'A miracle, according to the true meaning of the word, is something admirable; and agreeably to this all is miracle. The stupendous order of nature, the revolution of a hundred millions of worlds round a million of suns, the activity of light, the life of animals, all are grand and perpetual miracles. 'According to common acceptation, we call a miracle the violation of these divine and eternal laws. A solar eclipse, at the time of the full moon, or a dead man walking two leagues, and carrying his head in his arms, we denominate a miracle. 'Many natural philosophers maintain that in this sense there are no miracles, and advance the following arguments:-- {75} 'A miracle is the violation of mathematical, divine, immutable, eternal laws. By the very exposition itself a miracle is a contradiction in terms: a law cannot at the same time be immutable and violated. But they are asked, cannot a law, established by God himself be suspended by its author? 'They have the hardihood to reply that it cannot; and that it is impossible a being, infinitely wise, can have made laws to violate them. He could not, they say, derange the machine, but with a view of making it work better; but it is evident that God, all-wise and omnipotent, originally made this immense machine, the universe, as good and perfect as he was able; if he saw that some imperfections would arise from the nature of matter, he provided for that in the beginning; and accordingly he will never change anything in it. 'Moreover God can do nothing without reason; but what reason could induce him to disfigure, for a time, his own work? 'It is done, they are told, in favour of mankind. They reply, we must presume, then, that it is in favour of all mankind; for it is impossible to conceive that the divine nature should occupy itself only about a few men in particular, and not for the whole human race; and even the whole human race itself is a very small concern; it is less than a small ant-hill, in comparison with all the beings inhabiting immensity. But is it not the most absurd of all extravagances to imagine that the Infinite Supreme should, in favour of three or four hundred emmets on this little heap of earth, derange the operation of the vast machinery that moves the universe? 'But, admitting that God chose to distinguish a small number of men by particular favours, is there any necessity that in order to accomplish this object he should change what he established for all periods and for all places? He certainly can have no need of this inconsistency, in order to bestow favours on any of his creatures: his favours consist in his laws themselves: he has foreseen all, and arranged all, with a view to them. All invariably obey the force which ne has impressed for ever on nature.