27 Jan y 1816

Not Paul

1 o

Ch Paul

3

2. General credulity of the times

One word / A word or two / as to these visions, and these trances. Though on one occasion vision alone is the word― vision without trance, and on another occasion trance, trance alone without vision, the state of things which they are employed to designate seems to be much the same. A trance is the state of body and mind which the man was supposed to have been in, at the time when he is supposed to have been seeing a vision.

One observation here presents itself, and after it / upon the back of it / two questions.

The observation is that the story of a vision is precisely that sort of story of the falsity of which, supposing it false, no proof can by the nature of the case ever be afforded.

As to the questions they are these:

1. Suppose to the effect in question or any other effect, suppose at this time a day a story of a vision, seen by a man in a trance or not in a trance brought forward is there / would so much as / a single man endowed with any tolerable education or reading or experienced knowledge of the world be found to credit it to give credence to it?

2. To a story of this kind suppose any such notion to have place as that in any case it could present a title to credence, where is the imposture or the impostor that might not make out a title to credence, and upon the strength of it set up and establish a false religion―any false religion that happened to suit his views?