nce an empress was
sufficiently interested in them to desire a history of his life. This is
what can not be said of Jesus Christ, nor of those who have furnished us
His biography, for they were but ignorant men of the common people, poor
workmen, fishermen, who had not even the sense to relate consistently
the facts which they speak of, and which they mutually contradict very
often. In regard to the One whose life and actions they describe, if He
had really performed the miracles attributed to Him, He would have
rendered Himself notable by His beautiful acts; every one would have
admired Him, and there would be statues erected to Him as was done for
the Gods; but instead of that, He was regarded as a man of no
consequence, as a fanatic, etc. Josephus, the historian, after having
spoken of the great miracles performed in favor of his nation and his
religion, immediately diminishes their credibility and renders it
suspicious by saying that he leaves to each one the liberty of believing
what he chooses; this evidently shows that he had not much faith in
them. It also gives occasion to the more judicious to regard the
histories which speak of this kind of things as fabulous narrations.
[See Montaigne, and the author of the "Apology for Great Men."] All that
can be said upon this subject shows us clearly that pretended miracles
can be invented to favor vice and falsehood as well as justice and
truth.

I prove it by the evidence of what even our Christ-worshipers call the
Word of God, and by the evidence of the One they adore; for their books,
which they claim contain the Word of God, and Christ Himself, whom they
adore as a God-made man, show us explicitly that there are not only
false prophets--that is to say, impostors--who claim to be sent by God,
and who speak in His name, but which show as explicitly that these false
prophets can perform such great and prodigious miracles as shall deceive
the very elect. [See Matthew, chapter xxiv., verses 5, 21-27.] More than
this, all these pretended performers of miracles wish us to put faith
only in them, and not in those who belong to an opposite party.

On one occasion one of these pretended prophets, named Sedecias, being
contradicted by another, named Michea, the former struck the latter and
said to him, pleasantly, "By what way did the Spirit of God pass from me
to you?"

But how can these pretended miracles be the evidences of truth? for it
is clear that they were not perfo