ed on that a book which Providence has
evidently abandoned to carelessness, or to roguery, or to both,
was nevertheless intended by the Supreme, as a credible record
of an ultimate, permanent and universal religion for all mankind!!--
The insane effrontery of such a supposition deserves to be hooted
out of countenance.

Mr. Everett says, p. 243. of his work "that not one of the books of
the New Testament, nor all of them together, were intended to be
a forensic defence of Christianity. On the contrary, the historical
books are brief, and imperfect memoirs, which were not designed,
nor supposed to contain all the faces, and which do not set forth,
nor profess to set forth the evidences of the religion. The
Epistolary parts are the counsels, instructions and affectionate
sentiments which the occasions of the infant churches, drew from
their founders. Now from these we expect, to collect the whole of
Christianity, of its doctrines, its precepts, and its sanctions." Can
Mr. Everett confidently believe, that God Almighty, who
descended to the earth, to deliver a Code to one nation would
have left the world to collect as they could a complete, universal,
and permanent code of religion and, morals from "brief and
imperfect," interpolated and corrupted memoirs, and a few
occasional letters?]

[fn16 Mr. Everett recommends to me to adopt as an appropriate
motto for the second edition of my first work, a passage from
Celsus which speaks of the dispute, between the Jews and
Christians as a "quarrel about the shadow of an ass." p. 327. of
Mr. Everett's work.

Is it so indeed! How then has it happened that Mr. Everett's
Coreligionists have for fifteen hundred years persecuted,
despised, oppressed, trampled underfoot millions, plundered and
massacred hundreds of thousands, tortured, racked, and roasted
alive thousands of the Jewish nation; and all in a quarrel about
"the shadow of an ass!" O shame, where is thy blush. O meek
eye'd humanity, how hast thou been outraged and trampled on!

For my own part I do not consider it as a quarrel about "the
shadow of an ass," I rather think it has a much greater
resemblance to a quarrel about an ass in the Lion's skin; in which
quarrel the Christians have shown themselves to be every thing
but the Fox in the Fable upon that subject.]

[fn17 Mr. Everett, also quotes my words in another place into the
211 page of his work. "The Jews had certainly good reason from
their prophecies, to exp