Jefus Chrift, great as it was, had all the appearance of being to him intuitive or selfevident; that it was not attended with any the least doubtfulness, or fufpicion of uncertainty ;-that the difcourfes of Jefus Chrift contain the fublimeft fentiments imaginable, expreffed with a perfect ease and fimplicity, and were delivered with an air of uncommon dignity and authority, which ftruck the hearers.

The Profeffor next proceeded to the fecond and principal branch of the argument, which he confidered as effential to the evidence of Chriftianity, viz. the purity and perfection of the moral character of Jefus Chrift. This was fubdivided into two branches; his virtue, and his wisdom. He delineated at great length our Saviour's piety, as the leading ftroke of his character; characterifed his devotion as chiefly fecret or retired ;-joyful, in oppofition to the gloomy caft of fuperftition ;—calm and rational, in oppofition to the mechanical fervours and irregular tranfports of enthusiasm: marked his habitual regard to the will of God as the leading principle of

his whole conduct; and fhewed this to be a principle of action fuperior in its influence to any other. 2dly, He delineated at proper length our Lord's charity, or love to mankind. That befides the common feelings of humanity, he had a more divine compaffion than the reft of mankind, flowing from his clear difcernment of their spiritual miferies. He characterised our Lord's benevolence as pure or difinterested, universal, or unlimited by the natural, political, and religious diftinctions which take place among men; and as fteady or unconquerable by any kind of injury or provocation. He marked our Lord's humility, or ftooping to the loweft offices in the fervice of mankind, as a branch of his goodnefs, diftinguished from his modefty, in referring the glory of every thing he did to his father, which was confidered as a branch of his piety. 3dly, The Profeffor delineated the fincerity or integrity of Jefus Christ as of prime importance in the argument, leading us at once to the prefumption of the truth of his miffion, and fhewed he was really poffeffed of this virtue, from

various facts or appearances, particularly the appearance of a perfect fuperiority to the motives of worldly intereft and ambition, and every other motive that could make him fwerve from the truth. Laftly, He delineated the fortitude of Jefus Chrift, difplayed through the whole course of his public life, in ftanding up fingle and alone in the cause of truth and righteousness, perfifting in a noble oppofition to the hypocrify, bigotry, and wickednefs of almost all the men of learning and rank in his own nation; and this, with the profpect of his laft fufferings and ignominious execution full before him.

After answering fome objections to the moral character of Jefus Chrift, particularly from the apparent severity of his language to these men, and his treatment of them; the Profeffor proceeded to exhibit our Saviour's wifdom, or addrefs, in employing the best and fitteft means to gain the great end he had in view, even the inftruction and reformation of mankind, and this in a variety of particulars, from the History of the Evangelifts: fuch as, his turning every

common

common and uncommon incident into the channel of inftruction; the remarkable anfwers he gave to the curious, and to the captious or ensnaring questions, put to him ; his fingular manner of infinuating inftruction into the minds of his hearers, by parables, or familiar little ftories *; his manner of correcting the errors and vices of mankind; and his admirable manner of training up his apoftles for the difficult and important fervice for which he defigned them.

To this he added fome obfervations on the moral character of Jefus Christ: that he was distinguished from all the rest of the fons of men, by practising the whole train of moral and divine virtues with invariable uniformity and conftancy:-that in him the feemingly oppofite virtues were united; fuch as, an unfhaken firmnefs, with the greatest tenderness of difpofition that can well be imagined; a certain air of dignity, with the most amiable humility; an admirable prudence, with the most perfect

See this part of the Evidence of Chriftianity displayed in a very mafterly manner in Mr. Bourn's two volumes of Lectures on our Saviour's Parables.

fincerity,

fincerity, &c.; and that he practifed the hardeft parts of virtue, without any effortwith the utmoft eafe, and with the fimplicity, as it were, of a little child.

He next proceeded to prove, that there really did exift in the world fuch a character as that of Jefus Chrift; fince for this, we have not only the common evidence of history, but a history of a fingular kind; that the character is there exhibited only by a train of facts of which the historians were eye-witnesses, or had full information. These naked facts they relate, without making any obfervations upon them; them; without clothing them with any embellishments. They relate, at the fame time, their own infirmities and faults, and those of their friends, without any reserve. They make no encomiums on their own mafter, nor throw out any bitter reflections on his enemies. And it is fcarcely poffible to conceive, that these illiterate men could have produced fuch a piece of moral painting as this from their own imaginations-could have imagined a train of actions, and of fublime difcourfes, which exhibit to every attentive