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Irenæus says that evil spirits, were cast out of Pagans, so as to return no more; and that they who were thus cured often embraced Christianity. Tertullian ad Scap. iv. and Origen in Reg. affirm the same.

Irenæus says not, as some have imagined, that all Christians could work miracles: he only says, οἱ ἀληθῶς αὐτοῦ μαθηταὶ, “ they who are true disciples of Christ, which is not the same as πάντες, and only means that none except true Christians had such powers. These learned men seem to have been misled by the translation of Valesius. Διὸ καὶ ἐν ἐκείνου ὀνόματι οἱ ἀληθῶς αὐτοῦ μαθητ ταὶ παρ ̓ αὐτοῦ λαβόντες τὴν χάριν unde etiam in ejus nomine, quotquot veri sunt ejus discipuli, accepta ab eo gratia. So Valesius, who had no reason to put in ‘quotquot. It should be, ' Unde etiam in illius nomine, veri ejus discipuli,' &c.

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The general sense of the passage produced here from Irenæus is this: Heretics never had any miraculous powers, much less the power of raising the dead: yet this our

στείας καὶ λιτανείας πολλῆς, ἐπέστρεψε τὸ πνεῦμα τοῦ τετελευτηκότος, καὶ ἐχαρίσθη ὁ ἄνθρωπος ταῖς εὐχαῖς τῶν ἁγίων.—εἰ δὲ καὶ τὸν Κύριον φαντασιωδῶς τὰ τοιαῦτα πεποιηκέναι φήσουσιν, ἐπὶ τὰ προφητικά ἀνάγοντες αὐτοὺς, ἐξ αὐτῶν ἐπιδείξομεν πάντα οὕτως περὶ αὐτοῦ καὶ προσ εἰρῆσθαι καὶ γεγονέναι βεβαίως, καὶ αὐτὸν μόνον εἶναι τὸν ὑιὸν τοῦ Θεοῦ. διὸ καὶ ἐν τῷ ἐκείνου ὀνόματι οἱ ἀληθῶς αὐτοῦ μαθηταὶ, παρ ̓ αὐτοῦ λαβόντες τὴν χάριν, ἐπιτελοῦσιν ἐπ ̓ εὐεργεσίᾳ τῇ τῶν λοιπων ἀνθρώπων, καθὼς εἰς ἕκαστος αὐτῶν τὴν δωρεὰν εἴληφε παρ αὐτοῦ. οἱ μὲν γὰρ δαίμονας ἐλαύνουσι βεβαίως καὶ ἀληθῶς· ὥστε πολλάκις καὶ πιστεύειν αὐτοὺς ἐκείνους καθαρισθέντας ἀπὸ τῶν πονηρῶν πνευμάτων, καὶ εἶναι ἐν τῇ ἐκκλησίᾳ· οἱ δὲ καὶ πρόγνωσιν ἔχουσι τῶν μελλόντων, καὶ ὀπτασίας καὶ ῥήσεις προφητικάς ἄλλοι δὲ τοὺς κάμνοντας διὰ τῆς τῶν χειρῶν ἐπιθέσεως ἰῶνται, καὶ ὑγιεῖς ἀποκαθιστᾶσιν. ἤδη δὲ καθὼς ἔφαμεν καὶ νεκροὶ ἠγέρθησαν, καὶ παρέμειναν σὺν ἡμῖν ἱκανοῖς ἔτεσι, καὶ τί γάρ; οὐκ ἔστιν ἀριθμὸν εἰπεῖν τῶν χαρισμάτων, ὦν κατὰ παντὸς τοῦ κόσμου ἡ ἐκκλησία παρὰ Θεοῦ λαβοῦσα, ἐν τῷ ὀνόματι Ἰησοῦ Χριστοῦ τοῦ σταυρωθέντος ἐπὶ Ποντίου Πιλάτου, ἑκάστης ἡμέρας ἐπ ̓ εὐεργεσία τη τῶν ἐθνῶν ἐπιτελεῖ, μήτε ἐξαπατῶσα τινὰς, μήτε ἐξαργυριζομένη. ὡς γὰρ δωρεάν εἴληφε παρὰ Θεοῦ, δωρεὰν καὶ διακονεῖ —καθὼς καὶ πολλῶν ἀκούομεν ἀδελφῶν ἐν τῇ ἐκκλησίᾳ προφητικά χαρίσματα ἐχόντων καὶ παντοδαπαῖς λαλούντων διὰ τοῦ πνεύματος γλώσσαις· καὶ τὰ κρύφια τῶν ἀνθρώπων εἰς φανερὸν ἀγόντων ἐπὶ τῷ συμφέροντι· καὶ τὰ μυστήρια τοῦ Θεοῦ ἐκδιηγουμένων. • Tantum abest, ut mortuum excitent per orationem, quemadmodum Dominus et apostoli fecerunt. Sed et sæpenumero inter fratres, tota simul unius loci ecclesia ob

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Lord and his apostles have done, this the brethren have often by their united prayers obtained from God: the dead have been raised, and have continued with us for some years. The true disciples of Christ receive various gifts, and daily impart them as freely as they have received them ; some foretell future events, others heal the sick, others expel evil spirits, &c..

I suspect that if Irenæus had been called upon to explain himself as to these gifts, and to prove his assertions, he would have said, that the ejecting of dæmons, and the healing the sick, were still performed upon certain occasions, but that the speaking of languages, the disclosing the secrets of men's hearts, and the raising of the dead, had been performed by apostles and apostolical men; and that he had mentioned all these miracles without discrimination of time, as gifts conferred on the faithful, and never on heretics.

In speaking of these miracles he alludes to the New Testament, and talks in the apostolical style: Kaws is exaoτος αὐτῶν τὴν δωρεαν εἴληφε παρ' αὐτοῦ. from 1 Pet. iv. 10.

aliquam necessitatem id flagitante cum jejuniis multis et orationibus, reversa est in corpus anima defuncti, et sanctorum precibus hominis vita donata est.Quod si simulatione quadam ac præstigiis hæc Dominum fecisse dicturi sunt, ad prophetarum oracula eos deducentes, ex illis demonstrabimus cuncta de ipso ita prædicta et gesta esse certissime, eumque solum esse Filium Dei. Unde etiam in ejus nomine, quotquot veri sunt ejus discipuli, accepta ab eo gratia ad salutem atque utilitatem reliquorum omnium ea faciunt, prout unusquisque ipsorum ab eo munus acceperit. Alii enim dæmonas expellunt certissime ac verissime; adeo ut qui ejusmodi malis spiritibus liberati sunt, sæpe fidem amplectantur, et in ecclesia permaneant. Alii præscientiam futurorum et visiones sortiti sunt, et propheticas prædictiones. Alii infirmos per impositionem manuum curant, ac pristinæ sanitati resti tuunt. Sed et mortui aliquoties, ut supra diximus, excitati sunt, et pluribus deinceps annis nobiscum remanserunt. Quid plura? non potest. numerus iniri donorum, quæ per universum orbem ecclesia a Deo accipiens, in nomine ejus qui sub Pontio Pilato crucifixus est Jesu Christi, quotidie ad opitulationem gentium operatur; nec fallens quenquam, nec pecuniam corradens. Ut enim gratis accepit a Deo, sic etiam gratis ministrat.-Sicuti multos ex fratribus audimus in ecclesia, qui prophetiæ dona consecuti sunt, et omni linguarum genere per Spiritum loquuntur, et ad hominum utilitatem, occulta in lucem proferunt, atque arcana Dei mysteria exponunt.' Irenæus ii. 57. p. 166. ed. Massuet; or Euseb. v. 7.

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ἕκαστος καθὼς ἔλαβε χάρισμα.-Again; Μήτε ἐξαπατῶσα τινὰς, μήτε ἐξαργυριζομένη. from 2 Cor. xii. 16.-δόλω ὑμᾶς ἔλαβον. Μή τινα ὧν ἀπέσταλκα πρὸς ὑμᾶς δι' αὐτοῦ ἐπλεονέκτησα ὑμᾶς; Again; Ὡς γὰρ δωρεάν εἴληφε παρὰ Θεοῦ, δωρεάν καὶ διακονεῖ. from Mat. x. 8. δωρεάν ἐλάβετε, δωρεάν δότε. Again, τὰ κρύφια εἰς φανερὸν ἀγόντων. from 1 Cor. xiv. 25. καὶ οὕτω τὰ κρυπτὰ τῆς καρδίας αὐτοῦ φανερὰ γίνεται.

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After Irenæus, there is hardly any mention made of the gift of tongues in ecclesiastical history. One who hath written the life of Pachomius, a monk of the fourth century, says, amongst other things equally marvellous and equally credible, that this saint had received a power to speak all sorts of languages. See Bollandus, or Tillemont, H. E. vii. p. 224.

As to the ejection of dæmons, mentioned by Irenæus and other fathers, every one knows how often even the wise and the wary have been deceived in the affair of sorcery, witchcraft, and dæmoniacal operations. The proofs must be very clear, and the case easily distinguishable from bodily disorders, or from imposture, before a man should give a full assent to the testimony either of antient or of modern Christians. The speaking of new languages, as we observed in the former volume, hath been supposed one of the marks of a possession. Hoc prodigii dæmon imitatione prosecutus est, si creditur Hieronymo in Vita Hilarionis :' Videres de ore barbaro, et qui Francam tantum et Latinam noverat, Syra ad purum verba resonare. prodigium narratur a Gregorio Magno: Ammonius mihi jam in monasterio positus narravit, quod in ea mortalitate que Patrici Narsid temporibus, hanc urbem vehementer afflixit, in domo prædicti Valeriani puer armentarius fuit, præcipuæ simplicitatis, et humilitatis. Cum vero ejusdem advocati domus eadem clade vastaretur, idem puer percussus est, et ad mortem usque deductus, qui subito sublatus a præsentibus rediit, sibique dominum vocari fecit : cui ait, Ego in cœlo fui.-ut vero scias quod me in cœlum fuisse verum fateor, ecce accepi illic, ut linguis omnium loquar. Numquid tibi incognitum fuit, Græcam me lin

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I suppose it should be Patricii Narsetis,' or 'Narsis.'

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guam omnino non nosse, et tamen Grace loquor, ut cognoscas an verum sit quod me omnes linguas accepisse confiteor; cui tunc Grace dominus suus locutus est: atque ita ille in eadem lingua respondit, ut cuncti qui aderant mirarentur. In eadem quoque domo prædicti Narsi Spatarius Vulgar manebat, qui festine ad ægrum deductus, ei vulgarica lingua locutus est. Sed ita puer ille in Italia natus et nutritus, in eadem locutione respondit. Quæ si vera sunt, ut vera esse possunt, crediderim non miserum puerum tot linguis imbutum fuisse, at dæmonem, ut olim serpentis, sic et loquentis lingua, finxisse voces pronuncianti peregrinas. Quippe die tertio infelix ille puer, manus ac brachia, lacertosque suos, dentibus laniavit, atque ita de corpore exivit.' S. Basnage, Annal. i. p. 424.

These things may be true, as Basnage observes; but surely we want better vouchers than Jerom, and Ammonius the Monk. We might as well believe, upon the authority of Æsop and Phædrus, that the Fox and the Cat held a dialogue together in Greek or in Latin.

The reason for which so many magicians were found amongst the Jews, though they were condemned by the law of God, was, that the Jews ascribed most diseases, those especially which disturb the understanding and dislocate the limbs, to the malice of dæmons, and imagined that such diseases could only be cured by sorcery and incantations. We find in the Gospel, that when our Saviour cured the diseased and the possessed, the Jews said that he wrought these miracles by the power and assistance of dæmons.' Vigneul-Marville, tom. i. p. 278.

There are men of abilities, who respect the authority of the sacred books, and yet know not how to believe that the dæmoniacs mentioned in the Gospels were tormented by dæmons. They are inclined to think that their diseases were natural, but that the causes of them were not known

His true name was Dom Bonaventure D'Argonne,' and he was Prieur de la Chatreuse de Gaillon.' See Lettres de Bayle, p. 666. 708. 869. Vous avez raison,' says Bayle, de trouver bon le Melange de Vigneul-Marville,' &c.

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This opinion gives me no offence f: the miracles of our Saviour, upon this supposition, were only so much the greater, since it is much more wonderful to command a disease, than to command a devil to depart instantly, and to be instantly obeyed besides, our Lord was not sent to rectify the wrong notions which the Jews might entertain concerning these maladies.' Thus Beausobre, in his posthumous remarks on Mat. v. p. 14. whose sincere attachment to Christianity no man can fairly call in question.

In his notes on Mark v. he is of opinion, that the dæmoniac who brake his chains and fetters, must have been assisted by an evil spirit; and that of the dæmoniacs mentioned in the sacred books, some were really possessed, and others were only afflicted with epilepsies, &c.

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Theosebius, a Pagan philosopher, had a wife who was possessed with a dæmon. To deliver her, he at first had recourse to prayers and humble intreaties; but the dæmon, who was an opiniâtre, made a jest of all this. At last Theosebius conjured him in the name of the God of the Hebrews, and called to witness the Beams of the Sun. Then the dæmon quitted his lodging, protesting that he had a profound respect for all the gods in general, but most particularly for the God of the Hebrews. It is not a Christian who relates this story; it is the philosopher Damascius.' Apud Phot. Cod. 242. col. 1037. Beausobre Hist. de Man. ii. 67.

It would not be right to overlook Tertullian's dæmoniac. A woman, says he, went to the theatre, and came home possessed by a devil. The exorcist, who endeavoured to cast him out, asked him how he had the assurance to enter into a Christian. Why not? said the dæmon: I found her at my own house. De Spectac. 26.

It is most probable that the dæmoniacs described in the New Testament were really possessed. See vol. i. p. 199. When the devils went out of the dæmoniacs, and entered into the swine, if the disorder of these men were only mad

Some learned men now living have declared themselves of this opinion, with a very good design, as I firmly believe; but their system is liable to insuperable objections.

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