great diftance from them? or would any certain account of them be tranfmitted into foreign countries, within fo fhort a space of time as that of our Saviour's public miniftry? Such kinds of news, though never fo true, feldom gain credit, till fome time after they are tranfacted and expofed to the examination of the curious, who, by laying together circumstances, atteftations, and characters, of thole who are concerned in them, either receive, or reject, what at firft none but eye-witneffes could abfolutely believe or difbelieve. In a cafe of this fort, it was natural for men of fenfe and learning to treat the whole account as fabulous, or at fartheft, to fufpend their belief of it, until all things ftood together in their full light. III. Befides, the Jews were branded not only for fuperftitions different from all the religions of the Pagan world, but in a particular manner ridiculed for being a credulous people; fo that whatever reports of fuch a nature came out of that country, were looked upon as falfe, frivolous, and improbable. IV. We may further obferve, that the ordinary practice of magic in thofe times, with the many pretended prodigies, divinations, apparitions, and local miracles among the Heathens, made them lefs attentive to fuch news from Judæa, till they had time to confider the nature, the occafion, and the end of our Saviour's mi- racles, and were awakened by many furprising events to allow them any confideration at all. V. We are indeed told by St. Matthew, that the fame of our Saviour, during his life, went throughout all Syria, and that there followed him great multitudes of people from Galilee, Judæa, Decapolis, Idumæa, from beyond Jordan, and from Tye and Sidon. Now had there been any hiftorians of thofe times and places, we might have expected to have feen in them fome account of those wonderful tranfactions in Judæa; but there is not any fingle author extant, in any kind, of that age, in any of thofe countries. VI. How many books have perished in which poffibly there might have been mention of our Saviour? Look among among the Romans, how few of their writings are come down to our times? In the fpace of two hundred years from our Saviour's birth, when there was fuch a multitude of writers in all kinds, how fmall is the number of authors that have made their way to the prefent age? VII. One authentic record, and that the moft authentic Heathen reord, we are pretty fure is loft. I mean the account fent by the governor of Judæa, under whom our Saviour was judged, condemned, and crucified. It was the custom in the Roman Empire, as it is to this day n all the governments of the world, for the præfects and viceroys of diftant provinces to tranfinit to their fovereign a fummary relation of every thing remarkable in their adminiftration. That Pontius Pilate, in his account, would have touched on fo extraordinary an event in Judæa, is not to be doubted; and that he actually did, we learn from Justin Martyr, who lived about an hundred years after our Saviour's death, refided, made converts, and fuffered martyrdom at Rome, where he was engaged with philofophers, and in a particular manner with Crefcens the Cynic, who could easily have detected, and would not fail to have expofed him, had he quoted a record not in being, or made any falfe citation out of it. Would the great Apologift have challenged Crefcens to difpute the caule of christianity with him before the Roman Senate, had he forged fuch an evidence? or would Crefcens have refufed the challenge, could he have triumphed over him in the detection of fuch a forgery? To which we mult add, that the apology, which appeals to this record, was prefented to a learned Emperor, and to the whole body of the Roman Senate. This father, in his apology, fpeaking of the death and fuffering of our Saviour, refers the Emperor for the truth of what he fays to the acts of Pontius Pilate, which I have here mentioned. Tertullian, who wrote his apology about fifty years after Justin, doubtlels referred to the fame record, when he tells the governor of Rome, that the Emperor Tiberius having received an account out of Palestine in Syria of the Divine Perfon, who had appeared in that country, paid him a B particular particular regard, and threatened to punish any who hould accufe the chriftians; nay, that the Emperor would have adopted him among the Deities whom he worshipped, had not the Senate refused to come into his propofal. Tertullian, who gives us this hiftory, was not only one of the most learned men of his age, but, what adds a greater weight to his authority in this case, was eminently fkilful and well read in the laws of the Roman Empire. Nor can it be faid, that Tertullian grounded his quotation upon the authority of Juftin Martyr, because we find he mixes it with matters of fact which are not related by that author. Eufebius mentions the fame ancient record, but as it was not extant in his time, I shall not infift upon his authority in this point. If it be objected that this particular is not mentioned in any Roman hiftorian, I fhall ufe the fame argument in a parallel cafe, and fee whether it will carry any force with it. Ulpian, the great Roman lawyer, gathered together all the Imperial Edicts that had been made against the chriftians. But did any one ever say that there had been no fuch edicts because they were not mentioned in the hiftories of those Emperors? Befides, who knows but this circumftance of Tiberius was mentioned in other hiftorians that have been loft, though not to be found in any ftill extant? Has not Suetonius many particulars of this Emperor omitted by Tacitus, and Herodian many that are not fo much as hinted at by either? As for the fpurious acts of Pilate, now extant, we know the occafion and time of their writing; and had there not been a true and authentic record of this nature, they would never have been forged. VIII. The ftory of Agbarus, king of Edeffa, relating to the letter which he fent to our Saviour, and to that which he received from him, is a record of great authority and though I will not infift upon it, may venture to fay, that had we fuch an evidence for any fact in Pagan history, an author would be thought very unreasonable who fhould reject it. I believe you will be of my opinion, if you will perufe, with other authors, who have appeared appeared in vindication of thefe letters as genuine, the additional arguments, which have been made use of by late famous and learned Dr. Grabe, in the fecond volume of his Spicilegium. SECTION II. I. What facts in the history of our Saviour might be taken notice of by Pagan authors.-II. What particular facts are taken notice of, and by what Pagan authors.III. How Celfus represented our Saviour's miracles.IV. The fame representation made of them by other unbelievers, and proved unreasonable.-V. What facts in our Saviour's biflory not to be expected from Pagan writers. 1. WE E now come to confider what undoubted authorities are extant among Pagan writers; and here we must premife, that fome parts of our Saviour's hiftory may be reasonably expected from Pagans. I mean fuch parts as might be known to thofe who lived at a distance from Judæa, as well as those who were the followers and eye-witnefles of Christ. II. Such particulars are most of these which follow, and which are all attefted by fome one or other of thofe heathen authors who lived in or near the age of our Saviour and his difciples. That Auguftus Cæfar had ' ordered the whole empire to be cenfed or taxed,' which 'brought our Saviour's reputed parents to Bethlehem: this is mentioned by feveral Roman hiftorians as Tacitus, Suetonius, and Dion. That a great light, or a new 'ftar, appeared in the eat, which directed the wife men to our Saviour.' This is recorded by Chalcidius. 'That Herod, the king of Palestine, fo often mentioned in the Roman history, made a great flaughter of innocent children,' being fo jealous of his fucceffor, that he put to death his own fons on that account. This character of him is given by several hiftorians; and this cruel fact mentioned by Macrobius, a heathen author, who tells it as a known thing, without any mark or doubt upon it, 'That our Saviour had been in Egypt.' This Celfus, though he raises a monftrous story upon it, is fo far from denying, B 2 denying, that he tells us our Saviour learned the arts of magic in that country. That Pontius Pilate was governor of Judæa; that our Saviour was brought in judg'ment before him, and by him condemned and cruci'fied this is recorded by Tacitus. That many miraculous cures, and works out of the ordinary courfe of nature, were wrought by him: this is confeffed by Julian the apoftate, Porphry, and Hierocles, all of them not only pagans, but profeffed enemies and perfecutors of chriftianity. That our Saviour foretold several things which came to país according to his predictions:" this was attested by Phlegon, in his annals, as we are affured by the learned Origen against Celfus. That at the time when our Saviour died, there was a miraculous 'darkness, and a great earthquake :' this is recorded by the fame Phlegon, the Trallian, who was likewise a pagan, and freeman to Adrian the Emperor. We may here obferve, that a native of Trallium, which was not situate at fo great a distance from Paleftine, might very pro bably be informed of fuch remarkable events as had paffed among the Jews in the age immediately preceding his own times, fince feveral of his countrymen with whom he had converfed, might have received a confused report of our Saviour before his crucifixion, and probably lived within the shake of the earthquake, and the fhadow of the eclipfe, which are recorded by this author. That Chrift was worshipped as a God among the Chriftians; that they would rather fuffer death than blafpheme him; that they received a facrament, and by it entered into a vow of abftaining from fin and wickednefs; conforming to the advice given by St. Paul: that they had private affemblies of worship, and ufed to join together in hymns: this is the account which Pliny the younger gives of Christianity in his days, about feventy years after the death of Chrift, and which agrees in all its circumftances with the accounts we have in holy writ, of the first state of Chriftianity after the crucifixion of our Bleffed Saviour. That St. Peter, whofe miracles are many of them recorded in holy writ, did many • wonderful |