MIRACLE, in its original sense, is a word of the same import with wonder; but in its usual and more appropriate signification it denotes "an effect contrary to the established constitution and course of things, or a sensible deviation from the known laws of nature."
That the visible world is governed by stated general rules, or that there is an order of causes and effects established in every part of the system of nature which falls under our observation, is a fact which cannot be controverted. If the Supreme Being, as some have supposed, be the only real agent in the universe, we have the evidence of experience, that, in the particular system to which we belong, he acts by stated rules. If he employs inferior agents to conduct the various motions from which the phenomena result, we have the same evidence that he has subjected those agents to certain fixed laws, commonly called the laws of nature. Upon either hypothesis, effects which are produced by the regular operation of these laws, or which are conformable to the established course of events, are properly called natural; and every contradiction to this constitution of the natural system, and the corresponding course of events in it, is called a miracle.
If this definition of a miracle be just, no event can be deemed miraculous merely because it is strange, or even to us unaccountable; since it may be nothing more than a regular effect of some unknown law of nature. In this country earthquakes are rare; and for monstrous births perhaps no particular and satisfactory account can be given; yet an earthquake is as regular an effect of the established laws of nature as any of those with which we are most intimately acquainted; and, under circumstances in which there would always be the same kind of production, the monster is nature's genuine issue. It is therefore necessary, before we can pronounce any effect to be a true miracle, that the circumstances under which it is produced be known, and that the common course of nature be in some degree understood; for in all those cases in which we are totally ignorant of nature, it is impossible to determine what is, or what is not, a deviation from its course. Miracles, therefore, are not, as some have represented them, appeals to our ignorance. They suppose some antecedent knowledge of the course of nature, without which a proper judgment cannot be formed concerning them, though with it their reality may be so apparent as to prevent all possibility of a dispute.
Thus, were a physician to cure a blind man of a cataract by anointing his eyes with a chemical preparation which we had never before seen, and to the nature and ef-
fects of which we were absolute strangers, the cure would undoubtedly be wonderful; but we could not pronounce it miraculous, because, for any thing known to us, it might be the natural effect of the operation of the unguent upon the eye. But were he to recover his patient merely by commanding him to see, or by anointing his eyes with spittle, we should with the utmost confidence pronounce the cure to be a miracle, because we know perfectly that neither the human voice nor human spittle have, by the established constitution of things, any such power over the diseases of the eye. No one is now ignorant, that persons apparently dead are often restored to their families and friends by being treated in the manner recommended by the Humane Society. To the vulgar, and sometimes even to men of science, these effects appear very wonderful; but as they are known to be produced by physical agency, they can never be considered as miraculous deviations from the laws of nature. On the other hand, no one could doubt of his having witnessed a real miracle who had seen a person that had been four days dead come alive out of his grave at the call of another, or who had even beheld a person exhibiting all the symptoms of death instantly resuscitated merely by being desired to live. So easy is it, in all cases in which the course of nature is understood, to determine whether any particular event be really a miracle; whilst in circumstances where we know nothing of nature and its course, even a true miracle, were it performed, could not be admitted as such, nor carry any conviction to the mind of a philosopher.
If miracles be effects contrary to the established constitution of things, we are certain that they will never be performed on trivial occasions. The constitution of things was established by the creator and governor of the universe, and is undoubtedly the offspring of infinite wisdom pursuing a plan for the best of purposes. From this plan no deviation can be made but by God himself, or by some powerful being acting with his permission. The plans devised by wisdom are steady in proportion to their perfection, and the plans of infinite wisdom must be absolutely perfect. From this consideration some men have ventured to conclude that no miracle was ever wrought, nor can rationally be expected; but maturer reflection must soon satisfy us that all such conclusions are hasty.
Man is unquestionably the principal creature in this world, and apparently the only one in it who is capable of being made acquainted with the relation in which he stands to his Creator. We cannot, therefore, doubt but that such of the laws of nature as extend not their operation beyond the limits of this earth were established chiefly, if not solely, for the good of mankind; and if, in any particular circumstances, that good can be more effectually promoted by an occasional deviation from those laws, such a deviation may reasonably be expected. Were man, in the exercise of his mental and corporeal powers, subjected to the laws of physical necessity, the circumstances supposed would indeed never occur, and of course no miracle could be admitted. But such is not the nature of man.
Without repeating what has been said elsewhere (see METAPHYSICS, part iii. chap. 5) of necessity and liberty, we shall here take it for granted that the relation between motives and actions is different from that between cause and effect in physics; and that mankind have such a command over themselves as that by their voluntary conduct they can make themselves in a great degree either happy or miserable. We know likewise from history, that, by some means or other, almost all mankind were once sunk in the grossest ignorance of the most important truths; that they knew not the Being by whom they were created and supported; that they paid divine adoration to stocks, stones, and the vilest reptiles; and that they were slaves to the most impious, cruel, and degrading superstitions.