230 FACTS -AND FANCIES 



be produced by any power short of that of the 

 Lawmaker himself, they would be incredible; 

 and if asserted to be by his power, they would 

 be so far incredible as implying changeableness, 

 and therefore imperfection. It may be affirmed, 

 however, of the miracles recorded in Scripture, 

 that they do not require suspension of natu- 

 ral laws, but merely modifications of the opera- 

 tion and peculiar interactions of these. Many 

 of them, indeed, profess to be merely unusual 

 natural effects arranged for special purposes, 

 and depending for their miraculous character 

 on their appositeness in time to certain circum- 

 stances. This is the case, for instance, with 

 the plagues of Egypt, the crossing of the Red 

 Sea, and the supply of quails to the Israelites. 

 Miracles, whether performed as attestations cf 

 revelation or as works of mercy or of judg- 

 ment, belong to the domain of natural law, but 

 to those operations of it which are beyond hu- 

 man control or foresight. Their nature in this 

 respect we can understand by considering the 

 many operations possible to civilized men which 

 may appear miraculous to a savage, and which, 

 from his point of view, may be amply sufficient 

 as evidence of the superior knowledge and 

 power of him who performs them. That one 



