Imatges de pàgina
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fame arts, but in vain. Alfo the words which we render enchantments, &c. onlv fignify covered arts, and fecret fleights, in which the Egyptians are known to have excelled.

If the Egyptian magicians were really poffeffed of fupernatural power, why did they not employ it to defeat the purposes of Mofes's miracles, and relieve their country? More efpecially, why did they not guard them felves from the boils which are exprefsly faid to have been upon the magici. ans, as well as upon Pharaoh, and the reft of the Egyptians, and why did they fail in the case of the lice? The reafon of this failure plainly appears, from the hiftory, to have been, that, with refpect to this miracle, they had no notice beforehand what they were to do, and therefore could not prepare themselves as before.

Pharaoh himself would naturally imagine, that the miracles of Mofes were only fuch tricks as his own magicians excelled in, and therefore very properly called them in, to fee whether they could do the fame, and detect the impofition; and fo long as they could contrive to seem to do any thing like what Mofes performed, it is no wonder that, circumftanced and prejudiced as he was, he fhut his eyes to the evidence of the divine power which accompanied Mofes.

In fact, the Egyptian magicians themselves feem to have confeffed, that there was nothing above

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the art and power of man in what they did, when, upon their failing to produce lice, they acknowledged that the finger of God, or, as it might be rendered, the finger of a God, or fomething fupernatural, was in it.

It has been faid that, in feveral refpects, the prefent ftate of the world, and of mankind, does not correfpond to what is faid of the hiftory of them in the books of Mofes. But the more we understand of natural and civil hiftory, the less weight there appears to be in all objections of this kind.

It has been faid, that the peopling of America is inconfiftent with the fuppofition of the derivation of the whole race of mankind from one pair. But it is now almost certain, that America was, in fact, peopled from the continent of Europe and Afia, and efpecially from the North Eaftern parts of the latter, which is found to be very near, and may perhaps have been joined to it. This is argued from a fimilarity in features, customs, vegetable, and animal productions, &c.

Objections have been made to the Mofaic account of the creation, and the general deluge. But even in these cafes the hiftory of Mofes is found to fupply a more probable hypothefis, to account for the prefent ftate of things, than any other that has yet been propofed; and improvements in philofo

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phy do, upon the whole, rather strengthen than weaken this conclufion.

It is alledged, that the origin of the Blacks cannot be accounted for on the principles of the Mofaic hiftory. But there are feveral ways by which this fact may be reconciled with what Mofes has advanced concerning Adam and Noah. If na

tural means be not thought fufficient to produce this effect, on a few. individuals, in fome early age, that change may have been produced fupernaturally, though not mentioned by Mofes; and the propagation of Blacks from Blacks, whenever that variety in the fpecies took place, is allowed to be according to the common courfe of nature. The copper colour of the Americans, and the low ftature of the Laplanders and Efquimaux, have also been alledged by unbelievers, but to as little purpose.

The objection to the Mofaic hiftory of the lang lives of the Antediluvians, and the gigantic ftature of fome of the inhabitants of Paleftine, may be eafily paffed without any anfwer; because thereis no contradiction in fuppofing it to be true, nor is it fo very improbable that the ftate of mankind may have been very different in former times from what it is at present.

The hiftory of the fall of man is faid to have much the appearance of a fable. But it is fuf

eient for the purpose of revelation, if it be true in general, that the evils of the present state were not introduced till the fins of mankind made this ftate of labour and death appear to be the fitteft for them. The fabulous circumftances may poffibly have been introduced by the hieroglyphical manner in which that early history might be firft written. But even the literal account may, in most particulars, have been true.

As to the hiftory of tranfactions fo much older than Mofes, fo general an account as he has given of them might very well have been tranfmitted through the few generations which preceded him, or it might have been communicated to him by revelation. This, however, is not very probable, fince Mofes no where afferts it; and he feems to be exceedingly exact in diftinguishing all that he received from God, from what he relates of his own knowledge, or the information of others.

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SECTION II.

Of the Objection to revelation from the fuppofed Infpiration of the fcriptures, and others of a fimilar nature.

SOME objections to the Jewish and chriftian

revelations are founded on fmall inconfiftencies, and mistakes in the canonical books of fcripture. But fuch objections as these do not by any, means affect the divinity of the fyftem of religion which they contain; because the contents of those books may be true in the main, notwithstanding, fuch inconfiftencies and miftakes. All hiftorians, even thofe of the most approved credit, have been fubject to small inadvertencies and errors. No hiftory of Rome or England was ever written without them; but, do we therefore fay, that there is no truth in them. Nay, the difcovery of fuch fmall mistakes is never imagined to affect the credit of the important facts.

Allowing, therefore, that, in the books of Kings, a prince is faid to have reigned one number of years, and in the books of Chronicles another; that one of the Evangelifts speaks of both the thieves reviling Chrift, whereas another fays, that only one of them did it; that in one of the Gofpels

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