drawn from mere inexperience is fallacious, I mean
EXAMINATION OF HUME. 565
not to assert that the absence of previous experi-
ence of a particular fact or phenomenon is not of
the highest importance to be weighed as a circum-
stance in all investigations, whether they be phys-
ical, judicial, or historical ; the more remote the
subject of testimony is from our own knowledge
and experience, the stronger ought the evidence
to be to warrant our assent : neither is it meant
to deny that in particular instances, and under par-
ticular circumstances, the want or absence of pre-
vious experience may not be too strong for positive
testimony, especially when it otherwise labors un-
der suspicion. What is meant is this, that mere ''
inexperience, however constant, is not in itself,
and in the abstract, and without consideration of
all the internal and external probabilities in favor
of human testimony, sufBcient to defeat and to
destroy it, so as to supersede the necessity of
investigation. Mr. Hume's conclusion is highly
objectionable in a philosophical point of view, in-
asmuch as it would leave phenomena of the most
remarkable nature wholly unexplained, and would
operate to the utter exclusion of all inquiry. Es-
toppels are odious, even in judicial investigations,
because they tend to exclude the truth ; in meta-
physics they are intolerable. So conscious was
Mr. Hume himself of the weakness of his general
and sweeping position, that in the second part of
566 EXAMINATION OF HUME.
his tenth section he Hmits his inference in these
remarkable terms : * I beg the Hmitations here made
may be remarked, when I say that a miracle can
never be proved so as to be the foundation of a
system of religion ; for I own that otherwise there
may 'possibly be miracles, or violations of the usual
course of nature, of such a kind as to admit of proof
from human testimony J
"In what way the use to be made of a fact,
when proved, can affect the validity of the proof,
or how it can be that a fact proved to be true is not
true for all purposes to which it is relevant, I pre-
tend not to understand. Whether a miracle, when
proved, may be the foundation of a system of relig-
ion, is foreign to the present discussion ; but when
it is once admitted that a miracle Tnay he proved hy
huvian testimony, it necessarily follows, from ^Mr.
Hume's own concession, that his general position
is untenable ; for that, if true, goes to the full ex-
tent of proving that human testimony is inadeqiiaie
to the proof of a miracle, or violation of the laws of
nature."
THE RESURRECTION.
ORDER OF EVENTS, AS RECORDED BY THE
FOUR EVANGELISTS.
In the unanswered and unanswerable treatise
of Gilbert West, Esq., on the Resurrection, all
seeming contradictions in the narratives of the
evangelists are so fully explained, and the whole
subject of the resurrection so amply and ably pre-
sented, that it forms one of the mosi convincing
proofs of the truth of Christianity. The reader
who would thoroughly examine the subject, is re-
ferred to the volume itself. Only the outline of
the order of events as presented by the author is
here given.
Mr. West says, section 9, Having thus cleared the
way, ]p shall now set down the several incidents
of this wonderful event in the order in which,
according to the foregoing observations, they seem
to have arisen ; after premising that our Saviour
Christ was crucified on a Friday — the preparation,
or the day before the Jewish Sabbath — gave up
the ghost about three o'clock in the afternoon of
the same day, and was buried that evening, before
568 WEST ON THE RESURUECTION.
the commencement of the Sabbath, -which among
the Jews w^as always reckoned to begin from the
first appearance of the stars on Friday evening,
and to end at the appearance of them again on the
day we call Saturdaj^ ; that some time, and most
probably towards the close of the Sabbath, after
the religious duties of the day were over, the chief
priests obtained of Pilate the Roman governor a
guard to watch the sepulchre till the tliird day
was past, pretending to apprehend that his dis-
ciples might come by night and steal away the
body, and then give out that he was risen, accord-
ing to what he himself had predicted while he was
yet alive ; that they did accordingly set a guard,
made sure the sepulchre, and to prevent the sol-
diers themselves from concurring with the disci-
ples, they put a seal upon the stone which closed
up the entrance of the sepulchre.
The order I conceive to have been as follows : •
Very early on the first day of the week — the
day immediately following the Sabbath, and the
third from the death of Christ — Mary Magdalene
and the other Mary, in pursuance of the design of
embalming the Lord's body, which they had con-
certed with the other women who attended him
from Galilee to Jerusalem, and for the performing
of which they had prepared unguents and spices,
set out, in order to take a view of the sepulchre,
WEST ON THE RESURRECTION. 569
just as the day began to break ; and about the
time of their setting out, " there was a great earth-
quake ; for the angel of the Lord descended from
heaven, and came and rolled back the stone from
the door of the sepulchre, and sat upon it : his
countenance was like lightning, and his raiment
white as snow ; and for fear of him the keepers did
shake, and became as dead men ;" during whose
amazement and terror, Christ came out of the sep-
ulchre ; and the keepers being now recovered out
of their trance and fled, the angel, wjio till then
sat upon the stone, quitted the station on the out-
side, and entered into the sepulchre, and probably
disposed the linen clothes and napkin in that order
in which they were afterwards found and observed
by John and Peter. Mary Magdalene, in the mean-
while, and the other Mary, were still on their way
to the sepulchre, where, together with Salome —
whom they had either called upon or met as they
were going — they arrived at the rising of the sun.
And as they drew near, discoursing about the
method of putting their intent of embalming the
body of their Master in execution, "they said
among themselves, Who shall roll us away the
stone from the door of the sepulchre ? for it was
very great ;" and they themselves — the two Marys
at least — had seen it placed there two days before,
and seen with what difficulty it was done. But in
570 WEST ON THE RESURRECTION.
the midst of their dehb'eration about removing this
great and sole obstacle to their design — for it does
not appear that they knew any thing of the guard —
lifting up their eyes, while they were yet at some
distance, they perceived it was already rolled away.
Alarmed at so extraordinary and so unexpected a
circumstance, Mary Magdalene, concluding that
as the stone could not be moved without a great
number of hands, so it was not rolled away with-
out some design, and that they who rolled it away
could have» no other design but to remove the
Lord's body ; and being convinced by appearances
that they had done so, ran immediately to acquaint
Peter and John with what she had seen and what
she suspected, leaving Mary and Salome there,
that if Joanna and the other women should come
in the meantime, they might acquaint them with
their surprise at finding the stone removed and
the body gone, and of Mary Magdalene's running
to inform the two above-mentioned apostles of it.
While she was going on this errand, Mary and
Salome went on, and entered into the sepulchre,
and there saw an angel " sitting on the right side,
clothed in a long white garment ; and they were
affrighted. And he saith unto them, Be not af-
frighted : ye seek Jesus of Nazareth, which was
crucified : he is risen ; he is not here : behold the
place where they laid him. But go your way, tell
WEST ON THE RESURRECTION. 571
his disciples and Peter that he goeth before you
into Galilee ; there shall ye see him, as he said
unto you. And they went out quickly, and fled
from the sepulchre, for they trembled and were
amazed : neither said they any thing to any man,
for they were afraid." After the departure of Mary
and Salome came John and Peter, who having been
informed by Mary Magdalene that the body of the
Lord was taken away out of the sepulchre, and
that she knew not where they had laid him, " ran
both together to the sepulchre, and the other dis-
ciple," John, " outran Peter, and came first to the
sepulchre ; and he, stooping down and looking in,
saw the linen clothes lying, yet went he not in.
Then cometh Simon Peter, following him, and went
into the sepulchre, and seeth the linen clothes lie,
and the napkin that was about his head, not lying
with the hnen clothes, but wrapped together in a
place by itself. Then went in also that other dis-
ciple which came first to the sepulchre, and he
saw and believed ; for as yet they knew not the
scripture, that he must rise again from the dead.
Then the disciples went away again unto their
own home. But Mary stood without at the sepul-
chre weeping ; and as she wept, she stooped down
and looked into the sepulchre, and seeth two an-
gels in white, sitting, the one at the head, and the
other at the feet, where the body of Jesus had
572 WEST ON THE RESURRECTION.
lain ; and they say unto her, Woman, why weep-
est thou ? She saith unto them, Because they
have taken away my Lord, and I know not where
they have laid him. And when she had thus said,
she turned herself back, and saw Jesus standing,
and knew not that it was Jesus. Jesus saith unto
her. Woman, why weepest thou ? Whom seekest
thou ? She, supposing him to be the gardener,
saith unto him. Sir, if thou have borne him hence,
tell me where thou hast laid him, and I will take
him away. Jesus saith unto her, Mary ! She
turned herself, and saith unto him, Rabboni I
which is to say, Master ! Jesus saith unto her.
Touch me not, for I am not yet ascended unto my
Father ; but go to my brethren, and say unto
them, I ascend unto my Father and your Father,
and to my God and your God." After this appear-
ance of Christ to Mary Magdalene, to whom St.
Mark says expressly he appeared first, the other
Mary and Salome, who had fled from the sepulchre
in such terror and amazement that they said not
any thing to any man — that is, as I understand,
had not told the message of the angel to some
whom they met, and to whom they were directed
to deliver it — were met on their way by Jesus
Christ himself, who said to them, " All hail ! And
they came and held him by the feet, and wor-
shipped him. Then said Jesus unto them, Be not
WEST ON THE RESURRECTION. 573
afraid ; go tell my brethren that they go into Gali-
lee, and there shall they see me." These several
women and the two apostles being now gone from
the sepulchre, Joanna with the other Galilean
women, " and others with them, came bringing
the spices which they had prepared for the em-
balming the body of Jesus, and finding the stone
rolled away from the sepulchre, they entered in,
but not finding the body of the Lord Jesus, they
were much perplexed thereabout, and behold two
men stood by them in shining garments ; and as
they were afraid, and bowed down their faces to
the earth, they said unto them. Why seek ye the
living among the dead ? He is not here, but is
risen. Remember how he spake unto you when
he was yet in Galilee, saying. The Son of man
must be delivered into the hands of sinful men,
and be crucified, and the third day rise again. And
they remembered his words, and returned from
the sepulchre, and told all these things unto the
eleven, and to all the rest. And their words
seemed to them as idle tales, and they believed
them not." But Peter, who upon the report of
Mary Magdalene had been at the sepulchre, had
entered into it, and with a curiosity that bespoke
an expectation of something extraordinary, and a
desire of being satisfied, had observed that the
linen clothes in which Christ was buried, and the
574 WEST ON THE HESURRECTION.
napliiii which was about his head, were not only
left in the sepulchre, but carefully wrapped up and
laid in several places ; and who from thence might
begin to suspect what his companion St. John from
those very circumstances seems to have believed :
Peter, I say, hearing from Joanna that she had
seen a vision of angels at the sepulchre, who had
assured her that Christ was risen, starting up, ran
thither immediately, and knowing that the angels,
if they were within the sepulchre, might be dis-
covered without his going in, he did not, as before,
enter in, but stooping down looked so far in as to
see the "linen clothes, and departed, wondering
in himself at that which was come to pass." And
either with Peter, or about that time, went some
other disciples who were present when Joanna
and the other women made their report, "and
found it even so as the women had said. The
same day two of the disciples went to a village
called Emmaus, which was from Jerusalem about
threescore furlongs. And they talked together of
all those things which had happened. And it came
to pass that while they communed together and
reasoned, Jesus himself drew near, and went with
them. But their eyes were holden, that they
should not know him. And he said unto them.
What manner of communications," arguments, "are
these that ye have one to another, as ye walk,
WEST ON THE RESURRECTION. 575
and are sad ? And one of tbem, whose name was
Cleopas, answering said unto him, Art thou only a
stranger in Jerusalem, and hast not known the
things which are come to pass tht^re in these days ?
And he said unto them. What things ? And they
said unto him, Concerning Jesus of Nazareth, which
was a prophet mighty in deed and word before God
and ^W the people ; and how the chief priests and
our rulers delivered him to be condemned to death,
and have crucified him. But we trusted that it
had been he which should have redeemed Israel ;
and besides all this, to-day is the third day since
these things were done. Yea, and certain women
also of our company made us astonished, which
were early at the sepulchre ; and when they found
not his body, they came, saying that they had also
seen a vision of angels, which said that he was
alive. And certain of them which were with us
went to the sepulchre, and found it even so as the
women had said ; but him they saw not. Then
he said unto them, fools, and slow of heart to
believe all that the prophets have spoken : ought
not Christ to ha»ve suffered these things, and to
enter into his glory? And beginning at Moses
and all the prophets, he expounded unto them in
all the scriptures the things concerning himself.
And they drew nigh unto the village whither they
went ; and he made as though he would have gone
576 WEST ON THE RESURRECTION.
further. But they constrained him, saying, Abide
with 'j us for it is towards evening, and the day is
far spent. And he went in to tarry witli them.
And it came to pass, as he sat at meat with them,
he took. bread and blessed it, and brake and gave
to them. And their eyes were opened, and they
knew him ; and he vanished out of their sight.
And they said one to another, did not our heart
burn within us, while he talked with us by the
way, and while he opened to us the scriptures?
And they rose up the same hour, and returned to
Jerusalem, and found the eleven gathered togeth-
er, and them that were with them, saying, The
Lo '^ risen indeed, and hath appeared to Simon.
Anv ' told what things were done in the way,
and ^ he was known of them in breaking of
breau."' .,
This is the order in which tha several incidents
above related appear to have arisen ; the conform-
ity of which with the words of the evangelists,
interpreted in their obvious and most natural
sense, I have shown in my remarks upon the
passages wherein they are confined. By this
order, all the different events naturally and easily
follow, and as it were rise out of one another, and
the narration of the evangelists is cleared from all
confusion and inconsistencies.