prove the Apostles Sincerity They are contented to offer some Objections concerning the Nature of Miracles and so confine themselves to the second way of knowing the Falsity of a Fact which consists in discovering that 't is a thing absolutely impossible But I shall speak of this in another Letter wherein I shall explain the Nature of Miracles I am SIR Yours LETTER II. Wherein is shew'd what a Miracle is and that we ought to conclude from those of Christ and his Apostles that they were truly sent of God 1. SIR I promis'd you to discourse of the Nature of Miracles and I must perform my Promise seeing without it I should but half prove the Truth of the Christian Religion 'T is not enough to believe that the general Doctrines of Christianity are true and agreeable to Reason we must be also perswaded that they are of Divine Revelation and this we learn from the Miracles of those who first preach'd them That is the Seal whereby we clearly discover the Truth of the Christian Religion To shew that it was reveal'd by the same God who made Heaven and Earth and gave to Nature the Laws according to which natural Causes act they have often desir'd him to suspend the Effects of those Laws tho unavoidable at their Prayers they were suspended and the contrary of what the Experience of all Ages had observ'd hitherto and of what we still see happen'd then That 's an undeniable Proof not only of their Doctrines being agreeable to the Will and Designs of the Maker of all Things as it seems to be if it be merely consider'd in it self but also of their having an express Order from God to publish it among Men. Wherefore I 'll shew first what a Miracle is and how true Miracles may be distinguish'd from false ones Secondly I 'll enquire into the Author of them and what Consequence may be drawn from them Lastly I shall say something concerning the Extent of Miracles and their different kinds I 'll shew at the same time the Truth of the Miracles of Christ and his Apostles and I shall answer some Objections of Unbelievers 2. To look upon an extraordinary Effect as a Miracle and draw any Consequences from it First it must be a thing above the Power of Men. Secondly it ought to be above the ordinary Course of Nature or corporeal Causes and above the Strength of humane Souls for Nature or natural Causes and the Order or the Laws of Nature are nothing but the Souls and Bodies of Men other Bodies and the Laws according to which they constantly act without being able to violate them Thirdly he in whose Behalf that thing is done ought to know it before-hand or at least it must happen when he wants it I shall examin those three things one after another for the whole Strength of the Proofs which can be fetch'd from Miracles depends upon it 3. There are some Divines who maintain that a Miracle is only the Effect of an infinite Power and consequently that God only is the Author of it so that it is not only above the Power of Men but also above that of all other Creatures I shall speak of that hereafter 'T is enough to observe here that nothing which Men are able to do can be look'd upon as a miraculous thing Wherefore to be sure whether what is vented as a Miracle is really so the first thing that is to be consider'd is whether Men can do it For if it appears that it is not above the Power of Men there would be no reason to believe that it is an extraordinary Effect of God's Power or of some other intelligent Being Thus if a Man shew'd an usual Skill in Swimming and boasted of it as of a miraculous thing he might be justly accounted an Impostor because one may by Use get a Skill in Swimming which seems wonderful to those who have it not But if any body walk'd upon the Water as upon the Land without sinking in the least it could not be doubted that he did a thing which is above all the Strength and Skill of Men provided he had nothing under his Feet that might be seen or elsewhere to uphold him Every one knows that there being a certain Relation of Gravity between humane Bodies and Water the Laws of Nature allow not that a Man should stand upon the Water So that if it appears that any body walk'd upon the Water as upon the Land without having under his Feet or elsewhere any thing to hold him so it must be granted that a Power greater than that of Men acted in his behalf 4. But because there are an infinite number of natural Causes which Men make use of to produce some Effects which they themselves cannot produce by their mere Skill and Strength a thing to be look'd upon as miraculous ought not to be done by any other natural Cause such as are the Bodies which surround us For example great Weights which would presently sink if they were thrown into the Water will lie upon it without sinking if a Body much lighter than Water as Wood be put between the Water and those Weights There is nothing miraculous in that because it is done by a corporeal and known Cause But it could not be deni'd to be a miraculous thing if a Man should walk upon the Water as I have said When a learned Physician cures a sick Person with some Remedies after he has spent a long time in studying the Nature of Diseases and the Effects of Remedies that Cure is not look'd upon as a Miracle 't is ascrib'd to the natural Effect of the Remedies which have been well appli'd But if we should see a Man who only by touching all sorts of sick Persons or by speaking to them without using any sensible Remedy cures them upon the spot that Effect could be ascrib'd only to some supernatural Causes Some * Spinosa in Tract Theologico-Polit cap. 6. Unbelievers have endeavour'd to make that Character of Miracles uncertain by saying that we know not so perfectly natural Causes and their Effects as to be able to distinguish what they can produce from what is above their Strength Nay they pretend that what is call'd Miraculous should only be look'd upon as an extraordinary or rare Accident and the Effect of natural Causes which were not well known But tho it be very true that we are very far from having a perfect Knowledg of natural Causes yet it is not less certain that we know most certainly some things by Experience especially when that Experience is common and easy For example we perfectly know that no Man can stand upon the Water so as to touch it only with the Sole of his Feet without using the help of any other Body for it If any one should say that it may be such a thing happen'd sometimes by an extraordinary Effect of some natural Causes which we know not it is certain that such a Conjecture could only be
heard as a Proposition which is not contradictory but is not the less false for that as the Experience of all Mankind teaches us Indeed those who use that Argument to make Miracles doubtful do it only to perplex simple Men who hear them They know very well that we are perfectly sure of some things and that they can't be made doubtful by saying only that 't is not contradictory that the contrary be true If they durst deny the miraculous Effects on which Religion is grounded they would roundly do it and not have recourse to Objections so little judicious but not daring to do it and being not able to make the contrary of what we believe look probable they confine themselves to some such Objections I shall not undertake now to confute all their particular Objections because the Principles I lay down destroy them 5. 'T is therefore certain that we may know some things are above the Power of Men and can't be the Effect of any other natural or corporeal Cause and that if we see some happen or learn from faithful Witnesses that there happen'd some we may say without being mistaken that they are miraculous things Such is for example the Action of walking upon the Water and curing all manner of Diseases without Remedies However to draw any Consequences from a miraculous Fact in the behalf of any body he ought to know before-hand that that Miracle will happen or at least it must happen just when 't is necessary for otherwise it would be insignificant If when no body thinks of it there happen'd a thing wherein neither Men nor other natural Causes had a hand and no body knew of what use it would be nothing could be concluded from it and he who should say that it happen'd in his behalf ought to be suspected of Fraud Some * See my Dissertation De Trajectu maris Idumaei Historians for instance tell us that Alexander going to meet Darius led part of his Troops to pass at the foot of Mount Climax where there was no Passage when the South Wind blew because the Sea cover'd that way and that as soon as he came thither the North blew so that they went through it Not to say the Change of Wind at that time might be natural I affirm that Alexander having not known it before and being able to go another way it can't be look'd upon as a Miracle which Providence wrought in his behalf nor can it be concluded from it that Heaven approv'd his Designs To give another Example fetch'd from the History of the same Prince * Vid. Q. Curt. lib. 10. c. 10. 't is said that his Corps remain'd seven Days at Babylon before it was embalm'd without smelling ill in the least nor had his Face a different Colour than what it had whilst he was alive tho it be extremely hot in that Climate wherein Babylon was situated Let us suppose not only the Truth of that Fact but also that natural Causes had no hand in it 't is manifest that nothing can be concluded from such a thing either for or against Alexander For indeed what could the invisible Power mean by preserving the Body of Alexander from Corruption during seven Days None but that Power can teach it and if any one had undertaken to make his advantage of it he had been justly laugh'd at That Character of a true Miracle altogether destroys the Objection I have confuted already for if miraculous Facts were extraordinary Effects of natural but unknown Causes 't is manifest they could not be foreseen No Man can foresee a thing which scarce ever happens and is the Effect of some Causes which are unknown to him unless that Man be warn'd of it by an Effect of the same Causes which is to suppose without reason a thing altogether incomprehensible 6. Wherefore if we can shew that there happen'd some things that neither Men nor other natural Causes could do which notwithstanding were foretold by those in whose behalf they were done it must be granted us that they are miraculous Facts which happen'd in the behalf of those who foretold them The Gospels are full of the like Miracles but I shall only pitch upon one to apply what has been said to it It is of of great moment that if it be granted that 't is true the rest can't be deni'd I mean the Resurrection of Jesus Christ wherein we see all the Characters of a true Miracle First 't is certain by the Experience of all Ages that no Man or any other natural Cause can restore a dead Man to Life Tho the humane Body is not perfectly known to us no more than the Virtue of an infinite number of things yet we may affirm without Rashness that no body raises himself nor by his own Virtue or that of any other thing One can't affirm the contrary without being look'd upon as a mad Man among all the Nations in the World Secondly Jesus Christ * Mat. 16.21 17.23 26.61 27.63 often foretold his Resurrection and said it should happen on the third Day He concluded from thence before-hand that Men would be oblig'd to believe that he was sent by God his Resurrection being the greatest Sign of it that could be ask'd †Mat. 12.39 40. An evil and adulterous Generation said he seeks after a Sign and there shall no Sign be given to it but the Sign of the Prophet Jonas for as Jonas was three Days and three Nights in the Whale's Belly so shall the Son of Man be three Days and three Nights in the Heart of the Earth If the Apostles were sincere Men and were not deceiv'd that Fact is undeniable and consequently it must be acknowledg'd that he who rais'd Jesus Christ bare him a Testimony which can't be doubted of I have shew'd in the foregoing Letter that the Apostles were sincere Men and could not be deceiv'd on that occasion Their Master was not hid in a Chamber when it was said that he was dead 't was upon a Cross and in a publick Place surrounded with Roman Souldiers He had been buri'd his Enemies seal'd his Sepulcher they set a Guard of Souldiers about it and he was above four and twenty Hours in it Therefore no body could doubt of his being truly dead and his Apostles did not question it Afterwards they saw him several times touch'd him spoke with him and ate with him so that they could not be mistaken in it Wherefore if the thing had not happen'd it were not possible to vindicate their Sincerity and if they were sincere Men which they certainly were as has been shew'd the Truth of the Fact cannot be doubted of 7. The more we examin their Testimony the more we shall be convinc'd of it and without insisting longer upon that I had rather observe against those who acknowledg a God and a Providence that what may be said of feign'd Miracles can't be objected against that Miracle and other Miracles of
Christ viz. that there is no great likelihood that God would disturb the Order of Nature for so inconsiderable Matters as those are for which he is said to disturb it every day The Unbelievers who liv'd in the Apostles time and had not attentively consider'd the Circumstances which attend the preaching of the Gospel might perhaps have said then that they apprehended not how Providence was so much concern'd in the Establishment of Christianity as to work an infinite number of Miracles in its behalf seeing it made so little a Progress in the World But those who live now can't raise the like Objections against us having seen the Duration and Progress of the Christian Religion If it has not produc'd yet among Men all the Effects it should have produc'd if they had known their true Interest it can't be said that such a thing will never happen hereafter Those who would have conjectur'd at the beginning of Christianity that it should always be a contemptible Sect because it was then despis'd would have been grosly mistaken as we see at present and the Knowledg we have of the Time past ought to make us reserv'd with respect to the future 8. Let us see now what is the efficient and immediate Cause of Miracles We have seen already that they are neither Men nor other Bodies which act according to the Order of Nature It must be therefore some invisible Power that is either some intelligent Beings more excellent than we tho they are created or else God himself Some believe as I said already that Miracles are the Effects of an infinite Power and there is no doubt but God himself wrought several Miracles but the Question is whether they are all above the Strength of all other Creatures so that they have no other efficient and immediate Cause but God himself To deny that intelligent Beings more perfect than we are can work Miracles we should exactly know what is the Extent of their Power and distinctly see that Miracles are above it 'T is true we know they are above the Laws of Nature which God establish'd from the beginning but we know not whether he gives not to Angels the Power of altering sometimes that Order Tho it be originally the Effect of an infinite Power it follows not that none but an infinite Power can make some Alteration in it if the Power which establish'd it will permit it We can't therefore say that Angels work no Miracles in effect it appears from sacred History that God often made use of them when Miracles were wrought But I will not insist upon it because it belongs not to my Subject 9. It will perhaps be ask'd supposing Angels work Miracles First how one may know whether 't is God or an Angel that wrought a certain Miracle And Secondly how one may know that a Miracle was done by a good or bad Angel A Miracle being not of a Nature which necessarily requires a Cause whereof the Power is infinite I confess we see no Character in it if it be consider'd in it self whereby we may know whether it was wrought by God or an Angel But the more we see a thing above our Power the more it seems difficult to us and the more we perswade our selves that 't is the Effect of an infinite Power For example to foretel a contingent Event or depending upon Mens Will and which is to happen many Ages after seems to us to be a thing above the Knowledg of created intelligent Beings tho it be never so great But the raising of a Storm tho the Air is not dispos'd for it seems not to be a very difficult thing tho it be above our Power and we easily believe that Angels either good or bad can do it However it matters little to know whether God immediately wrought a Miracle or a good Angel seeing 't is certain good Angels do nothing but what is agreeable to the Will of God or is an execution of his Orders Whether God himself acts or an Angel 't is the same thing with respect to us seeing we neither see the Cause that works nor the manner of its Operation As for the other Question concerning the manner of knowing whether a Miracle was wrought by a good or a bad Angel one may say something more positive Truth being always the same contradicts not it self 't is a manifest Principle to all those who are not Pyrrhonians Wherefore the Miracles of God and good Anglels ought always to tend to the confirming or establishing some Doctrines agreeable to Truths that are known either by Revelation or Reason seeing 't is certain that God and good Angels always love the Truth If we see therefore that a Miracle confirms or establishes something contrary to a certain Truth we may be sure that Miracle is an Effect of a Power contrary to that of God and good Angels Thus the Design of a Miracle discovers its Author If we can't apprehend what 's the end of a Miracle we can give no certain Judgment about it nor draw from it any Consequence for or against Truth A bad Angel being not able to work Miracles which favour Truth and Vertue all those which contribute to it ought to be look'd upon as coming from a good Principle On the contrary a good Angel being not able to act for Lies and Vices all the Miracles which should favour either of them ought to be look'd upon as Miracles of bad Angels This is an infallible Rule to know by what sort of Angels a Miracles was wrought supposing it were known that an Angel was the Author of it 10. If the Miracles of the Gospel are examin'd according to those Principles it cannot be deni'd that they were wrought either by God himself or good Angels because their only Aim is to establish or settle Truth and lead Men to Vertue Now this is altogether inconsistent with the Notion one may form of a Power which delights in doing ill and deceiving Men. This Christ shew'd to the Pharisees who accus'd him of casting out Devils by virtue of a Power he had receiv'd from the Prince of Demons * Mat. 12.25 26. Every Kingdom says he divided against it self is brought to Desolation and every City or House divided against it self shall not stand and if Satan cast out Satan he is divided against himself how shall then his Kingdom stand That 's a convincing Proof of the Divinity of the Miracles of Christ and his Apostles against the Jews who were so extravagant as to ascribe them to an ill Power that was an Enemy to Vertue But because I write not against them I shall not longer insist upon it The Unbelievers who live among Christians are not more perswaded of the Power of the Devil than of God and deny all sorts of Miracles alike But I have shew'd from the Sincerity of the Apostles and the thing it self that they have no reason to deny those of Christ 11. Lastly If it be consider'd that Miracles
it will appear to him and the more conformable to the true Interests of Mankind By little and little will the Desire of seeing his Enemies cur'd of so great an Imperfection increase and he will insensibly rid himself of it to shew them a good Example At length instead of longing to revenge himself upon his Enemies instead of making Imprecation against them he 'll ardently wish they may become better Men and will beg it of God in his Prayers Nay he 'll on his side as much as possible contribute towards it and after praying God as he do's for himself that his Enemies may become more vertuous he 'll wish 'em all that God is wont to bestow and more as much as he would desire it for himself Now this it is to love our Enemies for we cannot love them above our selves and the Gospel requires no more It will be granted that these Thoughts are most reasonable and that it were to be wish'd all Mankind had the like Idea's And as Men so dispos'd would very easily comprehend the Possibility of loving our Enemies they would be far from doubting of the Truth of Christianity upon the score of this Precept All that can be said to this is that those who reject the Religion of Christ do it not upon the Account of its Morals which are beyond Contradiction very good and grounded upon the clearest Light of Reason but because it contains in their Opinion incredible Mysteries and supposes Miracles that have no Probability Two things we must remark then that we may know whether the Difficulty they pretend of believing the Mysteries and Miracles of Religion or whether the Dislike of its moral Precepts is the true Cause of their Incredulity The first is if they don't believe many things as incomprehensible or perplex'd And the second if the Maxims of their Morals be as reasonable as those of the Gospel or if they be not plainly opposite to it If it happens that upon all other Accounts they readily believe things they do not comprehend and that the Rules of their Conduct be more than the Gospel admits do they not give us just Occasion to suspect that their ill Habits are the secret but true Cause of their Disbelief of the Gospel whatever they pretend There is nothing so common as to see Unbelievers strongly perswaded of Judiciary Astrology and believing that Magicians can do several things beyond the Power and Order of Nature Two great Ministers of State for example whose Actions will not let us think that Religion was one of their greatest Vertues are both accus'd of believing the Predictions of Astrologers and one of them of perswading himself that a Man who vomited several sorts of Liquors did it by the Help of Magick Cardinal Richlieu says an Historian consulted besides Astrology all kinds of Divination even silly Women whose Knowledg consists in Vapours that make 'em foretel by chance some fortuitous Events He was so credulous as to attribute to the Operation of the Devil the Art of throwing out at the Mouth all sorts of Liquors after having first drunk Water as was done by an Italian Mountebank Mazarin who was not yet a Cardinal having at so simple a Discourse burst out a laughing had like to lose his Favour by it for the Cardinal being provok'd at this Mirth whereby he thought Mazarin jeer'd him said ironically to him that he was not Monsieur Mazarin who had a profound and exact Knowledg of every thing Mazarin very submissively reply'd that giving the fifty Pistols which the Mountebank demanded for teaching his Secret it might be seen whether the Devil had any hand in 't Mazarin himself look'd upon all Divinations as Fopperies except Astrology which he strongly fancy'd tho he feign'd the contrary When Madam Mancini his Sister dy'd and afterwards the Dutchess of Mercaeur his Niece according to the Prediction of an Astrologer at Rome given in Writing a great while before he became extraordinary sad and melancholy not out of Tenderness to his Relations but because this same Astrologer had fix'd the Term of his own Death to a Time that was very near He lost his Appetite upon it and slept not for many Nights c. 'T is also known that the Emperor Julian who could not believe the Prophecies of the Old and New Testament was extremely addicted to the Auguries and Presages drawn from the Intrals of Victims and the Heathens themselves have blam'd him for it I take it for granted that such things as these are as hard to be credited consider'd in themselves as the Mysteries and Miracles of the Christian Religion But the Incredulous believe them at the same time that they refuse their Assent to the Gospel because these Opinions do not regard the manner of any Person 's living and are not at all incompatible as the Christian Morals are with their ill Habits Moreover if the Unbelievers would strictly examine themselves and compare their Conduct with that which the Gospel prescribes I 'll own my self much deceiv'd if they find it Proof against the Rigour of its Precepts Julian of whom I was speaking had many excellent Qualities which he needed not to quit by any means had he remain'd still a Christian and several bad ones he had likewise which he must have rid himself of would he follow the Morals of the Gospel At least it is certain that he could not be so injurious to the Christians as he was which appears by many of his Letters From all this I conclude that notwithstanding whatever can be said the Disposition of a Person does exceedingly contribute to make him receive or reject Christianity and that Unbelievers ought to examine themselves hereupon to see whether this whereof we accuse them be not true CHAP. II. That Pride may be the Cause why Assent is not granted to the Proofs of the Truth of the Christian Religion PRide is inconsistent with a strong and lively perswasion that Christianity is true not only because the Gospel condemns it as it does all other Passions contrary to the Good of Mankind but also because those affected with it find themselves dispos'd by a particular Effect of this Vice to reject unexamin'd the Proofs alledg'd for the Truth of the Gospel This is what I design to shew after I have first describ'd Pride and its contrary Vertue Humility lest what I am to say concerning it should not be so well understood Pride is no other thing but a Disposition of Mind that makes a Man imagine he possesses more Knowledg Endowments or Vertues than he truly does and that by Consequence he should be more honour'd and esteem'd than he deserves The Proud cannot without Vexation bear that the one or the other should be deny'd to them especially if they are not refus'd to other Persons They have not only a high Idea of themselves but likewise despise others who they are easily perswaded have not the same good Qualities nor any thing worthy of that Esteem which
may find fault with something or other should at last grow so conceited of their pretended Sagacity as to be almost incurable Such a Disposition is not at all agreeable to the love of Truth which they profess and can only serve to increase one's Errors And indeed what Truth can he find out who only seeks an Occasion of disputing and overcoming Truth which often flies from those that seek it with Application offers not it self to the sight of those that fly from it After those general Observations concerning the Difficulties that are offer'd against Religion I must alledg some particular Examples of the chief Doctrines which Unbelievers are wont to assault There is none they more frequently speak against than what Christians believe concerning the Creation of the World and it is of so great Moment that it may be said this Doctrine being once well prov'd 't is no hard matter to get the rest admitted whereas if it remains doubtful the other Doctrines of Religion will necessarily be uncertain All Revelation depends upon this viz. That there is a God who created Heaven and Earth And he that begins not with that can make no Progress in the Knowledg of Religion So that it will be necessary to prove it in few words There are two sorts of Beings some call'd Spirits Perceive Will Feel and Reason the other who have no Understanding are Extended Divisible and Solid and are call'd Bodies Those Spirits and Bodies are variously modifi'd as we see or know by Experience This is all that we know in the World besides God The Christian Religion teaches us that those Spirits and Bodies with all their Properties had a Beginning and that they were created by a Being who has no Beginning This is what Unbelievers say they cannot apprehend and it seems to them that every thing was always as it is now To know whether there is any appearance of Truth in what they say we must examin those two sorts of Beings and see whether they contain any thing whereby we may suspect that they are Eternal As to Spirits we only know our own Souls well and Unbelievers acknowledg no other Now I ask of them whether they perceive any thing in their Minds which induces them to suspect that they are Eternal 'T is certain that there is no such thing unless they will say that Ignorance and Weakness are Characters of Eternity If we examin Bodies which are inferior to Spirits because they are without Understanding we shall see nothing in them neither which may make one believe that they are Eternal There are but two things that can be consider'd in this latter kind of Beings viz. Matter and Form and if neither of them affords us any reason to believe that they have always been we cannot affirm it As for the Matter of Bodies 't is but a Substance Extended Solid Divisible and capable of Motion and all sorts of Figures That collection of Qualities which makes up the Essence of all Bodies as far as it is known to us contains nothing that looks like Eternity The notion of this Property however it be consider'd cannot be found in that Collection So that it cannot be affirm'd that the Matter of Bodies is Eternal All that can be said thereupon may be reduc'd to these two things First That one cannot conceive how meer Extension had a Beginning because notwithstanding all our endeavours to think upon the Time when God was alone before Bodies were created a simple and boundless Extension always offers it self to the Mind But a meer Extension in which we apprehend no Solidity is not a Body as it appears by the abovemention'd Definition of a Body There is another manifest Proof of it viz. because meer Extension is Indivisible and Boundless as we perceive it by trying to divide or put some bounds to it in our Mind whereas all Bodies are Divisible and continu'd within Bounds So that all that could be concluded from thence is that the Place of Bodies is Eternal Secondly Unbelievers say that they cannot apprehend how such a Substance as that of Bodies should be produc'd out of Nothing as the Christians say If to be created out of Nothing signifi'd to have no preexistent Cause and yet to begin to exist I confess that would be altogether impossible For supposing that nothing exists but a meer Extension how can it be conceiv'd that a solid and divisible Substance should be form'd in it One might as well apprehend that all sorts of Beasts Plants and Minerals may spring forth out of the Air without any Productive Cause But to be created out of Nothing signifies to have a Cause which contains in a more excellent manner the Proprieties which we see in the things created besides an infinite number of others from which Cause the things created have their Existence or by the Will whereof they begin actually to exist There is nothing in all this that 's contradictory and if we do not clearly apprehend wherein the Action of the Cause which creates out of nothing consists 't is because the Nature of that Cause is not perfectly known to us To explain what I have said by an undeniable Example no Man will deny that there is in Nature a Principle of Motion different from Matter seeing we perceive that Matter moves not of it self All that we perceive in it is Mobility but it cannot be said that we have any reason to believe that Matter moves and modifies it self This being so the immaterial Principle of Motion whatever it be produces Motion in Matter out of nothing that is to say being able to move without having the imperfections of Actual Motion he makes Motion to begin to exist in Matter which before was in the state of Rest This is a Fact which cannot be doubted of seeing Motion exists and Matter is not the Cause of it But 't is not known how a Being uncapable of Motion seeing it is not Material can produce it in Matter If any one should say that Motion is Eternal because he can't apprehend how it can have a Beginning he might be referr'd to Experience which teaches us that we move our Arms and Feet when we please after they have been at rest tho we don't know how it is done I know some Philosophers say that we only determin the Actual Motion of the Animal Spirits which move our Members as many ways as we please I will not here confute that Conjecture for 't is only a meer Conjecture but I maintain that 't is as difficult a thing to apprehend that an immaterial Being determines a Motion a certain way as to apprehend that he produces it anew So that if those Philosophers may be allow'd to affirm the one or if they cannot deny it tho they apprehend not how it comes to pass it would be a great piece of Injustice to find fault with those that say there is an immaterial Principle which produc'd Motion in Matter tho it is not known
how he did it This being undeniable I conclude from it that tho I have no distinct Idea of the Manner after which God may have produc'd Bodies out of nothing yet I can't deny it especially if we observe in Matter no Character of Eternity 't is an absurd thing even to suspect that it is Eternal and much more absurd still to find fault with Christian Divines who say that it was created out of Nothing Tho nothing can hinder us from grounding the Creation of the World upon that Foundation yet it must be confest that the Christian Religion which was instituted for illiterate Men as well as for Scholars do's not necessarily suppose these sorts of things which require a greater Meditation than the Vulgar is capable of It 's enough to apprehend that God imparted to Matter the Form it now has to pay to him all the Duties which he requires from us in the Gospel So that without supposing what I have prov'd concerning the Creation of the Matter of Bodies we must inquire whether there is any Reason to believe that the Form they have is Eternal There is nothing in the Form no more than in Matter which can make us suspect that the World as it is now never had a Beginning Tho we have not seen the Formation of the great Bodies that surround us and not one Eye-witness has left a Relation of it tho it seems that little or no sensible Alteration happens in the World in general yet no Body can say for all that that it has been the same from all Eternity because the World might have been fram'd before there was any Man upon the Earth But besides we cannot say that the Form of the World is Eternal and consequently that Men and other Animals which make a part of it have always been upon Earth the perpetual Succession which we see in their Kinds do's plainly teach us that they had a Beginning It can't be said that the Animals who live at present are born of their Fathers and Mothers and These after the same manner and so in infinitum so as never to come to the first The Reason of it is because Beings that have a limited Duration as that of every Generation is cannot equal Eternity by such a Duration as a number of limited Measures tho never so great cannot be equal to an infinite Extension Every Generation singly taken having had a Beginning we must necessarily come to the Beginning of those Generations 'T is therefore manifest that Men and Beasts began to exist upon Earth and consequently that they were form'd by some Cause Epicurus who said that they were form'd by a fortuitous Concourse of Atoms made more ridiculous Suppositions and more absurd Conjectures than what we find in the antient Fables Hence it is that no body maintains his Hypothesis now But others say that whatever exists is properly but one Being that modifi'd it self by a necessary Consequence from its Nature If any body knew what they mean or if they knew it themselves they might be confuted but an Opinion that is so absurd and nonsensical tho it has the outward Appearance of a Geometrical Order can deceive no body but those who will be deceiv'd and are inclin'd to it from some other Reasons Wherefore seeing nothing can give a Beginning to it self it must be confess'd that there is a Being more excellent than all Animals who form'd them upon this Earth and this is that Being which Christians call GOD Thus they must of necessity acknowledg a God who has created us 'T is an easy thing to prove that he created the Sun and the Planets because limited Periods as those of the Planets are can never exhaust Eternity tho they be never so much multipli'd So that we may very well say that there is a Maker of Heaven and Earth and no Objection can force us to renounce that Proposition seeing we directly prove it by undeniable Arguments and the Objections that may be oppos'd to them do not destroy them and are but the natural Effects of our Ignorance They object for example That they cannot apprehend how God who is suppos'd to be immaterial could create Bodies out of nothing None can give what he has not say they so that God being incorporeal could not give to Bodies the Proprieties which they have But it ought to be observ'd that this very Argument will prove that there is no Motion in Nature for one may say Matter has no Motion of it self and that which is immaterial has less still None can give what he has not wherefore Matter has no Motion Let them try to answer this Argument and the Answer if it be good will resolve the propos'd Objection against the Creation of Matter It may be said that God contains the real Proprieties of all Beings but without having the Imperfections and Defects of them seeing 't is certain he has created them and he is infinitely more perfect than all the Things to which he gave a Beginning By this Argument we ascend from the Effects to the Cause but we don't learn by it nor by any other Argument how the real Proprieties of Creatures are in God nor how he made them to exist The Fact is as certain as the Manner of it is above human Understanding as well as the Origin of Motion tho no body can doubt of its Existence There is another thing which the Incredulous will not believe viz. the Revelation which we say is contain'd in the Old and New Testament Whatever they say concerning Revelation in general is grounded upon this Prejudice viz. that they themselves having no Experience of a Revelation they can't be perswaded that there has been any But nothing can be weaker than Arguments grounded only upon our Ignorance and which suppose that what we know not is not true as I have already observ'd Those who deny Revelation should either manifestly prove that God cannot reveal himself to his Creatures after an extraordinary manner which no body will ever be able to prove or find out in that Revelation some manifest Characters of Falsity which no body can shew in the Revelation of Holy Scripture This might be sufficient to stop the Mouths of Unbelievers but their Repugnancy to believe the Christian Religion arising partly from their being ignorant of the History thereof and not perceiving how the Wisdom of God appears in it I shall set down that History in a few Words Men knowing nothing but by Experience and Reflection and Experience being slow and Reflection often-times difficult God shew'd them by some Revelations from the Beginning of the World what they ought to know concerning his Nature and the Worship he requir'd from them Tho Moses has given us but a short Abridgment of the History of what past during above two thousand Years before he receiv'd the Law of God yet he mentions †Gen. 3.3.9 c. 6.13 7.1 8.15 9.1 12.1 c.