474 HISTORY OP GREECE. the charm and cherished creed of a numerous public, 1 to pass altogether out of credit, without even being regarded, among Protestants at least, as worthy of a formal scrutiny into the evi- dence, a proof of the transitory value of public belief, how- ever sincere and fervent, as a certificate of historical truth, if it be blended with religious predispositions. question is one dcterminable only by the religious feelings and conscience of the two dissentients: no common standard of judgment can be imposed upon them ; for no reasonings derived from science or philosophy are available, inas- much as in this case the very point in dispute is, whether the scientific point of view be admissible. Those who are disposed to adopt the supernatural belief, will find in every case the language open to them wherewith Diony- sius of Halicarnassus (in recounting a miracle wrought by Vesta, in the early times of Roman history, for the purpose of rescuing an unjustly accused virgin) reproves the sceptics of his time: "It is well worth while (he observes) to recount the special manifestation (eTrupaveiav) which the goddess showed to these unjustly accused virgins. For these circumstances, extraordinary as they are, have been held worthy of belief by the Romans, and historians have talked much about them. Those persons, indeed, who ndopt the atheistical schemes of philosophy (if, indeed, we must call them philosophy), pulling in pieces as they do all the special manifestions (dTracraf Aiaavpovres TUS txiyavs'iaf ruv -&EUV} of the gods which have taken place among Greeks or barbarians, will of course turn these stories also into ridi oule, ascribing them to the vain talk of men, as if none of the gods cared at all for mankind. But those who, having pushed their researches farther, believe the gods not to be indifferent to human affairs, but favorable to good men and hostile to bad will not treat these special manifestations as more incredible than others." (Dionys. Halic. ii. 68-69.) Plutarch, after noticing the great number of miraculous statements in circulation, expresses his anxiety to draw a line between the true and the false, but cannot find where: "excess, both of credulity and of incredulity (he tells us) in such matters is dangerous ; caution, and nothing too much, is the best course." CCamillus, c. 6.) Polybius is for granting permission to historians to recount a sufficient number of miracles to keep up a feeling of piety in the multi tude, but not more : to measure out the proper quantity (Tie observes) is difficult, but not impossible (Juajra/juypa^of ianv ij iroaorrif, ov ^v inrapd- ypafioe -ye, xvi. 12). 1 The great Bollandist collection of the Lives of the Saints, intended to comprise the whole year, did not extend beyond the nine months from January to October, which occupy fifty-three large volumes. The month of April fills three of those volumes, and exhibits the lives of 1472 saints Had the collection run over the entire year, the total number of such biog raphies could hardly have been less than 25,000, and might have been even greater (see Guizot, Cours d'Histoirc Modcrne, leqon xvii. p. 1571
