ment, the four evangelists wrote severally the four books of the gospels: the apostle Paul wrote his own epistles; nine of which are sent to seven churches, the others to his disciples, Timothy, Titus, and Philemon. The writer of the epistle to the Hebrews is reckoned uncertain by most of the Latins, because of the difference of the style; some thinking it was written by Barnabas, others by Clement. Peter wrote two epistles, called catholic; the second of which is by some thought not to be his, because of the difference of the style: James wrote his epistle; which also is denied by some to be his, and said to be dictated by another in his name: John wrote three epistles; of which the first only is by some said to be his; the other two are thought to be written by John, a presbyter: Jude wrote his epistle: Luke composed the Acts of the Apostles, according to what he had heard or seen: John the evangelist wrote the Revelation, at the time that he was in banishment, in the island of Patmos, for preaching the gospel. These are the writers of the sacred books, speaking by divine inspiration, and declaring in the church the heavenly precepts for our instruction: but the Holy Spirit is esteemed the author of the said scriptures; for he is really the writer, who dictated them to be written by his prophets.'

2. In the next place, I shall take a part of his Proëm to the books of the New Testament, omitting some things relating to the particular design of each. Though the loquentium, ad eruditionem nostram præcepta cœlestia in ecclesiâ dispensantes. Auctor autem earundam scripturarum Spiritus Sanctus esse creditur. Ipse enim scripsit, qui per prophetas suos scribenda dictavit. De Ecc. Off. 1. 1. c. 12. p. 393, 394. Colon. 1617.

d Evangeliorum prædicatio quamvis quadrifaria sit, una est tamen, quia ex uno eodemque ore divinitatis processit. Et his primus et ultimus ea prædicaverunt, quæ ex ore Christi audierunt, vel quæ ab illo facta vel gesta viderunt; reliqui medii duo ea tantummodo, quæ ab apostolis cognoverunt; quorum quidem Matthæus evangelium in Judæâ primus scripsit. Deinde Marcus in Italiâ. Tertius Lucas in Achaiâ. Ultimus Joannes in Asiâ. Ex quibus solus tantum Matthæus prædicationis suæ historiam Hebraico perstrinxit stylo: reliqui vero Græci sermonis eloquio ediderunt. Epistolas Paulus apostolus quatuor-decem prædicationis suæ perstrinxit stylo; ex quibus aliquas propter typum septiformis ecclesiæ septem scripsit ecclesiis, conservans potius, non excedens numerum sacramenti, propter septiformem Spiritûs efficaciam. Scripsit autem ad Romanos, ad Corinthios, ad Galatas, ad Ephesios, ad Philippenses, ad Thessalonicenses, ad Colossenses. Reliquas vero postmodum singularibus edidit personis. Argumenta autem earumdem epistolarum hæc sunt. Instruit quoque per Timotheum et Titum ecclesias. Philemonem de emendato servo Onesimo rogat. Ultimo Hebræos, qui in Christo crediderunt, et postmodum persecutionibus Judaicis torti a fide recesserunt, confortat, et ad gratiam evangelii revocat. Petrus duas scripsit epistolas, quæ catholicæ nominantur. Scripsit autem eas his qui ex circumcisione credentes in dispersione gentium erant. Jacobus frater Domini scripsit unam epistolam, ad

doctrine of the gospel be delivered to us by four, it proceeds from one and the same divine fountain. Of these four, the first and last relate what they had heard Christ say, or had seen him perform; the other two, placed between them, relate only those things which they had learned from apostles. Matthew wrote his gospel the first, in Judea; then Mark, in Italy; Luke, the third, in Achaia; John, the last, in Asia of whom Matthew alone wrote in Hebrew; the rest in Greek. The apostle Paul wrote fourteen epistles; of which some are written to the seven churches. They are these: To the Romans, to the Corinthians, to the Galatians, to the Ephesians, to the Philippians, to the Thessalonians, to the Colossians; others are written to particular persons; and lastly, he wrote to the Hebrews, who believed, and suffered persecution.' Here are inserted the arguments, or contents, of the several epistles, which I omit.Peter wrote two epistles, called catholic: they are sent to such of the circumcision as had believed, and were scattered abroad among the Gentiles. James, the Lord's brother, wrote one epistle for the edification of the church. The apostle John wrote three epistles, the first of which is wholly taken up in recommending the love of God, and our brother; nor is the design of the other two very different. Jude reproves some blasphemers, and unchaste persons. The Acts of the Apostles contains the history of the infancy of the church : the writer is the evangelist Luke, as is well known. In the Revelation of John the evangelist are these several things :' where he largely shows the contents of that book.

3. The catalogue of the books of scripture, in the Origines, very much resembles that in the Offices; I therefore shall not transcribe it so much at length, as I have transcribed the other two however, there are some things here, which are in neither of the other; these I would take notice of. The first chapter of the sixth book of the said Origines is entitled, Of the Old and the New Testament. Here, having enumerated the books of the Old Testament, he says, In the New Testament are two parts or classes: the first

ædificationem ecclesiæ pertinentem, cujus sententiæ immensam scientiæ claritatem legentibus videntur infundere. Joannes apostolus tres scripsit epistolas, quarum prima officium caritatis commendans, tota in amore Dei et fraternà dilectione versatur. Secunda quoque, quæ electis scribitur, dilectionis hortatur officium. Judæ epistola increpat blasphemantes in Christo, et quosdam impudicos, sub exemplo impiorum. Actuum apostolorum historia nascentis ecclesiæ fidem opusque describit, cujus quidem scriptor Lucas evangelista monstratur. In Apocalypsi Joannis Præterea comedit evangelista librum testamenti, oris prædicatione suavissimum, &c. Pr. Libr. N. T. p. 282.

• In Novo autem Testamento duo sunt ordine; primus evangelicus, in quo

is that of the gospels; in which are Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John the second is that of the apostles; in which are Paul, in fourteen epistles; Peter, in two; John, in three; James and Jude, each in one epistle; the Acts of the Apostles; and the Revelation of John.'

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4. The second chapter of the same book is entitled, Of the Writers and Phrases of the sacred books. Here he enumerates again the books of the Old and New Testament, and speaks more distinctly and largely of the writers of them, and their titles and design; and then concludes the chapter in this manner: These are the writers of the sacred books, who, speaking by the Holy Spirit, have written for our instruction both the precepts of a good life, and the rule of faith.' Then he adds, that beside these, there are other books, called apocryphal, the writers of which are uncertain; in which there are some truths, mixed with falsehood; but they are of no authority: and he supposes them to be written by heretics: many such books there were,' he says, which had been of old written in the names of prophets, and since of apostles: but, after careful examination, they had been rejected, and not allowed to be of canonical authority.'

5. Before I proceed, I would observe here, that at the beginning of the second part of the Allegories of the sacred scriptures, which relate to the New Testament, the four evangelists, with their symbols, are expressly mentioned.

6. Again, in another place, speaking of the four evangelists, and their gospels, he says: Of all the evangelists, Luke, the third in order, is reckoned to have been most skilful in the Greek tongue; for he was a physician, and wrote his gospel in Greece.'

sunt Matthæus, Marcus, Lucas, et Joannes; secundus apostolicus, in quo sunt Paulus in quatuordecim epistolis, Petrus in duabus, Joannes in tribus, Jacobus et Judas in singulis, Actus apostolorum, et Apocalypsis Joannis. Origin. 1. 6. c. 1. p. 44. De scriptoribus et vocabulis sanctorum Jibrorum. Hi sunt scriptores sacrorum librorum, qui per Spiritum Sanctum loquentes ad eruditionem nostram et præcepta vivendi et credendi regulam conscripserunt. Præter hæc et alia volumina apocrypha nuncupantur. Apocrypha autem dicta, id est, secreta, quia in dubium veniunt. Est enim eorum occulta origo, nec patet patribus, ex quibus usque ad nos auctoritas veracium scripturarum certissima et notissima successione pervenit. In iis apocryphis etsi inveniatur aliqua veritas, tamen, propter multa falsa, nulla est in eis canonica auctoritas. Nam multa et sub nominibus prophetarum, et recentiora sub nominibus apostolorum ab hæreticis proferuntur. Quæ omnia sub nomine apocryphorum auctoritate canonicà diligenti examinatione remota sunt. Ib. cap. 2. p. 46. h P. 351.

Tertius Lucas inter omnes evangelistas Græci sermonis eruditissimus, quippe ut medicus, in Græciâ evangelium scripsit. Orig. 1. 6. c. 2. p. 45.

III. We may now make some remarks, and they are exceeding easy and obvious.

1. Isidore, of Seville, received all the same books of the New Testament which we do.

2. About some of these there were then, or had formerly been, doubts; particularly about the epistle to the Hebrews, the epistle of James, the second epistle of Peter, the second and third of John. This he mentions freely in which I think he is in the right; for it is very fit that the truth of things should be known and acknowledged.

3. There were not any christian writings whatever, beside those of the apostles and evangelists, now received by us, which were of authority: there were, indeed, some books, called apocryphal; but they were so much disliked, and were so contemptible, and so universally rejected and disregarded, that he did not think it needful to mention expressly the names or titles of any of them; nor has he, in any one of the catalogues of the books of scripture, mentioned any writing after the book of the Revelation, which made any claim to be a part of the New Testament, or to be esteemed of canonical authority.

4. The order of the books of the New Testament, as mentioned by Isidore, deserves some notice. There were two parts, or divisions; one called the gospels or evangelists, the other the apostles; and in this last the book of the Acts is placed moreover, in all the catalogues we see this order; first the gospels, then the epistles of the apostle Paul, then the catholic epistles, after them the Acts, and lastly the Revelation; so it is in every chapter, where the books of the New Testament are enumerated by this writer.

5. They who are desirous to see Isidore's catalogues of the books of the Old Testament, placed together, with remarks upon them, may consult H. Hody. Those catalogues would have been here likewise, and with remarks, if I had had room: as I have not, I must forbear; for it is time to hasten to a conclusion.

IV. A word or two will suffice, for showing the respect which he had for the sacred books of scripture. It appears, in what has been already transcribed, where he speaks of the Holy Spirit as their author, they having been written by inspired prophets and apostles; and he expressly says, that they contain the precepts of life, and the rule of faith.' Moreover, I shall refer to a chapter in the first book of * De Biblior. Text. Orig. Col. 69–72. p. 653, 654.

Via per quam itur ad Christum, lex est, per quam vadunt ad eum hi, qui, ut est, intelligunt eam

sentences; where he says, that by the law, rightly understood, we come to Christ; and he shows, that the scriptures may be profitably read by all sorts of men.

V. 1. In his Chronicle, under the reign of the emperor Caius Caligula, who died in the beginning of the year 41, Isidore says, Atm this time the apostle Matthew wrote, the first, his gospel in Judea.'

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2. Under the reign of Claudius, who died in the year 54, hé says, In his reign the apostle Peter went to Rome to oppose Simon Magus. The evangelist Mark also preaching Christ at Alexandria, wrote his gospel:' nevertheless, before he said, that Mark wrote in Italy.

3. Under Nero, whose reign ended in 68, he says, InP his time Simon Magus, who had proposed a dispute with the apostles Peter and Paul, and had promised to fly up to heaven, at the prayers of Peter and Paul, was, at noon day, thrown down by the dæmons who had carried him up into the air: on account of whose death, by order of Nero, Peter was crucified, and Paul beheaded.'

4. I must not stay to make many remarks: I only observe, that this must be reckoned by all very inaccurate, and also inconsistent. Peter, as before said, went to Rome in the reign of Claudius, to oppose Simon Magus. Here the dispute with Simon Magus, and his death, are placed in the reign of Nero, and near the end of it; for about that time the martyrdoms of the two fore-mentioned apostles are supposed to have happened.

5. Of Domitian, whose reign is computed from 81 to 96, he says, He raised a persecution against the christians. In his time the apostle John, having been banished into the island of Patmos, wrote the Revelation.'

Scriptura sacra pro uniuscujusque lectoris intelligentiâ variatur, sicut manna, quod populo veteri pro singulorum delectatione varium dabat saporem. Juxta sensuum capacitatem singulis sermo Domini congruit. Sentent. 1. 1. c. 18. And see Ja. Basnage Hist. de l'Egl. 1. 9. ch. 3. sect. 11.

m Matthæus apostolus evangelium primus in Judæâ scripsit. Isid. Chr. p. 268. Eo regnante, Petrus apostolus, contra Simonem Magnum, Romam pergit. Marcus quoque evangelista. Alexandriæ Christum prædicans, evangelium scripsit. Ibid.

• See p. 367. P Hujus temporibus Simon Magus, cum altercationem proposuisset cum Petro et Paulo, apostolis, dicens se quamdam virtutem esse Dei magnam, medio die dum ad patrem volare promittit in cœlum, a dæmonibus, a quibus in aëre ferebatur, adjurante eos Petro per Deum, Paulo vero orante, dimissus crepuit. Ob cujus necem a Nerone Petrus crucifigitur, Paulus gladio cæditur. Ib. p. 268. His post Neronem secundus, superbia exsecrabilis, Deum se appellari jussit, christianos persequi paganis instituit. Sub quo apostolus Joannes, in Pathmos insulam relegatus, Apocalypsim scripsit. Ibid.