If a piece of lead were to remain suspended of itself, in the air, the
occurrence would be a "miracle," in the sense of a wonderful event,
indeed; but no one trained in the methods of science would imagine that
any law of nature was really violated thereby. He would simply set to
work to investigate the conditions under which so highly unexpected an
occurrence took place, and thereby enlarge his experience and modify his
hitherto unduly narrow conception of the laws of nature.
The alternative definition, that a miracle is "a transgression of a law
of nature by a particular volition of the Deity, or by the interposition
of some invisible agent," (IV. p. 134, _note_) is still less defensible.
For a vast number of miracles have professedly been worked, neither by
the Deity, nor by any invisible agent; but by Beelzebub and his
compeers, or by very visible men.
Moreover, not to repeat what has been said respecting the absurdity of
supposing that something which occurs is a transgression of laws, our
only knowledge of which is derived from the observation of that which
occurs; upon what sort of evidence can we be justified in concluding
that a given event is the effect of a particular volition of the Deity,
or of the interposition of some invisible (that is unperceivable) agent?
It may be so, but how is the assertion, that it is so, to be tested? If
it be said that the event exceeds the power of natural causes, what can
justify such a saying? The day-fly has better grounds for calling a
thunderstorm supernatural, than has man, with his experience of an
infinitesimal fraction of duration, to say that the most astonishing
event that can be imagined is beyond the scope of natural causes.
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