"

Φησιν ο Κέλσος, —— Ει μεν δη θελησουσιν αποκρίνεσθαι μοι ως ου διαπειρωμένω, παντα
γαρ οίδα, αλλ' ως εξ ίσου πάντων κηδομένω εν αν εχει. Δικεί δε μοι τουτον τι πεποιη
κέναι, ως ει τις τη Αιγύπτω επιδήμησας, ενθα οι μεν Αιγυπτίων σοφοί, κατά τα πατρια
γράμματα, πολλα φιλοσοφούσι περί των παρ' αυτοις νενομισμένων θείων, οι δε ιδιώται
μυθους τινας ακουσαντες ων τους λόγους ουκ επιςανται, μέγα επ' αυτοις φρονουσιν· ωετο
παντα τα Αιγυπτιων εγνωκέναι, τοις ιδιωταις αυτών μαθήτευσας, και μηδενι των ιερέων
συμμίξας, μηδ' απο τίνος αυτών τα Αιγυπτίων απορρήτα μαθων.

Orig. cont. Cels. L. i.

FROM THE LONDON EDITION.

CINCINNATI:

PUBLISHED BY THE BOOK COMMITTEE OF THE WESTERN CONVENTION.

1839.

N74

YRARELI QOADIS

CINCINNATI :

Kendall and Henry, Printers, East Fourth Street.

4733

PREFACE.

So numerous are the works which have been produced in vindication of the divine authority of the Scriptures and of the truth of the Christian Religion, so high the reputation of many of them, and so unquestionably great their merit, that it might almost appear like presumption in any one again to handle this argument. Certainly, however, while fresh attacks upon the foundations of the Christian Religion are continually being made, it is necessary that fresh works should be composed in its defence; even though they added no more that is new to the vindication of Revelation, than the renewed ranks of its assailants produce against it.

But laudable and useful as the production of works of this class is, he who now solicits the attention of the Public would never have appeared as an Author, merely to add to their number. He has long been impressed with a serious conviction, that fully to meet the difficulties which infidel writers have raised, it were necessary to put the controversy on a different ground from that which has been taken by the most popular of the Christian advocates. He is of opinion, that the ablest of their works are more adapted to silence, than to satisfy, even an ingenuous inquirer. The former effect is or ought to be produced, when such circumstances and considerations are alleged as cannot be accounted for upon any other hypothesis than that which supposes the truth of the religion: but to accomplish the latter object, the circumstances in the documents of the religion, which, as the Sceptic thinks, are incompatible with the belief of their divine origin, must, also, be satisfactorily explained. This is what few of the modern advocates of Revelation attempt; and they who have attempted it have seldom satisfied even their own friends: indeed it is now usual to admit, that some of the difficulties are such, as, in the present state of knowledge upon the subject, or by the principles which have yet been applied to it, are inexplicable. With this drawback, the success with which they have handled the other part of the argument too often fails to produce any deep conviction; notwithstanding they have proved, with a completeness which leaves little room for fair denial, that Christianity, in general, may,-nay, must be true, whether all the seeming difficulties in its records can be explained

or not.