162 HUME vii 



themselves ; of such undoubted integrity, as to place them 

 beyond all suspicion of any design 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 false- 

 hood ; 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 requisite 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 



