SIR,

T was with feelings of pleasant ac

for July last, (XV. 414,) a communication from one of your correspondents, on the "Lawfulness of War amongst Christians;" but it is with regret I have to observe, that hitherto no further attention has been given to a consideration of such high import. Conceiving that the subject speaks forcibly for itself, without now going at large into the merits of the case, I would step forward to second the truly Christian call of your praise-worthy correspondent, by another earnest recommendation of the topic to the several distinguished contributors to your valuable Miscellany; and I am also quite of opinion, that while theological questions are entitled to marked preference in your pages, "there are other auxiliary subjects highly promotive of truth and righteousness," which it is very desirable to see more attended to.

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Mere civilization would naturally train the heart of man to the reception of the beneficent principle of Peace; but when we have to consider ourselves in our character of Christians, when, with regard to this object, we must look to the example and unceasing solicitude of our heavenly Master, THE PRINCE OF PEACE, the consideration becomes all-important, and falls upon the mind with irresistible force. But not to urge it upon our attention as an incumbent duty, I am persuaded that whoever will give the subject due reflection, he will not fail to perceive that the extinction of War must be accompanied with incalculable benefits to the general happiness of mankind; he will perceive that such a train of blessings will assuredly attend the career of Peace, as cannot fail to animate him to a zealous co-operation with the Peace-Societies, now so nobly exerting themselves in this great cause; indeed, it would seem that some such plan must necessarily antecede the period when the calf, and the young lion, and the fatling shall lie down together; and should it please God to spare my life yet a few years, I do ardently anticipate the satisfaction of learning that the worshipers of the one true God have very generally ranged themselves under the standard of these truly Christian bands.

NE of the most powerful argu

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ments which prove the divine mission of Christ, is the manner in which he met his death. He shews near the commencement of his ministry that he was to suffer, and he submitted to his fate, after having foretold every circumstance which attended his departure, and resolutely expressed his determination to obey the will of his heavenly Father. By his firm and enlightened conduct in this respect, he evinced his unshaken conviction in the truth of the great doctrine which he came to promulgate, the resurrection of the dead to a new and better life, and illustrated the necessity on the part of others who believed in him, to follow his example in a course of suffering. The declaration of Jesus that he was to be crucified, his going up to Jerusalem the last time for that purpose, and his unshaken adherence to that resolution, in spite of every earthly consideration, afforded evidence for the truth of his claims which Lucian of Samosata did not fairly know how to remove. He had, therefore, recourse to an artifice which is not to be paralleled in the annals of human baseness. He knew that the inference in favour of Christianity would fall to the ground, if a person could be produced who pursued a similar conduct from ambition, the love of distinction and vain-glory: he, therefore, copies all the leading features which distinguished the death of our Lord, and ascribes them to Peregrinus, thus artfully drawing his readers to conclude, that the base motives which actuated the latter were sufficient to account for the be

haviour of the former, however extraordinary it might appear. In my Remarks on the Truth of the Christian Religion, I have given a brief analysis of this Treatise of Lucian, to which I must refer the reader. It is necessary, however, to produce one or two passages in order to establish the truth of the view which I have of it. The author thus opens the piece: "The wretched Peregrinus or Proteus (for so he always chooses to style himself) has at length met the fate of his namesake in Homer: for after taking a thousand shapes, he is at last turned into fire: such was his insatiable thirst after glory. Yes, my friend, this first and greatest of men is reduced to a cinder, following the example of Empedocles, with this difference only, that he seemed willing to conceal himself from the eyes of men, when he threw himself into the flames, while our most noble hero chose the most public festival, built a magnificent funeral pile, and leaped in before innumerable witnesses, after having harangued the Grecians, and acquainting them with his intentions some days before the ceremony." On this topic the writer enlarges in sections 21, 22: "Peregrinus gave out among the Grecians that he should burn himself in a very short time. For this purpose he began immediately to dig the ditch, bring the wood, and prepare every thing with wonderful fortitude and magnanimity. But true bravery, in my opinion, is shewn by patiently waiting for death, and not flying from life; or, if he must die, why not depart by some other means, so many thousands as there were, and not by fire, and with all that tragical preparation? If he was so fond of flame, as being more after the manner of Hercules, why could not he have chosen some secret woody mountain, where he might have gone and burnt himself in silence alone, or accompanied only by his Theaganes, by way of a faithful Philoctetes? But he must needs do it at the Olympic games, and in a full assembly roasting himself, as it were, on the stage; not but it is a death, by Hercules, he long since deserved, if parricides and atheists are worthy of it. In this respect he was rather late; he should have been roasted long ago in Phalaris's bull, and not have perished in a moment: for I have often heard this is the shortest

way of dying, as it is only opening the mouth, catching the flame, and expiring immediately; but he has fallen on this expedient, I suppose, because it is grand and magnificent for a man to be burned on a sacred ground, where no corpse can be buried. You all, no doubt, remember him who wanted to be immortal, and could find no other way of becoming so, but by setting fire to the Temple of Diana at Ephesus. This man, such is his love of glory, is ambitious of the same fate."

Now I propose briefly to shew, that this and the rest is but a mock account of the death of Jesus, and that it is applied to Peregrinus as a set-off; and that not a syllable of it has ever been realized in the life of that impostor. There are two arguments which prove the truth of this assertion, and they carry the force of demonstration; for no man, whether in his senses or out of his senses, ever put himself to death in the manner, and from the motives, which Lucian here ascribes to Peregri nus. The narrative is negatived by the known laws of the moral world: nothing parallel is to be found in the history of man; and Lucian himself is obliged to refer for illustration to the death of Hercules and Empedocles, the former of which is known to be fabulous, the other to be false, in fact. The other argument is, that the person which Lucian principally has in view under the name of Peregrinus, and whom it is his object to wound, is Jesus Christ; and all the facts which he imputes to the impostor, are copied, distorted indeed, and disguised, from the New Testament. Thus the description he gives of Peregrinus, is, in its leading points, a description characteristic of Christ; and if we substitute the fire and Olympia for the cross and Calvary, the death of Jesus and the death of Peregrinus are precisely the same. Jesus foretold his death, went up to Jerusalem, he died during a festival, when Jews and others, to an immense multitude, were there collected. The death and resurrection of Christ were predicted by the Prophets; the death of Peregrinus and his re-appearance are predicted by the Sibyl. "Going," says Lucian, 30me time after this into the assembly, I met a grey-haired old man, whom by his beard and grave appearance one would have taken for a creditable witness,

and who told us how he had seen him after he was burned, in a white garment, crowned with olive, and walking about." § 40.

The object of Jesus in dying was to save mankind; the object of Peregrinus was of a similar nature. § 23. Jesus after his resurrection commissioned his followers to go and baptize all nations; Peregrinus gave a similar commission after his re-appearance from the fire. "They say he has already written epistles to all the principal cities, and certain covenants, exhortations and laws, which he sent them by ambassadors chosen from among his followers, and whom he had dignified with the title of messengers from the dead, or runners to the shades below." § 41. Jesus ascended to heaven, so did Peregrinus. "Wherefore God hath highly exalted him, and given him a name above every other name, that in the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven and those on earth, and under the earth; and every tongue should confess, that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father." The oracle of the Sibyl is thus represented as speaking of Peregrinus: "When Proteus, by far the best of the Cynics, after jumping into the flames, and burning himself in the holy place of high Jove, shall ascend to heaven, I command all those who eat the fruits of the earth to worship this night guardian, this greatest of heroes, seated on the same throne with Vulcan and Hercules."

Now, as it appears beyond contradiction, that the history of the death of Peregrinus is but a burlesque of the death of Christ, it follows that no such events as in this treatise are ascribed to that impostor, did ever take place; in other words, the story of Peregrinus burning himself, and the like, was a mere contrivance between that impostor and his colleagues to furnish the enemies of the gospel with a set-off against its founder. Franklin, the translator of Lucian, makes this shrewd remark on Peregrinus disappearing in the flames: "It is not improbable that this arch impostor, for such he undoubtedly was, might after all escape by some secret passage under ground, which he had prepared on the occasion, as we cannot otherwise well account for a scoundrel like Peregrinus carry

ing the jest so far." Fortunately, Lucian himself has given us an incident which developes the whole imposture. "Jesus," we are told, "when he had cried again with a loud voice, yielded up the ghost. And behold the veil of the temple was rent in twain, from the top to the bottom; and the earth shook, and the rocks rent, and the graves opened, and many bodies of saints, which slept, arose, and came out of the graves after his resurrection, and went into the holy city and appeared unto many." Matt. xxvii. 50. In ridicule of this account, Lucian writes of Peregrinus, "When the pile was lighted, and Proteus had thrown himself upon it, a great noise was heard, the earth shook, and a vulture was seen to rise out of the flame and fly towards heaven, crying with a loud voice, I have left earth, and go to Olympus." § 39. Now Lucian allows that he himself was the author of this tragic story. We are infinitely obliged to him for the acknowledgment; for we may then conclude with the utmost confidence, that as Lucian was inventor of one part of the story, he or Peregrinus, or some other worthy coadjutor in the same cause, or all of them together, invented the rest. And thus we are able to trace the whole narrative to its proper source. This is but a brief sketch of the treatise. Those who wish to be fully informed on the subject, should with this clue read the original, and they will become sensible that in all the records of antiquity, nothing is to be met with so calculated to establish and illustrate the truth of the Christian religion as this work of Lucian. My next paper shall be on this subject.

J. JONES.

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and who told us how he had seen him after he was burned, in a white garment, crowned with olive, and walking about." § 40.

The object of Jesus in dying was to save mankind; the object of Peregrinus was of a similar nature. § 23. Jesus after his resurrection commissioned his followers to go and baptize all nations; Peregrinus gave a similar commission after his re-appearance from the fire. They say he has already written epistles to all the principal cities, and certain covenants, exhortations and laws, which he sent them by ambassadors chosen from among his followers, and whom he had dignified with the title of messengers from the dead, or runners to the shades below." § 41. Jesus ascended to heaven, so did Peregrinus. "Wherefore God hath highly exalted him, and given him a name above every other name, that in the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven and those on earth, and under the earth; and every tongue should confess, that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father." The oracle of the Sibyl is thus represented as speaking of Peregrinus : "When Proteus, by far the best of the Cynics, after jumping into the flames, and burning himself in the holy place of high Jove, shall ascend to heaven, I command all those who eat the fruits of the earth to worship this night guardian, this greatest of heroes, seated on the same throne with Vulcan and Hercules."

Now, as it appears beyond contradiction, that the history of the death of Peregrinus is but a burlesque of the death of Christ, it follows that no such events as in this treatise are ascribed to that impostor, did ever take place; in other words, the story of Peregrinus burning himself, and the like, was a mere contrivance between that impostor and his colleagues to furnish the enemies of the gospel with a set-off against its founder. Franklin, the translator of Lucian, makes this shrewd remark on Peregrinus disappearing in the flames: "It is not improbable that this arch impostor, for such he undoubtedly was, might after all escape by some secret passage under ground, which he had prepared on the occasion, as we cannot otherwise well account for a scoundrel like Peregrinus carry

ing the jest so far." Fortunately, Lucian himself has given us an incident which developes the whole imposture. "Jesus," we are told, "when he had cried again with a loud voice, yielded up the ghost. And behold the veil of the temple was rent in twain, from the top to the bottom; and the earth shook, and the rocks rent, and the graves opened, and many bodies of saints, which slept, arose, and came out of the graves after his resurrection, and went into the holy city and appeared unto many." Matt. xxvii. 50. In ridicule of this account, Lucian writes of Peregrinus, "When the pile was lighted, and Proteus had thrown himself upon it, a great noise was heard, the earth shook, and a vulture was seen to rise out of the flame and fly towards heaven, crying with a loud voice, I have left earth, and go to Olympus." § 39. Now Lucian allows that he himself was the author of this tragic story. We are infinitely obliged to him for the acknowledgment; for we may then conclude with the utmost confidence, that as Lucian was inventor of one part of the story, he or Peregrinus, or some other worthy coadjutor in the same cause, or all of them together, invented the rest. And thus we are able to trace the whole narrative to its proper source. This is but a brief sketch of the treatise. Those who wish to be fully informed on the subject, should with this clue read the original, and they will become sensible that in all the records of antiquity, nothing is to be met with so calculated to establish and illustrate the truth of the Christian religion as this work of Lucian. My next paper shall be on this subject.

J. JONES.

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