Chapter I. How Important Miracles Are for Confirming our

FAITH.

In order that Moses might be believed God gave him power to work miracles (Ex. iv.); Our Lord, says S. Mark (ult.), confirmed in the same manner the Apostolic preaching; if Our Lord had not done such miracles men would not have sinned in not believing in him,

• The Saint has the following detached note: " I keep a place for proving the faith by miracles, after the 'Rules of faith.' This will be a sort of 6th (7th) Rule, not ordinary but extraordinary, which our adversaries have not, though they would need to have it, as they despise the others which they lack. I will there bring in the saying of the Sr. des Montaignes." [Tr.]

ART. vn. 0. 1.] The Rule of Faith. 3 1 3 says the same Lord (John xv. 24); S. Paul testifies that God confirmed the faith by miracles (Heb. ii. 4). Therefore a miracle is a sound proof of the faith, and an important argument for persuading men to believe; for if it were not our God would not have made use of it.

And it is needless to answer that miracles are no longer necessary after the sowing of the faith, for I have not only shown the contrary above, but I am now not maintaining that they are necessary, but simply that when it may please God to work them for the confirmation of some article we are obliged to believe it. For either the miracle is rightly persuasive and confirmatory of belief or not: if not, then Our Lord did not rightly confirm his doctrine; if it be, then when miracles do take place they oblige us to accept them as a most convincing reason, — which of course they are.

Thoib art the God who doest wonders, says David (Ps. Ixxvi. 15) to Almighty God, therefore that which is confirmed by miracles is confirmed on the part of God; now God cannot be author or confirmer of a lie, that therefore which is confirmed by miracles cannot be a lie, but must be absolute truth.

And, in order to obviate idle objections, I allow that there are false miracles and true miracles, and that among true miracles there are some which evidently argue the presence of God's power, and others which do so only by their circumstances. The miracles which Antichrist will do will all be false, both because his intention will be to deceive, and because one part will only be illusions and vain magical appearances, the other part not miracles in nature but only miracles to men, — that is, on account of being extraordinary they will seem miracles to simple folk. Such will be his making fire come down from heaven in the sight of men (Apoc. xiii.), his making the image of the beast speak, and healing a mortal wound. Of these, the descent of the fire upon the earth and the speaking of the image will, as it seems, be mere illusions, whence he adds in the sight of men; they will be acts of magic. The healing of the mortal wound will be a popular not a philosopher's miracle; — for when the people see what they think impossible they take it to be a miracle, as they consider many things impossible in nature which are not so. Now many cures are of this kind, and man;y wounds are mortal and incurable to some doctors which are not so to those who are more competent and have some choicer remedy. Thus that wound will be mortal according to the ordinary course of medicine; but the devil, who is more advanced in the knowledge of the virtues of herbs, perfumes, minerals, and other drugs than men are, will effect this cure by the secret application of medicaments unknown to men; and this will appear a miracle to any one who is unable to distinguish between human and diabolic knowledge,* between diabolic and divine; whereas while the diabolic exceeds the human by a great degree, the divine surpasses the diabolic by an infinity. Human science extends to but a little part of the virtue which is in nature, diabolic goes much further, but divine has no other limits, in dealing with nature, but its own infinity.

• The following note is placed in the margin of the autograph: Ilfaut abieger tout ceci d peu de paroles et scholastiques. [Tr.]

I said that amoDg true miracles there are some which furnish a certain knowledge and proof that the power of God is at work therein, others not so except by consideration and aid of the circumstances. This appears from what I have said; and, for example, the wonders which the Egyptian magicians did (Ex. iv.— viii.) were exactly like those of Moses as regards the external appearance, but he who considers the circumstances will very easily see that the one kind were true miracles, the others false; as the magicians themselves confessed, when they said: The finger of God is here. So might I say if Our Lord had never done other miracles than to tell the Samaritan woman that he whom she then had was not her husband (John iv. 1 8), or than to change the water into wine (lb. ii.), it might have been possible to think that there was illusion and magic; but since these wonders proceeded from the same might which made the blind see, the dumb speak, the deaf hear, the dead live, there remained no room for doubt. Eor, to make things pass from privation and non-existence to actuality,* and to give to man the vital operations, are things impossible to all human powers; these are strokes of the sovereign Master; and when afterwards he pleases to effect cures or alterations in things by his almighty power, he still makes them to be recognised as miraculous even though secret nature may be able to do as much, — because, having done what surpasses nature, he has given us assurance of what he is and of the character of the [thing donej.t As when a man has made a masterpiece, though he may after-

• La privation en son habitude. t The line here ends with de la. [Tr. ]

ds do some common works we still consider him a master.

In a word, the miracle, the true miracle, is a very-certain proof, and a certain confirmation of belief, and this at whatever time it may be worked, otherwise we must overthrow all the Apostolic preaching. It was reasonable that faith being of things which surpass nature, it should be certified by works which surpass nature, and which show that the preaching or announced word proceeds from the mouth and authority of the Master of nature, whose power is unlimited, and who, by a miracle, makes himself witness of the truth, subscribes and stamps the word delivered by the preacher.

Now it seems that miracles are general attestations for the simple and commoner sort; for not every one can go so deep as to the admirable harmony there is between the Prophets and the Gospel, to the great wisdom of the Scriptures, or to similar striking marks, which distinguish the Christian religion. This is an examination for the learned to make; but there is no one who does not comprehend the argument furnished by a true miracle; everybody understands that language. Amongst Christians it seems as if miracles are not necessary, but in reality they are; and it is not without reason that the sweetness of Divine Providence supplies them to his Church at all seasons, for in all there are heresies. These indeed are sufficiently condemned, even according to the capacity of the less gifted, by the antiquity, majesty, unity, Catholicity, sanctity of the Church, but everybody cannot value his inheritance (as Optatus says) according to its true value. Everybody does not understand this language

ART. VII. c. II.] The Rule of Faith, 317 in its full force, but when God speaks by works everybody understands — this is a language common to all nations. So the writing on letters of protection may not be recognised by everybody, but when the white cross, the arms of the Prince, are seen, all the world knows that sovereign approval and authority run there.