are elsewhere used to express the miracles, or "great
signs and wonders" of Jesus himself.

It is a striking circumstance, that the earliest apologists for
Christianity laid little stress upon the miracles of its founder.

Justin Martyr, in his Apology, is very shy of appealing to the miracles
of Jesus in confirmation of his pretentions; he lays no stress upon
them, but relies entirely upon the prophecies he quotes as in his favor.
Jerome, in his comment on the eighty-first Psalm, assures us, "that the
performance of miracles was no extraordinary thing: and that it was no
more than what Appollonius, and Apulias, and innumerable impostors had
done before."

Lactantius saw so little force in the miracles of Christ, exclusive of
the prophecies, that he does not hesitate to affirm their utter
inability to support the Christian religion by themselves. [Lactan. Div.
Inst. L. v. c. 3.]

Celsus, observing upon the words of Jesus, that "false prophets and
false Christs shall arise, and show grant signs and wonders," sneeringly
observes, "A fine thing truly! that miracles done by him should prove
him to be a God, and when done by others should demonstrate them to be
false prophets and impostors."

Tertullian, on the words of Jesus, here referred to by Celsus, says as
follows;

"Christ, foretelling that many imposters should come and perform many
wonders, shews, that our faith cannot without great temerity be founded
on miracles, since they were so early wrought, by false Christians
themselves." [Tertul. in Marc. L. ii. c. 3.]

Indeed, miracles in the two first centuries were allowed very little
weight in proving doctrines. Since the Christians did not deny, that the
heathens performed miracles in behalf of their gods, and that the
heretics performed them as will as the orthodox. This accounts for the
perfect indifference of the heathens to the miracles said to have been
performed by the founders of Christianity. Hierocles speaks with great
contempt of what he calls "the little tricks of Jesus," And Origen, in
his reply to Celsus, waves the consideration of the Christian miracles:
"for (says he) the very mention of these things sets you heathens upon
the. broad grin." Indeed, that they laughed very heartily at what in
the eighteenth century is read with a grave face, is evident from the
few fragments of their works written against Christianity which has
escaped the burning zeal of the fathers, and the Christian emperors;