Part II. ptoms of Blindnefs. (a) The Iris where the Black of the Eye begins, would not have been terminated by an uniform circular Line, &c. as was attefted in the Blindness of one of the Prophets. This is the Natural Effect of Fondness and Prepoffeffion, and Zeal for a Cause or Party. No Man can doubt but that there would have been many Sir Rich Bulkelys in this Cafe.

Agreeably to this we fee in fact the Miracles of our Saviour and his Apoftles were quite of another Nature. When our Saviour cur'd Di ftempers, it was not thofe of his own Follow ers, but of Perfons publickly known to have been difeafed. Neither in private only amongst his own Difciples,but openly and in the midft of his Enemies as well as Friends. And as to this very Cafe of Blindness, how vaftly different was our Saviour's Miracle from theirs! His was done publickly; theirs in a private Room: His upon one known to have been born Blind; theirs on one that had ever been known to fee, until the hour in which she was made Blind, and in which again fhe was made to fee. Sure a fantastical Difeafe, and as fantaftical a Miracle or Cure! For the Miracle can rife no higher than the Disease, and what ftrong Symptoms of a diforder'd Fancy are here! If Miracles are wrought in order to confirm the Divine Miffion of thefe Men, why are not fuch wrought as are open and clear, fuchas former Prophets have wrought? Why fuch as have not the Appearance of Miracles? That are more likely to tempt Men to Unbelief, than gain their Affent? A Diftemper miraculoully inflicted, in order to be miraculously cur'd!! As if there were not enough difeased, and

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known to be fuch, on whom the Miracle of Healing might be perform'd, and a Divine Power difplay'd. I appeal to these Prophets themselves, whether this would not be more unexceptionable, carry greater weight with it?, But the Woman could not fee. How natural is this to Vapours! How often do fuch Diftempers caft fudden Mifts over their Sight! And as to her Cure, I am perfwaded a strong Fancy has done greater Feats than this. But here I am not accounting how thefe Actions were done, it is enough that they are not miraculous,

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'Tis faid farther, they have the Gift of difcern Thefe Proing Spirits, or difcovering Mens Thoughts. But how phets have doth the Truth of this appear? I have spoken wrought to this already, and fhall only add, Mrs. Bourig-no Miranon and the Quakers have pretended with as great cles. Affurance to the fame miraculous Gift. Will the prefent Prophets own that they were Divinely inspir'd? I doubt not, because of the Repugnance of their Doctrine in many great Points. If they were not Divinely Infpir'd, a confident Affeveration of Profelytes that fome a mong them poffefs fuch a Gift will not be fufficient Ground to induce others to believe it; for here the Quakers pretend to this Gift, and yet they are not Divinely Infpir'd, and yet their Pretence as, to this miraculous Endowment, refts upon as good a Proof, as the Pretence of the prefent Prophets does! For all the Reason, we have to believe that the prefent Prophets have this Gift is, that fome among them do confidently affert it; but we fay, did not fome of the Admirers of A. B. did not theFollowers of the firft Quakers affert the fame of their Prophets with equal Confidence? Will they take their Teftimony as to this Gift? If not, why muft we take theirs? What is there in their Teftimony, that was not in the Quakers? Will not Perfecu

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Perfecution and Sufferings alter their Opinion? I believe the fame of many of the ancient Quakers, they would have been as Tenacious, and endur'd as hard things as Sir Richard, or any of the Friends or Followers of the Infpir'd.

Their pretence to Languages is altogether as weak. The Reafon of the Infpiration of the Apoftles with Languages, was to qualify them to Preach the Gofpel to other Nations befides their own. The French Prophets are fent with a Divine Embaffy to this Nation, and cannot fpeak our Tongue. What a ftrange thing is it to pretend to the Gift of Languages in this Cafe? Mr. Lacy, who is an English Man, and equally a Prophet, and concern'd in the fame Divine Embaffy to this Nation, addreffes us very frequently in Latin. Prepofterous! Had he liv'd in antient Times, and had been sent to convert the Roman Empire, the Reafon of this miraculous Endowment would have been understood; but his delivering the Divine Commands, befpeaking English Men in Latin, is as contrary to the apparent Design of that Gift as can be imagin'd. Unless a Man's speaking in Latin muft neceffarily be judg'd miraculous, (a thing so very common) and muft ftrike the Hearers with the fame Surprize and Wonder; with which the People of thofe various and remote Countries were ftruck; when they heard the Apoftles, generally known as illiterate Men, fpeaking in their feveral Tongues and Dialects. This was Ground of Wonder indeed! But where is the Wonder or Miracle, to hear a Man fpeak one fingle Tongue, and that fo common One as the Latin, and very imperfectly and prepofterously likewife? The Miracle of Tongues had certainly been much greater, had Mr. Lacy, inftead of fpeaking a little Latin, fpoke all Modern Langua

Languages, French, Dutch, Spanish, Italian, &c. To fuch as had known Mr. Lacy, the Thing muft have been wonderful; (and enough knew him) because it must have appear'd to them with the greatest moral Certainty; that he never had made thefe Languages his Study, nor had the Opportunity or Means of attaining them; and confequently there would have been Grounds of believing, that they must have been deriv'd to him in a Supernatural way. But Mr. Lacy knew he could not speak nor understand Latin before his Infpiration; and confequently this is a fure Demonftration to him, he deriv'd it Supernaturally. The Point is not here what is Ground of Conviction to Mr. Lacy, but what affords Conviction to others; and all that this amounts to is Mr. Lacy's bare Word, which in fo extraordinary a Cafe is not fufficient. For if there fhould be a Defect either in his Judgment or Morals, he is not to be rely'd on. A Man (fays he) is fent of GOD. How doth the Truth of this appear? He fays he faw an Angel, or fomething Miraculous. In this Cafe. if the Man lyes, or is diftemper'd in his Imagination; we should receive a Deceiver, a diftracted Man inftead of a Prophet, and Fictions and Follies inftead of Divine Oracles. Mr. Lacy fays he is Infpir'd. How doth the Truth of it appear? He fpeaks Latin. This is no fuch Wonder. No! But he had it by Infpiration. Here his Word muft pafs; and his Word might have as well pafs'd; if he had affign'd no fuch thing, as fpeaking Latin, as a Ground of his Infpiration; if at once he had declar'd himfelf Infpir'd. For we have no more outward Evidence that he speaks Latin by Inspiration, than we have of the Inspiration or Divine Miffion it felf.

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And befides Mr. Lacy (a) declares, in his Youth he learnt the Latin Tongue as far as Horace and Virgil. This is enough to furnish out fuch Latin as he fpeaks. He made no progress in the Greek Tongue, he only learnt the Greek Grammar. ! It must have appear'd more miraculous there: fore, had he fpoke Greek. But he never fpake Greek. Nay, one of the Infpir'd miferably mifcarry'd in the Attempt, could not fpeak Greek. Still this looks not like the Gift of Languages. For as Latin was what they learnt moft of in their youth, fo this they speak beft, under Inspiration. But Mr. Lacy mightily infifts, notwithstanding he learnt as far as Horace and Virgil, yet before he was Infpir'd, he could not conftrue a common Author. Can he better conftrue it fince his Inspiration? Has he ever try'd his Gift? I would place much ftrefs on it in this Caufe, that he can no better expound a Latin Author now than before. I guess this, because after the Infpiration, he does not understand the Latin fpoken in it. In which Cafe the Infpiration doth not properly endow him with a Language, but only use him as an Organ. This is liable to 1 Objection, but at prefent let it pass.

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Of lefs Moment are their odd Motions, their forcible Removals from one fide of a Room to the other. That Tumbling and Leaping fhould be Arguments of Divine Inspiration is ftrange. We muft: conclude our felves of a very unhappy Underftanding if this be fo, if that which is intended as a Proof of a Divine Miffion, fhould appear to us a ftrong Objection against it.

B. There appear yet no Miracles to have been wrought among them, and confequently I can(a) Warn. Part I. Preface.

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