Inchantments against their Will: And yet the wisest Heathens agree, that there could not possibly be any such Force in Words; but that they could only persuade, and this according to the Manner of their Interpretation. And a further Sign of their Wickedness is, that they would undertake many Times (a) to entice some to the Love of others, notwithstanding their own Endeavours against it, either by false Promises, or by doing them some hurt; (b) which Things were forbidden by human Laws, as Witchcraft. Neither ought any one to wonder that the Supreme God should suffer some Miracles to be done by evil Spirits; because they who were already fallen from the Worship of the true God, (c) deserved to be deluded by such Deceits. But this is an Argument of their Weakness, that their Works were not attended with any remarkable Good; for if any seemed to be called to Life again, they did not continue long in it, nor exercise the Functions of living Persons. If at any Time, any Thing proceeding from a Divine Power appeared in the Sight of the Heathen; yet it was not foretold that it would come to pass, in order to prove the Truth of their Religion, so that no Forms of Threatenings you have in Lucan, where he speaks of Erichthon, and in Papinius about Tiresias. (a) To entice some to the Love of others, &c.] See the Pharmaceutria of Theocritus and Virgil, and the Confession of Porphyry in Eusebius, Book V. Chap. 17. of his Preparat. and Augustine, Book X. Chap. 11. of his City of God. And the same Porphyry against eating living Creatures, Book II. and Origen against Celsus, Book VII. (b) Which Things were forbidden by human Laws, &c.] L. Ejusdem, Sect. Adjectio D. ad Legem Corneliam de Sicasus & Veneficis, L. si quis sect. qui abortionis. D. de Panis. Paulus Sententiarum, Lib. V. Tit. XXIII. 3. (c) Deserved to be deluded by such Deceits, &c.] Deut. xiii. 2 Thess. ii. 9, 10. Ephes. ii. 2, 3. thing hinders, but the Divine Power might propose to itself some other End, widely different from this. For Instance; suppose it true, that a blind Man was restored to his Sight by Vespasian; it might be done, (a) to render him more venerable upon this Account; and that he might thereby the more easily obtain the Roman Empire; and was therefore chosen by God, to be the Executioner of his Judgments upon the Jews; and other like Reasons there might be for other Wonders, (b) which has no relation at all to Religion. SECT. IX. And from Oracles. AND almost all the same Things may be applied, to solve that which they alledge concerning Oracles; especially what was before said, that such Men deserved to be imposed upon, who despised that Knowledge, which Reason and ancient Tradition suggested to every Man. Moreover, " (a) To render him more venerable, &c.] Tacitus, Hist. IV. Many Miracles were done, whereby the Favour of Heaven, "and the good Disposition of the Gods towards Vespasian, ap"peared." He had said before in Hist. I. " We believe that "after previous good Luck, the Empire was decreed to Vespa"sian and his Children, by the Secret Law of Fate, and by "Wonders and Oracles." Suetonius ushers in his Relation of the same Miracles thus, Chap. 7. "There was a certain Au"thority and Majesty wanting, viz. in a new and unthought-of "Prince; to which this was added." See the same Suetonius a little before, Chap. V. Josep us says of the same Vespasian, Book III. Chap. 27. of the Wars of the Jews. "That God "raised him up to the Government, and foretold him of the Sceptre by other Signs." (b) Which has no Relation, &c.] But see the Examination of Miracles, feigned to be done in Favour of Vespasian and Adrian, in my Ecclesiastical History, Century II. 138th Year. Le Clerc. the Words of the Oracles (a) were for the most Part ambiguous, and such as might be interpreted of the Event, be it what it would. And if any Thing was more particularly foretold by them, there is no Necessity of its proceeding from an Omniscient Being; because either they were such as might be perceived beforehand, from natural Causes then appearing, (b) as some Physicians foretel future Diseases; or they might with Probability be conjectured, from what we usually see come to pass; which we read was often done (c) by those who were (a) Were for the most Part ambiguous, &c.] See the Places of Oenomaus, concerning this Subject, in Eusebius, Book IV. Chap. 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26. Hence Apollo was by the Greeks called Ažia, Ambiguous. Cicero, in his Second Book of Divination, says, the Oracles of Apollo were ambiguous and obscure. "Whichsoever of them came to pass, (says he) the "Oracle was true." (Perhaps many of the Oracles were counterfeited after the Event: And there are many Reasons to suspect, that Abundance of Frauds were used by Diviners; concerning which, D. de Fontenelle has written an excellent Book in French which I refer you to, and what is said in Defence of it, Vol. XIII. of the Choice Labrary; and what Antony Van Dale has written of this Matter above all others, in his Book of Oracles.) (b) As some Physicians foretel future Discases, &c.] Chalcidius on Timæus. Men are forwarned, either by the flying "of Birds, or by Entrails, or by Oracles, some propitious "Damons foretelling, who knew all Things that will after"wards come to pass; just as a Physician, according to the "Rules of Physic, declares either Death or Health, and as "Anaximander and Pherecides did an Earthquake." Pliny, Book II. Chap. 79. (c) By those who were skilful in civil Matters, &c.] See the Writers of the Life of Atticus. "A plain Evidence of this Thing, besides those Books wherein he (Cicero) mentions it expressly, (which are published among the common People,} "are sixteen Volumes of Epistles sent to Atticus, from his Consulship to the End of his Days; which whoever reads, will "not think that he wants a complete and regular History of "those Times; there is such a full Description of the Inclina"tions of Princes, of the Vices of great Men, and the Alte " "rations were skilful in civil Matters. And if at any Time, God made Use of any of those Works, done by the Diviners among the Heathens, to foretel such Things as could have no other real Foundation but the Will of God; it did not tend to confirm the Heathen Religion, but rather to overthrow it; such as those Things we find (a) in Virgil's Fourth Eclogue, taken out of the Sibylline Verses; (b) in which, though unknown to himself, he describes "rations in the Republic, that there is nothing which is not "laid open; so that one would easily be led to think Prudence "to be a Kind of Divination. For Cicero did not only foretel "future Things, that would happen in his own Life time, but "like a Diviner, declared those also that came to pass lately." Cicero affirms truly of himself, in his Sixth Epistle of his Sixteenth Book: "In that War, nothing happened ill, which I did "not foretel. Wherefore, since I who am a public Augur, "like other Augurs and Astrologers, by my former Predictions, "have confirmed you in the Authority of Augury and Divi"nation, you ought to believe what I foretel. I do not make my Conjecture from the flying of Birds, nor from the "Manner of their chirping, as our Art teaches us, nor from "the rebounding of the Corn that falls from the Chickens* "Mouths, nor from Dreams; but I have other Signs, which "I observe." Thus Solon foretold that great Calamities would come upon Athens, from Munichia. And Thales, that the Forum of the Milesi would one Time be in a Place then despised. Plutarch in Solon. (a) In Virgil's fourth Eclogue, &c.] See Augustine's City of God, Book X. Chap. 27. (b) In which, though unknown, &c.] It is now sufficiently evident, that all the Prophecies of the Sibyls are either doubtful or forged; wherefore I would not have Virgil, an Interpreter of the Sibyl, be thought to have declared a Kind of Prophecy, without any Design; like Caiphas, who was ignorant of what he prophesied: I know not what Sibyl, or rather Person, under the Disguise of such a one, predicted, that the Golden Age was a coming; from the Opinion of those who thought that there would be a Renovation of all Things, and that the same Things would come to pass again. See what Grotius has said of this Matter, Book II. Sect. 10. and the Notes upon that Place. Wherefore in this, the Sibyl was not a Prophetess, nor did Virgil write thence any Prophecies describes the Coming of Christ, and the Benefits we should receive from him: Thus in the same Sibyls, that (a) he was to be acknowledged as King, who was to be truly our King; (b) who was to rise out of the East, and be Lord of all Things. (c) The Oracle of Apollo is to be seen (a) in Porphyry; in which he says, of Christ See Servius upon the Place, and Isaac Vossius's Interpretation of that Eclogue. Le Clerc. (a) He was to be acknowledged as King, &c.] Cicero men. tions him in his Second Book of Divination. (b) Who was to rise out-of the East, &c.] Suetonius of Vespasian, Chap. 4. Tacitus, Hist. 4. (c) The Oracle of Apollo, &c.] See Augustine of the City of God, Book XX. Chap. 23. and Eusebius's Preparat. Book IV. Chap. 4. And the same Porphyry, in his Book of the Oracles, says, "The God (Apollo) testifies that the Egyptians, Chaldeans, Phenicians, Lydians, and Hebrews, are they who "have found out the Truth." He that wrote the Exhortation to the Greeks, amongst the Works of Justin, quotes this Oracle : The Hebrews only and Chaldees are wise, And this, Who the first Mortal form'd, and call'd him Adam. There are two Oracles of Cato's concerning Jesus, which Euse- The Souls of pious Men to Heaven ascend, The same are mentioned by Augustine, Book XXIX. Chap. 23. of his City of God, out of the same Porphyry; where he brings another Oracle, in which Apollo said, that the Father whom the pious Hebrews worshipped, was a Law to all the Gods. (d) In Porphyry, &c.] This is justly enough said upon Porphyry, and those who are of the same Opinion with him, concerning |