David Hume. Enquiry concerning human understanding (№ 403800)

At the birth of new religions, wise and learned people usually consider the question [of the miracles associated with them] too insignificant to merit their attention or consideration; and later, when they would willingly open a deception in order to dissuade the erring crowd, it turns out that the time has already passed, documents and witnesses who could clarify the case have died irrevocably; they have no means of exposure other than those that must be extracted from the testimony of the witnesses themselves; but, although these means always satisfy intelligent and educated people, they are usually too subtle for understanding the crowd.