SECTION IV.

TESTIMONIES OF THE CHRISTIAN FATHERS, AND OF OTHER LEARNED MEN DOWN TO THE TIME OF THE COUNCIL OF TRENT, RESPECTING THE APOCRYPHA.

THE fourth argument is, that these books were not received as Canonical by the Christian Fathers, but were expressly declared to be Apocryphal.

JUSTIN MARTYR does not cite a single passage, in all his writings, from any Apocryphal book.

The first catalogue of the books of the Old Tes tament which we have, after the times of the apostles, from any Christian writer, is that of MELITO, bishop of Sardis, before the end of the second century, which is preserved by Eusebius. The fragment is as follows-" Melito to his brother Onesimus, greeting. Since you have often earnestly requested of me, in consequence of your love of learning, a collection of the sacred Scriptures of the Law and the Prophets, and what relates to the Saviour, and concerning our whole faith; and since, moreover, you wish to obtain an accurate knowledge of our ancient books, as it respects their number and order, I have used diligence to accom

plish this, knowing your sincere affection towards the faith, and your earnest desire to become acquainted with the word; and that striving after éternal life, your love to God induces you to prefer these to all other things. Wherefore, going into the east, and to the very place where these things were published and transacted, and having made diligent search after the books of the Old Testament, I now subjoin, and send you the following catalogue :-Five books of Moses, viz. Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy. Joshua, Judges, Ruth, four books of Kings, two of Chronicles, the Psalms of David, the Proverbs of Solomon, or Wisdom,* Ecclesiastes, the Song of Songs, Job, Isaiah, Jeremiah, Twelve in one book, Daniel, Ezekiel, Ezra."+

ORIGEN also says, "We should not be ignorant,

* Whether Melito, in his catalogue, by the word Wisdom, meant to designate a distinct book, or whether it was used as another name for Proverbs, seems doubtful. The latter has generally been understood to be the sense; and this accords with the understanding of the ancients; for Rufin, in his translation of this passage of Eusebius, renders wapoμiai' ǹ oopía, Salomonis Proverbia, quæ est sapientia, that is, The Proverbs of Solomon, which is Wisdom. PINEDA, a learned Romanist, says, "the word Wisdom should here be taken as explicative of the former, and should be understood to mean, The Proverbs.”

+ Euseb. Hist. Ecc. Lib. v. c. 24.

that the Canonical books are the same which the Hebrews delivered unto us, and are twenty-two in number, according to the number of letters of the Hebrew alphabet." Then he sets down, in order, the names of the books, in Greek and Hebrew.

ATHANASIUS, in his Synopsis, says, "All the Scriptures of us Christians are divinely inspired; neither are they indefinite in their number, but determined and reduced into a Canon. Those of the Old Testament are, Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, Joshua, Judges, Ruth, four books of Kings, Chronicles, Ezra, Psalms, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, Canticles, Job. The twelve prophets, Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, Daniel.”

HILARY, who was contemporary with Athanasius, and resided in France, has numbered the Canonical books of the Old Testament in the following manner, "The five of Moses; the sixth, of Joshua ; the seventh, of Judges, including Ruth; the eighth, of first and second Kings; the ninth, of third and fourth Kings; the tenth, of the Chronicles, two books; the eleventh, Ezra (which included Nehemiah); the twelfth, the Psalms. Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, and the Song of Songs, the thirteenth, fourteenth, and fifteenth; the twelve Prophets, the sixteenth; then, Isaiah and Jeremiah, including Lamentations and his Epistle, Daniel, Ezekiel, Job, and Esther, making up the full number of twentytwo." And in his preface, he adds, "That these

books were thus numbered by our ancestors, and handed down by tradition from them."*

GREGORY NAZIANZEN exhorts his readers to study the sacred books with attention, but to avoid such as were Apocryphal; and then gives a list of the books of the Old Testament, and, according to the Jewish method, makes the number two-andtwenty. He complains of some, that mingled the Apocryphal books with those that were inspired, "of the truth of which last," says he, "we have the most perfect persuasion; therefore, it seemed good to me, to enumerate the Canonical books, from the beginning; and those which belong to the Old Testament are two-and-twenty, according to the number of the Hebrew alphabet, as I have understood." Then he proceeds to say, "Let no one add to these divine books, nor take any thing away from them. I think it necessary to add this, that there are other books besides those which I have enumerated as constituting the Canon, which, however, do not appertain to it; but were proposed by the early Fathers, to be read for the sake of the instruction which they contain." Then he expressly names, as belonging to this class, the Wisdom of Solomon, the Wisdom of Sirach, Esther, Judith, and Tobit.†

ན

JEROME, in his Epistle to Paulinus, gives us a

* Proleg. in Psalmos.

Epist. ad Theod. and Lib. Carm.

catalogue of the books of the Old Testament, exactly corresponding with that which Protestants receive. "Which," says he, "we believe, agreeably to the tradition of our ancestors, to have been inspired by the Holy Spirit."

EPIPHANIUS, in his book concerning Weights and Measures, distributes the books of the Old Testament into four divisions, of five each. "The first of which contains the Law; next, five Poetical books, Job, Psalms, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, Song of Songs; in the third division he places Joshua, Judges, including Ruth, First and Second Chronicles, Four books of Kings. The last five, the twelve prophets, Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, Daniel. Then there remain two, Ezra and Esther." Thus he makes up the number twenty-two

C

CYRIL of Jerusalem, in his Catechism, exhorts his catechumen diligently to learn from the church, what books appertain to the Old and New Testaments, and he says, "Read nothing which is Apocryphal. Read the Scriptures, namely, the TWENTYTwo books of the Old Testament, which were translated by the Seventy-two interpreters." And in another place, "Meditate, as was said, in the twenty-two books of the Old Testament, and if you wish it, I will give you their names." Here follows. a catalogue, agreeing with those already given, except that he adds Baruch to the list. When Baruch is mentioned as making one book with Jeremiah,