viour was brought in judgment before him, and by him condemned and crucified: This is recorded by Tacitus. That many miraculous cures and works out of the ordinary course of nature were wrought by him: This is confeffed by Julian the Apoftate, Porphyry and Hierocles, all of them not only Pagans, but profeffed enemies and perfecutors of Christianity. That our Saviour foretold feveral things which came to pass according to his predictions: This was attested by Phlegon in his annals, as we are affured by the learned Origen against Celfus. That at the time when our Saviour died, there was a miraculous darkness, and a great earthquake: This is recorded by the fame Phlegon the Trallian, who was likewife a Pagan and Freeman to Adrian the Emperor. We may here obferve, that a native of Trallium, which was not fituate at so great a distance from Palestine, might very probably be informed of fuch remarkable events as had paffed among the Jews in the age immediately preceding his own times, fince several of his countrymen with whom he had converfed, might have received a confused report of our Saviour before his crucifixion, and probably lived within the Shake of the earthquake,

and

and the Shadow of the eclipfe, which are recorded by this author. That Chrift was worshipped as a God among the Chriftians; that they would rather fuffer death than blafpheme him; that they received a facrament, and by it entered into a vow of abftaining from fin and wickedness, comformable to the advice given by St. Paul; that they bad private affemblies of worship, and used to join together in Hymns: This is the account which Pliny the younger gives of Christianity in his days, about seventy years after the death of Chrift, and which agrees in all its circumftances with the accounts we have in holy writ, of the firft ftate of Chriftianity after the crucifixion of our bleffed Saviour. That St. Peter, whofe miracles are many of them recorded in boly writ, did many wonderful works, is owned by Julian the apoftate, who therefore reprefents him as a great Magician, and one who had in his poffeffion a book of magical fecrets, left him by our Saviour. That the devils or evil Spirits were fubject to them, we may learn from Porphyry, who objects to Chriftianity, that fince Jefus had begun to be worshipped, Efculapius and the rest of the gods did no more converfe with men.

Nay,

Nay, Celfus himfelf affirms the fame thing in effect, when he fays that the power which feemed to refide in Chriftians, proceeded from the use of certain names, and the invocation of certain dæmons. Origen remarks on this paffage, that the Author doubtlefs hints at thofe Chriftians who put to flight evil fpirits, and healed those who were poffeffed with them; a fact which had been often seen, and which he himself had feen, as he declares in another part of his difcourfe againft Celfus. But at the fame time he affures us, that this miraculous power was exerted by the use of no other name but that of Jefus, to which were added feveral paffages in his hiftory, but nothing like any invocation to Demons.

III. Celfus was fo hard fet with the report of our Saviour's miracles, and the confident atteftations concerning him, that though he often intimates he did not believe them to be true, yet knowing he might be filenced in fuch an Anfwer, provides himfelf with another retreat, when beaten out of this; namely, that our Saviour was a magician. Thus he compares the feeding of fo many thoufands at two different times with a few

loaves and fishes to the magical feafts of thofe Egyptian impoftors, who would prefent their fpectators with vifionary entertainments that had in them neither fubftance nor reality which, by the way, is to fuppofe, that a hungry and fainting multitude were filled by an apparition, or ftrengthened and refreshed with fhadows. He knew very well, that there were fo many witneffes and actors, if I may call them fuch, in these two miracles, that it was impoffible to refute fuch multitudes, who had doubtless fufficiently fpread the fame of them, and was therefore in this place forced to refort to the other folution, that it was done by magic. It was not enough to fay that a miracle which appeared to fo many thousand eye-witneffes was a forgery of Christ's difciples, and therefore fuppofing them to be eye-witneffes, he endeavours to fhew how they might be deceived.

IV. The unconverted heathens, who were preffed by the many authorities that confirmed our Saviour's miracles, as well as the unbelieving Jews, who had actually feen them, were driven to account for them after the fame manner; For, to

work

work by magic in the heathen way of fpeaking, was in the language of the Jews to caft out devils by Beelzebub the Prince of the devils. Our Saviour, who knew that unbelievers in all ages would put this perverfe interpretation on his miracles has branded the malignity of thofe men, who contrary to the dictates of their own hearts ftarted fuch an unreafonable objection, as a blafphemy against the Holy Ghoft, and declared not only the guilt, but the punishment of fo black a crime. At the fame time he condefcended to fhew the vanity and emptiness of this objection against his miracles, by representing that they evidently tended to the deftruction of those powers, to whofe affistance the enemies of his doctrine then afcribed them. An argument, which if duly weighed, renders the objection fo very frivolous and groundless, that we may venture to call it even blafphemy against common fenfe. Would Magic endeavour to draw off the minds of men from the worship which was paid to ftocks and ftones, to give them an abhorrence of thofe evil fpirits who rejoiced in the moft cruel facrifices, and in offerings of the greatest impurity;

and