Prev | Current Page 601 | Next

Paley, William, 1743-1805

"Evidence of Christianity"

Since, however, it is certain that
the affair went on, we cannot help being anxious to know how it
proceeded. This intelligence hath come down to us in a work purporting
to be written by a person, himself connected with the business during
the first stages of its progress, taking up the story where the former
histories had left it, carrying on the narrative, oftentimes with great
particularity, and throughout with the appearance of good sense,*
information and candour; stating all along the origin, and the only
probable origin, of effects which unquestionably were produced, together
with the natural consequences of situations which unquestionably did
exist; and confirmed, in the substance at least of the account, by the
strongest possible accession of testimony which a history can receive,
original letters, written by the person who is the principal subject of
the history, written upon the business to which the history relates, and
during the period, or soon after the period, which the history
comprises. No man can say that this all together is not a body of strong
historical evidence.


Pages:
589 590 591 592 593 594 595 596 597 598 599 600 601 602 603 604 605 606 607 608 609 610 611 612 613