the Will of God and to accomplish such great Designs But 't is hardly worth my while to return an Answer to so ridiculous a Question For 't is just as if a Person shou'd say how is it possible that I who always preach'd up the Doctrine of Temperance shou'd be guilty of Debauchery or that I who in Discourse did always vindicate the injur'd Rights of Justice shou'd ever be guilty of violating its Sacred Rules And as nothing is more common than for Persons to talk in the Praise of Virtue and yet be openly guilty of the most scandalous Vices So the Jews who make the Prophetick Oracles the Matter of their continual Boast do yet shut their Eyes against the glorious Light of those Scripture-Prophecies which are evidently accomplish'd in the Person of our Blessed Saviour And if I may ascribe their Blindness to some other Cause besides the wretched Degeneracy of Humane Nature which they plainly discover'd I may safely say that 't was directly foretold by the very Prophets they so much admire For Isaiah says expresly Hear ye indeed but understand not and see ye indeed but perceive not make the Heart of this People fat Now let any Person acquaint me what it is that the Prophet intends by these and the like Expressions 'T is plain they saw our Saviour but wilfully shut their Eyes against the piercing Rays of the SVN of RIGHTEOVSNESS and heard him discourse to 'em but cou'dn't comprehend that his humane Nature was the living Temple of the Deity which was going to forsake their Nation and to engage all its infinite Perfections in the behalf of the believing Gentiles And 't is Matter of Fact and a Thing very Remarkable that since the Incarnation of our Blessed Saviour the Jews have been left by God and that the Beauty and Glory of their Religion is in a Manner entirely defac'd and lost insomuch that there is scarce one Sign of the Divine Presence among 'em except the severe Judgments which do so justly befall their Nation They have neither Prophets nor Miracles to attest the Truth of their Religion whereas the Christians ev'n at this Distance of Time have a Power of working Miracles conferr'd upon 'em some of which are not inferiour to those which were wrought when our Saviour was on Earth CHAP. IX THEN Celsus's Jew breaks out into the following Expression How can any one imagine that we shou'd treat a Person so ill that was foretold by our own Prophets unless we had a Mind to enhance our Crime and so to aggravate our most deserved Punishment To this I answer that at the final Judgment which is one of the Articles of the Christian Faith the Jews will be punish'd in a more dreadful Manner than the rest of the World not only for rejecting the Messiah which was a horrid Crime but also for their barbarous and almost unaccountable Carriage towards the Prince of Peace Nay ev'n at this Day so remarkably do's the Vengeance of God pursue em they are the most miserable People upon the Face of the whole habitable World For what Nation is there besides that of the Jews that is banish'd from their Metropolis and deny'd the Liberty of serving God according to the Religion of their Fathers and Ancestors in their Native Soil These are some of those grievous Calamities to which their own Crimes expos'd 'em For no History can parallel their Villanies and especially those horrid Barbarities which they exercis'd towards our Blessed Saviour who came into the World to save 'em from Sin and Hell CHAP. X. THE Jew adds How cou'd we look upon him as GOD who on the one Hand did none of those Mighty Things which he pretended to effect and on the other was convicted and condemn'd to a severe Punishment was forc'd to abscond that he might not be taken running like a Vagabond from Place to Place and yet was at last apprehended and betray'd ev'n by one of his most eminent Followers who of all Persons in the World one wou'd think might have had the Grace to espouse his Master's Cause Was it in the least suitable to the Majesty and Wisdom of a GOD to flee like a guilty Wretch and to suffer himself to be apprehended and forsak'n by his intimate Friends who esteem'd him their Lord and Saviour THE SON OF GOD AND THE TRUE MESSIAH To this I answer that we are not so ignorant as to call THE BODY of our Blessed Saviour which was material and sensible by the VENERABLE NAME of GOD. Nay we don't attribute so much as this ev'n to the holy and spotless Soul of JESVS with respect to which he uses the following Words My Soul is exceeding sorrowful ev'n unto Death When we meet Mat. xxvi V. 38. with such Words as these in the Writings of the Prophets Behold I am the Lord the God of all Flesh Or Those Jer. xxxii V. 27. Words Before me there was no God Isa xliii V. 10. form'd neither shall there be after me the Jews acknowledge that 't is the great God himself that speaks but he makes Use of the Prophets as Instruments to communicate his Will to Men and the Greeks confess that 't is a God that speaks the following Words by the Mouth of the Pythian Priestess I can the numerous Sands with Ease recount Herod Clio. Fathom the Sea and understand a Mute After the same Manner we say that it was GOD the ETERNAL WORD the SON of the EVER-BLESSED GOD that made Use of the humane Nature of the HOLY JESVS as a proper Instrument when he spoke the following Words I am the Way the John xiv V. 6. Truth and the Life I am the Door I am the Living Bread that came down John x. V. 7. from Heaven And I might instance John vi V. 15. in many other Expressions to the same Effect We blame the Jews therefore and I think not unjustly for not acknowledging our Saviour to be God of whom the Prophets do so frequently produce their concurring Testimony that he is the POWER of the ETERNAL FATHER 'T was to him the Command of God was directed which we read of in the Account that Moses gives us of the Creation of the World Let there be Light Gen. 1. V. 3. let there be a Firmament and the like 'T was to him he said Let us make bid V. 6. Man in our Image after our Likeness ibid. 26. And the ETERNAL WORD did every Thing according to the Command of God And this is not a Conjecture form'd in our own Fancies but we build our Faith in this important Affair on the concurring Testimony of those very Prophets who are readily own'd and extreamly admir'd by the Jews themselves For we are told expresly He commanded and they were created Now what created Being how noble soever cou'd execute the Command of the ETERNAL FATHER with Respect to the Creation of the World who but he who was the ETERNAL and LIVING WORD CHAP. XI BESIDES 't is plain from several
was the Resurrection of the two Children before-mention'd a great and diffusive Blessing to Mankind as we know the Resnrrection of our Saviour was when the Power of God did so eminently accompany the Preaching of the Gospel and caus'd it to make so deep and lasting an Impression upon the Minds of so many of his Hearers who at first were strangely prejudic'd against him CHAP. XXXI THE pretended Jew goes on and is ready to split his Sides with Laughing at the Earth-quake and ridicules the more than ordinary Darkness that were the AWFVL CONCOMITANTS of our Saviour's Sufferings But this I have already answer'd according to my weak Ability and produc'd the Testimony of Phlegon who acknowledges that these wonderful Events did really happen at the Time of our Saviour's Passion Then the Jew has the following Words You say that he rose from the dead tho' he was far from being able to secure his Person while he remain'd on Earth and shew'd upon his Body all the Marks of his Crucifixion and the very Print of the Nails with which his Hands and Feet were pierc'd But what dos this Gentleman mean by saying He wa'n't able to secure his Person If he means that our Blessed Saviour wa'nt able to secure himself from the common Contagion of Vice and Immorality what he says is absolutely and manifestly false For he never spoke a Word or did an Action that was in the least indecent or unworthy of an INCARNATE GOD. He was led as a Sheep to the Mat. 27 V. 2 Slaughter and as a Laneb before her Shearers was dumb so he open'd not his Mouth Viz. By way of Complaint or Uneasiness as St. Mathew acquaints us But if Celsus means that he didn't exert his Power to secure himself from the outward Calamities to which he was expos'd which morally consider'd were neither Good nor Evil I have prov'd already from the Gospels that he submitted to 'em with the greatest Readiness imaginable and shew'd the Reasons which justify'd his Conduct Then the pretended Jew having spoke of our Saviour's shewing all the Marks of his Crucifixion and the very Print of his Nails says There was no Witness of the Truth of this strange Account but one Fanatical Woman designing to ridicule Mary Magdalen who saw him after he was ris'n from the dead as we are told in the Gospels and because we are inform'd that he was seen by others he thought fit to add the following Words And perhaps some Body else of the same wretched Cabal Then he plainly discovers that he is one of those who admire the Epicurean Hypothesis when he endeavours to shew how a lively Idea of a deceas'd Person may be form'd in the warm Imagination in the following Words Who was deluded by her own idle Whimsies or too easily believ'd what she wou'd have to be true as we know it frequently happens There 's a great Deal of Force if we must give any heed to his idle Whimsies in this scurrilous Language But ev'n from hence we may be furnish'd with an Argument to prove the IMMORTAL SVBSISTENCE of HVMANE SOVLS when they are separated from their Bodies and the unavoidable Consequence of what he here asserts amounts to this at least that it survives the Body For if as Plato observes in his Dialogues about the HVMANE SOVL there are certain Images of dead Persons that are seen near their Tombs then they must be owing to some Cause or other And no Cause can be so rationally assign'd as the Soul of the deceas'd Person that assumes a Body which is adapted to it But Celsus who advances the fore-mention'd Notion wou'd make People dream while they are thoroughly awake and have their Sences about 'em and says They too easily believe what they wou'd have to be true Such Dreams indeed as he talks of are common when the Bodily Sences are lock'd up by Sleep but I think we can't easily account for 'em when Persons are awake unless they be troubl'd with Melancholy or fall'n into a Fit of the Frenzy Celsus it seems wa'n't ignorant of this and that made him call Mary Magdalen a Fanatick tho' the Scripture-History says nothing like it and our Saviour's Appearing after he was ris'n from the dead and showing all the Marks that were made in his Crucify'd Body must according to Celsus be solv'd by the Doctrine of the Images of deceas'd Persons but according to the Scripture-Account which he 's so cunning as to use when he thinks that it serves his purpose the Matter of Fact stood thus Our Saviour call'd one of his Disciples to him who cou'dn't for his Life believe that he was ris'n from the dead with the same Body I say with the same Body For the Appearance of Humane Souls after Death don't seem to be the least Matter of his Doubt Therefore 't is remarkable that he dos'n't say Except I see him but Except John 20. V. 25 I shall see in his Hands the Print of the Nails and put my Finger into the Print of the Nails and thrust my Hand into his Sides I will not believe He didn't question but that the Soul of a deceas'd Person might animate a Body which wou'd be visible to the corporeal Eye and bear a Resemblance to that from which 't was separated by Death not only with respect to the Eyes and Voice and Mien but also Sometimes appear in a like Habit cloath'd Hom. Il. Book 23 V. 67. Therefore our Saviour call'd Thomas to him and said Reach hither thy Finger and behold my Hands and reach John 20 V. 27. hither thy Hand and thrust it into my Side and be not faithless but believing And by the Way 't was agreable to the many Prophecies which we meet with concerning him the many evident Miracles he wrought and unusual Accidents that befell him that he shou'd rise from the Dead and that this considerable Circumstance shou'd as it were crown and compleat the rest The Prophetical Psalmist speaking in the Person of our Saviour has this Prophecy relating to him My Flesh also shall rest in Hope for thou wilt not leave my Soul in Hell nor Psalm 16 V. 9. suffer thy Holy One to see Corruption And the Body with which our Saviour rose from the Dead did neither consist of such gross Matter as it consisted of before nor of such subtil Matter as that with which separate Souls are cloath'd when an Apparition appears Therefore St. John has the following Words His Disciples were within and Thomas with em Then came Jesus the Doors being shut and stood in the Midst and said Peace be unto you And he adds these Words Then says he to Thomas reach hither thy Finger St. Luke tells us that When Simon and Cleopas were talking of the Things Luke 24 V. 14. that had happen'd to him Jesus himself drew near and went with em But their Eyes were holden that they shou'd not know him And he said to 'em What Manner of Communications are these that ye
to lay it down and I have Power to take it up again And perhaps the Reason why his Holy Soul made Haste to leave his Body might be this that his Legs might not be broken as those of the Thieves were who were crucify'd by his Sides Then came the Soldiers and brake John 19. V. 32. the Legs of the first and of the other which was crucify'd with him But when they came to Jesus and saw that he was dead already they broke not his Legs So that I have answer'd that Objection of Celsus how will you perswade us that he cou'd foretell these Things As for that other How will you ever make us believe that a Dead Person is immortal We say 't wou'd seem no Wonder at all if People wou'd but take us right that he that dy'd was not strictly immortal but he that rose from the Dead Nay we say that our Saviour was not immortal with respect to his Humane Nature before his Body was separated from his Soul For no Person who is to dye can properly be said to be immortal but then he 's truly immortal when he 's for ever loos'd from the Bands of Death Christ being rais'd from the dead dies Rom. 6. V. 9. no more Death has no more Dominion over him whatever some Persons may affirm who don't understand the Meaning of these mysterious Words CHAP. XV. WHAT Celsus adds is no less ill-grounded than what goes before What God says he or Daemon nay what Man of Common Sence will not take the most proper Methods that he can to avoid the Evils he foresees will befall him and especially when he knows he can easily prevent 'em if he will But Socrates was well-acquainted with the Nature of the Poyson that was giv'n him and if he had but follow'd the Advice of Crito he had escap'd out of Prison and secur'd his Person from the great Inconveniencies to which he was expos'd and yet he chose rather to dye than to act in the least unbecoming the Character of so Celebrated a Philosopher So Leonidas the Lacaedemonian General knew very well that he and his Company shou'd dve at Thermopylae yet preferring his Honour to his frail and mortal Life he said Come let us dine like those who are to eat their Supper with the Dead They who will take the Pains to consult Historians may find abundance of such Instances as these What Wonder is it then that our Blessed Saviour didn't use all possible Endeavours to avoid those Evils which he knew wou'd befall him when a far inferiour Person I mean the Apostle Paul foreseeing what Things he shou'd suffer at Jerusalem encounter'd the greatest Dangers and sharply reprov'd the Cruel Kindness of those who with Tears in their Eyes endeavour'd to prevent him from the happy Execution of his great Designs Nay many at this very Day who are not ignorant to what dreadful Calamities the Profession of Christianity will expose 'em and that if they wou'd openly renounce it they shou'd be immediately discharg'd and have their Goods restor'd I say many at this very Day despise Life with all its native and gawdy Charms and embrace Death it self ev'n approaching to 'em in the most frightful Shapes What Celsus adds is as ridiculous as what went before If says he Judas 's Treason and Peter 's Denial of his Master were foretold by Christ one wou'd think they shou'd for that Reason have had an Aweful Sense of His Divinity and thereby have been effectually secur'd from offering such base Affronts to their suppos'd Rightful Sovereign and most Liberal Benefactor But here Celsus with all his Wisdom do's unawares most grosly contradict himself because if our Saviour was GOD as well as Man then the Events of Things cou'dn't but exactly agree with what his Infinite Mind foresaw concerning 'em and by consequence the one must Vnavoidably betray and the other by a sad but Fatal Necessity deny him If Matters cou'd have happen'd otherwise if Judas hadn't betray'd nor Peter deny'd him being sufficiently forewarn'd of the Folly and Danger of committing such horrid Crimes his Veracity might easily have been call'd in Question For if our Saviour foresaw as we say he did that Judas shou'd betray him he also foresaw that Corruption of his Nature that that inclin'd him to his Treachery and if he foresaw that St Peter wou'd deny him he also foresaw his Infirmity that was the unhappy Cause of his committing so base a Crime and this was consistent enough with his permitting him to be surpriz'd into a gross Act of Sin And what do's Celsus's Jew propose I wonder when he says They betray'd and deny'd him throwing off all manner of Respect to him whom they own'd to be their Lord and Master For I have already shown that Judas himself as vile a Wretch as he was retain'd some respect for our Blessed Saviour ev'n in that horrid Instant in which he inhumanely betray'd him And the like may be said of St. Peter who after he had shamefully deny'd him went out and wept bitterly as St. Mathew acquaints us What the Jew adds is very ridiculous and childish If a Person says he do's once discover the Snares that are laid for him and detect his Adversaries they commonly desist from their malicious Purpose For the contrary is most evident from the Experience of all Ages of the World Then as if he were drawing to a Conclusion he says We mustn't imagine that these Things came e're the more to pass because he foretold 'em but rather infer from what I have said that he never did foretell em For 't is absurd to suppose that either Judas wou'd ever have betray'd or Peter have deny'd him had they been forewarn'd and appriz'd of his Prediction But since I have already overthrown the Principles on which his Discourse is founded the Conclusion which he draws viz. We mustn't imagine that these Things came to pass because he foretold 'em must fall to the Ground of Course We say the Events happen'd as Things in their own Nature possible and since they came to pass we see the Predictions verify'd For the Truth or Falshood of Prophecies is best known by the Event Therefore what he says viz. That they didn't come e're the more to pass because he foretold 'em but we must rather infer from what I have said that he did never foretell em For 't is absurd to suppose that either Judas wou'd ever have betray'd or Peter have deny'd him had they been forewarn'd and appriz'd of his Prediction This I say is most apparently false and his Inferences are not just Then he says that If our Saviour was GOD and really foretold these Things as You are apt to imagine they must necessarily come to pass so that a God is suppos'd to force his Disciples to be wicked with whom he seemingly express'd so endearing a Familiarity when on the contrary he of all Persons shou'd have been highly serviceable to all Mankind and especially to
frequently dispossess'd especially when the Person who pronounc'd that sacred Name did it with a becoming Disposition of Mind and with a most lively Faith Nay the Name of JESVS has had such Power over Daemons that sometimes it has prov'd effectual tho' pronounc'd by very wicked Persons To this our Saviour seems to have a Reference when he says Many shall say to me in that Day in thy Name we have Mat. vii V. 22. cast out Devils and in thy Name have done many wonderful Works And I know not whether Celsus did omit this Passage thro' Ignorance or rather thro' a voluntary and malicious Oversight CHAP. VII THEN he accuses our Saviour himself as if he wrought Miracles by the Help of Magick and foresaw that many other Persons wou'd do the same Things by their Skill in that Hellish Art boasting that a Divine Power did attend 'em and for that very Reason did exclude 'em from the Number of his Followers and Favourites And he makes Use of this Argument against him If says he there was just Ground for his rejecting the fore-mention'd Persons then he was a wicked Man being guilty of the same Fault which he charg'd on them and if he was not a wicked Man then neither did they deserve a Mark of Infamy who according to his own Confession were to do the same Things that he did himself But tho' we shou'd grant that 't is difficult for us to determine precisely by what Power our Saviour wrought his Miracles yet 't is very plain that the Christians made use of no Enchantments unless the Name of JESVS and some Passages of the Holy Scriptures were a kind of Sacred Spell CHAP. VIII THEN Celsus frequently and severely reproaches the Christians with keeping their Opinions secret To this I answer That they are more known and more generally publish'd than the admir'd Speculations of the Philosophers themselves ev'n almost to the utmost Limits of the whole habitable World For who in a comparative Sence is ignorant of our Saviour's Nativity and Resurrection and the Day of Judgment in which he will reward the Righteous and punish the Wicked according to their Works And are not many thousands of the very worst of Infidels acquainted with the Doctrine of the Resurrection who turn it all into Banter and Ridicule So that the Charge was altogether ungrounded and by Consequence unjust But if there be some Arcana Imperii in the Christian Religion which are not fit to be communicated to the Vulgar it can't be deny'd that there are the same in Philosphy For ev'n the Philosophers held some Opinions which they kept more secret Some of Pythagoras's Pupils rely'd on his bare Authority and were satisfy'd with an Ipse dixit Others were more privately taught and instructed in those Things which ought not to be prostituted to vulgar and unsanctify'd Ears And many Rites in the Religion both of the Greeks and Barbarians are conceal'd from the Notice of the Vulgar CHAP. IX BUT Celsus seems with Abundance of Earnestness to plead for them who laid down their Lives in Confirmation of the Christian Faith when he says I wou'd not perswade any one to renounce his Religion by reason of the Dangers to which it may expose him nor wou'd I have him ev'n seem to leave it where he tacitly condemns all them who are Christians in their Hearts and yet publickly disown their Religion Here I may take Occasion to charge him with the gross Inconsistency of his Discourse for in some Places of his Book he talks like a zealous Follower of the admir'd Epicurus but here that his Accusation may carry the more plausible Appearance he dissembles his Opinions and seems to hold that there is in Man besides his Body which is material and earthly another and much nobler Substance that has an Affinity with God himself and says That they who have Souls duly dispos'd do as far as the Frailty of their Nature will admit aspire to a Participation of the Nature of God to which they are so nearly ally'd and are never more highly pleas'd than when they are seasonably and solidly entertain'd with Discourses concerning the Supream and Adorable Majesty both of Earth and Heav'n Observe a little before he said He wou'dn't perswade any one to renounce his Religion by reason of the Dangers to which it may expose him nor wou'd he have him ev'n seem to leave it and yet he 's grosly guilty of the same Fault himself which he severely condemns in others For he knew very well that if he had openly profess'd he was an Epicurean Philosopher his Accusation wou'd be little regarded by them who live in the firm Belief of an over-ruling Providence tho' indeed they may differ from one another in their Sence and Explications of the Principles which they are known to hold By the Way I 'm inform'd there have been two Persons who went by the Name of Celsus and both of 'em were Philosophers of the Epicurean Sect One who liv'd in the Reign of the Emperor Nero and another who liv'd in the Reign of the Emperor Hadrian and some Time after The latter of these is the Person with whom I am at present concern'd CHAP. X. AND he continues his Discourse and advises us to embrace no Opinions but under the Conduct of impartial Reason on the Account of the many and gross Errors to which the contrary Practice will shamefully and unavoidably expose us And he compares those Persons who take up any Notions without due Examination to the designing Priests of Mithras Bacchus Cybele or Hecate or any other Mock-Deity of the Heathens For as these Impostors having once got the Ascendant over the common People who were grosly ignorant cou'd turn and wind these harmless Cattle as their Interest or Fancy might direct So he says the very same Thing was known to be the common Practice of the Christians Some of 'em says he neither examining what it was that they believ'd nor caring to be examin'd wou'd use this Expression don't examine into Matters but believe and thy Faith will infallibly save thee and wou'd frequently say with an Air of affected Gravity that the Wisdom of this World is very dangerous and mischievous but Folly is a most admirable and useful Thing To this I answer that if all Men cou'd conveniently leave the Concerns of Life and had Leisure and Inclination to bend their Minds to the Study of Philosophy I shou'd heartily wish that this might become a Universal Practice tho' to speak modestly and to keep within due Compass I think I may safely say that the sublime Doctrines of the Christian Religion the short Hints of the Jewish Prophets our Saviour's Parables and abundance of other Things that are Simbolically deliver'd and propos'd with the Sanction of a Law are not more involved and attended with greater Obscurity than many of the Opinions which are advanc'd and maintain'd by the Philosophers themselves But if the Method which I have mention'd and before
for no other Reason but because there 's no Object from without that has any Power to corrupt him But the Jewish and Christian Doctrine which preserve the pure Nature and Immutability of God inviolable is esteem'd impious by Celsus because 't is most directly repugnant to those extravagant Notions which greatly derogate from the infinite Honour that is due to the Supream and Adorable Majesty and teaches us when we address the Throne of Grace to say Lord thou Psal cii v. 27. art always the same and represents God acquainting us that he never Mal. iii. v. 6. changes Then Celsus not condemning Circumcision which is in use among the Jews says They borrow'd that Custom from the Egyptians and gives greater Credit to the latter than he does to Moses who assures us that Abraham was the first Person who brought Circumcision into Use And Abraham's Name and his great Familiarity with God is not only mention'd by Moses in his Writings but also by the Magicians themselves who in the Formularies of their own horrid Devotion have this Expression The God of Abraham signifying thereby the Intimacy that there was between the great God himself and this eminently-virtuous and holy Man For 't is on this Account they perform their Magical Operations in the Name of The God of Abraham tho' they are far from knowing who this Abraham was The same may be said of Isaac Jacob or Israel which tho' they are Hebrew Names are frequently made use of by the Egyptians themselves who pretend they can do prodigious and ev'n miraculous Things by the Help of Magick But 't is not my Business at present to give any farther Account of Circumcision which began at Abraham and was abolish'd by our Blessed Saviour 'T will be more to my Purpose to answer the severe Accusations which Celsus brings against the Jewish Religion in general who thinks he gains his Point and effectually overthrows Christianity if he can but make a successful Attempt against the Jewish System on which the Doctrine of our Saviour is acknowledg'd to be most evidently built CHAP. XIX THEN he says That a Company of Men that look'd after Sheep and Goats being left to the Conduct of Moses were so grosly deceiv'd by him that he made 'em believe there was no other God but one Let him show therefore since he thinks they did without just Cause oppose the Worship of a Plurality of Gods I say let him show whether on rational Grounds he can establish the Polytheism both of the Greeks and Barbarians Let him show the Substance and Essence of Mnemosyne on whom Jupiter begat the Muses or of Themis on whom he begat the Hours Let him show the Subsistence of the Graces which are always represented Naked But I 'm confident he 'll never be able to prove from the Things themselves that the Gods of the Greeks which have Bodies attributed to 'em do deserve the Name of Deitys For what Reason can be given why we shou'd believe that the Fables of the Greeks concerning their pretended Deities have any more Truth or Sence contain'd in 'em than those of the Egyptians For Instance whose Language is unacquainted with Mnemosyne the Mother of the Muses or Themis the Mother of the Hours or Eurynome the Mother of the Graces and the like What is there in all these empty Fictions that deserves to be compar'd with the Evidence and Weight which that one Argument drawn from the entire Harmony of the seemingly-clashing Parts of the spacious Universe do's carry with it to prove the perfect Vnity of God For 't is impossible in the Nature of the Thing that a Piece of such Divine Architecture all the Parts of which how numerous soever and how distant and different soever from each other they may be have so admirable an Agreement and so manifest direct and constant a Subserviency to the Advantage and Ornament of the whole shou'd be made by several Hands as 't is not rational to think that the Motions of the Heavenly Bodies are caus'd by several Souls since there 's no Need of any more than one which making the vast Expansam to move from East to West contains within it self all those lower Things which tho' they are not in themselves compleat do nevertheless conduce to the wonderful Harmony and by Consequence the surprizing Perfection of the Universe For every Thing which is circumscrib'd by the World is a Part belonging to it but God is not properly a Part of any whole of what Kind soever it may be For Absolute Perfection is inseparable from the Nature of God whereas all the Parts of the Universe how agreably soever they may strike upon our wondering Senses and entertain ev'n our Nobler Powers are naturally evidently and in a comparative Sense very grosly imperfect and if we carry our Speculations a little farther perhaps we shall find that as God is not a part of the Universe so neither in Propriety and Strictness of Speech can he be call'd a whole since we must unavoidably suppose a whole to be compos'd of Parts and at least 't is most highly irrational to think that the great God has Parts any one of which has not an equal Virtue and Dignity with the rest CHAP. XX. THEN Celsus says That these Men who look'd after Sheep and Goats were unhappily prevail'd with to believe there was no other God but one whether they call'd him the Most High or Adonai or the Majesty of Heav'n or Sabaoth or whether they were pleas'd to give any other Name to the World which was the Boundary of their real Knowledge He adds 'T is no great Matter by what Name the great God be call'd whether with the Greeks they call him Jupiter or with the Indians or Egyptians call him by any other Name To which I answer that this Discourse of his do's naturally and unavoidably lead me to a difficult and important Question concerning the true Nature of Names whether as Aristotle thinks they depend entirely on Institution and Choice or whether according to the Opinion of the Stoicks they have their Foundation originally laid in Nature Words being first form'd on the Model of Things themselves in Imitation of which Names and the Elements of Etymology were happily introduc'd into the World or whether as Epicurus thinks who differs from the Stoicks they have their Foundation partly laid in Nature and are partly owing to Accident and Contrivance the first Men having undesignedly affix'd such and such articulate Sounds to such and such Objects of which they had form'd and wou'd convey an Idea If therefore I can make it appear that some Names have a natural and by consequence an inseparable Efficacy such as the Wise Men among the Persians or the Brachmans or Samanaei of the Indians or the Wise Men of any other Nations do constantly make use of and if I can prove that the Art which is commonly call'd by the Name of Magick is not absolutely incongruous to Reason as the
other innumerable Excellencies that adorn'd his Person and might sufficiently recommend him to the World He did'n't act like a Tyrant who by the Help of a prevailing Party takes Occasion to violate the known Laws of the Land in which he lives nor like a Robber who comes with Armed Men against them who innocently pass by the King's High-Way about their necessary Affairs or like a Wealthy Man who by the Help of Bribes induces Persons to come over to his Interest whether by right or wrong or like many others that might easily be mention'd whose Proceedings do manifestly deserve our Censure but like one who came to teach an ignorant and degenerate World what Thoughts they shou'd entertain of God and how they might so regulate their Morals as to maintain an humble and familiar Correspondence with his Blessed Majesty And as for Themistocles and several other Persons who gain'd a more than common Reputation and did real and extraordinary Service to their Native Country this must be said to draw a Shade over their greatest Glory that ev'ry Thing seem'd to smile on their just and honourable Attempts and as it were pave the Way for their glorious Victories and immortal Triumphs But as for our Blessed Saviour besides what I have already said which upon the first View one wou'd think was enough to have eternally conceal'd or shamefully fully'd the Name of the greatest Heroe that the World cou'd ever boast of the ignominious Death which he suffer'd on the Cross if he had had the fairest Character wou'd have giv'n his Followers just Cause to suspect him of being a vile Impostor if we may give any Credit to our Adversaries or at least have drawn a most dismal Veil over the few bright and entertaining Scenes of the most Aweful Tragedy that was ever acted CHAP. XXVIII AND 't is Matter of Wonder that our Saviour's Disciples who in the Judgment of our Enemies were not Eye-Witnesses of the Truth of his triumphant Resurrection and saw nothing but what was common and ev'n contemptible in his Person shou'dn't be afraid to imitate him in his Sufferings to encounter the most imminent and threat'ning Dangers and leave their Native Country to publish the Doctrine which their crucify'd but blessed Lord had taught em For I believe that no Person who laying aside his Prejudice examines these Matters duely will say that they wou'd ever have undergone the Fatigue of Ttinerant Preaching if they had not been fully perswaded of the vast Obligations that lay upon 'em both from Reason and Gratitude not only to conform their Manners to the holy Precepts of the Christian Religion but also to do what lay in their Power to bring many others under the same honourable and happy Bonds when as Matters went at that Critical Juncture they were sure to incur the Displeasure of the Heathen World who were zealous for their ancient Laws and Customs and cou'dn't endure the least seeming Innovation especially with respect to the pompous Ceremonies of their religious Worship But all these Difficulties were light and trivial in the Esteem of those who had Courage not only to prove to the Jewish Nation that our Blessed Saviour was frequently and expresly foretold by their own Prophetick Oracles but also to make it appear to others as Occasion offer'd that this very Person was the true Messiah who was crucify'd but t'other Day and willingly and ev'n chearfully laid down his precious Life for the whole Race of Men after the same manner tho' with unspeakable Advantage in which some others have sacrific'd all that 's near and dear to 'em for the good of their Native Country to free it from a raging Pestilence a threat'ning Famine or some violent impending Tempest that greatly endangers Ships and puts a Stop ev'n to Navigation which is so convenient and necessary for promoting an advantagious Trade into Foreign and very distant Parts For there are some secret Reasons in Nature which very few understand why the Death of one virtuous Man who readily suffers the greatest Evils that can possibly befall him for the real and perhaps lasting Welfare of the Place of his Nativity shou'd destroy or at least severely check the usurp'd Power of those infernal Daemons who are the Cause of Plagues Famines Storms and the like evident and great Disorders which frequently happen in the World And I wou'd fain know of them who don't believe that our Saviour dy'd for the general Benefit of the humane Race whether they won't give easie Credit to many Histories that are extant both of the Greeks and Barbarians which furnish us with frequent and remarkable Instances of Persons who have freely laid down their Lives for the publick Good and whose Death has been happily instrumental to purge away those threat'ning and grievous Calamities that infected Cities and perhaps whole Nations or whether on the Supposition that these are Matters of Fact it be in the least improbable that one cloath'd with humane Nature shou'd be nail'd to a Cross to destroy the Works of the Devil who before did often and too successfully exercise a Tyrannical Power over the Bodies and Souls of Men. Our Saviour's Disciples observing these Things and many Others of the like Nature with which in all Probability their prudent and indulgent Master thought fit to acquaint 'em and being fill'd with the Spirit of God for they were not inspir'd with their unusual Courage by the Virgin which the Poets speak of but by the true Wisdom of God they made haste Thro' the wide World their Fame to spread Hom. Il. Lib. 5. v. 2 CHAP. XXIX BUT 't is Time to return to the Jew whom Celsus personates who says That the Virgin Mary being big with Child was divorc'd by her Husband the Carpenter for committing Adultery with one Panthera a Soldier and being got with Child by that scandalous Wretch Let us see therefore whether the Inventors of this Story don't give a false and obscure Account of the Matter and whether by all that they have to say they are able to overthrow the Doctrine of our Saviour's miraculous Conception by the over-shadowing of the Holy Ghost For so surprizing a Passage as this is might very easily be falsify'd and 't was possible they might deny the Truth of it tho' they were inwardly convinc'd that our Saviour was not conceiv'd in the common Way of humane Generation And methinks it wou'dn't have been incongruous at all that they who didn't believe or rather wou'dn't acknowledge the Miracle shou'd invent a Fiction to serve their malicious and base Design But to invent one that was so far from having a plausible Appearance that 't was a great and notorious Untruth was to discover their Weakness to them who are able to distinguish Truth from Falsehood For do's it stand to Reason that one who was so useful to the World in general and express'd a most tender Concern both for the Greeks and Barbarians that they might reform their Manners from a Sense
of a Future and Aweful Judgment and do what lay in their Power to gain the Favour of the Blessed God the Creator and Supream Disposer of the Universe I say do's it stand to Reason that such a one so serviceable to promote the Glory of God and the Welfare of precious and immortal Souls shou'd be so far from being born in a miraculous Way as to be of a base and illegitimate Extraction I ask the Greeks and particularly Celsus who whether he be a Platonist or no thinks he has sufficient Authority for what he says if he do's but quote a Passage out of the learned Plato whether it be not a Reflection upon one who holds the Doctrine of the Transmigration of Souls and by Consequence that every Body has a proper Soul to act and animate it to deny that our Saviour was born in a lawful Manner who engag'd in so difficult and important a Work instructed so many ignorant and seduc'd Persons and happily and suddenly recover'd 'em from that Deluge of Immorality in which they had been so long and so deeply plung'd Is it not more rational to think according to the Opinion of Pythagoras Plato and Empedocles on the Testimony of which learned Authors Celsus himself do's very much rely that there are some secret Reasons why every Soul shou'd have a Body appropriated to it self that is a fit Receptacle for it and suited to the good or bad Qualities which it had in its State of Pre-existence Is it not just and reasonable that a more than humane Soul that do's more Service to the World than many Thousands of others to say no more lest my Discourse shou'd be thought to savour of Prejudice shou'd be united to a Portion of Organiz'd Matter that is more excellent than the Generality of Bodies are For if those Souls which by the Virtue of some secret Causes are of too noble a Nature to be united to an inanimate Creature and are not worthy to animate a Body that is compleatly form'd have one that is adapted to 'em the Head of which being disproportionable to the rest of its Members do's in a great Measure hinder the free Exercise of Reason and others that are more perfect act a Body that is more duly dispos'd and so others according to the several Degrees of their native or acquir'd Excellencies are sent into more or less perfect Bodies why may not a particular Soul assume a Body in a miraculous Way a Body that has something in common with the rest of Men that may render it fit for humane Conversation and something wherein it differs from 'em that may in some Measure secure it from the sad Contagion of a neighbouring and distemper'd Mind In short if we give any Credit to them who are skill'd in Physiognomy such as Zopyrus Loxus Polemon and others who have directly handl'd that difficult Subject and pretend to find out extraordinary Mysteries by observing the Rules which that Science proposes what Absurdity is there in asserting that all Bodies are suited to the Qualities of the Soul that acts em Is there then the least Probability that a Soul so excellent in it self and form'd for such great and truly-generous Designs as the Humane Soul of our Blessed Saviour shou'd animate a Body which as Celsus represents the Matter was begotten in Adultery by a wicked Souldier on the Body of a lustful Female One wou'd rather think that a Mad-man or a Person who prov'd a constant Plague to the Age and Place he liv'd in or a Teacher of Intemperance and Injustice and an impudent Encourager of all Manner of Vice shou'd owe his Birth to so impure a Copulation and not a Teacher much less an eminent Practicer of Temperance Justice and all other Virtues CHAP. XXX THIS was plainly foretold by the Prophet and exactly agrees with the promis'd Sign that we read of in the Prophecy of Isaiah where 't is said That our Blessed Saviour wou'd by the Course of his Actions make good his Name and prove himself to be Emmanuel God with us And I think it may not be improper to mention the Prediction of the fore-mention'd Prophet that our Saviour shou'd be born of a Virgin which Celsus takes no Notice of tho' he pretends to be perfectly acquainted with what the Christians hold either not having read it or cunningly concealing his Knowledge lest he shou'd unawares overthrow his own belov'd Opinions and advance any Thing to the Prejudice of the Cause which he espouses and uses his utmost Endeavours to maintain The Words of the Prophecy are these Moreover the Lord spake again to Ahaz Isaiah vii V. 10. saying ask thee a Sign of the Lord thy God ask it either in the Depth or in the Height above But Ahaz said I will not ask neither will I tempt the Lord and he said hear ye now O House of David is it a small thing to weary Men But will ye weary my God also Therefore the Lord himself shall give you a Sign Behold a Virgin shall conceive and bear a Son and call his Name Emmanuel That Celsus discover'd his Malice in not mentioning the fore-going Prophecy I gather from his passing over it in a profound Silence when he quotes some Passages in St. Mathew's Gospel and particularly makes mention of the Star that appear'd at the Nativity of our Blessed Saviour But if the Jew whom Celsus personates being us'd to make critical Remarks on Words shou'd tell us that the Word which is translated Virgin shou'd be render'd Young Woman I answer the Hebrew Word 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 which the Septuagint translate Virgin tho' Others favour his Meaning of the Word is understood of a Virgin in the Book of Deuteronomy If a Damsel that Deu. xxii V. 23. is a Virgin be betroth'd to an Husband and a Man find her in the City and lye with her then ye shall bring 'em both out to the Gate of the City and ye shall stone 'em with Stones that they dye the Damsel because she cry'd not being in the City and the Man because he has humbl'd his Neighbour's Wife So thou shalt put away evil from among you But if a Man find a betroth'd Damsel in the Field and the Man force her and lye with her then the Man only that lay with her shall dye But to the Damsel thou shalt do nothing there is in the Damsel no Sin worthy of Death But not to dwell too long upon the Hebrew Word which perhaps few Persons understand I shall endeavour to prove from the Context that according to the Prophetick Oracle Emmanuel was to be born of a Virgin The Lord said to Ahaz ask thee a Sign of the Lord thy God either in the Depth or in the Height above Then 't is said that this Sign was to be giv'n Behold a Virgin shall conceive and bear a Son But what Sign cou'd a young Woman's Conceiving be if it was not meant of a Virgin And to which of the two
Conquest And I scarce know whether the Greeks can produce any Instances of this kind in any other Persons besides Phaedon and Polemon or at best they can name but very few Persons who ever left their Intemperance and Debauchery to apply their Minds to the entertaining and useful Study of Philosophy But in the School of Christ besides the twelve Apostles who had the Honour to be contemporary with him we see daily a far greater Number of Persons that become virtuous and pious and join in a Blessed Chorus acknowledging with the deepest shame and Sorrow the many false and almost fatal Steps which formerly they took We our says the Apostle were sometimes Tit. iii. V. 3 4. foolish and disobedient deceiv'd serving diverse Lusts and Pleasures living in Malice and Envy hateful and hating one another But after that the Kindness and Love of God our Saviour toward Man appear'd not by Works of Righteousness which we have done but according to his Mercy he sav'd us by the Washing of Regeneration and the Renewing of the Holy Ghost which he shed on us abundantly For as the Prophetical Psalmist speaks He sent his Word and heal'd 'em and deliver'd 'em Psal cvii. V. 20. from their Destructions I might add that Chrysippus in a Book which he has writ Entitul'd The Art of Curing the Disorders of the Humane Passions endeavours to lay down proper and effectual Rules for the Management of those which disturb the Peace of the Mind and to that end he argues upon the Principles of several Sects of Philosophers not examining which of 'em are most agreeable to Truth and has the following Words If says he Pleasure be esteem'd the chief Good the Passions may and ought thus to be cur'd and if there be three Kinds of Good they are to be cur'd after this different Manner Now they who find Fault with the Christian Religion do wilfully Neglect to consider how many unruly Passions are successfully govern'd by it what a Stop it puts to that rapid Torrent of Vice and Immorality which is too visible in the World and what extravagant savage and ev'n Diabolical Tempers it has frequently happily and very suddenly conquer'd Certainly it ought to raise their Admiration and constrain 'em to make the most thankful Acknowledgements to Almighty God to consider what vast and apparent Advantage the Publick reaps from those proper and most excellent Methods which our Saviour took for the Reformation of Manners and one wou'd think that if they won't allow Christianity to be the True Religion yet they must confess that it conduces very much to the true Interest of Manking and which is more has an Immediate and Principal Regard to their better and immortal Part. CHAP. LIV. AND our Saviour has so effectually consulted ev'n the Temporal Advantage of his Followers that he wou'dn't have 'em to be rash and precipitate but gives 'em this necessary Lesson When they persecute you in one City flee unto another and teaches 'em by his own Example not to run into needless Dangers Celsus takes Occasion ev'n from hence to form an Accusation against him in the Person of a Jew in the following Words You run up and down with your Disciples But as for the Charge which is here brought against our Blessed Saviour we meet with a Parallel Case ev'n in the Histories which the Greeks have publish'd For Aristotle that Famous Philosopher when he saw he shou'd be condemn'd as a wicked Person by reason of some peculiar and in some Sence dangerous Notions he advanc'd which as the Athenians thought did give too great Encouragement to Licentiousness took an Opportunity to go from Athens and remov'd his School to Chalcis making the following Apology to some of his Acquaintance Let us leave Athens says he that we mayn't suffer it to be in the Power of the Athenians to re-act that horrid Impiety which they plainly discover'd by their ill Treatment of so great a Genius as the World knows Socrates to have been and to commit a most grievous Offence against so sacred a Thing as Philosophy CHAP. LV. CELSVS adds That our Saviour running up and down with his Disciples was forc'd to beg his Bread like a sordid Wretch But pray let him inform us where he has rak'd up all these scurrilous Expressions I confess we read in the Gospels that certain Women that were cur'd of their Infirmities among which was Susannah did readily distribute some Part of their Substance to furnish the Disciples with what was necessary for the Support of Life But pray what Philosopher who employs his Time and Strength with some Regard to the Benefit of his Relations and Friends and indeed of Mankind in general wou'd refuse to have his Wants supply'd Or did it become the Philosophers to accept the seasonable and generous Assistance of their Friends and others but argue a base and sordid Spirit in our Blessed Lord or those who became his Followers CHAP. LVI THEN the Jew whom Celsus personates continues his Discourse with our Saviour in the following Words What Necessity was there that when you were an Infant you shou'd be carry'd into Egypt to avoid being kill'd For surely it didn't become a God to be afraid of Death An Angel it seems was dispatch'd from Heav'n to bid You and some of your nearest Relations betake your to Flight lest you shou'd be found and be put to Death But cou'dn't Almighty God who as we are told did imploy his Angels for your Direction and Assistance preserve his Son as easily in Judea as in Egypt Celsus thinks that there was nothing extraordinary in the Humane Body and Soul of our Blessed Saviour and ridiculing his precious Blood that was shed upon the Cross he says 't was not Such Blood as from the Immortal Gods do's Hom Il. Lib. 5. V. 34â— flow But we who give Credit to our Saviour when he gives a Testimony of his Divinity in the following Words I am the Way the Truth and the Life John xiv V. 6. and in other Parallel Places and when he bears Witness to the Truth of his Humanity in the following Expression Now ye seek to kill me a Man who has told you the Truth I say we who believe John viii V. 40. our Saviour when he speaks thus of himself do assert and maintain that he had Two Natures the one Divine and the other Humane and that since he came into the World with an Intention to live in some respects like the rest of Men 't was highly incongruous that he shou'd run upon a Precipice and be fond of Misery and Death 'T was fit he shou'd be directed and govern'd by them to whom the Care of his Education did belong and that the Angel's Orders shou'd be strictly and religiously observ'd and the same Angel which said at first Joseph thou Son of David fear not to Mat. i. V. 20. take unto thee Mary thy Wife for that which is conceiv'd in her is of the Holy Ghost said
Passages in the Gospels that he who spoke those Words by the Mouth of the Blessed Jesus I am the Way the Truth and the Life was not circumscrib'd within the narrow Limits of his Humane Nature John the Baptist foretelling that in a short Time the Son of GOD shou'd make his Appearance in the World speaks of him as a Person that was Omnipresent There stands one among John 1. V. 26. 27. you says he whom ye know not he it is who coming after me is before me Now is it probable or ev'n possible he shou'd apply these Words to our Saviour's Body or his Humane Soul And our Blessed Lord himself raising the Minds of his Disciples to more sublime Thoughts of the SON of GOD makes use of the following Expression Where two or three are gather'd Ma. xviii V. 20. together in my Name there am I in the midst of em There 's another Promise that is much of the same Import which he makes to his Disciples Lo I am with Mat. 28. V. 20. you always ev'n to the End of the World I hope the Reader will not misunderstand me as if I said any Thing that might in the least interfere with that intimate and glorious Union that there is between the Humanity of the incarnate Jesus and the Misterious Person of the ETERNAL WORD For if St. Paul teaches us that He that is joyn'd to the Lord is one Spirit 1. Cor. 6. V. 17. certainly they that understand this Doctrine will readily allow that there is a closer and more Divine Union between the WORD and it s assum'd Humanity And our Blessed Saviour did abundantly discover that he was no less than the Power of God by the frequent and uncontested Miracles which he wrought ev'n in the Presence of the Jews tho' they profess'd to entertain a most unaccountable Notion I can't imagine for my Part that it shou'd ever enter into any Man's Mind that he cast out Devils by Beelzebub the Prince of the Devils and Celsus we know ascribes 'em to the Power of Magick But our Saviour abundantly confuted this Absurd Conceit by shewing that the Kingdom of Satan was going to suffer a most violent Shock as evidently appears to them who read the Gospels with any tolerable Share of Judgment Let Celsus shew if he can wherein our Saviour fail'd in his great Design to destroy the Works of the Devil and bring convincing Proofs of the Truth or ev'n Probability of what he offers But this I 'm apt to think is what he will scarce be able to perform since the Objections that he raises against us are founded for the most Part on some Matters of Fact which are grosly misunderstood by him or some Passages in the Gospels which are shamefully misapply'd or some fabulous Accounts which are owing to the unhappy but fruitful Invention of the Jews CHAP. XII BUT because Celsus's Jew affirms that he was convicted and condemn'd after a Legal Process I desire to know how this can be prov'd to be true when 't is plain beyond all Contradiction that his Enemies were very zealous in suborning false Witnesses against him Perhaps they wou'd fain make us believe that our Saviour was convicted because his Accusers took great Advantage against him by that innocent and just Expression of his I am able to destroy the Temple of Mat. xxv V. 6. 1 God and to build it in three Days 'T is true indeed he spoke these Words of the Temple of his Body but they not knowing his Design imagin'd that they had a Reference to their Material and Pompous Temple for which they plainly discover'd a far greater Veneration than for that Glorious and Adorable Temple wherein the ETERNAL WORD the TRVTH and WISDOM of GOD did Personally tho' Mysteriously reside But since Celsus's Jew insults over us because our Saviour was taken I grant he was but this ought to be consider'd that it wasn't done without his own Consent For when his Time was come he surrend'red himself as an easie Prey into the Hands of his barbarous Enemies and abundantly made good the Character which is giv'n him in the Holy Scripture and particularly in the following Words Behold the Lamb of God who takes away the Sins of the John i. V. 28. World This is no more than what the Evangelist tells us Jesus therefore knowing says he all Things that should Joh. xviii V. 4 c come upon him went forth and said unto 'em whom seek ye They answer'd him Jesus of Nazareth Jesus says unto 'em I am he And Judas also which betray'd him stood with em As soon then as he had said unto 'em I am he they went backward and fell to the Ground Then ask'd he them again Whom seek ye And they said Jesus of Nazareth Jesus answer'd I have told you that I am he If therefore ye seek me let these go their Way And when one of his Disciples stood by and smote the Ear of the High-Priest's Servant he said Put up thy Sword into its place For all they that take the Sword shall perish by the Sword Thinkest thou that I cannot now pray unto my Father and he shall presently give me more than twelve Legions of Angels But how then shall the Scriptures be fulfill'd that thus it must be Now if any Person shou'd be so weak as to imagine that these are only Fictions of the Evangelists have we not Reason on the contrary to think our Adversaries have been grosly guilty of that Practice with which they charge the Christians that so they might vent their implacable Malice against all those who profess to be the Followers of the Blessed Jesus and to believe that those Things are most certainly true which are related by Persons whose Integrity do's abundantly appear from the Consideration of the dreadful Calamities to which they knew their Religion did so manifestly expose em For we can't conceive that the Followers of our Blessed Saviour shou'd embrace the most shameful and painful Death with undaunted Courage and heroick Constancy had they been the scandalous Inventers of the History which they transmitted to Posterity but on the contrary we must esteem 'em to be Persons who were fully perswaded in their own Minds of the Truth and Importance of what they publish'd to the World since they knew by Observation and Experience that Scorn and Infamy were the shocking Attendants and Persecution and Death almost the natural and unavoidable Consequence of the glorious Profession which they made of the Name of Jesus CHAP. XIII WHAT the pretended Jew says farther viz. That our Saviour was betray'd by his own Disciples he might learn from the Evangelists with this little Difference that whereas they acquaint us that he was betray'd by Judas he chooses to speak in the Plural Number that his Objection may seem to have the greater Force but hasn't the Curiosity I will not say the Conscience to enquire narrowly into the Account which we have of Judas whose Heart was miserably
enter upon a virtuous Course of Life did deserve so scornful a Title as that which the Jew bestows upon our Holy Religion Celsus adds with equal Inadvertency No one says he but a Mad Man wou'd take your Saviour to be God or the Son of God who instead of carrying the aweful Stamp of Divinity bore all the Marks of Infamy and Disgrace and especially since this Doctrine is entirely built on some forc'd and ev'n ridiculous Interpretations of Scripture But he ought to produce some Instances of these forc'd Interpretations which he talks of and these Marks of Infamy as he thinks which do so much disgust him and let us see what it is that he has to offer against us that so the Christians might return him a satisfactory or at least a sufficient Answer if they thought the Matter did require it He says That as the Sun enlightning every Thing by its piercing Rays do's immediately discover it self to us by the glorious Light which it transmits over the whole Sphere by turns So your pretended Saviour had he been God or the Son of God wou'd have resembl'd that glorious Luminary This we say believe know and can prove he did For when he came into the World or which is the same Thing when the Sun of Righteousness did but begin to shine and its dazling Rays were intercepted by a dark and sullen Cloud Justice seem'd to regain its native Seat the Neighing of Horses the Clangor of Trumpets the Clashing of Arms and the piercing Groans of Sick and Wounded Persons were heard no more but a wonderful and happy Calm succeeded the late dismal Confusions The All-wise GOD so order'd Matters that he prepar'd the Way for the Success of the Gospel by subjecting entire Nations to the Roman Empire that so our Saviour's Apostles might not be hinder'd as otherwise they might have been in observing the Orders which their Blessed Lord had giv'n 'em to teach all Nations For how wou'd this have been practicable I wo'n't say easy to be done if People of different Countries had liv'd under Princes of their own had wanted a mutual and fair Correspondence and had not liv'd under the Jurisdiction of the Roman Emperors 'T is very well known that our Saviour was born in the Reign of the Emperor Augustus who brought the greatest Part of the World under the Roman Yoak and made Mankind almost as it were one Body Politick This manifestly and greatly conduc'd to the Spreading of the Gospel not only as it laid a Foundation for a Freedom of Commerce but also as it happily prevented those dreadful Wars which we have Reason to believe wou'd unavoidably have happen'd if all the Nations of the Earth hadn't been united under one common Empire For before the Reign of Augustus the Athenians wag'd War with the Peloponnesians and many Parallel Instances if it were needful might easily be produc'd from History And the strict and most peaceful Religion which the Christians embrace wou'd never in all Probability have been establish'd in the World as Blessed be God it is if our Saviour hadn't been seasonably born in a Time of profound and universal Tranquility Then Celsus says That the Christians are guilty of wretched Sophistry when they have the Confidence to say that he whom they affirm to be the Son of God was the VERY ETERNAL WORD And he thinks this is unanswerable Because says he instead of that Pure and Holy Word which we exspected they wou'd give us an Account of they only tell us of a miserable Man and scandalous Wretch that ended his Days upon a Cross which was certainly the most shameful as well as painful Death that he cou'd possibly have sufr'd But this Objection has been already answer'd and I have plainly shew'd that The First-born of every Creature was pleas'd to assume a Human Body and Soul that at the Creation of the World God gave a positive and strict Command and the Person who was concern'd in its honourable and speedy Execution was no other than the LIVING and CO-ETERNAL WORD And since my Business at present is to talk to a pretended Jew I shall quote a Passage out of the Old Testament viz. He sent HIS WORD Psal 107 V. 20. and heal'd 'em and deliver'd 'em from their Destructions What Celsus adds in the Person of a Jew That if this was the Word that was the Son of God we heartily agree with you is more than I ever heard any Jew acknowledge tho' I have frequently convers'd and disputed with their most Celebrated Doctors I have already prov'd that our Blessed Saviour was no Magician nor Vile Impostor and I don't think fit to imitate Celsus in his frequent and ridiculous Tautologies CHAP. XXI LET us see now what he has to say against the Account we have of the GENEALOGY of our SAVIOVR Here one wou'd think he might seasonably have mention'd the Disputes that the Christians themselves have often had by reason of the seeming Disagreement that there is between the several Evangelists in this important Affair But with all his profound Knowledge of the Mysteries of our Holy Religion he hadn'd so much Policy it seems as that wou'd amount to He says This Genealogy which it seems is orderly trac'd up to the reputed Parent of Mankind and according to which your pretended Saviour was of the Honourable Line of the Jewish Kings was a fine Invention to procure him greater Kindness and Respect from those weak Persons who wou'd be so credulous as to take any Notice of him And says he 't is a little odd indeed but the Christians can swallow any Thing that the Carpenter 's Wife was descended from so Noble a Race and which is more unaccountable that she her self shou'd know nothing of the Matter But pray what 's this to the Affair in Hand Suppose she was ignorant that she came from a Noble Family what I beseech you can you infer from thence to the Prejudice of Christianity Might it not be true that she was remotely descended from the common Parents of Mankind and more immediately from the Kings of Judah whether she knew it or no And perhaps Celsus thinks that all the Ancestors of a Person who is oppress'd with Poverty must of Course resemble him in Condition and that all the Ancestors of a King did infallibly attain to Royal Dignity But 't wou'd be Loss of Time to return an Answer to such ridiculous Discourse as this For the Age in which our Lot is cast will furnish us with innumerable Instances of Persons who came of a Rich and Noble Family and yet by some unhappy Accident or other were soon reduc'd to a much meaner Condition than that of the Virgin Mary the Mother of our BLESSED LORD and on the contrary they whose Outward Circumstances were formerly very inconsiderable have been advanc'd by some Sudden and Remarkable Turn of Providence to the Highest Pitch of External Grandeur CHAP. XXII THEN he asks in his Cavilling Way Pray what did your