wrote out a number of essays and anecdotes, and persuaded the
churches of Ephesus, Jerusalem, Antioch, Corinth, and the rest, to
receive them as the writings of their ministers, who had lived for
years, or were then living, among them; and on the strength of that
notion of their being the writings of the apostles, to govern their
whole lives by these essays, and lay down their lives and peril their
souls' salvation on the truth of these anecdotes. As though they could
not tell whether such documents were forgeries or not!

It is almost incredible how ignorant dreaming book-worms are of the
common business of life. Most of my readers will laugh at the idea of a
serious answer to such a quibble. Nevertheless, for the sake of those
whose inexperience may be abused by the authority of learned names, I
will show them that the primitive Christians, supposing them able to
read, could know whether their ministers did really write the books and
letters which they received from them.

If you go into the Citizens' Bank, you will find a large folio volume
lying on the counter, and on looking at it you will see that it is
filled with men's names, in their own handwriting, and that no two of
them are exactly alike. Every person who has any business to transact
with the bank is requested to write his name in the book; and when his
check comes afterward for payment, the clerk can tell at a glance if the
signature is the same as that of which he has a single specimen. If
there has been no opportunity for him to become personally acquainted
with the bank, as in case of a foreigner newly arrived, he brings
letters of introduction from some well-known mutual friend, or is
accompanied by some respectable citizen, who attests his identity.
Business men have no difficulty whatever in ascertaining the genuineness
of documents. It is only when people want to dispute Holy Scripture that
they give up common sense.

Holy Scripture was known to be the genuine writing of the apostles, just
in the same way as any other writing was known to be genuine; only the
churches who received the writings of the apostles had ten thousand
times better security against forgery than any bank in the Union. In one
of the first letters Paul writes to the churches--the second letter to
the Thessalonians--to whom he had been preaching only a few weeks
before, sent from Athens, distant only some two days' journey, full of
allusions to their affairs, commands how to c