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tion of Jefus, on which the truth of Chriftianity more particularly depends, underwent a more thorough investigation than any other fact in history.

This rigorous fcrutiny began while the event was recent, and when there was, accordingly, the best opportunity of examining into its truth or falfehood. Paul, who fays that Jefus at one time appeared to more than five hundred perfons, fays that the greater part of them were then living, and of courfe liable to be interrogated on the subject. Now, had Jefus appeared as publicly after his crucifixion as he did before, and of courfe the whole Jewish nation had become Chriftians, we should now have been without this most fatisfactory argument for the truth of the fact.

It would, in this cafe, have been faid, that the Jews, always a credulous nation (though this has appeared to have been the reverse of the truth), had, for fome reafon or other, which it is now impoffible to afcertain, changed their religion, or rather made fome addition to what they profeffed before, and that as no perfon objected to it at the time, there is no evidence now before us that the

facts,

facts, or reasons, on which it was founded, were properly fcrutinized; and that it is impoffible to do it at this distance. And thus Chriftianity might have fpread no farther than Judaism.

6. To enfure the credibility of miracles, it muft appear that the accounts of them were written while the facts were recent, fo that an appeal might be made to living witneffes, and this was never in ancient times queftioned with respect to the principal books of the Old or the New Teftament.

Befides, the internal evidence of the books afcribed to Mofes, having been written by him, or by fome perfon under his direction, which to every impartial reader of them must appear ftronger than the evidence of any other books having been written by any other perfons, whose names they bear, the fact was never doubted by the Hebrew nation, the only proper witneffes in the cafe, from the earliest times to the prefent; and nothing stronger than this can be faid in favour of the authenticity of any writings whatever.

This argument is peculiarly ftrong with respect to the writings of Mofes, on account of the reluctance with which thofe writings,

and

and the whole hiftory of that nation, fhows, that they received his inftructions. If those of the Ifraelites, who were addicted to the religious rites of the neighbouring nations, and who were frequently the majority of the people, could have fhewn that the books afcribed to Mofes were not written by him, or by his authority, would they not have done it, and thereby have had the best reason for continuing in the religion they preferred? And what motive could any man have to forge books which would be fure to give the greatest offence, and could not fail to be rejected with contempt and indignation?

The account of the death of Mofes, in the laft chapter of the book of Deuteronomy, could not have been written by himself. But what was more natural, than for fome perfon of eminence, acquainted with the fact, perhaps Jofhua, or the high priest at the time, adding this account to the writings of Mofes, and its being afterwards annexed to them? Also, notes by way of explanation of certain paffages, were, no doubt, firft inferted in the margin, as has been the cafe with many antient books, and afterwards added by tranfcribers in the text. But such circumstances

as

as these are never thought to affect the genuineness of any ancient writings. Judicious criticism easily diftinguishes the cafual additions, from the original text.

The internal evidence of the authenticity of the writings of Mofes is peculiarly ftrong. No other than a person actually present at the tranfactions could have related them in the manner in which we find his narratives written, with fo many particulars of perfons, times, and places, and with so natural an account of the impreffion that was made on the minds of men by the events that he relates *.

It

* That additions may be made to books, and even fuch as the writers difapprove of, we have a remarkable instance of in the first part of Mr. Paine's Age of Reafon. In the fecond part, just published in this city, he says, p. 84, "The former part of the Age of Reason has not been pub"lifhed two years, and there is already an expreffion in it "that is not mine. The expreffion is, The book of Luke "was carried by a majority of one vote only. It may be

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true, but it is not I that have faid it. Some person, "who might know of that circumstance, has added it in a "note at the bottom of the page of fome of the editions, " printed either in England or in America, and the print"ers, after that, have erected it into the body of the work, "and made me the author of it. If this has happened " within

It should also be confidered, that books were not forged till men were practised in the art of writing, and many books had been written, fo that confiderable advances had been made in the art of compofition and of criticism. We may therefore conclude with certainty, that the books afcribed to Mofes, which are unquestionably of as great antiquity as any in the world, except perhaps the book of Job, and a very few others mentioned by Mofes, are no forgeries. Otherwife,

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"within fuch a short space of time, notwithstanding the "aid of printing, which prevents the alteration of copies individually, what may not have happened in a much "greater length of time, where there was no printing." He adds," and when any man who would write, could "make a written copy, and call it an original by Matthew, "Mark, Luke, or John." But though this might easily happen with respect to flight circumftances, according with the reft of a book, well known to exift, the fabrication of whole books, which were not known to exist at all, and impofing them on the world, when the belief of their contents drew after it the facrifice of every thing dear to a man in life, and often of life itself, was not so easy.

The infertion Mr. Paine complains of, being a recent thing, and all the editions of his book not very numerous, may be traced to its author, and it behoves him, or his friends, to do it; but this cannot be done with respect to books written two or three thousand years ago.

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