A different termination feems, however, to have given offence. Yet furely no one, be his reputation or his merits what they may, is authorized, after having determined for himself, to prescribe the limit for other men, and iffue out his prohibition, "Thus far fhall ye go, and no further."

APPENDIX,

No. I.

WHEN animadverting upon certain ftrange facts related of the prophets Ifaiah, Ezekiel, and Hofea, I had occafion to mention Mr. Farmer's convenient method of folving fuch difficulties, by confidering them as merely vifionary. That method appeared fo convenient to him, that he has been induced to convert what the writers of the Gospel History have evidently delivered as matters of fact, really and truly performed, into prophetic vifions. I refer to his interpretation of the several narratives of Chrift's temptation in the wildernefs. This interpretation is principally founded on the phrafeology used, where it is faid, that Chrift was led by the Spirit, and driven by the

Spirit, into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. Mr. F. fuppofes these expreffions equivalent to thofe ufed to denote the fupernatural operation which was thought to produce vifions in the minds of the prophets of the Old Teftament. The books, however, where the accounts of these visions occur, are profeffedly books treating of vifionary matters. And yet, even in these books, should certain things be related as having really taken place, without any intimation of their having been tranfacted in vifion merely,— to fuppofe this, feems to be doing fomething very like violence. But to make the fame fuppofition respecting a narrative given as a relation of facts which had really happened, by any writer profeffing himself to be a hiftorian of real tranfactions,-is furely violence in the extreme.

To justify his own interpretation, Mr. F. further, infifts much on the impropriety

of

of conceiving the writers in queftion to mean that Chrift was actually led by the Spirit into the wilderness, because he was in the wilderness already. It was in the Jordan, however, where we are given to understand that he was baptized by John: and the region bordering on the eastern bank of that river could not be abfolutely a defart, fince it was an inhabited country, though not very populous. But, from Mark's account, it appears that Chrift, when in the wildernefs, was among the wild beafts; which circumftance feems to be mentioned as an aggravation of his trial. It is, therefore, most natural to underftand thefe writers as meaning to say,. that Chrift was led eaftward into the country which was, indeed, a defart without inhabitants.

Mr. F. nevertheless, will have it that these writers intended to inform us not that Chrift was led into the wilderness,

but