PROLEGOIVTENA. Iv. 



ever since as ooe of the distinguished charac- 

 teristics of the true church. In all ages these holy 

 retreats have been respected, and Henry VIII. 

 that ntionster of lust and cupidity, was the first 

 who dared to lay his sacrilegious hands on the 

 consecrated houses of the religious, in order to 

 plunder the church of property, and the poor of 

 their maintenance. But I shall go on to speak 

 of particular Orders, and their founders, and in 

 doing so, it will be necessary to advert to a few 

 of the numerous miracles performed by God at 

 their intercession. Many of these modern miracles, 

 I am aware, are disputed by heretics, though with 

 no good reason, since they are as well attested 

 and proved as any of the miracles related in the 

 bible. Neither is there any real difference in the 

 worthiness of the object to be answered by them, 

 since all Christian miracles, whether antient or 

 modern, have been professedly wrought in at- 

 testation of the truth of the Catholic church, by 

 God himself, who has never said that miracles 

 should cease, nor authorised presumptive men 

 to declare that he has changed the course of his 

 providence. I have before proved, from the 

 nature of authority, that to impugn the truth of 

 the Catholic religion in general, would be to deny 

 Christianity altogether. And I now say, of 

 Catholic miracles in particular, that to invalidate 

 the evidence in their favour, would be to destroy 



