vii ORDER OF NATURE: MIRACLES 163 



tegrity, as to place them beyond all suspicion of any de- 

 sign to deceive others ; of such credit and reputation in the 

 eyes of mankind, as to have a great deal to lose in case of 

 their being detected in any falsehood; and at the same 

 time attesting facts, performed in such a public manner, 

 and in so celebrated a part of the world, as to render the 

 detection unavoidable : All which circumstances are requi- 

 site to give us a full assurance of the testimony of men." 

 (IV. p. 135.) 



These are grave assertions; but they are least 

 likely to be challenged by those who have made 

 it their business to weigh evidence and to give 

 their decision, under a due sense of the moral 

 responsibility which they incur in so doing. 



It is probable that few persons who proclaim 

 their belief in miracles have considered what 

 would be necessary to justify that belief in the 

 case of a professed modern miracle-worker. Sup- 

 pose, for example, it is affirmed that A. B. died 

 and that C. D. brought him to life again. Let it 

 be granted that A. B. and C. D. are persons of 

 unimpeachable honour and veracity; that C. D. is 

 the next heir to A. B/s estate, and therefore had 

 a strong motive for not bringing him to life again; 

 and that all A. B/s relations, respectable persons 

 who bore him a strong affection, or had otherwise 

 an interest in his being alive, declared that they 

 saw him die. Furthermore, let A. B. be seen after 

 his recovery by all his friends and neighbours, and 

 let his and their depositions, that he is now alive, 

 be taken down before a magistrate of known 

 154 



