Wesley Corpus

Of this you seem not insensible already, and therefore fly away to your favourite supposition, that “they were not cured at all; that the whole matter was a cheat from the beginning to the end.” But by what arguments do you evince this? The first is, “The Heathens pretended to do the same.” Nay, and “managed the imposture with so much art, that the Christians could neither deny nor detect it; but insisted always that it was performed by demons, or evil spirits.” (Ibid.) But still the Heathens maintained, “the cures were wrought by their gods, by AEsculapius in parti cular.” And where is the difference? seeing, as was observed before, “the gods of the Heathens were but devils.” 3. But you say, “Although public monuments were erected in proof and memory of these cures, at the time when they were.performed, yet it is certain all those heathen miracles were pure forgeries.” (Page 79.) How is it certain? If you can swallow this without good proof, you are far more cre dulous than I. I cannot believe that the whole body of the Heathens, for so many generations, were utterly destitute of common sense, any more than of common honesty. Why should you fix such a charge on whole cities and countries? You could have done no more, if they had been Christians! 4. But “diseases, though fatal and desperate, are oft sur prisingly healed of themselves.” And therefore “we cannot pay any great regard to such stories, unless we knew more pre cisely in this case the real bounds between nature and miracle.” (Ibid.) Sir, I understand you well. The drift of the argu ment is easily seen. It points at the Master, as well as his servants; and tends to prove that, after all this talk about miraculous cures, we are not sure there were ever any in the world. But it will do no harm. For, although we grant, (1.) That some recover, even in seemingly desperate cases; and, (2.) That we do not know, in any case, the precise bounds between nature and miracle; yet it does not follow, Therefore I cannot be assured there ever was a miracle of healing in the world.