and that he should heal the sick.  We must remember, besides, that every idea loses something of its purity, as soon as it aspires to realize itself.  Success is never attained without some injury being done to the sensibility of the soul.  Such is the feebleness of the human mind that the best causes are ofttimes gained only by bad arguments.  The demonstrations of the primitive apologists of Christianity are supported by very poor reasonings.  Moses, Christopher Columbus, Mahomet, have only triumphed over obstacles by constantly making allowance for the weakness of men, and by not always giving the true reasons for the truth.  It is probable that the hearers of Jesus were more struck by his miracles than by his eminently divine discourses.  Let us add, that doubtless popular rumor, both before and after the death of Jesus, exaggerated enormously the number of occurrences of this kind.  The types of the gospel miracles, in fact, do not present much variety; they are repetitions of each other and seem fashioned from a very small number of models, accommodated to the taste of the country.

It is impossible, amongst the miraculous narratives so tediously enumerated in the Gospels, to distinguish the miracles attributed to Jesus by public opinion from those in which he consented to play an active part.  It is especially impossible to ascertain whether the offensive circumstances attending them, the groanings, the strugglings, and other features savoring of jugglery,[1] are really historical, or whether they are the fruit of the belief of the compilers, strongly imbued with theurgy, and living, in this respect, in a world analogous to that of the “spiritualists” of our times.[2] Almost all the miracles which Jesus thought he performed, appear to have been miracles of healing.  Medicine was at this period in Judea, what it still is in the East, that is to say, in no respect scientific, but absolutely surrendered to individual inspiration.  Scientific medicine, founded by Greece five centuries before, was at the time of Jesus unknown to the Jews of Palestine.  In such a state of knowledge, the presence of a superior man, treating the diseased with gentleness, and giving him by some sensible signs the assurance of his recovery, is often a decisive remedy.  Who would dare to say that in many cases, always excepting certain peculiar injuries, the touch of a superior being is not equal to all the resources of pharmacy?  The mere pleasure of seeing him cures.  He gives only a smile, or a hope, but these are not in vain.

[Footnote 1:  Luke viii. 45, 46; John xi. 33 and 38.]

[Footnote 2:  Acts ii. 2, and following, iv. 31, viii. 15, and following, x. 44 and following.  For nearly a century, the apostles and their disciples dreamed only of miracles.  See the Acts, the writings of St. Paul, the extracts from Papias, in Eusebius, Hist.  Eccl., iii. 39, &c.  Comp.  Mark iii. 15, xvi. 17, 18, 20.]