that his follies and weaknesses may die before him, and who daily meditates on mortality and immortality. LET us hear a wise man, who thus speaks to himself, and to us: May my last hours find me occupied in amending and improving my heart! that I may be able to say to God, Have I violated thy commands? Have I ever accused thee, and complained of thy government? I have been sick and infirm, because it was thy appointment; and so have others, but I willingly. I have been poor according to thy good pleasure, but contented. I have had no dignities; thou hast withheld them, and I have not thought them even worthy of a wish. Didst thou see me sad and dejected on these accounts? Did I not appear before thee with a serene countenance, and cheerfully complying with thy sacred orders? Deal with me, and dispose of me as thou wilt; thy will is mine: and if any one shall say that thou hast been unkind to me, I will defend and maintain thy cause against him. Wilt thou that I depart hence? Igo; and I return thee my sincerest thanks that thou hast vouchsafed to call me hither to this great assembly and entertainment, and hast permitted me to contemplate thy works, to admire and adore thy providence, and to comprehend the wisdom of thy conduct. May death seize me writing and meditating such things!' It is needless to say whence these reflections are taken; the owner is so well known: but they can never be too often cited; and if the Stoical selfsufficiency which breathes in some parts of them were corrected by Christian humility, they would be to many of us a 'proper lesson' for the day, and remind us of the resignation that is due to an allwise and all-gracious Providence. 190 CONTENTS. CIRCUMSTANCES of the Roman empire favourable Case of the dæmoniacs who are mentioned in the Page 193 to 196 193 196-199 199-201 299 199-20% The predictions of Christ concerning the destruction of Jerusalem accomplished. Showed to have been extant before the event The writings of Josephus Books of the New Testament authentic; and proved to be so by internal characters Cited, or alluded to, by apostolical fathers By antient heretics Shorter Epistles of Ignatius preferred to the larger Conjecture on a passage in Josephus Eusebius and Herodotus explained Remarks on prophecy in general, and on its uses The dæmon of Socrates, &c. Atheists superstitious Divination in the Pagan world considered The history of Tobit A prophetic dream of Socrates 202-231 205-210 Idolatry, whether worse than atheism; and Bayle's Oracles ridiculed by Aristophanes and Lucian 276 255 248-254 256 258-263 The opinions of Herodotus, and of Van Dale concerning oracles The prophecies relating to our Saviour Prophecies in the Old Testament which cannot be supposed to have been forged after the event Accommodations Page 263 to 265 265-293 269-271 272 The prediction of Moses that a prophet should arise Bacchus and Hercules resemble Moses Some remarks on the compiler of them Of episcopal authority Allude to Solomon's Song What they say of dæmoniacs Of adultery, &c. The Hellenistic language The Pharisees, Sadducees, and Essenes 279-292 286 288 291 294-316 €295 291 295 297-299 299 300 302 302 297-314 312 313 A passage in Porphyry concerning the Essenes ex plained And in Josephus Simon's fabulous combat with St. Peter A forged Sibylline oracle cited in the Constitutions The Apostolical Canons considered The Sibylline oracles examined, and rejected as for geries and impostures Homer's prophecy concerning Æneas and his posterity Virgil's fourth Eclogue considered Fabricius, his account of the Sibylline oracles Orphic verses, and fragments of Greek poets, &c. which are cited by the Fathers, examined and corrected Eusebius not to be charged with defending the Sibylline oracles Justin Martyr not the forger of them 325-312 326 338 Sibylline oracles which were made by Pagans Barnabas. The antiquity and the dubious autho- Ignatius. Remarks on his Epistles and his martyrdom 354 A reading in one of his Epistles defended REMARKS ON ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY. Ir has been often observed that Christianity made its appearance in the most proper time, and under a favourable concurrence of circumstances. Something has been said on this head in my fourth Discourse on the Christian Religion: what is now offered to the reader is partly a continuation of the same subject; and these Remarks are intended, in some measure, as a supplement to those Discourses. Christianity began to gain ground in Judæa and its neighbourhood in the reign of Tiberius, a very wicked prince, but who was so occupied with his lusts, and with his cruelty towards considerable persons whom he hated, envied, or feared, and was also naturally so slow and indolent, that either he heard little of this remote and rising sect, or thought it beneath his notice, and so did it no harm. It is probable that Pilate, who had no enmity towards Christ, and accounted him a man unjustly accused, and an extraordinary person, might be moved, by the wonderful circumstances attending and following his death, to hold him in veneration, and perhaps to think him a hero, and the son of some deity. It is possible that he might send a narrative, such as he thought most convenient, of these transactions to Tiberius; but it is not at all likely that Tiberius proposed to the senate that Christ should be deified, and that the senate rejected it, and that Tiberius continued favourably disposed towards Christ, and that he threatened to punish those who should molest and accuse the Christians a. This report rests principally upon the authority of Tertullian, who was very capable of being deceived, and Eusebius had VOL. I. a See Le Clerc Hist. Eccl. p. 324, |
