IV. Of another Athenian Philofopher sonverted to Chriftianity.

V. Why their converfion, instead of weakening, ftrengthens their evidence in defence of Chriftianity.

VI. Their belief in our Saviour's hiftory founded at firft upon the principles of hiftorical faith.

VII. Their teftimonies extended to all the particulars of our Saviour's hiftory. VIII. As related by the four Evangelifts.

I.

1.Twho make mention of our Sa

O this lift of heathen writers,

viour, or touch upon any particulars of his life, I fhall add thofe Authors who were at firft Heathens; and afterwards. converted to Chriftianity'; upon which account, as I fhall here fhew, their teftimonies are to be looked upon as the more authentick. And in this lift of evidences, I fhall confine myfelf to fuch learned Pagans as came over to Chrifti-. anity in the three firft centuries, because thofe were the times in which men had the best means of informing themselves of the truth of our Saviour's history, and because among the great number of philofophers who came in afterwards, under

the

the reigns of chriftian Emperors, there: might be feveral who did it partly out of worldly motives.

II. Let us now fuppofe, that a learn-ed heathen writer who lived within fixty years of our Saviour's crucifixion, after having fhewn that falfe miracles were generally wrought in obfcurity, and before few or no witneffes, fpeaking of those which were wrought by our Saviour, has the following paflage. "But. "his works were always feen, because: "they were true, they were seen by "those who were healed, and by those "who were raised from the dead. Nay; "these perfons who were thus healed, "and raised, were seen not only at the "time of their being healed, and raised, "but long afterwards. Nay they were. "feen not only all the while our Savi

our was upon earth, but furvived af"ter his departure out of this world, nay fome of them were living in our "days.

III. I dare fay you would look upon this as a glorious atteftation for the cause of Chriftianity, had it come from the: hand of a famous Athenian Philofopher. Thefe forementioned words however are. C

actually

actually the words of one who lived about fixty years after our Saviour's crucifixi-. on, and was a famous Philofopher in Athens: but it will be faid, he was a convert to Christianity. Now confider this matter impartially, and fee if his teftimony is not much more valid for that reafon. Had he continued a Pagan Philofopher, would not the world have faid that he was not fincere in what he writ, or did not believe it; for, if so, would not they have told us he would have embraced Christianity? This was indeed the cafe of this excellent man: he had fo thoroughly examined the truth of our Saviour's hiftory, and the excellency of that religion which he taught, and was fo entirely convinced of both, that he became a Profelyte, and died a Martyr.

IV. Ariftides was an Athenian Philofopher, at the fame time, famed for his learning and wifdom, but converted to Christianity. As it cannot be questioned that he perused and approved the apology of Quadratus, in which is the paffage juft now cited, he joined with him in an apology of his own, to the fame Emperor, on the fame fubject. This apology, tho' now loft, was extant in the time

of

of Ado Viennenfis, A. D. 870, and highly esteemed by the moft learned Athenians, as that Author witneffes. It must have contained great arguments for the truth of our Saviour's hiftory, because in it he afferted the Divinity of our Saviour, which could not but engage him in the proof of his miracles.

V. I do allow that, generally fpeaking, a man is not fo acceptable and unqueftioned an evidence in facts, which make for the advancement of his own party. But we must confider that, in the cafe before us, the perfons, to whom we appeal, were of an oppofite party, till they were perfuaded of the truth of thofe very facts, which they report. They bear evidence to a history in defence of Christianity, the truth of which hiftory was their motive to embrace Christianity. They atteft facts which they had heard while they were yet heathens, and had they not found reason to believe them, they would ftill have continued heathens, and have made no mention of them in their writings.

VI. When a Man is born under chriftian Parents, and trained up in the profeffion of that religion from a child, he C 2

ge

generally guides himself by the rules of Chriflian Faith in believing what is delivered by the Evangelifts; but the learned Pagans of antiquity, before they became Chriftians, were only guided by the common rules of Hiftorical Faith: That is, they examined the nature of the evidence which was to be met with in common fame, tradition, and the writings of those perfons who related them, together with the number, concurrence, veracity, and private characters of those perfons; and being convinced upon all accounts that they had the fame reason to believe the history of our Saviour, as that of any other perfon to which they themselves were not actually eye-witneffes, they were bound by all the rules of hiftorical faith, and of right reason, to give credit to this history. This they did accordingly, and in confequence of it published the fame truths themselves, fuffered many afflictions, and very often death itself, in the affertion of them. When I fay, that an historical belief of the acts of our Saviour induced these learned Pagans to embrace his doctrine, I do not deny that there were many other motives, which conduced to it, as the excellency of his precepts