Erpcria!ly,T~ bJ,Judtth,w;j. o{Sabl~n~~t,zcclf{t.J.flit.us, M11Uahttl• Euftb/.4•t·:Z.S · E.xpujit.Syn:.bflli ':ltterisinftru• lfltnti,primi omniumMojis t]Niluj~lWri, &,, H;et{1171t t]u.t p.urtsintrJCtln~um ctJndu(trwu, txq11ibus ftdti twjlr.e•JJcr titmtt,&c• .Alsi llbrif1111ltJIIi110 C~~~~miti,&c. Jnprll#f.Of.alt.J.· toTo!IJ-3·P·6· Hicprohf...1ti ScriptJfftliJ f.IIA fiGaiutum phrcipium ,,.. nibtulibr"ilquos deHtbrJtO, &t. f~tfrirt•:.ul/Mmusquicquid tXtrabostft,ia· mapcrypha tffi prnundum_ : sgiturSapimtta qu~t"ul;,oSaloWWiisin{crlbitiiY,&]r[tr,&t ncm{11nt i11 Cil · nom,&c.F.Itf~-h /.6, c.tt-Har:d iJ.1ftn.U:dfi11JIIU· ttm[urrit,1.Jtmis ilrflrum. /Jrrosfic•tHtb;.titrarffi1JJ.zl .:if;(_«llt{f(i, i~Y.§-,&C. Jltlc.~~d;u111 {ji(J>..wr. A ferious Dif!wafive from Poperie. could k~ow that Papifr,whichm,de con~ience ofallGods ten moralllaws:Shortly A whatfoever is upbraided to us; rhe truth IS pure, thoughmen be unholy· andGod is wherebe w~s, whatfoeverbecomesof me!': For you,if ~ou b~d not falne ~o coole affetHons, and aloofe life, youhad been fr1ll ours: l"s JUfr wnhGod to punilbyour feel' re negligence with en;or & delufion;and to futfer you thus to lofe the rrurh,who had lo{[your care ofobedtonce and firfr love. And now you doe well to lbifr otftbis blame to otber!iins, which havemo{[ caufe ~o accufelll>m'OC>Wn~ ~ Frommanners to look t?wards-oord fuine;~h ovelryofour R.eligion(you fay) bathdilcouraged you: i:hetr ·fiatbdrawnyo Withreverenceof her age. It is a free challenge betwixt us,let theelder have usboth:ifthere be any point ofo;u R.eligion yonger than the Patriarchs,and Prophets,chrift and his Apofiles,the Fathers&Doctors of thePrimitiveChurch, let it be accurfed,and condemned for an upC<arr:lbew us evidenceofmore credit and age,andcarry it. The Churchof Rome bathbeenan- B cient,not the errors; neither dowe in ought differ from it,wherein it is not departed from it felf. I did not more feare your wearineifc than my own; forgetting rhe mealUre ofaPreface, I would paffe through every point ofdifference betwixt us· and let you fee in all particulars,which isrheold; and make youknow,rbat yourPo~!h Religion dotb put on a borrowed vifour ofgravity upon tbisStage,roout-face truean· tiquity.Yet lefr you lhould complainofwords,let mewithoutyour tedioufne1Tehave leaveburro infrancein tbefirfrofall Controverfieo betwixt us; offering thefame proofe inall,which you lhallfee performed inone, I compare the judgementofthe ancient Church with yours, fee therefore and be alhamedofyour novelty. Fir{[, our quemon is, whether all thofe books which in ourBiblesare !liled, Apoc'lphal, & are putafter there{[ by tbemfelves,arero be received as the true fcriprures C ofGod?Heare firfr the voiceofthe old Church: to let paffe that clear &pregnant tellimonyof Melito Sarden{isin bisEpifrle to Onefmru cited by E•febim.Letcypria?Jor RujftnN< rather fpeak in tbe nameofall:Of theoldtellamenr(faith be)firfr werewritten the five booksof Mofu, G"'ejis, Exodte,Lt-vilicut,Numhers, Deuteroll4my; after theje the book ofJofhuah the Son ofNun,and thar ofthe Judgu,togetheroffulth;after which were the foure booksofthe Kingt, which rbe Hebrewu reckon but two: ofthe chronictu which is called the book ofDayes; and of Er.ra, are two books, whichofthem are accounted but fingle,and the book ofEjltr. OftbeProphets there is Ef•J,Hieromy,Ez,ekjel,andDaniel,and befides,onebook which contains the twelve fmaller Prophets. Alfo Job, and the Pfalmes of David are fingle books: of Sclomon there are threebooksdelivered to theChurch, the PrO'lJerbt, Ecclef•flu, Sosg ."/ D song1. In tbefe they have !bur up the numbers ofthe bookes oftheold Teframenr. Ofthe new, there are foure Gofpels, ofM•tthew, Marke,l.11~, and Joh•; the AlJtof the Apojflu, writtenby l.ufi!; of P411lthe Apofrle foureteen Epi{[Ies;' ofthe Apollle Peter twoEpi{[Ies, ofJame~ the lords brother and Apofrle, one; ofJwtk one: of Job" three; La!Hy, the Revdl•tionofJohn. Thefeare they which the Fathers have accountedwithin theCanon, by which they would have the alfertions ofour faith ruade good. But we mull know there are other books, which are called oftheAncients not Canonica\1 bmEcclefla{[icall, as the Wi{ikme ofs olomM, and anotherbuok ofWifdotm, which iscalled ofJeJtHthefon11e of Sir•eh; which book ofthe l.tltinu is tern.ed bya generall name EcclqiajliciH : of the fame ranke is the book ofTob,r and Judeth,and thebooks of the Maccabeu:Thus farre that Father; fo Hiero"" afierrhat E he bath reckoned up the fame number of bookeswith us in their order, bath thefe words: This Prologueofmine (faith he) may ferve as a well defencedenrrance to all the books which I have turned out of Hebrew inro l.tltiwe; that we may know that whatfoever is befldes thefe, is Apbcryphal: therefore that booke which is inriruled SalonJOm Wifdcme,and the book ofJefHJtbe{onnt cfSirach, andJ•dith, and TohiM, and Paft"' are norCanonicall: tbefirllbookeoftbe AfaccAbm•l havefound in Hebrew, the f;cond in Greek!: which book (fait~ be) indeed the Church readeth, but receiveth not asCanonicall. The fame reckomng!Smade by Origen in E•febi.,., word for word. The fame by l!piph4nitH,by C1ril, by Ath4n<ljitH,Gregory, N<lz,tanzen, Il4· tn•feeN:yea by l.Jr4ntH, borh Hngou,Cajetan, Carthujian, and Montam" himk:lfe,&c . All. ! ~
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