mony would undoubtedly have great weight with all the impartial and difcerning part of mankind: But a rhapsody of grofs calumny; affertions, contradictory in themselves, and not properly fupported; and an attempt to infult the understanding of men of moderation, judgment, and diligent enquiry; are not to be placed in the balance against a well-attested narrative of facts, whether the former come from a Celfus, from a Voltaire, or from any other person. The honest reasoner will always be known by his modefty, candor, and the defire which he fhews to difcover the truth; and, although he may be in an error, he is worthy of our esteem: But the prefumptuous, dogmatical, and impertinent babbler, calling himself a philofopher, who would mislead his fellow-creatures, if he imagined he should thereby gain, for a time, the applause of the vulgar, and who would facrifice the best-attefted matters of fact, to his own. confused and chimerical fyftems, is an object of contempt, and a real peft to human fociety.

But to return again to our author; who now makes his Jew afk the reft of his countrymen, What has this Jefus done that was either great or noble, to prove that he was a God? did he defpife his enemies, and regard all their defigns against him with contempt? or does he at present shew his Divinity to the eyes of the world, and efface the shame of his death, by revenging the injuries which they continue to do, through bis faithful followers, to him, and to his Father? For, fuppofing all that his difciples fay of him be true, the

excellency

excellency of his doctrine, and the purity of his life, were not fufficient to place him above the rest of mankind.

Celfus, and his followers, admit all those matters, recited by the Evangelifts, which they imagine will furnish them with fome accufation against the doctrine of Jefus Chrift, and reject all fuch as tend to confirm his Divinity: It would be more honeft, either to reject the whole, or to admit the whole. According to the Evangelifts, while Jefus was in an agony upon the crofs, "there was "darkness over the whole earth, from the fixth to the ninth hour; and the fun was darkened:" Moreover, the vail of the temple was rent in twain from the top to the bottom; the earth did "quake, the rocks rent, and the graves were opened:" So that, befides the mighty works which Jefus did in his life-time, when his mortal part expired upon the crofs, all nature trembled.But our philofophers may pretend to deny the, facts, or to call them illufions, because they are told by the disciples of Jefus: If that should be the cafe, I muft beg leave to tell them, that a learned ancient author+ tells us, that the great eclipse of the fun, which happened in the reign of the emperor Tiberius, when Jefus was crucified, and when the moon was almost in opposition to the fun, was such as astonished all the astronomers and philofophers of those days; and that the great

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• Luke xxiii. 45. Matthew xxvii. 51, Chronic. lib. 13.

R 3

+ Phlegon

earthquake,

earthquake, which happened at the fame time, was general over all the then known face of the earth. Celfus muft likewife have known, that, in his time, multitudes of people were cured, in a miraculous manner, through the name of Jefus Christ: Was the like ever done, in the name of any perfon, almost one hundred years after he left this life, fince the creation of the world? Will the advocates of this author pretend to fay, likewife, that this was done by magic? Therefore, in anfwer to Celfus's firft queftion, I muft obferve, that it was in this manner that Jefus manifested himself to be the Son of God.

The fecond queftion, propofed by our author, has likewise been answered, in a great meafure, by the foregoing: Jefus has given convincing proofs of his Divinity to all the impartial part of mankind, who form their judgment of those things from the inconteftable facts which appear before them. Moreover, as Celfus had read the history of the Evangelifts, which was published soon after Jefus was crucified, he must have there feen what was prophefied refpecting the Jews and the city of Jerufalem; where the punishment that they were to receive is particularly pointed out; and as that prophecy was fulfilled, in part, when he wrote his book, Jerufalem then being totally deftroyed, as Jefus Chrift had foretold; it is furprifing, that he should expofe himself so much as to afk a question of this kind. But, to carry this point a little farther, our modern philofophers,

who

who are the admirers of Celfus, muft likewife have been well informed of the great attempts that were made, by the emperor Julian, to re-build again the temple at Jerufalem, to re-establish the Jews in their ancient habitations, and thereby to convince the world, that the prophecies of Jefus Chrift were false; and as well what were the confequences of thofe attempts: they are alfo well acquainted with the wretched fituation that the Jews have been in fince those days; and in which they are actually at prefent: And, moreover, as our author fuppofed that the Greeks and Romans did a great injury to Jefus Chrift, and to his Father, by the horrid perfecutions which they inflicted upon his faithful followers, who were never proved to have been, guilty of any immoral act; I think the Christians had a fufficient revenge, if Celfus and his admirers think that fuch acts of revenge can be agreeable to a well-difpofed mind, in feeing their bloody perfecutors cut off from the face of the earth, and all their pompous idolatry levelled with the duft. No perfon but a Celfus could have afferted, no other than a Voltaire would have propagated, that the excellency of the doctrine of Jefus Chrift, and the purity of his life, were not fufficient to place him above the reft of mankind: We should have been greatly obliged to Celfus, and to Voltaire, if they had told us, what then were fufficient for this purpose.

Again; this author, who, as I have already obferved, would place the miracles of Jefus Chrift,

and the illufions of impoftors, in the fame rank, proceeds to obferve, that the force of truth is very Strong; be declares very clearly himself, as I learn from your books, that others will prefent themselves before you, and do the fame miracles that he did, and yet be declared them to be wicked impoftors. He likewife mentions a certain Satan, by whom his miracles would be imitated. This is confeffing, that they had not any thing divine in them, and that they were the productions of an impure caufe. In endeavouring to caution his followers against the wickedness of others, he could not avoid laying open the deceit which he practifed himself. Was it not a piece of folly to regard him as a God, and at the fame time regard others as wicked impoftors who did the fame miracles which he did? If we are to form our judgment from thence, what reafon had be to condemn others, and not condemn bimfelf upon his own teftimony? For it is he who has declared, that all the miracles which he did, are the certain marks, not of the virtue of a God, but of the fraud and wickedness of men.

Celfus has here afferted a falfity, and then he pretends to reafon upon it, as if it was a truth. Jefus Chrift never told his difciples, that others would come and do the fame miracles which he did, and yet they would be only wicked cheats. On the contrary, he fays, "Many will fay unto me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophefied in thy name? and in thy name have "caft out devils? and in thy name done many "wonderful works? And then I will profefs unto

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them, I never knew you: Depart from me, ye

"that