the Liberties of any Nation will allow, with Impunity, a Set of
distinguish'd Infidels to insult and treat with the greatest Contempt
and Scorn the most sacred and important Truths, that are openly
professed, by the whole Body of the People, of whatever Denomination."
By a Set of Infidels, I suppose, he means me and the Fathers: And by
_treating with Contempt and Scorn the most sacred and important
Truths_, he means, our burlesquing, bantering and ridiculing the
_Clergy_ for their Ministry of the Letter: And for _this_ he would, I
conceive, have incensed the _Societies_ for Reformation of Manners to
a Prosecution of me. And if they had not been wiser, and more
merciful than their Preacher, I must have gone to Pot. But why should
the _Bishop_ dislike this way of Writing? Don't he know, that the
Fathers of the Church used to jest and scoff at the _Gentiles_ and
their Priests for their foolish Superititions? Don't he know, that our
_Reformers_ banter'd and ridicul'd Popery out of Doors, and almost
within the Memory of Man, it was reckon'd but a dull Sermon, that was
not well humm'd for its Puns and Jest on the Papists? why then should
the _Bishop_ be against that way of writing, which was of good Use to
the _Reformers_, and first _Christians_? The grand Subject for
_Burlesque_ and _Banter_, in my Opinion, is _Infidelity_; and that
_Bishop_, who can't break two Jests upon _Infidels_ for their one upon
Christianity, has but a small Share of Wit. The Christian Religion
according to the _Bishop_, will abide the Test of calm and sedate
Reasoning against it, but can't bear a Jest; O strange!
But to leave these two Contenders for Persecution to the Chastisement of
acuter Pens. What I have here pleaded for Liberty is not thro' any Fears
of Danger to myself, but for the Love of Truth and Advancement of
Christianity, which, without it, can't be defended, propagated and
sincerely embraced. And therefore hope, that the Controversy before us,
between _Infidels_ and _Apostates_ will be continued by the Indulgence
of the Government, till Truth arises and shines bright to the
Dissipation of the Mists of Error and Ignorance; like the Light of the
Sun to the Dispersion of the Darkness of the Night. I will by God's
Leave, go on to bear my part in the Controversy; And, if it was not more
against the Interests than Reason of the _Clergy_ to believe me, would
again solemnly declare that what I do in it is with a View to the Honour
of _Jesus_, our spiritual _Messiah_, to whom be Glory for ever. _Amen._
~_FINIS._~
[Illustration]
FOOTNOTES:
[145] _Matt._ Chap. xxi. _Mark_, Chap. xi.
[146] Hoc factum, nisi figuratum, stultum invenitur. _In Serm._ lxxvii.
[147] Nulla esset Ligni Culpa, quia Lignum sine sensu non habebat
Culpam. Augustin _in Serm._ lxxxix.
[148] Quærit poma; necesciebat tempus nondum esse? quod Cultor Arboris
sciebat, Creator Arboris nesciebat? _Augustini in Serm._ lxxxix.
[149] Hoc ideo probamus, quia Passionis Domini Dies propinquabat, et
scimus quo tempore passus sit. _Ibid._
[150] Arbor non est justé siccato. _Johan. Hierosol in Loc. Marci._
[151] Si miraculum fuerat tantummodo commendandum, et non alquid
prophetice figurandum, multo clementiùs dominus et sua misericordia
digniùs fecerat, Si quam aridam invenerat, viridem redderet, sicut
languentes sanavit. Tunc vero e contrario, quasi adversus Regulam
Clementiæ suæ invenit Arborem virentem, præter tempus fructus nondum
habentem, non tamen fructum agricolæ negantem, et aridam fecit. _In
Serm._ lxxxix. _Sect._ 3.
[152] See Arch-Bishop _Wake_'s Letter to Mr. _Chandler_, which is
handed about Town and Country.
[153] _Vindication of the Christian Religion_, p. 82.
[154] _Ibid._
[155] Quod sequenti die viderint exaruisse fieum. _Theophylact. in
Locum Marci._
[156] Chap. xiii.
[157] Quid sibi vult, quod in Evangelio suo Dominus Fici Parabolam
_frequenter_ inducit: Habes enim alibi, quod jussu Domini Viriditas
omnis hujus Ligni frondentis aruerit. _In Loc. Lucæ._
[158] Videamus, ubi alibi scriptum de ista ficu; in Evangelio secundum
Lucam legimus, &c. _In Loc. Marci. Hom._ xii.
[159] _Matth._ Chap. xxi. 21.
[160] Quanquam igitur juxta Literam Hæc facta non legantur ab Apostolis,
sicut quidam Paganorum calumniati sunt, et garriunt contra nos, etiam in
suis scriptis asserentes Apostolos non habuisse fidem, quia monues non
transtulerunt neque Ficulneas verbo exsiccarunt. _In Loc. Matth._
[161] Legimus Apostolorum miracula, nusquam autem legimus arborem ab his
arefactam, aut montem in mare translatum; quæramus ergo in mysterio ubi
factum sit, non enim Verba Domini vacare potuerant. _In Serm._ lxxxix.
[162] Sed futurum aliquid Miraculo commendasse, multa sunt quæ nos
admoneant, nobisq; persuadeant imo ab _invitis_ extorqueant. _Ibid._
[163] Porro quando in hunc locum incidimus, nemo curiose inquirat, aut
anxie disputet, justene an secus factum sit; sed Miraculum editum
contempletur et admiretur. Nam de submersis Porcis quoq; nonnulli hanc
quæstionem moverant, factumq; justitiæ coloræ destitutum prædicare
veriti non sunt. _In Loc. Merci._
[164] Quid Arbor fici, nisi humanam naturam designet? _In Homil._ xxxi.
[165] In Ficu, Synogogæ positum Exemplum est. _In Loc. Matt._
[166] Absit a nobis, ut, Jesu veniente ad nos et volente manducare de
ficu (_Ecclesiæ_) non inveniatur Fructus in ea. _In Matth. Tract._ xxx.
[167] Potest autem ficus illa intelligi populus Circumcisionis. _Ibid._
[168] Arbor ficulnea Genus humanum est----Triennium autem tria sunt
Tempora, unum ante Legem, alterum sub Lege, tertium sub gratia. St.
_Augustin in Serm._ cx.
[169] _Jude_, ver. 14.
[170] Inveniet infæcundam, foliis tantummodo vestitam, id est Verbis
inanibus gloriantem, sed fructibus vacuam, Operibus quippe bonis
sterilem. _In Loc. Matt._
[171] Habentem folia et non fructus; Verba, non Sensus; Scripturas,
non intelligentiam Scripturarum. _In Loc. Marci._
[172] Folia sola habentem, hoc est, apparentem Litteram, non Fructus
Spiritus. _In Loc. Matt._
[173] Qærens non Sensiles Fructus sed intellectilem ex Lege et
Prophetis dulcemq, Fæcunditatem. _Cæsarii in Dialog._ 40.
[174] Ficus sunt dona dulcissima Spiritus Sancti, Spiritualia dogmata
et Scientia Scripturarum. _In Aggæ_; _Cap._ ii.
[175] Esuriit autem Jesus semper in justis, volens manducare Fructum
Spiritus Sancti i neis. _In Matt. Tract._ xxx.
[176] Ad quem (Locum) intelligendum, ut oportet, expectandum esse
Eliæ, ut nonnunquam loquuntur Veteres de Locis obscurissimis Adventum.
_In Excercitat. Sac. Lib._ ii. _cap._ 6.
[177] Fructus dulces omne genus de arbore Vitæ comedendum præbebit
Elias. _Apud Buxtorf. Synag. p._ 738.
[178] Oculis Spiritalibus viderunt Mysterium fici siccatæ. _Matt.
Tract._ xvi.
[179] Effodientes Literam Legis. _Cyril. Glaphyr._ L. 1. P. 1.
[180] Mittitur ergo Cophinus Stercoris ad Radicem Arboris, quando
pravitatis suæ Conscientia tangitur memoria Cogitationis. _Gregor. M.
in Hom._ xxxi.
[181] Sed hoc significat Ficulnea infructuosa, quod Mulier inclinata;
et hoc Ficulnea reservata, quod Mulier erecta. Hoc autem & octodecem
Annorum Numero signatur, quod tertio die Dominus Vineæ Ficulneam
venisse perhibetur. _In Homil._ xxxi.
[182] _John_, Chap. v.
[183] Vid. Milli. Nov. Test. _In Loc._
[184] Quare modo non movetur Aqua? _St. Ambros de Sacrament._ _Lib.
C._ 2.
[185] [Greek: Eis monos tou eniautou etherapeueto.] _In Serm. contra
Eberietatem._
[186] Vid. Milli. Nov. Test. _In Loc._
[187] Tot jacebant & unus curatus, cum posset uno Verbo omnes erigere.
Quid ergo intelligendum est, nisi quia Potestas & Bonitas illa magis
agebat, _&c._ _In Loc. Johan._
[188] Defence of Christianity, P. 415.
[189] Quis hic Curationis modus? quid hoc nobis mysterium
significatur? non [Greek: aplôs] nec [Greek: eikê] hæc, sed futura
nobis, tanquam imagine et figura quadam describuntur, ne res nimium
incredibilis et inexpectata, accedente fidei Virtute, Multitudinis
Animas offenderet. _In Loc. Johan._
[190] Aqua turbata----credas hoc Angelica Virtute fieri solere, non
tamen sine significante aliquo Sacramento? _In Loc. Johan._
[191] Cujus Rei & cujus signi profundum mysterium, quantum Dominus
donare dignatur, loquar ut potero. _Ibid._
[192] Piscina illa Baptismum designat. _Theophyl. In Loc._ Quænam
igitur hæc descriptio? Futurum erat Baptisma plenum maximæ Potestatis
& Gratiæ purgaturum peccata. _Chrysost. In Loc._
[193] Per quinque Porticus, quinque Libras Mosis intelligo, St.
_Theophil. Antioch. in Loc._ Quinque Porticus sunt quinque Libri
Mosis. St. _August. in Loc._
[194] Mosis quinque Libros scripsit, sed in quinque Porticibus
Piscinam cingentibus languidi jacebant, et curari non poterant. Vide
quomodo manet littera, convincens eum non salvans iniquum. Illis enim
quinque Porticibus, in figura quinque Librorum prodebantur potius quam
sanabantur ægroti. Ergo quicunque amatis litteram fine gratia, in
Porticibus remanebitis, ægri eritis, jacentes non convalescentes, de
littera enim præsumitis. _In Psal._ lxx.
[195] Est Figura Populi in ultimis temporibus sanandi. _In Loc. Johan._
[196] Languidus ille, de quo in Evangelio legimus, quia jacebat, Typum
Generis humani habere videbatur. _In Serm._ cclxxiv. _Append._
[197] Paralyticum qui juxta Natatoriam jacebat. _Irenæi. Lib._ ii.
Chap. 22.
[198] Tempus et Annus sunt centum Anni, _Tichonii in Reg._ 5^a
[199] Quod autem triginta et octo Annos in Languoribus positut erat,
do illo Quadraginta numero, quem supra diximus duo minus habens; et
quæ sunt ista duo, nisi duo præcepta, dilectio Dei et Proximi. Ista
duo, in quibus tota Lex pendet et Prophetæ, si non habuerit, languidus
et Paralyticus jacet. _In Ps._ lxxxiii.
[200] Quod autem sub finem Hebdomadum Sanctæ Pentecostes ipse
revertitur Hierosolymam, figuraté et ænigmatice significat futurum
nostri Salvatoris Reversionem ultimis præsentis ævi temporibus. _In
Loc. Johan._
[201] Turbabat Angelus,----dictus est Dominus magni consilii Angelus.
_Augustin in Serm._ cxxv. _Sect._ 3.
[202] Turbavit Aquam, id est, turbavit Populum. _Ejusdem in Ps._ cii.
[203] Sabbatum est et Grabatum non licet tollere. Quid stupidius aut
inertius esse potest? _In Loc. Johan._
[204] Sermon before the Society for Reformation, _&c._ p. 12.
A FOURTH
DISCOURSE
ON THE
MIRACLES
OF OUR
_SAVIOUR_,
In VIEW of the Present
Controversy between INFIDELS
and APOSTATES.
_Canes qui oblatrant contra Inquisitionem
Veritatis._ Clem. Alex.
The Third Edition.
By THO. WOOLSTON, B.D. sometime
Fellow of _Sidney-College_ in _Cambridge_.
_LONDON_:
Printed for the Author, and Sold by him
next door to the _Star_, in _Aldermanbury_,
and by the Booksellers of _London_, and
_Westminster_, 1728.
[Price One Shilling.]
[Illustration]
TO THE
Right Reverend Father in GOD
_FRANCIS_,
Lord Bishop of St. ASAPH.
MY LORD,
_If the_ Convocation _had been sitting, I would have made this
Dedication to them, and humbly implored of them, what, for their Love to
the Fathers, they would readily have granted, a Recommendation of these
my_ Discourses _on_ Miracles _to the_ Clergy: _But being unhappily
disappointed of a Session of that_ Reverend _and_ Learned _Body, for
whose wise Debates and orthodox Votes I have such a Veneration, as is
not to be express'd in a few Words, I presently turn'd my Thoughts on
your_ Lordship, _to whom a_ Dedication _is due, because of your Respect,
often declared, for the Authority of the Fathers, which induces me to
think, you now approve of the Use I have made of them_.
_But what I am here to applaud your_ Lordship _for, is, your_
Discourse _call'd_ Difficulties and Discouragements, _&c. That
admirable Satire against modern Orthodoxy and Persecution! How was I
tickled in the Perusal of it! It is plainly the Sense of your Soul, or
you had set your Name to it: And if the Temptation of Praise for it,
had not been too great to be resisted, I could have wish'd you had
always conceal'd your self; and then you had not written against the
Grain, an aukward Piece on_ Church Power, _like a Retraction, to
reingratiate your self with some Ecclesiastical_ Noodles, _whom you no
more, than, I need to care for_.
_I have sometimes wondered_, My Lord, _where and when the Great Mr._
Grounds _imbibed his notable Notions about Religion and Liberty; for
he suck'd them not in with his Mothers Milk, who, I suppose, train'd
him up in the Belief of Christianity: But when I consider'd, that he
was once the_ Pupil _of Mr._ Hare _at_ Cambridge, _my wonder ceas'd.
Under your_ Lordship_'s Tuition, it seems he laid the Foundation of
his distinguish'd Learning and Opinions! His Pupillage will be your
immortal Honour! I wonder, none of the Writers against him have as yet
celebrated your Praise for it! How does he imitate and resemble his_
Tutor _in Principles! I can't say, he surpasses you, since there is
such a Freedom of Thought and Expression in your_ Difficulties, _&c.
so strongly savouring of Infid--ty, that he has not as yet equall'd_.
_Upon your_ Lordship'_s Advancement to a Bishoprick_, Difficultys and
Discouragements _not withstanding, I wish'd, without prescribing to
the Wisdom of the Government in the choice of a learned Prelate, that
the great Mr._ Grounds, _for the good of the Church too, might be soon
consecrated: And I should not have despair'd of it, but that he is a_
Gentleman _of real Probity and Conscience, and might possibly boggle
at Subscriptions, unless you and Bishop_ Hoadly _could help him to
some of your_ Reserves _and_ Distinctions, _wherewith you must be both
well Stock'd, to overcome that_ Difficulty. _And why should not_ Dean
Swift _for his Writings, as well as some others, be made a Bishop? I
should like to see him one; if the_ then _Right Reverend Bishop_
Grounds _would not think him, for his_ Tale of a Tub, _too loose in
the Faith, for his Company_.
_Don't, imagine,_ My Lord, _that I am forming of Schemes for my self to
be a Bishop. Tho' these my_ Discourses _on_ Miracles _are of very great
Merit, as well as your Lordship's_ Difficulties, _&c. yet you may be
assured, I have no such View, when I tell you, that the Honour, the
Fathers have exalted me to, of a_ Moderator _in this Controversy, sets
me above all Ecclesiastical Preferment, excepting the_ Arch-Bishoprick
_of_ Canterbury, _which I'm afraid will be void, before the King is
apprised of my singular Worth and Qualifications for it_.
_But however, if such excellent_ Prelates, _as_ Grounds, Hoadly, Swift,
Hare _and_ my self _were at the Head of Ecclesiastical Affairs, what
would we do? What should we not do? What would not this free-thinking
Age expect from us? Nothing less, than that, according to our
Principles, we should endeavour to set Mankind at perfect Liberty, and
to lay open the dirty Fences of the Church, call'd Subscriptions, which
are not only the Stain of a good Conscience, but the_ Discouragements,
_your_ Lordship _hints at, in the Study of the Scriptures: And if we
made a Push for an Act of P----t to turn the_ Clergy _to Grass, after
King_ Henry VIIIth's _Monks and Fryars; where would be the Harm of it?
Nay, the Advantage to the Publick, as well as to Religion, would be
great, if their Revenues were apply'd to the Payment of National Debts;
with a Reserve to our selves_ (_remember_, My Lord) _of large Emoluments
out of them, according to our great Merits; otherwise worldly-wise Men
will repute us impolitick Fools, which you and Bishop_ Hoadly, _I humbly
presume, will never endure the Reproach of_.
_So, hoping your Lordship will accept of this Dedication to your
Praise, in as much Sincerity as it is written, I subscribe myself_,
[Sidenote: London, _May_ 14. 1728.]
My LORD,
The Admirer of your
Difficultys and
Discouragements,
_Thomas Woolston._
[Illustration]
A FOURTH
DISCOURSE
ON THE
MIRACLES
OF OUR
_SAVIOUR_, &c.
Now for a _fourth_ Discourse on _Jesus_'s Miracles, which, as before,
I begin with a Repetition of the three general Heads, at first
proposed to be treated on; and they are,
I. To show, that the Miracles of healing all manner of bodily
Diseases, which _Jesus_ was famed for, are none of the proper
Miracles of the _Messiah_; neither are they so much as a good Proof of
his divine Authority to found a Religion.
II. To prove that the literal History of many of the Miracles of
_Jesus_, as recorded by the _Evangelists_, does imply Absurdities,
Improbabilities and Incredibilities; consequently they, either in the
whole or in part, were never wrought, as it is commonly believed
now-a-days, but are only related as prophetical and parabolical
Narratives, of what would be mysteriously, and more wonderfully done
by him.
III. To consider what _Jesus_ means, when he appeals to his Miracles,
as to a Testimony and Witness of his divine Power; and to show that he
could not properly and ultimately refer to those he then wrought in
the _Flesh_, but to the mystical ones, he would do in the Spirit; of
which those wrought in the Flesh are but mere Types and Shadows.
I am upon the second of these Heads, and according to it, have, in my
_former Discourses_, taken into examination _eight_ of the Miracles of
_Jesus_, _viz._ those:
1. Of his driving the Buyers and Sellers out of the Temple.
2. Of his exorcising the _Devils_ out of the Mad-men, and sending them
into the Herd of Swine.
3. Of his Transfiguration on the Mount.
4. Of his Healing a Woman, that had an Issue of Blood, twelve Years.
5. Of his curing a Woman, that had a Spirit of Infirmity, eighteen
Years.
6. Of his telling the _Samaritan_ Woman, her fortune of having had
five Husbands, and being than an Adulteress with another Man.
7. Of his cursing the Fig-tree for not bearing Fruit out of season. And,
8. Of his healing a Man of an Infirmity at the Pool of _Bethesda_.
Whether it be not manifest, that the Literal and Evangelical Story of
these Miracles, from what I have argu'd and reason'd upon them, does
not consist of Absurdities, Improbabilities, and Incredibilities,
according to the Proposition before us, let my Readers judge; and so I
come to the Consideration of
9. A ninth Miracle of _Jesus_, _viz._ that[205] of his giving sight to
a Man who was born blind, by the means of Eve-salve, made of Dirt and
Spittle.
Blindness, as far as one may guess by the Evangelical History, was the
Distemper that _Jesus_ frequently exercis'd his Power on: And there is
no doubt to be made, but he heal'd many of one Weakness, Defect and
Imperfection, or other in their Eyes, but whether he wrought any
Miracle upon any he is supposed to have cured, is uncertain. There
are, as it's notorious, many kinds of Blindness, that are incurable by
Art or Nature: and there are other kinds of it, that Nature and Art
will relieve a Man in. But whether _Jesus_ used his healing Power
against the former, as well as the latter sort of Blindness, is more
than can be affirm'd, or at least proved by our _Divines_. And unless
we knew of a certainty, that the sore or blind Eyes, _Jesus_ cured,
were absolutely out of the reach of Art and Nature; _Infidels_ will
imagine, and suggest, that he was only Master of a good Ointment for
sore Eyes, and being successful in the use of it, ignorant People
would needs think, he wrought Miracles.
The World is often bless'd with excellent _Oculists_, who thro' Study
and Practice have attain'd to wonderful Skill in Eye-Maladies, which,
tho' they are of various sorts, yet, by Custom of Speech all pass
under the general Name of _Blindness_. And sometimes we hear of famous
_Chance-Doctors_, like _Jesus_, who by a Gift of God, Nature, or
Fortune, without any Skill in the Structure of the Eyes, have been
very successful in the Cure of one Distemper or other incident to
them: Such was Sir _William Read_, who, tho' no Scholar, nor of
acquir'd Abilities in _Physick_ and _Surgery_, yet cured his Thousands
of sore or blind Eyes; and many of them too to the surprise and
astonishment of profess'd _Surgeons_ and _Physicians_. Whether He, or
_Jesus_, cured the greater number of Blindness may be question'd. To
please our _Divines_, it shall be granted that _Jesus_ cured the
greater Numbers; but that he cured worse or more difficult Distempers
in the Eyes, can't be proved. Sir _William_ indeed met with many Cases
of blind and sore Eyes, that were out of the reach of his Power; and
so did _Jesus_ too, or he had never let great Multitudes of the blind,
and otherwise distemper'd People, go unheal'd by him. Our _Divines_
will here say, that it was never want of Power in _Jesus_, but want of
Faith in the diseased, if he did not heal them; but in other
_Surgeons_ and _Physicians_, it is confessedly their own
Insufficiency: To which I have only this Answer, that our
_Physicians_ and _Surgeons_ are to be commended for their Ingenuity,
to impute it to their own Defect of Power, and not to lay the Blame
upon their Patients, when they can't cure them: And it is luckly for
us Christians, that we have _this Salvo_ for the Credit of _Jesus_'s
miraculously healing Power, that it was not fit, he should exert it
against Unbelief; otherwise reasonably speaking, He with Sir _William
Read_, _Greatrex_, _Vespasian_, our former _Kings_ of _England_, and
_Seventh-Sons_, must have pass'd but for a _Chance-Doctor_.
But to come to the particular Consideration of the Miracle before us.
_Jesus_ restored, it seems, a blind Man to his Eye-sight, by the use
of a peculiar Ointment, and washing of his Eyes, as directed, in the
Pool of _Siloam_. Where lies the Miracle? I can't see it; but hope our
_Divines_ will take their opportunity to point it out to me. Our
_Surgeons_, with their Ointments and Washings can cure sore and blind
Eyes of one sort or other; and _Jesus_ did no more here; and yet he
must be reckon'd a Worker of Miracles; and they but artificial
Operators: where's the Sense and Reason of this difference between
them? If Mr. _Moor_, the _Apothecary_, for the notable Cures he
performs, by the means of his Medicines, should write himself, and be
accounted by his Admirers, a _Miracle-worker_; he and they would be
but laugh'd at for it: And yet _Jesus_ for his curing the sore Eyes of
a poor Man with an Ointment, must be had in veneration for a divine
and miraculous Operator, as much as if by the breath of his Mouth he
had removed an huge Mountain!
A Miracle, if I mistake not the Notion of our _Divines_ about it, is a
supernatural Event, or a Work out of the Power of Nature or Art to
effect. And when it is spoken of the Cure of a Disease, as of
Blindness or Lameness, it ought to be so represented, as that skilful
and experienced _Surgeons_ and _Physicians_, who can do strange and
surprizing Cures by Art, may give it upon their judgment, that no
Skill of Man could reach that Operation; but that it ought to pass for
the Work of a divine and almighty Hand and Power. But there is no such
care taken in the Description of any of the Diseases, which _Jesus_
cured; much less of this before us; against the miraculousness of
which, consequently, there are these two Exceptions to be made:
_First_, that we know nothing of the Nature of this poor Man's
Blindness; nor what was the defect of his Eyes; nor whether it was
curable by Art or not: Without which Knowledge, it is impossible and
unreasonable to assert, that there was a Miracle wrought in the Cure
of him. If his blindness or weakness of Eye-sight was curable by human
means, and Jesus did use those means, there's an end of the Miracle.
If the _Evangelist_ had given us an accurate Description of the
Condition of this Man's Eyes before Cure, we could have judg'd better:
But this is their constant neglect in all the Distempers _Jesus_
heal'd, and is enough to induce us to doubt of his miraculous Power.
There are, as I have said, some sorts of sore or blind Eyes curable by
Art, as Experience does testify; and there are others incurable, as
_Physicians_ and _Patients_ do lament. Of which sort this Man's was,
we know not. The worst that we know of his Case, is, that he was blind
from his Birth, or Infancy, which might be: and yet Time, Nature and
Art, may give relief to him. As a Man advances in Years, the diseases
of Childhood and Youth wear off. What we call the _King's-Evil_, or an
Inflammation in the Eyes, in time will abate of its Malignity. Nature
will not only by degrees work the Cure it-self, but the seasonable
help of a good _Oculist_ will soon expedite it, tho' in time of
Infancy he could be of no use. And who knows but this might be the
Case of this blind Man, whose Cure _Jesus_ by his Art did only hasten
and help forward. However, there are Grounds enough to suspect, that
it was not divine Power which heal'd this Man, or _Jesus_ had never
prepared and order'd an _Ointment_ and _Wash_ for him.