, and whether I am not a true Professor of the -Religion of the spiritual and holy _Jesus_. - -In the mean Time I'll not compound the Difference depending between -Bishop _Gibson_ and my self, upon any other Terms, than his making me -ample Satisfaction for the Injuries done to my Reputation and low -Fortunes. Tho' he may thirst after my Life, or at least, my Liberty; -yet under the Providence of God I fear not the Loss of either. God be -prais'd, this Kingdom is bless'd with such a Civil Administration for -Wisdom, Justice and Mercy, as no Nation of the World can equal. Our -Magistrates are all Philosophers, Lovers of Truth, and of an Enquiry -into it; and so tender of the religious as well as of the civil Rights -of the Subject, that I have nothing to dread from them. - -There is somewhat _popular_ indeed, tho' nothing true nor rational, in -the Clamour and Accusations of the _Clergy_ against me. Bishop _Gibson_ -would insinuate[337] that my _Discourses_ on _Miracles_ strike _at the -Foundation of civil Society_; but by an unnatural Consequence of his -own making. I confess, it is an heinous Crime to write any Thing that -tends to the Subversion or Prejudice of the civil Society: But how will -the _Bishop_ make me guilty of it? If the _Clergy_ will not be -Disturbers of the Peace of the Publick upon my _Discourses_; it's -certain, that the Quiet of the World, which I wish and aim at, will be -inviolably kept and preserv'd for all me. My Followers indeed, when I -walk the Streets of this City, are _numerous_; and if any of them should -break the Peace, what serves my _Lord Mayor_'s Power for, but to -chastise them for it? As for my self and my Adherents at home, which, as -yet, are _without Number_, we are all _Quietists_ and should act against -our Consciences and Religion, if we should injure any Man in his Person -and Property. But I smile to see a _Clergyman_ all on a sudden, like the -_Bishop_, so tender of the Welfare of the Publick, when -_Ecclesiasticks_, in all Ages past, have been the _Bane_ of Society and -the _Pest_ of Mankind, as appears from the Wars and Persecution they -have rais'd in the World; and from that Strife, Variance and Discords, -they have occasion'd in Cities and Families. And with Submission to the -_Bishop_, who I hope will not be angry for my saying it, I am sure, the -_Clergy_ at this Juncture, are like an _high-mettal'd blind Horse_, -that were they not ridden by the Civil Authority with a strait Rein, -would be oppressing and trampling upon all, that flood in the Way of -their Interests, to the Disturbance of _Civil Society_. - -_Profaneness_ too does the _Bishop_ charge me with. But why so? Because -I ridicule the Nonsense and Absurdities of _Jesus_'s Miracles according -to the Letter, which he venerates. Very fine indeed! The _Bishop_ would -worship the _Head_ of an _Ass_, and a wiser Man than himself, without -the Charge of Profaneness, must not laugh at his foolish Superstition. - -And _Blasphemy_ lastly does the _Bishop_ accuse me of: And this is a -sad _Bugbear_ Word, that has frighted Abundance of People into -dreadful Apprehensions of my Guilt, even to the Abhorrence of me. But -the _Bishop_ should first have defined, what is meant by _Blasphemy_, -and have proved me guilty of it, before he had made his Exclamations: -Or the _Turks_ may say that a Jest upon their _Alcoran_, in which -there are no Contradictions, is as much a _Blasphemy_, as any -Ludicrousness upon the _Gospels_, which are full of Inconsistencies. -That there is such a Sin or Error, call'd _Blasphemy_, according to -the Scriptures, is certain: But our _Divines_ are undetermined about -the Nature of it. I intend to take my Opportunity to treat on the Sin -of Blasphemy, and to prove, _Ministers_ of the _Letter_ are the only -Persons that can be guilty of it. _Ministers_ of the _Letter_, upon -the Authority of the Fathers, are the Worshippers of the -_Apocalyptical Beast_; and anti-allegorical Expositions are that -_Blasphemy_, St. _John_ writes of, which the _Beast_ and his -Worshippers will open their Mouths in, against the most High. This -shall be proved as clear as the Light. But when I do it, I would not -have any think, it is with an Intention to bring the Bishops of -_London_, _Litchfield_, and St. _David_'s, or any other _Divines_, -under Prosecution for that heinous Sin: No, my God is omnipotent, -omniscient and omnipresent; and knows how and when to reckon with such -Blasphemers, without calling upon the Civil Magistrate to do it for -him. Should I importune the Civil Authority to execute Vengeance upon -them, I should make a foolish _Calf_ or a Senseless _Idol_ of my God, -that was unable, or knew not how, nor when to vindicate his own Cause. -Surely the _Bishop_ of _London_, upon his Prosecution of me for -_Blasphemy_, must think his God now _asleep_ or _gone a Journey_ from -Home; or he would not be for taking God's own Work out of his Hands, -and committing it to the Care of the Civil Magistrates. - -The _Bishop_ moreover should consider, that the Words _prophane_ and -_blasphemous_ are of no Use and Signification among Philosophers, who in -Disputation never cast them at each other, however they may differ in -Opinion. Philosophers are all supposed to be such profound Venerators of -the Deity, as they would not be guilty of _Prophaneness_ and _Blasphemy_ -for the whole World. If any of our School of _Free-Thinkers_ should say -of his Opponent that he's _prophane_ and _blasphemous_, he would be -reprimanded for want of Wit, Temper and good Manners; and be told that -he's like a _Billingsgate Scold_, who has Recourse to impertinent bad -Language, when her Reason fails her for better Rhetorick. - -But it may be, for ought I know, the _Bishop_ has some Design in his -Accusations against me for _Profaneness_ and _Blasphemy_; but I hope -it is a better than to prejudice the Civil Magistrate, or to incense -the Populace. - -According to the Fathers I am so far from being a Blasphemer, that -they say, _Christ_ upon the literal Interpretation of his Miracles is -metamorphosed into the False-Christ, call'd _Anti-Christ_. Whether -there is any Truth in this their Opinion I can't be positive, till the -Experiment is fully made. But if our _Clergy_ will keep their Temper, -and grant me a clear Stage of Battle, I'll try it out; and see whether -I can't, by the Club of Reason and primitive Authority, give their -_Anti-Christ_ a fatal Blow: Who knows but I may give Peace to the -Church, and reconcile all Parties by it? - -However this may be; I am sure, no Man can wish for a greater -Advantage over his Enemy, than I have over the _Bishop_ in this -Controversy: But he shall find me a generous Adversary, who will make -no worse Use of my Advantage over him than now and then to put him in -Mind of his _Pastoral Letter_, and of the Prosecution; unless I should -be tempted, ere long, to publish my _Moderatorial_ Letter, like his -_Pastoral_ one, to the People of _London_ and _Westminster_, with -_Ten_ wholesome Rules in it, not only to caution them against false -Prophets and false Teachers, without forgetting the _Bishop_ of the -_Diocese_, but to direct them to the Ecclesiastical Fountain of the -growing Sins, Errors and Infidelity of the Age, which the _Clergy_ -know I am of Ability to lay open. - -When I began the Publication of these _Discourses_, I own, I laid a -_Trap_ for some considerable _Clergyman_; but little imagined, the -great _Bishop_ of _London_ would be caught in it. But now I have taken -hold of him, I'll not release him out of the Controversy, till he has -sorely repented of his Ignorance or Malice in calling me a _Writer, in -Favour of Infidelity_. - -So much at present for the Bishop of _London_. I have been the quicker -of late in the printing of _this_, because I am given to understand, -the _Bishop_ of St. _David_'s stays for it, intending to make but one -Work of it, and answer all _six Discourses_ together. I hope my -_Rabbi_'s Letter here will be thought by him, a good Payment for his -Patience. And now I shall be in Expectation of his Mountainous -Production, and where I shall hide myself from the terrible Strokes of -his Pen, I have not as yet consider'd. - -I am not a little pleas'd to see a _Couple_ of Dissenting Preachers, -_viz._ Dr. _Harris_ and Mr. _Atkinson_, lifted into the Controversy -against me. If they had kept their Necks out of the Collar, they might -have dissembled and pretended, that, upon the Conclusion of the Battle, -when it would have appear'd, I am a real Contender for Primitive -Christianity, they had a better Understanding of the Fathers, and a -clearer View of my Design, than to suspect me of Blasphemy and -Infidelity: But now they are engag'd with equal Spite, Ignorance and -Defamations against me, they must take their Share of the Fate and -Shame, with the _Clergy_, upon the Conclusion of the Controversy. - -There's no Body can think it worth my while to bestow a Six-penny -_Pamphlet_ upon either of these _Gentlemen_, but for all that, they -shall not be altogether slighted and neglected by me. I have made a -Collection of their Rhetorical Flowers, which occasionally shall be -presented the Publick, to the Admiration of their Wit, Reason, -Learning and Eloquence. And at present only take Notice, that they are -_both_ for the Persecution of me; but not so much for my Opinions, as -the Indecency, Irreverence, and Immorality of my Stile; forsooth! -which is just such a Distinction, as may be easily stretch'd to the -Justification of the Persecution of all Authors, whom the Priesthood -in Power shall not like. Mr. _Atkinson_'s Argument for the Persecution -of me, is much the same with that, which _John Calvin_ used for the -Persecution of that great Philosopher _Servetus_; the Injustice and -Cruelty of whose Death and Sufferings is a greater Reproach to the -Name of _Calvin_, than the Martyrdom of any _Protestant_ can be to the -Memory of any Popish Prelate. - -To conclude, what I have written, in these _Six Discourses_, is with a -View to the Glory of God, the Advancement of Truth, the Happiness of -Mankind, the Demolition of _Babylon_, the Edification of _Jerusalem_, -and the Demonstration of the Messiahship of our Spiritual _Jesus_, to -whom be Glory for ever. _Amen._ - - - ~_FINIS._~ - -[Illustration] - -FOOTNOTES: - -[309] Revelations, Chap. xviii. 11. - -[310] _In his Pastoral Letter_, P. 35. - -[311] Daniel, Chap. vi. 17. - -[312] Adducor ut credam Pilati Annulo & hunc Lapidem signatum. _In -Loc. Matt._ - -[313] _Upon the Place in_ Matthew. - -[314] Si Jesus volebat re vera declarare suam divinam Potentiam, -debuerat suis Insultatoribus, ipsique Præsidi qui capitalem sententiam -contra se tulerat, denique cæteris omnibus se ostendere. _In Orig. -Lib._ ii. _contra Celsum_. - -[315] In _Limborchii_ Amica Collatione cum Judæo. - -[316] Magna sane Res & miranda occurrit hoc loco, quæ non solum -aliquem ex vulgo Credentium exercere posset, sed perfectiores etiam; -cur non Dominus post Resurrectionem æque ac superioribus temporibus -conspiciendum se præbuerit. _In Lib._ ii. _cont._ Celsum. - -[317] Quamvis Celsus has Jesu post Resurrectionem Apparitiones -conferre conetur cum vulgaribus Spectris & Visionibus. _In Origen. -Lib._ ii. _contra Celsum_. - -[318] Comminatus est periculum Accusatoribus Christianorum. _Tertul. -Apol. Cap._ v. - -[319] Justin Matyr. _In Apol._ ii. - -[320] Quod autem a Joseph, rogato Pilato ut Corpus redderet, & sindone -involvitur, & in Monumento novo in Petra excisa reponitur, & Saxum -Ostio Monumenti advolvitur: Quanquam sit Ordo Gestorum, & sepeliri eum -erat necesse, qui resurrecturus erat a mortuis, tamen non sine Rerum -aliquarum Momento expressa sunt singula. Joseph Apostolorum habet -speciem: & idcirco quanquam in duodecem numero Apostolorum non fuerit, -Discipulus Domini nuncupatur. Hic munda sindone corpus involvit; & -quidem in hoc eodem linteo reperimus de coelo ad Petrum universorum -Animantium genera summissa. Ex quo forte non superflue intelligitur -sub lintei hujus nomine consepeliri Christo Ecclesiam: quia tum in eo, -ut in Confusione Ecclesiæ mundorum atque immundorum Animalium fuerit -congesta diversitas. Domini igitur Corpus tanquam per Apostolorum -doctrinam in vacuam & novam requiem Lapidis excisi, _viz._ in pectus -duritiæ Gentilis quodam doctrinæ opere excisum Christus infertur, rude -scilicet & novum, & nullo antea ingressu timoris Dei pervium. Et quia -nihil præter cum oporteat in pectora nostra penetrare, Lapis Ostio -advolvitur: ut quia nullus antea in nos divinæ Cognitionis Auctor -fuerat illatus, nullus absque eo postea inferatur. Metus deinde -furandi Corporis, & Sepulchri Custodia atque Obsignatio, Stultitiæ -atque Infidelitatis Testimonium est; quod signare Sepulchrum ejus -voluerint, cujus præcepto conspexissent de Sepulchro mortuum -suscitatum. _In Loc. Matt._ - -[321] Ad hoc enim Dominus hodie resurrexit, ut Imaginem nobis futuræ -Resurrectionis ostenderet. _In Serm._ clxviii. _Append._ - -[322] Quid singula significent, quærere sanctæ quidem Deliciæ sunt. -_In Johan. Evang. C._ xx. _Tract._ 120. - -[323] Monumentum Christi est divina Scriptura, in qua Divinitatis & -Humanitatis ejus mysteria densitate Litteræ veluti quadam muniuntur -Petra. _In Diversos Homil._ 2. - -[324] Ne putes, tunc solummodo traditus est Christus Principibus -Sacerdotibus & Scribis.----Quando enim vides Scripturas Prophetarum & -Evangelii & Apostolorum traditas esse in Manus falsorum Sacerdotum & -Scribarum; num intelliges quia Verbum Veritatis traditum est -Principibus iniquis & Scribis? _In Mat. C._ xx. - -[325] Interpretario autem Nominis Barabbæ est Patris Filius: Jam -itaque Arcanum Infidelitatis futuræ ostenditur, Christo Patris Filium -præferendo, Antichristum scilicet hominem Peccari & Diaboli filium, -potiusque adhortantibus principibus suis eligunt, Damnationi -reservatum, quam Salutis Authorem. _In Loc. Matt._ - -[326] Velum Templi scissum est, & omnia Legis Sacramenta, quæ prius -tegebantur, prodita sunt atque ad Gentium Populum transierunt. _In -Loc. Matt._ - -[327] Petræ scissæ, id est, universa Vaticinia Prophetarum. _In Epist. -ad Hedibriam._ - -[328] Sed mihi videtur Terræ Motus & reliqua typum ferre credentium, -quod pristinis Errorum vitiis derelictis, & Cordis emollita duritia, -postea agnoverint Creatorem. _In Loc. Matt._ - -[329] Ipsum autem triduum, non totum & plenum fuisse Scriptura Testis -est. _In Libro 4to de Trinitate, Sect. 10._ - -[330] De tribus diebus, multi sancti multa hinc senserint atque -dixerint----Sed nos neutram eorum vacantes sententiam; melius tamen, -si placet in his spiritualem requiramus Intellectum, tres Dies tria -Tempora Sæculi ponentes. _In Serm. de Symbolo._ - -[331] Cum disputamus adversus eos, & cum conquirimus advicem, tunc -quærimus locum Dogmatis illius in litera Legis Historiæ, & ostenditur -secundum Historiam stare non posse. _In Psal._ xxxvi. - -[332] _Pastoral Letter_, P. 25. - -[333] Adventus quidem Christi unus in Humilitate completus est, alius -vero speratur in Gloria. Et hic primus Adventus in Carne, mystico -quodam Sermone in Scripturis Sanctis Umbra ejus appellatur. _In Jesu -Novo Homil._ viii. - -[334] Vera Christi Miracula & Sanatio Infirmorum est spiritualis. _In -Matt. C._ xxv. - -[335] Hæc licet in præsens gesta sunt, quid tamen in futurum -significent contuendum est. _In Matt. C._ x. _S._ 1. Christi Gesta -aliud portendunt. _C._ xii. _S._ 1. Peragunt formam futuri gesta -præsentia. _C._ xxi. - -[336] _Pastoral Letter_, P. 3. - -[337] _Pastoral Letter_, P. 35. - - - - - _BOOKS written by Mr._ WOOLSTON, _and Sold by him next Door below - the_ Star _in_ Aldermanbury, _and by the Booksellers of_ London - _and_ Westminster. - - -I. The Old Apology reviv'd, _&c._ - -II. Dissertatio de Pontii Pilati Epistola ad Tiberium circa Res Jesu -Christi gestas. - -III. Origenis Adamantii Epistolæ duæ circa Fidem vere orthodoxam & -Scripturarum Interpretationem. - -IV. The exact Fitness of the Time of Christ's Advent demonstrated by -Reason against the Objections of the old Gentiles, and modern -Unbelievers. - -V. Four Free-Gifts to the Clergy, or Challenges to a Disputation on -this Question, Whether the Hireling Priests of this Age, who are all -Ministers of the Letter, be not Worshippers of the Apocalyptical -Beast, and Ministers of Anti-Christ? - -VI. An Answer to the said Four Free Gifts. - -VII. Two Letters to Dr. _Bennet_ on this Question, Whether the People -call'd _Quakers_ do not the nearest of any other Sect in Religion, -resemble the Primitive Christians, in Principle and Practice? - -VIII. An Answer to the said two Letters. - -IX. The Moderator between an Infidel and an Apostate: Or the -Controversy between the _Grounds_ and his Ecclesiastical Opponents, -set in a clear Light, _&c._ - -X. Two Supplements to the Moderator, _&c._ - -XI. A Defence of the Miracle of the _Thundering Legion_, against a -Dissertation of _Walter Moyle_, Esq.; - -XII. Six Discourses on the Miracles of our Saviour. - -XIII. His Defence of those Discourses, against the Bishops of St. -_David_'s and _London_. - - - - -[Illustration ] - - Mr. _WOOLSTON_'S - - DEFENCE - - OF HIS - - DISCOURSES, _&c._ - -[Illustration] - - - - - Mr. _Woolston_'s Defence - - OF HIS - - _DISCOURSES_ - - ON THE - - MIRACLES - - OF OUR - - SAVIOUR, - - Against the _Bishops_ of St. DAVID_'s_ - and LONDON, and his other - _Adversaries_. - - PART I. - - _Res Religionis non Verberibus sed Verbis est peragenda._ - Lactant. - - _London_: Printed for the Author, and - Sold by him, next Door to the _Star_ in - _Aldermanbury_, and by the Booksellers of - _London_ and _Westminster_, 1729. - - [Price _One Shilling_.] - - - - -[Illustration] - - TO THE - - QUEEN. - - -Madam, - -_Not long since the_ Bishop _of_ St. David_'s presented to Your_ -Majesty _his_ Vindication; as _I would have done this my_ Defence, _if -I had known how to get Access to Your Royal Presence_. - -_Your_ Majesty _will perceive, that here's a sad War broke out -between the_ Bishop _and my self, about_ Miracles; _which, in all -probability, will cost a large Effusion of Words; and, unless Your_ -Majesty _can accommodate the Difference, will hardly be terminated -without the Slaughter of many Notions and Arguments_. - -_The_ Bishop _is for making Your_ Majesty _the Arbitress of our -Controversy, which I consent to; and he talks of Your singular -Qualifications to preside at it, which I as certainly believe, as that -a_ Bishop _will not lye nor flatter_. - -_Had I known before of Your_ Majesty's _Abilities at this Controversy, -I should have gone near to have applauded You for them; and the World -would readily have believed my Praises of You to be just, because I -had no Bishoprick nor_ Translation _in View for them_. - -_If Your_ Majesty _has no extraordinary Talent at this Controversy, I -trust, You are wiser than to think the Better of Your self for the_ -Bishop_'s Compliment. You'll not be vain; tho' he is fulsome._ - -_But the Bishop_, Madam, _has done me wrong. He would insinuate, that -I am disaffected to the_ King's _Title and Government; which is -entirely false. I Love and Honour Your whole Royal Family, and often -pray for Your_ Majesty _too_, without Pay, _which is more than any_ -Bishop _in_ England _has done for You_. - -_And what are my Prayers for Your_ Majesty? _That God may prolong Your -Days to the comfort of Your Royal Progeny, and the Joy of these -Nations; That the Felicity of Your Life may be uninterrupted by -Enemies and Misfortunes; and That after a good old Age, when Life is -no longer desirable to the happyest Princes, You may be transferr'd to -an heavenly and immortal Crown of Glory. This is the hearty and -voluntary Prayer of_, - -[Sidenote: London, September 27, 1729.] - - Madam, - _Your Majesty's_ - _most humble_, - _most obedient_, - _and faithful Servant_, - Thomas Woolston. - - - - -[Illustration] - - A - - DEFENCE - - OF THE - - DISCOURSES on _Miracles_. - - -At Last, one Volume of _Bishop Smalbroke_'s mountainous Work, that the -_Press_ has been so long pregnant with, is brought forth: And I don't -doubt, but it answers the Expectations of the _Clergy_, who will extol -it to the Skies, and applaud it to the Populace, as an absolute -Confutation of my _Discourses_; but I would advise them, if it be not -too late, not to be too profuse in their Commendations of it, for fear -that an Occasion should be given them to blush for their want of -Judgment. We have had Instances of Books before now (and one very -remarkable, in the Case of _Boyle_ against _Bently_) that have met -with a general Approbation, till they have been sifted into, and upon -Examination found empty; and it is not impossible, but _this_ of the -_Bishop_ before us, may meet with the same Fate. - -I had conceived a great Opinion of this _Bishop_'s Learning and -Abilities, and, if he had not sent[338] two simple _Harbingers_ -before-hand, should have been so apprehensive of his Acuteness, that -nothing, but a thorough Persuasion of the Goodness of my Cause, and of -my Power to defend it, could have kept me from Flight before him. But -I stand my Ground, and shall, against greater Adversaries than this -_Bishop_, who has more weakly and maliciously attack'd me, than you'd -have been expected from one of his reputed Candour and Learning; and -given me greater Advantages to insult and triumph over him, than I -could wish or desire. - -Many other little _Whifflers_ in Divinity have before attack'd me with -their _Squibs_ and _Squirts_ from the _Press_, but I despised them -all, as unworthy of my particular Regard and Notice, reserving my self -for Defence against this _Bishop_'s grand Assault; when, by the by, I -might have an Opportunity to animadvert on one or other of them. Some -of these _Whifflers_, like Men of Honour, have set their Names to -their Works; others very prudently have concealed their Names, which, -upon the best Enquiry I could make, I have not been able to discover, -or I had given them a Rebuke for their Impudence and Slanders. It may -be wonder'd, that any polemical Authors, especially when they write on -the orthodox and establish'd Side of the Question, should conceal -themselves, and that they are not tempted with the Hopes of Reward and -Applause to make themselves known. I will say what I think here, that -it's never Modesty in such _anonymous_ Authors (for we _Scribblers_ in -Divinity, whatever we may pretend, have always a good Conceit of our -selves) but Apprehensions of a sharp Reply to their Dishonour. And -this is the true Reason, why some of my Adversaries industriously -conceal themselves, knowing that they are guilty of wilful and -malicious Lies and Calumnies, which I should chastise them for. But, -as their Names are supprest, they know, it's to no Purpose for me to -expose their Malice, because no body can be put to shame for it. - -The _Bishop_ of St. _David's_ acts here a more glorious Part: He comes -not behind me, like other _Cowards_, to give me a secret Knock on the -Pate, but like a courageous Champion, looks me in the Face, and -admonishes me to stand upon my Guard. This is bravely done in him! And -I have no Fault to find, but that he is providing himself with -_Seconds_ in the Controversy, I mean the _Civil Powers_, and calling -upon them to destroy me, before the Battle is well begun, and whether -he gets the better of me or not. This is not fairly nor honourably -done of the _Bishop_, and I have Reason to complain of it. Tho' I -think my self equal, if not superior in the Dispute, to any of our -_Bishops_, yet I am not a Match for the _King_'s Power, neither would -I lift up my Hand, or use my Pen against him for all the World. If the -_Bishop_ will yield to a fair Combat, and desire the Civil Authority -to stand by and see fair Play between us, I will engage with him upon -any Terms. But to make the _Civil Powers_ Parties in our Quarrel, and -to bespeak them, right or wrong, to favour his Side, is intolerable, -and what we spiritual Gladiators ought to abhor and detest. - -I liked the _Bishop_, when he proposed to the _Queen_ to be _Arbitress_ -of our Controversy. As I will not here question her Qualifications to -judge in it, so the first Opportunity I have of waiting on her -_Majesty_, I will join my Requests to her to accept of the Trouble and -Office. After she has fix'd the Terms of Disputation, and thought of a -proper Reward for the _Victor_, or a Punishment for the _Conquer'd_, -then will we proceed, and either dispute the Matter from the Press, or -scold it out in the Queen's Presence, as she shall think it most -conducive to the Edification of herself, and of her Court-Ladies. - -But the _Bishop_'s Proposal here, and Compliment on the _Queen_, is but -the Copy of his Countenance. He'll submit to no Arbitration: No, no, -he's for having the Civil Powers to be immediate Executioners (without -further hearing what I have to say for my self) of his Wrath and -Vengeance upon me. He's for having them to take it for granted, that he -has proved me an _Infidel_ and _Blasphemer_, and would have them to -inflict some exemplary Punishment upon me, so as to incapacitate me for -ever writing more. Wherefore else does he say thus?[339] "Indeed a more -proper Occasion cannot possibly happen in a Nation, where Christianity -is establish'd by human _Laws_, to invigorate the Zeal of the -Magistrate, in putting the Laws in Execution against so flagrant a Sort -of Profaneness, that tramples with such Indignity on the Grounds of the -_Christian_ Faith; and to convince the World that the _Minister_ of that -_God_, who is so highly affronted, _bears not the Sword in vain_. And -certainly the Higher Powers have great Reason to exert their Authority -on this and the like Occasions." - -I was astonish'd at this Passage, with some others, in the _Bishop_'s -_Dedication_, and could hardly believe my Eyes when I read it; that a -Scholar, a Christian, and a Protestant Bishop, should breath so much -Fury and Fire for the kindling again of _Smithfield_ Faggots! That any -Thing of human Shape should so thirst after that Destruction of another, -which would turn to the Ruin of his own Reputation and Honour! Does the -_Bishop_ believe that he has clearly confuted me, or does he not? If he -believes, and others know that I am absolutely confuted, then there's an -End of the Controversy, the Danger of my _blasphemous_ Books is over; -and why should I undergo any Punishment, which would move the Compassion -of many, and give a greater Reputation to my Writings than they do -deserve? Does the _Bishop_ think he has confuted me? This is Honour and -Triumph enough to him; who, of all Men, should not desire me to be -otherwise punish'd, for fear of getting the Character of a merciless and -implacable Conqueror. Am I in my own Opinion confuted and baffled? This -would be Pain and Mortification enough, even worse than Death. For, -however we polemical _Writers_ may pretend a Readiness to part with our -Errors upon Conviction, as if we could easily yield to our Adversaries, -yet it goes to the Hearts of us to be out-done in Reason and Argument. -As it is said of _Bishop Stillingfleet_, that, being sensible of his -Insufficiency to contend with Mr. _Lock_, he grieved and pined away upon -it: So I, upon Supposition the Bishop of St. _David's_ has confuted me, -must not only necessarily afflict my self, but undergo the Shame of the -Reproaches of the People, for my wicked and impotent Efforts to subvert -their Religion: And what would the _Bishop_ have more? He could desire -no more, if he had absolutely confuted me: But it's plain he dares not -trust to his own Confutation of me; it's plain he's afraid of, what he -is conscious may be made, a smart Reply to him, and therefore he calls -upon the Civil Magistrate for his Help to prevent it. - -After that the _Bishop_ of _London_ had publish'd his _Pastoral -Letter_, and it was reported that the _Bishop_ of St. _David's_ was -preparing a strenuous Vindication of the _litteral_ Story of _Jesus_'s -Miracles, I concluded that the Prosecution would immediately be -dropp'd, and that the Clergy were betaking themselves to that -Christian, Rational, and Philosophical Course of Confutation, and -would no longer make use of Persecution, which is the Armour of hot, -furious, and ignorant Bigots. And there is one Passage in the -_Bishop_'s _Pastoral Letter_, which I interpreted as a Grant of full -Liberty; but, whether I am apt to mistake the Sense of the Fathers of -the _Primitive_ Church or not, I find I did misconstrue the Words of a -Father of our _English_ Church, and turn'd them to another and better -Purpose than he aim'd at. His Words are these[340] "And as to the -_blasphemous manner_, in which a late Writer has taken the Liberty to -treat our Saviour's Miracles, and the Author of them; tho' I am far -from contending, that the Grounds of the Christian Religion, and the -Doctrines of it, may not be discuss'd at all Times in a calm, decent, -and serious Way (on the contrary, I am sure that the more fully they -are discuss'd, the more firmly they will stand) yet I cannot but think -it the Duty of the Civil Magistrate, at all Times, to take Care that -Religion be not treated in a _ludicrous_ or _reproachful_ Manner, and -effectually to discourage such Books and Writings as strike equally at -the Foundation of all Religion, _&c._" What the _Bishop_ of _L._ here -says, of his _thinking it the Duty of the Civil Magistrate at all -Times, to take Care that Religion be not treated in a ludicrous -manner_, I understood as an Excuse for what he had done in stirring up -the Civil Magistrate to a Prosecution of me; and that now, like a -Philosopher, he was for letting Truth and Religion to take its Course, -and for leaving it to a free Discussion, whether in a _ludicrous_ or -in a _calm_, _decent_ or _serious_ Way. But I confess, I have mistaken -the _Bishop_'s Words, finding by Experience, that (for all the -natural Import of his Expression, that Liberty should be used to -discuss the Grounds of Religion in a _serious_ Manner) he'll no more -suffer it, if he can help it, to be contested in a _serious_, than in -a _ludicrous_ Way; wherefore else did he move for the Prosecution of a -late _London Journal_, which was all _calm_, _decent_, and _serious_ -Argument. And the Bishop of St. _David's_ his furious _Dedication_ -now, confirms me in this Opinion, that our _Clergy_ (for all their -preaching up Liberty with as much Force and Strength of Reason as any -Men, and for all their Invitations to _Infidels_, to say and print -their worst against Christianity) will by no means, if they can hinder -it, suffer any Attacks to be made upon their Religion, nor cease their -Importunities and Solicitations of the Civil Magistrate to -Persecution. Blessed be God, the _Bishops_ are not my _Judges_ as well -as my _Accusers_, or I know, what would become of me. - -Mr. _Atkinson_, a little Writer against me, says,[341] "That I call -the pretended Divines of the Church my Prosecutors, when they were not -my Prosecutors. And _again_, That there was no need of my Supposition, -that the _Clergy_ would have more Wit than to prosecute me again for -this _Discourse_; for he did not know that they had been concern'd in -any Prosecution of me." And again he says, "If the Civil Magistrate -thinks it his Duty to chastise me for my Sin and Folly, I am to blame -my self, and not the _Clergy_, till I can prove the Zeal of our -Christian Government to be excited by the malign Influence of the -_Clergy_." Mr. _Atkinson_ is thus far certainly in the right on't, -that, strictly speaking, the _Clergy_ are not my Prosecutors, but the -King, who, in all probability, knows no more of my Books than the Man -in the Moon. But whether Mr. _Atkinson_ could be so ignorant, as not -to know the _Clergy_ were the grand Instigators to Prosecution, let -others judge. If he really was such a poor _Ignoramus_, I have no more -to say: Otherwise, his Expressions above, will be look'd upon as the -vilest Piece of Hypocrisy and Prevarication that can be, purposely -utter'd to take off the _Odium_ of the Prosecution from the _Clergy_, -and to cast it upon the Civil Government; which, whether Mr. -_Atkinson_ believes it or not, had never, but for the Solicitations of -the _Bishops_, given me any Trouble. Mr. _Atkinson_ above, acts the -Part of the Popish Clergy of _France_, upon the Revocation of the -Edict of _Nantes_. After that the King, upon the urgent Importunities -of the Clergy, had resolv'd to revoke that Edict; the Clergy were for -excusing themselves to the Protestants, and laying the Blame only on -the King, saying, _The King was bent and resolv'd on't, and they could -not help it_; which was such Jesuitical Prevarication in the Popish -Clergy, that the Protestants could not forbear _roguing_ them for it. -Mr. _Atkinson_ knows how to apply this Story; which I had not told, -but for the Use of the Bishop of _L._ who, upon a certain Occasion -could say, that it was not He, but the _Government_ that prosecuted -Mr. _Woolston_. If Mr. _Atkinson_ was really so ignorant as he seems -to be, I suppose he is now of another Mind, upon reading the _Bishop_ -of St. _David's_ Dedication; and convinced that the Prosecution -against me was began and carried on at the _malign influence_, as he -calls it, of the Clergy. - -I will here use no Arguments for Liberty of Debate, which Subject has -already been copiously handled, and wants nothing, that I can add unto -it. But before I enter into the Body of the _Bishop_'s Book, and upon -a profess'd Defence of my Discourses against him, let us consider the -manifest Lies, Prevarications, and wicked Insinuations in his -_Dedication_, whereby he would move the Secular Powers to a severe -Punishment of me. I will pass by the _Motto_ of his Book, _viz. But -Jesus said unto him, Judas, betrayest thou the Son of Man with a -Kiss_; Whereby he would signify and intimate, not to _Scholars_ (for -they have more Wit than to think the worse of me for his Abuse of -Scripture) but to the ignorant Multitude, that I am another _Judas_, a -Traitor and Rebel to _Jesus_. Commonly _Mottos_ of Books are suited to -their Authors, and the Design of them; whether the _Bishop_ will be -willing to take this _Motto_ to himself or not, I will upon another -Occasion give it a pleasant and pertinent Turn upon him. At present I -shall only say, what the Learned will observe, that _this_ is of a -wicked and malicious Use and Intention, of no less, than to create in -the Minds of the People an Hatred and Detestation of me; of no other, -than by dressing me up, as it were, in a Bear's Skin, to excite the -Ecclesiastical and merciless Mob to worry and destroy me. Such has -been the roguish Artifice of priests of all Ages, to represent their -Adversaries, whom they would destroy, under odious and borrow'd Names, -that their Persecutions of them might be thought the less cruel. But -passing this by for the present, the - -I. First wicked and wilful Misrepresentation that the _Bishop_, in his -Dedication, has made of me, is that of being an _Infidel_, and an -_Apostate_ Clergyman. Wherefore else does he say thus to the Queen: -"What is now presented to your Royal View, is an Apologetical Defence -of our holy Religion, against one of the most virulent Libels on it, -by an _Apostate Clergyman_, that has appear'd in any Christian -Country; and in Comparison of which, other _Infidels_ have acted a -modest Part." And again he calls my _Discourses_, "A flagrant Sort of -Profaneness, that tramples with Indignity on the Grounds of the -Christian Faith." And again he signifies, "That I am warmly engaged in -subverting the Christian Religion, and active in propagating -Infidelity." This is all wilful and downright Calumny, to incense the -Queen and the Government against me. The _Bishop_ knows in his Heart -that I am no _Infidel_, but a Believer of Christianity, -notwithstanding my _Discourses_ on Miracles, that have occasion'd such -a Clamour against me. In my _Discourses_, I have repeatedly and most -solemnly declared, that my Designs are not to do Service to -Infidelity, but to advance the Glory of God, the Truth of -Christianity, and to demonstrate the _Messiahship_ of the holy -_Jesus_. If I have sometimes ridiculed the litteral Story of our -Saviour's Miracles, I have profess'd as often that it was with Design -to turn Men's Hearts to the mystical Interpretation of them, on which -alone _Jesus_'s Authority and Messiahship is founded. I could collect -a great Number of Passages out of my _Discourses_ to this Purpose, if -it would not be wasting of Time and Paper. And do all these solemn -Declarations of my Faith, and of the Integrity of my Heart, and of the -Sincerity of my Intentions, stand for nothing? Why should not my Word -here be taken? I can think of no other Reason, than because some other -Folks are accustom'd to dissemble and prevaricate with God and Man in -their Oaths and Subscriptions, therefore I may be suspected here of -Hypocrisy, notwithstanding my Professions to the contrary. - -Besides, the _Bishop_ knows by my other Writings, that I am certainly -a Christian, and a true Believer of the Religion of Christ, though I -may have some different Conceptions from other Men about it. It has -been my good Luck before, not only to publish more Treatises purposely -and professedly in Defence of Christianity, than any _Bishop_ in -_England_; but some of them are of such a Nature, as it's impossible -for a Man to write without being a Christian, and impossible for him -to depart from the Principles of them. This is my good Fortune and -Happiness at this Juncture. The _Bishop_ has perused, I see, some of -my other Writings, and particularly, my _Old Apology for the Truth of -Christianity revived_; and to his Praise, as well as my Comfort be it -spoken, he apprehends and rightly relishes it. And as I was well -pleased with his Representation of the Design of that Book, from the -Principles and allegorical Scheme of which, he says (in Twenty-four -Years since) I am not departed; so I would appeal to his Conscience, -Whether a Man, who wrote, as I did then, of the Typical and Antitupal -Deliverance of the _Jewish_ and _Christian_ Church, can possibly be an -Infidel, or ever depart from the Christian Faith? If the _Bishop_ has -Ingenuity equal to his Penetration into that Book, he must own and -confess to the World, that I was then, and am still a Christian, a Man -of fix'd and unalterable Principles from that Day to this. - -The _Bishop_ would be thought in his _Preface_ to enumerate all my -Writings; but there are three others, whether wilfully or negligently -omitted by him, I know not, that are direct Defences of the Truth of -Christianity; and there is not a learned _Clergy-man_ in _England_ (I -humbly presume to say it) who can read them, and not applaud them. If -the _Bishop_ will be pleas'd to read one of them, _viz. The Defence of -the Miracle of the Thundering Legion_, and say it from his Heart, that -I might write that Book, and believe the Ecclesiastical Story of that -Miracle, and yet be no Christian, then I will yield to his Accusation -against me for Infidelity. - -But why do I trouble my self thus to assert and vindicate my Belief of -Christianity? The _Bishop_ would readily come into the Acknowledgment -of my being a sincere Christian, but for his Interests and Prejudices, -and other political Considerations, which influence him and the -_Clergy_ so to decry and defame me, that, if possible, I must be -destroy'd, or at least have my Mouth stopp'd. - -In short then, it is not because I am an _Infidel_, that the _Clergy_ -so exclaim against me and my _Discourses_; but because, as a -Christian, I have particular Designs in view, which, if I can compass, -will tend to their Dishonour, and the Ruin of their Interests; and -therefore, by Defamations and Prosecutions, they will, if they can, -in time put a stop to them. The Designs that, for the Truth of -Religion, and Good of Mankind, I have in view, and which, maugre all -Opposition, Terrors, and Sufferings, I will pursue to the utmost of my -Power, are these three. - -1. To restore the Allegorical Interpretation of the Old and New -Testament, that is call'd, say the Fathers, the sublime Mountain of -Vision, on which we shall contemplate the Wisdom and Beauty of the -Providence of God; and behold the glorious Transfiguration of _Jesus_ -with _Moses_ and _Elias_, that is, the Harmony between the Gospel and -the Law and the Prophets, agreeably to _Jesus_'s typical -Transfiguration. And this is such a glorious and beatifick Vision, -that it's enough to ravish our Hearts with the Hopes and Desires of -attaining to it. The old _Jews_ say, that the allegorical -Interpretation of the Scriptures will lead us to the sight of God and -convert even _Atheists_. The Fathers say, that the allegorical -Interpretation will be the Conversion of the _Jews_ in the Perfection -of Time; and St. _Augustin_ speaks of a great allegorical -_Genius_,[342] that will be sent to that Purpose. I believe all this, -and being convinced of the Truth of it, I am much addicted to -Allegories. And it is plain enough, and wants no Proof, that the -Revival of the allegorical Scheme, which I am fond of, portends Ruin -to the _Ministry of the Letter_; and will be such an Argument of the -Ignorance and Apostacy of our _Clergy_, that it's no wonder they -defame, calumniate, and persecute me for my Attempts towards it. - -_Origen_ says,[343] that _litteral Interpreters will run into -Infidelity_, which is a Saying I am well pleased with, and thereupon -will try if I can't turn the Tables upon our _Clergy_; I'll try if I -can't shift from my self the present Load of Reproaches for Infidelity, -and lay it upon them. What would the Wife and the Learned then say? That -the great _Bishops_ of _London_ and St. _David's_ had caught a _Tartar_. - -I have indeed ludicrously treated the Letter of the Scriptures (in my -_Discourses_) which by the said _Bishops_ is falsly called -_Blasphemy_: But should they either _ludicrously_ or _sedately_ write -against the allegorical Sense of them, I could prove _that_ to be -real _Blasphemy_. However, I would not complain to the Civil Powers -against them; no, it's God's peculiar Prerogative to punish that Sin, -which ought not to be committed to the Care of the Civil Magistrate. - -But what need I _ludicrously_ to handle the Letter of our Saviour's -Miracles? Because some Sort of Stories are the proper Subjects of -_Ridicule_; and because, _Ridiculum acri fortius & melius_, Ridicule -will cut the Pate of an Ecclesiastical Numbskull, which calm and -sedate Reasoning will make no Impression on. - -To speak then the Truth in few Words. As I am resolv'd at any Rate to -run down the _Letter_, in order to make way for the _Spirit_ of the -Scriptures, so certainly will our Clergy, for their Interests and -Honour, as Ministers of the Letter, vilify and reproach me, and pursue -me with an implacable Hatred: But I should think it meet for them to -use a little more Temper in their Revilings, for fear the Torrent of -Reproaches should sometime or other turn on them. It is asserted and -predicted by the Fathers that, after a certain Time of the Church's -Apostacy to the _Letter_, the _Spirit of Life_, or the allegorical -Sense will re-enter the Scriptures, to the Advancement of divine -Knowledge and true Religion; in the mean while the _Clergy_ will do -well to see to it. But, - -2. The Second Design which, as a Christian, I have in View, and which -occasionally I write for, is an universal and unbounded Toleration of -Religion, without any Restrictions or Impositions on Men's -Consciences; for which Design, the _Clergy_ will hate and defame me, -and, if possible, make an Infidel of me, as well as for the former. -Upon an universal Toleration the World would be at quiet: That Hatred -of one another, which is now so visible among different Sects, would -then be terminated by a Unity of their Interests, when they are all -upon the Level in the Eye of the Civil Magistrate, who would choose -Men to Places of Trust, not for their Faith and Affection to -Theological Doctrines, but for their Abilities to serve the Publick. -In this Case, Ten thousand different _Notions_ in Religion would no -more obstruct the Welfare of the Community, than so many different -_Noses_ do the Happiness of this City. The Variety of their -Theological Opinions, would be the Diversion and Amusement of each -other; and so long as it was out of their Power to oppress, they could -not hate one another for them. Such a Toleration, the _Clergy_ would -persuade us, tends to Confusion and Distraction, as if Men would go to -_Loggerheads_ upon it. But this is one of their Mistakes; there would -be a perfect Calm upon it, if such Incendiaries as they are did not -disturb the publick Tranquillity. They'll tell us again, that such a -Toleration makes Way for Dissoluteness of Morals, and would let in Sin -like a Deluge upon us; but this is another of their Errors. Such a -Toleration would promote Virtue, in as much as different Sects of -Religion are a Check upon each other against Looseness of Morals, -because every Sect would endeavour to approve itself above others, by -the Goodness of their Lives, as well as by the Excellency of their -Doctrine. But the _Clergy_ will never hearken to such a Toleration, -because it would be the Downfall of Ecclesiastical Power; for which -Reason, among many others, I am - -3. For the Abolition of an hired and establish'd Priesthood. And for -this, if for nothing else, I am sure to be prosecuted with Hatred and -Violence, and loaded with the Calumnies and Reproaches of Infidelity -and Blasphemy: And the _Clergy_, if possible, will have my Mouth -stopp'd, and my Hands tied, before I proceed too far in my Labours -and Endeavours to this End. - -And why should not the _Clergy_ of the Church of _England_ be turn'd -to Grass, and be made to seek their Fortune among the People, as well -as Preachers of other Denominations? Where's the Sense and Reason of -imposing Parochial _Priests_ upon the People to take care of their -Souls, more than Parochial _Lawyers_ to look to their Estates, or -Parochial _Physicians_ to attend their Bodies, or Parochial _Tinkers_ -to mend their Kettles? In secular Affairs every Man chooses the Artist -and Mechanick that he likes best; so much more ought he in Spirituals, -in as much as the Welfare of the Soul is of greater Importance than -that of the Body or Estate. The Church-Lands would go a good, if not a -full Step, towards the Payment of the Nation's Debts. - -I have promised the World, what, by the Assistance of God, and the -Leave of the Government, shall be publish'd, a _Discourse_ on the -Mischiefs and Inconveniencies of an Hired and Establish'd Priesthood: -In which it shall be shewn, - -I. That the Preachers of Christianity in the first Ages of the Church -(when the Gospel was far and near spread, and triumph'd over all -Opposition of _Jews_ and _Gentiles_) neither received nor insisted on -any Wages for their Pains, but were against preaching for Hire; and, -as if they had been endew'd with the Spirit of Prophecy, before an -Hireling Priesthood was establish'd, predicted their Abolition and -Ejection out of Christ's Church. - -II. That since the Establishment of an _Hire_ for the Priesthood, the -Progress of Christianity has not only been stopt, but lost Ground; the -Avarice, Ambition, and Power of the Clergy having been of such -unspeakable Mischief to the World, as is enough to make a Man's -Heartake to think, read, or write of. - -III. That upon an Abolition of our present establish'd Priesthood, and -on God's Call of his own Ministers, the Profession of the Gospel will -again spread; and Virtue, Religion, and Learning, will more than ever -flourish and abound. - -The Clergy are forewarn'd of my Design to publish such a _Discourse_; -and this is the secret Reason, whatever openly they may pretend, of -their Accusations against me for Blasphemy and Infidelity. Their Zeal -and Industry will be never wanting to prevent the Publication of this -_Discourse_; neither need I doubt of Persecution, if they can excite -the Government to it, to that End. - -In my first Discourse on Miracles, I happen'd to treat on that of -Jesus's driving the Buyers and Sellers out of the Temple; which, upon -the Authority of the Fathers, I shew'd to be a Figure of his future -Ejection of Bishops, Priests, and Deacons out of his Church, for -making Merchandise of the Gospel. The _Bishop_ has taken me and that -Miracle to task; and if ever any Man smiled at another's Impertinence, -I then heartily laugh'd when I read him. I begg'd of the _Bishop_ -before-hand[344] not to meddle with that Miracle, because it was a hot -one, and would burn his Fingers. But for all my Caution; he has been -so Fool-hardy, as to venture upon it; but has really touch'd and -handled it, as if it was a _burning Coal_. He takes it up, and as soon -drops it again to blow his Fingers; then endeavours to throw a little -Water on _this_ and _that_ Part of it to cool it, but all would not -do. The most fiery Part of it, _viz._ that of its being a Type of -Jesus's future Ejection of mercenary Preachers out of the Church, he -has not, I may say it, at all touch'd, except by calling it[345] _my -allegorical Invective against the Maintenance of the Clergy_; which is -such a Piece of _Corinthian_ Effrontery in the _Bishop_, that was he -not resolv'd to lye and defame at all Rates, for the Support of their -Interests, he could never have had the Face to have utter'd. If the -_Bishop_ had proved that _that_ Miracle (which litterally was such -a----, as I dare not now call it) neither was nor could be a Shadow -and Resemblance of Jesus's Ejection of hired Priests out of the Church -at his second Advent, and that the Fathers were not of this Opinion, -he had knock'd me down at once. As he has done nothing of this, so he -might have spared his Pains in Support of the Letter of this Story. -But I shall have a great deal of Diversion with the _Bishop_, when I -come, in a proper Place, to defend my Exposition of that Miracle. In -the mean Time, as the Bishop has publish'd one of the Articles of my -Christian Faith, thinking to render me odious for it; so here I will -insert another, _viz._[346] "I believe upon the Authority of the -Fathers, that the Spirit and Power of Jesus will _soon_ enter the -Church, and expel Hireling Priests, who make Merchandise of the -Gospel, out of her, after the manner he is supposed to have driven the -_Buyers_ and _Sellers_ out of the Temple." - -Now upon all this, whether the _Bishop_, modestly speaking, has not been -unjust, uncharitable, and insincere, to represent me as an _Infidel_, I -appeal to all learned and ingenuous Gentlemen. I am a Christian, though -not upon the _litteral_ Scheme, which I nauseate, yet upon the -_allegorical_ one. And by the following easy and short Argument it may -be proved that I am most certainly a Christian. I heartily and zealously -contend for the allegorical Interpretation of the Scriptures, which the -_Bishop_ allows to be true of me; consequently I must, and do believe -the Scriptures to be of divine Inspiration, or I could not think there -were such Mysteries and Prophecy latent under the Letter of them. -Whether then a Believer of the divine Inspiration of the Scriptures can -be an Infidel (O most monstrous Paradox!) or any other than a Christian, -judge Readers. Nay, if _Origen_'s and St. _Augustin_'s Testimony on my -Behalf may be admitted, I am more truly a Christian and Disciple of the -Holy Jesus, than any _litteral Schemist_ can be. _Origen_ says,[347] -That the Perfection of Christianity consists in a mystical -Interpretation of the Old and New Testament, of the Historical, as well -as other Parts of it. And St. _Augustin_ says,[348] That they who attain -to the Understanding of the spiritual Signification of Jesus's Miracles, -are the best Doctors in his School. The _Bishop_ understands this -Argument as well as any Man, and therefore I charge it home upon him, as -a wilful and malicious Slander, to call and account me an Infidel in his -_Dedication_, on purpose to incense the Government against me at this -Juncture. - -But the _Bishop_ moreover calls me, as above, an _Apostate Clergyman_; -And why so? Because I have deserted the _Ministry of the Letter_, and -betaken my self to the _Ministry of the Spirit_ of the Scriptures. -That's like the Wit and Reasoning of his Pate! The _Bishop_ is old -enough, and has read enough to know that _Apostacy_, in the Sense of -the Fathers, is a Desertion of the _Ministry of the Spirit_, and a -Falling into the _Ministry of the Letter_ of the Scriptures; whereupon -I make bold to retort upon the _Bishop_, and say of him, and his -Episcopal Brethren, that they are _Apostate Bishops_. - -But to humour the _Bishop_ in his fond _Dedication_, I will suppose my -self to be, what I am the farthest of any Man living from being, an -_Infidel_ and _Apostate_; yet - -II. The _Bishop_ is a wilful Calumniator, or, at best, an unhappy -Misrepresenter of me, and of other Infidels, saying in his -_Dedication_, that our Design is _To sap the Foundation of all -Government_, and----_That we were pursuing such Methods, as have a -natural Tendency to introduce Confusion_. If this was true of us -Infidels (for now I speak of my self as one of them) it behoves Civil -Governors to look about them, and to punish and suppress us with all -speed; and we should be the most unreasonable Men alive, if we -complain'd of Persecution, or call'd it hard Usage. And the _Bishop_ -of _London_, and other _Divines_ (like this _Bishop_) do commonly -declaim on the Danger of Infidelity to Civil Society, but this is all -Ecclesiastical Cant and Jargon. I thought I had given[349] the -_Bishop_ of _London_ so much on this Head of Complaint against -Infidelity, as I could not suppose the _Bishop_ of St. _David's_ would -ever have repeated it. It is true, what the _Bishop_ says, that -_Religion is the firmest Support of Government_, and _Christianity -especially lays the greatest Obligations, on Men's Consciences, of -Obedience to the Civil Powers_. I believe all this, and that the -better Christians Men are, the more quiet, peaceable, and useful -Subjects, and the greater Friends would they be to the Civil -Authority. But does it follow from hence, that we _Infidels_, because -we have rejected the Belief of some systematical Divinity, as the -_Clergy_ are fond of, should consequently be Enemies to the Civil -Government, and Foes to the Peace, Order, and Welfare of Society? O -fie upon the Drawers of such Consequences! We are, I believe, a -numerous and growing Sect in these Nations, though I am acquainted -with none, no, not so much as with the Great Mr. _Grounds_: But I -could never perceive that any of us, in Principle, were against Civil -Government, and the Welfare of the Community; or were for _Confusion_, -for setting the People together by the Ears, to the Disturbance of the -publick Peace and Tranquillity. No, no, our Interests in the World, as -well as other Men's, oblige us to consult the publick Welfare; and -our Consciences, from the Religion of Nature, bind us to Obedience to -Government; and, was it not agreeable to our Inclination, the -Necessity of Affairs would force us to be as quiet and obedient as are -any Christians: And I thank God, we have hitherto behaved our selves -very peaceably, clear of all Suspicion of Treason and Rebellion to any -Prince or State. The _Bishop_ hints at Experience to the contrary, but -it will puzzle him to give an Instance. One would think, by this -common Harangue, of _Ecclesiasticks_ against us _Infidels_, that -Christians, especially the Priesthood, being, as the _Bishop_ says, -both _under the Penalties of human Laws, and the stronger Impressions -of a future State_, were of a Lamb-like Nature, and never given to -disturb the Civil Authority: And I will own the Christian _Laity_ -might be acquitted here, but for the _Clergy_, who have been -repeatedly the _Pest_ and _Bane_ of human Society, the Trumpeters of -Sedition and Rebellion, and mere Make-bates in Cities and Families. -And I dare say, that if the Civil Powers don't curb, and keep our -_Priesthood_ in awe, they will upon this present Occasion be the -Disturbers of the publick Peace. So little Sense and Truth is there -in the _Bishop_'s present Invective against us Infidels! If he had not -been infatuated to a Forgetfulness of the _Rogueries_ of Priests, in -all Ages, against the Civil Powers, he could never have insinuated -such a groundless and senseless Charge against us, to the Provocation -of the Civil Magistrate to fall on us. But - -III. The _Bishop_ calumniates us Infidels (for against his Conscience, -whether I will or not, he will have me to be one of them) not only for -being Enemies to Government in general, which he will have us to -advance Principles destructive of; but insinuates and asserts that we -are disaffected to the particular and present Government of these -Kingdoms, saying, that as "we are active in propagating Infidelity, we -do in the last Resort, not only insult the Title of _Defender of the -Faith_, but undermine the undoubted Right of his Majesty and his Royal -Family to the Crown of these Realms, as it is founded on the -Profession of _Christianity_, reform'd, and now legally settled among -us; and therefore Persons of that Character may well be consider'd, as -equally false to the Author of our Faith, and to the present -Government.----Therefore in a just Sense of that Allegiance which is -due to the King, and for the Security of your Majesties, and the -Royal Family, and thereby of the Publick it self, as well as out of a -deep Concern for the Honour and Preservation of our most holy Faith, -the ensuing Treatise is now offer'd, under your Majesty's Protection, -to the View of the Publick." This is all such foolish and manifest -Slander, that I can't but think the _Bishop_ mad with Rage and -Indignation at me, when he writ it. I dare say the _Queen_, who is -firmly attach'd to the Interests of the Christian and Protestant -Religion, did, when she read all this, almost grieve for the _Bishop_, -and pity him for his Weakness and Ignorance. It is a _Maxim_ among all -Parties, that _Infidels_ are heartily affected to the present -Establishment of the State; yea, so far a _Maxim_, that _Jacobites_ -and _High-Church-men_ are apt to accuse all the well-affected to the -Government, of Infidelity. From none of the Writings or Practice of -Infidels, much less of my self, could the _Bishop_ gather any of these -his _childish_ Surmises. The Government, since the Succession of the -Illustrious House of _Hanover_, has been twice attempted to be -disturb'd, and both times by profess'd Christians. The Rebellion at -_Preston_ consisted of _Papists_ and _High-Church-men_, and tho' -there were but few _Clergy-men_ in Arms, yet they were join'd with the -Prayers and Wishes of many Thousands of the _Clergy_, and even, as it -was suspected, of some _Oxonian Bishops_. Bishop _Atterbury_'s Plot -too consisted of Rebellious Christians, without the least intermixture -of us _Infidels_, who are the more zealously affected to the -Government, because of the Danger it is sometimes in from the -_High-Church Clergy_. Away then with the _Bishop_'s Slander, which, -for all we may be Unbelievers of Christianity, our Civil Magistrates -will laugh at and deride him for. But, - -IV. Another Misrepresentation, more foolish and absurd than the former, -that the _Bishop_ has made of us _Infidels_, is, that we are making Way -for Popery and Slavery: For thus he says of us, "Nothing is more -demonstrable, than that those Adversaries (meaning us _Infidels_) of the -Christian Religion, who are now so busily employ'd in infusing Doubts -into some weak Minds, in giving an Indifference and Coldness to other -well-meaning Persons, and in making others, that are viciously inclin'd, -actual Proselites to Infidelity, are pursuing such Methods as have a -natural Tendency to introduce Confusion, and thereby betray us into -_Popery_." And again he says of Infidels, "That in Consequence of their -own Infidelity, and their wicked Diligence in spreading that Infection, -are bringing in upon us the real Persecutions of the Church of _Rome_; -who likewise, whilst they rail so plentifully at the most rational -Religion in the World as Superstition, give great Advantages towards -restoring the insupportable _Superstitions_ of that Communion. These are -the Persons indeed that appear in favour of an unbounded Liberty, but -God grant it may not terminate in an absolute _Slavery_." _Risum quis -tenerat?_ Who in his Wits could write such Stuff? And who without -Impatience can read it? I was going about a particular Dissection of -these two Paragraphs, and to lay open the Wit, Sense, and Oratory of the -_Bishop_, to the Contemplation of his Admirers; but I find it -unnecessary, as well as tedious to do it: The very transcribing of them, -and exposing them to View, is enough to render him ridiculous. If there -be no more danger of Popery, Slavery, Superstition, Tyranny, and real -Persecution from our _Clergy_, than from us _Infidels_, the Nation is -safe. _Infidels_ find too much Inconvenience in the Power, Craft, and -Follies of a Protestant _Clergy_, to make Way for _Popery_; which, as -the _Bishop_ rightly says, is a _Complication_ of Errors. There are, -what the _Bishop_ should have thought of, many Protestant Priests for an -Accommodation with the Church of _Rome_; and, if I mistake not, upon -such easy Terms as _this_, _viz._ If she'll but part with some of her -Superstitions that are of no Use to her; our _Clergy_ will admit of -others as will be of Advantage to them. But _Infidels_ are -irreconcilable Enemies to the Church of _Rome_, and so far from Wishes -and Endeavours to restore Popery, that it is mere Nonsense to charge -them with either direct or consequential Designs so to enslave Mankind. -But - -V. The _Bishop_ says, that we Infidels (for I am one it seems) _labour -industriously to root out all Sense of Virtue and Religion among us_. -This is sad indeed, if true; and very bad Men should we be, and -deserving of the worst Punishment. But this wants Proof. How does he -know that we are for rooting out all Sense of Virtue and Religion -amongst Men? Does it appear so by our Writings or our Practices? Does he -find in our Books any Exhortations to Looseness and Immorality? Nothing -of this I am sure. Is he then so well acquainted with Infidels, as to -know them to be of more depraved and debauch'd Lives than profess'd -Christians? Nor this neither. I have not as yet heard that any of my -Disciples have been hang'd, lamenting his Misfortune of reading my -_Discourses_, as what encouraged him to Sin, and brought him to the -Gallows. No, those unhappy People, hitherto, die in the Faith and -Communion of the Church, either of _England_ or of _Rome_, and hope to -be saved through the Merits of their Saviour, Neither do, I hear of any -Gentleman, old or young, who has given a greater Loose to his Lusts and -Passions, since he read my Books. Such News would trouble me. - -But because of this Out-cry of the _Bishop_, and of other Preachers -against us, that we labour industriously to root out all Sense of -Virtue and Religion amongst Men, I wish (for Proof) that _Infidels_ -were distinguishable from Christians, that a Comparison might be made, -and the Difference discern'd between them, as to true Religion and -Virtue. Tho' I am one of little Acquaintance with Infidels, yet it is -my Opinion that, on this Score, they may vie with, and, all things -consider'd, do surpass Christians. One would think, by the _Bishop_'s -Insinuation above, that none but _good_ People were of his Christian -Faith; and that all Infidels were profligate Sinners; but he knows -better, and what's more, he should have been more ingenuous than to -charge _Infidels_ with _Labours to root out all Sense of Virtue and -Religion amongst Men_, if it was but in Regard to that learned -Gentleman who is supposed to be at the Head of Infidelity, and who, -they say, is as exemplary for all social Virtues, as any _Bishop_; and -dislikes Vice and Immorality as much as any Saint can do. - -Whatever be the _Virtue_ and _Religion_ of _Infidels_, it is all -genuine, natural, and sincere; and consequently more Praise-worthy than -_that_ of hired Priests, who may be suspected of Hypocrisy, because of -their Interests. I heard a wild Spark say, that he could be as grave as -the _Bishop_ of _London_, if he was but as well paid for it. Whether he -believ'd the _Bishop_ would have been as loose as himself, but for his -_Hire_, I can't tell. But this is certain that, what can't be said of -Infidels, there are Priests who put on the Face and Form of Godliness, -and want the Life and Power of it; who lift up their Hands and Eyes unto -God, when their Hearts are far from him; and were not their Interests -more than their Faith, a Restraint to their Lusts, it is commonly -believ'd they would be a Company of loose _Blades_. - -What a Pother is here of the Danger and Mischief of Infidelity to -Church and State? Do but take away the Cause of Infidelity, and the -Effect ceases. And what is the Cause of Infidelity? Why, what _Origen_ -predicted, I experience to be true, that the _Ministry of the Letter_ -is the Cause of it; and I appeal to Mr. _Grounds_, Whether litteral -Expositions on the Scripture, and the absurd Doctrines which the -_Clergy_ have built upon the _Letter_, have not been one Cause of his -calling into Question, the Truth of Christianity, and the divine -Inspiration of the holy Scriptures? But this is not the only Cause of -Infidelity; there are other grand ones, which Dr. _Moore_ writes of, -saying thus:[350] "That Men are exceedingly tempted to think the whole -Business of Religion is at best but a Plot to enrich the Priests, and -keep the People in awe, from observing that they, who make the -greatest Noise about Religion, and are the most zealous therein, do -neglect the Laws of Honesty and common Humanity; that they easily -invade other Men's Rights; that they juggle, dissemble, and lye for -Advantage; that they are proud, conceited, love the Applause of the -People, are envious, fierce, and implacable, unclean and sensual, -merciless and cruel; care not to have Kingdoms flow in Blood, for -maintaining their Tyranny over the Consciences of poor deluded Souls." -If then there is any Danger of any kind in Infidelity, let the -_Clergy_ take the Blame and Shame of it to themselves, and not lay -that Fault, which is their own, upon other Men. - -But observing that Dr. _Moore_ above speaks of Priests, their -_neglecting the Laws of Honesty_ and _common Humanity_, as a Cause of -Infidelity, I must here do a piece of Justice to Infidels, who place -the very _Essence_ of all Religion (as I believe the Essence of -Christianity consists) in _common Honesty_. If they keep to their -Principles, and act agreeably, they will work such a Reformation in -the World for the better, as the _Priests_ of all Ages have not been -able to do. The _Clergy_ have made such a Noise in the World about -_Faith_ and _Doctrine_, that the People hardly think they need be -_Honest_ to be good Christians and even many _Clergy-men_ are -conceited of their being _orthodox_ and _sound Divines_, though by -their Dishonesty, Profuseness, and Neglect of a Provision for their -Families, they have, in the Judgment of[351] St. _Paul_, deny'd the -Faith, and are worse than Infidels. - -And thus have I consider'd the Slanders and Misrepresentations of my -self and Infidels, contain'd in the _Bishop_'s _Dedication_ to the -_Queen_, which entirely is such a Piece of Fury, Railing, and -Impertinence, as a Man shall hardly meet with. Surely he was not awake -when he wrote his _Dedication_, it is so like the _Dream_ of a -disorder'd Brain which consists of confused Notions, and scatter'd -Ideas, that are never to be so compacted together, as to make tolerable -Sense, Reason, and Truth. If I had not met with much such flaming Stuff -in the Body of his Book, I should have suspected that some-body, more a -Foe than a Friend to him, had palm'd it upon him, and over-persuaded him -to print it, as what would recommend him to her Majesty's Favour. - -Whether he'll merit a _Translation_ to an _Arch-Bishoprick_, for this -Dedication, with me is no Question. For all he may take me for his -Enemy, I wish him _translated_, as certainly as the Government has -_transported_ some other Folks, who are no more the Bane of Society. -_Buggs_ in a House, and _Caterpillars_ in a Garden, are not a greater -Grievance, than some sort of Ecclesiastical _Vermin_ in Christ's -Church and Vineyard. - -That the _Bishop_ himself admires his _Dedication_, and is pleas'd -with it, I don't doubt. Like as _Bears_ are fond of their ill-favour'd -_Cubbs_, so the Brats of some Men's Brains, as well as those of their -Bodies, are pleasing to than; and however deform'd and irrational in -themselves, are hugg'd by them as so many Wits and Beauties. But -whether many, beside the _Bishop_ himself, will like his _Dedication_, -is a great Question. I don't doubt, but there may be some for -Persecution as well as the _Bishop_, and so far may approve of the -_Dedication_: But whether there is any one that can think, he has not -greatly injured _Infidels_, and made a false Representation of them, -for being Enemies to our Civil Government, and to our present -Establishment, can't surely be question'd. If he be not look'd upon -here, by all Mankind, as a wilful and malicious Misrepresenter of -them, I shall much wonder at it. - -But what's the _Dedication_ to the Book it self, will some here say? -Tho' the _Bishop_ may have made some Slips in his _Dedication_ which -betray Weakness and Ignorance; yet his following Performance may be -Strenuous and Nervous, and a compleat Confutation of my _Discourses_. I -answer, that such a Dedication bodes ill to the Book; and a Man may as -well expect to find the inside of a House beautiful and richly adorn'd, -when the Porch and Entrance into it is mean and nasty; as that an -admirable Treatise for Wit, Reason, and Learning, should follow upon -such a poor, simple, and insipid _Dedication_. Commonly Authors take -more care in their _Dedications_, than in their following Treatise; that -is, they see better to the Accuracy of their Expressions, the Exactness -of their Stile, and Beauty of their Thoughts; and if they err at all in -them, it is only in Flattery, and excess of Compliments on their -Patrons. Such Care too, after the best manner he was able, has the -_Bishop_ taken in his _Dedication_ above; and whatever his Readers and -Admirers may think, the _Dedication_ is the best Part of the Book. The -Exceptions I have taken at the _Dedication_ are but small, in Comparison -of the Faults I shall find and expose in the _Book_ it self; which is -such a Complication of Impertinence and Errors, of Rage and Confidence, -and of Calumnies and Reproaches, as is not to be equall'd; and is so -far from deserving the Character of a Confutation of my _Discourses_, -that it has done them Service; and will be, after the Animadversions I -shall make on it, a Confirmation of the Goodness, Usefulness, and -Excellency of my Design in them. - -I have not here room to make a compleat Dissection of the _Bishop_'s -Work, and to display its Insufficiency, in answer to my _Discourses_; -neither was it my Design in this _first Part_ of my _Defence_ to do -it. But however, I will spare a Place here for a short Character and -Representation of his Performance, which take as follows. - - "The _Bishop_'s sole Aim and Design is to vindicate the _litteral - Story_ of our Saviour's Miracles, against my rational and - authoritative Objections to it. And to this Purpose he wrangles with - me, where he can, about the Sense of this and that Citation out of - the Fathers; and after he has forc'd another Sense on it, than the - Words do naturally bear, then he insults me for a Misrepresentation. - And where he meets with a plain Testimony out of the Fathers, which - he can't mangle nor strain to his Purpose, he fluently passes by it; - tho' he would have his _Readers_ to believe, he has vindicated the - litteral Story against my Authorities, and shewn that the Fathers - were all on his Side. - - "He complains of my Mutilations of the Fathers, and of making too - curt Citations out of them; which is true, but more to my own - Disadvantage than to his. But, what is Matter of grand Triumph to - the _Bishop_, is, that I have quoted _spurious_ Works of the - Fathers for _genuine_ ones. And here he takes great Pains, and - wastes Time and Paper, to prove that _this_ and _that_ Book does - not belong to the Author under whose Name I cite it; and then has a - Fling at me for want of Skill in _Criticism_. But can the _Bishop_ - be so weak, as to think, I did not know when I quoted a _spurious_ - Work? Supposing the _Book_ I quoted do not belong to the reputed - Author, but to some other Writer, what's that to the Question - between us? The Citation is no less the Testimony of Antiquity, and - it's no matter whose Name it bears. If the _Bishop_ had thought a - little on this, he might have spared some Sheets of Paper, which he - has in vain wasted, to the Loss of his Readers Time and Money. - - "Again, where my rational Arguments against the _Letter_ seem to - the _Bishop_ to be weak and inconclusive; there, to do him - Justice, he handsomly turns upon me with his Reasoning, and - admonishes me of my Spitefulness against the _Letter_, or I would - never use such a slight Argument. But where I pinch and bear hard - upon the _Letter_, and the Jest is not to be digested, there, - instead of Reasoning against me, he makes a hideous Out-cry of - Buffoonery, Blasphemy, and Infidelity; and calls upon the Civil - Magistrate for his Help, or their Religion, and their _All_ is in - Danger, through the impious Writings of untoward Infidels. - - "The _Bishop_ in some Cases gives up the Cause, and seems himself - to be almost ashamed of the _Letter_; and for the Maintenance of - the Honour of _Jesus_, and the Dignity of his miraculous Operation, - flies to Allegory; allowing that _this_ and _that_ Miracle might be - typical and figurative of somewhat else, as his Thoughts did - suggest to him. But here he discovers his poor Talent at - Allegories, making no more Resemblance between the _Type_ and - _Antitype_, than between an _Apple_ and an _Oyster_. - - "I am repeatedly charg'd by the _Bishop_ with Infidelity, for - writing against the _Letter_, tho' I am as grave as a Judge at the - allegorical Interpretation; and he can't but know that Infidelity - and Allegorism are incompatible in the same Person. To prove me an - Infidel, he should have shewn that I meant to pour Contempt upon - the allegorical, as well as litteral Sense of Jesus's Miracles; but - he has not once hinted at this. A certain great Writer, call'd Mr. - _Grounds_, plays a double Game upon the _Clergy_, he laughs at the - _allegorical_ as well as _litteral_ Scheme, and distresses the - _Clergy_ with his Objections against both. But I have not done so; - I really am, or seem to be, a sincere Contender for the allegorical - Sense. And to make an _Infidel_ of an _Allegorist_, is more - difficult and impossible than to make a _Monkey_ of a _Bishop_. - - "The _Bishop_, as a _Minister of the Letter_, has spoken too - favourably of the allegorical Scheme; he has treated it with too - much Respect, both as to the Origin and Use of it, and done enough - to sap the Foundation of his Church; for which, I am afraid, he'll - meet with a Reprimand from his Episcopal Brethren. The _Bishop_ of - _Lichfield_ is the Man for my Money, to write against the - allegorical Scheme; he tells us, that[352] _St._ Paul _suffer'd in - the Esteem of the Jewish Christians for his Neglect of Allegories; - and seems to be brought into the Use of them against his own good - liking_. And again,[353] _It seems to have been in compliance with - Jewish Christians, who were affected with allegorick - Interpretations, that St._ Paul _used that way_. Which is as much - as to say, St. _Paul_ was more a _Minister of the Spirit_, than of - Inclination he was disposed to be, or, in truth, ought to have - been; and that, if he took upon him the Ministry of the Spirit for - the present, it was only craftily and politically done of him, to - catch the _Jews_ in their own Snare of Allegories. He was - consenting that the Preachers of the Gospel, in future Times, - should desert the _Ministry of the Spirit_, and betake themselves - to the _Letter_ of the Scriptures, as what is more agreeable to - Truth, and conducive to the Defence and Propagation of - Christianity. Such a _Craftsman_ was the inspir'd St. _Paul_, in - the Opinion of the _Bishop_ of _Lichfield_! However, the _Bishop_ - of St. _David's_ ought to be of the same Mind; he should assert, - that the _Ministry_ of the _Spirit_ was all apostolical Craft and - antient Error; and that the present Generation of Priests, being - wiser, more learned, and more sincere than the Primitive and - Apostolical ones, do adhere to the _Ministry of the Letter_. - Because the _Bishop_ has not gone thus far by much, he leaves more - room, than he should, for the Revival of the _Ministry of the - Spirit_; that is, of the spiritual and allegorical Interpretation - of the Scriptures. - - "The _Bishop_ often reproves me for my primitive Interpretation of - _this_ and _that_ Text of Scripture, and then palms his own forc'd - Sense on us, for natural and genuine, contrary to the Judgment of - all Antiquity. - - "He is so _grave_, serious, and sedate at some simple Doctrines and - Arguments, that his _Readers_ must of necessity laugh, if not scoff - at him. Was I _ludicrously_ to handle the said Doctrines, my - _Readers_ would hardly smile. Such a wide Difference is there - between the _Levity_ of a Buffoon (as he is pleased to call me) and - the _Gravity_ of an Ass, to the exposing of Religion to the - Ridicule and Contempt of Mankind. - - "Lastly, He entirely mistakes the Design of my _Discourses_; he - knows not what I aim and drive at. There's one Paradox runs through - his whole Book, _viz._ That the litteral Story of our Saviour's - Miracles must of necessity be true, or I should have no Foundation - to build Allegories upon; which is a gross Mistake of other Writers - against me, as well as of himself. Who knows not that the profest - Parables of _Jesus_ have nothing of _Letter_ in them, yet are a - good Foundation for Allegory? And let me tell him here again, that - whatever was true, more or less, in the litteral Story of _Jesus_'s - Miracles, there is absolute Necessity, for the Honour and Credit of - them, to have Recourse to the Mystery; or litterally they are, and - shall be farther proved such----Stories, as I dare not at present - call them." - -Thus have I given a brief Account of the _Bishop_'s mighty and pompous -Performance; like to which he has promis'd us another Volume, that I -shall long for the publication of, next _Winter_. This my brief -Account is but introductory to future and larger Defences of my -_Discourses_ on Miracles; which, by the Help of God, and Permission -of the Civil Authority, shall be likewise publish'd. - -I have not, I say, room here so much as to defend my self on any one -Miracle; and if I had, I would not do it. For as I can't do it without -writing in the same Stile and Strain for which I am prosecuted, so I -will do nothing that may be interpreted as an Act in Defiance and -Contempt of the Power of the Civil Magistrate. I did indeed publish -two _Discourses_ after the Commencement of the Prosecution, because I -imagined that our _Bishops_ were more in Jest than in Earnest; or if -their Passions were raised for the present, I thought, that after a -little Consideration of the unreasonableness of Persecution in -general, they would cool upon it, and drop the Prosecution. But since -they are in Earnest, and I must answer to the Civil Powers for some -supposed Crimes in my _Discourses_, I'll not repeat here the like -Acts, but be quiescent in respect to the said Powers, to whom -Reverence and Obedience is justly due. For, tho' I look upon the -Ecclesiastical Power as an Usurpation on the Consciences of Mankind, -yet the _Civil_ is Sacred, is God's Ordinance, and ought to be -regarded as such. But if I survive the Prosecution, and escape with my -Life and Liberty, which I don't despair of, under so wise, just, and -good a Magistracy as this Nation is bless'd with, the _Bishop_ may -expect a strenuous Defence of my self against his weak Assaults on me. - -If our _Bishops_ were any thing _Heroical_, they would stop the -Prosecution, and let the Controversy take its free Course. If they had -any Sense of Honour and Reputation, any Regard for their Learning, -they would set any Adversary of their Church at Defiance, and disdain -the Assistance of the Civil Magistrate to punish him, whom they could -not confute. It is the Office of the _Bishops_ and _Priests_ of the -Church, or I know not what is, to convert _Infidels_, to refute -_Hereticks_, and by Reason and Argument to put to Silence all -_Gain-sayers_. Wherefore have they a liberal and academical Education, -but to qualify them for this Work? Wherefore do they receive large -Revenues of the Church, but to oblige and encourage them to it? -Nothing more unreasonable, than that Men should receive Wages, when -they don't their Work. What will the People say hereupon less, than -that an Army of at least Twenty thousand Blackguards of the Church are -hired to little or no Purpose? The meanest of the People may as well -be taken to Church Preferments, as our reputed learned Divines. They -can discharge other Ecclesiastical Offices; and when they are -distress'd with an Objection to their Religion, can do no worse than -call upon the Civil Magistrate for his Aid and Assistance. But after -all, I am inclin'd to think our _Bishops_, in Honour, would forbear -Persecution, but for their Interests, call'd their _All_, which depend -on the Issue of this Controversy. - -However, not to urge the Argument for Liberty of Debate any farther, -which has been already by others treated on to Perfection, and will be -again returned, I doubt not, by some body else, on occasion of this -_Bishop_'s _Dedication_, I can't but take Notice here how unpolitick, -as well as unchristian, some Dissenters are in this Controversy, -being, such as Dr. _Harris_, and Mr. _Atkinson_, no less for -Persecution than the _Clergy_. If they had a Regard to their own -Interests and Liberties, they would be silent. Infidels (of whom I am -none) should be consider'd as Dissenting Brethren, whom they should -not be forward to oppress, for fear in time, and by degrees, it should -come to their own Turn. Our _Dissenters_ indeed, collectively, are -vastly numerous, and a potent Party, but may trust too much to their -own Strength and Numbers. Taking them separately, they may possibly -be Extinguish'd by Ecclesiastical Art and Craft. If Blasphemy is a -just Pretence for the Prosecution of me, the _Clergy_, upon Occasion, -can urge the same Crime against them. I'll tell them a Story. The -_Calvinists_ and _Socinians_ were once equally tolerated in _Poland_, -and if they had been fast Friends to each other, the _Papists_ could -never have suppress'd them: But the _Calvinists_ joining with the -_Papists_, and urging them to complain against the _Socinians_ for -Blasphemy, in denying the Divinity of the Son of God, moved the Civil -Authority to a Banishment of them; and the _Socinians_ had not been -long suppress'd, before the _Papists_ accus'd the _Calvinists_ of no -less Blasphemy, in denying Adoration to the Virgin _Mary_; and so they -were sent packing too; otherwise they might both have enjoy'd their -Liberty to this Day. The Application of the Story is easy. So if all -we _Dissenters_ from the Church, whether we like one another's -Principles or not, don't hold together for the Preservation of our -Liberties, it's easy for Ecclesiasticks to feign an Accusation of -_Blasphemy_ against any of us. We have no Security, but in the Wisdom -and Goodness of an excellent Government, which, if the _Clergy_ -should ever get on the Back of, its hardly a Question, whether they -would not drive, _Jehu_ like, most furiously. - -But to return to my _Bishop_. I once thought he would never have been -drawn into this Controversy. Sometime after the Publication of my -Third _Discourse_, which, for a visible Reason, I dedicated to him, -and invited him to Battle, I ask'd a dignify'd _Clergy-man_, Whether -the _Bishop_ would write against me? He answer'd, No: Whereupon I -concluded, that he had a Scent of somewhat, not here to be mention'd. -But my repeated Provocations of him afterwards, have forc'd him, -against Inclination, to engage me. His Passion got the better of his -Reason, or he had been certainly quiescent: And the Violence of his -Passion is so visible thro' his whole Book, that it's God's great -Mercy it did not throw him into a Fever and Convulsions, to the Danger -of his Life and Health. - -I own here again, what I have done before, that I did lay a Trap for -our _Clergy_; but little imagined that two such great _Bishops_, as of -_London_ and St. _David's_, would, to my Pleasure and Satisfaction, -have been caught in it. If I had not baited my Trap well with -_Ridicule_, I dare say, they would have kept themselves clear of it. - -But when I experienc'd the hard Usage the Bishops had given me upon my -_Discourses_, and the Fury with which they attack'd me, it surprised me, -and brought to my Mind _Origen_'s Prediction[354] of this _very_ War and -Controversy of the _Spirit_ against the _Letter_ of the _Scriptures_, -and of the Violence it would be carried on with. For all my Veneration -for the Authority of the Fathers, I did here suspect the Truth of -_Origen_'s Prediction, believing him to be mistaken, and that the -Controversy would be manag'd in a _calm_, _decent_, and _sedate_ Manner; -and so it had been, but for the Interests of the _Clergy_ that are at -Stake in it, which I was not aware of. Finding then the Truth of -_Origen_'s Prediction contrary to my Expectations, I had the Curiosity -further to consult the Fathers about the Issue of this Controversy; and -they presently, with their mystical Fingers, pointed to a Prophecy of it -in the _Revelations_ of St. _John_; but, to say no more at present, -assur'd me, that the _Spirit_ would get the Better of the _Letter_ in -the Conclusion of it. Tho' I am accounted an Infidel, I am so easy and -credulous a Christian as to believe all this; and I thank God have so -much Courage in me, as to try the Truth of it. - -But I must observe here, that besides my two _Bishops_, of _London_ and -St. _David's_, (and some other inconsiderable _Triflers_) there are two -_anonymous_ Authors against me, whose Works have acquir'd some Fame. The -One is intitled, _The Miracles of Jesus vindicated_, in _Three Parts_. -If I could have gotten to the certain Knowledge of the Author, I should -have been tempted to have had a Bout with him; and to have expostulated -with him, both with Regard to his Arguments and good Manners. I would -have taught him a better Use, and a more proper Application of the Words -_Dishonesty, and want of Honesty_, than to reproach me with them. Common -Fame says, Dr. _Pearse_, of St. _Martin's_, is the Author; but I am apt -to think, the _King_'s Parish Priest, and other City _Divines_, have -more Wit and Craft than to upbraid me as above, for fear a just Charge -of _Dishonesty_, for their Extortions and Exactions on the People, -should be retorted on them. Upon the Publication of the _First Part_ of -the foresaid Treatise, my _Jewish Rabbi_ comes to me in all haste, -saying to me, "Look you here, do you see how this Author has new vampt -the old _mumpsimus_ Argument of _Jesus_'s Resurrection? Do you observe -how imperfectly, here and there, he answers my Objections to it; and -silently slips by some knotty Pieces of them, that were too hard for him -to untie?" Yes, _Rabbi_, said I, I do observe all this; (and what I have -observ'd since, he argues, awkwardly and backwardly, for the Certainty -of _Jesus_'s other Miracles, from his Resurrection.) My _Rabbi_ -presently re-inforc'd his Resurrection-Objection against this Author, -and would have had me to print it. No, no, _Rabbi_, said I; you may -print it your self, if you dare. I must wait to hear how Causes will go -in _Westminster-Hall_, next Term, before I involve my self in another -Law-Suit. Besides, _Rabbi_, they say, I don't really thus correspond -with a _Jew_, but do only personate one; and the _Bishop_ of St. -_David's_ hints, that I am answerable to publick Justice for so doing. -Here my Rabbi stampt with Indignation; saying, What if you did personate -a _Jew_? Is it not lawful, and in Use with your _Divines_, to write -Conferences between a Christian and a _Jew_? And do you any more in this -Case? Yes, _Rabbi_, said I, it is lawful to write such like Conferences, -and to make _Jewish_ Objections to Christianity, when they are no -stronger than may be easily dissipated: But when Men write from the -Heart, as you do, and raise a D----l that our _Clergy_ can't easily lay, -it is, they say, intolerable, and punishable; and either you or I, in -the Opinion of the _Bishop_, ought to suffer for it. - -The other considerable _Treatise_ against me, is that of _The Trial of -the Witnesses of the Resurrection of Jesus_; which is an ingenious -Piece, and I was well pleased with it. Some time after the Publication -of this _Treatise_, I made my Jewish _Rabbi_ a Visit, when, drinking a -_Dish_ of _Tea_ together, we talk'd it over; and my _Rabbi_ was -pleas'd to deliver his Sentiments of it in this fashion: "Whoever was -the Author of this Treatise, God knows, but he's certainly a Friend to -my Objections against _Jesus_'s Resurrection, which he has fairly -stated; but is so far from fully confuting all of them, that he -discovers a Consciousness, here and there, that they are unanswerable. -It is commonly reported that Bishop _Sherlock_ is the Author of this -_Treatise_, but this Report I look upon as an Artifice of the -Booksellers, to make it sell well; or rather the Author's contrived -_Banter_ upon the _Clergy_, and their weak Christian Brethren, to try -how far they may be imposed on, and drawn into the Approbation and -Admiration of a Treatise, that really makes against them. There is but -very little in this Treatise, to make it reputed a sufficient Answer -to my Objections, excepting the Verdict of the _Jury_, who brought in -the Witnesses of the Resurrection, _Not Guilty_, of either Fraud or -Mistake in it. _Bishop Sherlock_ can't be the Author of this Treatise, -if for no other Reason than this, that _that_ Author is visibly -against that Ecclesiastical Wealth and Power, which the _Bishop_ is -possess'd of, and does think not disagreeable to the Mind of Christ -and his poor Apostles. If any _Bishop_ is the concealed Author of this -Treatise, he must secretly be of the Opinion of the atheistical Pope, -who said, _quantum nobis profuit hæc de Christo Fabula_, what vast -Advantage has the Story of Christ been to us Popes and Bishops." I -readily gave into the Opinion of my _Rabbi_, and wonder'd, _Bishop -Sherlock_ did not so much as by a publick Advertisement clear himself -of being the Author of this Treatise, and so put a Stop to the -Report. It may be the _Bishop_ is above the Scandal of it; but I was -so concern'd for his Reputation, that I drew up a _Vindication_ of him -from the Slander of it; which I had publish'd, but for my _Rabbi_'s -farther Thoughts about the Resurrection of Jesus inserted in it, that -our _Bishops_ might have possibly taken Offence at. So I dropp'd that -Design at present, but hope still for an Opportunity to publish the -said Vindication of the _Bishop_, by which, I don't doubt, but to -merit his Friendship and Favour. - -But whoever was the real Author of the foresaid Treatise, I humbly and -heartily beg of him to publish, what in the Conclusion of it, he has -given us some Hopes of, _The Trial of the Witnesses of the -Resurrection of_ LAZARUS, because my _Rabbi_'s Objections to it are a -Novelty and Curiosity, which, by way of such a Reply to them, I should -be glad to see handled. - -But having here by Chance mention'd my _Rabbi_'s Letter concerning -_Lazarus_'s Resurrection, it brings to my Mind a Challenge I made to -the _Bishop_ of _London_ upon it, _viz._[355] "If he would publish an -Answer to that Letter, and vouchsafe me the Pleasure of a Reply to it; -then (to save the _Civil Magistrates_ Trouble) I would suffer such -Punishment that he in his Clemency should think fit to inflict on me, -for what's past." An ingenuous _Clergy-man_, upon reading this, said, -that the _Bishop_ was bound, in Honour, to accept of my Challenge, or, -what was in his Power, in Generosity, to put a Stop to the -Prosecution. But the _Bishop_ is not of his Mind. And for what Reason -he does not accept of my Challenge, is best known to himself, and -others will conjecture. If he had not condescended to write against me -in his _Pastoral Letter_, I should have imagined, that he thought it -beneath the Dignity of One of his exalted Station in the Church, to -set his Wit (for dignified Priests, for the most part, think their Wit -and Learning proportion'd to their Wealth and Power) against such a -poor Author as I am. But this is not the Reason. It may be, he thinks -his Reputation and Honour secure in the Height of his Grandeur, and -that his Dependents will admire his Learning nothing the less for his -Neglect of my Challenge. However it be, this I will say, that were we -upon the Level in the World as to Fortune, as well as we are to Age -and Education, the Learned would despise him for declining the -reasonable Challenge of one, whom he has injuriously treated and -persecuted. It's to no Purpose to challenge him here afresh; he, being -purpos'd to carry the Matter with an high Hand, has taken other -Measures, and is resolv'd to make use of his Power and Interest to -suppress him, whom with Reason and Argument he can't convince. - -However, I will here make another Proposal to the _Bishop_ of St. -_David's_. Because he thirsts after a very severe Punishment of me, or -he would not be so warm in his Exhortations of the Government to that -Purpose, I'll tell him how he may glut his Revenge, and inflict a -greater Punishment on me, than, in all probability, the Civil Magistrate -will humour him in. If he'll but put a Stop to the Prosecution at -present (which is not out of the Power of our _Bishops_, whatever they -may pretend) and let the Controversy go on, till I have finish'd my -Reply to his _two Volumes_, which shall be done with all Expedition; -then, if his Passion is not allay'd, I will submit to any Punishment, he -in his Wisdom and Justice, without Mercy, shall think fit to have laid -on me, whether it be to Death or Imprisonment. And what would he, or any -implacable Priest, desire more? This Proposal makes him my Judge as -well as my Accuser, and if he be not the most unreasonable Man alive, he -must accept of it. All my Hopes here are, that his Reason may recover -its Dominion over his Passion, against the Conclusion of my _Defence_, -or it will go hard with me. If the _Bishop_ will not comply with this -Proposal, I shall conclude, he's possess'd with the only certain and -allegorical _Satan_, mention'd in my _Discourses_; and I shall be -confirm'd in the Opinion of St. _Hilary_ (whose Testimonies about -Devils, the _Bishop_ has silently pass'd by, without any Charge upon me -for Misrepresentation) that there are no worse _Devils_ in the World, -than the calumniating, furious, and persecuting Tempers of Mankind. The -_Bishop_, by the by, has taken Pains to prove there are other _Devils_, -of an infernal, frightful, and independent Nature, and of a more certain -Existence than _Hobgoblins_; and he gravely asserts, that three of those -_Devils_ enter'd into each _Hog_, that ran violently down-hill; thereby -making the little _Pigs_ to carry as great a Burden as the old _Boars_ -and _Sows_, which should have been better thought of by him. The -_Bishop_, perhaps, for these my Descants, will say I am an Infidel; but -I assure him, it is one of the Articles of my Primitive and Christian -Faith, that the old _Dragon_, _Satan_, the _Serpent_, or the _Devil_, -mention'd in the _Revelations_, is no other than the furious, violent, -and persecuting Spirit in Man; which, upon the World's getting Liberty -of Religion, will be bound and chain'd. And it is the Opinion of -Thousands, as well as of my self, that Mankind will never be Happy, nor -at Rest, till this _Devil_ is exorcised out of the Priesthood, and so of -consequence chain'd up. According to the primitive Way of interpreting -the _Revelations_ of St. _John_, the Time is near at Hand for the -_binding_ this Apocalyptical old _Dragon_ or _Satan_, that has pester'd -the World through all Ages past. All the Honour that I desire, is, by my -Studies and Endeavours to be contributing to so great a Work, for the -Good and Happiness of Mankind. - -To conclude. I have been the more expeditious in printing of this -Discourse, not only for fear the _Bishop_'s _Vindication_ (as it is -call'd) should have a _malign Influence_ upon some People, I don't -mean our _Civil Magistrates_, who are wiser and more learned than to -be guided by such outragious Stuff; but because he should not long -triumph in a Conceit of the Potency and Excellency of his -Performance, as if no Reply could or would be made to it. If I had at -this Time enjoy'd free Liberty of Debate, I should not have thought it -worth my while to meddle with his _Dedication_, which with a Scorn I -should have pass'd by, and left to the Animadversions and Chastisement -of other Enemies to Persecution; but would immediately have enter'd -upon a Defence of my _Discourses_ against him. If I do retrieve my -Liberty, and the free Use of my Pen, and should not publish Defences -of my self, I should deserve (what _one_ said the _Bishop_ of -_London_, for his declining my Challenge, deserv'd) to be piss'd upon -for a vain Pretender to Argument and Authority. - -In the mean time, I have nothing to request of our _Clergy_, but that -Liberty of Debate may be indulg'd us; _that_ Liberty of theological -Disputation, which would be granted, if they did not industriously -labour to obstruct it. When will they cease to disgrace Truth, to -dishonour their Religion, and to disparage their own Education and -Learning; and no longer envy Mankind the blessed Enjoyment of such a -Liberty! - -But their Religion, they say, would be in Danger upon such a Liberty. -How can that be? How can Christianity be in Danger, that has not only -the Omnipotence of God on his Side, but a numerous standing Army of -Priests, hired for the Defence of it? It is not then their Concern for -Religion, that prompts them to so much Zeal here; but their Fears for -their Interests, that depend on the Issue of this Controversy. - -Was I to write against any other honest _Trade_, that is practised in -this City, the Artificers of it, being sensible of the Usefulness of -their Craft, would let me go on unmolested; and only pity and despise me -for the Vanity of my Attempt to subvert them: But the _Clergy_, being -prick'd with a Consciousness of the Mischiefs and Inconveniencies of -their Establishment, do therefore thus winch and kick. - -And who, besides the _Clergy_, are at this time Enemies to Liberty? None -hardly, but their immediate Dependents, whom they can easily infuse -their fiery and furious Notions into. Was it to be voted this Day among -the learned _Laity_, I dare say, the Friends of Persecution would be -found vastly short of the Numbers of their Adversaries. And I hope to -God, the Legislative Authority of these Nations will soon take the -Matter into their Consideration; and either limit or enlarge the Bounds -of Liberty, that honest and well-meaning Men may be no longer harrass'd -and molested, for their sincere Endeavours to serve the Publick. - -No Body, I trust, can complain of any disrespectful Usage, I have here -given the _Bishop_ of St. _David's_, that considers, how he has treated -me in _his Sermon before the Societies for Reformation_; and _in his -Charge to the Clergy of his Diocese_; as well as _in his Vindication_. -It would be sufficient, if I had no other Excuse for my self than -_this_, That Controversy is like a _Game_ at _Foot ball_, in which, if a -_Lord_ will engage with a _Plowman_, and should meet with a Kick on the -Shins, he ought not to complain of the ill Manners of it: So if a -_Bishop_ will dispute with one of lower Degree, he must look for a Rub -on his Intellects, a Rap on his Pate, and if his Adversary cuts him on a -soft Place, he should know how to bear it with Patience. But the -_Bishop_, contrary to this _Game-Rule_ in Controversy, complains[356] of -my _unmannerly_ Treatment of him, and cries out of the Sufferings and -Reproaches he undergoes, as if he was already more than half a Martyr -for Religion. I can't pretend to equal him in Reproaches and Sufferings, -having not so quick a Sense of them; and therefore I am willing, that -good Christian People should pity my poor _Bishop_, rather than me, in a -persecuted and sorrowful Condition. - -How long it will be, before I publish another, and _second_ Part of my -_Defence_, is uncertain, for a Reason, that I need not again mention. -But if it please God, that I enjoy Life, Health, and Liberty, I'll go -on with my Designs. I am resolv'd to give the _Letter_ of the -Scriptures no Rest, so long as I am able by Reason and Authority to -disturb it. If our Ministers of the _Letter_ will not ascend with me, -the sublime and allegorical _Mountain_ of divine Contemplation, they -than have no Comfort nor Enjoyment of themselves in the low _Valley_ -of the _Letter_, if I can disquiet them. Notwithstanding what the -_Bishop_ has written in _Vindication_ of _Jesus_'s Miracles, the -litteral Story of them, by the Leave of God, and of the Civil -Magistrate, shall be afresh attack'd, and perhaps with more -_Ridicule_, than I used before. What should I flinch for? The -litteral Story of _Jesus_'s Miracles is not, in the Opinion of the -Fathers, as well as of my self, agreeable to Sense and Reason; neither -can _Jesus_'s Authority and Messiahship be founded on the _Letter_ of -them. I am not for the _Messiahship_ of a carnal _Jesus_, who cured -the bodily Diseases of Blindness and Lameness; but for Messiahship of -the spiritual _Jesus_, who will cure the Blindness and Lameness of our -Understandings. I am for the Messiahship of the spiritual _Jesus_, who -will expel the mercenary Preachers out of his Church, after the manner -that _Jesus_ in the Flesh is supposed to have driven the Sellers out -of the Temple, which litterally is but a sorry Story. I am for the -Messiahship of the spiritual _Jesus_, who exorcised the furious and -persecuting Devils out of the Mad-men of _Jews_ and _Gentiles_; and -tho' he permitted them to enter into a Herd of Ecclesiastical Swine, -yet will precipitate them into the Sea of Divine Knowledge. I am for -the spiritual _Jesus_, who will cure the _Woman_ of the Church, of her -_Issue of Blood_, that is shed in Persecution and War; which her -Ecclesiastical Physicians, and Quack-Doctors of the _Clergy_, have not -been able to do, tho' they have received large Fees and Revenues to -that End. I am for a spiritual _Messiah_, who will cure the Woman of -the Church of her _Infirmity_, at the Spirit of Prophecy, of whose -Infirmity this Age is her _eighteenth_ Year. So could I write of all -_Jesus_'s Miracles; for the whole Evangelical History is Figure and -Shadow of the spiritual _Jesus_, whom we should _know to be in us of a -Truth, unless we be Reprobates_. The _Clergy_, if they are not -wilfully blind, may hence see my Christian Faith and Principles; and -be assured, that what I do in this Controversy, is with a View to the -Honour of God, the Advancement of Truth, the Edification of the -Church, and Demonstration of the Messiahship of the Holy _Jesus_, to -whom be Glory for ever. _Amen._ - - ~_FINIS._~ - -FOOTNOTES: - -[338] His Sermon before the Societies for Reformation; and his Charge -to the Clergy. - -[339] In his Dedication. - -[340] Page 35. - -[341] _Vindication of three Miracles_, p. 76, 77. - -[342] Cum venerit ergo Elias exponendo Legem _Spiritaliter_, convertit -Corda Patrum ad filios. _De Civit. Dei._ Lib. XX. c. 29. - -[343] Litteram Legis sequentes in Infidelitatem & vanas Superstitiones -incurrunt. _In Matt. Tract._ 26. - -[344] In Dedication of Third _Discourse_. - -[345] Page 177. - -[346] _Discourse_ the Fifth, _p._ 69. - -[347] Inveniatur enim in Christianismo non minor (nequid dicam -arrogantius) fide Ratio & Enarratio Propheticorum ænigmatum, -parabolarumque evangelicarum, aliarumque innumerarum figurarum, quæ -vel in _Gestis_ continentur vel Legibus. _Cont. Celsum. Lib._ I. - -[348] Quidam corporalia ejus Miracula stupentes, majora intueri non -norunt. Quidam vero ea, quæ gesta audiunt in Corporibus, nunc amplius -in animis admirantur,----Tales nos esse debemus in Schola Christi. _In -Serm._ xcviii. - -[349] In _Discourse_ the Sixth. - -[350] _Mystery of Godliness_, B. x. c. 2. - -[351] 1 Tim. v. 8. - -[352] _Defence of Christianity_, p. 347. - -[353] Ibid. p. 353. - -[354] Est adhuc alia Pugna his omnibus violentior; quod ii, quod Legem -secundum Carnem intelligunt, adversantur his, qui secundum spiritum -sentiunt, & persequuntur eos. _In Genesiæ Hom._ vii. - -[355] In Fifth _Discourse_, p. 67. - -[356] In his Preface, _p._ 17, 18. - - - - - Mr. _WOOLSTON_'s - - DEFENCE - - OF HIS - - DISCOURSES - - ON THE - - MIRACLES of our _Saviour_. - - Against the BISHOPS of St. _David_'s - and _London_, and his other Adversaries. - - PART II. - - _Nec Religionis est cogere Religionem, quæ sponte - suscipi debeat, non Vi._ Tertull. - - _LONDON_: - - Printed for the AUTHOR, and Sold by him - next Door to the _Star_, in _Aldermanbury_, and - by the Booksellers of _London_ and _Westminster_. - - MDCCXXX. - - [_Price One Shilling._] - - - - -[Illustration] - - TO THE - - RIGHT HONOURABLE - - Sir _Robert Raymond_, Kt. - - Lord Chief Justice of the Court of - _King's Bench_. - - -MY LORD, - -That I am no Flatterer of _Patrons_, appears by my other -_Dedications_: If therefore I should tell your _Lordship_, what I can -in Sincerity, that I think you as wise and good a Magistrate, as any -of your _Predecessors_ in that _High Court_ of _Justice_, you may be -assured, I don't dissemble. - -Tho' I was so unfortunate, _My Lord_, as to receive a Sentence in your -Court, which I wish'd to avoid; yet I have no worse Opinion of your -Wisdom and Justice. Your Conduct towards me, from first to last, has -rather heighten'd than lessen'd my Esteem and Veneration for you. I -observ'd in you such a Tenderness for our religious Liberties; such an -Aversion to Persecution; and such Moderation towards my self, that if -I had been absolutely acquitted, it would have been but with somewhat -more Satisfaction. - -And if I now write to clear my self of all Suspicions of Infidelity, -for which I was sentenced; your _Lordship_, I humbly presume, will not -think the worse of me. It is not expected that the Innocent should -confess Guilt, in a Compliment to any Court of Justice: Nor does the -Condemnation of the Guiltless, at any time almost, so much affect the -Justice of the Magistrate, as the Honesty of the Evidence: So I, _My -Lord_, know how to lay the Blame entirely on my Ecclesiastical -Accusers, and believe your _Lordship_ will be rather pleas'd than -offended at any good Defence I can make for my self. - -From the Beginning of the Prosecution against me, _my Lord_, I hardly -believed, that any Sentence would be pass'd on me, till the Day I -received it: And the Reason was, not only because the good Tendency of -my _Discourses_ was so visible, that I thought it could not be -overlook'd by the Wise and Learned; but because I imagin'd our -_Bishops_ would have better consulted their Reputation, than to let -Matters come to this Issue. - -That it is a Transgression of the Law of the Land to write against -Christianity, establish'd in it, I'll not question, since I have your -_Lordship_'s Word for it: But for all that, I could wish, for the Sake -of Christianity, that such a Liberty was indulg'd to _Infidels_. -Whatever our zealous _Clergy_ may think, one Persecution of an -_Infidel_ does more Harm to Religion, than the Publication of the -worst _Book_ against it. - -Liberty is so essential, _My Lord_, to the Enquiry after Truth, that -where It is wanted, Truth will want that Splendor, which it receives -from Disputation: And Christianity would be the more tryumphant over -its Enemies, for that unbounded Liberty, they may enjoy to contest it -from the _Press_. I say this, not for the Security of my self; against -future Prosecutions but, from a Heart, full of Zeal for the Religion -of the Holy _Jesus_. - -Ever since the _Reformation_, which was founded on our Natural and -Christian Rights to Liberty of Conscience, has this great Blessing of -Liberty, at Times, been interrupted by Persecutions: But whether any -of them hitherto have done any Service to _Church_ or _State_, your -_Lordship_ is a good Judge. - -However, tho' the Prosecution of my self, which was founded on a grand -Mistake, is attended with no ill Consequence; yet I hope our -_Ecclesiasticks_ will grow cautious by it, and no more sollicit the -most indulgent Civil Magistracy of this Kingdom to the Persecution of -any other, much less of, - -[Sidenote: London May 25. 1730.] - - _My Lord_, - _Your Lordship's_ - _Most Obedient and_ - _Humble Servant_, - Tho. Woolston. - - - - -[Illustration] - - A - - SECOND PART - - OF THE - - DEFENCE, _&c._ - - -It's Time now to publish another _Part_ of my _Defence_, which, in my -former, I gave my _Readers_ some Reason to expect from me. If I should -keep Silence much longer, my _Adversaries_ will be ready to charge me -with Cowardice, or Insufficiency; and say, that I'm either absolutely -confuted by the _Writers_ against me, or so terrified by the Civil -Magistrate's Authority, that I either can't, or dare not, engage -afresh in the same Cause. And I must confess, that if I was not -convinced of the Goodness of my Cause, which is no other than God's, -and of my Ability to defend it, I should chuse to hold my Peace, and -be glad that it has fared no worse with me. - -One Reason indeed why I have been so long ere I publish'd _this_, is -pure Respect to the Civil Powers, whom I am oblig'd, as a Christian, -to honour and reverence, so far as may be, without Disobedience to -God. Had I hastily, and as soon almost as _Sentence_ was pass'd on me, -publish'd _this_, some might have interpreted it, as an Act of -Defiance and Contempt of the Civil Authority, (for there are not -wanting those who will put the worst Construction they can on my -Conduct;) therefore I forbore for a while: And now that I appear again -from the _Press_, it is not without professing a profound Veneration -for our Civil Magistracy, who, I am sure, will never think the worse -of a Man for vindicating his own Innocency, or for writing in a Cause -that, in his Conscience, he is persuaded is most just and good. - -Another Reason why I committed this no sooner to the Press, was to wait -the Publication of the _Bishop_ of _St. David_'s his _Second Volume_, -which he promised us last Winter. I was almost of Opinion, that, in my -former _Defence_, I gave the _Bishop_ such Intimations of my sincere -Belief of Christianity, notwithstanding my _Discourses_ on _Miracles_, -and of the Falseness of his repeated Charge against me for Infidelity, -that I question'd whether he would write again in the same Strain. If -the _Bishop_ is convinced of this his grand Mistake about me, then the -very Foundation of his past and future Work is shaken, and I shall hear -no more of him. But whether he is certainly convinc'd of his Mistake or -not, I am concern'd to go on with these _Defences_ of my self, and to -vindicate the Goodness and Usefulness of the Design of my _Discourses_ -on _Miracles_, against what the _Bishops_ of _London_ and _St. David_'s, -and other _Adversaries_ have written to the contrary. - -But, before I enter upon such a _Defence_ of my self and my -_Discourses_, I must make, what is proper here, a short Preface. It is -well known, that I am for Liberty of Debate, and against all -Persecution or Force, or Impositions on the Consciences of Mankind. -But for all that, there are some _Rules_ in Controversy that we -polemical _Writers_ should observe, and be oblig'd to; or, instead of -discovering and illustrating the Truth we pretend to search for, we -shall but the more darken, obstruct and perplex it. As, - -_First_, We should endeavour to write as plainly and intelligibly as -we can, and never amuse our _Readers_ with Expressions void of Sense, -or with false Reasoning against our _Adversaries_, where we want -what's good and solid. This _Rule_ none can except against: Whether I -am an Observer of this _Rule_, my Readers are to be Judges. As I am to -answer it to God and a good Conscience, I endeavour to observe it; but -much question, whether some of my _Adversaries_ can say so too, or -they would never vent such dark, impertinent and unintelligible Stuff, -if it was not, because they are at a Loss for what's clear and -shining. There's no End of giving Instances out of their Writings to -this Purpose. I shall only mention one, that's repeated amongst them, -and that is, of their pretended Distinction between Popish -_Persecution_ and Protestant _Prosecution_ for Opinions, wherewith -they have amused weak and injudicious Heads. The Wife, I am sure, can -discern no more Difference here, than between a _Rope_ and a _Halter_ -to hang an innocent Man, in which Case too there is a _nominal_ -Distinction without a _real_ Difference. - -_Secondly_, We should be open and sincere in our Opinions, and not -profess with our Mouths to believe, what we disown in our Hearts; nor, -like _Watermen_, that look one way and row another, should we pretend -to have one Design in View, when we are pursuing the quite contrary. -This is a reasonable _Rule_, and ought to be observ'd, or we shall -confound the Understandings of our _Readers_, who will soon lose Sight -of our Arguments, if they apprehend not their Aim and Drift. This -_Rule_, my Adversaries will say, is levell'd at my self, than whom no -body has more dissembled and prevaricated in his Opinions. Have not -you, will they say to me, frequently declared, that your Design in -your _Discourses_ is to make way for the Proof of the Truth of -Christianity, and of the Messiahship of the Holy _Jesus_, when you -mean and intend the Subversion of both? And is not here grand -Hypocrisy, and a Transgression of this Rule? Yes, if I intend the -Subversion of Christ's Religion and Messiahship, here is grand -Hypocrisy, and a Transgression of this _Rule_; and I can't think of -such a Piece of Prevarication without Horror. The Bishop of _St. -David_'s[357] and Mr. _Stackhouse_,[358] in particular, have -animadverted upon me for such Hypocrisy; and if I was guilty of it, in -much gentler Terms than I deserv'd. This Hypocrisy, which they falsely -charge me with, is as heinous a Sin as I can think of; it is as bad as -wilful _Perjury_, as bad as a _Clergyman_'s taking the Abjuration -Oath, with his Heart full of Zeal and Affection for the Pretender, and -worse than his giving his solemn Assent and Consent to Articles of -Religion he believes little or nothing of. I should hardly have -mention'd this _Rule_ to be observ'd in Controversy, if I had been -guilty of the Breach of it. It is somewhat excusable in _Infidels_ a -little to disguise their real Sentiments, for fear of the Danger they -may incur by an open Profession of them: But such a gross and foul -Mask of Hypocrisy, as some think I have here put on, is intolerable, -and must be hateful to _Infidels_ as well as _Christians_, being -obstructive to Truth, which, in all Inquirers after her, loves -Sincerity and Simplicity. No doubt, but my _Adversaries_, some of -them, will still think me a Transgressor of this _Rule_; but my -present and following _Defences_ will absolutely clear me. And if none -of my _Adversaries_ are more guilty of the Transgression of it than -my self, we are all entirely innocent. - -_Thirdly_, In Controversy we should avoid all wilful Misrepresentation -of the Sense of our _Adversaries_, and of the _Authors_ we pretend to -cite. Mistakes and Misapprehensions of one another will sometimes -unavoidably happen, and are then as innocent things as involuntary -Errors. But wilful Perversion and Falsification of another Author's -Words, to the Service of our selves, or to the Prejudice of our -_Adversaries_, is most blameable, and of that ill Consequence to the -Search after Truth, that it will keep us always at a Distance from her. -This then is another good _Rule_ to be observed in Controversy, which -some may wonder I have mention'd, because of that Misrepresentation and -Falsification of Authorities I am charg'd with. And I must confess, my -_Adversaries_ have here made an hideous Outcry against me; which if I -can't acquit my self of, I am the foulest Controvertist that ever -appear'd in Print. The Bishop of _St. David_'s[359] calls my -_Falsification_ of Authorities, an _Immorality_, and speculative -_Forgery_; but if I was so guilty as he would have me thought, he speaks -too favourably of it. He should have deem'd it as great a Crime as -practical _Forgery_ by the Law; and all Philosophers and Lovers of Truth -should wish it might be likewise punish'd. - -But, good Christian Reader, don't too hastily pass thy Judgment on me. -Suspend awhile; it may be, that I may unexpectedly vindicate my self. -The Matter as yet is under Debate, whether my _Adversaries_ or I are -the grand Misrepresenters and Falsifiers of Authorities. One would -think, that my Adversaries, who were bent on the Accusation of me for -the foresaid Crime, should have kept themselves clear of it: But the -_Bishop_ of _St. David_'s[360] is such a resolute _Misrepresenter_, -that he could not find in his Heart faithfully to transcribe the -_Three Heads_ of my _Discourses_; but by a Suppression of some Words, -and the Change of others, has given them an odious and invidious Turn -to my Disadvantage: And he has studied so hard to pervert the Sense of -the Fathers against me, and so tortured his Brain to make me a -Misrepresenter of them, that I should not wonder, if he had labour'd -under a Pain in his Head ever since, and is unable to write more. Tho' -my Word should not be taken for all this at present; yet in the -Sequel of these _Defences_, it will be made manifest. - -It is a great Temptation to our _Bishops_ falsely to accuse and -misrepresent their Adversaries; because they know their Writings don't -equally spread and go together among all their Readers. A _Bishop_'s -Writing going more by itself amongst the _Clergy_, and other Friends -to his Side of the Question, he is tempted to misrepresent his -Adversaries, knowing his prejudiced Readers will take his Report of -them, and credit it. For this Reason, and no other, did the _Bishop_ -of _Litchfield_[361] falsely charge the _Author_ of the _Grounds_ with -odious Assertions, to which there is nothing akin in the Places -seemingly referr'd to, nor in all that Author's Work. - -However, the _Rule_ in Controversy before laid down is a good, useful -and necessary one. I pray God we may all be religious and -conscientious Observers of it, or we shall retard the Discovery of -Truth, and render our Attainment of it difficult, if not impossible. - -_Fourthly_, We should think our selves oblig'd to set our Names to our -Writings in Controversy, especially where it is such a _warm_ one as -is ours at present. The Observation of this _Rule_ would not only -prevent much of the Violation of the _two_ former; but would hinder -abundance of the Dirt of Scandal, Lies and Defamations, that we too -often throw at each other. For what Reason some of the _Writers_[362] -against me have industriously conceal'd their Names, I know full well. -They perhaps would have it thought Modesty, and that they are not -ambitious of the publick Praises they may deserve for their learned -and elaborate Performances. And possibly it may be Modesty in some -Theological Authors to conceal themselves: But where Men have the -Impudence to defame, it's in vain to pretend to the Cloak of Modesty -to cover themselves under. Wherefore then do they sometimes who write -on the establish'd Side of the Question, on which Honour and -Preferment goes, thus conceal themselves? Why, that they might belie -and slander their Adversaries the more securely, without being -expostulated with for their Impudence. It's to no Purpose, they know, -to upbraid an anonymous Author with his Scandal, because he can't be -put to the Blush for it. And a wise Man will not lose his Labour to -expose and confute a libellous Writing, unless he knew whom to charge -with the Guilt of it. It is my Resolution to take no Notice of any -nameless Authors against me, because I, being as it were blindfolded, -engage them at a Disadvantage, whilst they have a full View of me. For -this Reason the _Tryal of the Witnesses_ was pass'd by, or I should -have been tempted to have made some Remarks on it. Let such _Authors_ -come forth into the Light, and it may be, they'll meet with the same -Favour I have done the _Bishop_ of _St. David_'s. In the mean time, I -declare my Abhorrence of Authors their Concealment of their Names, and -I hope all ingenuous _Writers_ in Controversy will do so too; tho' for -no other Reason, than to prevent Misrepresentations, Defamations, and -personal Reflections, which nameless Authors are too often guilty of. - -_Fifthly_, and _lastly_, Others make it a common _Rule_ to be observ'd -in Controversy, that the _Disputants_ should consider each other's -Arguments impartially, without the Byass of Prejudice and Interest. -And a very good _Rule_ this is, if Men would but put it into Practice. -But I shall long despair of such Impartiality in Controversy. Such is -the Power of Prejudice and Interest, that they will influence Men to -believe against the most apparent Reason and Truth. Even Prejudice -will much darken the Eyes of Mens Understandings, but Interest will -put them quite out. O what a horrible Obstacle to the free Enquiry -after Truth, is Interest! Against Demonstration itself will Men -contend for Interest. Interest, upon Occasion, will induce them to -desert the best Opinions, and keep them tight to the worst. This -Experience proves true, and the various Faces of the Church, and -Changes of the _Clergy_ (all for Interest) is a Witness of it. God -forbid that I should judge uncharitably of the Corruption of human -Nature under the Power of Interest; but I believe, that was our -_Legislature_ to do, what they never will, that is, set up the Figure -of a _Calf_ in our Churches, there would be no want of Priests to -worship him, if they were well paid for it; nor of Academical -_Students_ to prove his divine Power and Godship, if the Road to -Preferment lay that Way. For this Reason, among many others, I am for -the Abolition of an hired and establish'd Priesthood, that this grand -Bar of Interest may be removed out of our Way to Truth. And the -_Bishop_ of _London_, that excellent Prelate, as _Bishop Smalbroke_ -calls him (for so do we, like other Creatures, knab one another where -it itches) should by rights be of my Mind, saying,[363] "Where there -is an Unwillingness to part with worldly Interests, there must of -Course be a _Desire_ that the Christian Religion should not be true; -and a _Willingness_ to favour and embrace any Argument that is brought -against it, and to cherish any Doubts and Scruples that shall be -rais'd concerning it." So feelingly does this _Bishop_ speak of the -Power of Interest, by which, as I would conceive, he honestly hints to -the Inhabitants of _London_ and _Westminster_, that the _Bishop_ of -their Diocese, and the _Parson_ of their Parish, are most unfit Guides -in Religion, because of the worldly Interests they may have to deceive -them, and keep them in Ignorance and Error. - -Thus by way of Preface having spoken to the foregoing _Rules_ to be -observed in this Controversy, I come to a close. _Defence_ of myself -against the Charge of Infidelity, and to vindicate the Usefulness of my -_Discourses on Miracles_ for the Proof of the Truth of Christianity, and -of the Messiahship of the Holy _Jesus_, against all my Adversaries. And -the Method I shall take to this Purpose, is this following. - -I. To show the Weakness, Childishness, and Insufficiency of the -Arguments of my _Adversaries_, for the _Letter_ of the Stories of -_Jesus_'s Miracles; and further to prove both _ludicrously_ and -_seriously_ the Absurdities, Incredibilities, and Improbabilities, -that their literal Stories labour under. - -II. To prove, that whether there be any Sense, Truth and Fact, or not, -in the Letter of _Jesus_'s Miracles; yet they are Typical Things, and -ought to be allegorically interpreted, and will receive a mysterious -and more wonderful Accomplishment, after the manner, and to the same -Purpose, that the Fathers and I do apply them, being no other (whether -actually wrought or not) than Figures, Signs and Emblems of his future -and mysterious Operations. - -III. To show that the mysterious and future Accomplishment of these -supposed Works and Miracles of _Jesus_ alone can and will be the Proof -of his Messiahship. - -If I perform well upon these Heads, which are deserving of my -_Reader_'s Review, because of their Pertinency to the Cause in Hand, I -shall not only vindicate myself from the Charge of Infidelity, but -justify the Goodness and Usefulness of my _Discourses_, in order to -the Demonstration of _Jesus_'s Messiahship. And in the midst of my -handling of them, without going out of my Way, I shall, as Occasion -offers itself, take Notice of particular Misrepresentations of the -Fathers, and false Citations out of them, that my Adversaries charge -me with: And Bishop _Smalbroke_ and others had best to look to it, or -their Accusations against me will recoil and return home to them. Then - -I. I should show the Weakness, Childishness and Insufficiency of the -Arguments of my _Adversaries_ for the _Letter_ of _Jesus_'s Miracles; -and further argue both _ludicrously_ and _seriously_ the Absurdities, -Incredibilities and Improbabilities, that their literal Stories labour -under. - -I should, I say, first treat on this Head, which naturally precedes -the two following; but in as much as to handle it to Perfection, I -should write as I did before, and shall run in Danger of Prosecution -for Blasphemy and Infidelity; I must of Necessity wave and postpone -it, unless I could more than dispatch it in the Compass of this _Part_ -of my _Defence_. - -I have heretofore made solemn Professions of my Belief of -Christianity, and most seriously declared in the plainest Terms, that -my Design was not to do Service to Infidelity, but to make way for the -Proof of Christ's Religion and Messiahship; but my Word was not taken, -being look'd upon as a Dissembler, an Hypocrite, and Prevaricator, for -all that. And should I now ever so gravely repeat the like -Asseverations of the Integrity and Sincerity of my Heart, that my -Objections against the Letter of _Jesus_'s Miracles are none against -his Religion, but only intended to turn Mens Heads to the mystical -Interpretations of them; I question much whether I should be believed, -and whether _Bishop Smalbroke_[364] would not say again, _that this is -too thin a Disguise of what seems to be my great and worse Design_. -What then in Prudence must I do in this Case? Why, I must let _This -Head_, which reasonably should precede, rest for a while; and by -treating on the _Second_, tho' out of Place, I must first effectually -convince my Adversaries, that I am no _Infidel_ of wicked Designs to -subvert Christianity, but only the _Ministry of the Letter_; and then, -I conceive, I may safely resume the Consideration of this _First -Head_, and without the Imputations of Infidelity and Blasphemy, write -as _merrily_ or _gravely_ as I please against the Letter. - -Should any say, that this pretended Reason for waving this _First Head_ -for the present, is nothing but Cowardice and Inability to write more on -it, I can't help it. _Ictus Piscator sapit_; I have already suffer'd -much for the ludicrous Treatment of the _Letter_, and it is Wisdom to -keep, if I can, out of the like Danger; neither will I do any thing, -that in Conscience I can forbear, to incur the Displeasure of the Civil -Magistrate. But however, if the _Bishop_ of _London_ would ensure me -against, what the _Bishop_ of _St. David_'s calls, the[365] _Nominal_ -Persecutions of _Protestants_, which I am more afraid of, than of the -_real_ Persecutions of _Papists_, I will soon enter upon this Head; -otherwise for Self-Preservation against the _nominal_ Sufferings of -Fines and Imprisonment, _&c._ I will forbear, promising my Readers, that -in due Time, and on a more proper Occasion, I will resume the _merry -Subject_ of the _Letter_, and handle it to their entire Satisfaction. - -And when I resume _this Head_, I will begin where I before left off in -my _Discourses_ on _Miracles_; that is, with the Resurrection of -_Jesus_, which tho' I believe to have been a miraculous Fact, that -happen'd, yet it was by no means timed and circumstanced, so as easily -and readily to conciliate the Belief of Posterity. God has given to Man -Reason to judge of the Credibility of Events, and the Certainty of -Miracles: And if the Reason of every Man does not disapprove of the -Management of that Event, (supposing it has no figurative Meaning in it) -I am much mistaken, when we come to state a Case, how such a Miracle -ought to be wrought and conducted, to get and preserve the Credit of it. - -Thus having told my Readers, why I postpone my _First Head_, I now -enter upon the _Second_, which is - -II. To shew, that whether there be any Sense, Truth and Fact, or not, -in the literal Stories of _Jesus_'s Miracles, yet they are all -certainly typical Facts, and ought to be allegorically interpreted, -and will receive a mysterious and more wonderful Accomplishment after -the Manner, and to the same Purpose, that the Fathers and I do apply -them, being no other (whether actually wrought or not) than Figures, -Signs and Emblems of his future and mysterious Operations. - -If the Authority of the Fathers would be admitted of, as decisive on -_this Head_, there would soon be an End of all Controversy upon it. -Give me Leave to recite some of their Testimonies to this Purpose, -which I have heretofore urg'd in my _Discourses_. _Origen_ says[366] -That _Jesus_'s Works were _Symbols_ of other Things to be done by his -Power. St. _Hilary_[367] says, That _Jesus_'s Actions bore a -Resemblance of what he would do hereafter. St. _Augustin_[368] says, -That the Facts of _Jesus_ are Signs of somewhat else to be done by -him. And _Eusebius Gallicanus_[369] says, That our Saviour manifestly -shews, that his Miracles are of a spiritual Signification, or in the -Work of them he would not have done somewhat or other, that seems to -want Sense and Reason. These few, out of a Multitude of Citations from -the Fathers that might be produced, are sufficient to the Proof of the -present Proposition, if their Authority might determine our Dispute. -And most pertinent Citations they are too, tho' _Bishop -Smalbroke_[370] says, _that even the Passages cited by me from the -Fathers, that are not falsified, are impertinent_; which is such an -extravagant Stretch against the most glaring Truth, that (to use the -Bishop's[371] own Words against himself) _it betrays a Mind lost to -all Sense of Modesty and Religion_, or he could not have utter'd it. - -And not only the Miracles of _Jesus_ were Signs and Figures of future -Events; but, according to _Origen_,[372] _every thing else that he did_: -From whence we may gather what was _Origen_'s Meaning, when he said[373] -_Christ's first_ Advent in the Flesh is all Type and Shadow of his -_second_, spiritual, and glorious Coming; which being an _Opinion_ that -our _Clergy_ are Strangers to, I desire them to consider of it, and -whether there is any Possibility of Truth in it, because it is contrary -to modern Conceptions about _Christ's second_ Advent. - -Nay further, according to the Fathers,[374] the very Life and -Ministry of _John_ the _Baptist_, so far as it is recorded by the -_Evangelists_, is Type and Figure of another's Ministry before -Christ's spiritual Advent; and I am almost, if not altogether of the -same Mind with them. It is beside my present Business, to insert here -many of their Testimonies to this Purpose: But if the _Bishop_ of _St. -David_'s would spare a little Time, which can't be better employ'd, -and make a Collection of the Opinions of the Fathers about the -_Baptist_'s Ministry, and print it, I dare say he'll thereupon present -the learned World with the most surprizing Curiosity they ever were -entertain'd with. Tho' it is improper for me to do such a Work; yet I -will here tell my _Readers_ what will be the true Meaning of _John's -Preaching Repentance, for the Kingdom of Heaven is at Hand_, when his -Ministry revives, _viz._ "It will be an Exhortation to Ministers of -the Letter, [Greek: metanoein], to reconsider the Matter and Error of -their literal Expositions, and to betake themselves to spiritual and -allegorical Interpretations of the Scriptures, in which allegorical -and spiritual Senses of them consists the _Kingdom of Heaven_." This -I assert upon the Authority of _Origen_,[375] and if the _Clergy_ -please to consult St. _Austin_ and others, they'll find them of the -same Mind. But, this by the by, having no more to say to the -Typicalness of _John_'s Ministry, than whenever his foresaid mystical -Preaching of Repentance shall revive, it can hardly be to a more -viperous Generation of Ecclesiastical _Scribes_ and _Pharisees_, than -are the _Ministers_ of the _Letter_ at this present. - -But against all these, and Ten Thousand more Testimonies of the -Fathers for the allegorical Interpretation of the Writings of the -_Evangelists_, and of _Jesus_'s Miracles in particular, the _Bishop_ -of _St. David_'s says, the Fathers are not of good Authority in this -Case, but, for all them, who were Men of whimsical and volatile -Fancies, we ought to adhere to the _Letter_ of the Story of _Christ_'s -Life and Miracles. This the _Bishop_ asserts roundly and frequently in -express or implicit Terms, as his Readers may observe; and I dare say, -the _Bishop_ himself will not here charge me with a Misrepresentation -of his Opinion, tho', to spare Time and Paper, I quote not his own -Words and large Passages. - -What Reason does the _Bishop_ give, why the Authority of the Fathers for -the allegorical Interpretation of the Evangelical Writings, and of -_Jesus_'s Miracles, in particular, is not to be allow'd of? None at all. -Does he quote so much as a Canon of the Church, or a Vote in -Convocation, or an Act of Parliament, or the consentient Opinion of all -Protestant _Writers_ (which are the extrascriptural Standards of modern -Orthodoxy) for his Opinion? No. Does he then reject the Authority of the -Fathers in all other Cases, as well as in _this_ before us? Nor this -neither. He allows their Authority,[376] as they were good Persons and -credible Witnesses, "In Testimony of _Facts_; "And about the Observation -of the Lord's Day; "And concerning the three Orders of the _Clergy_; -"And about the Government of the Church by Bishops; "And about the Books -received into the Canon of the Scripture;" But as for allegorical -Interpretations of the Scriptures, they are of _little_, and (elsewhere) -of _no_ Authority. Who can forbear smiling, unless the _Bishop_ had -better _evinced_ the Reason of this Difference in their Authority? If -he had rejected their Authority in all Cases, he would have judged more -equally and impartially of it. - -In my Opinion, and I appeal to my _Readers_, whether it ben't their -Opinion, that the _Bishop_ had been an ingenuous and plain Dealer, if -he had express'd himself about the Authority of the Fathers in this -following Manner, saying, "That the Authority of the Fathers is good -in _such_ and _such_ Cases as aforesaid; because their Authority is -agreeable enough to the present Doctrine, Practice and Discipline of -the Church: But the Authority of the Fathers is not good for the -allegorical Interpretation of the _New Testament_, because it is -disagreeable to our Prejudices, and because their allegorical -Expositions of some Miracles, if they should receive such a Sense, -will bring Shame and Reproach to our Ministry. Neither is the -Authority of the Fathers for Toleration, and against Persecution, -good; because it is destructive of Ecclesiastical Power. Nor is the -copious Authority of the Fathers against Preaching for Hire, good; -because it is averse to our Interests. Where the Authority of the -Fathers is agreeable to our Interests, Power, and Prejudices, there -will we be for the Authority of the Fathers: But where the Fathers -are against us, there will we be against them; and why should we not?" -This is the true Sense of the _Bishop_, tho' he is so unhappy as to -want the Talent clearly and plainly to express his Mind. - -But, like many others, who can't write Coherence, nor consistently with -themselves; so the _Bishop_, for all his saying that the allegorical -Interpretations of Scripture by the Fathers are of little or no -Authority, yet almost, if not altogether, contradicts himself, and -grants as much as I desire, saying[377] thus, "With relation to any -Expositions of Scripture made by the Fathers in early Times, they must -be allow'd to have had _some_ Advantage in being near to the Fountain -itself." I ask for nothing more from the Bishop. Why do I contend for -the Authority of the Fathers as Interpreters and Expositors? Only -because they lived nearer to the Days of _Christ_ and his Apostles, -whose Mind and Will consequently they must needs know better, than we at -this Distance: And because (what the _Bishop_ elsewhere grants) those -primitive Ages, as well as the Apostolical one, were in some measure -inspired, upon the credible Testimonies of _Origen_, _Irenæus_, and -_Eusebius_, whose Words I shall not stay here to produce. - -Hence then, in the Authority of the Fathers, I should think, there is -Foundation enough to build allegorical Interpretations on, and -particularly to prove the literal Stories of Christ's Miracles to be -Emblems of future and mysterious Operations; but all this will not do -to pacify and stop the Mouths of my Gainsayers. This Controversy is -_pro Aris & Focis_, for the ALL of the Clergy that is dear to them; -and therefore they will shuffle and trifle for and against any -Argument, rather than yield. Tho' the _Bishop_ of _St. David_'s above -speaks favourably of _Expositions made by the Fathers in early Times_, -and may grant that the Church, in her first Ages was inspired, yet he -will still wrangle against allegorical Interpretations, especially -such as I have made on some Miracles; as for Instance, "On _Jesus_'s -driving the Buyers and Sellers out of the Temple; "On his -precipitating the Swine with the Devils into the Sea; "On his healing -the Woman of an Issue of Blood; and the Woman of a Spirit of -Infirmity, _&c._ because the Interests and Reputations of the -_Clergy_, as _Ministers_ of the _Letter_, are touch'd to the quick by -them. So true is that Saying of the _Bishop_ of _London_, which -deserves to be repeated, That "where there is an Unwillingness to part -with Prejudices and worldly Interests, there must of Course be a -_Desire_ that the Christian Religion (_which consists in the Ministry -of the Spirit_) should not be true; and a _Willingness_ to favour and -embrace any Argument that is brought against it, and to cherish any -Doubts and Scruples that shall be rais'd concerning it. - -What must I do here then, since no Authority, no, not the most -primitive, will suffice in this Case? Why, I have nothing left to do, -but absolutely to demonstrate, and make the Matter as plain as a -_Pike-Staff_, that the Miracles of _Jesus_ will certainly receive such -a mysterious Accomplishment, as the Fathers and I have before-hand -interpreted them in. Upon such a Demonstration, if the Mouths of my -Adversaries are not stopt, yet the Eyes of all impartial _Readers_ -will be open'd to behold what a Heap of Impertinence the _Bishop_ of -_St. David_'s and others, have hitherto urg'd against me. - -Now to demonstrate absolutely, that the Stories of _Jesus_'s Miracles -will receive such a mysterious Accomplishment, as I, by the Help of -the Fathers, have understood them in, I must do these _two_ things. - -_First_, show, that the Old Testament is to be allegorically -interpreted, and is already in Part, and will be entirely fulfilled by -_Jesus_, the true _Messiah_, in an allegorical Sense. And thence - -_Secondly_, Infer by a natural, obvious, and necessary Consequence, -that, what we vulgarly call the New Testament is to be allegorically -interpreted also, even in the Manner as I have understood some Parts -of it. - -The _Bishop_ of _St. David_'s allows, that there is better Authority, -tho' not sufficient, for the Interpretation of the _Old Testament_ -allegorically; but supposing it was better than it is, yet there is no -Consequence that the _New_ should be also allegorically interpreted. -Behold his Words, for fear of a Charge of Misrepresentation[378]. "But -besides this ill-founded Imitation of St. _Paul_ (in allegorical -Interpretations of the _Old_ Testament) will his mystical Expositions of -any Passages of the Old Testament support their Pretensions (meaning the -Fathers and mine) to interpret the _New_ in a like mystical manner? No, -it will not.----And therefore (_after a little more Reasoning against -this Consequence, he concludes, that_) this Practice of _Origen_ and -other Fathers, that were mystical Expositors of the _New Testament_, was -very precarious, and without Authority." From which Words of the -_Bishop_, it is plain, that his Opinion is, that whatever Authority -there may be for the allegorical Interpretation of the _Old_ Testament, -there is no Consequence to be thence drawn, that the _New_ is to be -interpreted in a like mystical manner. But in Answer to the _Bishop_, -and in Confutation of his wild and inconsiderate Assertion, I chuse to -treat on the two foregoing Particulars; and the - -_First_ is to show, that the _Old_ Testament is to be allegorically -interpreted, and is already in Part, and will be entirely fulfilled by -_Jesus_ in an allegorical Sense. - -That the _Old_ Testament is to be allegorically interpreted, I have -Authority, even ancient Authority enough, if that would be allow'd to be -sufficient to prove my Point. We have Apostolical Authority and Example -for it. The Passages in the Epistles of St. _Paul_ and _Barnabas_ to -this Purpose are numerous, and so well known, that I need not recite -all, or any of them. And from the Passages in St. _Paul_, that might be -here produced, the Fathers asserted and concluded from his Authority, -that the whole _Old_ Testament was to be allegorized. This I believe the -_Bishop_ will grant, and spare me the Pains of Citations out of them. -And if the _Bishop_, and my other _Adversaries_, were of the same Mind -with the Fathers, on St. _Paul_'s Expressions in relation to allegorical -Interpretations of the _Old_ Testament, my present Dispute with them -would be half over. And what is the Reason that the _Bishop_ and others -will not give into the Opinion of the Fathers on the Apostolical -Passages to this Purpose? Because of their Prejudices to the _Letter_ of -the _Old Testament_, otherwise they would urge St. _Paul_'s Authority -for the _Spirit_ of it, as much as the Fathers or I can do. But being, I -say, prepossess'd of _literal_ Interpretations, and not discerning any -Force and Truth in _spiritual_ ones, they will not allow the mystical -Expositions of Scripture by _Origen_ and other Fathers, tho' made in -Imitation of St. _Paul_, to be of good Authority. And therefore I must -demonstrate to Sense and Reason, or Primitive and Apostolical Authority -will stand me in no stead. - -Again, If Authority for allegorical Interpretations of the _Old_ -Testament would avail any thing, there is ancienter, and I had like to -have said _better_, Authority for them, than _that_ of the Fathers -and Apostles, _viz._ the Authority of the more ancient _Jews_. The -Bishop of _St. David_'s[379] says, "The Christian Fathers (and why did -he not say the _Apostles_ too?) derived this allegorical Practice from -the Jewish Interpreters." He owns[380] "that _Philo Judæus_ was a -great mystical Writer as his Works which are extant testify"; and[381] -confesses that "there is Reason to believe, that this mystical Way of -expounding Scripture was of greater Antiquity than _Philo_ himself, -even amongst the _Essens_ and _Therapeuts_, whom _Philo_ writes of, -and who had amongst them several ancient Books of their Predecessors -or Founders, full of allegorical Interpretations." Thus far the -_Bishop_ says well and truly. And what Observation should he, as a -Lover of Antiquity, have made hereupon? Should he not have said, _Id -verius, quod prius_; the older any Doctrine was, the more likely to be -true, in as much as Truth precedes Error? - -But could not the Bishop have carry'd his Story of the allegorical -Interpretation of the _Old Testament_ much higher? Yes, he might, and -have told us what I do him now, that the LXX Interpreters were -_Allegorists_, as appears from the Translation itself, and from the -Opinion of the ancient Jews and Fathers of the Church concerning them. -And what's more still, he might, as a Christian, upon the Authority of -St. _Hilary_[382] have derived the allegorical Art of Interpretation -from _Moses_ himself, who received it from God; and instructed the -_Seventy Elders_ in it, from whom it continued thro' all Ages of the -Jewish and Christian Churches, without Interruption, excepting that -Opposition which the later _Caraites_ of the Jews, and _Ministers_ of -the _Letter_ among Christians, have made to it. If this be true, as I -firmly believe it, then the allegorical Method of Interpretation is of -original and divine Right. And it is reasonable to think accordingly, -that it is of _Mosaic_ and _divine_ Extraction, or the Apostles _Paul_ -and _Barnabas_, and the Fathers afterwards, had never been permitted of -God to countenance a Practice, in Imitation of the _Jews_, if it was of -a base, or of any other than _divine_ Original. The Consequence is, -that we at this Day ought to be allegorical Interpreters of the _Old -Testament_, or we set ourselves against all Antiquity, and oppose a -Tradition that's like a Command, derived from _Moses_ and God himself. - -And what can the _Bishop_ of St. _David_'s say to this Consequence? -Why, he'll tell us, tho' the allegorical Method of Interpretation be -as ancient as the _Therapeuts_ and some of their Predecessors, yet, -whatever the _Jews_ and Fathers may say of its Antiquity, it came not -from God and _Moses_, or he would subscribe to it; but took its Rise, -some Ages after the Giving of the Law of _Moses_, tho' he knows not -how nor when. And I am willing the _Bishop_ should please himself with -such an Answer and Opinion, till I have absolutely demonstrated the -Certainty of the allegorical Method, and thence made it manifest, that -it is of Mosaick and divine Original. - -As to that other Account[383] of the Original of mystical Interpretation -of Scripture, or at least of the greater Progress and Improvement of it, -which the _Bishop_ out of _Porphyry_ gives, by saying the Fathers -learned it of the gentile Philosophers, it is the most senseless and -_unscholarlike_ Opinion that a Christian can hold, and I was surprised -to see it come from him. It is true that St. _Clement_ of _Alexandria_, -_Origen_, and others, were very conversant in the Writings of the -_Greek_ Philosophers: And wherefore were they so? Was it to learn -mystical Theology of them? No, but, as St. _Jerom_[384] says, to confirm -the Doctrines of our Religion, and to confute the _Gentiles_ out of -their own Books. For it was asserted by the Fathers, and confess'd by -the _Gentile_ Philosophers, that the Mythology of the _Greeks_, the -hieroglyphical Learning of the _Egyptians_ and the Oneirocritism of the -_Chaldæans_, was all borrowed from the _Hebrews_, and had their Rise -from the mystical and allegorical Interpretation of the Scriptures, as -shall be made manifest, if the _Bishop_ and I go on in this Controversy: -And _therefore_ the Fathers studied the Writings of the _Greeks_, and -made the foresaid Use of them in the Conversion of the _Gentiles_; which -the _Bishop_ can't but know, if he remembers at all, what he has read in -St. _Clement_ of _Alexandria_, and other Fathers. But this, by the by, -with a Hint to the _Bishop_ to consider, whether he, who holds here with -_Porphyry_, or I who hold with the Fathers, writes the most like an -_Infidel_. So much then to the Accounts, which the _Bishop_ of St. -_David_'s has given, of the Origine of the mystical Interpretation of -Scripture. - -The _Bishop_ of _Litchfield_, who is to be looked on as a Writer in -this Controversy, has a large _Chapter_ against the allegorical Way of -Interpretation. I shall comprise his Opinion in a few Words out of -him. He says,[385] _he is not concerned to vindicate the Antiquity, -ascribed by_ Philo, _to the allegoric Way of writing, much less the -Abuse it was carry'd to in After-Ages; no, nor to defend, at all, this -Manner of writing_. And as to St. _Paul_'s allegorizing the -Scriptures, he says,[386] _It seems to be in compliance with the -Demand of the Jewish Christians, who were affected with allegoric -Interpretations, that St._ Paul (_who appears to have been no Fool_) -_above all the other Apostles used that Way, which he was brought into -against his own good liking_. And in another Place he says,[387] _The -Laws and Facts recorded by_ Moses, _are commonly interpreted to -natural, moral, theological and even anagogick Senses, which no one -supposed to have been ever in_ Moses_'s Thoughts, or to be other than -the Exercise of a subtle Wit, for the Instruction and Entertainment of -the Hearers_. Whether this _Bishop_ had his Wits about him, when he -said, _No one supposed the anagogick Senses of the Law to have been -ever in_ Moses_'s Thoughts_, I can't tell; but if he had rubb'd up his -Memory a little, he might have consider'd, what he says in another -Place,[388] that the Anagogical was the accustomed Way of the whole -Nation of the _Jews_ from _Moses_'s Time; and he might have known what -St. _Hilary_, whom I cited before, says, that _Moses_ taught the -Children of _Isræl_ the anagogical and allegorical Way; and whatever -he may think, _Origen_ says,[389] that _Moses_ by the Acuteness of his -Understanding, penetrated into the mystical and anagogical Meaning of -his own Law. And tho' this _Bishop_ says above, that he is not -concern'd to vindicate the Antiquity of the allegorick Way of writing; -yet I am oblig'd to vindicate its Antiquity and Truth, or I can't -write a good _Defence of Christianity_, which should now bring me (to -what I have undertaken) to make an absolute Demonstration of the -Certainty of the allegorical Method of Interpretation, and of -_Jesus_'s Messiahship upon it. - -But before I enter upon a close Proof of this grand Undertaking, I must -beg leave to tell my Readers a Story, which tho' it will for while defer -my undertaken Demonstration, yet it is properly introductory to it. I -had not long drawn up my foregoing Thoughts, (against the two Bishops, -of _Litchfield_ and St. _David_'s) of the Jewish and Christian Antiquity -of the allegorical Method of Interpretation of Scripture, before I -imparted them to my old Friend the _Jewish Rabbi_, who is a Cabalist and -Allegorist, and desired his Sentiments upon them. Whereupon he was so -kind as to send me the following Letter, with a pertinent Objection in -it, against the Messiahship of the _Jesus_ of our _Ministers_ of the -_Letter_; with a pertinent, I say, and lucky Objection, which paves the -Way for my Demonstration of the Certainty of the allegorical Way of -Interpretation, and of the Messiahship of the _Jesus_ of us _Ministers_ -of the _Spirit_; and if I can but prevail upon the two forenamed -_Bishops_, to give me their Assistance in answering the said Objection, -by humouring my Rabbi in it; we shall go a better Step, than has been -hitherto taken, for the Conversion of the _Jews_: And this is -Encouragement enough to such hearty Friends to Christianity as we are, -to set about so great and glorious a Work. The Letter is as follows. - - SIR, - - After condoling with you for the extraordinary Penalty that was - laid on you for my Invective against _Jesus_'s Miracle of _turning - Water into Wine_, which, in my Opinion, you should not have been so - heavily charg'd with, because it was purely _Cabalistical_, and - contains in it nothing better or worse than the Conceptions that we - _Jews_ entertain of _Jesus_ and his Miracles; I here send you my - Thoughts on the short Account you have given of the Antiquity of - the allegorical Method of the Interpretation of Scripture. - - You and the Fathers of your Church are certainly in the right on't, - to make it as old as _Moses_, agreeably to the Opinion, that we - cabalistical _Jews_[390] at this Day entertain of it. If it was of - later Date and original, your Adversaries are oblig'd to assign the - Time _when_, and the Occasion _how_, such a surprising and - extraordinary Method of Interpretation was introduced into the - Jewish Nation. If our Ancestors in the Days of God's inspired - Prophet, _Moses_, heard of none but literal Senses of the Law, and - if neither he nor God himself ever intended they should run into - the allegorical Strain, I ask when and what was _that Incident_ - which turn'd the Heads of our ancient Nation so religiously and - devoutly to it? I can easily conceive how it came to pass, that the - Sect of the _Caraites_ amongst us _Jews_, who now adhere to the - Letter, deserted mystical Interpretations; and why your _Ministers_ - of the _Letter_ have forsaken them; and that was because they don't - relish nor apprehend those divine Mysteries, which _your_ and _our_ - ancient Allegorists so much talk'd of, as veil'd and latent under - the Law of _Moses_. But if this be a good Reason, why they have - forsaken the allegorical Method, it is a much better Reason, why - our Ancestors, of themselves should never have taken it up. And - therefore it is plain to me, that God and _Moses_ upon the - Institution of the Law, at the same Time imparted the allegorical - Method; or it could never afterwards, _by chance_, have enter'd - into the Heads of Men, who have hitherto discern'd so little Use - and Fruits of it. - - The Reason why God by _Moses_ communicated to the _Israelites_, and - by his Providence since has kept up the allegorical Way of - Interpretation of the Scriptures, was to prepare the World for the - Reception of the _Messiah_, who was to be the Accomplisher of them - in an allegorical Sense; and our Ancestors accordingly so much - excercised their Thoughts in divine and mystical Contemplations on - the Law; because, they fancied, they could thereby, as through _a - Glass darkly_, attain to some glimmering Foresight of the Kingdom - of the _Messiah_: For you must know, that our old Cabalists[391] - held (what your _Jesus_ undertook to fulfil) that all Things that - were written in the Law and the Prophets, were, _to a Tittle_, Type - and Prophecy of the _Messiah_, who would be so far the clear - Fulfiller and Illustrater of them, as that Men would then see God - _Face to Face_: And, to be particular, they expected, in the first - Place, that the _Messiah_ would work the Redemption of his Church - after the same manner, and by the like Signs and Wonders that - _Moses_ wrought the Deliverance of the _Israelites_ out of _Egypt_. - - Agreeable to these our old Opinions of the Scripture, and to our - Expectations of a _Messiah_, did the Fathers of your Church - endeavour to prove _Jesus_'s Messiahship, by an allegorical - Explication and Application of the Law and the Prophets to him: But - in as much as they labour'd in vain, proving little or nothing, - this Way, to the Satisfaction of our old _Jews_; and in as much as - your Priesthood have altogether given over this Way of Proof; we - persist in our Disbelief of _Jesus_'s Messiahship, and expect - another for the foresaid grand Purposes. Give me Leave here to make - an Objection, founded on the concurrent and consentient Opinions of - _your_ Fathers and _our_ Ancestors, against the Messiahship of - _Jesus_, which if your Priests can answer, agreeably to their - united Opinions, they will not only make a Convert of me, but open - a Door for the Conversion of our whole Nation. - - "It is agreed between us Jews, and you Christians (excepting two or - three modern Commentators) that the Words of _Deuteronomy_, xviii. - 18. _I will raise them up a Prophet from among their Brethren like - unto thee_, are a Prophecy of the Messiah. From which Prophecy our - Ancestors[392] look'd upon _Moses_ as a Type of the Messiah, _in - all Things_, and expected that the _Messiah_ at his coming would by - way of Antitype, imitate and resemble _Moses_ in all the History of - his Life, just as Face answereth to Face in a Glass, or as a - Substance agrees to its Shadow. And I am well assured that the - Fathers of your Church accordingly held and believed, what they - endeavoured to prove, that there was an exact Similitude between - _Jesus_ in the Christian Church, and _Moses_ in the Jewish. Now if - your Priesthood can perfect that Proof, and show me, either in a - literal or allegorical Sense, an exact Resemblance, Correspondence, - and Likeness between them, I must of Necessity turn Christian. It - may be perhaps a Work of too large an Extent for them to shew this - Agreement between _Jesus_ and _Moses_ in all and every Particular; - I will be content therefore, if they can shew me a Similitude - between them in a small Part of _Moses_'s Life; as for Instance, in - the History of _Moses_'s delivering the _Israelites_ out of - _Egypt_. It was most expressly the Opinion of our Ancestors, that - the Messiah would deliver his People from Bondage, and, if I forget - not, from _Roman_ Bondage, after the Manner, and by the like - Wonders, that _Moses_ delivered his People from _Egyptian_. - _Jerom_,[393] a Father of your Church has recorded _this_ as the - universal Opinion of our Ancestors, and therefore you have the less - Reason to question it. And agreeably to this Opinion of our - Ancestors, the Fathers of your Church asserted, that _Christ_ was - such a _Messiah_, and did deliver his Church from _Roman_ - Servitude, after the same Manner (in a Figure) that _Moses_ - delivered his _Israelites_ out of _Egypt_. Nay, your Apostle - _Paul_[394] seems to assert it, saying, _Brethren, I would not, - that ye should be ignorant, how that all our Fathers were under the - Cloud, and all passed through the Sea, and were all baptized unto - Moses in the Cloud and in the Sea. Now these things were our - Examples or Types._ In which Words _Paul_ apparently alludes to, - and confirms the Opinion of our Ancestors, which he had imbibed - before his Conversion; and intimates that _Jesus_, whom he took for - the _Messiah_, was working a Redemption of his Church after the - Manner of the Deliverance of the _Israelites_ out of _Egypt_. And - so did your Fathers understand these Words of _Paul_, and - accordingly many of them labour'd to shew the Similitude between - the _Israelitish_ and _Christian_ Redemption, in order to the - Conversion of the _Jews_. But they, it seems, labour'd in vain, - shewing no tolerable nor visible Likeness of this sort between - _Jesus_ and _Moses_; and therefore our Nation to this Day continues - in Disbelief of _Jesus_'s Messiahship. However, we have not so - pertinaciously rejected _Jesus_'s Messiahship, as not to give you - Leave to resume the old Argument of it, from his Likeness to - _Moses_ in all things. If your _Priests_ can now show a Likeness - between them; if they can at this Day prove that _Jesus_ wrought - the like Miracles and Wonders (tho' in a figurative and allegorical - Sense) for the Redemption of his Church from _Roman_ Servitude, as - _Moses_ did for the Deliverance of _Israelites_ out of _Egypt_, we - will grant him to be the _Messiah_, and will believe in him. But as - we despair of such a Proof, so we reasonably persist in our - Disbelief of his Messiahship. Your _Divines_ indeed, because of the - foresaid Prophecy in _Deuteronomy_, do talk of a Likeness between - _Moses_ and _Jesus_; but it is not at all agreeable to the - Sentiments of _your_ Fathers, or the Expectations of _our_ - Ancestors concerning the _Messiah_'s Similitude to _Moses_. They - tell us, that _Jesus_ and _Moses_ were alike, because both wrought - Miracles; but this will not do, till they prove a Likeness between - their Miracles, as to Number, Nature, Use and Circumstance. The - Miracles that the _Messiah_ is to work, and which are to prove his - Messiahship, must be of a similar Nature, and to the like Purpose - that _Moses_'s were in _Egypt_, as _our_ Ancestors asserted, and - _your_ Fathers granted: But since no such Similitude is shown to be - between them, we disown _Jesus_'s Messiahship, and appeal to the - Reason and Understanding of all indifferent Judges in the - Controversy, whether we are not in the right on't for so doing." - - Thus, Sir, for the Use of your _Clergy_, have I form'd an Objection - against _Jesus_'s Messiahship, an Objection that is founded on the - concurrent Opinions of _our_ Ancestors and of _your_ Fathers: And I - shall with some Longings and Impatience wait till I hear what they - have to say to it. The Objection, in my Opinion, absolutely - destroys _Jesus_'s Pretences to the Messiahship, unless his - _Priests_, by way of Answer to it, can prove the foresaid - Similitude between him and _Moses_; between the Miracles of the One - and the Miracles of the Other; between the Deliverance of the - _Jewish_ and the Redemption of the _Christian_ Church, out of an - _Egypt_. - - I am thinking what your _Clergy_ can say to the Objection. Will - they deny, that it was the Opinion of both _your_ Fathers and of - _our_ Ancestors, that there ought to be such a Similitude between - the _Messiah_ and _Moses_, as is before describ'd? That they can't - do, because of the innumerable Testimonies to be produced out of - them to confirm it. Will they then say, that it was a false and - erroneous Opinion, which both ancient Jews and Fathers entertain'd - concerning the _Messiah_? This surely they will not do; because of - the Consequence, which charges the Apostle _Paul_ himself (in the - above-cited Place) and the primitive Christians, with the grossest - Error and Mistake concerning _Jesus_ and his Messiahship; and yet - I can't think they will ever give into the joint Opinion aforesaid - of both _Jews_ and Fathers; because of the Impossibility of proving - _Jesus_ to be like _Moses in all Things_, according to the literal - Sense of the Law, which they adhere to; and because of the - Improbability of doing it, in an allegorical Sense, after the Way - of their Fathers, or, in all this Time surely, the Matter must have - been made out, to the Satisfaction and Conversion of our Nation. - - I long, I tell you, to hear what your Christian _Priesthood_ will - say to the Objection, which surely they will not let slip, without - their Remarks and Observations upon it, any more than my Objections - against the literal Story of some of _Jesus_'s Miracles. And this - is your and my Comfort, that if you publish this present Objection - against _Jesus_'s Messiahship, the _Clergy_ can't account it a - ludicrous, profane, and blasphemous one (as they did my others) and - so bring you again under Prosecution for it: No, it is a plain, - serious, and reasonable Objection, founded on ancient Jewish and - Ecclesiastical Authority; and a pertinent, solid, and rational - Answer is expected to it. - - Now the Controversy about _Jesus_'s Messiahship is thus far revived - and commenced, let us, in God's Name, go on with it, till we come - to a final Determination, either in the Demonstration, or - Confutation of it. Your _Clergy_, can't, I think, for Shame, any - more interrupt the free Course of the Controversy, which will make - us Jews secretly insult and triumph over them; and not only confirm - us in our Unbelief of _Jesus_'s Messiahship, but will occasion - others to desert their Faith in him. - - It's a strange thing to consider how your Priesthood have, in these - latter Ages, managed the Controversy between Jews and Christians, - all by themselves, furiously disputing against Adversaries, whom - they will not allow with Impunity to speak in their own Cause: So - do they make God, who is to decide the Controversy, like an unjust - and partial Judge, that will hear only the Pleadings and Evidence - on one Side of the Question. - - But your _Clergy_ will say, that in their Writings against the - Jews, they make Objections for us as well as Answers for - themselves, and that's sufficient. Not so, say I, unless their - Objections were as good and strong as we can make for our selves. - But however, if your _Divines_ so please, I will thus agree the - Matter with them, _viz._ That they alone shall make Objections for - us, if they'll let us alone to make Answers for them, which is most - just and equal; and then the World shall behold the most pleasant - and comical _Farce_ of a Controversy, they ever were entertain'd - with. - - I remember, that in my Letter, you published, against _Jesus_'s - Resurrection, I promised the Controversy between the _Jews_ and - _Christians_, by my Consent, should turn on that Miracle. Your - _Clergy_, one or other of them, have answer'd that _Letter_; and so - might expect to hear of my Conversion, if I had nothing to reply to - them. My Reply you durst not publish, for fear of worldly - Tribulation, and so I am free from that Promise. But now that you - have fortunately given me an Occasion to make the more proper and - substantial Objection against _Jesus_'s Messiahship, herein - contain'd, I hope it will be freely and fully debated and - consider'd to the Determination of the Controversy between us. So - wishing you Health and Happiness, I am _Yours_, - - _N. N._ - -So ends the Letter of my good old Friend, the Jewish _Rabbi_, which -was a most seasonable and acceptable Present, in as much as the -Objection, contain'd in it, will open a fair Way for me to prove, -that the Stories of _Jesus_'s Miracles, as recorded in the -Evangelists, are and ought to be allegorically understood, and will -certainly receive such a mystical Accomplishment, as I, by the Help of -the Fathers, have conceived of them. The _Bishop_ of _St. David_'s, -and my other Adversaries, may not, in all Probability, be aware of -this Use to be made of the foresaid Objection; and I don't expect that -on a sudden they should; but if they'll favour me with, what otherwise -I'll endeavour to force them to, their Opinion and Debates about the -foresaid Objection against _Jesus_'s Messiahship, they shall soon -discern this Use and Consequence of it, that _Jesus_'s Miracles are -not _literally_ but _allegorically_ to be understood, and will -accordingly receive an Accomplishment. - -I trust then, that the _Bishop_ of _St. David_'s, who is principally -concern'd, will, without more Importunity, favour me with his Opinion -on the foregoing _Jewish_ Objection, which may be done in a small -Compass of Paper, either in _Print_, or in an _Epistle_. - -I expect he should tell me plainly and expressly, whether it was -really the joint Opinion of the ancient _Jews_ and Fathers of the -Church, as is affected in the Objection, that the _Messiah_ was to be -a Prophet like _Moses_ in all things, in the whole History of his -Life, and particularly with regard to the miraculous Deliverance of -the _Israelites_ out of _Egypt_. If the _Bishop_ should, what I humbly -conceive he will not, deny that it was the joint Opinion of both -_Jews_ and Fathers, as is before represented in the Objection, and -should pretend to urge Reasons and Authorities, which he will hardly -find, why such a Likeness and Agreement between the _Messiah_ and -_Moses_ ought not to be look'd for; then my _Rabbi_ and I will confirm -the joint Opinion aforesaid, with Citations, almost innumerable out of -the _Jews_ and Fathers, till the _Bishop_ shall yield to the Number -and Clearness of them. - -If the _Bishop_ should own, what I am almost persuaded he will, that -it was the joint Opinion of Fathers and _Jews_, that there ought to be -such a Similitude and Harmony between the _Messiah_ and _Moses_, as is -represented above; but should say, that it was an erroneous and false -Opinion, which the old Cabalistical _Jews_, by chance, and -unfortunately took up; and which the Fathers, even the Apostle -himself, unwarily and unhappily run into, complying with an Opinion of -the _Jews_ about the _Messiah_, without Consideration of the Weakness -of it; then I, with a little of my _Rabbi_'s Help, will further prove -the Truth and Certainty of the said Opinion, and demonstrate, that He -can be no true Messiah, who in the History of himself and of his -Church does not exactly, _to a tittle_, correspond to the History of -_Moses_ and of his People. - -But if the _Bishop_ should, what I am willing to hope he will, -ingenuously confess, there ought to be such an Agreement and Likeness -between _Moses_ and the _Messiah_ as is signified in the Objection, -then he and I will go heartily to Work, and for the Honour of _Jesus_, -whom we believe to be the _Messiah_, will absolutely demonstrate the -Similitude, there is between him and _Moses in all Things_. And this, -by the by, in the Opinion of our Fathers, is the _ONLY_ Way to prove -_Jesus_'s Messiahship, _viz._ by his Resemblance to _Moses_, and by -his Accomplishment of the Mosaick Types and Prophecy concerning him, -who, upon his own Word, came to fulfil the Law and the Prophets _to a -Tittle_. - -If the _Bishop_ and I should be so fortunate, and I trust in God we -shall, as to prove a most apparent and manifest Likeness between _Jesus_ -and _Moses_, even such a Likeness as my _Rabbi_ above demands, then -shall we stop his Mouth, and soon pave a certain Way (which will be vast -Honour to the _Bishop_) for the Conversion of the _Jews_. - -I don't despair of the _Bishop_'s joint Labours and Endeavours with -mine to so great and good a Work (for I can't think in my Heart, that -he'll otherwise wrangle about the Objection above) so (if the _Bishop_ -pleases) we'll begin this Work with a Demonstration of the Likeness -there is between the Redemption of the _Christian_ Church, and the -Deliverance of the _Israelitish_ out of _Egypt_. Not only St. -_Augustin_[395] hints that they who would show a Likeness between -_Jesus_ and _Moses_ ought to begin here; but thereby we shall humour -my _Rabbi_ in his Objection, who calls for (upon the concurrent -Testimonies of _Jews_ and Fathers) a Proof of such a Likeness between -the Redemptions of the two Churches, or he shall think it reasonable -still to persist in his Disbelief of _Jesus_'s Messiahship. - -And if the _Bishop_ and I should be so happy as to shew in an apparent -Manner, this Similitude between the Redemption of the Jewish and -Christian Church out of _Egypt_, then meeting with Success in our -Studies, will we proceed further, and illustrate other Prophecies of -succeeding Times of the Church; for I will not part with the _Bishop_, -till he is able to travel by himself, in his Contemplations on the Law -and the Prophets, and to behold, what with an ordinary _Telescope_ at -the Eyes of his Understanding he may discern, and show to his Episcopal -Brethren, _Christ_ spiritually sitting and coming on the Clouds of the -_Letter_ to the same Purposes that the old Jews, Fathers and Apostles -say he is to come, _viz._ To open and illustrate the Parables and -Ænigma's of the Scriptures, to restore Prophecy, to shew us God Face to -Face; and to raise All from a spiritual Death to Life again. And blessed -are all those, who love and desire such his Appearance. - -In my _Third Discourse_ on _Miracles_, I happen'd to speak of -_Christ_'s second and spiritual Advent on the Clouds of the Law and -Prophets; and to say "that the common Notion of his Coming on ærial -Clouds for the Resurrection of dead Bodies, _&c._ is the most -senseless and unphilosophical, that ever was taught to Mankind;" which -gave Offence to my _Bishop_, who animadverted upon me for it; but if -he ever get Sight, which I don't question, of _Christ_'s Coming on -the metaphorical Clouds of Prophecy, he'll not only be of my Mind -here, but will be sensible with me, that all or most of our -systematical Divinity, that is built on the _Letter_ of the -Scriptures, is false and groundless; and of that ill Tendency to the -Corruption of Mens Morals, that it is not so much a Wonder, that wise, -good, and thinking _Gentlemen_ are betaking themselves to Natural -Religion, as it is, that there are any Believers of Christianity, upon -the _Literal Scheme_, left among us. If it had not been _Force_, more -than _Reason_, that has hitherto kept Mankind in their Christian -Faith; or if Liberty had been indulg'd them to consider the -Absurdities of the _Letter_ of the Scriptures, they would have run ere -now, by Shoals, into Infidelity: But the allegorical Interpretation -(which the Cabalistical _Jews_[396] say, will convert _Atheists_) will -reduce Mankind to the Belief of the inspired Authority of the -Scriptures, by shewing them the perfect _Reason_, the divine _Wisdom_, -and resplendent _Truth_ of them; otherwise call'd the Messiah, the -[Greek: chrisma], the Spirit, or the _Christ_ of them, than _whom_, or -than _which_ nothing can be more desired by Philosophers, to come for -the spiritual Renovation, Restoration, Resurrection and Illumination -of Man; _consequently_ and implicitly for the Work of those mystical -Miracles, of which those wrought by _Christ_ in the Flesh are but -Types and Figures. Whether the _Bishop_ of _St. David_'s be already -apprised of this Consequence, I can't tell; but if he rub his -Intellects but a little, he must needs apprehend the Consequence of -the foresaid spiritual Advent of _Christ thus_ far "That Ministers of -the Letter then are certainly to be turn'd out of the Church: "That -the Woman of the Church then will be cured of her Infirmity at the -Spirit of Prophesy: "That the Eyes of Mankind, like the blind Man's, -will be then open'd to see, what he has hitherto been dark about, the -Mystery of the Providence of God in all Ages. And so of the mystical -Accomplishment of the other Miracles, with a little Application of -Thought, may he discern the Consequence. And when he does so, then he -will see too, what sort of a Christian I am, whom our _Ecclesiasticks_ -have falsely accused, and unjustly persecuted for Impiety, -Profaneness, Blasphemy and Infidelity, only because I have written -against the _Letter_ of _Jesus_'s Miracles, in order to turn Mens -Heads to the Consideration of their mystical Accomplishment at -_Christ_'s second spiritual and glorious Advent on the Clouds of the -Law and the Prophets. - -I have indeed written against the _literal_ Stories of _Jesus_'s -Miracles, which I still nauseate and abominate the Confinement of Mens -Thoughts to it; but if our _Clergy_ would but a little bear with me, -they shall see, I _alone_ do Honour to their literal Stories, by -making them beautiful Emblems of future and more wonderful Operations. -I have indeed call'd _Jesus_ an Impostor, Juggler, Fortune teller (and -what not?) by way of Objection against the _Letter_ of his Miracles; -but I _alone_ shall do him Honour, in those very Miracles, which he -wrought in the Flesh, by proving him to be the Wisdom, as well as -Power of God, and that _God was in him of a Truth_, and endued him -with a divine Prescience of Futurities, or he could not then have -wrought such curious and admirable Models and Prefigurations of his -mysterious Works at his _second_ Advent. - -Whether the _Bishop_ of _St. David_'s, and others, can as yet -certainly discern the foresaid Consequence of Christ's mystical -Accomplishment of his Miracles upon his spiritual Advent, I can't -guess; but if they'll favour me with their Opinion on my _Rabbi_'s -Objection above, which will lead us to the allegorical Interpretation -of the Law, they shall soon clearly see it. - -And now I would have the _Bishop_ of _St. David_'s to compare _this -Part_ of my _Defence_ with the _Third Chapter_ of his _Vindication_, -which treats _on the Practice of the Fathers in interpreting the -Scriptures in a mystical and allegorical Method_, and consider whether -He or I write the most like a Christian of an orthodox and primitive -Faith and Practice. The _Bishop_ says[397] "That it is certain, that -without such Assistance (_of the Spirit_) as St. _Paul_ enjoy'd, the -mystical Expositions of the Scripture by _Origen_ and other Fathers, -tho' made in Imitation of St. _Paul_, have no such Authority as that -of St. _Paul_ stampt on them." What, in the Name of Wonder, does the -_Bishop_ here mean? Tho' St. _Paul_ has not allegoriz'd the whole Law, -but only some few Parts; yet he expressly says, often enough, that the -whole is a _Figure_ and _Shadow_ of Things to come under _Christ_; and -our Saviour himself, as the Fathers understood him, intimates often, -that all Things that were written in the Law and the Prophets, are -Types and Prophecy of him, and that he came to fulfil them _to a -Tittle_. Is not here Authority enough for the Fathers to allegorize -the whole Law and the Prophets, in order to shew the Agreement between -the Type and Antitype; between the Shadow and the Substance; between -the Figure and the Thing figured; and between the Prophecy and its -Accomplishment. And whether the Fathers, in their allegorical -Expositions, rightly or not, hit off the Sense of the Prophecy; (for -it must be confess'd they variously allegorized _this_ and _that_ -Passage of Scripture) yet it was _their_ and _our_ Duty and Office, -from the Words of _Christ_, and the Practice of the Apostle, to keep -on in the allegorical Method, till an Harmony between the Prophecy and -its Accomplishment was made most clear. - -The _Bishop_ says in this his _Third Chapter_ of his _Vindication_, -"That the Fathers and I have abusively cited this Passage of St. -_Paul_, _The Letter killeth, but the Spirit giveth Life_, in -Justification of our mystical Expositions;" whereupon the _Bishop_ -gave us a large Explication out of his own Head, on that whole Verse; -which (because of the Shallowness of my own Pate, or the Confusion of -the Bishop's) I don't understand, and much question, whether the -_Bishop_ understands himself. However, I will here paraphrastically -give my _Readers_ the easy, plain, and intelligible Sense of the -Fathers and my self on that whole Verse[398] thus, _Who hath made us -able Ministers of the New Testament, not of the Letter_ [that is, not -of the literal Sense of the Law and the Prophets, which is the _Old_ -Testament] _but of the Spirit_, [that is, of the spiritual Sense of -the Law and the Prophets, which is the _New_ Testament] _for_ [as the -Testimony of _Jesus_, according to St. _John_, is the Spirit of -Prophecy, so] _the Letter_ [that is, the literal Sense of the Law and -Prophets] _killeth_ [that is, nulls the Testimony of _Jesus_ which is -in them] _but the Spirit_ [that is, the spiritual Sense of the Law and -Prophets] _giveth Life_ [to their prophetical Testimony.] This is most -certainly the Sense of the Fathers on this Text; and I believe the -_Bishop_ will not gainsay it, tho' he may dislike it. Hence the -Fathers, when they spoke _properly_ and not _vulgarly_, call'd the -spiritual Sense of the Law and the Prophets, the[399] _New Testament_, -and asserted that there was or would be such an Agreement between the -_Old_ and _New_ Testament; that is, between the Testament of the -_Letter_, and the Testament of the _Spirit_ of the Scriptures, as that -there would not be[400] one Tittle in the _one_, that would not be -consonantly fulfilled in the _other_; and so far as I already -apprehend this Harmony between these two Testaments, of the _Letter_, -and of the _Spirit_, I must needs say with _Origen_[401] that it's -_pleasant and ravishing to behold and contemplate it_, and hope in a -short time to make the Bishop of St. _David_'s a Partaker of the same -Pleasure. The same right Notion had the Fathers of the _Gospel_ of -_Christ_, which they have of the _New Testament_. _Vulgarly_ speaking, -the Writings of the Evangelists, and of the Apostles, were call'd the -_Gospel_ of _Christ_: But properly speaking, Christ's _spiritual -Accomplishment_ of the Law was the _Gospel_: Hence is the Meaning of -their frequent saying, "That under the Law the Gospel was vail'd, and -under the Gospel the Law was reveal'd." Hence they said, "That those -Men had nothing of the _Gospel_, who understood not the Spirit of the -_Law_." Hence they said, "The Gospel was hid to those, who had the -Veil of the _Letter_ upon their Hearts in reading of the Old -Testament." Hence it was too, that they said, "That the Gospel was but -_in Part_, and that too in a very _little Part_, reveal'd at -_Christ_'s first Coming; the full Revelation of it being reserv'd for -his second and more glorious Advent, which the World is now in great -Want of, for the curing of their spiritual _Blindness_, _Deafness_, -and _Lameness_; that is, for the Correction of their gross Ignorance -and Errors in Religion; for the Healing of their Divisions; for the -Manifestation of Truth; for the Conversion of _Jews_ and _Gentiles_; -and for the Reformation of the Manners of Mankind. - -Dear _Jesu_, to what a sad Purpose have our Hired Priesthood and -_Ministers_ of the _Letter_, of all Denominations, hitherto studied and -preach'd, even till they have lost the true, primitive, and Apostolical -Notion of "the _Gospel_; "of _Revelation_; and "of the _New Testament_! - -The Bishop of _London_ has of late publish'd two _Pastoral Letters_ on -the Certainty, Necessity, and Use of Revelation, against _Infidels_, -particularly against my self, whom he (God help his Understanding!) -takes for a Favourer of Infidelity: And to do the _Man_ Justice, I -believe he's sincere, and laments at his Heart the Unbelief of this -Age: But however, when the true _Gospel_, otherwise call'd the -_Revelation_ of the Law and the Prophets, or the _New Testament_ -(which will be fatal to the Ministry of the Letter, and an hired -Priesthood) shall be republished, restored, and repreach'd, I dare -say, without Censoriousness, or pretending to a prophetick Spirit, -that He, of all the Inhabitants of _London_ and _Westminster_, will be -the greatest Enemy to it; and for no other Reason than his own, -"because of his Unwillingness to part with his worldly Interests, -which will induce him to embrace any Arguments against it, and to -cherish any Doubts and Scruples concerning it." - -Whether the Bishop of St. _David_'s intends to proceed in this -Controversy against me, as he has begun, I know not. He promised us -his _Second Volume_ last Winter, but has adjourn'd the Publication of -it to the next, and I am apt to think he'll defer it to _latter -Lammas_: For being, I suppose, sensible, that his _First Volume_ is -built on the false Bottom of my supposed Infidelity, he'll hardly -trouble the World with another of that kind. But however, I'll not -release him out of the Controversy. I shall insist upon his letting -me know his Opinion on my _Rabbi_'s Objection against _Jesus_'s -Messiahship, herein contain'd, which if he'll favour me with, I'll -forgive him all the Virulence, and pass by all the Impertinence (to -say no worse) of his _Vindication_: Otherwise I shall be tempted to do -an unpleasant Work to myself, as well as an ungrateful one to him; -that is, further to expostulate with him for his false Accusations, -Misrepresentations, and other ill Usage of me. - -When I review my _Discourses_ on _Miracles_, and consider not only -their visible Tendency to the Proof of _Jesus_'s Messiahship, but my -solemn Declarations of the Belief of Christianity; I wonder that such -a Number of Writers against me should all of them (excepting Mr. -_Laurence_[402] whom I here thank and praise for his Ingenuity) take -me for an Infidel. I don't indeed much wonder, that the inferior Tribe -of _Levi_ (such is their egregious Ignorance!) should take me for one; -but that such presumed great _Scholars_, as are the Bishops of -_London_ and St. _David_'s, should so mistake me, is astonishing. And -I am not as yet fully satisfied, whether it be their _Ignorance_ or -their _Malice_, thus to accuse me of Infidelity: If it was really -_Ignorance_ in them, they'll soon be convinced of their Error; and -then, like good Christians, they'll make me Satisfaction for the -Injuries done me. But if it was _Malice_, and in Revenge on me for -writing so much against an _Hired-Priesthood_, then they'll go on, and -_die hard_, without any Remorse for the Troubles, Sufferings and -Expences they have put me to. - -As I am really a Christian, and shall, by God's Help, demonstrate the -Messiahship of _Jesus_, to which my _Discourses_ on his _Miracles_ -were subservient; so I will make bold to tell the _Bishops_ concern'd, -that I am as certainly persecuted, as ever any Christian was since the -Days of the Apostles: And they will do well to consider, whether they -have not everlastingly disgraced themselves, and done some Dishonour -to the best Civil Administration, that ever Nation was bless'd with, -by engaging them in the Persecution of the most sincere Advocate for -the Truth of Christianity, that ever set Pen to Paper. - -I am so far from being an Infidel, that, notwithstanding my -_Discourses_ on _Miracles_, I am an implicit Believer, and most devout -Admirer of Doctrines, Historical Facts, and Traditions of the -primitive Church, adhering to many Notions of the Fathers, besides -their allegorical Scheme (as will be seen in the Sequel of this -Controversy) which the _Divines_ of these last Ages have rejected, as -so many Weaknesses and Mistakes in them. And when I come more fully to -open my Mind, it will be well if the _Clergy_ don't change their -_Note_ about me; and instead of accusing me of Infidelity, ridicule me -for too much Credulity, and even Superstition; or I would not espouse -_such_ and _such_ Doctrines and Traditions, which all learned and -Protestant _Criticks_ have discarded. Some of these old Notions I'll -keep to myself, for fear of being over-much laught at by the _Clergy_ -for them, but others upon Occasion I will divulge; and don't care if I -tell my _Readers_ here one of them, thus: - -"The Fathers intimate that _Ministers_ of the _Letter_ are Worshippers -of the Apocalyptical _Beast_, or _Anti-Christ_; and that _that Beast_ -of a God, old _Baal_, was a Type of _Anti Christ_." This their Opinion -I found hard to digest; but if there be any Truth in it, it can't be -unlawful to jest a little with his Priests, or to ridicule their -nonsensical, foolish and absurd Doctrines, founded on the _Letter_. - -But let my Theological Notions and Speculations be of what kind -soever; what Harm can my Arguings for them do to the Community? None -at all. If they are not of God, they will come to nought sooner and -better than by a Persecution of me for them. But if they are of God, -they will stand and prevail against all Opposition of the _Clergy_, -who will lose their Reputation, if they take any other Measures, than -what Reason and Religion do allow of, to suppress them. - -My earnest Request then to the _Clergy_ is, that under the Debate I am -like to have with them, they would be pleased to keep their Temper; or -wise and impartial By-standers will say, that it's more for their -Interests than the Truth, that they are zealous and furious. - -I am not afraid of another Prosecution at Law, because I already have, -or soon shall cut off all Pretences to it, by clearing myself of all -Suspicions of Infidelity; but, for all that, I am more apprehensive of -the Rage and Indignation of the _Clergy_, than if I had been a -downright _Atheist_. No _Atheist_ or _Deist_ is or can be of that -dangerous Consequence to the modern Priesthood, as the Christian -Allegorist. Against the Growth of Deism and Atheism, the _Clergy_ may -be able for some time to maintain their Ground; but upon the Revival -of the _Ministry_ of the _Spirit_ of the Law and the Prophets, they -can't stand long. And if I should demonstrate, what I have undertaken, -the Certainty of the allegorical Scheme, and _Jesus_'s Messiahship -upon it; tho' _Jews_ and _Infidels_ then will be ready to rejoice, yet -Ministers of the Letter, notwithstanding their pretended Love to, and -Faith in _Jesus_, will be enraged; and it will be well, if I don't -feel the Weight of their Displeasure and Resentment. If that foolish -old _Dotard_, Mr. _Ayscough_[403] the _Rector_ of St. _Olave_'s, -_Southwark_, could find in his Heart to instigate the Mob to _drag me -through the Streets, and throw me into some Repository of Filth and -Nastiness_, what may I not dread from young hot-headed _Priests_, upon -the Performance of what is here undertaken? But I hope our pious and -good _Bishops_, notwithstanding the Danger of their _Thousands_ a -Year, will be my Safeguard. - -After all, it is a sad and melancholick Consideration, that the -Understandings of Mankind, especially of the Wise, Thinking and -Philosophical Part of them, should be enslaved to the Interests of -Ecclesiastical _Clodpates_, who for the sake of _Mammon_ more than -_Truth_, are furious and turbulent; otherwise any Opinions in Religion -might be profess'd, consistently with the Peace of the Publick; and -any Speculations publish'd without Animosities and Molestations. - -What Course can be taken with the _Clergy_, to persuade them to -Patience and Forbearance, whilst I prove them to be the most stupid -Sect of Philosophers, who have amongst them the fewest Rudiments of -true Philosophy, and even of the Gospel, of any Sect the World ever -knew? It's said, there is nothing so absurd, which some of the old -Philosophers have not held; but there is nothing, for Absurdity, equal -to this Belief, that the _Bible_, for its literal Story, is the Word -of God, and given by Inspiration of him. - -The _Bishop_ of _St. David_'s complains[404] of my unmannerly -Behaviour towards my Ecclesiastical Superiors; and I must confess, I -am no body at that low and _Right Reverend_ Bow, that he is fam'd for, -or I might have put in for a _Bishoprick_ before now: But if our -_Bishops_ and _Clergy_ will be pleased to keep their Temper, till I -get to the End of this Controversy, I'll pass such Compliments upon -them for their good Humour and Learning too, if they deserve it, as -they hardly ever met with. - -To conclude, I have written as plainly and intelligibly as I can, in -this _Part_ of my _Defence_. If any one shall complain of Obscurity -any where, I will, upon Intimation, endeavour to illustrate it. I -have, in some Places, asserted Things upon the Authority of the -Fathers, without producing their Testimonies, in Proof of them; but if -any question, whether their Testimonies can be here or there urg'd, -they shall, upon a proper Occasion, have Satisfaction given them. The -Reason why I have sometimes omitted the Testimonies of the Fathers, -where they might be look'd for, is because I study Brevity, intending -never to publish at once a larger _Volume_ than this present. And no -body need question my Testimonies to be ready at Hand; because I have -neither the Courage nor Confidence (like many others) to vent any new -Doctrines out of my own Head. My Talent is only to illustrate what the -Fathers have asserted; and tho' some would account me a Falsifier and -Misrepresenter of primitive Authorities, my honest Endeavours shall be -to turn the Hearts of our _Clergy_, who are like Children in -Understanding, to the Fathers. I shall end all _seriously_, -_gravely_, _calmly_ and _sedately_, with the same Words that I began -my _First Discourse_ on _Miracles_ with, saying, "If ever there was a -useful Controversy started or revived in this Age of the Church, it is -this about the Messiahship of the Holy _Jesus_, which the _Discourse -of the Grounds_, &c. has of late rais'd. I believe this Controversy -will end in the absolute Demonstration of _Jesus_'s Messiahship from -Prophecy, which is the only Way to prove him to be the Messiah, that -great Prophet expected by the _Jews_, and promised under the old -Testament." And whether Bishop _Smalbroke_ or Mr. _Stackhouse_ will -believe me, or not, I do now solemnly declare, that what I have -written in my _Discourses_, or shall write in these _Defences_, is -with a View to, what I am persuaded I shall effect, the absolute -Demonstration of the Messiahship of the Holy _Jesus_, to whom be Glory -for ever and ever. _Amen._ - - ~_FINIS._~ - -FOOTNOTES: - -[357] _Vindication in Preface, p._ ix. x. - -[358] _Fair State of the Controversy_, p. 293, 294. - -[359] _In his Preface_, p. xi. - -[360] _Vindication_, p. 2. - -[361] _Defence of Christianity_, p. 295, 310. - -[362] _Some Observations of a Layman._ 2. Tom _of_ Bedlam'_s Letter to -his Cousin_ T. Woolston. 3. _For God or the Devil: Or, Just Chastisement -no Persecution._ 4. _A Defence of the Scripture-History, &c._ - -[363] _In his_ First Pastoral Letter, p. 5. - -[364] _In his Preface_, p. ix. - -[365] _In his Dedication to the Queen._ - -[366] Siquidem Symbola quædam erant, quæ tunc gerebantur, eorum quæ -Jesu virtute semper perficiuntur. _In Matt._ C. xv. - -[367] Peragunt Formam futuri Gesta præsentia. _In Matt._ C. xxi. - -[368] Quæ a Jesu facta alicujus significantia erant. _In Serm._ lxxvii. - -[369] Ipse Salvator noster apertissimè ostendit, quòd ejus miracula -aliquid significent, dum ea faciendo aliquid agit, quod ratione carere -videatur. _In Hom. quarta post Dominic. quartam._ - -[370] _In his Preface_, p. xi. - -[371] _Ibid._ p. x. - -[372] Similitudo erat & Typus futurorum unumquodque, quod Jesus -faciebat in Corpore. _In Isai._ C. vi. - -[373] Adventus Christi unus quidem in Humilitate completus est, alius -verò speratur in Gloria: Et hic primus Adventus in Carne, mystico -quodam Sermone, in Scripturis sanctis umbra ejus appellatur. _In Jesu -Nave_, C. viii. - -[374] Pertingit ad usque secundum & diviniorem Christi Adventum -Johannis Testimonium. _Origen. in Lucam. Tom._ V. - -[375] Appropinquat enim Regnum Coelorum, ut Scribæ qui in simplici -Littera acquiescunt, resipiscentes ab ejusmodi Intellectu, erudiantur -spirituali Doctrina, quæ est per Jesum Christum, vivum Verbum, quæ -vocatur Regnum Coelorum. _In Matt._ C. xiii. - -[376] _P._ 123, 124. - -[377] _P._ 124. - -[378] _P._ 108. - -[379] _P._ 93. - -[380] _P._ 94. - -[381] Ibid. - -[382] Nam idem Moses quamvis Veteris Testamenti verba in literis -condidisset, tamen separatim quædam ex occultis Legis secretiora -mysteria septuaginta senioribus, qui Doctores deinceps manerent, -intimaverat. _In Psal._ ii. Sect. 2. - -[383] _P._ 96. - -[384] _Origenes_ decem scripsit Stromateas, omnia nostræ religionis -dogmata de _Platone_, _Aristotele_, _Numenio_, _Cornutoque_ -confirmans. _In Epist. ad Magnum._ - -[385] _Defence of Christianity_, p. 345. - -[386] _P._ 347, 353, 358. - -[387] _P._ 341. - -[388] _P._ 344. - -[389] Perspicuum est Mosem mentis acie Legis Veritatem Historiarumque -apud Scripturam Allegorias juxta Anagogen vidisse. _In Johan. Tom._ VI. - -[390] Asseverant Judæi, deum Mosi primùm Legem scriptam tradidisse, -arque hanc postea in longo illo Dierum 40 spatio, quo in monte apud se -agebat Moses, exposuisse, ita ut singulorum præceptorum genuinum -Sensum, Causas, & Fines tum Rationem quoque eadem adimplendi illi -accurate declararet. _Apud Wagens. Tel. ignea._ p. 580. - -[391] See _Basnage_'s History of the _Jews_, p. 189. - -[392] Doctioribus inter Judæos notissimum est, quod Moses qui primus -fuit Salvator Israelis, etiam in omni Vita & Operibus suis fuerit -Typus & Figura ultimi Redemptoris. _Christiani Meyer_ de Gen. Christi, -_p._ 145. - -[393] Judæi veteres expectabant similem Ægyptiacæ Liberationem, ut -scilicet Pharoah & omnis ejus Exercitus qui per 430 Annos Populum Dei -captivum tenuit, in mari rubro submersus est; sic etiam Romani qui -eodem Annorum numero Judæos possessuri, ultione Domini deleantur. _In -Joelis_ C. iii. - -[394] 1 Cor. _C._ x, 1, 2, 6. - -[395] Eloquar Propositiones sive Ænigmata ab Initio, id est, ex quo -Populi Congregatio adducta est ex Ægypto. _In Ps._ lxxvii. _Sect._ 4. - -[396] See _Basnage_'s History of the _Jews_, p. 189. - -[397] _P._ 108. - -[398] 2 _Cor._ iii. 6. - -[399] Et non Litera Legis, sed ejus Spiritus, hoc est, Novitas -Testamenti. _Tertull. contra Marcion_, Lib. V. C. 11. - -[400] Veteris Testamenti ad Novum tanta Congruentia, ut Apex nullus, -qui non consonet, relinquetur. _Sti. Augustini de Utilit. Credendi_, -Sect. 9. - -[401] Jucundum est istum Consensum intelligere circa convenientia -duorum Testamentorum. _In Matt. Tract._ 6. - -[402] _In his Expostulatory Letter to Mr._ Woolston. - -[403] _In his_ Lent Sermon _at St._ Saviour_'s_, Anno 1729. - -[404] _In his Preface_, p. xvii. - - - - - _BOOKS written by Mr._ WOOLSTON, _and sold by him next Door to - the_ Star _in_ Aldermanbury, _and by the Booksellers of_ London - _and_ Westminster. - - -I. The old Apology reviv'd, _&c._ - -II. Dissertatio de Pontii Pilati Epistola ad Tiberium circa Res Jesu -Christi gestas. - -III. Origenis Adamantii Epistolæ duæ circa Fidem vere orthodoxam & -Scripturarum Interpretationem. - -IV. The exact Fitness of the Time of Christ's Advent, demonstrated by -Reason, against the Objections of the old Gentiles, and modern -Unbelievers. - -V. Four Free-Gifts to the _Clergy_, or Challenges to a Dispute on this -Question, whether the Hireling Priests of this Age, who are all -Ministers of the Letter, be not Worshippers of the Apocalyptical -Beast, and Ministers of Anti-Christ. - -VI. An Answer to the said Four Free-Gifts. - -VII. Two Letters to Dr. _Bennet_, on this Question, Whether the People -call'd _Quakers_, do not the nearest of any other Sect in Religion, -resemble the primitive Christians in Principle and Practice. - -VIII. An Answer to the said two Letters. - -IX. The Moderator between an Infidel and an Apostate: Or, the -Controversy between the _Grounds_ and his ecclesiastical Opponents, -set in a clear Light, _&c._ - -X. Two Supplements to the Moderator, _&c._ - -XI. A Defence of the Miracle of the _Thundering Legion_, against a -Dissertation of _Walter Moyle_ Esq. - -XII. Six Discourses on the Miracles of our Saviour. - -XIII. Two Defences of the said Discourses. - - - - -Transcriber's Notes: - -Non-Latin characters have been replaced with the nearest Latin -equivalent for example [oe] (the oe ligature), was replaced with oe. - -Inconsistent hyphenation has been left as in the original text. - -Inconsistent use of contractions are left as in the original text. - -The long s has been replaced with the modern s in order to improve -readability. - -In some cases the footnotes refer to the text prior to the footnote -anchor and in some cases they refer to the text after. All anchors -have been attached to the word before the anchor. - -Bishop Smalbroke and Smallbroke are used interchangeably throughout as -are Lichfield and Litchfield, left as in the original text. - -Inconsistent italicising appears throughout, left as in the original -text. - -There are several words that are consistently misspelled and also -correctly spelled in the text (i.e. litteral, sensless, antient, -ideot), these were left as in the original text. - -There are several places where closing quotes are not present, left as -in the original text. - - - - - -End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of Six Discourses on the Miracles of our -Saviour, by Thomas Woolston - -*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK SIX DISCOURSES ON THE MIRACLES *** - -***** This file should be named 41203-8.txt or 41203-8.zip ***** -This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: - http://www.gutenberg.org/4/1/2/0/41203/ - -Produced by Douglas L. 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You may copy it, give it away or -re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included -with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org - - -Title: Six Discourses on the Miracles of our Saviour - and Defences of his Discourses - -Author: Thomas Woolston - -Release Date: October 27, 2012 [EBook #41203] - -Language: English - -Character set encoding: UTF-8 - -*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK SIX DISCOURSES ON THE MIRACLES *** - - - - -Produced by Douglas L. Alley, III, David Ross and the -Online Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net - - - - - - -</pre> +<div>*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 41203 ***</div> <p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_i" id="Page_i">[Pg i]</a></span></p> @@ -21324,381 +21287,6 @@ duorum Testamentorum. <i>In Matt. 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