known
copies of which come within two or three centuries of the events they
record? If it be true that the four Gospels and the Acts were written by
Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John, all that we know of these persons comes
to nothing in comparison with our knowledge of Eginhard; and not only is
there no proof that the traditional authors of these works wrote them,
but very strong reasons to the contrary may be alleged. If, therefore,
you refuse to believe that "Wiggo" was cast out of the possessed girl on
Eginhard's authority, with what justice can you profess to believe that
the legion of devils were cast out of the man among the tombs of the
Gadarenes? And if, on the other hand, you accept Eginhard's evidence,
why do you laugh at the supposed efficacy of relics and the
saint-worship of the modern Romanists? It cannot be pretended, in the
face of all evidence, that the Jews of the year 30 A.D. or thereabouts,
were less imbued with the belief in the supernatural than were the
Franks of the year 800 A.D. The same influences were at work in each
case, and it is only reasonable to suppose that the results were the
same. If the evidence of Eginhard is insufficient to lead reasonable men
to believe in the miracles he relates, _a fortiori_ the evidence
afforded by the Gospels and the Acts must be so.[25]

But it may be said that no serious critic denies the genuineness of the
four great Pauline Epistles--Galatians, First and Second Corinthians,
and Romans--and that in three out of these four Paul lays claim to the
power of working miracles.[26] Must we suppose, therefore, that the
Apostle to the Gentiles has stated that which is false? But to how much
does this so-called claim amount? It may mean much or little. Paul
nowhere tells us what he did in this direction; and in his sore need to
justify his assumption of apostleship against the sneers of his enemies,
it is hardly likely that, if he had any very striking cases to bring
forward, he would have neglected evidence so well calculated to put them
to shame. And, without the slightest impeachment of Paul's veracity, we
must further remember that his strongly-marked mental characteristics,
displayed in unmistakable fashion in these Epistles, are anything but
those which would justify us in regarding him as a critical witness
respecting matters of fact, or as a trustworthy interpreter of their
significance. When a man testifies to a miracle, he not only states a
fact, but he adds