there is, in some country or other, a giant as big as a mountain; and
men presently fall to hot disputing concerning the precise length of
his nose, the breadth of his thumb, and other particulars, and
anathematize each other for heterodoxy of belief concerning them. In
the midst of all, if some bold sceptic ventures to hint a doubt as to
the existence of this giant, all are ready to join against him, and
tear him to pieces." This looks almost like a prophetic allegory
relating to the gigantic Napoleon.

[4] Οὕτως ἀταλαίπωρος τοῖς πολλοῖς ἡ ζήτησις τῆς ἀληθείας, καὶ ἐπὶ τὰ
ἕτοιμα μᾶλλον τρέπονται. Thucyd. b.i.c. 20.

[5] "With what greediness are the miraculous accounts of travellers
received, their descriptions of sea and land monsters, their relations
of wonderful adventures, strange men, and uncouth manners!"—_Hume's
Essay on Miracles_, p. 179, 12mo; p. 185, 8vo, 1767; p. 117, 8vo,
1817.

N.B.—In order to give every possible facility of reference, three
editions of Hume's Essays have been generally employed: a 12mo,
London, 1756, and two 8vo editions.

[6] "Suppose a fact to be transmitted through twenty persons; the
first communicating it to the second, the second to the third, &c.,
and let the probability of each testimony be expressed by nine-tenths,
(that is, suppose that of ten reports made by each witness, nine only
are true,) then, at every time the story passes from one witness to
another, the evidence is reduced to nine-tenths of what it was before.
Thus, after it has passed through the whole twenty, the evidence will
be found to be less than one-eighth."—LA PLACE, _Essai Philosophique