The embassy of the Jews to deprecate the
execution of Claudian's order to place his statute, in their temple,
Philo places in harvest, Josephus in seed time; both contemporary
writers. No reader is led by this inconsistency to doubt whether such an
embassy was sent, or whether such an order was given. Our own history
supplies examples of the same kind. In the account of the Marquis of
Argyle's death, in the reign of Charles the Second, we have a very
remarkable contradiction. Lord Clarendon relates that he was condemned
to be hanged, which was performed the same day; on the contrary, Burnet,
Woodrew, Heath, Echard, concur in stating that he was beheaded; and that
he was condemned upon the Saturday, and executed upon the Monday. (See
Biog. Britann.) Was any reader of English history ever sceptic enough to
raise from hence a question whether the Marquis of Argyle was executed
or not? Yet this ought to be left in uncertainty, according to the
principles upon which the Christian history has sometimes been attacked.
Dr. Middleton contended, that the different hours of the day assigned to
the crucifixion of Christ, by John and by the other Evangelists, did not
admit of the reconcilement which learned men had proposed: and then
concludes the discussion with this hard remark; "We must be forced, with
several of the critics, to leave the difficulty just as we found it,
chargeable with all the consequences of manifest inconsistency.
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