nstances, in Ecclesiastical
history, of such solemn events. On the other hand, difficult
instances in the Scripture history are such as these: the
serpent in Eden, the Ark, Jacob's vision for the
multiplication of his cattle, the speaking of Balaam's ass,
the axe swimming at Elisha's word, the miracle on the swine,
and various instances of prayers or prophecies, in which, as
in that of Noah's blessing and curse, words which seem the
result of private feeling are expressly or virtually
ascribed to a Divine suggestion (p. lvi).

Who is to gainsay our ecclesiastical authority here? "Infidel authors"
might be accused of a wish to ridicule the Scripture miracles by
putting them on a level with the remarkable story about the fire which
stopped the rebuilding of the Temple, or that about the death of
Arius--but Dr. Newman is above suspicion. The pity is that his list of
what he delicately terms "difficult" instances is so short. Why omit
the manufacture of Eve out of Adam's rib, on the strict historical
accuracy of which the chief argument of the defenders of an iniquitous
portion of our present law depends? Why leave out the account of the
"Bene Elohim" and their gallantries, on which a large part of the
worst practices of the mediaeval inquisitors into witchcraft was based?
Why forget the angel who wrestled with Jacob, and, as the account
suggests, somewhat over-stepped the bounds of fair play, at the end of
the struggle? Surely, we must agree with Dr. Newman that, if all these
camels have gone down, it savours of affectation to strain at such
gnats as the sudden ailment of Arius in the midst of his deadly, if
prayerful,[91] enemies; and the fiery explosion which stopped the
Julian building operations. Though the _words_ of the "Conclusion" of
the "Essay on Miracles" may, perhaps, be quoted against me, I may
express my satisfaction at finding myself in substantial accordance
with a theologian above all suspicion of heterodoxy. With all my
heart, I can declare my belief that there is just as good reason for
believing in the miraculous slaying of the man who fell short of the
Athanasian power of affirming contradictories, with respect to the
nature of the Godhead, as there is for believing in the stories of the
serpent and the ark told in Genesis, the speaking of Balaam's ass in
Numbers, or the floating of the axe, at Elisha's order, in the second
book of Kings.

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