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cords as would preferve the traditionary account of him to after-ages; and rectify it, if at any time, by paffing through feveral generations, it might drop any part that was material, or contract any thing that was falfe or fictitious.

VI. Accordingly we find the fame Jefus Chrift, who was born of a virgin, who had wrought many miracles in Palestine, who was crucified, rofe again, and afcended into Heaven: I fay, the fame Jefus Chrift had been preached, and was worshipped, in Germany, France, Spain, and Great Britain, in Parthia, Media, Mefopotamia, Armenia, Phrygia, Afia and Pamphilia, in Italy, Egypt, Afric, and beyond Cyrene, India, and Perfia, and, in fhort, in all the islands and provinces that are vifited by the rifing or fetting fun. The fame account of our Saviour's life and doctrine was delivered by thousands of preachers, and believed in thousands of places, who all, as fast as it could be conveyed to them, received the fame account in writing from the four Evangelifts.

VII. Irenæus to this purpofe very aptly remarks, that thofe barbarous nations who in his time were not poffeffed of the written Gospels, and had only learned the hiftory of our Saviour from those who had converted them to Chriftianity before the Gofpels were written, had among them the fame accounts of our Saviour which are to be met with in the four Evangelifts; an unconteftable proof of the barmony and concurrence between the Holy Scripture and the tradition of the churches in those early times of Christianity.

VIII. Thus we fee what opportunities the learned and inquifitive Heathens had of informing themselves of the truth of our Saviour's history during the three firft centuries, especially as they lay nearer one than another to the fountain-head befides which, there were many uncontroverted traditions, records of Chriftianity, and particular hiftories, that then threw light into these matters, but are now entirely loft, by which, at that time, any appearance of contradiction, or feeming difficulties, in the hiftory of the Evangelifts, were fully cleared up and explained; though we meet with fewer appearances of this nature in the hiftory of our Saviour, as related by the four Evangelifts, than in the accounts of any other perfon, published by fuch a number of different hiftorians who lived at fo great a distance from the prefent age.

IX. Among thofe records which are loft, and were of great use to the primitive Chriftians, is the letter to Tiberius, which I have already mentioned; that of Marcus Aurelius, which I fhall take notice of hereafter; the writings of Hegefippus, who had drawn down the hiftory of Chriftianity to his own time, which was not beyond the middle of the fecond century; the genuine Sibylline oracles, which in the first ages of the church were easily diftinguished from the spurious; the records preferved in particular churches, with many others of the fame nature.

SECTION

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1. The fight of miracles in thofe ages, a further confirmation of Pagan philofophers in the Chriftian faith.

11. The credibility of fuch miracles.

III. A particular inflance.

IV. Martyrdom, why confidered as a standing miracle.

V. Primitive Chriftians thought many of the martyrs were fupported by a miraculous power.

VI. Proved from the nature of their fufferings.

VII. How martyrs further induced the Pagans to embrace Chriflianity.

I. THERE were other means, which I find had a great influence on the learned of the three first centuries to create and confirm in them the belief of our bleffed Saviour's history, which ought not to be paffed over in filence. The firft was, the opportunity they enjoyed of examining those miracles which were on feveral occafions performed by Chriftians, and appeared in the church, more or lefs, during thefe first ages of Chriftianity. Thefe had great weight with the men I am now fpeaking of, who, from learned Pagans, became Fathers of the church; for they frquently boaft of them in their writings, as atteftations given by God himself to the truth of their religion.

II. At the fame time that the fe learned men declare how difingenuous, bafe, and wicked, it would be, how much beneath the dignity of philofophy, and contrary to the precepts of Chriftianity, to utter falfehoods or forgeries in the fupport of a caufe, though never fo juft in itfelf, they confidently affert this miraculous power, which then fubfifted in the church, nay, tell us that they themselves had been eye-witne fles of it at feveral times, and in feveral inftances; nay, appeal to the Heathens themfelves for the truth of feveral facts they relate; nay, challenge them to be prefent at their affemblies, and fatisfy themfelves, if they doubt of it; nay, we find that Pagan authors have in fome inftances confeffed this miraculous power.

III. The letter of Marcus Aurelius, whofe army was preferved by a refreshing thower, at the fame time that his enemies were difcomfited by a ftorm of lightning, and which the Heathen hiftorians themselves allow to have been fupernatural and the effect of magic; I fay, this letter, which afcribed this unexpected affiftance to the prayers of the Chriftians who then ferved in the army, would have been thought an unquestionable teftimony of the miraculous power I am fpeaking of, had it been still preferved. It is fufficient for me in this place to take notice, that this was one of thofe miracles which had its influence on the learned converts, because it is related by Tertullian, and the very letter appealed to. When thefe learned men faw fick nefs and frenzy cured, the dead raifed, the oracles put to filence, the dæmons and evil fpirits forced to confefs themselves no gods, by perfons who only made ufe of prayer and adjurations in the name of their crucified Saviour; how could they doubt of their Saviour's power on the like occafions, as reprefented to them

by

by the traditions of the church, and the writings of the Evangelifts?

IV. Under this head, I cannot omit that which appears to me a ftanding miracle in the three first centuries, I mean that amazing and fupernatural courage or patience which was fhewn by innumerable multitudes of martyrs in thofe flow and painful torments that were inflicted on them. I cannot conceive a man placed in the burning iron chair at Lyons, amid the infults and mockeries of a crowded amphitheatre, and ftill keeping his feat; or ftretched upon a grate of iron, over coals of fire, and breathing out his foul among the exquifite fufferings of fuch a tedious execution, rather than renounce his religion, or blafpheme his Saviour. Such trials feem to me above the trength of human nature, and able to overbear duty, reafon, faith, conviction, nay, and the moft abfolute certainty of a future ftate. Humanity, unaffifted in an extraordinary manner, must have fhaken off the prefent preffure, and have delivered itfelf out of fuch a dreadful diftrefs by any means that could have been fuggefted to it. We can eafily imagine, that many persons, in fo good a caufe, might have laid down their lives at the gibbet, the ftake, or the block: but to expire leifurely among the moft exquifite tortures, when they might come out of them, even by a mental reservation, or an hypocrify which was not without a poffibility of being followed by repentance and forgivenefs, has fomething in it fo far beyond the force and natural frength of mortals, that one cannot but think there was fome miraculous power to fupport the sufferer.

V. We find the church of Smyrna, in that admirable letter which gives an account of the death of Polycarp their beloved bishop, mentioning the cruel torments of their early martyrs for Chriftianity, are of opinion, that our Saviour flood by them in a vision, and perfonally converfed with them, to give them ftrength and comfort during the bitterness of their long-continued agonies; and we have the ftory of a young man, who, having fuffered many tortures, escaped with life, and told his fellow Chriftians, that the pain of them had been rendered tolerable, by the prefence of an angel that stood by him, and wiped off the tears and sweat which ran down his face whilft he lay under his fufferings. We are affured at least that the first martyr for Chriftianity was encouraged, in his laft moments, by a vifion of that Divine Perion for whom he fuffered, and into whofe prefence he was then haftening.

VI. Let any man calmly lay his hand upon his heart, and after reading these terrible conflicts in which the ancient martyrs and confeffors were engaged, when they paffed through fuch new inventions and varieties of pain, as tired their tormentors; and ask himself, however zealous and fincere he is in his religion, whether, under fuch acute and lingering tortures, he could ftill have held faft his integrity, and have profeffed his faith to the laft, without a fupernatural afittance of fome kind or other. For my part, when I confider that it was not an unaccountable obstinacy in a fingle man, or in any particular let of men, in fome extraordinary juncture; but that there

were

were multitudes of each fex, of every age, of different countries and conditions, who, for near 300 years together, made this glorious confeffion of their faith, in the midft of tortures, and in the hour of death. I must conclude, that they were either of another make than men are at prefent, or that they had fuch miraculous fupports as were peculiar to those times of Chriftianity, when without them perhaps the very name of it might have been extinguifhed.

VII. It is certain that the deaths and fufferings of the primitive Chriftians had a great share in the converfion of thofe learned Pagans who lived in the ages of perfecution, which, with fome intervals and abatements, lafted near 300 years after our Saviour. Juftin Martyr, Tertullian, Lactantius, Arnobius, and others, tell us, that this firft of all alarmed their curiofity, roused their attention, and made them ferioufly inquifitive into the nature of that religion which could endue the mind with fo much strength, and overcome the fear of death, nay, raife an earneft defire of it, though it appeared in all its terrors. This they found had not been effected by all the doctrines of those philofophers, whom they had thoroughly ftudied, and who had been labouring at this great point. The fight of thefe dying and tormented martyrs engaged them to fearch into the hiftory and doctrines of him. for whom they fuffered. The more they fearched, the more they were convinced; till their conviction grew fo ftrong, that they themfelves embraced the fame truths, and either actually laid down their lives, or were always in readiness to do it, rather than depart from them.

SECTION VIII.

1. The completion of our Saviour's prophecies confirmed Pagans in their belief of the Gospel.

II. Origen's obfervation on that of his difciples being brought before kings and governors.

III. On their being perfecuted for their religion;

IV. On their preaching the gospel to all nations;

V. On the deftruction of Jerufalem, and ruin of the Jewish economy.
VI. Thefe arguments ftrengthened by what has happened fince Origen's

time.

I. THE fecond of thofe extraordinary means, of great ufe to the learned and inquifitive Pagans of the three first centuries, for evincing the truth of the hiftory of our Saviour, was the completion of fuch prophecies as are recorded of him in the Evangelifts. They could not indeed form any arguments from what he foretold, and was fulfilled during his life, becaufe both the prophecy and the completion were over before they were published by the Evangelifts; though, as Origen obferves, what end could there be in forging fome of thefe predictions, as that of St. Peter denying his matter, and all his disciples forfaking him in the greateft extremity, which reflects fo much fhame on the great Apoftle, and on all his companions? Nothing but a ftrict adherence to truth, and to matters of fact, could have prompted the Evangelifts to relate a circumstance VOL. V.

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fo difadvantageous to their own reputation, as that Father has well obferved.

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II. But to purfue his reflexions on this fubject. There are predictions of our Saviour recorded by the Evangelifts, which were not completed till after their deaths, and had no likelihood of being fo when they were pronounced by our blessed Saviour. Such was that wonderful notice he gave them, that they fhould be brought before "governors and kings for his fake, for a teftimony against them and the Gentiles,' Matt. x. 28. with the other like prochecies, by which he foretold that his difciples were to be perfecuted. • Is there any other doctrine in the world,' fays this Father, whofe followers are punished? Can the enemies of Chrift fay, that he knew his 'opinions were falfe and impious, and that therefore he might well conjecture and foretel what would be the treatment of thofe persons who fhould embrace them? Suppofing his doctrines were really 6 fuch, why should this be the confequence? What likelihood that men fhould be brought before kings and governors for opinions and tenets of any kind, when this never happened even to the Epicureans, who abfolutely denied a Providence; nor to the Paripatetics themfelves, who laughed at the prayers and facrifices which were made to the Divinity? Are there any but the Chriftians, who, according to this prediction of our Saviour, being brought before kings and governors for his fake, are preffed to their latest gafp of death, by their refpective judges, to renounce Chriftianity, and to procure their liberty and reft, by offering the fame facrifices, and taking the fame oaths that others did ?' III. Confider the time when our Saviour pronounced thefe words, Matt. x. 32. • Whofoever fhall confefs me before men, him will I alfo confefs before my Father which is in heaven: but whosoever fhall deny me before men, him will. I alfo deny before my Father which is in heaven.' Had you heard him fpeak after this manner, when as yet his difciples were under no fuch trials, you would certainly have faid within yourself, "If thefe fpeeches of Jesus are true, and if, according to his prediction, governors and kings undertake to ruin and deftroy thofe who fhall profefs themselves his difciples, we will believe, not only that he is a prophet, but that he has received power from God fufficient to preferve and propagate his religion; and that he would never talk in fuch a peremptory and discouraging manner, were he not affured that he was able to fubdue the moft powerful oppofition that could be made againft the faith and doctrine which he taught."

IV. Who is not ftruck with admiration, when he reprefents to himself our Saviour at that time foretelling, that his Gospel should be preached in all the world, for a witnefs unto all nations, or, as Origen (who rather quotes the fenfe than the words), to ferve for a conviction to kings and people, when at the fame time he finds that his gofpel has accordingly been preached to Greeks and Barbarians, to the learned and to the ignorant, and that there is no quality or condition of life able to exempt men from fubmitting to the doc

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