I. The Authenticity and Truth of the History. II. The Theological, Moral and Political Principles of the Jewish Law. DELIVERED IN THE CHAPEL OF TRINITY COLLEGE, DUBLIN, AT THE LECTURE ESTABLISHED BY THE PROVOST AND SENIOR FELLOWS, UNDER BY THE REV. RICHARD GRAVES, D. D. M. R. I. A. DEAN OF ARDAGH, Late Professor of Divinity in Trinity College, Dublin. THIRD EDITION. DUBLIN: WILLIAM CURRY, JUN. AND COMPANY, EXTRACT FROM THE REGISTRY OF TRINITY COLLEGE, DUBLIN. "Whereas a Legacy of One thousand two hundred and fortythree Pounds, has been bequeathed to the College of Dublin, by Mrs. ANNE DONNELLAN, for the encouragement of Religion, Learning, and good Manners; the particular mode of application being entrusted to the Provost and Senior Fellows:- "RESOLVED, “I. That a Divinity Lecture, to which shall be annexed a Salary, arising from the interest of One thousand two hundred Pounds, shall be established for ever, to be called Donnellan's Lecture. “II. That the Lecturer shall be forthwith elected from among the Fellows of said College, and hereafter annually on the 20th of November. “III. That the subject or subjects of the Lectures shall be determined at the time of election by the Board, to be treated of in six Sermons, which shall be delivered in the College Chapel, after morning service, on certain Sundays, to be appointed on the 20th of November next, after the election of the Lecturer, and within a year from said appointment. "IV. That one moiety of the Interest of the said £1,200 shall be paid to the Lecturer, as soon as he shall have delivered the whole number of Lectures; and the other moiety as soon as he shall have published four of the said Lectures-one copy to be deposited in the Library of the College, one in the Library of Armagh, one in the Library of St. Sepulchre, one to be given to the Chancellor of the University, and one to the Provost of the College." INTRODUCTION. WHEN the Friends of Irreligion and Anarchy in this country, some years ago, disseminated with a malignant industry the First Part of Mr. Paine's "Age of Reason," containing a bold and virulent attack on the Scriptures of the Old Testament, the Heads of the University of Dublin judged that it might be expedient to direct the attention of the Students to the clear and convincing evidence by which this part of Revelation is sustained; on that occasion, the Subject of the following LEC. TURES was selected for the ensuing year, when it was my duty to deliver them. But before that period arrived, so many able and satisfactory answers * appeared to Mr. Paine's pamphlet ; and the extreme ignorance of its author, the futility of his reasonings, and the grossness of his misrepresentations, were so clearly exposed; that I judged it unnecessary to conduct my researches or form my arguments with any particular reference to the objections urged in that tract, and determined on taking a wider range, and entering into a more radical discussion of the divine original of the Jewish Scheme, than I had at first designed; and for that purpose I resolved, to examine the four last books of the Pentateuch with all the attention in my power, and discover how far they carried internal evidence of their genuineness and truth, in the detail, both of the common and the miraculous events. The following work is the effect of that determination. * Amongst these, the excellent Apology of Bishop Watson undoubtedly ranks the first ;-and in this country, the Rev. Mr. Hincks, of Cork, produced a very useful compilation on the same subject;-and Dr. Stokes, of Trinity College, Dublin, published a brief but able answer to Mr. Paine which was circulated with excellent effect amongst the Students. |