PREFACE. THE first edition of the Criterion was printed in 1754, the second in 1807. It was published for the third time in a quarto volume, which contained some other works of Bishop Douglas, and which was printed at Salisbury in 1820. The preface to this last mentioned volume contains the following passage: "With respect to the present edition of the "Criterion, it has been carefully collated with 66 a copy corrected by the hand of the author: " and no alteration or addition has been made, 66 66 except such as he himself would have adopt ed, had not the copy been mislaid, which he "had long prepared for a new edition." A collation of this third edition with the preceding has proved the number of these alterations to be very considerable: and the present edition, which may be called the fourth, is a faithful copy of that which was printed at Salisbury, except as to the quotations from other authors. These passages appear in many instances to have been very inaccurately transcribed. The Greek and Latin quotations particularly contain many errors and a careful comparison of all these with the works from which they were taken, has made the present edition much more correct than any which preceded it. CONTENTS. The whole may be distributed into three heads: I. A refutation of Hume's objection to the credibility of miracles II. Shews the pretended miracles of the pagans of ancient times, Miracles, said to have been wrought by Apollonius of Tyana, tried by the first rule, and found deficient; as also those of The miracles recorded by Livy and Tacitus, brought to the The same objection urged against the Romish miracles.. 60 Cures performed at the tomb of the Abbé Paris, shewn to have III. Miracles of Jesus Christ shewn not to be liable to the objec- tions urged against those of the Abbé Paris . . . . . The extraordinary works ascribed to him, such as required the |