the credit of his fect. I find they had also prophefied, that one 66 Stephen Halford, a cutler, at Birmingham, fhould die on "February 3, 1707; that he fhould lie in the fame room for "three days, dead; that he fhould then be buried, and twenty "days after rise again."-The man who had been one of themselves, and firmly believed the prediction, was thrown into great agitations-but the time paffed, he did not die, and was fo convinced of the delufion as to forfake the fect. They also prophefied, that within fix months, from the 29th of October, 1707, London fhould be deftroyed.-I mention these circumftances, to fhew how apt enthusiasts will be to prophecy, and how certainly fuch prophecy will deftroy their credit. We have another inftance of the rafhnefs of fanatics, as to prophecy, in the reveries of Brothers, who, in his revealed knowledge of the prophecies and times, p. 51. Dublin edition, 1795, in a paragraph, dated 1794, 1ft of the month, called July, writes thus: "The Lord God faid to me among other things, in a vifion "early in the morning, for I had been earnestly praying to "him the evening before, to haften my revelation to the Jews, " and inform me how long it would be until it took place, be"cause I was daily abused as an impoftor for publishing his "commands, by wicked men, every one of them led on under "the influence of an evil fpirit-You must be at Conftantinople, "in your way to Ferufalem, by this time the next year, I have raised "up one from the north, (meaning the revealed prince of the' "Hebrews at this time), and he fhall come, (meaning to Je "rufalem, from that northern part of the world alluded to). (England lies in the north, and it is indeed the country "meant) from the tifing of the fun he fhall call upon my 66 name, and he shall come upon princes as upon mortar, and 66 as the potter treads clay, p. 61. Who hath declared from "the beginning, that we may know, and before the time, (meaning the prophecy is fulfilled, it being 2461 years from "its declaration then to its accomplishment, now this present year of "1795) that we may fay he is righteous, yea, there is none "that fheweth, yea, there is none that declareth, yea, there "is none that heareth your words, ibid. The Lord God "commands me to fay to you, Nathaniel Brassey Halhed, that

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as you are reviled, and confidered by your former acquaint66 ances

66

ances as ruined and lost for speaking the truth, as he mani. "fefted it to you, for publishing your teftimony of me as his "fervant, you fball, by the expiration of three months, from this day, "have your choice, of being either governor-general of India, or prefi"dent of the Board of Controul in England, that all men may be "convinced, that he that rules in heaven, is able to exalt, or "to abafe; that he is ftill able, even at this late hour of a "wicked world, to reward the obedient to his blessed spirit, and "give the most eminent places on earth to whomsoever he "pleafes," p. 65.

For a proof of the irregularity and uncertainty with which fanaticifm produces its effects, confult Douglas's Criterion, where he examines the pretended miracles performed at the tomb of the Abbe Paris, from p. 175 to 190. He remarks, that the cures when real, were wrought on perfons whose imaginations were ftrongly impreffed; that the applications were repeated, fo that days and weeks, and even months intervened, between the first application and the relief. That they were of fuch diforders, as the imagination, and the force of nervous affections have particular influence upon; that the cures were attended with violent convulfions and agitations; that but a few of thousands had been healed. I take no notice of the multitude of forgeries and frauds about these miracles, as I only confider them fo far as they were influenced by fanaticism. Vid. also Dr. Elrington on Miracles, from p. 232 to 245, and from p. 299 to the end. Vid. alfo Bishop Douglas's Remarks on the Cure of the Evil, by the Royal Touch; where he states the ftrong probability, that even when fuch cures were real, they were wrought by the force of imagination, p. 203. His account of the cures performed by Mr. Greatrakes, by ftroaking with the hand, is well worth our notice. This perfon, a gentleman of fome fashion in the county of Waterford in Ireland, began 1662, to have a strange perfuafion in his mind, of which he was not able to give a rational account to others, that the gift of curing the king's evil was bestowed upon him, and he afterwards attempted agues, and all forts of diseases. But it. must be observed, that many whom he was most anxious to heal, and who applied to him, he was unable to heal at all, as Lady Conway, whom he could not cure of a head-ach, though he ftayed

ftayed at her house about three weeks or a month for that pur pofe-the cures were alfo effected gradually, and the operation of the hand frequently repeated. In many cafes there was occafion to make use of razors and other sharp instruments to lay open the fores. The number of thofe who received no benefit from him after repeated trials, greatly exceeded the number of those who were relieved; and many who received benefit, received no cure, but afterwards relapsed. Vid. Douglas, from p. 205 to 212. On the cure of Madame de la Folle. Vid. Douglas, p. 230 to 233. it was gradual and imperfect. For a vindication of the miracles of our Lord from fuch imputation, Vid. ibid. from p. 250 to 271. I hope, that in the preceding work, chap. 1. I have not omitted any material obfervation of this excellent writer; it is to be lamented that his work is now extremely fcarce.

2dly. The Conduct of Fanatics.

P. 93. "Enthusiasts are overpowered by religi"ous melancholy and abftration, devoted to ex"ceffive mortifications and fantastic penances, &c. "They trample on the reftraints of order and de

cency; are impatient to court perfecution, &c. are "alienated from the relations and bufinefs of common life, &c."

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P. 241. "Are frequently impatient of contradic ❝tion, and apt to perfecute, &c."

P. 220. "Have sometimes indulged themselves "in vices, &c."

Vid. Beaufobre's Hiftoire du Manichees. Liv. 2. chap. 3. p. 189. Amfterdam, 1734. "Manes, to give his errors a di"vine authority, having difcovered in a folitary place a cave, "which contained an excellent fountain, he concealed provi"fions there, and then gave notice to his difciples, that he was "going to be exalted to heaven, where he would remain one

❝ year,

year, at the end of which, he would return to find them. "He then shut himself up in his cave, and it was there in fi"lence and folitude that he formed his fyftem of philofophy and "religion; and wrote his book, which he enriched with beau“tiful figures, in order to embody his subtle imaginations with "a fort of fenfible and luminous body. In thus retiring to so"litude, he imitated, fays Beaufobre, his predeceffor Zoroafter, "who had ufed exactly the fame artifice.".

The Docetæ, before Manes, had maintained, that the word had only taken the exterior figure of a man. The Encratites had condemned marriage and the use of meats; these two herefies were the natural confequences of the false principle that matter, and by confequence flefh, was in itfelf evil, the Manicheans having adopted this principle, adopted thefe confe

quences.

"Mahomet imitated Manes. God, fays Abulfeda, chap. 7"from his 25th to his 40th year, inspired Mahomet with a love "of folitude; he lived retired, and paffed one month in the grotto "of Mount Haram: in this retirement, in his 40th year, came "that night, in which, fays the Arabian hiftorian, God glori-. "ous and fupreme, honored him with the most distinguished "honor.-Gabriel defcended from heaven, and faid to him, "read-1 know not how to read, faid Mahomet ;-† read, fays "the angel, in the name of God the Creator, who formed "man by uniting the fexes. Read, in the name of the adora "ble God: he taught man to avail himself of the pen: he "darts into his foul the ray of fcience. Mahomet recited these "verses, and advanced into the middle of the mountain, and "heard a heavenly voice, which repeated thefe words: Maho

met, you are the apostle of God, and I am the angel Ga"briel.”—Such was the commencement and the proof of Ma'homet's divine miffion; but of this fcene he was the only witnefs, and unable to produce any proof from miracles required to be believed on his word.

Brachmans. Bayle's Dictionary, Vol. I. p. 706.

"The Brachmans of Bengal lead a very auftere life; they go bare-headed and bare-footed in burning fand, and live

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The first verses of the Coran, chap. 96. Vid. Savary's tranflation,

"only

"only upon herbs. They have very odd opinions about no"thingness; and a morality which has a great affinity with the "vifions of our Quietifts-they carry fo far the apathia or in

differency to which they refer all holiness, that a man must "become a stone or a statue to acquire the perfection of it.”

Account of Darma, an enthufiaft of Japan. Vid. Kempfer's Hiftory of Japan, Vol. II. 1ft Appendix, p. 3. tranflated by J. G. Schewickzer. Lond. 1727.

"About the year of Chrift 519, this Darma came into Japan; his defign was to bring the inhabitants of that popu"lous country to the knowledge of God, and to preach his "gofpel and religion to them, as the true and only one which "would lead them to falvation; nor was it only with his doc"trine that he endeavoured to make himself useful to men, "and acceptable to God; he went ftill farther, and ftrove "for divine grace, by leading an auftere and exemplary life; "expofing himself to all the injuries of the weather; chastiz"ing and mortifying his body, and fubduing the paffions of "his mind; he lived only upon vegetables, and thought this to "be the highest degree of holiness to pafs days and nights in "an uninterrupted Satori, that is, a contemplation of the di"vine Being; to deny all manner of rest and relaxation to the

body, and to confecrate the mind entirely, and without in"termiffion to God, was what he took to be the fincereft re

pentance, and the most eminent degree of perfection human "nature could attain to. After a continued waking of many

years, he at last grew fo weary of his fatigues and fafting, "that he fell afleep. Awaking the next morning, and with "forrow, remembering that he had broke his vow, he refolved "to take a fincere repentance; and in the first place, left the "like accident fhould happen to him hereafter, he cut off both "his eye-lids, as the inftruments and minifters of his crime, " &c. &c.".

Vid. the fame author's account of the Jummabos, a religious order in Japan, who spend most of their time in going up and down holy mountains, washing themselves in cold water in the midst of winter, &c. ib. vol. 1, b. 3, chap. v. p. 232.

Vid. Churchill's Collection of Voyages, Lond. 1704, vol. i, P. 533, and v. 2. p. 213, for Candidius's and Neuhof's Account

of