Wesley Corpus

Then the whole affair of casting him out had been at an end. But it is in condescension to the weakness and prejudices of mankind that you go less out of the common road, and only observe, “that those who were said to be possessed of the devil, may have been ill of the falling sickness.” And their symptoms, you say, “seem to be nothing else but the ordinary symptoms of an epilepsy.” (Page 81.) If it be asked, But were “the specches and confessions of the devils, and their answering to all questions, nothing but the ordinary symptoms of an epilepsy %' you take in a second hypothesis, and account for these “by the arts of imposture, and contrivance between the persons concerned in the act.” (Page 82.) But is not this something extraordinary, that men in epileptic fits should be capable of so much art and contrivance? To get over this difficulty, we are apt to suppose that art and contrivance were the main ingredients; so that we are to add only quantum sufficit of the epilepsy, and sometimes to leave it out of the composition. But the proof, Sir? where is the proof? I want a little of that too. Instead of this, we have only another supposition: “That all the Fathers were either induced by their prejudices to give too hasty credit to these pretended possessions, or carried away by their zeal to support a delusion which was useful to the Christian cause.” (Ibid.) I grant they were prejudiced in favour of the Bible; but yet we cannot fairly conclude from hence, either that they were one and all continually deceived by merely pretended possessions; or that they would all lie for God,--a thing absolutely forbidden in that book. 3. But “leaders of sects,” you say, “whatever principles they pretend to, have seldom scrupled to use a commodious lie.” (Page 83.) I observe you are quite impartial here. You make no exception of age or nation. It is all one to you whether your reader applies this to the son of Abdallah, or the Son of Mary. And yet, Sir, I cannot but think there was a difference. I fancy the Jew was an homester man than the Arabian; and though Mahomet used many a commodious lie, yet Jesus of Nazareth did not. 4.