spoken truly; and had he added to this, that the very same story was
told among Egyptians and Hindoos, many hundreds of years earlier, he
would have treated his readers honestly, although he might not thereby
have increased their belief in the "divine origin of Christianity."

Before we pass on to the last evidences offered by Paley, which
necessitate a closer investigation into the value of the testimony borne
by the patristic, to the canonical, writings, it will be well to put
broadly the fact, that these Fathers are simply worthless as witnesses
to any matter of fact, owing to the absurd and incredible stories which
they relate with the most perfect faith. Of critical faculty they have
none; the most childish nonsense is accepted by them, with the gravest
face; no story is too silly, no falsehood too glaring, for them to
believe and to retail, in fullest confidence of its truth. Gross
ignorance is one of their characteristics; they are superstitious,
credulous, illiterate, to an almost incredible extent. Clement considers
that "the Lord continually proves to us that there shall be a future
resurrection" by the following "fact," among others: "Let us consider
that wonderful sign which takes place in Eastern lands--that is, in
Arabia and the countries round about. There is a certain bird which is
called a phoenix. This is the only one of its kind, and lives 500 years.
And when the time of its dissolution draws near that it must die, it
builds itself a nest of frankincense, and myrrh, and other spices, into
which, when the time is fulfilled, it enters and dies. But, as the flesh
decays, a certain kind of worm is produced, which, being nourished by
the juices of the dead bird, brings forth feathers. Then, when it has
acquired strength, it takes up that nest in which are the bones of its
parent, and, bearing these, it passes from the land of Arabia into
Egypt, to the city called Heliopolis. And in open day, flying in the
sight of all men, it places them on the altar of the sun, and, having