Theman

"position, a little Bleeding at the Nose
now and then, (for the Word
"fotoa may fignify that, as well as any
"thing elfe) or fome fuch fmall Eva-
"cuation, as might have been a means,
"(had fhe not been more nice than

wife) to prolong, rather than shorten "her Life. The Woman however, ha❝ving, upon fome account or other, en"tertain❜d a good Conceit of Jefus, (as "Conceit in thefe Cafes is all in all,) "and Jefus, upon fome hint or other, taking occafion to encourage that "Conceit, her Cure is imputed to the "Touch of the hem of his Garment, when "it was in reality the pure effect of a "ftrong Imagination.

(6

It is the peculiar Excellency of the ner of the Gospel-Hiftory, that as it was intended Evangelifts rela- for the Ufe and Inftruction of all, fo is ting it adapted, in the Plainnefs and SimpliciChrift's ty of its Compofition, to every one's Ca

Cures.

pacity. The Evangelifts pretend to do no more, then to give us an eafy and familiar Account of our: Saviour's Life and Tranfactions; and 'twould be putting them out of Character, when their Province is to write as Hiftorians, fto expect that they fhould defcribe, with the Accuracy of profefs'd Phyficians and Chirurgeons,

Bp. Smallbroke's Vind. p. 272.

Chirurgeons, the Nature and Symptoms of the feveral Diseases, which Jefus cur'd, and they, as the Writers of his Memoirs, were oblig'd to record. What feems to be requir'd of. them, in this Cafe, is, that they fhould fo far relate the Circumftances of each Disease, as to make them fufficient to convince all rational and unprejudic'd Perfons, that the Power, whereby the Cures were effected, was certainly Supernatural. But, because this is one of the firft bodily Cures, that falls under our Confideration, let us enquire a little, whether, in the general, there be any juft Reason (as is fuggefted) to fufpect their Fidelity in relating

them.

herein.

The Evangelifts indeed had no Skill Their Fiin Diseases, & nor is it at all neceffary to delity the fupport of the Credit of their Relations that they, fhould have had any : But Eyes and Understanding they certainly had, in virtue of which they were Judges, (as all other Men are,) of the common Appearances of Diftempers, fuch as Blindness, Lameness, Crookedness, and the like. If therefore they falfified in their Account of thefe Matters, it must be out of a Confederacy with their Mafter, and fuch a Confederacy, as was levell'd against the whole

Q4

Defence of Script. Hift. Part 2..

Jewish

Jewish Nation, and threaten'd nothing lefs, than the fubverfion of their Religion, and the utter Abolition of the Law of Mofes, to which they were addicted even to Superftition. But now what Method do they take to carry on this Cheat? Why, in the very Country, where the whole Scheme of the Tranfaction was to lie,they extol Jefus as a Prophet; as one, who prov'd his Divine Miffon by fuch Miraculous Cures, as were never heard of before and in their Account of this, not only specify the Difeafes, and the manner of their Cure, but the very Places (with other where the Perfons liv'd, upon whom these Cures were wrought. At Jerufalem for Inftance, they tell us, that, on the Feast of the Paffover, he cur'd a Man, who had been lame eight and thirty Years, by bidding him arife and walk; that, inGalilee,in one of theirSynagogues, on the Sabbath Day, he reftor❜d a Man that had a wither'd Hand, by bidding him ftretch it forth; and that, atCapernaum, he healed a Centurion's Servant, who was fick of the Palfy, only by fpeaking a Word. Thefe, and many more Inftances of the like nature, are reported of Jefus; in confequence of which, he, and his Difciples, gain'd Credit every Day among the People, who came over

particularCircumftances)

in

in great Numbers to their Party. But now, fuppofing any Man, at this time of day, fhould pretend a Commiffion from God, to fet up a new Religion in oppofition to Chriftianity, and, to countenance his Pretenfions, fhould have his Followers give out, that, at London, he cur'd an Alderman's Son of Fits; at St. Alban's, a Gentleman's Servant of a broken Leg; at Dover, reftor'd a blind Man to his Sight, and fo on; is it poffible that ever fuch a Pretender as this fhould gain Credit? Would not every one think himself concern'd to make ftrict Enquiry, whether thefe Things were fo, or not? Would not the People, in every Place, to whom Appeal was made, teftify that no fuch Things were ever seen or heard among them? And, in consequence of this, would not the Impoftor, inftead of gaining Profelytes, be expos'd, and grow contemptible in the Eyes of the People? But fince the very reverse of this happen'd to our bleffed Lord, and his Pretenfions, it is an Argument, next to a Demonstration, that there was no Cheat in the Cures which he wrought, nor any Falfification in the Evangelifts manner of relating them: And fo we turn to the Cure, which, at prefent, lies before our View.

Now

The State

of the Woman's Cafe.

He: Dif

Now the Evangelifts tells us,that, while our Saviour, attended with a great number of People, was going along with a certain h Ruler of the Synagogue, in order to cure his Daughter, juft then at the point of Death; this Woman, who had been difeafed (as the generality of Phyficians think it) with an Hyfterical Flux, or Iffue of Blood, and had fuffered many Things of the Phyficians, infomuch that he had spent all that he had, and was nothing better'd, but rather grew worse; being fully perfuaded, that, if fhe could but come at Chrift, the very Touch of his Garment would heal her, made a fhift to get behind him in the Crowd, and immediately, upon Expe riment, found within herself that she was cured. But, the Cure being done fecretly, and without the Privity of any of the Company, our Saviour turns about, and enquiring who had touched him, the poor Woman, fearing, and trembling, and knowing what was done in her, came and fell down before him, and told him all the Truth, or (as i St. Luke has it) declared unto him, before all the People, for what Caufe he had touched him, and how he was healed immediately.

In this Light the Evangelical Hiftory temper has placed the Woman's Diftemper,

Chronical.

and

Mattb.ix. Mark v. Luke viii. Luke viii. 47.