him: the weakness of the human
intellect is then dwelt on, which can reason only upon the perceptions we
receive, and is therefore incompetent for the discovery of subjects regarding
which we have no experience;, and hence is deduced the necessity of bending to
the revelation of God with humble and implicit faith. The First chapter takes up
the proof of our Saviour's divinity, and a section is allotted to the evidence
derived from His own words. This is a very suitable arrangement, as Mohammedans
always ask first for Christ's own assertions, holding that no statements of
another party are to be received towards the proof of that which our Saviour did
not himself affect to claim. But why are Gabriel and the Angels' evidence
admitted into this section? A Maulavi remarked to us, that the Mussulmans would
smile at this; "the Padre," they will say, "set out with proving
Christ's divinity from his own words, and in the very first page he is obliged
to have recourse to other testimony": it is in reality no great blemish, as
the object is to usher in the birth of the Saviour whose own words are about to
be brought forward: but it may be as well not to give any ground for the eager
hyper-criticism of our antagonists. Our only other remark on this section, and
on the following which is appropriated to the evidence of the apostles, is that
the expression "only begotten Son" is not sufficiently insisted
upon.1 This was repeatedly assumed by Christ to himself; and to have
more prominently seized upon it would have strengthened our author's position.
In other respects this portion of the work is full and satisfactory, as well as
the third section, which continues the argument from the Old Testament.