Add files from ibiblio as of 2025-03-08 18:25:56HEADmain

10 files changed, 4 insertions, 9984 deletions

diff --git a/40978-0.txt b/40978-0.txt
index 23d469b..132839b 100644
--- a/40978-0.txt
+++ b/40978-0.txt
@@ -1,25 +1,4 @@
-The Project Gutenberg EBook of Watson Refuted, by Samuel Francis
-
-This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with
-almost no restrictions whatsoever.  You may copy it, give it away or
-re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included
-with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org
-
-
-Title: Watson Refuted
-       Being an Answer to The Apology for the Bible, in a Series
-       of Letters to the Bishop Of Llandaff
-
-Author: Samuel Francis
-
-Release Date: October 8, 2012 [EBook #40978]
-
-Language: English
-
-*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK WATSON REFUTED ***
-
-
-
+*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 40978 ***
 
 Produced by David Widger
 
@@ -2773,358 +2752,4 @@ THE END.
 
 End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of Watson Refuted, by Samuel Francis
 
-*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK WATSON REFUTED ***
-
-***** This file should be named 40978-8.txt or 40978-8.zip *****
-This and all associated files of various formats will be found in:
-        http://www.gutenberg.org/4/0/9/7/40978/
-
-Produced by David Widger
-
-Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions
-will be renamed.
-
-Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no
-one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation
-(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without
-permission and without paying copyright royalties.  Special rules,
-set forth in the General Terms of Use part of this license, apply to
-copying and distributing Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works to
-protect the PROJECT GUTENBERG-tm concept and trademark.  Project
-Gutenberg is a registered trademark, and may not be used if you
-charge for the eBooks, unless you receive specific permission.  If you
-do not charge anything for copies of this eBook, complying with the
-rules is very easy.  You may use this eBook for nearly any purpose
-such as creation of derivative works, reports, performances and
-research.  They may be modified and printed and given away--you may do
-practically ANYTHING with public domain eBooks.  Redistribution is
-subject to the trademark license, especially commercial
-redistribution.
-
-
-
-*** START: FULL LICENSE ***
-
-THE FULL PROJECT GUTENBERG LICENSE
-PLEASE READ THIS BEFORE YOU DISTRIBUTE OR USE THIS WORK
-
-To protect the Project Gutenberg-tm mission of promoting the free
-distribution of electronic works, by using or distributing this work
-(or any other work associated in any way with the phrase "Project
-Gutenberg"), you agree to comply with all the terms of the Full Project
-Gutenberg-tm License available with this file or online at
-  www.gutenberg.org/license.
-
-
-Section 1.  General Terms of Use and Redistributing Project Gutenberg-tm
-electronic works
-
-1.A.  By reading or using any part of this Project Gutenberg-tm
-electronic work, you indicate that you have read, understand, agree to
-and accept all the terms of this license and intellectual property
-(trademark/copyright) agreement.  If you do not agree to abide by all
-the terms of this agreement, you must cease using and return or destroy
-all copies of Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works in your possession.
-If you paid a fee for obtaining a copy of or access to a Project
-Gutenberg-tm electronic work and you do not agree to be bound by the
-terms of this agreement, you may obtain a refund from the person or
-entity to whom you paid the fee as set forth in paragraph 1.E.8.
-
-1.B.  "Project Gutenberg" is a registered trademark.  It may only be
-used on or associated in any way with an electronic work by people who
-agree to be bound by the terms of this agreement.  There are a few
-things that you can do with most Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works
-even without complying with the full terms of this agreement.  See
-paragraph 1.C below.  There are a lot of things you can do with Project
-Gutenberg-tm electronic works if you follow the terms of this agreement
-and help preserve free future access to Project Gutenberg-tm electronic
-works.  See paragraph 1.E below.
-
-1.C.  The Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation ("the Foundation"
-or PGLAF), owns a compilation copyright in the collection of Project
-Gutenberg-tm electronic works.  Nearly all the individual works in the
-collection are in the public domain in the United States.  If an
-individual work is in the public domain in the United States and you are
-located in the United States, we do not claim a right to prevent you from
-copying, distributing, performing, displaying or creating derivative
-works based on the work as long as all references to Project Gutenberg
-are removed.  Of course, we hope that you will support the Project
-Gutenberg-tm mission of promoting free access to electronic works by
-freely sharing Project Gutenberg-tm works in compliance with the terms of
-this agreement for keeping the Project Gutenberg-tm name associated with
-the work.  You can easily comply with the terms of this agreement by
-keeping this work in the same format with its attached full Project
-Gutenberg-tm License when you share it without charge with others.
-
-1.D.  The copyright laws of the place where you are located also govern
-what you can do with this work.  Copyright laws in most countries are in
-a constant state of change.  If you are outside the United States, check
-the laws of your country in addition to the terms of this agreement
-before downloading, copying, displaying, performing, distributing or
-creating derivative works based on this work or any other Project
-Gutenberg-tm work.  The Foundation makes no representations concerning
-the copyright status of any work in any country outside the United
-States.
-
-1.E.  Unless you have removed all references to Project Gutenberg:
-
-1.E.1.  The following sentence, with active links to, or other immediate
-access to, the full Project Gutenberg-tm License must appear prominently
-whenever any copy of a Project Gutenberg-tm work (any work on which the
-phrase "Project Gutenberg" appears, or with which the phrase "Project
-Gutenberg" is associated) is accessed, displayed, performed, viewed,
-copied or distributed:
-
-This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with
-almost no restrictions whatsoever.  You may copy it, give it away or
-re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included
-with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org
-
-1.E.2.  If an individual Project Gutenberg-tm electronic work is derived
-from the public domain (does not contain a notice indicating that it is
-posted with permission of the copyright holder), the work can be copied
-and distributed to anyone in the United States without paying any fees
-or charges.  If you are redistributing or providing access to a work
-with the phrase "Project Gutenberg" associated with or appearing on the
-work, you must comply either with the requirements of paragraphs 1.E.1
-through 1.E.7 or obtain permission for the use of the work and the
-Project Gutenberg-tm trademark as set forth in paragraphs 1.E.8 or
-1.E.9.
-
-1.E.3.  If an individual Project Gutenberg-tm electronic work is posted
-with the permission of the copyright holder, your use and distribution
-must comply with both paragraphs 1.E.1 through 1.E.7 and any additional
-terms imposed by the copyright holder.  Additional terms will be linked
-to the Project Gutenberg-tm License for all works posted with the
-permission of the copyright holder found at the beginning of this work.
-
-1.E.4.  Do not unlink or detach or remove the full Project Gutenberg-tm
-License terms from this work, or any files containing a part of this
-work or any other work associated with Project Gutenberg-tm.
-
-1.E.5.  Do not copy, display, perform, distribute or redistribute this
-electronic work, or any part of this electronic work, without
-prominently displaying the sentence set forth in paragraph 1.E.1 with
-active links or immediate access to the full terms of the Project
-Gutenberg-tm License.
-
-1.E.6.  You may convert to and distribute this work in any binary,
-compressed, marked up, nonproprietary or proprietary form, including any
-word processing or hypertext form.  However, if you provide access to or
-distribute copies of a Project Gutenberg-tm work in a format other than
-"Plain Vanilla ASCII" or other format used in the official version
-posted on the official Project Gutenberg-tm web site (www.gutenberg.org),
-you must, at no additional cost, fee or expense to the user, provide a
-copy, a means of exporting a copy, or a means of obtaining a copy upon
-request, of the work in its original "Plain Vanilla ASCII" or other
-form.  Any alternate format must include the full Project Gutenberg-tm
-License as specified in paragraph 1.E.1.
-
-1.E.7.  Do not charge a fee for access to, viewing, displaying,
-performing, copying or distributing any Project Gutenberg-tm works
-unless you comply with paragraph 1.E.8 or 1.E.9.
-
-1.E.8.  You may charge a reasonable fee for copies of or providing
-access to or distributing Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works provided
-that
-
-- You pay a royalty fee of 20% of the gross profits you derive from
-     the use of Project Gutenberg-tm works calculated using the method
-     you already use to calculate your applicable taxes.  The fee is
-     owed to the owner of the Project Gutenberg-tm trademark, but he
-     has agreed to donate royalties under this paragraph to the
-     Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation.  Royalty payments
-     must be paid within 60 days following each date on which you
-     prepare (or are legally required to prepare) your periodic tax
-     returns.  Royalty payments should be clearly marked as such and
-     sent to the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation at the
-     address specified in Section 4, "Information about donations to
-     the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation."
-
-- You provide a full refund of any money paid by a user who notifies
-     you in writing (or by e-mail) within 30 days of receipt that s/he
-     does not agree to the terms of the full Project Gutenberg-tm
-     License.  You must require such a user to return or
-     destroy all copies of the works possessed in a physical medium
-     and discontinue all use of and all access to other copies of
-     Project Gutenberg-tm works.
-
-- You provide, in accordance with paragraph 1.F.3, a full refund of any
-     money paid for a work or a replacement copy, if a defect in the
-     electronic work is discovered and reported to you within 90 days
-     of receipt of the work.
-
-- You comply with all other terms of this agreement for free
-     distribution of Project Gutenberg-tm works.
-
-1.E.9.  If you wish to charge a fee or distribute a Project Gutenberg-tm
-electronic work or group of works on different terms than are set
-forth in this agreement, you must obtain permission in writing from
-both the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation and Michael
-Hart, the owner of the Project Gutenberg-tm trademark.  Contact the
-Foundation as set forth in Section 3 below.
-
-1.F.
-
-1.F.1.  Project Gutenberg volunteers and employees expend considerable
-effort to identify, do copyright research on, transcribe and proofread
-public domain works in creating the Project Gutenberg-tm
-collection.  Despite these efforts, Project Gutenberg-tm electronic
-works, and the medium on which they may be stored, may contain
-"Defects," such as, but not limited to, incomplete, inaccurate or
-corrupt data, transcription errors, a copyright or other intellectual
-property infringement, a defective or damaged disk or other medium, a
-computer virus, or computer codes that damage or cannot be read by
-your equipment.
-
-1.F.2.  LIMITED WARRANTY, DISCLAIMER OF DAMAGES - Except for the "Right
-of Replacement or Refund" described in paragraph 1.F.3, the Project
-Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation, the owner of the Project
-Gutenberg-tm trademark, and any other party distributing a Project
-Gutenberg-tm electronic work under this agreement, disclaim all
-liability to you for damages, costs and expenses, including legal
-fees.  YOU AGREE THAT YOU HAVE NO REMEDIES FOR NEGLIGENCE, STRICT
-LIABILITY, BREACH OF WARRANTY OR BREACH OF CONTRACT EXCEPT THOSE
-PROVIDED IN PARAGRAPH 1.F.3.  YOU AGREE THAT THE FOUNDATION, THE
-TRADEMARK OWNER, AND ANY DISTRIBUTOR UNDER THIS AGREEMENT WILL NOT BE
-LIABLE TO YOU FOR ACTUAL, DIRECT, INDIRECT, CONSEQUENTIAL, PUNITIVE OR
-INCIDENTAL DAMAGES EVEN IF YOU GIVE NOTICE OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH
-DAMAGE.
-
-1.F.3.  LIMITED RIGHT OF REPLACEMENT OR REFUND - If you discover a
-defect in this electronic work within 90 days of receiving it, you can
-receive a refund of the money (if any) you paid for it by sending a
-written explanation to the person you received the work from.  If you
-received the work on a physical medium, you must return the medium with
-your written explanation.  The person or entity that provided you with
-the defective work may elect to provide a replacement copy in lieu of a
-refund.  If you received the work electronically, the person or entity
-providing it to you may choose to give you a second opportunity to
-receive the work electronically in lieu of a refund.  If the second copy
-is also defective, you may demand a refund in writing without further
-opportunities to fix the problem.
-
-1.F.4.  Except for the limited right of replacement or refund set forth
-in paragraph 1.F.3, this work is provided to you 'AS-IS', WITH NO OTHER
-WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO
-WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY OR FITNESS FOR ANY PURPOSE.
-
-1.F.5.  Some states do not allow disclaimers of certain implied
-warranties or the exclusion or limitation of certain types of damages.
-If any disclaimer or limitation set forth in this agreement violates the
-law of the state applicable to this agreement, the agreement shall be
-interpreted to make the maximum disclaimer or limitation permitted by
-the applicable state law.  The invalidity or unenforceability of any
-provision of this agreement shall not void the remaining provisions.
-
-1.F.6.  INDEMNITY - You agree to indemnify and hold the Foundation, the
-trademark owner, any agent or employee of the Foundation, anyone
-providing copies of Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works in accordance
-with this agreement, and any volunteers associated with the production,
-promotion and distribution of Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works,
-harmless from all liability, costs and expenses, including legal fees,
-that arise directly or indirectly from any of the following which you do
-or cause to occur: (a) distribution of this or any Project Gutenberg-tm
-work, (b) alteration, modification, or additions or deletions to any
-Project Gutenberg-tm work, and (c) any Defect you cause.
-
-
-Section  2.  Information about the Mission of Project Gutenberg-tm
-
-Project Gutenberg-tm is synonymous with the free distribution of
-electronic works in formats readable by the widest variety of computers
-including obsolete, old, middle-aged and new computers.  It exists
-because of the efforts of hundreds of volunteers and donations from
-people in all walks of life.
-
-Volunteers and financial support to provide volunteers with the
-assistance they need are critical to reaching Project Gutenberg-tm's
-goals and ensuring that the Project Gutenberg-tm collection will
-remain freely available for generations to come.  In 2001, the Project
-Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation was created to provide a secure
-and permanent future for Project Gutenberg-tm and future generations.
-To learn more about the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation
-and how your efforts and donations can help, see Sections 3 and 4
-and the Foundation information page at www.gutenberg.org
-
-
-Section 3.  Information about the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive
-Foundation
-
-The Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation is a non profit
-501(c)(3) educational corporation organized under the laws of the
-state of Mississippi and granted tax exempt status by the Internal
-Revenue Service.  The Foundation's EIN or federal tax identification
-number is 64-6221541.  Contributions to the Project Gutenberg
-Literary Archive Foundation are tax deductible to the full extent
-permitted by U.S. federal laws and your state's laws.
-
-The Foundation's principal office is located at 4557 Melan Dr. S.
-Fairbanks, AK, 99712., but its volunteers and employees are scattered
-throughout numerous locations.  Its business office is located at 809
-North 1500 West, Salt Lake City, UT 84116, (801) 596-1887.  Email
-contact links and up to date contact information can be found at the
-Foundation's web site and official page at www.gutenberg.org/contact
-
-For additional contact information:
-     Dr. Gregory B. Newby
-     Chief Executive and Director
-     gbnewby@pglaf.org
-
-Section 4.  Information about Donations to the Project Gutenberg
-Literary Archive Foundation
-
-Project Gutenberg-tm depends upon and cannot survive without wide
-spread public support and donations to carry out its mission of
-increasing the number of public domain and licensed works that can be
-freely distributed in machine readable form accessible by the widest
-array of equipment including outdated equipment.  Many small donations
-($1 to $5,000) are particularly important to maintaining tax exempt
-status with the IRS.
-
-The Foundation is committed to complying with the laws regulating
-charities and charitable donations in all 50 states of the United
-States.  Compliance requirements are not uniform and it takes a
-considerable effort, much paperwork and many fees to meet and keep up
-with these requirements.  We do not solicit donations in locations
-where we have not received written confirmation of compliance.  To
-SEND DONATIONS or determine the status of compliance for any
-particular state visit www.gutenberg.org/donate
-
-While we cannot and do not solicit contributions from states where we
-have not met the solicitation requirements, we know of no prohibition
-against accepting unsolicited donations from donors in such states who
-approach us with offers to donate.
-
-International donations are gratefully accepted, but we cannot make
-any statements concerning tax treatment of donations received from
-outside the United States.  U.S. laws alone swamp our small staff.
-
-Please check the Project Gutenberg Web pages for current donation
-methods and addresses.  Donations are accepted in a number of other
-ways including checks, online payments and credit card donations.
-To donate, please visit:  www.gutenberg.org/donate
-
-
-Section 5.  General Information About Project Gutenberg-tm electronic
-works.
-
-Professor Michael S. Hart was the originator of the Project Gutenberg-tm
-concept of a library of electronic works that could be freely shared
-with anyone.  For forty years, he produced and distributed Project
-Gutenberg-tm eBooks with only a loose network of volunteer support.
-
-Project Gutenberg-tm eBooks are often created from several printed
-editions, all of which are confirmed as Public Domain in the U.S.
-unless a copyright notice is included.  Thus, we do not necessarily
-keep eBooks in compliance with any particular paper edition.
-
-Most people start at our Web site which has the main PG search facility:
-
-     www.gutenberg.org
-
-This Web site includes information about Project Gutenberg-tm,
-including how to make donations to the Project Gutenberg Literary
-Archive Foundation, how to help produce our new eBooks, and how to
-subscribe to our email newsletter to hear about new eBooks.
-
+*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 40978 ***
diff --git a/40978-h.zip b/40978-h.zip
deleted file mode 100644
index bb35736..0000000
--- a/40978-h.zip
+++ /dev/null
diff --git a/40978-h/40978-h.htm b/40978-h/40978-h.htm
index 7fb6f15..a1d42a6 100644
--- a/40978-h/40978-h.htm
+++ b/40978-h/40978-h.htm
@@ -31,7 +31,7 @@
 
 </style>
   </head>
-  <body>
+<body>
 <div>*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 40978 ***</div>
     <div style="height: 8em;">
       <br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br />
@@ -2925,5 +2925,5 @@
       <br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br />
     </div>
 <div>*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 40978 ***</div>
-  </body>
+</body>
 </html>
diff --git a/old/40978-8.txt b/old/40978-8.txt
deleted file mode 100644
index fd132d8..0000000
--- a/old/40978-8.txt
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,3132 +0,0 @@
-The Project Gutenberg EBook of Watson Refuted, by Samuel Francis
-
-This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with
-almost no restrictions whatsoever.  You may copy it, give it away or
-re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included
-with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org
-
-
-Title: Watson Refuted
-       Being an Answer to The Apology for the Bible, in a Series
-       of Letters to the Bishop Of Llandaff
-
-Author: Samuel Francis
-
-Release Date: October 8, 2012 [EBook #40978]
-
-Language: English
-
-Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1
-
-*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK WATSON REFUTED ***
-
-
-
-
-Produced by David Widger
-
-
-
-
-
-WATSON REFUTED
-
-BEING AN ANSWER TO THE APOLOGY FOR THE BIBLE.
-
-IN A SERIES OF LETTERS TO THE BISHOP OF LLANDAFF.
-
-By Samuel Francis, M.D.
-
-     Pudet me humani generis, cujus mentes et aures talia fern
-     potuerunt.
-
-     --Div. Augustin.
-
-LONDON:
-
-PRINTED and PUBLISHED BY R. CARLILE, 55, FLEET STREET
-
-
-
-
-ADVERTISEMENT.
-
-I had written a considerable part of another work, containing strictures
-on religion. The appearance of the Bishop of Llandaff's pamphlet, and
-the number of editions that have been published for the purpose of
-encouraging its sale among the poorer classes, induced me to take up the
-pen expressly in answer to this publication, that I might undeceive
-the multitude, and show that, under the imposing title of a Bishop,
-Dr. Watson has been guilty of the most gross misrepresentations, and,
-whether intentionally or from ignorance, has deceived his readers,
-while, under the pretence of meekness, he triumphs in the detection of a
-few errors, committed by a man who does not pretend to be a Theologian,
-or to be possessed of any great learning. He has uniformly passed
-over the weighty arguments of the Age of Reason, and stopped at a few
-immaterial inaccuracies. I hope, in the following sheets, to show, that
-the learned Professor of Divinity has committed errors in the Natural
-Sciences and History, which would be inexcusable in any author; but,
-when coming from a dignified Clergyman, who wishes to dictate to the
-nation, their detection cannot fail to show to the public, how necessary
-it is for men to employ their faculty of reason, and not to yield it to
-those whose profession is to teach things they acknowledge to be above
-reason, and incomprehensible. I shall, as soon as my other avocations
-permit, give the world a tract upon religion in general, with strictures
-on the Jewish and Christian systems. For this reason, I shall not, in
-the present pamphlet, enter deeply into any abstract reasoning, but
-confine myself chiefly to the detection of the errors contained in the
-Apology for the Bible.
-
-S. F.
-
-London, Aug. 15,
-
-1790,
-
-
-
-
-WATSON REFUTED
-
-
-
-
-LETTER I.
-
-MY LORD,
-
-You have thought it not inconsistent with your dignity as a Bishop, to
-oppose the _Age of Reason by Thomas Paine_, and I, as a member of the
-community, find myself called upon to expose your reasoning, and stop
-the career of error. You disclaim controversy; but if your candour
-is any thing more than a vain boast, I entertain hopes of seeing the
-defender of Christianity again step forward to answer my arguments, if
-he deems them of sufficient weight to disturb his quiet. I am sincerely
-glad to find a dignified churchman begin a dispute with men, whom
-formerly the pious members of the Church would have deemed fit victims
-for the fire or the gallows; at the same time, I feel deep regret, that
-the Bishop has not yet altogether laid aside the clerical passion for
-the extermination of the heterodox. I hope, says Dr. Watson, that
-there is no want of charity in wishing, that Mr. Paine's life had been
-terminated long before his publication. This may be consistent with
-Christian charity, but nature and reason teach us ugly unbelievers
-another doctrine: and, however inveterate I may be against those of
-the clergy who persecute and deceive the multitude, I confess, that the
-death of a person, whom I conceive to be acting for what he thinks the
-public good, would give me no pleasure; and the Bishop allows the purity
-of Mr. Paine's motives. The wish of the philosopher is, let reason guide
-us, and all parties have freedom of debate. No dogmatical dictates of
-bigotted priests, no passive obedience to the mandates of inquisitors,
-nor to the persecutions so often fomented by churchmen. To the progress
-of letters, during this century, we owe the mildness and condescension
-of clergymen: till philosophy taught us, the clergy never discovered,
-that persecutions for heresy and witchcraft, or inquisitions and popery,
-were horrid institutions. Dares Dr. Watson affirm, that freedom of
-inquiry was ever suffered on religious subjects? that people were
-allowed to examine the grounds of the doctrines taught by the Church?
-No, Sir, your predecessors of all beliefs have ever persecuted
-philosophers and inquirers into truth, both in science and in religion.
-Neither Galileus nor Rousseau escaped the malevolence of the opposers
-of science; and in the Bible they found authorities for their inveterate
-opposition to the progress of truth and knowledge. The New Testament
-informs us, that the wisdom of God is foolishness to man, that human
-learning produces nothing but pride 1, and that the poor in spirit gain
-the kingdom of heaven.
-
-     1 "Beware lest any man spoil you through philosophy and vain
-     deceit, after the tradition of men, after the rudiments of
-     the world, and not after Christ." Colos. ii. 5, 8.
-
-     "Cum sit nobis divinis literis traditum cognitiones
-     philosophorum stultas esse, ad ipsum re et argumentis
-     docendum et; ne quit bouesto sapieutiæ nomine inductus, aut
-     inanis eloquentiæ splendore deceptus, humanis malet quam
-     divinis credere."
-
-     Lactantius, Inst. lib. i. chap. 2.
-
-Under these and other similar pretences, have barbarous priests led
-their credulous followers to massacres in the name of their God; by
-means of that touchstone word, _Faith_, they made the multitude forget
-that their leaders were but men. Now, Sir, we have grown bolder:
-knowledge being no longer confined to clerical seminaries, priests are
-not kings. The church totters; and a single pamphlet, you say, "has
-unsettled the faith of thousands." Now, that you cannot stifle reason,
-you pretend to liberality of sentiment.
-
-The natural historian, or the astronomer, fears not the publication of
-opinions contrary to his own, except from a scholastic habit, learned in
-the clerical seminaries, which still disgrace almost every country. The
-chemist eagerly peruses all theories; the divine alone refuses to argue
-with his opponents, and trembles at the very name of reason. I differ in
-my philosophical opinions from Mr. Paine; my principles extend so much
-farther than his, that I suspect I come under the class which you are
-pleased to call madmen, and every clergyman would affect to despise, but
-dare not argue with, before an unprejudiced tribunal. These, Sir, are
-the effects of superstition, and the cunning policy of the Church. The
-Bible is hardly suffered to be read in Catholic countries. The English
-reformers could not go so far; their revolution sprung from a dawn of
-philosophy. The English clergy, however, would confine us to the
-reading of that unintelligible farrago, and the still more insufferable
-commentaries upon it. So did the scholastics with Aristotle; their
-bigotted partiality to this author was nearly of the same force with the
-priestly attachment to the Bible. They retarded science; but the motives
-of the clergy are stronger. By the Bible they live; and it is not
-uncommon to hear the parson deride in private what he preaches from the
-pulpit.
-
-But to your first letter.
-
-After the pious wish for Thomas Paine's death, you proceed to state
-how miserable the adoption of his doctrines would render the "unhappy
-virtuous." Fear not such a dire event: the _pious_ are few in number,
-and of those, few have the courage to open a book controverting their
-opinions, and which, they are taught to believe, contains nothing but
-blasphemies But, should chance lead them to a detection of their errors,
-they would only become less devout, and more useful citizens. Freed from
-the prospect of hell and heaven, they will have leisure to think of
-this world, in which they live somewhat like hermits, loving only their
-priests, and ready to sacrifice victims to credulity.
-
-You say, that guillotine massacres were not the effect of the Popish
-religion, but of the disbelief of this system. This deserves some
-consideration. It is not true, that the majority of the people of Paris
-were unbelievers. No, Sir, they swore to the miracles of Abbe Paris,
-and were as ready to give testimony to the wonderful cures and prodigies
-operated by his intercession, as the Jews or Christians have been
-to vouch for theirs. The fact is this: the lively disposition of the
-French, the unintelligibility of their religion, and the shameful
-conduct of the priests, turned their attention to the more serious
-object of politics; but this event could not immediately change the
-nature of the murderers of the Protestants on St. Bartholomew's day.
-Does your Lordship imagine, that the peasants of La Vendee are models of
-morality? If you think so, I must undeceive you. Nothing but ignorance
-prevails in that district; like the ancient crusaders, they are led
-solely by their priests, who, by means of certain words which early
-habits and superstition have made their followers respect, and, together
-with want of communication with the rest of France, have inflamed them,
-and driven them to slaughter: even miracles have not been wanting in
-that part of the country; but in this, as in many other instances, they
-have disappeared, on the arrival of incredulous troops, whose hearts are
-perhaps hardened by God, like the Egyptians of old. Since God diminishes
-men's faith in proportion as he gives them human wisdom, let us not
-endeavour to controvert this heavenly will, by endeavouring to make
-the enlightened people of the eighteenth century so credulous as in the
-former days of ignorance. The Bishop allows, that the higher classes
-of every country all lean towards infidelity; they are more guided by
-reason, and reason is the avowed enemy of faith, it being the criterion
-of faith, that it contains natural impossibilities. It is unfortunate
-that so many sects pretend to faith, and differ so much among
-themselves; and that to explain their faiths, they use the weapons of
-reason against one another. This of itself proves, that faith is but
-a cant word, since the faithful argue about what comes not under human
-knowledge. Thus all religious sectaries, whether Christians, Jews,
-Mahometans, Boodzoists, or Bramins, as staunchly believe contradictory
-doctrines, while, in the inquiries that depend on their reason, we find
-that, wherever men have long been civilized, they have, in astronomy,
-in physics, or ethics, come in general to the same conclusions. The
-language of the philosopher is understood in Pekin as well as in Rome;
-but the religious fanatics of every country differ in their opinions,
-and consider all but themselves as dreamers and impostors. The Bramin
-laughs at the story of Noah and the ark, the stopping of the sun, and
-the incarnation of God; while the Christian shows the same contempt for
-the incarnation of Vishnu, and other articles of the Braminical
-faith. The exercise of reason alone shows us the true limits of our
-intellectual faculties. Ignorance of this is the cause of all reveries
-in science, as in religion; it is only superstition that incites men to
-launch beyond their conceptions.
-
-You accuse of infidelity all those who commit crimes against society.
-When we answer, that the Jewish and Christian religions have deluged
-the world with blood, you reply, that it is not as being Jews and
-Christians, but because they were wicked. At the same time, I hope you
-allow, that the Spartans, the Athenians, the Romans, the Chinese, did
-not commit half the atrocities which disgrace Jewish history, the aera
-of the crusades and the Christian persecutions, of the invasion of
-America, the massacres of heretics, &c. The candid observer must
-therefore conclude, that right and wrong is not confined to sects; that
-the Christian religion, whatever its precepts may be, has not been able
-to prevent crimes, while nations who knew not so much as the name of
-Moses or Christ, produced a Confucius, an Aristides, a Socrates, an
-Epaminondas, a Cincinnatus. Among these nations, who knew not the Lord
-Jehovah, we find Archimedes, Epicurus, Demosthenes, Plato, Aristotle,
-Cicero, while the chosen people of God, and their successors, the
-Christians, borrowed their language, the very names of their gods, and
-the little science they knew, from these despised infidels. It was not
-the oracle of Delphos, the augurs, or the sybils, that enlightened the
-Greeks and Romans. The rabble credited them, as the ignorant Jews and
-Christians did their prophets and apostles. In short, morals cannot be
-invented; there cannot be two systems of morality. The precepts must be
-directed to principles existing in the heart of man. Ignorance conceals
-from nations the rule of conduct, in the same manner that it prevents
-them from knowing geometry; the moment they study either, they are put
-in the road of truth. No wonder, then, that in the times of the greatest
-oppression, when frightened into certain doctrines by the stories
-of nurses and parents, many learned men should not have been able
-to conquer their first prejudices. You certainly know the time when
-astrology and the philosopher's stone were in fashion; the believers
-in these reveries were men of science. Van Helmont, Stahl, Boyle,
-and innumerable others were possessed of this madness. You can be no
-stranger to the numerous wretches that suffered for witchcraft and
-necromancy, and, upon the very brink of death, confessed they were
-guilty.
-
-The next reflection the Doctor makes, is respecting gospel moderation,
-for which purpose he quotes, "Who art thou that judgest another man's
-servant? to his own master he standeth or falleth." Yet has this been
-done by all Christian rulers; and the clergy are at this moment,
-in express defiance of this maxim, about to send missionaries to
-disseminate principles that have ever produced internal dissensions, and
-without which infidels have lived in perfect happiness. It is, perhaps,
-an excess of piety; but cool observers pretend, that it is the high
-priest, not the High God, that they are going to preach: to fill their
-knapsacks is the first object of these pilgrims, and their God is
-made subservient. Unluckily for the Bishop, he could not adduce a more
-detestable maxim, to show his charity, than that which I have just
-quoted: it is the pivot of Oriental despotism; it teaches passive
-obedience to all classes; the father is the tyrant of his children, the
-nabob of his subjects, the emperor of all: it is a maxim whose tendency
-is to root in men's minds, that we are the property of one another, and
-may be inherited as cattle. To those of my readers who are pleased with
-it, I wish a thorough experience of its effects.
-
-The remainder of your first letter contains observations to which I
-perfectly accede. Your conclusion against Thomas Paine is perfectly
-fair. Any apparent deviation from moral justice in the world must prove
-as much against the goodness of God, as a similar inconsistency in his
-immediate actions and commands proves against revealed religion. My
-Lord, we are in the abyss of error; your question with Thomas Paine
-is about the comparative absurdity of the two Opinions. The deistical
-notions of your adversary do not agree with his reasonable tenets; but
-I readily grant, that, to a religious person, nothing is incredible; and
-that the greater the inconsistencies, the more sublime the system.
-But let me ask your Lordship, what you conclude against one, who, like
-myself, is not a Deist? and repeats, with the first philosopher of the
-age, that there are only four possible hypotheses upon the causes of the
-universe: 1st. That they are purely good. 2dly. That they are malicious.
-3dly. That they are a mixture of good and evil. And, lastly, That they
-neither possess benevolence, nor any other passions. The two first
-hypotheses are equally contradicted by daily experience, the mixture of
-good and evil is too apparent: the third is denied, by the steadiness of
-the laws of nature: the last, then, only is admissible.
-
-You next proceed to justify several actions of the Jews, which you and
-the Bible are pleased to call God's commands. I must decline following
-your reasoning; for the very existence of such crimes as the Jews
-ascribe to their enemies, and which, they say, were so repugnant to
-God, would of themselves prove against the goodness of that Being. His
-frequent threats, and the extermination of so many miserable nations, is
-a poor expedient; like that of a man, who, attempting to make a machine,
-and foiled in his endeavours, gloried in breaking it in a thousand
-pieces. How much more ridiculous is that sublime Artificer, who employs
-the same means which impotence or malevolence give rise to in his
-wretched children. I am glad you have no recourse to the silly causes of
-atheism, as given by that illustrious dreamer, Plato.
-
-The world has too long been imposed upon by ridiculous attempts to
-vilify atheists, and show their nonexistence. That name has been a cant
-word, like Jacobin in France, and Whig and Tory in England, which
-every person applies to his neighbour as it best suits him. In Catholic
-countries, all who dare think are heretics; among Protestants, they
-are atheists. Being a word of opprobrium, it has ever been used as a
-powerful engine in the hands of the clergy. The question is upon the
-truth of systems, not upon the character of those who profess them. If
-this were the discrimination, and the palm given to that religion that
-has had the greatest number of honest men, the Christian system would
-certainly lose the contest.
-
-The Bishop seems to think, that savages have not so perfect a notion of
-God as we imagine: religion, he supposes, begins as it were in express
-revelation. This is but the fancy of a clergyman, unsupported by
-any proofs; but at least it shows, that the Bishop involuntarily
-acknowledges, that reason alone can hardly give us the idea of a ruling
-Being. The savage, it is true, does not discourse in a metaphysical
-jargon; he wants expressions: but I wish the Doctor would inform me in
-what our Catechism definition of God is clearer than the notions of the
-rudest savage, who, trembling at the approach of thunder and violent
-convulsions of nature, or enjoying the genial sun and fertilizing
-inundations, imagines all the world to be animated with his own
-passions. The thunder is a mark of wrath, while the blessings are signs
-of a propitious genius. To conciliate these imaginary beings, to avert
-their wrath, is the grand object of superstition. Schoolmen conceal,
-under their mystical jargon, the real materials which their gods are
-made of; they conceal that the Supreme Artificer is the offspring of
-fancy, the figurative and unphilosophical symbol of nature, to which
-they give human dispositions: in all religious systems men are the
-type of their gods. Your letter concludes with a remark sufficiently
-extraordinary, that most Deists of your acquaintance disbelieve the
-mysterious conversations of God, his miracles, and such other stories,
-because they are too wonderful, and against the order of nature. Your
-reply is curious: because we never have seen the like of them, does it
-follow that they are untrue? Give me leave to tell you, my Lord, that
-you have forgotten the rules of logic: you know, that in all cases, but
-of demonstration, the philosopher does nothing but weigh probabilities.
-Any thing that is conceivable is possible: but are we therefore to
-believe in the existence of witches or necromancers? Are we to give
-credit to the world having sprung from an egg? That Mahomet divided the
-moon? That the sun stood still? That astrology is a science? Yet what
-reason have we to disbelieve them? The respective supporters of these
-opinions may say with the Doctor, that nothing can be too wonderful, and
-that, because these things have not happened in our time, it does not
-follow they should be untrue. I acknowledge, with the Doctor, that
-many Deists admit a Being as inconceivable as any religious mystery;
-therefore it may seem ridiculous in them to stop their credulity; since
-we call God just, when nothing but a concatenation of causes and effects
-can be perceived in the world; when we proclaim him benevolent,
-while the world is full of vice, while millions perish in misery, and
-continual calamities befal mankind; while, in short, most men have the
-gloomy prospect of damnation before them. These are greater miracles
-than an universal deluge, making a woman from a rib, or God's
-countenancing the atrocious murders of Jews. He that will believe one
-wonder, has no plea for doubting the rest.
-
-
-
-
-LETTER II.
-
-MY LORD,
-
-Your second letter begins with some nice distinctions between
-authenticity and genuineness. The whole reasoning seems to amount to
-this, that a book may be authentic, although not genuine, and _vice
-versa_. To this proposition we were no strangers; but piety makes
-your Lordship forget some other considerations. When the proofs of
-authenticity depend in a great measure upon the genuineness of a
-book, then the authenticity falls to the ground the moment we prove it
-spurious. Thus the Jews strenuously maintained, that the Pentateuch had
-been written by an inspired man at a particular time. But if Moses is
-shown not to have written these books, I trust you will not declare
-them authentic, without other very solid proofs. When a whole nation
-is proved to be mistaken respecting the author of a work, we ought not
-hastily to credit their legends. Moreover, logic teaches us, that in
-proportion as events are incredible, they require a stronger testimony
-to prove that they have actually taken place. A battle may have been
-fought, a city may have been destroyed, but miracles being against the
-order of nature, no testimony can be strong enough to prove them, we
-must again appeal to faith. It is so much easier for men to be deceived
-or imposed upon, or for persons designedly to mislead their credulous
-followers, that unless it were more miraculous that a man should be
-mistaken, than that the miracle happened, we ought not to give credit
-to such fables. If we drop this rule of logic, we shall readily believe
-prodigies of all sorts, whether wrought by Moses, Jesus Christ, Mahomet,
-St. Antony of Padua, or any modern wonder-workers, witches, magicians,
-astrologers, or magnetisers. Mr. Paine no where asserts, that because
-a book is not genuine, it must be false; but certainly he might assert
-this of the Bible. You say, that if the works of Titus Livius had been
-ascribed to another, they would nevertheless be true; how would you
-ascertain it? If the whole Roman nation supposed them to have been
-written by a particular author at a certain time, and should we be
-enabled to point out many passages evidently written in a posterior
-age, would you, without any other proofs, join in the assent to the
-authenticity of the history, upon a tradition so vague, and already
-proved false in so material a point? Although I am no Bishop, I would
-only imagine, that as to probable events contained in such spurious
-books, there might have been some grounds for them; but I would receive
-them with great caution; and, at any rate, never would I establish a
-system of history, much less of religion, upon the productions of an
-ignorant people: in all cases, events related against the order of
-nature are to be considered as the reveries of dark ages. To elucidate
-your principles, you mention Anson's voyage, written by Robins, under
-the name of Walter, to prove that a spurious work may contain a true
-history; but, my Lord, do you forget, that this was written at a time
-when the whole nation knew that Lord Anson had made such a voyage, and
-every man in his fleet could testify the particulars of it? But if
-our posterity, four or five centuries hence, should discover a book
-purporting to be written by a Mr. Walters, detailing the voyage of
-Admiral Anson, and if in that book they should meet a passage speaking
-of the late revolution in France, or of the author's death and burial,
-would not that strike at the authenticity of the whole? Would any part
-be believed that was not corroborated by the evidence of respectable
-contemporary authors? All that could be inferred would be from the
-nature of the events related, such as the accurate description of
-countries, and such other particulars as marked either the period of the
-observations, or their truth: in the first case, they might suspect the
-work to be interpolated; in the second, they would value it only for
-the accuracy of information. It is different with scientifical and
-historical works: a spurious book of science may contain truths, they
-stand for themselves, they are the same at all times and places. Not so
-in history: the truth here depends on the universal consent of nations,
-on the testimony of authors of credibility confronted with each other,
-and in all cases relating things probable. When we read in a Chinese
-history, that the goddess Amida peopled the world by bearing male
-children from under one arm, and females under another, or, in the
-Mahometan writers, that the trees spoke to the founder of that sect,
-would a man credit any circumstance, however probable, related in
-such histories, without the strongest collateral proofs? And should
-we further discover, that these histories detailed events posterior
-to their author's death, would not this make the whole still more
-improbable? Your remark upon this subject is singular: you say, that if
-Joshua, Samuel, or Moses, declared themselves the authors of the works
-ascribed to them, then to prove these books spurious would at once
-destroy their genuineness and authenticity. I would reason thus: Moses
-does not say, that he was the author of the Pentateuch; why then do
-we believe that he wrote it? You would, no doubt, answer, that the
-tradition of the Jews proclaims him such. I retort, that if the
-genuineness of a book may be proved by tradition, we ought as much to
-argue against the authenticity of a work, from having proved the general
-belief of its genuineness to be founded on error, as if the author had
-said, I am the author of this book. This we shall, in the sequel, prove
-to be the case with the books of the Old Testament. The addition of
-an express declaration of Moses would add no authenticity to the
-Pentateuch, since it is as easy to forge a work where the author speaks
-in the first as in the third person.
-
-Your next remark is concerning miracles. I have already observed, that
-no testimony can give them belief. You maintain, that the degree and
-kind of evidence for the prodigies recorded in the Bible exceeds that
-for any other wonders. How this happens I am unable to comprehend. I
-know they are contained in a book composed by the priests of the
-most credulous and ignorant nation that perhaps ever existed; and the
-authority of these unknown and obscure persons, is all the evidence
-we have for crediting their stories. An English Bishop tells his
-countrymen, that the miracle of the sun standing still is better
-supported than the prodigies of Abbe Paris, Mesmer, and the late Labre
-at Rome, than the numerous Indian, Chinese, and Popish miracles, of
-which a great part are attested by magistrates, divines, physicians, and
-the most enlightened classes of society; while the wonderful repast of
-the angels with Abraham, or the marvellous tale of Jonah's three days'
-residence in the belly of a fish, depends upon the authority of a book
-which we shall prove to be spurious, to have been lost for several ages,
-and to be compiled, if not altogether composed, by some Jewish scribes,
-who were, as they themselves acknowledge, the only men versed in the
-scriptures of the nation. I thought you would have known sacred history
-better than at the present day to make such unsupported assertions.
-Have you forgotten the wonders of the magicians of Pharaoh? Do you not
-recollect the express acknowledgment of Moses himself, that there may
-be miracles and prophecies performed by men who adored not the Lord
-Jehovah? Does he not say, in chap. xiii. of Deuteronomy, "If there arise
-among you a prophet, or a dreamer of dreams, and giveth thee a sign or
-a wonder, and the sign or the wonder come to pass whereof he spake unto
-thee, saying, Let us go after other gods, &c.--that prophet, or that
-dreamer of dreams, shall be put to death, _because he hath spoken to you
-to turn away from the Lord your God_." It is not because he is a false
-prophet, but because he is not a prophet of Jehovah. Does not this
-at once show the grossness of the conceptions of the Jews, and the
-sophistical mode of arguing of their legislator? For I would ask, How
-did Moses prove himself the oracle of God? Or how did Jesus Christ
-show himself the Son of God, but by their pretended miracles? Why then
-believe the testimony of a miracle in one instance, and not in another?
-But the Jews certainly imagined, that there were several gods, and that
-they quarrelled with each other, as kings are used to do; therefore it
-was natural that one set of prophets should try to exterminate another,
-and be as inveterate against them as the Lord Jehovah was against Baal,
-or other rival gods. If the reader imagines I speak at random when I
-say, the Jews believed in other gods, I refer him to Judges, chap.
-xi. ver. 23, 34, where it is said, "So now the Lord God of Israel hath
-dispossessed the Amorites from before his people Israel, and shouldst
-thou not possess it? Wilt thou not possess that which _Chemosh thy god_
-giveth thee to possess? So whomsoever the Lord our God shall drive
-out from before us, them will we possess." There cannot be a fairer
-parallel.
-
-I can hardly imagine a Bishop ignorant of the augurs, oracles, and
-sybils of the Greeks and Romans, and of the implicit belief these
-nations had in them; the truth of their prophecies was fully as well
-established as the prophecies of the Jews. Neither were miracles
-uncommon among the heathens. You have, no doubt, read St. Ambrose and
-Origen, and have found in the works of these and other fathers, that
-the only difference between the miracles of the Christians and infidels,
-was, that the former were operated by God, and the latter by the devil;
-and could I be satisfied that Satan took up Jesus Christ to the top of
-that high mountain, (now unknown to geographers) from whose pinnacle all
-the world could be seen, this would surprise me as much as to see Jesus
-Christ, or any other wonder-worker, bringing a dead man to life. I am
-ashamed to have inveighed so long against silly prejudices; but I
-could not avoid calling upon your Lordship, to point out the difference
-between gospel-miracles and the ridiculous tales believed in all dark
-ages, and of which we find so copious collections in the works of the
-first fathers. The axiom of philosophers, that no human testimony can
-establish the credibility, of miracles, you have left unanswered. You
-say it has been confuted an hundred times: had you given the confutation
-of it, we would have been able to ascertain the truth of your assertion.
-You are writing for the multitude, and being a dignitary of the church,
-ought to furnish the people with arms to oppose reason. Perhaps the
-unsuccessful attempt of Dr. Campbell has deterred you from at least
-recapitulating the principal answers to this proposition. Till you can
-prove that the great mass of mankind are not very fallible and easily
-deceived by any impostor, or that they are disposed and capable to
-examine the truth of reports spread about prodigies, you will never be
-able to persuade men of sense, that events impossible are to be believed
-upon the testimony of those who not only are, but have constantly been,
-the slaves of credulity in all countries.
-
-You then show, that Mr. Paine's objections to the genuineness are not
-new. This is true; and I am surprised you have quoted so few supporters
-of his opinions. Your attempt to prove the genuineness of the
-Pentateuch, by direct evidence, is ridiculous. What! Maimonides, ten
-centuries after the destruction of the Jews, a Jew himself, and writing
-at a period so remote from the supposed date of the books of the
-Old Testament, is, by Dr. Watson, called a direct evidence of the
-genuineness of the Pentateuch. Juvenal, a poet, who in more than one
-place ridicules the credulity of the Jews, says, that they believe in
-Moses--so do the Europeans allow that the Indians believe in Brama.--We
-question not the general traditions of the Jews, but the credit they
-deserve; and I shall next proceed to show, that the books of the
-Pentateuch are spurious, and undeserving of credit. The name of
-Moses and the Jews were unknown to the famous Phoenician historian
-Sanchoniato, of whom Eusebius has preserved us some extracts; he has
-never mentioned a word about this famous legislator: had he done so,
-Eusebius was too strenuous an advocate _for_ Christianity not to have
-recorded it. The books of the Jews were concealed from all the world
-before the famous Greek translation made at the instance of Ptolemy
-Philadelphia. Josephus himself acknowledges, that no heathen knew
-the Jewish books, which he endeavours to explain, by some miraculous
-interference of God to keep them from the impious. It is evident, that
-the insignificance and ignorance of the Jews were sufficient to screen
-them for a long time from the search of philosophers. Upon the early
-history of the Jewish nation, however, we have the testimony of several
-of the ancient writers. Manetho, and Chaeremon, Egyptian historians,
-give the most unfavourable account of this nation. Lisimachus does not
-favour them any more; and, although he differs about the name of the
-king who expelled them from Egypt, yet he agrees in calling them a set
-of men infected with leprosy, and the meanest of the subjects of the
-king of Egypt. Diodorus Siculus is as hard upon these wretched Jews. In
-short, the opinion of their being the vilest and most ignorant of men,
-has prevailed among all antiquity. All the writers about them agree in
-stating that they never produced any work in science; indeed, that they
-never improved any branch of useful knowledge. Many of these authors
-mention Moses as a priest of Heliopolis, who led them out of Egypt, and
-gave them a religion. Diodorus Siculus informs us, that the God of Moses
-was Jau, or Jahouh, which is the true pronunciation of Jehovah; and
-Plutarch (de Iside) says, that the Thebans adored this God, and had not
-images in their temples, because Jau signified the general principle of
-life, the soul of the world.
-
-Strabo, in his Geography, book 16, informs us, that Moses, who was an
-Egyptian priest, taught his followers to worship the God Jahouh, without
-representing it by emblems. This was the God of the Thebans, the soul of
-the world. The Jews have even preserved the name of Tsour, or giver of
-forms, and commonly translated by the word creator in chap. xxxii. of
-Deuteronomy. Herodotus affirms, that the Jews or Syrians of Palestine
-borrowed circumcision from the Egyptians. Diodorus says the same; and
-even Philo and Josephus do not deny it. A great many other rites
-were copied by the Jews from this nation. It is, therefore, of great
-consequence to ascertain the age in which the Jewish books were written;
-for if we can prove that all the fundamental points of their religion
-were copied from their masters the Egyptians, or borrowed from the
-Babylonians during the captivities, then the reader will judge of
-the truth of the clerical opinion, that a handful of hordes were the
-favourite people of God; that a set of ignorant and credulous vagabonds
-taught science to the Chinese, Indians, and Egyptians, and preserved
-nothing among themselves but some ridiculous accounts of their origin,
-and a collection of absurd prodigies. If we succeed in pointing out
-from what sources Jewish mythology is derived, there will be but
-little difficulty in unravelling the principal fables contained in the
-Pentateuch and other Jewish books. We are pretty well acquainted with
-the allegories of the heathen mythologies.
-
-I am ready to grant that several of Mr. Paine's objections are not
-valid, and often trifling; but I declare, once for all, that I do not
-think myself bound to follow Mr. Paine in every instance. I shall direct
-my remarks, rather to disprove your reasoning, than to defend every
-objection of your opponent; at the same time, I shall avoid repeating
-what he has advanced, and you have not disproved. The chief proofs
-against the genuineness of the Pentateuch have been overlooked by Mr.
-Paine. I shall state them briefly.
-
-First. It was believed, by all the best informed old fathers of the
-church, that the Jewish books had been absolutely lost during the
-captivity, and that Esdras had written them from inspiration; or, that
-he collected the Pentateuch, and all other canonical books, out of
-whatever records he could find, and put them together. 1 In either case,
-their authority is greatly invalidated; and the more so, as the fourth
-book of Esdras, adopted by the Greek church, and generally deemed
-authentic, says expressly, that Esdras dictated the holy books during
-forty successive days and nights, to five scribes, who were continually
-writing. This tale shows sufficiently the general belief that he was
-the restorer of the long lost books of the law. In our second book
-of Nehemiah, or, properly speaking, Esdras, it is said, that Ezra, or
-Esdras the scribe, who was above all the people, brought the book of the
-law to the people, and then the people rejoiced much in being instructed
-in the law of God, that when they found there the commandment of the
-Lord ordering the Jews to perform the feast of the booths, there was
-great gladness, "and all the congregation of them that were come again
-out of the captivity made booths, and sat under booths: for, since the
-days of Joshua the son of Nun, unto that day, had not the children of
-Israel done so.". If the Jews had even forgotten a feast, the memory
-of which every father would transmit to his son, is this not an evident
-proof that they had no books in the captivity? Again, in chap. vii. of
-the 1 book of Esdras, it is said, that Esdras "had very great skill,
-so that he omitted nothing of the law and commandments of the Lord, but
-taught all Israel the ordinances and judgments."
-
-     1 Porro Esdram sancti patres docent iostanratorem suisse
-     sacrorum librorum, quod non ita intelligendum est, quasi
-     scripturæ sacræ omnes perierint in eversione civitatis, et
-     templi Nabuchodonosor, et ab Esdra divinitas inspirato
-     reparatæ fuerint, ut fabulatur auctor, L, IV. Esdræ C. XIV.
-     Sed quod Scripturas Mosis, et prophetarum in varia volimina
-     descriptas, et in varia loca dispenreas, et tempore
-     captivitatis non diligenter conservatas, Esdras summa
-     diligentia collectas ordinaverit, et in unum quasi corpus
-     redigerit. Bellarmin de Script. Ecclesiast. page 22.
-
-Can any man, after this, doubt that Esdras is the compiler of all the
-books which the Jews had not known for many centuries? And are we, who
-laugh at the Catholic councils, to trust to the word of a Jewish scribe?
-it is further stated in 2 Chronicles, chap. xxiv. ver. 15, that Hilkiah
-the priest found a book of the law of God _given_ by Moses, and sent it
-by Saphan to king Josias, who heard it read, which shows that it must
-have been very short; and, by the context, it would appear to have
-been the law strictly speaking; another proof that these records were
-altogether scattered, and are all without authority, since it was so
-easy to forge them among a people who seemed to preserve no more than
-a traditional law. Again, although, in the older Jewish books, such as
-Kings and Chronicles, we find the name of Moses often mentioned, yet no
-word answering to the five books of Pentateuch is to be found. The Code
-of laws of Moses seems to have been forgotten; for Solomon ornamented
-the temple with calves, in express contempt of that law, and this while
-he was the favourite of God, and the wisest man in the world. The very
-confusion that pervades the books ascribed to Moses, shows them to
-have been compilations. Jerome, who was one of the most learned of the
-fathers, confesses that he dares not affirm that Moses is the author
-of the Pentateuch; he even adds, that he has no objection to allow that
-Esdras wrote the books in question. 1
-
-     1 Sive Mosen dicere volueris auctorem Pentateuchi, sive
-     Esdram ejuadem iustauratorem operis, non recuso. Hieronim.
-     Op. Tom. IV. p. 134. Apud Edit. Paris 1706,
-
-Secondly. We know that no canon of books ever existed among the Jew's
-till the time of the synagogue under the Maccabees. Before their reign,
-there had never existed among the Jews any such council; and, if the
-word occurs in the Pentateuch, it is a fault of the transcribers and
-composers, who lived when there was a synagogue, and is not to be
-understood in any other acceptation than a collection of priests. The
-Pharisees of the second temple chose the books they thought best among
-a multitude of forgeries. The Talmud relates, that this synagogue
-were about to reject the Book of Proverbs, Ezekiel's prophecies, and
-Ecclesiastes, because they imagined these writings contradictory to the
-law of God; but a certain Rabbin having undertaken to reconcile them,
-they were preserved as canonical. A prodigious number of forged Books
-of Daniel, Esdras, and of the Prophets, were then in circulation; and
-to distinguish the genuine from the false works became absolutely
-necessary. This doubt and uncertainty conspires to render the decision
-of the synagogue very doubtful; particularly, as we shall show in the
-sequel, that many passages of the Prophecies are written evidently about
-the time of this choice of sacred books, and inserted in them, probably
-by some cunning priest, as the oracles of Sybil were forged to suit
-Cæsar.
-
-Thirdly. The similarity of the mysteries of the Jews to those of the
-Babylonians, is too glaring not to let us see the origin of Genesis in
-particular. The creation in six days is a perfect copy of the Gahans,
-or Gahan-bars, of Zoroaster; the particulars of each day's work are
-literally the same. The serpent was famous among the Babylonians. The
-mythological deluge of Ogyges and Xissuthrus, are symbols of changes
-arising on earth, as they imagined, from the revolutions of the heavenly
-bodies. These, a little ornamented by the historical narration of
-Deucalion's inundation related by Berosus, is the pattern of Noah's
-flood; the ark of Osiris and emblematical dove and raven were Egyptian
-hieroglyphics. The man and the woman in Paradise is a mere copy of
-Zoroaster's first pair. The original sin is Pandora's box. The Talmud of
-Jerusalem says expressly that the Jews borrowed the names of the angels,
-and even of their months, from the Babylonians. The Elohim, or Gods,
-(not God), are said in Genesis to have created the world. It was not
-Jehovah, but the genii or gods that are in the Hebrew called makers of
-the world. And these are the very genii, who according to Sanchoniatho,
-were by Mercury excited against Saturn.
-
-Fourthly. We ask, in what language was the Pentateuch written, if it
-really was the work of Moses? It is known that Hebrew is a dialect of
-the Phenician, and that the Jews spoke Egyptian for a very long time
-before they adopted the language of the people among whom they dwelt. In
-Psalm lxxxi. we learn that the Jews were surprised to hear the language
-of the people beyond the Bed Sea. If, therefore, Moses, or any person of
-that age, is the author of the Pentateuch, it is evident that the
-Hebrew books are mere translations. What degree of credit does a nation
-deserve, who have been able to take for originals books that were in the
-face of them translations? Is it right to persecute men, as priests have
-done while they had power, for refusing to give credit to this tissue of
-contradictory and absurd fables?
-
-Fifthly. In the books of the Old Testament, we find abundant proofs that
-they have been written in an age greatly posterior to that of Moses. In
-Genesis, chap. xii. ver. 6, we find these words, "And the Canaanite was
-then in land." This implies another period when the Canaanite was not
-in the land, which, we learn from the Bible, did not happen till after
-David, and could not therefore be written by Moses. The beginning of
-Deuteronomy is certainly not written by him; for he never passed the
-Jordan; he died upon Mount Nebo, to the eastward of it. The English
-translation has in chap. i. v. 5, of this book, said, "on this side
-of the Jordan," for "on that side," which is in the original. The
-translator has taken similar liberties very often. In chap. xxxiii. we
-find this expression, "There never was in Judea so great a prophet
-as Moses," and such could be pointed out in many places. Here needs no
-comment to show that such passages could only be written in a posterior
-age, and when there had been several prophets after Moses. Thomas Paine
-mentions many other passages, which I shall consider when I come to your
-next letter.
-
-The above considerations would be sufficient to invalidate the
-genuineness and authenticity of any historical book: but here we find
-that the credulity of bigots requires less proof for the authority of
-a work, which, according to them, is the fountain of faith, than
-for Ossian's poems, or any other book of no consequence. If a common
-historical work contains fables, impossible events, and anachronisms;
-if its age is not ascertained; if we are certain that it was unknown for
-many centuries; if we are even ignorant whether it is an original or a
-translation, who would give the slightest credit to such a book? Yet are
-enlightened nations led by the testimony of the Jews, a people credulous
-beyond measure, extremely ignorant, almost continually in slavery, and
-dispersed. This is the nation that pretends to give an account of the
-creation, and, with a vanity peculiar to an insignificant people, to
-assume the supremacy among nations, and arrogate to themselves the
-exclusive protection of Jehovah, and dare make their Adam the common
-stock of mankind. You allow, my Lord, that several passages have been
-interpolated in the Pentateuch. No person in the least acquainted with
-the history can deny that it has suffered great alterations; 1 and I
-have already noticed the opinion of the best informed fathers of the
-church upon the non-existence of the Pentateuch, several centuries prior
-to Esdras. I now beg to be informed, how we are to decide, if Hilkiah,
-in the reign of Josias, collected from tradition, or some old book he
-found in a chest, the precepts of the law? and whether the other famous
-scribe, Esdras, did not compile from hearsay, and some imperfect and
-scattered manuscripts of no authority, together with a great many
-Babylonish traditions, those venerable five books of Moses? We are
-informed, in one of the books that bears his name, that Esdras was
-the wisest of his cotemporaries, and therefore a very fit and probable
-person to write books out of old legends.
-
-     1 Multa in Hebraicis et Græcis codicibus vitia esse
-     ostendimus. Malta mendacia in rebus minutis, eorum pars
-     uliqua non exigua nostra editione vulgata extat.---Marian
-     pr. edit. vulg. cap. 21.
-
-If the books of the Old Testament were composed at so late a period, no
-wonder then that we find all the mysterious part of them so much like
-the religion of the ancients, and particularly of the Babylonians, and
-the historical part made up of heterogeneous matters, which in our days,
-unassisted by any profane writer of that age, we can make nothing of. I
-shall mention a few of the most striking points of resemblance between
-the Jewish and other mysteries. Abraham, the most famous of their
-patriarchs, has ever been celebrated in India. This they seem to have
-brought from their native country, Arabia. We have already noticed,
-that their account of the creation is exactly copied from Zoroaster, who
-says, that the world was made in six periods of time, called by him the
-thousands of God and of light, meaning the six summer months; in the
-first, God made the heavens; in the second, the waters; in the third,
-the earth; in the fourth, trees; in the fifth, animals; and in the
-sixth, man. The Etrurians and the Hindoos have very similar traditions
-of the highest antiquity, which, though they were emblems at first
-perfectly understood, astronomers afterwards converted them into
-periods, comprehending as many years as was required for different
-revolutions of the planetary system.
-
-Thus, while the Hindoos and Persians called the days or ages of the
-world, each of many thousands of years; the Jews, ignorant of astronomy,
-and fond of the marvellous, comprised all within six common days. Their
-firmament or heaven of crystal, and its windows, are absurdities not
-peculiar to them; the feast of the Pascha, which signifies passage, is
-of Egyptian origin, and was in reverence for the passage of the sun at
-the vernal equinox: the sacrifices of calves or oxen, the ceremony of
-the scape-goat, are Egyptian and Indian; the latter, in particular, have
-a ceremony altogether the same with that of the scapegoat. It is too
-long to insert here, but I refer my readers to Mr. Halhed's introduction
-to the code of Gentoo laws for information on this head. The distinction
-between pure and impure animals was first made by the Egyptians; the
-ladder seen in Jacob's vision, is exactly a copy of that with seven
-steps in the cave of Milthra, representing the seven spheres of the
-planets, by means of which souls ascended and descended. It is also the
-mythology of the Hindoos, whose antiquity no man at the present day
-can venture to deny. The seven candlesticks, and the twelve stones are
-Egyptian, and were emblems of the seven planets, and twelve signs of
-the Zodiac. The serpent is the most famous Egyptian hieroglyphic; it
-signifies eternity, or the sum of all things. The fasts before feasts
-are also derived from this nation. The Jewish high-priest, like the
-Egyptian, wore an image of sapphire, being the emblematic picture of
-truth, upon, his breast: in short, the Egyptians, their masters, gave
-them the first ideas of mysteries, which, in the course of time, they
-mingled with the Chaldaic; and Manetho informs us, in the extract given
-by Josephus in his first book against Appian, that, in authors of great
-authority, he found the Jews to have been distinguished in Egypt by the
-name of captive pastors, which Josephus artfully enough has attempted
-to convert into captive kings. These are the men whom sacred historians
-pretend to have taught the Egyptians all their arts. These wretches,
-despised of all nations, were themselves the emphatical admirers of the
-wisdom of the East. Their legislator was an Egyptian priest, and learned
-all that he knew from them; and you would persuade us that a set of
-Arabian hordes had founded the Egyptian empire, simply because they,
-like the Irish, are pleased to say that they were antedeluvians. I
-pardon the Jews for their credulity; but Europeans in the 18th century
-ought not to think as the inhabitants of Palestine. If we give credit to
-all the reports of the origin of nations, we may give up all pretensions
-to common sense.
-
-The immortality of the soul is shown, by the learned but superstitious
-Warburton, never to have been mentioned in the Pentateuch; nor the
-notion of hell, or of future rewards and punishments. There is nothing
-more certain, however, than that the Pharisees, long before Christ,
-strenuously maintained the immortality of the soul, and in some measure
-adopted the doctrine of transmigration of souls, which they had got from
-the Greeks and other nations.
-
-The Sadducees, founding themselves upon the Bible, fervently denied
-a future life. The Essenians, according to Philostratus, were
-Pythagoreans, both in their morals, belief, and mode of life, except
-that a few of the Jewish articles of faith, such as the necessity
-of circumcision, were mingled with their creed. Josephus himself
-acknowledges the similarity between the Essenians and the Plisti among
-the Thracians, to whom Zamolxis, the disciple of Pythagoras, taught
-his doctrines: The Therapeutes, the pattern and ori--gin of Christian
-morals, were reckoned amongst the Jews to be the most holy among the
-Essenians. They sacrificed their passions to God; they never swore,
-but made simple affirmations; they lived, as it were, in convents; they
-despised bodily pain: when they entered their state of perfection, they
-abandoned their property, wives, children, and all earthly concerns;
-they lived upon bread and water and salt; and spent the six days of the
-week in interpreting the allegorical sense of the Bible. They revered
-the Sabbath with a most scrupulous exactness; then they assembled in
-places set apart for religion, the men ranged on one side, and the
-women on the other, separated by a division four feet high, to prevent
-temptation. Then they sung praises to God, and preached; they obeyed
-all the laws of their country, but never would execute any order to
-hurt another person. They, like the Pythagoreans, thought themselves
-possessed of the gift of prophecy; they, like the Pythagoreans, believed
-in the great year, whence arose the famous millennium of the Christians.
-The three sects of Jews--Pharisees, Sadducees, and Essenians, lived all
-in perfect harmony; the incredulous Sadducees not being considered as
-heretics, but often attaining the dignity of high-priests. This suffices
-to show, that the Jews borrowed from other nations those very mysteries
-which the ignorance of writers has misled mankind to consider as the
-special revelations of Jesus Christ.
-
-I have insisted so much upon this circumstance, because there is not a
-single article of Christian morals, nor one religious tenet, contained
-in the New Testament, that was not known before Jesus Christ was born.
-And the Christian religion, like that of the Jews, is a corruption of
-the mythologies of the nations they brand with the name of infidels.
-
-I return to your book. It is now needless to answer your logical
-inference, that if Esdras is the compiler of the books of the
-Pentateuch, they may still be true. I have already said, that we are not
-to sacrifice our reason to the compilations or works of a Jewish scribe,
-who borrowed evidently so much, and who pretended to divine inspiration
-and conversations with the angels. When I began to read your book, I
-was impressed with the idea of your candour; sorry am I to see
-the malevolence with which you treat Mr. Paine, and how much you
-misrepresent his just aspersions on the conduct of Moses. Your language
-almost persuades me that you do not differ from the gentlemen of your
-profession. Could Moses affirm, as you pretend he might, that he never
-persecuted any man? What! that monster, who, although married with a
-Midianite, ordered thousands of his credulous followers to be murdered,
-because one of them had slept with a Midianite, whom Josephus states was
-his wife! What! when his brother and coadjutor makes a golden calf to
-the people, this impostor, instead of punishing him, orders 3,000 men to
-be murdered, and appoints Aaron his successor! Because Korah, Da-than,
-and Abiram, could not suffer to see him usurping all the power, he
-murders them, although Korab was the descendant of Levi. This is Moses,
-who says, like Bishop Watson, that he "was a very meek man!" Were these
-continual murders necessary to instruct ignorant idolaters who followed
-the example of their priests? Have not the founders of our faith been
-the most cruel murderers? But all this we are told was the immediate
-orders of the Lord Jehovah, a merciful God. How feeble appears the power
-of this great God! He is continually repenting, and always obliged to
-renew his covenants with a set of wretches, who, although they enjoyed
-his special protection, always forsook him, and only fulfilled his
-commands strictly when they were ordered to massacre. They might have
-been the favourite people of God, but I am sure they were the disgrace
-of men. You talk of idolatrous nations sunk in vice. I know of none so
-barbarous as the Jews, whose legislator was obliged to fly from Egypt
-for murder, a perfect assassin. The laws concerning paternal power,
-which you support, are horrid. Their having been adopted by many
-nations, is a proof of the general prevalence of superstition,
-ignorance, and despotism. I have nothing to answer to your discourses on
-tythes. The Bible is preached up, because it teaches passive obedience,
-donations to the church, and such other acts of _public utility_.
-
-
-
-
-LETTER III.
-
-After what I have observed above, it will be useless to say much as to
-your third letter, in which you examine minutely the passages Thomas
-Paine has pointed out to prove the Pentateuch not genuine. First, As to
-the objection taken from the name of Dan, I never thought it specious.
-This is not the case with the very next one, which is of very great
-weight. The writer, after enumerating a number of Arabian names,
-concludes in these words, "These are the kings that reigned in Edom,
-before there reigned any king over the children of Israel." Contrary
-to my expectations, you acknowledge this to have been written after
-the Jews had kings. Many of your brethren have attempted to deny it by
-quibbles! but you say that this does not invalidate the authority of the
-book: wonderful! if your _alma-mater_ taught you, that an evident lie
-or contradiction in any book, particularly of remote antiquity, and
-relating histories unsupported by impartial authors, does not create
-a suspicion, which approaches to certainty, that the book is not
-authentic; if you think so, I must give up arguing with you. It may be
-an interpolation, you observe. How did you learn this? You will at least
-leave, me the right to suppose, and you cannot deny that the presumption
-is against you, an absurdity in a book is a reason for distrusting
-the rest. I have probability on my side; for the Jew who forged this
-passage, either from piety or ignorance, might have forged the whole
-book, or so interpolated it, as to destroy its credibility. At any rate,
-the detection of falsehood in a history, is not a motive to suppose it
-true. It requires an excess of piety to break through all the rules of
-logic and common sense. How does it happen, that the Lord Jahovah does
-not provide better against such mistakes creeping into the book of
-the law of his favourite people? It could seem as if he had done it
-on purpose to create incredulity, and enjoy the pleasure of punishing
-unbelievers, as of old, he hardened Pharaoh's heart, that he might have
-a pretext to inflict calamities on him and his people.
-
-My Lord, what credit would we give to a history of William the Conqueror
-that had the following sentence, after naming different persons, _And
-these were the names of the Kings of England before George the Third
-came to the throne_; for what purpose could any person insert such a
-passage? He must have been absolutely mad. It could only get into the
-work from its being compiled during the reign of George the Third,
-and arising from a forgetfulness of the writer, or ignorance of the
-transcriber: in no case could it be inserted in a book, which you say
-was kept in the public records, and over whose purity the whole Jewish
-learned men would watch; you must either give up your argument from the
-public records of this people, and no longer deem them great authority;
-or, if you persist in it, I leave you to reconcile the most palpable
-interpolations and forgeries with the scrupulous attention with which
-you suppose the Jews preserved the word of God. But what is most curious
-in this passage is, that we find it verbatim in 2 Chronicles, chap. i.
-ver. 43, and you seem to glory in discovering this similarity of the
-passages. "Why might not," you say at the end of your fourth letter,
-"the author of the book of Chronicles have taken them, (meaning
-the names of the kings of Edom, &c.), as he has taken many other
-genealogies, supposing them to have been written in the book of Genesis
-by Samuel?" Another acknowledgment of more interpolations in Genesis.
-
-But, Sir, who gave you the right, you who exclaim so much against the
-unsupported assertions of Thomas Paine, to suppose that the author of
-Chronicles copied an interpolation from Genesis, knowing, as he must
-have done, that it was interpolated by Samuel?
-
-Would he not rather, to make the book consistent, expunge it? Could he
-be so ignorant as not to see the contradiction? What is more strange,
-how came Samuel to introduce such a passage? The tendency of it could
-only be to weaken the authority of Genesis; but, allowing all your
-groundless suppositions to be true, do you not see that they only prove
-the ignorance of Samuel and of the Jewish history writers, and at once
-destroy the superstructure you have in your following letters raised
-upon the supposed accurate records of the Jews? The supposition of
-Samuel being the author of the interpolation, is like an historian,
-who, to the history of Charles the First, should add some accounts,
-concluding with observing, that all this took place before George
-the Second, or should even venture further, and instruct us in some
-prominent features of the French revolution: yet this is the case with
-the passage in question; for it is unquestionable that the Jews had
-never a king till the time of Saul; that, under Moses and the Judges,
-they held kings in detestation. The fact is very plain. In Chronicles,
-the passage has an obvious and clear sense; for there an account of
-the kings of Israel is given, and the sentence now under consideration
-precedes it. Indeed, the whole chapter xxxvi. of Genesis is almost
-literally the same with chapter first of Chronicles; and every unbiassed
-man will conclude, that the former is copied from the latter. That
-little concluding expression, before _there reigned any king over
-Israel_, certainly marks its date; and there is nothing more probable,
-than that when Esdras and the scribes compiled these books, they should
-insert in Genesis the posterity of Esau, as far as the history of
-Genesis went, and that this unlucky passage should by mistake be copied
-too. I acknowledge, that an interpolation, when we can prove the period
-of its insertion, does not destroy the validity of a book, if the rest
-of the facts are consistent, and supported by collateral proofs; but the
-Bible is an unconnected rhapsody, written by we know not whom, without
-order, arrangement, or a shadow of method. Besides, it is the word of
-God; and what, in a profane writer, would be a slight error, is here a
-most material fault; if our future happiness depends, as you suppose, on
-our believing this book, which certainly can never take place while such
-reasons for scepticism remain. In proportion to the importance of an
-event, so we must be careful in examining the grounds upon which it
-stands, or else we must be like those whimsical men, who will require
-the best evidence for the truth of a trifling report, but find no
-repugnance in crediting the most marvellous events upon trust.
-
-Mr. Paine properly concludes, that Genesis is a book of stories, fables,
-traditions, or invented absurdities, or downright lies; and this I not
-only affirm with him, but will prove to my readers, that it is in no
-respect deserving of more credit than the fabulous and early history of
-all nations. Next follows your rhapsody upon the beauty of the Bible and
-the truth of it. Pardon me if I think it like a madman's reveries. Even
-the men of your profession have long ago given up such a ridiculous
-conceit. Whoever has read eastern literature, or the late translation
-from the Shanscrit, will find that the same style with that of the Bible
-pervades all eastern compositions. In all of them we find the frequent
-use of allegory, and a quaint and formal manner of expression. Divest
-the Bible of its Oriental garb, and put it into common language,
-you will find, except the episode of Joseph, and two or three other
-passages, it is absolutely illegible. I have already shown the
-Pentateuch to have been a very modern work, and the Jews to have
-borrowed every thing from other nations. No wonder then that the _Abram_
-should resemble the _Brama_ of the Hindoos, or that a few names in the
-supposed genealogies of the Jews should be like those of the Assyrians,
-Medes, &c. Genesis gives a description of creation truly beautiful! We
-did not spring from grasshoppers, nor the world from an egg; but the
-wise Moses informs us, that we were made of clay and a little breath.
-This may be sublime to you; but the philosopher is never elated by
-fables so absurd. It is not true that Genesis is the oldest, nor a very
-old book. Sanchoniato, the Hindoo books, those of the Egyptians and
-Chinese, are of much higher antiquity than Moses. In vain has Mr.
-Maurice struggled to dazzle our understandings with his incoherent
-suppositions, to prove that the Hindoos borrowed their religion from the
-Jews, from a set of Arabian hordes, from the slaves of the Egyptians,
-from a petty nation, who, as Julian says, never produced a single work,
-and whose credulity has ever been proverbial. The astronomical records
-of the Chinese prove, that there were men and astronomers in that
-country at the time when the wretched Jews would make us believe
-the world was inundated from the windows of heaven, and no creatures
-existing but Noah, his family, and the beasts in the ark. Further,
-Souciet mentions an eclipse of the sun recorded in the Chinese history,
-which happened 2155 years before Christ, which is but 236 years after
-the Deluge; a time when, the Bible informs us, the earth was only
-inhabited by the sons of Noah, while Egypt was then so peopled, that
-90,000 cities could not contain the inhabitants, and China was not
-less so. The Hindoo astronomical observations, as far as they have been
-examined by the most learned astronomers of the age, such as Baillie,
-Le Gentil, and others, carry their antiquity between four and five
-thousands beyond our æra; for a proof of which, I refer you to Mr.
-Playfair's excellent paper, in the second volume of the Edinburgh
-Philosophical Transactions. The Hindoo religious books contain, besides,
-a great many of the ideas afterwards adopted by the Jews. The long lives
-of antedeluvians, in particular, are the exact copy of the Iogues of
-the Indians. The Dwapaar Iogue, the latter part of which answers to the
-period of Noah, was when men's lives were limited to a thousand years;
-and Methuselah we know did not live so long. They have, too, their
-mythological deluge, or the incarnation of Vishnu into a fish. For
-an account of which I refer my readers to Volney, and to Mr. Maurice
-himself. The former gentleman is a good judge of ancient literature;
-he pretends that he can prove, that most of the chapters of Genesis,
-supposed to contain names of persons, are mythological: the posterity of
-Noah is, according to Volney, no more than a geography of the world
-as known to the Jews. I have not read Mr. Volney's memoir which I
-understand he has published on this subject; but, when I consider the
-late period when Genesis and the other books were composed, and how
-much the Jews borrowed from the Egyptians and Babylonians, how much the
-deluge of Noah and his ark resemble the emblems of Osiris; in short,
-when I reflect on the unintelligibility and apparent absurdity of
-Genesis, on the impossibility of the Deluge, and of the not less
-absurdity of the population of the world so soon after that calamity, I
-confess I am much inclined to despise the whole performance. There have
-been various suppositions upon the meaning of the names mentioned in
-Genesis. Adam has been said to signify, in many parts of Asia, the first
-day of the week; and Enoch, the seventh successor of Adam, to be the
-same with Saturn, or the seventh day. Thus Assur, Elam, Lud, Madai,
-Javan, and Tiras, which are said to be the founders of the Assyrians,
-the Elamites, the Lydians, the Medes, the Ionians, and the Thracians,
-may very probably be nothing else than the enunciation of the names of
-these countries; for, between Assur and Assyria, or Lud and Lydia,
-there is not a very great difference. We know that Egypt is by the Arabs
-called _Masr_, which has the same consonants with the Hebrew _Misraim_,
-whose plural termination implies properly the inhabitants of Egypt.
-In the Bible, _Misraim_ is called the founder of that kingdom. We also
-know, that Syria is called _Barr-el-sham_, or the country to the left.
-The inhabitants of Thebaid are called the sons of Cush. Again, we
-find several names of towns very much resembling those of the supposed
-founders of these monarchies; Sur, or Tyre, is not unlike Assur. These
-are conjectures; I pretend to found nothing upon them; but, at least,
-they are probable. Your Genesis, on the contrary, as it is commonly
-explained, contains palpable lies. It supposes a deluge, which neither
-did nor could take place; it destroys the human race, when we know that
-nations were then in existence. Lastly, it talks of the founders of
-nations, which existed long before that period. But, even had Genesis
-been written at the time of Moses, it might be worth while to
-inquire into the import of his genealogies; but, being a very modern
-compilation, collected by an ignorant people, partly from tradition,
-partly from scattered and mutilated records, it does not deserve the
-serious attention of the philosopher.
-
-You next attempt to justify the conduct of God towards the Canaanites,
-whose great crime was to defend their own country, and to adore their
-own gods instead of the God of the Jews. When a man makes an apology for
-such conduct, we only can answer by an appeal to the feelings of men,
-from which alone we derive notions of humanity. It was natural for the
-adorers of a Phenician Jehovah to be the enemies of the Babylonish Baal:
-both these gods sprang from the wild fancies of men. The jealous God of
-the Jews, the all-wise, omnipotent, and benevolent, could not convert
-the worshippers of another god, without exterminating whole nations,
-even to the little children; but this barbarous mandate came from the
-priests, who have in all countries, and all systems of Religion, adopted
-this method of conversion. You state, that Moses "gave an order that
-the boys and women should be put to death; but, that the young maidens
-should be kept alive for themselves;" and, that you "see nothing in the
-proceeding, but good policy combined with mercy. The young men might
-have become dangerous avengers of what they would esteem their country's
-wrongs; the mothers might have again allured the Israelites to the
-love of licentious pleasures, and the practice of idolatry, and brought
-another plague upon the congregation; but the young maidens, not being
-polluted by the flagitious habits of their mothers, not likely to create
-disturbance by rebellion, were kept alive:" and you add, that "the
-women children were not reserved for the purposes of debauchery, but
-of slavery; a custom (you acknowledge) abhorrent from our manners, but
-every where practised in former times, and still preserved in countries
-where the benignity of the Christian religion has not softened the
-ferocity of human nature." Is extermination an example of the mercy of
-priests and their gods, "whose justice is subservient to mercy," "whose
-punishments originate in his abhorrence to sin,"--and whose commands
-to massacre, to butcher, and to exterminate, "are only benevolent
-warnings?"--You dare Mr. Paine to prove, that the young women were kept
-for debauchery; and you triumphantly add, "that if he does, you will
-allow Moses to be the horrid monster he describes him, and the Bible a
-book of lies, wickedness, and blasphemy." Do you think, that consigning
-to slavery thirty-two thousand maids, is consistent with the benignity
-of God? I do not hesitate to consider this worse than merely making them
-the partners of licentious pleasures. But, in what consisted the wonted
-wisdom of a God, whom you describe as ever solicitous to lessen the
-influence of sin? Let me ask you, if the young women were not as liable
-to incite the passions of the Jews as their mothers, and whether their
-slavery would not increase the opportunities for debauchery? Could it
-be consistent with humanity, much less with the mercy of an all powerful
-God, to put to death all the boys of a nation, merely because they might
-in time revenge the insolent invaders of their country? Were all the
-male children already polluted from their birth? It would have been easy
-for them to convert them to another religion, but to your God it was
-impossible. The bloody invaders of America pursued not another plan,
-even after "the benignity of the Christian religion softened the
-ferocity of human nature." Have these Christian invaders any where
-respected the chastity of women when they made them slaves? And have
-the Jews, God's chosen nation, at any period, either while under his
-protection, or since he abandoned them, shown themselves more virtuously
-inclined than other people; were they ever prevented by the striking
-manifestations of his mercy, his power, and his justice, from going away
-to adore other gods, and falling into all sorts of wickedness? In
-short, if the Bishop rests his defence of Moses and the Bible upon this
-passage, I am willing to appeal to the judgement of all mankind. If any
-person can believe it consistent with the benevolence of omnipotence, to
-sacrifice whole nations to be massacred and plundered by a few hordes of
-bloody Jews; if he can think this to be part of a grand scheme for
-the good of mankind, he must give up all pretensions to reason, common
-sense, and humanity. But it is time the world should see, that this holy
-book the Bible, "which, in weight of authority, and extent of utility,
-exceeds all the libraries of the philosophers," contains pretences for
-all bad actions, and stifles the laws of humanity and morality. Upon
-this book have inquisitors, crusaders, and religious men, founded
-pretences for the most diabolical persecutions, avowedly undertaken for
-the express purpose of unrooting infidelity, and for the glory of the
-Lord. Every man who reads the word of God is warranted to reason thus:
-God has ordered murder and robbery; he has instigated his favourite
-people to exterminate whole nations; therefore I can do no better than
-to imitate the Almighty; and every crusader may pretend to have the same
-authority from God as Moses; and miracles are never wanting to prove it.
-Because Abraham was a pimp, and his wife a prostitute, so may any person
-be, without losing the patronage of the God of Abraham. Every man, in
-short, may imitate the meek Moses, the humane David, without fearing
-to incur the displeasure of the Almighty. Thus Ravaillac thought he was
-doing as holy a deed, when he attempted the life of Henry; as Dominic,
-or Torquemada, when butchering the wretched heretics, who had the
-misfortune to fall a prey to their bloody zeal. The whole Old Testament
-is so filled with barbarous stories, that if they did not excite
-laughter by their improbability, they would freeze the blood in, the
-veins of any man endowed with humanity. What an irksome task have those
-undertaken, who have attempted to reconcile the horrible crimes of the
-Jews with the mercy and wisdom of the Creator? Has ferocity forsaken
-Christians as you insinuate? Have the modern religious fanatics yielded
-in cruelty to the Jews? Those two religions have successively inundated
-the earth with the blood of innocent victims. Have not the followers of
-Christ constantly preached passive obedience to the church, have they
-not frequently relieved the people of their oaths, and have they not
-fomented most of the civil wars that laid waste all Europe? It is well
-that priests have not been able to persuade mankind of late, that the
-minister was the oracle of God. The pride and foolishness of science has
-put this out of their power; they cannot lead nations as they did the
-Jews; we are not so easily persuaded of the immediate manifestations of
-God's commands to the priest. We know science too well to believe that
-the pillar of fire that went before the Israelites was God himself. We
-might have shown the people, that a pan with red-hot substances would
-have the appearance of a fire by night, and a cloud of smoke by day, a
-custom practised, from time immemorial, by the caravans. Although, my
-Lord, the wisdom of God may be foolishness to man, I acknowledge I am
-neither fond of crediting absurdities, nor have I so much faith as to
-take the work of priests for supernatural mandates of Providence; when
-they speak in their usual senseless and unintelligible language, I
-conclude that it is either to dazzle the ignorant multitude, or I look
-upon their dreams as the consequence of dire superstition, the first
-effect of which is to make us unacquainted with ourselves, under the
-imposing aspect of familiarising us with imaginary beings. At the
-conclusion of my remarks upon the Old Testament, I shall give a few
-extracts from those books, wherein my readers may see the character of
-the Jews and their God in glaring colours, and judge whether any honest
-man would not tremble at the thoughts of having done as much injustice,
-and committed such atrocities as this Jehovah.
-
-
-
-
-LETTER IV.
-
-You enter again upon your favourite topic, genuineness and authenticity.
-I shall not repeat what I have already said. I confess my great surprise
-at your laying such stress upon the most trifling and false of your
-arguments. You now strive to prove, that a book may contain a true
-history, although it should be anonymous. Pray, my Lord, do you think,
-that to prove a book spurious, when it is believed to be genuine, is a
-demonstration of the truth of the contents? You thus leave us uncertain
-whether Joshua be a genuine book. You have sadly confused yourself in
-the maze you have created. To put it beyond a doubt that the sun stood
-still, you appeal to the book of Jasher, which Joshua mentions in the
-following words, "Is not this written in the book of Jasher?" And in
-like manner, you refer to other books frequently quoted as authorities
-in the Bible. Does your zeal blind you so far as not to let you
-perceive, that this very argument may with redoubled strength be
-retorted against you? for if an author, who is said to write his own
-history, appeals to another book for a proof of his actions, that
-book must be of much greater authority than his own: we cannot avoid
-believing the writer of the work alluded to had better information. In
-short, the book appealed to contains the only authentic testimony. Now,
-permit me to ask you, who could be better authority than Joshua himself,
-writing at a time when we must suppose many of his soldiers who had
-witnessed the miracle were alive? What is this anterior book which
-Joshua respects so much? Was it written by himself, then it would
-be idle to quote it; and, at any rate, whoever had written it, it is
-evident that the author of the book of Joshua has no proofs of his
-own, but rests solely upon the book of the Holy, or of Jasher. This
-circumstance proves clearly, that the writer of the Book of Joshua
-composed his book out of some more ancient memoirs, which being lost, we
-can say no more of their authority than for that of any old tales. You
-talk of the public records of the Jews as confidently as a Member of
-Parliament speaks of the papers in the Tower. Do you know at what period
-the Jews began to keep written records, and do you also know, whether
-those that were kept existed when the books of the Old Testament were
-compiled? Had you been instructed in these particulars, and had you
-been not altogether divested of candour, you might have informed your
-readers, that, previous to the time of kings, we have not a shadow of
-proof of the existence of any historical records among the Jews. We, no
-doubt, read, that there was a book of the law of Moses, in which Joshua
-wrote something too respecting the renewal of a covenant. This seems to
-be the only written record among the Jews, and it contained nothing
-but religious precepts, or the law, strictly speaking. In Joshua, chap.
-viii. ver. 31, we read, "As Moses the servant of the Lord commanded the
-children of Israel, as it is written in the book of the law of Moses
-and ver. 32, He wrote there upon the stones a copy of the law of Moses,
-which he wrote in the presence of the children of Israel and ver. 35,
-He read all the words of the law, the blessings, and curses, according
-to all that is written in the book of the law of the Lord, and there was
-not a word of all that Moses commanded which Joshua read not before the
-congregation of Israel." We know, likewise, that this law was written
-in the circumference of an altar composed of twelve stones. This is the
-only book either Moses or Joshua were ever said to have written; the
-writers of the Pentateuch, and of the other books, certainly never meant
-to inscribe them to Moses, Joshua, &c.; they bore the names of books of
-Moses, of Joshua, Judges, &c. because they treated of these personages.
-What then do you infer from the quotation of books by the Bible authors,
-except that they all wrote in very modern times, when they wanted the
-corroboration of more ancient books, whose date and authority we are
-equally strangers to? This book of the law, which you so triumphantly
-mention as a book written and existing a few years after Moses, turns
-out to be nothing more than what is contained in Exodus, chap. xx. to
-chap. xxiv. to which Joshua added some detail about the third covenant
-of God.
-
-I beg the reader will observe, that the writer of the Book of Joshua
-does not mention the second, third, or any other book of Moses, but
-simply notices the book of the law of God. Now this great book
-was written upon twelve stones, and in Exodus we find the precise
-commandment of Moses to build the altar, and to read the commandments at
-the feast of tabernacles; so that it contained not one line of history,
-and could have no authority. It was a law written upon stones, which
-Moses, in Exod. chap. xxiv. v. 7, is said to have read to the people:
-"And he took the book of the covenant, and read it in the audience of
-the people." This covenant, and particularly the repetition of it after
-the disobedience of the Jews, is the only part of the Scriptures that
-Moses ordered to be preserved with a religious care. Nothing of the most
-important parts of Genesis or the other five books is ever mentioned in
-the commandments of the law of God: the writer of the law certainly knew
-not that the Pentateuch existed. Had Moses written such a work, would he
-have failed to recommend to the Levites to keep the precious records of
-mankind, the sublime account of the creation? Did not the whole of the
-faith of the Jews depend on their being acquainted with the history of
-their forefathers, who were under the immediate protection of God? The
-ten commandments every person knows from the light of nature; no nation
-has ever mistaken them; but the origin of mankind is a subject of great
-darkness, and which the Jews ought to have preserved most carefully.
-Certain, however, it is, that excepting a few rites, the Jews lost not
-only their books, but even the recollection of their feasts, during
-their captivity. The other books referred to in the Bible prove, that
-those left are mere collections of borrowed stories, and pretended
-abridgements of books of greater authority, which are unfortunately
-lost, and leave a wide field for scepticism, particularly upon
-improbable or contradictory accounts. As to the belief that the books of
-the Old Testament are inspired, it is a tale, which, after what we have
-stated, even a child would laugh at.
-
-You next seriously endeavour to corroborate the ridiculous miracle of
-the sun and moon standing still. You are as unsuccessful in historical
-as in scientifical arguments. The story in question is so stupid, that
-the bare mention of it marks a man's credulity, so as to render him the
-object of compassion. That an ignorant fanatic should attempt to defend
-such absurdities, would be a matter of no surprise; but to witness a
-Regius Professor of Divinity, a natural philosopher, bring forward facts
-from profane history to prove the truth of so bare-faced a lie, denotes
-at least your want of prudence. I cannot persuade myself that you
-seriously believed what you wrote; I cannot think you capable of falling
-at once into the most gross astronomical and historical error. I shall
-state the matter briefly. There was a tradition in all antiquity, and
-particularly among the Egyptians, relating to that motion of the
-earth's axis which has been observed by astronomers, and whose complete
-revolution round the four cardinal points takes up no less than
-9,160,000 years. In the course of this revolution, it necessarily
-happens, that the sun will rise where it sets, that north will be south,
-and so on. The Egyptian priests pretended that this revolution had
-taken place in their country without changing the climate, while the
-Babylonians maintained, in the time of Alexander, that 140,000 years had
-elapsed since their first astronomical observations. This, no doubt, was
-the time that must have elapsed since the earth moved north and south.
-The Egyptian priests, long before Herodotus, had lost their knowledge
-of astronomy, which accounts for their mistake. It is evident, that the
-displacement of the earth's axis must be accompanied by the heaviest
-gravitating matter, and, therefore, what is now land, has been and will,
-in the course of ages, become sea. Now, my Lord, what has the Egyptian
-tradition to do with the sun stopped by the robber Joshua? What
-connection has the stoppage of the sun, or rather the earth's motion,
-with the sun rising where it sets? Were the thing possible, the sun
-would nevertheless rise in the east. Besides, does Joshua say the sun
-changed its course? Had this been the case, (I am ashamed even of the
-supposition), how could the earth change its axis in an hour, without
-shattering the whole globe, without inundating vast tracts of country,
-and tearing others asunder to reestablish the equilibrium of gravity?
-Study and consider; do not attempt to ridicule the little learning of
-Thomas Paine, when you fall into such absurdities. Read Chinese history,
-and you will find that their careful astronomers did not perceive the
-long day and night. It was probably the sun of Judea only that altered
-its course; they did not seem to be enlightened by the same luminary.
-Those who believed that heaven was made of crystal, could find no
-difficulty in crediting this silly story. I have insisted so much upon
-this, because you ought to know the common principles of astronomy, and
-somewhat of history. Here again you appeal to the book of Jasher:
-it deserves no more consideration. To deem an appeal to a lost book
-evidence of a prodigy, because the author affirms it, is a degree of
-credulity which may gain the kingdom of heaven; but, in the republic of
-letters, such believer will pass for a very contemptible reasoner.
-
-These are the miracles, and the histories, better attested than the
-History of the Twelve Knights Of Charles the Great, and such other
-foolish tales. Surely, none can believe that 19,000 men fought against
-the Midianites, and murdered a prodigious number, without having lost a
-man, and disbelieve the famous battles of the knights, in many of which
-six men fought several thousands; the conversation of the devil with
-Cromwell, or the miraculous appearance of God to almost all the knights
-and warriors among the Catholics. The sacred phial of Rheims, and the
-chapel of Loretto, were both conveyed in a manner you know well, and
-which few men in the two countries dare controvert. They too appeal to
-their books of Jasher. The tale of making the sun stand still has not
-even the merit of novelty; this luminary had long before stopt his
-career, out of respect to Bacchus. Neither is the shower of hail-stones
-new, for Jupiter of old sent a shower of hail upon the rebellious sons
-of Neptune.
-
-As to Joshua having written the book that goes under his name, we
-have, besides what has been stated, the strongest evidence against the
-genuineness of this performance. The death of Joshua is recorded in
-chap. xxiv. and it is related exactly in the same style as what precedes
-it. The writer even mentions several events posterior to the death of
-the son of Nun. You have passed over the arguments of Thomas Paine drawn
-from this passage, "The Jebusites dwelt with the children of Judah at
-Jerusalem unto this day." It was natural for you to overlook a passage,
-which demonstrates that the book of Joshua was not written until after
-David, when, and not before, the conquest of the Jebusites took place.
-It is beyond a doubt, that they never dwelt with the Jews in the time of
-Joshua, since, in the first part of the above quoted passage, he says,
-"As for the Jebusites, the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the children of
-Judah could not drive them out." How then did the Jews inhabit Jerusalem
-in the days of Joshua? I refer the reader to the Age of Reason, and to
-an answer to it by Mr. David Wilson, for further information, on this
-head. In the latter, he will be amazed at the weak subterfuges used by
-the author to evade the strength of the objection by Mr. Paine. But this
-is not the only event related in Joshua, which did not take place till
-some time after his death. Almost the whole of chap. xvii. contains
-facts of this nature. Where the portion of Manasseh is described, it is
-said, in ver. 12, "Yet the children of Manasseh could not drive out the
-inhabitants of those cities, but the inhabitants would dwell in that
-land." It is added, "And it came to pass, when the children of Israel
-waxed strong, that they put the Canaanites to tribute; but did not
-utterly drive them out." Now this certainly did not take place during
-the life of Joshua, for in the very same chapter, he promises those of
-the tribe of Manasseh success against the Canaanites. In the preceding
-chapter, v. 10, there is a passage of the same kind, "And they (the
-Ephraimites) drove not out the Canaanites that dwelt in Gezer; but the
-Canaanites dwelt among the Ephraimites unto this day, and some under
-tribute." This needs no comment: let any person ask himself when this
-came to pass, and they will at once find out the credit due to books
-containing such shameful anachronisms and falsehoods. In chapter first
-of Judges, purporting to contain the history of the Jews after Joshua,
-the reader will find a faithful copy of the passages quoted, not
-excepting the taking of Jerusalem. Let himc ompare ver. 8, 27, 28, 29,
-and following, with the detail of distribution of lots to the tribes,
-in chap. xvi. and xvii. of Joshua the same events are told in the very
-words, and apply to two different periods. This is a strong instance of
-the disorder that pervades the whole of these books, and how undeserving
-of credit, even in the most probable events, is what you call sacred
-writ. We are constantly reading over accounts of the same events,
-sometimes said to be written by dead men, and never marking time; for
-_it came to pass_, which is the Bible phrase, does not fix the period
-when the event took place. These books bear all the marks of being the
-productions of some persons at a very late period, and to have suffered
-great interpolations. Joshua is, in the face of it, a continuation of
-Deuteronomy, Judges of Joshua, and so on through the remainder.
-
-You pass on to Judges. It requires neither great knowledge nor ingenuity
-to discover, that this book is an unconnected farrago put together by
-some unknown person. You do not attempt to say any thing in its favour.
-Sad falling off from the paths of faith! Formerly it would have been
-a heresy to assert that Judges was a book of no authority: now, even a
-Bishop has nothing to say in its defence. You then proceed to Ruth,
-and endeavour to blot out the apparent infamy of her conduct, with what
-success, I leave the reader to judge, after he has perused her
-history. Next follow your subtle distinctions between the inspired and
-non-inspired part of the Bible, which may be very intelligible to an
-inspired Bishop, but cannot fail to appear a mere dream to a man in his
-senses. Notwithstanding Austin and your other brethren, this distinction
-rests upon nothing but fancy. Your request is very moderate. "Receive
-the Bible," you say, "as composed by upright and well-informed, though
-in some points, fallible men, (for I exclude all fallibility _when they
-profess to deliver_ the word of God), and you must receive it as a book
-revealed to you in many parts by the express will of God, and, in other
-parts, relating to you the ordinary history of the times." Bravo!
-A Catholic is as reasonable in his demands. He only asks a little
-credulity to believe the inspired when _they profess to be so_. It is
-truly a childish request, begging the question at every word. To believe
-the Bible to be inspired is the grand point. The reasoning you employ is
-in perfect consonance with the absurdity of your wishes. You disbelieve
-a history if you find it inconsistent, but revere it, and swear by the
-author, if he wrote by inspiration. Swedenburgh could not wish more
-faith in his adherents. You say _receive it_, as the inquisitors said
-_imprimatur_; but philosophers weigh the ground of their belief; they
-detect the Bible writers, prophets, and inspired men, in palpable
-contradictions in history; and you will obstinately insist on our
-believing the most improbable of all their stories, because their
-absurdity persuades the faithful that they were revealed by their God in
-dreams.----You have acknowledged yourself, in a subsequent letter, that
-the history and mystery of the Bible are so interwoven, that if one
-falls the other cannot be maintained. Why did God mingle his important
-and sublime precepts with such ridiculous trash, so as to induce mankind
-to disbelieve them both? Suppose I should meet a peasant coming from a
-fair, pretending he had seen the king with his guards, and if I should
-find this to be untrue, would I not deserve to be laughed at, if I
-credited that he had wrestled with a spirit, or that he was carried up
-to heaven? This, however, is the case with the Bible. Here we are told
-that the sun stood Still to protract the bloodshed of that villain
-Joshua, while, in another place, we read that a city was taken 370 years
-before that event. Your vaunted prophets were soothsayers, psalmists,
-and orators, who were generally employed in writing the public records.
-It is a word applied in the Bible to holy men. These prophets, like the
-augurs of the heathen, were often detected in falsehoods, and, in the
-time of Samuel, it would appear, by the Bible itself, that to raise
-ghosts was a trade as common as that of tailors in our days.
-
-You now come to Samuel. You are candid enough to acknowledge with
-Hartley, that he could not have been the author of the second book,
-nor of most of the first that go under his name, yet this has been the
-opinion of the church; and I know of no direct proofs that he wrote the
-remainder: by what logic do you or Hartley conclude, that Samuel wrote
-any part of the books ascribed to him? An author is proved not to have
-written most part of a work ascribed to him, who then would, without
-direct proofs, proclaim him the writer of some small passage, or any
-particular part of the work? Who but a clergyman would build a system
-upon a mutilated, spurious, and insignificant collection of absurdities
-and wonders? It is, I allow, probable that Samuel wrote something: your
-quotations prove no more; but what this was, we are, I presume, equally
-unacquainted with. That the scribes also composed some records of the
-lives of their kings, I will not deny. The question is, what degree of
-credit does the mutilated, contradictory, and fabulous collection, said
-to be made out of these records, deserve?
-
-In the time of Charles the Great, some persons probably recorded his
-actions. Is this a reason for any man to believe the fabulous legends we
-have of him, written in the dark centuries? The legends of the Egyptian
-and Greek gods, and their collection of oracles, were not only credited
-by whole nations, but proclaimed true by councils much wiser than the
-synagogue. The records of the saints were undoubtedly made few years
-after their death, in ages far more enlightened, after the invention of
-the press, written by the then most learned men of society, (the monks),
-who certainly were not inferior to the Jewish scribes, yet these legends
-contain often nothing but collections of absurdities and miracles. Read
-the _Flores Sanctorum_ of the Romish church, and you there will find
-miracles in every page, and the lives of saints a tissue of prodigies. I
-need not add, that very few learned men among the Papists give credit to
-the absurdities contained in these books. It is even the opinion of the
-best informed men, that the monks have written lives of saints who never
-existed.
-
-You acknowledge the wickedness of the kings of Israel and Judah; but
-you take care to observe, that this was not owing to their religion.
-Impertinent assertion! Was not Saul dethroned because he was humane
-enough not to cut Agag in pieces? Did not the Lord Jehovah love the man
-after his own heart, who put the miserable inhabitants of Rabah
-under saws, axes, and arrows of iron; who made them pass through the
-brick-kiln? Did not this Jehovah approve the base murder of Adonias? Was
-it the same Jehovah who said to Jonah, that he was not so unjust as to
-sacrifice the whole city of Nineveh for their sins, because there were
-thousands in it who did not know between good and evil; and who yet, the
-Jews tell us, commanded the extermination of whole nations, without
-even sparing the little children? Did not the plagues which he sent to
-Pharaoh and David fall upon thousands of innocent individuals? At least,
-do not the Jewish books affirm it? Such horrors could only be respected
-by the Jews; such absurd miracles could only be credited by the most
-ignorant of men. You pretend, that the partiality of God to the Jews
-proceeded from their being the only nation that believed in the unity of
-God, and who have preserved their belief on this head unshaken till
-the present day. Are you in earnest, can you assert this before men of
-common information? Do you take Englishmen for idiots to be deceived by
-your assertions? Are you ignorant of the adoration of the Ethiopians? Do
-you forget that the wise men among the heathens said, _Colitur forma
-pro Jove?_ Did you never peruse any account, of the Chinese, or of the
-Hindoos? Do they not admit one supreme agent, an all-wise, intelligent,
-&c. being, and whose inferior agents they represent by symbols? The
-Hindoos have even all the metaphysical refinement of our divines; and
-their definition of God is fully as perspicuous as that given in our
-Catechism. I have avoided to give long extracts in this pamphlet; but,
-that the authority of an English Bishop may not be a presumption to many
-that I am making false assertions, I shall transcribe a passage from
-a commentary upon the Reig Beid, a book unquestionably of the remotest
-antiquity.
-
-"Glory be to Goneish! that which is exempt from all desires of the
-senses, the same is the mighty Lord. He is simple, and than him there
-is nothing greater. Brehm, (the spirit of God), is absorbed in
-self-contemplation; the same is the mighty Lord who is present in every
-part of space. Brehm is one, and to him there is no second; such is
-truly Brehm. His omniscience is self-inspired, and its comprehension
-includes all possible species," &c. It is true, we are not here told
-that God is a jealous God, that he visiteth the iniquities of the father
-even unto the fourth generation. I could adduce fifty passages from the
-Greeks and others to prove my position, but it is needless. The point
-is still to know whether these notions make men better, whether they are
-founded on truth, and, indeed, whether all gods are not the work of the
-fancy of man, nature allegorised. _Primus in orbe Deos fecit timor_,
-says the philosopher; can you disprove it? I suspect not, and that all
-the subtle reasoning of divines destroy themselves. The world is the
-ultimate of human reason. We adore the idols either of our hands or
-of the brain, and mistake them for existences. The region of chimeras
-exists beyond the universe; our prattling upon it is but a play of
-words. Jehovah himself, when he said, I am that I am, called himself
-pretty plainly Pan, or the great whole.
-
-But if the unity of God be the only gracious belief in the eyes of
-the Creator, I do not see that Christians are entitled to his favour,
-because they make him three. What was the belief of the Jews? Had
-they any very refined ideas of their God? They thought him corporeal,
-incessantly speaking and moving among men, jealous, revengeful,
-powerful, whose angels ate with Abraham, who himself strove to kill
-Moses in a public house; they imagined him repenting of his deeds; and,
-in all respects, a poor contemptible being, the offspring of Jewish
-fancy. He is throughout the Bible an Asiatic Sultan, who, like the
-merciful God of Mahomet, puts to the sword, and smites with plagues
-thousands, as a tribute to his infinite mercy. I refer the reader to
-the collection of extracts from the Bible, in a subsequent letter, for
-proofs of my assertions. The Jews admitted, besides other gods, such as
-Chemosh, several beings subordinate to God, but superior to man, as
-the serpent which tempted the mother of mankind. They had exterminating
-angels and cherubims, the Elohim or Genii that made the world, &c.
-But why dwell upon such topics, when it is evident that all the Jewish
-mythology is of Chaldean origin, and our theology a copy of that of
-Plato?
-
-You proceed in your attempt to reconcile the justice of God with his
-goodness, and, in the height of your reverie, you imagine that the
-sufferings of the Jews were parts of a grand scheme for the general
-good of mankind. What, and when are we to see the good effects of their
-barbarities? We may see reason counteracting the evil of superstition,
-rendering men humane; but I apprehend, that, if your reasoning was
-generally adopted, every highwayman would be much inclined to think
-himself sent by Providence for good and wise purposes, and if chance
-should bring about a happy event at the end of his career, which he
-thought the consequence of his deeds, he would triumph in his crimes,
-and, like Moor in the Robbers, exclaim, "If for ten I have destroyed,
-you make but one man blest, my soul may yet be saved!" This has been the
-language of persecutors. They destroy mankind to make them happy in the
-next world--tortures, burning, and beheading, are but purifications. The
-worst is, that the famous divine scheme of general good, has never been
-one jot more advanced than when the Jews were enduring the greatest
-calamities, and committing atrocities. I count not the effects of
-reason, for faith is alone the godly faculty; reason destroys it. I
-close my observations upon this subject with repeating the old question
-of Epicurus, which your brethren have as yet left unanswered; either
-God can prevent evil and does not choose it, or he chooses it and wants
-power to avert calamities from his creatures. In the first instance, he
-is a malevolent despot, a character we ought to abhor; in the second,
-we see him an impotent and secondary being, which raises our contempt.
-Reconcile this with his infinite power, wisdom, and goodness, and show
-us that he is not formed after the image of man, or else let unbelievers
-hold their opinions in peace.
-
-
-
-
-LETTER V.
-
-Your fifth letter begins with stating the importance of the concession
-of Thomas Paine, that the books of Ezra and Nehemiah are genuine. You
-triumph, and think it a silent acknowledgment of the reality of the
-prophecies mentioned in those books. Stop, my Lord, your _alma-mater_
-surely has not taught you to draw such conclusions. In a genuine book
-there may be contained incredible events, as in Tacitus, Suetonius,
-and almost all existent histories. It is your duty to prove that the
-prophecies there related are not among those popular stories which
-are apt to gain general credit, whether they are or are not forgeries
-written after the events. Before we know when Jeremiah wrote, and what
-is the meaning of the writings under his name, no man is warranted to
-triumph at the testimony of the Jews after the captivity; since it is
-a point, in which all parties agree; that their canon and books were
-compiled at that period, and nobody ever questioned the credulity of
-the Jews. You proceed to state your notions of the history of the Old
-Testament; it is all a matter of opinion; and, as you do not support it
-by any proofs, we must still continue to regard the contradictions and
-impostures contained in the Old Testament as proofs of its having
-been the work of ignorant fanatics. I pass over your effusions: that
-metaphysical disquisitions teach us the limits of our faculties, I
-strenuously maintain; and if you mean nothing else, we are agreed. That
-our notions of time and place are not the bugbears which the scholastics
-would persuade us, is to me unquestionable; that both in science and
-religion we affix no ideas to many words, I grant; that certainty in
-philosophical disquisitions is not easily found, I also allow; but, that
-a man tired with the arduous task of reasoning, of discerning between
-truth and falsehood, should seek in polemics or superstition a
-consolation for his ignorance, I consider as a proof of the impaired
-state of his faculties; he is like the thirsty traveller, who, burnt
-by the scorching sun, seeks to relieve his distress by drinking of the
-first water he meets, without regarding its purity. Your acknowledgment
-that it is possible even for a Bishop to err in matters of religion,
-gives me real pleasure. To consider our creed as a matter that admits of
-doubt, is a great step in the road of truth. You say, "May God forgive
-him that is in an error." Your wish is humane; but, if God be the
-Creator of mankind, he cannot be offended at the conclusions we may
-draw, after having employed the faculties he has given us. I wish too
-that mankind should forgive them that are in an error; but, I hope,
-they will recollect the long sway of superstition, and its danger to
-mankind; may they decide in favour of that system which is conformable
-to reason, and has the greatest tendency to improve society!
-
-You next proceed to show the propriety of the angel ordering Moses to
-pull off his shoes, which you say is a mark of reverence to God. Is it
-then by such ridiculous customs that you reconcile your omnipotent
-and all-wise God? Too long have men substituted rites for morality. O
-superstition! that makes the Asiatics eat the excrements of the lama,
-the Papists devour their God; that persuades all Christians that water
-washeth away sin; and, that if a child happens to die before his face is
-sprinkled, he must inevitably suffer everlasting torments: led by
-this, men despise society, and tremble at ceremonies invented by their
-priests.
-
-I shall not go at great length into the particular contradictions which
-are found in the enumeration of the families that returned from Babylon.
-There certainly are great mistakes in the sums; and where precision was
-to be expected more than in any thing preserved in the record of the
-people of God, we find them committing the most gross errors, even when
-they attempt to be peculiarly exact. It is curious, that the individual
-sums are altogether different in the different accounts, and, therefore,
-that there must have been a much greater number of errors than you would
-persuade your readers.
-
-You come to the book of Job; and confine your remarks to disprove the
-objection of Mr. Paine, drawn from the name Satan, which, he says, is
-there for the first and only time mentioned in the Bible. Your answer,
-that it is repeatedly to be found elsewhere in the Old Testament, is
-just but it certainly does not prove Job to be a Jewish book. We know
-that _Sathan_, as well as the names of all the angels, are Chaldean; and
-as I have already shown, that the Scriptures are compilations written
-after the captivity, it is not wonderful that this name, together with
-many others, should be found in the Hebrew Bible. As you say nothing in
-favour of the book of Job, I shall only observe, that it is not only the
-opinion of Abenezra, but even of Jerome, the author of the Vulgate, that
-it is not a Hebrew book, the idiom being in many instances altogether
-different from the style of that language, and very frequently bearing
-marks of its Arabic and Syriac origin, as the reader may see in his
-preface to Job in the Vulgate edition of the Bible. The resemblance
-between Job's Satan and Momus is so striking, that we cannot help
-recognising the author to have been a Gentile; and thus are the Jews
-deprived of a book, which, at least, contains no murders, and shows
-more knowledge than that nation ever possessed. Your remark as to
-the generality of the belief of a benevolent and a malevolent being,
-certainly does not prove that the Gentiles borrowed this notion from the
-Jews; you ought to have known history better, and that the wars of
-the Gods and angels formed part of the creed of many nations, not only
-before a book of the Bible existed, but even before the birth of Moses.
-Dionysius and Osiris had already fought against the evil genii: the
-famous Vishnu has been from the highest antiquity the enemy of Chiven.
-That the numerous mythological systems which have ever existed, sprang
-from the report of the fathers of the Jewish nation, may appear probable
-to a clergyman; it is but a pious whim; to me it is a proof, that all
-religious systems have sprung from the fancy of men. The philosophers
-among the heathens understood by the evil and bad genii nothing more
-than the influence of the good or bad seasons, which, personified
-by ignorant or cunning priests, have by the vulgar been deemed real
-personages. Besides, where do you find in the Pentateuch any accounts of
-the Devil? I only see the serpent, an emblem I have already said, copied
-from the Egyptians, but by the Jews considered a real snake, which
-talked and walked upright. It was but a poor imitation of the Ahrimanes
-of Zoroaster.
-
-Concerning the utility of prayers, and the tendency of those of the
-Jews, I shall say nothing. It is a certain fact, that Solomon, the
-wisest of men, and who made excellent prayers, killed his brother; while
-many of those heathen tribes, abhorred by the Jews, had no other crime
-than to adore images; and, if superstition among them sometimes produced
-the abominable practice of human sacrifices, they never carried their
-piety so far as to exterminate whole nations. Besides, the Jews had
-not even a pretence to despise their neighbours for offering human
-sacrifices. The case of Jephtha shows plainly that this barbarity was
-common among God's people. I am utterly surprised at your misplaced
-exclamations upon the morality of the heathens. Far be it from me to
-stand forward as the patron of heathenish superstition; it is the mother
-of ours, and I abhor the common stock; but, my Lord, you ought not
-to confound the rites of the Greeks with their morals. The Athenians
-possessed virtues which we in vain look for among the despicable Jews.
-They possessed knowledge, and their philosophers had more sense than
-to believe the tales of the priests. Epicurus taught peaceably, and was
-revered by all, while the vulgar of his country firmly believed their
-mythology. Such an instance never happened among the Jews. Jehovah would
-quickly have sent a plague among Epicurus and his followers, or ordered
-his priests "to kill every one his neighbour and his friend, and hang
-them up before the sun." Your holy brethren would think nothing of a
-burning match on the occasion; if it were in your power, atheists would
-not exist long. But you talk so confidently of the adoration of
-images among the Gentiles, that we would imagine the Jews were all
-philosophers. Do you forget their reverence to the holy of holies, which
-none could approach; the ark of the covenant, and the calves? Or has the
-story of the five golden mice, for looking at which fifty thousand and
-three score and ten Israelites were smote by the Lord, escaped you?
-
-Your rhapsody upon the sublimity of Bible composition, and its
-superiority to all profane writers, is a proof of the strength of early
-imbibed prejudice. I lament to see a man of your learning think so much
-like an old woman. The proverbs, to be sure, are wonderful compositions,
-and prove the great gift of wisdom bestowed by God upon Solomon! What
-indeed can be more sublime than the following, which I beg leave to
-add to the specimens given by your Lordship! "The horse leech hath two
-daughters, crying, Give, give. There are three things that are never
-satisfied, yea four things say not it is enough; the grave, and the
-barren womb, the earth that is not filled with water, and the fire that
-saith not it is enough."--"There be three things which are too wonderful
-for me, yea four which I know not; the way of an eagle in the air, the
-way of a serpent upon the rock, the way of a ship in the midst of the
-sea, and the way of a man with a maid."--"There be three things which
-go well, a greyhound, an he-goat also, and a king."--"It is the glory
-of God to conceal a thing, but the honour of kings is to search out a
-matter."--"When thou sittest to eat with a ruler, consider diligently
-what is before thee, and put a knife to thy throat if thou be a man
-given to appetite."--"Buy the truth, and sell it not."--"A whore is a
-deep ditch, and a strange woman is a narrow pit."--Excellent Solomon!
-Hear also this wise king in Song of Songs. "How beautiful are thy feet
-with shoes, O prince's daughter! The joints of thy thighs are like
-jewels, the work of the hands of a cunning workman; thy-navel is like a
-round goblet which wanteth not liquor; thy belly is like a heap of wheat
-set about with lilies; thy two breasts are like two young roes that are
-twins; thy neck is as a tower of ivory; thine eyes like the fish pools
-in Heshbon, by the gate of Bath-rabbim; thy nose is as the tower of
-Lebanon, which looketh towards Damascus." Whether this alludes to one
-of Solomon's concubines, or our mother, the church of Jesus Christ,
-the expressions are equally applicable, beautiful, and simple; they are
-worthy of a man "wiser than Ethan the Ezrehite, and Heman, and Chalcol,
-and Darda, the sons of Mehol," who, I dare say, were wise men. Upon the
-whole, I agree with you, that Solomon, the illustrious offspring of the
-man after God's own heart and the virtuous Bathsheba, was not "a witty
-jester." As to what you call his "sins and debaucheries," these holy
-books were certainly not written with a view to make us avoid them.
-Solomon is set before us as a pattern of wisdom and goodness; and the
-number of his wives and concubines is exultingly recorded as a proof of
-his greatness, as much as his treasures, which exceed all conception,
-and the number of his horses, which exceed all belief.
-
-Your pious belief in the inspired prophecies of Isaiah, is natural to a
-superstitious and credulous mind. The philosopher who doubts before
-he gazes, sees in what you call prophecies nothing else but scraps of
-history or legend. He receives with diffidence all predictions. He is
-aware of the great ease with which forgeries may be passed among the
-vulgar for prophecies. When pretended predictions are made, they are
-altogether overlooked; even the ignorant think not of them till they are
-said to be accomplished; the learned despise them in both instances;
-and it is not till after their authenticity has gained a sort of general
-belief, that the philosopher thinks of enquiring when and how they were
-made. At this period he can find no evidence of their history, but from
-the credulous who have been imposed upon by them. Besides, no prophecy
-is ever direct, it always has an equivocal meaning, and is explained to
-suit the events which have happened. Religious enthusiasts write in such
-a mystic language upon the sins of mankind, and the judgements that are
-to come upon them, and in so general and ambiguous terms, that it is
-easy for a subtle interpreter, or a visionary fanatic, to explain them
-according to his own system. Have not the bears of the Apocalypse
-been made to signify by turns, the Pope and the Devil? Has not the New
-Jerusalem been sometimes taken for a real flying town, seen in the air
-by the first fathers of the church, as Tertullean informs us? Do not
-other divines tell us that it means the kingdom of heaven? Have not
-scripture divines, even in the first ages of the church, pretended that
-the verses of Virgil, _Jam redit et Virgo, redeunt Sa-tumia regna, jam
-nova progenies ccelo demittitur alto;--natte mets vires, mea magna
-potentia solus, and talia perstabat memorans, fixusque manebat_, were
-clear prophecies of the Virgin Mary, and Jesus Christ? It might be worth
-enquiring at this time, whether the Roman Bard was inspired by the
-Holy Ghost? Lastly, I may ask, does your Lordship believe in the many
-prophecies that have of late appeared of the French revolution?
-
-But we have more reasons to declare the pretended clear prophecies of
-the Bible to be fables. In many instances they are so accurate, and so
-unlike these passages which we know to have been written previous to the
-events to which they are applied, or those which are not yet
-fulfilled, that no philosopher can pronounce them to have been written
-historically. Thus, we find Jacob announce to his twelve sons, the
-heads of the twelve tribes of Israel, the fate of their posterity; the
-situation of the district to be occupied by the Israelites in the land
-of Canaan, two hundred years before Joshua parcelled out this land in
-lots to the Israelites; the kind of life the different tribes would
-lead; the small number of the posterity of Reuben, Simeon, and Levi, as
-well as the power of Judah; all which are related as exactly as if the
-patriarch had seen the throne of David and Solomon with his own eyes.
-Some of the supposed predictions of Isaiah and Daniel, are even more
-minutely correct. You have treated the question of the genuineness and
-date of works very lightly; you think it is of no great consequence to
-ascertain the genuineness of the different books of the Bible. Let us
-for a moment suppose, that by some accident, the age of Virgil had been
-forgotten, or the sixth book of his Æneid been ascribed to a writer of
-the age of Æneas; would not the Romans be entitled to regard, as a most
-wonderful prophecy, the lively representation given by Anchises of the
-future heroes of the republic, the two Cæsars, and the young Marcellus?
-
-To resume our subject: I remind you of the passage already quoted from
-Bellarminus, that it was the opinion of the fathers of the church, that
-the Prophets, among other books, had been collected and arranged
-by Esdras. I have also stated the selection of genuine works by the
-synagogue, during the reign of the Maccabees, when the Talmud says that
-the forgeries of Daniel, Esdras, &c. were prodigious. The destruction
-by Antiochus Epiphanus of the already broken Jewish books, written by
-Esdras, may be collected from what is said in Maccabees, chap. i. ver.
-56 and 57. "And when they had rent in pieces the books of the law which
-they found, they burnt them with fire, and whosoever was found with
-any of the books of the Testament, or if any consented to the law, the
-king's commandment was, that they should put him to death."
-
-It is without reason that you triumph at the application which Thomas
-Paine makes of the prophecy of Isaiah, in chapters xliv. and xlv. No
-man that reads the passage can hesitate for a moment to declare it a
-narrative of the deliverance of the Jews by Cyrus, after the seventy
-years captivity. Cyrus is mentioned by name, as well as his command to
-rebuild Jerusalem, and his victories over the nations, above one hundred
-years before the event. Will you then, without any proofs of Isaiah
-having written this book, insist upon calling it a prophecy? And have
-not sceptics been justified in their disbelief of the genuineness
-of such books? Mr. Paine, however, has overlooked a more remarkable
-prophecy in this book, which has been tortured into an application to
-Christ. This is contained in chapter lxiii. ver. 1. "Who is this that
-cometh from Edom, with dyed garments from Bozrah? this that is glorious
-in his apparel, travelling in the greatness of his strength? I that
-speak in. righteousness, mighty to save." And again, in chap. ii.
-(talking of the supposed Christ) Isaiah says, "And he shall judge among
-the nations, and shall rebuke many people; and they shall beat their
-swords into plough-shares."--"And the idols he shall totally abolish."
-Can this possibly allude to Christ? Did he come from Edom in mighty
-power, in rich garments? Was his march so terrible? Was he the man who
-trampled all in his fury; who with his own arm brought salvation to
-himself, and was upheld by his fury; as also mentioned in chap. lxiii.?
-Do not these pretended prophecies also apply to Judas Maccabeus, who
-delivered the Jews from the tyranny of Antiochus Epi-phanus? And is it
-not also a proof of the mutilated state of the works of the prophets
-to see details about Cyrus intermingled with others applying to Judas
-Maccabeus? I say nothing of Daniel, for his _prophecy_ I shall consider
-particularly afterwards, and show its true meaning; at present, it may
-be sufficient to say, that the similarity between the book of Ezra and
-Daniel proclaim them to be from the same hand; but both have evident
-marks of having been considerably mutilated. When philosophers cannot
-ascertain the age of pretended predictions, they consider their
-clearness as a demonstration of their being histories. Who tells you
-that the books which the synagogue, like the Nicene council, chose, were
-not either altogether written, or considerably interpolated, to adopt
-them to the times? The great question is always, what authority had the
-synagogue to decide, and whether their decision ought to influence men
-of sense, any more than the determination of the Popish councils.
-
-As a proof of the absurdity of the application of prophecies, I shall
-here quote one, which is apparently clearer than any in the whole
-Bible, and is adduced by the most famous divines as an unquestionable
-prediction of Christ. It is in Micah, chap. v. ver. I. "Now gather
-thyself in troops, O daughter of troops: he hath laid siege against us;
-they shall smite the Judge of Israel with a rod upon the cheek. But thou
-Bethlehem Ephratah, though thou be little among thousands of Judah, yet
-out of thee shall he come forth unto me, that is to be ruler in Israel;
-whose goings forth have been from of old, from everlasting." Here even
-the birth-place of Christ is mentioned, the insults offered to him, his
-existence from everlasting, and his coming to save Israel. And Matthew,
-chap. ii. ver. 6, and John, chap. vii. ver. 43, both expressly refer to
-that passage as a prophecy. Hear now what follows in ver. 5, of the same
-chapter of Micah: "And this man shall be the peace, when the Assyrians
-shall come into our land: and when he shall tread in our palaces, then
-shall we raise against him seven shepherds, and eight principal men."
-Can this apply to Jesus Christ? Were the Syrians in the land when he
-came? Were not the Romans masters of Judea? Your rules of belief
-are admirable: a little faith, wherever you meet contradictions,
-absurdities, or wonders, is an invaluable prescription, common to the
-Bramin, the Musselman, and the Christian. Do but believe that Mahomet is
-a prophet, that he went up to heaven and saw the eternal Father, and
-you will go through the other articles of the Mahometan faith without
-difficulty. Do but admit the gospel of Barnabas where Mahomet is
-predicted, and we have no reason to say that it is less authentic than
-our gospel, and the work is done; but, I may say with you, "Proof, proof
-is what I require, and not assertion."
-
-We will not relinquish our reason in obedience to the despotic mandates
-of the credulous.
-
-You allow that the miracles of the Jews fall to the ground, if the
-history of that nation is proved false. I beg you to observe, that if
-it is true, it does not follow that the miracles are. If you can believe
-that the history of the Jews is well authenticated, and without numerous
-contradictions, and if you can exculpate the writers from bad motives,
-and a desire to deceive, and if you can rely upon their wisdom, you then
-will really prove yourself a Christian, a man of uncommon faith.
-The history of the Jews, every where confused, containing prodigies,
-deserves no more credit than their antedeluvian tale. Even Chinese
-history, supported by astronomical observations, is beyond a certain
-period rejected by all men, from the fables it contains. If you are
-disposed to believe, I advise you to read the fabulous history of China
-and of Hindostan, in the holy books of the respective nations, which
-are adopted by whole nations, and are, at least, more beautiful than the
-Jews.
-
-I have purposely omitted to speak of Ecclesiastes. I find here several
-Epicurean notions, a disbelief of a future life, the propriety of
-enjoying themselves in this life, and other sensible remarks; which
-prove that the writer enjoyed more common sense than most of his
-countrymen.
-
-
-
-
-LETTER VI.
-
-You begin your sixth letter by attempting to disprove the arguments of
-Thomas Paine upon Jeremiah. You acknowledge the disorder that prevails
-in the writings of this prophet; and you modestly assure us, that you
-do not know the cause; no more do I: and whatever incidents might have
-occasioned it, I am certain that, as it stands, it deserves no degree of
-credit. In a former part of your pamphlet you grant, that the history of
-the Jews is so connected with the prophetical part, that if the former
-was done away the latter could not stand; and now you inform us, "that
-prophecy differs from history, in not being subject to an accurate
-observance of time and order." This you think a matter of no importance,
-but, in my opinion, it is very material to know if a prophecy is written
-after the events it alludes to. I shall not follow far, either your
-Lordship or Mr. Paine, in proving several of the prophecies of the Bible
-false; but if they are not prophecies, why should we trouble ourselves
-with disproving them. If they are scraps of history, we know that of
-the Jews to be so contradictory, imperfect, so completely without order,
-that one historical extract, of prophecy, will often contradict another;
-but much more generally these prophecies are strict enough, being copied
-from history, and embellished with a little of the figurative style of
-prophecy. As to Jeremiah, the works that go under his name, as well
-as those of Isaiah, appear on the face of them to be a collection of
-extracts from different historians.
-
-While we know so little of the history and genuineness of these
-writings, we cannot possibly draw any conclusion concerning them, except
-that they are in the utmost disorder, and that when writers intermingle
-history with prophecy, we are at a loss to know which is which. I cannot
-forbear to mention the ludicrous story of Elisha, the children, the
-bears that devoured the children of men, as you are pleased to call
-them. Whether Elisha did this as a prophet, I cannot but declare my
-abhorrence at your approbation of such abominable cruelty, to murder
-individuals because they bestowed the appellation of Baldhead on
-another. According to the laudable custom of the church, you appeal to
-a miracle, and conclude, that if God wrought a miracle it must have been
-just. I suppose this comparatively as when he destroys whole cities for
-the sins of a few; but this is the very ground on which every crusader
-supported his massacres; and every man may imitate the conduct of Ahod,
-the treacherous murderer, patronised by Jehovah, without incurring the
-blame of a Bishop. Whether the ridiculous tale which you take for a
-sign of God, most probably of his cruelty, converted any person, is not
-known; but as the event most undoubtedly never happened, you may suppose
-what you please. To murder them is not the way to ingratiate ourselves
-with our fellow-citizens. If any person set a few bull-dogs on some
-children, and pretended to do so by authority from heaven, he would most
-undoubtedly be taken up by our officers of justice. In what respect do
-these brutal prophets differ from Mahomet, who decided all disputes by
-the sword? Their business was to exterminate and murder by the direct
-commands of God.
-
-The writings of Ezekiel are considerably truncated. The very beginning
-of his prophecies shows it. The conjunction and texture of the whole
-work refers to something that ought to have preceded it. He begins
-saying, "That in the 30th year the heavens opened, and he saw visions of
-God." And in ver. 5, he adds, "That the Lord had inspired him often
-in Chaldea," which refers to some prophecies written in that period.
-Besides, Josephus's work, book 10, chap. ix. of the Jewish antiquities,
-says, "That Ezekiel had prophecied that Zedekiah should never see
-Babylon." This is no where found in Ezekiel, but, on the contrary, in
-chap. xi. and xii. he says, "That the king would be carried a prisoner
-to Babylon."
-
-As to Daniel, I have already noticed the great similarity between the
-first book of Esdras and his, and the probability that they came from
-the same author. The seven first chapters, except the first, were
-written in Chaldean, and are by the most learned thought to be taken
-from Chaldean chronologists. It is also thought by men of great
-learning, that the books of Esdras, Daniel, and Esther, were altered a
-long time after Judas Maccabeus, because it appears evident that Esdras
-could not have written the whole of them, since Nehemiah carries the
-genealogy of Jesuhga, the sovereign Pontiff till Jaddua, the sixteenth
-in number, who after the defeat of Darius went to meet Alexander. And
-Nehemiah, ver. 22, "The Levites, in the days of Eliashib, Joiadah,
-and Johanan, and Jaddua, were recorded chief of the fathers; also the
-priests, to the reign of Darius the Persian." We have no reason to
-believe that Esdras or Nehemiah could survive fourteen kings of Persia,
-Cyrus having been the first who gave the Jews permission to rebuild the
-temple, from whom to Darius there are 230 years.
-
-I now come to the famous prophecy of the seventy weeks of Daniel, which
-you exultingly mention as the most wonderful, and, at the same time, the
-most incontrovertible prediction in existence, one which never can fail
-to confound the most perverse unbeliever. If I prove, that so far from
-being the surprising prophecy you pretend, it has altogether a different
-meaning, and can nowise apply to the coming of Christ, I shall think
-myself fully excused, if I do not go through every individual prediction
-in the Bible. The passage alluded to is in Daniel, chap. ix. ver. 24, to
-27, as follows: "Seventy weeks are determined upon thy people, and upon
-thy holy city, to finish the transgression, and to make an end of sins,
-and to make reconciliation for iniquity, and to bring in everlasting
-righteousness, and to seal up the vision, and prophecy, and to anoint
-the most holy. Know, therefore, and understand, that from the going
-forth of the commandment to restore and build Jerusalem, unto the
-Messiah, the prince, there shall be seven weeks; and threescore and two
-weeks the streets shall be built again, and the wall, even in troublous
-times. And after threescore and two weeks shall Messiah be cut off, but
-not for himself; and the people of the prince that shall come, shall
-destroy the city, and the sanctuary, and the end thereof shall be with
-a flood, and unto the end of the war desolations are determined. And he
-shall confirm the covenant with many, for one week; and, in the midst
-of the week, he shall cause the sacrifice and oblation to cease; and for
-the overspreading of abominations, he shall make it desolate, even
-until the consummation, and that determined shall be poured upon the
-desolate."
-
-This passage is generally applied to the coming of Christ. The seventy
-weeks are supposed to mean weeks of years, or seven years each. Now
-it is evident, that it cannot apply to Jesus Christ; for if from going
-forth of the commandment in the time of Artaxerxes Longimanus, until the
-coming of the Messiah, there were to be seven weeks or forty-nine years,
-how does this agree with what follows? "After threescore and two weeks
-(or three hundred and seventy-four years) shall Messiah be cut off."
-And again, "He shall confirm the covenant with many for a week." Did
-then Jesus Christ live four hundred and twenty-three years, or are there
-two Messiahs predicted? Dr. Frideaux acknowledges that some parts of
-this prophecy are so injudiciously printed in the English translation of
-the Bible, that they are quite unintelligible; his alteration is in the
-punctuation, and according to it we read, that, _from the going forth
-of the commandment to restore and build Jerusalem, to the Messiah, the
-Prince, shall be seven weeks, and threescore and two weeks_; and in verse
-27, he puts the half of the week, instead of the midst. The explanation
-of the prophecy as thus altered, he gives as follows. From the
-commandment given to Ezra by Ar-taxerxes Longimanus, to the
-accomplishment of it by Nebemiah forty-nine years, or the first seven
-weeks; from this accomplishment to the time of Christ's messenger John
-the Baptist sixty-two weeks, or four hundred and thirty-four years; from
-thence to the beginning of Christ's public ministry, half a week, or
-three years and a half; and from thence to the death of Christ, half
-a week, or three years and a half; in which half week he preached and
-confirmed the gospel with many; in all, from the going forth of the
-commandment, till the death of Christ, seventy weeks, or four hundred
-and ninety years.
-
-In the first place, we confidently assert that Dr. Prideaux followed his
-fancy, not the original Hebrew, when he altered the punctuation. He is,
-however, justified in the alteration of half of a week; but, granting
-all, let us see how it applies. Did the Messiah come after seven weeks
-from the commandment of Ar-taxerxes Longimanus? The explanation only
-says, that Nehemiah finished the work which Ezra began. What has this
-to do with the Messiah coming at the end of the first seven weeks? The
-prophet says, that after threescore and two weeks, the street and the
-wall shall be built. Again, and previously, that after the commandment
-for the city to be built, the Messiah shall come in seven weeks. The
-learned divine, on the contrary, makes Daniel say, that John the Baptist
-began to preach the kingdom of the Messiah sixty-nine weeks after
-the commandment, and in the first seven weeks he talks of nothing but
-building the temple. Again, how does the oblation cease in half a week?
-In fact, the same objection occurs here, as to the passage as it is
-written in our Bibles. Daniel speaks quite clear, when he says, that
-"from the going forth of the commandment to restore and build Jerusalem,
-unto the Messiah, the Prince, shall be seven weeks." If we find,
-in whatever explanation of the prophecy, that Christ did not come
-forty-nine years after this commandment, and that he did not live four
-hundred and thirty-four years afterwards, the whole must be an
-untruth. And, if the first period of seven weeks is united with that of
-threescore and two, that is, if the period of rebuilding the city, and
-of the coming of the Messiah be the same, then let divines inform us
-whether this really came to pass, and reconcile it with what follows, in
-ver. 26, that the city is to be destroyed at the same time. Did Christ
-confirm any covenant with many for seven years?
-
-Let us attempt to unriddle this enigma. The passage evidently talks of
-two Messiahs, or makes one live upwards of four hundred years; and is
-altogether unintelligible as it stands. For the better understanding of
-it, I shall quote some previous part of the same chapter, ver. 1. "In
-the first year of Darius, the son of Ahasuerus, of the seed of the
-Medes, which was made king over the realm of the Chaldeans. 2. In the
-first year of his reign, I, Daniel, understood by books, the number of
-the years whereof the word of the Lord came to Jeremiah the prophet,
-that he would accomplish seventy years in the desolations of Jerusalem.
-3. And I set my face unto the Lord God, to seek by prayers and
-supplications, with fasting, and sackcloth, and ashes. 4. And I prayed
-unto the Lord my God, and made my confession, and said." After this
-follows his prayer, until the 20th verse; and, in the 21st the angel
-began to unfold a prophecy to Daniel, which begins in verse 24, and he
-promises to explain the mystery that had so much grieved Daniel, that
-is, the prophecy of Jeremiah; then follows the passage I have quoted:
-the alterations I conceive ought be made in the reading of which, I
-now proceed to mention. In verse 25, the sentence stops after the seven
-weeks, as it is in the English Bible, because in the original we find
-here the stop Atnach. In verse 26, instead of, _shall Messiah be cut
-off?_ we ought to read, _the oblation shall cease_. This is the real
-meaning of the expression in the original, according to Tertullian,
-Eusebius, and Theodoretus. Eusebius says, _Unctum (vel Christum) nihil
-aliud esse quam successionem Pontificum, quos unctos nominare S.
-Literae consueverunt._ The Hebrew properly signifies _perdetur unctio_.
-Theodoretus understands by this word, the same as _sacerdotes uncti.
-Excidetur unctus,_ signifies the same as the _oblation shall be
-abolished_; for the verb _excido_ does not always signify to kill, but
-is applied to whatever falls into disuse that was once in practice, or
-any thing that perishes. It is in this sense used in many parts of Kings
-and Chronicles. Samuel says, _excidi de altare_. In Jeremiah,
-chapter xxxvii. ver. 18, the verb is used in the same sense, _non
-de sacerdotibus Levitis excidet ur homo coram me_, which is given in
-English, "neither shall the priests, the Levites, _want a man_ (or
-cease to have a man) before me." In verse 27, "and he shall confirm the
-covenant with many for one week," means no more than the exemption of
-calamities, and is tantamount to, _he shall let many remain in peace_,
-as in Genesis, chap. vi. ver. 18, it is used in this sense.
-
-To understand the real meaning of this pretended prophecy, the reader
-will remember, that Daniel mourned for the 70 weeks of captivity
-prophesied by Jeremiah; the vision of Daniel took place in the
-first year of Darius, King of Chaldea, that is, in the year 162 of
-Nebuchadnezzar; but, in chap. x. of Daniel we learn, that he ate no
-pleasant bread, neither came flesh and wine into his mouth, till three
-whole weeks were fulfilled. Now, the term weeks is used in the Bible
-indiscriminately for weeks of years, or of days; here it appears clear
-it signifies the former, particularly as the whole relates to the 70
-years of Jeremiah; and the angel, in chap. x. ver. 14, tells Daniel, in
-the same figurative style, "Now I am come to make thee understand what
-shall befall thy people in the latter days, for yet the vision is for
-many days." If then Daniel wept three weeks of years, or 21 years, from
-the destruction of the temple, in the year 141 to the time of the vision
-in 162, (the angel, chap. x. ver. 13, says, that the prince of Persia
-withstood him 21 days, or years), it is easy to see what Daniel means.
-Jeremiah had prophesied a captivity of 70 years, of these, three weeks
-or 21 years were past; therefore Daniel, after entreating God to tell
-him "how many more years were wanting," received for an answer what
-follows, "At the beginning of thy supplications, the commandment came
-forth, and I am come to show thee."--"Seventy weeks are determined
-upon thy people to seal up the vision and prophecy," that is to complete
-the prophecy of Jeremiah; and we find,-therefore, that from the issuing
-the commandment to restore the Jews, and to build Jerusalem, or more
-properly from the revelation of the angel, (exitu Verbi), promising that
-Jerusalem should be rebuilt, ver. 23, to the coming of the Messiah, the
-prince, or Cyrus, who freed the Jews from the captivity, there were to
-be seven weeks, or 49 years, which, added to the three weeks already
-past, made the 70 years of Jeremiah. Cyrus is by Isaiah called the
-Lord's anointed: "Thus saith the Lord to his anointed, to Cyrus, whose
-right hand I have holden, to subdue nations before him for Jacob my
-servant's sake." Cyrus gave, at that time, liberty to the Jews, as the
-reader may see in Ezra. It is evident, that the word commandment cannot
-mean any express order to build Jerusalem, for the angel says, just
-before he reveals the prophecy, "at the beginning of thy supplications
-the commandment came forth we know that Daniel began to address prayers
-unto heaven, at a time when there was no order to build the temple, on
-the contrary, the Jews were in captivity.
-
-This is the most difficult part of the pretended prophecy, the remainder
-is plain. There shall be 62 weeks till the rebuilding of the wall. The
-writer alludes here to the building of the first temple under Zerubbabel
-and Jeshua, and then to the rebuilding of the wall, and restoration
-of the temple by Judas Maccabeus, after its profanation by Antiochus
-Epiphanes. The period of this last event is by the prophecy made to
-extend to 63 1/2 weeks, or 444 years. Let us see if chronology confirms
-this supposition. The temple was destroyed in the 141st year of Nabuch,
-or 4107 of the Julian period; add to this 444 years, or 63 weeks and a
-half, and we have the year 4551, or the second year of Judas Maccabeus,
-according to Josephus; who also informs us, that having conquered his
-enemies, he then built a wall about Sion, which is clearly meant in the
-words, "the street shall be built again, and the wall, even in troublous
-times," 1 Maccab. chap. iv. ver. 60. At that time also "they builded up
-the mount Sion with high walls," &c. Troublous the times certainly were;
-the Jews were fighting against the cruelty of Antiochtis Epiphanes. It
-is certain then, that after 343 years, or 69 weeks, the wall should be
-built, and although it was not really completed till about ten years
-after, it is presumable that the loose historian, or prophet, did
-not choose to alter the beautiful idea of 70 Weeks. We know how
-superstitiously the Jews respected not only the number 7, but all its
-different affections. We are besides informed, in the first book of
-Maccabees, that after the first depredation of Antiochus, the people
-rebuilt the city of David, and made walls and forts; this happened
-some years before the building of the wall by Judas, and brings the
-prediction nearer to historical accuracy.
-
-The next part of the prophecy is, "And after threescore and two weeks
-shall sacrifices cease;" this means in the course of the week that
-succeeds the 62. And, no doubt, Antiochus Epiphanes abolished them in
-the seventh year of his reign, as we read in I Maccab. chap. i. "And
-the people of the prince that shall come, shall destroy the city and the
-sanctuary." This Antiochus most certainly did, "and went up (Antiochus)
-against Israel and Jerusalem with a great multitude, and entered
-proudly into the sanctuary, and took away the golden altars, also he
-took the hidden treasures, and there was great mourning in Israel," 1
-Maccab. J. "And the end thereof shall be with a flood, and unto the end
-of the war desolations are determined." The coming of Antiochus into
-Jerusalem is pompously detailed in the first book of Maccabees: the Jews
-compared a great calamity, or an invading and irresistible army, to
-a flood. Let us proceed with the remainder: "And he shall confirm the
-covenant with many for a week," this alludes to the first seven years
-of the reign of Antiochus, during which he did not interfere with the
-worship of the Jews, although he gave liberty to those who chose to be
-heathens to follow their respective worship: it was in the end of the
-sixth, and in the beginning of his seventh year that he attacked the
-Jews, destroyed the temple, plundered it of its riches, and made himself
-the tyrant of Judea.
-
-The last part of the passage is as follows: "And in the half of a week
-he shall cause the oblation and sacrifice to cease," and, I have only to
-observe, that, from the taking of the city by Antiochus, to the absolute
-forbidding Jewish worship, there elapsed about three years and a half,
-or half a week, for he came to Jerusalem in the 143d year of the kingdom
-of the Greeks, and the erecting of idols was in the year 145; after
-which, he continued to persecute the Jews, and promote idolatry, until
-the year 148. Now Antiothus attacked Jerusalem at the end of his sixth
-year, to which, if we add two years and three months, we have pretty
-exactly the period of half a week, or three years and a half. The
-expression, "the spreading of abominations," evidently alludes to what
-is said in Maccabees, chap. i. ver. 34. "Now the fifteenth day of the
-month Casleu, in the 145th year, they (the followers of Antiochus) set
-up the abomination of desolation upon the altar, and builded idol altars
-throughout the cities of Judah, on every side." Daniel says, chap.
-xii. ver. 11, speaking of his vision, "and from the time that the daily
-sacrifice shall be taken away, and the abomination that: maketh
-desolate set up, there shall be (that is between the first interdict of
-Antiochus, and the setting up of idols) 1290 days;" which is a little
-more than three years and a half. The wonderful prophecy is then
-unriddled, it becomes a contemptible piece of history in an affected
-style. I trust the explanation which I have given, after Marsham, will
-appear satisfactory. I challenge Bishop Watson to produce a plausible
-explanation of the passage according to the sense of the church. It
-may not be improper to observe, that Clemens Alexandrinus, many of
-the fathers, Calmet, and other persons of great knowledge, have flatly
-denied the application of the weeks of Daniel to Jesus. Those who
-espouse your cause lose sight of the context of Daniel, they forget
-chronology, and evince to what a pitch of delusion their minds have
-arrived.
-
-This is the famous prophecy that silenced the Jewish rabbins of Venice;
-it is of a pattern with Daniel's four beasts; the fourth is also a story
-of Antiochus Epiphanes and Judas who slays the beast. Judas is the son
-of man coming in clouds; he is the person of whom the prophets speak,
-and who has most ridiculously been distorted to Jesus Christ. This
-farrago of prophecies seems to have been the production of Esdras
-or some very late writer; and I am not sure, but the doctrine of the
-Pythagorean millennium gave rise to some of the expressions in both
-writers, about the beasts: they seem to have sprung from the same origin
-with those of the Apocalypse; and with the four Indian horses, they
-crept among the Jews, together with many other Chaldean mythological
-ideas: the Ancient of Ancients appears in his fiery car as Osiris
-triumphant, or Chreeshna conquering Chiven; the books are opened before
-him, as his kingdom is everlasting, like that of Vishnu with the
-Vedams. But visions so ridiculous as that of Daniel deserve not our
-consideration; whatever be their source they are but reveries, and may
-serve to amuse idle people in their ridiculous speculations about the
-world's end. Like Swedenburgh, men may dream, and interpret their own
-dreams, and like him have the mortification to be laughed at for the
-non-accomplishment of their predictions. We have had of late another
-Daniel in Mr. Brothers; he too saw beasts, and, what is more, he
-understood their meaning; but unfortunately we are not Jews, and he is
-cruelly imprisoned in a madhouse.
-
-I have now followed your animadversions on the objections of Thomas
-Paine upon the Old Testament; and I trust I have shown that you have in
-no degree been a more successful labourer in the cause of Judaism than
-your predecessors; even your wonderful prophecy of Daniel is converted
-into a mere historical tale, and the application Jesus Christ makes of
-it to himself is accordingly proved to be ridiculous, the more so, as
-it comes from the Son of God. I have a few more observations to make,
-before I leave this book. I cannot pass in silence the gross blunder you
-have committed, when you refer Mr. Paine to Ferguson for an astronomical
-proof of the miracle of the total darkness at the crucifixion of Jesus.
-An odd conceit, upon my word! You might know that the event is omitted
-by all the authors of eminence who wrote at that time; that even Pliny
-passes it unnoticed. Lest you should mislead the reader with your
-groundless assertions, I shall state the matter as it stands in reality.
-You avoid learned disquisitions to be intelligible, but you ought not
-to have been so deficient of authority, where it is most needed. Besides
-the gospels, the darkness is not mentioned in any author; but divines
-have attempted to prove the event from a supposed passage of Phlegon,
-related by Eusebius; it is in the following words: "In the fourth year
-of the two hundred and second Olympiad, there was the greatest eclipse
-ever seen; it was night at six, and even the stars could be seen." This
-passage has long been disregarded by men of knowledge; it alludes to an
-eclipse, not to a miraculous darkness. Both Mr. Ferguson and you have
-blundered in chronology and astronomy. It is certain, in the year of
-Christ's crucifixion, according to the common chronology, there could
-have been no eclipse of the sun visible at that time at Jerusalem;
-Ferguson, therefore, concludes it a miracle. But you ought to have
-known, that the fourth year of the two hundred and second Olympiad, is
-not the year of the crucifixion in any system of chronology; that there
-was an eclipse of the sun, in the year mentioned by Phlegon, in the
-month of November, which, however, was not central; and you know that
-Jesus is said to have died at the time of the full moon in March, or in
-the beginning of April. Besides, had even such a darkness taken place,
-are you ignorant of the existence of comets, and would not one passing
-between the earth and the sun eclipse that luminary? Have not such
-miracles taken place if we credit historians? The death of Caesar
-was preceded by wonderful prodigies, and a comet made its appearance
-immediately after. The supposed miraculous influence of comets, and
-their being prophetic signs, was once an article of faith throughout
-all Europe, and the ancient history of every country records many events
-which the authors maintain arose from comets.
-
-Your reflections on prophets I cannot pass unnoticed. You pretend to
-make a distinction between dreamers, and impostors, and true prophets.
-You acknowledge the number of soothsayers and fortunetellers among the
-Jews; but you maintain that they were altogether distinct from the
-true prophets, and appeal to Jeremiah, who puts the Jews on their guard
-against false prophets. Does not every quack, every impostor, do the
-same, and caution the world to beware of counterfeits? You might have
-saved a great deal of trouble, had you condescended to produce your
-proofs of the genuineness of the writings of the prophets; and then we
-might enquire concerning the works of these augurs. You pretend that a
-sure mark of the reality of a prophet is his predicting bad things, for
-a fortune-teller always prophecies good. Pardon me if I suppose you a
-follower of Mr. Brothers. For surely the destruction of London was not
-a most desirable event. It is in vain you attempt to turn Mr. Paine
-into ridicule for his definition of a prophet. He most justly calls them
-strolling-poets, fortune-tellers; being in Judea what the gipsies, the
-augurs, and the astrologers have been in other nations. The Hebrew word
-_Navi_ signifies nothing but an orator, a public speaker, and is by
-the Jews applied, in a forced way, to soothsayers and diviners. It is
-incontrovertible that they existed among the Jews in colleges, and were
-brought up to the business. Their chief employment was to write
-the chronicles of the times. The name prophet is given in the Bible
-indiscriminately with that of holy man. Among the Hebrews, the first
-book of Kings was called the prophecy of Samuel. Abel is called
-repeatedly in the New Testament a prophet, (see Matth. chap. xxiii.
-ver. 31 and 35, and Luke chap. xi. ver. 50 and 51), although we have no
-account of his having predicted any. Among the Jews there certainly were
-fortune-tellers, necromancers, and witches, all of which you rank
-among the impostors. But had not the witch of Endor a real power of
-incantation? Did she not most wonderfully raise up the spirit of Samuel?
-Or are we to look upon the story of the witch of Endor in the same
-light as those of modern witches? That the prophets of the Jews were
-repeatedly deceived, we cannot have the smallest doubt when 400 of
-these gentlemen told a downright lie to Ahaz. But you have a very easy
-expedient in all these cases. When a prophet tells a lie, you may, as
-was done in this particular case, attribute it to a design of God to
-cheat the person who consults his oracles, just as Jupiter did of old to
-Agamemnon when he sent him the false dream.
-
-You reproach Thomas Paine for want of candour. He has not, you say,
-examined the general design of the Old Testament There he would find
-the benevolence of the God of the Jews, and his infinite goodness in
-selecting them from among the nations, in preserving them from idolatry.
-If he chose this people he has certainly exposed them to continual
-sufferings, and all for no other purpose than to teach mankind that
-idolatry is the greatest of crimes; that to avoid it, murder, plunder,
-the crusades, the inquisition, persecution, may all be laudable means
-for the preservation of the faith of nations. Thus, the cherished
-people, who were most intimate with their God, committed the most
-enormous crimes, under the pretence of preserving pure their adoration
-of the implacable God Jehovah. Did not all the endeavours of Jehovah to
-rescue nations from idolatry prove fruitless? This despicable creature
-man has been able to effect what mighty Jehovah never accomplished.
-Science is the only antidote against all kinds of superstition. Did
-Cicero adore stocks or stones? Or did ever any learned man among the
-heathens humble himself before idols? Has not the principal branch of
-the church of Christ been notorious idolaters? But what avails all
-this? Have you proved that the Heathens "emulated in the transcendent
-flagitiousness of their lives, the impure morals of their gods?" You
-assert it; but unluckily it is one of the many unsupported and assumed
-propositions in your pamphlet. Did nations necessarily imitate the
-conduct of their gods, I would tremble at being among the followers
-of the bloody Jehovah. The heathens were certainly dreamers in their
-adoration of the planets; we are taught by science, that these bodies
-resemble our earth in the general laws that govern them. It was natural
-for rude men to gaze at the sublimity of the stupendous fabric, the
-refulgency of the sun; the blessings derived from his genial influence
-could not be contemplated without admiration by the amazed and fearful
-savage. Idolatry is ridiculous: but have you proved that Jehovah
-deserves more to be revered than the Great Whole of nature, whether
-called Pan, or otherwise disguised in emblems, than the harmony of the
-planets designed by symbols, the generative powers by Venus, or the
-vivifying light emanating from the bright orb of Apollo? Confess at
-least, that the allegorical adoration of nature could only deceive
-the multitude who were kept in ignorance by their priests. If you are
-candid, you must acknowledge, that the Polytheists were tolerant, that
-the Atheists or Deists lectured close, to the temple. They did not
-exterminate nations, establish inquisitions, murder unbelievers as the
-Jews, and the Christians; although, as you observe, they received the
-gift of God through Jesus Christ, and were made alive by the covenant of
-grace.
-
-In what consists the superiority of the Jewish or Christian notions
-of God? Jehovah is a being incomprehensible; he is a jealous and a
-revengeful God, he hardens men's hearts, and sacrifices whole nations to
-a particular people, who, in their turn, are sacrificed for the boasted
-scheme of general good, which is never the nearer being accomplished.
-He must be adored and revered, and yet he does not make himself known
-to man. He does not even show himself face to face to any but Moses.
-You pay no great compliment to his omnipotence, when you observe, that
-"probably he could not give to such a being as man a full manifestation
-of the end for which he designs him, nor of the means requisite for that
-end;"--and, "that it may not be possible for the Father of the universe
-to explain to us, infants in apprehension, the goodness and the wisdom
-of his dealings with the sons of man." Jehovah, in short, equally the
-offspring of fancy with the Heathen Jupiter, is as cruel as Moloch,
-and, like other productions of the brain, an invisible phantom, to which
-priests give the passions of a tyrant; and, in their desire that he
-should reign alone, that men should not worship other deities, his
-ministers have preached up this God, and the multitude, eager to admire
-what they cannot comprehend, have followed the mandates of the pretended
-interpreters of his will. Still, however, the greatest number of
-ignorant men are, and will ever be, idolaters; in vain their spiritual
-guides preach up incomprehensible and ideal beings in an unintelligible
-jargon; man will always seek to satisfy his senses. Even the immediate
-presence of Jehovah, and his horrid massacres, could not prevent the
-favourite nation from following other gods. Even the inspired, the wise,
-the royal Solomon forsook "the God of Israel, holy, just, and good," for
-"the impure rabble of heathen Baalim."
-
-According to your nations, according to the doctrines of the Jewish and
-the Christian churches, the sole aim of God has been to be exclusively
-adored, and jealousy is his prominent feature. It is not in the pursuit
-of knowledge, or in the practice of morality that he delights. The
-precepts of social virtue occasionally scattered through the Old, as
-well as the New Testament, can make little impression when contrasted
-with the vindictive cruelty of the Deity. The Jewish Jehovah requires
-nothing of his followers but their compliance in executing his bloody
-commands against nations whom he calls impious, because he has not
-revealed himself to them. The man after his own heart, is the murderer
-of thousands of innocent people. Christ orders his followers to despise
-the reason he has given them, to avoid pleasure, to hate the world,
-and to love pain, to pray, and to spend their lives in continual
-mortification, and in gazing over unintelligible mysteries to acquire
-his kingdom. If they fail to believe in him, whether from ignorance or
-from conviction, he punishes them with eternal damnation, or as _Saint_
-Athanasius emphatically expresses it in his celebrated creed, "Whosoever
-believeth in these things shall be saved; and whosoever believeth not
-shall be damned."
-
-
-
-
-LETTER VII.
-
-I now bring under review a few passages from _Holy Writ_, which I leave
-to your Lordship to explain, and which scoffers pretend to say are
-undeniable proofs of the stupidity of the Jews, and gross ideas they
-had of God. I shall follow the order of the books without attempting an
-arrangement.
-
-Genesis, chap. iii. ver. 1. "Now the serpent was more subtle than any
-beast of the field which the Lord had made; and he said unto the woman,
-yea hath God said," &c.
-
-This Mr. Serpent would make a fine figure in Æsop's fables. They say it
-means the Devil, but how does that appear?
-
-In ver. 22. and 23. "And behold the Lord said, the man is become one of
-us, (i. e. one of us Gods), to know good and evil, And now lest he put
-forth his hand, and take also of the tree of life, and eat, and live for
-ever; therefore, the Lord God sent him forth from the garden of Eden, to
-till the ground from whence he was taken."
-
-This shows strongly that boasted attribute of God, Jealousy. Is it
-consistent with a Deity to punish this pair, and all their progeny, for
-their attempt to know good from evil? We here find that the priests have
-made God expressly after their own image. God's selfishness prevented
-men from eating of the other tree, which would make him live for ever.
-_Queritur,_ then, at what period of the world did the soul of man become
-immortal? Was it not till Jesus Christ came? And was this tree a type of
-him, as the bread and wine are at this day? It appears also, that it was
-not one, but two trees, that were prohibited!
-
-Ib. chap. xxxii. ver. 24. "And Jacob was left alone, and there wrestled
-a man with him, until the breaking of the day; (this shows the antiquity
-and high authority of sparring); and when he saw that he prevailed not
-against him, he touched the hollow of his thigh (Mendoza like): and the
-hollow of Jacob's thigh was out of joint, as he wrestled with him. And
-he said, let me go, for the day breaketh. And he said, I will not let
-thee go, unless thou bless me. And he said unto him, what is thy name?
-And he said, Jacob. And he said, thy name shall be called no more Jacob,
-but Israel; (which, in Chaldee signifies seeing God); for as a prince
-hast thou power with God and with men, and hast prevailed. (Or, as the
-Vulgate more correctly translates, for if thou hast been to oppose the
-Lord, how much more shall thou prevail against men). And Jacob called
-the name of the place Penial: for I have seen God face to face." This
-passage requires no comment.
-
-Exodus, chap. iii. ver. 4. "And when the Lord saw that he (Moses) turned
-aside to see, God called unto him out of the bush, and said, Moses,
-Moses. And he said, here am I." This is a pretty play at bo-peep.
-
-Ib. ver. 14. "And God said unto Moses, I am that I am; and he said, thus
-shalt thou say unto the children of Israel, I am hath sent me unto you."
-
-Divines hold this passage to be a great instance of sublimity!!!
-
-Ib. ver. 21. "And I will give this people favour in the sight of the
-Egyptians, and it shall come to pass, that when ye go away, ye shall
-not go empty, but every woman shall borrow of her neighbour, jewels of
-silver, and jewels of gold, and raiment: and ye shall put them upon your
-sons, and your daughters, and ye shall spoil the Egyptians."
-
-Here the Jews made God after their own image; and the dealings of that
-nation in silver, gold, and clothes, at this day, show that they have
-not forgotten their God. It is not easy for divines to reconcile this
-with God's other precept in the eighth commandment.
-
-Ib. chap. iv. ver. 24. "And it came to pass by the way in the inn, (by
-the way, were there inns then in Egypt?) that the Lord met him (Moses)
-and sought to kill him!!! Then Zepporah took a sharp stone, and cut off
-the foreskin of her son, and cast it at his feet."
-
-This business of the circumcision is brought in rather by the head and
-the shoulders, and the cause of it is not quite clear; but it is very
-evident that the Lord could not kill Moses.
-
-Ib. chap. xxxii. ver. 27. "And he (Moses learning that the Jews had made
-a golden calf), said unto them, (the sons of Levi, i.e. the priests,)
-thus saith the Lord God of Israel, put every man his sword by his side,
-and go in and out from gate to gate throughout the camp, and slay every
-man his brother, and every man his companion, and every man his
-neighbour; and the children of Levi did according to the word of Moses,
-and there fell of the people that day about three thousand."
-
-Ib. chap. xxxiii. ver. 9. "And it came to pass, as Moses entered into
-the tabernacle, the pillar descended, and stood at the door of the
-tabernacle, and the Lord (who was in the pillar) talked with Moses."
-
-In this manner modern goddesses stop their carriages at shop-keepers'
-doors at this day.
-
-Ib. ver. 90. "And he (God) said, thou canst not see my face, for there
-shall no man see me and live." God must here have forgotten his dialogue
-with Adam and Eve, his wrestling with Jacob, and conversations with
-Moses. In Numbers, chap. xii. ver. 6 and 8, he says, "Hear now my words:
-If there be a prophet among you, I, the Lord, will make myself known
-to him in a vision, and will speak to him in a dream," but, "with thee
-(Moses) will I speak mouth to mouth, even apparently, and not in dark
-speeches, and the similitude of the Lord shall you behold."
-
-Ib. chap. xxi. ver..5. "And the people spoke against God, and against
-Moses, wherefore have ye brought us up out of Egypt to die in the
-wilderness, for there is no bread, neither is there any water, and our
-soul loatheth this light bread." No wonder the Jews tired of living upon
-manna without water, but the Lord taught them not to grumble. "And the
-Lord sent fiery serpents among the people, and they bit the people, and
-much people of Israel died." When God was tired of making his serpents
-bite the poor devils, he said unto Moses, "Make thee, a fiery serpent,
-and set it upon a pole, and it shall come to pass, that every one that
-is bitten when he looketh upon it shall live." This is below all the
-tricks of necromancers.
-
-Ib. chap. xxv. "And the people began to commit whoredom with the
-daughters of Moab. And Israel joined himself unto Baal-peor: and the
-anger of the Lord was kindled against Israel. And the Lord said unto
-Moses, take all the heads of the people, and hang them up before the
-Lord against the sun, that the fierce anger of the Lord may be turned
-away from Israel. And Moses said unto the judges, slay every one of
-these men who were joined unto Baal-peor. And behold one of the children
-of Israel came, and brought unto his brethren a Midianitish woman, in
-the sight of Moses, &c. And when Phinehas, the son of Eleazar, the son
-of Aaron the priest, saw it, he rose from among the congregation, and
-took a javelin in his hand; and he went after the man of Israel into the
-tent, and thrust both of them through, the man of Israel, and the
-woman through her belly, so the plague was stopped from the children of
-Israel, and these that died in the plague were 24,000." As a reward for
-this, the Lord gave Phinehas the everlasting priesthood, "because he was
-zealous for his God, and made an atonement for the children of Israel."
-
-Ib. chap. xxvi. Dathan, Korah, and Abirim strove against Moses and
-Aaron, and the earth swallowed them up, and the fire devoured 250 men.
-
-lb. chap. xxxi. ver. 16, there was a plague among the congregation of
-the Lord, on account of the tres pass against the Lord, when he ordered
-thus, "Now, therefore, kill every male among the little ones, and kill
-every woman that hath known man by lying with him; but all the
-women children that hath not known man by lying with him, keep for
-yourselves." For the observation on this passage, I refer my reader to
-Bishop Watson, and the former part of this work.
-
-The following ought to be the fate of all idolatrous people, and has
-been happily practised in the discoveries made by most European
-nations. Deuteronomy chap. xiii. ver. 13. "Thou shalt surely smite
-the inhabitants of that city with the edge of the sword, destroying it
-utterly, and all that is therein, and the cattle thereof, with the edge
-of the sword."
-
-Joshua, chap. vi. v. 21. "And they utterly de-, stroyed all that was
-in the city, (Jericho), both man and woman, young and old, and ox, and
-sheep, and ass, with the edge of the sword. And they burnt the city with
-fire, and all that was therein: only the silver, and the gold, and the
-vessels of brass, and of iron, they put it into the treasury of the
-house of the Lord."
-
-Chap. x. Joshua being attacked by five kings, and they having taken
-shelter in a cave, he caused great stones to be rolled to the mouth of
-the cave, till he followed and destroyed the people, then he ordered the
-five kings to be brought out from the cave, "And it came to pass, that
-when they brought out those five kings unto Joshua, that Joshua called
-for all the men in Israel, and said unto the men of war, come near, put
-your feet upon the necks of these kings, and they came near, and put
-their feet upon the necks of them. And afterwards Joshua smote them,
-and slew them, Joshua took Makdekah, and smote it with the edge of the
-sword, and the king thereof he utterly destroyed, them, and all the
-souls that were therein; he let none remain." And so he did in all to
-31 kings, as related in this and the following chapters, and all this
-by the express command of God, who made the sun and the moon both stand
-still to witness these unprovoked atrocities. But this was just; God
-having given that country to his chosen people the Jews, as in latter
-times his vicegerent the Pope gave America to the Portuguese and
-Spaniards, who, Joshua-like, exterminated the kings and people, because
-they were not Christians. This, as you say, serves the general scheme of
-God's benevolence towards mankind.
-
-Judges, chap.i. ver. 4. And the Lord having delivered the Canaanites and
-the Perizzites into the hands of Judah, "They slew of them in Bezek 1000
-men. But Adonibezek fled, and they pursued after him, and caught him,
-and cut off his thumbs, and his great toes." lb. ver. 19- "And the Lord
-was with Judah, and he drove out the inhabitants of the mountain, but
-_could not_ drive out the inhabitants of the valley!" Why? "Because they
-had chariots of iron." Chap. iv. recounts the manner in which Deborah
-and Barak delivered Israel from Jabin and Si-aera. Ver. 21. Then Jael,
-Hebber's wife, (to whose tent Sisera had fled), "took a nail of the tent,
-and a hammer in her hand, and went softly unto him, and smote the nail
-into his temples, and fastened it into the ground, (_a goodly nail_),
-for he was fast asleep and weary, so he died." Chap. 5, contains the
-_beautiful_ song of Deborah and Barak, which I particularly request my
-reader to peruse, as a finished piece of scripture praise of good words.
-Chap. xxi. relates, that the Israelites having sworn not to give their
-daughters to the Benjamites, and the inhabitants of Jabesh-gilead not
-having come up to Minzeh, "the congregation sent 19,000 men of the
-valiantest, and commanded them, saying, go and smite the inhabitants
-of Jabesh-gilead with the edge of the sword, with the women and the
-children: utterly destroy every male, and every woman that hath lain by
-man;" but, having found 400 young virgins that had known no man by lying
-with any male," they gave them to the sons of Benjamin, "and yet so they
-sufficed them not." So as they had sworn not to give them wives of their
-own daughters, "therefore, they commanded the children of Benjamin,
-saying, go and lie in wait in the vineyards, and see, and behold, if the
-daughters of Shiloch come out to dance in dances, then come ye out of
-the vineyards, and catch you every man his wife."
-
-First Samuel, chap. vi. The ark of the Lord having been among the
-Philistines seven months, they, unwilling to send it back empty, asked
-the priests and diviners, what they should send in it as a trespass
-offering? "they answered, five golden emerods, and five golden
-mice,---and ye shall give glory unto the God of Israel,--and make a new
-cart, and take two milch kine, and take the ark of the Lord and lay it
-on the cart;" and they did so, "and they of Beth-shemesh lifted up
-their eyes, and saw the ark, and rejoiced to see it,--and the men of
-Beth-shemesh offered burnt-offerings, and sacrificed sacrifices the same
-day unto the Lord,--and he smote the men of Beth-shemesh, because they
-had looked into the ark of the Lord, even he smote of the people fifty
-thousand and threescore and ten men." Gracious God! Blessed Jews!
-
-Second Samuel, chap. xxiv. ver. 1. "And the anger of the Lord was
-kindled against Israel, and he moved David against them to say, go
-number Israel and Judah." (In first Chronicles, chap. xxi. ver. 1, it
-stated, "and Satan stood up against Israel, and provoked David to number
-Israel.") And having thus instigated David to do what is good policy in
-a king, God, of his infinite mercy, said unto David by his prophet Grad,
-David's seer, (an officer of the household in those days), "I offer thee
-three things: shall seven years of famine come unto thee in thy land, or
-wilt thou flee three months before thine enemies, or that there be three
-days pestilence in thy land?" And David having chosen the latter, "the
-Lord sent a pestilence upon Israel, and there died of the people 70,000
-men but the Lord is ever merciful, for, "when the angel stretched out
-his hand upon Jerusalem to destroy it, the Lord _repented_ him of the
-evil, and said to the angel that destroyed the people, it is enough,
-stay thou thine hand," _Delirant reges, plectuntur Achivi_.
-
-1 Kings, chap. ii. David being upon his death-bed, having made peace
-with God, and purified his heart, called Solomon to him and gave him his
-last charge. As to Joab, the son of Zeruiah, he said, "do according
-to thy wisdom, and let not his hoar head go down to the grave in
-peace,--and behold thou hast with thee Shimei the son of Gera, which
-cursed me, but he came down to meet me at Jordan, and I sware to him
-by the Lord, saying, I will not put thee to death by the sword; now,
-therefore, (_proceeds the man after God's own heart_), hold him not
-guiltless; for thou art a wise man, and knowest what thou oughtest to
-do unto him, but his hoar head bring thou down to the grave with blood."
-Solomon having succeeded his father, the first act of his reign was to
-put to death his brother Adonijah.
-
-1 Kings, chap. xi. ver. 4, "Solomon's heart was not perfect with the
-Lord his God, as was the heart of David his father, for it came to pass,
-that, when he was old, his wives turned his heart after other gods." But
-why go through such barbarous details? All along we find imprecations
-against those who despise the prophets, and praises lavished upon
-murderers, traitors, and assassins. This is the people "selected by the
-wisdom of God, that they might witness to the whole world in successive
-ages his existence and attributes, that they might be an instrument
-of subverting idolatry, of declaring the name of the God of Israel
-throughout the whole earth a people, who are to us witnesses of
-the existence, and of the moral government of God."--This is the Old
-Testament, which you presume to say afforded matter for the laws of
-Solon, and a foundation for the philosophy of Plato,--which has been
-admired and venerated for its piety, its sublimity, its veracity, by all
-who _are able to read and understand it!!!_ This is the God who maketh
-the sun to rise on the evil and on the good, who is all perfection,
-all wise, and all powerful, and whose mercy is above all his other
-attributes."
-
-THE END.
-
-
-
-
-
-
-End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of Watson Refuted, by Samuel Francis
-
-*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK WATSON REFUTED ***
-
-***** This file should be named 40978-8.txt or 40978-8.zip *****
-This and all associated files of various formats will be found in:
-        http://www.gutenberg.org/4/0/9/7/40978/
-
-Produced by David Widger
-
-Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions
-will be renamed.
-
-Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no
-one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation
-(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without
-permission and without paying copyright royalties.  Special rules,
-set forth in the General Terms of Use part of this license, apply to
-copying and distributing Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works to
-protect the PROJECT GUTENBERG-tm concept and trademark.  Project
-Gutenberg is a registered trademark, and may not be used if you
-charge for the eBooks, unless you receive specific permission.  If you
-do not charge anything for copies of this eBook, complying with the
-rules is very easy.  You may use this eBook for nearly any purpose
-such as creation of derivative works, reports, performances and
-research.  They may be modified and printed and given away--you may do
-practically ANYTHING with public domain eBooks.  Redistribution is
-subject to the trademark license, especially commercial
-redistribution.
-
-
-
-*** START: FULL LICENSE ***
-
-THE FULL PROJECT GUTENBERG LICENSE
-PLEASE READ THIS BEFORE YOU DISTRIBUTE OR USE THIS WORK
-
-To protect the Project Gutenberg-tm mission of promoting the free
-distribution of electronic works, by using or distributing this work
-(or any other work associated in any way with the phrase "Project
-Gutenberg"), you agree to comply with all the terms of the Full Project
-Gutenberg-tm License available with this file or online at
-  www.gutenberg.org/license.
-
-
-Section 1.  General Terms of Use and Redistributing Project Gutenberg-tm
-electronic works
-
-1.A.  By reading or using any part of this Project Gutenberg-tm
-electronic work, you indicate that you have read, understand, agree to
-and accept all the terms of this license and intellectual property
-(trademark/copyright) agreement.  If you do not agree to abide by all
-the terms of this agreement, you must cease using and return or destroy
-all copies of Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works in your possession.
-If you paid a fee for obtaining a copy of or access to a Project
-Gutenberg-tm electronic work and you do not agree to be bound by the
-terms of this agreement, you may obtain a refund from the person or
-entity to whom you paid the fee as set forth in paragraph 1.E.8.
-
-1.B.  "Project Gutenberg" is a registered trademark.  It may only be
-used on or associated in any way with an electronic work by people who
-agree to be bound by the terms of this agreement.  There are a few
-things that you can do with most Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works
-even without complying with the full terms of this agreement.  See
-paragraph 1.C below.  There are a lot of things you can do with Project
-Gutenberg-tm electronic works if you follow the terms of this agreement
-and help preserve free future access to Project Gutenberg-tm electronic
-works.  See paragraph 1.E below.
-
-1.C.  The Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation ("the Foundation"
-or PGLAF), owns a compilation copyright in the collection of Project
-Gutenberg-tm electronic works.  Nearly all the individual works in the
-collection are in the public domain in the United States.  If an
-individual work is in the public domain in the United States and you are
-located in the United States, we do not claim a right to prevent you from
-copying, distributing, performing, displaying or creating derivative
-works based on the work as long as all references to Project Gutenberg
-are removed.  Of course, we hope that you will support the Project
-Gutenberg-tm mission of promoting free access to electronic works by
-freely sharing Project Gutenberg-tm works in compliance with the terms of
-this agreement for keeping the Project Gutenberg-tm name associated with
-the work.  You can easily comply with the terms of this agreement by
-keeping this work in the same format with its attached full Project
-Gutenberg-tm License when you share it without charge with others.
-
-1.D.  The copyright laws of the place where you are located also govern
-what you can do with this work.  Copyright laws in most countries are in
-a constant state of change.  If you are outside the United States, check
-the laws of your country in addition to the terms of this agreement
-before downloading, copying, displaying, performing, distributing or
-creating derivative works based on this work or any other Project
-Gutenberg-tm work.  The Foundation makes no representations concerning
-the copyright status of any work in any country outside the United
-States.
-
-1.E.  Unless you have removed all references to Project Gutenberg:
-
-1.E.1.  The following sentence, with active links to, or other immediate
-access to, the full Project Gutenberg-tm License must appear prominently
-whenever any copy of a Project Gutenberg-tm work (any work on which the
-phrase "Project Gutenberg" appears, or with which the phrase "Project
-Gutenberg" is associated) is accessed, displayed, performed, viewed,
-copied or distributed:
-
-This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with
-almost no restrictions whatsoever.  You may copy it, give it away or
-re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included
-with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org
-
-1.E.2.  If an individual Project Gutenberg-tm electronic work is derived
-from the public domain (does not contain a notice indicating that it is
-posted with permission of the copyright holder), the work can be copied
-and distributed to anyone in the United States without paying any fees
-or charges.  If you are redistributing or providing access to a work
-with the phrase "Project Gutenberg" associated with or appearing on the
-work, you must comply either with the requirements of paragraphs 1.E.1
-through 1.E.7 or obtain permission for the use of the work and the
-Project Gutenberg-tm trademark as set forth in paragraphs 1.E.8 or
-1.E.9.
-
-1.E.3.  If an individual Project Gutenberg-tm electronic work is posted
-with the permission of the copyright holder, your use and distribution
-must comply with both paragraphs 1.E.1 through 1.E.7 and any additional
-terms imposed by the copyright holder.  Additional terms will be linked
-to the Project Gutenberg-tm License for all works posted with the
-permission of the copyright holder found at the beginning of this work.
-
-1.E.4.  Do not unlink or detach or remove the full Project Gutenberg-tm
-License terms from this work, or any files containing a part of this
-work or any other work associated with Project Gutenberg-tm.
-
-1.E.5.  Do not copy, display, perform, distribute or redistribute this
-electronic work, or any part of this electronic work, without
-prominently displaying the sentence set forth in paragraph 1.E.1 with
-active links or immediate access to the full terms of the Project
-Gutenberg-tm License.
-
-1.E.6.  You may convert to and distribute this work in any binary,
-compressed, marked up, nonproprietary or proprietary form, including any
-word processing or hypertext form.  However, if you provide access to or
-distribute copies of a Project Gutenberg-tm work in a format other than
-"Plain Vanilla ASCII" or other format used in the official version
-posted on the official Project Gutenberg-tm web site (www.gutenberg.org),
-you must, at no additional cost, fee or expense to the user, provide a
-copy, a means of exporting a copy, or a means of obtaining a copy upon
-request, of the work in its original "Plain Vanilla ASCII" or other
-form.  Any alternate format must include the full Project Gutenberg-tm
-License as specified in paragraph 1.E.1.
-
-1.E.7.  Do not charge a fee for access to, viewing, displaying,
-performing, copying or distributing any Project Gutenberg-tm works
-unless you comply with paragraph 1.E.8 or 1.E.9.
-
-1.E.8.  You may charge a reasonable fee for copies of or providing
-access to or distributing Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works provided
-that
-
-- You pay a royalty fee of 20% of the gross profits you derive from
-     the use of Project Gutenberg-tm works calculated using the method
-     you already use to calculate your applicable taxes.  The fee is
-     owed to the owner of the Project Gutenberg-tm trademark, but he
-     has agreed to donate royalties under this paragraph to the
-     Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation.  Royalty payments
-     must be paid within 60 days following each date on which you
-     prepare (or are legally required to prepare) your periodic tax
-     returns.  Royalty payments should be clearly marked as such and
-     sent to the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation at the
-     address specified in Section 4, "Information about donations to
-     the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation."
-
-- You provide a full refund of any money paid by a user who notifies
-     you in writing (or by e-mail) within 30 days of receipt that s/he
-     does not agree to the terms of the full Project Gutenberg-tm
-     License.  You must require such a user to return or
-     destroy all copies of the works possessed in a physical medium
-     and discontinue all use of and all access to other copies of
-     Project Gutenberg-tm works.
-
-- You provide, in accordance with paragraph 1.F.3, a full refund of any
-     money paid for a work or a replacement copy, if a defect in the
-     electronic work is discovered and reported to you within 90 days
-     of receipt of the work.
-
-- You comply with all other terms of this agreement for free
-     distribution of Project Gutenberg-tm works.
-
-1.E.9.  If you wish to charge a fee or distribute a Project Gutenberg-tm
-electronic work or group of works on different terms than are set
-forth in this agreement, you must obtain permission in writing from
-both the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation and Michael
-Hart, the owner of the Project Gutenberg-tm trademark.  Contact the
-Foundation as set forth in Section 3 below.
-
-1.F.
-
-1.F.1.  Project Gutenberg volunteers and employees expend considerable
-effort to identify, do copyright research on, transcribe and proofread
-public domain works in creating the Project Gutenberg-tm
-collection.  Despite these efforts, Project Gutenberg-tm electronic
-works, and the medium on which they may be stored, may contain
-"Defects," such as, but not limited to, incomplete, inaccurate or
-corrupt data, transcription errors, a copyright or other intellectual
-property infringement, a defective or damaged disk or other medium, a
-computer virus, or computer codes that damage or cannot be read by
-your equipment.
-
-1.F.2.  LIMITED WARRANTY, DISCLAIMER OF DAMAGES - Except for the "Right
-of Replacement or Refund" described in paragraph 1.F.3, the Project
-Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation, the owner of the Project
-Gutenberg-tm trademark, and any other party distributing a Project
-Gutenberg-tm electronic work under this agreement, disclaim all
-liability to you for damages, costs and expenses, including legal
-fees.  YOU AGREE THAT YOU HAVE NO REMEDIES FOR NEGLIGENCE, STRICT
-LIABILITY, BREACH OF WARRANTY OR BREACH OF CONTRACT EXCEPT THOSE
-PROVIDED IN PARAGRAPH 1.F.3.  YOU AGREE THAT THE FOUNDATION, THE
-TRADEMARK OWNER, AND ANY DISTRIBUTOR UNDER THIS AGREEMENT WILL NOT BE
-LIABLE TO YOU FOR ACTUAL, DIRECT, INDIRECT, CONSEQUENTIAL, PUNITIVE OR
-INCIDENTAL DAMAGES EVEN IF YOU GIVE NOTICE OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH
-DAMAGE.
-
-1.F.3.  LIMITED RIGHT OF REPLACEMENT OR REFUND - If you discover a
-defect in this electronic work within 90 days of receiving it, you can
-receive a refund of the money (if any) you paid for it by sending a
-written explanation to the person you received the work from.  If you
-received the work on a physical medium, you must return the medium with
-your written explanation.  The person or entity that provided you with
-the defective work may elect to provide a replacement copy in lieu of a
-refund.  If you received the work electronically, the person or entity
-providing it to you may choose to give you a second opportunity to
-receive the work electronically in lieu of a refund.  If the second copy
-is also defective, you may demand a refund in writing without further
-opportunities to fix the problem.
-
-1.F.4.  Except for the limited right of replacement or refund set forth
-in paragraph 1.F.3, this work is provided to you 'AS-IS', WITH NO OTHER
-WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO
-WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY OR FITNESS FOR ANY PURPOSE.
-
-1.F.5.  Some states do not allow disclaimers of certain implied
-warranties or the exclusion or limitation of certain types of damages.
-If any disclaimer or limitation set forth in this agreement violates the
-law of the state applicable to this agreement, the agreement shall be
-interpreted to make the maximum disclaimer or limitation permitted by
-the applicable state law.  The invalidity or unenforceability of any
-provision of this agreement shall not void the remaining provisions.
-
-1.F.6.  INDEMNITY - You agree to indemnify and hold the Foundation, the
-trademark owner, any agent or employee of the Foundation, anyone
-providing copies of Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works in accordance
-with this agreement, and any volunteers associated with the production,
-promotion and distribution of Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works,
-harmless from all liability, costs and expenses, including legal fees,
-that arise directly or indirectly from any of the following which you do
-or cause to occur: (a) distribution of this or any Project Gutenberg-tm
-work, (b) alteration, modification, or additions or deletions to any
-Project Gutenberg-tm work, and (c) any Defect you cause.
-
-
-Section  2.  Information about the Mission of Project Gutenberg-tm
-
-Project Gutenberg-tm is synonymous with the free distribution of
-electronic works in formats readable by the widest variety of computers
-including obsolete, old, middle-aged and new computers.  It exists
-because of the efforts of hundreds of volunteers and donations from
-people in all walks of life.
-
-Volunteers and financial support to provide volunteers with the
-assistance they need are critical to reaching Project Gutenberg-tm's
-goals and ensuring that the Project Gutenberg-tm collection will
-remain freely available for generations to come.  In 2001, the Project
-Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation was created to provide a secure
-and permanent future for Project Gutenberg-tm and future generations.
-To learn more about the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation
-and how your efforts and donations can help, see Sections 3 and 4
-and the Foundation information page at www.gutenberg.org
-
-
-Section 3.  Information about the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive
-Foundation
-
-The Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation is a non profit
-501(c)(3) educational corporation organized under the laws of the
-state of Mississippi and granted tax exempt status by the Internal
-Revenue Service.  The Foundation's EIN or federal tax identification
-number is 64-6221541.  Contributions to the Project Gutenberg
-Literary Archive Foundation are tax deductible to the full extent
-permitted by U.S. federal laws and your state's laws.
-
-The Foundation's principal office is located at 4557 Melan Dr. S.
-Fairbanks, AK, 99712., but its volunteers and employees are scattered
-throughout numerous locations.  Its business office is located at 809
-North 1500 West, Salt Lake City, UT 84116, (801) 596-1887.  Email
-contact links and up to date contact information can be found at the
-Foundation's web site and official page at www.gutenberg.org/contact
-
-For additional contact information:
-     Dr. Gregory B. Newby
-     Chief Executive and Director
-     gbnewby@pglaf.org
-
-Section 4.  Information about Donations to the Project Gutenberg
-Literary Archive Foundation
-
-Project Gutenberg-tm depends upon and cannot survive without wide
-spread public support and donations to carry out its mission of
-increasing the number of public domain and licensed works that can be
-freely distributed in machine readable form accessible by the widest
-array of equipment including outdated equipment.  Many small donations
-($1 to $5,000) are particularly important to maintaining tax exempt
-status with the IRS.
-
-The Foundation is committed to complying with the laws regulating
-charities and charitable donations in all 50 states of the United
-States.  Compliance requirements are not uniform and it takes a
-considerable effort, much paperwork and many fees to meet and keep up
-with these requirements.  We do not solicit donations in locations
-where we have not received written confirmation of compliance.  To
-SEND DONATIONS or determine the status of compliance for any
-particular state visit www.gutenberg.org/donate
-
-While we cannot and do not solicit contributions from states where we
-have not met the solicitation requirements, we know of no prohibition
-against accepting unsolicited donations from donors in such states who
-approach us with offers to donate.
-
-International donations are gratefully accepted, but we cannot make
-any statements concerning tax treatment of donations received from
-outside the United States.  U.S. laws alone swamp our small staff.
-
-Please check the Project Gutenberg Web pages for current donation
-methods and addresses.  Donations are accepted in a number of other
-ways including checks, online payments and credit card donations.
-To donate, please visit:  www.gutenberg.org/donate
-
-
-Section 5.  General Information About Project Gutenberg-tm electronic
-works.
-
-Professor Michael S. Hart was the originator of the Project Gutenberg-tm
-concept of a library of electronic works that could be freely shared
-with anyone.  For forty years, he produced and distributed Project
-Gutenberg-tm eBooks with only a loose network of volunteer support.
-
-Project Gutenberg-tm eBooks are often created from several printed
-editions, all of which are confirmed as Public Domain in the U.S.
-unless a copyright notice is included.  Thus, we do not necessarily
-keep eBooks in compliance with any particular paper edition.
-
-Most people start at our Web site which has the main PG search facility:
-
-     www.gutenberg.org
-
-This Web site includes information about Project Gutenberg-tm,
-including how to make donations to the Project Gutenberg Literary
-Archive Foundation, how to help produce our new eBooks, and how to
-subscribe to our email newsletter to hear about new eBooks.
-
diff --git a/old/40978-8.zip b/old/40978-8.zip
deleted file mode 100644
index 037d1a5..0000000
--- a/old/40978-8.zip
+++ /dev/null
diff --git a/old/40978-h.zip b/old/40978-h.zip
deleted file mode 100644
index bb35736..0000000
--- a/old/40978-h.zip
+++ /dev/null
diff --git a/old/40978-h/40978-h.htm b/old/40978-h/40978-h.htm
deleted file mode 100644
index 7dd2f38..0000000
--- a/old/40978-h/40978-h.htm
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,3328 +0,0 @@
-<?xml version="1.0" encoding="iso-8859-1"?>
-
-<!DOCTYPE html
-   PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Strict//EN"
-   "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-strict.dtd" >
-
-<html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" lang="en">
-  <head>
-    <title>
-      Watson Refuted, by Samuel Francis, M.D.
-    </title>
-    <style type="text/css" xml:space="preserve">
-
-    body { margin:5%; background:#faebd0; text-align:justify}
-    P { text-indent: 1em; margin-top: .25em; margin-bottom: .25em; }
-    H1,H2,H3,H4,H5,H6 { text-align: center; margin-left: 15%; margin-right: 15%; }
-    hr  { width: 50%; text-align: center;}
-    .foot { margin-left: 20%; margin-right: 20%; text-align: justify; text-indent: -3em; font-size: 90%; }
-    blockquote {font-size: 97%; font-style: italic; margin-left: 10%; margin-right: 10%;}
-    .mynote    {background-color: #DDE; color: #000; padding: .5em; margin-left: 10%; margin-right: 10%; font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 95%;}
-    .toc       { margin-left: 10%; margin-bottom: .75em;}
-    .toc2      { margin-left: 20%;}
-    div.fig    { display:block; margin:0 auto; text-align:center; }
-    div.middle { margin-left: 20%; margin-right: 20%; text-align: justify; }
-    .figleft   {float: left; margin-left: 0%; margin-right: 1%;}
-    .figright  {float: right; margin-right: 0%; margin-left: 1%;}
-    .pagenum   {display:inline; font-size: 70%; font-style:normal;
-               margin: 0; padding: 0; position: absolute; right: 1%;
-               text-align: right;}
-    pre        { font-style: italic; font-size: 90%; margin-left: 10%;}
-
-</style>
-  </head>
-  <body>
-<pre xml:space="preserve">
-
-The Project Gutenberg EBook of Watson Refuted, by Samuel Francis
-
-This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with
-almost no restrictions whatsoever.  You may copy it, give it away or
-re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included
-with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org
-
-
-Title: Watson Refuted
-       Being an Answer to The Apology for the Bible, in a Series
-              of Letters to the Bishop Of Llandaff
-
-Author: Samuel Francis
-
-Release Date: October 8, 2012 [EBook #40978]
-Last Updated: January 25, 2013
-
-Language: English
-
-Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1
-
-*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK WATSON REFUTED ***
-
-
-
-
-Produced by David Widger
-
-
-
-
-
-</pre>
-    <div style="height: 8em;">
-      <br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br />
-    </div>
-    <h1>
-      WATSON REFUTED
-    </h1>
-    <p>
-      <br />
-    </p>
-    <h2>
-      BEING AN ANSWER TO THE APOLOGY FOR THE BIBLE. <br /><br /> IN A SERIES OF
-      LETTERS TO THE BISHOP OF LLANDAFF.
-    </h2>
-    <p>
-      <br /><br />
-    </p>
-    <h2>
-      By Samuel Francis, M.D.
-    </h2>
-    <p>
-      <br /><br /><br />
-    </p>
-    <h4>
-      Pudet me humani generis, cujus mentes et aures talia fern potuerunt.<br />
-      <br /> &mdash;Div. Augustin. <br /><br />LONDON: <br /><br /> PRINTED and PUBLISHED BY R.
-      CARLILE, 55, FLEET STREET
-    </h4>
-    <p>
-      <br /> <br />
-    </p>
-    <hr />
-    <p>
-      <br /> <br />
-    </p>
-    <blockquote>
-      <p class="toc">
-        <big><b>CONTENTS</b></big>
-      </p>
-      <p>
-        <br />
-      </p>
-      <p class="toc">
-        <a href="#link2H_4_0001"> ADVERTISEMENT. </a>
-      </p>
-      <p class="toc">
-        <a href="#link2H_4_0002"> WATSON REFUTED </a>
-      </p>
-      <p class="toc">
-        <a href="#link2H_4_0003"> LETTER I. </a>
-      </p>
-      <p class="toc">
-        <a href="#link2H_4_0004"> LETTER II. </a>
-      </p>
-      <p class="toc">
-        <a href="#link2H_4_0005"> LETTER III. </a>
-      </p>
-      <p class="toc">
-        <a href="#link2H_4_0006"> LETTER IV. </a>
-      </p>
-      <p class="toc">
-        <a href="#link2H_4_0007"> LETTER V. </a>
-      </p>
-      <p class="toc">
-        <a href="#link2H_4_0008"> LETTER VI. </a>
-      </p>
-      <p class="toc">
-        <a href="#link2H_4_0009"> LETTER VII. </a>
-      </p>
-    </blockquote>
-    <p>
-      <br /> <br />
-    </p>
-    <hr />
-    <p>
-      <br /> <br /> <a name="link2H_4_0001" id="link2H_4_0001">
-      <!--  H2 anchor --> </a>
-    </p>
-    <div style="height: 4em;">
-      <br /><br /><br /><br />
-    </div>
-    <h2>
-      ADVERTISEMENT.
-    </h2>
-    <p>
-      I had written a considerable part of another work, containing strictures
-      on religion. The appearance of the Bishop of Llandaff's pamphlet, and the
-      number of editions that have been published for the purpose of encouraging
-      its sale among the poorer classes, induced me to take up the pen expressly
-      in answer to this publication, that I might undeceive the multitude, and
-      show that, under the imposing title of a Bishop, Dr. Watson has been
-      guilty of the most gross misrepresentations, and, whether intentionally or
-      from ignorance, has deceived his readers, while, under the pretence of
-      meekness, he triumphs in the detection of a few errors, committed by a man
-      who does not pretend to be a Theologian, or to be possessed of any great
-      learning. He has uniformly passed over the weighty arguments of the Age of
-      Reason, and stopped at a few immaterial inaccuracies. I hope, in the
-      following sheets, to show, that the learned Professor of Divinity has
-      committed errors in the Natural Sciences and History, which would be
-      inexcusable in any author; but, when coming from a dignified Clergyman,
-      who wishes to dictate to the nation, their detection cannot fail to show
-      to the public, how necessary it is for men to employ their faculty of
-      reason, and not to yield it to those whose profession is to teach things
-      they acknowledge to be above reason, and incomprehensible. I shall, as
-      soon as my other avocations permit, give the world a tract upon religion
-      in general, with strictures on the Jewish and Christian systems. For this
-      reason, I shall not, in the present pamphlet, enter deeply into any
-      abstract reasoning, but confine myself chiefly to the detection of the
-      errors contained in the Apology for the Bible.
-    </p>
-    <p>
-      S. F.
-    </p>
-    <p>
-      London, Aug. 15,
-    </p>
-    <p>
-      1790, <br /> <br />
-    </p>
-    <hr />
-    <p>
-      <br /> <br /> <a name="link2H_4_0002" id="link2H_4_0002">
-      <!--  H2 anchor --> </a>
-    </p>
-    <div style="height: 4em;">
-      <br /><br /><br /><br />
-    </div>
-    <h2>
-      WATSON REFUTED
-    </h2>
-    <p>
-      <a name="link2H_4_0003" id="link2H_4_0003">
-      <!--  H2 anchor --> </a>
-    </p>
-    <div style="height: 4em;">
-      <br /><br /><br /><br />
-    </div>
-    <h2>
-      LETTER I.
-    </h2>
-    <h3>
-      MY LORD,
-    </h3>
-    <p>
-      You have thought it not inconsistent with your dignity as a Bishop, to
-      oppose the <i>Age of Reason by Thomas Paine</i>, and I, as a member of the
-      community, find myself called upon to expose your reasoning, and stop the
-      career of error. You disclaim controversy; but if your candour is any
-      thing more than a vain boast, I entertain hopes of seeing the defender of
-      Christianity again step forward to answer my arguments, if he deems them
-      of sufficient weight to disturb his quiet. I am sincerely glad to find a
-      dignified churchman begin a dispute with men, whom formerly the pious
-      members of the Church would have deemed fit victims for the fire or the
-      gallows; at the same time, I feel deep regret, that the Bishop has not yet
-      altogether laid aside the clerical passion for the extermination of the
-      heterodox. I hope, says Dr. Watson, that there is no want of charity in
-      wishing, that Mr. Paine's life had been terminated long before his
-      publication. This may be consistent with Christian charity, but nature and
-      reason teach us ugly unbelievers another doctrine: and, however inveterate
-      I may be against those of the clergy who persecute and deceive the
-      multitude, I confess, that the death of a person, whom I conceive to be
-      acting for what he thinks the public good, would give me no pleasure; and
-      the Bishop allows the purity of Mr. Paine's motives. The wish of the
-      philosopher is, let reason guide us, and all parties have freedom of
-      debate. No dogmatical dictates of bigotted priests, no passive obedience
-      to the mandates of inquisitors, nor to the persecutions so often fomented
-      by churchmen. To the progress of letters, during this century, we owe the
-      mildness and condescension of clergymen: till philosophy taught us, the
-      clergy never discovered, that persecutions for heresy and witchcraft, or
-      inquisitions and popery, were horrid institutions. Dares Dr. Watson
-      affirm, that freedom of inquiry was ever suffered on religious subjects?
-      that people were allowed to examine the grounds of the doctrines taught by
-      the Church? No, Sir, your predecessors of all beliefs have ever persecuted
-      philosophers and inquirers into truth, both in science and in religion.
-      Neither Galileus nor Rousseau escaped the malevolence of the opposers of
-      science; and in the Bible they found authorities for their inveterate
-      opposition to the progress of truth and knowledge. The New Testament
-      informs us, that the wisdom of God is foolishness to man, that human
-      learning produces nothing but pride 1, and that the poor in spirit gain
-      the kingdom of heaven.
-    </p>
-<pre xml:space="preserve">
-     1 "Beware lest any man spoil you through philosophy and vain
-     deceit, after the tradition of men, after the rudiments of
-     the world, and not after Christ." Colos. ii. 5, 8.
-
-     "Cum sit nobis divinis literis traditum cognitiones
-     philosophorum stultas esse, ad ipsum re et argumentis
-     docendum et; ne quit bouesto sapieutiæ nomine inductus, aut
-     inanis eloquentiæ splendore deceptus, humanis malet quam
-     divinis credere."
-
-     Lactantius, Inst. lib. i. chap. 2.
-</pre>
-    <p>
-      Under these and other similar pretences, have barbarous priests led their
-      credulous followers to massacres in the name of their God; by means of
-      that touchstone word, <i>Faith</i>, they made the multitude forget that
-      their leaders were but men. Now, Sir, we have grown bolder: knowledge
-      being no longer confined to clerical seminaries, priests are not kings.
-      The church totters; and a single pamphlet, you say, "has unsettled the
-      faith of thousands." Now, that you cannot stifle reason, you pretend to
-      liberality of sentiment.
-    </p>
-    <p>
-      The natural historian, or the astronomer, fears not the publication of
-      opinions contrary to his own, except from a scholastic habit, learned in
-      the clerical seminaries, which still disgrace almost every country. The
-      chemist eagerly peruses all theories; the divine alone refuses to argue
-      with his opponents, and trembles at the very name of reason. I differ in
-      my philosophical opinions from Mr. Paine; my principles extend so much
-      farther than his, that I suspect I come under the class which you are
-      pleased to call madmen, and every clergyman would affect to despise, but
-      dare not argue with, before an unprejudiced tribunal. These, Sir, are the
-      effects of superstition, and the cunning policy of the Church. The Bible
-      is hardly suffered to be read in Catholic countries. The English reformers
-      could not go so far; their revolution sprung from a dawn of philosophy.
-      The English clergy, however, would confine us to the reading of that
-      unintelligible farrago, and the still more insufferable commentaries upon
-      it. So did the scholastics with Aristotle; their bigotted partiality to
-      this author was nearly of the same force with the priestly attachment to
-      the Bible. They retarded science; but the motives of the clergy are
-      stronger. By the Bible they live; and it is not uncommon to hear the
-      parson deride in private what he preaches from the pulpit.
-    </p>
-    <p>
-      But to your first letter.
-    </p>
-    <p>
-      After the pious wish for Thomas Paine's death, you proceed to state how
-      miserable the adoption of his doctrines would render the "unhappy
-      virtuous." Fear not such a dire event: the <i>pious</i> are few in number,
-      and of those, few have the courage to open a book controverting their
-      opinions, and which, they are taught to believe, contains nothing but
-      blasphemies But, should chance lead them to a detection of their errors,
-      they would only become less devout, and more useful citizens. Freed from
-      the prospect of hell and heaven, they will have leisure to think of this
-      world, in which they live somewhat like hermits, loving only their
-      priests, and ready to sacrifice victims to credulity.
-    </p>
-    <p>
-      You say, that guillotine massacres were not the effect of the Popish
-      religion, but of the disbelief of this system. This deserves some
-      consideration. It is not true, that the majority of the people of Paris
-      were unbelievers. No, Sir, they swore to the miracles of Abbe Paris, and
-      were as ready to give testimony to the wonderful cures and prodigies
-      operated by his intercession, as the Jews or Christians have been to vouch
-      for theirs. The fact is this: the lively disposition of the French, the
-      unintelligibility of their religion, and the shameful conduct of the
-      priests, turned their attention to the more serious object of politics;
-      but this event could not immediately change the nature of the murderers of
-      the Protestants on St. Bartholomew's day. Does your Lordship imagine, that
-      the peasants of La Vendee are models of morality? If you think so, I must
-      undeceive you. Nothing but ignorance prevails in that district; like the
-      ancient crusaders, they are led solely by their priests, who, by means of
-      certain words which early habits and superstition have made their
-      followers respect, and, together with want of communication with the rest
-      of France, have inflamed them, and driven them to slaughter: even miracles
-      have not been wanting in that part of the country; but in this, as in many
-      other instances, they have disappeared, on the arrival of incredulous
-      troops, whose hearts are perhaps hardened by God, like the Egyptians of
-      old. Since God diminishes men's faith in proportion as he gives them human
-      wisdom, let us not endeavour to controvert this heavenly will, by
-      endeavouring to make the enlightened people of the eighteenth century so
-      credulous as in the former days of ignorance. The Bishop allows, that the
-      higher classes of every country all lean towards infidelity; they are more
-      guided by reason, and reason is the avowed enemy of faith, it being the
-      criterion of faith, that it contains natural impossibilities. It is
-      unfortunate that so many sects pretend to faith, and differ so much among
-      themselves; and that to explain their faiths, they use the weapons of
-      reason against one another. This of itself proves, that faith is but a
-      cant word, since the faithful argue about what comes not under human
-      knowledge. Thus all religious sectaries, whether Christians, Jews,
-      Mahometans, Boodzoists, or Bramins, as staunchly believe contradictory
-      doctrines, while, in the inquiries that depend on their reason, we find
-      that, wherever men have long been civilized, they have, in astronomy, in
-      physics, or ethics, come in general to the same conclusions. The language
-      of the philosopher is understood in Pekin as well as in Rome; but the
-      religious fanatics of every country differ in their opinions, and consider
-      all but themselves as dreamers and impostors. The Bramin laughs at the
-      story of Noah and the ark, the stopping of the sun, and the incarnation of
-      God; while the Christian shows the same contempt for the incarnation of
-      Vishnu, and other articles of the Braminical faith. The exercise of reason
-      alone shows us the true limits of our intellectual faculties. Ignorance of
-      this is the cause of all reveries in science, as in religion; it is only
-      superstition that incites men to launch beyond their conceptions.
-    </p>
-    <p>
-      You accuse of infidelity all those who commit crimes against society. When
-      we answer, that the Jewish and Christian religions have deluged the world
-      with blood, you reply, that it is not as being Jews and Christians, but
-      because they were wicked. At the same time, I hope you allow, that the
-      Spartans, the Athenians, the Romans, the Chinese, did not commit half the
-      atrocities which disgrace Jewish history, the aera of the crusades and the
-      Christian persecutions, of the invasion of America, the massacres of
-      heretics, &amp;c. The candid observer must therefore conclude, that right
-      and wrong is not confined to sects; that the Christian religion, whatever
-      its precepts may be, has not been able to prevent crimes, while nations
-      who knew not so much as the name of Moses or Christ, produced a Confucius,
-      an Aristides, a Socrates, an Epaminondas, a Cincinnatus. Among these
-      nations, who knew not the Lord Jehovah, we find Archimedes, Epicurus,
-      Demosthenes, Plato, Aristotle, Cicero, while the chosen people of God, and
-      their successors, the Christians, borrowed their language, the very names
-      of their gods, and the little science they knew, from these despised
-      infidels. It was not the oracle of Delphos, the augurs, or the sybils,
-      that enlightened the Greeks and Romans. The rabble credited them, as the
-      ignorant Jews and Christians did their prophets and apostles. In short,
-      morals cannot be invented; there cannot be two systems of morality. The
-      precepts must be directed to principles existing in the heart of man.
-      Ignorance conceals from nations the rule of conduct, in the same manner
-      that it prevents them from knowing geometry; the moment they study either,
-      they are put in the road of truth. No wonder, then, that in the times of
-      the greatest oppression, when frightened into certain doctrines by the
-      stories of nurses and parents, many learned men should not have been able
-      to conquer their first prejudices. You certainly know the time when
-      astrology and the philosopher's stone were in fashion; the believers in
-      these reveries were men of science. Van Helmont, Stahl, Boyle, and
-      innumerable others were possessed of this madness. You can be no stranger
-      to the numerous wretches that suffered for witchcraft and necromancy, and,
-      upon the very brink of death, confessed they were guilty.
-    </p>
-    <p>
-      The next reflection the Doctor makes, is respecting gospel moderation, for
-      which purpose he quotes, "Who art thou that judgest another man's servant?
-      to his own master he standeth or falleth." Yet has this been done by all
-      Christian rulers; and the clergy are at this moment, in express defiance
-      of this maxim, about to send missionaries to disseminate principles that
-      have ever produced internal dissensions, and without which infidels have
-      lived in perfect happiness. It is, perhaps, an excess of piety; but cool
-      observers pretend, that it is the high priest, not the High God, that they
-      are going to preach: to fill their knapsacks is the first object of these
-      pilgrims, and their God is made subservient. Unluckily for the Bishop, he
-      could not adduce a more detestable maxim, to show his charity, than that
-      which I have just quoted: it is the pivot of Oriental despotism; it
-      teaches passive obedience to all classes; the father is the tyrant of his
-      children, the nabob of his subjects, the emperor of all: it is a maxim
-      whose tendency is to root in men's minds, that we are the property of one
-      another, and may be inherited as cattle. To those of my readers who are
-      pleased with it, I wish a thorough experience of its effects.
-    </p>
-    <p>
-      The remainder of your first letter contains observations to which I
-      perfectly accede. Your conclusion against Thomas Paine is perfectly fair.
-      Any apparent deviation from moral justice in the world must prove as much
-      against the goodness of God, as a similar inconsistency in his immediate
-      actions and commands proves against revealed religion. My Lord, we are in
-      the abyss of error; your question with Thomas Paine is about the
-      comparative absurdity of the two Opinions. The deistical notions of your
-      adversary do not agree with his reasonable tenets; but I readily grant,
-      that, to a religious person, nothing is incredible; and that the greater
-      the inconsistencies, the more sublime the system. But let me ask your
-      Lordship, what you conclude against one, who, like myself, is not a Deist?
-      and repeats, with the first philosopher of the age, that there are only
-      four possible hypotheses upon the causes of the universe: 1st. That they
-      are purely good. 2dly. That they are malicious. 3dly. That they are a
-      mixture of good and evil. And, lastly, That they neither possess
-      benevolence, nor any other passions. The two first hypotheses are equally
-      contradicted by daily experience, the mixture of good and evil is too
-      apparent: the third is denied, by the steadiness of the laws of nature:
-      the last, then, only is admissible.
-    </p>
-    <p>
-      You next proceed to justify several actions of the Jews, which you and the
-      Bible are pleased to call God's commands. I must decline following your
-      reasoning; for the very existence of such crimes as the Jews ascribe to
-      their enemies, and which, they say, were so repugnant to God, would of
-      themselves prove against the goodness of that Being. His frequent threats,
-      and the extermination of so many miserable nations, is a poor expedient;
-      like that of a man, who, attempting to make a machine, and foiled in his
-      endeavours, gloried in breaking it in a thousand pieces. How much more
-      ridiculous is that sublime Artificer, who employs the same means which
-      impotence or malevolence give rise to in his wretched children. I am glad
-      you have no recourse to the silly causes of atheism, as given by that
-      illustrious dreamer, Plato.
-    </p>
-    <p>
-      The world has too long been imposed upon by ridiculous attempts to vilify
-      atheists, and show their nonexistence. That name has been a cant word,
-      like Jacobin in France, and Whig and Tory in England, which every person
-      applies to his neighbour as it best suits him. In Catholic countries, all
-      who dare think are heretics; among Protestants, they are atheists. Being a
-      word of opprobrium, it has ever been used as a powerful engine in the
-      hands of the clergy. The question is upon the truth of systems, not upon
-      the character of those who profess them. If this were the discrimination,
-      and the palm given to that religion that has had the greatest number of
-      honest men, the Christian system would certainly lose the contest.
-    </p>
-    <p>
-      The Bishop seems to think, that savages have not so perfect a notion of
-      God as we imagine: religion, he supposes, begins as it were in express
-      revelation. This is but the fancy of a clergyman, unsupported by any
-      proofs; but at least it shows, that the Bishop involuntarily acknowledges,
-      that reason alone can hardly give us the idea of a ruling Being. The
-      savage, it is true, does not discourse in a metaphysical jargon; he wants
-      expressions: but I wish the Doctor would inform me in what our Catechism
-      definition of God is clearer than the notions of the rudest savage, who,
-      trembling at the approach of thunder and violent convulsions of nature, or
-      enjoying the genial sun and fertilizing inundations, imagines all the
-      world to be animated with his own passions. The thunder is a mark of
-      wrath, while the blessings are signs of a propitious genius. To conciliate
-      these imaginary beings, to avert their wrath, is the grand object of
-      superstition. Schoolmen conceal, under their mystical jargon, the real
-      materials which their gods are made of; they conceal that the Supreme
-      Artificer is the offspring of fancy, the figurative and unphilosophical
-      symbol of nature, to which they give human dispositions: in all religious
-      systems men are the type of their gods. Your letter concludes with a
-      remark sufficiently extraordinary, that most Deists of your acquaintance
-      disbelieve the mysterious conversations of God, his miracles, and such
-      other stories, because they are too wonderful, and against the order of
-      nature. Your reply is curious: because we never have seen the like of
-      them, does it follow that they are untrue? Give me leave to tell you, my
-      Lord, that you have forgotten the rules of logic: you know, that in all
-      cases, but of demonstration, the philosopher does nothing but weigh
-      probabilities. Any thing that is conceivable is possible: but are we
-      therefore to believe in the existence of witches or necromancers? Are we
-      to give credit to the world having sprung from an egg? That Mahomet
-      divided the moon? That the sun stood still? That astrology is a science?
-      Yet what reason have we to disbelieve them? The respective supporters of
-      these opinions may say with the Doctor, that nothing can be too wonderful,
-      and that, because these things have not happened in our time, it does not
-      follow they should be untrue. I acknowledge, with the Doctor, that many
-      Deists admit a Being as inconceivable as any religious mystery; therefore
-      it may seem ridiculous in them to stop their credulity; since we call God
-      just, when nothing but a concatenation of causes and effects can be
-      perceived in the world; when we proclaim him benevolent, while the world
-      is full of vice, while millions perish in misery, and continual calamities
-      befal mankind; while, in short, most men have the gloomy prospect of
-      damnation before them. These are greater miracles than an universal
-      deluge, making a woman from a rib, or God's countenancing the atrocious
-      murders of Jews. He that will believe one wonder, has no plea for doubting
-      the rest.
-    </p>
-    <p>
-      <a name="link2H_4_0004" id="link2H_4_0004">
-      <!--  H2 anchor --> </a>
-    </p>
-    <div style="height: 4em;">
-      <br /><br /><br /><br />
-    </div>
-    <h2>
-      LETTER II.
-    </h2>
-    <h3>
-      MY LORD,
-    </h3>
-    <p>
-      Your second letter begins with some nice distinctions between authenticity
-      and genuineness. The whole reasoning seems to amount to this, that a book
-      may be authentic, although not genuine, and <i>vice versa</i>. To this
-      proposition we were no strangers; but piety makes your Lordship forget
-      some other considerations. When the proofs of authenticity depend in a
-      great measure upon the genuineness of a book, then the authenticity falls
-      to the ground the moment we prove it spurious. Thus the Jews strenuously
-      maintained, that the Pentateuch had been written by an inspired man at a
-      particular time. But if Moses is shown not to have written these books, I
-      trust you will not declare them authentic, without other very solid
-      proofs. When a whole nation is proved to be mistaken respecting the author
-      of a work, we ought not hastily to credit their legends. Moreover, logic
-      teaches us, that in proportion as events are incredible, they require a
-      stronger testimony to prove that they have actually taken place. A battle
-      may have been fought, a city may have been destroyed, but miracles being
-      against the order of nature, no testimony can be strong enough to prove
-      them, we must again appeal to faith. It is so much easier for men to be
-      deceived or imposed upon, or for persons designedly to mislead their
-      credulous followers, that unless it were more miraculous that a man should
-      be mistaken, than that the miracle happened, we ought not to give credit
-      to such fables. If we drop this rule of logic, we shall readily believe
-      prodigies of all sorts, whether wrought by Moses, Jesus Christ, Mahomet,
-      St. Antony of Padua, or any modern wonder-workers, witches, magicians,
-      astrologers, or magnetisers. Mr. Paine no where asserts, that because a
-      book is not genuine, it must be false; but certainly he might assert this
-      of the Bible. You say, that if the works of Titus Livius had been ascribed
-      to another, they would nevertheless be true; how would you ascertain it?
-      If the whole Roman nation supposed them to have been written by a
-      particular author at a certain time, and should we be enabled to point out
-      many passages evidently written in a posterior age, would you, without any
-      other proofs, join in the assent to the authenticity of the history, upon
-      a tradition so vague, and already proved false in so material a point?
-      Although I am no Bishop, I would only imagine, that as to probable events
-      contained in such spurious books, there might have been some grounds for
-      them; but I would receive them with great caution; and, at any rate, never
-      would I establish a system of history, much less of religion, upon the
-      productions of an ignorant people: in all cases, events related against
-      the order of nature are to be considered as the reveries of dark ages. To
-      elucidate your principles, you mention Anson's voyage, written by Robins,
-      under the name of Walter, to prove that a spurious work may contain a true
-      history; but, my Lord, do you forget, that this was written at a time when
-      the whole nation knew that Lord Anson had made such a voyage, and every
-      man in his fleet could testify the particulars of it? But if our
-      posterity, four or five centuries hence, should discover a book purporting
-      to be written by a Mr. Walters, detailing the voyage of Admiral Anson, and
-      if in that book they should meet a passage speaking of the late revolution
-      in France, or of the author's death and burial, would not that strike at
-      the authenticity of the whole? Would any part be believed that was not
-      corroborated by the evidence of respectable contemporary authors? All that
-      could be inferred would be from the nature of the events related, such as
-      the accurate description of countries, and such other particulars as
-      marked either the period of the observations, or their truth: in the first
-      case, they might suspect the work to be interpolated; in the second, they
-      would value it only for the accuracy of information. It is different with
-      scientifical and historical works: a spurious book of science may contain
-      truths, they stand for themselves, they are the same at all times and
-      places. Not so in history: the truth here depends on the universal consent
-      of nations, on the testimony of authors of credibility confronted with
-      each other, and in all cases relating things probable. When we read in a
-      Chinese history, that the goddess Amida peopled the world by bearing male
-      children from under one arm, and females under another, or, in the
-      Mahometan writers, that the trees spoke to the founder of that sect, would
-      a man credit any circumstance, however probable, related in such
-      histories, without the strongest collateral proofs? And should we further
-      discover, that these histories detailed events posterior to their author's
-      death, would not this make the whole still more improbable? Your remark
-      upon this subject is singular: you say, that if Joshua, Samuel, or Moses,
-      declared themselves the authors of the works ascribed to them, then to
-      prove these books spurious would at once destroy their genuineness and
-      authenticity. I would reason thus: Moses does not say, that he was the
-      author of the Pentateuch; why then do we believe that he wrote it? You
-      would, no doubt, answer, that the tradition of the Jews proclaims him
-      such. I retort, that if the genuineness of a book may be proved by
-      tradition, we ought as much to argue against the authenticity of a work,
-      from having proved the general belief of its genuineness to be founded on
-      error, as if the author had said, I am the author of this book. This we
-      shall, in the sequel, prove to be the case with the books of the Old
-      Testament. The addition of an express declaration of Moses would add no
-      authenticity to the Pentateuch, since it is as easy to forge a work where
-      the author speaks in the first as in the third person.
-    </p>
-    <p>
-      Your next remark is concerning miracles. I have already observed, that no
-      testimony can give them belief. You maintain, that the degree and kind of
-      evidence for the prodigies recorded in the Bible exceeds that for any
-      other wonders. How this happens I am unable to comprehend. I know they are
-      contained in a book composed by the priests of the most credulous and
-      ignorant nation that perhaps ever existed; and the authority of these
-      unknown and obscure persons, is all the evidence we have for crediting
-      their stories. An English Bishop tells his countrymen, that the miracle of
-      the sun standing still is better supported than the prodigies of Abbe
-      Paris, Mesmer, and the late Labre at Rome, than the numerous Indian,
-      Chinese, and Popish miracles, of which a great part are attested by
-      magistrates, divines, physicians, and the most enlightened classes of
-      society; while the wonderful repast of the angels with Abraham, or the
-      marvellous tale of Jonah's three days' residence in the belly of a fish,
-      depends upon the authority of a book which we shall prove to be spurious,
-      to have been lost for several ages, and to be compiled, if not altogether
-      composed, by some Jewish scribes, who were, as they themselves
-      acknowledge, the only men versed in the scriptures of the nation. I
-      thought you would have known sacred history better than at the present day
-      to make such unsupported assertions. Have you forgotten the wonders of the
-      magicians of Pharaoh? Do you not recollect the express acknowledgment of
-      Moses himself, that there may be miracles and prophecies performed by men
-      who adored not the Lord Jehovah? Does he not say, in chap. xiii. of
-      Deuteronomy, "If there arise among you a prophet, or a dreamer of dreams,
-      and giveth thee a sign or a wonder, and the sign or the wonder come to
-      pass whereof he spake unto thee, saying, Let us go after other gods, &amp;c.&mdash;that
-      prophet, or that dreamer of dreams, shall be put to death, <i>because he
-      hath spoken to you to turn away from the Lord your God</i>." It is not
-      because he is a false prophet, but because he is not a prophet of Jehovah.
-      Does not this at once show the grossness of the conceptions of the Jews,
-      and the sophistical mode of arguing of their legislator? For I would ask,
-      How did Moses prove himself the oracle of God? Or how did Jesus Christ
-      show himself the Son of God, but by their pretended miracles? Why then
-      believe the testimony of a miracle in one instance, and not in another?
-      But the Jews certainly imagined, that there were several gods, and that
-      they quarrelled with each other, as kings are used to do; therefore it was
-      natural that one set of prophets should try to exterminate another, and be
-      as inveterate against them as the Lord Jehovah was against Baal, or other
-      rival gods. If the reader imagines I speak at random when I say, the Jews
-      believed in other gods, I refer him to Judges, chap. xi. ver. 23, 34,
-      where it is said, "So now the Lord God of Israel hath dispossessed the
-      Amorites from before his people Israel, and shouldst thou not possess it?
-      Wilt thou not possess that which <i>Chemosh thy god</i> giveth thee to
-      possess? So whomsoever the Lord our God shall drive out from before us,
-      them will we possess." There cannot be a fairer parallel.
-    </p>
-    <p>
-      I can hardly imagine a Bishop ignorant of the augurs, oracles, and sybils
-      of the Greeks and Romans, and of the implicit belief these nations had in
-      them; the truth of their prophecies was fully as well established as the
-      prophecies of the Jews. Neither were miracles uncommon among the heathens.
-      You have, no doubt, read St. Ambrose and Origen, and have found in the
-      works of these and other fathers, that the only difference between the
-      miracles of the Christians and infidels, was, that the former were
-      operated by God, and the latter by the devil; and could I be satisfied
-      that Satan took up Jesus Christ to the top of that high mountain, (now
-      unknown to geographers) from whose pinnacle all the world could be seen,
-      this would surprise me as much as to see Jesus Christ, or any other
-      wonder-worker, bringing a dead man to life. I am ashamed to have inveighed
-      so long against silly prejudices; but I could not avoid calling upon your
-      Lordship, to point out the difference between gospel-miracles and the
-      ridiculous tales believed in all dark ages, and of which we find so
-      copious collections in the works of the first fathers. The axiom of
-      philosophers, that no human testimony can establish the credibility, of
-      miracles, you have left unanswered. You say it has been confuted an
-      hundred times: had you given the confutation of it, we would have been
-      able to ascertain the truth of your assertion. You are writing for the
-      multitude, and being a dignitary of the church, ought to furnish the
-      people with arms to oppose reason. Perhaps the unsuccessful attempt of Dr.
-      Campbell has deterred you from at least recapitulating the principal
-      answers to this proposition. Till you can prove that the great mass of
-      mankind are not very fallible and easily deceived by any impostor, or that
-      they are disposed and capable to examine the truth of reports spread about
-      prodigies, you will never be able to persuade men of sense, that events
-      impossible are to be believed upon the testimony of those who not only
-      are, but have constantly been, the slaves of credulity in all countries.
-    </p>
-    <p>
-      You then show, that Mr. Paine's objections to the genuineness are not new.
-      This is true; and I am surprised you have quoted so few supporters of his
-      opinions. Your attempt to prove the genuineness of the Pentateuch, by
-      direct evidence, is ridiculous. What! Maimonides, ten centuries after the
-      destruction of the Jews, a Jew himself, and writing at a period so remote
-      from the supposed date of the books of the Old Testament, is, by Dr.
-      Watson, called a direct evidence of the genuineness of the Pentateuch.
-      Juvenal, a poet, who in more than one place ridicules the credulity of the
-      Jews, says, that they believe in Moses&mdash;so do the Europeans allow
-      that the Indians believe in Brama.&mdash;We question not the general
-      traditions of the Jews, but the credit they deserve; and I shall next
-      proceed to show, that the books of the Pentateuch are spurious, and
-      undeserving of credit. The name of Moses and the Jews were unknown to the
-      famous Phoenician historian Sanchoniato, of whom Eusebius has preserved us
-      some extracts; he has never mentioned a word about this famous legislator:
-      had he done so, Eusebius was too strenuous an advocate <i>for</i>
-      Christianity not to have recorded it. The books of the Jews were concealed
-      from all the world before the famous Greek translation made at the
-      instance of Ptolemy Philadelphia. Josephus himself acknowledges, that no
-      heathen knew the Jewish books, which he endeavours to explain, by some
-      miraculous interference of God to keep them from the impious. It is
-      evident, that the insignificance and ignorance of the Jews were sufficient
-      to screen them for a long time from the search of philosophers. Upon the
-      early history of the Jewish nation, however, we have the testimony of
-      several of the ancient writers. Manetho, and Chaeremon, Egyptian
-      historians, give the most unfavourable account of this nation. Lisimachus
-      does not favour them any more; and, although he differs about the name of
-      the king who expelled them from Egypt, yet he agrees in calling them a set
-      of men infected with leprosy, and the meanest of the subjects of the king
-      of Egypt. Diodorus Siculus is as hard upon these wretched Jews. In short,
-      the opinion of their being the vilest and most ignorant of men, has
-      prevailed among all antiquity. All the writers about them agree in stating
-      that they never produced any work in science; indeed, that they never
-      improved any branch of useful knowledge. Many of these authors mention
-      Moses as a priest of Heliopolis, who led them out of Egypt, and gave them
-      a religion. Diodorus Siculus informs us, that the God of Moses was Jau, or
-      Jahouh, which is the true pronunciation of Jehovah; and Plutarch (de
-      Iside) says, that the Thebans adored this God, and had not images in their
-      temples, because Jau signified the general principle of life, the soul of
-      the world.
-    </p>
-    <p>
-      Strabo, in his Geography, book 16, informs us, that Moses, who was an
-      Egyptian priest, taught his followers to worship the God Jahouh, without
-      representing it by emblems. This was the God of the Thebans, the soul of
-      the world. The Jews have even preserved the name of Tsour, or giver of
-      forms, and commonly translated by the word creator in chap. xxxii. of
-      Deuteronomy. Herodotus affirms, that the Jews or Syrians of Palestine
-      borrowed circumcision from the Egyptians. Diodorus says the same; and even
-      Philo and Josephus do not deny it. A great many other rites were copied by
-      the Jews from this nation. It is, therefore, of great consequence to
-      ascertain the age in which the Jewish books were written; for if we can
-      prove that all the fundamental points of their religion were copied from
-      their masters the Egyptians, or borrowed from the Babylonians during the
-      captivities, then the reader will judge of the truth of the clerical
-      opinion, that a handful of hordes were the favourite people of God; that a
-      set of ignorant and credulous vagabonds taught science to the Chinese,
-      Indians, and Egyptians, and preserved nothing among themselves but some
-      ridiculous accounts of their origin, and a collection of absurd prodigies.
-      If we succeed in pointing out from what sources Jewish mythology is
-      derived, there will be but little difficulty in unravelling the principal
-      fables contained in the Pentateuch and other Jewish books. We are pretty
-      well acquainted with the allegories of the heathen mythologies.
-    </p>
-    <p>
-      I am ready to grant that several of Mr. Paine's objections are not valid,
-      and often trifling; but I declare, once for all, that I do not think
-      myself bound to follow Mr. Paine in every instance. I shall direct my
-      remarks, rather to disprove your reasoning, than to defend every objection
-      of your opponent; at the same time, I shall avoid repeating what he has
-      advanced, and you have not disproved. The chief proofs against the
-      genuineness of the Pentateuch have been overlooked by Mr. Paine. I shall
-      state them briefly.
-    </p>
-    <p>
-      First. It was believed, by all the best informed old fathers of the
-      church, that the Jewish books had been absolutely lost during the
-      captivity, and that Esdras had written them from inspiration; or, that he
-      collected the Pentateuch, and all other canonical books, out of whatever
-      records he could find, and put them together. 1 In either case, their
-      authority is greatly invalidated; and the more so, as the fourth book of
-      Esdras, adopted by the Greek church, and generally deemed authentic, says
-      expressly, that Esdras dictated the holy books during forty successive
-      days and nights, to five scribes, who were continually writing. This tale
-      shows sufficiently the general belief that he was the restorer of the long
-      lost books of the law. In our second book of Nehemiah, or, properly
-      speaking, Esdras, it is said, that Ezra, or Esdras the scribe, who was
-      above all the people, brought the book of the law to the people, and then
-      the people rejoiced much in being instructed in the law of God, that when
-      they found there the commandment of the Lord ordering the Jews to perform
-      the feast of the booths, there was great gladness, "and all the
-      congregation of them that were come again out of the captivity made
-      booths, and sat under booths: for, since the days of Joshua the son of
-      Nun, unto that day, had not the children of Israel done so.". If the Jews
-      had even forgotten a feast, the memory of which every father would
-      transmit to his son, is this not an evident proof that they had no books
-      in the captivity? Again, in chap. vii. of the 1 book of Esdras, it is
-      said, that Esdras "had very great skill, so that he omitted nothing of the
-      law and commandments of the Lord, but taught all Israel the ordinances and
-      judgments."
-    </p>
-<pre xml:space="preserve">
-     1 Porro Esdram sancti patres docent iostanratorem suisse
-     sacrorum librorum, quod non ita intelligendum est, quasi
-     scripturæ sacræ omnes perierint in eversione civitatis, et
-     templi Nabuchodonosor, et ab Esdra divinitas inspirato
-     reparatæ fuerint, ut fabulatur auctor, L, IV. Esdræ C. XIV.
-     Sed quod Scripturas Mosis, et prophetarum in varia volimina
-     descriptas, et in varia loca dispenreas, et tempore
-     captivitatis non diligenter conservatas, Esdras summa
-     diligentia collectas ordinaverit, et in unum quasi corpus
-     redigerit. Bellarmin de Script. Ecclesiast. page 22.
-</pre>
-    <p>
-      Can any man, after this, doubt that Esdras is the compiler of all the
-      books which the Jews had not known for many centuries? And are we, who
-      laugh at the Catholic councils, to trust to the word of a Jewish scribe?
-      it is further stated in 2 Chronicles, chap. xxiv. ver. 15, that Hilkiah
-      the priest found a book of the law of God <i>given</i> by Moses, and sent
-      it by Saphan to king Josias, who heard it read, which shows that it must
-      have been very short; and, by the context, it would appear to have been
-      the law strictly speaking; another proof that these records were
-      altogether scattered, and are all without authority, since it was so easy
-      to forge them among a people who seemed to preserve no more than a
-      traditional law. Again, although, in the older Jewish books, such as Kings
-      and Chronicles, we find the name of Moses often mentioned, yet no word
-      answering to the five books of Pentateuch is to be found. The Code of laws
-      of Moses seems to have been forgotten; for Solomon ornamented the temple
-      with calves, in express contempt of that law, and this while he was the
-      favourite of God, and the wisest man in the world. The very confusion that
-      pervades the books ascribed to Moses, shows them to have been
-      compilations. Jerome, who was one of the most learned of the fathers,
-      confesses that he dares not affirm that Moses is the author of the
-      Pentateuch; he even adds, that he has no objection to allow that Esdras
-      wrote the books in question. 1
-    </p>
-<pre xml:space="preserve">
-     1 Sive Mosen dicere volueris auctorem Pentateuchi, sive
-     Esdram ejuadem iustauratorem operis, non recuso. Hieronim.
-     Op. Tom. IV. p. 134. Apud Edit. Paris 1706,
-</pre>
-    <p>
-      Secondly. We know that no canon of books ever existed among the Jew's till
-      the time of the synagogue under the Maccabees. Before their reign, there
-      had never existed among the Jews any such council; and, if the word occurs
-      in the Pentateuch, it is a fault of the transcribers and composers, who
-      lived when there was a synagogue, and is not to be understood in any other
-      acceptation than a collection of priests. The Pharisees of the second
-      temple chose the books they thought best among a multitude of forgeries.
-      The Talmud relates, that this synagogue were about to reject the Book of
-      Proverbs, Ezekiel's prophecies, and Ecclesiastes, because they imagined
-      these writings contradictory to the law of God; but a certain Rabbin
-      having undertaken to reconcile them, they were preserved as canonical. A
-      prodigious number of forged Books of Daniel, Esdras, and of the Prophets,
-      were then in circulation; and to distinguish the genuine from the false
-      works became absolutely necessary. This doubt and uncertainty conspires to
-      render the decision of the synagogue very doubtful; particularly, as we
-      shall show in the sequel, that many passages of the Prophecies are written
-      evidently about the time of this choice of sacred books, and inserted in
-      them, probably by some cunning priest, as the oracles of Sybil were forged
-      to suit Cæsar.
-    </p>
-    <p>
-      Thirdly. The similarity of the mysteries of the Jews to those of the
-      Babylonians, is too glaring not to let us see the origin of Genesis in
-      particular. The creation in six days is a perfect copy of the Gahans, or
-      Gahan-bars, of Zoroaster; the particulars of each day's work are literally
-      the same. The serpent was famous among the Babylonians. The mythological
-      deluge of Ogyges and Xissuthrus, are symbols of changes arising on earth,
-      as they imagined, from the revolutions of the heavenly bodies. These, a
-      little ornamented by the historical narration of Deucalion's inundation
-      related by Berosus, is the pattern of Noah's flood; the ark of Osiris and
-      emblematical dove and raven were Egyptian hieroglyphics. The man and the
-      woman in Paradise is a mere copy of Zoroaster's first pair. The original
-      sin is Pandora's box. The Talmud of Jerusalem says expressly that the Jews
-      borrowed the names of the angels, and even of their months, from the
-      Babylonians. The Elohim, or Gods, (not God), are said in Genesis to have
-      created the world. It was not Jehovah, but the genii or gods that are in
-      the Hebrew called makers of the world. And these are the very genii, who
-      according to Sanchoniatho, were by Mercury excited against Saturn.
-    </p>
-    <p>
-      Fourthly. We ask, in what language was the Pentateuch written, if it
-      really was the work of Moses? It is known that Hebrew is a dialect of the
-      Phenician, and that the Jews spoke Egyptian for a very long time before
-      they adopted the language of the people among whom they dwelt. In Psalm
-      lxxxi. we learn that the Jews were surprised to hear the language of the
-      people beyond the Bed Sea. If, therefore, Moses, or any person of that
-      age, is the author of the Pentateuch, it is evident that the Hebrew books
-      are mere translations. What degree of credit does a nation deserve, who
-      have been able to take for originals books that were in the face of them
-      translations? Is it right to persecute men, as priests have done while
-      they had power, for refusing to give credit to this tissue of
-      contradictory and absurd fables?
-    </p>
-    <p>
-      Fifthly. In the books of the Old Testament, we find abundant proofs that
-      they have been written in an age greatly posterior to that of Moses. In
-      Genesis, chap. xii. ver. 6, we find these words, "And the Canaanite was
-      then in land." This implies another period when the Canaanite was not in
-      the land, which, we learn from the Bible, did not happen till after David,
-      and could not therefore be written by Moses. The beginning of Deuteronomy
-      is certainly not written by him; for he never passed the Jordan; he died
-      upon Mount Nebo, to the eastward of it. The English translation has in
-      chap. i. v. 5, of this book, said, "on this side of the Jordan," for "on
-      that side," which is in the original. The translator has taken similar
-      liberties very often. In chap. xxxiii. we find this expression, "There
-      never was in Judea so great a prophet as Moses," and such could be pointed
-      out in many places. Here needs no comment to show that such passages could
-      only be written in a posterior age, and when there had been several
-      prophets after Moses. Thomas Paine mentions many other passages, which I
-      shall consider when I come to your next letter.
-    </p>
-    <p>
-      The above considerations would be sufficient to invalidate the genuineness
-      and authenticity of any historical book: but here we find that the
-      credulity of bigots requires less proof for the authority of a work,
-      which, according to them, is the fountain of faith, than for Ossian's
-      poems, or any other book of no consequence. If a common historical work
-      contains fables, impossible events, and anachronisms; if its age is not
-      ascertained; if we are certain that it was unknown for many centuries; if
-      we are even ignorant whether it is an original or a translation, who would
-      give the slightest credit to such a book? Yet are enlightened nations led
-      by the testimony of the Jews, a people credulous beyond measure, extremely
-      ignorant, almost continually in slavery, and dispersed. This is the nation
-      that pretends to give an account of the creation, and, with a vanity
-      peculiar to an insignificant people, to assume the supremacy among
-      nations, and arrogate to themselves the exclusive protection of Jehovah,
-      and dare make their Adam the common stock of mankind. You allow, my Lord,
-      that several passages have been interpolated in the Pentateuch. No person
-      in the least acquainted with the history can deny that it has suffered
-      great alterations; 1 and I have already noticed the opinion of the best
-      informed fathers of the church upon the non-existence of the Pentateuch,
-      several centuries prior to Esdras. I now beg to be informed, how we are to
-      decide, if Hilkiah, in the reign of Josias, collected from tradition, or
-      some old book he found in a chest, the precepts of the law? and whether
-      the other famous scribe, Esdras, did not compile from hearsay, and some
-      imperfect and scattered manuscripts of no authority, together with a great
-      many Babylonish traditions, those venerable five books of Moses? We are
-      informed, in one of the books that bears his name, that Esdras was the
-      wisest of his cotemporaries, and therefore a very fit and probable person
-      to write books out of old legends.
-    </p>
-<pre xml:space="preserve">
-     1 Multa in Hebraicis et Græcis codicibus vitia esse
-     ostendimus. Malta mendacia in rebus minutis, eorum pars
-     uliqua non exigua nostra editione vulgata extat.&mdash;-Marian
-     pr. edit. vulg. cap. 21.
-</pre>
-    <p>
-      If the books of the Old Testament were composed at so late a period, no
-      wonder then that we find all the mysterious part of them so much like the
-      religion of the ancients, and particularly of the Babylonians, and the
-      historical part made up of heterogeneous matters, which in our days,
-      unassisted by any profane writer of that age, we can make nothing of. I
-      shall mention a few of the most striking points of resemblance between the
-      Jewish and other mysteries. Abraham, the most famous of their patriarchs,
-      has ever been celebrated in India. This they seem to have brought from
-      their native country, Arabia. We have already noticed, that their account
-      of the creation is exactly copied from Zoroaster, who says, that the world
-      was made in six periods of time, called by him the thousands of God and of
-      light, meaning the six summer months; in the first, God made the heavens;
-      in the second, the waters; in the third, the earth; in the fourth, trees;
-      in the fifth, animals; and in the sixth, man. The Etrurians and the
-      Hindoos have very similar traditions of the highest antiquity, which,
-      though they were emblems at first perfectly understood, astronomers
-      afterwards converted them into periods, comprehending as many years as was
-      required for different revolutions of the planetary system.
-    </p>
-    <p>
-      Thus, while the Hindoos and Persians called the days or ages of the world,
-      each of many thousands of years; the Jews, ignorant of astronomy, and fond
-      of the marvellous, comprised all within six common days. Their firmament
-      or heaven of crystal, and its windows, are absurdities not peculiar to
-      them; the feast of the Pascha, which signifies passage, is of Egyptian
-      origin, and was in reverence for the passage of the sun at the vernal
-      equinox: the sacrifices of calves or oxen, the ceremony of the scape-goat,
-      are Egyptian and Indian; the latter, in particular, have a ceremony
-      altogether the same with that of the scapegoat. It is too long to insert
-      here, but I refer my readers to Mr. Halhed's introduction to the code of
-      Gentoo laws for information on this head. The distinction between pure and
-      impure animals was first made by the Egyptians; the ladder seen in Jacob's
-      vision, is exactly a copy of that with seven steps in the cave of Milthra,
-      representing the seven spheres of the planets, by means of which souls
-      ascended and descended. It is also the mythology of the Hindoos, whose
-      antiquity no man at the present day can venture to deny. The seven
-      candlesticks, and the twelve stones are Egyptian, and were emblems of the
-      seven planets, and twelve signs of the Zodiac. The serpent is the most
-      famous Egyptian hieroglyphic; it signifies eternity, or the sum of all
-      things. The fasts before feasts are also derived from this nation. The
-      Jewish high-priest, like the Egyptian, wore an image of sapphire, being
-      the emblematic picture of truth, upon, his breast: in short, the
-      Egyptians, their masters, gave them the first ideas of mysteries, which,
-      in the course of time, they mingled with the Chaldaic; and Manetho informs
-      us, in the extract given by Josephus in his first book against Appian,
-      that, in authors of great authority, he found the Jews to have been
-      distinguished in Egypt by the name of captive pastors, which Josephus
-      artfully enough has attempted to convert into captive kings. These are the
-      men whom sacred historians pretend to have taught the Egyptians all their
-      arts. These wretches, despised of all nations, were themselves the
-      emphatical admirers of the wisdom of the East. Their legislator was an
-      Egyptian priest, and learned all that he knew from them; and you would
-      persuade us that a set of Arabian hordes had founded the Egyptian empire,
-      simply because they, like the Irish, are pleased to say that they were
-      antedeluvians. I pardon the Jews for their credulity; but Europeans in the
-      18th century ought not to think as the inhabitants of Palestine. If we
-      give credit to all the reports of the origin of nations, we may give up
-      all pretensions to common sense.
-    </p>
-    <p>
-      The immortality of the soul is shown, by the learned but superstitious
-      Warburton, never to have been mentioned in the Pentateuch; nor the notion
-      of hell, or of future rewards and punishments. There is nothing more
-      certain, however, than that the Pharisees, long before Christ, strenuously
-      maintained the immortality of the soul, and in some measure adopted the
-      doctrine of transmigration of souls, which they had got from the Greeks
-      and other nations.
-    </p>
-    <p>
-      The Sadducees, founding themselves upon the Bible, fervently denied a
-      future life. The Essenians, according to Philostratus, were Pythagoreans,
-      both in their morals, belief, and mode of life, except that a few of the
-      Jewish articles of faith, such as the necessity of circumcision, were
-      mingled with their creed. Josephus himself acknowledges the similarity
-      between the Essenians and the Plisti among the Thracians, to whom
-      Zamolxis, the disciple of Pythagoras, taught his doctrines: The
-      Therapeutes, the pattern and ori&mdash;gin of Christian morals, were
-      reckoned amongst the Jews to be the most holy among the Essenians. They
-      sacrificed their passions to God; they never swore, but made simple
-      affirmations; they lived, as it were, in convents; they despised bodily
-      pain: when they entered their state of perfection, they abandoned their
-      property, wives, children, and all earthly concerns; they lived upon bread
-      and water and salt; and spent the six days of the week in interpreting the
-      allegorical sense of the Bible. They revered the Sabbath with a most
-      scrupulous exactness; then they assembled in places set apart for
-      religion, the men ranged on one side, and the women on the other,
-      separated by a division four feet high, to prevent temptation. Then they
-      sung praises to God, and preached; they obeyed all the laws of their
-      country, but never would execute any order to hurt another person. They,
-      like the Pythagoreans, thought themselves possessed of the gift of
-      prophecy; they, like the Pythagoreans, believed in the great year, whence
-      arose the famous millennium of the Christians. The three sects of Jews&mdash;Pharisees,
-      Sadducees, and Essenians, lived all in perfect harmony; the incredulous
-      Sadducees not being considered as heretics, but often attaining the
-      dignity of high-priests. This suffices to show, that the Jews borrowed
-      from other nations those very mysteries which the ignorance of writers has
-      misled mankind to consider as the special revelations of Jesus Christ.
-    </p>
-    <p>
-      I have insisted so much upon this circumstance, because there is not a
-      single article of Christian morals, nor one religious tenet, contained in
-      the New Testament, that was not known before Jesus Christ was born. And
-      the Christian religion, like that of the Jews, is a corruption of the
-      mythologies of the nations they brand with the name of infidels.
-    </p>
-    <p>
-      I return to your book. It is now needless to answer your logical
-      inference, that if Esdras is the compiler of the books of the Pentateuch,
-      they may still be true. I have already said, that we are not to sacrifice
-      our reason to the compilations or works of a Jewish scribe, who borrowed
-      evidently so much, and who pretended to divine inspiration and
-      conversations with the angels. When I began to read your book, I was
-      impressed with the idea of your candour; sorry am I to see the malevolence
-      with which you treat Mr. Paine, and how much you misrepresent his just
-      aspersions on the conduct of Moses. Your language almost persuades me that
-      you do not differ from the gentlemen of your profession. Could Moses
-      affirm, as you pretend he might, that he never persecuted any man? What!
-      that monster, who, although married with a Midianite, ordered thousands of
-      his credulous followers to be murdered, because one of them had slept with
-      a Midianite, whom Josephus states was his wife! What! when his brother and
-      coadjutor makes a golden calf to the people, this impostor, instead of
-      punishing him, orders 3,000 men to be murdered, and appoints Aaron his
-      successor! Because Korah, Da-than, and Abiram, could not suffer to see him
-      usurping all the power, he murders them, although Korab was the descendant
-      of Levi. This is Moses, who says, like Bishop Watson, that he "was a very
-      meek man!" Were these continual murders necessary to instruct ignorant
-      idolaters who followed the example of their priests? Have not the founders
-      of our faith been the most cruel murderers? But all this we are told was
-      the immediate orders of the Lord Jehovah, a merciful God. How feeble
-      appears the power of this great God! He is continually repenting, and
-      always obliged to renew his covenants with a set of wretches, who,
-      although they enjoyed his special protection, always forsook him, and only
-      fulfilled his commands strictly when they were ordered to massacre. They
-      might have been the favourite people of God, but I am sure they were the
-      disgrace of men. You talk of idolatrous nations sunk in vice. I know of
-      none so barbarous as the Jews, whose legislator was obliged to fly from
-      Egypt for murder, a perfect assassin. The laws concerning paternal power,
-      which you support, are horrid. Their having been adopted by many nations,
-      is a proof of the general prevalence of superstition, ignorance, and
-      despotism. I have nothing to answer to your discourses on tythes. The
-      Bible is preached up, because it teaches passive obedience, donations to
-      the church, and such other acts of <i>public utility</i>.
-    </p>
-    <p>
-      <a name="link2H_4_0005" id="link2H_4_0005">
-      <!--  H2 anchor --> </a>
-    </p>
-    <div style="height: 4em;">
-      <br /><br /><br /><br />
-    </div>
-    <h2>
-      LETTER III.
-    </h2>
-    <p>
-      After what I have observed above, it will be useless to say much as to
-      your third letter, in which you examine minutely the passages Thomas Paine
-      has pointed out to prove the Pentateuch not genuine. First, As to the
-      objection taken from the name of Dan, I never thought it specious. This is
-      not the case with the very next one, which is of very great weight. The
-      writer, after enumerating a number of Arabian names, concludes in these
-      words, "These are the kings that reigned in Edom, before there reigned any
-      king over the children of Israel." Contrary to my expectations, you
-      acknowledge this to have been written after the Jews had kings. Many of
-      your brethren have attempted to deny it by quibbles! but you say that this
-      does not invalidate the authority of the book: wonderful! if your <i>alma-mater</i>
-      taught you, that an evident lie or contradiction in any book, particularly
-      of remote antiquity, and relating histories unsupported by impartial
-      authors, does not create a suspicion, which approaches to certainty, that
-      the book is not authentic; if you think so, I must give up arguing with
-      you. It may be an interpolation, you observe. How did you learn this? You
-      will at least leave, me the right to suppose, and you cannot deny that the
-      presumption is against you, an absurdity in a book is a reason for
-      distrusting the rest. I have probability on my side; for the Jew who
-      forged this passage, either from piety or ignorance, might have forged the
-      whole book, or so interpolated it, as to destroy its credibility. At any
-      rate, the detection of falsehood in a history, is not a motive to suppose
-      it true. It requires an excess of piety to break through all the rules of
-      logic and common sense. How does it happen, that the Lord Jahovah does not
-      provide better against such mistakes creeping into the book of the law of
-      his favourite people? It could seem as if he had done it on purpose to
-      create incredulity, and enjoy the pleasure of punishing unbelievers, as of
-      old, he hardened Pharaoh's heart, that he might have a pretext to inflict
-      calamities on him and his people.
-    </p>
-    <p>
-      My Lord, what credit would we give to a history of William the Conqueror
-      that had the following sentence, after naming different persons, <i>And
-      these were the names of the Kings of England before George the Third came
-      to the throne</i>; for what purpose could any person insert such a
-      passage? He must have been absolutely mad. It could only get into the work
-      from its being compiled during the reign of George the Third, and arising
-      from a forgetfulness of the writer, or ignorance of the transcriber: in no
-      case could it be inserted in a book, which you say was kept in the public
-      records, and over whose purity the whole Jewish learned men would watch;
-      you must either give up your argument from the public records of this
-      people, and no longer deem them great authority; or, if you persist in it,
-      I leave you to reconcile the most palpable interpolations and forgeries
-      with the scrupulous attention with which you suppose the Jews preserved
-      the word of God. But what is most curious in this passage is, that we find
-      it verbatim in 2 Chronicles, chap. i. ver. 43, and you seem to glory in
-      discovering this similarity of the passages. "Why might not," you say at
-      the end of your fourth letter, "the author of the book of Chronicles have
-      taken them, (meaning the names of the kings of Edom, &amp;c.), as he has
-      taken many other genealogies, supposing them to have been written in the
-      book of Genesis by Samuel?" Another acknowledgment of more interpolations
-      in Genesis.
-    </p>
-    <p>
-      But, Sir, who gave you the right, you who exclaim so much against the
-      unsupported assertions of Thomas Paine, to suppose that the author of
-      Chronicles copied an interpolation from Genesis, knowing, as he must have
-      done, that it was interpolated by Samuel?
-    </p>
-    <p>
-      Would he not rather, to make the book consistent, expunge it? Could he be
-      so ignorant as not to see the contradiction? What is more strange, how
-      came Samuel to introduce such a passage? The tendency of it could only be
-      to weaken the authority of Genesis; but, allowing all your groundless
-      suppositions to be true, do you not see that they only prove the ignorance
-      of Samuel and of the Jewish history writers, and at once destroy the
-      superstructure you have in your following letters raised upon the supposed
-      accurate records of the Jews? The supposition of Samuel being the author
-      of the interpolation, is like an historian, who, to the history of Charles
-      the First, should add some accounts, concluding with observing, that all
-      this took place before George the Second, or should even venture further,
-      and instruct us in some prominent features of the French revolution: yet
-      this is the case with the passage in question; for it is unquestionable
-      that the Jews had never a king till the time of Saul; that, under Moses
-      and the Judges, they held kings in detestation. The fact is very plain. In
-      Chronicles, the passage has an obvious and clear sense; for there an
-      account of the kings of Israel is given, and the sentence now under
-      consideration precedes it. Indeed, the whole chapter xxxvi. of Genesis is
-      almost literally the same with chapter first of Chronicles; and every
-      unbiassed man will conclude, that the former is copied from the latter.
-      That little concluding expression, before <i>there reigned any king over
-      Israel</i>, certainly marks its date; and there is nothing more probable,
-      than that when Esdras and the scribes compiled these books, they should
-      insert in Genesis the posterity of Esau, as far as the history of Genesis
-      went, and that this unlucky passage should by mistake be copied too. I
-      acknowledge, that an interpolation, when we can prove the period of its
-      insertion, does not destroy the validity of a book, if the rest of the
-      facts are consistent, and supported by collateral proofs; but the Bible is
-      an unconnected rhapsody, written by we know not whom, without order,
-      arrangement, or a shadow of method. Besides, it is the word of God; and
-      what, in a profane writer, would be a slight error, is here a most
-      material fault; if our future happiness depends, as you suppose, on our
-      believing this book, which certainly can never take place while such
-      reasons for scepticism remain. In proportion to the importance of an
-      event, so we must be careful in examining the grounds upon which it
-      stands, or else we must be like those whimsical men, who will require the
-      best evidence for the truth of a trifling report, but find no repugnance
-      in crediting the most marvellous events upon trust.
-    </p>
-    <p>
-      Mr. Paine properly concludes, that Genesis is a book of stories, fables,
-      traditions, or invented absurdities, or downright lies; and this I not
-      only affirm with him, but will prove to my readers, that it is in no
-      respect deserving of more credit than the fabulous and early history of
-      all nations. Next follows your rhapsody upon the beauty of the Bible and
-      the truth of it. Pardon me if I think it like a madman's reveries. Even
-      the men of your profession have long ago given up such a ridiculous
-      conceit. Whoever has read eastern literature, or the late translation from
-      the Shanscrit, will find that the same style with that of the Bible
-      pervades all eastern compositions. In all of them we find the frequent use
-      of allegory, and a quaint and formal manner of expression. Divest the
-      Bible of its Oriental garb, and put it into common language, you will
-      find, except the episode of Joseph, and two or three other passages, it is
-      absolutely illegible. I have already shown the Pentateuch to have been a
-      very modern work, and the Jews to have borrowed every thing from other
-      nations. No wonder then that the <i>Abram</i> should resemble the <i>Brama</i>
-      of the Hindoos, or that a few names in the supposed genealogies of the
-      Jews should be like those of the Assyrians, Medes, &amp;c. Genesis gives a
-      description of creation truly beautiful! We did not spring from
-      grasshoppers, nor the world from an egg; but the wise Moses informs us,
-      that we were made of clay and a little breath. This may be sublime to you;
-      but the philosopher is never elated by fables so absurd. It is not true
-      that Genesis is the oldest, nor a very old book. Sanchoniato, the Hindoo
-      books, those of the Egyptians and Chinese, are of much higher antiquity
-      than Moses. In vain has Mr. Maurice struggled to dazzle our understandings
-      with his incoherent suppositions, to prove that the Hindoos borrowed their
-      religion from the Jews, from a set of Arabian hordes, from the slaves of
-      the Egyptians, from a petty nation, who, as Julian says, never produced a
-      single work, and whose credulity has ever been proverbial. The
-      astronomical records of the Chinese prove, that there were men and
-      astronomers in that country at the time when the wretched Jews would make
-      us believe the world was inundated from the windows of heaven, and no
-      creatures existing but Noah, his family, and the beasts in the ark.
-      Further, Souciet mentions an eclipse of the sun recorded in the Chinese
-      history, which happened 2155 years before Christ, which is but 236 years
-      after the Deluge; a time when, the Bible informs us, the earth was only
-      inhabited by the sons of Noah, while Egypt was then so peopled, that
-      90,000 cities could not contain the inhabitants, and China was not less
-      so. The Hindoo astronomical observations, as far as they have been
-      examined by the most learned astronomers of the age, such as Baillie, Le
-      Gentil, and others, carry their antiquity between four and five thousands
-      beyond our æra; for a proof of which, I refer you to Mr. Playfair's
-      excellent paper, in the second volume of the Edinburgh Philosophical
-      Transactions. The Hindoo religious books contain, besides, a great many of
-      the ideas afterwards adopted by the Jews. The long lives of antedeluvians,
-      in particular, are the exact copy of the Iogues of the Indians. The
-      Dwapaar Iogue, the latter part of which answers to the period of Noah, was
-      when men's lives were limited to a thousand years; and Methuselah we know
-      did not live so long. They have, too, their mythological deluge, or the
-      incarnation of Vishnu into a fish. For an account of which I refer my
-      readers to Volney, and to Mr. Maurice himself. The former gentleman is a
-      good judge of ancient literature; he pretends that he can prove, that most
-      of the chapters of Genesis, supposed to contain names of persons, are
-      mythological: the posterity of Noah is, according to Volney, no more than
-      a geography of the world as known to the Jews. I have not read Mr.
-      Volney's memoir which I understand he has published on this subject; but,
-      when I consider the late period when Genesis and the other books were
-      composed, and how much the Jews borrowed from the Egyptians and
-      Babylonians, how much the deluge of Noah and his ark resemble the emblems
-      of Osiris; in short, when I reflect on the unintelligibility and apparent
-      absurdity of Genesis, on the impossibility of the Deluge, and of the not
-      less absurdity of the population of the world so soon after that calamity,
-      I confess I am much inclined to despise the whole performance. There have
-      been various suppositions upon the meaning of the names mentioned in
-      Genesis. Adam has been said to signify, in many parts of Asia, the first
-      day of the week; and Enoch, the seventh successor of Adam, to be the same
-      with Saturn, or the seventh day. Thus Assur, Elam, Lud, Madai, Javan, and
-      Tiras, which are said to be the founders of the Assyrians, the Elamites,
-      the Lydians, the Medes, the Ionians, and the Thracians, may very probably
-      be nothing else than the enunciation of the names of these countries; for,
-      between Assur and Assyria, or Lud and Lydia, there is not a very great
-      difference. We know that Egypt is by the Arabs called <i>Masr</i>, which
-      has the same consonants with the Hebrew <i>Misraim</i>, whose plural
-      termination implies properly the inhabitants of Egypt. In the Bible, <i>Misraim</i>
-      is called the founder of that kingdom. We also know, that Syria is called
-      <i>Barr-el-sham</i>, or the country to the left. The inhabitants of
-      Thebaid are called the sons of Cush. Again, we find several names of towns
-      very much resembling those of the supposed founders of these monarchies;
-      Sur, or Tyre, is not unlike Assur. These are conjectures; I pretend to
-      found nothing upon them; but, at least, they are probable. Your Genesis,
-      on the contrary, as it is commonly explained, contains palpable lies. It
-      supposes a deluge, which neither did nor could take place; it destroys the
-      human race, when we know that nations were then in existence. Lastly, it
-      talks of the founders of nations, which existed long before that period.
-      But, even had Genesis been written at the time of Moses, it might be worth
-      while to inquire into the import of his genealogies; but, being a very
-      modern compilation, collected by an ignorant people, partly from
-      tradition, partly from scattered and mutilated records, it does not
-      deserve the serious attention of the philosopher.
-    </p>
-    <p>
-      You next attempt to justify the conduct of God towards the Canaanites,
-      whose great crime was to defend their own country, and to adore their own
-      gods instead of the God of the Jews. When a man makes an apology for such
-      conduct, we only can answer by an appeal to the feelings of men, from
-      which alone we derive notions of humanity. It was natural for the adorers
-      of a Phenician Jehovah to be the enemies of the Babylonish Baal: both
-      these gods sprang from the wild fancies of men. The jealous God of the
-      Jews, the all-wise, omnipotent, and benevolent, could not convert the
-      worshippers of another god, without exterminating whole nations, even to
-      the little children; but this barbarous mandate came from the priests, who
-      have in all countries, and all systems of Religion, adopted this method of
-      conversion. You state, that Moses "gave an order that the boys and women
-      should be put to death; but, that the young maidens should be kept alive
-      for themselves;" and, that you "see nothing in the proceeding, but good
-      policy combined with mercy. The young men might have become dangerous
-      avengers of what they would esteem their country's wrongs; the mothers
-      might have again allured the Israelites to the love of licentious
-      pleasures, and the practice of idolatry, and brought another plague upon
-      the congregation; but the young maidens, not being polluted by the
-      flagitious habits of their mothers, not likely to create disturbance by
-      rebellion, were kept alive:" and you add, that "the women children were
-      not reserved for the purposes of debauchery, but of slavery; a custom (you
-      acknowledge) abhorrent from our manners, but every where practised in
-      former times, and still preserved in countries where the benignity of the
-      Christian religion has not softened the ferocity of human nature." Is
-      extermination an example of the mercy of priests and their gods, "whose
-      justice is subservient to mercy," "whose punishments originate in his
-      abhorrence to sin,"&mdash;and whose commands to massacre, to butcher, and
-      to exterminate, "are only benevolent warnings?"&mdash;You dare Mr. Paine
-      to prove, that the young women were kept for debauchery; and you
-      triumphantly add, "that if he does, you will allow Moses to be the horrid
-      monster he describes him, and the Bible a book of lies, wickedness, and
-      blasphemy." Do you think, that consigning to slavery thirty-two thousand
-      maids, is consistent with the benignity of God? I do not hesitate to
-      consider this worse than merely making them the partners of licentious
-      pleasures. But, in what consisted the wonted wisdom of a God, whom you
-      describe as ever solicitous to lessen the influence of sin? Let me ask
-      you, if the young women were not as liable to incite the passions of the
-      Jews as their mothers, and whether their slavery would not increase the
-      opportunities for debauchery? Could it be consistent with humanity, much
-      less with the mercy of an all powerful God, to put to death all the boys
-      of a nation, merely because they might in time revenge the insolent
-      invaders of their country? Were all the male children already polluted
-      from their birth? It would have been easy for them to convert them to
-      another religion, but to your God it was impossible. The bloody invaders
-      of America pursued not another plan, even after "the benignity of the
-      Christian religion softened the ferocity of human nature." Have these
-      Christian invaders any where respected the chastity of women when they
-      made them slaves? And have the Jews, God's chosen nation, at any period,
-      either while under his protection, or since he abandoned them, shown
-      themselves more virtuously inclined than other people; were they ever
-      prevented by the striking manifestations of his mercy, his power, and his
-      justice, from going away to adore other gods, and falling into all sorts
-      of wickedness? In short, if the Bishop rests his defence of Moses and the
-      Bible upon this passage, I am willing to appeal to the judgement of all
-      mankind. If any person can believe it consistent with the benevolence of
-      omnipotence, to sacrifice whole nations to be massacred and plundered by a
-      few hordes of bloody Jews; if he can think this to be part of a grand
-      scheme for the good of mankind, he must give up all pretensions to reason,
-      common sense, and humanity. But it is time the world should see, that this
-      holy book the Bible, "which, in weight of authority, and extent of
-      utility, exceeds all the libraries of the philosophers," contains
-      pretences for all bad actions, and stifles the laws of humanity and
-      morality. Upon this book have inquisitors, crusaders, and religious men,
-      founded pretences for the most diabolical persecutions, avowedly
-      undertaken for the express purpose of unrooting infidelity, and for the
-      glory of the Lord. Every man who reads the word of God is warranted to
-      reason thus: God has ordered murder and robbery; he has instigated his
-      favourite people to exterminate whole nations; therefore I can do no
-      better than to imitate the Almighty; and every crusader may pretend to
-      have the same authority from God as Moses; and miracles are never wanting
-      to prove it. Because Abraham was a pimp, and his wife a prostitute, so may
-      any person be, without losing the patronage of the God of Abraham. Every
-      man, in short, may imitate the meek Moses, the humane David, without
-      fearing to incur the displeasure of the Almighty. Thus Ravaillac thought
-      he was doing as holy a deed, when he attempted the life of Henry; as
-      Dominic, or Torquemada, when butchering the wretched heretics, who had the
-      misfortune to fall a prey to their bloody zeal. The whole Old Testament is
-      so filled with barbarous stories, that if they did not excite laughter by
-      their improbability, they would freeze the blood in, the veins of any man
-      endowed with humanity. What an irksome task have those undertaken, who
-      have attempted to reconcile the horrible crimes of the Jews with the mercy
-      and wisdom of the Creator? Has ferocity forsaken Christians as you
-      insinuate? Have the modern religious fanatics yielded in cruelty to the
-      Jews? Those two religions have successively inundated the earth with the
-      blood of innocent victims. Have not the followers of Christ constantly
-      preached passive obedience to the church, have they not frequently
-      relieved the people of their oaths, and have they not fomented most of the
-      civil wars that laid waste all Europe? It is well that priests have not
-      been able to persuade mankind of late, that the minister was the oracle of
-      God. The pride and foolishness of science has put this out of their power;
-      they cannot lead nations as they did the Jews; we are not so easily
-      persuaded of the immediate manifestations of God's commands to the priest.
-      We know science too well to believe that the pillar of fire that went
-      before the Israelites was God himself. We might have shown the people,
-      that a pan with red-hot substances would have the appearance of a fire by
-      night, and a cloud of smoke by day, a custom practised, from time
-      immemorial, by the caravans. Although, my Lord, the wisdom of God may be
-      foolishness to man, I acknowledge I am neither fond of crediting
-      absurdities, nor have I so much faith as to take the work of priests for
-      supernatural mandates of Providence; when they speak in their usual
-      senseless and unintelligible language, I conclude that it is either to
-      dazzle the ignorant multitude, or I look upon their dreams as the
-      consequence of dire superstition, the first effect of which is to make us
-      unacquainted with ourselves, under the imposing aspect of familiarising us
-      with imaginary beings. At the conclusion of my remarks upon the Old
-      Testament, I shall give a few extracts from those books, wherein my
-      readers may see the character of the Jews and their God in glaring
-      colours, and judge whether any honest man would not tremble at the
-      thoughts of having done as much injustice, and committed such atrocities
-      as this Jehovah.
-    </p>
-    <p>
-      <a name="link2H_4_0006" id="link2H_4_0006">
-      <!--  H2 anchor --> </a>
-    </p>
-    <div style="height: 4em;">
-      <br /><br /><br /><br />
-    </div>
-    <h2>
-      LETTER IV.
-    </h2>
-    <p>
-      You enter again upon your favourite topic, genuineness and authenticity. I
-      shall not repeat what I have already said. I confess my great surprise at
-      your laying such stress upon the most trifling and false of your
-      arguments. You now strive to prove, that a book may contain a true
-      history, although it should be anonymous. Pray, my Lord, do you think,
-      that to prove a book spurious, when it is believed to be genuine, is a
-      demonstration of the truth of the contents? You thus leave us uncertain
-      whether Joshua be a genuine book. You have sadly confused yourself in the
-      maze you have created. To put it beyond a doubt that the sun stood still,
-      you appeal to the book of Jasher, which Joshua mentions in the following
-      words, "Is not this written in the book of Jasher?" And in like manner,
-      you refer to other books frequently quoted as authorities in the Bible.
-      Does your zeal blind you so far as not to let you perceive, that this very
-      argument may with redoubled strength be retorted against you? for if an
-      author, who is said to write his own history, appeals to another book for
-      a proof of his actions, that book must be of much greater authority than
-      his own: we cannot avoid believing the writer of the work alluded to had
-      better information. In short, the book appealed to contains the only
-      authentic testimony. Now, permit me to ask you, who could be better
-      authority than Joshua himself, writing at a time when we must suppose many
-      of his soldiers who had witnessed the miracle were alive? What is this
-      anterior book which Joshua respects so much? Was it written by himself,
-      then it would be idle to quote it; and, at any rate, whoever had written
-      it, it is evident that the author of the book of Joshua has no proofs of
-      his own, but rests solely upon the book of the Holy, or of Jasher. This
-      circumstance proves clearly, that the writer of the Book of Joshua
-      composed his book out of some more ancient memoirs, which being lost, we
-      can say no more of their authority than for that of any old tales. You
-      talk of the public records of the Jews as confidently as a Member of
-      Parliament speaks of the papers in the Tower. Do you know at what period
-      the Jews began to keep written records, and do you also know, whether
-      those that were kept existed when the books of the Old Testament were
-      compiled? Had you been instructed in these particulars, and had you been
-      not altogether divested of candour, you might have informed your readers,
-      that, previous to the time of kings, we have not a shadow of proof of the
-      existence of any historical records among the Jews. We, no doubt, read,
-      that there was a book of the law of Moses, in which Joshua wrote something
-      too respecting the renewal of a covenant. This seems to be the only
-      written record among the Jews, and it contained nothing but religious
-      precepts, or the law, strictly speaking. In Joshua, chap. viii. ver. 31,
-      we read, "As Moses the servant of the Lord commanded the children of
-      Israel, as it is written in the book of the law of Moses and ver. 32, He
-      wrote there upon the stones a copy of the law of Moses, which he wrote in
-      the presence of the children of Israel and ver. 35, He read all the words
-      of the law, the blessings, and curses, according to all that is written in
-      the book of the law of the Lord, and there was not a word of all that
-      Moses commanded which Joshua read not before the congregation of Israel."
-      We know, likewise, that this law was written in the circumference of an
-      altar composed of twelve stones. This is the only book either Moses or
-      Joshua were ever said to have written; the writers of the Pentateuch, and
-      of the other books, certainly never meant to inscribe them to Moses,
-      Joshua, &amp;c.; they bore the names of books of Moses, of Joshua, Judges,
-      &amp;c. because they treated of these personages. What then do you infer
-      from the quotation of books by the Bible authors, except that they all
-      wrote in very modern times, when they wanted the corroboration of more
-      ancient books, whose date and authority we are equally strangers to? This
-      book of the law, which you so triumphantly mention as a book written and
-      existing a few years after Moses, turns out to be nothing more than what
-      is contained in Exodus, chap. xx. to chap. xxiv. to which Joshua added
-      some detail about the third covenant of God.
-    </p>
-    <p>
-      I beg the reader will observe, that the writer of the Book of Joshua does
-      not mention the second, third, or any other book of Moses, but simply
-      notices the book of the law of God. Now this great book was written upon
-      twelve stones, and in Exodus we find the precise commandment of Moses to
-      build the altar, and to read the commandments at the feast of tabernacles;
-      so that it contained not one line of history, and could have no authority.
-      It was a law written upon stones, which Moses, in Exod. chap. xxiv. v. 7,
-      is said to have read to the people: "And he took the book of the covenant,
-      and read it in the audience of the people." This covenant, and
-      particularly the repetition of it after the disobedience of the Jews, is
-      the only part of the Scriptures that Moses ordered to be preserved with a
-      religious care. Nothing of the most important parts of Genesis or the
-      other five books is ever mentioned in the commandments of the law of God:
-      the writer of the law certainly knew not that the Pentateuch existed. Had
-      Moses written such a work, would he have failed to recommend to the
-      Levites to keep the precious records of mankind, the sublime account of
-      the creation? Did not the whole of the faith of the Jews depend on their
-      being acquainted with the history of their forefathers, who were under the
-      immediate protection of God? The ten commandments every person knows from
-      the light of nature; no nation has ever mistaken them; but the origin of
-      mankind is a subject of great darkness, and which the Jews ought to have
-      preserved most carefully. Certain, however, it is, that excepting a few
-      rites, the Jews lost not only their books, but even the recollection of
-      their feasts, during their captivity. The other books referred to in the
-      Bible prove, that those left are mere collections of borrowed stories, and
-      pretended abridgements of books of greater authority, which are
-      unfortunately lost, and leave a wide field for scepticism, particularly
-      upon improbable or contradictory accounts. As to the belief that the books
-      of the Old Testament are inspired, it is a tale, which, after what we have
-      stated, even a child would laugh at.
-    </p>
-    <p>
-      You next seriously endeavour to corroborate the ridiculous miracle of the
-      sun and moon standing still. You are as unsuccessful in historical as in
-      scientifical arguments. The story in question is so stupid, that the bare
-      mention of it marks a man's credulity, so as to render him the object of
-      compassion. That an ignorant fanatic should attempt to defend such
-      absurdities, would be a matter of no surprise; but to witness a Regius
-      Professor of Divinity, a natural philosopher, bring forward facts from
-      profane history to prove the truth of so bare-faced a lie, denotes at
-      least your want of prudence. I cannot persuade myself that you seriously
-      believed what you wrote; I cannot think you capable of falling at once
-      into the most gross astronomical and historical error. I shall state the
-      matter briefly. There was a tradition in all antiquity, and particularly
-      among the Egyptians, relating to that motion of the earth's axis which has
-      been observed by astronomers, and whose complete revolution round the four
-      cardinal points takes up no less than 9,160,000 years. In the course of
-      this revolution, it necessarily happens, that the sun will rise where it
-      sets, that north will be south, and so on. The Egyptian priests pretended
-      that this revolution had taken place in their country without changing the
-      climate, while the Babylonians maintained, in the time of Alexander, that
-      140,000 years had elapsed since their first astronomical observations.
-      This, no doubt, was the time that must have elapsed since the earth moved
-      north and south. The Egyptian priests, long before Herodotus, had lost
-      their knowledge of astronomy, which accounts for their mistake. It is
-      evident, that the displacement of the earth's axis must be accompanied by
-      the heaviest gravitating matter, and, therefore, what is now land, has
-      been and will, in the course of ages, become sea. Now, my Lord, what has
-      the Egyptian tradition to do with the sun stopped by the robber Joshua?
-      What connection has the stoppage of the sun, or rather the earth's motion,
-      with the sun rising where it sets? Were the thing possible, the sun would
-      nevertheless rise in the east. Besides, does Joshua say the sun changed
-      its course? Had this been the case, (I am ashamed even of the
-      supposition), how could the earth change its axis in an hour, without
-      shattering the whole globe, without inundating vast tracts of country, and
-      tearing others asunder to reestablish the equilibrium of gravity? Study
-      and consider; do not attempt to ridicule the little learning of Thomas
-      Paine, when you fall into such absurdities. Read Chinese history, and you
-      will find that their careful astronomers did not perceive the long day and
-      night. It was probably the sun of Judea only that altered its course; they
-      did not seem to be enlightened by the same luminary. Those who believed
-      that heaven was made of crystal, could find no difficulty in crediting
-      this silly story. I have insisted so much upon this, because you ought to
-      know the common principles of astronomy, and somewhat of history. Here
-      again you appeal to the book of Jasher: it deserves no more consideration.
-      To deem an appeal to a lost book evidence of a prodigy, because the author
-      affirms it, is a degree of credulity which may gain the kingdom of heaven;
-      but, in the republic of letters, such believer will pass for a very
-      contemptible reasoner.
-    </p>
-    <p>
-      These are the miracles, and the histories, better attested than the
-      History of the Twelve Knights Of Charles the Great, and such other foolish
-      tales. Surely, none can believe that 19,000 men fought against the
-      Midianites, and murdered a prodigious number, without having lost a man,
-      and disbelieve the famous battles of the knights, in many of which six men
-      fought several thousands; the conversation of the devil with Cromwell, or
-      the miraculous appearance of God to almost all the knights and warriors
-      among the Catholics. The sacred phial of Rheims, and the chapel of
-      Loretto, were both conveyed in a manner you know well, and which few men
-      in the two countries dare controvert. They too appeal to their books of
-      Jasher. The tale of making the sun stand still has not even the merit of
-      novelty; this luminary had long before stopt his career, out of respect to
-      Bacchus. Neither is the shower of hail-stones new, for Jupiter of old sent
-      a shower of hail upon the rebellious sons of Neptune.
-    </p>
-    <p>
-      As to Joshua having written the book that goes under his name, we have,
-      besides what has been stated, the strongest evidence against the
-      genuineness of this performance. The death of Joshua is recorded in chap.
-      xxiv. and it is related exactly in the same style as what precedes it. The
-      writer even mentions several events posterior to the death of the son of
-      Nun. You have passed over the arguments of Thomas Paine drawn from this
-      passage, "The Jebusites dwelt with the children of Judah at Jerusalem unto
-      this day." It was natural for you to overlook a passage, which
-      demonstrates that the book of Joshua was not written until after David,
-      when, and not before, the conquest of the Jebusites took place. It is
-      beyond a doubt, that they never dwelt with the Jews in the time of Joshua,
-      since, in the first part of the above quoted passage, he says, "As for the
-      Jebusites, the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the children of Judah could not
-      drive them out." How then did the Jews inhabit Jerusalem in the days of
-      Joshua? I refer the reader to the Age of Reason, and to an answer to it by
-      Mr. David Wilson, for further information, on this head. In the latter, he
-      will be amazed at the weak subterfuges used by the author to evade the
-      strength of the objection by Mr. Paine. But this is not the only event
-      related in Joshua, which did not take place till some time after his
-      death. Almost the whole of chap. xvii. contains facts of this nature.
-      Where the portion of Manasseh is described, it is said, in ver. 12, "Yet
-      the children of Manasseh could not drive out the inhabitants of those
-      cities, but the inhabitants would dwell in that land." It is added, "And
-      it came to pass, when the children of Israel waxed strong, that they put
-      the Canaanites to tribute; but did not utterly drive them out." Now this
-      certainly did not take place during the life of Joshua, for in the very
-      same chapter, he promises those of the tribe of Manasseh success against
-      the Canaanites. In the preceding chapter, v. 10, there is a passage of the
-      same kind, "And they (the Ephraimites) drove not out the Canaanites that
-      dwelt in Gezer; but the Canaanites dwelt among the Ephraimites unto this
-      day, and some under tribute." This needs no comment: let any person ask
-      himself when this came to pass, and they will at once find out the credit
-      due to books containing such shameful anachronisms and falsehoods. In
-      chapter first of Judges, purporting to contain the history of the Jews
-      after Joshua, the reader will find a faithful copy of the passages quoted,
-      not excepting the taking of Jerusalem. Let himc ompare ver. 8, 27, 28, 29,
-      and following, with the detail of distribution of lots to the tribes, in
-      chap. xvi. and xvii. of Joshua the same events are told in the very words,
-      and apply to two different periods. This is a strong instance of the
-      disorder that pervades the whole of these books, and how undeserving of
-      credit, even in the most probable events, is what you call sacred writ. We
-      are constantly reading over accounts of the same events, sometimes said to
-      be written by dead men, and never marking time; for <i>it came to pass</i>,
-      which is the Bible phrase, does not fix the period when the event took
-      place. These books bear all the marks of being the productions of some
-      persons at a very late period, and to have suffered great interpolations.
-      Joshua is, in the face of it, a continuation of Deuteronomy, Judges of
-      Joshua, and so on through the remainder.
-    </p>
-    <p>
-      You pass on to Judges. It requires neither great knowledge nor ingenuity
-      to discover, that this book is an unconnected farrago put together by some
-      unknown person. You do not attempt to say any thing in its favour. Sad
-      falling off from the paths of faith! Formerly it would have been a heresy
-      to assert that Judges was a book of no authority: now, even a Bishop has
-      nothing to say in its defence. You then proceed to Ruth, and endeavour to
-      blot out the apparent infamy of her conduct, with what success, I leave
-      the reader to judge, after he has perused her history. Next follow your
-      subtle distinctions between the inspired and non-inspired part of the
-      Bible, which may be very intelligible to an inspired Bishop, but cannot
-      fail to appear a mere dream to a man in his senses. Notwithstanding Austin
-      and your other brethren, this distinction rests upon nothing but fancy.
-      Your request is very moderate. "Receive the Bible," you say, "as composed
-      by upright and well-informed, though in some points, fallible men, (for I
-      exclude all fallibility <i>when they profess to deliver</i> the word of
-      God), and you must receive it as a book revealed to you in many parts by
-      the express will of God, and, in other parts, relating to you the ordinary
-      history of the times." Bravo! A Catholic is as reasonable in his demands.
-      He only asks a little credulity to believe the inspired when <i>they
-      profess to be so</i>. It is truly a childish request, begging the question
-      at every word. To believe the Bible to be inspired is the grand point. The
-      reasoning you employ is in perfect consonance with the absurdity of your
-      wishes. You disbelieve a history if you find it inconsistent, but revere
-      it, and swear by the author, if he wrote by inspiration. Swedenburgh could
-      not wish more faith in his adherents. You say <i>receive it</i>, as the
-      inquisitors said <i>imprimatur</i>; but philosophers weigh the ground of
-      their belief; they detect the Bible writers, prophets, and inspired men,
-      in palpable contradictions in history; and you will obstinately insist on
-      our believing the most improbable of all their stories, because their
-      absurdity persuades the faithful that they were revealed by their God in
-      dreams.&mdash;&mdash;You have acknowledged yourself, in a subsequent
-      letter, that the history and mystery of the Bible are so interwoven, that
-      if one falls the other cannot be maintained. Why did God mingle his
-      important and sublime precepts with such ridiculous trash, so as to induce
-      mankind to disbelieve them both? Suppose I should meet a peasant coming
-      from a fair, pretending he had seen the king with his guards, and if I
-      should find this to be untrue, would I not deserve to be laughed at, if I
-      credited that he had wrestled with a spirit, or that he was carried up to
-      heaven? This, however, is the case with the Bible. Here we are told that
-      the sun stood Still to protract the bloodshed of that villain Joshua,
-      while, in another place, we read that a city was taken 370 years before
-      that event. Your vaunted prophets were soothsayers, psalmists, and
-      orators, who were generally employed in writing the public records. It is
-      a word applied in the Bible to holy men. These prophets, like the augurs
-      of the heathen, were often detected in falsehoods, and, in the time of
-      Samuel, it would appear, by the Bible itself, that to raise ghosts was a
-      trade as common as that of tailors in our days.
-    </p>
-    <p>
-      You now come to Samuel. You are candid enough to acknowledge with Hartley,
-      that he could not have been the author of the second book, nor of most of
-      the first that go under his name, yet this has been the opinion of the
-      church; and I know of no direct proofs that he wrote the remainder: by
-      what logic do you or Hartley conclude, that Samuel wrote any part of the
-      books ascribed to him? An author is proved not to have written most part
-      of a work ascribed to him, who then would, without direct proofs, proclaim
-      him the writer of some small passage, or any particular part of the work?
-      Who but a clergyman would build a system upon a mutilated, spurious, and
-      insignificant collection of absurdities and wonders? It is, I allow,
-      probable that Samuel wrote something: your quotations prove no more; but
-      what this was, we are, I presume, equally unacquainted with. That the
-      scribes also composed some records of the lives of their kings, I will not
-      deny. The question is, what degree of credit does the mutilated,
-      contradictory, and fabulous collection, said to be made out of these
-      records, deserve?
-    </p>
-    <p>
-      In the time of Charles the Great, some persons probably recorded his
-      actions. Is this a reason for any man to believe the fabulous legends we
-      have of him, written in the dark centuries? The legends of the Egyptian
-      and Greek gods, and their collection of oracles, were not only credited by
-      whole nations, but proclaimed true by councils much wiser than the
-      synagogue. The records of the saints were undoubtedly made few years after
-      their death, in ages far more enlightened, after the invention of the
-      press, written by the then most learned men of society, (the monks), who
-      certainly were not inferior to the Jewish scribes, yet these legends
-      contain often nothing but collections of absurdities and miracles. Read
-      the <i>Flores Sanctorum</i> of the Romish church, and you there will find
-      miracles in every page, and the lives of saints a tissue of prodigies. I
-      need not add, that very few learned men among the Papists give credit to
-      the absurdities contained in these books. It is even the opinion of the
-      best informed men, that the monks have written lives of saints who never
-      existed.
-    </p>
-    <p>
-      You acknowledge the wickedness of the kings of Israel and Judah; but you
-      take care to observe, that this was not owing to their religion.
-      Impertinent assertion! Was not Saul dethroned because he was humane enough
-      not to cut Agag in pieces? Did not the Lord Jehovah love the man after his
-      own heart, who put the miserable inhabitants of Rabah under saws, axes,
-      and arrows of iron; who made them pass through the brick-kiln? Did not
-      this Jehovah approve the base murder of Adonias? Was it the same Jehovah
-      who said to Jonah, that he was not so unjust as to sacrifice the whole
-      city of Nineveh for their sins, because there were thousands in it who did
-      not know between good and evil; and who yet, the Jews tell us, commanded
-      the extermination of whole nations, without even sparing the little
-      children? Did not the plagues which he sent to Pharaoh and David fall upon
-      thousands of innocent individuals? At least, do not the Jewish books
-      affirm it? Such horrors could only be respected by the Jews; such absurd
-      miracles could only be credited by the most ignorant of men. You pretend,
-      that the partiality of God to the Jews proceeded from their being the only
-      nation that believed in the unity of God, and who have preserved their
-      belief on this head unshaken till the present day. Are you in earnest, can
-      you assert this before men of common information? Do you take Englishmen
-      for idiots to be deceived by your assertions? Are you ignorant of the
-      adoration of the Ethiopians? Do you forget that the wise men among the
-      heathens said, <i>Colitur forma pro Jove?</i> Did you never peruse any
-      account, of the Chinese, or of the Hindoos? Do they not admit one supreme
-      agent, an all-wise, intelligent, &amp;c. being, and whose inferior agents
-      they represent by symbols? The Hindoos have even all the metaphysical
-      refinement of our divines; and their definition of God is fully as
-      perspicuous as that given in our Catechism. I have avoided to give long
-      extracts in this pamphlet; but, that the authority of an English Bishop
-      may not be a presumption to many that I am making false assertions, I
-      shall transcribe a passage from a commentary upon the Reig Beid, a book
-      unquestionably of the remotest antiquity.
-    </p>
-    <p>
-      "Glory be to Goneish! that which is exempt from all desires of the senses,
-      the same is the mighty Lord. He is simple, and than him there is nothing
-      greater. Brehm, (the spirit of God), is absorbed in self-contemplation;
-      the same is the mighty Lord who is present in every part of space. Brehm
-      is one, and to him there is no second; such is truly Brehm. His
-      omniscience is self-inspired, and its comprehension includes all possible
-      species," &amp;c. It is true, we are not here told that God is a jealous
-      God, that he visiteth the iniquities of the father even unto the fourth
-      generation. I could adduce fifty passages from the Greeks and others to
-      prove my position, but it is needless. The point is still to know whether
-      these notions make men better, whether they are founded on truth, and,
-      indeed, whether all gods are not the work of the fancy of man, nature
-      allegorised. <i>Primus in orbe Deos fecit timor</i>, says the philosopher;
-      can you disprove it? I suspect not, and that all the subtle reasoning of
-      divines destroy themselves. The world is the ultimate of human reason. We
-      adore the idols either of our hands or of the brain, and mistake them for
-      existences. The region of chimeras exists beyond the universe; our
-      prattling upon it is but a play of words. Jehovah himself, when he said, I
-      am that I am, called himself pretty plainly Pan, or the great whole.
-    </p>
-    <p>
-      But if the unity of God be the only gracious belief in the eyes of the
-      Creator, I do not see that Christians are entitled to his favour, because
-      they make him three. What was the belief of the Jews? Had they any very
-      refined ideas of their God? They thought him corporeal, incessantly
-      speaking and moving among men, jealous, revengeful, powerful, whose angels
-      ate with Abraham, who himself strove to kill Moses in a public house; they
-      imagined him repenting of his deeds; and, in all respects, a poor
-      contemptible being, the offspring of Jewish fancy. He is throughout the
-      Bible an Asiatic Sultan, who, like the merciful God of Mahomet, puts to
-      the sword, and smites with plagues thousands, as a tribute to his infinite
-      mercy. I refer the reader to the collection of extracts from the Bible, in
-      a subsequent letter, for proofs of my assertions. The Jews admitted,
-      besides other gods, such as Chemosh, several beings subordinate to God,
-      but superior to man, as the serpent which tempted the mother of mankind.
-      They had exterminating angels and cherubims, the Elohim or Genii that made
-      the world, &amp;c. But why dwell upon such topics, when it is evident that
-      all the Jewish mythology is of Chaldean origin, and our theology a copy of
-      that of Plato?
-    </p>
-    <p>
-      You proceed in your attempt to reconcile the justice of God with his
-      goodness, and, in the height of your reverie, you imagine that the
-      sufferings of the Jews were parts of a grand scheme for the general good
-      of mankind. What, and when are we to see the good effects of their
-      barbarities? We may see reason counteracting the evil of superstition,
-      rendering men humane; but I apprehend, that, if your reasoning was
-      generally adopted, every highwayman would be much inclined to think
-      himself sent by Providence for good and wise purposes, and if chance
-      should bring about a happy event at the end of his career, which he
-      thought the consequence of his deeds, he would triumph in his crimes, and,
-      like Moor in the Robbers, exclaim, "If for ten I have destroyed, you make
-      but one man blest, my soul may yet be saved!" This has been the language
-      of persecutors. They destroy mankind to make them happy in the next world&mdash;tortures,
-      burning, and beheading, are but purifications. The worst is, that the
-      famous divine scheme of general good, has never been one jot more advanced
-      than when the Jews were enduring the greatest calamities, and committing
-      atrocities. I count not the effects of reason, for faith is alone the
-      godly faculty; reason destroys it. I close my observations upon this
-      subject with repeating the old question of Epicurus, which your brethren
-      have as yet left unanswered; either God can prevent evil and does not
-      choose it, or he chooses it and wants power to avert calamities from his
-      creatures. In the first instance, he is a malevolent despot, a character
-      we ought to abhor; in the second, we see him an impotent and secondary
-      being, which raises our contempt. Reconcile this with his infinite power,
-      wisdom, and goodness, and show us that he is not formed after the image of
-      man, or else let unbelievers hold their opinions in peace.
-    </p>
-    <p>
-      <a name="link2H_4_0007" id="link2H_4_0007">
-      <!--  H2 anchor --> </a>
-    </p>
-    <div style="height: 4em;">
-      <br /><br /><br /><br />
-    </div>
-    <h2>
-      LETTER V.
-    </h2>
-    <p>
-      Your fifth letter begins with stating the importance of the concession of
-      Thomas Paine, that the books of Ezra and Nehemiah are genuine. You
-      triumph, and think it a silent acknowledgment of the reality of the
-      prophecies mentioned in those books. Stop, my Lord, your <i>alma-mater</i>
-      surely has not taught you to draw such conclusions. In a genuine book
-      there may be contained incredible events, as in Tacitus, Suetonius, and
-      almost all existent histories. It is your duty to prove that the
-      prophecies there related are not among those popular stories which are apt
-      to gain general credit, whether they are or are not forgeries written
-      after the events. Before we know when Jeremiah wrote, and what is the
-      meaning of the writings under his name, no man is warranted to triumph at
-      the testimony of the Jews after the captivity; since it is a point, in
-      which all parties agree; that their canon and books were compiled at that
-      period, and nobody ever questioned the credulity of the Jews. You proceed
-      to state your notions of the history of the Old Testament; it is all a
-      matter of opinion; and, as you do not support it by any proofs, we must
-      still continue to regard the contradictions and impostures contained in
-      the Old Testament as proofs of its having been the work of ignorant
-      fanatics. I pass over your effusions: that metaphysical disquisitions
-      teach us the limits of our faculties, I strenuously maintain; and if you
-      mean nothing else, we are agreed. That our notions of time and place are
-      not the bugbears which the scholastics would persuade us, is to me
-      unquestionable; that both in science and religion we affix no ideas to
-      many words, I grant; that certainty in philosophical disquisitions is not
-      easily found, I also allow; but, that a man tired with the arduous task of
-      reasoning, of discerning between truth and falsehood, should seek in
-      polemics or superstition a consolation for his ignorance, I consider as a
-      proof of the impaired state of his faculties; he is like the thirsty
-      traveller, who, burnt by the scorching sun, seeks to relieve his distress
-      by drinking of the first water he meets, without regarding its purity.
-      Your acknowledgment that it is possible even for a Bishop to err in
-      matters of religion, gives me real pleasure. To consider our creed as a
-      matter that admits of doubt, is a great step in the road of truth. You
-      say, "May God forgive him that is in an error." Your wish is humane; but,
-      if God be the Creator of mankind, he cannot be offended at the conclusions
-      we may draw, after having employed the faculties he has given us. I wish
-      too that mankind should forgive them that are in an error; but, I hope,
-      they will recollect the long sway of superstition, and its danger to
-      mankind; may they decide in favour of that system which is conformable to
-      reason, and has the greatest tendency to improve society!
-    </p>
-    <p>
-      You next proceed to show the propriety of the angel ordering Moses to pull
-      off his shoes, which you say is a mark of reverence to God. Is it then by
-      such ridiculous customs that you reconcile your omnipotent and all-wise
-      God? Too long have men substituted rites for morality. O superstition!
-      that makes the Asiatics eat the excrements of the lama, the Papists devour
-      their God; that persuades all Christians that water washeth away sin; and,
-      that if a child happens to die before his face is sprinkled, he must
-      inevitably suffer everlasting torments: led by this, men despise society,
-      and tremble at ceremonies invented by their priests.
-    </p>
-    <p>
-      I shall not go at great length into the particular contradictions which
-      are found in the enumeration of the families that returned from Babylon.
-      There certainly are great mistakes in the sums; and where precision was to
-      be expected more than in any thing preserved in the record of the people
-      of God, we find them committing the most gross errors, even when they
-      attempt to be peculiarly exact. It is curious, that the individual sums
-      are altogether different in the different accounts, and, therefore, that
-      there must have been a much greater number of errors than you would
-      persuade your readers.
-    </p>
-    <p>
-      You come to the book of Job; and confine your remarks to disprove the
-      objection of Mr. Paine, drawn from the name Satan, which, he says, is
-      there for the first and only time mentioned in the Bible. Your answer,
-      that it is repeatedly to be found elsewhere in the Old Testament, is just
-      but it certainly does not prove Job to be a Jewish book. We know that <i>Sathan</i>,
-      as well as the names of all the angels, are Chaldean; and as I have
-      already shown, that the Scriptures are compilations written after the
-      captivity, it is not wonderful that this name, together with many others,
-      should be found in the Hebrew Bible. As you say nothing in favour of the
-      book of Job, I shall only observe, that it is not only the opinion of
-      Abenezra, but even of Jerome, the author of the Vulgate, that it is not a
-      Hebrew book, the idiom being in many instances altogether different from
-      the style of that language, and very frequently bearing marks of its
-      Arabic and Syriac origin, as the reader may see in his preface to Job in
-      the Vulgate edition of the Bible. The resemblance between Job's Satan and
-      Momus is so striking, that we cannot help recognising the author to have
-      been a Gentile; and thus are the Jews deprived of a book, which, at least,
-      contains no murders, and shows more knowledge than that nation ever
-      possessed. Your remark as to the generality of the belief of a benevolent
-      and a malevolent being, certainly does not prove that the Gentiles
-      borrowed this notion from the Jews; you ought to have known history
-      better, and that the wars of the Gods and angels formed part of the creed
-      of many nations, not only before a book of the Bible existed, but even
-      before the birth of Moses. Dionysius and Osiris had already fought against
-      the evil genii: the famous Vishnu has been from the highest antiquity the
-      enemy of Chiven. That the numerous mythological systems which have ever
-      existed, sprang from the report of the fathers of the Jewish nation, may
-      appear probable to a clergyman; it is but a pious whim; to me it is a
-      proof, that all religious systems have sprung from the fancy of men. The
-      philosophers among the heathens understood by the evil and bad genii
-      nothing more than the influence of the good or bad seasons, which,
-      personified by ignorant or cunning priests, have by the vulgar been deemed
-      real personages. Besides, where do you find in the Pentateuch any accounts
-      of the Devil? I only see the serpent, an emblem I have already said,
-      copied from the Egyptians, but by the Jews considered a real snake, which
-      talked and walked upright. It was but a poor imitation of the Ahrimanes of
-      Zoroaster.
-    </p>
-    <p>
-      Concerning the utility of prayers, and the tendency of those of the Jews,
-      I shall say nothing. It is a certain fact, that Solomon, the wisest of
-      men, and who made excellent prayers, killed his brother; while many of
-      those heathen tribes, abhorred by the Jews, had no other crime than to
-      adore images; and, if superstition among them sometimes produced the
-      abominable practice of human sacrifices, they never carried their piety so
-      far as to exterminate whole nations. Besides, the Jews had not even a
-      pretence to despise their neighbours for offering human sacrifices. The
-      case of Jephtha shows plainly that this barbarity was common among God's
-      people. I am utterly surprised at your misplaced exclamations upon the
-      morality of the heathens. Far be it from me to stand forward as the patron
-      of heathenish superstition; it is the mother of ours, and I abhor the
-      common stock; but, my Lord, you ought not to confound the rites of the
-      Greeks with their morals. The Athenians possessed virtues which we in vain
-      look for among the despicable Jews. They possessed knowledge, and their
-      philosophers had more sense than to believe the tales of the priests.
-      Epicurus taught peaceably, and was revered by all, while the vulgar of his
-      country firmly believed their mythology. Such an instance never happened
-      among the Jews. Jehovah would quickly have sent a plague among Epicurus
-      and his followers, or ordered his priests "to kill every one his neighbour
-      and his friend, and hang them up before the sun." Your holy brethren would
-      think nothing of a burning match on the occasion; if it were in your
-      power, atheists would not exist long. But you talk so confidently of the
-      adoration of images among the Gentiles, that we would imagine the Jews
-      were all philosophers. Do you forget their reverence to the holy of
-      holies, which none could approach; the ark of the covenant, and the
-      calves? Or has the story of the five golden mice, for looking at which
-      fifty thousand and three score and ten Israelites were smote by the Lord,
-      escaped you?
-    </p>
-    <p>
-      Your rhapsody upon the sublimity of Bible composition, and its superiority
-      to all profane writers, is a proof of the strength of early imbibed
-      prejudice. I lament to see a man of your learning think so much like an
-      old woman. The proverbs, to be sure, are wonderful compositions, and prove
-      the great gift of wisdom bestowed by God upon Solomon! What indeed can be
-      more sublime than the following, which I beg leave to add to the specimens
-      given by your Lordship! "The horse leech hath two daughters, crying, Give,
-      give. There are three things that are never satisfied, yea four things say
-      not it is enough; the grave, and the barren womb, the earth that is not
-      filled with water, and the fire that saith not it is enough."&mdash;"There
-      be three things which are too wonderful for me, yea four which I know not;
-      the way of an eagle in the air, the way of a serpent upon the rock, the
-      way of a ship in the midst of the sea, and the way of a man with a maid."&mdash;"There
-      be three things which go well, a greyhound, an he-goat also, and a king."&mdash;"It
-      is the glory of God to conceal a thing, but the honour of kings is to
-      search out a matter."&mdash;"When thou sittest to eat with a ruler,
-      consider diligently what is before thee, and put a knife to thy throat if
-      thou be a man given to appetite."&mdash;"Buy the truth, and sell it not."&mdash;"A
-      whore is a deep ditch, and a strange woman is a narrow pit."&mdash;Excellent
-      Solomon! Hear also this wise king in Song of Songs. "How beautiful are thy
-      feet with shoes, O prince's daughter! The joints of thy thighs are like
-      jewels, the work of the hands of a cunning workman; thy-navel is like a
-      round goblet which wanteth not liquor; thy belly is like a heap of wheat
-      set about with lilies; thy two breasts are like two young roes that are
-      twins; thy neck is as a tower of ivory; thine eyes like the fish pools in
-      Heshbon, by the gate of Bath-rabbim; thy nose is as the tower of Lebanon,
-      which looketh towards Damascus." Whether this alludes to one of Solomon's
-      concubines, or our mother, the church of Jesus Christ, the expressions are
-      equally applicable, beautiful, and simple; they are worthy of a man "wiser
-      than Ethan the Ezrehite, and Heman, and Chalcol, and Darda, the sons of
-      Mehol," who, I dare say, were wise men. Upon the whole, I agree with you,
-      that Solomon, the illustrious offspring of the man after God's own heart
-      and the virtuous Bathsheba, was not "a witty jester." As to what you call
-      his "sins and debaucheries," these holy books were certainly not written
-      with a view to make us avoid them. Solomon is set before us as a pattern
-      of wisdom and goodness; and the number of his wives and concubines is
-      exultingly recorded as a proof of his greatness, as much as his treasures,
-      which exceed all conception, and the number of his horses, which exceed
-      all belief.
-    </p>
-    <p>
-      Your pious belief in the inspired prophecies of Isaiah, is natural to a
-      superstitious and credulous mind. The philosopher who doubts before he
-      gazes, sees in what you call prophecies nothing else but scraps of history
-      or legend. He receives with diffidence all predictions. He is aware of the
-      great ease with which forgeries may be passed among the vulgar for
-      prophecies. When pretended predictions are made, they are altogether
-      overlooked; even the ignorant think not of them till they are said to be
-      accomplished; the learned despise them in both instances; and it is not
-      till after their authenticity has gained a sort of general belief, that
-      the philosopher thinks of enquiring when and how they were made. At this
-      period he can find no evidence of their history, but from the credulous
-      who have been imposed upon by them. Besides, no prophecy is ever direct,
-      it always has an equivocal meaning, and is explained to suit the events
-      which have happened. Religious enthusiasts write in such a mystic language
-      upon the sins of mankind, and the judgements that are to come upon them,
-      and in so general and ambiguous terms, that it is easy for a subtle
-      interpreter, or a visionary fanatic, to explain them according to his own
-      system. Have not the bears of the Apocalypse been made to signify by
-      turns, the Pope and the Devil? Has not the New Jerusalem been sometimes
-      taken for a real flying town, seen in the air by the first fathers of the
-      church, as Tertullean informs us? Do not other divines tell us that it
-      means the kingdom of heaven? Have not scripture divines, even in the first
-      ages of the church, pretended that the verses of Virgil, <i>Jam redit et
-      Virgo, redeunt Sa-tumia regna, jam nova progenies ccelo demittitur alto;&mdash;natte
-      mets vires, mea magna potentia solus, and talia perstabat memorans,
-      fixusque manebat</i>, were clear prophecies of the Virgin Mary, and Jesus
-      Christ? It might be worth enquiring at this time, whether the Roman Bard
-      was inspired by the Holy Ghost? Lastly, I may ask, does your Lordship
-      believe in the many prophecies that have of late appeared of the French
-      revolution?
-    </p>
-    <p>
-      But we have more reasons to declare the pretended clear prophecies of the
-      Bible to be fables. In many instances they are so accurate, and so unlike
-      these passages which we know to have been written previous to the events
-      to which they are applied, or those which are not yet fulfilled, that no
-      philosopher can pronounce them to have been written historically. Thus, we
-      find Jacob announce to his twelve sons, the heads of the twelve tribes of
-      Israel, the fate of their posterity; the situation of the district to be
-      occupied by the Israelites in the land of Canaan, two hundred years before
-      Joshua parcelled out this land in lots to the Israelites; the kind of life
-      the different tribes would lead; the small number of the posterity of
-      Reuben, Simeon, and Levi, as well as the power of Judah; all which are
-      related as exactly as if the patriarch had seen the throne of David and
-      Solomon with his own eyes. Some of the supposed predictions of Isaiah and
-      Daniel, are even more minutely correct. You have treated the question of
-      the genuineness and date of works very lightly; you think it is of no
-      great consequence to ascertain the genuineness of the different books of
-      the Bible. Let us for a moment suppose, that by some accident, the age of
-      Virgil had been forgotten, or the sixth book of his Æneid been ascribed to
-      a writer of the age of Æneas; would not the Romans be entitled to regard,
-      as a most wonderful prophecy, the lively representation given by Anchises
-      of the future heroes of the republic, the two Cæsars, and the young
-      Marcellus?
-    </p>
-    <p>
-      To resume our subject: I remind you of the passage already quoted from
-      Bellarminus, that it was the opinion of the fathers of the church, that
-      the Prophets, among other books, had been collected and arranged by
-      Esdras. I have also stated the selection of genuine works by the
-      synagogue, during the reign of the Maccabees, when the Talmud says that
-      the forgeries of Daniel, Esdras, &amp;c. were prodigious. The destruction
-      by Antiochus Epiphanus of the already broken Jewish books, written by
-      Esdras, may be collected from what is said in Maccabees, chap. i. ver. 56
-      and 57. "And when they had rent in pieces the books of the law which they
-      found, they burnt them with fire, and whosoever was found with any of the
-      books of the Testament, or if any consented to the law, the king's
-      commandment was, that they should put him to death."
-    </p>
-    <p>
-      It is without reason that you triumph at the application which Thomas
-      Paine makes of the prophecy of Isaiah, in chapters xliv. and xlv. No man
-      that reads the passage can hesitate for a moment to declare it a narrative
-      of the deliverance of the Jews by Cyrus, after the seventy years
-      captivity. Cyrus is mentioned by name, as well as his command to rebuild
-      Jerusalem, and his victories over the nations, above one hundred years
-      before the event. Will you then, without any proofs of Isaiah having
-      written this book, insist upon calling it a prophecy? And have not
-      sceptics been justified in their disbelief of the genuineness of such
-      books? Mr. Paine, however, has overlooked a more remarkable prophecy in
-      this book, which has been tortured into an application to Christ. This is
-      contained in chapter lxiii. ver. 1. "Who is this that cometh from Edom,
-      with dyed garments from Bozrah? this that is glorious in his apparel,
-      travelling in the greatness of his strength? I that speak in.
-      righteousness, mighty to save." And again, in chap. ii. (talking of the
-      supposed Christ) Isaiah says, "And he shall judge among the nations, and
-      shall rebuke many people; and they shall beat their swords into
-      plough-shares."&mdash;"And the idols he shall totally abolish." Can this
-      possibly allude to Christ? Did he come from Edom in mighty power, in rich
-      garments? Was his march so terrible? Was he the man who trampled all in
-      his fury; who with his own arm brought salvation to himself, and was
-      upheld by his fury; as also mentioned in chap. lxiii.? Do not these
-      pretended prophecies also apply to Judas Maccabeus, who delivered the Jews
-      from the tyranny of Antiochus Epi-phanus? And is it not also a proof of
-      the mutilated state of the works of the prophets to see details about
-      Cyrus intermingled with others applying to Judas Maccabeus? I say nothing
-      of Daniel, for his <i>prophecy</i> I shall consider particularly
-      afterwards, and show its true meaning; at present, it may be sufficient to
-      say, that the similarity between the book of Ezra and Daniel proclaim them
-      to be from the same hand; but both have evident marks of having been
-      considerably mutilated. When philosophers cannot ascertain the age of
-      pretended predictions, they consider their clearness as a demonstration of
-      their being histories. Who tells you that the books which the synagogue,
-      like the Nicene council, chose, were not either altogether written, or
-      considerably interpolated, to adopt them to the times? The great question
-      is always, what authority had the synagogue to decide, and whether their
-      decision ought to influence men of sense, any more than the determination
-      of the Popish councils.
-    </p>
-    <p>
-      As a proof of the absurdity of the application of prophecies, I shall here
-      quote one, which is apparently clearer than any in the whole Bible, and is
-      adduced by the most famous divines as an unquestionable prediction of
-      Christ. It is in Micah, chap. v. ver. I. "Now gather thyself in troops, O
-      daughter of troops: he hath laid siege against us; they shall smite the
-      Judge of Israel with a rod upon the cheek. But thou Bethlehem Ephratah,
-      though thou be little among thousands of Judah, yet out of thee shall he
-      come forth unto me, that is to be ruler in Israel; whose goings forth have
-      been from of old, from everlasting." Here even the birth-place of Christ
-      is mentioned, the insults offered to him, his existence from everlasting,
-      and his coming to save Israel. And Matthew, chap. ii. ver. 6, and John,
-      chap. vii. ver. 43, both expressly refer to that passage as a prophecy.
-      Hear now what follows in ver. 5, of the same chapter of Micah: "And this
-      man shall be the peace, when the Assyrians shall come into our land: and
-      when he shall tread in our palaces, then shall we raise against him seven
-      shepherds, and eight principal men." Can this apply to Jesus Christ? Were
-      the Syrians in the land when he came? Were not the Romans masters of
-      Judea? Your rules of belief are admirable: a little faith, wherever you
-      meet contradictions, absurdities, or wonders, is an invaluable
-      prescription, common to the Bramin, the Musselman, and the Christian. Do
-      but believe that Mahomet is a prophet, that he went up to heaven and saw
-      the eternal Father, and you will go through the other articles of the
-      Mahometan faith without difficulty. Do but admit the gospel of Barnabas
-      where Mahomet is predicted, and we have no reason to say that it is less
-      authentic than our gospel, and the work is done; but, I may say with you,
-      "Proof, proof is what I require, and not assertion."
-    </p>
-    <p>
-      We will not relinquish our reason in obedience to the despotic mandates of
-      the credulous.
-    </p>
-    <p>
-      You allow that the miracles of the Jews fall to the ground, if the history
-      of that nation is proved false. I beg you to observe, that if it is true,
-      it does not follow that the miracles are. If you can believe that the
-      history of the Jews is well authenticated, and without numerous
-      contradictions, and if you can exculpate the writers from bad motives, and
-      a desire to deceive, and if you can rely upon their wisdom, you then will
-      really prove yourself a Christian, a man of uncommon faith. The history of
-      the Jews, every where confused, containing prodigies, deserves no more
-      credit than their antedeluvian tale. Even Chinese history, supported by
-      astronomical observations, is beyond a certain period rejected by all men,
-      from the fables it contains. If you are disposed to believe, I advise you
-      to read the fabulous history of China and of Hindostan, in the holy books
-      of the respective nations, which are adopted by whole nations, and are, at
-      least, more beautiful than the Jews.
-    </p>
-    <p>
-      I have purposely omitted to speak of Ecclesiastes. I find here several
-      Epicurean notions, a disbelief of a future life, the propriety of enjoying
-      themselves in this life, and other sensible remarks; which prove that the
-      writer enjoyed more common sense than most of his countrymen.
-    </p>
-    <p>
-      <a name="link2H_4_0008" id="link2H_4_0008">
-      <!--  H2 anchor --> </a>
-    </p>
-    <div style="height: 4em;">
-      <br /><br /><br /><br />
-    </div>
-    <h2>
-      LETTER VI.
-    </h2>
-    <p>
-      You begin your sixth letter by attempting to disprove the arguments of
-      Thomas Paine upon Jeremiah. You acknowledge the disorder that prevails in
-      the writings of this prophet; and you modestly assure us, that you do not
-      know the cause; no more do I: and whatever incidents might have occasioned
-      it, I am certain that, as it stands, it deserves no degree of credit. In a
-      former part of your pamphlet you grant, that the history of the Jews is so
-      connected with the prophetical part, that if the former was done away the
-      latter could not stand; and now you inform us, "that prophecy differs from
-      history, in not being subject to an accurate observance of time and
-      order." This you think a matter of no importance, but, in my opinion, it
-      is very material to know if a prophecy is written after the events it
-      alludes to. I shall not follow far, either your Lordship or Mr. Paine, in
-      proving several of the prophecies of the Bible false; but if they are not
-      prophecies, why should we trouble ourselves with disproving them. If they
-      are scraps of history, we know that of the Jews to be so contradictory,
-      imperfect, so completely without order, that one historical extract, of
-      prophecy, will often contradict another; but much more generally these
-      prophecies are strict enough, being copied from history, and embellished
-      with a little of the figurative style of prophecy. As to Jeremiah, the
-      works that go under his name, as well as those of Isaiah, appear on the
-      face of them to be a collection of extracts from different historians.
-    </p>
-    <p>
-      While we know so little of the history and genuineness of these writings,
-      we cannot possibly draw any conclusion concerning them, except that they
-      are in the utmost disorder, and that when writers intermingle history with
-      prophecy, we are at a loss to know which is which. I cannot forbear to
-      mention the ludicrous story of Elisha, the children, the bears that
-      devoured the children of men, as you are pleased to call them. Whether
-      Elisha did this as a prophet, I cannot but declare my abhorrence at your
-      approbation of such abominable cruelty, to murder individuals because they
-      bestowed the appellation of Baldhead on another. According to the laudable
-      custom of the church, you appeal to a miracle, and conclude, that if God
-      wrought a miracle it must have been just. I suppose this comparatively as
-      when he destroys whole cities for the sins of a few; but this is the very
-      ground on which every crusader supported his massacres; and every man may
-      imitate the conduct of Ahod, the treacherous murderer, patronised by
-      Jehovah, without incurring the blame of a Bishop. Whether the ridiculous
-      tale which you take for a sign of God, most probably of his cruelty,
-      converted any person, is not known; but as the event most undoubtedly
-      never happened, you may suppose what you please. To murder them is not the
-      way to ingratiate ourselves with our fellow-citizens. If any person set a
-      few bull-dogs on some children, and pretended to do so by authority from
-      heaven, he would most undoubtedly be taken up by our officers of justice.
-      In what respect do these brutal prophets differ from Mahomet, who decided
-      all disputes by the sword? Their business was to exterminate and murder by
-      the direct commands of God.
-    </p>
-    <p>
-      The writings of Ezekiel are considerably truncated. The very beginning of
-      his prophecies shows it. The conjunction and texture of the whole work
-      refers to something that ought to have preceded it. He begins saying,
-      "That in the 30th year the heavens opened, and he saw visions of God." And
-      in ver. 5, he adds, "That the Lord had inspired him often in Chaldea,"
-      which refers to some prophecies written in that period. Besides,
-      Josephus's work, book 10, chap. ix. of the Jewish antiquities, says, "That
-      Ezekiel had prophecied that Zedekiah should never see Babylon." This is no
-      where found in Ezekiel, but, on the contrary, in chap. xi. and xii. he
-      says, "That the king would be carried a prisoner to Babylon."
-    </p>
-    <p>
-      As to Daniel, I have already noticed the great similarity between the
-      first book of Esdras and his, and the probability that they came from the
-      same author. The seven first chapters, except the first, were written in
-      Chaldean, and are by the most learned thought to be taken from Chaldean
-      chronologists. It is also thought by men of great learning, that the books
-      of Esdras, Daniel, and Esther, were altered a long time after Judas
-      Maccabeus, because it appears evident that Esdras could not have written
-      the whole of them, since Nehemiah carries the genealogy of Jesuhga, the
-      sovereign Pontiff till Jaddua, the sixteenth in number, who after the
-      defeat of Darius went to meet Alexander. And Nehemiah, ver. 22, "The
-      Levites, in the days of Eliashib, Joiadah, and Johanan, and Jaddua, were
-      recorded chief of the fathers; also the priests, to the reign of Darius
-      the Persian." We have no reason to believe that Esdras or Nehemiah could
-      survive fourteen kings of Persia, Cyrus having been the first who gave the
-      Jews permission to rebuild the temple, from whom to Darius there are 230
-      years.
-    </p>
-    <p>
-      I now come to the famous prophecy of the seventy weeks of Daniel, which
-      you exultingly mention as the most wonderful, and, at the same time, the
-      most incontrovertible prediction in existence, one which never can fail to
-      confound the most perverse unbeliever. If I prove, that so far from being
-      the surprising prophecy you pretend, it has altogether a different
-      meaning, and can nowise apply to the coming of Christ, I shall think
-      myself fully excused, if I do not go through every individual prediction
-      in the Bible. The passage alluded to is in Daniel, chap. ix. ver. 24, to
-      27, as follows: "Seventy weeks are determined upon thy people, and upon
-      thy holy city, to finish the transgression, and to make an end of sins,
-      and to make reconciliation for iniquity, and to bring in everlasting
-      righteousness, and to seal up the vision, and prophecy, and to anoint the
-      most holy. Know, therefore, and understand, that from the going forth of
-      the commandment to restore and build Jerusalem, unto the Messiah, the
-      prince, there shall be seven weeks; and threescore and two weeks the
-      streets shall be built again, and the wall, even in troublous times. And
-      after threescore and two weeks shall Messiah be cut off, but not for
-      himself; and the people of the prince that shall come, shall destroy the
-      city, and the sanctuary, and the end thereof shall be with a flood, and
-      unto the end of the war desolations are determined. And he shall confirm
-      the covenant with many, for one week; and, in the midst of the week, he
-      shall cause the sacrifice and oblation to cease; and for the overspreading
-      of abominations, he shall make it desolate, even until the consummation,
-      and that determined shall be poured upon the desolate."
-    </p>
-    <p>
-      This passage is generally applied to the coming of Christ. The seventy
-      weeks are supposed to mean weeks of years, or seven years each. Now it is
-      evident, that it cannot apply to Jesus Christ; for if from going forth of
-      the commandment in the time of Artaxerxes Longimanus, until the coming of
-      the Messiah, there were to be seven weeks or forty-nine years, how does
-      this agree with what follows? "After threescore and two weeks (or three
-      hundred and seventy-four years) shall Messiah be cut off." And again, "He
-      shall confirm the covenant with many for a week." Did then Jesus Christ
-      live four hundred and twenty-three years, or are there two Messiahs
-      predicted? Dr. Frideaux acknowledges that some parts of this prophecy are
-      so injudiciously printed in the English translation of the Bible, that
-      they are quite unintelligible; his alteration is in the punctuation, and
-      according to it we read, that, <i>from the going forth of the commandment
-      to restore and build Jerusalem, to the Messiah, the Prince, shall be seven
-      weeks, and threescore and two weeks</i>; and in verse 27, he puts the half
-      of the week, instead of the midst. The explanation of the prophecy as thus
-      altered, he gives as follows. From the commandment given to Ezra by
-      Ar-taxerxes Longimanus, to the accomplishment of it by Nebemiah forty-nine
-      years, or the first seven weeks; from this accomplishment to the time of
-      Christ's messenger John the Baptist sixty-two weeks, or four hundred and
-      thirty-four years; from thence to the beginning of Christ's public
-      ministry, half a week, or three years and a half; and from thence to the
-      death of Christ, half a week, or three years and a half; in which half
-      week he preached and confirmed the gospel with many; in all, from the
-      going forth of the commandment, till the death of Christ, seventy weeks,
-      or four hundred and ninety years.
-    </p>
-    <p>
-      In the first place, we confidently assert that Dr. Prideaux followed his
-      fancy, not the original Hebrew, when he altered the punctuation. He is,
-      however, justified in the alteration of half of a week; but, granting all,
-      let us see how it applies. Did the Messiah come after seven weeks from the
-      commandment of Ar-taxerxes Longimanus? The explanation only says, that
-      Nehemiah finished the work which Ezra began. What has this to do with the
-      Messiah coming at the end of the first seven weeks? The prophet says, that
-      after threescore and two weeks, the street and the wall shall be built.
-      Again, and previously, that after the commandment for the city to be
-      built, the Messiah shall come in seven weeks. The learned divine, on the
-      contrary, makes Daniel say, that John the Baptist began to preach the
-      kingdom of the Messiah sixty-nine weeks after the commandment, and in the
-      first seven weeks he talks of nothing but building the temple. Again, how
-      does the oblation cease in half a week? In fact, the same objection occurs
-      here, as to the passage as it is written in our Bibles. Daniel speaks
-      quite clear, when he says, that "from the going forth of the commandment
-      to restore and build Jerusalem, unto the Messiah, the Prince, shall be
-      seven weeks." If we find, in whatever explanation of the prophecy, that
-      Christ did not come forty-nine years after this commandment, and that he
-      did not live four hundred and thirty-four years afterwards, the whole must
-      be an untruth. And, if the first period of seven weeks is united with that
-      of threescore and two, that is, if the period of rebuilding the city, and
-      of the coming of the Messiah be the same, then let divines inform us
-      whether this really came to pass, and reconcile it with what follows, in
-      ver. 26, that the city is to be destroyed at the same time. Did Christ
-      confirm any covenant with many for seven years?
-    </p>
-    <p>
-      Let us attempt to unriddle this enigma. The passage evidently talks of two
-      Messiahs, or makes one live upwards of four hundred years; and is
-      altogether unintelligible as it stands. For the better understanding of
-      it, I shall quote some previous part of the same chapter, ver. 1. "In the
-      first year of Darius, the son of Ahasuerus, of the seed of the Medes,
-      which was made king over the realm of the Chaldeans. 2. In the first year
-      of his reign, I, Daniel, understood by books, the number of the years
-      whereof the word of the Lord came to Jeremiah the prophet, that he would
-      accomplish seventy years in the desolations of Jerusalem. 3. And I set my
-      face unto the Lord God, to seek by prayers and supplications, with
-      fasting, and sackcloth, and ashes. 4. And I prayed unto the Lord my God,
-      and made my confession, and said." After this follows his prayer, until
-      the 20th verse; and, in the 21st the angel began to unfold a prophecy to
-      Daniel, which begins in verse 24, and he promises to explain the mystery
-      that had so much grieved Daniel, that is, the prophecy of Jeremiah; then
-      follows the passage I have quoted: the alterations I conceive ought be
-      made in the reading of which, I now proceed to mention. In verse 25, the
-      sentence stops after the seven weeks, as it is in the English Bible,
-      because in the original we find here the stop Atnach. In verse 26, instead
-      of, <i>shall Messiah be cut off?</i> we ought to read, <i>the oblation
-      shall cease</i>. This is the real meaning of the expression in the
-      original, according to Tertullian, Eusebius, and Theodoretus. Eusebius
-      says, <i>Unctum (vel Christum) nihil aliud esse quam successionem
-      Pontificum, quos unctos nominare S. Literae consueverunt.</i> The Hebrew
-      properly signifies <i>perdetur unctio</i>. Theodoretus understands by this
-      word, the same as <i>sacerdotes uncti. Excidetur unctus,</i> signifies the
-      same as the <i>oblation shall be abolished</i>; for the verb <i>excido</i>
-      does not always signify to kill, but is applied to whatever falls into
-      disuse that was once in practice, or any thing that perishes. It is in
-      this sense used in many parts of Kings and Chronicles. Samuel says, <i>excidi
-      de altare</i>. In Jeremiah, chapter xxxvii. ver. 18, the verb is used in
-      the same sense, <i>non de sacerdotibus Levitis excidet ur homo coram me</i>,
-      which is given in English, "neither shall the priests, the Levites, <i>want
-      a man</i> (or cease to have a man) before me." In verse 27, "and he shall
-      confirm the covenant with many for one week," means no more than the
-      exemption of calamities, and is tantamount to, <i>he shall let many remain
-      in peace</i>, as in Genesis, chap. vi. ver. 18, it is used in this sense.
-    </p>
-    <p>
-      To understand the real meaning of this pretended prophecy, the reader will
-      remember, that Daniel mourned for the 70 weeks of captivity prophesied by
-      Jeremiah; the vision of Daniel took place in the first year of Darius,
-      King of Chaldea, that is, in the year 162 of Nebuchadnezzar; but, in chap.
-      x. of Daniel we learn, that he ate no pleasant bread, neither came flesh
-      and wine into his mouth, till three whole weeks were fulfilled. Now, the
-      term weeks is used in the Bible indiscriminately for weeks of years, or of
-      days; here it appears clear it signifies the former, particularly as the
-      whole relates to the 70 years of Jeremiah; and the angel, in chap. x. ver.
-      14, tells Daniel, in the same figurative style, "Now I am come to make
-      thee understand what shall befall thy people in the latter days, for yet
-      the vision is for many days." If then Daniel wept three weeks of years, or
-      21 years, from the destruction of the temple, in the year 141 to the time
-      of the vision in 162, (the angel, chap. x. ver. 13, says, that the prince
-      of Persia withstood him 21 days, or years), it is easy to see what Daniel
-      means. Jeremiah had prophesied a captivity of 70 years, of these, three
-      weeks or 21 years were past; therefore Daniel, after entreating God to
-      tell him "how many more years were wanting," received for an answer what
-      follows, "At the beginning of thy supplications, the commandment came
-      forth, and I am come to show thee."&mdash;"Seventy weeks are determined
-      upon thy people to seal up the vision and prophecy," that is to complete
-      the prophecy of Jeremiah; and we find,-therefore, that from the issuing
-      the commandment to restore the Jews, and to build Jerusalem, or more
-      properly from the revelation of the angel, (exitu Verbi), promising that
-      Jerusalem should be rebuilt, ver. 23, to the coming of the Messiah, the
-      prince, or Cyrus, who freed the Jews from the captivity, there were to be
-      seven weeks, or 49 years, which, added to the three weeks already past,
-      made the 70 years of Jeremiah. Cyrus is by Isaiah called the Lord's
-      anointed: "Thus saith the Lord to his anointed, to Cyrus, whose right hand
-      I have holden, to subdue nations before him for Jacob my servant's sake."
-      Cyrus gave, at that time, liberty to the Jews, as the reader may see in
-      Ezra. It is evident, that the word commandment cannot mean any express
-      order to build Jerusalem, for the angel says, just before he reveals the
-      prophecy, "at the beginning of thy supplications the commandment came
-      forth we know that Daniel began to address prayers unto heaven, at a time
-      when there was no order to build the temple, on the contrary, the Jews
-      were in captivity.
-    </p>
-    <p>
-      This is the most difficult part of the pretended prophecy, the remainder
-      is plain. There shall be 62 weeks till the rebuilding of the wall. The
-      writer alludes here to the building of the first temple under Zerubbabel
-      and Jeshua, and then to the rebuilding of the wall, and restoration of the
-      temple by Judas Maccabeus, after its profanation by Antiochus Epiphanes.
-      The period of this last event is by the prophecy made to extend to 63 1/2
-      weeks, or 444 years. Let us see if chronology confirms this supposition.
-      The temple was destroyed in the 141st year of Nabuch, or 4107 of the
-      Julian period; add to this 444 years, or 63 weeks and a half, and we have
-      the year 4551, or the second year of Judas Maccabeus, according to
-      Josephus; who also informs us, that having conquered his enemies, he then
-      built a wall about Sion, which is clearly meant in the words, "the street
-      shall be built again, and the wall, even in troublous times," 1 Maccab.
-      chap. iv. ver. 60. At that time also "they builded up the mount Sion with
-      high walls," &amp;c. Troublous the times certainly were; the Jews were
-      fighting against the cruelty of Antiochtis Epiphanes. It is certain then,
-      that after 343 years, or 69 weeks, the wall should be built, and although
-      it was not really completed till about ten years after, it is presumable
-      that the loose historian, or prophet, did not choose to alter the
-      beautiful idea of 70 Weeks. We know how superstitiously the Jews respected
-      not only the number 7, but all its different affections. We are besides
-      informed, in the first book of Maccabees, that after the first depredation
-      of Antiochus, the people rebuilt the city of David, and made walls and
-      forts; this happened some years before the building of the wall by Judas,
-      and brings the prediction nearer to historical accuracy.
-    </p>
-    <p>
-      The next part of the prophecy is, "And after threescore and two weeks
-      shall sacrifices cease;" this means in the course of the week that
-      succeeds the 62. And, no doubt, Antiochus Epiphanes abolished them in the
-      seventh year of his reign, as we read in I Maccab. chap. i. "And the
-      people of the prince that shall come, shall destroy the city and the
-      sanctuary." This Antiochus most certainly did, "and went up (Antiochus)
-      against Israel and Jerusalem with a great multitude, and entered proudly
-      into the sanctuary, and took away the golden altars, also he took the
-      hidden treasures, and there was great mourning in Israel," 1 Maccab. J.
-      "And the end thereof shall be with a flood, and unto the end of the war
-      desolations are determined." The coming of Antiochus into Jerusalem is
-      pompously detailed in the first book of Maccabees: the Jews compared a
-      great calamity, or an invading and irresistible army, to a flood. Let us
-      proceed with the remainder: "And he shall confirm the covenant with many
-      for a week," this alludes to the first seven years of the reign of
-      Antiochus, during which he did not interfere with the worship of the Jews,
-      although he gave liberty to those who chose to be heathens to follow their
-      respective worship: it was in the end of the sixth, and in the beginning
-      of his seventh year that he attacked the Jews, destroyed the temple,
-      plundered it of its riches, and made himself the tyrant of Judea.
-    </p>
-    <p>
-      The last part of the passage is as follows: "And in the half of a week he
-      shall cause the oblation and sacrifice to cease," and, I have only to
-      observe, that, from the taking of the city by Antiochus, to the absolute
-      forbidding Jewish worship, there elapsed about three years and a half, or
-      half a week, for he came to Jerusalem in the 143d year of the kingdom of
-      the Greeks, and the erecting of idols was in the year 145; after which, he
-      continued to persecute the Jews, and promote idolatry, until the year 148.
-      Now Antiothus attacked Jerusalem at the end of his sixth year, to which,
-      if we add two years and three months, we have pretty exactly the period of
-      half a week, or three years and a half. The expression, "the spreading of
-      abominations," evidently alludes to what is said in Maccabees, chap. i.
-      ver. 34. "Now the fifteenth day of the month Casleu, in the 145th year,
-      they (the followers of Antiochus) set up the abomination of desolation
-      upon the altar, and builded idol altars throughout the cities of Judah, on
-      every side." Daniel says, chap. xii. ver. 11, speaking of his vision, "and
-      from the time that the daily sacrifice shall be taken away, and the
-      abomination that: maketh desolate set up, there shall be (that is between
-      the first interdict of Antiochus, and the setting up of idols) 1290 days;"
-      which is a little more than three years and a half. The wonderful prophecy
-      is then unriddled, it becomes a contemptible piece of history in an
-      affected style. I trust the explanation which I have given, after Marsham,
-      will appear satisfactory. I challenge Bishop Watson to produce a plausible
-      explanation of the passage according to the sense of the church. It may
-      not be improper to observe, that Clemens Alexandrinus, many of the
-      fathers, Calmet, and other persons of great knowledge, have flatly denied
-      the application of the weeks of Daniel to Jesus. Those who espouse your
-      cause lose sight of the context of Daniel, they forget chronology, and
-      evince to what a pitch of delusion their minds have arrived.
-    </p>
-    <p>
-      This is the famous prophecy that silenced the Jewish rabbins of Venice; it
-      is of a pattern with Daniel's four beasts; the fourth is also a story of
-      Antiochus Epiphanes and Judas who slays the beast. Judas is the son of man
-      coming in clouds; he is the person of whom the prophets speak, and who has
-      most ridiculously been distorted to Jesus Christ. This farrago of
-      prophecies seems to have been the production of Esdras or some very late
-      writer; and I am not sure, but the doctrine of the Pythagorean millennium
-      gave rise to some of the expressions in both writers, about the beasts:
-      they seem to have sprung from the same origin with those of the
-      Apocalypse; and with the four Indian horses, they crept among the Jews,
-      together with many other Chaldean mythological ideas: the Ancient of
-      Ancients appears in his fiery car as Osiris triumphant, or Chreeshna
-      conquering Chiven; the books are opened before him, as his kingdom is
-      everlasting, like that of Vishnu with the Vedams. But visions so
-      ridiculous as that of Daniel deserve not our consideration; whatever be
-      their source they are but reveries, and may serve to amuse idle people in
-      their ridiculous speculations about the world's end. Like Swedenburgh, men
-      may dream, and interpret their own dreams, and like him have the
-      mortification to be laughed at for the non-accomplishment of their
-      predictions. We have had of late another Daniel in Mr. Brothers; he too
-      saw beasts, and, what is more, he understood their meaning; but
-      unfortunately we are not Jews, and he is cruelly imprisoned in a madhouse.
-    </p>
-    <p>
-      I have now followed your animadversions on the objections of Thomas Paine
-      upon the Old Testament; and I trust I have shown that you have in no
-      degree been a more successful labourer in the cause of Judaism than your
-      predecessors; even your wonderful prophecy of Daniel is converted into a
-      mere historical tale, and the application Jesus Christ makes of it to
-      himself is accordingly proved to be ridiculous, the more so, as it comes
-      from the Son of God. I have a few more observations to make, before I
-      leave this book. I cannot pass in silence the gross blunder you have
-      committed, when you refer Mr. Paine to Ferguson for an astronomical proof
-      of the miracle of the total darkness at the crucifixion of Jesus. An odd
-      conceit, upon my word! You might know that the event is omitted by all the
-      authors of eminence who wrote at that time; that even Pliny passes it
-      unnoticed. Lest you should mislead the reader with your groundless
-      assertions, I shall state the matter as it stands in reality. You avoid
-      learned disquisitions to be intelligible, but you ought not to have been
-      so deficient of authority, where it is most needed. Besides the gospels,
-      the darkness is not mentioned in any author; but divines have attempted to
-      prove the event from a supposed passage of Phlegon, related by Eusebius;
-      it is in the following words: "In the fourth year of the two hundred and
-      second Olympiad, there was the greatest eclipse ever seen; it was night at
-      six, and even the stars could be seen." This passage has long been
-      disregarded by men of knowledge; it alludes to an eclipse, not to a
-      miraculous darkness. Both Mr. Ferguson and you have blundered in
-      chronology and astronomy. It is certain, in the year of Christ's
-      crucifixion, according to the common chronology, there could have been no
-      eclipse of the sun visible at that time at Jerusalem; Ferguson, therefore,
-      concludes it a miracle. But you ought to have known, that the fourth year
-      of the two hundred and second Olympiad, is not the year of the crucifixion
-      in any system of chronology; that there was an eclipse of the sun, in the
-      year mentioned by Phlegon, in the month of November, which, however, was
-      not central; and you know that Jesus is said to have died at the time of
-      the full moon in March, or in the beginning of April. Besides, had even
-      such a darkness taken place, are you ignorant of the existence of comets,
-      and would not one passing between the earth and the sun eclipse that
-      luminary? Have not such miracles taken place if we credit historians? The
-      death of Caesar was preceded by wonderful prodigies, and a comet made its
-      appearance immediately after. The supposed miraculous influence of comets,
-      and their being prophetic signs, was once an article of faith throughout
-      all Europe, and the ancient history of every country records many events
-      which the authors maintain arose from comets.
-    </p>
-    <p>
-      Your reflections on prophets I cannot pass unnoticed. You pretend to make
-      a distinction between dreamers, and impostors, and true prophets. You
-      acknowledge the number of soothsayers and fortunetellers among the Jews;
-      but you maintain that they were altogether distinct from the true
-      prophets, and appeal to Jeremiah, who puts the Jews on their guard against
-      false prophets. Does not every quack, every impostor, do the same, and
-      caution the world to beware of counterfeits? You might have saved a great
-      deal of trouble, had you condescended to produce your proofs of the
-      genuineness of the writings of the prophets; and then we might enquire
-      concerning the works of these augurs. You pretend that a sure mark of the
-      reality of a prophet is his predicting bad things, for a fortune-teller
-      always prophecies good. Pardon me if I suppose you a follower of Mr.
-      Brothers. For surely the destruction of London was not a most desirable
-      event. It is in vain you attempt to turn Mr. Paine into ridicule for his
-      definition of a prophet. He most justly calls them strolling-poets,
-      fortune-tellers; being in Judea what the gipsies, the augurs, and the
-      astrologers have been in other nations. The Hebrew word <i>Navi</i>
-      signifies nothing but an orator, a public speaker, and is by the Jews
-      applied, in a forced way, to soothsayers and diviners. It is
-      incontrovertible that they existed among the Jews in colleges, and were
-      brought up to the business. Their chief employment was to write the
-      chronicles of the times. The name prophet is given in the Bible
-      indiscriminately with that of holy man. Among the Hebrews, the first book
-      of Kings was called the prophecy of Samuel. Abel is called repeatedly in
-      the New Testament a prophet, (see Matth. chap. xxiii. ver. 31 and 35, and
-      Luke chap. xi. ver. 50 and 51), although we have no account of his having
-      predicted any. Among the Jews there certainly were fortune-tellers,
-      necromancers, and witches, all of which you rank among the impostors. But
-      had not the witch of Endor a real power of incantation? Did she not most
-      wonderfully raise up the spirit of Samuel? Or are we to look upon the
-      story of the witch of Endor in the same light as those of modern witches?
-      That the prophets of the Jews were repeatedly deceived, we cannot have the
-      smallest doubt when 400 of these gentlemen told a downright lie to Ahaz.
-      But you have a very easy expedient in all these cases. When a prophet
-      tells a lie, you may, as was done in this particular case, attribute it to
-      a design of God to cheat the person who consults his oracles, just as
-      Jupiter did of old to Agamemnon when he sent him the false dream.
-    </p>
-    <p>
-      You reproach Thomas Paine for want of candour. He has not, you say,
-      examined the general design of the Old Testament There he would find the
-      benevolence of the God of the Jews, and his infinite goodness in selecting
-      them from among the nations, in preserving them from idolatry. If he chose
-      this people he has certainly exposed them to continual sufferings, and all
-      for no other purpose than to teach mankind that idolatry is the greatest
-      of crimes; that to avoid it, murder, plunder, the crusades, the
-      inquisition, persecution, may all be laudable means for the preservation
-      of the faith of nations. Thus, the cherished people, who were most
-      intimate with their God, committed the most enormous crimes, under the
-      pretence of preserving pure their adoration of the implacable God Jehovah.
-      Did not all the endeavours of Jehovah to rescue nations from idolatry
-      prove fruitless? This despicable creature man has been able to effect what
-      mighty Jehovah never accomplished. Science is the only antidote against
-      all kinds of superstition. Did Cicero adore stocks or stones? Or did ever
-      any learned man among the heathens humble himself before idols? Has not
-      the principal branch of the church of Christ been notorious idolaters? But
-      what avails all this? Have you proved that the Heathens "emulated in the
-      transcendent flagitiousness of their lives, the impure morals of their
-      gods?" You assert it; but unluckily it is one of the many unsupported and
-      assumed propositions in your pamphlet. Did nations necessarily imitate the
-      conduct of their gods, I would tremble at being among the followers of the
-      bloody Jehovah. The heathens were certainly dreamers in their adoration of
-      the planets; we are taught by science, that these bodies resemble our
-      earth in the general laws that govern them. It was natural for rude men to
-      gaze at the sublimity of the stupendous fabric, the refulgency of the sun;
-      the blessings derived from his genial influence could not be contemplated
-      without admiration by the amazed and fearful savage. Idolatry is
-      ridiculous: but have you proved that Jehovah deserves more to be revered
-      than the Great Whole of nature, whether called Pan, or otherwise disguised
-      in emblems, than the harmony of the planets designed by symbols, the
-      generative powers by Venus, or the vivifying light emanating from the
-      bright orb of Apollo? Confess at least, that the allegorical adoration of
-      nature could only deceive the multitude who were kept in ignorance by
-      their priests. If you are candid, you must acknowledge, that the
-      Polytheists were tolerant, that the Atheists or Deists lectured close, to
-      the temple. They did not exterminate nations, establish inquisitions,
-      murder unbelievers as the Jews, and the Christians; although, as you
-      observe, they received the gift of God through Jesus Christ, and were made
-      alive by the covenant of grace.
-    </p>
-    <p>
-      In what consists the superiority of the Jewish or Christian notions of
-      God? Jehovah is a being incomprehensible; he is a jealous and a revengeful
-      God, he hardens men's hearts, and sacrifices whole nations to a particular
-      people, who, in their turn, are sacrificed for the boasted scheme of
-      general good, which is never the nearer being accomplished. He must be
-      adored and revered, and yet he does not make himself known to man. He does
-      not even show himself face to face to any but Moses. You pay no great
-      compliment to his omnipotence, when you observe, that "probably he could
-      not give to such a being as man a full manifestation of the end for which
-      he designs him, nor of the means requisite for that end;"&mdash;and, "that
-      it may not be possible for the Father of the universe to explain to us,
-      infants in apprehension, the goodness and the wisdom of his dealings with
-      the sons of man." Jehovah, in short, equally the offspring of fancy with
-      the Heathen Jupiter, is as cruel as Moloch, and, like other productions of
-      the brain, an invisible phantom, to which priests give the passions of a
-      tyrant; and, in their desire that he should reign alone, that men should
-      not worship other deities, his ministers have preached up this God, and
-      the multitude, eager to admire what they cannot comprehend, have followed
-      the mandates of the pretended interpreters of his will. Still, however,
-      the greatest number of ignorant men are, and will ever be, idolaters; in
-      vain their spiritual guides preach up incomprehensible and ideal beings in
-      an unintelligible jargon; man will always seek to satisfy his senses. Even
-      the immediate presence of Jehovah, and his horrid massacres, could not
-      prevent the favourite nation from following other gods. Even the inspired,
-      the wise, the royal Solomon forsook "the God of Israel, holy, just, and
-      good," for "the impure rabble of heathen Baalim."
-    </p>
-    <p>
-      According to your nations, according to the doctrines of the Jewish and
-      the Christian churches, the sole aim of God has been to be exclusively
-      adored, and jealousy is his prominent feature. It is not in the pursuit of
-      knowledge, or in the practice of morality that he delights. The precepts
-      of social virtue occasionally scattered through the Old, as well as the
-      New Testament, can make little impression when contrasted with the
-      vindictive cruelty of the Deity. The Jewish Jehovah requires nothing of
-      his followers but their compliance in executing his bloody commands
-      against nations whom he calls impious, because he has not revealed himself
-      to them. The man after his own heart, is the murderer of thousands of
-      innocent people. Christ orders his followers to despise the reason he has
-      given them, to avoid pleasure, to hate the world, and to love pain, to
-      pray, and to spend their lives in continual mortification, and in gazing
-      over unintelligible mysteries to acquire his kingdom. If they fail to
-      believe in him, whether from ignorance or from conviction, he punishes
-      them with eternal damnation, or as <i>Saint</i> Athanasius emphatically
-      expresses it in his celebrated creed, "Whosoever believeth in these things
-      shall be saved; and whosoever believeth not shall be damned."
-    </p>
-    <p>
-      <a name="link2H_4_0009" id="link2H_4_0009">
-      <!--  H2 anchor --> </a>
-    </p>
-    <div style="height: 4em;">
-      <br /><br /><br /><br />
-    </div>
-    <h2>
-      LETTER VII.
-    </h2>
-    <p>
-      I now bring under review a few passages from <i>Holy Writ</i>, which I
-      leave to your Lordship to explain, and which scoffers pretend to say are
-      undeniable proofs of the stupidity of the Jews, and gross ideas they had
-      of God. I shall follow the order of the books without attempting an
-      arrangement.
-    </p>
-    <p>
-      Genesis, chap. iii. ver. 1. "Now the serpent was more subtle than any
-      beast of the field which the Lord had made; and he said unto the woman,
-      yea hath God said," &amp;c.
-    </p>
-    <p>
-      This Mr. Serpent would make a fine figure in Æsop's fables. They say it
-      means the Devil, but how does that appear?
-    </p>
-    <p>
-      In ver. 22. and 23. "And behold the Lord said, the man is become one of
-      us, (i. e. one of us Gods), to know good and evil, And now lest he put
-      forth his hand, and take also of the tree of life, and eat, and live for
-      ever; therefore, the Lord God sent him forth from the garden of Eden, to
-      till the ground from whence he was taken."
-    </p>
-    <p>
-      This shows strongly that boasted attribute of God, Jealousy. Is it
-      consistent with a Deity to punish this pair, and all their progeny, for
-      their attempt to know good from evil? We here find that the priests have
-      made God expressly after their own image. God's selfishness prevented men
-      from eating of the other tree, which would make him live for ever. <i>Queritur,</i>
-      then, at what period of the world did the soul of man become immortal? Was
-      it not till Jesus Christ came? And was this tree a type of him, as the
-      bread and wine are at this day? It appears also, that it was not one, but
-      two trees, that were prohibited!
-    </p>
-    <p>
-      Ib. chap. xxxii. ver. 24. "And Jacob was left alone, and there wrestled a
-      man with him, until the breaking of the day; (this shows the antiquity and
-      high authority of sparring); and when he saw that he prevailed not against
-      him, he touched the hollow of his thigh (Mendoza like): and the hollow of
-      Jacob's thigh was out of joint, as he wrestled with him. And he said, let
-      me go, for the day breaketh. And he said, I will not let thee go, unless
-      thou bless me. And he said unto him, what is thy name? And he said, Jacob.
-      And he said, thy name shall be called no more Jacob, but Israel; (which,
-      in Chaldee signifies seeing God); for as a prince hast thou power with God
-      and with men, and hast prevailed. (Or, as the Vulgate more correctly
-      translates, for if thou hast been to oppose the Lord, how much more shall
-      thou prevail against men). And Jacob called the name of the place Penial:
-      for I have seen God face to face." This passage requires no comment.
-    </p>
-    <p>
-      Exodus, chap. iii. ver. 4. "And when the Lord saw that he (Moses) turned
-      aside to see, God called unto him out of the bush, and said, Moses, Moses.
-      And he said, here am I." This is a pretty play at bo-peep.
-    </p>
-    <p>
-      Ib. ver. 14. "And God said unto Moses, I am that I am; and he said, thus
-      shalt thou say unto the children of Israel, I am hath sent me unto you."
-    </p>
-    <p>
-      Divines hold this passage to be a great instance of sublimity!!!
-    </p>
-    <p>
-      Ib. ver. 21. "And I will give this people favour in the sight of the
-      Egyptians, and it shall come to pass, that when ye go away, ye shall not
-      go empty, but every woman shall borrow of her neighbour, jewels of silver,
-      and jewels of gold, and raiment: and ye shall put them upon your sons, and
-      your daughters, and ye shall spoil the Egyptians."
-    </p>
-    <p>
-      Here the Jews made God after their own image; and the dealings of that
-      nation in silver, gold, and clothes, at this day, show that they have not
-      forgotten their God. It is not easy for divines to reconcile this with
-      God's other precept in the eighth commandment.
-    </p>
-    <p>
-      Ib. chap. iv. ver. 24. "And it came to pass by the way in the inn, (by the
-      way, were there inns then in Egypt?) that the Lord met him (Moses) and
-      sought to kill him!!! Then Zepporah took a sharp stone, and cut off the
-      foreskin of her son, and cast it at his feet."
-    </p>
-    <p>
-      This business of the circumcision is brought in rather by the head and the
-      shoulders, and the cause of it is not quite clear; but it is very evident
-      that the Lord could not kill Moses.
-    </p>
-    <p>
-      Ib. chap. xxxii. ver. 27. "And he (Moses learning that the Jews had made a
-      golden calf), said unto them, (the sons of Levi, i.e. the priests,) thus
-      saith the Lord God of Israel, put every man his sword by his side, and go
-      in and out from gate to gate throughout the camp, and slay every man his
-      brother, and every man his companion, and every man his neighbour; and the
-      children of Levi did according to the word of Moses, and there fell of the
-      people that day about three thousand."
-    </p>
-    <p>
-      Ib. chap. xxxiii. ver. 9. "And it came to pass, as Moses entered into the
-      tabernacle, the pillar descended, and stood at the door of the tabernacle,
-      and the Lord (who was in the pillar) talked with Moses."
-    </p>
-    <p>
-      In this manner modern goddesses stop their carriages at shop-keepers'
-      doors at this day.
-    </p>
-    <p>
-      Ib. ver. 90. "And he (God) said, thou canst not see my face, for there
-      shall no man see me and live." God must here have forgotten his dialogue
-      with Adam and Eve, his wrestling with Jacob, and conversations with Moses.
-      In Numbers, chap. xii. ver. 6 and 8, he says, "Hear now my words: If there
-      be a prophet among you, I, the Lord, will make myself known to him in a
-      vision, and will speak to him in a dream," but, "with thee (Moses) will I
-      speak mouth to mouth, even apparently, and not in dark speeches, and the
-      similitude of the Lord shall you behold."
-    </p>
-    <p>
-      Ib. chap. xxi. ver..5. "And the people spoke against God, and against
-      Moses, wherefore have ye brought us up out of Egypt to die in the
-      wilderness, for there is no bread, neither is there any water, and our
-      soul loatheth this light bread." No wonder the Jews tired of living upon
-      manna without water, but the Lord taught them not to grumble. "And the
-      Lord sent fiery serpents among the people, and they bit the people, and
-      much people of Israel died." When God was tired of making his serpents
-      bite the poor devils, he said unto Moses, "Make thee, a fiery serpent, and
-      set it upon a pole, and it shall come to pass, that every one that is
-      bitten when he looketh upon it shall live." This is below all the tricks
-      of necromancers.
-    </p>
-    <p>
-      Ib. chap. xxv. "And the people began to commit whoredom with the daughters
-      of Moab. And Israel joined himself unto Baal-peor: and the anger of the
-      Lord was kindled against Israel. And the Lord said unto Moses, take all
-      the heads of the people, and hang them up before the Lord against the sun,
-      that the fierce anger of the Lord may be turned away from Israel. And
-      Moses said unto the judges, slay every one of these men who were joined
-      unto Baal-peor. And behold one of the children of Israel came, and brought
-      unto his brethren a Midianitish woman, in the sight of Moses, &amp;c. And
-      when Phinehas, the son of Eleazar, the son of Aaron the priest, saw it, he
-      rose from among the congregation, and took a javelin in his hand; and he
-      went after the man of Israel into the tent, and thrust both of them
-      through, the man of Israel, and the woman through her belly, so the plague
-      was stopped from the children of Israel, and these that died in the plague
-      were 24,000." As a reward for this, the Lord gave Phinehas the everlasting
-      priesthood, "because he was zealous for his God, and made an atonement for
-      the children of Israel."
-    </p>
-    <p>
-      Ib. chap. xxvi. Dathan, Korah, and Abirim strove against Moses and Aaron,
-      and the earth swallowed them up, and the fire devoured 250 men.
-    </p>
-    <p>
-      lb. chap. xxxi. ver. 16, there was a plague among the congregation of the
-      Lord, on account of the tres pass against the Lord, when he ordered thus,
-      "Now, therefore, kill every male among the little ones, and kill every
-      woman that hath known man by lying with him; but all the women children
-      that hath not known man by lying with him, keep for yourselves." For the
-      observation on this passage, I refer my reader to Bishop Watson, and the
-      former part of this work.
-    </p>
-    <p>
-      The following ought to be the fate of all idolatrous people, and has been
-      happily practised in the discoveries made by most European nations.
-      Deuteronomy chap. xiii. ver. 13. "Thou shalt surely smite the inhabitants
-      of that city with the edge of the sword, destroying it utterly, and all
-      that is therein, and the cattle thereof, with the edge of the sword."
-    </p>
-    <p>
-      Joshua, chap. vi. v. 21. "And they utterly de-, stroyed all that was in
-      the city, (Jericho), both man and woman, young and old, and ox, and sheep,
-      and ass, with the edge of the sword. And they burnt the city with fire,
-      and all that was therein: only the silver, and the gold, and the vessels
-      of brass, and of iron, they put it into the treasury of the house of the
-      Lord."
-    </p>
-    <p>
-      Chap. x. Joshua being attacked by five kings, and they having taken
-      shelter in a cave, he caused great stones to be rolled to the mouth of the
-      cave, till he followed and destroyed the people, then he ordered the five
-      kings to be brought out from the cave, "And it came to pass, that when
-      they brought out those five kings unto Joshua, that Joshua called for all
-      the men in Israel, and said unto the men of war, come near, put your feet
-      upon the necks of these kings, and they came near, and put their feet upon
-      the necks of them. And afterwards Joshua smote them, and slew them, Joshua
-      took Makdekah, and smote it with the edge of the sword, and the king
-      thereof he utterly destroyed, them, and all the souls that were therein;
-      he let none remain." And so he did in all to 31 kings, as related in this
-      and the following chapters, and all this by the express command of God,
-      who made the sun and the moon both stand still to witness these unprovoked
-      atrocities. But this was just; God having given that country to his chosen
-      people the Jews, as in latter times his vicegerent the Pope gave America
-      to the Portuguese and Spaniards, who, Joshua-like, exterminated the kings
-      and people, because they were not Christians. This, as you say, serves the
-      general scheme of God's benevolence towards mankind.
-    </p>
-    <p>
-      Judges, chap.i. ver. 4. And the Lord having delivered the Canaanites and
-      the Perizzites into the hands of Judah, "They slew of them in Bezek 1000
-      men. But Adonibezek fled, and they pursued after him, and caught him, and
-      cut off his thumbs, and his great toes." lb. ver. 19- "And the Lord was
-      with Judah, and he drove out the inhabitants of the mountain, but <i>could
-      not</i> drive out the inhabitants of the valley!" Why? "Because they had
-      chariots of iron." Chap. iv. recounts the manner in which Deborah and
-      Barak delivered Israel from Jabin and Si-aera. Ver. 21. Then Jael,
-      Hebber's wife, (to whose tent Sisera had fled), "took a nail of the tent,
-      and a hammer in her hand, and went softly unto him, and smote the nail
-      into his temples, and fastened it into the ground, (<i>a goodly nail</i>),
-      for he was fast asleep and weary, so he died." Chap. 5, contains the <i>beautiful</i>
-      song of Deborah and Barak, which I particularly request my reader to
-      peruse, as a finished piece of scripture praise of good words. Chap. xxi.
-      relates, that the Israelites having sworn not to give their daughters to
-      the Benjamites, and the inhabitants of Jabesh-gilead not having come up to
-      Minzeh, "the congregation sent 19,000 men of the valiantest, and commanded
-      them, saying, go and smite the inhabitants of Jabesh-gilead with the edge
-      of the sword, with the women and the children: utterly destroy every male,
-      and every woman that hath lain by man;" but, having found 400 young
-      virgins that had known no man by lying with any male," they gave them to
-      the sons of Benjamin, "and yet so they sufficed them not." So as they had
-      sworn not to give them wives of their own daughters, "therefore, they
-      commanded the children of Benjamin, saying, go and lie in wait in the
-      vineyards, and see, and behold, if the daughters of Shiloch come out to
-      dance in dances, then come ye out of the vineyards, and catch you every
-      man his wife."
-    </p>
-    <p>
-      First Samuel, chap. vi. The ark of the Lord having been among the
-      Philistines seven months, they, unwilling to send it back empty, asked the
-      priests and diviners, what they should send in it as a trespass offering?
-      "they answered, five golden emerods, and five golden mice,&mdash;-and ye
-      shall give glory unto the God of Israel,&mdash;and make a new cart, and
-      take two milch kine, and take the ark of the Lord and lay it on the cart;"
-      and they did so, "and they of Beth-shemesh lifted up their eyes, and saw
-      the ark, and rejoiced to see it,&mdash;and the men of Beth-shemesh offered
-      burnt-offerings, and sacrificed sacrifices the same day unto the Lord,&mdash;and
-      he smote the men of Beth-shemesh, because they had looked into the ark of
-      the Lord, even he smote of the people fifty thousand and threescore and
-      ten men." Gracious God! Blessed Jews!
-    </p>
-    <p>
-      Second Samuel, chap. xxiv. ver. 1. "And the anger of the Lord was kindled
-      against Israel, and he moved David against them to say, go number Israel
-      and Judah." (In first Chronicles, chap. xxi. ver. 1, it stated, "and Satan
-      stood up against Israel, and provoked David to number Israel.") And having
-      thus instigated David to do what is good policy in a king, God, of his
-      infinite mercy, said unto David by his prophet Grad, David's seer, (an
-      officer of the household in those days), "I offer thee three things: shall
-      seven years of famine come unto thee in thy land, or wilt thou flee three
-      months before thine enemies, or that there be three days pestilence in thy
-      land?" And David having chosen the latter, "the Lord sent a pestilence
-      upon Israel, and there died of the people 70,000 men but the Lord is ever
-      merciful, for, "when the angel stretched out his hand upon Jerusalem to
-      destroy it, the Lord <i>repented</i> him of the evil, and said to the
-      angel that destroyed the people, it is enough, stay thou thine hand," <i>Delirant
-      reges, plectuntur Achivi</i>.
-    </p>
-    <p>
-      1 Kings, chap. ii. David being upon his death-bed, having made peace with
-      God, and purified his heart, called Solomon to him and gave him his last
-      charge. As to Joab, the son of Zeruiah, he said, "do according to thy
-      wisdom, and let not his hoar head go down to the grave in peace,&mdash;and
-      behold thou hast with thee Shimei the son of Gera, which cursed me, but he
-      came down to meet me at Jordan, and I sware to him by the Lord, saying, I
-      will not put thee to death by the sword; now, therefore, (<i>proceeds the
-      man after God's own heart</i>), hold him not guiltless; for thou art a
-      wise man, and knowest what thou oughtest to do unto him, but his hoar head
-      bring thou down to the grave with blood." Solomon having succeeded his
-      father, the first act of his reign was to put to death his brother
-      Adonijah.
-    </p>
-    <p>
-      1 Kings, chap. xi. ver. 4, "Solomon's heart was not perfect with the Lord
-      his God, as was the heart of David his father, for it came to pass, that,
-      when he was old, his wives turned his heart after other gods." But why go
-      through such barbarous details? All along we find imprecations against
-      those who despise the prophets, and praises lavished upon murderers,
-      traitors, and assassins. This is the people "selected by the wisdom of
-      God, that they might witness to the whole world in successive ages his
-      existence and attributes, that they might be an instrument of subverting
-      idolatry, of declaring the name of the God of Israel throughout the whole
-      earth a people, who are to us witnesses of the existence, and of the moral
-      government of God."&mdash;This is the Old Testament, which you presume to
-      say afforded matter for the laws of Solon, and a foundation for the
-      philosophy of Plato,&mdash;which has been admired and venerated for its
-      piety, its sublimity, its veracity, by all who <i>are able to read and
-      understand it!!!</i> This is the God who maketh the sun to rise on the
-      evil and on the good, who is all perfection, all wise, and all powerful,
-      and whose mercy is above all his other attributes."
-    </p>
-    <p>
-      THE END.
-    </p>
-    <div style="height: 6em;">
-      <br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br />
-    </div>
-<pre xml:space="preserve">
-
-
-
-
-
-End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of Watson Refuted, by Samuel Francis
-
-*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK WATSON REFUTED ***
-
-***** This file should be named 40978-h.htm or 40978-h.zip *****
-This and all associated files of various formats will be found in:
-        http://www.gutenberg.org/4/0/9/7/40978/
-
-Produced by David Widger
-
-Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions
-will be renamed.
-
-Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no
-one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation
-(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without
-permission and without paying copyright royalties.  Special rules,
-set forth in the General Terms of Use part of this license, apply to
-copying and distributing Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works to
-protect the PROJECT GUTENBERG-tm concept and trademark.  Project
-Gutenberg is a registered trademark, and may not be used if you
-charge for the eBooks, unless you receive specific permission.  If you
-do not charge anything for copies of this eBook, complying with the
-rules is very easy.  You may use this eBook for nearly any purpose
-such as creation of derivative works, reports, performances and
-research.  They may be modified and printed and given away--you may do
-practically ANYTHING with public domain eBooks.  Redistribution is
-subject to the trademark license, especially commercial
-redistribution.
-
-
-
-*** START: FULL LICENSE ***
-
-THE FULL PROJECT GUTENBERG LICENSE
-PLEASE READ THIS BEFORE YOU DISTRIBUTE OR USE THIS WORK
-
-To protect the Project Gutenberg-tm mission of promoting the free
-distribution of electronic works, by using or distributing this work
-(or any other work associated in any way with the phrase "Project
-Gutenberg"), you agree to comply with all the terms of the Full Project
-Gutenberg-tm License available with this file or online at
-  www.gutenberg.org/license.
-
-
-Section 1.  General Terms of Use and Redistributing Project Gutenberg-tm
-electronic works
-
-1.A.  By reading or using any part of this Project Gutenberg-tm
-electronic work, you indicate that you have read, understand, agree to
-and accept all the terms of this license and intellectual property
-(trademark/copyright) agreement.  If you do not agree to abide by all
-the terms of this agreement, you must cease using and return or destroy
-all copies of Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works in your possession.
-If you paid a fee for obtaining a copy of or access to a Project
-Gutenberg-tm electronic work and you do not agree to be bound by the
-terms of this agreement, you may obtain a refund from the person or
-entity to whom you paid the fee as set forth in paragraph 1.E.8.
-
-1.B.  "Project Gutenberg" is a registered trademark.  It may only be
-used on or associated in any way with an electronic work by people who
-agree to be bound by the terms of this agreement.  There are a few
-things that you can do with most Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works
-even without complying with the full terms of this agreement.  See
-paragraph 1.C below.  There are a lot of things you can do with Project
-Gutenberg-tm electronic works if you follow the terms of this agreement
-and help preserve free future access to Project Gutenberg-tm electronic
-works.  See paragraph 1.E below.
-
-1.C.  The Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation ("the Foundation"
-or PGLAF), owns a compilation copyright in the collection of Project
-Gutenberg-tm electronic works.  Nearly all the individual works in the
-collection are in the public domain in the United States.  If an
-individual work is in the public domain in the United States and you are
-located in the United States, we do not claim a right to prevent you from
-copying, distributing, performing, displaying or creating derivative
-works based on the work as long as all references to Project Gutenberg
-are removed.  Of course, we hope that you will support the Project
-Gutenberg-tm mission of promoting free access to electronic works by
-freely sharing Project Gutenberg-tm works in compliance with the terms of
-this agreement for keeping the Project Gutenberg-tm name associated with
-the work.  You can easily comply with the terms of this agreement by
-keeping this work in the same format with its attached full Project
-Gutenberg-tm License when you share it without charge with others.
-
-1.D.  The copyright laws of the place where you are located also govern
-what you can do with this work.  Copyright laws in most countries are in
-a constant state of change.  If you are outside the United States, check
-the laws of your country in addition to the terms of this agreement
-before downloading, copying, displaying, performing, distributing or
-creating derivative works based on this work or any other Project
-Gutenberg-tm work.  The Foundation makes no representations concerning
-the copyright status of any work in any country outside the United
-States.
-
-1.E.  Unless you have removed all references to Project Gutenberg:
-
-1.E.1.  The following sentence, with active links to, or other immediate
-access to, the full Project Gutenberg-tm License must appear prominently
-whenever any copy of a Project Gutenberg-tm work (any work on which the
-phrase "Project Gutenberg" appears, or with which the phrase "Project
-Gutenberg" is associated) is accessed, displayed, performed, viewed,
-copied or distributed:
-
-This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with
-almost no restrictions whatsoever.  You may copy it, give it away or
-re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included
-with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org
-
-1.E.2.  If an individual Project Gutenberg-tm electronic work is derived
-from the public domain (does not contain a notice indicating that it is
-posted with permission of the copyright holder), the work can be copied
-and distributed to anyone in the United States without paying any fees
-or charges.  If you are redistributing or providing access to a work
-with the phrase "Project Gutenberg" associated with or appearing on the
-work, you must comply either with the requirements of paragraphs 1.E.1
-through 1.E.7 or obtain permission for the use of the work and the
-Project Gutenberg-tm trademark as set forth in paragraphs 1.E.8 or
-1.E.9.
-
-1.E.3.  If an individual Project Gutenberg-tm electronic work is posted
-with the permission of the copyright holder, your use and distribution
-must comply with both paragraphs 1.E.1 through 1.E.7 and any additional
-terms imposed by the copyright holder.  Additional terms will be linked
-to the Project Gutenberg-tm License for all works posted with the
-permission of the copyright holder found at the beginning of this work.
-
-1.E.4.  Do not unlink or detach or remove the full Project Gutenberg-tm
-License terms from this work, or any files containing a part of this
-work or any other work associated with Project Gutenberg-tm.
-
-1.E.5.  Do not copy, display, perform, distribute or redistribute this
-electronic work, or any part of this electronic work, without
-prominently displaying the sentence set forth in paragraph 1.E.1 with
-active links or immediate access to the full terms of the Project
-Gutenberg-tm License.
-
-1.E.6.  You may convert to and distribute this work in any binary,
-compressed, marked up, nonproprietary or proprietary form, including any
-word processing or hypertext form.  However, if you provide access to or
-distribute copies of a Project Gutenberg-tm work in a format other than
-"Plain Vanilla ASCII" or other format used in the official version
-posted on the official Project Gutenberg-tm web site (www.gutenberg.org),
-you must, at no additional cost, fee or expense to the user, provide a
-copy, a means of exporting a copy, or a means of obtaining a copy upon
-request, of the work in its original "Plain Vanilla ASCII" or other
-form.  Any alternate format must include the full Project Gutenberg-tm
-License as specified in paragraph 1.E.1.
-
-1.E.7.  Do not charge a fee for access to, viewing, displaying,
-performing, copying or distributing any Project Gutenberg-tm works
-unless you comply with paragraph 1.E.8 or 1.E.9.
-
-1.E.8.  You may charge a reasonable fee for copies of or providing
-access to or distributing Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works provided
-that
-
-- You pay a royalty fee of 20% of the gross profits you derive from
-     the use of Project Gutenberg-tm works calculated using the method
-     you already use to calculate your applicable taxes.  The fee is
-     owed to the owner of the Project Gutenberg-tm trademark, but he
-     has agreed to donate royalties under this paragraph to the
-     Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation.  Royalty payments
-     must be paid within 60 days following each date on which you
-     prepare (or are legally required to prepare) your periodic tax
-     returns.  Royalty payments should be clearly marked as such and
-     sent to the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation at the
-     address specified in Section 4, "Information about donations to
-     the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation."
-
-- You provide a full refund of any money paid by a user who notifies
-     you in writing (or by e-mail) within 30 days of receipt that s/he
-     does not agree to the terms of the full Project Gutenberg-tm
-     License.  You must require such a user to return or
-     destroy all copies of the works possessed in a physical medium
-     and discontinue all use of and all access to other copies of
-     Project Gutenberg-tm works.
-
-- You provide, in accordance with paragraph 1.F.3, a full refund of any
-     money paid for a work or a replacement copy, if a defect in the
-     electronic work is discovered and reported to you within 90 days
-     of receipt of the work.
-
-- You comply with all other terms of this agreement for free
-     distribution of Project Gutenberg-tm works.
-
-1.E.9.  If you wish to charge a fee or distribute a Project Gutenberg-tm
-electronic work or group of works on different terms than are set
-forth in this agreement, you must obtain permission in writing from
-both the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation and Michael
-Hart, the owner of the Project Gutenberg-tm trademark.  Contact the
-Foundation as set forth in Section 3 below.
-
-1.F.
-
-1.F.1.  Project Gutenberg volunteers and employees expend considerable
-effort to identify, do copyright research on, transcribe and proofread
-public domain works in creating the Project Gutenberg-tm
-collection.  Despite these efforts, Project Gutenberg-tm electronic
-works, and the medium on which they may be stored, may contain
-"Defects," such as, but not limited to, incomplete, inaccurate or
-corrupt data, transcription errors, a copyright or other intellectual
-property infringement, a defective or damaged disk or other medium, a
-computer virus, or computer codes that damage or cannot be read by
-your equipment.
-
-1.F.2.  LIMITED WARRANTY, DISCLAIMER OF DAMAGES - Except for the "Right
-of Replacement or Refund" described in paragraph 1.F.3, the Project
-Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation, the owner of the Project
-Gutenberg-tm trademark, and any other party distributing a Project
-Gutenberg-tm electronic work under this agreement, disclaim all
-liability to you for damages, costs and expenses, including legal
-fees.  YOU AGREE THAT YOU HAVE NO REMEDIES FOR NEGLIGENCE, STRICT
-LIABILITY, BREACH OF WARRANTY OR BREACH OF CONTRACT EXCEPT THOSE
-PROVIDED IN PARAGRAPH 1.F.3.  YOU AGREE THAT THE FOUNDATION, THE
-TRADEMARK OWNER, AND ANY DISTRIBUTOR UNDER THIS AGREEMENT WILL NOT BE
-LIABLE TO YOU FOR ACTUAL, DIRECT, INDIRECT, CONSEQUENTIAL, PUNITIVE OR
-INCIDENTAL DAMAGES EVEN IF YOU GIVE NOTICE OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH
-DAMAGE.
-
-1.F.3.  LIMITED RIGHT OF REPLACEMENT OR REFUND - If you discover a
-defect in this electronic work within 90 days of receiving it, you can
-receive a refund of the money (if any) you paid for it by sending a
-written explanation to the person you received the work from.  If you
-received the work on a physical medium, you must return the medium with
-your written explanation.  The person or entity that provided you with
-the defective work may elect to provide a replacement copy in lieu of a
-refund.  If you received the work electronically, the person or entity
-providing it to you may choose to give you a second opportunity to
-receive the work electronically in lieu of a refund.  If the second copy
-is also defective, you may demand a refund in writing without further
-opportunities to fix the problem.
-
-1.F.4.  Except for the limited right of replacement or refund set forth
-in paragraph 1.F.3, this work is provided to you 'AS-IS', WITH NO OTHER
-WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO
-WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY OR FITNESS FOR ANY PURPOSE.
-
-1.F.5.  Some states do not allow disclaimers of certain implied
-warranties or the exclusion or limitation of certain types of damages.
-If any disclaimer or limitation set forth in this agreement violates the
-law of the state applicable to this agreement, the agreement shall be
-interpreted to make the maximum disclaimer or limitation permitted by
-the applicable state law.  The invalidity or unenforceability of any
-provision of this agreement shall not void the remaining provisions.
-
-1.F.6.  INDEMNITY - You agree to indemnify and hold the Foundation, the
-trademark owner, any agent or employee of the Foundation, anyone
-providing copies of Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works in accordance
-with this agreement, and any volunteers associated with the production,
-promotion and distribution of Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works,
-harmless from all liability, costs and expenses, including legal fees,
-that arise directly or indirectly from any of the following which you do
-or cause to occur: (a) distribution of this or any Project Gutenberg-tm
-work, (b) alteration, modification, or additions or deletions to any
-Project Gutenberg-tm work, and (c) any Defect you cause.
-
-
-Section  2.  Information about the Mission of Project Gutenberg-tm
-
-Project Gutenberg-tm is synonymous with the free distribution of
-electronic works in formats readable by the widest variety of computers
-including obsolete, old, middle-aged and new computers.  It exists
-because of the efforts of hundreds of volunteers and donations from
-people in all walks of life.
-
-Volunteers and financial support to provide volunteers with the
-assistance they need are critical to reaching Project Gutenberg-tm's
-goals and ensuring that the Project Gutenberg-tm collection will
-remain freely available for generations to come.  In 2001, the Project
-Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation was created to provide a secure
-and permanent future for Project Gutenberg-tm and future generations.
-To learn more about the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation
-and how your efforts and donations can help, see Sections 3 and 4
-and the Foundation information page at www.gutenberg.org
-
-
-Section 3.  Information about the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive
-Foundation
-
-The Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation is a non profit
-501(c)(3) educational corporation organized under the laws of the
-state of Mississippi and granted tax exempt status by the Internal
-Revenue Service.  The Foundation's EIN or federal tax identification
-number is 64-6221541.  Contributions to the Project Gutenberg
-Literary Archive Foundation are tax deductible to the full extent
-permitted by U.S. federal laws and your state's laws.
-
-The Foundation's principal office is located at 4557 Melan Dr. S.
-Fairbanks, AK, 99712., but its volunteers and employees are scattered
-throughout numerous locations.  Its business office is located at 809
-North 1500 West, Salt Lake City, UT 84116, (801) 596-1887.  Email
-contact links and up to date contact information can be found at the
-Foundation's web site and official page at www.gutenberg.org/contact
-
-For additional contact information:
-     Dr. Gregory B. Newby
-     Chief Executive and Director
-     gbnewby@pglaf.org
-
-Section 4.  Information about Donations to the Project Gutenberg
-Literary Archive Foundation
-
-Project Gutenberg-tm depends upon and cannot survive without wide
-spread public support and donations to carry out its mission of
-increasing the number of public domain and licensed works that can be
-freely distributed in machine readable form accessible by the widest
-array of equipment including outdated equipment.  Many small donations
-($1 to $5,000) are particularly important to maintaining tax exempt
-status with the IRS.
-
-The Foundation is committed to complying with the laws regulating
-charities and charitable donations in all 50 states of the United
-States.  Compliance requirements are not uniform and it takes a
-considerable effort, much paperwork and many fees to meet and keep up
-with these requirements.  We do not solicit donations in locations
-where we have not received written confirmation of compliance.  To
-SEND DONATIONS or determine the status of compliance for any
-particular state visit www.gutenberg.org/donate
-
-While we cannot and do not solicit contributions from states where we
-have not met the solicitation requirements, we know of no prohibition
-against accepting unsolicited donations from donors in such states who
-approach us with offers to donate.
-
-International donations are gratefully accepted, but we cannot make
-any statements concerning tax treatment of donations received from
-outside the United States.  U.S. laws alone swamp our small staff.
-
-Please check the Project Gutenberg Web pages for current donation
-methods and addresses.  Donations are accepted in a number of other
-ways including checks, online payments and credit card donations.
-To donate, please visit:  www.gutenberg.org/donate
-
-
-Section 5.  General Information About Project Gutenberg-tm electronic
-works.
-
-Professor Michael S. Hart was the originator of the Project Gutenberg-tm
-concept of a library of electronic works that could be freely shared
-with anyone.  For forty years, he produced and distributed Project
-Gutenberg-tm eBooks with only a loose network of volunteer support.
-
-Project Gutenberg-tm eBooks are often created from several printed
-editions, all of which are confirmed as Public Domain in the U.S.
-unless a copyright notice is included.  Thus, we do not necessarily
-keep eBooks in compliance with any particular paper edition.
-
-Most people start at our Web site which has the main PG search facility:
-
-     www.gutenberg.org
-
-This Web site includes information about Project Gutenberg-tm,
-including how to make donations to the Project Gutenberg Literary
-Archive Foundation, how to help produce our new eBooks, and how to
-subscribe to our email newsletter to hear about new eBooks.
-
-
-
-</pre>
-  </body>
-</html>
diff --git a/old/40978.txt b/old/40978.txt
deleted file mode 100644
index e46fab4..0000000
--- a/old/40978.txt
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,3132 +0,0 @@
-The Project Gutenberg EBook of Watson Refuted, by Samuel Francis
-
-This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with
-almost no restrictions whatsoever.  You may copy it, give it away or
-re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included
-with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org
-
-
-Title: Watson Refuted
-       Being an Answer to The Apology for the Bible, in a Series
-       of Letters to the Bishop Of Llandaff
-
-Author: Samuel Francis
-
-Release Date: October 8, 2012 [EBook #40978]
-
-Language: English
-
-Character set encoding: ASCII
-
-*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK WATSON REFUTED ***
-
-
-
-
-Produced by David Widger
-
-
-
-
-
-WATSON REFUTED
-
-BEING AN ANSWER TO THE APOLOGY FOR THE BIBLE.
-
-IN A SERIES OF LETTERS TO THE BISHOP OF LLANDAFF.
-
-By Samuel Francis, M.D.
-
-     Pudet me humani generis, cujus mentes et aures talia fern
-     potuerunt.
-
-     --Div. Augustin.
-
-LONDON:
-
-PRINTED and PUBLISHED BY R. CARLILE, 55, FLEET STREET
-
-
-
-
-ADVERTISEMENT.
-
-I had written a considerable part of another work, containing strictures
-on religion. The appearance of the Bishop of Llandaff's pamphlet, and
-the number of editions that have been published for the purpose of
-encouraging its sale among the poorer classes, induced me to take up the
-pen expressly in answer to this publication, that I might undeceive
-the multitude, and show that, under the imposing title of a Bishop,
-Dr. Watson has been guilty of the most gross misrepresentations, and,
-whether intentionally or from ignorance, has deceived his readers,
-while, under the pretence of meekness, he triumphs in the detection of a
-few errors, committed by a man who does not pretend to be a Theologian,
-or to be possessed of any great learning. He has uniformly passed
-over the weighty arguments of the Age of Reason, and stopped at a few
-immaterial inaccuracies. I hope, in the following sheets, to show, that
-the learned Professor of Divinity has committed errors in the Natural
-Sciences and History, which would be inexcusable in any author; but,
-when coming from a dignified Clergyman, who wishes to dictate to the
-nation, their detection cannot fail to show to the public, how necessary
-it is for men to employ their faculty of reason, and not to yield it to
-those whose profession is to teach things they acknowledge to be above
-reason, and incomprehensible. I shall, as soon as my other avocations
-permit, give the world a tract upon religion in general, with strictures
-on the Jewish and Christian systems. For this reason, I shall not, in
-the present pamphlet, enter deeply into any abstract reasoning, but
-confine myself chiefly to the detection of the errors contained in the
-Apology for the Bible.
-
-S. F.
-
-London, Aug. 15,
-
-1790,
-
-
-
-
-WATSON REFUTED
-
-
-
-
-LETTER I.
-
-MY LORD,
-
-You have thought it not inconsistent with your dignity as a Bishop, to
-oppose the _Age of Reason by Thomas Paine_, and I, as a member of the
-community, find myself called upon to expose your reasoning, and stop
-the career of error. You disclaim controversy; but if your candour
-is any thing more than a vain boast, I entertain hopes of seeing the
-defender of Christianity again step forward to answer my arguments, if
-he deems them of sufficient weight to disturb his quiet. I am sincerely
-glad to find a dignified churchman begin a dispute with men, whom
-formerly the pious members of the Church would have deemed fit victims
-for the fire or the gallows; at the same time, I feel deep regret, that
-the Bishop has not yet altogether laid aside the clerical passion for
-the extermination of the heterodox. I hope, says Dr. Watson, that
-there is no want of charity in wishing, that Mr. Paine's life had been
-terminated long before his publication. This may be consistent with
-Christian charity, but nature and reason teach us ugly unbelievers
-another doctrine: and, however inveterate I may be against those of
-the clergy who persecute and deceive the multitude, I confess, that the
-death of a person, whom I conceive to be acting for what he thinks the
-public good, would give me no pleasure; and the Bishop allows the purity
-of Mr. Paine's motives. The wish of the philosopher is, let reason guide
-us, and all parties have freedom of debate. No dogmatical dictates of
-bigotted priests, no passive obedience to the mandates of inquisitors,
-nor to the persecutions so often fomented by churchmen. To the progress
-of letters, during this century, we owe the mildness and condescension
-of clergymen: till philosophy taught us, the clergy never discovered,
-that persecutions for heresy and witchcraft, or inquisitions and popery,
-were horrid institutions. Dares Dr. Watson affirm, that freedom of
-inquiry was ever suffered on religious subjects? that people were
-allowed to examine the grounds of the doctrines taught by the Church?
-No, Sir, your predecessors of all beliefs have ever persecuted
-philosophers and inquirers into truth, both in science and in religion.
-Neither Galileus nor Rousseau escaped the malevolence of the opposers
-of science; and in the Bible they found authorities for their inveterate
-opposition to the progress of truth and knowledge. The New Testament
-informs us, that the wisdom of God is foolishness to man, that human
-learning produces nothing but pride 1, and that the poor in spirit gain
-the kingdom of heaven.
-
-     1 "Beware lest any man spoil you through philosophy and vain
-     deceit, after the tradition of men, after the rudiments of
-     the world, and not after Christ." Colos. ii. 5, 8.
-
-     "Cum sit nobis divinis literis traditum cognitiones
-     philosophorum stultas esse, ad ipsum re et argumentis
-     docendum et; ne quit bouesto sapieutiae nomine inductus, aut
-     inanis eloquentiae splendore deceptus, humanis malet quam
-     divinis credere."
-
-     Lactantius, Inst. lib. i. chap. 2.
-
-Under these and other similar pretences, have barbarous priests led
-their credulous followers to massacres in the name of their God; by
-means of that touchstone word, _Faith_, they made the multitude forget
-that their leaders were but men. Now, Sir, we have grown bolder:
-knowledge being no longer confined to clerical seminaries, priests are
-not kings. The church totters; and a single pamphlet, you say, "has
-unsettled the faith of thousands." Now, that you cannot stifle reason,
-you pretend to liberality of sentiment.
-
-The natural historian, or the astronomer, fears not the publication of
-opinions contrary to his own, except from a scholastic habit, learned in
-the clerical seminaries, which still disgrace almost every country. The
-chemist eagerly peruses all theories; the divine alone refuses to argue
-with his opponents, and trembles at the very name of reason. I differ in
-my philosophical opinions from Mr. Paine; my principles extend so much
-farther than his, that I suspect I come under the class which you are
-pleased to call madmen, and every clergyman would affect to despise, but
-dare not argue with, before an unprejudiced tribunal. These, Sir, are
-the effects of superstition, and the cunning policy of the Church. The
-Bible is hardly suffered to be read in Catholic countries. The English
-reformers could not go so far; their revolution sprung from a dawn of
-philosophy. The English clergy, however, would confine us to the
-reading of that unintelligible farrago, and the still more insufferable
-commentaries upon it. So did the scholastics with Aristotle; their
-bigotted partiality to this author was nearly of the same force with the
-priestly attachment to the Bible. They retarded science; but the motives
-of the clergy are stronger. By the Bible they live; and it is not
-uncommon to hear the parson deride in private what he preaches from the
-pulpit.
-
-But to your first letter.
-
-After the pious wish for Thomas Paine's death, you proceed to state
-how miserable the adoption of his doctrines would render the "unhappy
-virtuous." Fear not such a dire event: the _pious_ are few in number,
-and of those, few have the courage to open a book controverting their
-opinions, and which, they are taught to believe, contains nothing but
-blasphemies But, should chance lead them to a detection of their errors,
-they would only become less devout, and more useful citizens. Freed from
-the prospect of hell and heaven, they will have leisure to think of
-this world, in which they live somewhat like hermits, loving only their
-priests, and ready to sacrifice victims to credulity.
-
-You say, that guillotine massacres were not the effect of the Popish
-religion, but of the disbelief of this system. This deserves some
-consideration. It is not true, that the majority of the people of Paris
-were unbelievers. No, Sir, they swore to the miracles of Abbe Paris,
-and were as ready to give testimony to the wonderful cures and prodigies
-operated by his intercession, as the Jews or Christians have been
-to vouch for theirs. The fact is this: the lively disposition of the
-French, the unintelligibility of their religion, and the shameful
-conduct of the priests, turned their attention to the more serious
-object of politics; but this event could not immediately change the
-nature of the murderers of the Protestants on St. Bartholomew's day.
-Does your Lordship imagine, that the peasants of La Vendee are models of
-morality? If you think so, I must undeceive you. Nothing but ignorance
-prevails in that district; like the ancient crusaders, they are led
-solely by their priests, who, by means of certain words which early
-habits and superstition have made their followers respect, and, together
-with want of communication with the rest of France, have inflamed them,
-and driven them to slaughter: even miracles have not been wanting in
-that part of the country; but in this, as in many other instances, they
-have disappeared, on the arrival of incredulous troops, whose hearts are
-perhaps hardened by God, like the Egyptians of old. Since God diminishes
-men's faith in proportion as he gives them human wisdom, let us not
-endeavour to controvert this heavenly will, by endeavouring to make
-the enlightened people of the eighteenth century so credulous as in the
-former days of ignorance. The Bishop allows, that the higher classes
-of every country all lean towards infidelity; they are more guided by
-reason, and reason is the avowed enemy of faith, it being the criterion
-of faith, that it contains natural impossibilities. It is unfortunate
-that so many sects pretend to faith, and differ so much among
-themselves; and that to explain their faiths, they use the weapons of
-reason against one another. This of itself proves, that faith is but
-a cant word, since the faithful argue about what comes not under human
-knowledge. Thus all religious sectaries, whether Christians, Jews,
-Mahometans, Boodzoists, or Bramins, as staunchly believe contradictory
-doctrines, while, in the inquiries that depend on their reason, we find
-that, wherever men have long been civilized, they have, in astronomy,
-in physics, or ethics, come in general to the same conclusions. The
-language of the philosopher is understood in Pekin as well as in Rome;
-but the religious fanatics of every country differ in their opinions,
-and consider all but themselves as dreamers and impostors. The Bramin
-laughs at the story of Noah and the ark, the stopping of the sun, and
-the incarnation of God; while the Christian shows the same contempt for
-the incarnation of Vishnu, and other articles of the Braminical
-faith. The exercise of reason alone shows us the true limits of our
-intellectual faculties. Ignorance of this is the cause of all reveries
-in science, as in religion; it is only superstition that incites men to
-launch beyond their conceptions.
-
-You accuse of infidelity all those who commit crimes against society.
-When we answer, that the Jewish and Christian religions have deluged
-the world with blood, you reply, that it is not as being Jews and
-Christians, but because they were wicked. At the same time, I hope you
-allow, that the Spartans, the Athenians, the Romans, the Chinese, did
-not commit half the atrocities which disgrace Jewish history, the aera
-of the crusades and the Christian persecutions, of the invasion of
-America, the massacres of heretics, &c. The candid observer must
-therefore conclude, that right and wrong is not confined to sects; that
-the Christian religion, whatever its precepts may be, has not been able
-to prevent crimes, while nations who knew not so much as the name of
-Moses or Christ, produced a Confucius, an Aristides, a Socrates, an
-Epaminondas, a Cincinnatus. Among these nations, who knew not the Lord
-Jehovah, we find Archimedes, Epicurus, Demosthenes, Plato, Aristotle,
-Cicero, while the chosen people of God, and their successors, the
-Christians, borrowed their language, the very names of their gods, and
-the little science they knew, from these despised infidels. It was not
-the oracle of Delphos, the augurs, or the sybils, that enlightened the
-Greeks and Romans. The rabble credited them, as the ignorant Jews and
-Christians did their prophets and apostles. In short, morals cannot be
-invented; there cannot be two systems of morality. The precepts must be
-directed to principles existing in the heart of man. Ignorance conceals
-from nations the rule of conduct, in the same manner that it prevents
-them from knowing geometry; the moment they study either, they are put
-in the road of truth. No wonder, then, that in the times of the greatest
-oppression, when frightened into certain doctrines by the stories
-of nurses and parents, many learned men should not have been able
-to conquer their first prejudices. You certainly know the time when
-astrology and the philosopher's stone were in fashion; the believers
-in these reveries were men of science. Van Helmont, Stahl, Boyle,
-and innumerable others were possessed of this madness. You can be no
-stranger to the numerous wretches that suffered for witchcraft and
-necromancy, and, upon the very brink of death, confessed they were
-guilty.
-
-The next reflection the Doctor makes, is respecting gospel moderation,
-for which purpose he quotes, "Who art thou that judgest another man's
-servant? to his own master he standeth or falleth." Yet has this been
-done by all Christian rulers; and the clergy are at this moment,
-in express defiance of this maxim, about to send missionaries to
-disseminate principles that have ever produced internal dissensions, and
-without which infidels have lived in perfect happiness. It is, perhaps,
-an excess of piety; but cool observers pretend, that it is the high
-priest, not the High God, that they are going to preach: to fill their
-knapsacks is the first object of these pilgrims, and their God is
-made subservient. Unluckily for the Bishop, he could not adduce a more
-detestable maxim, to show his charity, than that which I have just
-quoted: it is the pivot of Oriental despotism; it teaches passive
-obedience to all classes; the father is the tyrant of his children, the
-nabob of his subjects, the emperor of all: it is a maxim whose tendency
-is to root in men's minds, that we are the property of one another, and
-may be inherited as cattle. To those of my readers who are pleased with
-it, I wish a thorough experience of its effects.
-
-The remainder of your first letter contains observations to which I
-perfectly accede. Your conclusion against Thomas Paine is perfectly
-fair. Any apparent deviation from moral justice in the world must prove
-as much against the goodness of God, as a similar inconsistency in his
-immediate actions and commands proves against revealed religion. My
-Lord, we are in the abyss of error; your question with Thomas Paine
-is about the comparative absurdity of the two Opinions. The deistical
-notions of your adversary do not agree with his reasonable tenets; but
-I readily grant, that, to a religious person, nothing is incredible; and
-that the greater the inconsistencies, the more sublime the system.
-But let me ask your Lordship, what you conclude against one, who, like
-myself, is not a Deist? and repeats, with the first philosopher of the
-age, that there are only four possible hypotheses upon the causes of the
-universe: 1st. That they are purely good. 2dly. That they are malicious.
-3dly. That they are a mixture of good and evil. And, lastly, That they
-neither possess benevolence, nor any other passions. The two first
-hypotheses are equally contradicted by daily experience, the mixture of
-good and evil is too apparent: the third is denied, by the steadiness of
-the laws of nature: the last, then, only is admissible.
-
-You next proceed to justify several actions of the Jews, which you and
-the Bible are pleased to call God's commands. I must decline following
-your reasoning; for the very existence of such crimes as the Jews
-ascribe to their enemies, and which, they say, were so repugnant to
-God, would of themselves prove against the goodness of that Being. His
-frequent threats, and the extermination of so many miserable nations, is
-a poor expedient; like that of a man, who, attempting to make a machine,
-and foiled in his endeavours, gloried in breaking it in a thousand
-pieces. How much more ridiculous is that sublime Artificer, who employs
-the same means which impotence or malevolence give rise to in his
-wretched children. I am glad you have no recourse to the silly causes of
-atheism, as given by that illustrious dreamer, Plato.
-
-The world has too long been imposed upon by ridiculous attempts to
-vilify atheists, and show their nonexistence. That name has been a cant
-word, like Jacobin in France, and Whig and Tory in England, which
-every person applies to his neighbour as it best suits him. In Catholic
-countries, all who dare think are heretics; among Protestants, they
-are atheists. Being a word of opprobrium, it has ever been used as a
-powerful engine in the hands of the clergy. The question is upon the
-truth of systems, not upon the character of those who profess them. If
-this were the discrimination, and the palm given to that religion that
-has had the greatest number of honest men, the Christian system would
-certainly lose the contest.
-
-The Bishop seems to think, that savages have not so perfect a notion of
-God as we imagine: religion, he supposes, begins as it were in express
-revelation. This is but the fancy of a clergyman, unsupported by
-any proofs; but at least it shows, that the Bishop involuntarily
-acknowledges, that reason alone can hardly give us the idea of a ruling
-Being. The savage, it is true, does not discourse in a metaphysical
-jargon; he wants expressions: but I wish the Doctor would inform me in
-what our Catechism definition of God is clearer than the notions of the
-rudest savage, who, trembling at the approach of thunder and violent
-convulsions of nature, or enjoying the genial sun and fertilizing
-inundations, imagines all the world to be animated with his own
-passions. The thunder is a mark of wrath, while the blessings are signs
-of a propitious genius. To conciliate these imaginary beings, to avert
-their wrath, is the grand object of superstition. Schoolmen conceal,
-under their mystical jargon, the real materials which their gods are
-made of; they conceal that the Supreme Artificer is the offspring of
-fancy, the figurative and unphilosophical symbol of nature, to which
-they give human dispositions: in all religious systems men are the
-type of their gods. Your letter concludes with a remark sufficiently
-extraordinary, that most Deists of your acquaintance disbelieve the
-mysterious conversations of God, his miracles, and such other stories,
-because they are too wonderful, and against the order of nature. Your
-reply is curious: because we never have seen the like of them, does it
-follow that they are untrue? Give me leave to tell you, my Lord, that
-you have forgotten the rules of logic: you know, that in all cases, but
-of demonstration, the philosopher does nothing but weigh probabilities.
-Any thing that is conceivable is possible: but are we therefore to
-believe in the existence of witches or necromancers? Are we to give
-credit to the world having sprung from an egg? That Mahomet divided the
-moon? That the sun stood still? That astrology is a science? Yet what
-reason have we to disbelieve them? The respective supporters of these
-opinions may say with the Doctor, that nothing can be too wonderful, and
-that, because these things have not happened in our time, it does not
-follow they should be untrue. I acknowledge, with the Doctor, that
-many Deists admit a Being as inconceivable as any religious mystery;
-therefore it may seem ridiculous in them to stop their credulity; since
-we call God just, when nothing but a concatenation of causes and effects
-can be perceived in the world; when we proclaim him benevolent,
-while the world is full of vice, while millions perish in misery, and
-continual calamities befal mankind; while, in short, most men have the
-gloomy prospect of damnation before them. These are greater miracles
-than an universal deluge, making a woman from a rib, or God's
-countenancing the atrocious murders of Jews. He that will believe one
-wonder, has no plea for doubting the rest.
-
-
-
-
-LETTER II.
-
-MY LORD,
-
-Your second letter begins with some nice distinctions between
-authenticity and genuineness. The whole reasoning seems to amount to
-this, that a book may be authentic, although not genuine, and _vice
-versa_. To this proposition we were no strangers; but piety makes
-your Lordship forget some other considerations. When the proofs of
-authenticity depend in a great measure upon the genuineness of a
-book, then the authenticity falls to the ground the moment we prove it
-spurious. Thus the Jews strenuously maintained, that the Pentateuch had
-been written by an inspired man at a particular time. But if Moses is
-shown not to have written these books, I trust you will not declare
-them authentic, without other very solid proofs. When a whole nation
-is proved to be mistaken respecting the author of a work, we ought not
-hastily to credit their legends. Moreover, logic teaches us, that in
-proportion as events are incredible, they require a stronger testimony
-to prove that they have actually taken place. A battle may have been
-fought, a city may have been destroyed, but miracles being against the
-order of nature, no testimony can be strong enough to prove them, we
-must again appeal to faith. It is so much easier for men to be deceived
-or imposed upon, or for persons designedly to mislead their credulous
-followers, that unless it were more miraculous that a man should be
-mistaken, than that the miracle happened, we ought not to give credit
-to such fables. If we drop this rule of logic, we shall readily believe
-prodigies of all sorts, whether wrought by Moses, Jesus Christ, Mahomet,
-St. Antony of Padua, or any modern wonder-workers, witches, magicians,
-astrologers, or magnetisers. Mr. Paine no where asserts, that because
-a book is not genuine, it must be false; but certainly he might assert
-this of the Bible. You say, that if the works of Titus Livius had been
-ascribed to another, they would nevertheless be true; how would you
-ascertain it? If the whole Roman nation supposed them to have been
-written by a particular author at a certain time, and should we be
-enabled to point out many passages evidently written in a posterior
-age, would you, without any other proofs, join in the assent to the
-authenticity of the history, upon a tradition so vague, and already
-proved false in so material a point? Although I am no Bishop, I would
-only imagine, that as to probable events contained in such spurious
-books, there might have been some grounds for them; but I would receive
-them with great caution; and, at any rate, never would I establish a
-system of history, much less of religion, upon the productions of an
-ignorant people: in all cases, events related against the order of
-nature are to be considered as the reveries of dark ages. To elucidate
-your principles, you mention Anson's voyage, written by Robins, under
-the name of Walter, to prove that a spurious work may contain a true
-history; but, my Lord, do you forget, that this was written at a time
-when the whole nation knew that Lord Anson had made such a voyage, and
-every man in his fleet could testify the particulars of it? But if
-our posterity, four or five centuries hence, should discover a book
-purporting to be written by a Mr. Walters, detailing the voyage of
-Admiral Anson, and if in that book they should meet a passage speaking
-of the late revolution in France, or of the author's death and burial,
-would not that strike at the authenticity of the whole? Would any part
-be believed that was not corroborated by the evidence of respectable
-contemporary authors? All that could be inferred would be from the
-nature of the events related, such as the accurate description of
-countries, and such other particulars as marked either the period of the
-observations, or their truth: in the first case, they might suspect the
-work to be interpolated; in the second, they would value it only for
-the accuracy of information. It is different with scientifical and
-historical works: a spurious book of science may contain truths, they
-stand for themselves, they are the same at all times and places. Not so
-in history: the truth here depends on the universal consent of nations,
-on the testimony of authors of credibility confronted with each other,
-and in all cases relating things probable. When we read in a Chinese
-history, that the goddess Amida peopled the world by bearing male
-children from under one arm, and females under another, or, in the
-Mahometan writers, that the trees spoke to the founder of that sect,
-would a man credit any circumstance, however probable, related in
-such histories, without the strongest collateral proofs? And should
-we further discover, that these histories detailed events posterior
-to their author's death, would not this make the whole still more
-improbable? Your remark upon this subject is singular: you say, that if
-Joshua, Samuel, or Moses, declared themselves the authors of the works
-ascribed to them, then to prove these books spurious would at once
-destroy their genuineness and authenticity. I would reason thus: Moses
-does not say, that he was the author of the Pentateuch; why then do
-we believe that he wrote it? You would, no doubt, answer, that the
-tradition of the Jews proclaims him such. I retort, that if the
-genuineness of a book may be proved by tradition, we ought as much to
-argue against the authenticity of a work, from having proved the general
-belief of its genuineness to be founded on error, as if the author had
-said, I am the author of this book. This we shall, in the sequel, prove
-to be the case with the books of the Old Testament. The addition of
-an express declaration of Moses would add no authenticity to the
-Pentateuch, since it is as easy to forge a work where the author speaks
-in the first as in the third person.
-
-Your next remark is concerning miracles. I have already observed, that
-no testimony can give them belief. You maintain, that the degree and
-kind of evidence for the prodigies recorded in the Bible exceeds that
-for any other wonders. How this happens I am unable to comprehend. I
-know they are contained in a book composed by the priests of the
-most credulous and ignorant nation that perhaps ever existed; and the
-authority of these unknown and obscure persons, is all the evidence
-we have for crediting their stories. An English Bishop tells his
-countrymen, that the miracle of the sun standing still is better
-supported than the prodigies of Abbe Paris, Mesmer, and the late Labre
-at Rome, than the numerous Indian, Chinese, and Popish miracles, of
-which a great part are attested by magistrates, divines, physicians, and
-the most enlightened classes of society; while the wonderful repast of
-the angels with Abraham, or the marvellous tale of Jonah's three days'
-residence in the belly of a fish, depends upon the authority of a book
-which we shall prove to be spurious, to have been lost for several ages,
-and to be compiled, if not altogether composed, by some Jewish scribes,
-who were, as they themselves acknowledge, the only men versed in the
-scriptures of the nation. I thought you would have known sacred history
-better than at the present day to make such unsupported assertions.
-Have you forgotten the wonders of the magicians of Pharaoh? Do you not
-recollect the express acknowledgment of Moses himself, that there may
-be miracles and prophecies performed by men who adored not the Lord
-Jehovah? Does he not say, in chap. xiii. of Deuteronomy, "If there arise
-among you a prophet, or a dreamer of dreams, and giveth thee a sign or
-a wonder, and the sign or the wonder come to pass whereof he spake unto
-thee, saying, Let us go after other gods, &c.--that prophet, or that
-dreamer of dreams, shall be put to death, _because he hath spoken to you
-to turn away from the Lord your God_." It is not because he is a false
-prophet, but because he is not a prophet of Jehovah. Does not this
-at once show the grossness of the conceptions of the Jews, and the
-sophistical mode of arguing of their legislator? For I would ask, How
-did Moses prove himself the oracle of God? Or how did Jesus Christ
-show himself the Son of God, but by their pretended miracles? Why then
-believe the testimony of a miracle in one instance, and not in another?
-But the Jews certainly imagined, that there were several gods, and that
-they quarrelled with each other, as kings are used to do; therefore it
-was natural that one set of prophets should try to exterminate another,
-and be as inveterate against them as the Lord Jehovah was against Baal,
-or other rival gods. If the reader imagines I speak at random when I
-say, the Jews believed in other gods, I refer him to Judges, chap.
-xi. ver. 23, 34, where it is said, "So now the Lord God of Israel hath
-dispossessed the Amorites from before his people Israel, and shouldst
-thou not possess it? Wilt thou not possess that which _Chemosh thy god_
-giveth thee to possess? So whomsoever the Lord our God shall drive
-out from before us, them will we possess." There cannot be a fairer
-parallel.
-
-I can hardly imagine a Bishop ignorant of the augurs, oracles, and
-sybils of the Greeks and Romans, and of the implicit belief these
-nations had in them; the truth of their prophecies was fully as well
-established as the prophecies of the Jews. Neither were miracles
-uncommon among the heathens. You have, no doubt, read St. Ambrose and
-Origen, and have found in the works of these and other fathers, that
-the only difference between the miracles of the Christians and infidels,
-was, that the former were operated by God, and the latter by the devil;
-and could I be satisfied that Satan took up Jesus Christ to the top of
-that high mountain, (now unknown to geographers) from whose pinnacle all
-the world could be seen, this would surprise me as much as to see Jesus
-Christ, or any other wonder-worker, bringing a dead man to life. I am
-ashamed to have inveighed so long against silly prejudices; but I
-could not avoid calling upon your Lordship, to point out the difference
-between gospel-miracles and the ridiculous tales believed in all dark
-ages, and of which we find so copious collections in the works of the
-first fathers. The axiom of philosophers, that no human testimony can
-establish the credibility, of miracles, you have left unanswered. You
-say it has been confuted an hundred times: had you given the confutation
-of it, we would have been able to ascertain the truth of your assertion.
-You are writing for the multitude, and being a dignitary of the church,
-ought to furnish the people with arms to oppose reason. Perhaps the
-unsuccessful attempt of Dr. Campbell has deterred you from at least
-recapitulating the principal answers to this proposition. Till you can
-prove that the great mass of mankind are not very fallible and easily
-deceived by any impostor, or that they are disposed and capable to
-examine the truth of reports spread about prodigies, you will never be
-able to persuade men of sense, that events impossible are to be believed
-upon the testimony of those who not only are, but have constantly been,
-the slaves of credulity in all countries.
-
-You then show, that Mr. Paine's objections to the genuineness are not
-new. This is true; and I am surprised you have quoted so few supporters
-of his opinions. Your attempt to prove the genuineness of the
-Pentateuch, by direct evidence, is ridiculous. What! Maimonides, ten
-centuries after the destruction of the Jews, a Jew himself, and writing
-at a period so remote from the supposed date of the books of the
-Old Testament, is, by Dr. Watson, called a direct evidence of the
-genuineness of the Pentateuch. Juvenal, a poet, who in more than one
-place ridicules the credulity of the Jews, says, that they believe in
-Moses--so do the Europeans allow that the Indians believe in Brama.--We
-question not the general traditions of the Jews, but the credit they
-deserve; and I shall next proceed to show, that the books of the
-Pentateuch are spurious, and undeserving of credit. The name of
-Moses and the Jews were unknown to the famous Phoenician historian
-Sanchoniato, of whom Eusebius has preserved us some extracts; he has
-never mentioned a word about this famous legislator: had he done so,
-Eusebius was too strenuous an advocate _for_ Christianity not to have
-recorded it. The books of the Jews were concealed from all the world
-before the famous Greek translation made at the instance of Ptolemy
-Philadelphia. Josephus himself acknowledges, that no heathen knew
-the Jewish books, which he endeavours to explain, by some miraculous
-interference of God to keep them from the impious. It is evident, that
-the insignificance and ignorance of the Jews were sufficient to screen
-them for a long time from the search of philosophers. Upon the early
-history of the Jewish nation, however, we have the testimony of several
-of the ancient writers. Manetho, and Chaeremon, Egyptian historians,
-give the most unfavourable account of this nation. Lisimachus does not
-favour them any more; and, although he differs about the name of the
-king who expelled them from Egypt, yet he agrees in calling them a set
-of men infected with leprosy, and the meanest of the subjects of the
-king of Egypt. Diodorus Siculus is as hard upon these wretched Jews. In
-short, the opinion of their being the vilest and most ignorant of men,
-has prevailed among all antiquity. All the writers about them agree in
-stating that they never produced any work in science; indeed, that they
-never improved any branch of useful knowledge. Many of these authors
-mention Moses as a priest of Heliopolis, who led them out of Egypt, and
-gave them a religion. Diodorus Siculus informs us, that the God of Moses
-was Jau, or Jahouh, which is the true pronunciation of Jehovah; and
-Plutarch (de Iside) says, that the Thebans adored this God, and had not
-images in their temples, because Jau signified the general principle of
-life, the soul of the world.
-
-Strabo, in his Geography, book 16, informs us, that Moses, who was an
-Egyptian priest, taught his followers to worship the God Jahouh, without
-representing it by emblems. This was the God of the Thebans, the soul of
-the world. The Jews have even preserved the name of Tsour, or giver of
-forms, and commonly translated by the word creator in chap. xxxii. of
-Deuteronomy. Herodotus affirms, that the Jews or Syrians of Palestine
-borrowed circumcision from the Egyptians. Diodorus says the same; and
-even Philo and Josephus do not deny it. A great many other rites
-were copied by the Jews from this nation. It is, therefore, of great
-consequence to ascertain the age in which the Jewish books were written;
-for if we can prove that all the fundamental points of their religion
-were copied from their masters the Egyptians, or borrowed from the
-Babylonians during the captivities, then the reader will judge of
-the truth of the clerical opinion, that a handful of hordes were the
-favourite people of God; that a set of ignorant and credulous vagabonds
-taught science to the Chinese, Indians, and Egyptians, and preserved
-nothing among themselves but some ridiculous accounts of their origin,
-and a collection of absurd prodigies. If we succeed in pointing out
-from what sources Jewish mythology is derived, there will be but
-little difficulty in unravelling the principal fables contained in the
-Pentateuch and other Jewish books. We are pretty well acquainted with
-the allegories of the heathen mythologies.
-
-I am ready to grant that several of Mr. Paine's objections are not
-valid, and often trifling; but I declare, once for all, that I do not
-think myself bound to follow Mr. Paine in every instance. I shall direct
-my remarks, rather to disprove your reasoning, than to defend every
-objection of your opponent; at the same time, I shall avoid repeating
-what he has advanced, and you have not disproved. The chief proofs
-against the genuineness of the Pentateuch have been overlooked by Mr.
-Paine. I shall state them briefly.
-
-First. It was believed, by all the best informed old fathers of the
-church, that the Jewish books had been absolutely lost during the
-captivity, and that Esdras had written them from inspiration; or, that
-he collected the Pentateuch, and all other canonical books, out of
-whatever records he could find, and put them together. 1 In either case,
-their authority is greatly invalidated; and the more so, as the fourth
-book of Esdras, adopted by the Greek church, and generally deemed
-authentic, says expressly, that Esdras dictated the holy books during
-forty successive days and nights, to five scribes, who were continually
-writing. This tale shows sufficiently the general belief that he was
-the restorer of the long lost books of the law. In our second book
-of Nehemiah, or, properly speaking, Esdras, it is said, that Ezra, or
-Esdras the scribe, who was above all the people, brought the book of the
-law to the people, and then the people rejoiced much in being instructed
-in the law of God, that when they found there the commandment of the
-Lord ordering the Jews to perform the feast of the booths, there was
-great gladness, "and all the congregation of them that were come again
-out of the captivity made booths, and sat under booths: for, since the
-days of Joshua the son of Nun, unto that day, had not the children of
-Israel done so.". If the Jews had even forgotten a feast, the memory
-of which every father would transmit to his son, is this not an evident
-proof that they had no books in the captivity? Again, in chap. vii. of
-the 1 book of Esdras, it is said, that Esdras "had very great skill,
-so that he omitted nothing of the law and commandments of the Lord, but
-taught all Israel the ordinances and judgments."
-
-     1 Porro Esdram sancti patres docent iostanratorem suisse
-     sacrorum librorum, quod non ita intelligendum est, quasi
-     scripturae sacrae omnes perierint in eversione civitatis, et
-     templi Nabuchodonosor, et ab Esdra divinitas inspirato
-     reparatae fuerint, ut fabulatur auctor, L, IV. Esdrae C. XIV.
-     Sed quod Scripturas Mosis, et prophetarum in varia volimina
-     descriptas, et in varia loca dispenreas, et tempore
-     captivitatis non diligenter conservatas, Esdras summa
-     diligentia collectas ordinaverit, et in unum quasi corpus
-     redigerit. Bellarmin de Script. Ecclesiast. page 22.
-
-Can any man, after this, doubt that Esdras is the compiler of all the
-books which the Jews had not known for many centuries? And are we, who
-laugh at the Catholic councils, to trust to the word of a Jewish scribe?
-it is further stated in 2 Chronicles, chap. xxiv. ver. 15, that Hilkiah
-the priest found a book of the law of God _given_ by Moses, and sent it
-by Saphan to king Josias, who heard it read, which shows that it must
-have been very short; and, by the context, it would appear to have
-been the law strictly speaking; another proof that these records were
-altogether scattered, and are all without authority, since it was so
-easy to forge them among a people who seemed to preserve no more than
-a traditional law. Again, although, in the older Jewish books, such as
-Kings and Chronicles, we find the name of Moses often mentioned, yet no
-word answering to the five books of Pentateuch is to be found. The Code
-of laws of Moses seems to have been forgotten; for Solomon ornamented
-the temple with calves, in express contempt of that law, and this while
-he was the favourite of God, and the wisest man in the world. The very
-confusion that pervades the books ascribed to Moses, shows them to
-have been compilations. Jerome, who was one of the most learned of the
-fathers, confesses that he dares not affirm that Moses is the author
-of the Pentateuch; he even adds, that he has no objection to allow that
-Esdras wrote the books in question. 1
-
-     1 Sive Mosen dicere volueris auctorem Pentateuchi, sive
-     Esdram ejuadem iustauratorem operis, non recuso. Hieronim.
-     Op. Tom. IV. p. 134. Apud Edit. Paris 1706,
-
-Secondly. We know that no canon of books ever existed among the Jew's
-till the time of the synagogue under the Maccabees. Before their reign,
-there had never existed among the Jews any such council; and, if the
-word occurs in the Pentateuch, it is a fault of the transcribers and
-composers, who lived when there was a synagogue, and is not to be
-understood in any other acceptation than a collection of priests. The
-Pharisees of the second temple chose the books they thought best among
-a multitude of forgeries. The Talmud relates, that this synagogue
-were about to reject the Book of Proverbs, Ezekiel's prophecies, and
-Ecclesiastes, because they imagined these writings contradictory to the
-law of God; but a certain Rabbin having undertaken to reconcile them,
-they were preserved as canonical. A prodigious number of forged Books
-of Daniel, Esdras, and of the Prophets, were then in circulation; and
-to distinguish the genuine from the false works became absolutely
-necessary. This doubt and uncertainty conspires to render the decision
-of the synagogue very doubtful; particularly, as we shall show in the
-sequel, that many passages of the Prophecies are written evidently about
-the time of this choice of sacred books, and inserted in them, probably
-by some cunning priest, as the oracles of Sybil were forged to suit
-Caesar.
-
-Thirdly. The similarity of the mysteries of the Jews to those of the
-Babylonians, is too glaring not to let us see the origin of Genesis in
-particular. The creation in six days is a perfect copy of the Gahans,
-or Gahan-bars, of Zoroaster; the particulars of each day's work are
-literally the same. The serpent was famous among the Babylonians. The
-mythological deluge of Ogyges and Xissuthrus, are symbols of changes
-arising on earth, as they imagined, from the revolutions of the heavenly
-bodies. These, a little ornamented by the historical narration of
-Deucalion's inundation related by Berosus, is the pattern of Noah's
-flood; the ark of Osiris and emblematical dove and raven were Egyptian
-hieroglyphics. The man and the woman in Paradise is a mere copy of
-Zoroaster's first pair. The original sin is Pandora's box. The Talmud of
-Jerusalem says expressly that the Jews borrowed the names of the angels,
-and even of their months, from the Babylonians. The Elohim, or Gods,
-(not God), are said in Genesis to have created the world. It was not
-Jehovah, but the genii or gods that are in the Hebrew called makers of
-the world. And these are the very genii, who according to Sanchoniatho,
-were by Mercury excited against Saturn.
-
-Fourthly. We ask, in what language was the Pentateuch written, if it
-really was the work of Moses? It is known that Hebrew is a dialect of
-the Phenician, and that the Jews spoke Egyptian for a very long time
-before they adopted the language of the people among whom they dwelt. In
-Psalm lxxxi. we learn that the Jews were surprised to hear the language
-of the people beyond the Bed Sea. If, therefore, Moses, or any person of
-that age, is the author of the Pentateuch, it is evident that the
-Hebrew books are mere translations. What degree of credit does a nation
-deserve, who have been able to take for originals books that were in the
-face of them translations? Is it right to persecute men, as priests have
-done while they had power, for refusing to give credit to this tissue of
-contradictory and absurd fables?
-
-Fifthly. In the books of the Old Testament, we find abundant proofs that
-they have been written in an age greatly posterior to that of Moses. In
-Genesis, chap. xii. ver. 6, we find these words, "And the Canaanite was
-then in land." This implies another period when the Canaanite was not
-in the land, which, we learn from the Bible, did not happen till after
-David, and could not therefore be written by Moses. The beginning of
-Deuteronomy is certainly not written by him; for he never passed the
-Jordan; he died upon Mount Nebo, to the eastward of it. The English
-translation has in chap. i. v. 5, of this book, said, "on this side
-of the Jordan," for "on that side," which is in the original. The
-translator has taken similar liberties very often. In chap. xxxiii. we
-find this expression, "There never was in Judea so great a prophet
-as Moses," and such could be pointed out in many places. Here needs no
-comment to show that such passages could only be written in a posterior
-age, and when there had been several prophets after Moses. Thomas Paine
-mentions many other passages, which I shall consider when I come to your
-next letter.
-
-The above considerations would be sufficient to invalidate the
-genuineness and authenticity of any historical book: but here we find
-that the credulity of bigots requires less proof for the authority of
-a work, which, according to them, is the fountain of faith, than
-for Ossian's poems, or any other book of no consequence. If a common
-historical work contains fables, impossible events, and anachronisms;
-if its age is not ascertained; if we are certain that it was unknown for
-many centuries; if we are even ignorant whether it is an original or a
-translation, who would give the slightest credit to such a book? Yet are
-enlightened nations led by the testimony of the Jews, a people credulous
-beyond measure, extremely ignorant, almost continually in slavery, and
-dispersed. This is the nation that pretends to give an account of the
-creation, and, with a vanity peculiar to an insignificant people, to
-assume the supremacy among nations, and arrogate to themselves the
-exclusive protection of Jehovah, and dare make their Adam the common
-stock of mankind. You allow, my Lord, that several passages have been
-interpolated in the Pentateuch. No person in the least acquainted with
-the history can deny that it has suffered great alterations; 1 and I
-have already noticed the opinion of the best informed fathers of the
-church upon the non-existence of the Pentateuch, several centuries prior
-to Esdras. I now beg to be informed, how we are to decide, if Hilkiah,
-in the reign of Josias, collected from tradition, or some old book he
-found in a chest, the precepts of the law? and whether the other famous
-scribe, Esdras, did not compile from hearsay, and some imperfect and
-scattered manuscripts of no authority, together with a great many
-Babylonish traditions, those venerable five books of Moses? We are
-informed, in one of the books that bears his name, that Esdras was
-the wisest of his cotemporaries, and therefore a very fit and probable
-person to write books out of old legends.
-
-     1 Multa in Hebraicis et Graecis codicibus vitia esse
-     ostendimus. Malta mendacia in rebus minutis, eorum pars
-     uliqua non exigua nostra editione vulgata extat.---Marian
-     pr. edit. vulg. cap. 21.
-
-If the books of the Old Testament were composed at so late a period, no
-wonder then that we find all the mysterious part of them so much like
-the religion of the ancients, and particularly of the Babylonians, and
-the historical part made up of heterogeneous matters, which in our days,
-unassisted by any profane writer of that age, we can make nothing of. I
-shall mention a few of the most striking points of resemblance between
-the Jewish and other mysteries. Abraham, the most famous of their
-patriarchs, has ever been celebrated in India. This they seem to have
-brought from their native country, Arabia. We have already noticed,
-that their account of the creation is exactly copied from Zoroaster, who
-says, that the world was made in six periods of time, called by him the
-thousands of God and of light, meaning the six summer months; in the
-first, God made the heavens; in the second, the waters; in the third,
-the earth; in the fourth, trees; in the fifth, animals; and in the
-sixth, man. The Etrurians and the Hindoos have very similar traditions
-of the highest antiquity, which, though they were emblems at first
-perfectly understood, astronomers afterwards converted them into
-periods, comprehending as many years as was required for different
-revolutions of the planetary system.
-
-Thus, while the Hindoos and Persians called the days or ages of the
-world, each of many thousands of years; the Jews, ignorant of astronomy,
-and fond of the marvellous, comprised all within six common days. Their
-firmament or heaven of crystal, and its windows, are absurdities not
-peculiar to them; the feast of the Pascha, which signifies passage, is
-of Egyptian origin, and was in reverence for the passage of the sun at
-the vernal equinox: the sacrifices of calves or oxen, the ceremony of
-the scape-goat, are Egyptian and Indian; the latter, in particular, have
-a ceremony altogether the same with that of the scapegoat. It is too
-long to insert here, but I refer my readers to Mr. Halhed's introduction
-to the code of Gentoo laws for information on this head. The distinction
-between pure and impure animals was first made by the Egyptians; the
-ladder seen in Jacob's vision, is exactly a copy of that with seven
-steps in the cave of Milthra, representing the seven spheres of the
-planets, by means of which souls ascended and descended. It is also the
-mythology of the Hindoos, whose antiquity no man at the present day
-can venture to deny. The seven candlesticks, and the twelve stones are
-Egyptian, and were emblems of the seven planets, and twelve signs of
-the Zodiac. The serpent is the most famous Egyptian hieroglyphic; it
-signifies eternity, or the sum of all things. The fasts before feasts
-are also derived from this nation. The Jewish high-priest, like the
-Egyptian, wore an image of sapphire, being the emblematic picture of
-truth, upon, his breast: in short, the Egyptians, their masters, gave
-them the first ideas of mysteries, which, in the course of time, they
-mingled with the Chaldaic; and Manetho informs us, in the extract given
-by Josephus in his first book against Appian, that, in authors of great
-authority, he found the Jews to have been distinguished in Egypt by the
-name of captive pastors, which Josephus artfully enough has attempted
-to convert into captive kings. These are the men whom sacred historians
-pretend to have taught the Egyptians all their arts. These wretches,
-despised of all nations, were themselves the emphatical admirers of the
-wisdom of the East. Their legislator was an Egyptian priest, and learned
-all that he knew from them; and you would persuade us that a set of
-Arabian hordes had founded the Egyptian empire, simply because they,
-like the Irish, are pleased to say that they were antedeluvians. I
-pardon the Jews for their credulity; but Europeans in the 18th century
-ought not to think as the inhabitants of Palestine. If we give credit to
-all the reports of the origin of nations, we may give up all pretensions
-to common sense.
-
-The immortality of the soul is shown, by the learned but superstitious
-Warburton, never to have been mentioned in the Pentateuch; nor the
-notion of hell, or of future rewards and punishments. There is nothing
-more certain, however, than that the Pharisees, long before Christ,
-strenuously maintained the immortality of the soul, and in some measure
-adopted the doctrine of transmigration of souls, which they had got from
-the Greeks and other nations.
-
-The Sadducees, founding themselves upon the Bible, fervently denied
-a future life. The Essenians, according to Philostratus, were
-Pythagoreans, both in their morals, belief, and mode of life, except
-that a few of the Jewish articles of faith, such as the necessity
-of circumcision, were mingled with their creed. Josephus himself
-acknowledges the similarity between the Essenians and the Plisti among
-the Thracians, to whom Zamolxis, the disciple of Pythagoras, taught
-his doctrines: The Therapeutes, the pattern and ori--gin of Christian
-morals, were reckoned amongst the Jews to be the most holy among the
-Essenians. They sacrificed their passions to God; they never swore,
-but made simple affirmations; they lived, as it were, in convents; they
-despised bodily pain: when they entered their state of perfection, they
-abandoned their property, wives, children, and all earthly concerns;
-they lived upon bread and water and salt; and spent the six days of the
-week in interpreting the allegorical sense of the Bible. They revered
-the Sabbath with a most scrupulous exactness; then they assembled in
-places set apart for religion, the men ranged on one side, and the
-women on the other, separated by a division four feet high, to prevent
-temptation. Then they sung praises to God, and preached; they obeyed
-all the laws of their country, but never would execute any order to
-hurt another person. They, like the Pythagoreans, thought themselves
-possessed of the gift of prophecy; they, like the Pythagoreans, believed
-in the great year, whence arose the famous millennium of the Christians.
-The three sects of Jews--Pharisees, Sadducees, and Essenians, lived all
-in perfect harmony; the incredulous Sadducees not being considered as
-heretics, but often attaining the dignity of high-priests. This suffices
-to show, that the Jews borrowed from other nations those very mysteries
-which the ignorance of writers has misled mankind to consider as the
-special revelations of Jesus Christ.
-
-I have insisted so much upon this circumstance, because there is not a
-single article of Christian morals, nor one religious tenet, contained
-in the New Testament, that was not known before Jesus Christ was born.
-And the Christian religion, like that of the Jews, is a corruption of
-the mythologies of the nations they brand with the name of infidels.
-
-I return to your book. It is now needless to answer your logical
-inference, that if Esdras is the compiler of the books of the
-Pentateuch, they may still be true. I have already said, that we are not
-to sacrifice our reason to the compilations or works of a Jewish scribe,
-who borrowed evidently so much, and who pretended to divine inspiration
-and conversations with the angels. When I began to read your book, I
-was impressed with the idea of your candour; sorry am I to see
-the malevolence with which you treat Mr. Paine, and how much you
-misrepresent his just aspersions on the conduct of Moses. Your language
-almost persuades me that you do not differ from the gentlemen of your
-profession. Could Moses affirm, as you pretend he might, that he never
-persecuted any man? What! that monster, who, although married with a
-Midianite, ordered thousands of his credulous followers to be murdered,
-because one of them had slept with a Midianite, whom Josephus states was
-his wife! What! when his brother and coadjutor makes a golden calf to
-the people, this impostor, instead of punishing him, orders 3,000 men to
-be murdered, and appoints Aaron his successor! Because Korah, Da-than,
-and Abiram, could not suffer to see him usurping all the power, he
-murders them, although Korab was the descendant of Levi. This is Moses,
-who says, like Bishop Watson, that he "was a very meek man!" Were these
-continual murders necessary to instruct ignorant idolaters who followed
-the example of their priests? Have not the founders of our faith been
-the most cruel murderers? But all this we are told was the immediate
-orders of the Lord Jehovah, a merciful God. How feeble appears the power
-of this great God! He is continually repenting, and always obliged to
-renew his covenants with a set of wretches, who, although they enjoyed
-his special protection, always forsook him, and only fulfilled his
-commands strictly when they were ordered to massacre. They might have
-been the favourite people of God, but I am sure they were the disgrace
-of men. You talk of idolatrous nations sunk in vice. I know of none so
-barbarous as the Jews, whose legislator was obliged to fly from Egypt
-for murder, a perfect assassin. The laws concerning paternal power,
-which you support, are horrid. Their having been adopted by many
-nations, is a proof of the general prevalence of superstition,
-ignorance, and despotism. I have nothing to answer to your discourses on
-tythes. The Bible is preached up, because it teaches passive obedience,
-donations to the church, and such other acts of _public utility_.
-
-
-
-
-LETTER III.
-
-After what I have observed above, it will be useless to say much as to
-your third letter, in which you examine minutely the passages Thomas
-Paine has pointed out to prove the Pentateuch not genuine. First, As to
-the objection taken from the name of Dan, I never thought it specious.
-This is not the case with the very next one, which is of very great
-weight. The writer, after enumerating a number of Arabian names,
-concludes in these words, "These are the kings that reigned in Edom,
-before there reigned any king over the children of Israel." Contrary
-to my expectations, you acknowledge this to have been written after
-the Jews had kings. Many of your brethren have attempted to deny it by
-quibbles! but you say that this does not invalidate the authority of the
-book: wonderful! if your _alma-mater_ taught you, that an evident lie
-or contradiction in any book, particularly of remote antiquity, and
-relating histories unsupported by impartial authors, does not create
-a suspicion, which approaches to certainty, that the book is not
-authentic; if you think so, I must give up arguing with you. It may be
-an interpolation, you observe. How did you learn this? You will at least
-leave, me the right to suppose, and you cannot deny that the presumption
-is against you, an absurdity in a book is a reason for distrusting
-the rest. I have probability on my side; for the Jew who forged this
-passage, either from piety or ignorance, might have forged the whole
-book, or so interpolated it, as to destroy its credibility. At any rate,
-the detection of falsehood in a history, is not a motive to suppose it
-true. It requires an excess of piety to break through all the rules of
-logic and common sense. How does it happen, that the Lord Jahovah does
-not provide better against such mistakes creeping into the book of
-the law of his favourite people? It could seem as if he had done it
-on purpose to create incredulity, and enjoy the pleasure of punishing
-unbelievers, as of old, he hardened Pharaoh's heart, that he might have
-a pretext to inflict calamities on him and his people.
-
-My Lord, what credit would we give to a history of William the Conqueror
-that had the following sentence, after naming different persons, _And
-these were the names of the Kings of England before George the Third
-came to the throne_; for what purpose could any person insert such a
-passage? He must have been absolutely mad. It could only get into the
-work from its being compiled during the reign of George the Third,
-and arising from a forgetfulness of the writer, or ignorance of the
-transcriber: in no case could it be inserted in a book, which you say
-was kept in the public records, and over whose purity the whole Jewish
-learned men would watch; you must either give up your argument from the
-public records of this people, and no longer deem them great authority;
-or, if you persist in it, I leave you to reconcile the most palpable
-interpolations and forgeries with the scrupulous attention with which
-you suppose the Jews preserved the word of God. But what is most curious
-in this passage is, that we find it verbatim in 2 Chronicles, chap. i.
-ver. 43, and you seem to glory in discovering this similarity of the
-passages. "Why might not," you say at the end of your fourth letter,
-"the author of the book of Chronicles have taken them, (meaning
-the names of the kings of Edom, &c.), as he has taken many other
-genealogies, supposing them to have been written in the book of Genesis
-by Samuel?" Another acknowledgment of more interpolations in Genesis.
-
-But, Sir, who gave you the right, you who exclaim so much against the
-unsupported assertions of Thomas Paine, to suppose that the author of
-Chronicles copied an interpolation from Genesis, knowing, as he must
-have done, that it was interpolated by Samuel?
-
-Would he not rather, to make the book consistent, expunge it? Could he
-be so ignorant as not to see the contradiction? What is more strange,
-how came Samuel to introduce such a passage? The tendency of it could
-only be to weaken the authority of Genesis; but, allowing all your
-groundless suppositions to be true, do you not see that they only prove
-the ignorance of Samuel and of the Jewish history writers, and at once
-destroy the superstructure you have in your following letters raised
-upon the supposed accurate records of the Jews? The supposition of
-Samuel being the author of the interpolation, is like an historian,
-who, to the history of Charles the First, should add some accounts,
-concluding with observing, that all this took place before George
-the Second, or should even venture further, and instruct us in some
-prominent features of the French revolution: yet this is the case with
-the passage in question; for it is unquestionable that the Jews had
-never a king till the time of Saul; that, under Moses and the Judges,
-they held kings in detestation. The fact is very plain. In Chronicles,
-the passage has an obvious and clear sense; for there an account of
-the kings of Israel is given, and the sentence now under consideration
-precedes it. Indeed, the whole chapter xxxvi. of Genesis is almost
-literally the same with chapter first of Chronicles; and every unbiassed
-man will conclude, that the former is copied from the latter. That
-little concluding expression, before _there reigned any king over
-Israel_, certainly marks its date; and there is nothing more probable,
-than that when Esdras and the scribes compiled these books, they should
-insert in Genesis the posterity of Esau, as far as the history of
-Genesis went, and that this unlucky passage should by mistake be copied
-too. I acknowledge, that an interpolation, when we can prove the period
-of its insertion, does not destroy the validity of a book, if the rest
-of the facts are consistent, and supported by collateral proofs; but the
-Bible is an unconnected rhapsody, written by we know not whom, without
-order, arrangement, or a shadow of method. Besides, it is the word of
-God; and what, in a profane writer, would be a slight error, is here a
-most material fault; if our future happiness depends, as you suppose, on
-our believing this book, which certainly can never take place while such
-reasons for scepticism remain. In proportion to the importance of an
-event, so we must be careful in examining the grounds upon which it
-stands, or else we must be like those whimsical men, who will require
-the best evidence for the truth of a trifling report, but find no
-repugnance in crediting the most marvellous events upon trust.
-
-Mr. Paine properly concludes, that Genesis is a book of stories, fables,
-traditions, or invented absurdities, or downright lies; and this I not
-only affirm with him, but will prove to my readers, that it is in no
-respect deserving of more credit than the fabulous and early history of
-all nations. Next follows your rhapsody upon the beauty of the Bible and
-the truth of it. Pardon me if I think it like a madman's reveries. Even
-the men of your profession have long ago given up such a ridiculous
-conceit. Whoever has read eastern literature, or the late translation
-from the Shanscrit, will find that the same style with that of the Bible
-pervades all eastern compositions. In all of them we find the frequent
-use of allegory, and a quaint and formal manner of expression. Divest
-the Bible of its Oriental garb, and put it into common language,
-you will find, except the episode of Joseph, and two or three other
-passages, it is absolutely illegible. I have already shown the
-Pentateuch to have been a very modern work, and the Jews to have
-borrowed every thing from other nations. No wonder then that the _Abram_
-should resemble the _Brama_ of the Hindoos, or that a few names in the
-supposed genealogies of the Jews should be like those of the Assyrians,
-Medes, &c. Genesis gives a description of creation truly beautiful! We
-did not spring from grasshoppers, nor the world from an egg; but the
-wise Moses informs us, that we were made of clay and a little breath.
-This may be sublime to you; but the philosopher is never elated by
-fables so absurd. It is not true that Genesis is the oldest, nor a very
-old book. Sanchoniato, the Hindoo books, those of the Egyptians and
-Chinese, are of much higher antiquity than Moses. In vain has Mr.
-Maurice struggled to dazzle our understandings with his incoherent
-suppositions, to prove that the Hindoos borrowed their religion from the
-Jews, from a set of Arabian hordes, from the slaves of the Egyptians,
-from a petty nation, who, as Julian says, never produced a single work,
-and whose credulity has ever been proverbial. The astronomical records
-of the Chinese prove, that there were men and astronomers in that
-country at the time when the wretched Jews would make us believe
-the world was inundated from the windows of heaven, and no creatures
-existing but Noah, his family, and the beasts in the ark. Further,
-Souciet mentions an eclipse of the sun recorded in the Chinese history,
-which happened 2155 years before Christ, which is but 236 years after
-the Deluge; a time when, the Bible informs us, the earth was only
-inhabited by the sons of Noah, while Egypt was then so peopled, that
-90,000 cities could not contain the inhabitants, and China was not
-less so. The Hindoo astronomical observations, as far as they have been
-examined by the most learned astronomers of the age, such as Baillie,
-Le Gentil, and others, carry their antiquity between four and five
-thousands beyond our aera; for a proof of which, I refer you to Mr.
-Playfair's excellent paper, in the second volume of the Edinburgh
-Philosophical Transactions. The Hindoo religious books contain, besides,
-a great many of the ideas afterwards adopted by the Jews. The long lives
-of antedeluvians, in particular, are the exact copy of the Iogues of
-the Indians. The Dwapaar Iogue, the latter part of which answers to the
-period of Noah, was when men's lives were limited to a thousand years;
-and Methuselah we know did not live so long. They have, too, their
-mythological deluge, or the incarnation of Vishnu into a fish. For
-an account of which I refer my readers to Volney, and to Mr. Maurice
-himself. The former gentleman is a good judge of ancient literature;
-he pretends that he can prove, that most of the chapters of Genesis,
-supposed to contain names of persons, are mythological: the posterity of
-Noah is, according to Volney, no more than a geography of the world
-as known to the Jews. I have not read Mr. Volney's memoir which I
-understand he has published on this subject; but, when I consider the
-late period when Genesis and the other books were composed, and how
-much the Jews borrowed from the Egyptians and Babylonians, how much the
-deluge of Noah and his ark resemble the emblems of Osiris; in short,
-when I reflect on the unintelligibility and apparent absurdity of
-Genesis, on the impossibility of the Deluge, and of the not less
-absurdity of the population of the world so soon after that calamity, I
-confess I am much inclined to despise the whole performance. There have
-been various suppositions upon the meaning of the names mentioned in
-Genesis. Adam has been said to signify, in many parts of Asia, the first
-day of the week; and Enoch, the seventh successor of Adam, to be the
-same with Saturn, or the seventh day. Thus Assur, Elam, Lud, Madai,
-Javan, and Tiras, which are said to be the founders of the Assyrians,
-the Elamites, the Lydians, the Medes, the Ionians, and the Thracians,
-may very probably be nothing else than the enunciation of the names of
-these countries; for, between Assur and Assyria, or Lud and Lydia,
-there is not a very great difference. We know that Egypt is by the Arabs
-called _Masr_, which has the same consonants with the Hebrew _Misraim_,
-whose plural termination implies properly the inhabitants of Egypt.
-In the Bible, _Misraim_ is called the founder of that kingdom. We also
-know, that Syria is called _Barr-el-sham_, or the country to the left.
-The inhabitants of Thebaid are called the sons of Cush. Again, we
-find several names of towns very much resembling those of the supposed
-founders of these monarchies; Sur, or Tyre, is not unlike Assur. These
-are conjectures; I pretend to found nothing upon them; but, at least,
-they are probable. Your Genesis, on the contrary, as it is commonly
-explained, contains palpable lies. It supposes a deluge, which neither
-did nor could take place; it destroys the human race, when we know that
-nations were then in existence. Lastly, it talks of the founders of
-nations, which existed long before that period. But, even had Genesis
-been written at the time of Moses, it might be worth while to
-inquire into the import of his genealogies; but, being a very modern
-compilation, collected by an ignorant people, partly from tradition,
-partly from scattered and mutilated records, it does not deserve the
-serious attention of the philosopher.
-
-You next attempt to justify the conduct of God towards the Canaanites,
-whose great crime was to defend their own country, and to adore their
-own gods instead of the God of the Jews. When a man makes an apology for
-such conduct, we only can answer by an appeal to the feelings of men,
-from which alone we derive notions of humanity. It was natural for the
-adorers of a Phenician Jehovah to be the enemies of the Babylonish Baal:
-both these gods sprang from the wild fancies of men. The jealous God of
-the Jews, the all-wise, omnipotent, and benevolent, could not convert
-the worshippers of another god, without exterminating whole nations,
-even to the little children; but this barbarous mandate came from the
-priests, who have in all countries, and all systems of Religion, adopted
-this method of conversion. You state, that Moses "gave an order that
-the boys and women should be put to death; but, that the young maidens
-should be kept alive for themselves;" and, that you "see nothing in the
-proceeding, but good policy combined with mercy. The young men might
-have become dangerous avengers of what they would esteem their country's
-wrongs; the mothers might have again allured the Israelites to the
-love of licentious pleasures, and the practice of idolatry, and brought
-another plague upon the congregation; but the young maidens, not being
-polluted by the flagitious habits of their mothers, not likely to create
-disturbance by rebellion, were kept alive:" and you add, that "the
-women children were not reserved for the purposes of debauchery, but
-of slavery; a custom (you acknowledge) abhorrent from our manners, but
-every where practised in former times, and still preserved in countries
-where the benignity of the Christian religion has not softened the
-ferocity of human nature." Is extermination an example of the mercy of
-priests and their gods, "whose justice is subservient to mercy," "whose
-punishments originate in his abhorrence to sin,"--and whose commands
-to massacre, to butcher, and to exterminate, "are only benevolent
-warnings?"--You dare Mr. Paine to prove, that the young women were kept
-for debauchery; and you triumphantly add, "that if he does, you will
-allow Moses to be the horrid monster he describes him, and the Bible a
-book of lies, wickedness, and blasphemy." Do you think, that consigning
-to slavery thirty-two thousand maids, is consistent with the benignity
-of God? I do not hesitate to consider this worse than merely making them
-the partners of licentious pleasures. But, in what consisted the wonted
-wisdom of a God, whom you describe as ever solicitous to lessen the
-influence of sin? Let me ask you, if the young women were not as liable
-to incite the passions of the Jews as their mothers, and whether their
-slavery would not increase the opportunities for debauchery? Could it
-be consistent with humanity, much less with the mercy of an all powerful
-God, to put to death all the boys of a nation, merely because they might
-in time revenge the insolent invaders of their country? Were all the
-male children already polluted from their birth? It would have been easy
-for them to convert them to another religion, but to your God it was
-impossible. The bloody invaders of America pursued not another plan,
-even after "the benignity of the Christian religion softened the
-ferocity of human nature." Have these Christian invaders any where
-respected the chastity of women when they made them slaves? And have
-the Jews, God's chosen nation, at any period, either while under his
-protection, or since he abandoned them, shown themselves more virtuously
-inclined than other people; were they ever prevented by the striking
-manifestations of his mercy, his power, and his justice, from going away
-to adore other gods, and falling into all sorts of wickedness? In
-short, if the Bishop rests his defence of Moses and the Bible upon this
-passage, I am willing to appeal to the judgement of all mankind. If any
-person can believe it consistent with the benevolence of omnipotence, to
-sacrifice whole nations to be massacred and plundered by a few hordes of
-bloody Jews; if he can think this to be part of a grand scheme for
-the good of mankind, he must give up all pretensions to reason, common
-sense, and humanity. But it is time the world should see, that this holy
-book the Bible, "which, in weight of authority, and extent of utility,
-exceeds all the libraries of the philosophers," contains pretences for
-all bad actions, and stifles the laws of humanity and morality. Upon
-this book have inquisitors, crusaders, and religious men, founded
-pretences for the most diabolical persecutions, avowedly undertaken for
-the express purpose of unrooting infidelity, and for the glory of the
-Lord. Every man who reads the word of God is warranted to reason thus:
-God has ordered murder and robbery; he has instigated his favourite
-people to exterminate whole nations; therefore I can do no better than
-to imitate the Almighty; and every crusader may pretend to have the same
-authority from God as Moses; and miracles are never wanting to prove it.
-Because Abraham was a pimp, and his wife a prostitute, so may any person
-be, without losing the patronage of the God of Abraham. Every man, in
-short, may imitate the meek Moses, the humane David, without fearing
-to incur the displeasure of the Almighty. Thus Ravaillac thought he was
-doing as holy a deed, when he attempted the life of Henry; as Dominic,
-or Torquemada, when butchering the wretched heretics, who had the
-misfortune to fall a prey to their bloody zeal. The whole Old Testament
-is so filled with barbarous stories, that if they did not excite
-laughter by their improbability, they would freeze the blood in, the
-veins of any man endowed with humanity. What an irksome task have those
-undertaken, who have attempted to reconcile the horrible crimes of the
-Jews with the mercy and wisdom of the Creator? Has ferocity forsaken
-Christians as you insinuate? Have the modern religious fanatics yielded
-in cruelty to the Jews? Those two religions have successively inundated
-the earth with the blood of innocent victims. Have not the followers of
-Christ constantly preached passive obedience to the church, have they
-not frequently relieved the people of their oaths, and have they not
-fomented most of the civil wars that laid waste all Europe? It is well
-that priests have not been able to persuade mankind of late, that the
-minister was the oracle of God. The pride and foolishness of science has
-put this out of their power; they cannot lead nations as they did the
-Jews; we are not so easily persuaded of the immediate manifestations of
-God's commands to the priest. We know science too well to believe that
-the pillar of fire that went before the Israelites was God himself. We
-might have shown the people, that a pan with red-hot substances would
-have the appearance of a fire by night, and a cloud of smoke by day, a
-custom practised, from time immemorial, by the caravans. Although, my
-Lord, the wisdom of God may be foolishness to man, I acknowledge I am
-neither fond of crediting absurdities, nor have I so much faith as to
-take the work of priests for supernatural mandates of Providence; when
-they speak in their usual senseless and unintelligible language, I
-conclude that it is either to dazzle the ignorant multitude, or I look
-upon their dreams as the consequence of dire superstition, the first
-effect of which is to make us unacquainted with ourselves, under the
-imposing aspect of familiarising us with imaginary beings. At the
-conclusion of my remarks upon the Old Testament, I shall give a few
-extracts from those books, wherein my readers may see the character of
-the Jews and their God in glaring colours, and judge whether any honest
-man would not tremble at the thoughts of having done as much injustice,
-and committed such atrocities as this Jehovah.
-
-
-
-
-LETTER IV.
-
-You enter again upon your favourite topic, genuineness and authenticity.
-I shall not repeat what I have already said. I confess my great surprise
-at your laying such stress upon the most trifling and false of your
-arguments. You now strive to prove, that a book may contain a true
-history, although it should be anonymous. Pray, my Lord, do you think,
-that to prove a book spurious, when it is believed to be genuine, is a
-demonstration of the truth of the contents? You thus leave us uncertain
-whether Joshua be a genuine book. You have sadly confused yourself in
-the maze you have created. To put it beyond a doubt that the sun stood
-still, you appeal to the book of Jasher, which Joshua mentions in the
-following words, "Is not this written in the book of Jasher?" And in
-like manner, you refer to other books frequently quoted as authorities
-in the Bible. Does your zeal blind you so far as not to let you
-perceive, that this very argument may with redoubled strength be
-retorted against you? for if an author, who is said to write his own
-history, appeals to another book for a proof of his actions, that
-book must be of much greater authority than his own: we cannot avoid
-believing the writer of the work alluded to had better information. In
-short, the book appealed to contains the only authentic testimony. Now,
-permit me to ask you, who could be better authority than Joshua himself,
-writing at a time when we must suppose many of his soldiers who had
-witnessed the miracle were alive? What is this anterior book which
-Joshua respects so much? Was it written by himself, then it would
-be idle to quote it; and, at any rate, whoever had written it, it is
-evident that the author of the book of Joshua has no proofs of his
-own, but rests solely upon the book of the Holy, or of Jasher. This
-circumstance proves clearly, that the writer of the Book of Joshua
-composed his book out of some more ancient memoirs, which being lost, we
-can say no more of their authority than for that of any old tales. You
-talk of the public records of the Jews as confidently as a Member of
-Parliament speaks of the papers in the Tower. Do you know at what period
-the Jews began to keep written records, and do you also know, whether
-those that were kept existed when the books of the Old Testament were
-compiled? Had you been instructed in these particulars, and had you
-been not altogether divested of candour, you might have informed your
-readers, that, previous to the time of kings, we have not a shadow of
-proof of the existence of any historical records among the Jews. We, no
-doubt, read, that there was a book of the law of Moses, in which Joshua
-wrote something too respecting the renewal of a covenant. This seems to
-be the only written record among the Jews, and it contained nothing
-but religious precepts, or the law, strictly speaking. In Joshua, chap.
-viii. ver. 31, we read, "As Moses the servant of the Lord commanded the
-children of Israel, as it is written in the book of the law of Moses
-and ver. 32, He wrote there upon the stones a copy of the law of Moses,
-which he wrote in the presence of the children of Israel and ver. 35,
-He read all the words of the law, the blessings, and curses, according
-to all that is written in the book of the law of the Lord, and there was
-not a word of all that Moses commanded which Joshua read not before the
-congregation of Israel." We know, likewise, that this law was written
-in the circumference of an altar composed of twelve stones. This is the
-only book either Moses or Joshua were ever said to have written; the
-writers of the Pentateuch, and of the other books, certainly never meant
-to inscribe them to Moses, Joshua, &c.; they bore the names of books of
-Moses, of Joshua, Judges, &c. because they treated of these personages.
-What then do you infer from the quotation of books by the Bible authors,
-except that they all wrote in very modern times, when they wanted the
-corroboration of more ancient books, whose date and authority we are
-equally strangers to? This book of the law, which you so triumphantly
-mention as a book written and existing a few years after Moses, turns
-out to be nothing more than what is contained in Exodus, chap. xx. to
-chap. xxiv. to which Joshua added some detail about the third covenant
-of God.
-
-I beg the reader will observe, that the writer of the Book of Joshua
-does not mention the second, third, or any other book of Moses, but
-simply notices the book of the law of God. Now this great book
-was written upon twelve stones, and in Exodus we find the precise
-commandment of Moses to build the altar, and to read the commandments at
-the feast of tabernacles; so that it contained not one line of history,
-and could have no authority. It was a law written upon stones, which
-Moses, in Exod. chap. xxiv. v. 7, is said to have read to the people:
-"And he took the book of the covenant, and read it in the audience of
-the people." This covenant, and particularly the repetition of it after
-the disobedience of the Jews, is the only part of the Scriptures that
-Moses ordered to be preserved with a religious care. Nothing of the most
-important parts of Genesis or the other five books is ever mentioned in
-the commandments of the law of God: the writer of the law certainly knew
-not that the Pentateuch existed. Had Moses written such a work, would he
-have failed to recommend to the Levites to keep the precious records of
-mankind, the sublime account of the creation? Did not the whole of the
-faith of the Jews depend on their being acquainted with the history of
-their forefathers, who were under the immediate protection of God? The
-ten commandments every person knows from the light of nature; no nation
-has ever mistaken them; but the origin of mankind is a subject of great
-darkness, and which the Jews ought to have preserved most carefully.
-Certain, however, it is, that excepting a few rites, the Jews lost not
-only their books, but even the recollection of their feasts, during
-their captivity. The other books referred to in the Bible prove, that
-those left are mere collections of borrowed stories, and pretended
-abridgements of books of greater authority, which are unfortunately
-lost, and leave a wide field for scepticism, particularly upon
-improbable or contradictory accounts. As to the belief that the books of
-the Old Testament are inspired, it is a tale, which, after what we have
-stated, even a child would laugh at.
-
-You next seriously endeavour to corroborate the ridiculous miracle of
-the sun and moon standing still. You are as unsuccessful in historical
-as in scientifical arguments. The story in question is so stupid, that
-the bare mention of it marks a man's credulity, so as to render him the
-object of compassion. That an ignorant fanatic should attempt to defend
-such absurdities, would be a matter of no surprise; but to witness a
-Regius Professor of Divinity, a natural philosopher, bring forward facts
-from profane history to prove the truth of so bare-faced a lie, denotes
-at least your want of prudence. I cannot persuade myself that you
-seriously believed what you wrote; I cannot think you capable of falling
-at once into the most gross astronomical and historical error. I shall
-state the matter briefly. There was a tradition in all antiquity, and
-particularly among the Egyptians, relating to that motion of the
-earth's axis which has been observed by astronomers, and whose complete
-revolution round the four cardinal points takes up no less than
-9,160,000 years. In the course of this revolution, it necessarily
-happens, that the sun will rise where it sets, that north will be south,
-and so on. The Egyptian priests pretended that this revolution had
-taken place in their country without changing the climate, while the
-Babylonians maintained, in the time of Alexander, that 140,000 years had
-elapsed since their first astronomical observations. This, no doubt, was
-the time that must have elapsed since the earth moved north and south.
-The Egyptian priests, long before Herodotus, had lost their knowledge
-of astronomy, which accounts for their mistake. It is evident, that the
-displacement of the earth's axis must be accompanied by the heaviest
-gravitating matter, and, therefore, what is now land, has been and will,
-in the course of ages, become sea. Now, my Lord, what has the Egyptian
-tradition to do with the sun stopped by the robber Joshua? What
-connection has the stoppage of the sun, or rather the earth's motion,
-with the sun rising where it sets? Were the thing possible, the sun
-would nevertheless rise in the east. Besides, does Joshua say the sun
-changed its course? Had this been the case, (I am ashamed even of the
-supposition), how could the earth change its axis in an hour, without
-shattering the whole globe, without inundating vast tracts of country,
-and tearing others asunder to reestablish the equilibrium of gravity?
-Study and consider; do not attempt to ridicule the little learning of
-Thomas Paine, when you fall into such absurdities. Read Chinese history,
-and you will find that their careful astronomers did not perceive the
-long day and night. It was probably the sun of Judea only that altered
-its course; they did not seem to be enlightened by the same luminary.
-Those who believed that heaven was made of crystal, could find no
-difficulty in crediting this silly story. I have insisted so much upon
-this, because you ought to know the common principles of astronomy, and
-somewhat of history. Here again you appeal to the book of Jasher:
-it deserves no more consideration. To deem an appeal to a lost book
-evidence of a prodigy, because the author affirms it, is a degree of
-credulity which may gain the kingdom of heaven; but, in the republic of
-letters, such believer will pass for a very contemptible reasoner.
-
-These are the miracles, and the histories, better attested than the
-History of the Twelve Knights Of Charles the Great, and such other
-foolish tales. Surely, none can believe that 19,000 men fought against
-the Midianites, and murdered a prodigious number, without having lost a
-man, and disbelieve the famous battles of the knights, in many of which
-six men fought several thousands; the conversation of the devil with
-Cromwell, or the miraculous appearance of God to almost all the knights
-and warriors among the Catholics. The sacred phial of Rheims, and the
-chapel of Loretto, were both conveyed in a manner you know well, and
-which few men in the two countries dare controvert. They too appeal to
-their books of Jasher. The tale of making the sun stand still has not
-even the merit of novelty; this luminary had long before stopt his
-career, out of respect to Bacchus. Neither is the shower of hail-stones
-new, for Jupiter of old sent a shower of hail upon the rebellious sons
-of Neptune.
-
-As to Joshua having written the book that goes under his name, we
-have, besides what has been stated, the strongest evidence against the
-genuineness of this performance. The death of Joshua is recorded in
-chap. xxiv. and it is related exactly in the same style as what precedes
-it. The writer even mentions several events posterior to the death of
-the son of Nun. You have passed over the arguments of Thomas Paine drawn
-from this passage, "The Jebusites dwelt with the children of Judah at
-Jerusalem unto this day." It was natural for you to overlook a passage,
-which demonstrates that the book of Joshua was not written until after
-David, when, and not before, the conquest of the Jebusites took place.
-It is beyond a doubt, that they never dwelt with the Jews in the time of
-Joshua, since, in the first part of the above quoted passage, he says,
-"As for the Jebusites, the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the children of
-Judah could not drive them out." How then did the Jews inhabit Jerusalem
-in the days of Joshua? I refer the reader to the Age of Reason, and to
-an answer to it by Mr. David Wilson, for further information, on this
-head. In the latter, he will be amazed at the weak subterfuges used by
-the author to evade the strength of the objection by Mr. Paine. But this
-is not the only event related in Joshua, which did not take place till
-some time after his death. Almost the whole of chap. xvii. contains
-facts of this nature. Where the portion of Manasseh is described, it is
-said, in ver. 12, "Yet the children of Manasseh could not drive out the
-inhabitants of those cities, but the inhabitants would dwell in that
-land." It is added, "And it came to pass, when the children of Israel
-waxed strong, that they put the Canaanites to tribute; but did not
-utterly drive them out." Now this certainly did not take place during
-the life of Joshua, for in the very same chapter, he promises those of
-the tribe of Manasseh success against the Canaanites. In the preceding
-chapter, v. 10, there is a passage of the same kind, "And they (the
-Ephraimites) drove not out the Canaanites that dwelt in Gezer; but the
-Canaanites dwelt among the Ephraimites unto this day, and some under
-tribute." This needs no comment: let any person ask himself when this
-came to pass, and they will at once find out the credit due to books
-containing such shameful anachronisms and falsehoods. In chapter first
-of Judges, purporting to contain the history of the Jews after Joshua,
-the reader will find a faithful copy of the passages quoted, not
-excepting the taking of Jerusalem. Let himc ompare ver. 8, 27, 28, 29,
-and following, with the detail of distribution of lots to the tribes,
-in chap. xvi. and xvii. of Joshua the same events are told in the very
-words, and apply to two different periods. This is a strong instance of
-the disorder that pervades the whole of these books, and how undeserving
-of credit, even in the most probable events, is what you call sacred
-writ. We are constantly reading over accounts of the same events,
-sometimes said to be written by dead men, and never marking time; for
-_it came to pass_, which is the Bible phrase, does not fix the period
-when the event took place. These books bear all the marks of being the
-productions of some persons at a very late period, and to have suffered
-great interpolations. Joshua is, in the face of it, a continuation of
-Deuteronomy, Judges of Joshua, and so on through the remainder.
-
-You pass on to Judges. It requires neither great knowledge nor ingenuity
-to discover, that this book is an unconnected farrago put together by
-some unknown person. You do not attempt to say any thing in its favour.
-Sad falling off from the paths of faith! Formerly it would have been
-a heresy to assert that Judges was a book of no authority: now, even a
-Bishop has nothing to say in its defence. You then proceed to Ruth,
-and endeavour to blot out the apparent infamy of her conduct, with what
-success, I leave the reader to judge, after he has perused her
-history. Next follow your subtle distinctions between the inspired and
-non-inspired part of the Bible, which may be very intelligible to an
-inspired Bishop, but cannot fail to appear a mere dream to a man in his
-senses. Notwithstanding Austin and your other brethren, this distinction
-rests upon nothing but fancy. Your request is very moderate. "Receive
-the Bible," you say, "as composed by upright and well-informed, though
-in some points, fallible men, (for I exclude all fallibility _when they
-profess to deliver_ the word of God), and you must receive it as a book
-revealed to you in many parts by the express will of God, and, in other
-parts, relating to you the ordinary history of the times." Bravo!
-A Catholic is as reasonable in his demands. He only asks a little
-credulity to believe the inspired when _they profess to be so_. It is
-truly a childish request, begging the question at every word. To believe
-the Bible to be inspired is the grand point. The reasoning you employ is
-in perfect consonance with the absurdity of your wishes. You disbelieve
-a history if you find it inconsistent, but revere it, and swear by the
-author, if he wrote by inspiration. Swedenburgh could not wish more
-faith in his adherents. You say _receive it_, as the inquisitors said
-_imprimatur_; but philosophers weigh the ground of their belief; they
-detect the Bible writers, prophets, and inspired men, in palpable
-contradictions in history; and you will obstinately insist on our
-believing the most improbable of all their stories, because their
-absurdity persuades the faithful that they were revealed by their God in
-dreams.----You have acknowledged yourself, in a subsequent letter, that
-the history and mystery of the Bible are so interwoven, that if one
-falls the other cannot be maintained. Why did God mingle his important
-and sublime precepts with such ridiculous trash, so as to induce mankind
-to disbelieve them both? Suppose I should meet a peasant coming from a
-fair, pretending he had seen the king with his guards, and if I should
-find this to be untrue, would I not deserve to be laughed at, if I
-credited that he had wrestled with a spirit, or that he was carried up
-to heaven? This, however, is the case with the Bible. Here we are told
-that the sun stood Still to protract the bloodshed of that villain
-Joshua, while, in another place, we read that a city was taken 370 years
-before that event. Your vaunted prophets were soothsayers, psalmists,
-and orators, who were generally employed in writing the public records.
-It is a word applied in the Bible to holy men. These prophets, like the
-augurs of the heathen, were often detected in falsehoods, and, in the
-time of Samuel, it would appear, by the Bible itself, that to raise
-ghosts was a trade as common as that of tailors in our days.
-
-You now come to Samuel. You are candid enough to acknowledge with
-Hartley, that he could not have been the author of the second book,
-nor of most of the first that go under his name, yet this has been the
-opinion of the church; and I know of no direct proofs that he wrote the
-remainder: by what logic do you or Hartley conclude, that Samuel wrote
-any part of the books ascribed to him? An author is proved not to have
-written most part of a work ascribed to him, who then would, without
-direct proofs, proclaim him the writer of some small passage, or any
-particular part of the work? Who but a clergyman would build a system
-upon a mutilated, spurious, and insignificant collection of absurdities
-and wonders? It is, I allow, probable that Samuel wrote something: your
-quotations prove no more; but what this was, we are, I presume, equally
-unacquainted with. That the scribes also composed some records of the
-lives of their kings, I will not deny. The question is, what degree of
-credit does the mutilated, contradictory, and fabulous collection, said
-to be made out of these records, deserve?
-
-In the time of Charles the Great, some persons probably recorded his
-actions. Is this a reason for any man to believe the fabulous legends we
-have of him, written in the dark centuries? The legends of the Egyptian
-and Greek gods, and their collection of oracles, were not only credited
-by whole nations, but proclaimed true by councils much wiser than the
-synagogue. The records of the saints were undoubtedly made few years
-after their death, in ages far more enlightened, after the invention of
-the press, written by the then most learned men of society, (the monks),
-who certainly were not inferior to the Jewish scribes, yet these legends
-contain often nothing but collections of absurdities and miracles. Read
-the _Flores Sanctorum_ of the Romish church, and you there will find
-miracles in every page, and the lives of saints a tissue of prodigies. I
-need not add, that very few learned men among the Papists give credit to
-the absurdities contained in these books. It is even the opinion of the
-best informed men, that the monks have written lives of saints who never
-existed.
-
-You acknowledge the wickedness of the kings of Israel and Judah; but
-you take care to observe, that this was not owing to their religion.
-Impertinent assertion! Was not Saul dethroned because he was humane
-enough not to cut Agag in pieces? Did not the Lord Jehovah love the man
-after his own heart, who put the miserable inhabitants of Rabah
-under saws, axes, and arrows of iron; who made them pass through the
-brick-kiln? Did not this Jehovah approve the base murder of Adonias? Was
-it the same Jehovah who said to Jonah, that he was not so unjust as to
-sacrifice the whole city of Nineveh for their sins, because there were
-thousands in it who did not know between good and evil; and who yet, the
-Jews tell us, commanded the extermination of whole nations, without
-even sparing the little children? Did not the plagues which he sent to
-Pharaoh and David fall upon thousands of innocent individuals? At least,
-do not the Jewish books affirm it? Such horrors could only be respected
-by the Jews; such absurd miracles could only be credited by the most
-ignorant of men. You pretend, that the partiality of God to the Jews
-proceeded from their being the only nation that believed in the unity of
-God, and who have preserved their belief on this head unshaken till
-the present day. Are you in earnest, can you assert this before men of
-common information? Do you take Englishmen for idiots to be deceived by
-your assertions? Are you ignorant of the adoration of the Ethiopians? Do
-you forget that the wise men among the heathens said, _Colitur forma
-pro Jove?_ Did you never peruse any account, of the Chinese, or of the
-Hindoos? Do they not admit one supreme agent, an all-wise, intelligent,
-&c. being, and whose inferior agents they represent by symbols? The
-Hindoos have even all the metaphysical refinement of our divines; and
-their definition of God is fully as perspicuous as that given in our
-Catechism. I have avoided to give long extracts in this pamphlet; but,
-that the authority of an English Bishop may not be a presumption to many
-that I am making false assertions, I shall transcribe a passage from
-a commentary upon the Reig Beid, a book unquestionably of the remotest
-antiquity.
-
-"Glory be to Goneish! that which is exempt from all desires of the
-senses, the same is the mighty Lord. He is simple, and than him there
-is nothing greater. Brehm, (the spirit of God), is absorbed in
-self-contemplation; the same is the mighty Lord who is present in every
-part of space. Brehm is one, and to him there is no second; such is
-truly Brehm. His omniscience is self-inspired, and its comprehension
-includes all possible species," &c. It is true, we are not here told
-that God is a jealous God, that he visiteth the iniquities of the father
-even unto the fourth generation. I could adduce fifty passages from the
-Greeks and others to prove my position, but it is needless. The point
-is still to know whether these notions make men better, whether they are
-founded on truth, and, indeed, whether all gods are not the work of the
-fancy of man, nature allegorised. _Primus in orbe Deos fecit timor_,
-says the philosopher; can you disprove it? I suspect not, and that all
-the subtle reasoning of divines destroy themselves. The world is the
-ultimate of human reason. We adore the idols either of our hands or
-of the brain, and mistake them for existences. The region of chimeras
-exists beyond the universe; our prattling upon it is but a play of
-words. Jehovah himself, when he said, I am that I am, called himself
-pretty plainly Pan, or the great whole.
-
-But if the unity of God be the only gracious belief in the eyes of
-the Creator, I do not see that Christians are entitled to his favour,
-because they make him three. What was the belief of the Jews? Had
-they any very refined ideas of their God? They thought him corporeal,
-incessantly speaking and moving among men, jealous, revengeful,
-powerful, whose angels ate with Abraham, who himself strove to kill
-Moses in a public house; they imagined him repenting of his deeds; and,
-in all respects, a poor contemptible being, the offspring of Jewish
-fancy. He is throughout the Bible an Asiatic Sultan, who, like the
-merciful God of Mahomet, puts to the sword, and smites with plagues
-thousands, as a tribute to his infinite mercy. I refer the reader to
-the collection of extracts from the Bible, in a subsequent letter, for
-proofs of my assertions. The Jews admitted, besides other gods, such as
-Chemosh, several beings subordinate to God, but superior to man, as
-the serpent which tempted the mother of mankind. They had exterminating
-angels and cherubims, the Elohim or Genii that made the world, &c.
-But why dwell upon such topics, when it is evident that all the Jewish
-mythology is of Chaldean origin, and our theology a copy of that of
-Plato?
-
-You proceed in your attempt to reconcile the justice of God with his
-goodness, and, in the height of your reverie, you imagine that the
-sufferings of the Jews were parts of a grand scheme for the general
-good of mankind. What, and when are we to see the good effects of their
-barbarities? We may see reason counteracting the evil of superstition,
-rendering men humane; but I apprehend, that, if your reasoning was
-generally adopted, every highwayman would be much inclined to think
-himself sent by Providence for good and wise purposes, and if chance
-should bring about a happy event at the end of his career, which he
-thought the consequence of his deeds, he would triumph in his crimes,
-and, like Moor in the Robbers, exclaim, "If for ten I have destroyed,
-you make but one man blest, my soul may yet be saved!" This has been the
-language of persecutors. They destroy mankind to make them happy in the
-next world--tortures, burning, and beheading, are but purifications. The
-worst is, that the famous divine scheme of general good, has never been
-one jot more advanced than when the Jews were enduring the greatest
-calamities, and committing atrocities. I count not the effects of
-reason, for faith is alone the godly faculty; reason destroys it. I
-close my observations upon this subject with repeating the old question
-of Epicurus, which your brethren have as yet left unanswered; either
-God can prevent evil and does not choose it, or he chooses it and wants
-power to avert calamities from his creatures. In the first instance, he
-is a malevolent despot, a character we ought to abhor; in the second,
-we see him an impotent and secondary being, which raises our contempt.
-Reconcile this with his infinite power, wisdom, and goodness, and show
-us that he is not formed after the image of man, or else let unbelievers
-hold their opinions in peace.
-
-
-
-
-LETTER V.
-
-Your fifth letter begins with stating the importance of the concession
-of Thomas Paine, that the books of Ezra and Nehemiah are genuine. You
-triumph, and think it a silent acknowledgment of the reality of the
-prophecies mentioned in those books. Stop, my Lord, your _alma-mater_
-surely has not taught you to draw such conclusions. In a genuine book
-there may be contained incredible events, as in Tacitus, Suetonius,
-and almost all existent histories. It is your duty to prove that the
-prophecies there related are not among those popular stories which
-are apt to gain general credit, whether they are or are not forgeries
-written after the events. Before we know when Jeremiah wrote, and what
-is the meaning of the writings under his name, no man is warranted to
-triumph at the testimony of the Jews after the captivity; since it is
-a point, in which all parties agree; that their canon and books were
-compiled at that period, and nobody ever questioned the credulity of
-the Jews. You proceed to state your notions of the history of the Old
-Testament; it is all a matter of opinion; and, as you do not support it
-by any proofs, we must still continue to regard the contradictions and
-impostures contained in the Old Testament as proofs of its having
-been the work of ignorant fanatics. I pass over your effusions: that
-metaphysical disquisitions teach us the limits of our faculties, I
-strenuously maintain; and if you mean nothing else, we are agreed. That
-our notions of time and place are not the bugbears which the scholastics
-would persuade us, is to me unquestionable; that both in science and
-religion we affix no ideas to many words, I grant; that certainty in
-philosophical disquisitions is not easily found, I also allow; but, that
-a man tired with the arduous task of reasoning, of discerning between
-truth and falsehood, should seek in polemics or superstition a
-consolation for his ignorance, I consider as a proof of the impaired
-state of his faculties; he is like the thirsty traveller, who, burnt
-by the scorching sun, seeks to relieve his distress by drinking of the
-first water he meets, without regarding its purity. Your acknowledgment
-that it is possible even for a Bishop to err in matters of religion,
-gives me real pleasure. To consider our creed as a matter that admits of
-doubt, is a great step in the road of truth. You say, "May God forgive
-him that is in an error." Your wish is humane; but, if God be the
-Creator of mankind, he cannot be offended at the conclusions we may
-draw, after having employed the faculties he has given us. I wish too
-that mankind should forgive them that are in an error; but, I hope,
-they will recollect the long sway of superstition, and its danger to
-mankind; may they decide in favour of that system which is conformable
-to reason, and has the greatest tendency to improve society!
-
-You next proceed to show the propriety of the angel ordering Moses to
-pull off his shoes, which you say is a mark of reverence to God. Is it
-then by such ridiculous customs that you reconcile your omnipotent
-and all-wise God? Too long have men substituted rites for morality. O
-superstition! that makes the Asiatics eat the excrements of the lama,
-the Papists devour their God; that persuades all Christians that water
-washeth away sin; and, that if a child happens to die before his face is
-sprinkled, he must inevitably suffer everlasting torments: led by
-this, men despise society, and tremble at ceremonies invented by their
-priests.
-
-I shall not go at great length into the particular contradictions which
-are found in the enumeration of the families that returned from Babylon.
-There certainly are great mistakes in the sums; and where precision was
-to be expected more than in any thing preserved in the record of the
-people of God, we find them committing the most gross errors, even when
-they attempt to be peculiarly exact. It is curious, that the individual
-sums are altogether different in the different accounts, and, therefore,
-that there must have been a much greater number of errors than you would
-persuade your readers.
-
-You come to the book of Job; and confine your remarks to disprove the
-objection of Mr. Paine, drawn from the name Satan, which, he says, is
-there for the first and only time mentioned in the Bible. Your answer,
-that it is repeatedly to be found elsewhere in the Old Testament, is
-just but it certainly does not prove Job to be a Jewish book. We know
-that _Sathan_, as well as the names of all the angels, are Chaldean; and
-as I have already shown, that the Scriptures are compilations written
-after the captivity, it is not wonderful that this name, together with
-many others, should be found in the Hebrew Bible. As you say nothing in
-favour of the book of Job, I shall only observe, that it is not only the
-opinion of Abenezra, but even of Jerome, the author of the Vulgate, that
-it is not a Hebrew book, the idiom being in many instances altogether
-different from the style of that language, and very frequently bearing
-marks of its Arabic and Syriac origin, as the reader may see in his
-preface to Job in the Vulgate edition of the Bible. The resemblance
-between Job's Satan and Momus is so striking, that we cannot help
-recognising the author to have been a Gentile; and thus are the Jews
-deprived of a book, which, at least, contains no murders, and shows
-more knowledge than that nation ever possessed. Your remark as to
-the generality of the belief of a benevolent and a malevolent being,
-certainly does not prove that the Gentiles borrowed this notion from the
-Jews; you ought to have known history better, and that the wars of
-the Gods and angels formed part of the creed of many nations, not only
-before a book of the Bible existed, but even before the birth of Moses.
-Dionysius and Osiris had already fought against the evil genii: the
-famous Vishnu has been from the highest antiquity the enemy of Chiven.
-That the numerous mythological systems which have ever existed, sprang
-from the report of the fathers of the Jewish nation, may appear probable
-to a clergyman; it is but a pious whim; to me it is a proof, that all
-religious systems have sprung from the fancy of men. The philosophers
-among the heathens understood by the evil and bad genii nothing more
-than the influence of the good or bad seasons, which, personified
-by ignorant or cunning priests, have by the vulgar been deemed real
-personages. Besides, where do you find in the Pentateuch any accounts of
-the Devil? I only see the serpent, an emblem I have already said, copied
-from the Egyptians, but by the Jews considered a real snake, which
-talked and walked upright. It was but a poor imitation of the Ahrimanes
-of Zoroaster.
-
-Concerning the utility of prayers, and the tendency of those of the
-Jews, I shall say nothing. It is a certain fact, that Solomon, the
-wisest of men, and who made excellent prayers, killed his brother; while
-many of those heathen tribes, abhorred by the Jews, had no other crime
-than to adore images; and, if superstition among them sometimes produced
-the abominable practice of human sacrifices, they never carried their
-piety so far as to exterminate whole nations. Besides, the Jews had
-not even a pretence to despise their neighbours for offering human
-sacrifices. The case of Jephtha shows plainly that this barbarity was
-common among God's people. I am utterly surprised at your misplaced
-exclamations upon the morality of the heathens. Far be it from me to
-stand forward as the patron of heathenish superstition; it is the mother
-of ours, and I abhor the common stock; but, my Lord, you ought not
-to confound the rites of the Greeks with their morals. The Athenians
-possessed virtues which we in vain look for among the despicable Jews.
-They possessed knowledge, and their philosophers had more sense than
-to believe the tales of the priests. Epicurus taught peaceably, and was
-revered by all, while the vulgar of his country firmly believed their
-mythology. Such an instance never happened among the Jews. Jehovah would
-quickly have sent a plague among Epicurus and his followers, or ordered
-his priests "to kill every one his neighbour and his friend, and hang
-them up before the sun." Your holy brethren would think nothing of a
-burning match on the occasion; if it were in your power, atheists would
-not exist long. But you talk so confidently of the adoration of
-images among the Gentiles, that we would imagine the Jews were all
-philosophers. Do you forget their reverence to the holy of holies, which
-none could approach; the ark of the covenant, and the calves? Or has the
-story of the five golden mice, for looking at which fifty thousand and
-three score and ten Israelites were smote by the Lord, escaped you?
-
-Your rhapsody upon the sublimity of Bible composition, and its
-superiority to all profane writers, is a proof of the strength of early
-imbibed prejudice. I lament to see a man of your learning think so much
-like an old woman. The proverbs, to be sure, are wonderful compositions,
-and prove the great gift of wisdom bestowed by God upon Solomon! What
-indeed can be more sublime than the following, which I beg leave to
-add to the specimens given by your Lordship! "The horse leech hath two
-daughters, crying, Give, give. There are three things that are never
-satisfied, yea four things say not it is enough; the grave, and the
-barren womb, the earth that is not filled with water, and the fire that
-saith not it is enough."--"There be three things which are too wonderful
-for me, yea four which I know not; the way of an eagle in the air, the
-way of a serpent upon the rock, the way of a ship in the midst of the
-sea, and the way of a man with a maid."--"There be three things which
-go well, a greyhound, an he-goat also, and a king."--"It is the glory
-of God to conceal a thing, but the honour of kings is to search out a
-matter."--"When thou sittest to eat with a ruler, consider diligently
-what is before thee, and put a knife to thy throat if thou be a man
-given to appetite."--"Buy the truth, and sell it not."--"A whore is a
-deep ditch, and a strange woman is a narrow pit."--Excellent Solomon!
-Hear also this wise king in Song of Songs. "How beautiful are thy feet
-with shoes, O prince's daughter! The joints of thy thighs are like
-jewels, the work of the hands of a cunning workman; thy-navel is like a
-round goblet which wanteth not liquor; thy belly is like a heap of wheat
-set about with lilies; thy two breasts are like two young roes that are
-twins; thy neck is as a tower of ivory; thine eyes like the fish pools
-in Heshbon, by the gate of Bath-rabbim; thy nose is as the tower of
-Lebanon, which looketh towards Damascus." Whether this alludes to one
-of Solomon's concubines, or our mother, the church of Jesus Christ,
-the expressions are equally applicable, beautiful, and simple; they are
-worthy of a man "wiser than Ethan the Ezrehite, and Heman, and Chalcol,
-and Darda, the sons of Mehol," who, I dare say, were wise men. Upon the
-whole, I agree with you, that Solomon, the illustrious offspring of the
-man after God's own heart and the virtuous Bathsheba, was not "a witty
-jester." As to what you call his "sins and debaucheries," these holy
-books were certainly not written with a view to make us avoid them.
-Solomon is set before us as a pattern of wisdom and goodness; and the
-number of his wives and concubines is exultingly recorded as a proof of
-his greatness, as much as his treasures, which exceed all conception,
-and the number of his horses, which exceed all belief.
-
-Your pious belief in the inspired prophecies of Isaiah, is natural to a
-superstitious and credulous mind. The philosopher who doubts before
-he gazes, sees in what you call prophecies nothing else but scraps of
-history or legend. He receives with diffidence all predictions. He is
-aware of the great ease with which forgeries may be passed among the
-vulgar for prophecies. When pretended predictions are made, they are
-altogether overlooked; even the ignorant think not of them till they are
-said to be accomplished; the learned despise them in both instances;
-and it is not till after their authenticity has gained a sort of general
-belief, that the philosopher thinks of enquiring when and how they were
-made. At this period he can find no evidence of their history, but from
-the credulous who have been imposed upon by them. Besides, no prophecy
-is ever direct, it always has an equivocal meaning, and is explained to
-suit the events which have happened. Religious enthusiasts write in such
-a mystic language upon the sins of mankind, and the judgements that are
-to come upon them, and in so general and ambiguous terms, that it is
-easy for a subtle interpreter, or a visionary fanatic, to explain them
-according to his own system. Have not the bears of the Apocalypse
-been made to signify by turns, the Pope and the Devil? Has not the New
-Jerusalem been sometimes taken for a real flying town, seen in the air
-by the first fathers of the church, as Tertullean informs us? Do not
-other divines tell us that it means the kingdom of heaven? Have not
-scripture divines, even in the first ages of the church, pretended that
-the verses of Virgil, _Jam redit et Virgo, redeunt Sa-tumia regna, jam
-nova progenies ccelo demittitur alto;--natte mets vires, mea magna
-potentia solus, and talia perstabat memorans, fixusque manebat_, were
-clear prophecies of the Virgin Mary, and Jesus Christ? It might be worth
-enquiring at this time, whether the Roman Bard was inspired by the
-Holy Ghost? Lastly, I may ask, does your Lordship believe in the many
-prophecies that have of late appeared of the French revolution?
-
-But we have more reasons to declare the pretended clear prophecies of
-the Bible to be fables. In many instances they are so accurate, and so
-unlike these passages which we know to have been written previous to the
-events to which they are applied, or those which are not yet
-fulfilled, that no philosopher can pronounce them to have been written
-historically. Thus, we find Jacob announce to his twelve sons, the
-heads of the twelve tribes of Israel, the fate of their posterity; the
-situation of the district to be occupied by the Israelites in the land
-of Canaan, two hundred years before Joshua parcelled out this land in
-lots to the Israelites; the kind of life the different tribes would
-lead; the small number of the posterity of Reuben, Simeon, and Levi, as
-well as the power of Judah; all which are related as exactly as if the
-patriarch had seen the throne of David and Solomon with his own eyes.
-Some of the supposed predictions of Isaiah and Daniel, are even more
-minutely correct. You have treated the question of the genuineness and
-date of works very lightly; you think it is of no great consequence to
-ascertain the genuineness of the different books of the Bible. Let us
-for a moment suppose, that by some accident, the age of Virgil had been
-forgotten, or the sixth book of his AEneid been ascribed to a writer of
-the age of AEneas; would not the Romans be entitled to regard, as a most
-wonderful prophecy, the lively representation given by Anchises of the
-future heroes of the republic, the two Caesars, and the young Marcellus?
-
-To resume our subject: I remind you of the passage already quoted from
-Bellarminus, that it was the opinion of the fathers of the church, that
-the Prophets, among other books, had been collected and arranged
-by Esdras. I have also stated the selection of genuine works by the
-synagogue, during the reign of the Maccabees, when the Talmud says that
-the forgeries of Daniel, Esdras, &c. were prodigious. The destruction
-by Antiochus Epiphanus of the already broken Jewish books, written by
-Esdras, may be collected from what is said in Maccabees, chap. i. ver.
-56 and 57. "And when they had rent in pieces the books of the law which
-they found, they burnt them with fire, and whosoever was found with
-any of the books of the Testament, or if any consented to the law, the
-king's commandment was, that they should put him to death."
-
-It is without reason that you triumph at the application which Thomas
-Paine makes of the prophecy of Isaiah, in chapters xliv. and xlv. No
-man that reads the passage can hesitate for a moment to declare it a
-narrative of the deliverance of the Jews by Cyrus, after the seventy
-years captivity. Cyrus is mentioned by name, as well as his command to
-rebuild Jerusalem, and his victories over the nations, above one hundred
-years before the event. Will you then, without any proofs of Isaiah
-having written this book, insist upon calling it a prophecy? And have
-not sceptics been justified in their disbelief of the genuineness
-of such books? Mr. Paine, however, has overlooked a more remarkable
-prophecy in this book, which has been tortured into an application to
-Christ. This is contained in chapter lxiii. ver. 1. "Who is this that
-cometh from Edom, with dyed garments from Bozrah? this that is glorious
-in his apparel, travelling in the greatness of his strength? I that
-speak in. righteousness, mighty to save." And again, in chap. ii.
-(talking of the supposed Christ) Isaiah says, "And he shall judge among
-the nations, and shall rebuke many people; and they shall beat their
-swords into plough-shares."--"And the idols he shall totally abolish."
-Can this possibly allude to Christ? Did he come from Edom in mighty
-power, in rich garments? Was his march so terrible? Was he the man who
-trampled all in his fury; who with his own arm brought salvation to
-himself, and was upheld by his fury; as also mentioned in chap. lxiii.?
-Do not these pretended prophecies also apply to Judas Maccabeus, who
-delivered the Jews from the tyranny of Antiochus Epi-phanus? And is it
-not also a proof of the mutilated state of the works of the prophets
-to see details about Cyrus intermingled with others applying to Judas
-Maccabeus? I say nothing of Daniel, for his _prophecy_ I shall consider
-particularly afterwards, and show its true meaning; at present, it may
-be sufficient to say, that the similarity between the book of Ezra and
-Daniel proclaim them to be from the same hand; but both have evident
-marks of having been considerably mutilated. When philosophers cannot
-ascertain the age of pretended predictions, they consider their
-clearness as a demonstration of their being histories. Who tells you
-that the books which the synagogue, like the Nicene council, chose, were
-not either altogether written, or considerably interpolated, to adopt
-them to the times? The great question is always, what authority had the
-synagogue to decide, and whether their decision ought to influence men
-of sense, any more than the determination of the Popish councils.
-
-As a proof of the absurdity of the application of prophecies, I shall
-here quote one, which is apparently clearer than any in the whole
-Bible, and is adduced by the most famous divines as an unquestionable
-prediction of Christ. It is in Micah, chap. v. ver. I. "Now gather
-thyself in troops, O daughter of troops: he hath laid siege against us;
-they shall smite the Judge of Israel with a rod upon the cheek. But thou
-Bethlehem Ephratah, though thou be little among thousands of Judah, yet
-out of thee shall he come forth unto me, that is to be ruler in Israel;
-whose goings forth have been from of old, from everlasting." Here even
-the birth-place of Christ is mentioned, the insults offered to him, his
-existence from everlasting, and his coming to save Israel. And Matthew,
-chap. ii. ver. 6, and John, chap. vii. ver. 43, both expressly refer to
-that passage as a prophecy. Hear now what follows in ver. 5, of the same
-chapter of Micah: "And this man shall be the peace, when the Assyrians
-shall come into our land: and when he shall tread in our palaces, then
-shall we raise against him seven shepherds, and eight principal men."
-Can this apply to Jesus Christ? Were the Syrians in the land when he
-came? Were not the Romans masters of Judea? Your rules of belief
-are admirable: a little faith, wherever you meet contradictions,
-absurdities, or wonders, is an invaluable prescription, common to the
-Bramin, the Musselman, and the Christian. Do but believe that Mahomet is
-a prophet, that he went up to heaven and saw the eternal Father, and
-you will go through the other articles of the Mahometan faith without
-difficulty. Do but admit the gospel of Barnabas where Mahomet is
-predicted, and we have no reason to say that it is less authentic than
-our gospel, and the work is done; but, I may say with you, "Proof, proof
-is what I require, and not assertion."
-
-We will not relinquish our reason in obedience to the despotic mandates
-of the credulous.
-
-You allow that the miracles of the Jews fall to the ground, if the
-history of that nation is proved false. I beg you to observe, that if
-it is true, it does not follow that the miracles are. If you can believe
-that the history of the Jews is well authenticated, and without numerous
-contradictions, and if you can exculpate the writers from bad motives,
-and a desire to deceive, and if you can rely upon their wisdom, you then
-will really prove yourself a Christian, a man of uncommon faith.
-The history of the Jews, every where confused, containing prodigies,
-deserves no more credit than their antedeluvian tale. Even Chinese
-history, supported by astronomical observations, is beyond a certain
-period rejected by all men, from the fables it contains. If you are
-disposed to believe, I advise you to read the fabulous history of China
-and of Hindostan, in the holy books of the respective nations, which
-are adopted by whole nations, and are, at least, more beautiful than the
-Jews.
-
-I have purposely omitted to speak of Ecclesiastes. I find here several
-Epicurean notions, a disbelief of a future life, the propriety of
-enjoying themselves in this life, and other sensible remarks; which
-prove that the writer enjoyed more common sense than most of his
-countrymen.
-
-
-
-
-LETTER VI.
-
-You begin your sixth letter by attempting to disprove the arguments of
-Thomas Paine upon Jeremiah. You acknowledge the disorder that prevails
-in the writings of this prophet; and you modestly assure us, that you
-do not know the cause; no more do I: and whatever incidents might have
-occasioned it, I am certain that, as it stands, it deserves no degree of
-credit. In a former part of your pamphlet you grant, that the history of
-the Jews is so connected with the prophetical part, that if the former
-was done away the latter could not stand; and now you inform us, "that
-prophecy differs from history, in not being subject to an accurate
-observance of time and order." This you think a matter of no importance,
-but, in my opinion, it is very material to know if a prophecy is written
-after the events it alludes to. I shall not follow far, either your
-Lordship or Mr. Paine, in proving several of the prophecies of the Bible
-false; but if they are not prophecies, why should we trouble ourselves
-with disproving them. If they are scraps of history, we know that of
-the Jews to be so contradictory, imperfect, so completely without order,
-that one historical extract, of prophecy, will often contradict another;
-but much more generally these prophecies are strict enough, being copied
-from history, and embellished with a little of the figurative style of
-prophecy. As to Jeremiah, the works that go under his name, as well
-as those of Isaiah, appear on the face of them to be a collection of
-extracts from different historians.
-
-While we know so little of the history and genuineness of these
-writings, we cannot possibly draw any conclusion concerning them, except
-that they are in the utmost disorder, and that when writers intermingle
-history with prophecy, we are at a loss to know which is which. I cannot
-forbear to mention the ludicrous story of Elisha, the children, the
-bears that devoured the children of men, as you are pleased to call
-them. Whether Elisha did this as a prophet, I cannot but declare my
-abhorrence at your approbation of such abominable cruelty, to murder
-individuals because they bestowed the appellation of Baldhead on
-another. According to the laudable custom of the church, you appeal to
-a miracle, and conclude, that if God wrought a miracle it must have been
-just. I suppose this comparatively as when he destroys whole cities for
-the sins of a few; but this is the very ground on which every crusader
-supported his massacres; and every man may imitate the conduct of Ahod,
-the treacherous murderer, patronised by Jehovah, without incurring the
-blame of a Bishop. Whether the ridiculous tale which you take for a
-sign of God, most probably of his cruelty, converted any person, is not
-known; but as the event most undoubtedly never happened, you may suppose
-what you please. To murder them is not the way to ingratiate ourselves
-with our fellow-citizens. If any person set a few bull-dogs on some
-children, and pretended to do so by authority from heaven, he would most
-undoubtedly be taken up by our officers of justice. In what respect do
-these brutal prophets differ from Mahomet, who decided all disputes by
-the sword? Their business was to exterminate and murder by the direct
-commands of God.
-
-The writings of Ezekiel are considerably truncated. The very beginning
-of his prophecies shows it. The conjunction and texture of the whole
-work refers to something that ought to have preceded it. He begins
-saying, "That in the 30th year the heavens opened, and he saw visions of
-God." And in ver. 5, he adds, "That the Lord had inspired him often
-in Chaldea," which refers to some prophecies written in that period.
-Besides, Josephus's work, book 10, chap. ix. of the Jewish antiquities,
-says, "That Ezekiel had prophecied that Zedekiah should never see
-Babylon." This is no where found in Ezekiel, but, on the contrary, in
-chap. xi. and xii. he says, "That the king would be carried a prisoner
-to Babylon."
-
-As to Daniel, I have already noticed the great similarity between the
-first book of Esdras and his, and the probability that they came from
-the same author. The seven first chapters, except the first, were
-written in Chaldean, and are by the most learned thought to be taken
-from Chaldean chronologists. It is also thought by men of great
-learning, that the books of Esdras, Daniel, and Esther, were altered a
-long time after Judas Maccabeus, because it appears evident that Esdras
-could not have written the whole of them, since Nehemiah carries the
-genealogy of Jesuhga, the sovereign Pontiff till Jaddua, the sixteenth
-in number, who after the defeat of Darius went to meet Alexander. And
-Nehemiah, ver. 22, "The Levites, in the days of Eliashib, Joiadah,
-and Johanan, and Jaddua, were recorded chief of the fathers; also the
-priests, to the reign of Darius the Persian." We have no reason to
-believe that Esdras or Nehemiah could survive fourteen kings of Persia,
-Cyrus having been the first who gave the Jews permission to rebuild the
-temple, from whom to Darius there are 230 years.
-
-I now come to the famous prophecy of the seventy weeks of Daniel, which
-you exultingly mention as the most wonderful, and, at the same time, the
-most incontrovertible prediction in existence, one which never can fail
-to confound the most perverse unbeliever. If I prove, that so far from
-being the surprising prophecy you pretend, it has altogether a different
-meaning, and can nowise apply to the coming of Christ, I shall think
-myself fully excused, if I do not go through every individual prediction
-in the Bible. The passage alluded to is in Daniel, chap. ix. ver. 24, to
-27, as follows: "Seventy weeks are determined upon thy people, and upon
-thy holy city, to finish the transgression, and to make an end of sins,
-and to make reconciliation for iniquity, and to bring in everlasting
-righteousness, and to seal up the vision, and prophecy, and to anoint
-the most holy. Know, therefore, and understand, that from the going
-forth of the commandment to restore and build Jerusalem, unto the
-Messiah, the prince, there shall be seven weeks; and threescore and two
-weeks the streets shall be built again, and the wall, even in troublous
-times. And after threescore and two weeks shall Messiah be cut off, but
-not for himself; and the people of the prince that shall come, shall
-destroy the city, and the sanctuary, and the end thereof shall be with
-a flood, and unto the end of the war desolations are determined. And he
-shall confirm the covenant with many, for one week; and, in the midst
-of the week, he shall cause the sacrifice and oblation to cease; and for
-the overspreading of abominations, he shall make it desolate, even
-until the consummation, and that determined shall be poured upon the
-desolate."
-
-This passage is generally applied to the coming of Christ. The seventy
-weeks are supposed to mean weeks of years, or seven years each. Now
-it is evident, that it cannot apply to Jesus Christ; for if from going
-forth of the commandment in the time of Artaxerxes Longimanus, until the
-coming of the Messiah, there were to be seven weeks or forty-nine years,
-how does this agree with what follows? "After threescore and two weeks
-(or three hundred and seventy-four years) shall Messiah be cut off."
-And again, "He shall confirm the covenant with many for a week." Did
-then Jesus Christ live four hundred and twenty-three years, or are there
-two Messiahs predicted? Dr. Frideaux acknowledges that some parts of
-this prophecy are so injudiciously printed in the English translation of
-the Bible, that they are quite unintelligible; his alteration is in the
-punctuation, and according to it we read, that, _from the going forth
-of the commandment to restore and build Jerusalem, to the Messiah, the
-Prince, shall be seven weeks, and threescore and two weeks_; and in verse
-27, he puts the half of the week, instead of the midst. The explanation
-of the prophecy as thus altered, he gives as follows. From the
-commandment given to Ezra by Ar-taxerxes Longimanus, to the
-accomplishment of it by Nebemiah forty-nine years, or the first seven
-weeks; from this accomplishment to the time of Christ's messenger John
-the Baptist sixty-two weeks, or four hundred and thirty-four years; from
-thence to the beginning of Christ's public ministry, half a week, or
-three years and a half; and from thence to the death of Christ, half
-a week, or three years and a half; in which half week he preached and
-confirmed the gospel with many; in all, from the going forth of the
-commandment, till the death of Christ, seventy weeks, or four hundred
-and ninety years.
-
-In the first place, we confidently assert that Dr. Prideaux followed his
-fancy, not the original Hebrew, when he altered the punctuation. He is,
-however, justified in the alteration of half of a week; but, granting
-all, let us see how it applies. Did the Messiah come after seven weeks
-from the commandment of Ar-taxerxes Longimanus? The explanation only
-says, that Nehemiah finished the work which Ezra began. What has this
-to do with the Messiah coming at the end of the first seven weeks? The
-prophet says, that after threescore and two weeks, the street and the
-wall shall be built. Again, and previously, that after the commandment
-for the city to be built, the Messiah shall come in seven weeks. The
-learned divine, on the contrary, makes Daniel say, that John the Baptist
-began to preach the kingdom of the Messiah sixty-nine weeks after
-the commandment, and in the first seven weeks he talks of nothing but
-building the temple. Again, how does the oblation cease in half a week?
-In fact, the same objection occurs here, as to the passage as it is
-written in our Bibles. Daniel speaks quite clear, when he says, that
-"from the going forth of the commandment to restore and build Jerusalem,
-unto the Messiah, the Prince, shall be seven weeks." If we find,
-in whatever explanation of the prophecy, that Christ did not come
-forty-nine years after this commandment, and that he did not live four
-hundred and thirty-four years afterwards, the whole must be an
-untruth. And, if the first period of seven weeks is united with that of
-threescore and two, that is, if the period of rebuilding the city, and
-of the coming of the Messiah be the same, then let divines inform us
-whether this really came to pass, and reconcile it with what follows, in
-ver. 26, that the city is to be destroyed at the same time. Did Christ
-confirm any covenant with many for seven years?
-
-Let us attempt to unriddle this enigma. The passage evidently talks of
-two Messiahs, or makes one live upwards of four hundred years; and is
-altogether unintelligible as it stands. For the better understanding of
-it, I shall quote some previous part of the same chapter, ver. 1. "In
-the first year of Darius, the son of Ahasuerus, of the seed of the
-Medes, which was made king over the realm of the Chaldeans. 2. In the
-first year of his reign, I, Daniel, understood by books, the number of
-the years whereof the word of the Lord came to Jeremiah the prophet,
-that he would accomplish seventy years in the desolations of Jerusalem.
-3. And I set my face unto the Lord God, to seek by prayers and
-supplications, with fasting, and sackcloth, and ashes. 4. And I prayed
-unto the Lord my God, and made my confession, and said." After this
-follows his prayer, until the 20th verse; and, in the 21st the angel
-began to unfold a prophecy to Daniel, which begins in verse 24, and he
-promises to explain the mystery that had so much grieved Daniel, that
-is, the prophecy of Jeremiah; then follows the passage I have quoted:
-the alterations I conceive ought be made in the reading of which, I
-now proceed to mention. In verse 25, the sentence stops after the seven
-weeks, as it is in the English Bible, because in the original we find
-here the stop Atnach. In verse 26, instead of, _shall Messiah be cut
-off?_ we ought to read, _the oblation shall cease_. This is the real
-meaning of the expression in the original, according to Tertullian,
-Eusebius, and Theodoretus. Eusebius says, _Unctum (vel Christum) nihil
-aliud esse quam successionem Pontificum, quos unctos nominare S.
-Literae consueverunt._ The Hebrew properly signifies _perdetur unctio_.
-Theodoretus understands by this word, the same as _sacerdotes uncti.
-Excidetur unctus,_ signifies the same as the _oblation shall be
-abolished_; for the verb _excido_ does not always signify to kill, but
-is applied to whatever falls into disuse that was once in practice, or
-any thing that perishes. It is in this sense used in many parts of Kings
-and Chronicles. Samuel says, _excidi de altare_. In Jeremiah,
-chapter xxxvii. ver. 18, the verb is used in the same sense, _non
-de sacerdotibus Levitis excidet ur homo coram me_, which is given in
-English, "neither shall the priests, the Levites, _want a man_ (or
-cease to have a man) before me." In verse 27, "and he shall confirm the
-covenant with many for one week," means no more than the exemption of
-calamities, and is tantamount to, _he shall let many remain in peace_,
-as in Genesis, chap. vi. ver. 18, it is used in this sense.
-
-To understand the real meaning of this pretended prophecy, the reader
-will remember, that Daniel mourned for the 70 weeks of captivity
-prophesied by Jeremiah; the vision of Daniel took place in the
-first year of Darius, King of Chaldea, that is, in the year 162 of
-Nebuchadnezzar; but, in chap. x. of Daniel we learn, that he ate no
-pleasant bread, neither came flesh and wine into his mouth, till three
-whole weeks were fulfilled. Now, the term weeks is used in the Bible
-indiscriminately for weeks of years, or of days; here it appears clear
-it signifies the former, particularly as the whole relates to the 70
-years of Jeremiah; and the angel, in chap. x. ver. 14, tells Daniel, in
-the same figurative style, "Now I am come to make thee understand what
-shall befall thy people in the latter days, for yet the vision is for
-many days." If then Daniel wept three weeks of years, or 21 years, from
-the destruction of the temple, in the year 141 to the time of the vision
-in 162, (the angel, chap. x. ver. 13, says, that the prince of Persia
-withstood him 21 days, or years), it is easy to see what Daniel means.
-Jeremiah had prophesied a captivity of 70 years, of these, three weeks
-or 21 years were past; therefore Daniel, after entreating God to tell
-him "how many more years were wanting," received for an answer what
-follows, "At the beginning of thy supplications, the commandment came
-forth, and I am come to show thee."--"Seventy weeks are determined
-upon thy people to seal up the vision and prophecy," that is to complete
-the prophecy of Jeremiah; and we find,-therefore, that from the issuing
-the commandment to restore the Jews, and to build Jerusalem, or more
-properly from the revelation of the angel, (exitu Verbi), promising that
-Jerusalem should be rebuilt, ver. 23, to the coming of the Messiah, the
-prince, or Cyrus, who freed the Jews from the captivity, there were to
-be seven weeks, or 49 years, which, added to the three weeks already
-past, made the 70 years of Jeremiah. Cyrus is by Isaiah called the
-Lord's anointed: "Thus saith the Lord to his anointed, to Cyrus, whose
-right hand I have holden, to subdue nations before him for Jacob my
-servant's sake." Cyrus gave, at that time, liberty to the Jews, as the
-reader may see in Ezra. It is evident, that the word commandment cannot
-mean any express order to build Jerusalem, for the angel says, just
-before he reveals the prophecy, "at the beginning of thy supplications
-the commandment came forth we know that Daniel began to address prayers
-unto heaven, at a time when there was no order to build the temple, on
-the contrary, the Jews were in captivity.
-
-This is the most difficult part of the pretended prophecy, the remainder
-is plain. There shall be 62 weeks till the rebuilding of the wall. The
-writer alludes here to the building of the first temple under Zerubbabel
-and Jeshua, and then to the rebuilding of the wall, and restoration
-of the temple by Judas Maccabeus, after its profanation by Antiochus
-Epiphanes. The period of this last event is by the prophecy made to
-extend to 63 1/2 weeks, or 444 years. Let us see if chronology confirms
-this supposition. The temple was destroyed in the 141st year of Nabuch,
-or 4107 of the Julian period; add to this 444 years, or 63 weeks and a
-half, and we have the year 4551, or the second year of Judas Maccabeus,
-according to Josephus; who also informs us, that having conquered his
-enemies, he then built a wall about Sion, which is clearly meant in the
-words, "the street shall be built again, and the wall, even in troublous
-times," 1 Maccab. chap. iv. ver. 60. At that time also "they builded up
-the mount Sion with high walls," &c. Troublous the times certainly were;
-the Jews were fighting against the cruelty of Antiochtis Epiphanes. It
-is certain then, that after 343 years, or 69 weeks, the wall should be
-built, and although it was not really completed till about ten years
-after, it is presumable that the loose historian, or prophet, did
-not choose to alter the beautiful idea of 70 Weeks. We know how
-superstitiously the Jews respected not only the number 7, but all its
-different affections. We are besides informed, in the first book of
-Maccabees, that after the first depredation of Antiochus, the people
-rebuilt the city of David, and made walls and forts; this happened
-some years before the building of the wall by Judas, and brings the
-prediction nearer to historical accuracy.
-
-The next part of the prophecy is, "And after threescore and two weeks
-shall sacrifices cease;" this means in the course of the week that
-succeeds the 62. And, no doubt, Antiochus Epiphanes abolished them in
-the seventh year of his reign, as we read in I Maccab. chap. i. "And
-the people of the prince that shall come, shall destroy the city and the
-sanctuary." This Antiochus most certainly did, "and went up (Antiochus)
-against Israel and Jerusalem with a great multitude, and entered
-proudly into the sanctuary, and took away the golden altars, also he
-took the hidden treasures, and there was great mourning in Israel," 1
-Maccab. J. "And the end thereof shall be with a flood, and unto the end
-of the war desolations are determined." The coming of Antiochus into
-Jerusalem is pompously detailed in the first book of Maccabees: the Jews
-compared a great calamity, or an invading and irresistible army, to
-a flood. Let us proceed with the remainder: "And he shall confirm the
-covenant with many for a week," this alludes to the first seven years
-of the reign of Antiochus, during which he did not interfere with the
-worship of the Jews, although he gave liberty to those who chose to be
-heathens to follow their respective worship: it was in the end of the
-sixth, and in the beginning of his seventh year that he attacked the
-Jews, destroyed the temple, plundered it of its riches, and made himself
-the tyrant of Judea.
-
-The last part of the passage is as follows: "And in the half of a week
-he shall cause the oblation and sacrifice to cease," and, I have only to
-observe, that, from the taking of the city by Antiochus, to the absolute
-forbidding Jewish worship, there elapsed about three years and a half,
-or half a week, for he came to Jerusalem in the 143d year of the kingdom
-of the Greeks, and the erecting of idols was in the year 145; after
-which, he continued to persecute the Jews, and promote idolatry, until
-the year 148. Now Antiothus attacked Jerusalem at the end of his sixth
-year, to which, if we add two years and three months, we have pretty
-exactly the period of half a week, or three years and a half. The
-expression, "the spreading of abominations," evidently alludes to what
-is said in Maccabees, chap. i. ver. 34. "Now the fifteenth day of the
-month Casleu, in the 145th year, they (the followers of Antiochus) set
-up the abomination of desolation upon the altar, and builded idol altars
-throughout the cities of Judah, on every side." Daniel says, chap.
-xii. ver. 11, speaking of his vision, "and from the time that the daily
-sacrifice shall be taken away, and the abomination that: maketh
-desolate set up, there shall be (that is between the first interdict of
-Antiochus, and the setting up of idols) 1290 days;" which is a little
-more than three years and a half. The wonderful prophecy is then
-unriddled, it becomes a contemptible piece of history in an affected
-style. I trust the explanation which I have given, after Marsham, will
-appear satisfactory. I challenge Bishop Watson to produce a plausible
-explanation of the passage according to the sense of the church. It
-may not be improper to observe, that Clemens Alexandrinus, many of
-the fathers, Calmet, and other persons of great knowledge, have flatly
-denied the application of the weeks of Daniel to Jesus. Those who
-espouse your cause lose sight of the context of Daniel, they forget
-chronology, and evince to what a pitch of delusion their minds have
-arrived.
-
-This is the famous prophecy that silenced the Jewish rabbins of Venice;
-it is of a pattern with Daniel's four beasts; the fourth is also a story
-of Antiochus Epiphanes and Judas who slays the beast. Judas is the son
-of man coming in clouds; he is the person of whom the prophets speak,
-and who has most ridiculously been distorted to Jesus Christ. This
-farrago of prophecies seems to have been the production of Esdras
-or some very late writer; and I am not sure, but the doctrine of the
-Pythagorean millennium gave rise to some of the expressions in both
-writers, about the beasts: they seem to have sprung from the same origin
-with those of the Apocalypse; and with the four Indian horses, they
-crept among the Jews, together with many other Chaldean mythological
-ideas: the Ancient of Ancients appears in his fiery car as Osiris
-triumphant, or Chreeshna conquering Chiven; the books are opened before
-him, as his kingdom is everlasting, like that of Vishnu with the
-Vedams. But visions so ridiculous as that of Daniel deserve not our
-consideration; whatever be their source they are but reveries, and may
-serve to amuse idle people in their ridiculous speculations about the
-world's end. Like Swedenburgh, men may dream, and interpret their own
-dreams, and like him have the mortification to be laughed at for the
-non-accomplishment of their predictions. We have had of late another
-Daniel in Mr. Brothers; he too saw beasts, and, what is more, he
-understood their meaning; but unfortunately we are not Jews, and he is
-cruelly imprisoned in a madhouse.
-
-I have now followed your animadversions on the objections of Thomas
-Paine upon the Old Testament; and I trust I have shown that you have in
-no degree been a more successful labourer in the cause of Judaism than
-your predecessors; even your wonderful prophecy of Daniel is converted
-into a mere historical tale, and the application Jesus Christ makes of
-it to himself is accordingly proved to be ridiculous, the more so, as
-it comes from the Son of God. I have a few more observations to make,
-before I leave this book. I cannot pass in silence the gross blunder you
-have committed, when you refer Mr. Paine to Ferguson for an astronomical
-proof of the miracle of the total darkness at the crucifixion of Jesus.
-An odd conceit, upon my word! You might know that the event is omitted
-by all the authors of eminence who wrote at that time; that even Pliny
-passes it unnoticed. Lest you should mislead the reader with your
-groundless assertions, I shall state the matter as it stands in reality.
-You avoid learned disquisitions to be intelligible, but you ought not
-to have been so deficient of authority, where it is most needed. Besides
-the gospels, the darkness is not mentioned in any author; but divines
-have attempted to prove the event from a supposed passage of Phlegon,
-related by Eusebius; it is in the following words: "In the fourth year
-of the two hundred and second Olympiad, there was the greatest eclipse
-ever seen; it was night at six, and even the stars could be seen." This
-passage has long been disregarded by men of knowledge; it alludes to an
-eclipse, not to a miraculous darkness. Both Mr. Ferguson and you have
-blundered in chronology and astronomy. It is certain, in the year of
-Christ's crucifixion, according to the common chronology, there could
-have been no eclipse of the sun visible at that time at Jerusalem;
-Ferguson, therefore, concludes it a miracle. But you ought to have
-known, that the fourth year of the two hundred and second Olympiad, is
-not the year of the crucifixion in any system of chronology; that there
-was an eclipse of the sun, in the year mentioned by Phlegon, in the
-month of November, which, however, was not central; and you know that
-Jesus is said to have died at the time of the full moon in March, or in
-the beginning of April. Besides, had even such a darkness taken place,
-are you ignorant of the existence of comets, and would not one passing
-between the earth and the sun eclipse that luminary? Have not such
-miracles taken place if we credit historians? The death of Caesar
-was preceded by wonderful prodigies, and a comet made its appearance
-immediately after. The supposed miraculous influence of comets, and
-their being prophetic signs, was once an article of faith throughout
-all Europe, and the ancient history of every country records many events
-which the authors maintain arose from comets.
-
-Your reflections on prophets I cannot pass unnoticed. You pretend to
-make a distinction between dreamers, and impostors, and true prophets.
-You acknowledge the number of soothsayers and fortunetellers among the
-Jews; but you maintain that they were altogether distinct from the
-true prophets, and appeal to Jeremiah, who puts the Jews on their guard
-against false prophets. Does not every quack, every impostor, do the
-same, and caution the world to beware of counterfeits? You might have
-saved a great deal of trouble, had you condescended to produce your
-proofs of the genuineness of the writings of the prophets; and then we
-might enquire concerning the works of these augurs. You pretend that a
-sure mark of the reality of a prophet is his predicting bad things, for
-a fortune-teller always prophecies good. Pardon me if I suppose you a
-follower of Mr. Brothers. For surely the destruction of London was not
-a most desirable event. It is in vain you attempt to turn Mr. Paine
-into ridicule for his definition of a prophet. He most justly calls them
-strolling-poets, fortune-tellers; being in Judea what the gipsies, the
-augurs, and the astrologers have been in other nations. The Hebrew word
-_Navi_ signifies nothing but an orator, a public speaker, and is by
-the Jews applied, in a forced way, to soothsayers and diviners. It is
-incontrovertible that they existed among the Jews in colleges, and were
-brought up to the business. Their chief employment was to write
-the chronicles of the times. The name prophet is given in the Bible
-indiscriminately with that of holy man. Among the Hebrews, the first
-book of Kings was called the prophecy of Samuel. Abel is called
-repeatedly in the New Testament a prophet, (see Matth. chap. xxiii.
-ver. 31 and 35, and Luke chap. xi. ver. 50 and 51), although we have no
-account of his having predicted any. Among the Jews there certainly were
-fortune-tellers, necromancers, and witches, all of which you rank
-among the impostors. But had not the witch of Endor a real power of
-incantation? Did she not most wonderfully raise up the spirit of Samuel?
-Or are we to look upon the story of the witch of Endor in the same
-light as those of modern witches? That the prophets of the Jews were
-repeatedly deceived, we cannot have the smallest doubt when 400 of
-these gentlemen told a downright lie to Ahaz. But you have a very easy
-expedient in all these cases. When a prophet tells a lie, you may, as
-was done in this particular case, attribute it to a design of God to
-cheat the person who consults his oracles, just as Jupiter did of old to
-Agamemnon when he sent him the false dream.
-
-You reproach Thomas Paine for want of candour. He has not, you say,
-examined the general design of the Old Testament There he would find
-the benevolence of the God of the Jews, and his infinite goodness in
-selecting them from among the nations, in preserving them from idolatry.
-If he chose this people he has certainly exposed them to continual
-sufferings, and all for no other purpose than to teach mankind that
-idolatry is the greatest of crimes; that to avoid it, murder, plunder,
-the crusades, the inquisition, persecution, may all be laudable means
-for the preservation of the faith of nations. Thus, the cherished
-people, who were most intimate with their God, committed the most
-enormous crimes, under the pretence of preserving pure their adoration
-of the implacable God Jehovah. Did not all the endeavours of Jehovah to
-rescue nations from idolatry prove fruitless? This despicable creature
-man has been able to effect what mighty Jehovah never accomplished.
-Science is the only antidote against all kinds of superstition. Did
-Cicero adore stocks or stones? Or did ever any learned man among the
-heathens humble himself before idols? Has not the principal branch of
-the church of Christ been notorious idolaters? But what avails all
-this? Have you proved that the Heathens "emulated in the transcendent
-flagitiousness of their lives, the impure morals of their gods?" You
-assert it; but unluckily it is one of the many unsupported and assumed
-propositions in your pamphlet. Did nations necessarily imitate the
-conduct of their gods, I would tremble at being among the followers
-of the bloody Jehovah. The heathens were certainly dreamers in their
-adoration of the planets; we are taught by science, that these bodies
-resemble our earth in the general laws that govern them. It was natural
-for rude men to gaze at the sublimity of the stupendous fabric, the
-refulgency of the sun; the blessings derived from his genial influence
-could not be contemplated without admiration by the amazed and fearful
-savage. Idolatry is ridiculous: but have you proved that Jehovah
-deserves more to be revered than the Great Whole of nature, whether
-called Pan, or otherwise disguised in emblems, than the harmony of the
-planets designed by symbols, the generative powers by Venus, or the
-vivifying light emanating from the bright orb of Apollo? Confess at
-least, that the allegorical adoration of nature could only deceive
-the multitude who were kept in ignorance by their priests. If you are
-candid, you must acknowledge, that the Polytheists were tolerant, that
-the Atheists or Deists lectured close, to the temple. They did not
-exterminate nations, establish inquisitions, murder unbelievers as the
-Jews, and the Christians; although, as you observe, they received the
-gift of God through Jesus Christ, and were made alive by the covenant of
-grace.
-
-In what consists the superiority of the Jewish or Christian notions
-of God? Jehovah is a being incomprehensible; he is a jealous and a
-revengeful God, he hardens men's hearts, and sacrifices whole nations to
-a particular people, who, in their turn, are sacrificed for the boasted
-scheme of general good, which is never the nearer being accomplished.
-He must be adored and revered, and yet he does not make himself known
-to man. He does not even show himself face to face to any but Moses.
-You pay no great compliment to his omnipotence, when you observe, that
-"probably he could not give to such a being as man a full manifestation
-of the end for which he designs him, nor of the means requisite for that
-end;"--and, "that it may not be possible for the Father of the universe
-to explain to us, infants in apprehension, the goodness and the wisdom
-of his dealings with the sons of man." Jehovah, in short, equally the
-offspring of fancy with the Heathen Jupiter, is as cruel as Moloch,
-and, like other productions of the brain, an invisible phantom, to which
-priests give the passions of a tyrant; and, in their desire that he
-should reign alone, that men should not worship other deities, his
-ministers have preached up this God, and the multitude, eager to admire
-what they cannot comprehend, have followed the mandates of the pretended
-interpreters of his will. Still, however, the greatest number of
-ignorant men are, and will ever be, idolaters; in vain their spiritual
-guides preach up incomprehensible and ideal beings in an unintelligible
-jargon; man will always seek to satisfy his senses. Even the immediate
-presence of Jehovah, and his horrid massacres, could not prevent the
-favourite nation from following other gods. Even the inspired, the wise,
-the royal Solomon forsook "the God of Israel, holy, just, and good," for
-"the impure rabble of heathen Baalim."
-
-According to your nations, according to the doctrines of the Jewish and
-the Christian churches, the sole aim of God has been to be exclusively
-adored, and jealousy is his prominent feature. It is not in the pursuit
-of knowledge, or in the practice of morality that he delights. The
-precepts of social virtue occasionally scattered through the Old, as
-well as the New Testament, can make little impression when contrasted
-with the vindictive cruelty of the Deity. The Jewish Jehovah requires
-nothing of his followers but their compliance in executing his bloody
-commands against nations whom he calls impious, because he has not
-revealed himself to them. The man after his own heart, is the murderer
-of thousands of innocent people. Christ orders his followers to despise
-the reason he has given them, to avoid pleasure, to hate the world,
-and to love pain, to pray, and to spend their lives in continual
-mortification, and in gazing over unintelligible mysteries to acquire
-his kingdom. If they fail to believe in him, whether from ignorance or
-from conviction, he punishes them with eternal damnation, or as _Saint_
-Athanasius emphatically expresses it in his celebrated creed, "Whosoever
-believeth in these things shall be saved; and whosoever believeth not
-shall be damned."
-
-
-
-
-LETTER VII.
-
-I now bring under review a few passages from _Holy Writ_, which I leave
-to your Lordship to explain, and which scoffers pretend to say are
-undeniable proofs of the stupidity of the Jews, and gross ideas they
-had of God. I shall follow the order of the books without attempting an
-arrangement.
-
-Genesis, chap. iii. ver. 1. "Now the serpent was more subtle than any
-beast of the field which the Lord had made; and he said unto the woman,
-yea hath God said," &c.
-
-This Mr. Serpent would make a fine figure in AEsop's fables. They say it
-means the Devil, but how does that appear?
-
-In ver. 22. and 23. "And behold the Lord said, the man is become one of
-us, (i. e. one of us Gods), to know good and evil, And now lest he put
-forth his hand, and take also of the tree of life, and eat, and live for
-ever; therefore, the Lord God sent him forth from the garden of Eden, to
-till the ground from whence he was taken."
-
-This shows strongly that boasted attribute of God, Jealousy. Is it
-consistent with a Deity to punish this pair, and all their progeny, for
-their attempt to know good from evil? We here find that the priests have
-made God expressly after their own image. God's selfishness prevented
-men from eating of the other tree, which would make him live for ever.
-_Queritur,_ then, at what period of the world did the soul of man become
-immortal? Was it not till Jesus Christ came? And was this tree a type of
-him, as the bread and wine are at this day? It appears also, that it was
-not one, but two trees, that were prohibited!
-
-Ib. chap. xxxii. ver. 24. "And Jacob was left alone, and there wrestled
-a man with him, until the breaking of the day; (this shows the antiquity
-and high authority of sparring); and when he saw that he prevailed not
-against him, he touched the hollow of his thigh (Mendoza like): and the
-hollow of Jacob's thigh was out of joint, as he wrestled with him. And
-he said, let me go, for the day breaketh. And he said, I will not let
-thee go, unless thou bless me. And he said unto him, what is thy name?
-And he said, Jacob. And he said, thy name shall be called no more Jacob,
-but Israel; (which, in Chaldee signifies seeing God); for as a prince
-hast thou power with God and with men, and hast prevailed. (Or, as the
-Vulgate more correctly translates, for if thou hast been to oppose the
-Lord, how much more shall thou prevail against men). And Jacob called
-the name of the place Penial: for I have seen God face to face." This
-passage requires no comment.
-
-Exodus, chap. iii. ver. 4. "And when the Lord saw that he (Moses) turned
-aside to see, God called unto him out of the bush, and said, Moses,
-Moses. And he said, here am I." This is a pretty play at bo-peep.
-
-Ib. ver. 14. "And God said unto Moses, I am that I am; and he said, thus
-shalt thou say unto the children of Israel, I am hath sent me unto you."
-
-Divines hold this passage to be a great instance of sublimity!!!
-
-Ib. ver. 21. "And I will give this people favour in the sight of the
-Egyptians, and it shall come to pass, that when ye go away, ye shall
-not go empty, but every woman shall borrow of her neighbour, jewels of
-silver, and jewels of gold, and raiment: and ye shall put them upon your
-sons, and your daughters, and ye shall spoil the Egyptians."
-
-Here the Jews made God after their own image; and the dealings of that
-nation in silver, gold, and clothes, at this day, show that they have
-not forgotten their God. It is not easy for divines to reconcile this
-with God's other precept in the eighth commandment.
-
-Ib. chap. iv. ver. 24. "And it came to pass by the way in the inn, (by
-the way, were there inns then in Egypt?) that the Lord met him (Moses)
-and sought to kill him!!! Then Zepporah took a sharp stone, and cut off
-the foreskin of her son, and cast it at his feet."
-
-This business of the circumcision is brought in rather by the head and
-the shoulders, and the cause of it is not quite clear; but it is very
-evident that the Lord could not kill Moses.
-
-Ib. chap. xxxii. ver. 27. "And he (Moses learning that the Jews had made
-a golden calf), said unto them, (the sons of Levi, i.e. the priests,)
-thus saith the Lord God of Israel, put every man his sword by his side,
-and go in and out from gate to gate throughout the camp, and slay every
-man his brother, and every man his companion, and every man his
-neighbour; and the children of Levi did according to the word of Moses,
-and there fell of the people that day about three thousand."
-
-Ib. chap. xxxiii. ver. 9. "And it came to pass, as Moses entered into
-the tabernacle, the pillar descended, and stood at the door of the
-tabernacle, and the Lord (who was in the pillar) talked with Moses."
-
-In this manner modern goddesses stop their carriages at shop-keepers'
-doors at this day.
-
-Ib. ver. 90. "And he (God) said, thou canst not see my face, for there
-shall no man see me and live." God must here have forgotten his dialogue
-with Adam and Eve, his wrestling with Jacob, and conversations with
-Moses. In Numbers, chap. xii. ver. 6 and 8, he says, "Hear now my words:
-If there be a prophet among you, I, the Lord, will make myself known
-to him in a vision, and will speak to him in a dream," but, "with thee
-(Moses) will I speak mouth to mouth, even apparently, and not in dark
-speeches, and the similitude of the Lord shall you behold."
-
-Ib. chap. xxi. ver..5. "And the people spoke against God, and against
-Moses, wherefore have ye brought us up out of Egypt to die in the
-wilderness, for there is no bread, neither is there any water, and our
-soul loatheth this light bread." No wonder the Jews tired of living upon
-manna without water, but the Lord taught them not to grumble. "And the
-Lord sent fiery serpents among the people, and they bit the people, and
-much people of Israel died." When God was tired of making his serpents
-bite the poor devils, he said unto Moses, "Make thee, a fiery serpent,
-and set it upon a pole, and it shall come to pass, that every one that
-is bitten when he looketh upon it shall live." This is below all the
-tricks of necromancers.
-
-Ib. chap. xxv. "And the people began to commit whoredom with the
-daughters of Moab. And Israel joined himself unto Baal-peor: and the
-anger of the Lord was kindled against Israel. And the Lord said unto
-Moses, take all the heads of the people, and hang them up before the
-Lord against the sun, that the fierce anger of the Lord may be turned
-away from Israel. And Moses said unto the judges, slay every one of
-these men who were joined unto Baal-peor. And behold one of the children
-of Israel came, and brought unto his brethren a Midianitish woman, in
-the sight of Moses, &c. And when Phinehas, the son of Eleazar, the son
-of Aaron the priest, saw it, he rose from among the congregation, and
-took a javelin in his hand; and he went after the man of Israel into the
-tent, and thrust both of them through, the man of Israel, and the
-woman through her belly, so the plague was stopped from the children of
-Israel, and these that died in the plague were 24,000." As a reward for
-this, the Lord gave Phinehas the everlasting priesthood, "because he was
-zealous for his God, and made an atonement for the children of Israel."
-
-Ib. chap. xxvi. Dathan, Korah, and Abirim strove against Moses and
-Aaron, and the earth swallowed them up, and the fire devoured 250 men.
-
-lb. chap. xxxi. ver. 16, there was a plague among the congregation of
-the Lord, on account of the tres pass against the Lord, when he ordered
-thus, "Now, therefore, kill every male among the little ones, and kill
-every woman that hath known man by lying with him; but all the
-women children that hath not known man by lying with him, keep for
-yourselves." For the observation on this passage, I refer my reader to
-Bishop Watson, and the former part of this work.
-
-The following ought to be the fate of all idolatrous people, and has
-been happily practised in the discoveries made by most European
-nations. Deuteronomy chap. xiii. ver. 13. "Thou shalt surely smite
-the inhabitants of that city with the edge of the sword, destroying it
-utterly, and all that is therein, and the cattle thereof, with the edge
-of the sword."
-
-Joshua, chap. vi. v. 21. "And they utterly de-, stroyed all that was
-in the city, (Jericho), both man and woman, young and old, and ox, and
-sheep, and ass, with the edge of the sword. And they burnt the city with
-fire, and all that was therein: only the silver, and the gold, and the
-vessels of brass, and of iron, they put it into the treasury of the
-house of the Lord."
-
-Chap. x. Joshua being attacked by five kings, and they having taken
-shelter in a cave, he caused great stones to be rolled to the mouth of
-the cave, till he followed and destroyed the people, then he ordered the
-five kings to be brought out from the cave, "And it came to pass, that
-when they brought out those five kings unto Joshua, that Joshua called
-for all the men in Israel, and said unto the men of war, come near, put
-your feet upon the necks of these kings, and they came near, and put
-their feet upon the necks of them. And afterwards Joshua smote them,
-and slew them, Joshua took Makdekah, and smote it with the edge of the
-sword, and the king thereof he utterly destroyed, them, and all the
-souls that were therein; he let none remain." And so he did in all to
-31 kings, as related in this and the following chapters, and all this
-by the express command of God, who made the sun and the moon both stand
-still to witness these unprovoked atrocities. But this was just; God
-having given that country to his chosen people the Jews, as in latter
-times his vicegerent the Pope gave America to the Portuguese and
-Spaniards, who, Joshua-like, exterminated the kings and people, because
-they were not Christians. This, as you say, serves the general scheme of
-God's benevolence towards mankind.
-
-Judges, chap.i. ver. 4. And the Lord having delivered the Canaanites and
-the Perizzites into the hands of Judah, "They slew of them in Bezek 1000
-men. But Adonibezek fled, and they pursued after him, and caught him,
-and cut off his thumbs, and his great toes." lb. ver. 19- "And the Lord
-was with Judah, and he drove out the inhabitants of the mountain, but
-_could not_ drive out the inhabitants of the valley!" Why? "Because they
-had chariots of iron." Chap. iv. recounts the manner in which Deborah
-and Barak delivered Israel from Jabin and Si-aera. Ver. 21. Then Jael,
-Hebber's wife, (to whose tent Sisera had fled), "took a nail of the tent,
-and a hammer in her hand, and went softly unto him, and smote the nail
-into his temples, and fastened it into the ground, (_a goodly nail_),
-for he was fast asleep and weary, so he died." Chap. 5, contains the
-_beautiful_ song of Deborah and Barak, which I particularly request my
-reader to peruse, as a finished piece of scripture praise of good words.
-Chap. xxi. relates, that the Israelites having sworn not to give their
-daughters to the Benjamites, and the inhabitants of Jabesh-gilead not
-having come up to Minzeh, "the congregation sent 19,000 men of the
-valiantest, and commanded them, saying, go and smite the inhabitants
-of Jabesh-gilead with the edge of the sword, with the women and the
-children: utterly destroy every male, and every woman that hath lain by
-man;" but, having found 400 young virgins that had known no man by lying
-with any male," they gave them to the sons of Benjamin, "and yet so they
-sufficed them not." So as they had sworn not to give them wives of their
-own daughters, "therefore, they commanded the children of Benjamin,
-saying, go and lie in wait in the vineyards, and see, and behold, if the
-daughters of Shiloch come out to dance in dances, then come ye out of
-the vineyards, and catch you every man his wife."
-
-First Samuel, chap. vi. The ark of the Lord having been among the
-Philistines seven months, they, unwilling to send it back empty, asked
-the priests and diviners, what they should send in it as a trespass
-offering? "they answered, five golden emerods, and five golden
-mice,---and ye shall give glory unto the God of Israel,--and make a new
-cart, and take two milch kine, and take the ark of the Lord and lay it
-on the cart;" and they did so, "and they of Beth-shemesh lifted up
-their eyes, and saw the ark, and rejoiced to see it,--and the men of
-Beth-shemesh offered burnt-offerings, and sacrificed sacrifices the same
-day unto the Lord,--and he smote the men of Beth-shemesh, because they
-had looked into the ark of the Lord, even he smote of the people fifty
-thousand and threescore and ten men." Gracious God! Blessed Jews!
-
-Second Samuel, chap. xxiv. ver. 1. "And the anger of the Lord was
-kindled against Israel, and he moved David against them to say, go
-number Israel and Judah." (In first Chronicles, chap. xxi. ver. 1, it
-stated, "and Satan stood up against Israel, and provoked David to number
-Israel.") And having thus instigated David to do what is good policy in
-a king, God, of his infinite mercy, said unto David by his prophet Grad,
-David's seer, (an officer of the household in those days), "I offer thee
-three things: shall seven years of famine come unto thee in thy land, or
-wilt thou flee three months before thine enemies, or that there be three
-days pestilence in thy land?" And David having chosen the latter, "the
-Lord sent a pestilence upon Israel, and there died of the people 70,000
-men but the Lord is ever merciful, for, "when the angel stretched out
-his hand upon Jerusalem to destroy it, the Lord _repented_ him of the
-evil, and said to the angel that destroyed the people, it is enough,
-stay thou thine hand," _Delirant reges, plectuntur Achivi_.
-
-1 Kings, chap. ii. David being upon his death-bed, having made peace
-with God, and purified his heart, called Solomon to him and gave him his
-last charge. As to Joab, the son of Zeruiah, he said, "do according
-to thy wisdom, and let not his hoar head go down to the grave in
-peace,--and behold thou hast with thee Shimei the son of Gera, which
-cursed me, but he came down to meet me at Jordan, and I sware to him
-by the Lord, saying, I will not put thee to death by the sword; now,
-therefore, (_proceeds the man after God's own heart_), hold him not
-guiltless; for thou art a wise man, and knowest what thou oughtest to
-do unto him, but his hoar head bring thou down to the grave with blood."
-Solomon having succeeded his father, the first act of his reign was to
-put to death his brother Adonijah.
-
-1 Kings, chap. xi. ver. 4, "Solomon's heart was not perfect with the
-Lord his God, as was the heart of David his father, for it came to pass,
-that, when he was old, his wives turned his heart after other gods." But
-why go through such barbarous details? All along we find imprecations
-against those who despise the prophets, and praises lavished upon
-murderers, traitors, and assassins. This is the people "selected by the
-wisdom of God, that they might witness to the whole world in successive
-ages his existence and attributes, that they might be an instrument
-of subverting idolatry, of declaring the name of the God of Israel
-throughout the whole earth a people, who are to us witnesses of
-the existence, and of the moral government of God."--This is the Old
-Testament, which you presume to say afforded matter for the laws of
-Solon, and a foundation for the philosophy of Plato,--which has been
-admired and venerated for its piety, its sublimity, its veracity, by all
-who _are able to read and understand it!!!_ This is the God who maketh
-the sun to rise on the evil and on the good, who is all perfection,
-all wise, and all powerful, and whose mercy is above all his other
-attributes."
-
-THE END.
-
-
-
-
-
-
-End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of Watson Refuted, by Samuel Francis
-
-*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK WATSON REFUTED ***
-
-***** This file should be named 40978.txt or 40978.zip *****
-This and all associated files of various formats will be found in:
-        http://www.gutenberg.org/4/0/9/7/40978/
-
-Produced by David Widger
-
-Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions
-will be renamed.
-
-Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no
-one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation
-(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without
-permission and without paying copyright royalties.  Special rules,
-set forth in the General Terms of Use part of this license, apply to
-copying and distributing Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works to
-protect the PROJECT GUTENBERG-tm concept and trademark.  Project
-Gutenberg is a registered trademark, and may not be used if you
-charge for the eBooks, unless you receive specific permission.  If you
-do not charge anything for copies of this eBook, complying with the
-rules is very easy.  You may use this eBook for nearly any purpose
-such as creation of derivative works, reports, performances and
-research.  They may be modified and printed and given away--you may do
-practically ANYTHING with public domain eBooks.  Redistribution is
-subject to the trademark license, especially commercial
-redistribution.
-
-
-
-*** START: FULL LICENSE ***
-
-THE FULL PROJECT GUTENBERG LICENSE
-PLEASE READ THIS BEFORE YOU DISTRIBUTE OR USE THIS WORK
-
-To protect the Project Gutenberg-tm mission of promoting the free
-distribution of electronic works, by using or distributing this work
-(or any other work associated in any way with the phrase "Project
-Gutenberg"), you agree to comply with all the terms of the Full Project
-Gutenberg-tm License available with this file or online at
-  www.gutenberg.org/license.
-
-
-Section 1.  General Terms of Use and Redistributing Project Gutenberg-tm
-electronic works
-
-1.A.  By reading or using any part of this Project Gutenberg-tm
-electronic work, you indicate that you have read, understand, agree to
-and accept all the terms of this license and intellectual property
-(trademark/copyright) agreement.  If you do not agree to abide by all
-the terms of this agreement, you must cease using and return or destroy
-all copies of Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works in your possession.
-If you paid a fee for obtaining a copy of or access to a Project
-Gutenberg-tm electronic work and you do not agree to be bound by the
-terms of this agreement, you may obtain a refund from the person or
-entity to whom you paid the fee as set forth in paragraph 1.E.8.
-
-1.B.  "Project Gutenberg" is a registered trademark.  It may only be
-used on or associated in any way with an electronic work by people who
-agree to be bound by the terms of this agreement.  There are a few
-things that you can do with most Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works
-even without complying with the full terms of this agreement.  See
-paragraph 1.C below.  There are a lot of things you can do with Project
-Gutenberg-tm electronic works if you follow the terms of this agreement
-and help preserve free future access to Project Gutenberg-tm electronic
-works.  See paragraph 1.E below.
-
-1.C.  The Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation ("the Foundation"
-or PGLAF), owns a compilation copyright in the collection of Project
-Gutenberg-tm electronic works.  Nearly all the individual works in the
-collection are in the public domain in the United States.  If an
-individual work is in the public domain in the United States and you are
-located in the United States, we do not claim a right to prevent you from
-copying, distributing, performing, displaying or creating derivative
-works based on the work as long as all references to Project Gutenberg
-are removed.  Of course, we hope that you will support the Project
-Gutenberg-tm mission of promoting free access to electronic works by
-freely sharing Project Gutenberg-tm works in compliance with the terms of
-this agreement for keeping the Project Gutenberg-tm name associated with
-the work.  You can easily comply with the terms of this agreement by
-keeping this work in the same format with its attached full Project
-Gutenberg-tm License when you share it without charge with others.
-
-1.D.  The copyright laws of the place where you are located also govern
-what you can do with this work.  Copyright laws in most countries are in
-a constant state of change.  If you are outside the United States, check
-the laws of your country in addition to the terms of this agreement
-before downloading, copying, displaying, performing, distributing or
-creating derivative works based on this work or any other Project
-Gutenberg-tm work.  The Foundation makes no representations concerning
-the copyright status of any work in any country outside the United
-States.
-
-1.E.  Unless you have removed all references to Project Gutenberg:
-
-1.E.1.  The following sentence, with active links to, or other immediate
-access to, the full Project Gutenberg-tm License must appear prominently
-whenever any copy of a Project Gutenberg-tm work (any work on which the
-phrase "Project Gutenberg" appears, or with which the phrase "Project
-Gutenberg" is associated) is accessed, displayed, performed, viewed,
-copied or distributed:
-
-This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with
-almost no restrictions whatsoever.  You may copy it, give it away or
-re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included
-with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org
-
-1.E.2.  If an individual Project Gutenberg-tm electronic work is derived
-from the public domain (does not contain a notice indicating that it is
-posted with permission of the copyright holder), the work can be copied
-and distributed to anyone in the United States without paying any fees
-or charges.  If you are redistributing or providing access to a work
-with the phrase "Project Gutenberg" associated with or appearing on the
-work, you must comply either with the requirements of paragraphs 1.E.1
-through 1.E.7 or obtain permission for the use of the work and the
-Project Gutenberg-tm trademark as set forth in paragraphs 1.E.8 or
-1.E.9.
-
-1.E.3.  If an individual Project Gutenberg-tm electronic work is posted
-with the permission of the copyright holder, your use and distribution
-must comply with both paragraphs 1.E.1 through 1.E.7 and any additional
-terms imposed by the copyright holder.  Additional terms will be linked
-to the Project Gutenberg-tm License for all works posted with the
-permission of the copyright holder found at the beginning of this work.
-
-1.E.4.  Do not unlink or detach or remove the full Project Gutenberg-tm
-License terms from this work, or any files containing a part of this
-work or any other work associated with Project Gutenberg-tm.
-
-1.E.5.  Do not copy, display, perform, distribute or redistribute this
-electronic work, or any part of this electronic work, without
-prominently displaying the sentence set forth in paragraph 1.E.1 with
-active links or immediate access to the full terms of the Project
-Gutenberg-tm License.
-
-1.E.6.  You may convert to and distribute this work in any binary,
-compressed, marked up, nonproprietary or proprietary form, including any
-word processing or hypertext form.  However, if you provide access to or
-distribute copies of a Project Gutenberg-tm work in a format other than
-"Plain Vanilla ASCII" or other format used in the official version
-posted on the official Project Gutenberg-tm web site (www.gutenberg.org),
-you must, at no additional cost, fee or expense to the user, provide a
-copy, a means of exporting a copy, or a means of obtaining a copy upon
-request, of the work in its original "Plain Vanilla ASCII" or other
-form.  Any alternate format must include the full Project Gutenberg-tm
-License as specified in paragraph 1.E.1.
-
-1.E.7.  Do not charge a fee for access to, viewing, displaying,
-performing, copying or distributing any Project Gutenberg-tm works
-unless you comply with paragraph 1.E.8 or 1.E.9.
-
-1.E.8.  You may charge a reasonable fee for copies of or providing
-access to or distributing Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works provided
-that
-
-- You pay a royalty fee of 20% of the gross profits you derive from
-     the use of Project Gutenberg-tm works calculated using the method
-     you already use to calculate your applicable taxes.  The fee is
-     owed to the owner of the Project Gutenberg-tm trademark, but he
-     has agreed to donate royalties under this paragraph to the
-     Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation.  Royalty payments
-     must be paid within 60 days following each date on which you
-     prepare (or are legally required to prepare) your periodic tax
-     returns.  Royalty payments should be clearly marked as such and
-     sent to the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation at the
-     address specified in Section 4, "Information about donations to
-     the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation."
-
-- You provide a full refund of any money paid by a user who notifies
-     you in writing (or by e-mail) within 30 days of receipt that s/he
-     does not agree to the terms of the full Project Gutenberg-tm
-     License.  You must require such a user to return or
-     destroy all copies of the works possessed in a physical medium
-     and discontinue all use of and all access to other copies of
-     Project Gutenberg-tm works.
-
-- You provide, in accordance with paragraph 1.F.3, a full refund of any
-     money paid for a work or a replacement copy, if a defect in the
-     electronic work is discovered and reported to you within 90 days
-     of receipt of the work.
-
-- You comply with all other terms of this agreement for free
-     distribution of Project Gutenberg-tm works.
-
-1.E.9.  If you wish to charge a fee or distribute a Project Gutenberg-tm
-electronic work or group of works on different terms than are set
-forth in this agreement, you must obtain permission in writing from
-both the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation and Michael
-Hart, the owner of the Project Gutenberg-tm trademark.  Contact the
-Foundation as set forth in Section 3 below.
-
-1.F.
-
-1.F.1.  Project Gutenberg volunteers and employees expend considerable
-effort to identify, do copyright research on, transcribe and proofread
-public domain works in creating the Project Gutenberg-tm
-collection.  Despite these efforts, Project Gutenberg-tm electronic
-works, and the medium on which they may be stored, may contain
-"Defects," such as, but not limited to, incomplete, inaccurate or
-corrupt data, transcription errors, a copyright or other intellectual
-property infringement, a defective or damaged disk or other medium, a
-computer virus, or computer codes that damage or cannot be read by
-your equipment.
-
-1.F.2.  LIMITED WARRANTY, DISCLAIMER OF DAMAGES - Except for the "Right
-of Replacement or Refund" described in paragraph 1.F.3, the Project
-Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation, the owner of the Project
-Gutenberg-tm trademark, and any other party distributing a Project
-Gutenberg-tm electronic work under this agreement, disclaim all
-liability to you for damages, costs and expenses, including legal
-fees.  YOU AGREE THAT YOU HAVE NO REMEDIES FOR NEGLIGENCE, STRICT
-LIABILITY, BREACH OF WARRANTY OR BREACH OF CONTRACT EXCEPT THOSE
-PROVIDED IN PARAGRAPH 1.F.3.  YOU AGREE THAT THE FOUNDATION, THE
-TRADEMARK OWNER, AND ANY DISTRIBUTOR UNDER THIS AGREEMENT WILL NOT BE
-LIABLE TO YOU FOR ACTUAL, DIRECT, INDIRECT, CONSEQUENTIAL, PUNITIVE OR
-INCIDENTAL DAMAGES EVEN IF YOU GIVE NOTICE OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH
-DAMAGE.
-
-1.F.3.  LIMITED RIGHT OF REPLACEMENT OR REFUND - If you discover a
-defect in this electronic work within 90 days of receiving it, you can
-receive a refund of the money (if any) you paid for it by sending a
-written explanation to the person you received the work from.  If you
-received the work on a physical medium, you must return the medium with
-your written explanation.  The person or entity that provided you with
-the defective work may elect to provide a replacement copy in lieu of a
-refund.  If you received the work electronically, the person or entity
-providing it to you may choose to give you a second opportunity to
-receive the work electronically in lieu of a refund.  If the second copy
-is also defective, you may demand a refund in writing without further
-opportunities to fix the problem.
-
-1.F.4.  Except for the limited right of replacement or refund set forth
-in paragraph 1.F.3, this work is provided to you 'AS-IS', WITH NO OTHER
-WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO
-WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY OR FITNESS FOR ANY PURPOSE.
-
-1.F.5.  Some states do not allow disclaimers of certain implied
-warranties or the exclusion or limitation of certain types of damages.
-If any disclaimer or limitation set forth in this agreement violates the
-law of the state applicable to this agreement, the agreement shall be
-interpreted to make the maximum disclaimer or limitation permitted by
-the applicable state law.  The invalidity or unenforceability of any
-provision of this agreement shall not void the remaining provisions.
-
-1.F.6.  INDEMNITY - You agree to indemnify and hold the Foundation, the
-trademark owner, any agent or employee of the Foundation, anyone
-providing copies of Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works in accordance
-with this agreement, and any volunteers associated with the production,
-promotion and distribution of Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works,
-harmless from all liability, costs and expenses, including legal fees,
-that arise directly or indirectly from any of the following which you do
-or cause to occur: (a) distribution of this or any Project Gutenberg-tm
-work, (b) alteration, modification, or additions or deletions to any
-Project Gutenberg-tm work, and (c) any Defect you cause.
-
-
-Section  2.  Information about the Mission of Project Gutenberg-tm
-
-Project Gutenberg-tm is synonymous with the free distribution of
-electronic works in formats readable by the widest variety of computers
-including obsolete, old, middle-aged and new computers.  It exists
-because of the efforts of hundreds of volunteers and donations from
-people in all walks of life.
-
-Volunteers and financial support to provide volunteers with the
-assistance they need are critical to reaching Project Gutenberg-tm's
-goals and ensuring that the Project Gutenberg-tm collection will
-remain freely available for generations to come.  In 2001, the Project
-Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation was created to provide a secure
-and permanent future for Project Gutenberg-tm and future generations.
-To learn more about the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation
-and how your efforts and donations can help, see Sections 3 and 4
-and the Foundation information page at www.gutenberg.org
-
-
-Section 3.  Information about the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive
-Foundation
-
-The Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation is a non profit
-501(c)(3) educational corporation organized under the laws of the
-state of Mississippi and granted tax exempt status by the Internal
-Revenue Service.  The Foundation's EIN or federal tax identification
-number is 64-6221541.  Contributions to the Project Gutenberg
-Literary Archive Foundation are tax deductible to the full extent
-permitted by U.S. federal laws and your state's laws.
-
-The Foundation's principal office is located at 4557 Melan Dr. S.
-Fairbanks, AK, 99712., but its volunteers and employees are scattered
-throughout numerous locations.  Its business office is located at 809
-North 1500 West, Salt Lake City, UT 84116, (801) 596-1887.  Email
-contact links and up to date contact information can be found at the
-Foundation's web site and official page at www.gutenberg.org/contact
-
-For additional contact information:
-     Dr. Gregory B. Newby
-     Chief Executive and Director
-     gbnewby@pglaf.org
-
-Section 4.  Information about Donations to the Project Gutenberg
-Literary Archive Foundation
-
-Project Gutenberg-tm depends upon and cannot survive without wide
-spread public support and donations to carry out its mission of
-increasing the number of public domain and licensed works that can be
-freely distributed in machine readable form accessible by the widest
-array of equipment including outdated equipment.  Many small donations
-($1 to $5,000) are particularly important to maintaining tax exempt
-status with the IRS.
-
-The Foundation is committed to complying with the laws regulating
-charities and charitable donations in all 50 states of the United
-States.  Compliance requirements are not uniform and it takes a
-considerable effort, much paperwork and many fees to meet and keep up
-with these requirements.  We do not solicit donations in locations
-where we have not received written confirmation of compliance.  To
-SEND DONATIONS or determine the status of compliance for any
-particular state visit www.gutenberg.org/donate
-
-While we cannot and do not solicit contributions from states where we
-have not met the solicitation requirements, we know of no prohibition
-against accepting unsolicited donations from donors in such states who
-approach us with offers to donate.
-
-International donations are gratefully accepted, but we cannot make
-any statements concerning tax treatment of donations received from
-outside the United States.  U.S. laws alone swamp our small staff.
-
-Please check the Project Gutenberg Web pages for current donation
-methods and addresses.  Donations are accepted in a number of other
-ways including checks, online payments and credit card donations.
-To donate, please visit:  www.gutenberg.org/donate
-
-
-Section 5.  General Information About Project Gutenberg-tm electronic
-works.
-
-Professor Michael S. Hart was the originator of the Project Gutenberg-tm
-concept of a library of electronic works that could be freely shared
-with anyone.  For forty years, he produced and distributed Project
-Gutenberg-tm eBooks with only a loose network of volunteer support.
-
-Project Gutenberg-tm eBooks are often created from several printed
-editions, all of which are confirmed as Public Domain in the U.S.
-unless a copyright notice is included.  Thus, we do not necessarily
-keep eBooks in compliance with any particular paper edition.
-
-Most people start at our Web site which has the main PG search facility:
-
-     www.gutenberg.org
-
-This Web site includes information about Project Gutenberg-tm,
-including how to make donations to the Project Gutenberg Literary
-Archive Foundation, how to help produce our new eBooks, and how to
-subscribe to our email newsletter to hear about new eBooks.
-
diff --git a/old/40978.zip b/old/40978.zip
deleted file mode 100644
index 5fe566f..0000000
--- a/old/40978.zip
+++ /dev/null
diff --git a/old/readme.htm b/old/readme.htm
deleted file mode 100644
index 2ecd1a4..0000000
--- a/old/readme.htm
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,13 +0,0 @@
-<!DOCTYPE html>
-<html lang="en">
-<head>
-    <meta charset="utf-8">
-</head>
-<body>
-<div>
-Versions of this book's files up to October 2024 are here.<br>
-More recent changes, if any, are reflected in the GitHub repository:
-<a href="https://github.com/gutenbergbooks/40978">https://github.com/gutenbergbooks/40978</a>
-</div>
-</body>
-</html>