that the multitude perceived that the zeal of the Christian was a zeal according to knowledge, and that he was thus zealously affected only in a thing which was good and true. And what could convince the Gentile of this, if not the sufferings or the miracles of the Christian (for he attempted not to establish his faith by philosophic reasoning), either of which, if admitted, will prove the certainty and divinity of his religion.

J

A similar inference may be drawn from the second of those causes to which the progress of the Gospel has been traced, I mean the doctrine of a future life. That the doubt and darkness which hung over the world that lies beyond the grave when examined only by the unassisted eye of reason, should make the penitent ready to embrace any system of philosophy or of faith which could put an end to the weariness and uncertainty of his conjectures; and that thousands were actually enlisted under the banner of the cross, principally because it held forth an assurance of eternal happiness in Heaven, are facts of which I am fully persuaded. But we have still to shew the reason why these men believed the assurance which Christianity held forth. Consider the Apostles and Evangelists as without inspiration and without miracles, and what was there in the assertions of these simple individuals to produce

the belief of a doctrine which the profoundest reasonings of unaided wisdom had been found too weak to establish? Why should the words of a few fishermen of Galilee bring conviction to the mind upon that immortality of the soul which the works of the most revered of the philosophers had never been able to create? The efforts of reason had been employed for ages in a vain attempt to disseminate the doctrine of a future state. In the space of a few transitory years the foolishness of the preaching of some despised and humble Jews, secured for it a firm and a general reception; and it is impossible to account for this unusual readiness of belief, without supposing them to have accompanied their speech with some irresistible evidence of divine authority. these Christian promisers of eternal and unspeakable glory not sanctioned their promises by the demonstrations of the spirit and of power, men would have risen up from their preaching, as one did from the perusal of Plato, believing indeed whilst they listened, but ceasing to believe ere the voice of the preacher had ceased sounding in their ears. It is not then the mere doctrine, but the full assurance of a future life which Christianity conveys, that we are to reckon as one of the secondary causes of its success; and such an assurance could have been made sure to the

Had

converts, in the absence of philosophic arguments, only by the testimony of some miraculous proof.

It is easy to talk of the pure and austere morals of the Christians as one of the reasons of the progress of the Gospel. It is a delightful and a copious theme, but never could it have contributed to the general propagation of the faith.

The Christians were not allowed to possess any virtues. They were held as atheists, as immoral, as impure; and their character, therefore, would not attract, but rather repel, the penitent, whilst he who professed and called himself a Christian would be bound in obedience to his faith to be holy above all, and yet be accounted a sinner above all. In a word, he would have to undergo the difficulties, without receiving the rewards of virtue in the life that now is; and it is plain that he would never trust to the promises of reward in the life to come, without some undeniable proof of the truth and authority of the book in which they were written.

The union and discipline of the Christian body too, if truly it did exist, whence could it arise in early times, and whilst the Gospel was neither protected nor ruled by the state, and when there were no Acts of Uniformity to compel, nor

any undeviating forms of faith to regulate assent, -if not from union of sentiment; and whence that universal harmony of opinion, if not from a conviction of the divine infallibility of some common document to which they appealed and from which they drew their doctrines?

We are told of the miraculous powers ascribed to the primitive Church, and I have reserved the consideration of this cause, as the most important, to the last. Now I ask, if it be possible, that miraculous powers could be ascribed to the Church without being possessed by it? and if not, I shall be most ready to admit the operation of this cause.

Consider then the state of the world at the period in which Christianity appeared.

It was an age of scepticism and of the "fashion of incredulity;" and one of the brightest ornaments of ancient philosophy gloried in the uncertainties of academic doubt. Why was this "fashion of incredulity" suspended when applied to the Christian Church, so far as even to ascribe to it miraculous powers? Surely the general habit of scepticism would have extended itself most eagerly to those powers, had they not been supported by some undeniable proof of their reality. At no period can the unbelief of those who neg

lect to inquire into any fact be construed into an argument against its truth. But in an age of scepticism and incredulity every single individual who believes in its occurrence affords a strong probability of his faith being founded on a solid basis.

It was an age in which the greater part of the civilized world were the subjects of one government; and this, whilst it facilitated the preaching of truth, would have facilitated also the detection of falsehood. In some remote and secluded country an imposition might possibly rise up to maturity, and then go forth and gain an establishment in other kingdoms, because supported and sanctioned by the faith of a whole nation. But Christianity was spread over the limits of a mighty empire by the individual efforts of single teachers. In those days too the world was in a state of general peace, and men, like the Athenians, had little else to attend to but the hearing or the telling of each new thing; and being perfectly settled and secure, had neither hopes nor fears to distract them, nor any end to answer, nor any party to serve, by attributing to Christians what they did not possess. It might not have been so had Christianity appeared in the days of Cæsar and Pompey, and been embraced by either from political motives; and it was not so in after times, when each