believe or not, as he likes.

For instance, the revelation to Cain only teaches us that God admonished
him to lead the true life, for such alone is the object and substance of
the revelation, not doctrines concerning free will and philosophy.
Hence, though the freedom of the will is clearly implied in the words of
the admonition, we are at liberty to hold a contrary opinion, since the
words and reasons were adapted to the understanding of Cain.

So, too, the revelation to Micaiah would only teach that God revealed to
him the true issue of the battle between Ahab and Aram; and this is all
we are bound to believe. Whatever else is contained in the revelation
concerning the true and the false Spirit of God, the army of heaven
standing on the right hand and on the left, and all the other details,
does not affect us at all. Every one may believe as much of it as his
reason allows.

The reasonings by which the Lord displayed His power to Job (if they
really were a revelation, and the author of the history is narrating,
and not merely, as some suppose, rhetorically adorning his own
conceptions), would come under the same category--that is, they were
adapted to Job's understanding, for the purpose of convincing him, and
are not universal, or for the convincing of all men.

We can come to no different conclusion with respect to the reasonings of
Christ, by which He convicted the Pharisees of pride and ignorance, and
exhorted His disciples to lead the true life. He adapted them to each
man's opinions and principles. For instance, when He said to the
Pharisees (Matt. xii. 26), "And if Satan cast out devils, his house is
divided against itself, how then shall his kingdom stand?" He only
wished to convince the Pharisees according to their own principles, not
to teach that there are devils, or any kingdom of devils. So, too, when
He said to His disciples (Matt. viii. 10), "See that ye despise not one
of these little ones, for I say unto you that their angels," etc., He
merely desired to warn them against pride and despising any of their
fellows, not to insist on the actual reason given, which was simply
adopted in order to persuade them more easily.

Lastly, we should say exactly the same of the apostolic signs and
reasonings, but there is no need to go further into the subject. If I
were to enumerate all the passages of Scripture addressed only to
individuals, or to a particular man's understanding, and which cannot,
without gr