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A
FREE IN Q^UIR Y
^^^ INTO THE ^^/^^
Miraculous Powers,
Which are fuppofed to have fubfifled in the
CHRISTIAN CHURCH,
From the Earliest Ages through feveral
fucceffive Centuries,
By which it is fhevvn.
That we have no fufficient Reafon to believe, upon
the Authority of the Primitive Fathers,
That any fuch Powers were continued to the C h u r c h ,
after the Days of .the Apostles.
By CONYERS MIDDLETON, D. D.
Hae funt religiones, quas fibi a Majoribus fuis traditas pcrtinacif-
fime tueri ac defendere perfeverant : nee conf; ^:rant quales
fmt, fed ex hoc probatas atqae veras efle confidunt, quod eas
Veteres tradiderunt. Tantaque eft audloritas vetuftatis, ut in-
quirere in earn, fcelus efle ducatur. Itaque creditur ei pafiim,
tanquam cognitas veritati.
Lactant. Div. Inft. 1. 2. c. 7.
uc'.v. Justin. Mart. Apol. i.
Num fingo } num mentor ? cupio refelli. Qoid enim laboro, nifi
ut Veritas in omni quaeftione illuftretur. Cic. Tufc. Quxft. 5. 20.
DUBLIN:
Printed for J. Smith, at the Philofopbers Hesids,
on the Blind-^ay. M DCC XL IX.
V^'S!v>;-.V!^*^*^^^.^
PRE FACE.
'WTT H E N I firft fent abroad my Infro^
\\/ duBory Difcourfe, this larger work,
which I then promifed, and now
offer to the public, was adually prepa-
red, and intended to have been publifhed at
the fame time and in the fame form, in which
it now appears, with that Difcourfe prefixed
to it. But when I recolledled the great im-
portance of the fubjedt, which had never be-
fore been profelfedly examined ; and that the
part efpecially, which I had undertaken to de-
fend, was not only new, but contradictory to
the general opinion, which prevails among
Chriftians 5 and above all, that I had no-
thing to truft to in the management of it, but
my own private judgment ; I began to think
it a duty, which candor and prudence pre-
fcribed, not to alarm the public at once with
an argumenFfo ftrange and fo little under-
ftood ; nor to hazard an experiment fo big
with confequences, till I had firft given out
fome fketch or general plan of what I was
projeding ; fo that all, who were difpofed
A 2 to
ii PREFACE.
to examine it, might have notice and leilure,
to inquire into the grounds of it, and qualify
themlelves to forma proper judgment of that
evidence, which I might afterwards produce
in its defence. I was in hopes alfo, by this
method, of reaping fome benefit to myfelf,
from the opportunity which it would give,
noi: only of drawing out other people's fenti-
ments, but, if any juft caufe ihould be offer-
ed, of changing even my own -, while I kept
it flill in my power, either to drop the pur-
fait of my fcheme, or to reform it, in fuch
a manner, as any new light or better infor-
mation might happen to dired: me.
This was my view, in publiil^ing a feparate
edition of the IntroduBory Difcourfe : which,
as I eafily forefaw, was fure to encounter all
the oppofition, that prejudice, bigottry, and
fu perdition are ever prepared to give to all
free inquiries into opinions, which depend
on the prevalence of their power. I v^as
aware, that the very novelty of it would
offend, and the m.atter of it ftill more : that
many would rife up againft it, and fome of
them by writing, others, by noife and cla-
mor, try to raife a popular odium upon it ;
but my comifort was, that this would excite
the candid inquirers alfo, to take it into their
confideration, and to weigh the merit and
confequences
PREFACE.
Ill
confeqiiences of it ; and it was the judgment
of thefe alone, by which I propofed to de-
termine my future meafures and refolution
with regard to it.
The event has anfwered, not only to my
expedlation, but to my wiflies : for notwith-
ftanding all which has been publiilied againft
it, from the Prefs, the Pulpit, and the Theo-
logical Schools, the general approbation,
which it has every where received from
thofe, whofe authority I chiefly value, has
given me the utmoft encouragement to per-
fevere in the profecution of my argument, as
being of the greateft importance to the Pro-
teftant religion, and the fole expedient, which
can effedlually fecure it, from being gradually
undermined, and finally fubverted by the ef-
forts of Rome.
But befides the favorable reception which
it has met with both among the Clergy and
the Layety, it was an unexpeded fatif-
fadion to me, to be informed lately by a
friend, that Mr. Lock had many years ago de-
clared the fime opinion with mine, concern-
ing the miracles of the Prifiiitroe Churchy in
a paragraph of his third Letter on toleration ;
which I had never read or feen, but fliall now
offer to the reader in his own words ; beine
perfuaded, that the authority of fo eminent a
A 3 Vv'ritcr,
iv PREFACE.
writer, and fo fingularly qualified by his ta-
lents and fludies, to difcern the exad: relati-
ons and confequences of things, v/ill add
great weight and confirmation to the caufe
which I am here defending.
" And fo I leave you, fays Mr. Lock to
his Antagonift, " to difpofe of the credit of
*' Ecclefiaftical writers, as you fhall think
*' fit, and by your authority, to eftablifh or
*' invalidate theirs, as you pleafe. But this,
*' I think, is evident, that he, who will
" build his faith or reafonings upon miracles
*' delivered by Church-Hiftorians, will find
** caufe to go no farther than the Apojiles timCy
*' or elfe^ not to Jlop at Conftantine'i : fince
" the writers after that period, whofe word
*' we take, as unqueftionable in other things,
" fpeak of miracles in their time with no lefs
** afTurance, than the Fathers before the
'* fourth century : and a great part of the
*' miracles of the fecond and third centuries
" ftand upon the credit of the writers of the
*' fourth. So that, that fort of argument,
*' which takes and rejeds the teftimony of
'' the ancients at pleafure, as it may beft fuit
** with it, will not have much force with
" thofe, who are not difpofed to embrace
** the hypothefis, without anv arguments at
" all M."
[^j See Lett. 3d on Tolerat. c. x. p. 269.
As
PREFACE. V
As to the writers, who have hitherto de-
clared themfelves againfl: this opinion, fignifi-
ed here in (hort by Mr. Lock, and explained
at large by myfelf, they have fliewn a great
eagernefs indeed, to diftinguifh their zeal, but
a very little knowledge of the queftion,
which they have undertaken to difcufs ; urg-
ed by the hopes of thofe honors, which they
have feen others acquire, by former attacks
upon me -, and, like true foldiers of the mili-
tant Church, prepared to fight for every efta-
blifhment, that offers fuch pay and rewards
to its defenders. Who, from a blind defe-
rence to authority, think the credibility of a
witnefs fufficient, to evince the certainty of
all fadts indifferently, whether natural or fu-
pernatural, probable or improbable 3 and know-
ing no diftindtion between faith and credulity,
take a facility of believing, to be the fureft:
mark of a found Chriftian. Their arguments
are conformable to their principles : for inftead
of entering into the merits of the caufe, and
(hewing my opinion to be falfe or contradic-
tory to any truth fublifting in the v^orld, they
think it a full confutation of it, to prove it
contrary to the belief of the primitive ages, to
the teftimony of the ancient Fathers, and to
the tradition of the Catholic Church : by the
help of which venerable names, they infinu-
A 4 ate
vi PREFACE.
ate fears and jcaloufies, of I know not what
confequences, dangerous to Chridianity, ruin-
ous to the faith of Hiftory, and introdudive
of an univeifal Scepticifm. Terrors purely
imaginary ; grounded on error and prejudice -,
which if fuffered to prevail, would produce
confequences much more to be dreaded -, fub-
verfive of all true religion, as v/el! as of eve-
ry thing elfe, that is rational and virtuous a-
mong men. But after all their invedives, it
is a pleafure to find them obliged, in the
counc of the debate, to confute their own cla-
mors 3 and to declare at laft with me, that,
whatever be the fate of my argument, or
were it allowed even to be true, the credit of
the GofpeUmiracles could not in any degree
be fliaken by it [i].
But to fpeak my mind freely on the fub-
jex5t of confequences. I am not fo fcrupulous
perhaps in my regard to them, as many of my
profeffion are apt to be : my nature is frank
and open, and warmly difpoled, not only to
feek, but to fpeak what I take to be true ;
which difpofition has been greatly confirmed
by the fituation, into which improvidence has
thrown me. For I was never trained to pace
[h] See Remarks on two Pamphlets againft the In-
trod. Dilc. p. 8, 9.
in
PREFACE. vii
in the trammels of the Church, nor tempted
by the fweets of its preferments, tofacrifice
the philofophic freedom of a ftndious, to the
fervile reftraints of an ambitious life : and from
this very c i re um fiance, as often as I reflecSt up-
on it, I feel that comfort in my own breaft,
which no external honors can beftow. I per-
fuade myfelf, that the life and faculties of
man, at the beft but (hort and limited, can-
not be employed more rationally or laudably,
than in the fearch of knowledge -, and efpe-
cially of that fort, which relates to our duty,
and conduces to our happinefs. In thefe In-
quiries therefore, where-ever I perceive any
glimmering of truth before me; I readily
purfue, and endeavour to trace it to its fource ;
without any referve or caution of pufhing
the difcovery too far, or opening too great
a glare of it to the public. I look upon the
difcovery of any thing which is true, as a
valuable acquifition to fociety ; which cannot
pofiibly hurt, or obftru6t the good effed: of
any other truth whatfoever : for they all par-
take of one common effence, and neceffirily
coincide with each other ; and like the drops
of rain, which fall feparately into the river,
mix themfelves at once with the dream, and
ftrengthen the general current.
The
vlii PREFACE.
The light of truth indeed is fure to expofe
the vanity of all thofe popular fyilems and
prejudices, which are to be found in every
country 5 derived originally from error, fraud,
or fuperftition 3 and craftily impofed upon
the many, to ferve the interefts of a few.
Hence it is, that upon the detedion of any of
thefe, and efpecially of the religious kind,
we fee all that rage of fierce Bigots, hypocri-
tical Zealots, and interefted Politicians ; and
of all, whofe credit or fortunes in any man-
ner depend on the eftabliihment of error and
ignorance among men : and hence, all thofe
horrible maffacres and perfecutions, of which
we frequently read, both in Pagan and Chri-
flian Countries, which, under the pretext of
ferving God, have deftroyed fo many thou-
fands of his beft fervants. Bat truth was ne-
ver known to be on the perfecuting fide, or
to have had any other efFed, than to pro-
mote the general good, and to co-operate with
Heaven itfelf, in bringing us ftiU nearer to
the perfedlion of our being, and to the know-
ledge of that eternal rule of good and ill,
which God originally marked out and prelcri-
bed to the nature of man. Let the confe-
quences then of truth reach as far as they
can -y the farther they reach the better : the
more errors they will detecfi:, and the more
they
PREFACE. ix
they will diffipate of thofe clouds and mifts,
in which the crafty and intereiled part of
mankind are apt to involve and difguife the
real nature of things, from the view of their
fellow creatures.
The prefent queflion, concerning the rea-
lity of the miraculous powers of the primi-
tive Church, depends on the joint credibility
of the fads, pretended to have been produced
by thofe powers, and of the witnefles, who
atteft them. If either part be infirm, their
credit muft fink in proportion ; and if the
fads efpecially be incredible, muft of courfe
fall to the ground : becaufe no force of tefti-
mony can alter the nature of things. The
credibility of fads Hes open to the trial of our
reafon and fenfes, but the credibility of wit-
nefles depends on a variety of principles, whol-
ly concealed from us j and tho*, in many
cafes, it may reafonably be prefumed, yet in
none, can it certainly be known. For it is
common with men, out of crafty and felfifli
views, to diflemble and deceive ; or, out of
weaknefs and credulity, to embrace and de-
fend with zeal, what the craft of others had
impofed upon them : but plain fads cannot
delude us 3 cannot fpeak any other lan-
guage, or give any other information, but
what flows from nature and truth. The tef-
timony
X PREFACE.
timony therefore of fads, as it is offered to
our fenfes, in this wonderful fabric and con-
flitutiun of worldly things, may properly be
called theteftimonyof God himfelf ; as it car-
ries with it the fureft inftrudion in all cafes,
and to all nations, which in the ordinary courle
of his providence, he has thought fit to ap-
point for the guidance of human life.
But before we procede to examine the
particular fads and teftimonies, which anti-
quity has furniflied for the decifion of this
difp'ite, oui firft care ihould be, to inform
oufielves of the proper nature and condition
of thofe miraculous powers, which are the
fubjedt of it, as they are reprefented to us in
the hiftory of the Gofpel : for till we have
learnt from thofe facred records, what they
really were, for what purpofes granted, and
in what manner exerted by the Apoftles and
firft pofleiiois of them, we cannot form a
proper judgment on thofe evidences, which
are brought either to confirm or confute their
continuance in the Church, and muft difpute
confequently at random, as chance or prejudice
may prompt us, about things unknown to
us.
And this indeed appears to be the cafe of
all thefe zealous Champions, who have at-
tempted to refute the Introdndlory Difcoiir/e,
Among
PREFACE. xi
Among whom, I have not obferved one, who
feems to have fpent a thought, in confidering
the origin and ufe of thofc powers, as they
are fet forth in the New Teftame nt. They
appeal indeed to the Texts, in which they
were promifed by our Lord to his difciples :
where tho' there is not the leaft hint of any
particular time, for which they were to laft,
yet this they fupply from their own imagina-
tion, and by the help of a poftulatum, which
all people will grant, fbat they continued as:
longy as they were necejfary to the Churchy they
prefently extend that necefiity to what length
they pleafe, or as far as they find it agreeable
to the feveral fyftems, which they had previ-
oufly entertained about them.
They urge efpecially that paflage from St*
Mark^ in which our Lord, juft ready to
afcend into Heaven, and giving his laft inftruc-
tions to his Apoftles, to go and preach to all
nations^ immediately adds ; And thefe figns
Jhall follow them who believe : in my name
they (Idall cafl out Devils % they Jhall fpcak with
new tongues j they floall take up ferpents ; and
if they drink any deadly things it Jhall not hurt
them ', they Jhall lay hands on thejtck^ and they
Jhall recover [c].
[c] Mark XVI. 17.
From
xii PREFACE.
From thefe words, one of my Antagonifts
argues thus : *' It will here be obferved, that
*' this promife was not made to the Apo-
*' ftles perfonally, but to them, that fhould
*' believe through their preaching, with-
*' out any limitation of time for the con-
*' tinuance of thefe powers to their days.
*' And when it is confidered how great a
*' part of the Heathen world remained un-
*' converted after their days, it is no un-
*^ reafonable fuppofition, that thefe powers
*' did not expire with the Apcftles, but
*^ were continued to their Succeflbrs, in
*' the work of propagating the Gofpel.
*' How long, I fay not : and perhaps there
** is not light enough in hiftory, to fettle
*' this point ; as indeed it nothing concerns
" us. But the earlieft Fathers unanimoufly
*^ affirm, that thefe powers fubfifted in the
*' Church in their days -, and why they are
*^ not to be believed, it is the Author*s bu-
*' fmefs to fhew [d]r
Another Advocate of the fame caufe makes
the following remark on the fame paffage :
** Our Saviour, before he left the world,
*' promifes thefe miraculous powers not
*^ onely to the Apoftles, but to private Chrif-
Id] SeeObfervat. on the Introd, DIfc. p. 25.
*' tians
PREFACE. xiii
** tians : and the rules and direftions, which
" St. Paul afterwards gave the Corinthians^
** concerning the exercife of them, plainly
*' fhew, that they muft have continued fome
" confiderable time in the Church. And as
" Chrift's promife is without any limitation
*' of time, we may reafonably fuppofe,
*' that they lafted as long as the Church
*' had an immediate occafion for them, fuch
*' as the farther converfion of the world."
—For which purpofe of converting thofe
nations, who had not as yet heard of the
Gofpel he declares it, "to be neceffary,
" that the Succeflbrs of the Apoftles fhould
be indued with miraculous powers, efpe-
cially with the gift tongues ^ without which
they could not expeft, any confiderable
fuccefs — and he concludes therefore, that
it is highly probable, if not abfolutely
certain, that they did aftually fubfifl in
in the Church for fome confiderable time,
*' after the days of the Apofl:les \e\''
It being agreed then, that in the original
promife of thefe miraculous gifts, there is
no intimation of any particular period, to
which their continuance was limited, the
[^] See Poftfcript of a Treatife on Mirac by Abr.
Lemoine, p. 511, 512,515*
next
tc
]. The
purpofe oi it was to procure rehef and re-
frefliment to the departed fouls, in fome inter-
mediate ftate of expiatory pains, which, ac-
cording to the opinion of thofe times, all
men were to fufFer for their fins, except the
Martyrs, and Saints of the firftclafs [q\, A
dodrine and pradice, which could not
fail of giving birth to the Popifh Purga-
tory.
The Sign of the Crofs likewife, was the
fubjed of much fuperflition in thofe ages.
dormltlonis ejus. De Mo-
nogam. x. p. 682. A. Edit.
•Nic. Rigalt. N. B. This
paflage may want a little
explication. Tertullian^ in
this treatife, is labouring to
prove, that the fecond mar -
riages of Chriftians are ut-
terly unlawful, and forbid-
den to them by the Gof-
pel, and though the parties
be feparated from each other
by the death of either, that
the matrimonial bond ftill
fubfifts, and obliges the Sur-
vivor : For the widow ^ fays
he, prays for the Soul of her
departed husband ; and begs
refrejhmentfor him in his in-
termediate Jlate ,; and to he
a partner with him in the
fir ft refurre£iion ; and ?nakes
an oblation for him every
year^ on the Day of his
death. By all which fhe
acknowledges and keeps up
her conjugal union, and
cannot therefore marry any
other man ; becaufe, to
have one hufband in the
Spirit, and another in the
Flefli, is adultery, t^c.
[/)] Vid. Epiphan. Haeref,
Ixxv. § 3 and 7.
[q] Vid. Orig. con. Cel-
fum, 1. 6. p. 292. Tertull.
De Anim. c, 55, 58.
Ever;^
Ixii IntroduBory DISCOURSE.
*^ Every ftep that we take^ fays Tertullian ;
*' when we come in or go out ; put 07i our
*^ cloaths^ or our Jhoes ; when we bathe ^ eaty
*' light up candles y go to bed^ or fit down ; we
" mark our foreheads with the fign of the Crofs.
" If for thefe, and other ads of difcipline of
" the fame kind, you demand a text of
*' Scripture, you will find none; but tradi-
" tion will be alledged to you, as the prefcri-
" berof them [r]." It was thought a fure
prefervative againft all forts of malignity, poi-
fons, or facination ; and eifedual to drive
away evil fpirits ; and is affirmed by the prin-
cipal Fathers of the fourth century, to have
wrought many illuflrious miracles. " This
" fign, i-^ysSu ChryfoJiofUy both in the days of
" our Forefathers, and in our own, has
" thrown open gates, that were {hut -, de-
" ftroyed the effeds of poifonous drugs ; dif-
" folved the force of hemlock ; and cured
*^ the bites of venomous beafts [^].'*
[r] Ad omnem progref- ejufmodi difclpllnarum fi
fum atque promotum ; ad legem expoftules Scriptura-
omnem aditum atque exi- rum, nuUam invenies, tra-
tum, ad veftitum, ad cal- ditio tibi praetendetur auc-
ciatum, ad lavacra, ad men- trix, &c. De. Coron. 3.
fas, ad lumina, ad cubilia, [i] TSto to cr^^fAsrov h^ Im
ad fed ilia, qusecunque nos nrm ^foyovav rf^wy, x) vvv, Bvfocq
converfatio exercet, fron- «^%|e x£xXEto-fx,ri/a?, 6ic. 1 om.
tern crucls fignaculo terl- 7* P- 55^* ^'
mus. Harum & aliarum
The
Introdudlory DISCOURSE. Ixiii
The facred oil alfo of the Church, was
held in great veneration in thele fame days, as
an univerfal remedy in all difeafes. For which,
piirpofe, it was either prepared and difpenfed
by Priefts and holy Monks j or was taken
from the lamps which were burning before
the reliques of the Martyrs. St. Jerorn men-
tions great numbers, who had been cured of
the bites of 'venomous animals^ by touching
their wounds with the fir ft fort \t\ : And St.
Chryfofiojn fpeaks of many, who liad been
healed of their diftempers, by anointing thern^
/elves with the fecond \ii\ And St. Auflin af-
firms, from his own knowledge, that a young
woman had been jreed from a Devil ; and a
young manrellored even from death to life^ by
the ufe of it {x.)
[/] Benedidto Itaque oleo lacrymas fuas, mox a Ds-
univerfi agricolse atque paf- monio fuiile fanatam. [De
tores, tangentes vulnera. Civ. D. I. 22. c. 8. §. 8.]
certam falutem refumebant. Rurfus apud nos, Ireneei
Vit. S. Hilarion. Op. T. cujufdam £lius jcgrltudlne
4. par. 2. p. 86. extinctus eft. Cumque cor-
[«] Kai Ua,(7iv oaoi ^ela -nri^- pus jaccret cxaniinum, at-
rtuq icj svKxifu'; iAaw %pi:ra//,eyot qyg exequis pararentur,
,oa4,lA,xlcc ^?,varuv, Chryf. ib. p. amicorum quidam fuggemt,
337- y^' ut ejufdem Martyris'^oleo,
[a'J Hipponenfem quan- corpus perungeretur. Fac-
dam Virginem fcio, cum fc turn eft, k revixit. ibid,
oleo perunxiilet, cui pro ilia ^ ^g
orans Prcft)yter inftillaverat
Laftly,
Ixiv IntroduBory DISCOURSE.
Laftly, as to Images andpidiures^ it appears
from St. CbyjojioMy that great numbers of
them were {landing in the principal Churches
of that age \f\ ; and from the other writers
of the fame age ; that the ads of the Saints
and Martyrs began to be painted on the walls
of thofe particular Churches, which were de-
dicated to their names [ z^ : and it is natural
to imagine, that they would not long be con-
fidered, as mere ornaments, or memorials,
or books, as they were called, for the illite-
rate, but would gradually acquire a fhare of
that veneration, which the bones of thofe,
whom they reprefented, had already acquir-
ed in the fame Churches : and we are told
accordingly by St. Auflhi^ that he knew
many, who were a^ually the adorers of
them [a],
Thefe were the principles and the pradices
of the fourth Century -, as they are declared
by the moft eminent Fathers of that age :
[yl Oper. Tom. xi. p. 78.
[z] Forte requiratur quanam ratione gerendi
Sederit hsc nobis fententia, pingere Santas
Raro more damos^ kc. Vid. Paulini Oper. Natal, ix.
[a] Novi multos efle Se- clef. Cathol. Op. T. i. p.
pulchrorum & pi6turarum 34.
adoratores. De Morib. Ec-
whenc^
Introdu^ory DISCOURSE. Ixv
whence every one may fee, what a refem-
blance they bear to the prefent rites of the
Popifli Church. But fome perhaps Vv^ill be
apt io fufped, that I am really defending the
corruptions of that Chmch, by affigning to
them an origin fo ancient and venerable : and
the fufpicion indeed may feem plaufible, fince
I have been faying little elfe, but what the
Papifts themfelves would fay on the fame oc-
cafion. Yet it is no more, than v/hat fa6t
and truth oblige me to fay; and no controver-
fy, I hope, will ever heat me, or prejudice
biafs me fo far, as to make me deny or dif-
femblc, what the convidion of my own mind
requires me to confefs. But whatever ad-
vantage the Romanifts may hope to reap from
this conceffion, it really gives them none at
all. Our difpute with them is, not how an-
tient, but how true their dodlrines and prac-
tices are : And if they are not derived from
Chrift or his Apoflles, nor founded in the ho-
ly Scriptures, it is wholy indifferent to us
Proteftants, from what age they drew their
birth \ whether it was from \\\t four firft^ or
Xh^four laji centuries of the Church,
But this (hort fketch, which I have been
giving, of thofe primitive times, was not de-
e figned
Ixvi Introdu6tory DISCOURSE.
figned fo much, to illuftrate the origin of
their rites, as to lay open the grounds of their
miracles ; and to (hew what reafons the Ro-
mifli Church hath to efpoufe, and what the
Proteftant Churches, if they are confiftent
with themfelves, to fufpedl and difclame
them. For example, after the converfion of
the Roma?i Empire to Chriftianity, we fhall
find the greateft part of their boafted miracles
to have been wrought either by Monks^ or
Reliques, or the Sign of the Crofs^ or confe^
crated Oil : wherefore if we admit the mi-
racles, we muft neceflarily admit the rites^ for
the fake of which they were wrought : they
both reft on the fame bottom, and mutually
eftablifti each other. For it is a maxim,
which muft be allowed by all Chriftians, that
whenever any facred rite or religious inftituti-
on becomes the inftrument of miracles, we
ought to confider that rite, as confirm-
ed by divine approbation. ** I know, fays
*' one of the ableft writers of the RomtJJj
*' Church, by the evidence of manifeft and
*' incorrupt tradition, that there hath al-
*' ways been a never-interrupted fucceflion
*' of men from the Apoftles time, believing,
" profeffing, and prac^ifing fuch and fuch
*' do^^trines, by evident argument of credibi-
*' lity, as miracles, fandlity, unity, &c.
" and
]." Yet neither the fabulous
genius of this age : nor the incredibility of
the miracles, faid to have been wrought in
it ; nor the impertinence, the abfurdity, nor
the impiety, I may fay, of the ends, for
which they were wrought, can fliock the
faith of Dr. Berriman ; or raife any fufpicion
of the miraciiloiifnefs of faBs^ affirmed by the
infallibility of Pope Gregory,
Since the zeal then of thefe Proteftant
Guides has now brought us within the very
pale of the RomiJJj Church, I fee nothing, °
which can flop their progrefs, from the fixth
age, down to the prefent : fi'om Pope Gre^
gory the Great ^ to Pope Clement^' the twelfth ;
the laft of whom I perfonally knew, and
believe to have been as honeft and religious a
Pontif, as the firll. For each fucceding age
v/ill furnifli miracles, and witnefles too, of
as good credit as thofe of the fixth. The
next fupplies a venerable Bede 5 whofe very
[/)] Hift. Litterar. Vol. I. p. 547.
name
Introductory DISCOURSE. Ixxxili
name carries authority ; and whole learning,
zeal and purity of faith and manners, were
celebrated through the Chriftian world; yet
whoie works are filled with miracles, which
no man of fenfe can believe [5^]. The
eighth age yields a Damafcene : whofe great
knowledge and erudition in all the learned
fcie?ices^ no body^ fays Cave^ in his fen/es can
'deny : yet he was monjlroujly credulous^ and^
as the Popijh writers them/elves allow, abounds
with lies [r]. And thus we may procede,
through every following age, to find men
of the fame charader ; eminent for their learn-
ing, zeal and piety -, yet all of them ftill car-
rying on the fame frauds, down to the Per^
ronSy the Baro?iius's, the Bellarmijies, and the
Huetius'Sy of thefe later times -, whofe names
are full as venerable, and teftimonies as cre-
dible, as any of the more ancient.
From thefe premifes, it is evident, that the
forged miracles of the fourth century, muft
necefiarily taint the credit of all the later
miracles, down even to the prefent age. For
they depend as it were upon each other, as
the parts of one uniform fcries, or chain, fo
[q] Vid. Bed. de Vita & miraculis Sanai Cuthbert.
Op. Hiftoric, Ed. Cantab, p. 229. [r] Cave ibid.
p. 624.
f 2. that
Ixxxlv IntroduBory DISCOURSE.
that where-ever we draw out a link, all the
reft which hang upon it, muft of courfe fall
to the ground. Let us confider then in the
next place, what light the fame forgeries
will afford us, in looking backwards alfo in-
to the earher ages, up to the times of the
Apoftles.
And firft, when we refledl on that furpri-
zing confidence and fecurity, with which
the principal Fathers of this fourth age have
affirmed as true, what they ihemfelves had
either forged, or what they knew at lead to
be forged ; it is natural to fufpedt, that fo
bold a defiance of facred truth could not be
acquired, or become general at once, but
inuft have been carried gradually to that
height, by cuftom and the example of for-
mer times, and a long experience of what
the credulity and fuperftition of the multi-
tude would bear.
Secondly, this fufpicion will be ftrengthe-
ned, by confidering, that this age, in which
Chriftianity was eftablifhed by the civil pow-
er, had no real occafion for any miracles.
For which reafon, the learned among the
Proteftants have generally fuppofed it to have
been the very, sera of their cellation : and for
the
InfroduBory DISCOURSE. Ixxxv
the fame reafon, the Fathers alfo then:ifelves,
when they were difpofed to fpeak the truth,
have not fcrupled to confefs, that the miracu-
lous gifts were then actually withdraw?!, be-
caiife the Church flood no longer iri need of
them [i]. So that it muft have been a ra(h,
and dangerous experiment, to begin to forge
miracles, at a time, when there was no par-
ticular temptation to it j if the ufe of fuch
fidions had not long been tried, and the be-
nefit of them approved and recommended by
their anceftors ; who wanted every help, to-
wards fupporting themfelves under the pref-
fures and perfecutions, with which the pow-
ers on earth were afflicting them.
Thirdly, If we compare the principal Fa-
thers of the fourth, with thofe of the earlier
ages J we {hall obferve the fame charaders of
zeal and piety in them all, but more learn-
ing, more judgement, and lefs credulity in
the later Fathers. If thefe then be found,
either to have forged miracles themfelves; or to
have propagated, what they knew to be forged;
or to have been deluded fo far by other peo-
ple's forgeries, as to take them for real mi-
racles 'y (of the one or the other of which,
they were all unqueftionably guihy) it will
[i] This will be particularly fhewn in the ccurfc of my
following argument.
f 3 naturally
Ixxxvi Infroduciory DISCOURSE.
naturally excite in us, the fame fufpicion of
their predeceffors ; who, in the fame caufe,
and with the fame zeal, were lefs learned,
and more credulous, and in greater need of
fuch arts for their defence and fecurity.
Fourthly, As the perfonal charadlers of
the earlier Fathers give them no advantage
over their SuccefTors ; fo neither does the
characfler of the earlier ages afford any real
caufe of preference, as to the point of their
integrity, above the later. The firft indeed
are generally called, and held to be the pureji:
but when they had once acquired that title,
from the authority of a few leading men,
it is not ftrange, to find it afcribed to them
implicicely by every body elfe, without know-
ing or inquiring into the grounds of it. But
whatever advantage of purity thofe firft ages
may claim in fome particular refpedls, it is cer-
tain, that they were defective in fome others,
above all, which have fince fucceded them.
For there never was any period of time in
all EcclefiarLlcal Hiftory, in which fo many
rank Herefies were publicly profefTed [/J nor
in which fo many fpurious books were forged
' [^] The learned, I think, have reckoned about ninety
Herefies," which all fprang up within the three firft cea-
turies.
and
InfroduBory DISCOURSE. Ixxxvii
and publillied by the Chriitians, under the
names of Chrift, and the Apoftles, and the
Apoflolic Writers, as in thofe primitive ages ;
feveral of which forged books are frequent-
ly cited and appHed to the defence of Chrif-
tianity, by the moft eminent Fathers of the
fame ages, as true and genuin pieces, and of
equal authority, with the Scriptures them-
felves [ii\ And no man furely can doubt,
but that thofe, who would either forge, or
make ufe of forged books, would in the flime
caufe, and for the fame ends, make ufe of
forged miracles.
But the true charader of thefe ages may
beft be learnt from one, who lived in the very
[«] See Archbifhop Wake\
Preliminary Difcourfe to
the Genuin EpilHes of the
Apoftolic Fathers, p. 89.
where he has given us a lift
of a great part of thofe fpu-
rious pieces, with a fhort
account of each — in which
he tells us, that it would be
endlefs to infijl on all thefpu-
rious pieces^ ivh'tch were at-
tributed onely to St. Paul ; but
that the fuper/litious books^
afcribed to St. Peter, viz.
his A6ls, his Gofpel, his
Preaching, his Revclationf,
were of much greater autho-
rity even to the times of Eu-
febius. [§ 18, 19.] He ob-
ferves alfo, that the book
called the Recognitions of St,
Clement, which he takes to
be the mojl learned, as well
as the moj} ancient of any of
thofe pieces, tvas not fet forth
till about the middle of the fe-
cond Century ; and is rejc£ied
by Eufebius, as one of thofe
many Impojlures, which were
even then publijhed under ihe
na?neof that Saint. § 28.
midfl:
Ixxxvili MroduElory DISCOURSE.
niidft of them, and was himfelf the chief
ornament of them, I mean St. Cypria?i, who
has left us the following account of the
flate of the Church, juft before the Decian
perfecution ; about A. D. 250, when its dif-
cipline, as he fays, was corrupted, and its
faith almofl loft, by a long eafe and peace,
w^hich it had then enjoyed, for near forty
years -, during which interval, he tells us,
^* that the body of Chriftians ftudied nothing,
*' but how to increafe their patrimony : and
*' forgetting, what the faithful had done,
'' either in the times of the Apoftles, or
" what they ought to do at all times, had
*' no other paffion, but an infatiable ardor,
*' of inlarging their fortunes. That there
*' was no true devotion in the Priefts, no
*' found faith in the minifters : no mercy in
*' their works, no difcipline in their man-
*' ners: that the men deftroyed the comeli-
*' nefs of their beards, and women of their
*' faces, by paint and falfe arts : their eyes
" alfo, fo finilhed by the hand of God, were
" adulterated -, and their hair ftained with
*' colors, not their own. That the fimple
" were deluded, and the brethren circum-
" vented by craft and fraud. That it was
ll common, to contradt marriages with un-»
*^ believers •
JntroduBory pISCOURSE. Ixxxlx
*' believers: and to proftitute the members
«* of Chrift to the Gentiles : and to fwear
^^ not onely rafhiy, bat falfely : to contemn
*' their rulers with an infolent pride ^ to
*' fpeak againft them with fpite and ran-
*' cour ; and to quarrel among themfelves,
^* with an obftinate hatred. That great
*' numbers of the Bifhops, who ought to
'^ be an example and leffon to the reft, con-
*^ temning their divine Steward/hip, made
" themfelves the ftewards of fecular affairs;
" rambling about into other people's pro-
*' vinces ; and fecking out the markets of
^^ traffic and gain ; and inflead of relieving
" their hungry brethren in the Church, were
^^ eager onely, to heap up money ; to feize
" people's lands by treachery and fraud ;
" and to increafe their ftock by exorbitant
[' ufury \x\r
This is the pidure of thofe ages, which
people affedl to call the purejt, as it was
drawn from the life, by the ableft Mafter of
the times, which he defcribes : and though
the charadler of the drawer muft oblige us to
believe, that it bore a great likenefs to the
priginal, yet it is fo far from giving us any
[x'\ De Lapfis, p. 170. Ed, Rigalu
idea
xc Introdudlory DISCOURSE.
idea of purity or perfedlion, that if it had
been drawn, even for our own times, we
might juftly think the coloring too coarfe,
and the features charged beyond the truth.
Now from all thefe confiderations taken
together, it muft, I think, be allowed, that
the forged miracles of the fourth century
give us juft reafon to fufped the preten-
iions of every other age both before and
after it. My argument would be much the
fame, if it were grounded on the allowed for-
geries of any later age. Dr. Chapman^ who
defends the miracles of the fifth century, de-
clares, that there were fome of thefe later in^
fiances^ as public^ as clear aiid as well attejledy
as aity in the earlier ages ; and by an evidence ^
equal to that, by which mofl of the ancient
miracles are jiipported [y]. Dr. Berriman, in
his d::fence of a particular miracle near the
end of the fame century, infifts, that it can-
7iot be difcredifed^ without fhaking the whole
faith of Hifi-ory, and rejeBifig all accounts of
miracles^ except thofe of the Scriptures \z\.
And fo fer I agree with them both, and own
their defence to be true ; that the earlier mi-
racles reft on no better foundation, nor are
ly\ Mifcellan. Trads, p, [z] Serm. p. 327.
170, 175.
Innnorted
<
InfroduBory DISCOURSE. xci
fupported by any better evidence, tlian the
later. But then, if thefe later, after all the
confidence of their Advocates, may certain-
ly be difcredited, and muft confequently be
rejeded 3 it follow^s from their own princi-
ples, that the earlier may v^ith as much rea-
fon, be rejefted too. Which brings me at
lafl to that general conclufion, which I have
undertaken to illuftrate ; that there is no fuf^
jicient reafon to believe^ from the tejlimoiiy of
antiquity^ that any fmraculous powers did ever
adliially fiibfifl in any age of the Churchy after
the times of the j^pojtles.
But this will be the proper bufinefs of the
fubfequent Treatife, in which, I {hall endea-
vour to evince, by particular fads and tefti-
monies, what this general view of the quef-
tion, here given, and the refledions naturally
arifmg from it, would previoufly difpofe us
to fufped y that the pretended miracles of
the primitive Church were all mere fidions ;
which the pious and zealous Fathers, partly
from a weak credulity, and partly, from rea-
fons of policy 5 believing fome perhaps to be
true, and'knowing all of them to be ufeful,
were induced to efpoufe and propagate, for
the fupport of a righteous caufe,
I have
xcli IntroduSiory DISCOURS'l
I have already obferved, that many Ipu-
rious books were forged in the earliefl times
of the Churcli, in the Names of Chrift and
his Apoftles, which paffed upon all the Fa-
thers, as genuin and divine through feveral
fucceffive ages. Now as the high authority
of the Apoflolic writings, and the zeal, with
which they were fought for by all Churches,
was the motive, without doubt, which ex-
cited fome of the ableft, and moft learned
of the Chriftians, to take the pains of forg-
ing and vending fuch books under thofe falfe
titles ; fo the great fame and fuccefs of the
Apoftolic miracles, would naturally excite
fome alfo of the moft crafty, when the
Apoftles themfelves were dead, to attempt
fome juggling tricks in imitation of them,
and by the pretence of a divine power, to
impofe upon that Jimplicity and credulity ^
which diftinguifhed the character of thofe
early ages. And \a\ when thefe artful pre-
tenders,
\(f\ The Primitive Chrif- with them, do not examine^
tians were perpetually re- but believe onely^ and thy
proached for their grofs cre^ faith willfave thee. Julian
iiulity by all their enemies, affirms, that the fum of all
Celfus (^.yst xh-3,1 xhty cared their wifdofn was comprifed
neither to receive^ nor to give in this fingle precept^ believe,
any reafon of their faith ^ and The Gentiles, fays Arnobi"
that it was an ufual faying usy make it their conftant
bufmefs
^roduBory DISCOURSE, xciii
tf^nders, by infinuating thcmfelves chiefly m
private houfes, or among the ignorant popu-
lace, had been able to maintain their ground
through the three firft centuries, the leading
Clergy of the 4th, who were then eftablifli-
ed by the civil power, and at liberty to apply
all arts without referve to the converfion o£
the Heathens, underftood their intereft too
well, to part with the old plea of miraculous
gifts, which had been found fo efFeclual, to
dazzle the fenfes and polTefs the minds of the
multitude.
This feems to have been the general ftate
of the cafe in queftion : and though it may
fhock the prejudices of many, and clafh with
the fyftems, which are commonly entertain-
ed ; yet it will be found, I dare fay, to be
true, or at leaft the mod probable ; and as
bufinefs to laugh at ourfahh^ precepts were inculcated by
and to lafh our credulity with an Ipfe dixit y and that they
their facetious jokes. Orig. had found the fame method
con. Celf. 1. I. p. 8, 9. ufeful with the vulgar, who
Greg. Nazian. Inve6t. i. were not at leifure to exa-
Arnob. 1. 2. p. 22, 23. mine things ; whom they
The Fathers, on the taught therefore to believe^
other hand, defend them- even without reafons : and
felves by faying, that they that the Heathens them-
did nothing more on this felves, tho' they did not
occafion, than what the confefs it in word , yet
Philufophers had always practifed the fame in their
done i that Pythagoras^ ads. Ibid.
fuch
xciv IntroduBory DISCOURSE.
fuch, the mod ufefal alfo, to the real De-
fence of the Chriftian caufe. For, as far as
miracles can evince the divinity of a religion,
the pretenfions of Chriftianity are confirmed
by the evidence of fuch, as of all others on
record, are the leaft liable to exception, and
carry the cleared marks of their fincerity 5 be-
ing wrought by Chrift and his Apoftles, for
an end fo great, fo important, and fo univer-
fally beneficial, as to be highly w^orthy of the
interpofition of the Deity ^ and wrought by
the miniftry of mean and fimple men, in the
open view of the people, as the teftimonial
of that divine miffion, to which they pre-
tended ; and delivered to us by eye-witneffes,
whofe honeft characflers exclude the fufpicion
of fraud, and whofe knowledge of the fadts,
which they relate, fcarce admits the proba-
bility of a miftake. This is the genuin
ground on which Chriftianity refis -, the hif-
tory of our Saviour's dodrine and miracles,
as it is declared and comprized within the
cannon of the Holy Scriptures. Whenever
we go beyond this, we weaken its foundati-
on, by endeavouring to inlarge it 3 and by
recurring to an evidence lefs ftrong and of
doubtful credit, take pains only, to render a
good caufe fufpeded, and expofe it to the
perpetual
Introdua^ry DISCOURSE. xcv
perpetual ridicule of the Sceptics and Free-
thinkers.
Should our Infidels then be difpofed, to
make themfelves merry with the miracles of
a Symeon StyliteSy or any other crack'd-brain
monk of the 4th or 5th century, there is no
reafon for Dr. Chapman^ to be fo angry with
them \l)\ : let us fuffer them to laugh on,
and even laugh with them ourfelves 5 and by
throwing out an empty tub to their fport,
fecure the veflel itfelf from their attacks. Or
fhould the Romanifts, on the other hand,
pretend to urge us with their miracles, and to
fhew the fucceffion of them from the earlieft
ages, we have no reafon to be moved at it,
but may tell them without fcruple, that we
admit no miracles, but thofe of the Scrip-
tures ; and that all the reft are either juftly
fufpe(5led, or certainly forged. By putting
[/»] This Symeon, (who afcribed, by the Ecclefiafti-
acquired the name of Sty- cal writers, as the efFeds
Utes^ by a moft extravagant of a divine infpiration ; all
whim, which he took, of which Dr. Chapman moft
fpending the beft part of his ftrenuoufly and zealoufly
life on the top of a pillar, defends, againft the raillery
fix and thirty cubits liigh) of the Author of Cnriftia-
was a mad, enthufiaftic nity as old as the Creation.
Monk of the 5th Century, See his Mifcell. Tracts, p.
to whom many monftrous 165. § III.
and fuperllitious acts are
she
xcvi Introdiidtory DISCOURSE-
the controverfy on this ifllie, we fhall either
difarm them at once, or if they perfift in the
difpute, may be fureto convid: them of fraud
and impofture : whereas by granting them
but a fingle age of miracles, after the times
of the Apoftles, we fhall be entangled in a
feries of difficulties, whence we can never
fairly extricate ourfelves, till we allow the
fame powers alfo to the prefent age.
And in truth, it has always been confider-
ed, as a fundamental principle of the Refor-
mation, that the Scriptures are a compleat rule
both of faith and manners ; and as fuch are
clear aljo and intelligible^ in all fundamental
points^ to every private Chriflian. In this,
all Proteftant Churches agree, how much fo-
ever they may differ in any other article : and
if this be true, then whatever be the charac-
ters of the antleot Fathers, or whatever they
may have taught, and pradlifed in any age of
the Church, is a matter wholly indifferent,
and makes no part in the religion of a Protef-
tant : and confequently, no difference of
judgment with regard to thofe Fathers, ought
to give any caufe of offence or hatred among
the members of that communion. For if
the Scriptures are fufficient, we do not w^ant
them as guides 3 or if clear, as interpreters.
Every
Introdu5lory DISCOURSE, xcvii
Every one therefore may enjoy his opinion of
them, with the fame liberty, as of any other
writers whatfoever, with this caution oncly;
that an efleem of them is apt to carry us too
far, and has adually carried many into great
and dangerous errors : whereas the negledt of
them cannot be attended with any ill confe-
quence, fince the Scriptures teach every thing,
that is neceflary, either to be believed or prac-
tifed.
I cannot illuftrate this principle fo efFedu-
ally, as by the following words of the excel-
lent Chillingworth^ who, of all men, beil
underftood the real grounds of the controver-
fy, between the Proteftants and the Papifts.
" The Bible, I fay, the Bible only, is the
religion of Proteftants. Whatfoever elfe
they believe befides it, and the plain, irre-
fragable, indubitable confequences of it,
well may they hold it, as a matter of opi-
nion, but as matter of faith and religion^
neither can they, with coherence to their
own grounds, believe it themfelves, nor
require the belief of it of others, without
mod high and moft fchifmatical prefump-
tion. I, for my part, after a long, and
g '' fas
Q^y
xcviii Introdu5tory DISCOURSE.
*' (as I verily believe and hope) impartial
*' fearch of the true way to eternal happinefsy
'' do profefs plainly, that I cannot find any
*' reft for the fole of my foot, but on this
" rock only. I fee plainly, and with my
** own eyes, that there are Popes againil
*' Popes ; Councils againft Councils -, fome
*^ Fathers againft others -, the fame Fathers
" againft themfelves ; a confent of Fathers
*' of one age, againft a confent of Fathers of
*' another age: the Church of one aee
" againft the Church of another age : Tra
''• ditive, interpretations of Scripture are pre-
*^ tended, but there are none to be found.
*' No tradition, but only of Scripture, can
" derive itfelf from the fountain, but may
*' be plainly proved, either to have been
" brought in, in fuch an age after Chrift,
*' or that in fuch an age, it was not in. In a
** word, there isnofufficient certainty, but of
'' Scripture only, for any confiderate man to
*' build upon, i^cJ*
But tho' this dodrine of the fufficiency of
the Scriptures be generally profeffed through
all the reformed Churches, yet it has happen-
ed, I know not how, in our own, that its
Divines have been apt on all occafions, to join
the
Introdu5fory DISCOURSE. xcix
the authority of the primitive Church, to that
of facred writ ; to fupply dodlrines from the
ancient Councils, in which the Scriptures are
either filent or thought defedive ; to add the
Holy Fathers, to the College of the Apoftles;
and by afcribing the fame gifts and powers to
them both, to advance the primitive traditi^
ons, to a parity with Apoftolic precepts.
Thus the late Dr. Waterland, who was
fuppofed to fpeak the fenfe of our prefent
Rulers, feldom appeals to the Scriptures in
his controverfial writings, without joining an-
tiquity to them, or the authority of the three
Jirfl ce?ituries at leaft^ ihdit goldeii age of Chri^
fiianityy as he calls it \c\ He declares,
" that the true interpretation of Scripture,
cannot run counter in things fundamental
to the judgment of the firfl and pureft
ages : that to depreciate the value of Ec-
clefiaftical Antiquity, and to throw con-
*^ tempt on the primitive Fathers, is to wound
*^ Chriftianity through their fides [^J : and
*' that Chrill never fits fo fecure and eafy on
" his throne, as with thefe faithful guards
*' about him \e\ \ and he concludes his ela-
[<:] Import, of thcDodr. [/] Ibid. p. 395.
of the Trin, p, 426. [^] Ibid. 396.
2 2 *' borate
], have been
lately making the fame dejperate furious
pujh, in this very Proteftant land, to deprive
us of the works of Cicero, by adding them
to the Jefuift's lift of counterfeit roma?tces,
and fhewing them to be the fragments ofthofe
[p] Piige 17. Note [tj,
fanu
posTscRipr. cxxiii
fame bufy Sophijls and recent Fahnlators, For
of all the learned in this kingdom, there
are none, who, like the Loyolites of France^
have ventured, to ajjiime that new chara5ler^
of blazing and fajltdions Hypercritics^ or
have puflied their protejiant Pyrrohonifm fo
far, as they.
Yet after all, which I have been faying of
the Archdeacon's Speech, I muft do him the
juftice to own, that there are many obferva-
tions occafionally interfperfed in it, both ex-
ceedingly curious, and intirely new. I fiiall
juft give one of them, as a fpecimen of the
reft 5 by which he informs his reverend bre-
thren, that the real neceffaries of learned au-
thors^ in thefe times of ours^ are extremely
great 'j nay^ almo/i infinitely foy beyond any
things which the multitude can imagine \f\.
This is a difcovery fo recondite, and re-
mote from vulgar apprehenfion, that it
could not poffibly be made by any, but
himfelf. For, though his modefty would
fain conceal it, he is but drawing his own
pidure, under the charadler, which he gives
of thoje great lights and pillars of Protefi
[q] Sec pag. 2r6.
tantifm.
exxiv POSTSCRIPT.
tantifm^ who?n he propofes to the Clergy ai
patterns of their Jiudies ; me7iy who jpeiit
their whole lives in the purjuit of erudition^
penetrated the very marrow oj all the learn^
ed languages^ traverfed^ with the fame zeal^
every ancient^ a7id monument they could Jind^
had all antiquity before them tn one grand
and comprehenfive view, and attained to that
(ihounding richnefs in learnings which ren-
dered them the glories of their age^ and a
fcourge and terror to any bold fuperficial
pretenders^ who Jhould offer to impofe upon
the public any mifchievous fophijlries or chi^
cane of fcience [r]. For, how could ajiy
man know the real neceffaries of fuch deep
Jcholarst as thefe, if he himfelf was not as
profound, as they ? or how indeed can any
one elfe, reach even the fenfe of fo deep
a difcovery ; for as thofe bold and fuperfi-
cial pretenders^ whom he juftly derides, for
fkimming onely the furface of literature,
and contenting themfelves^ as he tells us^ with
a few feleB authors^ the mofi eminent^ and
elegant in each clafs [i] ; they would be apt
to pronounce at once, that there is no fenfe
at all in it.
[r] Pag. 27, 28. [s] Page 27.
Btat,
POSrSCRIPT. cxxv
But, if I may prefume to offer my opini-
on, the fenfe of it, I think, will be found
clear and good by a due attention to the con-
text ; in which the Archdeacon, having firft
taken occafion to declare, thaf our Church is
jar inferior to the RomiJIo iii the provifion of
emoluments Jor the clergy^ artfully introduces
his obfervation, by way of complaint, or pe-
tition, as it were, to the public, on behalf of
himfelf, and all the other learned authors,
among the Clergy, that, whereas their learn-
ing, in thefe proteftant days, is infinitely fupe-
rior, to what it was in the Popifh, yet our
Governors do not confider, that their real ne^
cefj'aries are increafed to them likewife, in the
fame proportion. For though he has not
given any reafons, to confirm this, yet the
truth of it may be demonftrated by a known
and memorable fadl. For inflance ^ Erafmus,
an Author^ competently learned^ for thofe
PopiQi times, was fupplied with all real 7ie-
cefjaries^ and a large overplus befides, from
one fingle benefice, conferred upon him by an
Archbifhop oj Canterbury : Our Archdeacon,
on the contrary, in thefe proteftant times,
holds the fame benefice, which Erafmiis then
held, with a fecond ftill better, and the pro-
fits of an Archdeaconry into the bargain, yet
out
■'■#
cxxvi POSTSCRIPT.
out of the inji?iife fiiperiority of his learnings
wants the addition ftill of more prefer-
ment, tefupply his infinite want of real necefja-
Ties.
But I am drawn Infenfibly too far, and
wafting too much time in pointing out the
folemn trifles, and elaborate nonfenfe of this
ftrange fpeech. My chief purpofe, in taking
notice of it, was of a more ferious kind ; to
{hew, by the example of this very perfor-
mance, to what poor fhifts this Defender of
the primitive monks ^ and their miracles ^ will
naturally be reduced, whenever he finds it
expedient, to give a public teftimony of hisi
zeal againft Rome-, and while he pretends to
be fighting againft Popery, how he will be
driven, by the force of his principles, to make
but a mock-fight of it, a mere theatrical (hew,
and to combat only phantafms of his own
dreffing up.
This, I fay, is the neceflary confequence
of his principles ; of that fuperfiitious vene-
ration of the primitive Fathers^ and that
implicit faith in Ecclefiajiical Hifiory^ which
it has been the bufinefs of his life and
ftudies, to inculcate. For I have already
iliewn,
POSTSCRIPT. cxxvii
fliewn, by fafls and inftances produced in this
Introdudlory treatife, how thofe Divines of
our Church, who carry the authority of the
Fathers fo high as to make them the guides
cifid interpreters of our religion^ and who
appeal to them ejpecially in our controverjies
^ith the Papifis^ preclude themfelves of
courfe, from attacking any of thofe principal
corruptions, for the fake of which, the Pro-
teftants found it neceflary, to feparate them-
felves from the communion of Rome. Yet
our Archdeacon maintains ftill, as we have
feen, in this fpeech, that the Antient Fathers
and Primitive Councils, the Clements^ the
Chryfofloms, the Jeroms, and the Auflins^ are
the very bulwarks of Proteftantifm, and the
inflruments, through which we may moft gla-*
ringly expofe to every common eyc^ the unjcrip-
tural and iinprimitive crudities of the Romijh
Church \t\.
Now, as in all difputes, the readied way
to find out the truth, is, by reducing them,
as far as it is poffible, to queflions of faft, and
to the trial of our fenfes, fo in this, I (hall
[/] Sea p»g. 2, ^Q
refer
cxxviii POSTSCRIPT.
refer myfelf to a fad, which I have endea-
voured to exemplify in the foregoing v^rork,
with regard to thofe very Fathers, to whom
the Archdeacon appeals -, and particularly, to
Cbry/o/lom, Jerom and Aujiin ; concerning
whom, I have there affirmed, and do now
again affirm, that they have all feverally
taught, and praBifed, and warmly recommend-
ed to the practice of all Chrijlians, certain
rites and doBrines, which ^ upon their ai^
thority and example, are received and prac-
tifed at this day by the Romifh Church, but
condemned and rejedled by Protejiant Churches,
as unfcriptural, Jiiperjiitious and idolatrous.
If the Archdeacon allows this faft, every one
will fee at once, without afking his opinion
any farther, on which fide thofe Fathers,
are to be ranged : if he denies it, he muft deny
at the fame time, that thofe paiTages, which
I have produced in proof of it, are really
to be found in them ; or otherwife, in fpite
of any diftindion or comment, which he
can frame upon them, every man of fenfc
v/ill allow the faft to be true.
But of all the Primitive Fathers, Jerom
feems to be the peculiar favorite of our Arch-
deacon, and, as we may colled: from this
very
POSfSCRIPr. cxxix
very fpeech, is fuppofed by him, to be of
more eminent fervice to us than any of them,
both againft the Papijis and the Freethinkers :
for which reafon, I have chofen to employ
the few pages, that remain, in confidering
his particular merit and principles a little
more precifely : and with that view, (hall
propofe another fad or two, drawn from
his writings ; which will enable the reader
to form a clear judgement of his charac-
ter, as far as it relates to the point, now
in difpute, between the Archdeacon and my-
felf.
This yerom then, as I have obferved ia
the foregoing work, was a mod zealous
admirer and promotor of the monkijh life ;
and, for the fake of advancing its credit ia
the world, wrote the lives of two celebrated
Monks s the one called Paiil^ and the other
Hilarion ; in which, after he has invoked
that fame Holy Spirit^ which ijifpired the f aid
Mo?2ks^ to infpire hi?n alfo with language^
equal to the wonder on s auls, which he was goine
rinth. c. 49, 50. it. Ignat. Ep. ^//>, which had been beiLOwed
ad Ephef. xiv. upon each: he means nothing
Thus when St. Clement tells more by that gift, or chanfjua,
the Corinthians, that they had as lie calls it, than the different
all been hlejfed^'jith a large ef- talents, ubilitie?, and advanta-
fufion of the Holy Spirit. [§ 1 1 . J gcs, whether natural or acqui-
yet this efFufion, as it appears red, oi' frcngth, ^ivifdom, riches,
from the context, was not of a cmtincnce^ hz, by which Provi-
kind which conferred any ex- dence thinks fit to dillinguifh
traordinary powers, but only the diltcrent chara(3:ersof men,
pious affcdtions and good incll- § 38.
nations. And in the fame E-
A ^ ''^ written
8 jin I N QJJ I R Y hifo
^' written in the Scripture •, h angry and fin notj
" and let not the fun go down i^pcn your wrath^'*
[/] St> Ignatius alfo, in his Epiftle to the Ephe-
fians^ fays ; " thefe things I prefcribe to you,
" not as if I were fome body extraordinary, for
*' though I am bound for his name, I am not
" yet perfe6l in Jefiis Chrifi^ but now I begin to
" learn, and fpeak to you, as to fellow difciples.
" For I ought to have been flirred up by you in
'' faith, in admonition, ^iff." \m\
This fame Saint indeed, in one or two of his
Epiftles, feems to intimate, that the knowledge
of certain events had been communicated to him
by the Spirit. Thus, in his Epiftle to the Phi-
ladelpbiansj fpeaking of the earneft exhortations,
which he had given them, to unity and fubmif-
fion to their BiJJjops^ Priefts and Deacons^ he fays ;
" fome people fufpefted, that I was acquainted
*' before hand with the divifions among you : but
" he is my witnefs, for whom I am bound, that
" I did not know it from any human flefh, but
" the fpirit declared it, fpeaking thus, do nothing
" without your Bijhop^ &c." [n] from which Dr.
Wake takes occafion to infer, that he was indued
%vith a large Portion of the extraordinary gifts of
the Holy Ghofi : [o] yet I do not find, that any
other Commentator has ventured to build any
thing miraculous or fupernatural upon it.
It is related likewife of Polycarp^ in the an-
cient narrative of his martyrdom, " how in the
[/] Ep. ad Phillpp. c. HI. W Ibid. c. vii.
it. c. XII. [o] See Prelim. Treat, c. x.
[nil Ad Ephef c. in. i 13-
^^ time
f/j^ Miraculous Powers, &c. g
*' time of that perfecution, in which his hfe
" was particularly fought for by the Heathen
" Mao-iftrates, he withdrew himfelf from Smyrna,
" by the advice of his friends, into a little vil-
*' lage, where he fpent his days and nights in
*' prayer, with a few, who accompanied him ;
*' and as he was praying, a vifion was offered to
*' him, three days before he was taken, in which
" he faw his pillow on fire : whereupon, turn-
** ing prefently to his companions, he faid pro-
*^ phetically, I muft certainly be burnt alive."
The fame narrative calls him alfo a Prophetic
teacher -, and declares, that every word, which he
uttered, had either been fulljilled, or would be full-
filled. [/)] Whence fome later writers have affirm-
ed, that he was indued with a fpirit of prophefy,
and foretold every thing, that was to happen
to him. But the forefight of his death, and
the manner of it, in the time of a cruel perfe-
cution when his perfon was particularly hunted
from village to village, as the principal and de-
ftined facrifice, may reafonably be confidered as
the effedl of common prudence, without recur-
ing to any thing miraculous.
Here then we have an interval of about half
a century, the earlieft and pureft of all Chriftian
Antiquity after the days of the Apoftles, in v/hlch
we find not the leafl reference to any {landing
power of working miracles, as exerted openly
in the Church, for the convidion of unbelievers ;
but on the contrary, the ftrongefb reafon to pre-
fume, that the extraordinary gifts of the Apo-
[/)] Vid. Martyr. Polyc. c. v, xvi.
ftolic
lo An I N Q^u I R Y into
ftolic age were by this time adtually withdrawn ;
and the Gofpel left to make its way by its own
ftrengthjand the authority of thofe credentials, and
original miracles, with which Chrift had furnillied
it, as an effectual fecurity of its fuccefs and tri-
umphs over the powers of the earth. Yet be-
fore we take leave of thefe Apoftolic Fathers, it
may be proper to obferve, for the prevention of
unneceffary cavils •, that, if from the paffages re-
ferred to above, or from any other, which may
be found in them, it fhould appear probable to
^ny, that they were favored on fome occafions,
with extraordinary illurninations^ vifwns^ or divine
imprejjions^ I fhall not difpute that point with
them, but remind them only, that the gifts of
that fort were merely perfonal, granted for their
particular comfort, and reaching no farther than
to themfelves ; and do not therefore in any man*
ner affeft or relate to the queftion now before us.
But if the Apoftolic writers have \dt us in the
dark, with regard to our prefent argument, their
Succeffors, it mull be owned, as far as their au-
thority reaches, have cleared it from all obfcu-
rity, by their fbrong, exphcit, and repeated at-
teftations of many extraordinary gifts and mira-
culous powers, which were conftantly and pub-
licly exerted in the Chriftian Church, through
each fucceeding age.
Juftin Martyr^ who is fuppofed to have written
his firfl Apology within fifty years after the days
of the Apoftles, fays, " There are prophetical
'' gifts among us at this day, and both men
^' and women indued with extraordinary powers
' " by
the Miraculous Powers, ^c, ii
" by the Spirit, of God [^]." And he frequent-
ly appeals, " to what every one might fee with
" his own eyes, in every part of the world, and
*' particularly in RotJie^ in the cafe of perfons
" polfefTed with Devils •, who were cured and fet
*' free, and the Devils themfelvcs baffled and
** driven away by the Chrifhians, adjuring or
" exorcifing them in the name of Jefus^ when
*' all other Exorciits and Inchanters had tried in
" vain to help them [r]."
Iremeus^ who was contemporary with Juftin^
but wrote fomewhat later, and lived much lon-
ger, affirms •, " that all, who were truly difciples
" of Jefus^ receiving grace from him, wrought
" miracles in his name, for the good of man-
" kind, according to the gift, which each man
" had received : fome caft out Devils, fo that
" thofe, from whom they were eje6led, often
^' turned believers, and continued in the Church :
" others had the knowledge of future events, vi-
" fions, and prophetical fayings : others healed
^' the fick by the impofition of hands : that even
" the dead had been raifed, and lived afterwards
" many years among them : that it was impof-
" fible, to reckon up all the mighty works,
*' which the Church performed every day, to
" the benefit of nations ; neither deceiving, nor
^^ making a gain of any, but freely beftowing,
[^] Tlapa ya,^ rp" ^ V^^X? P^^- 2. p. 315, & 33O. Edit.
yvi 'STCo^Tolifca, xxpitrijLOLlu tn*'* &C. Thirlb.
Ka.) 'STo,^ v)[MV W^iv l^uv Xj' Sr.^Eia? [r] Apolog. 2. p. II 6. vid.
xj u^atvaq %api<7/xa1a u-Jro t5 etiam, p. 1 96, 303, 320, 21.^
vvtv(ACii^ Ttf ^ie f'x'^PiOi^.* Dial. ^V.
*' whaf
12 -^/Z I N Q^U I R Y into
'' what It had freely received [j]." And as to
the particular miracle 'of raifing the dead^ he de-
clares it, " to have been frequently performed
*' on necefTary occafions ; when by great fading,
*' and the joint fupplication of the Church of that
" place, the fpirit of the dead perfon returned
'' into him, and the man was given back to the
*' prayers of the Saints [/].*' And again, " we
" hear many, fays he, in the Church indued with
" prophetic gifts ; fpeaking with all kind of
" tongues ; laying open the fecrets of men for
" the public good ; and expounding the myfte-
" ries of God [«]."
^heophilus^ Bifhop of Antioch^ who lived in
the fame age with Irena^us^ fpeaking of the evil
and f educing Spirits^ which ufed to infpire the
Poets and Prophets of the Heathen world, fays ;
*' the truth of this is manifeflly fhewn \ becaufe
" thofe, who are polTefTed by fuch Spirits, are
*' fometimes exorcifed even at this day by us,
'' in the name of the true God ♦, when thefe fe-
H ducing Spirits confefs themfelves to be the
" fame Daemons, who had before infpired the
" Heathen Poets [xy
Tertullian^ who florifhed towards the end of
the fecond, and died in the beginning of the third
century, challenges the Heathen Magifbrates,
*^ to call before their tribunals, any perfon pof-
'^ feffed with a Devil ; and if the evil fpirit, when
[j] Adverf. Haeref. 1. 1 1 . c. ibid.
XVII. p. i88. Edit. Oxon. it. [«] Ibid. 1. 5. c. vi.p. 406*
Eufeb. Hift.Eccl. 1. 5. c. 7. [.v] AdAutolyc. 1. 2i.p. 87.
[/] Adv. H^ref. 1. 2. c. lvi. c. ad calcem Oper. Juft. Mart.
p. 186. it. Eufeb. Hift. Eccl, Par. 1636,
" exorcifcd
the Miraculous Powers, &c. i;
*' exorcifed by any Chriilian whatlbever, did not
*' own himfelf to be a Devil, as truly, as iil
'' other places, he would falfely call himfelf a
'' God, not daring to tell a lie to a Chriflian,
" that then they fhould take the life of that
" Chriftian: and what is more manifeft, adds
" he, than this operation ; what more convin-
" cing than this proof ? [_);]" In another place,
" There is a Siller, faye he, among us, indued
" with the gifts of revelations, which fbe fuffers
" in the Church, during the time of divine fer-
" vice, by an ecftafy in the fpirit : ihe converfes
" with Angels, and fometimes alfo with the
" Lord: fees and hears myfteries : and knows
" the hearts of fome, and prefcribes medicines
" to thofe, who want them [2]."
Miniicius Felix^ who is fuppofed to have writ-
ten in the beginning of the third century, ad-
drefTing himfelf to his Heathen friend, in his
Dialogue, called Otlavius^ fays ; " the greateft
" part of you know, what confeflions the Dse-
" mons make concerning thcmfelves, as oft as
" they are expelled by us out of the bodies of
" men, by the torture of our words, and the
" fire of our fpeech. Saturn himfelf, and 6*^-
'' rafis^ and Jupiter^ and the reft of them, whom
'' you worfhip, conftrained by the pain, which
" they feel, confefs what they are : nor in this,
*' do they tell us a lie, though it be to their own
[ v] Edatur hie aliquis fub bitur de vero, quam Deum all-
tribunalibus veftris, quern Dae- bi de falfo quid iflo opere
mone agi conftct. JufTus a quo- manifeftius? quid hac proba-
libet Chriftiano loqui fpiritus tione fidelius ? Apologat. c, 23.
^le., tarn f<; DKmonem confite- [»] De Aniina. §. 9.
•^^ lliame^
14 ^;^ I N Q^U I R Y t?ito
*' Ihame, efpecially when fome of your people
*' are prefent. Believe them therefore to be Das-
'' mens, from their own teflimony, and true
" confefTion. For being adjured by the true and
*' onely God, they unwilhngly and wretchedly
" betray their uneafinefs in the bodies of men ;
" and either fly out inflantly, or vanifh gradu-
" ally, in proportion as the faith of the patient,
*' or the grace of the agent affifts towards the
" cure [ay
Origen^ who lived at the fame time with Mi-
nutius^ though fomething younger, declares ;
" that there remained ftill among the Chriftians
" of his days, the manifefl indications of that
" Holy fpirit, which was feen in the Ihape of a
*' Dove. For they drive away Devils, fays he ;
*' perform many cures ; forefee things to come ;
*' according to the will of the divine word : and
*' though Celfus and the Jew^ who is introduced
** by him, will make a jell, of what I am going
" to fay, I will fay it neverthelefs •, that many
*' people, as it were againfl their wills, have been
*' brought over to Chriftianity, by the Spirit
*' giving a fudden turn to their minds, and of-
*' fering vifions to them either by day or by
'' night \ fo that inflead of hating the word,
*' they became ready even to lay down their
*' lives for it. I have feen many examples of
" this fort ; and fhould I onely fet down fuch of
*' them, as were tranfafted in my prefence, I
" fhould expofe myfelf to the loud laughter of
\a\ Mitiuc. 0£tav. p. 23. ad calcem Edit. Cyprian, per Ri^
gait. Parif.
^' the.
the Miraculous Powers, G?r. 15
*' the unbelievers, who imagine that we, hke
^' the reft, whom they fufpedl of forging fuch
'' things, are impofing our forgeries alfo upon
" them : but God is my witnefs, that my fole
" purpofe is, to recommend the religion of Jefus^
*' not by fiftitious tales, but by clear and evident
" fads [by
In another place, he fays ; " that miracles
" began with the preaching of Jefus^ were mul-
" tiplied after his afcenfion, and then again de-
" creafed ; but that, even in his days, fome
*' remains of them continued with a few, whofe
" fouls were cleanfed by the word, and a Life
*' conformable to it [r]." Again -, " Some, fays
" he, in proof of a miraculous power received
" through faith in Chriil, heal the fick, by in-
*' voicing the name of God over them, and of
" Jefus^ with a recital of fome flory of his life.
" I myfelf have feen many fo healed in difficult
" cafes ; lofs of fenfes, madnefs, and innumerable
'' other evils, which neither men nor Devils
" could cure [^]." Again-, fpeaking of Devils,
'' We are fo far, fays he, from worfhipping
'' them, that by prayers and the rehearfal of
'' fome paflages of the facred writ, we drive
*' them before ^s, out of men and places, and
" alfo out of beads -, for they fometimes attempt
'' to do mifchief alfo to thefe [^]." Then as to
[^] Cont. Ceir. 1. 1. p. 34, atrS ot«^* 0^*701?. &c. ib. 1. 7.
35. Edit. Cant. p. 337. it. 1. 2. 62.
[c] "Zr^txiTx ^i t5 ccytd mnifxa- [<■?] Ibid. I. 3, p. I 24.
avT^ w^sioa Edgkxvvlo, iVs^ov al TOikiTut tvs^y^a-i tux qI ^xiuove^.
i>.«Tl<;v<*. mhr^s ic^ vvv hi tpx ?;^f3 Ibid^ 1, 7. p. 376*
the
i6 ^n In QjJ I RY info
the method of performing this miracle, " it wa$
" not, he fays, by any curious, magical, or in-
*' chanting arts, but by prayer alone, and cer-
*' tain plain adjurations or exorcifms, which any
'' fimple Chriftian might perform : for even com-
" mon and illiterate laymen were generally the
" adors in this cafe [/J." In which no man
was more eminent, than ohe of his own difci-
ples, Gregory^ called the Wonder-worker , who
caft out Devils, not only by word of mouth,
but even by a mejfage or mandatory letter to
them i as the Ecclefiaftical writers have recorded
of him [^].
Cyprian the fcholar of 'Tertullian^ who wrote
about the middle of the third century, fpeaking
of prophetic vijions^ which was the peculiar gift of
that age, fays-, " befides the vifions of the
'' night, even boys among us are filled with the
" Holy Ghoft, and in fits of ecflacy, fee, hear,
" and fpeak things, by which the Lord thinks
*' fit to inflrud us [h~\" And defcribing all the
various pranks of the Devils, " they infinuate
" themfelves, fays he, into the bodies of men,
*' raife terrors in the mind, diflortions in the
*' limbs, break the conftitution, and bring on
*' difeafes— yet adjured by us in the name of
*' the true God, they prefently yield, confefs,
[/] '^? E'TTiTTctj/ ya,^ tJkwTa* to vifiones, per dies quoque im-
toiHTov /ar^arlacrt. Ibid. p. 334. pletur apud nos Spiritu fand;o
[p-] Y^ccKit 'uy^wrov /xev Xo-ikcx; puerorum innocens £etas,qua2m
wv, nroXhoc arii^ua, iTTol-^a-e, vq(T^v- exftafl videt OCulis, & audit &
rw ^i^acmtvuv, t^ ^ccifAova,^ ^l I- loquitur ea, quibus nos Domi-
-TTi^oT^m (pvyuhvuv. Socrat. Hift. nus monere & inftruere digna-
1. 4. 27. tur. Epift. ix. Edit. Rigalt. Par.
[h'] Praeter nodurnas enim
" and
//j^ Miraculous Powers, G?6\ 17
*' and are forced to quit the bodies, which they
" pofTefTed. You may fee them by our com-
*' mand, and the fecret operation of the divine
" power, lafhed with fcourges, fcorched with
" fire, tortured by an increafe of pains; how-
" hng, groaning, begging •, confeffing whence
" they came, and whither they go, even in the
*' hearing of their own worfhippers : and they ei-
" ther fly out immediately, or vanilh gradually,
" according to the faith of the patient, or the grace
*' of him, who works the cure [/]." In another
place, treating again on the fame miracle, " it is
*' performed, fays he, at this day, fo that the devil
'* is lafhed and burned and tortured by the Ex-
" orcifts, with human words, but a divine power :
*' and when he promifes to go out, and to dif-
*' mifs the men of God, he often deceives, and
" by the fame lie of obflinacy and fraud, does
" what Pharaoh had done before, till he is op-
" prefTed by the falutary water of Baptifm [y^]."
Arnobius^ who is fuppofed to have publifhed
his book again ft the Gentiles, in the year of
Chrift 7,00^, tells us^ " that Chrift ufed to ap-
*' pear fometimes in thofe days, to juft and holy
" men, not in vain dreams, but in his pure and
[/] Ibid. De Idolor. vanit. the water, where he was fub-
P- 206. duedand deftroyed. For that
[/f] Ibid. Epift. 76. p. 154. Sea, as St. P^«/fays, was the
The example of Pharaoh here Sacrament of Baptifm. — And
alluded to, is explained by fo he fliew show the Devils ufed
him in the following manner : to ad the fame part, when ad-
King P/^^r^o/?' having ftruggled jured by the Chriftian Exor-
and perfifted in his perfidy, cifts, and continued to afflitt
was able to carry on his refif- the people of God till they
tance fo far, till he came to came to the water of Baptifm.
B " fimple
1 8 j^n In qjj I R Y hifo
" fimple form : and that the mention of his
" name put the evil fpirits to flight ^ ftruck
" their prophets dumb •, deprived the South-
" fayers of the power of anfwering ; and fru-
" ftrated the a6ts of arrogant Magicians ; not
*' by the terror or hatred of his name, as the
*' Heathens pretended, but by the efficacy of his
" fuperior power [/]."
La^antius^ the difciple of Arnohms^ who flou-
riflied and wrote about the fame time, fpeaking
of thofe Demons or evil fpirits, fays ; " that
" being adjured by the Chriftians in the name of
" God, they retire out of the bodies of men ;
" and being laflied by their words, as by fcour-
*' ges, confefs themfelves to be Dcemons \ and
" even tell their names ; the fame, which are
^' adored in the Temples \ and this even in the
" prefence of their worlliippers ; yet caflring no
*' reproach on religion, but on their own honour,
'' becaufe it is not in their power to he either
" to God, in whofe name they are adjured, or
" to the jull, by whofe voice they are tortured :
*' wherefore after many howlings, they frequently
*' cry out, that they are fcourged and burned,
*' and are going out inftantly [;;?]."
Thefe are the principal teflimonies, which afTert
the niiraculous gifts of the Primitive Church,
[/] Quijulliirimisvlrlsetiam rogantium Magorum fruftrari
nunc inipollutis, acdiligentibus efficit adiones, non horrore, ut
fefe, non per vana infomnia, dicitur, nominis, fed majoris
- fed per pura; fpeciem fimplici- licentiapoteftatis. lib i . p. 13.
tatis apparet. Ciijus nomen ad Calcem Oper. Cyprian,
auditum fugat noxios fpiritus. Edit, per Rigalt.
Imponit filentium vatibus. Ha- {?7i\ Divin. Inftitut. lib. 2.
. jfufpices inconfvjltos reddit. Ar- c. 16.
through
the Miraculous Powers, ^c, 19
through the three firft centuries : which might be
fupported ftill by many more of the fame kind,
and from the fame, as well as different writers, if
it were neceffary [;;]. But thefe are fufficient for
our purpofe : and the warmeft admirers of thofe
ages, will not fcruple, I dare fay, to rifk the fate
of the caufe upon the merit of them : for if thefe
cannot command belief, the credit of the mira-
cle in queflion muff fink at once ; fmce Chriftian
antiquity can furnifli no other evidence in their
favour, half fo flrong and authentic as this.
I fliall clofe this firfl article with a remark or
two, which it feems naturally to fuggeft. It has
already been obferved, that the filence of all the
Apoilolic writers, on the fubjed: of thefe gifts,
mufl difpofe us to conclude, that in thofe days
they were adlually withdrawn. And if this con-
clufion be thought to have any weight in it, then
furely the pretended revival of them, after a cef-
fation of forty or fifty years, and the confident at-
tefbation of them made by all the fucceeding Fa-
thers, cannot fail of infufing a fufpicion of fome
fidlion in the cafe. For if they did really ceafe
for fo long an interval, and at a time, when the
Chriftian caufe feemed to want them the moft, as
being then deprived of its firft and ableft cham-
pions, the Apoftles, we cannot conceive any rea-
fon, why they fhould afterwards be revived, when
the Church, without any fuch help, had been ga-
[«] See Mr. WLi/iofh Ac- them, to fhew, that the gift of
count of the Daemoniacs, dfrV. curing them continued to the
in which he has colleded many middle of tjie fourth century,
more teftimonies relating to
B 2 thering
20 An l^ Qj] I R Y into
thering more and more flrength all that while, by
its own natural force. But it is remarkable, that
as the Church continued to increafe in power and
credit, fo its miraculous gitts are faid to have in-
crealed alfo in the fame proportion : for though
by an increafe of power it certainly flood lefs in
need of true miracles, yet by the fame power it
became more able to reward, and more likely
therefore to excite falfe pretenfions to them.
Again, the difference which every one may
perceive, between the miraculous gifts of the
Apoftolic days, and thefe of the following ages,
not only in the nature, but in the manner alfo of
exerting them, will greatly confirm the fufpicion
juft intim.ated. The Apoftles wrought their mi-
racles on fpecial occafions, when they felt them-
felves prompted to it by a divine impulfe ; but at
other times, were deftitute of that power •, as it is
evident from many fads and inflances, recorded
in the New Teftament. Agreeably to which,
though they appeal fometimes, in confirmation
of their miffion, to the miraculous works, which
their Mafter had inabled them to perform, yet
we never find them calling out upon the Magi-
llrates and people, to come and fee the mighty
wonders, which they were ready to exhibit before
their eyes, on all occafions, at any warning, and
in all places, whenever they thought fit. Where-
as this confident and oftentatious manner of pro-
claiming their extraordinary powers, carries with
it an air of quackery and impoflure, as it was
pradlifed by the primitive wonder-workers ; who,
in the affair efpecially of calling out Devils, chal-
lenge
the Miraculous Powers, C^c. 21
leno-e all the world to come and fee, with what
a fuperiority of power they could chaftife and
drive chofe evil fpirits out of the bodies of men,
when no other Conjurers^ Inchanters^ or Exorcijlsy
either among the Jews or the Gentiles, had been
able to ejed them.
II. Under this head, I fliall briefly lay before
the reader ; all fuch notices, as I have been able
to draw, from any of the Primitive writers, con-
cerning the perfons who were indued with thefe
extraordinary gifts, and wrought the feveral mira-
cles, to which they appeal.
Now whenever we think, or fpeak with reve-
rence, of thofe primitive times, it is with regard
always to thefe very Fathers, whofe teftimonies I
have been collecting ; who have left behind them,
in their writings, the genuine fpecimens of their
fandity and abilities. Venerable Saints^ and eminent
lights of the heft and fur eft ages^ as jDr. JVaterland
calls them^ and of admirable indowments^ ordinary
extraordinary \o\ And they were indeed the chief
perfons and champions of the Chriftian caufe in
thofe days •, the Paftors, Bifhops, and Martyrs of
the Primitive Church. Yet none of thefe Vene-
rable Saints have any where affirmed, that either
they thcmfelves, or the Apoftolic Fathers before
them, were indued with any power of working
miracles, but declare only in general, '^ that fuch
" powers were aclually fubfifting in their days,
*' and openly exerted in the Church •, that they
\p\ Import, of the Do6lr. of the Trin. p. 143, 160, 169.
B ^ '« had
22 An I N Q^U I R V into
*' had often fecn the wonderful effects of them •,
" and that every body elfe might fee the fame,
" whenever they pleafed :" but as to the perfons,
who wrought them, they leave us ftrangely in the
dark ; for inftead of fpecifying their names, con-
ditions, or chara6ters, their general ftile is, " fuch
" and fuch works are done among us, or by us ;
" by our people •, by a few ; by many \ by our
*' Exorcifls ; by ignorant laymen, women, boys,
" and any fimple Chriftian whatfoever :" but in
the particular cafe of cafting out Devils^ Origen
expreQy fays, that it was performed generally by
laymen [p]. Agreeably to which Mr. IVifton de-
clares, "• that this gift, which he ranks amongft
*' the greateft of miracles, was wholly appropri-
" ated by our Saviour, to the meaner fort of
" Chriflians, with an exclufion even of the
<« Clergy, fo that after the days of the Apoftles,
" none of the facred order ever pretended to
But of what condition foever the a6lors were,
it is certain, that in the performance of their mi-
racles, they were always charged with fraud and
impoflure by their adverfaries. Lucian tells us,
that whenever any crafty Juggler^ expert in his
trade^ and who knew how to make a right ufe of
thbigs^ went over io the Chriflians^ he was fur e to
grow rich immediately^ by making a prey of their
fimplicity \r\ And Celfus reprefents all the Chrif-
\p\ uc, ETTiTrai/ ya,^ loiujfcci to yi«?, iC Ts^firr?' a-vQ^wm^, k^
roiSTov TiTfOL'fliia-i. Con. Celf. 7. 'm^ccf[Acca-i p(;;^>5(76a» ovva.^iv'^y
334- uvtIkx {jlccKcc •crAyai^ Iv ^^cc^ii
[17] See his Account of the I73W0, i^i^raK a^Gf ^^ttoic Eypj^^wf.
Demoniacs, p. 52, CJ3, 57. De Mort. Pereg/X. 2. p. 568.
[rj HnoUvv -ro-a^/AOij ri? a,vTd(; Ed. Var.
tian
the Miraculous Powers, &c. 23
tlan wonder-workers, as mere vagabonds and
common cheats, " who rambled about to play
" their tricks at fairs and markets ; not in the
" circles of the wifer and better fort, for among
" fiich they never ventured to ' appear ; but
" wherever they obferved a fet of raw young
'' fellows, flaves or fools ; there they took care
*' to intmde themfelves and to difplay all their
" arts [j]." Cc€cilius alfo calls them a lurking
nation ; JJounning the light \ mute in public ; prat-
ing in corners [/].
The fame charge was conftantly urged againft
them by all the other enemies of the Chriftian
Faith, Julian, Forphyry, &c. of v/hom Dr. Wa-
terland however has taken occafion to declare,
that they had fome regard to truth, in vjhat they
[aid, and to public report, and to their own cha^
racers \ti\ But as this feems to have been
an hafly and inconfiderate concefiion, made to
ferve a particular point, which he was then
urging, that the ancient Infidels were better men
than the ynoderns, fo I fhall lay no ftrefs upon
it, but obfcrve only on the whole, that from
thefe ihort hints and characters of the primi-
tive wonder-workers, as given both by friends
\j\ 'O oi y'.%\a.c, r,ixa,c xocXu, )^ [//] " I know not whether
(pr.a-iv oTt (ps6yoiA,Bv tS? %a^icr£fys *' Celjus, Porphyry, or Julian
ftament. For in
thofe days, the power of working miracles was
committed to none but the Apoftles, and to a
few of the moft eminent of the other difciples,
who were particularly commiflioned to propagate
the Gofpel, and prefide in the Church of Chrift :
but upon the pretended revival of the fame pow-
ers in the following ages, we find the adminiftra-
tion of them committed, not to thofe, who were
intrufted with the government of the Church ;
not to the fucceffors of the Apoftles, to the Bi-
fhops, the Martyrs, or the principal Champions
of the Chriftian caufe •, but to hoys^ to women^
and above all, to -private and ohfcure laymen^ not
only of an inferior, but fometimes alfo of a bad
chara^er \x\ But if thofe venerable Saints and
\x\ Nuvi ^s xj ^t a,va,^^m Iffp- Hie fu2E fidem confirmafTe, mor-
ycr, I :&ao? eVwGe. Chryfoft. 1\ tuos fufcitafie, debiles refor-
3. p. 66. c. Edit. Benedifl: maffe, futura fignificaffe, ut me-
Adjicient praterea multa de rito Apoftoli crederentur. Ter-
auaoritate cujufque Doaoris tull. De Praefcript. Haereticor.
K2ereticij illos maxime dodlri- §. 44.
Martyrs
//j^ Miraculous Powers, &V. 2S
Martyrs were not indued with them when Uvlng,
they had amends made to them when dead, if
wc can beheve the reports of their SuccefTors,
by a profufion of them on their bones and re-
hques : which fuggells a farther caiife of fufpedb-
ing the faith and judgment of thofe early ages.
For how can we think it credible, that God
Ihould with-hold his diftinguifhing favors, from
his faithful fervants when living, to beftow them
on their rotten bones ? or employ his extraordi-
nary power, to no other ufe, but to perpetuate
a manifeft impofture in his Church ? fince it is
to thofe ancient tales, fo gravely attefted, of mi-
racles wrought ^y the hones of Saints and Mar-
tyrs^ that the Church of Rome owes all that trade
which fhe Hill draws, from the fame fund and
treafure of her wonder-working reliques : and if
we can believe fuch ftories, as they are delivered
to us by the Primitive writers, we cannot con-
demn a pradice, which is evidently grounded
upon them.
Thefe things, I fay, are fo (Irange, as to give
juft reafon to fufped, that there was fome original
fraud in the cafe ; and that thofe ftrolling won-
der-workers, by a dexterity of juggling, which
art, not Heaven had taught them, impofed upon
the credulity of the pious Fathers, whofe ftrong
prejudices and ardent zeal for the intereft of
Y,iit7vo ^\ 'STfOTi^ifjiiv Tw ^oyw, Ut intelUgamus, qusedara
oTt ovre muq b 'm^o(piniH'uv, ca-ioq. miracula etiam fceleratos ho-
ovTE lira? ^alixoiaqlT^aviuv. Con- mines facere, qualia fandli fa-
llitut. Apoftol. 1, 8. c. 2. cere nonpofTunt. Auguft. Oper.
T. 6.P.71.
Chrift-
26 All I N Q^u I R Y into
Chriftlanlty, would difpofe them to embrace,
without examination, whatever feemed to promote
fo good a caufe. That this was really the cafe in
fome inftances, is certain and notorious : and
that it was fo in all, will appear ftill more pro-
bable, when we have confidered, in the next
place, the particular characters of the feveral Fa-
thers, on whofe teftimony, the credit of thofe
wonderful narratives depends.
III. The authority of a writer, who affirms
any queflionable fad, mud depend on the cha-
ra61:er of his veracity and of his judgment. As
far as we are alTured of the one, fo far are we
afllired, that he does not willingly deceive us •,
and from our good opinion of the other, we per-
lliade ourfelves, that he was not deceived himfelf :
but in proportion as there is reafon to doubt of
either \ there will always be reafon to doubt of
the truth of what he delivers. Nay, in many
cafes, the want of judgment alone, has all the
fame effedb, as the want of veracity too, towards
invalidating the teftimony of a witnefs : efpeci-
ally in cafes of an extraordinary, or miraculous
nature \ where the weaknefs of men is the moft
liable to be impofed upon \ and the more fo, as
it happens to be joined to the greater piety and
fimplicity of manners. Since this then is the fole
rule of determining the meafure of credit, which is
due to a witnefs of any ftrange and queftionable
fads, I fhall apply it to the cafe before us ; and
examine what proofs of a found judgment and
ilrid veracity arc to be found in the writings of
thofc
the Miraculous Powers, ^c. 27
thofe Fathers, who attefl the miraculous ftories,
which we are now confidering.
As to the Apoftolic Fathers, of whom I have
fpoken above, fince they have contributed but
HttJe towards the ilhiftration of the prefent que-
flion, and bear no dire6l tcftimony in it ; or
none at lead, but what confirms the point, which
I am defending •, there is no reafon to enter into
the confideration of their particular characters.
Their works, as I have faid, are tranflated into
Englijh^ fo that every one may judge of them for
himfelf. They appear to have been men of
great piety, integrity, and fimpHcity : and that
is all, I think, which we need to declare of them
on this Occafion.
Jiiftin Martyr comes next, whofe genius will
belt be illuftrated by fome fpecimens of it, ex-
traded from his writings. We have feen above,
that among the indowments conferred in an ex-
traordinary manner on the Primitive Chriflians,
the gift of expounding the holy Scriptures^ or the
myfteries of God, was reckoned one : and this, as
Jufin frequently affirms, was granted hy the fpe-
cial grace of God to himfelf [j]. Let us inquire
then, what ufe he made of this divine gift : and
if ever he was really inlightened by it, we might
furely expe6l to find the eff^eCls of it there, where
he is difcourfing on the myfiery of the Crofs ; which
he declares to be the greateft fymbol of power
TO. ocra, x^ octto tuv ycoc(puiv ota Tr,q nq is'hVy ccXKa. %apj icaca Sea
^apiloq avTH HBvor/fccifJusy, Dial. fJiovv) eI(; to avuevcci ruq ycocipou;
par. 2. p, 352. ai;Ttf i^o'Ovj ftot. lb. p. 258.
and
28 j4n In q^u I r y into
and dominion, and explains in the following
manner. " Confider, fays he, all the things in
*' the world, whether they could be adminifler-
'' ed, or have any communication with each
*' other, without this form of the Crofs. The
*' Sea could not be palTed, unlefs that trophy
*' called the fail, were preferved in the fhip : the
^' earth could not be tilled without it : for neither
'' diggers nor artificers could do their work, but
*' by inftruments of this fliape. The form of man
*' differs in nothing elfe from other animals, but
" in the eredlion of his body, and the extenfion
" of his arms, and the proje61:ion of his nofc
*' from the forehead, through which refpiration
" is made, and which fhews nothing elfe but the
*' figure of the Crofs : in which fenfe alfo it is
*' fpoken by the Prophet -, Chrijl the Lord is the
*' breath before our face [2;]." Upon this pafTage
the very pious and learned Dr. Grabe makes the
following remark, which I would recommend to
all the zealous admirers of thefe venerable Saints
and purefi ages ; " that the holy Martyr mufl not
" be rafhly blamed^ for an interpretation fo forced
" and far fetched \ becaufe it was the prevailing
" cuftom of that age^ to import into the f acred text
*' fenfe s^ which did not belong to it [^].
[z] Kolavo Wis y«^ -aravla Ta nec tamen S. Martyr idcirco
iv ru KoufAo), It aviv t3 (rxv[Jiotlo<; temere reprehendendus, quod
TaT« ^io»x£<70a», r) >toivuv\av £%£n/ mos iftiusasvi tam inter Judaeos,
^yvolat, &c. Apol. I. p. 82. quam Chriftianos obtinuerit,
[«] Alium autem fenfum tra- facro textui haud innatos fenfus
dithoc XoQoJuJlmus, qui nimis fub inferre. Vid. not. (29) ad
longe quidem petitus videtur : Juilin. ibid.
Again ;
the Miraculous Powers, &c, 29
Again ; " Hear, fays Jiiftin^ how Chrift, alter
*' he was crucified, fulfilled the fymbol of the
" tree of life in Paradife, and of all the other
" things, which were to happen afterwards to
" the righteous. For Mofes was fent with a rod,
*' to redeem his people : with this rod he divided
" the fea ; brought water out of the rock ; and
" with a piece of wood, made the bitter water
" fweet. Jacob alfo with flicks, made his uncle
'' Laban's fheep bring forth fuch lambs, as were to
" be his own again,^r. [b']'* And fo he goes on,
in this way of allufion, to apply all the flicks
and pieces of wood in the Old Teflament to the
Crofs of Chrifl : and purfuing the fame argu-
ment in another place, where he is defcribing the
fight of xht IfraelitesYfixh Amalek^ he fays, " that
*' when the fon of Nun^ called Jefus^ led the
" people on to battel, Mofes employed himfelf
" in prayer, with his hands flretched out in the
" form of a Crofs ; that, as long as he continued
" in that poflure, Amelek was beaten ; but when
" he remitted any thing of it, his own people
" fuffered : and that all this was owing to the
" power of the crofs : for the people did not
" conquer, becaufe Mofes prayed ; but becaufe,
'' while the name of Jefus was at the head of the
*' battel, Mofes was exhibiting the figure of the
" Crofs [<:]." It would be endlefs to run through
[^j On ^t, /u,/la To raypo&TJvat [f] Oi ya^ oTt, ^rtjq wx^o
tStov— — o-^/x^oAov t\yt t5 I^Aa Ma;£r^^, ^ta t»to K^i^aauv o Xccoy
Trj? ^(W?f, o Ev TO) Trafot^ua-u 'c:t(pv- iylnlof aXK oVt— — — aiiroi; ri
nrtva^xi iT^iMxlo, )^ ruv ynriJftaa,v\oc, uvTsi, Ixa^^oi^iv X"-P^^ debet, i^fc. — Hinc fadlum eft,
t5 voTio-cci. Dial. par. 2. p. ut in Hebraeis adeo pueriliter
390. lapfus
the Miraculous Powers, &c. jt
charadler, I iliall give an inftance or two of the
dodrines, which he teaches, as orthodox and
ApoflohcaJ, as well as of the fads, which he af-
ferts, as certain and iinqueftionable.
He declares, that all the Chriflians, who were
in all points orthodox, embraced and believed
tht dodrine of the millenium : " that all the Saints
*' ihould be raifed in the flefti,and reign withChrifl
" in Jerufalem, enlarged and beautified in a won-
" derful manner for their reception, in the en-
" joyment of all fenfual pleafures, for a thou-
" land years before the general refurredion [/]."
Which dodrine he deduces from the teflimony of
the Prophets and of St. John the Apoflle ; and
was followed in it by the Fathers of the fecond
and third centuries : yet the dodrine itfelf was
afterwards exploded, as it well deferved, not on-
ly as abfurd and monftrous, but as impious and
heretical. St. Jerom treats it as a mere fable, or
dream of the Jews, and Judaizing Chriftians, Yet
from the authority of thofe Fathers, who aflerted
it, and the credit, which it had attained with the
generality of Chriflians, he forefaw, as he tells
us, what a furious ft or m he fhould raife againft him-
felf by that freedom [g\. The fure fate of all
thofe,
lapfus fit, exemplun dabo, t^c. [^] Quse qui recipiunt, mille
CaveHift.Litter.p.6i.Editult. quoque annorum fabulam &
\f\ Eyco ^l i^ il rusi tla-iv 'f- terrenum Salvatoris imperium
Boyvuifjioviq kccla, 'vjocvla ^piT^oivo), x^ Judaico eiTore fufcipient— —
(japxo? uvocTcca-ivyivvia-ia-^uvl'Tri^a.- Comment, in Ifa. c. 30. Oper.
^£^0,, iCj yj.'hia, iTfi \v hpsaxXrjfAf Tom. 3. p. 262. Edit. Benedidl.
)ela-n, >^ xoj, x^ Ex quo difcimus mille an-
'nr^a]t;v0£ko-)7, &c. Dialog, par. norum fabulam, in qua rurfum
2. p. 313.' nupti^ promittuntur, & cibi
Sc
31 Af2 In qjj I R Y info
thofe, who, in any age of the Church, from the
earheft times down to the prefent, have had the
virtue and courage to attack any popular error,
or reigning fuperftition.
He alTerts another docSlrine full as monilrous ;
♦' that God having created the world, committed
*' the care of it to Angels ; who tranfgrefling
" their duty, fell in love with women, and begot
*' children on them, whom we call Demons ;
*' who fubdued mankind to their power ; partly
" by magical writings -, partly by terrors, and
" punifhments ; and partly by the inftitution of
*' facrifices, fumes, and libations; of which they
'' began prefently to fland in need, after they had
" enflaved themfelves to their lufls and paflions,
*« ^c. [by And in another place, " the truth,
** fays he, fhall come out ; that evil Daemons of
« old debauched women and corrupted boys, and
'^ fpread terrors among, men ; who did not
*' examine things by reafon ; but feized with fear,
** and not knowing, that thefe Daemons were evil
*' fpirits, called them Gods, and gave every one
*' that name, which they had each taken to them-
*' felves. But when Socrates by true reafon en-
*' deavoured to expofe their pradices, and draw
" men away from their worfhip, they, by the
*' help of wicked men, took care to get him put
<< to death, as an Atheifl and impious perfon [/]."
He
&c terrenas vitae converfatio, ab- t^v^e ty^v Ta|tv, ywaiK^v fx^^ta-it
jicendam. lb. p. 436. ^T\r,^naoe.v, x^ 'VJXi^cK; IrUiua-ccv,
Ut praefaga mente jam cer- ol' ejVjv qI ?^eyofA,^ioi ^aifAoce?, &c.
nam, quantorum in me rabies Apol. 2. p. 112.
concitanda fit ibid. p. 478. [/] Eip^cr/Iai ^ 'ma7^a,<; ^^i^Qn- KaT hipyeiciv ^) run (pav'Kui
pccv. Sec. ib, Apol. I. p. X. ^ccifA.ovuv, ^xi/ccl^ upicrQr) xatlotTuf
trmq, ytvr^ia-Qcti tuv (p^ccflujv utcc- -crpo^Tjlwn /SitAtfj eikOtymoaKoiluy,
>\uatr Cic* tirvfoi H^aacit. Apol. I. ScC. ib. p. 67.
C capable
34 An \^ Qjj I R Y info
" capable of receiving that good gift of God, he
" feparated them from the vulgar, as not onely
" the Preaching of Feter^ but the Apoflle Paul
'' alfo declares, fpeaking thus •, take the Greek
" books into your hayids^ and look into the Sibyl,
" how clearly Jhe fpeahs of one God, and of the
" things to come : then take H) ilafpes alfo and
" read^ and you will find the Son of God much more
*' clearly and evidently d^Jcrihed : and that many
" Kings fhall employ all their forces againft Chrifl^
" out of their haired to him^ and to all who hear
" his name [/]."
The heathens on the other hand charged the
Chriflians with the forgery of thefe books, and
gave the title of Syhillifis^ by way of contempt,
to thofe, who held them to be divine [jn']. Which
charge the Fathers conftantly denied and treated
as a pure calumny [n] : Yet all the Critics of thefe
days
[/] Clem Alex. Strom. 1.
6. p. 761. Edit. Ox. The
Preaching of Peter, ¥>.ii^vy'A/x- II/-
Tps, was the title of a fpurious
book, afcribed to that Apoflle :
which is often cited as genizin
by CIc7nens, Origen, and the
other Fathers : and was forged
probably in the age, immedi-
ately facceeding to that of the
ApoPdes. [Vid. Cave Hill. Litt.
Vg I. p. 6. it. Grab. Spicil.
Patr. T. I . p. 62.] The palTege
alfo cited here from St. Paul,
was taken from fome other
fpurious piece now unknown,
which then paffed for the work
of that Apoitle. [Vid. Not. ad
loc. Clem.] Hyji a/pis is called
by La^Iontius, a ?noJ} ancient
King nfthe Medes : [1. 7. c. 1 6.]
and by Jr.imianus Marcellinus,
the Father of Darius : and is
faid to have been a mailer of
all the doclrine of the Magi.
Vid. Amm. Marc. 1. 23. c. 6.
& Not. Valef.
\_m~\ Origen fpeaking of Cel-
fus fays ; eTtte ^i rtva? t\va,i x^
ZiCLMtro-?. &c. Con. Cel. 1. 5,
272.
[«] Celfus having charged
the Chriflians with inferting
many blafphemous pafTages in-
to the verfes of the Sybil, Ori-
gen obferves in anfwer to him,
tkat
//jf Miraculous Powers, CSc. 3?
days allow the fa6b to be true, and confiJcr it,
as one of the pious frauds of thofe primitive ages.
Jhere
that he had neither produced any
pnjjhgc.', fo inferted, nor any an-
cient and correB copies of the
fverfes thenifel] Vid. Cave ib. p. 58: it,
Dodwell. Diifertation. Cypri-
an. 4. §. X.
9 " which
authority of thofe venerable Dodwell. Diifertation. Cypri-
Fathers, who contrived and at- an. 4. §. x.
2% An I N Q^u I R Y into
" which the TranQators had been Unit up {q}.
But repeating the fame ftory in his Apology, he
makes an unhappy blunder, by laying, that King
PtolemyV meffage, to beg the affifiance of thofe fe-
verity tranjlators^ was fent to Herod King ^/ Jeru-
falem ; whereas Herod happened to live about
three hundred years later than P/^/c?;;;jr [r]. Dr.
Grahe endeavours to excufe Juftin by the help of
a forced criticifm, which the ingenious Editor of
Juftinh Apology, with good reafon derides ; fince
this pious Father was certainly guilty here of that
weaknefs, againft which St. Paul warned both
timothy ^ and ^itus^ of giving too much heed to 'pro-
fane^ Jewiih, and old women'' s fahles [j-] ; and fur-
nifhes a pregnant inftance, how eafily his preju-
dices might impofe upon him in all other cafes of
the like nature.
To thefe fpecimens of his want of judgment,
I might add feveral more, from his frequent ufe
of fabulous and apochryphal books^ forged by the
iirft Chriftians, under the names of the Apoitles •,
and likewife from his falfe and negligent manner
of quoting the genuine Scriptures. Dr. Grabe has
colledled feveral indances of the iirft fort [/] ;
[c] Toaircc a /xuGo; y,%M/ u ccv- tco ruv laoaaJv roTs ^ocaiXsvovlt
^ps^- E7s>?, &C. Apol. I . p. 49. vid.
Wopiccq aTrayy/AAo/ytEV. a,>JK uv- Not. 8, g.
TO* h tri 'AXs^ocv^fB'ij roov olznTxav h rvj (paft^ See Ant. Van Dale Difiert. de
Ew^aJsoTH? tri a-u^6[Atvcc, &C. Co- Arift. p. 146.
hort. adGraec.p. 14. [/] Vid. Gr^be Spicileg.
[r] "Otb ^snroXB[A.cii<^o Al- Patr. Tom. 1. p. 14- 327.it.
yvTpnuv /3oK7tAEU5 'cycociTrt^^z p. 1 9.
and
the Miraculous Powers, ^c. 39
and his learned Editor finds frequent occafion to
animadvert upon the fecond [u].
It will be faid perhaps, that thele inflances fliew
indeed a weaknels of judgement, yet do not im-
peach the veracity of Juftin^ as a witnefs of fad:.
With regard to which, we mufl call to mind,
what is hinted above, that the want of judgement
alone may, in fome cafes, difqualify a man as
effedlually, from being a good witnefs, as if he
wanted veracity too. For example, Jtiftin ex-
prefsly affirms, that he had feen the cells^ in which
the feventy were put up to the tafk of tranjlating
the Bible. Now it is certain, that there never
were any fuch cells, nor any fuch tranflators :
and the befl excufe, which can be made for him
is, that he was impofed upon by fome Jews or
Chrijiians of Alexandria^ who might fhew him
fome old ruins, under the name of Cells, which
his prepoiTelTion in favour of the (lory, owino- to
his natural, credulity and want of judgement,
made him take to be really fuch.
Again, in his Apology, addrcffed to the Em-
peror and Senate of Rome^ he charges them with
paying divine honors to the Ilereiic and Im-
poilor, Simon^ of Samaria^ commonly called the
Magician : and for the truth of his charge, ap-
peals to a Statue, then fubfiiling in Rome, and
publicly dedicated to that Simon in the Idand of
the T'ikr, with this Infcription, SIMONI DEO
[//] Vid. Juft. Apol. I. p. Not. 6. it. p. 206. Not. 20. It.
87. quaedifputat de feris vene- p. 203. Not. 16. it. Not. 18.
nofis, &c. in deferto. it. p. 92. p. 327.
C 4 SANC-
40 An I N Q^u I R Y into
SANCTO [x\ But it is manifeft beyond all
rcalbnable doubt, as fome learned men have
fliewn, that Juftin was led here into a grofs blun-
tler, by his ufual want of judgement and know-
ledge of Roman affairs, and his pre- conceived
belief of certain fabulous flories, which pafTed
current about this Simon among the firft Chri-
flians [j] V for the Statue and Infcription, to
which he appeals, were not dedicated to his Coun-
tryman, Si?non Magtis^ of whofe Deification there
is not the leafl hint in any Roman writer, but to
a Sabine Deity ^ of ancient worfhip in Rome, and
of fimilar name, SEMONI SANCO [z], fre-
quently mentioned by the old Writers : as the
Infcription itfclf, dug up, about two centuries
ago, from the ruins of that very place, or little
Ifland, which Juftin defcribes, has clearly de-
monft rated [^].
[a*] '^OiJ iTTi YJKavoiH iceuaoe.^'^
V(A,u)v wz ^ilc Ti\'i[A>-^tou. ' O5 ay^pia?
fAiia^v rujv 010 yi(pv^uiVf £%wv tTrt-
yfa,(p-i)V Vujyt.oCiKr,)! Tuulrjv, Xi/xw^i
Asw Y.aWu. Apol. 1 . p. 39.
Juftin was followed in the
belief and alTertion of this fa6t
by all the fucceeding Fathers,
Iren^us, Tertulliariy AugujHnus,
Epiphanius^ Eufebius.
[j] Vid. Ant. Van Dale de
Statua Simoni Mago ereda.
DifTertat.
[z] Sancus , as Dionyjtus
writes, was a Deity of the old
Sabines, whom fome called
Akct 'sr'iTiov. [Vid. Dionyf Hal.
^ntiq. 1. ;!. 49. it. 4. 58] and
the Romans Deum FiMnm.
And Scmones, fignified the fame
as H/aiGeo;, Demigods or He-
roes deified. Li'vy mentions a
Chappel of Semo Sajicus in Roffte
— to whom the goods of cer-
tain enemies were confecrated,
I bona Semoni Sanco cen-
fuerunt confecranda pofiti — in
Sacello Sanci verfus a^dem
Quirini. Liv. 8. 20.
[a] SEMONI
SANCO
DEO FIDIO
S A C R V M.
&c.
Gruter. Vol. i. p. xcvr. 5.
where there are feveral more
Infcriptions to the fame Deity.
Now
the MiRAcuj-ous Powers, &c. 41
Now fhould we allow thefe cafes to be clear
of any fraud or defign to deceive •, yet they yield
Jo bad a fample of his underftanding, as to ren-
der his teflimony of very little weight in any
other relation whatfoevcr. For if he was deceived
in fuch plain and obvious fa6ls, where a common
difcernment and moderate knowledge of hiflory,
would have enabled him to have difcovered the
truth, how much the more eafily would he be
caught by a confederacy of fubtle and crafty
Impoflors, employing all their arts, to amaze and
dazzle the fenfes of the credulous, and to put off
their furprizing tricks, for the miraculous effeds
of a divine power ?
I cannot difmifs this Father, without taking
notice of an accufation, which he frequently
brings againil the Jews^ that they had expunged
many pajfages out of the Greek Bibles^ in which
the character and fufferings of Jefus were clearly
defcrihed: which charge all the learned of thefe
later ages have found to be wholly groundlefs.
Let us fee then how he fupports it. " They have
" erafed, fays he, out of the book of Efdras^
" the following words \ Efdras faid to the peo-
" pie, this paffover is our Saviour, and our re-
" fuge ; and if you will but perfuade yourfelves,
" and be convinced in your hearts, that we are to
'' humble him in a fign or figure, and afterwards
'' to put our trufl in him -, this place fliall not
" be made delblate to all ages, fays the Lord of
^' Hofts. But if you do not believe on him, nor
*' attend to his preaching, you lliall be as dirt to
the
42 .^« I N (IJJ I R Y mto
" the nations [^]." The Editor of 7/(/?/;^ remarks
here, that this palTage is not to be found, in any
copies either of the Apochryphal or Canonical Ef-
dras ; nor in any other Chriilian writer, but Lac-
tantius : and inflead of being expunged by the
Jews^ appears to have been forged by the Chriftians :
where he refers us to the cenfure of an able Critic
and Proteftant Divine, John Croius ; who charges
the forgery on Jujiin himfelf, in the following
words : " To propofe what I think, freely and
'' candidly •, and what all honeft and religious
" judges of thefe matters will allow to be true :
" I take this to have been a pious fraud of Ju-
" ftin^ in which La^antius followed him : who
'^ forged and publiflied this pafTage, for the con-
" firmation of the Chriftian Doctrine, as well
*' as the greateft part of the Sibylline Oracles^ and
*' the Sentences of Merctirius [c]."
Again, Juftin affirms, that in the 90th Pfalm
it was faid, tell the natio7is that the Lord reigned
from the tree : and that the Jews had erafed the
words, from the tree. But as there is no footftep
of thefe v/ords, either in the Vulgate, or any of
the Greek or Hebrew copies, it is manifefl, fays
the Editor, that they were not expunged by the Jews,
hit added by the Chriftians \d\ Laftly, he charges
{hi Atto ^sv »v ruv l^Yiy^<7Ba;v, in CO fane non Martyris noftrl,
cjv l^7)yv}a-cch Ea^ftx; eU rov v6(juov in quem ifta fufpicio non cadit,
TO!/ ■cTEp* Ttf 'BToix'^* '^^'' £|''>7*3<^"' ^ccl fuaHi potius ipfius exiflima-
rccvrviv a,(pi\Kov\o, &c. Dial. 292. tionem lasdit, &'C. Vid. Not.
[r] Sed fatis patet ab aliquo ad loc.
Chriiiiano confifta efTe, non a [^] Manifeftiffimum tamen
Judseis deleta. — Quod autem eft, haee verba.— non fuifTe a
Joa7ines Croius, Obfervat. in. Judaeis refeda, fed ab aliquo
N. T. p. 205, Jujiinum hujus Chriftiano addita, &c. Not. ad
fraudis artiiicem fuifTe affirmat. Dial. p. 294.
tle.ll
the Miraculous Powers, (3c. 43
them ivith expunging a pajfage of Jeremiah, which
yet he owns to be retained in fome copies of their
iynagogues : as it actually is in all copies, both
Greek and Hehre'-jo^ to this day. Upon which the
Editor fays, that he ahfolves the Jews again from
all frauds hut cannot ahfolve ]n{)im from the utmoft
negligence and rafhnefs \e\ So unlucky and inju-
dicious was this Father, in his charge of thefe
frauds on the Jfwj, as to give an occafion only
for fixing them after all upon the Chriftians, and,
in the opinion of fome, even upon himfelf.
The learned and ingenious Editor of his Apo-
logies and 'Dialogues^ who fhews an inclination, to
defend him on all occafions, where he is defenfir-
ble, and on fome, even where he is not, yet is
often forced to break out into a kind of aftonifli-
ment, at his ignorance, negligence, rafhnefs, cre-
dulity, {0 grofs in many inllances, as to baffle all
the art of criticifm, nor to admit any certain rule
of colleding his real fenfe. Yet there are fome
Jlill^ fays he, who extoll him^ not only as a moft
learned^ hut a mofi eloquent writer [/].
Irenceus^ whofe charader and dodlrines come
next to be confidered, was, of all the Fathers,
whofe works (till remain to us, the moft dilio-ent
colle6lor and afTertor of Apoflolic traditions. And
{e] Kat «7ro Twy ^;a Isp^ia [/] Vid. Edit. Lond, 1722.
>^iX^ivlu}v TccvTcc 'cjtfnxo-^civ. lb. & Clariflimi Thirlbii Annotat.
293; ad p. 130, 206, 293, 378, &c.
Nos quoque JudGeos fraudis Et tamen funt, qui hunc non
abfolvimus, Jufiinum fummas tantum dodilTimum, verum
negligentias & temeritatis ab- ^tiameloquentiiTimumeflepr^-
folvere non poiTumus. Not. dicant, p. 30^.
ad loc.
in
44 ^^^ I N Q^u I R Y /«/(?
in truth, as far as his judgement and veracity may
be rehed upon, he feems to have been well qua-
lified for that charader ♦, being acquainted, as he
tells us, with feveral, who had converfed famili-
arly with the Apoftles, and curious alfo to in-
form himfelf, of all the particular do6lrines, which
they had ever taught by word of mouth. " He
" lived, fays Mr. Dodwell^ fo near to the times
" of the Apoftles, as to be able, to tranfmit their
" dodlrines to pofterity with certainty and fide-
*' lity, as they were delivered to him by oral tra-
*' dition, from their immediate SuccefTors and
" Difciples [^]." Yet Photius^ one of the ableft
Critics of his own, or any other age of the Church,
has intimated a different chara61:er of him in the
following fliort cenfure upon his writings-, in
which, he thought it necejfary^ he fays, to adver-
tife the reader^ that in fome of them^ the purity of
truth with refpe5f to Ecclefiafiical doctrines ^ is adul-
terated by his falfe and fpurious reafonings [h]. But
the following inftances of the dodlrines, which he
delivers, as orthodox and Apoflolic^ will be the fur-
eft rule of determining his real charader, as well
as the proper degree of credit, which may be due
to his teftimony.
He affirms then, that our Saviour lived to an
old age^ or was fifty years old at the leafi^ at the
time of his crucifixion ; which he attempts to
prove, firft, from the reafon of the thing \ " that
[^] Sufficit enim, ut Apofto- pofteros deducere, traditionif-
lorum tempora ita prope con- que illius certus & iidelis efle
tigerit, ut quid fenferint Apo- teftis. Diff. Iren. §.3.
ftoli, poffet orali traditione ad [^] Phot. JBibl. c. xxx.
" as
//j^ Miraculous Powers, &c. 4?
" as Chrift came to fave all men, of all ranks
" and degrees, fo it was neceflary, that he fhoiild
" pals through all the feveral ftages of life, that
" he might be a pattern to them all: 2dly,
" from the unanimous tradition and pofitive tefti-
" mony of all the old men, who had lived with
" St. Job?!, and the other Apoftles, from whom,
" he fays, they all received this account, and
" conftantly bore witnefs to the truth of it [/]."
Yet tbis unanimous tradition^ fo folemnly vouched
by this venerable Father, is as certainly falfe, as
the Gofpels are true. Dr. Whitby^ after he has
produced this fame paflage, cries out, as it were,
with aftonifhment. " Behold here, according to
" Iremeus^ how all the Elders of Afia teftify with
" one voice, that they had received from St. John
" and the other Apoftles, a tradition, concern-
" ing a fa6l manifeitly falfe ! behold an Apoftolic
«' man, profefTing to prove from St. John\ Go-
'^ fpel^ things not only contradidory to that
^' Gofpel, but to the articles of our Creed [¥[ !
" ^f." The learned Cave alfo, in his Life of
Irenaus^ tells us, " that he was betrayed into
[/] Sic & Senior in Seniorl- mini convenerunt, id ipfum
bus, ut fit perfeftus Magifter tradidifle eis Joannem. Per-
in omnibus, non folum fecun- manfit autem cum eis ufque ad
dum expofitionem veritatis, fed Trajani tempora. Quidam au-
& fecundum ^tatem, fandifi- tern eorum non folum Joan-
cans fimul Seniores, exemplum nem, fed & alios Apolloloa
ipfis quoque fiens — a quin- viderunt, & hsec eadem de ip-
quagtfimo anno declinat jam fis audierunt : & teftantur de
in cEtatem feniorem : quam ha- hujufmodi relatione. Iren. I. 2 j.
bens Dominus nofter docebat. c. 39. Edit. Oxon.
Sicut Evangelium & omnes Se- [i] Vid. Whitby Striil. Patr.
niores teftantur, qui in Afia a- in, Joh. c. 8. gj, p. 220.
pud Joannem difcipulum Dq-
*' this,
cc
46 An I N Q^u I R Y into
^' this error, partly from a miftaken report,
'' which he had fomewhere picked up, (and it
'' may be from his mafter Papias) and partly out
'' of oppofition to his adverfaries, who main-
'' tained, that our Saviour (laid no longer upon
earth, than till the thirty-firft year of his age ;
againft whom the eagernefs of difputation
*' tempted him to make good his aflertion from
*' any plaufible pretence [/], ^c.
He afierts likewife the dodlrine of the Millen-
nium^ in the grofTeft fenfe of it, from the fame
authority of a tradition, handed down to him by
all the old men, who had converfed v/ith St. John^
and heard him relate, zvhat our Saviour himfelf
ufed to teach concerning it : of which he has re-
corded the following paflage ; " The days will
*' come, in which there fhall grow vineyards,
*' having each 1 0,00 d vine flocks ; and each
** flock, 10,000 branches i each branch, 10,000
** ihoots ; each flioot, 10,000 bunches; each
" bunch 1 0,000 grapes ; and each grape fquee-
" zed fhall yield twenty-five meafures of wine ;
*' and when any of the Saints ihall go to pluck
" a bunch \ another bunch will cry out, I am a
" better, take me, and blefs the Lord through
" me. In like manner a grain of wheat fown
" fhall bear io,coo flalks; each flalk, 10,000
" grains ; and each grain 10,000 pounds of the
" finefl flour ; and fo all others fruits, feeds and
" herbs in the fame proportion, ^c. Thefe
" words, fays he, Papias^ a difciple of St. John^
[/] Life of Iren. § x. p. 170.
" and
//&^ Miraculous Powers, &V. 47
" and companion of Polycarp^ an ancient man,
*' teftifies in writing in his fourth book, and
" adds, that they arc credible to thofe who be-
" YiQYC [mY^ The pious and cautious Dr. Gr^^^
" remarks on this occafion, '*• that what Iren^us
" fays here about the ftalks of grain, will be
" thought an argument of ftraw by thofe, to
" whom fuch things appear incredible : but, that
" we ought not however, either to deny or affirm
" an thing rafhiy [n]'^ But Eufebius gives a
frank and clear folution of the matter, by inform-
ing us, xhvitPapias was a weak man^ of a very jh al-
low underfianding^ as it appeared from his writings^
and by miftaking the meaning of the Apofiles^ impo-
fed thefe filly traditions on Iren^us, and the greateft
part of the Eccleftafiical writers^ who refieEling on
the age of the man^ and his near approach to the
Apoflles^ were drawn by him into the fame opi-
nions [^].'*
Irenaus
\ni\ TctvTct Si xj naTTiaj, Iw- ubertate & magnitudine fruc-
-Mvna fA.tv ocKHTri^f ^o^t^xap7^« S\ tuum ex paleis neftit argumen-
irouf^ yiyovuq, ufycc7<^ uvrj^ tum, Stramineum fortafle voca-
ly/pafpo;? tTrifAocflvpsT. Et adje- verint, quibus ifta funt incredi-
cit, dicens, haec autem credibi- bilia. Sed de hifce nihil te-
lia funt credentibus, 1. 5. p. 455. mere negandum, uti nee affir-
Irenaiis then proceeds to mandum. Annot. ad loc. p.
confirm this doftrine, by the 455.
teftimonies, of the Prophets, [o\ S^o^p y«/!oi cyuiK^lc, u»
Ifaiab, Ezekiel, yeremiahy Da- tlv v^v. uq av Ik ruv avru Ao»
me/y and the re~jelations of St. yuv riK^jurt^xfA^nov tWitvy (pccUelxi.
John : and contends, that it tsT^r^v x^ ror? /-aeT olI-vIv 'n7^£ij-o«?,
cannot be interpreted Allego- cVot? Tm ^xxKricr^xr^Kmy tJj? 5-
rically, but will be fulfilled ac- /i^oUg avru So^nq, 'srxpxWt^ ye-
cording to the letter in an earth- yen, r/tv uf^^onornicc r otv^fo^
Iv Jerufalem. 'Erp/^s^^Ar/^xcj-ot?. ua-'Jrif kv elprivoiicff
[«] Hoc quod Iraigui pro xj ({ t*s «M'.; ra qi/lq^o.
48 j^?t In QjjiKY info
Iren£us affirms alfo^ on the fame authority of
tradition, delivered to him by thofe, who had re-
ceived it from the Apoilles, that Enoch and Ehas
were tranfiated into that very Paradife^ from which
Adam was expelled^ to remain there, till the con-
fummation of all things : and that it was the
fame place, into which St. Paul alfo was caught
up [/)]. This is affirmed likewife by all the later
Fathers, both Greek and Latin ; induced to it, we
may imagine, by the pretence of an Apoftolical
tradition : which yet from the abfurdity of it,
muft necelTarily be as falfe, as the reft above-
mentioned. Feverdantius^ the learned Editor of
Iren^us, remarks upon this place ; that tho' St.
Auftin does 7iot allow this opinion to be a point of
faith^ yet fince Iren^us and all the Primitive Fa-
thers declare it to have been the do5frine of the
jlpoflleSy he cannot think it fafe to believe other-
wife \(f\. And we muft needs own him to be in
the right, if, according to the principles of the
Church of Rome., we can think the pofitive tefti-
mony of Iren^us., or the concurrent authority of
all the Fathers, of weight enough to bear down
the common fenfe and reafon of mankind.
uvcc7rs(pr)m. Euf. Hift. I. 3. 39. Whence he concludes, that it
N.B. Eufebius indeed, in an- was inferted by fome ignorant
other place, fpeaks of Papias Scholiaft, as being contradic-
in a very different flrain, as of tory to what Eufebius had more
a perfon Jingularly remarkable explicitely delivered elfewhere
for his eloquence and knonvledge of the fame Papias, Vid. Not.
of the Scriptures. [1. 3. c. 36.] Valef ad loc.
But this paffage, as the learned [/>] Aio t^ Xsyas-iv ol izfia^V'
Valeftus informs us, is not rspo , Twf A.'rroTohuv iMt^r^a,), ra?
found in any of the old copies, [ji.iloP.iQivlxq hciicrt ^liali^^vca. Sec.
which he had confulted, nor in 1. 5. p. 405.
the ancient verfion of Rufnus. [f] Vid. ibid. Not. 5.
He
the Miraculous Powers, &c. 49
He aflcrts likewife very ftrongly, the fabulous
ftory of the Septuagint verjion^ with all the parti-
culars already recited, of its miraculous birth,
and the feparate cells, ^c. To which he has ad-
ded another, no lefs romantic ; that the f acred
Scriptures were utterly dejiroyed in the Babyloniili
captivity^ hut reftored again^ after feventy years^
by Efdras, infpired by God for that purpofe [r].
And tho' in this alfo, he was followed by all the
principal Fathers of the fucceeding centuries, yet
as Dr. Prideaux^ and other learned men have re-
marked, there is no better foundation for it, than
that fabulous relation^ in the fourteenth chapter of
the fecond apochryphal hook y not in twenty^ as well as one ? And "johy
might not twenty others do it as well as he [jy] ?
As to Iren^us's manner of expounding the
Scriptures, it is much the fame with that of Ju-
Jlin, or rather, according to Dr. Grabe^ with that
of the age, in which he Uved : following no rule
of criticifm j nor giving any attention to the pro-
per fignification of words ; but indulging a wild
and enthufiaitic fancy,' in the invention of typical
fenfes, and forced allufions, utterly trifling and
contemptible : which thofe^ who read the Fathers^
muft always hear in mind^ as a learned Critic ob-
ferves, or they will he drawn into great and fre-
quent errors \%\
Treating of the diftindlion of Animals into
clean and unclean, he fays •, " The law foretold
" thefe things figuratively -, by animals denoting
" men. Thofe, who divide the hoof and chew
" the cud, it pronounces clean : thofe, who do
" neither, unclean. Who then are clean '^. Thofe,
*' who believe in the Father and the Son. This
'* is their Firmnefs, or double hoof : and to me-
*' ditate day and night on the laws of God, fo as
" to be adorned with good works, is to chew the
*' cud. But the unclean neither divide the hoof,
" nor chew the cud : that is, neither have faith in
[jv] See his Additional Dif- aut per omnia inter {do. con-
courfes, p. 36, 37. at the end fentientes, nee principia ufque-
of his Works, in Edit. 7th. quaque vera. Quod iis, qui
[z] Quorum nee ftylus mag- Scriptores Ecclefiafticos legunt,
nopere eft elaboratus, nee ra- perpetuo animo obverfari o-
tiocinationes ad redlas rationis portet, ni in frequentes Sc graves
& verae critical normam exadlae, errores incidere veHnt. Jo,
Rec notiones fatis perfpicua?. Cleric. Hift. Ecclef. p. 775.
D 2. '« God,
5*2 An I N Q^u I R Y into
" God, nor meditate on his laws. This is the
•' abomination of the Gentiles. But fuch as
" chew the cud, and do not divide the hoof, are
" unclean : this is a figurative defcription of the
" Jews [^]." With much more to the fame
purpofe. In which method of reafoning, as he
followed Barnabas^ and the Apoftolic Fathers, fo
he was followed himfelf by the later writers ;
and efpecially by Clemens of Alexandria^ who has
copied this very pafTage \h\
Again, endeavouring to prove that the Mofa'ic
law was to fill up the middle age of the world,
between the natural law, and the law of Chrifb,
he fays -, " This was typically fliewn by many
'' things, but efpecially by Thamar^ daughter-in-
" law to Judas. For when llie was bringing out
*' twins, one of them put out his hand the firft ;
" and as the midwife fuppofed him to be the
" fiillborn, fhe tied a fcarlet firing about his
" hand. But when this was done, he drew in
" his hand again, and his brother Phases came
'' out fiifl ; and after him Zara^ who had the
*' mark. The Scripture clearly manifefling by
*' it the people, who had the fcarlet fign ; that
'*• is, the faith profeffed by thofe of the foreflcin,
*' or ' the uncircumcifed : which was lirft fliewn
'' cut in the Patriarchs, and then v/ithdrawn,
[^] Prsedixit haec omnia fi- [b'] KaOapa t^ hxla t« ^ew
puraliter lex, de animalibus 'urcx.^oi^'.ouaiv r) y^.a,(pr), uq av eij
delineans hominem.— — -Qui 'jra^ipa, i^ et? vlov ^ta t^? 'Zcrij-e^c
ifunt ergo mundi ? qui in Pa- raJv ^ixociuv t-);v '^Tro^siccv 'ojom^ivwv
trern Sc Filium per fidem iter aur^j yap ^ tuv ^tp^^rAai/lwv s^pono-
firmiter faciunt : hsec eft enim rr,<;. Strom. 1. 7. xvin. p. 900.
firmitas eorum, qui duplicis Ed. Oxon.
tuni ungulx. &:c. 1. 5. C. 8.
« that?
the Miraculous Powers, &c. yj
" that its brother might be brought out firft;
•" and then he be born afterwards, who had been
" fhewn before, and was known by the fcarlet
" fign : which is the paflion of the Juft one \
*' prefigured from the beginning in Ahel^ de-
" fcribed by the Prophets, but perfected in the
" Jaft days by the Son of God [r]."
His reafoning alfo upon the number of the Go-
fpels is in the fame (train : " It is impofTible,
" fays he, that there could have been more or
" lefs than four. For their are four chmates,
" and four cardinal winds ; and the Church is
" fpread over the whole earth ; but the Gofpel
" is the pillar and foundation of the Church, and
" its breath of life. The Church therefore was
" to have four pillars, blowing immortality frpm
'* every quarter, and giving life to men, ^c. [i].'*
[f] Hoc & per alia quidem
multa, jam vero & per Tha-
mar Judae nurum typice olten-
ditur, &c. 1. 4. c. 42.
\d'\ Neque autem plura nu-
mero quam haec funt, neque
rurfus pauciora capit zKt E-
vangelia. ETrstd^ «— TEcrrafa
£iVi, iCj riaax^cc xa^oXixcc 'srveu-
fAecla, &C 1. 3. p. 220, 21.
N. B. This puts me in mind
of a fpecimen alfo of Tertul-
lians judgement and way of
reafoning, on the queftion ;
n.vhy the number of the Apoflhi
ivas tivelnje, and no other. I
can account for this, fays he,
not only by the voices of the
Prophets, but by arguments
D
drawn from things : for I find
this number prefigured to us
by the Creator. There were
twelve wells in Elim : twelve
gemms in the veil of Aaron j
twelve ftones chofen by Jofiua
out of the river Jordan^ and
depofited in the Ark of the co-r
veuant : by all which the twelve
Apoftles were fignified: who
like fountains, were to water
the dry defert of the Gentile
world ; like gemms, to illumi-
nate the facred Vellment of
the Church, which Chrilt the
High Prieft put on ; and like
ftones, were firm in the faith.
Cont. Marcion. 1. 4. p. 519.
D.
I have
54 -^^« I N Qjj I R Y into
I have been the fuller in opening the charadlers
and opinions of Juftin and Iren^us^ that I might
fave myfelf the trouble of inlarging in the fame
manner on the reft : efpecially as their characters
will be fufficiently illuftrated, by the fpecimens
of them occafionally interfperfed, in the fequel of
this argument. But the later Fathers, generally
fpeaking, do but copy the notions, and even the
blunders of thefe two. For as they are the ear-
lieft, who have left any confiderable works be-
hind them, fo they are the firft likewife in credit
and authority with fucceeding ages, on the ac-
count of their piety, learning, and abilities : and
the cafe was the fame with the ancients, as it is
ftill with the moderns ; that when any fa6ls or
do6lrines have once been eftablifhed by men of
eminent chara6ler, they are ufually taken upon
truft by all who follow, till fome new inquirer,
arifes, who, not content with opinions impofed
on him by chance or education, refolves to judge
for himfelf, and to ufe his natural right and li-
berty of fearching into the real grounds of them.
For infiance •, St. Clemens of Rome having al-
ledged die ridiculous ftory of the Fhccnix^ as a
type and proof of the re fur region ; all the later
Fathers take it from him of courfe, and refer us
to the fame bird, not only as really exifting, hut
as created en piirpofe by God, to refute the incre-
dulity of the Gentiles, on the fubje6l of this great
artic !e of our faith. Yet all the heathen writers,
from whom they borrowed the llory, from Hero-
dotus, down to their own times, treat it as no-
thing
/Z?^ Miraculous Powers, &c. rr
thing elle but a mere fable [e]. The cafe is the
fame with all the other fads, and abfiird dodrincs
above fpecified ; of the Millennium ; of Angels de-
bauching women^ and begetting Ddcmons ; of the di~
vwity of the Septuagint verfion ; of the definmion
of the facred Scriptures in the Babylonilli capti-
vity^ &c. In all which, thefe two Fathers, whofc
principles I have been illuftrating, were impli-
citly followed, for a century or two at leafc, by
all their SuccefTors. Iren^us indeed ftands fingle
in his account of the old age of Chrifi •, tho' con-
fidently affirmed by him, on the pretended au
thority of all the Apoftles ; becaufe it was evi-
dently inconfiftent with the hiflory of the Gofpels.
But the later Fathers generally ran into a contrary
extreme, and affirmed, what was maintained by
the Heretics only of Irenasus'j days^ that our Lord
preached but one complete year^ and died at the age
of thirty : which, according to Clemens of Alexan-
dria^ was both foretold by the Prophets, and af-
firmed by the Evangelifts [ /j. Whereas from
the hiflory of the Gofpels, it is evident, that his
miniftry continued through feveral fucceffive Paf-
fovers^ or as Sir Ifaac Newton has with great pro.
[^] EfAo* p,Ef a TtTtrct >\tyoviet;, aTrZ-Ei^e |M,e. tSto k^ o 'sxcofprjrri^
Sec. Herodot. 1, 2. §. 73. Vid. sIttev, k) to ECocyfsXtov. Strom, i.
it. Whitby Striclur. Patr. in p. 407. Vid. Not. in loc. Edit.
Pfalm. xcFi, 12. p 85. it. Bo- Oxon. Quinto decimo anno
chart. Hierozoic. Par. pofter. imperii ( Tiberii ) pafTus eft
I. 6. c. 5. p. 817. Chriftus, annos habens triginta
[y] Ka* on mcivlov (jlopov e^£» cum pateretur. Tertulh adv.
avTOv Kxpv^oiif kJ tSto yiy^iocTrlcm Jud. p. 215.
D 4 bability
56
j4n In q^u i r y into
bability computed, through five •, and that he died
in his thirty-fourth year [^].
Now from what I have above colle6led, it is
certain, that if a grofs abfurdity of opinions, and
the beUef of things impoQible, be the proof of
a weak mind ; if expofitions of the Scriptures,
void of reafon and common fenfe, betray a great
want of judgement, then we may juftly charge
thofe defers upon thefe ancient fathers ; from
whofe fooUfh reafonings, both in reUgion and
moraUty, whole books have been compiled \h\
Mr.
\g\ Thus have we, in the
Gofpels o^Matthe^jj and Johriy
all things told in due order,
from the beginning of Jchns,
preaching to the death of
Chrift; and the years diflin-
guilhed by fuch effential cha-
rafters, that they cannot be
miilaken. Obfervat. on the
Proph. of Dan. c. xi. p. 159.
[>^J Vid. Dan. Whitby. Stric-
turae Patrum Traite de la
Morale des Peres. Par Jean
Barbeyrac Dalla^us, &c.
KB. I Ihall here take the
liberty to tranfcribe the follow-
ing note, from a very ingeni-
ous and candid Advocate of
Chriilianity, the Rev. Archdea-
con of Car life, as it exhibits a
juft idea of the characters and
writings of thefe earliefl Fa-
thers
*' Chriilianiiiy was in its in-
*' fancy, at moll in its child-
" hood , when thefe men
'* wrote, and therefore it is no
wonder, that they fpaks ai
Children, that they under-
Jiood as Children, that they
thought as Children. This
was according to the oeco-
nomy they were then un-
der, x^nd befides, they had
not time and leifure to
fearch into the Chriftian
dodlrines, nor had they laid
in a fufficient ftock and fund
for that purpofe, they being
but newly adopted into the
Chriftian Church : yet they
were willing to appear in its
behalf, and to defend it as
well as they could, whicb
was accepted by Heaven.
[Edward's Patrologia.p. 57.3
Let me not be cenfured,
tho' I fhould be fo bold as
to fay, that we fhould have
underftood the Scriptures
much better, if we had not
had the writings of the Fa-
thers : for they have obfcu-
red an^ depraved them by
" * their
the Miraculous Powers, £ft\ 57
Mr. Doduiell, one of their moft zealous admirers,
does not pretend to defend them on this head »
but frankly owns, that their way of reafoning is
loofe, fophiftkal and declamatory ; far fhort of the
folidity of the moderns •, who excell them not only in
philofophy and learnings but in the knowledge of anti^
quity^ and even of their own languages : and all that
he pleads for in favor of their interpretations, ef-
pecially of the New Teilament, is, that they fJoould
not he wholly flighted^ tho" they had hut little fenfe
in them^ hecaufe they were agreeable to the cufiom or
tafi of thofe ages [/].
As to the queftion of their veracity it may ad-
mit perhaps fome debate, and it will probably
be thought harfh in the opinion of many, to fu-
fptdt men of fuch piety and fandity of life, ei-
ther of the invention, or the propagation of
known forgeries. Yet there are many things fo
" their diiFerent and contrary tiquitate, in ipfis etiam linguis
*' comments : They have rai- eorum temporum vernaculis.
** fed controverfies, taught Sed & prefliorem noftris & fo-
*' men to quarrel and difpute lidiorem argumentandi metho-
** about the fenfe of feveral dum agnofcimus, quam fit a-
*' texts, which otherwife are lia ilia laxior & fophiftica &
^' plain and obvious, and a- declamatoria, quae non apud
*' bout feveral matters of prac- Patres duntaxat; fed & alios
" tice, which are evident e- eorundem temporum Scrip*
" nough in themfelves, fome tores, erat receptiifima ■ > ■ ■
'* of which are fuperllitious, Dodvvell. Prasfat. ad Differtat.
" &c. ib. p 135." See Con- in Iren. §. 15.
fiderations on the State of the Sic illis nimirum deferens
Worldwith regard to Religion, dum |effe in Scripturarum in-
&c. p. 174. terpretatione cenfemus, ut ne
[/■] Quin bonas litteras ftu- quidem ratiocinia alioqui mi-
diofius excultas a nuperis no- nus folida, quae tamen fuerint
ftris Ecclefiae Reformatoribus in more feculi, plane negli-
libenter agnofcimus. Nee in genda fmt, ib. §. 16.
philofophia modo, fed in an-
peremp-
58 ^« In Q^u I R Y into
peremptorily affirmed, without any ground of
truth or probabihty, by the two Fathers, whofe
charad:ers I have been confidering, as to give us
too much caufe for fuch a fufpicion : which, as
we have feen above, has been a6lually charged on
Juftin^ by men of learning, and may, with equal
reafon, be charged alfo on Irenaus, For what
other account can be given of his frequent appeals
to the tradition and teftimony of the Apoflles,
for the fupport of fo many abfurd and incredi-
ble dodtrines ? If the dodlrines themfelves be
falfe ; the pretended tradition of them could not
poflibly be true : and if we abfolve Irenaus from
the forgery ; it muft be charged on fomebody
elfe,more ancient ftill,and of authority enough, to
impofe it upon him ; and on whomfoever it may
fall, it gives but a lamentable idea of thofe pri-
mitive ages, and primitive champions of the chri-
ftian caufe.
Papias^ who is fuppofed to have been the dif-
ciple of St. Jobn^ and Bifhop of Hierapolis^ is
faid to have given rife to moil of the fabulous
traditions, which obtained in thofe early days.
Dr. Whitby joins Irenaus to him and fays ; " it
'' is very remarkable, that thefe two earliefh wri-
'^ ters of the fecond century, who, on the credit
*' of idle reports and uncertain fame, have deli-
" vered to us things faid to be done by the Apof-'
" ties and their fcholars, have fhamefuUy impofed
*^ upon us, by the forgery of fables and falfe
*' ftories [y^].'* But whoever forged the reft of
the
[i] Id denique imprimis obfen^andum eft, duos primes
Scriptores
/Z>6^ Miraculous Powers, {jfc. 59
the fpurious traditions above recited, yet that,
which relates to the old age of Jefus, the mod
folemnly attefled of them all, and peculiar to
Iren^us, may be fairly prefumed to be his own
forgery, becaufe it was never embraced by any-
body elfe, and was fingularly adapted to the ar-
gument, which he was then afle'-ting, in oppofi-
tion to certain Heretics, called Valentinians^ who
allowed but one intire year to our Savioijr's mini-
ftry [/].
But be that as it will ; fince the very earl left of
all traditions, and the neareft to the fountain's
head, are found to be fo corrupt ; it will demon-
ilrate at leafl, what a treacherous foundation they
muft be, to build any opinion upon, and much
more, any article of our faith : which might be
exemplified by many other inllances from the
hiltory of the firft centuries. For as foon as re-
ligious difputes began to infefl the Church, the
plea of Apoftolical tradition was prefently em-
ployed, as the mod efFedual to filence an adver-
fary ; and was taken up therefore and urged with
equal confidence by all fides. And it is an argu-
ment indeed, which of all others feems the bell
calculated for the ufe of controverfy : for where-
ever it meets with credit, it muft neceflarily have
great weight \ and where it happens even to find
Scnptores fecundi feculi, qui turpiter illufifTe. Praef. ad Stric-
ex rumufculis famaque dubia tur. Patr. p. lxxiii.
res geftas a Domini ApoftoHs, [/] \victv\u ya.^ Iv) ^sXovlan
eorumque difcipulis nobis tra- avrov fjt,iloc to ^cciflia^a, avTs xe-
diderunt, — fabulis fingendis, xr^^x^^ai. Iren. 1. i.c.i.p. i6.
falfifque narrationibus, nobis
. none,
6o j^n I N Qjj I R Y into
none, yet it cannot eafily be confuted •, as not
being reducible to any clear teft, or fixed rule,
by which it may be tried. It is not therefore
ftrange, to find its authority carried fo high,
and in fome cafes, magnified even above the
Scriptures themfelves, by all the dealers in con-
troverfy, from the earlieft Fathers, down to Dr.
Waterland.
For example -, in that mofl ancient and cele-
brated difpute between the eaftern and weftern
Churches, about the tme of holding their Eafter^
St. Folycarp^ Bilhop of Smyrna^ the Difciple and
immediate SucceiTor of the Apofbles, and Anice-
tus his contemporary, the Bifhop of Rojne^ feve-
rally alledged the Authority of Apoftolic tradition
for their different pra6lice, from which neither of
them could be induced to depart \nt\. But Fa-
paSy as it is hinted above, the difciple of Poly-
carpy was the chief promoter and affertor of it :
*' as oft, fays he, as I met with any one, who
** had converfed with the ancients, I always in-
*' quired very diligently after their fayings and
'' do6lrines : what Andrew ^ Peter^ Philips John^
<( J and the refl of our Lord's Apoflles
*' ufed to teach. For I was perfuaded, that I
*' could not profit fo much by books, as by the
*^ voice of living witnefTes [;^]." Iren^us^ the
fcholar
[m] OvTB ycc^ Ahk^o; ro» tio^yixotcc. &C. Eufeb. Hilt. Eccl.
TloXvKa^'Trov 'ciiiaon i^vvxTo fAV) !• 5. C. 24.
rri^iTt ccrs fjifla, 'luocvvs t5 jm-o^vjtS [n] Ei ^i 'cjb x^ 'C^a^'/5>.o^a8>5«&^?
%ofohmf 0I5 ffvv^nr^i-^tvj a-n re- ]. And in
this. Dr. Waterland declares, that hefeems to have
judged welly upon the prudential cafe^ and like a wife
and fugacious man^ with regard to the circumflances
of thofe times [(f\. And in another place the fame
learned
^^iccq'^Ti 'creT^Qi; el'TTivA rl (piA»9r- mas recurrere Ecclefias, in qui-
'TToq. t) Tt %fAM<;, ^ luK(,jQc(;. 5? ri bus Apoftoli converfati funt, .1-
lu^i/vr^q. V MuT^aT'^. v riq srs^'^ ab eis de prasfenti qucxftione
TtfTwf xt;^i«/xaG'/5lwv. &c. Eufeb. fumere quod certum & re li-
Hift.Eccl. 1. 3. c. 39. p. 136. quidum eft? 1. 3. c. iv. p.
[0] Refert Irenau-^ vir Apo- 205.
ftolicorum temporum,&: Papiae, [p] Ergo non ad Scripturas
auditoris Evangeliila^ Joannis, provocandum eft : nee in his
difcipulus. Hieron. Ep. 53. conftituenduni certamen \ in
ad Theodoram. Op. Tom. 4. qnibus aut nulla aut incerta
par. 2. p. 581. Edit. Benedidl. viftoria eft, aut par incerta.
Et fi aliquibus de aliqua mo- De pra^fcript. Haereticor. 19.
dica qua^ftione difceptatio eftct, [^] Wherein to me he feems
jtionne oporteret ia anutjuiili- tQ have judged very well upon
.the.
62 An In qjj i r y wfo
learned Dodor obferves from the authority of
Ireuceus^ that Poly carp had converted great numbers
to the Faith by the ftrength of tradition \ being a
fenftble argument^ and more affe^ing^ he fays, at
that time J than any difpute from the bare letter of
the Scripture could be [r].
Here then we fee in fliort, the origin and hiflo-
ry of tradition. Papias^ a weak and filly nmn^
who miflook the fenfe of the Apoftles, was the
firft, who made it his particular bufinefs to
recommend the ufe of it, and for that purpofe
took the pains to colled all the unwritten fads
and fayings of Chrifl and his Apoftles, from the
report of thofe, who had converfed with them-
Thefe fayings, as Eufebius tells us, confifted of
a number o^ firange parables^ and do brines of our
Saviour^ with fever al other fabulous fiories -, which
the authority of fo venerable a perfon, who had
lived with the Apoftles, impofed upon the Church
for genuin [j] : and the gravity of his fcholar
Irencfus
the prudential cafe, and like a tiquity, concerning this very
wife and fagacious man. Im- Papias. Irenaus declares him,
port. oftheDodtr. of theTrin. to have been the companisn of
p. 378. Poly carp, and the Difciple of
[r] Ibid. p. 380. Not. y. St. John the Apollle. [1. 5. c.
\_s]Kou ccXKa, ^\ havroqavy- 33.] But £«/^^/«.r tells US, that
f^a,(pivc, aiq'sK'mci^a.^oa-Buq a.y^u(pii, he was not a difciple of fohn
u<; ocvTov movla, 'sua.^ctle^iiloti, I/- the Apojlle, but of John, called
va? T£ Ttva? 'cra^aCoAa? ra XJiij- theElder orPreJbyteryWho was a
f^ xj ^t^ao-xaXU? a^ra, >tj rn'oi. companion onely of the Apo-
^AAa /xfGtxwTE^a. Eufeb. Hifti' ftles : and whom Irenaus by
1. 3.C. 39. miftake imagined to be the
Ns B. Nothing more efFedlu- Apoftle. [Hill. 1. 3. 38.] Now
ally demonftrates the uncer- Irenoeus might probably be
tainty of all tradition, than born while St. John was ftill
what is delivered to us by An- living, and had converfed very
familiarly
the Miraculous Powers, CSc. 67,
IretLeus confirmed and propagated to fuccceding
ages : through which, every one ftill added to
the colle(5lion, whatever he thought ufeful to the
particular caufe or opinion, that he favored.
This account of the matter, deduced from the
teflimony of antiquity itfelf, confutes at once all
the extravagant encomiums, which our leadino-
Divines fo laviflily beftow on thofe primitive Fa-
thers, and their traditions. For if the earheft
and beft vouched traditions of all, which are
tranfmitted to us, be true, or at all to be regard-
familiarly in his youth with
Polycarp, the difciple of that
Apoftle, and declares, that ke
retained the memory of all things
ivhich he had learnt from him,
more diJiinSily^ than of things.,
fvjhich had happened to him mush
later. [Eufeb. 5. 20.] He
was well acquainted alfo with
Papias, whom he calls an anci-
ent man : which makes it Teem
probable, both that Papias was
contemporary with the Apoftle
John^ and that Irenaus could
not be miftaken in his account
of Papias\ mafter, which he
might have received from Pa-
pias himfelf: and for this rea-
fon the generality of the mo-
deri^ writers prefer the autho-
rity of Irenaus to that of Eu-
Qbiiis, who lived two hundred
years later. Yet after all, it is
evident, from the exprefs words
of Papiasy as they are cited by
Eufehius, that Papias had never
perfonally heard or known any
of the Apoftles, but received
his reports of them only from
thofe, who had : and that Ire-
naus therefore was deceived by
the identity of the name, and
had never heard perhaps of
that other John^ called the Pre-
fhyter ; ^ who is fuppofed by
fome of the principal Fathers,
to have written the fecond and
third Epifles, as well as the
book ofRe'uelatio7tSy now afcrib-
ed to the ApolHe. [Eufeb.
Hift. 3. 38. Hieron. Catalog.
Scriptor. de Joan. Apoft. 8c
Papia.] The learned Mr. Dod-
nvell therefore declares it to ^^
certain, that John the majier of
Papias, ^-was a different man
from the Apofle -, and confe-
quently, that Irencrus himfelf
and Poly crates his contemporary,
and Clemens Alexandriniis alfo,
ivho ivas but a little younger,
HAJere all miftaken, ^u:ith regard
to this fa^y DilTert. in Iren. i.
§ IV.
«d.
64 .An In QjjmY into
^d, it follows of courfe, that we ought to receive
the abfurd do6lrines above mentioned, as articles
of faith ; the fable of the Millennhim ; of Angels
begetting Daemons on the bodies of women •, of the
old age of Chriji^ of /Enoch tranjlated into Adam's
paradife -, with many more of the fame ftamp ;
which were all embraced by the earlieft Fathers,
and delivered to us on the authority of the Apo-
flles, by fome of their immediate Succeflbrs ; and
efpecially by thofe four, on whom Dr. JVaterland
lays the greatefb ftrefs ; Jtiftin Martyr^ Athena-
goras^ Irena^us and Clemens of Alexandria ; " emi-
" nent perfonages, as he fays, who florifhed with-
*' in fifty, fixty, or at mofl ninety years from the
•' Apoflolic age. Whofe nearnefs to the time ;
•' known fidelity ; admirable indowments ordi-
*' nary and extraordinary, add great weight to
" their teilimony or doflrine, and make it a
•' probable rule of interpretation in the prime
" things [/J." To which he fubjoins in a marginal
note, " that Clemens^ tho' the latell of the four,
" yet teftifies of himfelf, that he had received
•' his dodrine from feveral difciples of the very
" chief Apollles ; who had truly preferved the
** tradition of the blefied doctrine, as it came
" dire6lly from the holy Apoftles, Peter^ James,
*' and John."" Notwithflanding all which, the
Do6lor could not but know, that this very Cle-
mens holds as many abfurd, unfound, and exploded
dodtrines, and deals as largely in the fabulous
and apochryphal books of the primitive Chri-
[/] Impovt, of the Po^r. of the Trin. p. 369.
flians.
the Miraculous Powers, ^c. 6g
flians, as any other Father whatfoever, Thefe
fadts fhew hkewife the weaknefs of that argu-
ment, which the Dodor alledges for the truth of
do6lrines, from ibe tinanimity^ with which they
are aflerted by the ancient writers. " This is the
*^ argument, fays he, which Irenaus and I'ertuU
" lian infifl much upon, and triumph in, over
*' the Heretics of their days for it .is high-
*' ly unreafonable to fuppofe, that Churches di-
*' ftant in place, and of different languages, and
*' under no common vifible head, fhould all unite
** in the fame errors — Again, fuch unanimity
" could never come by chance, b\it muft be de-
" rived from one common fource : and therefore
" the harmony of their dodlrine was in itfelf a
" pregnant argument of the truth of it [//]."
But if the unanimity of the primitive Fathers
muft be allowed to have fo great a force, as to
evince the truth of any opinion, it would necef-
farily eftablifh all thofe monftrous dodrines above
fpecified ; fince it would be difficult to produce
any other whatfoever, in which there was fo
great an harmony among them, or fo general a
confent of the whole Church, through the three
firfl centuries, and that intirely grounded upon the
pretence of Apoflolic tradition.
But I cannot difmifs this article of the doflrines
and opinions of thofe ancient Fathers, without
taking notice of one which was univerfally re-
ceived and believed through all ages of the pri-
mitive Church, viz. " that there were a number
"of
M Ibid. p. 5-2, 3.
E
66 An I N Qjj I R Y into
" of Magicians, Necromancers or Conjurers,
" both among the the Gentiles and the Hereti-
*^ cal Chriftians, who had each their particular
" Daemons or evil Spirits, for their alTociates,
*^ perpetually attending on their perfons, and
*' obfequious to their commands j by whofe help
" they could perform miracles, foretel future
*' events, call up the Souls of the dead, exhibit
'' them to open view, and infufe into people
'' whatever dreams or vifions they thought fit."
. All which is conftantly affirmed by the
Primitive Writers and Apologifts, and common-
ly applied by them to prove the immortality of the
Soul.
" Let the powers of Necromancy, fays Juftin
*' Martyr^ and the evocations of human Souls,
*' and of boys efpecially, who had fuffered vio-
*' lent deaths, and of thole Spirits, whom the
" Magicians call the Infpirers of dreams and
*' afTefTors, and the works which are performed
*' by the fl<:illfull in thefe arts, convince you,
'' that the Souls of men exifl ftill after death
La^antius^ fpeaking of certain Philofophers,
who held, that the Soul perijhed with the body\
fays, " they durfb not have declared fuch an opi-
*' nion, in the prefence of any Magician, or if
" they had done ir, he would have confuted them
*' upon the fpot, by fenfible experiments ; by
" calling up fouls from the dead, and rendring
[;c] Apol. I. p. 27. Eiit. Thirlb.
" them
the Miraculous Powers, ^c, 6j
" them vifible to human eyes, and making them
" fpeak and foretell future events [y]."
The Author of the book, called the Recog-
nitions of St. Clemens^ one of the moft ancient
and mofl learned of thofe many fpurious pieces
which were forged by the firfb Chriilians, af-
firms, " that Simon Magus confefled to one of
" his companions, that he wrote all his amaz-
" ing works, by the help of the Soul of an
" healthy young boy, who had been violently
" put to death for that purpofe, and then called
" up from the dead, by ineffable adjurations, and
" compelled to be his afliftant [2;].'*
IrencEus^ giving an account of the difciples of
the fame Simon^ tells us, " that they lived lewd-
*' ly, exercifmg magical arts, and ufmg exor-
" cifms, incantations, and love-charms, and in-
" duftrioully pradifing all other curious arts,
'' by the affiftance of their familiar Spirits, and
'' Infpirers of dreams [^]." And fpeaking after-
wards of the Heretic Carpocrates and his follow-
ers, he fays, " Thefe likewife pradife magical
" arts, with incantations and love-charms, and
" have their afi.lant Daemons and Infpirers of
[j] Qh^ profefto non aude- per ipfam fit omnequod jubeo.
rent de interim animarum Ma- lib. 2. c. xiii. Edit. Cote-
go aliquo prcTfente diflerere,qui lerii.
iciret ccrtis carminibus ciere ab [a] Igitur liorum Myftici
Inferis animas, &c. Divin. Sacerdoteslibidinofequidem vi-
Inftitut. 1. 7. c. 13.^ ^ vunt ; Magias autem perficiunt
^ [z] Pueri, inqult, incorrup- exorcifmis & incantatio-
tl & violenter necati animam nibus utuntur, &c. Adv. Hae-
adjurairientis incffabilibus evo- rcf. 1. i. c. xx.
catam adfifterc niihi feci, Sc
E 2 , dreams.
68 An I N Qjj I R Y into
*' dreams, with all the other malevolent Spi-
" rits [/;]."
" The Magicians, iays Clemens of Alexandria,
" bead: of Djcmons, as the Miniilers of their
" impiety, reckoning them part of their family,
"" and forcing them by their incantations, to be
" the Haves of their will [<:]."
'Tertuliian declares of thefe Dsemons, " tliat
" they had the power of infli^ling horrible dif-
" eafes both on the minds and bodies of men,
*' and even cruel deaths ; yet they frequently
*' contrived to cure the diforders which they had
"• wrought, in order to fupport the credit of
" their Divinity, and the honor of their Altars,
*' and fecure to themfelves their proper food and
'^ nourifliment from the rich fleams and blood of
*' the vi6tims, which were offered to them [J].'*
For this likewife, as monftrous as it is, was the
common opinion of all the Fathers, taken, as
ufual, upon truft, from the authority of Juftin
MariyVy who was probably the inventor of it,
*' that the Demons, after they had given them-
'' felves up to their lulls and lewd debaucheries
[^] Artes ctiam Magicas ope- aliquos cafus acerbos ; anima
rantur ^ ipfi, ^ incantationcs I'ero repentinos, &r extraordina-
& philtra. Quoque k charite- rios per vim excefTus. — Ut fibw
fia, & paredroL', k oneirepom- pabula propria nidoris & fan-
pos & reliquas malignationes, guinis proCuret. — Benefici pla-
&c. — ib c. XXIX. ne & circa curas valetudinum.
[r] MayOi ti jjotj ccai^uccc, Tnc, Lasdunt enim primo, dehinc re-
c-fav oiWuv i'^ri^iraq ^cciuoia.; media praccipiunt. Apologet.
uvy^a-iv. &c. Cohort, ad Gent. c. 22. Pluribus notum eft
p. !;2. Edit. Potter. Da^moniorum quoque opera &
[ii] Itaque corporibus qui- immaturas &:atroceseffici mor-
dem ^j \ aktudines infligunt, k tes De Anim. c. 57.
'* with
//jjd' Miraculous Powers, C^c. 69
" with boys and women, began to want the rich
" fumes and the fat of facrifices, to ftrengthen
" them for the enjoyment of their kiilful plca-
^' fures M-"
Cyprian affirms, " that they commonly lay
" lurking within the llatues and images of the
" Heathen Deities •, infpired the breails of the
" Southfayers ; animated the fibres of the en-
^' trails of vi6lims ; direded the flight of birds,
'* and the chances of lots -, involving falfhood
" always with truth, and tliemfelves fometimcs
*' deceived, as well as deceiving others -, difqui-
" eted the lives of miCn -, diflurbed their fleep ;
^' excited terrors in their minds, convulfions in
'' their bodies •, deflroyed health, and brought on
^' difeafes, fo as to force people to worfhip them ;
" that being filled and fatted by the fleams of Al-
" tars and burnt facrifices, they might feem to
'^ cure the maladies, which they had inflided ;
'' whereas all the cure, v/hich they performed,
*' v/as by ceafing onely to do hurt [/].
And as the whole fyilem of Pagan Idolatry
was believed by the Fathers, to have been ma-
naged by the craft and agency of Darmons, ^o
the whole art of Magic was fuppofed alfo to be
carried on by the fame powers, for the fake of
deluding and deflroying mankind. In the cale of
Idolatry, they imagined them to aliume the
names, and to a-il the parts of the Heathen Gods,
[e] 'fiv iv^iiii; yEyovaat ^txc ro flatuis & imaginlbus confecra-
«ra9ecrti/ iTrtGyfAiwi/ oaAwO^vai, &c. tis dclitcfcunt. Hi afflatu fuo
Apol. p. 113. Edit. 7'hirlb. \ atum pedora infpirant, Scq.
[/] Hi ergo Spiritub Tub Deldolor. Van.p. 206.
E ^ and
70 ^;? I N Q^u I R Y into
and in Magic to alTume the forms of departed
louls, and to appear under the names of thofe
who were called up from the dead ; and as fuch,
to foretell future events, and anfwer to all
queflions which ihould be demanded of them.
And the reafon which they give, why the fouls
called up from the dead, were chiefly of thofe
who had been put to a violent death, is, be-
caufe fuch fpirits were generally thought to be the
moft malevolent and revengeful, and ready to
perpetrate the fame a6ls of violence on others,
which they themfelves had injurioufly fuffered [g]
Now the opinion, which I have here explained,
is not only a proof of the groffefb credulity, but
of that peculiar fpecies of it, which, of all others,
lays a man the moft open to the delufive arts of
Impoilors. For a mind, fo totally poflefled by
fuperftitious fancies, and diflurbed by vain ter-
rors, could not have either the judgm.ent to dif-
cern, or the inclination to examine, or the cou-
rage even to fufpe6t the pretenfions of thofe va-
grant Jugglers, who in thofe primitive ages, were
fo numerous, and fo induftrioufly employed in the
affair of deluding their fellow creatures. Every
man will perceive, how eafy it mufl have been
to men of that clafs, whether Heathens, Jews or
Chriftians, (for they are all allowed to have had
fuch Impoftors among them) to impofe the tiicks
[^] Itaque invocantur qui- cere, quas per vim & injuriam
dem aori & Biaeothanati, fub fevus & immaturus finis extor-
iilo fidei argumento, quod ere- fit, quafi ad vicem ofFenfs.
dibile videatur, eas poiiffimum Tert. de anim, c, 57. Cypr. ib.
snimas ad vim & injuriam fa- 206.
of
the Miraculous Powers, ^c. 71
of their art, as the effe6ls of a fupernatural pow-
er, on a multitude already perfuaded, that they
lived on magic ground, expofed at every flcp to
fnares and charms, contrived by malicious Spi-
rits, perpetually haunting them, and watching
every unguarded moment to get pofTelTion both
of their fouls and bodies \h\ And when pious
Chriftians are arrived to this pitch of credulity, as
to believe that evil fpirits or evil men can work
real miracles, in defiance and oppofition to the
authority of the Gofpel, their very piety will
oblige them to admit as miraculous, whatever is
pretended to be wrought in the defence of it, and
fo make them of courfc the implicit dupes of their
own wonder-workers.
IV. I fhall now procede, as I propofed, to
take a particular review of all the feveral gifts,
or miraculous powers, which were a6lually claim-
ed, and pretended to have been polTefled by the
primitive Church : which, according to the tefti-
monies produced above, were, the power of raif-
ing the dead \ of healing the fick \ of cafiing out
J)evils ; of prophefying ; of feeing vifions ; of dif-
covering the fecrets of men ; of expoundi7tg the fcrip-
tures ; of fpeaking with tongues,
Se6l. I. As to the fir ft, and the principal in-
deed of all miracles, that of raifing the dead ; it
was frequently performed, as Iren^us affirms, on
[a'] Nam & fuggeilimus nullum pxne hominem carere Dger
monio. Tert. ib.
E 4 mceffary
7i An I N Q^u I R Y inld
neceffary occafions •, and men fo raifed had lived af-
terwards among them many years -, but it is very
flrange, that from the time of the Apoftles, there
is not an inftance of this miracle to be found in
the three firfl centuries ; except a fingle cafe,
flightly intimated by Eufebius^ from the books of
Tafias \ which he feems to rank, among the
other fabulous ilories delivered by that weak
man [?'].
It is certain, tliat if a miracle of fo furprizing
a nature, had been fo frequent, as Iren^us affirms
it to have been •, or performed, as it were, in
every pariih, or place where there was a Chriftian
Church, it muft have made great noife in the
world, and been celebrated, not onely by the
primitive Fathers, but by all the Hiftorians of
thofe tim^s. But it was fo far from being com-
monly or openly effedled, as every miracle fhould
neceflarily be, which is wrought for the conver-
fion of Infidels, that all the enemies of the Gq-
fpel, as Iren^us himfelf confefTes, conflantly af-
firmed the thing itfelf to he impojfible {k\ A lure
proof, that they had never feen or known it to
be done, unlefs in fuch a manner, as carried with
it a ftrong fufpicion of fraud or collufion. Mr.
Bodwell however, from this fmgle authority of
Iren^eus^ alTerts the miraculous powers of the fe-
cond century, to be fupGi'ior even to thofe of the
ttvrov ytyovvTai/ Is-opeT. x^ ccv 'UJo,-
Xvv sTEfov 'cyapocao^ov tuif) iSroi',
&c. Hift Eccl. 3. 39.
l^k'] Tantum enim abfunt ab
eo, ut mortuum ipfi exciteut,
ut ne quidem credant, hoc in
totum pofle fieri. Iren. 1 2,
c. 56.
firfl.
the Miraculous Powers, QSc. 75
firft, or Apoftolic age. ^hey raifed the dead, fays
he, in the Apftolic Churches •, yet we have few ex-
amples of //, in thegenuin atts cf the Jpofiles : but
in IrenaeusV days^ they raifed not a few^ but
very often [/]. And in the fame drain he runs
through all the other rniracles of the primitive
times, and gives them the preference, in their
number at leaft, to thofe of the Apoftles -, yet is
forced to own, after all, that towards the end of
the fecond century, and while Iren^us himfelf
might be Hill living, this power of railing the
dead was loft and vanifhed. For in the very
fame age, when one Autolycus, an eminent hea-
then, challenged his friend Theophilus^ Bilhop of
Antioch^ a convert and champion of the Gofpel,
to fhew him but one perfon, who had been raifed
from the dead, on the condition of turning Chri-
ftian himfelf upon it •, ^heophilus difcovers by his
anfwer, that he was not able to give him that
fatisfadlion [;;/], Upon which Mr, Bodwell re-
][-narks, that the great ^lumber of perfons, who had
been raifed fome years before, when the fa5f was
common, were dead again for the fecond time in this
interval -, which, for the fake of his hypothefi^,
[/] Excitabant mortuos in 1. i.p 77. c. A4 finem Oper.
Ecclefiis Apoftolicis, quos ta- Juft.Mart.Parif. 1639. Defece-
men raros legimus, — excita- xt \tem mortuoru?n excitationes.
bant fimiliter mortuos frater- Certe Autolyco roganti vel u-
nitatcs Jreneeiy nee illos ta- num oftenderet qui fuifle e
men adeo raros fed fepiffime. mortuis revocatus, ita refpon-
Differt. 2. in Iren. §. xlu. dit 7heophilus, {\\i2i^\vd wnwvx
p. 165. demonftrare minime potuerit.
[m] d)r)? 7«^, ht^Qv /xoi xa.v Diflcrt. in Iren. 2. § xliv. p.
vtx^Zv, \yoe. \ouv ^7I«
'TffiTuaui, &c. Theoph ad Autol.
he
74 ^^^ I N CLU I R Y into
he flretches, as well as he can, to forty years [n\.
But in truth, the fa6l itfelf, as delivered by Ire-
n^us^ feems to be utterly incredible on many ac-
counts : I ft. That a cafe of fo wonderful a na-
ture, fhould be common among them, yet not a
fmgle inftance of it particularly defcribed, or
clearly attefted in all hiftory. 2dly, That it fhould
be performed in every part of the world, where
there was a Church or afiembly of Chriftians ;
yet all thofe, who were not of that Church, and
for whofe fake it was chiefly performed, fliould
be infifting all the while, that the thing itfelf was
impoffihle. 3dly, That it fhould be common in
the days of Iren^eus^ yet Theophilus^ who lived at
the fame time, fhould not be able to alledge a
fmgle inftance of it, when challenged to it by
his friend, whom he was laboring to convert,
and who offered to be converted upon the proof
of that fadl. Laftly, that a power, of all others,
the moft affeding and reputable to the Church,
fhould be withdrawn at a time when its adver-
faries were defying them to fhew any effedts of
it, and putting the merits of the controverfy up-
on that very ifllie \_o\ All which circumftances
laid together, muft needs leave the ftrongeft fuf-
picion on the claim of the primitive Church,
[«] Quo temporis intervallo cles ; that the firft were wrought
rurfus obierint, qui fub initium for the fake, and in the midll of
Marci Aurelii fuiffent in vitam unbelievers ; the laft among
revocati. ibid. the faithful only. Contra, re-
\o\ This (hews the vanity of centiorum pleraque in Jideles ;
that diftinflion, which fome are in infideles paucifTuna, edita
apt to make, between the pri- feruntur. Dodw. ib, § lxiii,
initive, and the Popiih mira-
with
the Miraculous Powers, &c. 75
\vith regard to this prime miracle of raiftng the
dead.
Scdi. 2. The next gift faid to have refided in
it, is that of healing the fick and curing all forts
of difeafes : in favor of which the ancient tcfti-
monies are more full and exprefs ; though with
fome variation, concerning the method of cure.
Some affirm, that it was done by the impofition of
hands [/] : fome, by invoking the name of God^
and of Jefus^ and reciting fome fiory of his life [^].
And others^ by the ufe of oil: which was confe-
crated by Holy men, and difpenfed to the pco*
pie for the cure of their difeafes. '^ertullian tells
us, " that a Chriftian, called Proculus^ cured the
'' Emperor Severus of a certain diftemper by the
" ufe of oil : for which fervice that Emperor
" was favorable afterwards to the Chriilians,
'' and kept Proculus^ as long as he lived, in his
" palace [r].'* And St. Jerom affirms, " that
" Hilarion the Monk ufed to heal all the wounds
" of the Plufbandmcn and Shepherds with cojtfe-
" crated oil -, and preferved the life of the fon-
" in-lav/ and daughter of an holy woman called
" Confiantia^ by anointing them with the fame [j].'*
Yet
[/>] "AAXot «£ ry,- xa/^tvo^la? Chriftianorum memor fuit.
^ta Tfi'^ht^^iaiuc^'rm yi^^uv l-j-^cn. Nam Sc Proculum Chriftianum,
Iren. I. 2. c. 57. qui eum per oleum aliquando
\_q] Ov^Xv ocK^o KccXbrtt; Itt) curaverat, requiftvit, &■ in pa-
t55 oio^ivHq ^ipccTrslacy t) rov ett* latio fuo habuit ufque ad mor-
•Troicrt Bcov, x^ to t5 lY,a-i on'-.f/.x, tem ejus. Ad Sc»pul. §4.
f^i\a. Tvjj -ZB-Ept avTii Ifopa;. Con. [j] Be^ico'iSito itaque oleo, uni-
Celf. 1. 3. p: 124. verfi agricohc atque paftores,
[r] Iffe etiam Severus,-— tangentes vulnera, certam fa-
lutem
7<5 jin In qjj i r y info
Yet thefe cures, if true, might be accounted for
probably without a miracle, by the natural power
and efficacy of the oil itfelf •, fince in our days,
the bite of vipers, after inflaming a man's arm to
a degree, which threatened deftrudiion to him, is
known to have been checked and cured in a fhort
time by the application of oil : which might per •
haps have been the very cafe of Hilarion^s Shepherds.
But be that as it will, the pretence of curing di-
feafes by a miraculous power, was fo fuccefsfully
maintained in the heathen world by fraud and
craft, that when it came to be challenged by the
Chriftians, it was not capable of exciting any at-
tention to it, among thofe, who themfelves pre-
tended to the fame power •, which, though the
certain effe6l of impofture, was yet managed with
fo much art, that the Chriftians could neither de-
ny nor detedl it •, but infifted always, that it was
performed by Demons or evil Spirits, deluding
mankind to their ruin : and from the fuppofed
reality of the fad, inferred the reafonablenefs of
believing, what was more credibly affirmed by
the Chriftians, to be performed by the power of
the true God. ^e do not deny^ fays Athenagoras^
that in different places., cities^ and countries., there
are fome extraordinary works performed in the name
of idols., from which fome have received benefit^
ethers harm. But then he goes on to prove, that
they were not performed by God, but by D^-
lutem "efumebant. Hieron. in fan6la foemina, cujus generum
Vit. Hilarion. Oper. Tom. 4. & filiam de morte liberaverat
Par. 2. p. 86. unaicne olei. ibid. p. 90.
Sed & Conjiantia qusdam,
mom
//j^ Miraculous Powers, &V> 77
mons [/]. " Iflfliould allow^ ^ays Origen, that
" there is a Daemon cunning in medicine, called
" y^frulap'usy who cures difeafes : yet I would
*' fay to thofe, who are furprifed at it, as well as
" at the predictions of Apollo^ that if the cure
« of difeafes and prediction of events be things
" ^f an indifferent nature, and which belong to
" bad, as well as to good beings ; Ihew nne that
'' thofe, who cure and foretell, are not bad, but
•' good, and worthy to be held in a manner as
" Gods [ii]r
Whatever proof then the Primitive Church
might have among themfelves of this miraculous
gift, yet it could have but little effed towards
making profelytes among thofe, who pretended
to the fame gift ; poflefTed more largely, and ex-
erted more openly, than in the private aflemblieg
of the Chriftians, For in the Temples of Mfcu-
lapius^ all kinds of difeafes were believed to be
publickly cured, by the pretended help of that
Deity : in proof of which there were eredled in
each Temple columns or tables of brafs or marble^
on which a diftind narrative of each particular
cure was infcribed. Paufanius writes, " that in
" the Temple at Epidatirus^ there were many
" columns anciently of this kind, and fix of
" them remaining to his time, infcribed with
" the names of men and women, who had been
'' cured by the God, with an account of their
[/] To ^\v ^\ Kulot tStui; x^ [i(] ''h% ft t^ ^u, lolpixo* ni/A
tJoKuq iCj i^vn yiy^iahai rmaq itt Aai/itova ^ecaTrivnv a-u)fA.xlcc, rou
o-A[jLOcli ilouiXuv htpyBictq, a^ r)^/.uq xa^a^uaov 'AcrxArjTrtoK. s»7ro»w.' an
avlkX^yofAtt, Sec, Athcnag, Apol. -nrpo? to; ^a-jjAcc^aCu; to TOiarf,
p 25. &c. Con. Ceir. 1; 3. p. 124.
*' feveral
78 ^;^ I N Q^U I R Y i?ltO
** feveral cales and the method of their cure :
*' and that there was an old pillar befides, which
" flood apart, dedicated to the memory of Hip-
" polytiis^ who had been raifed from the dead [^]."
Strabo alio, another grave writer, informs us,
" that thefe Temples were conftantly filled with
*' the fick, imploring the help of the God : and
" that they had tables hanging around them, in
" which all the miraculous cures were defcri-
'' bed [y]-'^ There is a remarkable fragment of
one of thefe tables flill extant, and exhibited by
Gruter in his collediion, as it was found in the
ruins of jEfculapiush Temple, m the ijland of the
Tyber, in Rome ; which gives an account of two
blind men reftored to fight by T^ifculapius, in the
open view^ and with the loud acclamations of the
people^ acknowledging the manifeft power of the
God. Upon which the learned Montfaucon makes
this refledtion, that in this are feen^ either the
wiles of the Devil., or the tricks of Pagan Priefts^
fuborning men to counterfeit difeafes and miraculous
cures [z].
Now tho' nothing can fupport the belief and
credit of miracles more authentically, than public
monuments, ere6led in proof and memory of
them, at the time when they were performed ;
yet in defiance of that authority, it is certain,
that all thofe heathen miracles were pure for-
\x\ Srij^at ^' tlfrj}Cicrav Ivloq xsifjLsvav 'orivcijcuv, £* ol; uvaye-
Ta 'OTEf 1^6X8 f TO [juv u^^uTov i^ yfo.iA-ijLSi'Ci} rvy^uvtio-iccl Bspccrrcixk.
vrT^sovet;, Itt sfA^ ^i 'i^ XoittccI, &c. Strab. 1. 8. p, 575 Ed. Amftcl.
Corinth. 1. 2. c. xxvii. [2;] See Monfauc. Antiqu.
[j'J Ku] Toupov 'Bj>.rifiq 'i^ovi^ Tom. 2. par. I. 1. 4. c. 6. it.
«« ruv T£ KuiAvovluv, tCj 7WV ciiX' Gruter. Infer, p, lxxi.
geries
the Miraculous Powers, &c. yg
geries contrived to delude the credulous multi-
tude. And in truth, this particular claim of
curing difeafes miraculoujly^ affords great room for
fuch a delufion, and a wide field for the exercife
of craft. Every man's experience has taught
him, that difeafes thought fatal and defperate,
are oft furprizingly healed of themfelves, by
fome fecret and fudden effort of nature, impe-
netrable to the fkill of man : but to afcribe this
prefently to a miracle, as weak and fuperftitious
minds are apt to do ; to the prayers of the living,
or the interceffions of the dead ; is what neither
found reafon, nor true religion will jufbify. Where-
fore, when the narratives of thefe pretended cures
are delivered to us by partial and interefted, or by
weak and credulous men, they will always furnifh
reafon to fufpedl, that the relators were either de-
luded themfelves, or willing to delude others :
and unlefs we knew more precifely in this cafe
the real bounds between nature and miracle, we
cannot pay any great regard to fuch llories ;
efpecially when we are informed at the fame time
by the Chriftians themfelves, that the fame cures
were performed alfo by Knaves and Impoftors,
of all feds and nations \ by Heathens^ Jews^ and
Heretics ; which according to the principles of
thofe days, were afcribed either to the power of
Bcemons^ or to the magical force of amulets and
charms.
Se6l. 3. But the mod eminent and celebrated
of all the miraculous powers of the primitive
Church was^ the gift of caf^ng out Devils, or the
cure
So ^ I N Q^u I R Y into
cure of Demoniacs. To this the aneierit Fathers
and Apologifts make the mod frequent appeals ;
and on this they lay the greatefl ftrefs, towards
evincing the divinity of the Chriflian Religion.
It is not eafy however to colledl from their ac-
counts, what was the real cafe of thefe Damoniacs^
and the proper nature of their malady. The Fa-
thers indeed thcmfelves feem to have been fully
perfuaded, and labor to perfuade every body elfe,
that they were adlually pofleffed and tormented
by Devils, or evil Spirits : yet many learned men
of modern times have imagined them rather to
have been aPfedled by the Epilepfy^ or falling
Jicknefs. Mr. Bodwell himfelf takes their cafe to
have been of this kind, and curable by the ordi-
nary ivay of medicine^ as well as by the extraor-
dinary one of miracle [a]. And it is certain, that
the effeds conftantly afcribed to it, feem to be
nothing elfe but the ordinary fymptoms of an
Epilepfy^ as they are defcribed by the Phyficians.
Juftin ipeaks of them as being thrown down always
to the ground^ by the Devils who poffeffed them [b^ :
And Chryfoftomy in his elaborate confolation to
StagiriuSy who was alfo poffeffed, recites all the
particulars of his cafe, as they were related to him
by a- common friend -, the convulfion of his hands y
\a\ Morbum itaque cadu- per medicinam poflint etiam
cum, quern Comitialem feu curari Diflert. in Iren. 2.
Reglum appellant, curabant § xlvii. p 175.
paliim exorcifmis fuis coievi [U] Kai o\ %J/v%ar? ccjto^ctvdv-
^ertuUiano Chriftiani. Ncc tuv >^oc[A.Qai/o[jiem x^ ^iTrlofMiyoi av*
eniiTi ego alium cenfucrim, quo ^^utzok y? ^aif^ovoXyiTrlaq k^ /x-a»vo-
laborarint D^/v/j;/^/r^r////^-.'^/.—— Nihil p. 28.
cnim impedit, quo minus iidem
the
the MiRAC«LjLous Powers, &c. 8i
the diftortion of his eyes^ the foam of his mouthy
his horrid and inarticulate voice ^ the tremor of his
body, and the long privation of his fenfes [c\ St.
Gregory of Nyjfa^ fpeaking of a woman alfo in
the fame cafe, fays, that groaning with a terrible
and inarticulate voice^ different from human^ fhe fell
fiat on the ground^ tearing her hair^ her eyes di-
Jlorted^ her month foamiyig : nor did the Devil de-
ftft froin fir angling her^ &c. \d\ Then as to what
thefe Fathers declare, concerning their power of
lafhing^ burning and tormenting the Devils ; and of
their groaning and howling under the torture of
the Chriitian exorcifm, fuch an imagination might
eafily be conceived, from the ftrange convulfions
of the body, and the hollow fighs and groans
which commonly attend fuch fits. And the other
circumflances likewife, fo conftantly attefted by
them all, concerning the fpeeches and confeffions of
the Devils •, their anfwering to all quefiions ; own-
ing themfelves to be wicked fpirits ; telling whence
they came.^ and whither they were goings and plead-
• ing for favor and eafe from the hands of the Ex-
orcifts may not improbably be accounted for,
either by the difordered ftate of the patient, an-
fwering wildly and at random to any queftions
[.(jiuv, rov letudinem frangunt, &c, De
ecTTo T» rojxol^ a.^ov, &c. Tom. Idolor. Van. p. 206,
I. p. 156. E Edit. Benedidl. [^] nnvfA-ctli ^ui[Ao/iu rpeQxcj-
Ita etiam Plinius, COrruens Gsrcra, )Cj /3py;)^7;6^ta; ^^ujhi -cra-
morbo comitiali. [Hift. N. 28. pa Tr,i ui^^wTrUiiv (pmw apoiju,^|a-
6 ] atque ita quoque S. Cy- a-cc, 'criTz-le; crpvjfrj?. Sec. in Vit.
prianus irrepentes ia cor- Greg. Thaumat. p. 973. B.
poribus occulte, mentes ter- Oper, Edit. Parif.
F propofed.
$1 An I N Q^u I R Y into
propofed, or by the arts of impofture and con-
trivance between the parties concerned in the a6t.
This, I dare fay, will appear probable to eve-
ry impartial reader, who, from the credulous and
enthufiaftic difpofition of thefe Fathers, and their
preconceived and erroneous notions about the
origin and power of Dicmons, will be apt to
conclude, that they were either induced by their
prejudices, to give too hafty a credit to thefe
pretended poffefTions •, or carried away by their
zeal, to affifl even in fupporting a delufion, which
was ufeful to the Chriftian caufe. And though
this may found harfh in the ears of many, it will
not appear ftrange to thofe, who have given any
attention to the hiftory of mankind •, which will
always fuggefl this fad refledtion ; that the great-
eft zealots in religion, or the leaders of fe6ls and
parties, whatever purity or principles they pretend
to, have feldom fcrupled to make ufe of a com-
modious lie^ for the advancement, of what they
call the truth. And with regard to thefe very
Fathers, there is not one of them, as an eminent
v/riter of ecclefiaftical hiftory declares, who made
any fcruple in thofe ages, of ufing the hyperboli-
cal ftyky to advance the honor of God, and the
falvation of men [e]. For it is certain, that the
greateft part of the wonderful things, which
they relate, are in themfelvcs utterly incredible >
and fuch of them as happen to be the moft di-
ftin6lly defcribed, carry always the greateft marks
H In honorem Del, falu- poris religioni ducebat. Jo.
teinque hominum, hyperboll- Cleric. Hill. Ecclef. p. 68 1.
H?a oratione uti, nemo tunc tern-
of
the Miraculous Powers, (Sc. S3
of art and contrivance, for the fake of ferving
fome particular piirpofe. For example, TertiU-
lian^ who was an utter enemy to plays and pub-
lic jfhews in the Theatres, wrote a book, to de-
ter all Chriflians from frequenting them, in which
he tdh the following ftory : "An example hap-
*' pened, fays he, as the Lord is witnefs, of a wo-
" man, who went to the Theatre, and came back
" with a Devil in her i whereupon when the un-
" clean fpirit was urged and threatened in the
" office of exorcifing, for having dared to at-
" tack one of the faithful 1; I have done nothings
*' replied he, hut what is very fair^ for I found
" her on my own ground." He adds a fecond flory
flill more dreadful,. *' of another woman, who,
*' in the very night, after £he had feen a trage-
" dy in the Theatre, had her winding-fheet fhewn
" to her in a vifion, in which fhe was reproach-
** ed by name, with the Tragedian, whom fhe
" had been feeing, and did not live above five
'' days after [/]."
Now in this lafl cafe, it is not improbable,
that a poor weak woman, who went to fleep,
under the confcioufnefs of a grievous fin com-
mitted by her, might, by the terrors of a dream,
be thrown into a diforder, that put an end to her
life. But in the firfl, though God himfelf is ap-
pealed to, for the truth of it, yet when we re-
[y] Nam & exemplum ac- immundus fpiritus, quod aufus
cidit, Domino tefte, ejus malie- effet fidelem adgredi ; conftan-
ris, quse theatrum adiit, & inde ter & juftijfllme quidcm, inquit,
cum Da^monio rediit. Itaque feci, in meo earn inveni, Sec
in exorcifmo, cum oneraretur Be Spcd^ac. 26.
F 2 • flc(ft
$4- ^n In qjj i r y mfo
tiecl on the principles of thofe times, and the par-
ticular warmth of 'Tertullian^ zeal, we cannot
but fufped, that the fmart anfwer of the Devil,
was contrived to enforce, what he was fo warmly
inculcating, the horrible fm and dangerous con-
fcquence of frequenting the public Theatres.
It is very remarkable, that all the Fathers,
who lay fo great a flrefs on this particular gift of
calling out Devils, yet allow the fame power
both to the Jews and the Gentiles, as well before,
as after our Saviour's coming. Jujlin Martyr^ m
his dialogue with 'Trypho the Jew^ fays, *"' that all
" Devils yield and fubmit to the name of JefuSy
" when they would not, to any other name of
" their Kings, Prophets or Patriarchs : yet if
*' any fhould exorcile them in the name of the
" God ot AhroJoam^ Ifaac and Jacobs they would
*• in like manner fubmit. For your Exorcifis^
*' adds he^ as well as the Gentiles, ufe this art
*' in exorcifmg,, together with certain fume, and
" hgatures [^]." And the Jews^ fays Irenteus^
even now, by this fame invocation of the name of
God, drive av/ay Devils \h\
Origen^ in his difpute v/ith Celfus^ afi^srting the
defcent of the Jews from Abraham^ Ifaac^ and
Jaccby fays, " that thefe names joined to that of
*-' God, have fuch power, that not onely their
^ own nation ufe them in their prayers, and in
k] "^^■*' 1^*"'^°* °' ^^ ^'f*^'" ^^^ ^^ propter hoc Jud^i
s'TTo^xirat Tri T£%v*) uxjTTie^ xj Ta ufque nunc hac ipia adfatione
sOyy) ;)/pi;|K,£va slcpi^y^t, «^ SyfAt- D^nlonas cfFugant. — L 2. c. 5.
i^OLO-i iC) xoc'.aoia-[Aoi; ^fuviui. p. 1 23.
Pial. par, 2 p. 321.
*' caftino;
the Miraculous Powers, ^c. 85
** cafting out Devils, but all other Inchantors,
" and Magicians whatfoever : and that in magical
*' books, the fame invocation and ufe of God's
" name is often found, as peculiar to the art,
" and effedlual againfl Devils [/]." And fpeak-
ing of Abraham^s great merit, he obfcrv^es, " that
*' it is not Mofes onely, who celebrates it, but
*' that many of thofe, who charm or drive out
" Devils, call upon the God of Abraham^ with-
*' out knowing even who Ahrahayn was [^]."
Again, ^' if a nian, fays he, invoke or exorcile
*' by the name of the God of Abraham^ Jfaac2JvA
*' Jaccb^ the Devils will obey, and do what they
*' are commanded ; but if he tranOate thofe
" names, according to their meaning, into any
*' other language, they v/ill have no force at all.
" The fame, adds he, is true of the word, 6"^^-
*' haoth^ fo much ufed in incantations : if it be
<' applied in its original Hebrew^ it is effeftual :
*' but if tranHated into another tongue, fo as to
" put for it, the Lord, cf Hofts^ it avails nothing,
*' if we believe the fl<:iiifull in thcfe matters [/]."
[/"] 'fly toctStov o'jya)ui rccofio- fjLilccXa-ijL^cci/otxev tu o'^ckhx, elq r!
a^iyofiUy uq a /xovov rh; utto ra ^sv, ib. 1. c. p. 262.
sBvsq ;i(^p^a-Gat iv^ tocTc; -nrpoj Seo;/ A*". B. From what is \\crz faid
«^X«K, i^j i" Tw xcCliTTOionv occ'i- by Origen, and the other Fa-
/xovac, &:c. Con. Celf. 1. 4. p. thers, it appears ; that the
183, 84. power of cafting out Devils,
[^] Ato 7^2^p^a/u,Ca^8? T^v, was confidered as a peculiar
$£og A^paij:/,, A;|tv, \k i7nra.(Aivoi gift, or art rather, grounded on
^i r'ii; iriv & A^pa/x. ibid. 1. 1. certain rules, which were taught
P- 17- ^nd delivered in books; and
[/] Ta ^ oiAoiov IfHu^iv >^ 'uripl was common both 10 the Jews
T^; laea:^0 (j^-^'^?,- 'cro>.^a;:^a r2v and the Heathens, as well as to
Ittu^m -crapAaaCai-ofc/^y;?. on si the Chtjilians ; and, amon^
t 3 tlicm
86 An I N Q^u I R Y into
Jofephus writes, " that Solomon was particu-
" larly infhrucled by God in the art of cafting^
" out Devils, for the benefit, of mankind •, and
" that he left behind him a receit of thofe charms
" and exorcifms, by which he ufed to drive them
*' out : which fame method was the moft effec-
*' tual even to his time. For I fav/, fays he, one
" of my countrymen, Eleazar^ calling out De-
" vils, in the prefence of Vefpafian^ his fons an4
" officers, and a multitude of Ibldiers. His me-
*' thod was this : he applied to the nofe of a per-
'' fon poiTefTed, a ring, which had a certain drug
" or root under the feal of it, which Solomon had
" prefcribed ; and fo, by the fmell of the ring,
" he drew out the Devil, through the noftrils of
*' the patient ; who fell prefently to the ground ;
" upon which, he adjured the Devil never to re-
*' turn, rehearfing the name of Solpmon^ with cer-
*' tain charms, which he had compofed and left
" behind him ; and being defirous to convince
*^ the company, that he was really indued with
'' this power, to which he pretended, he placed
*' a certain cup or veflel filled with water, at
^' a little difbance from the perfon poiTefi^ed,
" and commanded the Devil, as he was going
" out of him, to overturn the cup, fo as to
" give the fpedlators a manifcfl proof, that
them all, was admfniftercd by ferior orders of th^ Church :
a particular fet of men, called [Vid. Eufeb. 1. 6. c. 43-] The,
Excrcijis : who about the time form of whofe ordination is
of Origens death, or the mid- given us by the learned l^ing-
die of the third Cen^^ry, began h4i?n. [Antiq. lib. 3. c. 4. § 5.]
to be reckoned among the in-
*' he
the Miraculous Powers, &c\ 87
** he had quitted the body of the man {my Which
fhews, in contradiction to what Juftin Martyr
affirmed above, that befides the name of Jefus^
the Devils were fubjc6l likewife to that of Solo-
mon.
Now it will be granted, I fuppofe, by all men
of fenfc, that thefe Jewijh and Gentile Exorcifls
were mere Knaves and Impoflors ^ who, by their
tricks and falfe miracles, contrived to delude the
credulous multitude, in order to acquire gain or
power to themfelves, and to keep their people
firm to the Jevjijh or HeatheniHi rites, in oppo-
fition to the Chriftian. Ulpian the lawyer fpeaks
of Exorcifm in general, as a term of art ufed by
Impoflors : by whom he is fuppofed by fome, to
mean the Jewijh^ by others, Chriftian Exorcifts [«],
But ^ertullian^ and all the Fathers in general de-
clare, that thefe Magicians and wandering Jugglers
performed many wonderful things, above the
force of human power, which they wholly afcribe
to the afTiftance of Daemons. And if they were
fo far deluded by thofe Jewijh and Gentile pre-
tenders, as to take fuch fenfelefs charms, and
tricks of legerdemain, for the efFe^ts of a fuper-
natural power, their prejudices would operate
much more flrongly in favor of their own Im-
poftors, who had taken up the fame trade •, or if
they faw through the cheat of the Gentile practi-
tioners, yet on account of the credit, which they
had gained with the people, and the difficulty of
\m\ Kai axjnrfi ^iyj,\. yvv 'Kot.\ Antiq, Jud, 1. VIII. C. 2 § 5.
r^rv ^ ^ifioiTrna, ruXiTfov \ax^^'" W Bingham. Antiq. B. c.
lfofT,a-a, yoc^ mx E^sa^apov, Sec. c. 4. ^ 3.
F 4 detccfting
88 An I N Q^u I R Y ijito
detedling the fraud, they might think it conve-
nient perhaps, to oppofe one cheat to another,
and fet up rival powers of their own, in oppofi-
tion to thofe of their adverfaries, in hopes of
beating them at their own weapons.
For it is very hard to beheve, what Or i gen de-
clares above, that the Devils, for the fake of do-
ing the greater mifchief to men, ufed to pojfefs
anddeftroy their cattle. In confirmation of which,
St. Jerom has related a moft ridiculous ftory, in
his life of St. Hilarion the Monk : where after a
narrative of many cafes of Devils, expelled by
that faint from the bodies of men, he adds, " but
" it is to little purpofe to talk of men ; brute
*' animals alfo were daily brought to him, mad
" or pofTefled : among the reft, a Ba5frian Camels
" of an enormous fize, which had already de-
" ftroyed many people : above thirty men were
*' employed to drag him along with the ftrongeft
" ropes. His eyes were bloody ; his mouth
" foaming ^ his tongue rolling and fwoln •, and
" his ftrange roaring above all terrors : the old
" man ordered it to be let loofe : upon which
" all, who were about him, ran away immedi-
" ately : the faint came forward alone, and in the
" Syriac tongue, faid, thou doft not affright me^
" jbevil^ with all that hulk of body : thou art one
" and the fame in a little fox^ or in a camel: and
" fo he ftood firm with his arm ftretched out ;
" and as the beaft advanced towards him, fu-
*^ rious and ready to devour him, it prefently fell
** down with its head to the ground ; fo that all
" prefent were amazed at the fudden change, from
". fo
the Miraculous Powers, &c. 89
" fo great a fiercenefs, to fuch a tamenefs. Upon
*' which the old man took occafion to teach
*' them, that the Devil vifed to feize cattle, out
*<■ of his hatred to men, to whom he bore fo great
«' a grudge, as to wilh, not onely that they, but
" that all which they had, might perifh." To
this flory I cannot forbear adding, what is like-
wife' affirmed by the fame Jerom^ of the fame Hi'
larion ; that he was fo full of the power of the Ho-
ly Spirit^ as to he able to difcover^ from the fmell of
the bodies and the cloaths of men^ or of any thing
elfe^ which they had hut touched^ to what particu-r
lar B^mon^ or to what vice they were fever ally fub-
je5f. Now though this good Father invokes the
ajfiftance of the Holy Spirit^ in his attempt to de-
fcrihe a life fo wonderful \ yet all, who read it,
muft needs be perfuaded, that out of his zeal
and warm affedlion to the Monkifh Order, which
he profefled, and from a defire to advance its
credit in the world, he either wholly invented,
or at leaft willfully propagated all thefe extrava-
gant tales, which he himfelf could not poffibly
believe : '' The time, fays he, would fail me,
^' if I Ihould attempt to relate all the wonder-
*' ful works, that were performed by him •
" wherefore by the influence of his example, in-
*' numerable Monafteries began to he founded through
" all Paleftine : and all the Monks ran eagerly to
" Hilarion^ &c. [^].'* This was the real pur-
[0] Vid. Oper. Tom. 4. par. plo itaque ejus innumerabilia
2. p. 82, 83, &c. Monafteria per totum Palsefti-
Tempus me deficiet, fi vo- nam efTe cceperunt, &• ad eum
luero univerfa figna, quscab eo omnes Monachi certatim cur-
perpetrata funt, dicere.-Exem- rere, &c.
pofe
90 An I N Q^u I R Y into
pofe of St. Jerom's zeal; this the fruit of his
fidiitious miracles. But to return fo the Bamo-
niacs. Since this gift of calling out Devils is
what the Fathers, as I have faid above, lay the
greateft flrefs upon, and to which they make the
jnoft frequent appeals, it may be proper to
Itrengthen what I have already been declaring
upon it, by a few particular obfervations, which
I would recommend to the attention of the rea-
der.
ly?. That there is fuch an uniformity in all the
primitive accounts of them, though given by dif-
ferent Fathers and in different ages, of the Devils
being fcourged^ burned^ and tortured by the Chrijlian
Exorcifts •, and of their howlings^ difcourfes and con-
fejfions^ that they all feem to have been caft in the
fame mould -, and to have been the copies rather
pf one original ftory, tranfcribed by the later
writers from the earlier, than the natural de-
fcriptions, of what each of them had feverally
feen, at different times, and in diHant places [/>].
2dly^ That the perfons thus pofTefTed, and in
whom the Devils ufed to hold difcourfes, were
called by the primitive Chriflians, 'Eyfarpt/xvSot, or
Ventriloquifts ; becaufe they were believed to fpeak
cut of the belly ^ thro* the navel [q]. Thus in a
book afcribed to Jujlin Martyr^ containing a
[/] See what I have collec-. ufe of by Cyprian, foon after
ted above on this fubje<5l, from his time, and that almoji njer-
Tertullian, Minucius Felix, Cy- hatim. Account of the D^mo^
prian, and LaSiantius. Thus niacs, p. 42.
Mr Whijion alfo obferves, that [q] See Bingh. Antiq. 1. 16.
a good deal of njoh at is faid upon c. 5. § 4.
it by Minucius Felix, is made
number
//^^ Miraculous Powers, &c. gj
number of Queftions, with anfwers to them, for
the life of the Orthodox^ one of the Quellions is
this •, " if all the arts of delufion are aboliflied by
" the coming of Chrifl, how comes it to pals,
" that Daemons flill fpeak by thofe, who are
*' called Ventriloquijis^ and that they do not make
*' Chriftianity ridiculous and contemptible, by
*' fhewing forth the works of impofture, and ut-
'' tering oracular predications in the bodies of
*' Chriftians ? [r]."
Now many of us have feen, and may Hill fee
perhaps at this day, a fort of thefe Ventriloqiiifts^
who by a particular formation of their organs,
managed by art and practice, could fpeak in fuch
a manner, as to perfuade the company, that the
voice did not procede from them, but from fome
invifible being : which they could direct likewile
fo, as to make it feem to come, from what part
of the room they pleafed : by which means,
weak and ignorant people have been terrified al-
moft out of their fenfes, believing it, to be the
'voice of a Spirit or Dc€}mn. If we fuppofe then,
that there were any Artifts of this kind among
thofe ancient Chrillians, as there undoubtedly
were among the ancient Gentiles, it is eafy to
imagine, what ftrange and furprizing feats might
be performed, by a correfpondence between the
Ventriloquift and the Exorciji^ fo as to delude the
mod fenfibly and fagacious of their audience, pre-
pofTefled with the belief of thefe diabolical pof-
fefTions, and void of all fufpicion, that fuch efFeds
[r] Vid. Quaeft. & Refponf. ad Orthodox. Qu^ft. 8.
could
92 ^71 In Qjo m Y into
could po/Tibly be produced by any human art or
natural caufe.
^dly^ From the teflimony of Antiquity itfelf
it is evident, that many of their Dasmoniacs
could not pofTibly be cured by all the power of
the Exorcifts : and that the cures, which are pre-
tended to have been wrought on any, were but
temporary, and appear to have been the ceflation
rather of a particular fit, or accefs of the diflem-
per, than the real expulfion of a Dasmon. This
may be clearly collected from the method of
treating them in the primitive Church, as it was
regulated by feveral canons and rules, made for
that purpofe by Biiliops and Councils, injoin-
ing : " that they Ihould not be received to bap-
*' tifm, but in the intervals of their diforder j
*^ nor to the communion, unlefs they fhewed
" figns of piety and fobriety, fo as not to expofe
*' and blafpheme the myfteries : in which cafe
*' they might communicate now and then : that
*' they fhould never be ordained or taken into
^' any order of the Clergy ; nor allowed to pr^y
'' in common with the congregation ; but be
*' produced always feparately, and commanded
" onely to bow down their heads, while the reft
" of the Aflembly were offering up a prayer for
" them." In different Churches however, a dif-
ferent difcipline was obferved with regard to
them ; for in fome, they were admitted to bap-
tifm, and even to daily communion \ by which
means many are affirmed to have been relieved,
when all the arts of the Exorcifts had been tried
upon
the Miraculous Powers, &c. qj
upon them in vain [j-]. Now thefe cafes mani-
feftly fliew, that this celebrated gift, as it was
managed by the primitive Church, was not able
to work an abfolute cure ; or to drive out the
Devils fo effedlually, as to reduce the patients to
a permanent flate of fanity ; fo as to render them
ordinarily capable, either of baptifm, or the Eu-
charift, or of joining even with the congregation,
in the daily prayers of the Church. Whence we
may reafonably conclude -, that it was nothing
elfe, but a falfe mimickry of that genuin power,
which was exercifed by our Lord, and conferred
afterwards on his Apoftles : a power which never
did its work by halves, or left its cures imper-
fedl. For, as we learn from the Gofpel, Mary
Magdalen^ from whom feven Devils were caft out,
continued ever after in her fober fenfes ; accom-
panying and miniftring on all occafions to our
Lord, to the time of his death : and the man alfo,
out of whom a Legion of them was ejeded, was
reflored at once to perfe6l health both of mind
and body, and fent away to proclaim in Deca-
polis^ and the neighbouring country, the miracu-
lous cure which Jefus had wrought upon him [^].
^thly^ There is another circum (lance belonging
to thefe primitive Dasmoniacs, of which the rea-
der perhaps may defire fome farther explication ;
I mean the great numbers of them, which ap-
pear to have fubfifted in thofe early ages : whole
chief habitation was within a part of the Church,
[s\ See Bingh. Antiq. book v. § iii,&-c.
XI. c, V. § ni.it. ibid, book [/] Luke viii. 2. Matt.v.20..
XV. c. jv. \ XVI. it. ib. XVII. c. Luke viii. ^9.
allotted
04 y^;^ I N Q^u I R Y into
allotted to them for that purpofe i in which, as
in a kind of Hofpital, they were committed
to the care of the Exorcifts •, whofe bufinefs it
was, " to pray over them on fome occafions,
" and to provide their daily food^ and keep
" them etnployed in fome bodily exercife and
" innocent bufinefs, of fweeping the Church and
*' the like, to prevent the more violent agitations
" of Satanj and left he ihould be tempted by
*' by their idlenefs to renew his attacks upon
" them [u].^^ Which method of relieving fo
miferable a tribe of helplefs mortals, will account
for the numbers, with which the Churches were
ftored ; as well as for the confidence of thofe
challenges, made to the Heathens, by the Chri^
ftian Apologifts, to come and fee at any hour^
and any warning, how they could torment^ andlajhy
and burn^ and drive the evil fpirits out of them ;
while they kept fuch numbers of them in con-
ftant pay, always ready for the fhew ; tried and
difciplined by their Exorcifts, to an habit of
groaning and howling, and to give proper an-
fwcrs to all queftions, which ftiould be demand-
ed of them.
It is obfervable alfo in the laft place, that this
power of exorcifing 'Demoniacs or cafting out Devils^
which had hitherto been in the hands onely of
the meaner fort of the Chriftian layety, was put
under the diredion of the Clergy, by the Council
of Laodicea^ about the year of Chrift three hun-
dred and fixty-feven, in which it v/as decreed.
\u] Bingh. book iii.c. iv, §vii.
that
//j^ Miraculous Powers, (3c. $5*
that 7ione Jhould he Exorcifts, hut thofe, who were
appointed hy the Bifiop. After which appropri*
ation of it, as Mr. Whiftou informs us, " few or
«' none of the Clergy, nor indeed of the Layety,
" were any longer able to caft out Devils : fo
« that the old Chriflian exorcifm or prayer for
*' the Energumens in the Church, began foon after
"-' to be omitted as wholly ufelefs [^]." Which
fudden failure of fo eminent a gift feems to be
afcribed by him to that fatal ftep of this unhappy
Council^ as he calls it ; as if, by their prefump-
tuous attempt to controul the divine power, they
had provoked God to withdraw it. But tho'
this folution of the cafe may be agreeable to the
charader and principles of that very learned and
pious writer ; yet it is more agreeable to reafon,
and the experience of mankind, to fuppofe, that
the licentious abufe of this imaginary power,
by the many falfe and impudent pretenfions of
crafty impoftors on the one hand, and wrong-
headed Enthufiafts on the other, had brought
fuch fcandal on Chriftianity itfelf, that the Clergy
were forced at laft to interpofe, and take the af-
fair into their own hands. For that this was real-
ly the cafe, is manifeftly Ihewn by the event:
fmce the exercife of this gift was no fooner fub-
je6ted to any regulation, even by thofe, who fa-
vored and defired to fupport it, than it gradually
decreafed and expired.
§. 4. The next miraculous gift afcribed to the
primitive Church, is that of Prophetic vifions^ and
[;r] See Mr. Whifton% Account of Damoniacs, p. 53.
extatic
96 An I N Q^u TRY into
extatic trances^ and the difcovery of mo^s hearts : .
for thefe feem to be the fruit of one and the fame
fpirit : which exerted itfelf chiefly about the end
of the fecond and the beginning of the third cen-
tury, through 'TertulUanh and Cyprian\ days.
" The divine cenfure, fays Cyprian^ does not
*' ceafe to chaftife us, neither by night, nor by
*' day, for befides nightly vifions, even boys
" among us are filled with the Holy Ghoft, and
" in fits of ecflafy, fee, hear, and utter things,
" by which the Lord thinks fit to admonifh and
" inflru6l us [^]." This ecflafy was a tempo-
rary madnefs or lofs of fenfes, and is called by
'I'ertullian^ the fpiritual virtue^ in which pro-
phecy conjifts \z\, Suidas fays, that of all the
kinds of fury or madnefs, that of the Poets and
Prophets was alone to be wifhedfor [^].
Mr. Dodwell obferves, " that vifions were pe-
«' culiar to the young, dreams to the old : be-
" caufe it required a great flrength of body to
*' fupport the violence of fuch divine agitations
*' [^]." Philo, the Jew, treating of the fame
[j] Caftigare nos itaque vim, qua conftat prophetia.
divina cenfura nee nodibusde- De Anim. c. 21 . it. 24.
linit nee diebus. Prseter noc- [^a] Tcov ^^ocnuv — ccl ^\ ou^tiaH
turnas enim vifiones, per dies t^ ^vx^<; coboti, o\a.\, rav 'moivHajVy
quoque impletur apud nos Spi- x^ raJv yj^r^a^ohoywv. in voce
ritu fanfto puerorum innocens Mxvioci.
£etas, quae in extafi videt & au- [^] Plane fenibus its. /omnia
dit & loquitur ea, quibus nos aptantur, ut Javenibus Vifiones.
dominus monere & inftruere Vehemens nimirum ilia humo-
dignatur. Epift. ad Cler. ix. morum agitatio non erat nifi
p. 22. Ed. Nic. Rigalt. in astatis vigore toleranda. &c.
[x] Quum in ilium Deus a- Vid. DifTert. Cyprian, iv.
jnentiam immifit, fpiritalem § 40.
ecflafies.
the MiRAOxjLous Powers, ^c. 97
ccftafies, with which the Patriarchs and Prophets
of the Old Teftament ufed to be affeded, reafons
thus, " the human mind, fays he, is fymbolically
" called the Sun by Mofes while our mind
" therefore fhines, and exerts itfelf within us,
*' fpreading as it were a meridian light through
" the Soul, we are then in our right fenfes, with-
" out any divine influx : but when the mind
" goes down, then a divine ecfbafy and prophe-
" tic madnefs fall upon us : for when the divine
'' light fhines, the human fets : and when that
'' fets, this again rifes ; and this is what ufually
*' happens to the prophetic race : for the mind
" is driven out of us, when the divine fpirit
*' comes in ; and when this again quits us, the
" other returns : for it is not fit, that mortal
" fhould cohabit with immortal [^]."
From thefe teftimonies we may collect, that
the Prophecy of the Primitive Church by vifion
or ecftafy^ was of the fame kind, as to its outward
appearance, with that divination by fury^ as it
was called among the Gentiles^ which was prac-
tifed by the Delphic Pythia^ and Cum^an Sihyly
when agitated by the pretended power and in-
ftind of the God [ij. Of which Cicero fays, in
vjay
\c\ "H^^ov ^E ^^a, avfx^oXii rov HxY. Oper. Tom. I . p. 511.
v)fjiiTi^ov vtv xa^E?. — — cTE (Mv yu^ Edit. Lond. 1742.
6] Ex audloritate quoque nuam ejus fubito annuntiatis
Dei conteftor fcio fra- gaudiis publicis fervi coronal-
trem per vifionem eadem node fent. &c. De. Idolat. 1 5.
G 2 " pear
loo An I N Cijj I R Y info
" pear to be a fpirit : not of a void and empty
" quality, but what might even be handled,
" tender, and lucid, of an airy color, and in all
" points of human Ihape [/]." Which wild
dream of a frantic, or fiction rather of a filly wo-
man, this Father applies, as the teflimony of
God himfelf, to evince the certainty of his opi-
nion. Laftly, in another book, written to prove,
that women ought always to wear a veil^ he de-
clares, that God^ in a vifion to a certain fifter^ had
frefcribed to her^ by a fpecial revelation^ the exa5f
length and meafure of the veil [k].
Now it is eafy to imagine, how Tertullian might
be impofed upon by the craft of thefe extatic
vifionaries ^ and by the warmth of his temper and
torce of his prejudices, be drawn to efpoufe any
delufion, that flattered his particular zeal and fa-
vorite opinions. But it is difficult to account for
the fame condu6l in his fcholar Cyprian •, a man
of a more acute head, and fober mind •, but
fond of power and Epifcopal Authority ; whofe
charader would tempt us to fufped, that he was
the inventor, rather than the believer of fuch idle-"
{lories •, and the dircflor, rather than the dupe of
fenfelefs vifionaries. Yet in all queftionable points
of dodrine or difcipline, which he had a mind to
[/] Forte nefcio quid de ani- clefia futurorum Sponfor — De
ma difTerebamus, cum ea foror Anima. c. 9.
in Spiritu efTet. Poft tranfada \_k'] Nobis Dominus etiam
folennia, dimifTa plebe — — in- revelationibus, velaminis Ipa-
ter cetera, inquit, oftenfa eft tia metatus eft. Nam cuidam
mihi anima corporaliter, &c. Sorori noftreC Angelas in Som-
Hoc vifio, & Deus teftis, & nis. &c. De Virgin. Veland.
Apoftolus Charifmatum in Ec- 17.
introduce
the Miraculous Powers, ^c, loi
introduce into the Chriftian worfliip, we find him
conilantly appealing to the teilimony of heavenly
vjfwns and divine revelations. It is certain^ fays
Mr. Do dwells that all things of great moment^ which
related to the public ft ate of the Churchy were fore-
told to him in vifions [/]. For inflance, in a letter
to Ccecilius^ he declares, that he had received a
divine admonition, to mix water with wine in the
Sacrament of the Eucharifi^ in order to render it
effeElual \yn\ In another to the Clergy, concern-
ing certain Priefts, who had reflored fome lapfed
Chriftians too haftily to the Communion of the
Church •, he threatens them, to execute, what he
was ordered to do againfl them^ in a vifton^ if they
did not defifi [;z]. He makes the fame threat to
one Pupianus^ who had fpoken ill of him, and
withdrawn himfelf from his communion [o'\ :
where his Editor Rigaltius makes this remark,
*' that the argument of vifions and divine reve-
" lations, which Cyprian fo frequently ufes, is a
" weapon of great force in the hands of fo good
[/] Adeo famlliares Cypriano Sed quando aliquid Deo afpi-
eraiit hujufmodi vifiones, ut rante &mandante prascipitur,
difciplinas etiam Ecclcfiafticse necefle efl Domino fervus fide-
exercitio illas acceperit, aliaf- lis obtemperet — — admonitos
que deinceps expe6laret, &C. autem nos fcias, ut calix, qui
DifTert. Cyprian, iv. § 20. in commemoratione ejus offer-
Tta conftat gravioris momefi- tur, mixtus vino offeratur &c.
t\ omnia, quae quidem publi- Epift. lxiii.
cum Ecclefiae ftatum attinerent, [«] Quoniam fi ultra in iif-
efle iftiufmodi vifionibus prae- dem perfeveraverinf, utar ea
didla. ibid. §. 21. ^ admonitione, qua me Dominus
{ni] Nee nos putes, frater utijubct. — Ep. ix. p. 22.
cari{rime,noftra &humanacon- [0] Epill:. lxix. p. iiS.Me-
fcribere, aut ultronea voluntate mini enim quid mihi oftenfum
jlioc nobis auda^^erailliinere, — fit, &c.
G ^ " ^
lo2 An I N QJJ I R t into
*' a man, otherwife a vain and contemptible one ;
'' fince crafty Sophifts might eafily invent fuch
" vifions, in favor of any caufe, to delude the
*' fnnple and unwary [^].
In a letter likewife to the Clergy and the peo-
ple, Cyprian tells them, " how he had been admo-
" nifhed and direded by God, to ordain one TSlu-
'' midicus a Prieft : who by his perfuafive exhor-
" tations had fent a large number of the Mar-
*' tyrs before him to the other world, either floned
*' or burnt to death 5 and beheld even with joy, the
*' wife of his bofom burnt, together with the reft ;
" being himfelf alfo left for dead, half burnt, and
*' buried in ftones, till he was found fcarce alive,
'' and carried off by the piety of his daughter, and
" fo reftored to the world againft his will. But the
*•'- Lord had now fignilied the caufe of it ; that
'' he might add him to the Priefthood of his
'' Church [5']." In another letter he recom-
mends them to one Celerinus^ whom he had or-
dained a ledurer : whofe modefty^ he fays, had been
over-ruled and compelled by a divine vi/ion^ to accept
[/>] Hie etiam (Cyprianus) vina, ut Numidicus Pre/by ter
\ititur oftenfionibus & vifioni- afcribatur qui hortatu fuo
bus: telo, ad conterendos ad- copiofum Marty rumnumerum,
verfarios, in manii praferam lapidibus & flammis necatum
Cyprzaniy viri optimi atque di- ante fe mifit : quique uxorem
vini, valentiiTimo ; alias vano adhsrentem lateri fuo, concre-
ac futuli. Nam & callidus matam fimul cum ceteris — lae-
Rhetor & Sophifta vafer hujuf- tis afpexit. Ipfe femiuftulatus
modi vifa ad caufam fuam ap- & lapidibus obrutus, & pro
pofitilTima, poterit comminifci, mortuo derelidus, — remanfit
Sc fallere incautos & fimplices. invitus, fed remanendi, ut vi-
Rigalt. Not. ibid. demus, haec fuit caufa, ut eum
[q] Nam admonitos nos & Clero noftro Dojninus adjun-
inftrui^os fciatis dignatione di- geret- Ep- 35.
//5^ Miraculous Powers, &c^ 103
that office [r]. Where Rigaltius once more reflecls,
en the great diligence of Cyprian, in making fuch ufe
of vifims {s\ But Cyprian himfelf fuggefts the
reafon of it, in the Epiftle immediately preceding,
addrefTed likewife to the Clergy and the people,
concerning one Aureliiis^ whom he had ordained
a led:urer, by a divine admonition^ without calling
them together and confalting with them in com-
mon, concerning the charader and merit of the
Candidate, as it was the cuftom of thofe days in
all Clerical Ordinations -, for which he excufes him-
felf by faying, that there was no occafion, in the
prefent cafe, to wait for human tefliynonies^ when
the divine fuffrage had already been fignified [/].
This then feems to be the meaning of Cyprian's di-
ligence in the ufe of vijions^ that whenever he
thought fit to exert his Epifcopal authority, with-
out the previous confent of his Clergy and people^ he
might obviate their murmurs by alledging a divine
command for it.
But the moft memorable effe61: of any of his
vifions was, his flight and retreat, when he Vvith-
drew himfelf from his Church, in the time of
perfecution. A ftep which gave great fcandal,
and feems to have been confidered by the Cler-
gy of Rome^ in a public letter written upon the
[r] Referimus ad vos Cele- [t] In Ordinationlbus Cle-
rinum, — Clero noftro non hu- rlcis, Fratres cariffimi, folemus
mana fuffragatione fed divina vos ante confulere, & mores ac
dignatione conjunftum, &c. merita fingulorum communi
Ep- 34- confilio ponderare, fed expec-
\j\ Notanda hie etiam eft tanda non funt teftimonia hu-
induftria Cyprianiy vifionum ef- mana, cum prascedunt divina
ficacia tarn fuaviter utentis. fufFragia, &c. Ep. 33.
Not, b. il^id,
G 4 fubjed^
104 -^^ I N QJJ I R Y i?lfO
fubjedl of it, to the Clergy of Carthage^ as a de-
fertion of his poft, and paftoral duty [u]. So
that it was no wonder to find Cyprian himfelf as
well as his Apologifb Pontius^ the writer of his
Life, lb follicitous to excufe it. " There is no
'' doubt, fays Rigallius, but that the feverity of
" his mafber Tertullian, who wrote a book againft
'' all flight in time of perfecution, raifed fuch
** fcruples and fhame in the mind of Cyprian, as
*' made him labor hard to wipe off that difgrace ;
*' as the pains and perplexity of his Advocate
*' Pontius likewife fhew [x]." They both of them
therefore affirm, " that he was commanded to
" retire, l^y a fpecial revelation from heaven : and
•' that his flight was not the efi^edl of any other
*' fear, but that of offending God : and that his
<' mind, wholly devoted and fubfervlent to the
*' admonitions of God, was perfuaded, that if
*' he had not obeyed the Lord, when he com-
*' manded him to retreat, he fhould fin even by
*^ fuffering martyrdom [j]-" Yet this plea was
nothing
[u\ Vid. Cyprian. Epift. 2. haud aliud magis ifta Romani
\^x^ Secefius ifte Cypriani Cleri tarn argumentofa quam
fugas probro minime caruit, — incondita commonitio profcri-
nec dubito quin ipfa tanti Ma- bit. P.igalt. ibid. Not b.
gillri feveritas difcipuli men- [_r] Etaudietis omnia quan-
tem adeo {^afruderit, vel aliquo do ad vos reducem me Domi-
falttm icrupulo iic pupugerit, nus fecerit, qui, ut fecederettiy
utfugae fc fpicionem Cyprianus juflit. Epill. ix. p. 22.
abs fe amoliri magno rtudio Fuit vero formido ilia, fed
conrenderet. Hoc & Pontii jufta; formido, quas Dominum
familiaris fui fatis intricata fe- timeret ofFendere. Formido,
dulitas oftendit, ipfiufque Cy- quae praeceptis Dei mallet ob-
priani Epiftolae fequentes de- fequi, quam fic coronari. Di-
darant. Et fi verum amamus, cata enim in omnibus Deo
mens,
//&^ Miraculous Powers, &c. 105
nothing elle without doubt, but a mere fi6lion,
contrived for the purpofe of quieting the fcandal,
that was raifed by his flight, and is in effedl con-
futed by himlelf in another letter to the Clergy,
in which he declares, " that it was the advice
" and authority of one 'Tortullus, which prevailed
" with him to withdraw himlelf from a place,
" where his life was fo much fought for : w^here-
" fore he defires them, to perform all the func-
" tions of his office for him during his retreat,
" fince their perfons were not expofed to fo muc-li
" envy and danger as his would be [z]"
Dionyfuis^ Bilhop of Alexandria^ who lived in
the fame age, has left the fame ftory likewifc
concerning himfelf, and fwears to the truth of
it : that in the time of a perfecution, he was
commanded by God in a vifion, to retire from
Alexandria^ and was wonderfully preferved and
guarded by him in his retreat [a]. And floall we
7iot believe a moft holy Bijhop^ fays Mr. Dodwell,
even upon his oath [^] ? The fame Dionyfms af-
mens, & fides divinis admoniti- committerem. Fretus ergo &
onibus mancipata, credidit fe, diledione & religione veftra,
nifi Domino ktebram tunc ju- his litteris & hortor & mando,
benti paruiflet, etiam ipfa paf- ut vos quorum minime illic in-
fione peccare, Cyprian. Vit. vidiofa ■& non adeo periculofa
per Pontium. p. 13. praefentia eft, vice mea funga-
[x] A Tertulloy fratrc noftro mini, Sec. Ep. 5. p. 1 3.
cariflimo, ratio reddetur : qui [«] 'Ey^ ^g y^ Ivcomov th ^sa
pro cetera fua cura, quam im- ^aAw, )Cj avrk ot^iv on a -^Bv^a-
pendens divinis opcribus im- ^xat. y^./x-Iai/ ett' e^aJIa ^aXKo^i-
pertit, etiam hujus confilii auc- v-^, tfo'aOEEi-rirETrc-lyj/xat rJ-yv (pvytit.
tor fuit, ut cautus & modera- Eufeb. Hift. Eccl. 1. 6. c. 40.
tus exifterem, nee me in con- [^J Quid hie facicmus ? Viro
fpeclum publicum, & maxime SandilTuno ne jurato quidem
ejus loci, ubi toties flagitatus credemus ? DifTert. Cyprian.
& qu^fitus fuiflem, temere iv. § 17.
firms
io6 An I N Q^u I R Y mfo
jBrms likewife that he had another vifion, upon
the fubje6t oi reading Heretical hooks ^ about which,
he had fome fcruples, till a voice from Heaven
exprejly injoined him^ to read them all without re-
ferve^ becaiife he was able to examine and confute
them \c\ This reminds me of a vifion alfo which
St. Jerom declares, to have been given to himfelf,
about a century after ; in which he was dragged to
the 'Tribunal of Chrijl^ and terribly threatened^ and
even fcGurged for the grievous fin of reading fecular
end profane writers^ Cicero, Virgil, and Horace ;
whom for that reafon he refolved never to take into
his hands any more : upon which Ruffinus rallies
him with great fpirit and fmartnefs, for inventing
and publifhing fo filly a lie [i]. And it mult
needs be thought ftrange, that God fhould injoin
contrarieties to his Saints and Servants ; fhould
command one Father to read Heretical books^ be-
caufe he was able to confute them, yet forbid it
afterwards to another, who was full as able, to con-
fute them, as his predeceflbr. But ifjeromh vifion
deferved to be treated by his contemporaries as a
fidlion, I fee no reafon, either from the nature of the
thing, or the ufe which is made of it, or the
[c\ "O^a/Aflt SsoTTE/itTrloy Ivs^^w feat. ■ Et cetera cum dixillet
re /XE. i^ y^oyoq 'nx^oq [M£ ysy6[Aev@^f ejufmodi, quibus alienam efle
tvoc-^rx^e hoc^^yi^mv "hiyuv, rcrdiijiv a Chriiliano alTereret librorum
U\iiyx^iu<; £7raypy7rv5vlE?, ovstpwrlor
illis, qui malunt contra facer- fjuiv to. Toiayr*— — ^Fhilopatris.
dotes credere, quam facerdoti. verf. fin.
Ep. 68. p. 118.
Rom§
lo8 An I N Q^u I R Y 'into
" Rome, of which we ourfelves were eye witnelles.
" And the night following, as we were watching
*' with tears in the houfe, and praying to God
" with bended knees, that he would impart to
" us weak men, fome afTurance of what was
" done, [with regard to the Martyr •,] it hap-
" pened, that falling into a flumber, fome of us,
*' on a fudden, law the blefied Ignatius ftanding
" before us and embracing us j others beheld
'' the bleffed Martyr praying for us ; others, as
*' it were dropping with fweat, as if jufl come
** from his great labor, and ftanding by the
" Lord : which when we faw, being filled with
*' joy, and comparing the vilions of our dreams
" with each other, we glorified God the giver
" of all good, and being afTured of the blefTed-
" nefs of the Saint, we have made known un-
*' to you, both the day and the time, that being
*' alTembled together, according to the time of
" his Martyrdom, we may communicate with
" the combatant and moft valiant Martyr of
*'Chrift[^].
But to declare freely what I think : whatever
ground there might be in thofe primitive ages,
either to rejed or to allow the authority of thoi^
vifions, > et from all the accounts of them, that
remain to us in thefe days, there feems to be the
greateft reafon to fufpedl, that they were all con-
trived, or authorized at Icaft, by the leading
\_g\ Vid. Coteler. Patr. A- Archbifhop JVakes Tranfla-
poftol. Vol. II. Martyr, S. tion.
Ignat. §vii. p. i6i. See alfo
men
the Miraculous Powers, &c. 109
men of the Church, for the fake of moderating
and governing with more eafe, the unruly fpirit
of the populace, in thole times of danger and
difficulty. For they are generally applied, to ex-
cufe the condu6l of particular perfons, in fome
inilances of it liable to cenlure ; or to enforce
fome particular do6lrine or difcipline, warmly
prelTed by fome, and not well relifhed by others -,
or to confirm things not only trifling and frivo-
volous, but fometimes even fuperflitious and hurt-
ful to true religion.
I have already pbferved, that it was the He-
retic Montanus^ who firft gave a vogue to prophe-
tic vifions and ecftafies^ in the primitive Church.
But when his pretenfions came afterwards to be
fufpeded and decried, it is remarkable, that thofe,
who undertook to expofe and confute them, em-^
ployed fuch arguments againfb his prophecy, as
leemed to fnake the credit of all prophecy. For
w^hereas the Montanifts cielivered their prophecies
always in ecftafy^ or with lofs of fenfes ; it was
then urged againft them, " that this was the proof
" of a Diabolical fpirit ; that the true Prophets
" never had fuch fits ; never loft their fenfes -,
" but calmly and fedately received and under-
^' ftood whatever was revealed to them." And
Epiphanius makes this the very criterion or -diftin-
guifhing character between a true and falfe pro-
phet ; that the true had no ecftafies^ conftantly re-*
iained his fenfes^ and with firmnefs of mind appre-
hended and uttered the divine m-aclcs \h\ St. Je-
rom
fr^^fc.'Mi4yi
no ^n Inqjjiry info
TOM alfo declares, that the true Prophets never
fpake in ecjiafy^ or raadnefs of hearty like Monta-
nus and his mad women^ Prifca and Maximilla,
lilt underftood what they delivered^ and could fpeak
or hold their tongues^ whenever they pleafed^ which
thofe^ who fpake in ecfiafy^ could not do [/]. Eufe-
bius alfo mentions a book of one Miltiades^ writ-
ten againft Mont anus ^ the purpofe of which was,
to prove, that a Prophet ought not to fpeak in
ecfiafy [Jz]. Yet from the teftimonies colleded
above, we have feen, that before the Montanifts
had brought thofe ecflafies into difgrace, the pro-
phecy of the orthodox, as well as that of the He-
retics, was declared to have been exerted in ec-
fiofy. And it appears to have been the current
opinion in thofe earlier days, that the Prophets
alfo of the old Teftament received and uttered
their revelations in ecfiafy.
Athenagoras exprefsly affirms it, and fays,
*' that while they were under the divine impulfe,
'^ they were tranfported out of their fenfes, and
*' delivered in ecfiafy what was infpired, being
'^ mere organs of the Holy Spirit, jufl as a pipe
'> or flute is of him, who blows into it [/]."
Jvfiin
i^oui^iyfi havo'icf. xj .Xa ^ -Erpotp^Tis
[?«] "if avro To ^cTov g'l «pava — jm-eT I/xe -zzr^olp^Ti? ey.eTi ircci,
fCccliov 'T!y7\r,>ilpoi'fCi}a-7r;^opyccvu} Hi^a,- ccKKx (TvilsT^eiix, &C. Epiphan.
fa; Ttvo? 7) ?vl'p«j, To7q ^t)ea,loi<; av- Haeref. 48. §.2. As^v yap elvoct
^jpacrt ^pa;/x£v&v, n:'/,v TuJv ^elun rifjuv to 'mpo(priTtKoi> ^xpicr[ji>cx, Iv ima,<7n
x^ Hpviiyv a.TroxcO^v-^'Yi ynjcny.Qo- T^ EKjiXriaio. [Ji>expt tv5? TsAsiaf
hort. ad gent, p 9. B. ciTapao-ja?, AttotoX©- u^ioT. Eu-
[«] in fpiritu enim homo feb. Hift. 5. 1 7.
«puftitutus, prisfertim quuin
.^' intimates^
i 1 2 An I N QJ6 I R Y into
" intimates, that they were ceafed and vanifhed
" in his days [^] :" that is, about the middle of
the fourth certury.
Since we are now confidering the miracles of
the Cyprianic age, I cannot forbear taking notice
of two or three of tliofe wonderful ftories, which
Cyprian himfelf attefts, in that magnificent treatife^
as it was called, concerning the lapfed Chriftians,
who in the time of perfecution, had been induced,
by the terrors of prefent death or tortures, to de-
ny Chriit or offer incenfe to an Idol. " There
*^ was a man, fays he, who went up voluntarily
'' to the Capitol, to deny the Lord ; and when
*' he had denied him, was prefently ftruck dumb.
^7v truv- Thirlb. it. p. 25S, 391.
Tcx, oaa, x^ octto tuv yga,
fiance, either well attefted, or even fo much as
mentioned, of any particular perfon, who had
ever exercifed this gift, or pretended to exercife
it, in any age or country whatfoever. Mr. Bod-
well fuppofes it to have ceafed, in the reign of
Af. Aurelius, about fixty years after the death of
W See Cave's Lives of Saints, Vol. I p. 169. § ix.
H 4 ^''
no An 1^ Q^u I R Y into
St. John [ j]. But it is not credible, that a gift
of fuch eminent ufe fhould intirely ceafe, while
all the reft were fubfifting in full vigor, and
abounding every day more and more. If, ac-
cording to the common hypothecs, we admit
them all to be true, it is not poflible, I fay, to
imagine any caufe, why this in particular fhould
be withdrawn, and the reft continued : but if,
agreeably to my fyftem, we confider them all, as
fi6litious, we then fee an obvious and manifeft
reafon for it. For all the other extraordinary
gifts, of healing difeafes^ cafting out Devils^ vifions^
and ecftatic revelations^ afford great room to Im-
poftors to exert all their craft of furprizing and
dazzling the fenfes of the fimple, the credulous,
and the fuperftitious of all ranks : whereas the
gift of tongues cannot eafiiy be counterfeited, or
a pretenfion to it impofed on men of fenfe, or
on any indeed, but thofe, who are utterly illi-
terate and ftrangers to all tongues but their
own : and to acquire a number of languages by
natural means, and to a degree, that might
make them pafs for a fupernatural gift, was a
work of fo much difficulty and labor, as rendered
It imprafticable^ to fupport a pretenfion of that
kind, for a fucceftion of many years. And this,
in all probability, was the real caufe of its be-
ing dropped fo early in thofe primitive ages :
for after the mention of it by Iren^us^ we find
it no longer in any fubfequent lift of the mira-
\_y] A Marci temporibus rundem dona linguarum. DiC
deficere cceperunt gratias illae in Iren, 2. § 44.
extraordinariae— -defecere eo-
culous
the Miraculous Powers, ^c. hi
culous gifts, nor the leaft hint of its continu-
ance in the Church, in any later writer, from that
time, down to the prefent. If this then appears
to have been the cafe of this particular gift ;
that a falfe claim to it was made by the early
Fathers, and held up for a while, till it could
no longer be fupported ; it is fufficient, one would
think, of itfelf, to blaft the general credit of all
the reft, though no particular mark of fraud
could have been fixed on each of them feparate-
ly : but when there is not a Tingle one among
them all, which, either from its nature, or end,
or manner of exertion, or the charader of its
witnefTes, does not furnifh juft ground to fufped
it as fidiitious, it muft needs perfuade every ra-
tional inquirer, that they were all derived from
the fame fource of craft and impofture.
In fhort ; if we trace the hiftory of this gift
from its origin, we fhall find, that in the times
of the Gofpel, in which alone the miracles of
the Church are allowed to be true by all Chrif-
tians, it was the firft gift, which was conferred
upon the Apoftles, in a public and illuftrious
manner, and reckoned ever after among the prin-
cipal of thofe, which were imparted to the firfl
converts. But in the fucceding ages, when mi-
racles began to be of a fufpedled and dubious
chara6ler, it is obfervable ; that this gift is men-
tioned but once by a fingle writer, and then va-
niflied of a fudden, without the leaft notice, or
hint given by any of the ancients, either of the
manner, or time, or caufe of its vaniftiing. Laft-
ly, in the later ages, when the miracles of the
Church
I2X An I N Q^u I R Y into
Church were not only fufpeded, but found to be
falfe by our Reformers, and confidered as fuch
ever fince by all Proteftants, this gift has never
once been heard of, or pretended to by the Ro-
manifts themfelves, though they challenge at the
fame time all the other gifts of the Apoftolic
days. From all v/hich, I think, we may rea-
fonably infer, that the gift of tongues^ may be
confidered as a proper teft and criterion, for deter-
mining the miraculous pretehfions of all Churches,
which derive their defcent from the Apoftles :
and confequently, if, in the lift of their extraor-
dinary gifts, they cannot fhew us this, we may
fairly conchide, that they have none elfe to Ihew,
which are real and genuin.
I have now run through all the various kinds
of the miraculous gifts, which are pretended to
have fubfifted in the Church, during the fecond
and third centuries •, and have opened the genuin
ftate of them, as far as it is difcoverable to us at
this diftance, from the moft authentic monuments
and teftimonies of the principal Fathers of thofe
centuries. Ages, which are always ftiled the
pureft, and in which thefe very Fathers bore the
hrft character ; not onely on the account of their
piety and integrity, but of their abilities alfo and
learning. If any fufpicions then can be enter-
tained againft fuch witnefTes, they will be ftronger
ftill againft all who fucceeded them, efpecially
after the Empire becam.e Chriftian, when, accord-
ing to the hypothefis of the very Admirers of
thefe Primitive ages, a general corruption both
of faith and morals began more openly to infe(fl
the
1
//^^ Miraculous Powers, &c. 113
the Chriftian Church •, which by that revolution,
as St. Jerom fays, loft as much of her virtue^ as it
had gained of power and wealth [z].
But in the cafe of thefe miracles, there is one
circumftance, common to all the writers, who at-
ted them, as well in the earlier, as the later ages -,
that though their affertions be flrong, their in-
flances are weak -, and when, in proof of what
they affirm, they defcend to al ledge any particu-
lar fa6ls, they areufually fo unlucky in the choice
of them, that inftead of ftrengthening, they weaken
the credit of their general affirmation, and, from the
abfurdity of each miracle related by them, furnifh a
frefh objedtion to theit power of working any. This
the reader can hardly fail to obferve, from the ex-
amples already produced ; to which I fhall add
one or two more, of the moll confiderable, which
are tranfmitted to us from the fame ages, and
which I had before omitted to recite.
One of the mod authentic and celebrated
pieces in all Primitive antiquity, is the circular
letter of the Church of Smyrna^ containing a nar-
rative of the Martyrdom of St. Polycarp^ their
Bifhop, and of the many miracles^ as Mr. Dodwell
fays, which made it illuftrious [^], This letter,
written about the middle of the fecond century,
[z] Et poftquam ad Chrifti- gregia epiftola, quam de beati
anos Principes venerit, poten- Polycarpi martyrio Eccleiia
tia quidem & divitiis major, Smyrnenfis confcripfit. Rui-
fed virtutibus minor eft. Oper. nart. Atl. Martyr, p. 28.
Tom. 2. par. 2. p. 91. Quanta autem miracula hoc
[a] Inter pr^cipua facras an- Martyrium infignierint, teftes
tiquitatis monumenta, quae ex habemus ipfos illos Polycarpi
primis Ecclefis temporibus, ad Smyrnaeos. Dodw. DiiT. Iren.
noftram aetatem pervenerunt, n, § xxxii,
jme merito computatwr ilia c-
informs
114 ^-^ I N Q^u I R Y into
informs us, " that when that Saint was entring
*' the hfls, in which he was to be burnt, there
*' was fo great a tumult, that no body could be
*' heard. ^But there came a voice to him from
'' heaven, faying, heftrong^ Polycarp, and acquit
*' thyfelf like a man : and though no body faw,
" who it was that fpake, yet many of the bre-
*-' thren heard the voice [b]. As foon as he
'^ had finifhed his prayer, the executioner kindled
*' the fire, and the flame began to blaze to a
" great height. When behold, fays the writer,
'' a mighty wonder appeared to us, whofe lot it
*' was to fee it, and who were referved by hea-
" ven, to declare to others what we had ken,
" For the flame, forming a kind of arch, like
*' to the fail of a fhip filled with the wind, en-
*' compaffed the body of the martyr, as in a
*^ circle ; who flood in the midft of it, not as
" flefh, which is burnt, but bread, which is
*' baked, or as gold and filver glowing in a fur-
*' nace : and fo fweet a fmell ilfued from him all
" the while, as if it had been the fmoak of
" frankincenfe, or fome rich fpices. At length,
*' when thefe wicked men faw, that his body
" could not be confumed by fire, they com-
" manded the executioner to draw near, and to
^' thrufl his fword into him ; which being done
*' accordingly, there came out of his Body a
" Dove, and fo great a quantity of blood, as
" quite extinguilhed the fire : fo that the whole
" multitude were amazed, to fee fo great a dif-
[^J VId. Martyr. Polyc. c. Apoft. T. z. p. 198,
Sj 9. Apud Coteler, Patres.
" ference
the Miraculous Powers, {i?r. i2f
** ference between the Unbelievers, and the
'' Eled: [f]." Yet it appears from the fequcl af
the narrative, that there was fire enough ftill
left, to confume the body to allies, which was
executed with great care, that the Chriftians
might not be able to preferve the leall remains
of it.
The greateft part of this Epiille is tranfcribed
by Eufebius^ who has omitted the mention of the
Bove^ which flew out of his body •, for which
reafon Mr. Bodwell and Archhijhop TVake have
thought fit alfo to omit it. Yet all the oldeft
copies Hill extant, from which Archhijhop UJhery
Cotelerius and Ruinart^ publifhed their feveral
editions, retain this paflTage [^d ] : which Eufebius
might probably drop for the fame reafon, for
which Mr. Bodwell and Bifhop Wake alfo, pro-
fefs to have dropt it ; viz. for the fake of ren-
dring the narrative the lefs fufpe5fed [
in his hooks of confolatmiy addrcfTed to his friend
[/] Ibid. Op. T. X. p. 45, p. 138. A. k. T. XI. p. 387,
46. 388,
M Kuiy'o^^iCjyvv i\c7iv c\l;ri- ■ [«] Id. de Saccrdot. I. 4.
tSvIe; k) >^tyofli<:, ^ioJl (aJt) jcJ ivv Op. T. I- p. 4^ ^' '^*
cmixBTcc y'lyvsltxif &c. lb. T. 8-
StagiriuSy
the Miraculous Powers, &c, 13 i
Stagirius^ who was fuppofed to be pofleircd and
horribly tormented by an evil fpirit, it is cx-
prefsly fignified, " that neither the tombs of the
" Martyrs, to which he had often appHed for
" relief, nor the repeated endeavours of the mofl
" holy and celebrated Exorcifls of thofe days,
" were able to drive the Devil out of him [0]."
There
[0] Ad Stagir. lib. i . Oper.
T. I. p. 179. A.
N.B. St. Chryfojiom is thought
to have written thefe books to
Stagirius, about A. D. 380,
which Mr. Whijlon recom-
mends, as '/ery curious, and ^ixell
ivorth the perufal of i?iquijiti've
7nen^ [See Daemoniacs, p. 60.]
I have run them flightly over,
and fhallgive the reader a fhort
abflratl, of what I chiefly col-
letled from them, fmce it re-
lates to my prefent fubjed,
and helps ftill to illuftrate the
true charafter and principles of
this fourth age.
Stagirius was the Son and
Heir of a noble family in An-
tioch, trained up in the Chrif-
tian Religion ; who, in contra-
di6lion to the will, and earneft
remonftrances of his Father,
had taken a refolution to enter
into a Monaftic life : for which
purpofe he feems to have with-
drawn himfelf, in a fecret man-
ner, tho' with the privit}'of his
Mother, into a certain Monaf-
tery, where he lay concealed
from the purfuit and difcovery
of his Father On his firft en-
trance however, he did not ea-
fily relilh the rough difcipline
of the cloyiler ; but prefuming
on the fplendor of his birth,
expeded fome exemption from
the feverer parts of it : till be-
ing inured to it by degrees,
and confirmed by the example
and admonitions of the Elder
Monks, he became equal td
the moil perfeft of them in the
frequency of his fiiftings and
watchings, and all the other
arts of mortifying his body.
But now the Devil refolved, if
pofTible, to fhake his conilancy,
and attaked him with all that
train of evils, which his power
and malice could inflidl : by
which he reduced him at laft to
fuch a Hate of melancholy and
defpair, as made life itlelf in-
fupportable to him. In this
condition he laid open his com-
plaints to his friends, and par-
ticularly to St. Chryfojiom, by
whom they are feverally enu-
merated and fummed up in the
following manner.
Firf, That in the former
part of his lifa, while he lived
like other men in the world, he
never fuffered any thing of this
1 2 kind
132' An I N Q^u I R Y info
There are feveral other pafTages in this Father
of the fame fbrain : in which he allows the cefla-
tion
kind ; but after he had cruci-
fied himfelf to the world, he
prefently fell under the fenfe
of this diforder, which was
fufficient to throw him into de-
fpair.
zdly. That many, who, from
a luxurious life, had been af-
fiirted in the fame way, were
yet relieved in a Ihort time, and
rellored to perfed health, fo as
to marry, and become the Fa-
thers of many children, and
enjoy all the other delights of
the world, withour ever re-
lapfmg into the fame mifery :
whereas he who had fpent fo
much time in fallings and
watchings and the other aufle-
rities of theMonkifh difcipline,
could find no refpite from his
afflidion.
'i^My, That the holy man,
who had {hewn fo much power
in healing others in the fame
cafe, was not able to do him
any fervice ; neither he him-
felf, nor any of the reft, who
were with him, and more pow-
erful even than he in thefe
cures, but were all forced to
go away with ftiame to them-
felves.
^hljy That he was fo op-
prefied. on this account with
grief and defpair, as to be fre-
quently tempted to hang, or
drown, or throw himfelf from
fome precipice.
<^thly. That his companions,
who entered with him into the
fame fort of life, continued to i
live at their eafe and undiftur- j
bed, while he had no peace or
reft, but was confined as it
were to a prifon, of all others !
the moft wretched, fmce no
fetters of iron were fo grievous
as the chain, with which he
was bound.
Sthly, That what chiefly
difturbed and made him trem-
ble even with fear, was, left
his Father fhould come to the
knowledge of his cafe, and do
fome great mifchief to thofe
holy men, who firft received
him, and trufting to his power
and wealth, and hurried on by
his paffion, fhould attempt all
forts of violence againft them.
That his mother indeed had hi-
therto been able to conceal the
matter from him, and elude the
effedtof his inquiries ; but if he
fhould happen to detedl her
diffimulation, his refentment
would be intolerable both to
her and to the Monks.
Lajlly, That the completion
of his mifery was, to have no
confidence or hope in what was
to come : and not to know,,
whether he fliould ever find
any
the Miraculous Powers, &c, 133
lion of miracles, and fpeaks of them even with
contempt, " as proper only to roufe the dull and
" fluggifli.
any cure or eafe, fince his ex-
pcdations had been fo often
fruftrated, by relapfmg flill in-
to the fame evil.
Now from this detail of his
complaints, as they were re-
prefented by himfelf, what
elfe can we colled, but that
this noble Youth, difgufted
perhaps by fome little domeftic
uneafmefs, had been feduced
by certain Monks, to bid adieu
to the world and retire into a
Convent. In which retreat, by
reflefling at leifure on the rafli-
nefs of his refolution, and the
provocation which he had
given by it to an indulgent
Parent, he feems to have been
ftung with remorfc : while the
aullerities, which he now prac-
tifed, and by which he hoped
to calm his mind, and conci-
liate the favor of heaven, in-
flead of appeafmg, ferved only
to increafe his anxiety, and re-
duced him by degrees to fuch
a weaknefs and dejedion both
of body and mind, as brought
on horrible Symptoms, and
Epileptic fits, and made him
compleatly miferable. This na-
turally infufed fcruples and
fufpicions, which he himfelf
gently intimates, that he was
in a wrong way, and owed all
his fufFerings to his unhappy
change of life ; and that a re-
turn therefore to the world,
where he had never ielt any
I
fuch, would free him from
them again, by affording him
the comforts of matrimony,
and children, and all the other
fweets of focial life.
That this was the real cafe
and fource of his complaints,
is evident from his own ac-
count of them. Let us fee then
what fort of comfort St. Chry-
fojlom thought fit to adminiller
to him in this fad flate. This
holy Father had himfelf alfo,
when young, taken the fame
refolution of retiring from the
world: in confequence of
which, after he had fpcnt fe-
veral years in a Monaftery, he
betook himfelf to the moun-
tains, wh.ere he lived, as an
Hermit, in a folitary cave, for
two years more, till perceiv-
ing at laft, that the infirmity
of his body could no longer
indure the feverity of that dif-
cipllne, he quitted his folitude,
apd chofe to rcfide in Antiochy
where he is fuppofcd to have
written this elaborate confola-
tion to Stagirius. But tho' h^
left the Afcetic life himfelf, when
he found it hurtfull to his health,
he never once fuggclts the fame
advice to his friend Stagirius,
nor ever mentions the only re-
medy which could aftbrd him
any folid comfort ',~ciz. to quit
the place and way of life which
had given birth to all his trou-
bles ; and to reconcile liimfelf
to his Father, by returning to
3 ^m
134
" auggifli,
" minds ;
j^n I N Q^u I R Y /;//(?
but ufelcfs to men of philofophical
that they were frequently liable to
" finifter
tlie world, and by the ufe of
its innocent pleafures, to calm
the dilbrders of his mind, and
reftore it to its former tran-
quillity.
This, I fay, wzs the moft
rational and eiFe(^ual comfort'
which could be adminiftred to
him ; but inilead of this, St.
Chryfojiom employs all his rhe-
torick to perfuade him that
his fufterings were the fure
marks of the divine favor, and
had been of the greateft fervice
to him : that he could not but
remember, on his lirfl: entrance
into the Monaftery, and before
the Devil began to vex him,
how difficult he found it, to
comply with the rules of the
fociety; how haughty and
iluggifh he was ; how hard to
be roufed from his bed : and
how angry with thofe, who
difturbed him. : but from the
time of this trial and ftruggle
with the Devil, all that diffi-
culty was at an end, and no
man furpafied him in all thofe
aufterities and exercifes of de-
votion, which conftitute the
p^rfedion of the Chriftian life.
He exhorts him therefore to
perfevere in his fallings and
watchings, and all his other
mortifications, as the only
means of baffling all thefe ef-
forts and terrors, by which the
Devil was labouring lo drive
hitn from that blcflcd courfe.
That while he was immcrfed
in the pleafures of the world,
or was yet a novice and raw in
the Monadic life, God would
not expofe him to this trial,
nor fuffer the Devil to attack
him ; knowing, that he would
then be an unequal match, and
fall an eafy prey to the Ad-
verfary : b'ut now that he was
become firm and perfed: in all
his exercifes, God committed
him to the Stadium, as an ex-
pert champion, and fure to
come ofF with glory from the
combat. That as to the trouble,
which he fuffered on the ac-
count of his Father, it was a
weaknefs to afflid himfelf for
what might or might not hap-
pen hereafter : that his Father
perhaps would never come to
the knowledge of his cafe ; or
if he did, would not be fo
much difturbed at it, as he
imagined : that a man oi his
temper, fond of vain ex-
pences, and jovial company,
puffed with pride and haughti-
nefs, and enflaved to a Concu-
bine, whom he kept in his
houfe, would have but little
concern for the diftrefs of a
Son. That he had ihewn this
already by experiments ; for
tho' he had once loved him
with the utmoft tendernefs,
and above all things in the
world, yet all that love was
extinguiflied, upon his en-
trance into the monaftery ;
which his Father declared to
be
the Miraculous Powers, ^c. 135
finifter fufpicions, of being mere phantafms
and illufions, and that it was a proof of th^
" greater
be a bafenefs, unworthy of his
Anceflors, and difgraceful to
the rplendor of his Family. It
was probable therefore, that
he would rejoice at his calami-
ty, and think it a punilhment
of his difobedience to him, in
betaking himfelf to a way of
life, from which he had la-
boured (o earneftly to diffuade
him. In fhort the Summ of
St. ChryfoJlG7n\ confolation is
this ; that the more Stagirius
fuffered in this confiSl^ the more
ajjured he ?night he, that he
nxjas under the peculiar care of
hea'oen ; and that by finding tio
relief, either from the tombs of
the Martyrs, ivhich he had fo
often 'vifited, or from his long
abode moith thofe holy Exor-
cijis, ^ho had ne'ver failed of
fiiccefs before, he had a clear de-
menjh-ation of God's particular
regard for him ; nvho efs accruing to their fons, [r] Ibid. T. xi. p. 387. A:
from their choice and purfuit it. T. 5. p. 271. !>•
ef it.
" requires
//^^ Miraculous Powers, (Sc. 137
^^ requires prodigies, that he may become a be-
" Hever, is himfelf a great prodigy, who does
*' not believe now, when the world does be-
" lieve [j]." One would not imagine, that thefe
words, which feem to imply a cefiation of mi-
racles, were the preface to an elaborate narrative
and folemn atteftation of great numbers of them,
faid to have been wrought in thefe very times :
which, if true, as they are here affirmed by St.
Auftin from his own knowledge, muft have been
more illuflrious, both for the number and the
excellence of them, than all, which were wrought
by the Apoftles themfelves.
But before we defcend to particulars, I cannot
forbear obferving, what this Father has delivered
concerning the general ftate and credit of them
among the Chriftians themfelves, at the very
time, when they were wrought. He tells us then,
'' that though miracles were frequently wrought,
" either by the name of Jefus^ or by his Sacra-
'' merits^ or by the prayers or the memorials of the
*' Martyrs ; yet the fame of them was not fo il-
" luflrious, as of thofe of the Apoftles : fmce
" they were fcarce ever known to the whole City
*^ or place, where they happened to be perform-
" ed j but for the moil part, to a very few on-
" ly •, while all the reft were utterly ignorant of
'' them ; efpecially if the city was large : and if
\f\ Cur, inquiunt, nunc ilia Quifquis adhuc prodigia, ut
miracula, quae praedicatis fafta credat, inquirit, magnum eft
efle, non fiunt ? poflem qui- ipfe prodigium, qui, mundo
dem dicere, neceflaria prius fu- credente, non credit. De Civ.
ifle, quam crederet mundus, Dei. 1. 22. c 8.
ad hoc, ut crederet mundus.
«« ever
138 'An I N Q^u I R Y into
" ever they were told abroad to other people,
*^ yet they were not recommended with fuch au-
*' thority, as to be received without difficulty and
*' doubting, though reported by true believers,
*' to true believers [/]."
That he might put an end therefore to this
ftrange negligence of the Chriftians, with regard
to their own miracles, he took care, as oft as he
heard of any miracle, " that the parties concerned
*' in it fhould be examined, and a verbal proces,
*' or authentic narrative be drawn of the fadb,
** which was afterwards publicly read to the
** people. Yet all this caution, as he fays, was
** not fufficient to make the miracles known,
** or at all regarded : becaufe thofe, who were
*' prefent at the recital of fuch narratives, heard
*^ them but once, while the greater part were
*' abfent ; and even thofe, who heard them, re-
*' tained nothing, a few days after, of what they
*' had heard, and feldom or never took the
" pains to tell it to any body elfe, whom they
" knew to be abfent [/^]." This account of the
matter would be very furprizing, were it not ex-
plained to us by the miracles themfelves ; of which
I have here added a few fpecimens, whence we
\t\ Nam etiam "nunc fiunt quamvis Chriflianis fidelibus a
miracula, in ejus nomine, five fidelibus indicentur. Ibid. §1.
per facramenta ejus, five per [«] Ut nee illi, qui adfuc-
orationes vel memorias Sane- runt, poft aliquot dies, quod
torum ejus, fed non eadem audierunt, mente retineant ; &
claritate illuftrantur & vix quifquam reperiatur illo-
quando alibi, aliifque narran- rum, qui ei, quern non adfu-
tiir, non tanta ea commendat iffe cognoverit, indicet quod
suftoritas, ut fine difficulta- audivit. Ibid. §21,
te, vel dubitatione credantur,
IhsJl
^& Miraculous Powers, &c. 1-^9
fhall cafily colkd the rcafon of that coldnefs and
indifference, which the people of thofe days ex-
preffed towards them.
For inftance, among many other flories of the
fame kind, he relates thefe, which follow : " A
" pious old Cobler of Hippo, where he himlijf
*' was Billiop, having loft his old coat, and want-
'' ing money to buy a new one, betook himfeif
*' to the twenty Martyrs, whofe chappel or me-
" morial was famous in that city ; where he
" prayed to them very earneftly, that he might
" be enabled by them to get feme cloaths. Some
" young Fellows, who overheard him, began to
" make fport with him, and purfued him with
" their feoffs, for begging money to buy a coat.
" But as the old man walked away, without
" minding them, he faw a large fifh lie gafping
*' on the fhore, which he caught by the help of
" the young men, and fold to a Chriftian Cook
*' for three hundred pence ; and laying out the
^' money on wooll, fet his wife to work, to pro-
" vide cloaths for him : but the Cook, cutting
" open the fifh, found a gold ring alfo in the
" belly of it ; which, out of compaffion to the
*' poor man, and the terror alfo of religion, he
" prefently carried to the Cobler, faying, fee here
" is the cloathing, which the twenty Martyrs have
" given you \j<\
" There was one Hefperius likewife, as he tells
" us, a man of Tribunician quality, whofe coun-
[a-] Ad viginti Martyres, celeberrima, clara voce, ut ve-
quorum Memoria apud nos ell iUretur, oravit, &c. ib. § 9.
" try
C(
140 'An I N Q^U I R Y mf6
'' try houfe near Hippo was haunted by evil fpi-
'' rits, and his cattle alfo and fervants afflided
'' by them : upon which he fent a meifage to the
*' Priefts at Hippo^ when Aufti7i happened to be
*' abfent, that fome of them would come over to
'' him, and drive the evil Spirits away by their
'' prayers. One of them accordingly went, and
offered the facrifice of ChriJTs body upon the
fpot, praying at the fame time, as fervently as
he was able, that this vexation might be re-
moved •, upon which by God's mercy it in-
ftantly ceafed [jy].
" The fame Hefperius had received from a
friend fome holy earthy brought from Jerufa-
lem^ where Chrift rofe from his grave on the
third day ; which earth he hung up in his bed.
chamber, to fecure himfelf from the mifchief
of thofe evil fpirits. But fince his houfe was
now cleared of them, he was confidering,
what he fhould do with this earth, being un-
willing, out of reverence to it, to keep it any
longer in his bed-chamber. It happened, that
Aufiin and another Bifliop, called Maximinus^
were then in the neighbourhood \ fo that Hefpc •
rius fent them an invitation to come to his
houfe ; which they immediately accepted •, and
after he had acquainted them with the whole
affair, he defired, that the facred earth might
be depofited fomewhere in the ground, and an
Oratory built over it, where the Chriftians
might affemble for the performance of divine
[.y] lb. § 6.
*' ferviec
/^^ Miraculous Powers, &c. 141
*' fervice : the two Bidiops had no objedlion, fo
" that his projed was prelently executed. There
*' was at the fame place a country lad, afflicSled
*' with the pally •, who having heard what was
" done, begged of his parents, that they would.
'^ carry him without delay to that holy place :
" whither as foon as he was brought, he put up
'' his prayers, and prefently returned back on
" foot in perfed health [2]."
There are many more tales of this fort, as con-
temptible, as any in the Popifh legends, and all
atteiled by this celebrated Father, from his own
knowledge : yet thefe are nothing to the extrava-
gant things, which he goes on to relate, of ibe
reliques of the Martyr Stephen. For as reliques
were now become the moft precious treafure of
the Church, fo thefe of St. Stephen^ after they had
Iain buried and unknown for near four centuries,
were revealed in a vifion, to one Lticianus^ a
Prieft, by Gamaliel, the celebrated Br. of the law ^^
at whofe feet St. Paul had been bred^ and being
found by his diredion, were removed with great
Solemnity and many miracles into Jerufalem [/z].
The fame of thefe reliques was foon fpread thro*
the Chrifiiian world ; and many little portions of
them brought away by holy Pilgrims, to enrich
the particular Churches of their own countries-
[z] Ibid. are annexed, as an Appendix
[a] The hlftory of this reve- to the feventh Volume of St.
lation of St. Stephens reliques. Auftin. Edit. Benedift. And
and of the miracles, which the fame revelation is referred
were wrought by them, is par- to likcwife by St. Atijiin him-
ticulariy delivered by feveral felf in different parts of hi?
ancient writers, whofe pieces works.
For
142. An lii Q^u I R Y info
For wherever any reliques were depofited, an
Oratory or Chappel was always built over them,
which w^as called a Memorial of that Martyr,
whole reliques it contained. Several reliques
therefore of St. Stephen having been brought by
different people into Jfric^ as many Memorials of
him were confequently ereded in different places,
of which three were peculiarly famous ; one at
HippOy where St. Auftin was Bifhop ; a fecond at
Calama \ and a third at Uzalis^ two other Epifco-
pal Cities ; and many great and illuflrious mira-
cles were continually wrought in them all.
St. /luftin has given us a particular relation of
fome of them, by which the gout^ theftone^ and
ffiula's were indantly cured ; the blind reft or ed to
fight ; and five different perfons raifed even from
death to life. Two of whom were carried dead to
the reliques^ and brought back alive : two more re-
Itored to life, by the virtue of their garments only^
which had touched the reliques \ and a fifth, by the
oil of the martyr's lamps. After all which wonder-
ful flories, he adds the following apology, not
for telling us fo many of them but fo few, out of
the infinite number, which were publicly known
and recorded.
" What fhall I do } fays he : I am engaged by
'' promife, to finifh the prefent work, fo that it
" is not poflible for me in this place, to relate all
" the miracles, which I know ♦, and our people
*' without doubt, when they read thefe, will be
*' grieved, that I have omitted fo 4nany, which
*' they know to be true, as well as I. But I
" beg them to excufe me, and to confider what
a tedious
the Miraculous Powers,©*^. 143
" a tedious piece of work it would be, to do that,
*^ which the nature of my argument does not
" obhge me to do here. For were I to relate on-
*' ly the miracles of cures, without mentioning
** the reft, which have been performed by this
*' Martyr, the moft glorious Stephen^ in the co-
*•' lony of Calama^ and in our own, it would fill
" a great number of volumes. Nor would it be
" pofllble to colled them all, but fuch of them
*' only, of which certificates have been made,
** and read to the people. For this I ordered to
*' be done, when I faw the effeds of the divine
** powers, like to thofe of the ancients, fo fre-
" quently exerted alfo in our own times, which
*' ought not to be loft from the notice of i\\^.
" multitude. It is not yet two years, fmce this
" Memorial was founded at Hippo^ and tho' I am
" certain, that no account was taken of many of
'* the miracles, yet at the time when I wrote
" this, the number of certificates publicly made,
" amounted to near feventy : But at Calama^
" where the Memorial is of longer ftanding, and
" certificates more frequently taken, they reach
** to a far greater number.
" At Uzalis alfo, we know many eminent mi-
" racks wrought by the fame Martyr ♦, whofe
" Memorial was inftituted there by their Biftiop
*' Evodius^ much earlier than with us. But it is
" not the cuftom with them to take certificates-^
" or it was not rather, becaufe now it is probably
" begun. For when I was lately there, I exhor-
" ted Petronia^ a celebrated Matron, who had
" been miraculoufly cured of a great and linger-
" ing
144 -^n. I N Q^u I R Y into
*' ing illnefs, in which the Phyficians were not
" able to help her, to get a certificate drawn of
*' of the cafe, and read publicly to the people, to
" which, by the advice alfo of the faid Bifhop
" of the place, fhe willingly confented, and in-
" ferted in it another miracle, which, notwith-
" Handing the haft that I am in to put an end
" to this work, I cannot forbear relating, &c.
I have dwelt longer on thefe miracles, than
the importance of them perhaps may be thought
to require : but they are fo precifely defcribed and
authentically attefted by one of the moft venera-
ble Fathers in all antiquity, who affirms them to
have been wrought within his own knowledge,
and under his own Eyes, that they feem of all
others the beft adapted to evince the truth of
what I have been advancing, and to illuftrate the
real charader of all the other miracles of the pri-
mitive times, both before and after them. Dr.
Chapman however, fpeaking of the very fame mi-
racles, roundly declares them all, to he fo ftrongly
attefted^ both by the effe^fs^ and the relators ofthem^
that to doubt their reality^ were to doubt the evi-
dence of fenfe [c\ On thefe then, I am content to
reft the fate of my whole argument •, and if either
Dr. Chapman or Dr. Berriman can maintain thefe
miracles to be credible, fliall no longer difpute the
credibility of any, from the Apoftolic times,
down to our own. But, on the other hand, if
miracles fo ftridtly examined by a moft Holy
OT De Civ. Pei. I. 22. c. [r] MifceU. Trafts p. 174;
S. §2Q, 21.
Bilhop^
the Miraculous Powers, &c. 145
Bifhop, confirmed by the certificates of eyewit-
jiefles, and rehearfed publicly to the people, at the
time when they are laid to have been wrought,
cannot command our belief, thefe Dodlors mud
needs confefs, nay, they have already confefTed,
that the Chriftian Church can fhew no other, ex-
cept thofe of Chrift and his Apoflles, which can
make any better pretenfions to it.
For not to infill on the objections, which mighf
reafonably be made to the probability of the fads
themfelves ; to the incompetency of the inflru -
"ments, by which, and of the ends, for which
they are laid to have been performed •, to the cre-
dulity of a prejudiced, or the fidelity rather of
an artfull and intereiled relator ; it feems evident,
from the negled: with which they were treated
by the Chriflians themfelves ; from the obfcurity
in which they lay \ from the diligence of St. Au-
fiin^ to fearch them out ; to get certificates of
them •, and to publifh them to the people \ and
from the infulBciency of all his pains, to make
them ftill regarded or at all remembered \ that
the people themfelves faw or fufpeded the cheat,
and were tired with the repeated frauds of this
kind, v;hich their Bifhops were impofmg upon
them. For it is not pofTible to conceive any other
reafon of fo furprizing a coldnefs, in a cafe of all
others the mofl warming, but a general perfuafi-
on, grounded on experience, that thefe pretended
miracles v/ere nothing elfe but forgeries, contrived
to enforce fome favorite dodlrine or rite, which
the rulers of the Church were defirous to efla-
blifh.
K Yet
146 An I N Qjj i,.R Y into
Yet thefe are not the ftories, which chiefly
ihock Mr. Bodwell^ and obHge him to reje6t the
miracles of the fourth Century •, but others flill
more extravagant, tho' attefted Hkewife by perfons
of equal eminence and authority ; by St. /ithana-
Jjtis^ St. Gregory of Nyjfa., St. Jerom^ Sr. Epipha-
nhis^ &c. Of which therefore, it will be necefia-
17 to add a fpecimen or two, from each of thole
Fathers.
St. Athanafius^ in the Preface to his life of St.
Antony the Monk, declares, " that he had infer-
" ted nothing in it, but what he either knew to
" be true, having often feen the faint himfelf, or
" what he had learnt from one, who had long mi-
" niftered to him, and poured water upon his
" hands [^]." In this life then, after a great
number of monftrous ftories, concerning the per-
fonal confiidis, which this Saint continually fuf-
tained with all the feveral Devils, and powers of
Hell, who aftaulted him in every fliape, which
could imprint terror -, and exerted every art and
even corporal punifliments, to drive him from
the Monaftic life, which threatened the fpeedy
ruin of their Kingdom, he tells us -, " that fome
*' body knocking one day at his Cell, A^itoyiy
" v^ent to the door, where he faw a tall meager
" pcrlbn, who being afked his name, anfv/ered,
« that he was Satan. His bufmefs, it feems,
r^l Ai«. tSt a,7np avroq te yj^ovov hh. oXlyov—y^oc-^on ry ivXct.-
yivua-Ku ftiyoXXccKK; ycc^ avrov Qi\a v^AjUV la-Treocca-cc. Uper. 1 .
lu^XKOt) x^ a, fAOC^sTv h^vvriQrjV 2. p. 45 1. Edit. 1 ill*.
was.
the Miraculous Powers, G?c. 147
*' was, to beg a truce of the Saint, and to expof-
" tulate with him, on account of the perpetual
" reproaches and curfes, which the Monks fo
" undefervedly beflowed upon him, when he was
" no longer in condition to give them any
*' trouble : for fince the defert was now filled
" with Monks, and the Chrillians fpread into all
" places, he was difarmed of all power to do
" them any mifchief : fo that the Chriftians had
" nothing more to do, but to take care of them-
" felves, and to forbear their needlefs curfes
" againfthim [^]." The reft of this piece is fil-
led with many other miracles of the fame ftamp,
too trifling to deferve any regard.
St. Gregory of Nyjfa^ in the life of his Name-
fake, called the wonder-worker, has this ftory,
" that the ^/V^/;/ Af^ry, accompanied by St. John
'' the Evangelift, appeared to Gregory in a vifion,
" and explained to him the myftery of Godlinefs,
" in a fhort Creed or divine fummary of faith,
" which he took down in writing, as they didta-
" ted it to him, and left the copy of it, a lega-
" cy to the Church of Neoccefarea^ of which he
" was Bifhop : and if any one, fays he, has a
" mind to be fatisfied of the truth of this, let
" him inquire of that Church, in which the very
*' words, as they were written by his blefled
" hand, are preferved to this day : which, for the
" excellency of the divine grace, may be com-
ie] Ibid. p. 476.
K 2 " pared
148 An I N Ctj5 I R Y info
" pared with thofe tables of the law, made hy
" God and dehvered to Mofes [ /]."
Dr. Waterland has given us a tranQation of this
Creed, and Dr, Berriman^ an abflract of it ;
which is as exprefs as poffible^ they fay, for the Doc-
trine of the "Trinity^ as it was taught afterzvards by
Athanafius. They both however intimate, that
the genuinenefs of the Creed had 'been called in
qiieilion, tho' without any fufficient caufe [^].
Yet the learned Cave^ who for zeal, and ortho-
doxy, and facility of believing, was fcarce infe-
rior to any, declares, that notwithfiandiyig the au-
thority of Gregory Nyfien, who was apt to he too
credulous^ this floor t expo/it ion of the Chriftian faith
will hardly find credit with prudent andfenfible men
\h\ But whatever may be alledged to perfuade
us, that this Creed was adually profelTed and
taught by Gregory^ in his Church of Neoc^farea^
yet no man furely but Dr. Berriman^ could have
any Icruple to own, that the fbory of the vifion,
and of it's delivery to him from heaven, was a
forgery, contrived to fupport the Athanafian doc-
trine^ at a time when it was warmly controverted,
and in danger of being fuppreffed. But as the
revelation of it, if admitted to be true, would put
an end at once to all difpute, and give a divine
Sanation to the do6trine itfelf, fo the Dr. feems re-
\f\ Vid. Greg. NyfT. Vit. Ace. of the Trinitar. Contro-
S. Greg. Thaumaturg. p. 978. verf. p. 138, 141.
Op. T. 2. Ed. Par. [h] Vid. Hiftor. Litterar. In
[^] See Waterland. Import. Vita Greg. Thaumaturgi. p.
of the Do6lr. of the Trin. p. 132,
232. And Berrim, Hilloric.
folvcd
t^e Miraculous Powejis, &c, 1+9
folved not to part with it : for in his Hiftorical ac-
count of the Trinitarian coHtroverfy^ fpeaking on
this very point, he fays ; " there are many argu-
" mcnts to convince us of the geniiinenefs and
*' authority of this Creed of St Gregory : I do
" not mean of it's being taught him by revelati.
" on, (tho* that may be ijuell attefted too^ and will
" not feem incredible to thofe^ who jloall consider ^
*' how highly this great per f on was diftinguijhed by
*' the char if mat a ^ or extraordinary gifts of the Holy
" Ghcfl] but I mean, as to the certainty, of it's
" having been taught by St. Gregory^ &c. [/]."
From which we fee, that tho' his fole bufmefs in
this place was, to prove thq Creed to have been
really Gregory's^ yet he could not forbear to ac-
quaint us, that, if there was occafion, he could
prove the revelation alfo to be genuin : fince it
cannot enter into his head, how any one fhould
think it incredible, that, in thofe miraculous ages,
a perfon of Gregory's exalted character might be
favored with a vifit from heaven, by the Virgin
Mary and St. John the Apofile,
The fame Gregory of Nyffa relates likewife,
" how his Namefake, being upon ajourney, was
" forced one night, to take fhelter in an Heathen
*' Temple, famed for an Oracle and divination ;
*' where the Daemons ufed to appear vifibly and
" offer themfelves 10 the Priefls. But the holy
" Father, by invoking the name of Jcfus^ put
*' them all to flight ^ and by making the Sign of
" the Crofs, purified the air, polluted by the
[z] Berrim. ibid. p. 138.
K 3 " ileanv,
150 An l\^ QJ5 I R Y info
" fteam of their facrifices the next morning
'' when the Pried came to perform his ufual func-
" tions ', the Devils appeared, and acquainted
*' him, that they had been driven out the night
'' before by a flranger, and had not the power to
" return : nor was he able to recall them by all
*' the charms of his expiatory facrifices. Upon
" this, the Prieft purfued Gregory in great wrath,
*' and overtaking him on the road, threatened
*' him mofl terribly, for what he had done. But
*' Gregory^ defpifing his threats, gave him to un-
" derftand, that he had a power fuperior to that
*' of Devils, and could drive them whitherfoever
" he pleafed. The Prieft amazed at what he
" faid, began to beg, that for a proof of his
" power, he would fetch them back again int®
" the Temple ^ to which Gregory confenting,
" wrote this fhort note only, upon a Schedule of
" paper, Gregory to Satan. Enter. With this, the
" Prieft was difmiffed ; and laying the little Sche-
^' dule upon the Altar, brought the Devils back
" again immediately to their old Seats." The
miracle however had the good effed of converting
the Pagan Prieft [k].
I have already given a paffage from the Life of
St. Hilarion the Monk, written by St. Jerom., as
a fpecimen of the fidelity of the writer. ' — •
But for a proof of the fabulous genius of the
fourth century, Mr. Dodwell refers us to another
Life of tbe Hermit Paul, compiled by the fame
Father, which is filled with ftories ftill more mon-
ftrous -, " of Satyrs and Fauns prefenting them-
[i] Vid. Greg. NylT. ibid. p. 981.
^' felves,
the Miraculous Powers, Gfc. 151
^ felves to the Hei mit, and confefling their own
*' mortahty, and the folly of the Gentiles in
" paying them any worlhip, and begging his re-
" commendation of them to their common Lord,
" who came to favc the world : of a raven,
' ' bringing half a loaf for fixty years fucceffively
*' to the Hermit, for his daily food in the wil-
" dernefs ; and then a whole loaf, when St. /^n-
'' torty came to vifit him : of two Lions, com-
" ing to aflifl Antony in the burial of Faul^ by
" dissinp; a grave for him with their feet, and
*' then departing with the blefTing of Antojiy [/],'*
St. Epiphanius^ Bifhop of Salamis in Cyprus^
who is faid to have wrought miracles himfelf,
both in his life-time and after \jn\ affirms feveral
falfe and abfurd miracles from his own know-
ledge, which his advocates gently pafs over, by
remarking onely, that this mofi holy Father was
too credulous^ or not fo accurate^ as we could
wifli [n]. He declares, '^ that in imitation of
'* our Saviour's miracle at Cana in Galilee^ feve-
*' ral fountains and rivers in his days were an-
" nuaily turned into wine. A fountain of Cihyra
" a City of Caria^ fays he, and another at Gerafa
" in Arabia^ prove the truth of this, I myfelf have
^' drunk out of the fountain of Cihyra^ and my
[/] Hieron. Vit. Pauli Ere- nia, cujufmodi multa funt \\\
mit. Op. T. 4. par. 2. p. 71, hoc opere bona fide a Sandif-
Ed. Benedidl. fimo Patre defciipta. Petav,
\jn\ Vid. Vit. Epiphan. c. Not. in pag. 217. Tom. 2.
37,66, &c. Op. lorn, 2. p. Majori fide digna,quam quae
350. Edit. Par. habet alia pleraque Pater illQ
[tz] Quae de Mclchifedeci parum accuratus. Dodvv. DifT,
parentibus narrat Epiphaniusy Iren. 2, § 20.
rec^lent apocryphorum fom-
K 4 ^' bre^
152. -^ In qIu I R Y hito
^ brethren, out of the other at Gerafa: and many
" tefcify the fame thing of the river 'Nile in jE-
" SyP^ W\" Should we then be afked here, as
we were before in a fimilar cafe •, will ye not be-
lieve a moft holy Bijhop^ in a fciB attefied by his
cwn fenfes ? the anfwer is clear and lliort ; the
fa5l is not credible.
St. Chryfoftom., celebrating the a6ls of the Mar-
tyr St. Babylas^ Bifhop of Antioch^ fays •, " the
*' Gentiles will laugh to hear me talk of the ads
*' of perfons dead, and buried, and confumed to
'' duft ; but they are not to imagine, that the
'' bodies of Martyrs, like to thofe of common
" men, are left deftitute of all adive force and
" energy, fmce a greater power than that of the
" human foul is fuperadded to them, the pOwer
" of the Holy Spirit : which, by working mi-
" racles in them, demonflrates the truth of the
■" refurredion." He then proceeds to in-
** form us, how the remains of this Martyr were
" removed by a certain Emperor, out of the City
" of Antic ch^ into a fuburb of it, called Daphne ^
^' famous for the delights of its fituation, and
*' the variety of pleafures, which it afforded to its
" inhabitants, as well as for a celebrated Temple
" and Oracle of Apollo Baphneus •, to which the body
*' of the faint was thought proper to be removed,
*' for the fake of giving fome check to the lewd-
" nefs and licentioufnefs, that reigned in the place.
" The Coffin therefore was no fooner depofited
" in a chappel provided for it, than the Oracle
\_o] tIiluya.(jL£v uTTo rriq Ki^v- Jg hJ Iv Alyv'7/lu 'ifrifi re Nflx*
^viq, Vf^ire^ok ^£ uh7\(pol ccjro r^q tSto [4,ap,v{,^cri. Adv. H.2CTe{.
iv Tspaa-ri fc^rty^c, xj isoKh^i 1. 2. CXXX. p. 451. Tom. I.
'' of
//j^ Miraculous Powers, &c. 153
** of Jpo:Io was ftruck dumb at once : fo that
*' when Julian the Apoflate came afterwards to
" confult it, he could receive no other anfwer
^' from Apdlo^ but that the dead would not fuffer
" hm to /peak any longer [p']. Wherefore Julian
" commanded the bones of St. Babylas to be con-
*' veyed back again into Antioch ; but in the very
*' moment, when they entered into the City, the
" Statue of the God, and the roof of his Tem-
" pie were deftroyed by lightning, upon the in-
" tercefllon of the Saint [^]." St. Chryfoftom em-
ploys an intire Homily, and a larger difcourfe,
which follows it, in haranguing on this fame fub-
jed du^Babylas'^ and on the bleflings and daily
miracles, wrought by the rcliques of the Mar-
tyrs, to the edification of the Church, and the
confufion of unbelievers [r]. Yet his Hiftory of
this Saint is fo evidently fabulous and romantic,
that the Benedi5lin Monks^ who publilhed the lad
and beft edition of his works, found it necefiary
to admoniili the reader, that it is written in a de-
clamatory Jlile^ overflowing with rhetorical figures ^
and for the moft- part deftitute of truth [j]. In
which thofe learned Papifts have fhewn more
[p] *' By which anfwer we [r] Ka*. on ix. a^Aw? xo/X7ra-
*' may underftand, fays Sir I/, ^m nxvrcc T^syoj vvv Ixuva, [/.Iv
" NenAjtotiy thatfome Chriftian tlv "Koy.-i 'miru;a-a.a-Q(xt, xjra Auzft'
** was got into the place, E«ar*)v r)[Aspav vttq Tuv MafvcoJif
" where the Heathen Priefts yivo^juiva, -^aunAoIa. Ibid. p. 55^,
** ufed to fpeak through a pipe [j] Argumentum libn, eft
" in delivering their Oracles."" hiftoria Martyrii S. Babylae—
See Obfervat. on the Prophe- declamatorio more narrata, tro-
cies o^ Daniel, par. 1. p. 210. pifque redundans; in qua pie-
[q] Vid. Oper. Tom. 2. p. rumque vcritatem defideres.
531, 533> 534> 564, &c. Admonit.in Serm.ibid.p. 530,
candor
154 -^fo I N QJJ I R Y hifo
candor as well as judgment, than our Proteftant
Do6lor Cave ; who, in his Life of the fame Ba-
hylas^ after relating the particular ftory juft de-
fcribed, which he calls one of the moft memorahk
occurrences that Church- antiquity has conveyed to
us^ adds the following atteftation to it.
" The reader 'tis like, may be apt to fcruple
*' this ftory, as favouring a litrle of fuperftition,
'' and giving too much honor to the reliques of
*' faints. To which I fhall fay no more, than that
*' the credit of it feems unqueftionable : it being
*' reported not onely by Socrates^ Sozomen^ and
" Theodorety who all lived very near that time,
*' but by Chryfoftom^ who was born at Antioch^
'' and was a long time Prefbyter of that Church,
*' and was fcholar there to Libanius the Sophifl,
*' at the very time when the thing was done, and
*' an eye- witnefs of it ^ and who not onely preach-
" ed the thing, but wrote a difcourfe againft the
*' Gentiles on this very fubje6l ^ where he ap-
*' peals to the knowledge both of young and old
" then alive, wdio had feen it, and challenges
*' them to ftand up and contradict, if they could,
" the truth of what he related. Nay, which
" farther puts the cafe paft all peradventure, Li-
*' hanius the Orator evidently confelTes it,^r. [^]."
Whereas all, which that Orator confelTes, and
which the Benedi6lins allow to be well grounded
in the whole relation is, that the jeliques of Bahy-
^as were carried back again, by Julian's order,
out of Daphne into the City ; and that the Tcm-
[/] See his Lives of the Vol. I. p. 247,
Prim. Fathers. Life of Babyl.
pie
/Z)^ Miraculous Powers, Q?r. i5'5
pie of the Baphnean Apollo was foon after deftroy-
ed in the night by fire -, which the Chriftians de-
clared to have been fent from heaven by the
power of the Saint -, and the Heathens afcribed
to the revenge and contrivance of the Chri^
ftians \jf\.
A Popifli writer, with whom I have been en-
gaged, in order to reprove my raillery on their
fi6litious Saints and Image-worfhip, has alledged
alfo a moft notable miracle, from this fourth cen-
tury •, which I fhall here add to the Specimens
already given ;
" When Julian the Apoftate was purfuing his
" Perfian expedition, and at the very time, when
" he is fuppofed to have been deflroyed by the
'' immediate hand of God, the Great St. Bafil
" was {landing before the Image of the Blejfed
*' Virgin^ on which there was painted Hkewife the
*• figure of St. Mercurius^ an eminent Martyr :
*' and while St. Bafil was fervently praying, that
" the impious and atheiftical Julian might be cut
'' off, he received this revelation from the pic-
" ture •, out of which, the figure of the Martyr
^' quite vanifhed for a little while, but prefcntly
[a] Julian fufpeded the flightly grounded, of a diffe-
Chriftians to have fct fire to rent caufe of that accident. [I.
this Temple, on the account of 22. c. 13. Vid. it. Julian. Mi-
his removal of the body of St. fopogon. Oper. T. i. p. 361.
Babylas: for which reafon, he Edit.Spanh. 1696.] The Chri-
ordered fome of them to be tians, fays Sozomen, took the
put to the rack, and their great fire to be fent from heaven at
Church in Antioch to be (hut the requeft of the Martyr, but
up : as we are told by Anmia- the Gentiles look upon it as the
nui Marcellinus ; who mentions aft of the Chriilians. lib. 5 c.
another report alfO; tho' more xx.
" appeared
156 An I N Q^u I R Y into
*' appeared again, and held out a bloody fpear :
'' as a token of what had happened in the fame
*' moment to Julian [^].'*
But Julian^ death was foretold likewife by vU
Jions^ and dimne revelations^ as the Ecclefiaftical
writers inform us, to feveral other Saints and ho-
ly men, in different parts of the world, who were
feverally addrefTing their prayers to God for his
defl:ru6i:ion [jy]. Whence we cannot but obferve,
what a total change there was, both of principles
and practice, between the Fathers of the fourth,
and thofe of the preceding ages ; or between the
Church when perfecuted, and when eftablifhed in
power and authority. For in the earlier times,
under the very worfl of the Heathen Emperors,
and the cruellefl: perfecutors of the Church, when
the Chriflians were treated every where, as traitors
to the government, all their Apologifts, through
the three firft centuries, declare with one voice,
that they were obliged by the precepts of their
religion, to be of all men the mofb loyal to their
Princes, and that it was their daily pradice, to
put up their united prayers for their profperity.
We pray, fays ^ertullian., for every Emperor^
that he may have a long life^ fecure reign^ a fafe
houfe^ ftrong armies^ faithfull Senate^ honeji people^
\x'\ 'e| ^? £»xov©- E/xy^O*? Tuv- have been recorded by Hella-
*>?* lYiV ccascxaKv^'W, iu)^cc yup dius, the difciple and fuccefTor
«nrpo$ /x,£v Bpo^xy k^^avri tov ^«p- of St. Bojtl., in the Bifhopriclc
Tf p, /xeT » 'sjoKv ^£, TO '^Q^v V)- of Cafaretty in the Life which
fotyfAivov xoult^pvloi. Joh. Damaf. he wrote of St. B^Ji/.
Oper. T. 1. p. 327. E. Edit. [j] Vid. Sozom. lib. 6. c.
Par. pr. Lequlen. 2.
N. £, This llor^ is faid to
a quiet
the MiiuicuLous Powers, ^c. tSj
a quiet nuojdd^ and whatfoever elfe^ man^ or ■ C^efar
him f elf can wijh \z\. Yet after the Church had
gained a firm eftabhfliment, its temper was quite
altered ; and the Emperors no fooner began to
give them any diilurbance, than their prayers
were turned into curfes ; and the divine vengeance
contefTedly implored to deflroy them. So true
it is, what all the Popifh writers have not fcrup-
led to affirm, from Fope Gregory the Great ^ down
to Cardinal Bellarmiyie^ that it was not the want
of will^ hut of the power onely to rebels which
made the primitive Chriflians fo patient under the
perfecuting Emperors^ ajid particularly under Juliany
becaufe the Church had not yet acquired firengtb
enough^ to controul the Princes of the earth [a].
Now it is agreed by all, that thefe Fathers,
whofe teftimonies I have been reciting, were the
moft eminent lights of the fourth century ; all
of them fainted by the Catholic Church ; and
highly reverenced at this day in all Churches,
for their piety, probity and learning : yet from
the fpecimens of them above given, it is evident,
that they would not fcruple to propagate any
fidlion, how grofs foever, which ferved to pro-
fz] "OSay hiov /XEV jtAovo; 'nr^oo'- ta funt. Apolog. -§ 30.
fcvv^fjLtVy vyiiv ^\ -rzrp? Ta aTvAcc Deprecamur diebus ac noc-'
Xaipfovliq v'7rrj(iild[ji,tv )^ £v;i(^ofAE^oi tibus & pro Talute populi, &
tf^tla, t55? ^ao-iAtxJj? ^wayuiuq xj pro ftatu Imperatorum veftro-
vu,oyi7iMti .iyj:)v\a<; v- rum Vid. Aft. PafllOn. Cv-'
f4a$ ilfi^mcci. Juil. Martyr, prian. apud Cyprian, p. i6.
Apol. I. p. 26. Edit. Rigaltii.
Oramus pro omnibus Impe- [ « ] See Chillingworth's
ratoribus, vitam illis prolixam, Wwks, 7th Edit. p. 283. &•
imperium fecurum & quse- Not. *.
«u^que homiiiis k C«fari$ vq-
" mote
i^S An In qjj i r y hfd
mote the intereft either of Chriflianity in general,
or of any particular rite or dodtrine, which they
were defirous to recommend. St. Jerom in effe6t
confefles it ; for after the mention of a filly fto-
ty, concerning the Chriftians of Jerufakm, who
ufed to fhew, in the ruins of the Temple, certain
fiones of rMiJh color ^ which they pretended to
have been ftained by the blood of Zacharias the
Son of Barachias^ zvho was flain between the 'Temple
and the Altar^ he adds^ hut I do not find fault
]." To
many of which miracles Theodoret declares him-
felf to have been an eye-witnefs, as well as to his
gift of prophecy, for he heard " him foretell a
" famine and a peflilence, and an irruption of
*' locufts, and the death of one of Theodoret\
" enemies, fifteen days before it happened [ ^]."
M Ibid. 887. A. M Ibid 885, 886, &c,
M Ibid. D. M Ibid. 885.
\o\ Ibid. 888. B.
L 4 One
l68 An I N Qjj I R y into
One of the miracles, which Tljeodoret faw, was
this j " an eminent Ijhmaelite and behever in
" Chrifl, made a vow to God in the prefence of
" Symeon^ that he would abilain from all anirnal
" food during the reft of his life : but being
*' tempted afterwards to break his vow, he refol-
'' ved to eat a fowl, and ordered it to be drefTcd
*' for him accordingly ; but when he fat down to
'^ eat, he found the fiefh of it turned into ftone.
*' The Barbarian, amazed at this miracle, ran
*' av/ay in all hail to the Saint, proclaiming his
" fecret crime to all people, and imploring the
" Saint, by the omnipotence of his prayers, to
^' releafe him from the bond of this fin. There
" were many eye-witnefies of this miracle, who
" handled the fowl, and found the part of it
" about the breaft, to be compounded of bone
*' and of ftone [r]."
By thefe miracles and aufterities, the fame of
Symeon^ as Theodoret fays, was fpread through the
whole world : fo that people of all nations and
languages flocked to him in crouds from the remo-
teft parts of the earth ; from Spain and Gaul^ and
even Britain itfelf •, and his name was fo celebrated
at Rome^ that the Artificers of all kinds had little
images of him^ placed in the entrance of their fhops^
es a guard andfecurity to them agaififi all forts of
mifchief[s].
This is the account in ftiort of the Life of Sy-
7neon Stylites : the bare recital of which, tho' at-
tefted by ttnTheodorets, muft needs expofe the ab-
furdity of believing, that it could in any manner
[r] Ibid. B. H 88^. A,
be
/^^ Miraculous Powers, CSc. 1^9
be fiiggefted or direded by divine infpiration. Yet
Dr. Chapman contends, that there is 710 better evi-
dence for the very exiftence of Symeon, than we have
for his miracles [^]. By which he means, I fup-
pofe, that we have the fame evidence for both ;
the teftimony of the fame T^heodoret^ which he
imagines to be as good in the one cafe, as in the
other : not refleding, that the fame witnefs, of
whatever chara6ler he be, will neceffarily find a
very different degree of credit, according to the
different nature of the fa6ls, which he attelts •, and
tho' credible in fome, may be jufbly contemptible
in others. For example, when we are told by
Theodoret^ and after him by Evagrius^ that a cer-
tain Monk called Symeon^ who was perfonally
known to them, took a fancy to live upon a pil-
lar, where he was feen every day by many thou-
fands ; we have no reafon to doubt of it ; the
thing was notorious, and there were many fuch
Enthufiafts in the fame age ; and every one of
thofe thoufands, who faw him, were as good
witneffes of it, as fheodoret himfelf. But when
we are told by the fame writers, that Symeon was
infpired by God, and perfof'med many things above the
force of human nature : this is a difi^erent cafe,
which cannot command the fame belief ; being a
matter of opinion, rather than of fad ; of which
very few could judge, fewer ftill be certain, and
fcarce one perhaps of all the thoufands who faw
him, could be a competent witnefs : while the
charader of Symeon on the one fide, and of 'Theo-
[/] Mifcell. Trails, p. 167.
doret
170 An I N Q^u I R Y 'into
doret on the other, fugged many obvious reafons
againfl the credibility of it.
To illuftrate this more clearly by a fimilar in-
ftance from profane hiftory. Two clafTical wri-
ters of undoubted credit, Suetonius and 'Tacitus^
have each written the Life and a6ls of the Empe-
ror Vefpaftan: who alone^ they fay, of all the
Princes before him^ was made a better man, by his
advancement to the Empire [«]. But the fame
writers alfo declare, that this good Emperor, by a
divine admonition from the God StX2i^\Sy publicly re-
ft or ed a blind man to his fight, and a cripple to his
limbs, in the view of the people of Alexandria : and
that many years after his death, when there was no
reward or temptation for telling fuch a lie, fever al
witneffes wereflill living, who had feen thofe miracles
performed, and bore tefiimony to the truth of them
[x]. Now it is certain, that no body in any age,
ever doubted of the exiftence of Vefpafian, yet
many probably in all, and every fmgle man in the
prefent, not only doubt, but rejed the ftory of
his miracles : tho' thefe lall be affirmed by the fame
writers, who affure us of the firll : to whofe au-
thority dill we pay all the regard, that is due, by
believing them in every thing, that is credible ; in
every thing, of which they were competent wit-
neffes *, and charging the abfurd and fabulous part.
\u\ Solufque omnium ante fe
Principum, in melius mutatus
eft. Tacit. Hift. 1. i.e. 50.
[a:] E plebe quidam lumini-
bus orbatus, item alius debili
«rure» fedentem pro tribunali
pariter adierunt, orantes opem
valetudinis, demonftratam a
^'fm/'/V^ per quietem, &c. Sue-
ton, in Vit. c. 7.
Utrumque qui interfuere,
nunc quoque memorant, poft-
quam nullum mendacio preti-
um. Tacit. Hift. 1. 4. c.8i.
to
^i5^ Miraculous Powers, &c. 171
to the fuperftition, prejudices, and falfe principles,
which prevailed in thofe ages.
The cafe is the fame with Theodoret and all the
Ecclefiaftical Hiftorians, who have tranfmitted to
us the Lives and miracles of the Monks, and
other pious men of their own times. We take
their word, as far as reafon and religion will per-
mit us -, and afcribe the reft, to the credulity, the
prejudices, and erroneous principles, which in-
fedcd all the writers of thofe days. The Roma-
nifts indeed roundly embrace and efpoufe all the
abfurd and fi61;itious ftories which they have de-
livered to us i and are under a neceffity of doing
fo, fince they teach the fame corrupt do6lrines,
retain the fame fuperftitious rites, and exercife
the fame ufurped powers, for the fake of which,
thofe very ftories were originally forged. But no
Proteftants, as far as I have obferved, except the
two Do6lors above mentioned, have ever attemp-
ted to defend either the miracles, or the princi-
ples of the fifth century •, but on the contrary,
have conftantly fignified either their fufpicion, or
utter contempt of them.
Mr. Dodwell^ whofe piety and zeal for the ho-
nor of Chriftianity were as confpicuous as his lear-
ning, declares, " that nothing does fo much dif-
" credit to the caufe of miracles in general, among
*' the Infidels and Atheifts, as the impoftures of
" the later ages ; meaning the fourth, fifth, and
" following centuries. Thefe, fays he, they op-
" pofe to the undoubted credit of the earlier
" ages ; and becaufe thefe falfe prodigies deceiv-
" ed the whole world, they infer, that the anci-
" ent
lyx jin In Qjj IRY info
*« ent ones likewife, tho' falfe, might impofe in
'' the fame manner upon the creduHty of man-
*' kind [y]."
Dr. Cave^ the large extent of whofe faith fliines
through every page of his writings, yet plainly in-
timates his fufpicion, of what Tbeodoret has attef-
ted concerning this very Symeon : for fpeaking of
the amazing aufterities which he pradifed, he
adds, moreover^ if the Greek writers are to he re-
garded^ he wrought innumerable miracles [ 2 ].
Mr. Collier alfo, whofe Ecclefiaflical Hiftory
Ihews, that miracles even of the groffeft kind
were of no hard digeftion with him, could not yet
digeft thefe of our Symeon^ but declares them to be
wholly fabulous^ andfuch^ as render the truth itfelf
fufpe^led [<^].
Dr. Hody^ fo highly efleemed for his critical
and theological learning, obferves, " that flories
*' concerning miracles are common to all the wri-
*' ters of Lives, among the Chriftians of the mid-
*' die ages, tho' otherwife good authors : and that
** the profeiTed Hiftorians themfelves, as neo-
'« ret and Evagrius, are full of relations, which
" were the refult of a fuperllitious piety [b].'*
Since the moil learned then, as well as ortho-
dox of our Divines, and the moft converfant alfo
f v] Atqui nihil eft quod mi- [a] See Didlionar. in SymC'
raculorum caufae univerfe apud on. Styl.
Atheos magis noceat, quam [^] The Cafe of Sees vaca-
recentiorum Fabulatorum rt- ted by an unjult deprivation.
lali^^aV &c. Dodw. Differt. ex. p. 120,
Iren. 2. § 69.
[«] Hiftor. Litterar. T. i.
P' 439-
in
/j&^ Miraculous Powers, &c. 173
In Ecclefiaftical antiquity, have fo ftrongly figni-
fied their diftruft, both of the teftimony of Tbeo-
doret, and the particular adts of this Symeon, it is
furprizing, that Dr. Chapman fhould think it of
fervice to Chriftianity, to lay fo great a ftrefs up-
on them, and in fo peremptory a manner, to vinv-
dicate the credit of miracles, whofe fole tenden-
cy is to recommend, as a perfect pattern of the
Chriftian life, the moft extravagant enthufiafm
and contemptible fuperftition, that any age or
hiflory perhaps has ever produced. For that this
was really the cafe, is evident from the writings
of neodoret himfelf, whofe Life of Symeon Styliies^
is a part only of his religious hiftory^ as it is called -,
filled with the Lives of thirty Monks ^ of the fame
clafs and chara6ler ♦, difhinguifhed by their peculi-
ar aufherities \ and vying with each other, who
could invent the mofh whimfical methods and
painful arts of mortifying their bodies.
One of thefe called Baradatus^ contrived a fort
of cage for his habitation, coarily formed of lat-
tice work, fo wide and open, as to expofe him to
all the inclemencies of the weather, and fo low
at the fame time, that it could not admit the full
height of his body, but obliged him to ft and al-
ways in the pofture of ftooping \c\
Another of them called Thalaleus^ of a very
bulky fize, fufpended himfelf in the air, in a cage
of a different kind, contrived by himfelf, and
made fo low and fo fbrait aHb, that it left him no
more room, than to fit with his head perpetually
[c] Hiftor. Religiof. c. xxvii.
1 74 ^n In qjj i r y hfo
lent down between his knees ; in which pofture, he
had fpent ten years ^ when Hheodoret firfl faw him
\d\ Yet all thefe ridiculous whims and extrava-
gancies are confidered by "Theodoret^ as the fuggef-
lions of the holy Spirit [^], and divine inventions,
to baffle the artifices of the Devil ; or fo many
ladders, as he tells us, by which they mounted up ta
heaven, \f] ; and which were all confirmed by
miracles, as a proof of the divine approbation.
Thefe were the wonder-workers, and thefe the
miracles of the fifth century ; the charafter of
which Dr. Chapman fumms up to this effe6t in the
following articles.
1. That they were of a public nature, and
performed in fuch a manner, as left no room for
delufion.
2. That they were attended with beneficial ef-
feds, which could not pofTibly have gained cre-
dit, unlefs the ftrongefi evidence of fenfe had
proved them to be true.
3. That the end of them was not to confirm
any idle ei rors or fuperftitions, but purely to ad-
vance the glory of truth and virtue.
4. That the accounts of them are given by
men of unqueftionable integrity, piety, and lear-
[/] Ibid. C. xxviii. \f\ Kat rVtq sicrs^iietq ol r^ocj
Mpas roLvrriv 'srirevu yma^cti rnv ^ta^o^y? l/x>?%ai'J7<7«Wo X^»fA«xa?.
f*].'*
In the life of another Monk, called James^ he
tells this (lory, " that the reliques of fome of
*' the ancient Patriarchs^ Prophets^ and Apoftles
*' were brought to him in a cheft from Ph(enicia
*' and Palaftine^ and received by a public pro-
*' cefTion of all the orders of the Clergy and the
^' Layety. But the Monk James did not think
*' fit to aflift at this folemnity, having conceiv-
" ed fome doubts, it feems, whether the reliques,
" faid to be John Baptift's^ were really fo or not.
*' Upon which, in the night following, as he
" was praying, there appeared to him a certain
" perfon cloathed in white, and demanded o^
" him, why he did not come out to meet them ? and
*' when James afked, who they were, o'i whom
M Hill. Rdig. c. IX. p. 826. B.
/i;^ Miraculous Powers, C^c. i8i
" he fpake ; he repUed, thofe, who came the
" other day from Fhcenicia and PaUftine. The
" next night alfo the fame perfon appeared to
" him again : and in order to remove all his
" fcruples, brought along with him St. John
'' Baptifi^ and the Patriarch Jofeph^ who were
" feverally prefented to him, and held difcourfe
" with him on the fubjed of their reliques [^].'*
With thefe flories, I iliall leave it to the reader
to determine, whether a writer of this turn and
charader can reafonably be thought unprejudiced,
and of an authority unconteftable, or worthy in-
deed of any credit at all, where the honor of
Monks, and the reality of their miracles are the
points in queflion.
The fame Monf. Du Pin^ after he has given us
an abftradl of Theo({orefs religious hijlory^ adds
the following refledion : " this Hiftory contains
" many things remarkable, concerning the difci-
" pline of this time. By it we fee, that great
" honor was given to the Saints ; that they were
" invoked ; that men expelled to be helped by
'' their prayers ; that their reliques were fought
'' after with great earneftnefs ; that people be-
'' lieved very eafily in them •, attributed great
" virtue and many miracles to them ; and were
" very credulous, &c. [r]." But though tha
whole turn and purpofe of neodoret's facred
Hiftory^ tends to flrengthen the intereft of the Ro-
mifh, and to hurt the credit of the Proteftant
caufej by celebrating the forged miracles of
[q] Ibid. c. XXI. p. 862. D- [r] See Du Pin. ibid. p. 65.
M 3 Monks,
l8l ./fy^ I N Q^U I R Y t?lfO
Monks^ and faints ^ and reliques, and holy water ^
and f acred oil^ it is curious to obferve, with what
a different temper, the Popifh writer, Monf.
J)u Pin, and the Proteftant writer. Dr. Chapman,
have each exprefled themfelves, on the fubjed
of his teftimony. The Papifl, candidly intimat-
ing his doubts, fays •, if we may believe Theo-
doret, fuch and fuch miracles were performed.
The Proteftant on the contrary, contemning all
doubts, declares, that we muft believe him, that
his evidence is unconi eft able, that to reje^ it, is to
deftroy the faith of hiftory [j]. The fortunes of
thefe two writers were as different alfo, as their
principles : the candor of the Papift being thought
too favorable to Proteftantifm, was cenfured and
difgraced by the Popifli Bifhops ; the zeal of the
Proteftant, tending diredly to Popery, was ex-
tolled and rewarded by the Proteftant Bilhops.
We have dwelt already fo long on the mira-
cles of the fifth century, that it muft be needlefs,
to examine the particular merit of that miracle,
which Dr. Berriman has fo accurately defended.
I fhall employ therefore but a very few words
upon it. The ftory is this : " Hunneric the Van-
*' dal a Chriftian Prince, of the Arian herefy, in
«' his perfecution of the orthodox party in Afri-
'* ca, ordered the tongues of a certain fociety
*' of them to be cut to the roots : but by a fur-
** prizing inftance of God's good Providence,
\A V '^^ ^^y ^ot admit nothing but nvhat ive fee, feel,
fuch evidence as this in proof of and knoiv ourfelives, Mifcel.
a matter of faa, 1 am afraid, Trads, p. 1 67. it. p. 1 74,
Hxje mufl Jhake the evidence of ScC,
a// human teftimony y and bdiiiie
" they
the Miraculous Powers, &c, 183
" they were enabled to fpeak articulately and
" dillindlly without their tongues; and fo con-*
" tinuing to make open profefTion of the fame
*' dodlrine, they became not onely the preachers,
" but living witneflfes of its truth -, and a per-
" petual rebuke to the Avian fadtion [/]." This
miracle is atteiled by feveral contemporary wri>
ters, who affirm, that they had feen and heard
fome of thofe Confeflbrs /peaking difiin^ly^ after
they had loft their tongues.
Now it may not improbably be fuppofed on
this occafion, that though their tongues were or-
dered to be cut to the roots, and are faid to have
been fo cut, yet the fentence might not be fo
ftridly executed, as not to leave in fome of them,
fuch a Ihare of that organ, as was fufficient, in
a tolerable degree, for the ufe of fpeech. It is
remarkable alfo, that two of this company are faid
to have utterly loft the faculty of fpeaking ; who
had been deprived perhaps of their intire tongues :
for though this be afcribed, to the peculiar
judgement of God, for a punilhiment of the im-
moralities, of which they were afterwards guilty,
yet that feems to be a forced and improbable fo-
lution of the matter. We are told likewife, that
another of thefe ConfefTors, who had been dumb
from his birth^ yet by lofing his tongue with the
reft^ acquired alfo the ufe of fpeech : which is a
circumftance fo fmgular and extraordinary, that
k carries with it a fufpicion of art and contri-
vance, to enhance the luftre of the miracle.
[/] See Berrim. Hiftoric; p. 327, &c. and Dr. Chapm.
account of the Trinitar. Cont. Mifc, Trads, p. 174.
M 4 But
184 ^n I N Qjj I R y hito
But to come flill more clofe to the point. If
we fhould allow after all, that the tongues of
thefe Confellbrs were cut away to the very roots -,
what will the learned Dodlor fay, if this boafted
miracle, which he fo ftrenuoufly defends, fhould
be found at lafl to be no miracle at all ? The
tongue indeed has generally been confidered, as
abfolutely neceffary to the ufe of fpeech : fo that
to hear men talk without it, might eafily pafs
for a miracle, in that credulous age -, efpecially,
when it gave fo illuftrious a confirmation to the
orthodox faith, and fo fignal an overthrow to the
jirian Herefy. Yet the opportunities of examin-
ing the truth of the cafe by experiment, have
been fo rare in the world, that there was always
room to doubt, whether there was any thing mi-
raculous in it or not. But we have an inftance
in the prefent century, indifputably attefted, and
publifhed about thirty years ago, which clears up
all our doubts, and intirely decides the queflion.
I mean the cafe of a Girl^ horn without a tongue^
who yet talked as diftin^fly and eafily^ as if fhe had
enjoyed the full benefit of that organ : a particular
account of which is given, in the memoires of the
Academy of Sciences at Paris, drawn up by an
eminent Phyfician, who had carefully examined
the mouth of the Girl, and all the feveral parts
of it, in order to difcover, by what means her
fpeech was performed without the help of a
tongue : which he has there explained with great
fkill and accuracy. In the fame account he re-
fers us likewife to another inflance, publifhed
about eighty years before, by a Surgeon of Sau-
mui\
/y&^ Miraculous Powers, &c', 185
mur, of a boy, wbo at the age of eight or mne
years, loft his tongue, by a gangrene or nicer, occa-
fioned by the fmall-pox, yet retained the faculty of
fpeaking, in the fame manner as the Girl [«].
Let our Dodlor then defend this miracle with
all the power of his zeal and learning : let him
urge the teftimonies of Senators, Chancellors, Bi-
pops, Archhifhops and Popes v of perfons, who had
too much learning and judgement, he fays, to be de-
ceived in fo iinportant a fa5f, though they lived an
hundred years after it \ of Mneas alfo of Gaza^
who opened their very mouths, as he tells us, to
make his obfervations with more exa^lnefs \x\ Yet
the humble teftimony of this fingle Phyfician,
grounded on real experiment, will overturn at
once all his pompous lift of dignified authorities,
and convince every man of judgement, that this
pretended miracle, like all the other fi6lions,
which have been impofed upon the world, un-
der that chara(5ler, owed its whole credit to our
ignorance of the powers of nature.
In fhort ♦, when we refled on the corrupt and
degenerate ftate of the Church, in the end of the
fourth century, allowed by the moll diligent in-
quirers into Antiquity ; and that this age was
the pattern to all that fucceded it ; in which the
fame corruptions were not onely pradifed, but
agreeably to the nature of all corruption, car-
ried ftill to a greater excefs, and improved from
bad to worfe, down to the time of the Refor-
mation ; we may fafely conclude, without weigh-
\u\ Memoires de UAcad. \x1 See Berrim. ibid;
desScienc. Ann. 1718. p. 6.
ing
i86 An I N Q^u I R Y into
ing the particular fcruples, which may arife up-
on each fingle miracle, that they were all, in the
grofs, of the fame clafs and fpecies, the mere
effcds of fraud and impofture. For we can
hardly dip into any part of Ecclefiaflical Hifto-
ry, of what age foever, without being fhocked
by the atteflation of feveral, which from the
mere incredibility of them, appear at firft fight
to be fabulous. This is confefTed on all fides,
even by the warmed defenders of the Primitive
Fathers, and cannot be accounted for in any other
way, than by afcribing it, to the experience,
which thofe Fathers had, of the blind credulity
and fuperftition of the ages, in which they lived,
and which had been trained by them, to confider
the impoffibility of a things as an argument for the
belief of it [^]. But in whatever light we con-
template thefe ftories ; whether as believed, or as
iorged by them, or as affirmed onely, and not
believed \ it neceflarily deftroys their credit in all
other miraculous relations whatfoeven Yet it is
furprizing to fee, with what eafe, the Advocates
of thefe miracles overlook and contemn all re-
fie6tions of this kind, and think it fufficieht to
tell us, that the Fathers though honefi, were apt to
he very credulous : for with thefe difputants, cre-
dulity, it feems, how grofs foever, cafls not the
I
[y\ TertulUan, difputlng
2gainft certain Heretics, who
denied the reality of Chriil's
human nature ; reafons thus.
" The Son of God was cruci-
" fied : it is no fliame to own
" it, becaufe it is a thing to
" be afhamed of. The Son of
" God died : it is wholly cre-
" dible, becaufe it is abfurd.
" When buried, he rofe again
•* to life : it is certain, becaufe
*' it is impolTible. De Carnc
« Chrifti. S 5."
leaft
//j^ Miraculous Powers, &c. 187
leaft flur upon their teftimony -, which, in all
cafes, where it does not confute itfelf by its
own extravagance, they maintain to be convinc-
ing and decifive, and fuperior to all fufpicion.
Whereas the fole inference, which reafon would
teach us to draw from an atteftation of miracles,
fo confpicuoufly fabulous, is -, that the fame wit •
nefles are not to be trufled in any ; as being ei-
ther incapable, from a weaknefs of judgement,
of difcerning the truth and probability of
things ; or determined by craft or fraud, to de-
fend every thing that was ufefull to them. In
a word, in all inquiries of this nature, we may-
take it for a certain rule ; that thofe, who are
confcious of the power of working true mira-
cles, can never be tempted either to invent, or
to propagate any, which are falfe ; becaufe the
detedion of any one, would taint the credit of
all the reft, and defeat the end propofed by
them. But impoftcrs are naturally drawn, by a
long courfe of fuccefs, into a fecurity, which
puts them off their guard, and tempts them gra-
dually, out of mere wantonnefs, and contempt
of thofe whom they had fo frequently deluded,
to ftretch their frauds beyond the bounds of pro-
bability, till by repeated ads of this kind, they
tire the patience of the moft credulous, and ex-
pofe their tricks to the fcorn even of the popu-
lace.
I have now thrown together all, which I had
colle&d for the fupport of my argument, or as
much at leaft, as I thought fufficient to ilJuftrate
the real ftate of the primitive miracles ; and if
wc
1 88 -^« I N Q^u I R Y into
we call up the fum of all that boafted evidence,
which the unanimity of the Fathers^ the tradition of
the Catholic Churchy and the faith 0} hifiory hdN^
produced at lafl on the other fide, towards the
confirmation of the faid miracles, we fliall find
the whole, to amount in reality to no proof at
all. For to run over them all again in ihort.
The gift of raifing the dead^ is affirmed only
by the fingle authority of Irenaus^ Bifhop of Ly-
cns ; and was either not known, or not believed at
leaft, in the very fame age, by another Bifhop,
full as venerable, neophilus of Antioch. The
gift of tongues^ which refts likewife on the fmgle
teftimony of the fame Iren^eus -, is confuted even
by himfelf, who complains of his own want of it,
in the very work of propagating the Gofpel. The
gift of expounding the Scriptures^ which is reckoned
commonly with the reft, and claimed in particu-
lar by Jujlin Martyr^ is allowed to have had no
fubfiftence at all, in any age, or any writer of the
primitive Church. Thtgift of cafiing out Devilsy
the moft celebrated of them all, is reduced to no-
thing, by the accounts even of the Ancients them-
felves, which plainly teftify, that it had no effed:
in many cafes, and could not work a perfe6t cure
in any. And as to other difeafes, where oil ef •
pecially was applied, they might probably enough
be cured without a miracle ; or by the fame arts,
with which the fame cures were performed among
the Heathens : which, tho' the undoubted effedls
of fraud, were yet managed fo dexteroufly, as to
be conftantly afcribed by the Chriftians to the
power of Daemons. Laftly, the gift of Prophe-
tic
r/??^ Miraculous Powers, &V. 189
tic vifjons and trances^ was of a kind, which could
not eafily be proved to the fatisfadion of any *,
was of no fervice therefore to the propagation of
the Gofpel, or the convidion of unbeHevers •, be-
ing wholly exercifed among the Chriilians them-
felves ; and owing it's chief credit to Heretics
and Enthufiafts ; and always fufpc6ted by the fo-
ber and judicious : fo that, after florifhing for a
while through a vifionary generation or two, it
prefently after fell into utter contempt.
This then being the real flate of the miracles
of the primitive Church, I freely commit them
once more to the Chapmans^ the Berrimans, and
the Stebbings^ to defend and enjoy them, as much
as they pleafe ; happy without doubt, in this
fceptical age, to find themfelves blefled with that
heroic faith, which can remove mountains, and
beat down every obflacle, which fenfe, or reafon,
or fadt can pofTibly oppofe to it. Dr. Chapman has
declared beforehand, that whenever my larger
workjhould appear^ the primitive Fathers would find
greater friends to their memory^ and abler advocates
to their- caufe^ than I would wijh to exift [z]. That
time is now come ; and thofe abler Advocates ex-
pelled : but let them appear when they will, I am
fo far from grudging their help to the Fathers,
that I wilh them the ablefl, which Popery itfelf
can afford : for Proteflantifm, I am fure, can fup-
ply none, whom they would chufe to retain in
their caufe ; none, who can defend them, without
contradi6ling their own profeffion, and difgracing
their own character ; or produce any thing, but
[z] See Jes. Cabal farther opened, p. 45.
what
igo ^/? In qjj i r y hfo
what deferves to be laughed at, rather than an-
fwered. I muft however except one, who a6ls
indeed with a better grace and more confiftency :
for when I had treated him by miflake, as a Pro-
tejtant^ he flatly difowns the name, and calls him-
felf a Catholic Chrijiian [a] ; the fame title, which
a Popifh writer had before afllimed, in his re-
marks on my Letter from Rome ; and what all
thefe Advocates, who hang, as it were, between
the two religions, affe6t to affume, that they may
evade for a while the more invidious name of Pa-
pifl.
V. All that remains, towards the final confir-
mation of my argument, is, to refute, as I pro-
mifed, fome of the moft plaufible objedions,
which have been made to it by my Antagonifts ;
and which by humouring the prejudices and pre-
pofTelTions of many pious Chriftians, feem the
moft likely, to make an imprefllon to its difad-
vantage^
§ T . In the firft place then ; It is objefled, that
ty the charader, which I have given of the anci-
ent Fathers, the authority of the books of the New
Teftament^ which were tranfmitted to us through
their hands, will be rendered precarious and uncer-
tain.
To which I anfwer ♦, that the objedlion is trifling
and groundlefs, and that the authority of thofe
books does not depend upon the faith of the Fa-
\a\ See Apolegetic, Epift. p. 27, 28.
• "^ thers.
the Miraculous Powers, ^c. 191
thers, or of any particular fet of men, but on the
general credit and reception which they found, not
only in all the Churches, but with all the private
Chriflians of thofe ages, who were able to pur-
chafe copies of them : among whom, tho' it
might perhaps be the defire of a few to corrupt,
yet it was the common intereft of all, to preferve,
and of none, to deftroy them. And we find ac-
cordingly, that they were guaded by all with the
ftridleft care, fo as to be concealed from the
knowledge and fearch of their heathen adverfaries,
who alone were defirous to extirpate them. After
fuch a publication therefore, and wide difperfion
of them from their very origin, it is hardly pofii-
ble, that they fliould either be corrupted, or fup-
prelfed, or counterfeited by a few, of what cha-
rader or abilities foever ; or that, according to the
natural courfe of things, they fhould not be han-
ded down from age to age, in the fame manner,
with the works of all the other ancient writers of
Greece and Rome^ which tho' tranfmitted through
the hands of many profligate and faithlefs genera-
tions of men, yet have fufi-ered no diminution of
their credit on that account : for tho' in every age
there were feveral, perhaps, who, from crafty and
felfifh motives, might be difpofed to deprave, or
even to fupprefs fome particular books, yet their
malice could reach only to a few copies, and
would be reflrained therefore from the attempt, or
corredled at leafl after the attempt, by the greater
number of the fame books, which were out of
their reach, and remained ftill incorrupt. But
befides all this, there were fome circumftances pe-
cuhar
l()2 An I N QJJ I R Y into
culiar to the books of the New Teftament, which
infurcd the prefervation of them more effediially,
tlian of any other ancient books whatfoever ; the
divinity of their character \ and the rehgious re-
gard, which was paid to them by all the fe6ts and
parties of Chriflians ; and above all, the mutual
jealoufies of thofe very parties, which were per-
petually watching over each other, left any of
them fhould corrupt the fources of that pure docr
trine, which they all profefled to teach and to de-
duce from the fame books. Let the craft there-
fore of the ancient Fathers be as great, as we can
fuppofe it to be : let it be capable of adding fome
of their own forgeries for a while to the Canon of
Scriptiire •, yet it was not in the power of any
craft, to impofe fpurious pieces, in the room of
thofe genuin ones, which were ad:ually depofited
in all Churches, and preferved with the utmoft
reverence, in the hands of fo many private Chri-
ftians.
But I may go a ftep farther, and venture to de-
clare ; that if w^e fhould allow the objedlion to be
true, it cannot in any manner hurt my argument :
for if it be natural and neccflary, that the craft
and credulity of witnefTes fhould always detract
from the credit of their teftimony ; who can help
it ? or on what is the confequence to be charged,
but on that nature and conftitution of things, from
which it flows ? or if the authority of any books
be really weakened, by the chara6ler which I have
given of the Fathers, will it follow from thence,
that the character muft neceflarily be falfe, and
that the Fathers were neither crafty nor credulous ?
that
the Miraculous Powers, ^c. 193
that furely can never be pretended ; becaufe the
craft and crednhty which are charged upon thcni
mud be determined by another fort of evidence •,
not by confcquences, but by fads -, and if the
charge be confirmed by thefe, it mull be admit-
ted as true, how far foever the confequences may
reach.
§ 2. It has been alledgcd, " that all fufpicioa
*' of fraud in the cafe of the primitive miracles
*' feems to be precluded, by that public appeal
*' and challenge, which the Chriftian Apologifts
'' make to their enemies the Heathens, to con^
^ and fee with their own eyes the reality of the
" fafls which they attefb." But this objedlion,
tho' it may feem plaufible indeed to a common
reader, yet to all who are acquainted with the
condition of the Chriflians in thole days, and the
difficulty of making their Apologies known to
the world, will be found to have no real weight
in it. The Gofpel indeed foon began to make a
confiderable progrefs among the vulgar, and to
gain fome few alio of a more diftinguifhed rank,
yet continued to be held in fuch contempt by the
generality of the better fort, through the three
firft centuries, that they fcarce ever thought it
worthwhile to make any inquiry about it, or to ex-
amine the merit of it's pretenfions. The principal
writers of Rome^ who make any mention of the
Chriflians^ about the Time of Trajan^ plainly
fhew, that they knew nothing more of them, or
their religion, than what they had picked up, as
k were, by chance, from the grofs mifreprefenta-
N tion
154 u^/2 I N Q^u I R Y into
lion of common fame, and fpeak of them ac-
cordingly, as a fet of defpkable^ fiuhhorn^ and even
ivicked Enthufiajis.
Suetonius calls them, a race of men of a new
and 7nifchievous fiiperflition \h\ And. 'Tacitus^ de-
fcribing the horrible tortures, which they fuffered
under Nero^ for the pretended ci ime of burning
the City of Rome^ fays ; " that they were detef-
*' ted for their flagitious practices ; polIefTed with
*' an abominable fuperftition •, and condemned,
*' not fo much for their fuppofed crime of fet-
*' ting fire to the City, as for the hatred of all
*' mankind : and tho' they deferved the moft ex-
*' emplary punifhments, yet it raifed fome pity
*' towards them, to fee them fo miferably defbroy-
'' ed, not on the account of the pubhc utility,
*' but to fatiate the cruelty of a fingle man [r]."
Pliny alfo, when he was the Governor of a Pro-
vince, in which the Chriflians were very nume-
rous, and under an a6lual perfecution in the reign
of T^rajan^ yet in his celebrated letter to that Em-
peror concerning them, declares -, " that he had
*' never been prefent at any of their examinations,
*' and did not fo much as know, for what they
" v/ere puniihed, or how far they deferved
" punifhment : that by all the inquiries, which he
'^ had fmce made, he could not difcover any prac-
" tices among them, but what were harmlefs and
[^] Afflidli fuppliciis Chrif- exitlabilis Superftitio rurfus
tiani ; genus hominum fuper- erumpebat — haud perinde in
ftitionis novae & maleficae. in- crimine incendii. quam odio
Ner. c. 1 6. humani generis, convidi — &c.
[<:] Qnos per flagitia invifos, Ann. L 15. 44.
valgus Chriftianosappellabat—
" innocent.
the Miraculous Powers, £?^. 195
*^ innocent. And nothing in fhort, but a
*' wrenched and extravagant fuperftition, which
*' had fpread itfelf very wide, among perlbns of
'' both fexes, of every age and condition j whidi
" might however be fubdued by gentler methods ;
" by moderating the rigor of the perfecution, and
*' pardoning the penitent ; by which lenity, great
*' numbers of them had already been recalled to
*' their ancient worfhip [^]."
This is the whole account, which we have of
the Primitive Chriilians, from the befl Heathen
writers, to the time of Antoninus Pius : in whofe
reign, and that of his Succeflbr, A/. Aurelius^ the
ancient Apologies of Juftin Martyr^ Melito and
Athenagoras^ were addreffed to the Emperor and
Senate of Ro7ne : notwithflanding which, their
condition, generally fpeaking, continued much
the fame, through the following ages, till they
were eftablifhed at laft by the civil power : during
all which time, they were conftantly infulted and
calumniated by their Heathen Adverfiiries, as a
ftupid^ credulous^ impious fe^ \ the f cum of mankind^
and the prey of crafty Impoftors : calumnies, of
which all the ancient Apologifts complain, and
[/] Cognitionibus de Chri- hundred years later. [Apolo-^
ftianis interfui nunquam, ideo get. i. ad Scapul. verf. fin.]
nefcio, quid aut quatenus aut but it muft be obferved, that
puniri foleat, aut quseri — &c. their accounts were given from
Ep. 1. X. 97. the Provinces of Bithynia and
A^. B. Pliny fays in this let- Africa, where the dignity
ter, that many of both fexes, even of the moft eminent was
and of all ages, ranks or orders but very little confidered or
of men, had embraced Chri- refpefled in the great Repub"
ftianity. Tertullian alfo gives lie of Kom^.
the fittne account, about an
N 2 r- take
1 96 An I N QjJ I R Y into
take great pains to confute. Tertiillian expoftu-
lates very warmly with the Heathen Magiftrates,
'^ that they would not give themlelves the trouble,
" to make the leall inquiry into their manners
" and doctrines •, but condemned them for the
*' mere name, without examination or trial ;
" treating a Chridian of courfe, as guilty of eve-
'* ry crime -, as an enemy of the Gods^ Emperors^
*' laws^ cuftoms^ and even cf nature itfel f
*' and what, fays he, can be more unjuft than to
*' hate, what you know nothing of, even tho' it
'' deferved to be hated ? [f]." Arnohius and Lac-
tantius make the fame complaint near an hundred
years later, in the beginning of the fourth centu-
ry, that they were derided everywhere by the
Gentiles, as a fenfelefs^ ftupid race of blockheads and
brutes^ to whofe impieties^ all the calamities^ which
iiffiilfcd the fever al countries^ where th£y livedo were
conftantly imputed [/].
In thefe circumftances, it cannot be imagined,
that men of figure and fortunes would pay any
[e] Chrlftianum hominem, ofFenfionibus exafperati — —
omnium Scelerum reum, Deo- Arnob. 1. 1. p. 2, 7,
rum, Imperatorum,legum, mo- Cur igitur pro ftultis, vanis
rum,natura2totmsinimicumex- ineptis habemur ? Laft. 1. 4.
iftimas &c. Apol. §. i, 2 — 'E(p' c. 13. Illud quoque ortum eft
Y^^juwv ^i TO ovo/xa w? 'ikty/Qv 'Ka.^- vulgare proverbium ; plwvia
iccvei
eIe. &c vid. Juft. Mart, ^e/ia'f, fit caufa ChrilHani
apol. I. p. 8. Aug. Civ. D. 1, 2. 3.
[/ ] Nos hebetes, ftolidi, ob- Si Tiberis afcendit ad mce-
tufi pronuntiamur 8c bruti fed nia ; fi Nilus non afcendit in
peftilentias, inquiunt, & ficci- arva ; fi caelum ftetit ; terra
tates, bella, frugum inopiam — movit ; fi fames ; fi lues ; ftatim,
refque alias noxias — Dii nobis Chriftianos ad Leonem. Ter-
importantinjuriis veftris,atque tull. Apol. 40.
attention
the Miraculous Powers, Gfr. T97
attention to the Apologies or writings of a fed,
fo utterly defpiled : elpicially, when on the one
hand, there was no elegance of ftile or compofi-
tion, to invite them to read ; and on the other, all
the difcouragements, which the Government could
give, to deter them from reading. Much lefs can
we believe, that the Emperor and Senate of Rome-t
fhould take any notice of thofe Apologies, or
even know indeed, that any fuch were addrefled
to them. For iliould the like cafe happen in our
own days, that any Methodift, Moravian, or
French Prophet, fhould publifh an apology for
his brethren, addrefled to the King and the Par-
iiament ; is it not wholly improbable, that the
Government would pay any regard to it, or take
it at ail into their confideration } How can it then
be fuppofed, that the Emperor and Senate of
Rome^ who had a worfe opinion of the ancient
Chriflians, than we of our modern Fanatics, and
inftead of tolerating, were ufing all methods to
deftroy chem, would give themfelves the trouble
to read, or to confider the merit of their writ-
ings ?
We mufl add to all this, the great difficulty of
publifhing books, or of making them known to
the world in thofe ages. The eafe, which we
now find in providing and difperfing v/hat number
of copies we pleafe, by the opportunity of the
prefs, makes us apt to imagine, without confide-
ring the matter, that the publication of books
was the fame eafy affair in all former times, as in
the prefent. But the cafe was quite different. For
when there were no books in the world, but what
N J were
1 98 An I N Qjj I R Y into
were written out by hand, with great labour and
expence, the method of pubUfliing them was ne-
ceflarily very flow and the price very dear ; fo
that the rich only and curious would be difpofed
©r able to purchafe them ; and to fuch alfo, it was
often difficult to procure them, or to know even
where they were to be bought.
In the Epiftle of the Church of Smyrna^ menti-
oned above, concerning the Martyrdom of St.
Polycarp^ there is a pafTage or two, which will
help to confirm what I am now aflerting. For
towards the end of it, the Philadelphians^ to whom
it is addrefled, are defired, as foon as they have!
informed themfelves of the contents, to fend it for-
ward to all the other brethren^ who lived more re-
mote, or beyond Philadelphia^ that they alfo might
read it and glorify God. The note likewife, which
is annexed to the end of the Epiflle, declares,
*' that the copy of this mod valued piece, which
^^ had been tranfcribed from the book of Iren^us^
*' had lain buried and unknown at Corinth for fe-
*' veral ages, almoft deilroyed by time, and in
*' danger of being loft to the world, till it was
*' difcovered by a revelation from Polycarp him-
*' felf, made to one Pionius" from whofe tran-
fcript, all the copies of it now extant are deri-
ved {g\ Thefe paflages, I fay, plainly inti-
mate, how difficult it muft have been to the
Chriftians of thofe days to provide fuch books as
were wanted even for their own ufe, and much
[g\ Ma9o»]£?av ravrot, xj rot? a7r£f*->|/aTf , »' va xj htuvoi h^a,{ua-i
hrmu>x i^sAfoij rhv imro^inv ^4- 79y kvh^i. § XX. it. XXili, xxiv.
more
//j^ Miraculous Powers, C^c. 199
more to difperfe fuch a number of them, as was
fufficient for the information of the pubhc.
Since this then was the condition of pubUfhing
books in thofe primitive ages, in which the Chri-
ftians were neither able to bear the expence of co-
pying, nor the Heathens difpofed to buy them,
there is great reafon to beHeve, that their Apolo-
gies, how gravely foever addrefled to Emperors
and Senates, lay concealed and unknown to the
public for many years, in a few private hands,
and among the faithful only ; efpecially, when the
publication of them was not only difficult and ex-
penfive, but fo criminal alfo, as to expofe theni
often to danger, and eveij to capital punifhment ;
and when the books themfelves, as oft as they
were found by the magiftrate, inllead of being
read, were generally ordered to be burnt \_h^,
§ 3. It is urged againft me, " that no fufpi-
*' cion of craft can reafonably be entertained
*' againft perfons of fo exalted a piety, who expo-
*' fed themfelves to perfecution and even to Mar-
'' tyrdom, in confirmation of the truth of what
" they taught." But this likewife will appear to
have as little folidiry in it as the former. For all
who are converfant with hiftory kno^v, that no-
xccla, run h^txaKovlavy % qXu<; o/xo- Juft. M. Apol. I. p. 6g.
y^oyi^uv TO ovQi^i, T« Xpr», r,iJi'i^<; Nam noftra quidem fcripta
'mavla,^ y^ u(77ra,lo^i^a,, xj ^i- cur ignibus meruef unt dari ?
^a]. This Theodorus, was a
young
[71] AvToi roivvv 01 Seioj Mi,^- tiia and Fclicitas, &c. Ibid,
Tt-pE? 'Cra^ y)^7v, oi vvv t5 Xf^"^^ P* ^69.
sTieps^pov, K^ T?? iSacriXaa? avrn N. B. It IS ftrange, that a
xuivmoi, y^ i^^roxot t2? K^1t7su<; Proteftant Divine fliould lay fo
«uT«. Eufeb. Hift. 1. 6. c. 42. much ftrefs on thefe Adls, as to
fo] Mifcell Trads, p. 1 56. make them the unqueftionable
[/] As appears beyond all vouchers of true miracles :
^fpute from the ^s of /'^r/f - which, while they excite our
compaflica
the Miraculous Powers, &c. 20J
young Chriftian, of eminent zeal and piety, vv^ho
is faid to have fuffered the moil cruel tortures
by
compafllon for the fuffenngs,
and our admiration of the cou-
rage of thefe two female Mar-
tyrs, yet fhock and difgufl us
at the fame time, to fee all this
virtue and fortitude derived,
not from the calm and fober
principles of the Gofpel, but
from the impetuofity of a wild
and extravagant enthufiafm.
Among many other inrtances
of this, written by Pcrpetua
herfelf, in her prifon, fhe re-
lates what follows. " That,
" as fhe was praying with the
" reft of her fellow-martyrs,
** fhe happened to mention, all
** of a fudden, and to her own
" furprize, the name of Dhw-
" crates, which had not come
** into her mind of a long time,
** till that very moment. It
" was the name of her bro-
" ther, who died of a Cancer
** in his face, when he was but
" feven years old. This re-
" newed her grief for his un-
" happy cafe ; and convinced
" her, that fhe ought to pray
** for him, as being now held
*' worthy to intercede for o-
" thers : whereupon fhe began
" to put up her prayers and
" fighs for him to the Lord,
" and in the fame night recei-
" ved this vifion She faw
*' Dinocrates coming out of a
" dark place, in which there
'** were many others with him,
^, greatly tormented by heat
" and thirft ; with a fordid and
" pale countenance, and the
" fame wound in his face,
" which he had when he died,
" There was a pool of water
" alfo in the place, but with a
" brink deeper than the Sta-
*' tureof the boy, who ftretch-
" ed himfelf out, as defirous to
" drink, but was not able to
" reach the water. This griev-
*' ed Ferpctua, v\ ho, as foon
" as lliG was awake, knew
*' by this vifion, tha: her brc-
" thcr was in an uneafy ftatc :
*' but being affured, that Ihe
" could relieve him by her
" prayers, fhe continued to
" intercede day and night,
" with groans and tears, that
" his punifhment might be re-
" mitted for her fake. Upon
" which, fhe fhortly after re-
" ceived another vifi n, when
" the place, which before \\'as
" dark, appeared bright and
" Ihining; and Dinocrates ^Ti'^
" now quite clean, well dref-
" fed and refreihed ; and in-
" ftead of the wound, with a
" Scar ouVly in his face: and
*' the brink of the pool was
'' reduced to the height onely
" of his navel, whence he in-
" ftantly drew water : on the
" brink alfo ftood a vial full
*' of water, out of which he
** began to drink, yet the wa-
** ter in it never failed:^ fo
*' that the boy, having now
*♦ fatisfied
2o6 An In qjj i r y info
by the command of the Emperor Julian ; but
after he was left for dead by his tormentors.
was
** fatisfied his thirft,went away
*' chearfully to play, as chil-
** dren ufually do, by which
** Pa-pctua underftood, that
<' her brother was removed
•* from the place of his pu-
** nifhment."
The cafe of this infant Dino-
crates was alledged by an an-
cient writer, in a controverfy
with St. Aujiin^ as a proof, that
baptifm was not abfolutely ne-
ceiTary to an admiffion into pa-
radife : to v. hich St, Jujiiti an-
fwers, *' that tho' the boy was
** but feven years eld, he
** might probably be baptized
** at that age, and after bap-
•* tifm be guilty of lying or
** denying Chrift; or in the
'' time of perfecution might
** be drawn perhaps by his
*' impious Father, who was an
** Heathen, into fome aft of
•* Idolatry, for which he was
** doomed to a place of tor-
•' ments,till his pardon was ob-
** tained by the prayers of his
" Sifter, then going to die for
** Chrift " [de Origin, anim.
1. I.e. X. and 1. 3. c. 9.] From
thefe and feveral other vifions
of the fame kind, which are
related in the fame A(5ls, the
Romanifts draw what they take
to be a demonftrative and ex-
perimental proof of every
thing which they teach with
regard to the other world ; of
an Uclly a Purgcrtorj, a Lim-
buSy orfeparate place oflnfants^
and another Limbus of the An-
cient Fathers^ 'with a Par^ife
for the immediate reception of
Martyrs: and that the dead
may be relienjed alfo from their
pains by the prayers of the li:vv]ra,v]z; oe,vro7q reXuavlui,
nvas capable of raijing njchat Eufeb. Hill. 1. 5. C. 16. it.
pajjions he pleafed, and of per- C. 18,
fuading us to do fwhate^ver he
O fligate
2 1 o An I K (xjj I R Y into
fligate behaviour, gave great fcandal and difluf*
bance to the difcipHne of the Church.
This is exprefsly declared by Cyprian in feveral
of his letters : in one of which, addrefled to the
whole body of the ConfefTors, after he has figni-
fied his joy, " that the greateft part of them
*-' were made the better by the honor of their
" confefTion, and preferved their glory, by a
*' quiet and inoffenfive carriage, yet he had been
*' informed, he fays, of others, who infeded their
*' fociety, and difgraced the laudable name of
*' ConfcfTor by their evil converfation : fome of
*' them being drunken and lafcivious, fome puf-
*' fed up and fwoUen with pride : while others,
'' as he had heard with the utmofl grief, defiled
" their bodies, the temples of God, fandified
*' by their confefTion, with the promifcuous and
" infamous ufe of lewd women [/]." In one of
his letters alio to the Clergy, he fays, " I am
*' grieved, when I hear how fome of them run
" about, wickedly and infolently, fpending their
^' time in trifles, or in fowing difcord ; and de-
*' filing the members of Chrifl, and which have
" already confefTed Chrifl, by the unlawful ufe
" of women [uy And in another treatife,
where he is touching the fame fubjedi:, " let no
*' man wonder, fays he, that fome of the Con-
[/] Sed quofdam audio in- lenter difcurrere, & ad ineptias
ficere numerum veftrum, & vel difcordias vacare : ChriiH
laudem prascip.-i nominis p-a- membra & jarn Chriilum con-
va fua converfatione deilruere, fefia, pe.'- conc.bitus illicitos
&c. Epift. 6. inquinare. Ep. 5. it. 7, 22,
[a] Doleo enim, quando au- 24.
dio quordam improbe & info-
fefTors
the Miraculous Powers, {i?6. 211
" felFors commit fuch horrible and grievous
" fins •, for confeflion does not fecure them from
" the fnares and temptations of the Devil .
" otherwife we Hiould never after fee any frauds,
" and whoredoms and adulteries in ConfeiTors,
" which I now groan and grieve to fee in fome
" of them [xy
It
[x~\ De Unitat. Ecclef. verf.
fin. p. 185.
A^, B. The name of Mar-
tyr was given, as I have faid
abov'e, to all thofe, who had
fufFered tortures for the public
profelTion of their faith before
the Magiilratc?. And the itle
of Confefor to thofe, who,
after making the fame pro-
feffion, had been committed
only to prifon, in order to be
refer\'ed to the fame tonures,
or punifhed with death.
Whence TertuUlan calls t]iem,
Martjres dejig?iatz, or IViartyrs
eleft." [ad Martyr, i. vid.
Cypr. Ep. 8. & Not. Rigalt.
But with .regard to this cafe
of Martyrdom, I cannot for-
bear obferving a ftrange con-
trariety both of principle and
pradlice in thefe primitive
ages, between the times of
Polycarp and Tertullian. The
Martyrdom of Polyccrp, in
the narrative of it, written by
the Church of Smyrna, is twice
called an Enjangdical Mart'^r-
doni^ or performed according
to the rules of the Gofpel and
o
in imitation of Chrift : [§ r,
19.] who did not offer himfelf
forward!/ to his enemies, but
withdrew himfelf fom them,
and waited till he was betray-
ed into their hands : and co^n*
manded his Apoftles alio,
n.K-hen they nx:ere ptrfecuted in
one ^Aty^ to flee ■ into another,
[Mat. X. 29.] When the per-
fecution therefore grew hot in
Smyrna, Fohcc.rp withdrew
himfelf from that City into the
rici^^hbouring Vill?-^-es ; fhift-
ir.v. his quarters ftill from Vil-
lage to Village, to avoid his
purfuers, till he was betrayed
by one of his own domellics ;
[§ 9.] and fo fulfiled both the
example and precept of our
Lt^rd. And upon the fame
authority alfo Clc?nens of j^Utx-
cjidria declares it to be a fm,
and a kind of felf-murther ;
not to flee on fuch an ocn-fion.
from tlie malice ci their perfe-
cutors [Stro. 1. 4. c. x.]
Tertullia?:, on the contrary,
about half a century after,
wrote a book again P. all fight
r: perfecution, in which he la-
bors to prove, " that our Sa-
" viour's
X 1 2 An \^ Q^u I R Y info
It is not my defign, by what is faid here on the
fubjed of Martyrdom, to detrad in any manner
from
*' vour's precept was tempo-
** rary, and peculiar to the
** circumftances of thofc times,
*' and addrefTed wholly to the
** Apoftles ; who yet after-
** wards, when thofe circum-
*' ftances were changed, both
** praflifed and prefer ibed a
" different conduct . That it
** was bafe in private Chrifti-
** ans to fly, and much more
•' in Bifhops and Paftors
** That a good Shepherd will
** lay down his life for his
** flock, but a bad one fly at
*' the fight of the wolf, and
*' leave his flieep to be torn in
** pieces" — [p. 97, 696 ] He
inveighs alfo againfl another
pradice, which feems to have
been common among the
Chriftians of thofe days, of
ranfoming themfehcsfro7n their
perfecutors by a fum of tnoney ;
and declares it to be " an af-
" front toGod to redeem thofe
" by money, whom Chrill:
" had redeemed with his
" blood : and to make fecret
** bargains with an infor-
" mer or foldier, or knavifli
" Prefident, for the life of a
** Chriftian (whom Chrift had
*« purchafed and fet free in
** the face of the world) as if
*' it were for a thief [p. 697,
*' 698 ] He exhorts them
*' therefore to commit them-
** felves intirely to God : who
" could either throw them in-
** to the midft of their ene-
" mies, while they were fly-
" ing, or cover them from
" danger even in the midfl: of
" the people : and he (hews
"by an eminent example,
" that neither flight nor mo-
'* ney was effeftual to procure
" their fafety. Rutilius, fays
" he, a mofl: holy Martyr,
" after he had oft efcaped by
*' flying from place to place,
*' and redeemed himfelf, as he
" imagined, from all danger
" by his money, yet in all this
'* fecurity, was unexpeftedly
*' apprehended, carried before
** the Prefident, and put to a
" fevere torture, for the cor-
" reOion, I believe, of his
** flight : and being commit-
" ted at laft to the flames, he
** then afcribed the Martyr-
" dom, which he had been
*' avoiding, to the mercy of
" God : and whatelfe did the
** Lord intend to teach us by
" this example, but that we
" ought not to fly from perfe-
" cution ?'' [p. 93.]
Thefe were the principles,
which generally prevailed in
the Church from the time oi
TcrtuUian : fo that when two
of the moft eminent Bifliops,
who fucceeded him, St. Cypri-
an of Carthage^ and St. Dio-
mftus of Alexandria found it
expedient in a time of perfe-
cution, to preferve their lives
by
//5(f Miraculous Powers, ^c. 113
from the real merit and juil praife of thofe primi-
tive Martyrs, who with an invincible conilancy,
fufbaincd the caufe of Chrift, at the expence of
their lives. It is reafonable to believe, that, ge-
nerally fpeaking, they were the bell fort of Chri-
ilians, diftinguiihed by their exemplary zeal and
piety ; and the chief ornaments of the Church in
their feveral ages ; yet it is certain, that they were
fubjed flill to the fame pafTions, prejudices, and
errors, which were common to all the other pious
Chriftians of the fame age. My fole view there-
fore is, to expofe the vanity of thofe extravagant
honors, and that idolatrous worihip, which are
paid to them indifcriminately by the Church of
Rome ; and to fhew efpecially, that the circum-
flance of their Martyrdom, while it gives the
ftrongefl proof of the fmcerity of their faith and
truft in the promifes of the Gofpel, adds nothing
to the charadler of their knowledge or their faga-
city •, nor confequently, any weight to their teft i-
mony, in preference to that of any other juft and
devout Chriftian whatfoever [j].
§4-
by retiring from their feveral zeal, and vifionary temper of
Sees, they had no other excufe that age. Which zeal how-
to recur to, but the plea of a ever, becaufe it happened to
divine revelation, and the ex- be ridiculed by an infidel wri-
prefs command of God for it : ter, is ftrenuoufly defended by
the precept and example of Dr. Chapman, in the very
our Saviour ; the pradice of words and reafoning of Ter-
hisApoftles; z.n6. the E^vange- tullian. See Mifcell. Trads,
lical Martyrdom of St. Poly- p. 157.
carp, being no longer of any [_y] Sa^vonaro/a, a moll pj-
force, againft the Enthufiailic ous and learned Monk of the
fifteenth
o
3
2 14 An I N Qjj I R Y Into
§. 4. It has been frequently obje<5led by my
Antagonifts, that to rejed the unanimous teftimo-
ny of the Fathers, in their reports of the primi-
iifteenth century, preached
with great force and eloquence
in Italy ^ againft the corrupti-
ons of the Court of Rome^
and the flagitious life and prac-
tices of Vope Alexander the
fixth, who not being able to
filence him, condemned him
to be hanged : of whom Dr.
Jcr. Taylor tells the following
ilory.
** Two Trancifcan Triers.,
** fays he, offered themfelves
*' to the fire, to prove ^S'^i^o-
•* narola to be an Heretic. Buc
** a certain Jacobin offered
*' himfelf to the fire, to prove,
** that Sa<^:ona7ola had true re-
** velationb, and was no Here-
*' tic. In ihe mean time,
<* Sa'vonarola preachcc', but
** made no fuch confident of-
** fer, nor darft he venture
** at that new kind of fre or-
** deal ; and put the cafe, that
*' all four had pafTed through
** the fire, and died in the
'* flames, what would that
** have proved ? Had he
" been a Heretic, or no He-
*' retic, the more or the lefs,
*' for the confidence of thefe
** zealous Idiots ? If we mark
** it, a great many arguments
" on which many Sefts rely,
** are no better probation
♦' than this. Lib. of Proph.
*' Ep. Dedic. p. 39.
There is another flory like-
wife, fomewhat applicable to
the prcfent purpofe, which
I have elfewhere made ufe
of, as it is told by Sir Tho.
Roe-, '' that the houfe and
" Church of the Jefuits in In-
*' dia happening to be burnt,
** the Crucifix was found un-
*' touched, which was given
** out as a miracle. Upon
'• this, the King fent for the
*• Jefuit, and having exami-
** ned him about the fa6l,
** made this propofal to him,
'• ' that if he tvoidd caji the
•' Crucifix into the fire before
" his face, and it did not hum,
'* he Kvould turn Chrifiian.
*' The Jefuit would not ven-
*' ture the credit of his religi-
** on on fo hazardous an ex-
** per^ment, yet oiTered to
" raft himfelf into the fire as a
" proof cf his own faith,
** which the King would not
" allow." For he had fenfe
enough to kno^v the difference,
between the effeft of a mira-
cle and a martyrdom ; that
the laft could prove nothing
but the Jefuit's fmcerity, in
what he profeffed to believe ;
whereas the firft would yield
the ftrongeft confirmation to
the truth alfo of what he
taught. [See Lett, from Rome.
Prefat.Difc. p. 100.]
tive
//j^ Miraculous Powers, CSc. 215
tive miracles, will deflroy the faith and credit of
all hiftory.
This was the conftant cant of all the zealots,
even of the Heathen world, whenever any of
their eftablifhed fuperilitions were attacked by
men of f^nfe. " If thefe things, they cried, ap-
" proved by the wifdom of our anceftors, and
*' confirmed by theconfent of ages, can be fhewn
*' at lafl to be falfe, we muft burn all our annals,
*' and believe nothing at all [2;]." And the
fame outcry, as Eufebius tells us, wis made by
them alfo againft the Chriftians, when the Gof-
pel firft began to fpread itfelf among them :
*' that to reje6l a belief and worfhip univerfally
" eftabhfhed by Kings, Legiflators, and Philofo-
" phers of all nations, whether Greeks^ or Barba-
*' rians^ was an impious apoftacy from the rites
" of their anceftors, and a contradidlion to the
*' fenfe and judgment of mankind [ ^]." The
Chriftians on the other hand conftantly derided
this plea, and declared, " that to follow the in-
" ventions of their anceftors without any judg-
*' ment or examination, and to be led perpetual-
" ly by others, like brute animals, was to pre-
" elude themfelves from that fearch of wifdom
*' and knowledge, which is natural to man [^]."
Yet when it came at laft to their own turn, to find
[zj Negemus omnia ; com- eft, fapientiam qua^rere, om-
buramus annales ; fidla haec nibus fit innatum ; fapientiam
efle dicamus, &c. Cic. de Di- fibi adimunt, qui fine ullo ju-
vin. 1. 1.17. dicio inventa majorum pro-
[fl] Eufeb. Praepar. Evan- bant, & ab aliis, peciidum
gel. 1. I. c. 2. more, ducuntur. &c. Ladant,
[^] Quare cum fapere, id Divin, Inftit. 1. 2. c. 8.
O 4 the
2i6 '^An I N Q^u I R y into
the authority of ages on their fide, they took up
the fame plea, which they had before rejedled \
and urge it at this day, as the principal objec-
tion to Proteilantifm ; " that it is a meer novelty^
" which had no exiftence in the world before Lu-
" ther^ contradidlory to the pradice of all the
" primitive Saints and Martyrs of the Catholic
*' Church, and to the unanimous confent of fif-
'^ teen centuries."
If this objedlion therefore had ever been found
to have any force in it, the ancient Chriflians
could never have over-ruled the impoftures of Pa-
ganifm \ nor our Reformers, the fuperftitions of
Popery. But in truth, when it comes to be fe-
rioufly confide^ed. it will appear to haveno fenfe
at all in it : and W' he Doctors Chapman and Ber-
riman^ who now revive and fo zealoufly urge it,
were called upon to explain themfelves upon it,
they would find it difficult, I dare fay, to tell us
what they mean by it. If they mean, that a
contempt of thofe miracles, which they would
perfuade us to believe, would neceflarily derive
the fame contempt on Hiflory itfelf ; all experi-
ence has fhewn the contrary : for tho' there have
been doubters and contemners of fuch miracles in
all ages, yet hiftory has maintained its ground
through them all. During the three firft centu-
ries, the whole world in a manner not only doubt-
ed, but rejedled the miracles of the primitive
Chriftians : yet hiflory was written and read with
the fame pleafure and profit as before, and appli-
ed by the unbelievers themfelves to the confirma-
tion of their very doubts. Our commerce with
the
/y6^ Miraculous Powers, C^c. 217
the times pall, as they are reprefented to us in
hiftory, is of much the fame kind, with our man-
ner of deahng with the prefent. We find many-
men in the world, whofe fidehty we have juft
ground to fufped ; yet a number of others, whom
we can readily truft, fufficient to fupport that
credit and mutual confidence, by which the bufi-
nefs of life is carried on : juft fo in ancient Hi-
ftory ; we find many things, of which we have
caufe to doubt ; many, which we are obliged
to rejedl ; yet its ufe ftill fubfifts and from real
and indifputable fa6ls, fupplies liifficient matter
both of inftru6tion and entertainment to every ju-
dicious reader.
If our Dodtors therefore mean any thing by the
objeflion, which we are examining, it muft be this ;■
that the fame principle which induces us to fuf-
pecSt the primitive miracles, and particularly thofe
of Simeon Stylites^ when fo forcibly and credibly
attefted, muft induce us alfo, if we are confiftent
with ourfelves, to fufpe6t every thing that is de-
livered to us from ancient hiftory. But they
widely miftake the matter ; and do not at all re-
fledl on what I have intimated above, that the hi-
ftory of miracles is of a kind totally different
from that of common events, the one, to be fuf •
pe6led always of courfe, without the ftrongeft
evidence to confirm it •, the other, to be admitted
of courfe, without as ftrong reafon to fufpedt it.
Ordinary fa6ls, related by a credible perfon, fur-
nifti no caufe of doubting from the nature of the
thing : but if they be ftrange and extraordinary ;
doubts naturally arife, and in proportion as they
approach
2 1 8 ^« I N Q^U I R Y into
approach towards the marvellous, thofe doubts
ilill increafe and grow ftronger \ for mere honelly
will not warrant them ; we require other qualities
in the Hiflorian •, a degree of knowledge, expe-
rience, and difcernment, fufficient to judge of
the whole nature and circumftances of the cafe : and
if any of thefe be wanting, we neceflarily fufpend
our belief. A weak man indeed, if honeft, may
atteft common events, as credibly as the wifefl ;
yet can hardly make any report, that is credible,
of fuch as are miraculous -, becaufe a fufpicion
will always occur, that his weaknefs, and imper-
fedt knowledge of the extent of human art, had
been impofed upon by the craft of cunning Jug-
glers. On the other hand, fhould a man of known
abilities and judgment relate to us things miracu-
lous, or undertake to perform them himfelf, the
very notion of his fkill, without an aflurance alfo
of his integrity, would excite only the greater fuf-
picion of him [c'] ; efpeciaily, if he had any in-
tereft to promote, or any favorite opinion to re-
commend, by the authority of fuch works : be-
caufe a pretenfion to miracles, has, in all ages and
nations, been found the moft efFedual inflrument
of Impoftors, towards deluding the multitude,
and gaining their ends upon them.
There is not a fmgle Hiflorian of Antiquity,
whether Greek or Latin, who had not recorded
Oracles^ prodigies^ prophecies and miracles^ on the
occafion of fome memorable events, or revoluti-
ons of States and Kingdoms. Many of thefe arc
[c] Quo quis verfutior Sc peftior, detrafta opinione pro^
callidior eft, hoc invifior & fuf- bitatis. Cic, Off. 2. ix.
attefted
I
the Miraculous Powers, &c, 119
attefled in the graved manner and by the graved
writers, and were firmly beHeved at the time by
the populace : yet it is certain, that there is not
one of them, which we can realbnably take to
be genuine : not one, but what was either wholly
forged, or from the opportunity of fome unufual
circumflance attending it, improved and aggra-
vated into fomething fupernatural. This was
undoubtedly the cafe of all the Heathen miracles ;
and though it may hurt in fome meafure the ge-
neral credit of miracles, yet, as experience has
plainly fhewn, it has not in any degree affeded
the credit of common hiftory. For example,
Dionyfjis of Hallicarnaffus is efleemed one of the
molt faithful and accurate Hiftorians of Anti-
quity : Vv^e take his word without fcruple, and
preferably even to the Roman writers, in his ac-
count of the civil affairs of Rome-, yet we laugh
at the fiditious miracles, which he has interfperfed
in it. " In the war with the Latins^ he tells us,
'' how the Gods, Caftor and Pollux^ appeared vi-
" fibly on white horfes, and fought on the fide
" of the Romans^ who by their alliflance gained
" a complete vidlory ; and that for a perpetual
*^ memorial of it, a Temple was publicly ere6ted,
" and a yearly feftival, facrifice and procelTion
" inftituted to the honor of thofe Deities [dy*
Now
[/] VId. Dionyf. Hal. An- OU^ver Cromnvell^ has deliver-
tiqu. 1. 6. p. 337 Edit. Oxon. ed a ftory to pofterity, con-
N.B. A late Hiftorian of cerningacertaincontradlmade
our own Kingdom, in his de- in form, between Oli'ver and
fcription of the battel of Wor- the De] 204, 205, 206,
Defends the zeal of "Tertullian,
and other Fathers, againft all
flight from perfecution, 212
n.
K
ration of the primitive Fa- Chilling worth, Mr. affirms
thers, and an implicit faith in the bible to be the religion of
ccclefialHcal hillory, cxxvi.
Maintains, that the ancient
Fathers and primitive Coun-
cils are the bulwark of Protef-
tantifm, cxxvii. Diftinguilhes
between St. Jerom% dogmati-
cal, and his agoniftical rtyle,
Poll, cxxxiv. Would ^erfuade
us, that St. Jercni is the parti-
cular objed of the fpleen of
the freethinkers, cxxxviii. His
defence of iJ/w^c/^ Stylites, 162,
163. His charader of Theo-
dorety ibid. Borrows his no-
tions and expreffion
ktion to Theodorety
*rillemonty 164. Contends, that
there is no better evidence for
the exiftence oiSifneon Stylites,
proteftants. Intr. xcvii. De-
clares againft the authority of
the antient Fathers, xcviii.
Induced to embrace the ^0-
piijh faith by the popiih pre-
tenfions to miracles, and the
conformity between the doc-
trine of the Church of Rome
and that of the antient Fathers,
ex. Shews from the dodrine
of the Millennium and others,
that the catholic church, even
in the earlieft ages, was not in -
fallible in matters of faith, 50
with re- Christian Apologists, their
from M. appeals to the heathens for the
truth of the miracles, which
they atteft, examined, 193 ^
Chris-
INDEX,
Christian Church, as it
continued to incrcafe in power
and credit, fo its miraculous
gifts are faid to have increafed
in the fame proportion, 20
Christianity founded on the
hiilory of our Saviour's doc-
trine and miracles, as declared
and comprifcd within the ca-
non of fcripture, Intr. xciv.
No more concerned in, or af-
fedled by, the charader of the
antient than of the modern Fa-
thers of the church. Intr, cxi,
cxii.
Christians of Palejiine offer
themfelves to death, 20 1
Chrysostom, St. ftiles mon-
kery a Vv'ay of life worthy of
heaven, Intr. liii. Wrote three
books againll the Oppugners of
the mo7iajiic life y ibid. n. [j].
Prefers a monaftic life to that
of kings, ibid. Harangues on
the bleifmgs reaped by the
church from the reliques of
martyrs, and the daily mira-
cles wrought by them, Iv. His
character, Ixxii. His account
of the efficacy of the fign of
the crofs, Intr. Ixii. Speaks
of great numbers healed by
oil from the lamps of martyrs,
Ixiii- Denies, that miracles
were performed in his time,
129 ^ feq. Maintains the
contrary in other parts of his
works, I 36 <^ feq. His books
of co7ifolation to Stagirius re-
commended by Mr. Whifon^
n. [0] 131. An abftraft of
thofe books, ibid, iff feq. Re-
folved, when young, to retire
from the world, i 34, n. Lived
two years as an hermit, ibid.
Quits his folitude, not l)cing
able to endure the fc verity of
that difcipline, ibid. Writers
agaivf the oppugners of the
vi077kijh lift; 136. Difplays
the miraculous cures perform-
ed by the ufe of confecratcd
oil, and the fign of the crofs,
1 36. Celebrates the ads and
miracles of the martyr Baby-
las, 1^2. His hiftory of that
faint, fabulous and romantic,
153
Church corrupted in faith and
and morals after the empire
became Chriflian, 123
Church OF Rome; a projed
of a reconciliation with it,
formed by the leading men of
the church of Enghmd, in the
reign of Charles I. Intr. cv.
Cicero, his obfervation on the
Pythian oracle applied to the
miracles of the church of
Rome, Intr. xliv. Mentions
certaii> verfes afcribed to the
Sibyl, and forged by the par-
tifans of Julius Cafcir, Note
36. His remark on prophetic
madnefs, 98
Clemens of Rome, his epiflle
to the Corinthia7ts, Note [i] 7,
Alledges the Hory of the Phce-
nix as a type and proof of the
refurredion, 54
CLE\\Etis of Alexandria afHrms,
that Chrifl preached but one
year, and died at the sge of
thirty, 5CJ. Afr.rms, that he
had received his do<^;.rine from
feveral difciplcr. of the very
chief Apoftles, 64. Hofds
many abfurd, unfcund, and
exploded dodrlnes, ibid Deals
largely in fubulou-^ and apo-
Q, cryphal
N D E X.
cryphal books, ibid. Believes
tlie power of magicians over
daemons, 68. Declares it to
be a fm, not to flee from the
malice of perfecutors. Note
[x] 211.
Clement XII. as honeft and
religious a pope as Gregory the
Great, Intr. Ixxxii.
Le Clerc, his remark on the
manner of interpreting the
fcripture ufed by the Fathers,
Collier, Mr. his ecclefiaftical
hiilory fhews, that miracles of
the grolTeft kind were of no
hard digeftion with him, 172.
Declares the miracles of Si-
meon Stylites to be wholly fa-
bulous, ibid.
Confessor, that title given to
thofe, who were defigned to
be tortured, or put to death.
Note [;r] 2 1 1 .
Consecrated Oil held in
great veneration in the primi-
tive times, as a univerfal re-
medy in all difeafes, Intr. Ixiii.
C R A N M E R and' Ridley gravelled
in their difputes fi'om the Fa-
thers, Intr. ciii.
Credulity, primitive Chrif-
tians perpetually reproached
for it by their enemies. Intr.
n. [«] xcii.
Croius, John, charges Jujiin
Martyr with forging a paffage
in Efdras, 42
Cromwell, lord, expoftulates
with bifhop Fijher upon the
latter's giving credit to the ho-
ly maid of Ketit, 1 1 7
Cross, JuJlin Martyrs dif-
courfe on the myftery of it,
27. The
fiQ-n of it affirmed
by St. Chryfojiom, to have per-
formed miraculous cures, 1 36
Cyprian St. declares, that the
mixing water with wine in the
Eucharift was injoined him by
a divine revelation, Intr. Ivii.
His account of the flate of the
church juft before the Decian
perfecution. Ixxxviii. Afferts,
that even boys among the
Chriftians of his time were
filled with the Holy Ghoft,i6.
And that devils were lafhed,
and burned, and tortured by
theChriftianexorcifls, 17. His
notion of the power of dae-
mons, 69. Affirms, that vi-
fions and extafies were fre-
quent in his time, 96. Fond
of power and epifcopal autho-
rity, 100. Rather an inven-
tor, than the believer of flo-
ries of vifions, ibid. Appeals
in doubtful points to heavenly
vifions and divine revelations,
ibid, i^ feq. Ufes vifions,
whenever he exerts the epifco-
pal authority without the pre-
vious confent of his clergy and
people, 104. Flies from hie
church in time of perfecution,
ibid. Pleads a fpecial revela-
tion commanding his flight,
105,212. This plea confuted
byhimfelf, 105. Wonderful
flories related by him, 1 1 2,
l^ feq. Gives the title of w^r-
tyrs to all, who had indured
torments for the faith of Chrift,
tho' without fuffering death,
n. [/j 202. His account of
the ftate of the lapfed Chrif-
tians, N. [wj 203. His exhor-
tation to martyrdom, 208. A
fpecimen of his eloquence, 208,
INDEX.
209. Chara(fler of his elo-
quence, by Dr. Marjhal, N.
[r] 209. Complains, that
many perfons, who had fuffer-
ed perfecution for Chriftiani-
ty, gave afterwards great of-
fence to the church, 209, 210,
211.
D^.MONiAcs : the cure of
them, pretended to in the pri-
mitive church, examined, 79,
£5f feq. Believed by the an-
tient Fathers to have been ac-
tually poflefTed by the devils
and evil fpirits, 80. Suppofed
by learned men to have been
affedled by the epilepfy, 80.
An account of them by Jnftin
Martyr, St. Chryfojlom, and St.
Gregory of Nyjfuy 81. The
cure of them common both to
Je'ws and Heathens, as well
as to Chriftians, 85, 86. Ca-
nons of the primitive church
relating to them, 92. Many
of them not cured by the an-
tient exorcifls, ibid. Perfedl-
ly cured by our Saviour and
his Apoftles, 93. Great num-
bers of them in the primitive
church, ibid. Committed to
the care of exorcifts, ibid. The
power of exorcifmg them put
under the direction of the cler-
gy by the council of Laodiccay
94. Account of Richard Dug-
dale the pretended Dasmoniac
oi Surey in Lancajhire, 230 n.
Damascene, John, monftrouf-
ly credulous, and abounds
with lies, Intr. Ixxxiii.
Difference of Opinion:
Caufes of it, Jntr. xxxix
DiONYSius, h\(\^OY> o^ Alexan-
dria, pretends a vifion from
God commanding liim to re-
tire in the time of perfecution,
105. Another vifion Injoin-
ing him to read heretical books,
1 06. Pleads a divine revela-
tion for flying from his fee,
on account of perfecution,
212 n.
DiONYSius of HalicarnaJ/us,
one of the moll faithful and
accurate hiftorians of antiqui-
ty, 219. Interfperfes fiditious
miracles in his hiftory, ibid.
Divination by FURY, prac-
tifed by the Delphic, Pythian
and Cumtean Sibyl, 97. C/-
cerQ\ remark on it, 98
Dodwell, Mr. deduces the
hiftory of the primitive mi-
racles through the three firft
centuries, Intr. xlviii, Ixxi.
Acknowledges the fabulous
genius and manifeft impoftures
of the fourth century, xlviii,
Ixxii. Admits fome miracles
of the fourth century, xlix,
Ixxii. Declares, from the mere
title or addrefs of St. Ignatius^
epiftle to the church of Sfnyr-
na, that miracles fubfifted in
great abundance in thofe days,
5. Affirms, that the prayers
of the primitive Chriftians had
power to difable the wild
beafts from aflaulting the mar-
tyrs expofed to them in the
amphitheatres, 6. His after-
tions on thofe points examin-
ed, ibid. His chara6ler of I-
reneeus, 44. His censure of
0^2 the
INDEX.
i8i. More candid
ChnprncWy
E
than Dr,
l82
the way of reafoning ufed by
the Father?, 57. AiTerts tlie
miraculous power of the fe-
cond century to be fuperior
even to thofe of the lirfl: or a-
poftolic age, 72. His remark Earth brought from y^ri^/2?-
on •Theophilus\ not being able lc7}i aflirmed by St. Angujiin
to fliew one perfon raifed from to drive away evil fpirits, and
I
the dead, 73. Suppofes the
antient Dicmoniacs to have
been affccled with an epilep-
fy, 80. His rcafon why vi-
fions were peculiar to tlie
young, and dreams to the old,
96. Declares, that all things
of great moment to the church
were foretold to St. Cyprian in
vifions, loi. Ccnfu res the an-
tient Fathers for averting the
perpetuity of prophecy, in.
Suppofes the gift of tongues
to have ceafed in the reign of
M. Aureliiis, iig. Omits the
llory of the dove, which flew
out of St. Polycarp\ body at
his martyrdom, 125, 126. De-
duces the hiflory of primitive
^ miracles to the times of Eu-
fehiiis, \z%. Reilrains the mi-
culous powers to the three firft
centuries, 1 28, 1 29. O a ns Epi-
phojiius not to have been accu-
rate, 1 5 1 .Declares nothing does
fo much difcreditto the caufe
of miracles, as the impoftures
of the fourth, fifth, and fol-
lov^ing ages, 171. Affigns va-
rious motives, which wo dd
n.'iturally induce the primitive
Ciirillians to wifh for and a-
fpire to martyrdom, 200
Du Pin : his charafter of 77^^?-
doret^ 178. His remark up-
on 'lhcod] 204.
Remarks on thofe acts, ibid.
The fortitude of thefe two
martyrs derived from the nrl-
petuofity of a wild and extra-
vagant enthufiafm, ibid-
Pharaoh: his condu£l com-
pared by St. Cyprian to that of
the devil in poiTefTed perfons,
Philo : his remarks on the ec-
ftafy of the old patriarchs and
prophets, 96
Pet AVI us, the Jefuit, owns E-
piphanius to have been too cre-
dulous, 151
Philopatris; the author of
that dialogue ridicules the
Chriflians for watching and
falling in expeilation of vi-
fions, 107
Phot i us : his charafter of I-
renteus, 44
Pliny, the younger: his ac
count of the Chriflians in this
province, 194, and N. [d'\
PoLYCARP, his epiflle to the
Philippians, 7. His vifion of
the martyrdom, 9. Affirmed
by later writers to have been
indued with a fpirit of prophe-
cy, ibid. Urges apoftolical
tradition in the difpute about
the time of holding EaJItr, 60.
Affirmed by Iren^us to have
converted great numbers to
the faith by the flrength of
tradition, 61. Letter of the
Church ^Smyrna concerning
his martyrdom, written about
the middle of the fecond cen-
tury, 123. Miracles faid to
have attended his martyrdom,
124, 125. Remark upon them,
125. The mention of the
dove,faId in that letter to have
flown out of liis body, omitted
bv
INDEX.
by Eiifebiits^ Dodivell, and
IVake, 125. Thetwolafto-
mit that circumilance, for the
fake of rendering the narra-
tive lefs fufpefted, ibid. E-
piftle of the Church of Smyr-
na concerning his martyrdom
in danger of being loft, till it
was difcovered by a revela-
tion from Polycarp himfelf,
198. Flies from perfecution,
N. 2M. The miracles faid
to have attended his martyr-
dom queftionable, 220
Pontius follicitous to excufe
St. Cyprians withdrawing from
his Church in the time of per-
fecution, 1 04
Popery: late growth of it,
Intr. xli. Writers for it make
great ufe of the prejudice in
this Proteftant country in fa-
vour of primitive antiquity,
ibid. The chief corruptions
of it introduced, or the feeds
of them fown, in the third,
fourth, and fifth centuries,
Intr. li. Hi,
Porphyry, 23
Praying for the dead, com-
mon in the fecond centurv,
Intr. Ix.
Preaching of Peter, a fpuri-
ous book afcribed to that A-
poftle, often cited as genuine
by Clemens Alexandrinus, Ori-
gen, and other Fathers, N. [/]
Pride Aux confutes the no-
tion of Irenaus and other Fa-
thers, of the fcriptures being
deftroyed in the Babyloyiijh
captivity, 49
Primitive antiquity affirmed
by its admirers to be the rule
of regulating the doarines
and difcipline of all modern
churches, Prcf. xvi.
Primitive Chriftians re-
proached perpetually for their
grofs credulity by their ene-
mies, Intr. N. [a\ xcii. The
ancient Father's defence of
themfelves on that head, ibid,
xciii. Account of them from
the beft heathen writers, 1 94
Proculus affirmed by Tertul-
lian to have cured the emperor
Ser ufe of vifions
and divine revelations, 103,
Roe, Sir Tho. relates a ilory
of a Jefuit in China, 2 1 4, N.
Savonarola, Jerom, preach
ed againft the corruption of
the court of Rome, N. [j] 21 3 .
A llory of him related by Dr.
Jeremy Taylor y ibid.
Scriptures; a moft abfurd
and ridiculous method of in-
terpreting them was the very
charaderiftic of the earlieil
ages of Chriftianity. Praef
xxxiii. A complete rule both
of faith and manners, Intr.
xcvi. The joining of anti-
quity as a neceifary compani-
on to them a flat contradidi-
on to the principles of the re-
formation, c. Gift of expoun-
ding them claimed by the pri-
mitive Fathers, 1 15. Not the
leaft trace of this gift to be
found in any age of the
Church from the days of the
Apoftles, ibid.
Semo S ANGUS, a Sabine deity,
miftaken by Jujiin Martyr y
IrcvYCUs, Tertiillian, Augujlin,
Epiphanius, and EufebiuSy for
^imon Magus, 40
Sep-
INDEX.
Septuagint verfion : the di-
vinity of it believed by Jiifti?!
Martyr, 37. By Iren^us, 48
Sibylline oracles believed
to be genuine by Jufiin Mar-
tyr, 33. And by Clancns A-
lexandr'mus, ibid. ^Fhe forge-
ry of them charged by the
heathens upon the ancient
Chriftians, 34. Obtained full
credit in the Church thro' all
ages, N. ^ 37
Sign of the crofs the fubjeft of
much fuperrtition in the primi-
tive ages, Intr. Ixi, Ixii.
Socrates: his account of
'Iheodoriis a marL}T, 204, dif
feqq.
SozoMEN : his account of A-
■pollo Daphneus\ temple being
fet on fire, N. [z^] 155
Spiritual gifts, fpokenofby
the apoftolical Fathers, as a-
bounding among the Chrifti-
ans of that age, mean only the
ordinary gifts and graces of
the gofpel, faith, hope, chari-
ty, &c. 3, 7
Spurious books forged and
publifhed in the earlieft ages
of the Chriftian Church, Intr.
Ixxxvii. Cited as genuine by
the moft eminent Fathers of
thofe ages, ibid, and xcii.
Archbp. Wake\ account of
thofe books. N. {u\ lx::xvii.
Stagirius fuppofed to be
poflefted by an evil fjjirit, 131.
An account of liim. N. [o]
131, 132. Sit. Chryfoftom's
books of confolation addreffed to
him, 1 3 1
St R A BO : his account of ^^f-
:ulapius\ temples, 78
Suetonius affirms, that Fcf-
pajia?! reftored a blind man to
his fight, and a cri})plc to his
limbs, 170. His account of
the Chriftians, 194
SuiDAs : his remark on the
madncfs of poets and prophets
96
Symeon Stylites a mad en-
thufiaftic monk of the fifth
century, Intr. N. [^] xcv. His
monftrous and fuperftitious
adts defended by Dr. Chap-
?na72, ibid. His miracles re-
corded by Theodoret, 161. Cal ■
led a madman by the author
of Chrifiianity as old as the
creation, ibid. Chriftianity
not concerned, whether he was
a madman, or not, ibid. De-
fended by Dr. Chapman, 162,
163. Account of him by
Theodoret, 163, & feqq. His
fame fpread through the whole
world, 168. /iffirmed by
Theodoret and E'''mmML
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