the apoftles; because it is not probable that the immediate hearers and difciples of Chrift were more relaxed than their fucceffors in Pliny's time, or the miffionaries of the religion than those whom they taught. CHAP. CHAP. III. There is fatisfactory evidence, that many, profeffing to have been original witneffes of the Chriftian miracles, paffed their lives in labours, dangers, and fufferings, voluntarily undergone in atteftation of the accounts which they delivered, and folely in confequence of their belief of the truth of thofe accounts; and that they alfo fubmitted from the fame motives to new rules of conduct. WHEN we confider, first, the prevalency of the religion at this hour; fecondly, the only credible account which can be given of its origin, viz. the activity of the founder and his affociates; thirdly, the opposition which that activity must naturally have excited; fourthly, the fate of the founder of the religion, attefted by heathen writers as well as our own; fisthly, the teftimony of the fame writers to the fufferings of Chriftians, either contemporary with, or immediately fucceed ing, the original fettlers of the inftitution; fixthly, predictions of the fufferings of his followers afcribed to the founder of the religion, which afcription alone proves, either that fuch predictions were delivered and fulfilled, or that the writers of Chrift's life were induced by the event to attribute fuch predictions to him; feventhly, letters now in our poffeffion, written by fome of the principal agents in the tranfaction, referring exprefsly to extreme labours, dangers, and fufferings, fuftained by themselves and their companions; laftly, a history purporting to be written by a fellow traveller of one of the new teachers, and, by its unfophifticated correspondency with letters of that person ftill extant, proving itself to be written by fome one well acquainted with the subject of the narrative, which history contains accounts of travels, perfecutions, and martyrdoms, answering to what the former reasons lead us expect when we lay together these confiderations, which, taken feparately, are, I think, correctly such as I have stated them in the preceding chapters, there cannot much doubt doubt remain upon our minds, but that a number of perfons at that time appeared in the world, publicly advancing an extraordinary ftory, and for the fake of propagatting the belief of that ftory, voluntarily incurring great perfonal dangers, traverfing feas and kingdoms, exerting great industry, and fuftaining great extremities of ill usage and perfecution. It is alfo proved that the fame perfons, in confequence of their perfuafion or pretended perfuafion of the truth of what they afferted, entered upon a course of life in many refpects new and fingular, From the clear and acknowledged parts of the cafe, I think it to be likewise in the highest degree probable, that the ftory, for which these perfons voluntarily exposed themselves to the fatigues and hardships which they endured, was a miraculous story; I mean, that they pretended to miraculous evidence of fome kind or other. They had nothing else to stand upon. The defignation of the person, that is to fay, that Jesus of Nazareth, rather than any other perfon, was the the Meffiah, and as fuch the subject of their ministry, could only be founded upon fupernatural tokens attributed to him. Here wereno victories, no conquefts, no revolutions, no furprising elevation of fortune, no achievements of valour, of strength, or of policy, to appeal to; no discoveries in any art or science, no great efforts of genius or learning to produce. A Galilean peasant was denounced to the world as a divine lawgiver. A young man of mean condition, of a private and fimple life, and who had wrought no deliverance for the Jewish nation, was declared to be their Meffiah. This, without afcribing to him at the fame time fome proofs of his miffion, (and what other but fupernatural proofs could there be?) was too abfurd a claim to be either imagined, or attempted, or credited. In whatever degree, or in whatever part, the religion was argumentative, when it came to the question, "is the carpenter's son of Nazareth the perfon whom we are to receive and obey?" there was nothing but the miracles attributed to him, by which his pretenfions could be |