own eyes deeds impracticable by any human power, when yet they themselves knew that no such deeds had ever been done. On the principle of the sophism in short, if all the inhabitants of London were to testify with one voice, that the Thames had been miraculously cloven asunder by the word of the sovereign, that they marched over its bed dry-shod, and that when their transit was effected a second word of the sovereign called back the waters to their accustomed channel: let them all testify this miracle as long and as vehemently as they please, on the philosophical principle of the sophism, no individual, beyond the inhabitants themselves, ought to believe a single syllable of their testimony. For the miracle itself is contrary to universal experience. Therefore it is more probable, that the million of witnesses should be liars, than that the miracle should ever have taken place. Consequently, it is certain, that no such miracle was ever wrought. It is very possible, that this conclusion may be strictly philosophical: but it is not unlikely after all, that plain common sense would lead the bulk of us to credit the million of witnesses and to believe that a passage had really been opened for them through the midst of the river. In fact, we should think it more improbable, that a million of persons should unanimously concur in attesting so strange a fact, than that the alleged fact itself should be a mere falsehood. ! CHAP. VI. · THE DIVINE INSPIRATION OF THE PENTA TEUCH DEMONSTRATED FROM THE ACCOM- HOWEVER strong the evidence of miracles may be to those, who have actually seen them performed; it never can bear with the same overwhelming force upon the minds of those, who only receive an ac count of them through the medium of historical narrative. For, notwithstanding the reality of their performance may have been ascertained by the highest degree of moral demonstration; so that, if this be doubted, we shall find ourselves equally compelled to doubt every recorded fact, however well authenticated, of which we have not been absolute eye-witnesses: still, from the very nature of things, the impression effected by moral demonstration can never be so vivid as that which is produced by the sense of hearing or seeing. Under these circumstances, that nothing may be wanting to a full authentication of the Pentateuch, while the miracles wrought by Moses incontrovertibly attested his divine commission to those who beheld them, the prophecies which he has delivered no less attest it to those who have witnessed their accom→ plishment. This last sort of evidence is germinant: and so admirably has it been contrived by the wisdom of God, that, in proportion as the lapse of ages might seem to weaken the argument derived from long since performed miracles, that very lapse serves only to strengthen the argument derived from the completion of prophecy. I. To understand the force of this last argument, it will be useful to consider, how far mere human wisdom can penetrate into futurity, and at what point an insurmountable barrier is opposed to its efforts. Now it cannot be doubted, that the bare intel lect of an experienced politician, who has long been accustomed to weigh causes and effects, who has deeply studied human nature, and who is thoroughly acquainted with the circumstances and interests and tempers both of his own community and of those who are his neighbours, will frequently anticipate events with a sagacity which bears some resemblance to direct prescience. But, though his anticipations will often be realized, yet even he himself could not build upon them with any positive certainty and others, who had similar advantages of information, might, by a similar process of the mind perfectly intelligible to those who had habituated themselves to such reasonable guesses, have been brought to the very same results. As the principle therefore of these speculations is easily understood; so it is manifest, that they can never extend beyond the applicability of the principle itself that is to say, a wise politician may look into futurity, just so far as he can deduce probable effects from a combination of already well known causes. His prescience, in short, bears a close resemblance to that of an experienced general or a skilful chess-player. Judging how he himself, were he in his adversary's place, would act in consequence of one of his own movements, he builds upon his adversary's acting in the same manner when placed in the same circumstances: and thence, on the presumption of his thus acting, he provides against what he foresees must be the result of it; anticipating in this manner the final winding up of the affair, even when he is at a considerable distance from its termination. Prescience then of the present description will extend, just so far as the principle upon which it is built. But the deducing of effects from a combination of causes can never be carried forward to any very remote period: because new causes, which themselves again must be combined, will perpe tually spring up; and consequently, as those new causes are as yet unknown, no human sagacity can deduce effects from such causes. - II. What we have to consider therefore at present is this whether the prophecies of Moses, recorded in the Pentateuch, are merely such anticipations of the future, as a wise politician might have made without any preternatural assistance; or whether they be of so remarkable a description, that the fact of their accomplishment requires us to call in the aid of a God to solve the difficulty. In the present inquiry, we have obviously no concern with those predictions of other men which have been handed down to us by Moses: for the accuracy of their accomplishment will not prove the divine commission of the Hebrew legislator; because it is very easy for an impostor, as we have a pregnant instance in the case of Mohammed, to interweave fragments of genuine revelation with his own earth-born productions. So far as the evidence from prophecy is concerned, the claims of Moses must be tried by the completion of his own prophecies. 1. Immediately before the entrance of the Israelites into the promised land, and subsequently tothe full delivering of the Law, Moses ventured to foretell, as Balaam had done before him, that Israel should dwell alone. Now, even supposing that he borrowed this prediction from Balaam, still, by adopting it as his own, he risqued his own credit upon it so that, if it had not been accomplished, he would have stood convicted of being a false prophet, just as much as Balaam himself. The accuracy of its completion I need scarcely point out: the only question therefore is, whether such a circumstance might have been safely anticipated by mere political sagacity. It has been well remarked by Maimonides and various other writers, that many of the institutes of Deut. xxxiii. 28. Numb. xxiii. 9. |