"and without any image of the Gods'." CHAP, Nay, the fame Author even tells us, that III. rather than they would fubmit to place a Itatue of Cefar in the temple, they took up arms". Thus we may judge of the probability of his former affertion, that they voluntarily placed the image of an afs there.

Another of the grofs falfehoods maintained by Tacitus is, that the Jews reached their own country in fix days; from which circumftance he afterwards infinuates, that they reverenced the feventh as a day of reft. Their abftinence from the flesh of fwine he attributes to the liability of that animal to the diforder, on account of which they were expelled from Egypt".

t Tacit. Hift. c. ix.

In this affertion, however, the Roman Historian is perfectly accurate; for, as it may be inferred from the writings of Philo and Jofephus, the fanctuary of the fecond temple was literally empty; the use of the cherubic emblems, which formed fo confpicuous a part of the furniture of the first, having been totally discontinued after the return from the Babylonian captivity. See Lord Pref. Forbes's Works, vol. i. P. 190.

"Tacit. Hift. c. ix.

x Ibid. c. iii, and iv.

y Ibid. c. iv.

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Thefe

SECT.

Ir.

These remarks may perhaps be fufficient to fhew, that there is no reafon, why Tacitus Thould be permitted to bear triumphantly away the palm of authenticity from Mofes. The refult of the whole is, that as the miracles, which the Jewish Legiflator is faid to have wrought, could be neither a deception of the imagination; nor trifles exaggerated; nor the operation of an evil fpirit; they must have been produced by the divine agency: and if fuch was their origin, Mofes, as a delegate of heaven, could not have had any intention to dedeceive his followers.

CHAP.

CHAP. IV..

APPLICATION OF THE THIRD RULE. 111. THE DOCUMENTS, WHICH CONTAIN THE LAW, ARE AUTHENTIC,.AND WERE WRITTEN ABOUT THE TIME, WHEN THE FACTS THERE RELATED HAPPENED. I. IF THEY WERE NOT WRITTEN BY MOSES, BUT BY SOME OTHER PERSON, THEY MUST EITHER HAVE BEEN BUILT UPON SOME HISTORY UNIVERSALLY RECEIVED AS AUTHENTIC, OR 2. ÚPON SOME TRADITION UNIVERSALLY CONSIDERED AS FABULOUS, OR 3. THEY MUST HAVE BEEN ENTIRELY THE INVENTION OF AN IMPOSTOR. HOW FAR A CORRUPTION OF THE TEXT, SO AS TO ALTER THE NARRATIVE OF FACTS, IS PROBABLE,

THE argument has hitherto been carried on merely hypothetically. Suppofing the Scripture-account to be true, and arguing from it, as from any other history, Mofes neither could have been deceived himself, nor could he have had any defign to deceive others. It will now be necefsary to shew, that fuch account is true, or in other words, that the Mofaical difpenfation

v 3

SECT. fation poffeffes the third requifite of a re-
II. velation from heaven.

The documents

III. Have authentic documents been handed down to pofterity, from about the time, when the series of events took place, which are refes are au- lated in the Pentateuch?

which compofe the

Law of Mo

thentic, and

were writ

ten about

the time

We have now extant two copies of the when the Law of Mofes, the one received by the related hap- Jews, and the other acknowledged by the

facts therein

pened.

Samaritans; each nation maintaining, that
their own is the true one. If we examine
thefe two different volumes, we fhall find
their coincidence to be fuch, as to admit
of no manner of doubt, with regard to
their original identity. The feveral varia-
tions, which occur, may easily be accounted
for; partly on the score of national preju-
dice, as the celebrated text in Deutero-
nomy, where the Samaritan reads mount
Gerizim, and the Hebrew mount Ebal
and partly from the want of accuracy in
transcribers, as perhaps is the cafe with all
the others. The furious hatred between the
Jews and the Samaritans is well known;
confequently, if the one nation made any

* Deut. xxvii. 4,

mate

་

material alterations in the text, the other CHAP. would immediately reprobate fuch impiety, IV. and would prevent the admiffion of the fpurious reading, by confronting it with their own copy. Perhaps the only wilful alteration, that can be fhewn, is the text above-mentioned: but, although it probably created the most bitter enmity between them, as being the very point in debate, yet it does not in the least affect any other part of the hiftory; the whole narrative still remains either authentic or fabulous, precisely the fame as if no fuch variation was in exiftence. We may therefore conclude, that the Pentateuch was written prior to the diffenfion between the Jews and the Samaritans. It may alfo be observed, that, whatever difagreement there might be between the contending parties in other refpects, they perfectly coincided in admitting the Law of Mofes, not only to be authentic, but likewife divinely inspired, because they both adopted it as a religious rule. According to Prideaux, the temple of the Samaritans was built, in oppofition to that at Jerufalem, about 409 years before Chrift. Thus we have obtained a fort of refting place, and may affert without fear of contradiction, that the Pentateuch

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