1 livered by him, in the fame book in which the miracles are related, and the miraculous powers afferted, the appeals to his own miracles, or indeed to any miracles at all, are rare and incidental. In his fpeech at Antioch in Pifidia*, there is no allufion but to the refurrection. In his discourse at Miletus †, none to any miracle; none in his fpeech before Felix ‡; none in his speech before Feftus §; except to Chrift's refurrection, and his own conversion. Agreeably hereunto, in thirteen letters afcribed to St. Paul, we have inceffant references to Chrift's refurrection, frequent references to his own converfion, three indubitable references to the miracles which he wrought,'four other references to the fame, lefs direct yet highly probable¶; but more copious or circumftantial recitals we have not. The confent, therefore, between St. Paul's fpeeches and letters, is in this respect * Acts xiii. 16. 1 Cor. ii. 4, 5. † xx. 17. xxiv. 10. § xxv. 8. 2 Cor. xii. 12. Eph. iii. 7. Gal. ii. 8. 1 Theff. i. 5. fufficiently fufficiently exact: and the reason in both is the fame; namely, that the miraculous hiftory was all along prefuppofed, and that the queftion, which occupied the speaker's and the writer's thoughts, was this: whether, allowing the hiftory of Jefus to be true, he was, upon the strength of it, to be received as the promised Meffiah; and, if he was, what were the confequences, what was the object and benefit of his miffion? The general obfervation which has been made upon the apoftolic writings, namely, that the subject of which they treated, did not lead them to any direct recital of the Christian history, belongs alfo to the writings of the apoftolic fathers. The epifle of Barnabas is, in its fubject and general compofition, much like the epiftle to the Hebrews; an allegorical application of divers paffages of the Jewish history, of their law and ritual, to thofe parts of the Chrif tian dispensation in which the author perceived a resemblance. The epiftle of Clement was written for the fole purpose of quieting 5 quieting certain diffenfions that had ariser amongst the members of the church of Corinth, and of reviving in their minds that temper and spirit of which their predeceffors in the gospel had left them an example. The works of Hermas is a vifion; quotes neither the Old Teftament nor the New ; and merely falls now and then into the language, and the mode of fpeech, which the author had read in our gospels. The epiftles of Polycarp and Ignatius had for their principal object the order and difcipline of the churches which they addreffed. Yet, under all these circumftances of disadvantage, the great points of the Chriftian history are fully recognized. This hath been shewn in its proper place * There is, however, another class of writers, to whom the answer above given, viz. the unfuitableness of any fuch appeals or references as the objection demands, to the fubjects of which the writings treated, does * Vol. 1. p. 126–131. ` not not apply; and that is, the clafs of ancient apologists, whofe declared design it was, to defend Christianity, and to give the reasons of their adherence to it. It is neceffary, therefore, to enquire how the matter of the objection stands in these. The most ancient apologift, of whose works we have the fmalleft knowledge, is Quadratus. Quadratus lived about feventy years after the afcenfion, and presented his apology to the emperor Adrian. From a paffage of this work, preserved in Eufebius, it appears that the author did directly and formally appeal to the miracles of Chrift, and in terms as exprefs and confident as we could defire. The paffage (which has been once already stated) is as follows: "The works of our Saviour were always confpicuous, for they were real; both they that were healed, and they that were raised from the dead, were seen, not only when they were healed or raised, but for a long time afterwards; not only whilft he dwelled on this earth, but also after his departure, and for a good good while after it; infomuch as that fome of them have reached to our times." Nothing can be more rational or fatisfactory than this. Juftin Martyr, the next of the Chriftian apologists whofe work is not loft, and who followed Quadratus at the distance of about thirty years, has touched upon paffages of Christ's history in fo many places, that a tolerably complete account of Chrift's life might be collected out of his works. In the following quotation he afferts the performance of miracles by Chrift, in words as ftrong and pofitive as the language poffeffes : "Chrift healed those who from their birth were blind, and deaf, and lame; caufing, by his word, one to leap, another to hear, and a third to fee and having raised the dead, and caused them to live, he by his works excited attention, and induced the men of that age to know him. Who, however, feeing these things done, faid that it was a * Euf. Hift. I. iv. c. 3. magical |