ference between a real and a pretended Foundation? Let him try it in his own favourite Virtue, Sincerity. Sincerity is by common Confent the very beft Foundation of a good Character, and therefore all Knaves pretend to it. Will the Confiderer in this Cafe fay, that which is the Foundation of every bad Chara&ter, cannot be the Foundation of a good one? It is to no Purpose to controvert fuch Points and I think this Paffage from the Tryal was produced, only to give the Confiderer an Opportunity of entring into his darling common Place of abufing Revelation, and drawing together what has been retailed an hundred times over by all the little Traders in Infidelity, and has been as often anfwered to the Satisfaction of all fober Enquirers.

The first Point that more directly affects the Credit of the Refurrection, is the Nature and Quality of the Evidence. The Confiderer begins with complaining grievously, that all the Evidence is on the Side of the Refurrection, and that he can find none against it. And this he thinks is a very hard Cafe upon him. If the Refurrection, fays he, be a Fraud or the Evidence forged, what Books have we to prove. it fob? This is indeed a hard Cafe. But if he should take it into his Head to prove that Cafar was not killed in the Senate-house, he

a Firft Edit. p. 7. P. 9. Third Edit. p.

Third Edit. p. 5.

First Edit.

D

might

might begin with the fame Complaint; for all the Evidence would be on one fide, and all against him.

But he imagines there was anciently a great Stock of Evidence against the Truth of the Refurrection, but that it has been unhappily lost or destroyed. 'Tis certain, he fays, Books have been wrote by Porphyry, Celfus, and others, which contained what the Chriftians thought were beft anfwered by fifling and burning. It is well known from fome Fragments of them in Origen, that they contradicted what is related in the Evangelifts. Who furnishes the Confiderer with his Learning, I know not; but whoever he is,, he has cheated him abominably. Fragments of Porphyry and Celfus in Origen! why Origen was dead before Porphyry fet Pen to Paper. When Origen anfwered Celfus, Porphyry could not be above fixteen Years of Age, and not above twenty or twenty one when Origen died. I imagine by the Order in which he places them, that he took Porphyry to be older than Celfus, and that Origen having wrote against Celfus, could not but take notice of Porphyry too. But there was indeed about an hundred Years between Celfus and Porphyry.

Porphyry and Celfus, he fays, contradicted what is related in the Evangelifts; and fo does the Confiderer too; but what then? Is the Cre

First Edit. p. 8. Third Edit. p. 5.

dit

dit of any History the worse, because it is wantonly contradicted, without Evidence or Authority of any Sort to fupport the Contradiction? The Confiderer, I suspect, means to introduce Celfus and Porphyry, as Witneffes against the History of the Gofpel. If he does, he is mistaken. They were juft fuch Witnesfes against the Gofpel as he is; and for Want of Evidence to contradict the Evangelifts, they were forced to rely upon the Disagreements, which they fuppofed were to be found in the feveral Accounts given by the Evangelifts.

Had there ever been good Evidence against the Gospel Hiftory, it could not have been loft in Celfus's Time. For Celfus lived at no great Distance from the Apoftolic Age; at a Time when all Religions were tolerated but the Christian; when no Evidence was ftifled, no Books destroyed, but those of Chriftians. And yet Celfus laboured under the fame Want of Evidence, as Woolfton and his Auxiliaries, and had the Gospel only to fearch (as Origen more than once obferves) for Evidence against the Gofpel. A ftrong Proof that there never had been Books of any Credit in the World, that queftioned the Gofpel Facts, when fo fpiteful' and fo artful an Adverfary as Celfus made no Ufe of them.

Celfus admits the Truth of Chrift's Miracles. The Difference between him and Origen lies in the Manner of accounting for them; the one afcribing them to the Power of God, the D 2

othe

other to the Power of Magic. So that if the Confiderer will ftand to the Evidence of his own Witness, the Queftion will not be, whether the Miracles are true in Fact (for that is granted on both Sides) but whether the Truth of the Miracles infers the divine Authority of the Performer? Now can it be fupposed that Celfus would have admitted the Miracles of Chrift as real Facts, had he not been compelled to it by the universal Confent of all Men in the Age he lived?

But why does the Confiderer complain for Want of the Affiftance of Celfus, and lead his Readers to imagine that the Books of Celfus were deftroyed because they could not be anfwered? Does he not know that there is hardly a plaufible Argument, produced by Woolfton or himself, that is not borrowed from Celfus? The Truth is, that the Objections of Celfus are preferved, and prefervcd in his own Language. Origen's Answer is not a general Reply to Celfus, but a minute Examination of all his Objections, even of those which appeared to Origen moft frivolous; for his Friend Ambrofius, to whom he dedicates the Work, defires him to omit nothing. In order to this Examination Origen ftates the Objections of Celfus in his qwn Words; and that nothing might escape him, he takes them in the Order in which Celfus had placed them. Celfus then, as it happens, is fafe; and the Confiderer needs not la-ment over him any more.

The Cafe of Porphyry is different; there is little remaining of him, but fome dispersed Fragments to be found in Eufebius and Jerom. However this is certain from the Account remaining of him, that he had no Evidence against the Gospel History, but what the Gofpel itself furnished; in which he thought he faw, or pretended to fee, Contradiction. How indeed thould he have any other Evidence, when Celfus had no other, who lived fo much nearer the Apoftolic Age, than he did?

If the Confiderer is laying in a Stock of Evidence on the Antichriftian Side, he may put down in his Lift the Emperor Julian and the Talmudic Books of the Jews, together with fome others, whofe Evidence, fuch as it is, is ftill in being. Here then are Witnesses against the Apostles, the most determined Enemies that Christianity ever had; and yet the Confi

derer will find no Reafon to thank them for their Evidence. They agree with Celfus in admitting the Miracles, and fo in truth ferve only to fupport that Cause, which they meant to destroy.

The Cafe then standing thus, the Confiderer must be content to follow the Steps of his great Leaders, and fearch the Gofpel for Objections against the Gofpel. This is another Hardship and the Subject of another Complaint, If the Refurrection be a Fraud or the Evidence forged, what Books have we to prove it fo? Can it be expected that an equitable fue fhould be

obtained