CHAPTER I.

HISTORIC DOUBTS RESPECTING SHAKSPEARE,

TO ILLUSTRATE INFIDEL OBJECTIONS AGAINST CHRIST.*

SECTION I.

THE history of mankind clearly proves, that they have ever been prone to the contemplation of the marvelous. Whatever presents to their intense curiosity, the merit of singularity; whatever seems to be without a precedent and a parallel; or whatever involves in itself the elements of the wondrous and the mysterious, these are the subjects which will secure from men their most absorbed attention. Hence it happens, that the most valuable and serviceable principles are often neglected, simply because they have long been familiar to every one, and because their wise adaptation to the wants of mankind, have long since revealed their inherent worth.

This tendency to contemplate the marvelous among men, has naturally and almost inevitably led to the constant fabrication of it. When proper materials have not been at hand to gratify this deeply seated principle of our nature, they can easily be contrived

* For a similar mode of argument, see Dr. Whately's Historic Doubts relative to Napoleon Bonaparte, and Das Leben Luthers Kritisch bearbeitet von Dr. Casuar, Tübingen, 1836.

and constructed. Accordingly we find innumerable instances everywhere, among the exploits of literature and the fabulous legends of mythology, which clearly show, that men will gratify this weakness of their nature, in despite of every obstacle, and at every risk. It is to this fact, that we must attribute the various systems of heathen theology which have existed; those innumerable clusters of Gods and Goddesses, with all their miracles, their interpositions and their exploits, which now stand recorded for our astonishment and amusement, upon the classic page. In their lamentable want of all genuine knowledge in regard to the Divine nature, and the principles of an overruling Providence, the ancient Greeks and Romans crowded the summit of high Olympus with their deities; whose contending and discordant jurisdictions were supposed to be exhibited in the vicissitudes of battles, in the motions of slaughtered victims, in the revolutions of empires, and in the events of individual life.

But this disposition to fabricate the marvelous, has not always been confined to the mysterious character and actions of Gods and invisible beings; it has exhibited itself on many occasions in reference to the lives and characters of men. The histories of the heroes of former ages which have been recorded, present many instances, which unanswerably show, that men have been supposed to exist, and to have performed certain deeds, which have been confidently believed and admired for ages, and that too by the most refined and enlightened nations then existing; which men and deeds, in all human probability, have never been in being.

Who has figured more largely in the history of all

antiquity than Hercules? His origin, his appearance, his strange sufferings, his wonderful feats of strength and prowess, his vices, his travels, and his death, have all been unblushingly fabricated, confidently believed, ardently admired, and carefully recorded. No exploits were more illustrious than his in the heroic ages of Greece and Rome. No name was more familiar than his as a household word in the lands where the profound Aristotle and the eloquent Cicero lived. And yet the plainest testimony of enlightened reason declares that no such man ever existed upon earth, and that all which is said concerning him, is the sheer fabrication of those same enlightened nations.

Thus too, we read of the exploits of the Grecian host around the walls of ancient Troy. Their doings are recorded on the pages of the blind old man of Scio's isle, with an air of sincerity and truthfulness which would seem to disprove all deceit and imposture. Homer describes the characters of Agamemnon, the leader of the host, of the brave Achilles, of the crafty Ulysses, of the stupid Ajax, of Menelaus the betrayed spouse, too ready to forgive; and on the part of the Trojans, the persons of the aged Priam, the heroic Hector, the graceful Paris, the pious Æneas, and many others. But though these men and exploits have been talked of for four thousand years, and their marvelous histories have long been pondered, and even imitated, what enlightened person now believes that any such men ever lived, or that any such city was ever besieged? He must indeed be exceedingly slow of perception, who cannot penetrate the venerated absurdity of any such records !

The historians of ancient Rome tell us, that the

foundations of the "Eternal City" were laid by Romulus. They soberly record the circumstances of his birth, his wondrous preservation, his achievements, and his supernatural departure from the world. What sensible person now believes any of those myths which have so long been recorded and preserved in reference to him? Certainly not one. And yet does not this great city itself still remain, grown gray with venerable antiquity, reposing in queenly dignity upon her seven hills, as an apparent proof of the truth of that childish legend? No one will deny that this city is the remains of the activity of some one; but of course it furnishes no evidence of the existence of that one, to whom the building of it is usually ascribed. This furnishes an illustration of the fact, that the supposed remains, architectural or otherwise, of any one whose former existence is affirmed, is no conclusive proof of the truth of such affirmation. The vulgar crowd may give credit to such legends, but the philosophical and educated should independently think, and widely differ from them.

Thus also the ancient story of the Golden Fleece, to secure which so many heroes and demi-gods are said to have embarked on board the ship Argo, and traveled to ancient Colchis, working as they passed along all manner of wonders on men and monsters, until at last they carried off the brilliant prize:-this story has been soberly recorded by the most famous writers of ancient Greece, whose superior talents and splendid abilities have for many ages, rendered them illustrious. How many generations of Athenians, which produced such men as Demosthenes, Plato and Sophocles, lived and died in the belief of this absurd fabrication?

And

yet no enlightened person believes it now, while it furnishes a memorable instance how the most cultivated communities may be imposed upon, simply by addressing the principle of the marvelous, which is so prominent in human nature.

It is to this same principle that we are to ascribe those various religious miracles, at the graves of the pious dead, by other persons, which are so current in Italy and other portions of Europe. Thousands sincerely believe in the reality of these cures and wonders; they will make great sacrifices to witness, or to experience them; but every person who is intelligently free from superstition, will most certainly believe, that if these cures occurred at all, they can be accounted for, on ordinary principles which involve nothing of the miraculous whatever, or else that the whole affair is an imposture.

Many similar cases might be adduced to fortify our present position; but we cannot speak further of such instances of deceit, though thousands are at hand; lest the one which we have now especially to consider, should be lost sight of in the multitude. But after the occurrence of so many, and such glaring cases of imposture, it becomes men to guard against the operation of this delusive principle of human nature, wherever it may appear. The case which we have selected for discussion here, is a very appropriate one, inasmuch as the person in question is very celebrated, and the belief in his existence and labors is almost universal among good-natured and credulous people, and because his supposed history is particularly appropriate for illustrating our present purpose.