344 C R E 
CREDE'RA, 3 village on the eminence of La Coda, 
in the-Italian republic, department of the Adda. Here 
the order of the Au (fin friars originated, and from hence 
fpread all over the world. 
CREDIBI'LITY,/. That claim, which any circum- 
ftance has to our belief, from the degree of certainty that 
makes it worthy of being believed. The affient we give 
to faffs, on the ground of credibility, differs from 
that which we give in cafes either of intuition, or of de- 
monftration : and the difference lies in this ; viz. that in 
the one inftance we believe on the evidence of moral cer¬ 
tainty; whereas in the others, we are convinced either 
by the force of our fenfes, or by the deductions of reafon. 
Credibility is the main principle on which depends the 
intercourfe of fociety. For, in our daily tranfacfions one 
with another, we have mutual confidence, from a per- 
fuaiion founded on general character, that tire perfons 
with whom wo are concerned, deferve credit in what 
they affirm, and in what they engage to perform. Ap¬ 
plying this confidence and this per-fuafion to men, not 
only of the prefent, but alfo of preceding ages, we allow 
credibility to thefi’e hidorians who are known to have 
been competent, difinterefted, and faithful, narrators of 
the facts they record. Unlefs we do receive the accounts 
of fiuch hiftorians, on the ground of credibility, arifing 
from thefe qualifications, we can have no poflible proof 
of any one circumftance which happened in an age before 
we were born ; and thence we muft remain in a date 
either of utter ignorance, or of wretched hefitation, as 
to all pad events, whether domeftic or foreign. The 
unreafonablenels of requiring ftronger alfurance than that 
of credibility, for the reception of hidorical truth, arifes 
from the confideration, that hiftory is not capable of inJ 
tuitive or demonllrative proof: it admits only of proba¬ 
bility reding on the moral certainty that its tedimony is 
credible. Aridotle in his Ethics and Metaphyfics ; Gro- 
tius in his invaluable book De Veritate Religionis Clmjliancc, 
1 . 2. f. 19. No. 3. and the excellent and philofophical au¬ 
thor on Natural Religion, have in effedt made tlie fame 
remarks, by eftablilhing their undoubted principles, that 
“ things of feveral kinds may admit and require feveral 
forts of proofsthat “ according to the nature of things, 
fo mud the evidences for them be and that “ it is an 
argument of undifeiplined wit not to acknowledge this.” 
(Wilkins on the Principles and Duties of Natural Reli¬ 
gion, p. 23. ed. 1675.) “ When a thing is capable of 
good proof in any kind, men ought to'red fatisded in the 
bed evidence for it, which that kind of thing will bear, 
and beyond which better could not be expected, fup- 
podng it were true.” Ibid. p. 23. Thefe obfervations 
merit the attention of all readers, who in their fpecula- 
tions on religious fubjeids are led to form wrong con- 
clufions, by proceeding on principles which found rea- 
foning and genuine philofophy hold to be erroneous: 
for it is repugnant to all the axioms of reafoning and 
philofophy, that the mathematical demondration which 
fome require, diould be demanded in proof of Chridianity. 
The “ credibility” of Chridianity depends on the moral 
certainty of hidorical fadts. More fuitable therefore 
with wifdom do they act, who rather acknowledge with 
bifhop Welkins, “ It is diffident that matters of faith 
and religion_.be propounded in fuch a way as to render 
them highly credible, fo as an honed and teachable man 
may willingly and fafely alfent to them, and, according 
to the rules of prudence, be juftified in lb doing.” Ibid. 
P- 3 °- 
There is indeed no fubject, on which the term “ cre¬ 
dibility” is more frequently ufed, than on the momentous 
concern of Chridianity. The leading and obvious proofs 
of “ credibility” in the Chridian religion, are partly in¬ 
ternal, and partly external. Among the internal are, 
the number and the competent ability of the feveral per¬ 
fons who wrote the goipels and epidles of the New Tefta- 
ment; their modelty, fimplicity, and integrity; their 
didntereftednefs and pcrfeverance in the fame relation, 
C R E 
though toi tuted for maintaining it; the incidental agree¬ 
ment, and the general correfpondence of all, in them ac¬ 
counts ol tlie principal fadts. Among the external are, 
the collateral evidence \yth which contemporay writers, 
who Weie not Chriftiansj fupport tlie truth of the evun- 
gelids in matters of local and hidorical alludon; and 
the teftimonies, wliich through a period of eighteen hun¬ 
dred years, have from generation to generation fuccel- 
fively been given to the original fadts, and records of 
tliclc tacts, by inllitutions, by laws, by fentiments, by 
writings ; all of which have redilted from tlie indifputa- 
ble -circumdance, that Christ the Lord did edablifli 
the holy religion, which Chridian'S profefs on the com¬ 
bined and convincing proofs of its “credibility.” In tlie 
works of bidiop Hooper, there is a curious and nice “cal¬ 
culation of the credibility of human tedimony.” 
CRE'DIBLE, aaj. [credibil/s, Lat.] Worthyof credit; 
delerving of belief; having a jud claim to belief.—The 
ground of credit is tlie credibility of things credited ; and 
things are made credible , either by the known condition and 
quality of the utterer, or by the manifeft likelihood of truth 
in themfelves. Hooker. —None can demonftrate to me, that 
there is luch an idand as Jamaica; yet, upon the tefti- 
mony of credible perfons, I am free from doubt. Tillotfon. 
CRE'DIBLENESS,^/. Credibility; worthinels of be¬ 
lief ; j 11ft claim to belief.—Tlie crcdiblenejs of a good part 
of thefe narratives has been confirmed to me by a prac- 
tifer of pliyfic, Boyle. 
CRE'DIBLY, adv. In a manner that claims belief.— 
This, with the lofs of fo few of the Engliffi as is fcarcc 
credible ; being, as hath been rather confidently than 
credibly reported, but of one man, though not a few hurt, 
Bacon. . 
CRE'DIT, f. [credit, Fr.] Belief of; faith yielded to 
another. —When the people heard thefe words, they 
gave no credit unto them, nor received them. 1 Mac. x. 46. 
Some fecret truths, from learned pride conceal'd 
To maids alone and children are reveal’d : 
"W hat though no credit doubting wits may give, 
The fair and innocent diall dill believe. Pope. 
Honour; reputation.—I publiffied, becaufe I was told I 
might pleafe fuch as it was a credit to pleafe. Pope .—Ef- 
teem ; good opinion.—There is no decaying merchant, 
or inward beggar, hath fd' many tricks to uphold the ere. 
dit of their wealth, as thefe empty perfons have to .main¬ 
tain the credit of their fufficiency. Bacon. 
Yes, while I live, no rich or noble knave 
Shall walk the world in credit to his grave. Pope. 
Faith; tedimony; that which procures belief.—The- 
things which we properly believe, be only fuch as are 
received upon the credit of divine tedimony. Hooker. _ 
Truft repofed, with regard to property; correlative to 
debt. — Credit is nothing but the expectation of money, 
within fome limited time. Locke. —Promife given.—They 
have never thought of violating the public credit, or of 
alienating the revenues to other ufes than to what they 
have been thus affigned. Addifon. —Influence; power not 
compulfive ; intereft. — Having credit enough with his 
mader to provide for his own intereft, he troubled not 
himfelf for that of other men. Clarendon. 
Letters ^Credit, or Credence, are thofe given to 
perfons by a merchant or banker, to receive money of 
his correlpondent abroad, in cafe he happens to need it; 
or to take or exchange merchandize, &-c. 
To CRE'DIT, v. a. [credo, Lat.] To believe.—To 
credit the unintelligibility both of this union and motion,, 
we need no more than to conlider it. Glanvillc. —To pro¬ 
cure credit or honour to any thing : 
May here her monument dand fo, 
To credit this rude age; and diew 
To future times, that even we 
Some patterns did of virtue fee. Waller » 
To truft j to confide in. To admit as a debtor. 
CRE'DIT ABLE, 
