recourfe to the Emperor, for thefe miraculous cures. The story may be seen in that fine historian *; where every circumftance feems to add weight to the teftimony, and might be displayed at large with all the force of argument and eloquence, if any one were now concerned to enforce the evidence of that exploded and idolatrous fuperftition. The gravity, folidity, age, and probity of fo great an emperor, who, through the whole courfe of his life, converfed in a familiar manner with his friends and courtiers, and never affected thofe extraordinary airs of divinity affumed by Alexander and Demetrius. The hiftorian, a cotemporary writer, noted for candour and veracity, and withal, the greatest and most penetrating genius, perhaps, of all antiquity; and fo free from any tendency to credulity, that he even lies under the contrary imputation, of atheism and profaneness: The perfons, from whose authority he related the miracle, of established character for judgment and veracity, as we may well prefume; eye-witneffes of the fact, and confirming their teftimony, after the Flavian family was defpoiled of the empire, and could no longer give any reward, as the price of a lie. Utrumque, qui interfuere, nunc quoque memorant, poftquam nullum mendacio pretium. To which if we add the public nature of the facts, as related, it will appear, that no evidence can well be supposed stronger for fo grofs and fo palpable a falfehood. There is also a memorable story related by Cardinal de Retz, which may well deferve our confideration. When that intriguing politician fled into Spain, to avoid the perfecution of his enemies, he paffed through Saragoffa, the capital of Arragon, where he was fhewn, in the cathedral, *Hift. lib. v. cap. 8. Suetonius gives nearly the fame acCount in vita VESP. a man, who had ferved feven years as a doorkeeper, and was well known to every body in town, that had ever paid his devotions at that church. He had been feen, for fo long a time, wanting a leg; but recovered that limb by the rubbing of holy oil upon the ftump; and the cardinal affures us that he faw him with two legs. This miracle was vouched by all the canons of the church; and the whole company in town were appealed to for a confirmation of the fact; whom the cardinal found, by their zealous devotion, to be thorough believers of the miracle. Here the relater was also cotemporary to the fuppofed prodigy, of an incredulous and libertine character, as well as of great genius; the miracle of fo finguler a nature as could fcarcely admit of a counterfeit, and the witneffes very numerous, and all of them, in a manner, fpectators of the fact, to which they gave their teftimony. And what adds mightily to the force of the evidence, and may double our furprize on this occafion, is, that the cardinal himfelf, who relates the ftory, feems not to give any credit to it, and confequently cannot be fufpected of any concurrence in the holy fraud. He confidered juftly, that it was not requifite, in order to reject a fact of this nature, to be able accurately, to difprove the teftimony, and to trace its falfehood, through all the circumftances of knaveryand credulity which produced it. He knew, that, as this was commonly altogether impoffible at any fmall distance of time and place; fo was it extremely difficult, even where one was immediately prefent, by reason of the bigotry, ignorance, cunning, and roguery of a great part of mankind. He therefore concluded, like a just reasoner, that fuch an evidence carried falfehood upon the very face of it, and that a miracle, fupported by any human teftimony, was more properly a fubject of derifion than of argument. There There furely never was a greater number of miracles afcribed to one perfon, than thofe, which were lately faid to have been wrought in France upon the tomb of Abbé Paris, the famous Janfenift, with whofe fanctity the people were fo long deluded. The curing of the fick, giving hearing to the deaf, and fight to the blind, were every where talked of as the ufual effects of that holy fepulchre. But what is more extraordinary; many of the miracles were immediately proved upon the spot, before judges of unqueftioned integrity, attested by witneffes of credit and diftinction, in a learned age, and on the most eminent theatre that is now in the world. Nor is this all: A relation of them was published and difperfed every where; nor were the Jefuits, though a learned body, fupported by the civil magiftrate, and determined enemies to thofe opinions, in whose favour the miracles were faid to have been wrought, ever able diftinctly to refute or detect them *. Where fhall we find fuch a number of circumftances, agreeing to the corroboration of one fact? And what have we to oppofe to fuch a cloud of witneffes, but the abfolute impoffibility or miraculous nature of the events, which they relate? And this furely, in the eyes of all reasonable people, will alone be regarded as a fufficient refutation. Is the confequence juft, because fome human teftimony has the utmoft force and authority in fome cafes, when it relates the battle of Philippi or Pharfalia for inftance; that therefore all kinds of testimony muft, in all cafes, have equal force and authority? Suppofe that the Cæfarean and Pompeian factions had, each of them, claimed the victory in these battles, and that the hiftorians of each party had uniformly ascribed the advantage to their own fide; how could mankind, at this diftance, * See NOTE [L]. tance, have been able to determine between them? The contrariety is equally ftrong between the miracles related by Herodotus or Plutarch, and thofe delivered by Mariana, Bede, or any monkish hiftorian. The wife lend a very academic faith to every report which favours the paffion of the reporter; whether it magnifies his country, his family, or himself, or in any other way ftrikes in with his natural inclinations and propenfities. But what greater temptation than to appear a miffionary, a prophet, an ambaffador from heaven? Who would not encounter many dangers and difficulties, in order to attain fo fublime a character? Or if, by the help of vanity and a heated imagination, a man has first made a convert of himself, and entered feriously into the delufion; who ever fcruples to make use of pious frauds, in fupport of fo holy and meritorious a caufe? The finalleft fpark may here kindle into the greatest flame; becaufe the materials are always prepared for it. The avidum genus auricularum *, the gazing populace, receive greedily, without examination, whatever fooths fuperftition, and promotes wonder. How many ftories of this nature, have, in all ages, been detected and exploded in their infancy? How many more have been celebrated for a time, and have afterwards funk into neglect and oblivion? Where fuch reports, therefore, fly about, the folution of the phænomenon is obvious; and we judge in conformity to regular experience and obfervation, when we account for it by the known and natural principles of credulity and delufion. And fhall we, rather than have a recourse to fo natural a folution, allow of a miraculous violation of the most eftablished laws of nature? * Lucret. I need I need not mention the difficulty of detecting a falfehood in any private or even public hiftory, at the place, where it is faid to happen; much more when the fcene is removed to ever fo fmall a distance. Even a court of judicature, with all the authority, accuracy, and judgment, which they can employ, find themselves often at a lofs to diftinguish between truth and falfehood in the most recent actions. But the matter never comes to any iffue, if trusted to the common method of altercation and debate and flying rumours; especially when men's paffions have taken part on either fide. In the infancy of new religions, the wife and learned commonly esteem the matter too inconfiderable to deferve their attention or regard. And when afterwards they would willingly detect the cheat, in order to undeceive the deluded multitude, the feason is now past, and the records and witneffes, which might clear up the matter, have perished beyond recovery. No means of detection remain, but those which must be drawn from the very teftimony itself of the reporters: And thefe, though always fufficient with the judicious and knowing, are commonly too fine to fall under the comprehenfion of the vulgar. Upon the whole, then, it appears, that no teftimony for any kind of miracle has ever amounted to a probability, much less to a proof; and that, even fuppofing it amounted to a proof, it would be oppofed by another proof; derived from the very nature of the fact, which it would endeavour to establish. It is experience only, which gives authority to human teftimony; and it is the fame experience, which affures us of the laws of nature. When, therefore, these two kinds of experience are contrary, we have no thing |