madmen, their religion as abfurdity and impofture. Now as this did not happen, but on the contrary their perfons and religion found fuch credit and extenfive reception, this fact is therefore a perfectly convincing and incontrovertible proof,-I might justly affert, of the historical certainty of their miracles, and of the divinity of their religion; but here I content myfelf with faying-of the entire credibility of thefe men. SECT. VIII. They had nothing to expect but temporal difadvantages. AND what was there which could have inftigated them to forge these circumftances, and to propagate them with fuch perfeverance? What had they to expect from their evidence? A miferable life; bitter railleries and fcorn 2 fcorn from the philofophers of their time; cruel perfecutions from the Jews, from the heathen priests, merchants, and magiftracy. For the hiftory which they published muft neceffarily have appeared abfurd to witlings and imaginary philofophers; and had a tendency not lefs important than the entire overthrow of the whole idolatrous worship of the Gentiles, and the abolition of the religion of the Jews. But, it may be urged, were not these confequences of their preaching unexpected? No: they themfelves forefaw that their doctrine would be ridiculed by the philofophers" of their time, and perfecuted by the powerful with the word and the crofs. at Cor. i. 23. • Ram. viii. 35-39. à Cor. xv. 19. SECT. IX. They fuffered for the truth of their narration every thing, even death. -And brought many of their contemporaries to the fure conviction of its truth. AFTER all that has been faid, fhould any fufpicion of difhonefty ftill remain, it must inftantly vanish when we reflect that these witneffes fuffered fo many afflictions and fufferings; fuch bitter and mortifying affronts; many of them the moft grievous torments and the most painful death with fuch compofure and truly heroic tranquillity, for the fake of their evidence, and ftill continued to fupport it even to their laft breath,-and that by their testimony, they fo certainly convinced a vaft number of their contemporaries, who, without any trouble, could have proved the truth or falfhood of their hiftory, that even thefe likewife facrificed their temporal happiness and their lives to its truth.-During the lifetime of fome of them, that is, before the conclufion of the first century, numerous communities of Christians were already formed in all the three parts of the then known world. Their doctrine found great fupport in Afia, at Jerufalem, Antioch, Ephesus, Smyrna, Laodicea, Cæfarea, &c.: in Africa, at Alexandria: in Europe, at Rome the metropolis of the world, Corinth, Theffalonica, Philippi: and in many other great, civilifed and flourishing places". Thefe P See Benson's Hiftory of the first planting of the Christian religion. London, 1744, vol. ii. in 4to. Fabricii, Salutaris lux toti mundo exoriens, Hamburg, 1731, in 4to. in which is given a catalogue of those Christian communities which can be proved to have been planted in the time of the Apoftles.-Among the first converfions none is more remarkable than that of St. Paul, Acts ix. and xxvi. 1-23. Lyttleton has hewn in his Obfervations on the converfion and Thefe communities did not confift of merely low, mean, mean, and ignorant people: but many great and learned men acknowledged themfelves to belong to their communion. Among their firft followers are found the Proconful Sergius Paulus; Dionyfius, a member of the council of Areopagus, together with his wife, and many other Athenians'; feveral perfons belonging to the court of the emperour Nero'; Eraftus, chamberlain at Corinth'; fome of the primates of Afia"; and Juftin Martyr, Tatian, Athenagoras, Theophilus of Antioch, Clement of Alexandria, Ter apoftleship of St. Paul, in a letter to Gilbert West,' that this event cannot be attributed to the deceit of others, nor to the deceit or fanaticism of St. Paul himfel; but that it is true, and confequently an incontrovertible proof of the divinity of the Christian religion, 4 Acts xiii, 7-12, Acts xvii. 34. tullian, |