any such miracles were wrought. If numbers of men may be allowed to speak, we may have a traditional testimony given to the blasphemous figments of the Koran, under the name of true miracles. But the constant tradition of more than a thousand years, carried on by innumerable multitudes of men, great, wise, and sober, from one generation to another, doth but set open the gates of hell for the Mahometans; yet, setting aside the authority of God in his word, and what is resolved thereinto, I know not why they may not vie in their traditions with the rest of the world. The world, indeed, is full of traditions flowing from the word; that is, a knowledge of the doctrines of the word in the minds of men: but a tradition of the word, not resolved into the word; a tradition referred to seeing and hearing, preserved as an oral law, in a distinct channel and stream by itself, when it is evidenced, either by instance in some particulat preserved therein, or in a probability of securing it through the generations passed, by a comparison of some such things of the like kind, I shall be ready to receive it.

Give me, then, as I said before, but the least obscure report of any one of those many miracles that were wrought by our Saviour, and the apostles, which are not recorded in the Scriptures, and I shall put more value on the pretended traditions, than I can as yet persuade myself to. Besides, many writers of the Scripture wrought no miracles, and, by this rule, their writings are left to shift for themselves. Miracles, indeed, were necessary, to take off all prejudices from the persons that brought any

new doctrine from God; but the doctrine still evidenced itself. The apostles converted many, where they wrought no miracles, Acts xvi. 17, 18. and where they did so work, yet they were received for their doctrine, and not the doctrine on their account. And the Scripture now, hath no less evidence and demonstration in itself of its divinity, than it had when it was preached by them.

But because this tradition is pretended with great confidence, as a sure foundation for receiving the Scriptures, I shall a little farther inquire into it. That which, in this case, is intended by tradition, is a report of men, which those who live at present, have received from those that are gone before them. Now, this may be either of all the men of the world, or only of some of them; if of all, either their suffrages must be taken in some convention, or gathered up from the individuals as we are able, and have opportunity. If the first way of receiving them were possible, which is the utmost advantage that imagination can give the authority inquired after, yet every individual of men being a liar, the whole convention must be of the same complexion, and so not be able to yield a sufficient basis to build a faith upon that is infallible, and cannot possibly be deceived.

But now, if this tradition be alleged as preserved only by some in the world, I desire to know, what reason I have to believe those who have that tradition, or plead that they have it, against those who profess they have no such report delivered to them from their forefathers: is the reason of this, because I live among those who have this tradition, and they are my neighbours, whom I know? By the same

rule, those who live among other men are bound to receive what they deliver them upon tradition; and so men may be obliged to believe the Koran to be the word of God.

It is more probable, it will be answered, that their testimony is to be received, because they are the church of God: but it doth not yet appear, that I can, any other way, have knowledge of them so to be, or of any authority that any number of men, more or less, can have in this case, under that name or notion, unless by the Scripture itself; and if so, it will quickly appear what place is to be allotted to their testimony, who cannot be admitted as witnesses, unless the Scripture itself be owned and received; because they have neither plea nor claim to be so admitted, but only from the Scripture. If they. shall aver, that they take this honour to themselves, and that, without relation to the Scripture, they claim a right of authoritative witness-bearing in this case, I say again, upon the general grounds of natural reason and equity, I have no more inducements to give credit to their assertions, than to a like number of men holding out a tradition utterly the contrary of what they assert.

But yet, suppose that this also were granted, and that men might be allowed to speak in their own name and authority, giving testimony to themselves, which, upon the hypothesis under consideration, God himself is not allowed to do; I desire to know whether, when the church declares the Scriptures to be the word of God, it doth apprehend any thing in the Scripture as the ground of that judgment and declaration, or not? If it says no; but that it is pro

posed upon its sole authority; then surely, if we think good to acquiesce in this decision, it is full time for us to lay aside all our studies and inquiries after the mind of God, and seek only what those men say, who are intrusted with this authority; as they say, and as they would have us believe, though we know not at all by what means they came by it ; seeing they dare not pretend any thing from the Scripture, lest thereby they direct us to that in the first place.

If it be said, that they do, upon other accounts, judge and believe the Scripture to be the word of God; I suppose it will not be thought unreasonable if we inquire after those grounds, seeing they are of so great concern to us;-all truths, in their relations, consisting in their consonancy and agreement to the nature of things they deliver, I desire to know how they came to judge of the consonancy between the nature of the things delivered in the Scripture, and the delivery of them therein? The things of which we speak, being heavenly, spiritual, mysterious, and supernatural, there cannot be any knowledge obtained of them but by the word itself. How can they form any judgment of the truth of that Scripture, in the relation of these things, which are no where to be known but by that Scripture itself?

If they shall say, that they found their judgment upon some discovery that the Scripture makes of itself to them; they affirm the same that we plead for only they would very desirously appropriate to themselves the privilege of being able to discern that discovery, so made in the Scripture. To make good this claim, they must either plead somewhat from themselves, or from the Scriptures: if from them

selves, it can be nothing, but that they see, and all others are blind; being wiser than others, and more able to discern than they. Now, though I shall easily grant them to be very subtle and cunning, yet, that they are so much wiser than all the world besides, as to be entitled to impose upon their belief things which they neither can discern nor know, I would not admit, until I can believe myself, and all others, not of their society, to be beasts of the field, and they as the serpent amongst us.

If it be from the Scripture that they seek to make good this claim, then their plea must be from the promise of some special assistance granted to them for that purpose;-if their assistance be that of the Spirit, it is either of the Spirit that is promised to believers, to work in them as before described, or it is some private testimony which they pretend is afforded to them. If the former be affirmed, we are in a condition, wherein the necessity of devolving all on the Scripture itself, to decide who are believers, lies in every one's view; if the latter, who shall give me assurance, that when they pretend that witness and testimony, they do not lie and deceive? we must here, certainly, go either to the Scripture, or to some cunning man to be resolved, Isa. viii. 19, 20.

I confess the argument, which hath been dexterously managed, by an able and learned pen, namely, of proving the truth of the doctrine of the Scripture from the truth of the story, and the truth of the story, from the certainty there is that the writers of the books of the Bible were those persons whose names they bear, so pursuing the evidence, that what they wrote was true and known to them so