"Perfons might believe in him, who "had not otherwife believed, unless "they had feen his Signs and Won<< ders.

blamed

After all, it must be acknowledged, But is that Origen, and fome others, indulged for being themselves farther in the allegorical Way, too allegothan was confiftent with fober Reafon- rical. ing, or authorized by any Example in Scripture. St. Paul indeed in his Epiftles, has allegorized several Paffages of the Jewish Law and Hiftory, but it must be confidered, that fuch an Accommodation was not only very agreeable to the Jews and other Oriental Nations, but receives likewise great Weight and Authority from the fuppofed Influence of the divine Spirit, which dictated it at firft. If St. Paul, indeed, was infpired (as is juftly believed by all Chriftians) with the Knowledge of what, in the Old Teftament, was originally intended to be Significative and Emblematical of fome things future,and accordingly expounded them,great regard is certainly due to what he delivered in thisManner to theChurch: But, the like deference is not to be paid to the mystical Interpretations of others, who have not the fame divine Inspiration,

Bp. Gibson's firft Paft. Lett. p. 31. Bp. Smallbroke's Vind. p. 107.

Thisalle

ry to

ture, and

Fice of the

tion, yet pretend to allegorize in Matters, that cannot require it. The Law of Mofes, indeed, (as the Apostle tells us) had a Shadow of good Things to come, and was entirely typical of the Gofpel; but the Gospel is ftiled " the Truth, or Completion of Things under the Law, whofe Body, or Subftance, is Chrift: And therefore we cannot but think it a derogation to the Perfection of the Gospel, and inconfiftent with its being the Completion of the Law, that it fhould still be thought capable of being allegorized a-new, and equally fo with the Law.

W

It is a falfe and injurious Commendagorizing tion then, to fay, that the Life of Jefus is contra- is, in no part, a literal Story, but a SyScrip- ftem of myftical Philofophy or Theology. The Apoftle, I am fure, gives us a difthe pra- ferent Character of it, when he tells the Apoftles. Corinthians, w that, after the World by Wisdom knew not God, it pleafed God, by the Foolishness of Preaching, to fave them, that believe; and therefore he declares to them his own Practice: And I, Brethren, when I came unto you, came not with Excellency of Speech, or of Wisdom, declaring unto you the Wisdom of God; for I determined not to know any Thing a

mong you, fave Jefus Chrift and him cruci-
fred: And my Speech and my preaching was,
not with enticing Words of Man's Wisdom,
but in Demonftration of the Spirit and of
Power; that your Faith fhould not be in
the Wisdom of Men, but in the Power of
God. For I delivered unto you, firft of
all, (that which I also received,) how that
Chrift died for our Sins, according to the
Scriptures, and that he was buried, and
that he rofe again the third Day, accor-
ding to the Scriptures, and that he was
feen of Cephas, then of the twelve; after
this he was feen of above five hundred
Brethren at once, of whom the greater
part remain unto the prefent, but fome
are fallen afleep: After that, he was feen
of James, then of all the Apostles, and
laft of all he was feen of me alfo, as of
one born out of Time. z Where is the
Wife, where is the Scribe, where is the
difputer of the World to unriddle this
to us? For, according to the present
Scheme, this is all Figure and Allegory;
a parabolical Narrative, and emblemati-
cal Reprefentation of the Spiritual Life in
the Soul of Man: And what pity it was,
that the great Apoftle of the Gentiles
fhould be fo faulty in his Office, as not
to let us into the Knowledge of all this.
On the contrary, he, like an hardy And of

dangeMan, rous Con

7 1 Cor. xv. 3, Exc.

* Ib. i. v. 20.

fequence.

Man, is not afhamed to justify himself; for, a According to the Grace, which is given to me, fays he, as a wife Builder, I have laid the Foundation, and another buildeth thereon; but let every Man take heed how he buildeth thereupon. Another Foundation can no Man lay, than that is laid, which is Jefus Chrift. Now, if any Man build upon this Foundation, Gold, Silver, precious Stones, Wood, Hay, Stubble, i. e. Notions and Inventions of his own, how grofs, or how refined foever they be, his Work fhall be manifeft, and, if himself be faved, it fhall be but upon a narrow escape, it fhall be, fo as by Fire. So that according to the Serafe of St. Paul, this humour of building upon the Scripture, or of fixing foreign Meanings to the plain hiftorical Facts of the Gofpel, is neither fo innocent, nor fo safe a Thing, as fome may imagine. It is, at the best, destroying the proper Signification of Things, and giving a Licence to every wild and extravagant Fancy, to make the Word of God fpeak just what it pleases. And if this unluckily fhould be found to be preaching of another Gofpel (as by this Way of Proocedure, any thing may be fo charged, as to lofe every Feature it once had) what is the Sentence, that this Apostle

1 Cor. iii. 1Q, &c.

pro

If any

pronounces against the Promoters of it?
Man or Angel, preach any other
Goffel unto you, than what
ceived, let him be accurfed.

с

ye

have re

havebeen treated

Mr. Wool

fton.

It is not then the Authority of great How the Names, that can juftify us in what is Fathers unwarrantable in itfelf. If the Fathers have gone too far in their way of andmifatallegorizing, instead of being imitated, plied by they ought to be blamed and cenfured by us, as freely, as they were by fome of their Contemporaries. But the Truth Names great is, few, very few of the of Antiquity have, as yet, appeared in this Controverfy; not one, except Oriof the first three hundred Years afgen, ter Chrift, but a long Roll of Fathers and Writers (Spurious and Genuine together) of the 4th, 5th, and following Centuries, far from having our Religion apofrom the Hands of the Apoftles, and frolick Men, or from being endued with any divine and extraordinary Gifts of the Spirit. And yet, as weak Authorities as they are, what uncommon Pains and Artifice has been us'd, by falfe Quotatifalfe Tranflations, and Interpolations of Words; by foifting in fome Books, citing others as Genuine that are known to be Spurious, and, almost in

ons,

Gal. i. 8, 9. p. 170, &c.

d

every

• Vid. Hurt. Origeniana, Bp. Gibson's first Past. Lett. p. 28.