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of theology that shall be in harmony with our general modes and habits of thought, accord with the achievements of science and with the ordinary tenour of modern life, and which shall thus beneficently influence our conduct and progress.

In our age, we are accustomed to look upon every occurrence as the natural and inevitable consequence of human action, or of some other circumstance with which it is connected. We attempt to trace effects to adequate causes. Unchangeable laws regulate the life of individuals and nations, and prescribe the course to universal history. The gradual development of mankind is the necessary result of the abilities, energies, and passions inherent in men. The happiness of the individual depends, in a great measure, on his mental and physical organisation; it is the ordinary concomitant of healthful vigour of body and mind, as wretchedness is the usual fate of weakness and morbidness. Prosperity is the combined product of personal exertion and favourable opportunity. Man is, therefore, in some respects, a free agent, but in a much higher degree, he is a creature of necessity. The works which he produces result from the talents he possesses, and from the activity he is able or willing to display. They are prompted by that internal impulse which is inseparable from his idiosyncrasy. He is capable of improvement and advancement, as he is liable to retrogression and decline. He labours as his powers bid him; he succeeds according to the measure of his gifts or of his usefulness; and he finds his chief reward in the consciousness of having zealously cultivated and honestly employed his faculties.

If, with these notions which underlie our whole life, we turn to the Scriptures, we are at once struck by a different sphere of thought, a strange and unfamiliar spirit. Forced away from the circle of ideas which guide us in our daily pursuits and reflections, we are abruptly transferred to conceptions and views, which indeed occasionally touch a sympathetic chord, whether from their poetical and imaginative beauty or from the ineffaceable impressions of childhood, but which our maturer manhood finds it impossible to acknowledge and to adopt. The affection for a venerable tradition that may linger in our hearts, at last yields to the severer truths dictated by our intellects.

1. THE CREATION.

The Scriptures teach that the universe and all it contains, were called into existence in six days, by God's direct command. This Biblical cosmogony is grand and sublime, but it is erroneous and

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3 Gen. L. 1-II. 4; it is unnecessary here to refer to the second account

(Gen. II. 5-24), which is less distinct and impressive, and partly mythical

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unscientific; it disregards those attributes of matter which, by their own inherent power, of necessity produce the changes and combinations that constitute the cosmos; therefore, it arbitrarily compresses within the compass of a few days what was effected by the gradual operation of myriads of milleniums, and it transforms into acts of personal agency what we are wont to regard as the result of clear, constant, and unchangeable laws. 1

2. MIRACLES.

The same personal interference continues in Biblical history. For special ends, the eternal course of nature is altered, and miracles are performed. Yet the idea of miracles is absolutely opposed to our notions of the universe, as derived from a patient cultivation of the natural and historical sciences. It gains ground whenever men, unable to understand their position as a subordinate though organic part of mankind, consider themselves or their community as the chief end of creation and general government. For it rests virtually on the assumption that nature pays special regard to the deeds and destinies of individuals or single nations, and bestows aid and sympathy, or displays resistance and enmity, according to the pleasure of a ruling power, whereas her whole economy is one and indivisible, embracing the universe, and working in majestic impartiality for all worlds alike. Thus Spinoza might justly use miracles and ignorance as convertible terms, and he adds the weighty words fraught with significant meaning, "I believe the principal difference between religion and superstition to be this that the former is founded upon wisdom, the latter upon ignorance; and I am convinced that herein lies the reason why the Christians are

(vers. 8-17) and partly allegorical (vers. 21-24); see Comm. on Gen. pp. 83 sqq.

1 See the Treatise in Comm. on Genes. pp. 1-52; on the imperfect astronomical notions of the Bible, see ibid. pp. 19-28; and on the early interpretations of the "Mosaic" cosmogony and the manner in which they were successively modified in accordance with the discoveries of astronomy and the study of geology, see W. E. H. Lecky, History of the Rise and Influence of the Spirit of Rationalism in Europe, I. pp. 1-150.

2 Comp. Spinoza, Tractatus theologico-politicus, VI. 4, 5, in hoc usque tempus miracula fingere non cessa

verunt, ut ipsi Deo dilectiores reliquis causaque finalis, propter quam Deus omnia creavit et continue dirigit, crederentur. Quid sibi vulgi stultitia non arrogat, quod nec de Deo nec de natura ullum sanum habet conceptum etc.; § 34, utpote qui certe sciunt, Deum naturam dirigere, prout ejus leges universales, non autem prout humanae naturae particulares leges exigunt, adeoque Deum non solius humani generis sed totius naturae rationem habere.

3 Epist. XXI, ad miracula quod attinet, mihi contra persuasum est, divinae revelationis certitudinem sola doctrinae sapientia, non autem miraculis, hoe est, ignorantia adstrui posse.

distinguished from other men not by an honourable life nor by love nor the other fruits of the holy ghost, but merely by an opinion; because, like all the rest, they fortify themselves only by miracles, that is by ignorance, which is the fountain of all wickedness, and thus convert faith, however true, into superstition." How few are ready to admit the truth of these words even nearly two centuries after they were written! Ancient nations felt strongly the influence of the divine in nature; but as they had explored the latter but imperfectly, all remarkable or unusual phaenomena appeared to them as direct manifestations of the deity, or as miracles, which inspired them alike with terrifying awe and sublime veneration; and these feelings were the more powerful, the more vividly and freshly their minds were affected by all impressions and the more consistently they were accustomed to develop and to apply every new and great idea. The assumption to which we have alluded gave rise to the Roman fictions of prodigia or portenta, by which the gods were believed to announce impending calamities or important events the sky appearing in a blaze of fire or flaming torches seen in the air; spears or hands burning but not consumed; men of fire attacking and fighting with each other; flesh or worms, earth, stones or blood raining from heaven; 10 rivers flowing in blood; human monstrosities born; 12 animals speaking, 13 mules

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Nempe, quia, ut omnes, solis miraculis, hoc est ignorantia, quae omnis malitiae fons est, se defendunt; atque adeo fidem, licet veram, in superstitionem vertunt; comp. also Epist. XXIII, miracula et ignorantiam pro aequipollentibus sumpsi, quia ii, qui Dei existentiam et religionem miraculis adstruere conantur, rem obsuram per aliam magis obscuram, et quam maxime ignorant, ostendere volunt etc.; and especially Tract. theolog. politicus, cap. VI, De miraculis.

5 Comp. Spinoza, Tract. theol. polit. Praef. §3, Si quid porro insolitum magna cum admiratione vident, id prodigium esse credunt, quod deorum aut summi numinis iram indicat, quodque adeo hostiis et votis non piare, nefas habent homines superstitioni obnoxii et religioni adversi; eumque ad modum infinita fingunt, et quasi tota natura cum ipsis insaniret, eandem miris modis interpretantur.

6 Liv. III. 10.

7 Liv. XLIII. 13.

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8 Liv. 1. c.; comp. Val. Max. I. viii. 11. 9 Plut. Caes. 63.

10 Liv. III. 10; XXXV. 21; XXXVII. 3; XLIII. 13; Plin. H. N. II. 56 or 57. 11 Liv. XXIV. 44.

12 Lucan, Phars. I. 562 (Monstrosique hominum partus numeroque modoque Membrorum etc.); Liv. XXXV. 21 (puerum natum unimanum).

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13 Lucan, Phars. I. 561 (Tunc pecudum faciles humana ad murmura linguae); Liv. III. 10 (bovem locutam, cui rei priore anno fides non fuerat, creditum); XXXV. 21 (bovem locutum, ROMA CAVE TIBI ... bovem cum cura servari alique haruspices jusserunt); XLIII. 13; Plin. Hist. Nat. VIII. 40 or 63 (canem locutum in prodigiis . . . et serpentem latrasse), 45 or 70 fin. (est frequens in prodigiis priscorum bovem locutum, quo nuntiato senatum sub divo haberi solitum).

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bringing forth young,' or wonderful animals, as a snake with the mane of a horse, starting up; trees springing from the soil full-grown,3 or cut stems suddenly rising to an unusual height; rocks moving of themselves; birds in anguish seeking refuge in private or public buildings; marvellous or alarming sights and sounds produced by delusion of the senses; or images of gods speaking, or shedding tears continuously. The Biblical miracles are founded on similar notions. Heavenly bodies are said to have been arrested in their course by the behest of God; yet we know that such contingency would be inevitably followed by a complete derangement of the sidereal systems, and by incalculable ruin of thousands of worlds. Occasionally even the Bible shows a gleam of the conviction of nature's immutable stability. "He has established the heavens for ever and ever; He gave a law and they trespass it not"; "He said to the sea, Hitherto shalt thou come, but no further; and here shall thy proud waves be stayed"; 1o "I have placed the sand for the boundary of the sea by an eternal law, that it cannot pass it; and though its waves rage, they cannot prevail"; but such incidental admissions do not materially influence the spirit and tenour of the narratives. According to Biblical accounts, the Divine will constantly changed the intrinsic properties of things which constitute their very character and essence. But if we read that the water of the Nile was converted into blood, 12 and ordinary water was changed into wine, as at the marriage of Cana; 13 that the waves of the Red Sea were divided and stood upright like a wall,11

1 Liv. XXXVII. 3; Plin. H. N. VIII. 44 or 69.

2 Liv. XLIII. 13; comp. XXXV. 21 (capram sex hoedos uno foetu edidisse); Plin. H. N. VII. 3; X. 63 or 83; see also Val. Max. I. viii. 2.

3 Liv. XLIII. 13.

4 Plin. H. N. XVI. 32 or 57.
5 Plin. H. N. XXXVI. 18 or 30.

6 Lucan, Phars. 1. 568-570 (Compositis plenae gemuerunt ossibus urnae; Tunc fragor armorum magnaeque per avia voces Auditae nemorum, et venientes comminus umbrae); Val. Max. 1. viii. 1, 2, 5, 6, 8; Liv. XXIV. 44.

7 Liv. XLIII. 13 (Cumis in arce Apollo triduum ac tres noctes lacrimavit); comp. Cic. De Div. I. 42; In Verr. Act. II. lib. IV. 49; Plin. H. N. XI. 37; Val. Max. I. viii. 3, 4; Lucian, Dea Syr. c. 10

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("In Hierapolis, many miracles occur; the gods appear there to men quite manifestly, their images perspire and move, and often loud sounds are heard in the temple after it has been closed"); Vopiscus, Aurelian, cc. 4, 5.

8 Josh. X. 12—14;
comp. Isai.
XXXVIII. 8. As a parallel to Joshua's
command comp. Hom. Od. XXIII. 243—
245, Νύκτα μὲν ἐν περάτῃ δολιχήν σχέ
θεν, Ηῶ δ ̓ αὖτε Ρύσατ ̓ ἐπ' Ωκεανώ
χρυσόθρονον κτλ. 9 Ps. CXLVIII. 6.

10 Job. XXXVIII. 11.
11 Jer. VI. 22; comp. Eccl. I. 10; III. 14.
12 Ex. IV. 9; VII. 17-20.

13 John II. 1-11; IV. 46; comp. Val. Max. I. viii. 18 exter.

14 Josephus already (Ant. II. xvi. 5) pointed out the analogy extensively credited in antiquity of the Pamphylian

and the floods of the Jordan, struck by Elijah's mantle, opened a dry path; that an axe, which had sunk to the bottom of the Jordan, rose to its surface by Elijah's will and swam there, 16 and that Christ walked on the water of the lake Genesareth; 17 that the men of Sodom or Bar-Jesus (Elymas) turned suddenly blind, 18 and blind men recovered their sight as suddenly; 19 that a staff became a serpent and a serpent a staff, a healthy hand was at once made leprous, and a leprous hand healthy;20 that the earth opened its womb to engulf alive a number of offenders, 21 or the dead were revived or raised alive from the grave; 22 that Moses was forty days on Mount Sinai without requiring any food whatever, 23 or that a limited supply of flour and wine was practically unlimited and sufficed for the household of the widow of Zarephath a considerable time; 24 that every vessel which a prophet's wife could possibly procure, filled itself by Elisha's command with oil; 25 that twenty loaves of barley proved more than abundant for a hundred men, or 4,000 men, beside women and children, were satisfied by seven loaves and a few little fishes, and left over seven baskets full of broken pieces;27 that a fig-tree, covered with leaves and expected to bear fruit, instantaneously withered away; 28 that the ass of Balaam spoke, 29 a raven provided Elijah regularly with bread and meat, 30 and a whale preserved Jonah in its womb three days and three nights, and then threw him unhurt on the dry land: 31 if we read all this, we might be led to the perplexing belief that there is nothing stable and fixed in nature, were we not taught by science to regard undeviating uniformity as nature's

sea retreating when Alexander the Great marched against the Persians (comp. Strab. XIV.iii. 9, p. 666; Arrian, 1. 26; Appian, Bell. Civ. II. 149; see, however, Plut. Alex. 17), and adds, περὶ μὲν οὖν τούτων ὡς ἑκάστῳ δοκεῖ dialaμßaviro; comp. Spinoza, Tract. theol. polit. VI. 72. 15 2 Ki. II. 8, 14. 16 2 Ki. VI. 6. 17 Mark VI. 48, 49. 18 Genes. XIX. 11; Acts XIII. 6-11. 19 Matth. IX. 28-30; XX. 32-34.

20 Exod. IV. 2, 7; comp. 2 Ki. V. 27; Luke XVII. 12-14; Matth. VIII. 2, 3; see also IX. 20-22 (the woman who had an issue of blood for twelve years was instantly healed by touching the garment of Christ).

21 Num. XVI. 30-33; comp. Apollod. ΙΙΙ. ii. 2 (εὐξάμενος δὲ ὑπὸ χάσματος ἐκρύβη).

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22 John XI. 1-44 (on the resurrection of Lazarus); Matth. X. 18, 24, 25; comp. 1 Ki. XVII, 17-22; Acts IX. 40; see esp. Matth. XI. 5 (the blind receive their sight, and the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, and the dead are raised up).

23 Exod. XXXIV. 28; comp. Matth. IV. 1, 2; Luke IV. 2.

24 1 Ki. XVII. 14-16.

25 2 Ki. IV. 3-6. 26 2 Ki. IV. 42-44. 27 Matth. XV. 32-38; comp. Mark VI. 38-44, where the numbers are 5000 men, 5 loaves, 2 fishes, and 12 baskets. 28 Matth. XXI. 19.

29 Comp. supra p. 419, note 13. 30 1 Ki. XVII. 4, 6; comp. the legend in XIX. 5-7.

31 Jon. II. 1, 11; comp. also Judg. VI. 36-40.

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