as contrary as holiness is to sin. The
invention of such a character by any man, or by the wisest set of men
who ever lived, would have been a miracle nearly as great as the
existence of such a person. When the character of Christ was presented
to the wisest men of the Greeks, and Romans, and Hebrews, so far from
admiring him as a hero, they crucified him as an impostor, and
persecuted the preachers of his gospel. There was nothing mythical in
the ten persecutions; these at least were hard historical facts. Every
line of examination of time, place, and circumstances proves the
falsehood of the mythical theory, and establishes the truth of the
gospel history.

The authenticity of the gospel history, and of the Apostolic Epistles is
confirmed by the testimony of their enemies. It is a well-authenticated
and undeniable fact, that, in the close of the second century, Celsus,
an Epicurean philosopher, wrote a work against Christianity, entitled,
"The Word of Truth," in which he quotes passages from the New Testament,
and so many of them, that from the fragments of his work which remain,
we could gather all the principal facts of the birth, teaching,
miracles, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ, if the New Testament
should be lost. If Paine quotes the New Testament to ridicule it, no man
can deny that such a book was in existence at the time he wrote. If he
takes the pains to write a book to confute it, it is self-evident that
it is in circulation, and possessed of influence. So Celsus' attempt to
reply to the Gospels, and his quotations from them, are conclusive
proofs that these books were generally circulated and believed, and held
to be of authority at the time he wrote. Further, he shows every
disposition to present every argument which could possibly damage the
Christian cause. In fact, our modern Infidels have done little more than
serve up his old objections. Now nothing could have served his purpose
better than to prove that the records of the history of Christ were
forgeries of a late date. This would have saved him all further trouble,
and settled the fate of Christianity conclusively. He had every
opportunity of ascertaining the fact, living, as he did, so near the
times and scenes of the gospel history, and surrounded by heretics and
false Christians, who would gladly have given him every information. But
he never once intimates the least suspicion of such a thing--never
questions the Gospels as books of hi