that some conclusion could
be drawn from miracles, we could not possibly infer from them the
existence of God; for a miracle being an event under limitations is the
expression of a fixed and limited power, therefore we could not possibly
infer from an effect of this kind the existence of a cause whose power
is infinite, but at the utmost only of a cause whose power is greater
than that of the said effect. I say at the utmost, for a phenomenon may
be the result of many concurrent causes, and its power may be less than
the power of the sum of such causes, but far greater than that of any
one of them taken individually. On the other hand, the laws of nature,
as we have shown, extend over infinity, and are conceived by us as,
after a fashion, eternal, and Nature works in accordance with them in a
fixed and immutable order; therefore, such laws indicate to us in a
certain degree the infinity, the eternity and the immutability of God.

We may conclude, then, that we cannot gain knowledge of the existence
and providence of God by means of miracles, but that we can far better
infer them from the fixed and immutable order of Nature. By miracle I
here mean an event which surpasses, or is thought to surpass, human
comprehension: for in so far as it is supposed to destroy or interrupt
the order of Nature or her laws, it not only can give us no knowledge of
God, but, contrariwise, takes away that which we naturally have, and
makes us doubt of God and everything else.

Neither do I recognize any difference between an event against the laws
of Nature and an event beyond the laws of Nature (that is, according to
some, an event which does not contravene Nature, though she is
inadequate to produce or effect it), for a miracle is wrought in, and
not beyond Nature, though it may be said in itself to be above Nature,
and, therefore, must necessarily interrupt the order of Nature, which
otherwise we conceive of as fixed and unchangeable, according to God's
decrees. If therefore anything should come to pass in Nature which does
not follow from her laws, it would also be in contravention to the order
which God has established in Nature forever through universal natural
laws. It would, therefore, be in contravention to God's nature and laws,
and, consequently belief in it would throw doubt upon everything, and
lead to Atheism.

I think I have now sufficiently established my second point, so that we
can again conclude that a miracle, whether i