Thus highly distinguished, and favoured with a confidence, equalling, if not surpassing, any which, according to any of the Gospel accounts, appears ever to have been imparted to any one of the Apostles, how comes it that Ananias has never been put in the number of the _Saints?_ meaning always the Calendar _Saints_--those persons, to wit, who, as a mark of distinction and title of honour, behold their ordinary names preceded by this extraordinary one? Still the answer is: Aye, but this was but in vision: and of a vision one use is--that of the matter of which all that there is _not_ a use for, is left to be taken for false; all that there _is_ a use for, is taken, and is to pass, for true. When, by the name of Ananias, who, humanly speaking, never existed but in name, the service for which it was invented has been performed--to wit, the giving a support to Paul and his vision,--it has done all that was wanted of it: there is no, further use for it. Supposing that thirdly mentioned vision really seen, at what point of time shall we place the seeing of it? In this too there seems to be no small difficulty. Between the moment at which Paul is said to have had his vision, if a vision that can be called in which, the time being midday, he saw nothing but a glare of light,--between the moment of this vision, of which a loss of sight was the instantaneous consequence--between the moment of this loss of sight and the moment of the recovery of it, the interval is mentioned: three days it was exactly. Acts ix. 9, "And he was three days without sight, and neither did eat nor drink." The time during which, in verse 9, he has just been declared to have been the whole time without sight,--this is the time, within which he is declared--declared, if the historian is to be believed, declared by the Lord himself--to have seen this introductory vision--this preparatory vision, for which it is so difficult to find a use. And thus it is, that in a vision, though _vision_ means seeing, it is not necessary a man should have sight. Meantime, of all these matters, on which his own existence, not to speak of the salvation of mankind, so absolutely depends, not a syllable is he to know, but through the medium of this so perfectly obscure and questionable personage--this personage so completely unknown to him--this same Ananias. Three whole days he is kept from doing anything: during these three whole days the business of the miracle stands still. For what purpose is it thus kept at a stand? Is it that there might be time sufficient left for his learning to see, when his sight is returned, this preparatory vision, by which so little is done, and for which there is so little use? SECTION 6. VISIONS, WHY TWO OR THREE INSTEAD OF ONE.