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PROEMIAL ANNOTATIONS. Numeri, & Deuteronomie; whereto answer in the new Testament,

the foure Gospels of S. Matthew, S. Marke, S. Luke, & S. Iohn.

Historical bookes of the old Testament, are the Bookes of Iosue, Iudges,

Ruth, foure bookes of Kinges, two of Paralipomenon, Esdras with

Nehemias, Tobias, Iudith, Hester, Iob, & two of the Machabees;

vnto which, in the new Testament, answer the Actes of the Apostles.

Sapiential, of the old Testament, are the Prouerbes, Ecclesiastes, Canticles,

Booke of wisdome, & Ecclesiasticus; and of like sorte are in

the new Testament, the Epistles of S. Paul & of other Apostles. Prophetical

bookes are Dauids Psalter (which is also Sapiential, yea like wise Legal

and Historical) the Bookes of Isaias, Ieremias with Baruch, Ezechiel,

Daniel, the twelue lesse Prophetes, Osea, Ioel, Amos, Abdias, Ionas,

Michaeas, Nahum, Abacuc, Sophonias, Aggaeus, Zacharias,

Malachias. And in the new Testament, the Apocalips of S. Iohn

the Apostle.

Al these Bookes are vndoubtedly Canonical, as the Authores cited in

the inner margent testifie. And consequently al, and al the partes therof;

are of infallible truth. For otherwise as S. Augustin teacheth, if anie part

were false, or doubtful, al were vncertaine. once admittiug falsehood

(saith he, Epist, 8. ad Ieroni) in such soueraigne authoritie, no parcel

of these bookes should remaine, which anie way should seme hard

to maners, or incredible to beleue, but it might by this most pernicious

rule be turned to an officious fiction of the author. That

is: If anie error could be committed by the authores of Scriptures, either

through ignorance, obliuion, or anie other humane frailtie, what soeuer were

produced, exception might be taken, and question made, whether the author

had erred, or no? True it is, that some of these bookes (as we shal particularly

discusse in their places) were sometimes doubted of by some Catholiques,

and called Apochrypal, in that sense, as the word properly signifieth

hidden, or not apparent. So S. Ierom (in his Prologue before the Latin

Bible) calleth diuers bookes Apochryphal, being not so euident,

whether they were Diuine scripture, because they were not in the lewes Canon,

nor at first in the Churches Canon, but were neuer reiected, as false or erronious.

In which sense the Prayer of Manasses, the third booke of Esdras, and

third of Machabees are yet called Apochryphal. As for the fourth of

Esdras, and fourth of Machabees there is more doubt. But diuers others, as

the booke ascribed to Enoch, the Gospels of S. Andrew, S. Thomas,

S. Bartholmew, and the like recited by S. Gelasius (Decreto de libris Ecclesiasticis

dist. 15. Can. Sancta Romana) S. Innocentius the first (Epist. 3.)

S. Ierom, Ep ad Laetam, S. Augustin li. 15. cap. 23. de ciuit. Dei. Origen homis.

2. in Cantica. are in a worse sense called Apochryphal, & are reiected as con-