On the first head the utmost ingenuity of infidelity has scarcely been able to discover any plausible objection. The proofs of fincerity in the lives and writings of the first teachers of the gospel are obvious-I had almost said irresistible. Men who voluntarily abandoned every worldly interest, who deliberately encountered and steadily sustained reproach, perfecution, and death, in support of the cause which they espoused-must have been fincere. This point therefore, the advocates for infidelity have generally found it necessary to admit, and to take refuge under the pretext, that however fincere and well-meaning the apostles and evangelists may have been, they were yet deluded by the violence of religious enthusiasm, which is so frequently found to disturb reafon, and to give to mere vifions of a heated brain the semblance of reality. A pretext the more plausible, because in some leading features enthusiasm must bear a strong fimilarity to genuine inspiration : as the latter pre-supposes sincerity and piety, the former may arife from zeal fincere but ill-directed, from devotion heart-felt but overftrained both affert their claim to attention as derived from God-both are ready to facrifice every worldly object in the execution of their purposeand therefore by mere worldly minds, both will too often be pronounced equally irrational and extravagant. But the fincere and ingenuous enquirer after religious truth will not adopt an opinion, as in confiftent with true philofophy, as it is fubversive of Chriftianity;

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Christianity; he will not confound the frenzy of fanaticism with the calm and facred voice of the Spirit of God, but, with me, endeavour to trace the plain marks which distinguish Christianity from enthusiasm, and evince that the apostles and evangelists spoke the words of truth and foberness.

What then is enthusiasm in its true and proper sense?-Briefly a strong but groundless perfuafion of being actuated by divine inspiration, including two effential characters, the first that this opinion has been adopted, by him who believes himself inspired, without fufficient evidence the second, that if he requires others should also admit the reality of his inspiration, he insists on their doing so, without demanding any proof, or at least on grounds as vain and delusive as those which have fatisfied himself.Thus blind credulity and dictatorial positiveness form the two leading and essential marks of an enthusiastic mind.

The fame delufion of understanding in which these originate, will also most generally display itself in a variety of fubordinate effects, and more or less influence the whole conduct of life-It will not less evidently display itself in the writings of the enthusiast, by a peculiar turn of thought and stile, as

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well as in the morality he inculcates, and the speculative doctrines he propounds.

Let us consider the subject in this natural order, and in the first place examine whether the apostles and evangelifts believed without fufficient proof, that their Lord at first, and afterwards themselves, were commissioned and empowered by God to reveal to mankind the gofpel scheme.

The great proof on which enthusiasts rely, is the internal perception of " some fupernatural light, " or fome divine impulse, which they affert shews " itself too clearly to be mistaken, and needs no " other proof but its felf-evidence." -Now, though it is almost certain that such a perception may accompany real inspiration, and therefore to affirm that it exists, cannot alone and of neceffity be pronounced enthusiastic; yet when no other proof can be given of a fupernatural direction, than the afferted existence of fuch a perception, we must confess it is very fufpicious and unfatisfactory.

Experience proves that men are frequently misled by the warmth of imagination and the strength of paffions; that they are prone to believe readily what they anxiously wish, and that minds long absorbed in religious contemplation are apt to wish that they

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Chap-vi. f Locke's Essay on the Human Understanding, book 4, chap. xix. on enthusiasm, § 8, 9-11.

were fo favoured of God, as to have their opinions and actions under the immediate guidance of heaven, and to be endowed with fupernatural powers, as the instruments of guiding others to heaven, that they may thus be distinguished from the human race as the oracles and lights of the world. The belief of our being thus inspired, is so flattering to spiritual pride, so grateful to fpiritual indolence, and affords so blifsful a refuge to minds addicted to religious melancholy, that it cannot be wonderful a warm imagination should readily suggest such a belief, and a weak judgment as readily receive it. Since then a perfuafion of our being actuated by divine inspiration may fo eafily originate in delusion, we must admit that whenever it cannot be vindicated by clear proofs, from the fufpicion of having thus originated, even though it may not be demonstrably false, yet it ought not to be received as infallibly true, by any man who will

calmly attend to the dictates of reafon.

Here then enthusiasm fails of evidence, fince it can produce no proof of inspiration but internal perception; thus, says a great master of reason, whose principles I have adopted, -" He that will " not give himself up to all the extravagancies of " delufion and error, must bring this guide of " his light within to the trial. - When God illu"minates the mind with fupernatural light, he does

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" not extinguish that which is natural; if he would " have us assent to the truth of any propofition, " he either evidences that truth by the usual methods " of natural reason, or elfe makes it known to be a " truth which he would have us assent to by his au "thority, and convinces us it is from him, by fome "marks which reason cannot be mistaken in."Thus, the holy men of old, who had revelations " from God, had something else beside the internal light of afsurance to testify to them that it was from " God; they had outward signs to convince them "of the author of these revelations."

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It is not therefore difficult to diftinguish a just claim to divine authority from mere enthusiastic delusion; the latter is founded on internal perfuafion alone, probably impressed by the visions of a heated ima gination or the presumption of spiritual pride; it is obfcure in its origin and utterly defective in its proof, fince it rarely appeals to any external evidence at all, and never to any clear and decisive facts; it claims the fubmiffion, but disdains to fatisfy the doubts of reason. The former, on the contrary, establishes itself by adducing decisive proofs of a divine interpofition; it relies on miracles, on prophecy, on historical facts, which are supported by the testimony of fenfe, and bear the strictest investigation, uniting to internal conviction external evidence; it convinces the understanding before it attempts to controul

Locke, ibid. 15.

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