I am sorry for the Occasion of such a Preface against Offence, which the Apostacy of the Age, and its Unacquaintedness with the Fathers, has made necessary. So I enter upon the particular handling of the Heads foregoing. And, I. I will show that the Miracles of healing all manner of bodily Diseases, which _Jesus_ was justly famed for, are none of the proper Miracles of the Messiah, nor are they so much as a good Proof of _Jesus_'s divine Authority to found and introduce a Religion into the World. And to do this, let us consider, first, in general, what was the Opinion of the Fathers about the Writings of the _Evangelists_ in which the Life of _Christ_ is recorded. _Eucherius_ says,[3] _That the Scriptures of the New as well as Old Testament, are to be interpreted in an allegorical Sense_. And this his Opinion, is no other than the common one of the first Ages of the Church, as might be proved by many the like Expressions of other Fathers. As in such Expressions, they do not except the Writings of the _Evangelists_; so they must include the History of _Christ_'s Miracles, which as well as other Parts of the History of his Life, is to be allegoriz'd for the sake of its true Meaning; consequently the literal Story of Christ's Miracles proves nothing. But let's hear particularly their Opinion of the Actions and Miracles of our Saviour. _Origen_ says, that[4] _Whatsoever Jesus did in the Flesh, was but typical and symbolical of what he would do in the Spirit_; and to our Purpose,[5] that _the several bodily Diseases which he healed, were no other than Figures of the spiritual Infirmities of the Soul, that are to be cured by him_. St. _Hilary_ is of the same Mind with _Origen_, as any one may see by the[6] Expressions referr'd to, and his Commentary on St. _Matthew_. St. _Augustin_,[7] and St. _John_[8] of _Jerusalem_, both say, that the Works of _Jesus_ import farther Mysteries; and with them, the rest of the Fathers agree, making the Miracles that _Jesus_ did then, no more than the Shadow of some more powerful and mystical Operations to be done by him, as I could show by more Citations out of them, if it was needful. But from the foregoing Citations out of the Fathers it is plain, in their Opinion, that our modern _Divines_ are in the wrong of it, to lay much Stress on any of the Operations of _Jesus_, which he did in the Flesh, for the Proof of his divine Authority and _Messiahship_, which is only to be proved by his more mysterious Works, of which those done in the Flesh are but Type and Figure.