long after the essays on _Supernatural Religion_, as it presents
Dr. Lightfoot in a very different light, and gives me an opportunity
of congratulating him on the apparent progress of his thought towards
freedom which it exhibits. I quite agree with him that the presence of
supernatural or superstitious elements is no evidence against the
authenticity of an early Christian writing, but the promptitude with
which he sets these aside as interpolations, or explains them away into
naturalism, is worthy of Professor Huxley. He now understands, without
doubt, the reason why I demand such clear and conclusive evidence of
miracles, and why I refuse to accept such narratives upon anonymous and
insufficient testimony. In fact, he cannot complain that I feel bound to
explain all alleged miraculous occurrences precisely in the way of which
he has set me so good an example, and that, whilst feeling nothing but
very sympathetic appreciation of the emotion which stimulated the
imagination and devout reverence of early Christians to such mistakes,
I resolutely refuse to believe their pious aberrations.





VIII.

CONCLUSIONS.


We have seen that Divine Revelation could only be necessary or
conceivable for the purpose of communicating to us something which we
could not otherwise discover, and that the truth of communications which
are essentially beyond and undiscoverable by reason cannot be attested