Chapter XXIX.—Of the Two Blind Men and the Dumb Demoniac Whose Stories are Related Only by Matthew.

69. Matthew proceeds with his narrative in the following terms: “And when Jesus departed thence, two blind men followed Him, crying and saying, Thou son of David, have mercy on us;” and so on, down to the verse where we read, “But the Pharisees said, He casteth out devils through the prince of the devils.”462    Matt. ix. 27–34. [The view of Augustin is that now generally accepted by harmonists.—R.] Matthew is the only one who introduces this account of the two blind men and the dumb demoniac. For those two blind men, whose story is given also by the others,463    Mark x. 46–52; Luke xviii. 35–43. are not the two before us here. Nevertheless there is such similarity in the occurrences, that if Matthew himself had not recorded the latter incident as well as the former, it might have been thought that the one which he relates at present has also been given by these other two evangelists. There is this fact, therefore, which we ought to bear carefully in mind,—namely, that there are some occurrences which resemble each other. For we have a proof of this in the circumstance that the very same evangelist mentions both incidents here. And thus, if at any time we find any such occurrences narrated individually by the several evangelists, and discover some contradiction in the accounts, which seems not to admit of being solved [on the principle of harmonizing], it may occur to us that the explanation simply is, that this [apparently contradictory] circumstance did not take place [on that particular occasion], but that what did happen then was only something resembling it, or something which was gone about in a similar manner.

CAPUT XXIX. De duobus caecis et muto daemonio, quae solus Matthaeus dicit.

69. Sequitur Matthaeus, et dicit: Et transeunte inde Jesu, secuti sunt eum duo caeci clamantes, et dicentes: Miserere nostri, fili David, et caetera, usque ad illud ubi ait, Pharisaei autem dicebant: In principe daemoniorum ejicit daemones (Matth. IX, 27-34). Hoc de duobus caecis et de muto daemonio, solus Matthaeus ponit. Illi enim duo caeci, de quibus et alii narrant (Marc. X, 46-52, et Luc. XVIII, 35-43), non sunt isti, sed tamen simile factum est: ita ut si ipse Matthaeus non etiam illius facti meminisset (Matth. XX, 29-34), posset putari hoc quod nunc narrat, dictum fuisse etiam ab aliis duobus. Quod commendare memoriae diligenter debemus, esse quaedam facta similia; quod probatur, cum idem ipse evangelista utrumque commemorat: ut si quando talia singula apud singulos invenerimus, atque in eis contrarium, quod solvi non possit, occurrat nobis non hoc esse factum, sed aliud simile, vel similiter factum.