Page:The Holy Bible faithfvlly translated into English ovt of the authentical Latin, diligently conferred with the Hebrew, Greek, & other Editions in diuers languages.pdf/14

Rh And as the same is the summe and subject of both Testaments so both are divided (for the more principal parts thereof) into foure sorts of Books: Legal, Historical, Sapiential, and Prophetical. The Legal books of the old Testament are the five Books of Moyses, Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numeri, and Deuteronomie; whereto answer in the new Testament the four Ghospels of Saint Matthew, S. Marke, S. Luke, and S. John. Historical books of the old Testament are the Books of Josue, Judges, Ruth, foure books of Kings, two of Paralipomenon, Esdras, with Nehemias, Tobias, Judith, Hester, Job, and two of the Machabees; unto which in the new Testament answer the Acts of the Apostles. Sapiential of the old Testament are the Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, Canticles, Book of wisdome, and Ecclesiasticus; and of like sort are in the new Testament the Epistles of S. Paul and of other Apostles. Prophetical books are Davids Psalter (which is also Sapiential, yea likewise Legal and Historical) the Books of Isaias, Jeremias, with Baruch, Ezechiel, Daniel, the twelve lesse Prophets, Osea, Joel, Amos, Abdias, Jonas; Michæas, Nahum, Abacuc, Sophonias, Aggæus, Zacharias, Malachias. And in the new Testament, the Apocalyps of S. John the Apostle.

Al these Books are undoubtedly Canonical, as the Authours cited in the inner margent testifie. And consequently al, and al the parts thereof, are of infallible truth. For otherwise, as St. Augustin teacheth, if any part were false or doubtful, al were uncertaine. Once admitting falsehood (saith he Epist. 8. ad. Hieron.) in such sovereigne authority, no parcel of these books should remaine, which any way should seem hard to manners, or incredible to believe, but it might by this most pernicious rule be turned to an officious fiction of the authour. That is: If any errour could be committed by the authours of Scriptures, either through ignorance, oblivion, or any other humane frailty, whatsoever were produced, exception might be taken, and question made, whether the authour had erred or no. True it is, that some of these books (as we shal particularly discusse in their places) were sometimes avouched of by some Catholiks, and called Apocryphal, in that sense as the word properly signifieth hidden, or not apparent. So S. Hierom (in his prologue before the Latin Bible) calleth divers books Apocryphal, being not so evident, whether they were Divine Scripture, because they were not in the Jewes Canon, nor at first in the Churches Canon, but were never rejected as false or erronious. In which sense the Prayers of Manasses, the third book of Esdras, and third of Machabees are yet called Apocryphal. As for the fourth of Esdras, and fourth of Machabees there is more doubt. But divers others, as the book ascribed to Enoch, the Ghospels 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. Hierom, Ep. ad Lætam, S. Augustin. l. 15. cap. 23. de civit. Dei, Origen homi. 2. in Cantica, are in a worse sense called Apocryphal, and are rejected as conteining manifest errours, or fained by Heretiks. Neither can a Christian Catholike be otherwise assured, which Books are Divine and Canonical Scriptures, but by declaration of the Catholik Church, which without interuption succeedeth the Apostles, to whom our Saviour  Rh