Imatges de pàgina
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it for granted that fuch conclufions are always juft, but must expect that a revelation from God will discover many mistakes, and especially that it will fupply many defects, in the best formed fyftem of natural religion.

From the obfervations which have now been made, it may be feen, that we ought to be very far from relinquishing our reason, when we come to confider the subject of revelation. On the contrary, then, it is that we ought to make the most use of it, to fee that we be not imposed upon in a matter of so much confequence to us. It is only by the help of that faculty which we call reason, that we can distinguish between any two systems of religion that may be propofed to us. It is by reafon only that we can judge both of their previous probability, and also of the pofitive evidence that is produced in favour of them. Let us, therefore, upon all occafions, call to our aid that power which God has given us to be the guide of life, and especially in matters of fo great importance to us as thofe certainly are which relate to the will of God, what he requires of us, and what we have to expect from him.

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SECTION IV.

Rules for eftimating the value of human teftimony.

THE

HE plain rules for eftimating the value of fingle evidences are the two following. Any thing, capable of being proved by mere teftimony, is credible in proportion to the opportunity the witness had of being well informed concerning it himself, and his freedom from any bias that might make him wish to impose upon others. If the perfon who gives us information concerning any tranfaction, at which we ourselves were not prefent, appears to be a competent judge of it, and have been in a fituation in which he had the best opportunity of being rightly informed, and if there be no appearance of its being his intereft to deceive us, we give our affent; but we hefitate, in proportion to the doubts we entertain on either of thefe heads.

The more perfons there are who relate the fame tranfaction, of which they are equally credible witnelles, the ftronger is the evidence for it. But the more perfons there are through whofe hands the fame narration is conveyed to us, the weaker is the evidence. In this latter cafe, the witneffes are called dependent ones; but in the former they are faid to

be

be independent. Whatever imperfection there may be in any one of a number of independent witneffes, it is in part removed by the teftimony of others; but every imperfection in the original evidence is increased in proportion to the number of dependent witneffes, through whofe hands the fame ftory is transmitted.

The marks of a story being related by a number of independent witneffes, of full credit, is their agreement in the principal articles, and their difagreement with refpect to things of lefs confe. quence, or at least a variety, or diverfity in their manner of relating the fame ftory.

The reafon of this is, that to things of princi pal importance they will all equally attend, and therefore they will have their minds equally impreffed with the ideas of them; but that to things of lefs confequence they will not give the fame attention, and therefore they will be apt to conceive differently concerning them.

If a number of perfons agree very minutely with respect to all the facts of any narrative, general and particular, and also in the order and manner of the narration, it will amount to a proof that they have agreed together to tell the fame ftory; and in this they will be fuppofed to have been influenced by fome motive not favourable to the value of their teftimony; and befides, having learned circumftances one of another, they can

not

not be confidered as independent of one another. All hiftories which have been written by different perfons, in all refpects equally credible, agree in the main things, but they are as certainly found to differ with refpect to things of lefs confequence. We likewife diftinguifh with refpect to the nature of the fact to which our affent is required, for we expect more numerous, more exprefs, and in all refpects, more unexceptionable evidence, according to the degree of its previous improbability, arifing from its want of analogy to other facts already known; and in this there is a gradation, from things which are antecedently highly probable, and therefore require but little positive evidence, to things which are utterly incredible, being fo contrary to what we already know of the course of nature, and the author of it, that no evidence could convince us of it.

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If my fervant fhould tell me that, as he was paffing through a certain place, he faw a friend of mine, who I knew had business in that neighbourhood, and the character of my fervant was fuch that I had never known him to tell me a wanton lie, I should readily believe him; and if I had any thing to do in the cafe, I fhould, without hefitation, act upon the fuppofition that what he told me was true. But if the fame fervant fhould fay that, coming through the same place, he saw another of my friends whom I knew to have been

dead

dead, I fhould not believe him, though the thing in itself was not naturally impoffible; and if ten or a dozen perfons of our common acquaintance, perfons of knowledge and curiofity, should, independently of one another, seriously inform me that they were present themselves, and had no doubt of the fact, I might believe it.

It follows, however, from this obfervation, that miracles require a much stronger teftimony than common facts. The latter are analogous to fuch other facts as are the fubject of every day's experience, so that we are continually expecting fuch things, and they are never any furprize to us; whereas the former are contrary to that analogy, and are therefore unexpected.

By the help of these maxims I shall now proceed to examine the evidence of the Jewish and christian revelations, fhewing how far they are in themfelves credible or incredible upon the whole; then examining the evidence which has been produced in their favour, and laftly confidering fome particular objections which have been made to them.

SEC.

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