this Woman's _Hæmorrhage_ was of that kind, that no Faith nor Fancy in herself could help her without the Divine Power; but this is impossible for them to do, unless there had been a more certain Description of her Disease, than the _Evangelists_ have given of it. Our _Divines_ will indeed tell us, what I believe, that it was the Divine Power co-operating with the Faith and Imagination of the Woman that cured her; because Jesus says _that Virtue had gone out of him_ to the healing of her: And I wish _Infidels_ would acquiesce here, and not say, that _Jesus_'s Virtue hung very loose on him, or the Woman's Faith, like a Fascination, could never have extracted it against his Will and Knowledge: But what if they should say, that _Jesus_, being secretly appriz'd of the Woman's Faith, and Touch of him, took the Hint; and to comfort and confirm her in her Conceit, and to help the Cure forward, said, _Virtue was gone out of him?_ This would be an untoward Suggestion, which if Infidels should make, our Divines must look for a Reply to it. It is said of the _Pope_, when he was last at _Benevento_, that he wrought three Miracles, which our Protestant _Clergy_, I dare say, believe nothing at all of. But, for all that, it is not improbable, but that some diseased People, considering their superstitious Veneration for the _Pope_, and their Opinion of the Sanctity of the _Present_, might be persuaded of his Gift of Miracles, and desirous of his Exercise of it; and if they fancyfully or actually received Benefit by his Touch, I don't wonder, without a Miracle. And what if we had been told of the _Popes_ curing an _Hæmorrhage_ like this before us? What would _Protestants_ have said to it? Why, "that a foolish, credulous, and superstitious Woman had fancy'd herself cured of some slight Indisposition; and the crafty _Pope_ and his Adherents, aspiring after popular Applause, magnified the presumed Cure into a Miracle. If they would have us _Protestants_ to believe the Miracle, they should have given us an exacter Description of her Disease, and then we could better have judg'd of it". The Application of such a supposed Story of a Miracle wrought by the _Pope_, is easy; and if _Infidels_, _Jews_, and _Mahometans_ who have no better Opinion of _Jesus_, than we have of the _Pope_, should make it, there's no Help for it. And thus have I made my Descants on this supposed Miracle before us and argued, as much as I could, against the Miraculousness of it, both from the _Nature_ of the Disease, and the _Manner_ of the Cure of it. Whether any one shall think I have said any thing to the Purpose or not, is all one to me. My Design in what I have done, is not to do Service to Infidelity, but, upon the Command and Encouragement of the Fathers, to turn Mens Thoughts to the mystical Meaning of the said Miracle, which I come now to give an Account of.